A/N: I'm actually kinda surprised so many of you were surprised at how the last chapter ended. I almost always end chapters at the time where the age transition is about to occur, so that shouldn't have been so shocking to you. I guess it was just because we're finally building up to the great climax and ending.
In any case, I know you are all going to be completely floored with what you are about to read. I've worked hard on it and re-wrote it several times. If there are grammar mistakes, I'm sorry. I thought you guys would appreciate it posted faster and didn't bother sending it to my beta's. It's all my fault and none of theirs.
Chapter Twenty-six
Draco was conscious. He had never been conscious during the change before. He could feel his body growing, but it was distant like he was on a strong pain potion. The last of the fog blocking or numbing his memories evaporated and he felt like he could fit in his skin for the first time in months. He was complete at last.
And then the whimpering started. He was helpless to move, helpless to even turn his head. As magic snapped and surged and passed through him in sheets, altering his body and cutting away the barriers in his mind, Draco listened as Harry Potter, rival, brother, best friend, and lover, began to cry like a broken child. He was pinned, immobile as Harry begged for it to stop, begged to forget, and begged for Draco to help him. Draco began screaming just to drown out those horrible sounds, but it didn't work. He could still hear him suffer. Truly suffering as he lay right next to him and Draco was helpless to do anything.
…
Remus came staggering into Severus' rooms. The scent of his mate wrapped around him and the pain in his body lessened with relief at being near by once more. Severus met him and handed him a potion without a word. He didn't take it. He knew it would knock him out and he wanted to be awake. He pushed it aside and Severus met his eyes. They were blank, completely empty. Remus literally flinched back away from them and whined.
"Take the potion." Severus spoke levelly with no inflections whatsoever.
"Severus…"
"Take. It."
Remus took it, anything to help his mate, and collapsed on the couch unconscious. Severus stared down at him and the smallest bit of warmth cracked the edges around his eyes. He stood guard over his wounded lover for an hour, but as soon as the magic surge died in the boys' room, he was moving. He met Narcissa at the door and they entered together.
…
As soon as he had control of his limbs, Draco sat up and looked to Harry. He had fallen silent a while ago and somehow that had been worse. Draco couldn't feel him at all. For the past couple months, there had been a warmth at his center where Harry's feelings had been, but now it was gone. It felt like he was cut off from the world, like he couldn't touch anything. Like he was the only thing real in the universe and everything else was a dream. Shaking off the dissociation that intellectually he knew would leave as soon as he adjusted to the absence of the bond, he touched the teen next to him, needing to know he was there and alright.
Harry stared, his eyes open and glassy. He didn't respond to Draco's touch. He seemed asleep, but he was blinking. Severus and Narcissa came running, but Draco didn't give them any attention. He shook Harry's shoulder harder. His lover had gained weight with this last age transformation. He wasn't so bony. He even looked taller, closer to how big he was before he went home for the summer.
"Harry, come on! Wake up!" He yelled it. He knew, somehow, that nothing would work. That it was pointless, but he had to do something now that he could.
Severus moved him gently and began casting spells. Narcissa was crying, hanging onto Draco. They waited and Draco didn't move to get out of the bed or get dressed. Severus and Narcissa made no mention of their sharing the bed or that they were both naked. Draco smiled as he remembered last night. Merlin, his fingers itched to touch Harry again, to taste him and hear him crying out because of pleasure and not pain.
"He isn't in a coma." Severus shook his head. He was frowning, but a burning light had returned to his eyes. He had found hope. "The readings are confused. They say he is in a very deep sleep, but there are seconds where his higher cognitive functions flare up. I'd say he is slipping between deep sleep to vivid and active dreams. Poppy may be able to tell us more."
"Let me get dressed." Draco stood and went to his closet. "I'll get you something for Harry to wear."
Narcissa put trembling fingers to her lips. Joy ripped through her. Her son had returned. Draco was acting strong and collected and cool, just as he had before the spell had interfered with his mind. She felt hope that maybe his feelings for the boy were induced by the spell and that he would survive Harry's death. He hadn't called him Baby, after all.
…
"I get the same readings you do, Severus." Poppy frowned. "But this isn't normal sleep! Nothing is waking him up. Not potions or a physical shock. I can't begin to say how long he'll be like this."
Severus nodded. "But he's not like how he was when he was returned here at the beginning of the school year."
"No." She agreed. "And that has to be a good thing."
"He's coping."
They turned, surprised, and looked at Draco. They had forgotten he was there. Even Narcissa had startled at his drawled comment. He was leaning against the infirmary wall, his hands in his pockets and his face hard and expressionless. Severus was the first to recover.
"You can feel him still?"
"No." Draco shrugged and stood. He took his hands out of his pockets and looked around, his expression bored. He moved to leave.
"What did you mean?" Severus snapped, not at all amused.
"Dreams. He's remembering in pieces." Draco mused. "Then he's sleeping to get a break from the fragments. Excuse me. I have to get caught up on my work."
"Well." Poppy huffed and crossed her arms. "Of all the… What has gotten into that child?"
"No…" Severus turned to look at his son. "He told us something important."
"What?" Narcissa asked. She was bewildered by Draco's behavior as any of them. Was he perhaps feeling violated himself? Forced to feel such a deep and obsessive attachment for anyone could be traumatizing, and if it were unwilling… She'd have to talk to him.
"When you dream, it feels like a long time has passed, but the REM cycle where dreams take place only lasts for minutes at a time. Draco's suggesting that Harry is coping with his memories and then retreating, only to start again." Severus explained.
"Poor child." Poppy said tearfully and gently smoothed his blankets. "I hope he is not trapped in a nightmare loop. He may not wake up from one of those."
"The times during activity are not exact and would suggest otherwise." Severus shook his head. He sighed and covered his face with his hands. It had been a long night and he had gotten no rest. He was exhausted. He moved his hands to look down at Harry. He was looking healthier than he had in a very long time. He'd gained five and a half inches and almost twenty pounds. But his eyes were blank and staring. He wasn't responsive. There was nothing Severus could do for him. They had cast the healing spell. He had done his best. The rest was up to Harry alone. It had never been harder to do nothing.
"Severus, you need to rest." Poppy said kindly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Harry is strong. He'll pull through this."
"I know." Severus nodded. "I'm going to take him back to his room. He would prefer it."
Poppy wanted to argue, but couldn't. She'd never seen Severus like this. Narcissa gave her a discreet shake of the head and she sighed. "Fine. But I'm coming down three times a day to check on him."
"That would be appreciated." Severus cast a weightless charm and cradled his son in his arms.
…
Narcissa went looking for Draco as Severus tended to Harry. She expected him to be in the Slytherin common room, but no one had seen him. The Slytherins happily said they'd help look for him and went running off to see their returned friend and leader. They promised to send her a spell message when they found him. Narcissa went looking in the gardens, but as time passed and no message found her and her son didn't appear, she began to grow fearful. She went to the headmaster.
"The students go to and from Hogsmeade all the time now and I rarely check the wards." Dumbledore muttered and cried, "Aha! I found him. He left exactly two hours and thirty-seven minutes ago."
"That was about the time he left the infirmary. He must have left immediately from there," Narcissa said with a deep frown. Her instincts were blaring that something was wrong. "Perhaps he went to meet with business contacts."
"Most likely, my dear. I can't see him leaving the DA or Harry for any other reason." Dumbledore smiled reassuringly.
"Of course." She curtsied stiffly and strode from the room, intent on finding her son. With a swoosh of her wand, she called Pansy, Gregory, and Vincent to meet her at the front doors. She had a feeling she'd need their backup for this.
…
Draco apperated onto Private Drive like a vengeful angel. His robes were open and flaring out in the brisk December breeze. He had purposefully left his thigh length hair loose and it shimmered white in the sun. His eyes were hard, like mirrors, and his mouth was smiling. It had taken him too much time to get the exact location of Privet Drive, but now he was here and there was nothing that would stop him. He stepped forward deliberately. If his clothes and hair were snapping more violently than the wind could explain, no one looked long enough to notice. Curtains were pulled tightly shut in his wake. Draco's smile got bigger.
…
Vernon Dursley had been having a very, very bad winter. His wife had divorced him and even his son had turned his back and all because he had taught that Freak the lesson he deserved. That worthless Freak should never have been born. Why should they care that he was getting what was due him? They knew he was right to do what he did. That Freak must have spelled them. Yes. That was it. He had spelled them. The next time he saw that little Freak he'd make him set his family right. And then he'd kill him good.
Vernon nursed his dark thoughts and his pint of beer as he did every morning. The waitress at the pub no longer questioned him ordering alcohol with his breakfast before work. He hadn't been completely sober since the end of summer. The same thoughts occupied his mind, hardly ever changing. He was in danger of losing his job. It was just another thing to hate and blame the Freak for. Plotting the Freak's death was the only happiness left to him.
…
"Hello, Petunia. We need to talk." Draco said, his smile stretching wider.
Petunia went pale and backed away from the wizard on her doorstep. Tears fell down her cheeks and knowledge bloomed in her eyes. She knew why he was here and she deserved whatever he was about to do to her. But she had a son who, though he had participated in the abuse, was innocent. She had to survive to take care of him since Vernon was gone. Dudley may have hurt Harry, but he had been raised to do so. He knew better now and didn't deserve to lose his mother.
"I'm sorry." She whispered as Draco stepped in and shut the door behind him. He never once looked away from her eyes. "I didn't lift a finger for Harry and treated him badly. I was wrong and I'll make up for it any way I can, but don't kill me. My son needs me."
"Harry needed you." Draco was practically singing in his low, slow voice.
"I know." Petunia sobbed, clutching her apron in her hands. "I know he did and I was horrible to him. I will go to Hell for what I did to that child, but, please, I can help fix the damage I've done to my son. Punish me, make me suffer, but allow me to do that. For Harry and for my son."
"He was beaten. He bled in your house. He wept here. He begged for your love and slaved to please you." Draco said it gently, like he would to a small child. "You taught him fear and helplessness. You taught him self-denial and self-hate. You taught him anger."
Petunia collapsed against the wall, pictures fell and glass broke. She was sobbing and wretched, but she couldn't look away from his glowing eyes. In them, she could see herself and she saw she was ugly.
"Oh, god, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She moaned and sank to the floor. She didn't care that she sat on glass and it was cutting her. That was nothing. Nothing she didn't deserve.
"Stop."
Draco turned his unblinking eyes to the kitchen doorway. Dudley stood there. He was still grossly overweight. "I haven't done anything." He smiled and gestured at Petunia. "I've not touched her."
"It's some magic then." Dudley was red-faced with anger. "You leave her alone!"
"I'm here to collect on the rent." Draco flicked his fingers toward the living room.
"We've paid off this house. We don't owe rent." Dudley was confused on top of being angry.
"You've demanded pain from Harry to live here. You're a bit late paying up on your share." Draco smiled again.
"Harry…" Dudley shifted uncomfortably. "You know Harry? He's… alright?"
"He's going to be." Draco shrugged.
"I'm sorry for what happened to him. Even if he is… magic." Dudley looked down at his mother. "What Dad did was wrong. That's why we've kicked him out and never see him. He's gone. So leave us alone. What more can you want from us?"
"Vernon Dursley is gone." Draco repeated airily.
"Yes." Petunia pulled herself to her feet. She was still trembling. "I've divorced him and he's nothing to do with us anymore. What he did… It was indefensible. So is what I've done. But, please, Dudley doesn't know any better. Let me fix my mistake."
"You can never fix it." Draco tisked her gently. "It's way too late for that. Tell me where Vernon has gone."
"We don't know!" Dudley yelled angrily. "We already told you that!"
Petunia ignored her son and spoke readily, "He's gotten an apartment across town. He takes his meals in the Broken Barrel pub. He should be there now."
"Thank you." Draco half-bowed to her when he straightened he had his wand in his hand. "You both have much to pay for, but Vernon is more important right now."
He flicked his wrist and light filled the hallway. Petunia tried to throw herself in front of her son, but there was no escaping the spell. It saturated the air with power and malevolent intent. The very walls glowed with it. The light died away and Draco smiled. Petunia was looking at her son with an expression of terror, but it slowly melted into confusion as she could sense nothing wrong. Dudley shared the same confused look as he ran his hands over what he could touch of his body and felt nothing different.
Draco turned and left without a word. He was halfway down the street when he heard both of them scream. His smile deepened into contentment. For the rest of their lives or until Draco lifted the curse, they would have random flashbacks so vivid, they would not be able to tell they were not real until they were over. Draco had pulled the memories from the house's very walls and anchored them into their minds instead. They'd see themselves torture Harry over and over, all the while knowing it was wrong and feeling Harry's pain.
Yes, Draco thought happily. That will do for now. They can wait until I am done with Vernon Dursley.
…
Narcissa and the three Slytherins arrived at Four Privet Drive and shuddered. With the Ministry broken as it was, no one would be monitoring magic use and that was a very good thing. The Dursley house reeked of powerful dark magic, though it looked the same as those surrounding it. Straightening her spine, Narcissa strode to the front door and knocked. She got no answer.
"Do you hear that?" Greg asked. Maybe it was his training as a healer, but he was the first to notice the muted crying from inside.
…
Draco had no need to ask who Vernon Dursley was. He recognized him by his son immediately. They didn't actually look alike in the face, but the matching hair color and obesity made them familiar enough that Draco knew him immediately. Vernon was walking out of the pub just as he was about to enter and Draco almost hurt himself keeping his delighted laughter inside. He had thought this was going to be difficult, but Vernon had just made it oh so easy.
Sneering in disgust at the long-haired man, Vernon never saw the strange man reach over, but he immediately felt the pain in his elbow as Draco expertly applied pressure. "Hey, what are you…!"
"Don't cause a scene." Draco purred. "I have something you want to see and you want it kept secret."
"And what's that!" Vernon bellowed, suspicion was growing behind his hating eyes.
"A certain nephew captured and ready for disposal. We thought you would like the honor of taking his life and we don't want the mess." Draco answered, all the while guiding him toward an alley.
Vernon's face lit up with understanding and delight. "Of course," he murmured quietly. "Lead the way."
Draco got them into the shadows of the alley and apperated them both. He was prepared to deal with Vernon. He had made sure he had the perfect punishment ready before he started looking for Privet Drive. They arrived in a small room. The walls were wood and the ground was stone. A cellar of some kind. It was very cold. Men and woman were there. They were dressed in robes of the purest white. All the hoods were pulled up. Draco smiled widely and allowed Vernon to fall, retching, to the floor. Muggles never did react well to apperation.
"Greetings and welcome, young Lord." A woman stepped in front of the crowd of seven. "You left us an interesting message and I've brought three Masters of the Art and their favored apprentices."
"I promised you a subject worthy of your Art. I swore it on my honor as a Lord, as a Malfoy, as a wizard." Draco bowed deeply. "I only ask in return you allow me to watch until I am ready to depart."
"First, let us be the judge of the perfection of this subject. He is unimpressive." The woman's voice was thick with disbelief.
"You're sect is an ancient and unspoken one. You worship Christ and are sworn to help His cause."
"We know who and what we are." A man from the back spoke. "We take the souls who commit conscious evils willingly and for pleasure and we inflict onto them pain that will rival that which they will feel in Hell, in hopes that we can begin the cleansing process and lessen God's work. This man is wretched, indeed, but it is more than wretchedness that will make a person vile enough for our merciful Art."
"Oh, he is evil. I assure you of that." Draco stared down on the man that would shatter Harry with terror if he ever laid eyes on him again. "He was given into his care a very special magical child. A child with the purest soul. Harry James Potter."
The men and woman gasped. Draco knew they revered Harry. They believed he was a gift to humanity from God. A saint. That was why he could survive the Killing Curse. There was no inherent evil within Harry to allow the spell access to his soul, separating it permanently from his body. Instead, it bounced off of him and stuck the Dark Lord were it found an ample doorway. Draco sighed in satisfaction. These people would truly see that Vernon Dursley paid entirely for what he had done.
"He hated the child immediately because he was different. To him, different equals evil. He put him in a cupboard under the stairs as his bedroom, locking him in as punishment often and withholding food and water. Starved and told he was a Freak and worthless, Harry still tried to please him. He did chores frantically, but they were impossible for his small body. He never got it right and he wept that he couldn't do as this man wanted, this man who was suppose to be his second father. Vernon tried to hit him. His magic interfered. So he hurt him as much as he could with disappointment, hatred, and verbal degradation.
"Harry still protected this man. He never told what was happening, partly because he believed that he was worthless just as Vernon told him. And partly because he still saw him as family, and he could never hurt his family willingly no matter what they did to him. Unfortunately, though Vernon couldn't break Harry's spirit, the world could. Voldemort attacked him and kept at him. Good people and friends died standing between this evil man and Harry, and Harry took the guilt onto himself. He felt he needed to be punished for allowing good people to die.
"This summer, this man struck him and Harry's magic didn't protect him. Gleeful, Vernon began to physically abuse Harry. He slowly thought of more creative ways to make him bleed and cry and scream. He held back at first, afraid to be caught and punished. But when he realized no one was watching and no one was coming, he gave into his desires completely. He reveled in hurting Harry, but he wanted more. He planned it well and found a way to counteract Harry's magic in case Harry finally had enough and stopped him. He drugged his food and a battered Harry innocently ate.
"I do not know what it was, but it paralyzed his body, leaving him sensation. It blocked his magic, but left his mind clear and aware. Vernon came and he gleefully Desecrated Harry Potter. Or shall I be blunt and use muggle words. Vernon Dursley raped him. Even now he can't understand why his wife and son repudiated him and kicked him out. Even now he wants to find Harry and hurt him. Tell me. Is this evil enough for you? To take the most innocent of children, a one year old, and start abusing him. To starve a three year old. To make a seven year old believe he is a worthless Freak. To take a grieving fifteen year old, weeping for the unjustly dead, and Desecrate them. Tell me this man is not evil enough to begin purification by your Holy Art."
There was silence. The woman in the front, though Draco couldn't see her face, was visibly trembling. It was the man who spoke and his voice was quiet, but beneath it Draco could hear rage howling. "Yes. He is evil enough."
"What… what the bloody… hell is going on…" Vernon was sitting up, still looking very sick and disorientated.
"Hell is right, son of Adam. You will go through Hell and be returned to your weeping Father. Have no more fear for your immortal soul. It is in good, capable hands." The woman intoned and the others surged forward.
Draco backed away and smiled. He closed his eyes and leaned against the cellar wall as he listened to the delicate introduction to the Art of Torture these Masters were giving Vernon Dursley. They could make their subjects last years with their sanity intact. They usually had them begging for the pain by then. Draco smiled as outraged screams and threats turned slowly to fear to terror to agony. He listened and he heard Harry's whimpers and screams in his memory, and he knew Vernon hadn't suffered nearly enough yet. But he would. Draco felt completely confident in that. Content, he apperated back to Surrey. He wasn't done yet.
…
Narcissa sat with Petunia in the kitchen. Dudley was upstairs in bed, unconscious from the strain. Greg was sitting with him, monitoring his heart for fear of a heart attack. Vince and Pansy were sitting with Narcissa, not sure why they were here or who this Muggle woman was. All they knew was she had been cursed and she looked utterly beaten and horrified by whatever the curse was doing to her.
"I must insist you describe what the fit was like." Narcissa coaxed. "I can not begin to try and reverse what was done if I do not know the symptoms."
"At least tell us who cursed you." Pansy spoke up. She knew Narcissa thought it was Draco, but why would he come and torture Muggles? What purpose did it serve?
"No." Petunia moaned. "I can't tell you. Help my son and go."
"He's unconscious. He can't tell us what's wrong." Narcissa was impatient. "Tell me or he could die."
Petunia burst into tears, muttering over and over, "What have I done?"
Pansy and Vince shared a long look. "Maybe we should have tea?" The girl offered. They could slip a calming potion into it. Greg always carried around enough shrunken potions they could practically fill a cabinet.
"Yes." Narcissa relented.
Vincent putted around the kitchen, but had no idea how to make tea in a Muggle home. Pansy didn't bother trying to help. She knew she'd only make it worse. Fifteen minutes went by and Petunia was only now starting to calm. Greg returned then and the woman looked up at him pleadingly.
"Tell me my son is alright."
"He is fine. He's sleeping." Greg reassured her. "Can you tell me what caused this?"
Petunia shuddered. "Memories. They are memories. They wash over you and you think you're really there, that it's really happening, but you can't move to stop it. You can only watch and sometimes you can even feel what… oh, god." Petunia buried her face in her hands and began to weep again.
"I've never heard of anything like that." Vincent fretted.
"I have." Narcissa rose and faced a wall. Carefully she enunciated the spell that would activate the residues absorbed by the house and make memories re-play in the caster's mind. Nothing. The walls were blank as if the house were newly built.
"But…" Pansy spluttered. It was unheard of. Transferring the impressions from a building or object into a person's mind, and to go further and make those memories rise up and attack the mind like that…
"With enough will and ingenuity, magic can do anything. Just don't expect to duplicate the effect." Narcissa murmured thoughtfully. "It will be impossible to recreate the intensity and need to do it again. That's why we use everyday spells. They always work and are predictable, but magic is inherently power and the force of your will on reality. Harry has wish-magic all the time now because of the amount of power he can channel and has access to. This is just more of the same."
"Why would Draco do this?" Vincent shook his head.
"Because they deserve it."
They all spun to face the kitchen door. Draco stood there. His face was impassive, but his eyes revealed anger. He was not happy to see them. Pansy opened her mouth to say something, but Greg grabbed her arm warningly. For once, she heeded him and held her silence. No one moved. Petunia began to cry harder. Eventually Narcissa broke and moved toward her son.
"Draco. You've done what you came to do. Let's go back."
"I have only begun, Mother." Draco answered. He tilted his head just so and Narcissa froze. She knew that stance. He was preparing to attack her. Vince must have recognized it, too. He spoke and tried to split Draco's attention between them.
"Why did you do it? Who are they?"
"They are…" Draco's eyes slid to land on Petunia. Even hysterical she felt that gaze and looked up to meet it. Draco smiled his gentle smile. "Monsters." Petunia flinched and crumpled a little more.
"What did they do?" Pansy whispered, morbidly curious. What in the world could get Draco acting like this? She had heard of the Malfoy's cold fury. It was described as frozen rain, slowly falling, slowly biting into the skin, tearing it away until bones were all that were left. It fueled ghost stories when she was little, but she was beginning to see the truth and she was growing afraid.
"They abused an innocent child. They made him believe he was unnatural and ugly. They made him slave in the kitchen, slave to keep the house clean, slave to repair things he had no idea how to fix, slave in the garden to make it beautiful for them. They starved him. They beat him. They neglected him and never once showed that child love… They did worse than all that and more." Draco was practically purring. His eyes were wide and unblinking as they stared predatorily down at the broken woman. "She is not suffering by my hand or by spell. She is suffering at her own hands. She sees clearly what she has done. I've only given her truth. And a little of what her victim felt at her hands. The same with her son."
The room was silent. They Slytherins stared at the woman in fascinated horror. Narcissa watched her son and realized she made a huge mistake to ever believe Draco's feelings for Harry Potter had lessened. They had grown greater with the absence of the bond and the return of all he was. He was revenging his only love. He would not rest until he was done. Draco wouldn't be able to even breathe without pain until he felt the ones who had hurt Harry so were aptly punished. Unlike the others, she was very familiar to a Malfoy's fury. Blacks were famous for their tempers and their insanity, but they had nothing on a Malfoy once descended into true rage.
"What more do you plan to do here, son?" she asked neutrally. She knew she would be removed if she made even the slightest hint that she would interfere. She only hoped the Slytherins would stand true to their House and catch on. She'd hate to see them hurt.
"They are suffering. But I need more. I need them to sink to the level of pure despair that they made that innocent boy sink to. Then… Then they will have to give something back. As a token of repentance to reimburse Harry, even just a little bit."
Pansy gasped. Greg's hands clenched into fists and Vince hissed through his teeth. This was about Potter. This was Potter's family. It finally hit them and they realized the truth of this little house, the horrors that must have been stored there and now were inside Petunia and Dudley's minds. They now understood Draco's anger. And they feared. Feared Draco and what he may do.
"And how do you plan to do that?" Narcissa asked.
Draco gazed at Petunia thoughtfully. "Where is Dudley?"
"Upstairs sleeping. He suffered heart strain and was unconscious when we arrived. Petunia was weeping in a corner," she answered him.
"How many attacks have they had since I've been gone?"
"One." Petunia whispered. "It was only one. You mean it will happen again?"
"Oh yes." Draco smiled. "It will happen again and again. Randomly. You'll never know before it starts." She burst into tears, begging him to relent. Promising that she was sorry and she would give anything for him to remove the spell. Draco was unmoved. He weighed her distress with his eyes and seemed to come to a conclusion. "No. I will not remove it. If this is how you are after one attack, this will be good enough for now. I will be back and then we will talk of your penance to Harry. This is just getting even. Remember that. You still owe him something."
Petunia was weeping too hard to answer.
"And if Dudley heart gives?" Narcissa asked coldly. "He can not suffer if he is dead."
"Oh, I'm sure some would believe he would indeed suffer once he is dead." Draco answered cryptically. "But no… No, no, no, I can't have him dieing before he gives Harry something. It was heart strain you said? It's because he's so… how do I say it… Fat. Yes. Fat. He's so fat and weak. But that is easily fixed."
"That's impossible." Greg breathed. There were potions and spells to make you lose weight, but it took time and exercise. Draco was hinting at something completely different.
"Nothing is impossible if you want it just badly enough." Draco smiled the cold gentle smile. "And oh how I want it."
He turned and stalked up the stairs. He moved slowly, hypnotically. Like a hunting cat stalking its prey, careful not to move too quickly or abruptly and startle it. Pansy shivered and clutched at Vince's arm. Vince was pale and so was Greg, but they still moved to follow Draco and witness what he was about to do. Narcissa held them back. They stood group together and felt magic rise like the tide and howl above their heads. It was powerful and wild, barely contained or directed since no incantation or strict wand movements were used. Only Draco's blade-sharp will was there to guide it. It proved strong enough and the spell ended without breaking completely free and killing them all and destroying this Muggle block with them.
"Mum! Mum! Look! Look at me! I feel… Mum! I feel Great!" Dudley came pelting into the room.
The wizards and witches unnoticed by the ecstatic teen stared in pure awe. Dudley no longer looked like his father. He looked, in fact, a bit like Lily. He had soft golden hair and shapely eyebrows on a strong face that possessed a pointed chin and large eyes. His were blue, but they still had the same shape as Harry's. His build was strong, like a tall swimmer. His hands, Merlin, they were small! The fingers short, the wrists delicate almost. Like Petunia. Dudley definitely took more after his mother than his father.
Petunia was staring at him with joy in her face. "Dudley? My baby?"
"It's me, Mum!" Dudley embraced her laughing. "Can you believe it? I… Magic still makes me… Well, it's…" He coughed uncomfortably. "But look what it did to me! I think… I think I don't hate it so much anymore."
"Oh, Dudders…" Petunia held him and wept at her son's innocence.
"Your mother knows better." Draco tisked from the door. He was smiling playfully. "You won't be thankful for long, little Dudley. Magic made you better. But it will keep making you better on the inside and out, and unlike the physical remedy, the spiritual one will be quite painful."
"Please," Petunia moaned. "Please, don't. He didn't know any better. He was taught hate from his father and his mother. He didn't know he was doing wrong. I'm fixing that now. Allow me to fix it. Don't show him… Don't make him see what I have to see."
"Petunia, dear, he knew he was causing pain. He knew pain is undesirable in himself. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that pain is bad and giving others pain is therefore bad. In any case, he will soon know what he did was wrong. This isn't a lesson you should spare to teach him." Draco lectured.
"What are you talking about?" Dudley wanted to know. "And who are they?"
"No one, Dudley." Draco even pet his head. "No one. You have much to talk about with your mother. She will explain the sickness you have caught. I will be back later to check up on you."
"I'm sick?" Dudley panicked and looked to his mother.
Draco grinned as Petunia broke down in tears over her pitiful, oblivious son. He collected the others with his eyes and lead them away. No one spoke. Draco hardly acknowledged them. He was feeling too satisfied to really noticed them, happily reviewing his work. He hardly even noticed when they all apperated back to Hogsmeade and began the walk back to school. He never heard that he was humming.
"We… We have a DA meeting to go to." Pansy said faintly as they reached the castle doors. "Will he… be there?"
"I don't believe Draco will make it." Narcissa answered tiredly.
"We'll make excuses for him." Greg answered and the three Slytherins went toward the Room of Requirement. Draco and Narcissa went toward the infirmary instead.
"I want to see him alone." Draco spoke up and Narcissa's heart almost stopped beating in fright at the ice still in his tone. Silver eyes turned to meet her blue ones. "Go, Mother. Leave me with him."
"He's not there. He's in the dungeons." She flushed. She had been preoccupied and didn't even think to tell him.
Draco snarled. "Go and tend the DA." Magic cackled about him and his hair flared up like wings behind him. Narcissa turned and walked hurriedly away.
…
Harry lay in their bedroom. The second bed had been replaced and he lay tucked lovingly into the covers. Severus hadn't wanted to leave his bedside, but Remus had managed to maneuver him from the room. Draco stepped forward and released a long, low sigh. Returning was like coming home, coming back to himself. The rage and vengeance fueling him faded and all he felt was tender care for the young man that lay in the bed.
"Harry." He whispered the name, caressed it. "Harry, love, I'm back." The tension in Harry's sleeping face eased a bit and Draco laughed softly. "Yes, I am here. I will always return to you." Draco sat in the chair and took up Harry's hand. "You know, now that I remember wholly who I was, and now that I don't have your powerful emotions overshadowing my own, I realize that I love you more now than ever. I can appreciate you better. You're such a little lion." He laughed again and brushed his free hand through Harry's hair. "Standing up to me like you did all those years when I must have reminded you terribly of your terrifying cousin. Standing up to everyone. Maybe those fanatics are right and you are a saint. I don't know how else to explain you. You're so damn Slytherin, too. To have hid your pain for so long. To have endured so long without telling your secrets. You have to stop that, you know. I won't allow you to hide your wounds from me."
Draco's hand tightened around Harry's and his wistful mood shifted abruptly to grief. He sat rigid, breathing fast. Draco didn't try to stem the panic attack. He couldn't demand Harry to show him his hurts and keep his own hidden in return. So he let it come and he rode it out. When he could breath easily again, he realized he was crying.
"Beloved, you must come back to me. You can't hide from what happened. For me, you must face it and put it in its place and return to reality. You can't leave me alone because I can't live in a world that could hurt you as it did and let you die as well. Merlin, listen to me. Do you hear what you've done to the great Draco Malfoy? I'm practically spouting poetry here!"
He sighed and draped his upper body over Harry's. "Take your time, love. I don't care as long as you beat them. I'll wait for a while. I'm sure I'll let you know when I begin to grow impatient." He chuckled. "Oh, do hurry back. I can't wait for you to learn how your family is paying for what they've done. I'm well aware you don't want them to be hurt, but even you can't get made at what I did to your dreadful aunt and cousin. They are basically punishing themselves. You can't object to that. And as for your uncle… well… I can't really guess how you would feel about what I've given him to. You'd probably disapprove just on general principle, but I'm going to have to insist on this one. He's a right evil prick and getting what he deserves. In this relationship, you're just going to have to humor me sometimes and this is one of those times.
"I do promise I won't neglect our duties, though." Draco sighed and sat up a bit. He put his mouth right above his love's and carefully inhaled when Harry exhaled, breathing out when Harry breathed in. "I love you, Harry Potter. I vowed never to say that to any other human being. But I'm saying it to you. I love you. So you better come back soon, Baby, or I might get very annoyed with you."
Draco gently kissed his lips. A small part of him worried that Harry wouldn't survive, but mostly he remembered Harry's strength and didn't doubt his return. He kissed him again, lingering a bit. He couldn't help it. Even with him unconscious, it felt so good to be with Harry. Finally, Draco tore himself away with another sigh. He carelessly braided his hair and flung it over his shoulder.
"I'm no good at that," he complained. "I'm going to look a mess until you go back to doing it for me." Draco eyed him. "You better not be smirking." He smiled with warm affection. "Kick those bastards once for me." And Draco turned and left the room. He had a DA meeting to crash. He wouldn't let Harry down.
Chapter end.
A/N: Next chapter will show what is going on in Harry's head. I think there will only be two more chapters after that one, so this story will be about 29 chapters long. It may run over a bit. It depends. The story's kinda taking on a life of its own at the moment. It's being very difficult to pin down and commit to paper. Sorry.
