A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. This story contains dark themes and gruesome subject matter. Please enjoy!
Chapter Two: Abandon All Hope
Draco Malfoy surveyed the room that was to be his according to Potter's house elf. It was pleasant enough. A fire roared in the fireplace, casting the room in a soft glow. A large, inviting bed sat in the middle of the wall to his left, while there was an armoire and a desk in the corner to his right. A bookshelf lined the wall directly in front of him with thick, leatherbound tomes.
Draco made his way to one of two windows on the wall with the bookshelf and gazed outside. He gasped. A half moon cast pale light onto a snowy landscape. Tall pine trees created a natural border to the manor's grounds. Just where were they? How could he get out?
Potter had said that there were anti-apparation wards on the premises. How far out did they go? If there were a village or town nearby, perhaps he could find help or even a way back home. He eyed the trees. What lurked out in the darkness?
"It has to be better than being Potter's prisoner," Draco sighed. He didn't have long to try to make his escape. More wizards, witches, and who knew what else would be arriving to answer Potter's call.
If it was going to happen it had to be now.
The blond wizard pulled out his wand and cast a warming charm on himself. He tried to open the window and was surprised to find that it opened very easily. Perhaps this wouldn't be as difficult as he had thought. Maybe Potter wasn't that smart after all. He chuckled to himself and sat on the ledge.
The snow was high enough that he wouldn't even need to worry about the fall. He pushed himself out and landed with a soft thud in the white powder. The wizard stood and glanced back. He bit back a scream.
There in the center of the room stood the house elf Carna, holding a tray of food. Murder burned in her large dark eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before Draco growled and bolted in the opposite direction. He ran as fast as he could toward the trees. As he placed a hand on a trunk for support, he glanced back.
Carna had disappeared.
No doubt to tell her master. Draco thought bitterly. I must keep moving. No choice now.
He made his way into the dense wood, the sound of crisp snow crunching beneath his feet. Draco cast the four-point spell and watched as his wand floated in front of him, pointing north. Now he would just need to follow his wand until he found some form of civilization. He hoped that Potter and Carna were not on his trail. He would be unable to beat Potter and he did not want to find out what the wizard would do to him in his anger.
Draco gripped his arm that once bore the dark mark and shivered. The pain was still fresh in his mind. Potter had done that while seemingly in a good mood.
His heart clenched in his chest as an ear-piercing howl rang out across the frozen wood. Then he heard the snap of a twig. He whipped his head in the direction of the sound and he found himself unable to move.
He was in the presence of six black wolves. They were each the size of a horse, black, and their eyes burned the same green fire that had lit up Harry Potter's eyes on the Astronomy Tower. A rotten stench filled the air and it burned in Draco's nostrils. He wanted to run. He needed to run.
The wolves approached slowly. Deliberately. Draco could swear that they were smiling as their lips peeled back to reveal dagger-like teeth. The wizard snapped out of his fear-induced trance and seized his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A sickly green light hit the nearest of the wolves dead in the face. It did nothing.
Draco cried out in frustration and shock before turning on his heel and making a run for it. He heard the paws hitting the snow as the creatures gave chase. He felt tremors with each footfall. His chest was on fire but stopping was not an option.
Suddenly, a horrific pain shot through his left leg. He stumbled and fell. The scent of blood pervaded the air. He looked down to see torn cloth and a gash in his calf. His blood shone in the moonlight, both on the snowfall and the nearest wolf's fangs.
"I refuse to die here," Draco hissed. "Do you hear me you mangey mutts?"
Grunts left the wolves' mouths as if they were laughing at him.
"I…I am Draco Lucius Malfoy. I am a pureblood wizard. I will not be felled by animals!" He raised his wand and shouted "Incendio!" hitting the wolf that bit him in its ugly muzzle. The smell of burnt hair overwhelmed the smell of blood.
It was not amused.
It shook itself as embers glowed at the end of its charred fur. Its flesh seemed completely unharmed.
A volley of spells followed. From cutting curses to stinging hexes. Even the cruciatus curse wasn't enough.
The wolves began circling, having shrugged off everything that Draco could muster.
This was it. This was how Draco was going to die. He cursed Potter as he rose to his feet, ignoring the searing pain in his leg. He spit on the ground in front of the wolf that bit him.
It lunged.
What happened next was a blur as a flash of silver caught the wolf in midair. Warmth splashed across Draco's pale face. Blood. The wolf's blood. He struggled to hold himself up as he watched the other wolves turn toward the direction the flash of silver came from.
Draco looked down. The flash had been a silver throwing axe which was now embedded deep in the large wolf's skull.
The rest of the pack charged at what appeared to be three hooded figures. One male, two female. The male held two more axes in his hands while one woman held a large silver sword in both of hers. The other wielded a bow and arrows that Draco presumed were tipped with silver heads.
He leaned against a tree and hoped that axe throw was more than luck. His saviors would be greatly rewarded once he was able to inform his parents of their part in rescuing him. He grinned. Maybe things were finally looking up.
He watched in fascination as the woman with the sword cleaved a wolf in twain, spilling its guts all over the ground and covering her in its blood. She laughed. Her voice had a musical quality to it. Light and airy. Come to think of it, she was a tad small to be lifting her weapon with the ease which she did.
Draco watched as two more wolves fell as they were caught by arrows to their temples. He hated the feeling of inferiority that welled up within him. These people were killing these beasts with such ease when he couldn't even kill one with a killing curse!
The archer screamed as a wolf caught her off guard with its fangs sinking into her right arm and proceeded to rip it off after a savage twist. Strangely enough, no blood spilled from her torso or the disconnected appendage. Draco's eyebrows shot up in alarm. His saviors weren't human!
The man finished hacking one of the wolves to death and threw one of his axes into the forehead of the wolf that still held a severed arm in its maw. It dropped the arm but remained standing. It staggered and made like it was going to attack. Instead of the leap that had threatened Draco, however, it merely tumbled forward and gave an almost annoyed huff as it died.
The woman who lost her arm knelt and gazed at the wounds the wolf had inflicted on it. She then looked up at Draco. That was when he saw her eyes. They were the color of the setting sun and glowed under her hood. He looked to the other two and they had the same burning eyes.
"You were fortunate that the Master sent us after you boy," The man said pushing down his hood. His skin looked like that of a corpse. Whereas steam escaped Draco's mouth and nose, a product of his labored breathing, the same could not be said for his saviors.
"Stupid," The archer said, picking up her arm. "Very stupid indeed. What did you think you were going to accomplish? Worse things prowl this wood than either we or the Malfean wolves."
"The Mal…what?" Draco asked.
"Those wolves," the woman with the sword spoke. "They are spirits from the realm of Malfeas."
"As are we," the man said. "I believe the people of your world refer to it as Hell."
Draco's eyes widened.
"Yes, we are demons. We were summoned by the Master and bound to his service. He sent us to subdue and collect you." The swordswoman purred. "Though it seems those lesser spirits did that part of our job for us."
"I grow hungry," the archer said. "He owes me for giving my arm up for him." She eyed him with a predatory grin. "Just a bit of flesh, boy. You won't even miss it."
Draco blanched and glanced around frantically for a way to escape. There was none.
The woman approached, baring her teeth, ready to sink them into whatever part of his body she could reach, when she was yanked back by an invisible force. The snow crunched under her body as she bounced aways before coming to a stop several feet away.
"Enough!" a booming voice echoed through the trees.
Draco looked to his left, where there had been nothing before, and saw Harry Potter with the house elf Carna at his side. His eyes were burning with Malfean fire as he strode to where the demons were standing.
"I told you to capture him and bring him back to me." He said with an eerie calm to his words. "I do not recall giving any of you permission to eat him."
"But Master, my arm…"
"Is worth less than a hair on Draco Malfoy's head to me," Harry interrupted. "Besides, he is not what you require. There is nothing innocent about him." He gave Draco a smile. Then he conjured a bag, reached into it, and pulled out…
Draco nearly lost the contents of his stomach as he saw what Harry was giving these creatures to eat.
Potter dangled it as if he were offering a treat to dogs and tossed it to the ground.
The demons fell upon it. The sounds of ripping, crunching, and squishing filled the air as did the scent of fresh blood. A wail of pain rang out before being silenced by a sickening crack.
That was too much for Draco's mind and heart to bear. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he was enveloped in merciful unconsciousness.
It was sometime later before the Malfoy heir returned to the land of the living. As his eyes fluttered open, he found himself laying in the large bed in the room Harry had provided for him. He tried to sit up, but found his body racked with pain. He laid back into the mattress to the sound of chuckling next to him. Harry was sitting in a chair next to the bed with a cup of tea in his hands.
"You had yourself quite a first night with us Draco,"
"How long have I been out?"
"Not too long," Harry sipped his tea, emptying the contents. "A few hours at most." He placed the cup on the nightstand and reached toward Draco who flinched back. "You don't need to be afraid. I meant what I said before your foolish little escape attempt. I want you by my side. Your fear is understandable, but useless. Let it go. I have so much to show you."
A pop indicated the arrival of Carna. She presented Harry with a bottle and vanished.
"Here, drink this," Harry pressed the bottle to Draco's lips. "For your pain. There…good." Draco swallowed the potion (as if he had a choice) and instantly felt the aching in his muscles recede. "Get dressed and join me in the study." Harry rose and left the room, giving Draco a meaningful look that went from him to the window and shook his head with a smirk as he went.
Draco sat up and noticed a set of simple black robes folded at the foot of the bed. He put them on and walked out into the hallway. Carna stood there with her arms folded. She rolled her eyes and indicated for him to follow her. As they walked Draco broke the silence.
"You don't act like any house elf I've known,"
"I'm not like any house elf you've known," came the biting reply. "Master gave you a warm invitation to join him and you spit back in his face by trying to leave without telling him." She stopped and turned toward him.
Draco took a step back as shadows seemed to radiate from the house elf and slither along the floor, walls, and ceiling toward him. Her eyes were black but seemed almost fluid in the way they moved in her skull.
"I strongly advise you to not take that particular course of action again if you value your life or your sanity, because I will take both from you if you ever disrespect the Master like that again. Do I make myself clear?"
"Tr..Tra..transparently," Draco stuttered. The shadows lifted and Carna smiled happily.
"Great! Well then, now that that is cleared up, let us not keep the Master waiting!"
"Lead the way,"
They walked for a few more minutes, Carna humming happily to herself. They came to a large wooden door and Carna turned. Her face shifted for a moment and what met Draco's gaze for that small amount of time threatened knock him out again to preserve his awareness.
"Carna…" a warning tone came through the door. Draco blinked and Carna was walking away, a skip in her step. He shook himself and entered the study.
The first thing that caught Draco's attention was the orb and pedestal in the center of the room. He went to look at it, but as he approached, he felt increasingly uneasy. He stepped back and looked over to where Harry stood by a fireplace.
Draco's eyes drifted up to a portrait that hung above said fireplace and inhaled sharply. The painting was of a beautiful young girl who was being burned at the stake. Her mouth was open in a silent scream. He noted that this picture did not move like the pictures in the wizarding world. There was an inscription within the frame: La trahison du createur.
"The Creator's Betrayal," Harry said softly.
"Who is she?" Draco asked.
"One of my heroes from before I began this journey," Harry replied. "I fought with her."
"You fought with her?"
"Yes, she believed herself to be on a mission from God to liberate France from the English," He reached up and ran his fingers along the paintings frame. "I believed her. She was so certain of her purpose. It was infectious. Your aunt Bellatrix reminds me of her."
"How could my psycho aunt remind you of a supposed holy woman?"
"She is her dark reflection. She has given herself over to her Lord so completely and believes in his cause so wholly that she is willing to martyr herself for it." He gave Draco an intense look. "I do not intend to let that happen."
"How long ago was this?"
"Five centuries, give or take," Harry replied. "I painted this."
"Did you?"
"Yes, from memory,"
"You were there,"
"Yeah, it was the moment I realized the truth,"
"Which is?"
"This world is broken. Imperfect. Illusory," Harry said. "So, in my anger I turned to the only place other than God that I knew from my Catholic upbringing: The Devil." He walked over to a nearby chair and sat down. "The spiritual world was not quite so binary as I came to discover, but Satanism was my first fumbling into the darkness. I began to devour occult literature and dipped my toes into sacrificial blood."
Draco sat across from him and listened intently.
"I was a nobleman," Harry smiled in remembrance. "It was so easy to acquire victims for my rituals. I even formed a coven with my cousin and a few servants. We were children playing at godhood. Eventually, I discovered that there were greater beings than even the Devil to serve. Beings that existed before the Light in the great primordial abyss that was the canvas for our reality. The Light created a barrier between our reality and the realities of the Outer Ones. Now they can only communicate through dreams or certain objects."
Draco glanced over to the orb that floated in the center of the room.
Harry nodded.
"One such being communes with me through the orb. The being to whom I gave of my essence. To whom I gave everything in exchange for the immortality necessary to accomplish my deepest desire."
"Which is?"
"To punish the creator for their betrayal and to destroy this 'reality.'"
"You sound mad!"
"Indeed. Perhaps I am," Harry sighed. "That is largely irrelevant to my offer to you though. You've seen my power for yourself and know that there is no way to escape this fate. Embrace it. If you do not agree with my philosophy, then simply use me for your own ends as I am using you. There is no other option available aside from death or madness."
The two wizards sat in the quiet, listening to the crackling of the fire. Harry stared pensively into the fire while Draco was reeling from all the information and implications that Harry had presented him with.
Both were being watched by innumerable eyes coming in and out of existence and Draco almost swore he heard a growl rumble just beneath the sound of the wood popping in the fireplace.