Woo! Number 2 all out and ready. I'm so proud of myself lmao. Anyway, thank you so very very much to everyone who left kudos and all my love to those of you to took the time to leave a review of any length (but especially the long reviews because they warm my heart to bursting)! Now, enjoy!

Harry tried, he really did. But with his magic screaming at him and the chains subtly tugging, both wanting him to go in opposite directions, he sat in place and cried without tears. He cried and screamed and howled just wanting it all to stop, unable to choose between a barely remembered past and his friends in the present.

A soft tug against his being made him pause; silence falling over him in an eerie blanket. The hallways were still the same but it almost felt like someone was there with him. That he wasn't alone.

His heart skipped a beat.

No.

No, he didn't want this.

Not again.

He couldn't choose but he was always forced too.

HE DIDN'T WANT THIS.

Abruptly, his magic lashed around him, smashing into the stone walls. Stone went spraying in all directions as the energy gathered everything around it that it could into a vortex around it's wielder. Inside the eye, Harry started dry heaving, tucking his face into his knees.

Every time he thought he'd gotten free, he'd end up here, frozen between pathways. He loved his friends and couldn't leave them to their fates. They bound him to its will because they were Harry's. And yet the rest of him longed to go back. Go back to where? He didn't know but his magic yearned and his chest ached with emptiness.

And so he was stuck, always and forever frozen in between. Then it would come and force its shackles upon his being and his magic would explode violently trying to overpower the bars of the cage as it closed in on him. It never worked. Once the cage was locked, the irons secured, and his memories once again fading, his magic would thrash violently over and over and over catching Harry in its terrified raging.

It was violent and painful beyond words.

He didn't want to go through that again.

So he huddled and focused his thoughts. He wanted to cause it pain. He wanted it to suffer as he ejected it from his mind because Harry would not survive again. Not as tattered and ragged as he was, his mental body barely holding itself together even now.

He gathered the wild roaring beast around him, creating tighter and tighter lines not caring about the small scrapes from the stone and other materials his magic had picked up from his mind. It started bucking under his control, ready to lash out, but he grasped it firmly; waiting.

Sam felt David surround him again, that smoke that drifted against his mind, but this time there were little latches. Where their hands rested, David's larger ones almost completely engulfing his own, they seemed almost inseparable. He'd felt this before, of course, when his Sire was first getting him and Michael used to the pack bond. For his brother it was different, David was not his Sire and did not have nearly the control he could exert over Sam but he was still Head Vampire of their little coven and so could piggyback on any of the boys. Just with him, David could control as well. Instead of the voices in his head, David was another person in his body. A very strange feeling he could easily admit and, perhaps, if he'd had a Sire like Max Sam might feel more discomfited of it but he didn't.

David was safe and he didn't try to control his pack through fear. Honestly, he didn't really try to control his pack much at all unless it was important. Maybe that's why he felt okay doing this extremely risky procedure. David, for all his Alpha energy, protected what was his and would do so by going above and beyond normal standards if necessary. Like tracking Daniel down to another country and wrestling him from wizarding control.

Speaking of…

Are you ready?

Of course, Sam scoffed.

Sam.

He mentally recoiled and submitted at the solemnity of his name being whispered into his head.

We must be fully focused. We know nothing about this. If there's even the slightest error, we don't know what will happen. Focus.

Sam grit his teeth and nodded. He knew that. They were going to do this.

The sudden tugging feeling almost knocked his concentration off right from the bat. If he could have, Sam would have gagged at the feeling of being lurched from his own body. Is this what David felt when he-

Focus.

The word echoed and Sam mentally shook himself. He needed to find that feeling, the wriggling worm that brushed his senses but slipped away before he could catch it. It was Daniel. He knew it was.

Expanding his 'senses', he reached out through the physical connection he had to the boy. It was there dancing in the back of his mind. David was aware of it now too and with a vengeance he dived after it. Sam was dragged along with a mental yelp, as he concentrated on keeping his empathic abilities expanded to the max. It was draining, much more so than he'd thought it would be but he forced himself to continue as his Sire dragged them both deeper into the psyche of their packmate.

It could have been minutes or hours or even seconds but suddenly they both stopped abruptly. With a great woosh they tumbled to the ground, sweet grass tickling their arms and legs. With a grunt, David pulled himself up, yanking Sam up as well by a hand on his shoulder.

"What the hell just happened," he panted, trying to catch his bearings. Were they suddenly outside?

"We found his mindscape."

"Mind what?"

Blue eyes glanced at him before returning to taking in the scenery. "A mindscape is a place in a person's mind where everything is stored. The subconscious and the conscious all in one place. Most minds aren't nearly so organized to be an actual place, though. Must be a magical thing."

Well, that was somewhat helpful. "So, we are actually in Daniel's mind?"

"Can you feel him, Sam? He's everywhere and nowhere. This is the closest I've been to him since the turning…"

David's voice was soft but his eyes were hard and his claws were digging into Sam's metaphysical shoulder.

"Hey man! Ouch! Ugh, why does this still hurt?"

His Sire's hand relaxed a tad, claws retreating in silent apology.

"Because we represent our very selves in here. If we get hurt here… it's either going to affect us physically, or worse, do something to our mental state."

"Well, fuck."

"Language."

"Really, pops?"

"Don't even start you little rat."

David wouldn't admit it but he was afraid. Practically terrified. What they were doing could have so many severe consequences it wasn't even funny.

When Sam had explained his idea, he had felt a nasty stirring in his gut but he'd ignored it because he was getting a bit desperate. They couldn't leave if Daniel was still asleep because Sanguini had access to so many more resources than they did, even if David was loathe to use more favors than he already had. On the other hand, the Vampire Lord may be tolerant but eventually the man would run out of patience and kick them out which could spell disaster if the pack wasn't ready to defend itself from all fronts. Or Sanguini could call in their favors for something they wouldn't be able to provide at the moment.

With Daniel out of commission it was dragging the rest of the group down with anxiety, worry, and stress.

Bantering with Sam was only the smallest reprieve, like a tiny breath of air before you drown. Not nearly enough but still just enough to hope for another breath. Not like that was the best metaphor considering they didn't have to breathe technically, but whatever.

"So, can you feel what you did earlier? I'm completely useless here. You're the guide now."

Sam swallowed and closed his eyes (and questions about this strange experience kept adding up but he shoved them down) before slowly lifting a hand to point. It led to nowhere, just more grassy plains.

He trusted his childe's senses though and stepped forward, keeping his hand on the younger vampire's shoulder. If they lost contact he had no idea what would happen.

"Uh, David?"

"What?"

"I have to keep my eyes closed," Sam admitted quietly. "Something about the area is distracting so you'll have to make sure I don't drop into a pit or something."

David grunted in acknowledgment.

They moved forward slowly, Sam pausing every now and then and changing directions. It was quiet even though the grass moved in an invisible wind. Actually, it reminded him very uncomfortably about the muffling quality Daniel's magic had taken before.

Was the boy's magic interfering here as well?

David shook himself from his thoughts when the grass abruptly gave way to a lake and a castle standing tall in the distance.

"Well, then," he murmured thoughtfully. "This must be Hogwarts."

"It's a prison."

He glanced down in confusion. "What?"

Sam hummed. "I don't know what you see but it's a prison. There's so many negative feelings layered over empty space then more emotions then… It's so weird. But definitely meant to keep something in."

The blond frowned. An illusion then. Could he break it? Should he?

"I think there's a way in? It's where his emotions are leaking out, at least. No wonder I can hardly feel it under this mess. So defeated… it almost blends right in."

He could feel himself snarl as Sam kept muttering and started walking again, right over the water of the lake like it wasn't there. That… was interesting. It wasn't that they were flying. The water just felt like solid ground even as it splashed around their feet. Should he close his eyes as well? Could he trust his own mind in here? He didn't want to break anything important and he wasn't familiar with Daniel like he was with his brothers and childe. And he'd never physically -metaphysically?- been in someone's head before.

Sam hummed before taking one step to the left and two backwards and suddenly they were standing on a bridge leading into, what looked like, a courtyard. How that even happened, he had no clue. There was no zipping past the landscape or even stuff melting and reforming. They were there and then they were somewhere else. It was fucking trippy.

Another step forward and suddenly David could feel exactly what Sam had been speaking of. It was a nasty roiling mess of emotions layered on top of what felt suspiciously like bars. Then there were even more of that disgusting wriggling mass of negative energy suppressing something inside of that lockup. If he could, he would hurl just at the feel of it. What the fuck kind of crazy built this crap?

Wizard jesus briefly flashed through his thoughts and it made sense. With all the missing and jacked up memories that brunette had with the old bastard it would make sense. When they finally met in person, he would take great joy in eviscerating the man, shoving his own intestines down his throat, forcing his eyes up his ass to see his own bullshit-

"David, I need your help."

He refocused, tearing his mind away from murderous thoughts with a great force of will. That- that was dangerous.

With a growl he slapped away the physical hooks the cage had tried to shove through his flesh. Shit, if he'd come here himself he'd already be sucked in.

"What is it?"

He had to shove his own twisted emotions aside as the more worked up he got, the more hooks that tried to latch into his skin. Sam, was a great focus. The thought of his childe calmed him immensely.

With eyes still closed, the young vampire responded, "I need you to lend me strength. Can you do that?"

Could he? Sure. Should he? Better question.

As if sensing his thoughts, Sam continued, "Do you trust me to find Daniel?"

Fuck. He did. He just didn't trust the entire situation happening right now.

"You know I do, Sam. Don't get us all killed."

David's claws clamped back into the forever teen's shoulder as he pushed his power through the contact as a funnel. The entire bridge exploded around them in a fantastic display of firepower. Then, they dropped alarmingly fast before jerking to a stop in a hallway practically oozing black syrupy blood, very disoriented.

"What the f-"

Sam was so drained. He had no idea what he was actually doing, none at all. Everything was just running on instinct now and that wasn't always a good thing but he just had to do this. Daniel was there. He could feel him so faintly; terrified, defeated, guilty, frustrated. All the negative emotions just feeding into the cage and making it stronger. He had to get them there and he had to do it now. So, he'd asked his Sire for strength and, oh fuck, when it filled him it was almost rapturous. David was this powerful? Jesus Christ!

But he was on a mission. He couldn't lose focus. So he threw all that power exactly where the leak was and watched it practically blow open a back door. Was that a good thing? Still up for debate but it got them inside. It got them the closest they'd been to getting Daniel back since they'd retrieved his physical body.

It also apparently tipped off Daniel because suddenly those emotions spiked, terror and rage eating all the others until they were the only two left fighting for dominance. That? Yea, that was not so good. And neither was the burgeoning energy he could sense reacting to Daniel's emotions like an overeager hellhound.

"Sam, what the fuck is happening," David demanded, claws digging painfully into his shoulder again.

He vaguely wondered if this mind body of his could bleed before asking, "What do you see happening?"

Because Sam could see the whirling torrent of emotional magic -it was more than likely his magic, what else could it be?- compress further and further until it looked like a rough suit of armor surrounding the one person they were looking for, crouched in front of them.

"I'm seeing the fucking castle disintegrate into a typhoon!"

"Sounds about right," Sam responded faintly.

David's growl was barely heard over the whistling of the magical wind. "What's happening!?"

Watching the magic settle even tighter was terrifying because he knew if it attacked them, they'd be dead. It was an overcompressed spring about to burst.

"Um, we found Daniel. And he's absolutely terrified… and angry. Really angry."

Because the angry part was important. Daniel, was in fact, very much past angry and was probably somewhere around destroy-everything-in-my-path apoplectic. Which the cage was quite happily feeding on. Uh, bad thing. Very bad thing.

"David, this cage is feeding on his negative energy to keep itself up. The longer he stays like this, the more it heals itself! If we don't get him out soon we'll be trapped in here with him and I'm too young and handsome to be a vegetable!"

"Sam, you need to get on my back and hang on. I don't know what'll happen if we get separated."

He eagerly did just that, squeezing tightly against the murderous magic almost succeeding in ripping them apart. It wasn't even actively trying either. It was just the small wisps, the vestiges of the storm that was bound to Daniel's form. How strong was his new brother? Could it compare to the power David had? Was it even in the same category to be compared?

David started moving forward. Slowly, ever so slowly, he started to make progress and slowly, ever so fucking slowly, he started to gain ground faster. It was as if Daniel's magic had stopped fighting them, had recognized their presence as friendly. Whether it was that or not, progress was gained and it was extremely helpful and relieving.

They both started to call out to the boy long before they could see him in the maelstrom. There was no response except animalistic screaming accompanied by powerful waves of rage that buffeted Sam's mind so harshly that hot tears immediately formed and fell to his cheeks in waves that paralleled the pounding in his skull.

Still they called for him.

Neither of them were expecting the sudden drop in temperature and mood. It was like after all that fight Daniel had given up again. That was not a good sign. Sam had spent a few years closer to the end of the decade long rescue (when they were so close but with much less to do search wise) reading some psychology books because emotions and psychology were pretty well linked. And well, he wasn't a doctor or an expert but the fluxing of emotion that Daniel was suffering through was sure to leave some mental scars. Not to mention he'd have to keep a close eye on his new brother for a while so he didn't spiral into depression or suffer a psychotic break. He'd never actually seen one but he was sure they weren't pretty. And as a vampire with extremely skewed morals already, the result could be much much worse. It was practically a miracle their little wizard brother hadn't suffered one yet with all the strain he was under.

And then they were right there, David's arms catching the green eyed halfling as he pitched forward, eyes shuttering in exhaustion.

Daniel...

Harry stood and screamed his rage to the heavens, searching for the source of the intrusion. He wouldn't go down without a fight!

Daniel…

That old bastard could choke on its beard! He would not submit! He would not be controlled!

Little brother…

Little brother…

The wizard heaved a great breath as the ringing in his ears increased in pitch.

DANIEL

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

LITTLE BROTHER

"I WON'T LET YOU TRICK ME AGAIN! YOU CAN'T HAVE ME!"

It was only a nightmare, little brother…

"No," Harry sobbed roughly, the fight draining from his tense frame.

Hush, little one. You can cry if you need to…

"No!"

Daniel…

"Stop it!" His magic whirled around him still, compressed and still raging even as he slumped, the irons on his wrists reaching for the floor. "You can't use them against me!"

How about… I read you a story?

He knew wanted to know so badly! Why was it so familiar? Why did it hurt but bring such joy?

Hey squirt…

"Why…? Why?"

DANIEL

He cried again but his eyes were dry. They always were. Crying solved nothing after all.

LET US TAKE YOU HOME

Are you happy here?

He was. He was so so happy but he didn't know why. He was afraid to know why. The knowledge came at a cost.

Do you want to be here forever? With us?

It's time to come home, Daniel

Harry crumpled, the ringing in his ears reaching a fever pitch, as strong arms carefully wrapped around him. It wasn't the bastard, most certainly not. These arms were strong but cold, safe but dangerous, recognized but unfamiliar. His magic knew this person, saw them as safe, allowed them passage. Maybe he could finally be free?

We promised forever after all

"David…"

AN: So, what did you think? How are the characters? Did you have a favorite part? What do you think is going to happen?

Leave a review cause they're precious to me!