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Ch.2: In Heaven's Eyes

There were leaves everywhere.

It was a colorful torrent of green, orange, yellow, and red hues that swirled around him. The sun was setting, its warmth sending ribbons of light dancing between the small gaps left behind in the tree branches by the inevitable fall of the autumn leaves.

Long shadows streaked the yellowing grass beneath his booted feet as he stood. He took a hesitant step forward, hearing the distinct crunch of dry leaves beneath them. His upraised arm sheltered his deep blue eyes from the warm rays of sunlight that streamed between the gaps of branches in the trees.

He squinted, noticing a figure among the storm. He couldn't tell who it was for a moment, but then recognized the velvety cloak from afar.

"Mom?" His voice sounded foreign to him. It was as if it were someone else speaking. Someone younger, stronger, and definitely innocent at heart; someone reaching to their loved one in a time of need.

He didn't even realize he was running until he saw the blurs of trees around him. His breaths were beginning to come in deep inhales as he sped up his pace, well aware of the closing distance between them.

He continued, on and on, the distance seeming eternal in his mind. She was alive! She was alive and here breathing, standing, and probably smiling.

She was almost at arm's length when she turned towards him, lowering the velvety midnight blue hood from her head silently.

The sudden anguish he felt as the last of his hopes died away with the vision of the girl in front of him was what he would remember as the single most horrible feeling of them all. Horrible both at the fact that he had believed in a mere illusion, and horrible at the guilt that took hold and clutched his heart without mercy. Had he really believed that she would miraculously come back to life somehow? That maybe the magical world knew more about immortality and life itself than anyone really admitted?

No, of course. He was foolish to believe in such vain hopes.

His mother and father were gone, no matter what he did. Time stood still for no one, and it was unmercifully cold towards those it exiled in her world of pain.

He collapsed at the girl's feet, keeling over as he finally lost control and felt tears of anger trickle down his face. His breaths came in great shudders, each one deeper as everything came crashing down on him. Is this what the weight of the world felt like?

This must be it.

For a moment he forgot the her presence as she stood over him. It startled him when she kneeled down to his level, bringing an ashen hand to cup his cheek and forcing him to face her. Her violet eyes were so . . . strange. For the span of an instant he felt as if his mother's presence was there within her.

"I'm sorry." Her other hand went up, touching his skin lightly as she wiped away his tears. Draco could smell a slight hint of lavender on her skin, could feel her breath on him as she spoke, and could see the sincerity that pooled in her gaze. "Fate's called out to you too I guess."

Her violet hair brushed his cheek when she suddenly pulled him into a soft embrace as a mother would a child. She stroked his hair, saying nothing as the leaves continued to fall and the sun sank behind the horizon.

"You're just like me." He heard her whisper suddenly, her breath warm on him. "You're just like me, Draco."

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Draco Malfoy awoke with a strange sense of warmth; of renewal. And though none of his problems had been solved, they suddenly felt a lot lighter than they had in that whole year he had suffered internally at St. Mungos Hospital.

There he had been labeled as irreparable and had been left alive only by the mere chance that he was still breathing. Besides, who thought that a death eater deserved any pity?

The blonde teen shook his mind of such thoughts.

His eyes traveled idly over the room, recognizing his new surroundings well. He had been here for the good of three weeks, offered solace in the warmth of what his new companions called Titan Tower. Over the span of that time he had met four of the five occupants of said tower.

One was a green "changeling". He was strange both physically and mentally in Draco's opinion. With deep emerald eyes, moss green hair, and green skin, it was a wonder his teeth weren't green as well! He was short in stature and not the brightest wand in the bunch, but he made up for it easily. He had a certain sincerity and innocence of heart that Draco had learned to admire well enough to keep patience with him. He called himself Beast Boy.

Second was Cyborg, a half man-half robot. Though he had a vague notion, it took a big and patient explanation from the strange being himself to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together. He was smart and looked the part as well. Parts of him revealed pieces of his original human body, showing a blue eye contrasted from the dark and bare skin of his scalp. The other half of his face along with some other major body joints were covered in a strange metallic substance he had never seen before. It was as if he had electric blue veins, where something he called data ran through. He said it enabled him to function as if he had normal human limbs, except more powered up.

His next encounter was the most painful of the four. His first impression of the female that bounded into the room and enveloped him in a bone crushing hug was, well, breathlessness. She was excruciatingly stronger than she looked. Nonetheless, it was obvious in her movements that she was gentle in her ways. Her eyes were emerald, with the parts that were usually white in a human's eye a light leaf green. Her skin had an orange tinge to it, and her hair was of a deep brick red, sleek, and falling a little past her shoulders. She was the second tallest in the group. If he could compare her to anyone at Hogwarts, he dared to make the connection to Hagrid.

Last but not least was Robin, the unnamed leader of the group. It had been evident the first time Draco had awoken, and was even clearer now that his thoughts were less clouded.

He wasn't very tall, but not overly short either. He had jet black hair, and was the only one who hid his identity behind a mask. With fair skin and an aura of control, Draco understood why the others seemed to follow him most.

And as for Raven, the last of the group, he had yet to know.

The unknown of the five "Teen Titans" was still as elusive as the calm he sought. Through the others he heard of the second and last female titan, which seemed to be the total opposite of what he had recognized of her in the dream.

She was the one in the dream, she had been the one he first woke to, and she alone remained the one yet to meet face to face. And so like the ambitious slytherin prefect he had been, he managed to snake a bit of information from her companions. Unfortunately, it only made him realize that she would be a puzzle that would not allow him the luxury of being solved easily.

"Her?" Beast Boy was currently perched beside his bed as Draco leaned his arms on bent knees. Something his father never allowed him to do in the presence of others. "She's. . ."

Draco turned his gaze towards the changeling, raising an eyebrow. "That bad?"

"N-no, no, don't get me wrong. . . it's just hard to try and well. . . describe her." At his puzzled look Beast Boy ran a green hand over his mop of unruly hair. "She's not like other girls. See, usually you can sort of generalize them sometimes, you know?"

At Draco's nod, he continued with a little more confidence. "Raven's had a pretty rough life. "I think-" He shrugged. "I don't know. She's just one of those people I don't understand. She can be one way for a second, then turn around and lose it in your face."

He grinned sheepishly. "But then again, it might be all the jokes and stuff that I play on her." Draco stayed silent as he tried to understand what his companion was trying to say.

"Well," Beast Boy smacked the bed, pushing himself up as he grabbed at his large grey pajama shirt. Leaning back on his heels, he let his loose dark green pants flutter and pool around his feet. "I gotta go change so I'll see ya' later. Maybe I can tell you a few jokes after breakfast."

Draco waved him off, sitting in bed silently for a while. He almost fell back to sleep until he heard the familiar sound of the strange grey door sliding open. He admitted that he expected Robin to be standing at the door, only to find the one person he thus far failed to meet, and yet hadcried in front of her (only in the dream of course). His gaze met hers as she silently walked up to the window across from his bed.

The deep blue hood of her cloak was down and yet her features were just as unreadable.

"How do you find it here?" Her question, though right, felt random to him. It was awkward, as if she was stumbling through the silent tension that suddenly seemed to flood the room.

"It's . . . nice." He almost missed her nod.

"You're recovering well. Robin says that all you have to worry about is the scar on your back. For some reason, the skin won't close up all the way."

She turned then, heading for the side of his bed and pulling out a roll of bandages he had failed to notice in her grasp before.

"Let me take a look."

"No." He heard himself blurt out immediately. She turned, her violet eyes slightly narrowing in annoyance. Her full gaze on him made his voice died away. He felt awkward.

"You're just like me, Draco."

He blinked, stopping himself from trying to shake the voice away. She was still watching him, except her gaze had become unreadable once more as she pulled out a small pair of scissors from a drawer on the white bedside table.

Somehow, Draco felt she knew.

"You do realize, that even though you've been my healer I still don't know you?" He lowered his gaze as he talked, not knowing what to expect from her. Of course, the dream was something way too personal to even try to bring up anytime soon, so he just set that as far into the back of his mind as he could. Instead he stared off into oblivion, well aware of her silent presence. Her response would determine just how much she knew. Still, he wasn't prepared for what she replied.

"My visions with you in them haven't been a walk in the park." She looked down at the bandages as she spoke, watching the scissors tear easily through the fabric."They've been a little too vivid for my taste."

"What?"

"Your feelings are enough to drown in, honestly. If you don't control them, one of us has to leave this place."

"What? Why?" He asked, more puzzled than before.

"One of my powers is empathy. I can literally feel everyone's emotions around me, whether I like it or not. When you first came here, it was hard to heal you because your emotions kept blinding me and awakening my own. My anger found yours. My guilt found yours . . . other things match up that I'd rather not talk about."

"You're just like me."

At this he suddenly understood. When she had last been in his presence he had been feeling guilt. And it had been very strong too. That explained her sudden fall to the floor that day and how she had reacted to him. On and on his thoughts went, making connections faster than he could really linger on them.

It was then he realized that she must be harboring some painful secret as well, if something like this could awaken kindred feelings within her. Something deep and hard to comprehend alone.

"Is that your reason for lack of visits?" She nodded.

He guessed that now that he seemed more emotionally stable, it was deemed alright by her to pay a second visit.

"Turn and take off your shirt." The sudden order pulled him sharply out of his thoughts as he turned to her with a strange look.

As their gazes met, he realized she wasn't going to give in easily. His thoughts started up quickly once more, this time speculating why in the world she'd ask for something like that. The hint of lavender that filled his nose did't help in making his judgment any clearer. Through the inflection of her voice he knew it wasn't a question, nor a gentle suggestion, which couldn't help but send the proud Malfoy into a state of annoyance and puzzlement which was evident in the familiar frown that graced his pale features.

"I don't take to orders lightly." He said in a low voice. Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Well then, you better have a will ready. Keep that wound and an infection will make sure you see nothing but the back of your eyelids for the rest of eternity." He glared silently at her for a moment, but answered with no hesitance in his voice.

"So be it."A scowl. "I don't have anything to stay for anyway."

To this Raven turned to him, a deep fire of annoyance burning in her eyes. "Yes, you do. You have to repay me for healing you. It would be a waste to see my efforts thrown away on such stupidity."

Anger began to tug at him as his eyes became their usual icy hue. But instead of the hatred and haughtiness that had been presented to one Harry Potter, there was only the same annoyed flame being kindled within them that reflected Raven's feelings.

"No one asked you to save me." He retorted coldly. She clenched the scissors with trembling fists, silence falling between them.

"Would you prefer me to kill you then?" Draco turned to her, noticing an unreadable expression pass through her eyes.

"If I said yes?" To this she stood silent, the scissors still in her hands. Suddenly, she tossed them upwards, then catching them in the same hand with the sharp point facing Draco. Raven then grabbed his hand with a quick jerk, shoving the handle of the makeshift weapon into it and closing his fingers roughly around it.

"Do it yourself."

She then stalked angrily out of the room.