Author note: Guh. That's all I can say. I still have not recovered from Thanksgiving and I got a promotion (a very wtf moment for me, as I didn't know I was up for one) which meant today was my first day at my new position and I just about died. I was going to post this last night, but it was one in the morning and I just had to go to sleep, so I slapped a post it on my laptop and this is the first thing I'm doing before I delve into… the numerous things I have yet to do.

Like chapter eleven, this was written in 2006 and was re-written and flesh out until I was happy with it. It took a while, and the characters sighed way too much (really, it like every other word). It's a bit… choppy still. I'm still not completely happy with it. Something irks me about it and it has for three years, but I have not been able to figure it out.

Also fic related—the planned sequel for this fic, named Burning Bright, was going to be my Draco Big Bang fic. Well, I was listening to the song Burning Bright, which was my inspiration, and decided it didn't fit. It fit another Draco fic I've been working on for a year, and so now that is named Burning Bright and will be the Draco Big Bang. What does this mean for IAFY?

The sequel won't be out in June like I originally planned, but that means I'll be working on it with more dedication and thought that it deserves.

After I post this, I'll respond to comments (I promise). I've been terrible about it, but life decided to whip me down. Reviews and comments are appreciated, and even mistakes that are pointed out help me to fill in plot holes and the like.

Love to Jacy, and love to all of you who have stuck with me this far. Eight more chapters!

………………………………

When Harry came out of his dark magic high, the first thing he noticed was someone crying. No, not crying—sobbing. He hadn't heard cries like that in a long time. He blinked a few times and then finally his eyes focused on Pansy, who was sitting in front of him, watching him closely.

"All right there, Potter?"

He nodded and sat up a bit, shaking his head to clear it and took a few deep breaths. He looked at Pansy, who was checking over him and he could feel her checking his magical core as well. Everything felt normal. In fact, for the first time in a long time, he felt igreat/i.

"Well?" he heard a voice ask from across the room. He saw Draco holding the woman—Willow—who was sobbing into his chest. He didn't seem concerned about her and was focused more on Pansy and Harry. All he remembered was red hair, red eyes, then pure power.

"It was just a simple high. Strong, but simple. He'll be reeling for a few days and I don't think healing him will be smart until he fully comes off of it." Pansy then turned to check his eyes, holding up an illuminated wand to his face, checking his pupils. She leaned back and shook her head, a small smile on her face. "Better than any high you'll ever get in Knockturn, Potter?"

"Hell, yeah," he said, his face flushing. Merlin, if his friends saw him now, coming off of one of many magical highs…

"You and your stupid Gryffindor feelings, Potter," Pansy said, rolling her eyes. She sat up and assisted Harry to his feet and steered him to the bed, where he laid down and closed his eyes. The power flowing through him still hummed beneath his skin.

"Is she all right?" Pansy turned around to face Draco and Willow on the floor, but looked at Harry when he asked his question.

"She'll be fine, Potter. I think it's just a combination of shame and guilt that is making her overload at the moment," Draco said rubbing a soothing hand over Willow's back, calming her. "I had no idea she was here when I told you to come up. She was supposed to be out of the house. I wasn't planning on letting you two meet until you both were far away from going into withdrawals."

Pansy crouched next to Willow and took her from Draco, who stood up, sending her a grateful glance. Pansy let Willow lean on her fully as she continued to cry, oblivious to the world around her. Draco walked over to the bed and sat down next to Harry, who looked up at him, still breathing heavily. Draco then narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell did you do, Potter?"

Harry's eyes widened as he tried to sit up, but Draco pushed him back down. "You did something. You were playing with emotions and essences." Draco growled and looked up at the ceiling in annoyance. "How many times have I told you—"

"Never to access past memories of unknown locations by myself, I know!" Harry interrupted.

"And yet you istill/i do it! Do I have to beat the lessons into you now? Do you have any idea of what could have happened?" Harry turned his head to the side as his face flushed again. "You iboth/i could have overdosed and idied/i! God, Potter, you're lucky Willow has really excelled in her healing and she just took the dealing route. The overload could have sent her into magical shock!"

"Draco," Pansy said softly, looking up at him with gentle eyes. "Calm down, love. Yelling and stressing are not the ways to solve this." Draco huffed and ran a hand through his hair. "Now, Willow's worn herself out, and I think it looks like Potter's going to pass out any moment, so help me get her into another room and set up alarms for when they wake up."

Draco looked down at the now dozing Harry and went to Willow and picked her up. They put her in Buffy's bedroom, and both set wards telling them both when either of them would wake up. They went downstairs where Giles and Dawn were sitting down. Buffy and Xander had joined them. Everyone stood when Pansy and Draco entered the living room.

"What was that?" Buffy asked immediately. "What happened to Willow?" Giles put a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't take her eyes from Draco's.

"Potter has the ability to access memories that occurred during a time of extreme emotional stress or times when a heavy amount of magic was used. He barely tapped into the memory of Tara dying before Willow came in. I thought she was gone when I sent Potter upstairs, but she was upstairs doing something. She felt the tap and confronted Potter," Draco exclaimed. He then looked at Pansy to continue.

"Potter has a dark magic addiction," she said. "It's not like Willow's at all," she quickly added when many of the people started voicing protests. "Potter has an addiction in which he merely needs relief. He's not storing all the magic he receives, like Willow did." Pansy sighed and motioned for everyone to sit down. When they had, she and Draco continued standing. "This was not what I envisioned doing when I arrived."

Draco glared at her. "A dark magic addiction is not like a Muggle drug addiction or the like. This addiction is a two-way addiction, in that both the dealer and the receiver need each other. The dealer is the more powerful, while the receiver depends on the dealer's power to get their high. However, there are exceptions to the rules." Draco sighed and pulled up two chairs from the dining room table for him and Pansy to sit on. The British witch took over the explanation.

"A dealer will send power through a channel to the receiver who will send it back. It's a magical haze that can last hours and hours, or just a short time. Willow went to a reverse dealer. She had more power, and so she would send her power to her dealer, Rack in this case, and he would juice it up a bit, and send it back to her. Rack would then take more power from her, taint it more, and send it back."

Draco leaned forward in his chair and looked at Giles. "I think I've finally figured out how she gained so much power in so little time." At Giles' surprised expression, Draco continued. "Because Willow would send her own power to Rack, she wouldn't send the same part of her essence over and over, and disperse the magic inside of herself when she received the power back from Rack. She sent different parts of her essence, and Rack had no idea, since she would send and receive her power herself, and not depend on him to do the transferring."

"So Rack thought she was using up all the magic quickly, when really she was just storing it in different parts of her magical core and sending out untouched parts of her essence to be accelerated with dark magic," Giles finished and sighed heavily.

Pansy looked at Draco sharply. "That's not possible. She should have died from magical shock from doing that. More focused wizards and witches ihave/i died from it."

"My guess is she didn't do it at first, and simply let Rack do the giving and receiving himself. She must have learned about the different ways to transfer and simply taken over, just using Rack as a conduit for her magical power," Draco said.

"How did you come to this conclusion?" Giles asked, looking between Draco and Pansy with a questioning glance. They both looked at each other and grimaced, and finally Draco turned to look at him.

"Because that's what she did with Potter."

"Wait a minute," Buffy said looking between the two British wizards. "You mean to tell me Willow was up there dealing dark magic?"

"She's lucky," Pansy snapped, glaring at the blonde. "Potter is an iaddict/i and could have very well drained her if she hadn't moderated it." She stopped and looked at the woman staring down at her. "You don't get it do you? A dark magic addiction is idangerous/i. Muggle drugs can't hold a candle to dark magic. There's no coming back from it. Potter will constantly have to have a dose of magic for the rest of his life. His magical core was altered. That's the most serious thing that could happen to a witch or a wizard."

"She's right," Draco said, "and if Willow hadn't been to Rack in the first place, and had encountered Potter while he was in this state, he would have killed her."

"But how is that possible?" Xander asked looking at Giles.

"Dark magic practices are common everywhere in the magical world, but addictions are not. Addicts leach off of other's powers, and constantly are looking for a magical being strong enough to handle the transferring of powers. Willow would have been powerless to stop Harry if he had encountered her, because her essence is so strong, but her ability to keep her magic was not. When she went to Rack, she learned the control that she needed, but at a very high price."

"So you're saying that Willow will be trying to drain other witches and wizards?" Dawn asked with a tinge of fear laced in her voice.

"No." At the looks he received, Draco elaborated. "Witches and wizards will be coming to iher/i to give them power. She has control now, and you no longer have to fear her going to a dealer again."

"She's going to ibe/i the dealer now, isn't she?" Buffy asked sadly, looking down at the floor.

"Now that she's tasted it, yes," Pansy said. "A dark magic dealer is much more dangerous though, because the backlash from a powerful client could cause magical overdose and shock, but the high is longer and better."

Xander closed his eyes and his head fell. "And the Harry guy?"

"Will be fine," Draco stated firmly. "Although I dare say he'll never want to go to another dealer anywhere else, now that he's seen the power Willow can give."

"She's going to have to do this the rest of her life?" Xander asked incredulously.

"Like I said, dark magic addiction is a lifetime thing. There is no coming back from it. Her magic is used to being transferred now, and will constantly have to be sent through other magical cores. If she can get safe clients, like Harry and some others we know, everything will be fine. She might even be able to use her powers in a positive way and not even need to deal," Draco sighed and stood up. "I'm going to check on them, to make sure they're asleep."

He left and not another word was spoken downstairs.

………………………………….

Willow woke up suddenly, and recognized the room she was in as Buffy's. She felt disoriented, but oddly juiced up magically. Suddenly, the door opened to the room and Draco walked in. Willow found her memories returning to her quickly. She sat up and ignored her spinning vision.

"Oh, Goddess, I—"

"Reacted, Willow, you merely reacted." Draco sat down on the bed and looked down at the crying witch. "I thought you were gone, otherwise I would have never sent Potter up here. He was slipping into withdrawal, and his barriers were so weakened he couldn't help but do a little sense searching. The fact that you were so close just made your magic react, and it recognized an altered magical core."

"I tainted his magic," Willow sobbed, her eyes unfocused as she stared down at the bedspread. "I tainted his magic and drew it out of him, and sent it back like some dark magic dealer!" She felt like she couldn't breathe; her chest was caving in on itself. "I can't believe I violated him like that."

"You didn't violate him, Willow," Draco assured her quickly. "You aren't the first dealer he's been to, either."

Willow stared at him in disbelief. "He's an addict, and you brought him here! Are you insane? You didn't even tell me!" She shouted at him accusingly.

"I don't get what the big deal is," a new voice chimed in. "Why are you all stressing so much about that Harry person being an addict?" Willow and Draco both turned to look at Buffy, who had just walked in and joined the other two on the bed. "I just wanted to check on you, Will. So…why's this such a big deal?"

It was Willow who answered. "Magic has a mind of its own, Buffy. That's why control is so important. Abusing magic, or using magic excessively and without due cause, isn't addiction to magic, it's just abusing magic. Magical addiction is taking the magic, tainting it with darkness, transferring it between magical cores and manifesting it through a magical high." Willow sighed and looked down at her hands. "Basically, it's taking away the free will of magic, forcing it through two or more people, and reeling off the dark, high magical power. Once a person's magic is tainted, it can't be purified. And an addict will always have to have transferred power, or the magic will turn on the person."

"So, how did Harry become an addict? I take it addicts aren't the most popular people," the slayer asked Draco. The wizard sighed and gazed between them.

"You must keep this a secret. No one besides you two must know of this," he said with much seriousness. When both women nodded, he nodded back. "After Ginny died," Draco stopped at Buffy's look, "Potter's lover who was possessed by an evil wizard who forced her to commit murders and then kill herself in front of him—After she died, Potter's magical core was altered, because the magic inside him responded to the rage and thirst for vengeance it felt inside of him. Every time he killed the followers of the evil wizard who killed Ginny—Voldemort—his magic would take some of the follower's magic. He was basically calling their dark magic to himself, and expanding his magical core to accommodate it. When he tried destroying the magic, he released his own dark magic first, and by this time, Pansy and I had stopped him from taking other's magic as well."

Draco stopped when he heard footsteps. Pansy had walked to the door and nodded at Draco, who nodded back. She disappeared as quickly as she came. Both Buffy and Willow looked at Draco curiously. "Potter's awake. I digress. This was the first time Potter had felt the transferring of power, and he didn't know what it was. He was a mess after this and after a few months of healing, he wasn't responding well. I was going to Knockturn Alley, which is a magical location that specialized in dark magic, to see if I could find a powerful sleep draught that would knock Potter out so I could get him in a healing trance. I told Potter to wait outside the store in the doorway, because his magic was so unstable, it would have neutralized a lot of the ingredients in the store.

"While I was inside, Potter saw a dealer with a client, and saw a small amount of magical power being transferred. He saw the effects on the client, and immediately went after the dealer. By the time I was done, Potter had already followed the dealer to a building four doors down and was getting his high. I tracked him down only to find him lying on his back in middle of a bed, thoroughly wasted on a magical high, and determined to get his dealer to give him more magic in any way possible, regardless of the fact that said dealer was about to shove a knife in his heart."

Both Buffy and Willow's eyes widened. "He's the savior of the world. He still had some enemies," Draco replied, waving it off. "Pansy and I figured out that he needed to have a dark magical dose every so often for his healing to work, because otherwise, his magic wouldn't respond correctly. I have a few friends who are dealers, but they couldn't help him much, because he needed such strong dose often. It got to the point where he'd have to go every other day to get a magical fix."

"How did you decrease the dosage he needed?" Willow asked.

"It took a long time, but I finally found a way to channel his magic into another source—emotional and magical sensing. His magic needed to be used in some way constantly, and the only way he knew at the time was through his addiction. By giving his magic some other means of use, he didn't have to go to a dealer so much."

"But he still has to go," Buffy stated, trying to wrap her head around the concepts.

"Yes, he'll always have to go. No matter how much he uses his magic in other ways, it will always need to go through different magical cores," Draco confirmed.

"So, my magic will always have to go through different magical cores as well?" Willow asked quietly.

"Yes, and that's why it was so dangerous to have you and Potter together when he was so close to withdrawal. That's also why his magic went sensing about the room when he got there. It needed to be used." Draco sent her a wry grin. "I dare say his magic is very content, and I won't have to help him any time soon."

The red haired witch looked down at her lap, shamed. She curled her fists in loosely, half-expecting to see the magic coming out of her pores. "I think it just hit me, that I'll have to deal magic out regularly."

"I had hoped to avoid the issue altogether, but it seems like that decision has come around to bite me on the arse. It's going to be tough, and I'm not going to lie to you, you'll have problems coming back from it and getting into the right mind. Dealers who aren't experienced often go insane because their magic turns on them, but I can help you. I iwill/i help you," Draco said.

He meant that, too. It tore him up to see Willow so heartbroken. Coming from the family he did, the problems with dark magic were explained early on to him, and he knew how to control it. Willow was not so lucky, but she had plenty of people who would come to her rescue.

Just then, a tentative set of footfalls sounded in the hallway, and a sheepish and mussed Harry Potter walked through the door, making Draco roll his eyes. Buffy could see a subtle difference between his Harry and the Harry she met earlier. He was more laid back, less jittery, and his eyes were more alive than she'd seen them. It was a shame he had to go through such horror to feel like that.

"Well, Potter, never let it be said you don't make entrances," the blond wizard said waspishly.

"You told me to come up here!" Harry said agitatedly, losing his embarrassed flush. "I was just following your orders, oh, Lord Malfoy."

"I didn't know you'd try to do a magical sensing of some foreign room that you iknew/i had a large dark magical taint!" Draco retorted. "Only idiots would do that. Oh, wait. I'm talking to iyou/i."

Buffy and Willow shared a glance. Willow shook her head. "It's kind of like Angel and Xander, except they're magical and don't go poof in the day time."

"I'm still holding out on Draco walking into the rain and melting," Buffy responded before they both turned back to the impromptu shouting match.

"I couldn't help it! My magic went completely mad!" Harry flailed his arms about and glared at Draco, exasperated.

"When was the last time you had a fix, then? You were supposed to go to Blaise last Tuesday!" Draco stood up and crossed his arms. "If you were properly looked after, you should have been fine."

"He didn't have time to see me," Harry said through clenched teeth. Draco's eyes narrowed and both Buffy and Willow noticed that the room temperature dropped, and frost started to form on the glass of water on the bedside table.

Harry's eyes widened, and he immediately turned toward the door. "iPansy/i!" he bellowed. The witch was suddenly in front of Draco, making both Willow and Buffy jump at the loud crack, and watched as Draco was calmed down to a more normal level. He instantly looked at the witch in front of him.

"Blaise didn't have the bloody time to see Potter?"

Pansy let out a sharp sigh and stepped away from Draco. She glared at Harry, who made a face. "I didn't want to tell you yet. Supposedly, he got two new clients, and one nearly went into heavy withdrawal." At Draco's raised eyebrow, she pursed her lips. "They're tagged."

"Oh, bloody hell, could this be any worse?"

"Tagged?" Willow asked with a touch of fear in her voice.

Draco started pacing in the small room. "Remember why you couldn't go to England? About the requirements?" At her nod, he continued. "Well, when an addict has to give a reading of their essence, it shows they're just that—addicts."

"Apparently," Pansy chimed in, "the Ministry is keeping tabs on them and their dealers, making sure they're only getting their minimal dose, which is very stupid considering it's keeping them closer to withdrawal than anything else."

"Our good friend Blaise is one of the most high-profiled dealers in Britain. If he has two new tagged clients, those are his new priority, because if one of them overdoses or withdrawals, he could be incarcerated or even have his magic removed from him, which would lead to death," Draco explained to them, and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a small green velvet bag.

"Draco—" Pansy said warningly.

"But that doesn't mean I can't be pissed as hell at him," he finished, glaring at Pansy and marching downstairs. Pansy growled and followed him through the hallway, and Harry sighed. He started to go after them, but he turned back to Willow and Buffy on the bed.

"I'm really sorry about—" he started to say, but Willow interrupted him.

"Don't mention it. And we're coming," she finished, getting of the bed and motioning Buffy to follow her. They went downstairs to meet up with everyone else. Buffy looked down at Draco, who was leaning down at her fireplace.

"What are you doing?" she asked dubiously.

"It's a form of magical communication," Giles told her, and Buffy and Willow jumped when suddenly a body was pulled through the fireplace. "And it can also be used for transportation," he finished dryly.

Everyone looked down at the man who was now lying on the floor, grinning up at the enraged man standing above him.

"If you iknew/i you had two high priority clients why in the ifucking hell/i didn't you tell Potter ahead of time so he could have acted accordingly?" Draco growled at him in a low voice. When the man on the floor laughed, it sent shivers down Willow's spine, and she noticed Harry had the same reaction. Willow knew then this had to be Blaise, and she could see why he was a high-profile dealer. His essence was practically dripping with dark magic.

"How was I to know that the chit was like an ickle virgin in a whorehouse? She came to me the day before, and I dosed her up so much she should have been reeling for days." Blaise smoothly got to his feet and dusted his clothes off. "And before you ask, yes I checked to see if the magic had distributed, and it had. She was just so green that the magic simply let itself out of her system."

"And she can afford this?" Pansy asked incredulously, making Blaise give her a wicked smirk.

"Would iyou/i say no to dishing it out to the youngest Delacour?"

"iWhat/i?" The entire England group shouted. The Sunnydale crew just looked at each other in confusion.

"Gabrielle is going to you for highs?" Harry asked incredulously. "Does Fleur know?"

"How did she become exposed to this?" Giles asked vehemently. Blaise sighed.

"Apparently she was at a party where someone was dealing out in small bursts. Her being half veela just made her magic that more attracted to it. Since Gabrielle often visits Britain, she had to register. She was tagged and Fleur found out and came to me one night and asked if I'd be the dealer to take her in. I, of course, said yes," he finished with a cheeky grin.

"Merlin, Blaise, if you're dealing out for sex—" Pansy said, pointing her finger at him.

"I'm not some Muggle pimp, Parkinson," he snapped. "She pays me in rare ingredients for potions."

"Which you then sell on the black market," Draco said with a humorless laugh. "Merlin, what am I going to do with you?" he asked rhetorically.

His friend rolled his eyes and straightened out his robes around his suit. "I'm not one of your charity cases, Draco. Just keep your mother off my back about my work and I'll be fine."

"She worries for you, you know," Draco said annoyed.

"She's not my mother."

"Your mother is dead, Blaise."

"How could I forget?" he asked with a sarcastic grin on his face. "It's not like you killed her or anything… oh, wait."

Buffy's jaw dropped. That was a detail he left out of their conversations. Last time she checked, killing someone was a damn big deal. She quickly looked to Willow, whose expression was equally shocked. When her gaze landed on Giles, she was surprised to find him annoyed.

Pansy hit both Blaise and Draco on the shoulder. "Zabini, stop being an arse."

"Wait," Buffy said with wide eyes, "iYou/i killed his imother/i?"

"It's not like I woke up one day and said, iI'd like to kill my best mate's mum/i. She tried to kill me first!" Draco exclaimed.

"That's mature," Pansy said with a small grin. Draco just glared at her.

"Now that we've established that my mother, Merlin burn her soul, was a psychopathic seductress," Zabini said with an agitated growl, "Can I go now? I have appointments to keep."

"Yes, Blaise, you may go," Giles said.

Blaise turned toward the fireplace, and caught Willow's eyes. He grinned at her, and she took a deep breath. It was almost like look at Rack all over again. The exchange didn't go unnoticed, and Draco scowled at him. The wizard moved to stand in front of Willow, blocking the view.

"On your way."

Blaise nodded, threw some powder into the fire and was whisked away.

"Well, that was interesting," Harry said with a grin that slowly faded at the looks he received.