Together

Prompt: What if Harry hadn't died in the Forbidden Forest in the Battle for Hogwarts?

Warning: LVHP, NOT TRHP. This is going to be pure serpentine goodness. Will be rated M in later chapters. The first multi-chap fic I've written in years due to writing books, so bear with me. Writing someone else's characters after writing your own for so long is strange.

I don't own any of this stuff other than the 'plot', which I am sure has been done before. All characters belong to JK Rowling. What a Goddess.

Chapter 4: A Shadow

Back in the dungeon, Harry lay staring at the ceiling. Was there a reason for his kindness? Harry guessed it was just a bribe, but maybe Narcissa was right. Maybe Voldemort saw something in Harry he had been through. Not exactly a weapon, but not quite seen as a person either. He had become his own weapon, and he was offering Harry the same opportunity.

But what about his schoolmates? He didn't want to have to hurt them. Ron's family had pretty much taken him in as one of their own, he owed a whole lot to Hermione and Neville, and Luna got him in a way not many people did…if he took the offer, would he be able to save them?

Harry heard the dungeon door clang again, and looked up, expecting Narcissa. Instead, he got the youngest Malfoy. Draco sat cross legged on the other side of the bars, and Harry did likewise on his side. Draco stared at the floor in silence for a while.

"Mother said I owed you a thank you for what happened." He sniffed. "So thanks, I guess."

"No problem." Harry shrugged. More silence.

"Mother also told me what happened in the Forest. Why you're here. What the Dark Lord offered you." Draco nodded, finally looking up at Harry. "And I think you'd be a fool not to accept. You get to live in my house, free of charge."

"True. But what about the others in our year? My friends?" Harry questioned. "I can't let them die."

"Then don't." Draco smirked, prodding at the bars and not quite paying attention. "He wants you. If I tried to bargain with him, he'd kill me, but I think you could get away with it. Come up with a list of people you want safe. Say you won't agree until they're safe."

"What if he says no?" Harry asked. Draco shrugged.

"Threaten to hunger strike until you die. He knows you're serious. Mother would understand." He looked up at Harry and grinned. "To be honest, Potter, I don't think I could stand you trailing at my feet like some sort of house elf."

"You'd have to beg me to, Malfoy." Harry grinned. The two of them stared at each other with stupid grins for a few moments.

"So," Harry questioned. "Why are you really down here? I doubt it was to help me." Draco rolled his eyes and acted melodramatically offended for a moment.

"Actually, it kind of was." Draco started. "Since you're going to be living here either way, I thought I'd make you the same offer I did in first year." He stuck his hand through the bar ready for Harry to shake. Harry nodded and took it.

"Friends?" Draco asked, eyebrow raised.

"Friends." Harry responded, smiling.

The two of them sat in the dungeon, chatting for hours. Draco would give Harry a snippet of Slytherin life, from what Crabbe and Goyle did in their spare time to the one time Snape slept-walked through the common room. Harry responded with Neville's practise dancing for the Yule Ball and Ron's run in with the love potion, which Draco found hilarious.

"Why do you hate Ron so much?" Harry asked. Draco shrugged.

"They just seem too…messy. Too…eurgh. You know?"

"They could say the same thing about you. Too clean. Too prim and proper." Harry grinned. Draco nodded, agreeing.

"When you're housing the Dark Lord, you've got to have standards. Now we've got the Chosen one, the pressures on." He grinned. "But Father was always like that. It's just how purebloods are brought up to be, I guess. Cold and unfeeling. The house matches."

"You don't." Harry commented.

"True." Draco chuckled. "But I've always been a bit of a disappointment." His head went to drop in the sudden silence when Harry nodded.

"Same." More silence. Awkward floor and bar tapping. Neither knew how to carry on the conversation. It was best to backtrack.

"So, are you going to accept his offer?" Draco asked. Harry nodded.

"I'll try bargaining. See where it gets me. Then…yeah, I guess." He grabbed on to the bars and rattled them. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to spend any more time behind them. Draco nodded in understanding.

"They're planning to stick you in the West Wing. It's nice that way, and I'm not too far." He muttered. "The Dark Lord is three doors down. I think he wants to keep an eye on you."

"How does it feel to be sharing a house with a mass murderer?" Harry asked. Draco waved the question off.

"Pssh. He's like a pet. We feed him, give him some sort of entertainment. Only my Father acts like some sort of dog toy. And he calls me pathetic." Harry laughed at that, and Draco snickered to himself.

Harry decided he was going to like it in Malfoy's Manor.

…

I'm loving doing this. If you want more, please give me a review? If there's something you'd like to see, make suggestions. If there's something you don't like, tell me. I love hearing other people's opinions!

-Alistair