DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I also do not make any money from this.
WARNINGS: Yaoi (male x male), Yuri (female x female) adult topics, swearing, sexual scenes and violence
PAIRINGS I know of so far: (pairings will be added as they are mentioned in chapters)
Ron x Hermoine, Blaise x Cho, Neville x Ginny, Saito x Draco
This has not been Beta'd.
'text' is thought
"text" is talking
Hidden Element
Chapter 45: Choice
Elementals:
Ice and Void – Draco Malfoy
Fire – Pansy Parkinson
Earth – Blaise Zabini
Nature – Cho Chang
Light – Cherrie Everdeen (OC)
The Forgotten:
Electricity – Saito Blackstar (OC)
Animal – Carsly Hendricks (OC)
Shadow – Alakai Petrovski (OC)
Water - Yasmin DiAngelo
Wind - Miya Hendricks (OC)
"Would you just calm down already? I'm sure your precious lover will come crawling home eventually." Carsly growled, reclining on a softly cool sofa. She had listened to his rant of the missing blonde for what seemed like far too long!
"When he's finished with Potter." The chilling laughter came from the shadows, a hint of static electricity filling the room in threat. Yet Alakai could not stop laughing as in turn Carslys hair stood up straight in static form.
"Don't mention that name! He's getting on my nerves."
"He's been on our nerves since the very beginning! Climb on the bandwagon now and lets go kill him!" Carsly sighed, clenching her fingers at the thought of it. She longed to bash Potters head into a rock repeatedly. Although Saitos resolve on remaining patience had started to ebb, he was still hesitant to touch the hair on any of Dracos friend heads. Too afraid that Draco would in turn take that to mean he wanted ties severed, or merely because the blonde would be displeased.
"No! We can't just kill him!" Saito sat down on an empty chair heavily, and elbow resting on the armchair, fingers gliding against lips in thought.
"Why not? Because your beloved Drakie-poo would be upset?" Carsly stated snidely. This romantic side of Saito was beginning to irk her. Who would have known he could grow so attached to one person?
"Listen carefully, oh powerful one." She mocked, mouth open for the next sentence, finger menacingly pointing…only to be interrupted by a 'tsk' and the soft sound of someone joining Saito on the sofa.
"Draco does know evil. He grew up in it, how can't he? He understands what goes through our minds better than most likely anyone, even the death eaters, purely in it for fame and wealth. He's not scared of us, nor does he pity or look down on us. He's always been gentle with us, knowing what our past actions have been, even knowing what we could possibly do or become in the future.
And I get it. It's hard to come by someone who just understands you; all of you. There are probably more reasons why you like him, but there's a point to why I'm mentioning this one. What choice do you think he would have made? With all his understanding, and love for friends and family, if Draco had been in that final battle with Voldemort. Which choice do you think he would have actually made?" Saito frowned as her speech progressed. She was trying to hint at something he was sure he wasn't going to like.
"Miya, really? Out of all things to say, how the hell would that help him decide whether or not to attack his most beloved darling." Carsly growled.
"It will help." She was sure that that one question would lead him to the answers he needed, although she wasn't sure what he wanted corresponded with what the others wanted any more.
"This is becoming boring." Alakai yawned. "My entertainment has been spoiled."
"Hey! Hey! Don't leave without me! Take me with you, you damn shadow! This stuff is way too mushy for me!" He grinned his bright white teeth and extended an arm out for her, which she instantly dashed towards. With a sigh of relief, she sank into the walls with him, leaving Miya alone with Saito.
"Why do you think it would help me decide?" He glanced at Miya curiously.
"Ok. Rather, think of it this way. Voldemort versus Harry Potter. Dark side versus light. Draco seems to understand both sides perfectly, but why? Why does someone, who gets why the darkness needs to fight, who loves his family and friends, understand the light side so much? From what I know, Draco doesn't just swap sides. He's too proud and too stubborn for that. So if he had entered that battlefield, he would have done so with only one side on his mind. So, what choice do you think Draco would have made?"
"This is stupid." He growled.
"That right there, the unwillingness to answer a question you, being Dracos lover, should know, or at least be able to figure out. I think, on some level, you don't want to know, because as soon as you do, you'll know that Draco is actually one of the most easiest people to read." She smiled softly as his gaze focused on hers once more with wide eyes.
"You think you know the answer?"
"I don't think, I know." She said breezily. "I'm not giving you the answer, if that's what your thinking. This is something you have to figure out on your own. Reasons, ideals, morals, they can't just suddenly change, not even for the greatest reason of all." She said somewhat dreamily.
"You think about it. I mean, really think about it. You'll have your answer then." She stood up slowly, dusting her dress before twirling to face him.
"We'll be there for you when you do."
He didn't pay much mind to her after that, shifting so his legs were on the sofa stretched out in front of him.
"What choice would he make?" Saito sighed. "I don't get it. A lord with ideals, a family well-off and caring, friends that support you, connections, everything. Why would there even be a need to choose?"
Draco had pride, and he was indeed stubborn. He would be stead fast in his decisions, and would put a lot of thought and effort into them. He wouldn't change his plans half way. There was something that Miya had said, however, that stuck to him like glue. Why would someone inclined to the dark, understand the light so well?
Apart from two, none of the friends he had left Draco with were famed Slytherins. They were all of the light. It was possible to understand the connections between him and Cho, even Cherrie, what, with how the elements had bound them. But the others? Most of all, Harry Potter. The one who had defeated the dark lord, and his friends who to this day sought out the remaining death eaters. Why befriend them? Why even think to be friends? He stood against everything that Draco had been raised to become.
Draco had so easily put aside that hatred one should have to make friends with those of the light. Had easily falenl in love…
But even love couldn't change everything about oneself. Potter would have never been interested if he'd thought there was still some inkling of darkness inside Draco somewhere, unless perhaps he himself understood the darkness. He didn't want to think about the possibility that what had launched Draco to the other side was something of a kindred spirit, someone with the same grey tendencies as himself. It was, however, highly likely that Potter understood where Draco came from, having shared a link with the dark lord, even if he wouldn't have wanted to.
Damn it! He was not going to think of Potter as the whole reason Draco let go of his family. Then again, the more he thought about it, Draco never had really talked about family. But it went without saying that no matter what, family stuck together. A philosophy that came side by side with power and money when it came to the Malfoys. They stuck together no matter what. Wouldn't that mean expressing nostalgia when you were apart? For all his love for violence, he could never turn against Yasmin, not even if she had betrayed him to devastation.
Did that mean that Dracos family hadn't meant as much to him as he'd thought? To betray them for the light would have to mean he had felt the exact opposite. Draco had always had a thing about families, playing peacemaker between siblings throughout their stay in the manor. Though he had never faced Carsly, he had always reassured Miya that she was loved by her sister, even if it was shown in a different way. Didn't that mean he understood the way his own family had worked? Or was it just the fact he saw the whole picture when he himself was not included?
When one thought of it that way, family had had no hold on him. Friends? He had been a slytherin. Through all the support they gave each other, none of them actually trusted one another. Blaise and Pansy were true through their years, however, and look where they were now. On the side of the light! When had that happened? Before, or after Draco had changed sides? To top that off, he'd made friends with the light instead.
Was it something about trust? Had he felt safer there than amongst his own kind? Sure, snakes were prone to attack when they were trying to save their own skins, but they all understood. It was natural. It was pure instinct. Had Draco never had that instinct, or had it actually led him towards the safest place he could think of?
For him to run that far away, didn't that mean he had wanted to get away from the dark? From everything he had cared and loved for?
If it had only been Potter, Draco would still have felt out of place. Though love was an important factor, changing ones nature wasn't as easy. For Potter to have accepted him in the first place meant that he had seen something in Draco that was strangely different than before, possibly the change itself.
Saito sat up straight suddenly, feet moved to touch the floor, frown firmly in place.
Had Draco actually been more inclined to the light than he had been to the dark? Did that mean that Draco had actually felt more out of place with his own kin? If these inner most workings had been happening before he'd found love with Potter, didn't that mean that even if Potter had said nothing, Draco would have pursued this change on his own?
Where Saito was dark, Draco was in fact…light? Through all his understanding from his previous upbringing, he understood the other side so well because that was how he'd always felt? Did that mean, no matter how much he loved Draco or Draco loved him, that the blonde would pick the other side almost unconsciously every time?
He gritted his teeth. Didn't that mean that Draco would never choose him?
Saito refused to believe that. He would just have to present the world on a platter. When Saito was finished with his plans, Draco would have no choice but to obey.