Disclaimer: Not mine, blah blah JK blah blah. Please don't sue, I'm broke.

Still no beta! So there are absolutely mistakes, and they're all mine! I'll catch them eventually.

I'm writing this for NaNoWriMo, so I finally have my butt in gear with this story! Sorry if some of my coding stuff lingers here..I tried to edit it all out, but it's stubborn and difficult, like my muses.

I wrote the second half of this chapter while listening to this one song that drove me crazy, "What Would Happen?" by Merideth Brooks.

Ch 4 Parting Gift

'Said stop, but we went on whole hearted, It ended bad but I love what we started'

Parting Gift by Fiona Apple

"CRUCIO!"

Bellatrix curled up, screaming in anguish. The pain was unbearable, like a thousand tiny knives stabbing her body all at once over and over and over.

Voldemort was holding the curse on her, not letting her have even a moment to breathe. He was furious with her, and that anger was reflected in cruciatus curse he was tormenting her with. Only when she felt like she was surely going to die from the pain did he lower his wand.

Bellatrix couldn't move. Out of the corner of her rapidly swelling eye she could see blood from her nose pooling on the floor in front of her. She cried out again when she felt her hair being ripped from her skull as she was dragged across the floor and hurled into a floor length mirror. Bellatrix heard it shatter when she hit it, sending shards of the reflective glass flying everywhere.

Voldemort had given Lucius a very important task last night. He wasn't sure if Lucius had the stomach for the dirty work anymore. His loyalty had been wavering before he was imprisoned, and prison had weakened much stronger willed men than Malfoy. So to be sure things got done, Voldemort sent Bellatrix with him. Malfoy had in fact been up to the task, and had performed beautifully. Bellatrix, on the other hand, had not complied completely.

Voldemort looked over at the abused witch cowering in the corner and felt the tiniest, briefest hint of guilt and scowled. Perhaps his punishment had been a bit severe this time. In a small act of mercy, he waved his wand towards her, healing most of her physical wounds.

She was moving slowly now, grimacing as though still in pain, but she was able to sit up. She began to try to explain herself.

"Master, I couldn't give myself to him. I tried my Lord, I did. The idea of his hands on my body repulsed me."

She was repulsed by the younger, handsome Malfoy, yet she welcomed her master's every caress. Longed for them even. And it was not his power she was infatuated with. It was just him.

Voldemort was not blind. He knew what he looked like. He had been handsome when he was young, but now he was almost reptilian in appearance. Tearing ones soul apart and then being forced to live a half life could do that to you. He just could not understand this woman. Not even when he looked into her mind.

He chose his words carefully, knowing exactly what to say to make this woman bend to his will. He spoke softly. "You disappoint me Bella. You claim to be my most faithful, my most loyal. Giving your body to another is a small sacrifice to make for me."

Still unable to stand, she crawled on hands and knees through the shattered glass and across the room to where he was seated. She put her head on his bare feet and wept. He knew his words had burned her to her very core, probably even worse in her mind than his cruciatus had been.

"My lord, please. I am your most faithful. That is why I couldn't let him touch me. Please—please don't be disappointed in me."

He snaked a thin hand down to her face and touched her cheek lightly. He felt her shiver lightly at his touch.

"Bella. My Bella. You injure your master when you don't trust me enough to do as I ask." he exhaled heavily. " I will punish you no further. However, I do expect you to make this up to me."

She rose up on her knees before him and looked into his face, almost smiling. Voldemort's subtle manipulation had worked, as it always did with her.

What he was about to do was more for her than it was for him, though he did enjoy it. Selfless act on his part? He almost laughed. Never. A happy servant was a loyal servant.

And he knew exactly how to make Bellatrix happy.

"Stand and disrobe, Bella. Slowly."

OoOoO

Draco knew what he was doing was dangerous. It was treacherous, and it could possibly cost him his life. But he couldn't stop himself. He willed himself to put one foot in front of the other and walked briskly down the sidewalk, careful to keep to the shadows. He was still a wanted man after all.

He came to the spot where the Weasley home, the Burrow, stood. It was enchanted, and he could not see it, but he wasn't trying to get in. He was meeting someone. He hoped he was meeting someone.

The note he sent by owl could have been discarded for all he knew. But it hadn't been any of the other times he'd requested a word, so the odds were in his favor.

Draco leaned back against a tree in the middle of a field, watching the seemingly empty lot across from him intently for any signs of life. He checked his watch. It was a few minutes past midnight, the time he'd written in his note.

Maybe no one was coming. Maybe it had been decided not to trust him after all.

"Malfoy."

Draco started at the sound of the voice behind him. He turned his head and saw a slender figure draped in shadows a few feet beyond the tree.

"You understand I had to make sure you weren't followed. Or trying to lead me into a trap."

Draco's heart resumed beating and he exhaled slowly, closing his eyes.

"Believe me, if I had wanted to hurt you I could have done so. Many times over. You're not that hard to track. Besides, have I betrayed you yet?"

The figure stepped out of the darkness, now suddenly bathed in the moonlight, and moved closer to Draco.

"You said you have something important to tell me Malfoy?"

"I do. I have to get your promise again though. It's not only my life on the line now, my father is at risk as well."

Draco watched a hand lift and tousle already messy hair as though nervous.

"Of course I won't tell anyone who I heard this from. Have I ever betrayed you ?"

Draco almost smiled.

"Alright Potter. I trust you." He meant it. He trusted his former nemesis fully. "Maybe one day you'll be able to say the same about me." he pushed himself away from the tree. "Surely you've already heard about the mass breakout from Azkaban last night."

Harry Potter nodded but kept silent, waiting for Draco to continue.

"There are things— something large has been set in motion. Last night. The Dark Lord. He had my father kidnap someone important. I don't know who it was, I was sent from the room before they—" Draco paused and looked around. "All I know is there is only one more rung in the ladder before the ministry is completely under his control."

"Rufus Scrimgeour." Harry whispered as he looked at the ground. "Well at least it wasn't him that was taken. We'd have heard about that in the prophet. Not that they've exactly printing the news these days. Who—who is important enough to be taken?"

"I don't know. But a Death Eater was given polyjuice to replace the man. Severus has been brewing the stuff for months now, I just didn't know what for."

Draco noticed Harry flinch at the mention of Severus Snape's name. There was nothing he could say that could possibly redeem Severus in Harry's eyes, and he'd given up trying weeks ago.

"Alright." Harry started pacing. "A death eater is impersonating a ministry official, that's got to be bad on all sorts of levels. The only good news is they can't use it if the man is dead, so it's safe to say he's probably alive somewhere."

"He's in our dungeon. I heard him being brought in last night." Harry gave him a surprised look and Draco grinned.

"No Potter, it's not just a rumor. We really do have a dungeon."

"I'd wager my firebolt that Lucius uses it for more than just a prison." Harry muttered under his breath.

"What's that?"

"No—nothing Malfoy. They brought him to your dungeons and you have no idea who he is?"

"No I don't. I only heard them bringing him in very late. You know that I'm usually kept out of the more specific aspects of the plans unless I'm directly involved."

Harry slid his glasses down and gripped the bridge of his nose between two fingers briefly before shoving them back in place.

Harry's glasses are crooked. His hair is a bloody mess, as always. It suits him though. Harry looked delightfully innocent standing there nibbling his lower lip, lost in thought. Draco pinched his lips together and forced himself to look away. I do not feel that way about Harry Potter, even if we are being civil now.

Malfoy shifted nervously as he waited for Harry to say something.

"Anything else Draco?"

He just stared. Harry had called him Draco. Where did that come from? And why did my name coming from his lips send that delicious shiver down my spine?

After a few seconds Harry began waving his hand in front of Draco's face.

"Oi! Earth to Malfoy."

He shook his head slightly and nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. There is something, more important." Draco almost blushed. The most important part, and he'd almost forgotten. What the hell was going on with him? "They know where you are, Harry. The death eaters. They won't be wasting any time, they'll likely be here within the week."

Harry stood there for a moment obviously lost in his thoughts before spinning on his heel and facing away from Malfoy. Draco was unsure of what to do next. He should probably leave, but he didn't want to go without some sort of parting words.

"You should leave here as soon as possible. It's not safe for any of them if you're here when they come. Good luck, Harry." Draco turned and walked away only to hear Harry jogging up behind him.

"Wait. Just a second Draco. Don't go yet." He grabbed Draco by his slender wrist and pulled him to a stop, spinning him around to face him.

"I—I just wanted to tell you that I do trust you."

Draco smiled at him. Their eyes were locked, and neither of them knew exactly what to say next, yet neither of them wanted to walk away. Draco could hear tiny giggles from the gnomes that infested the Weasley garden and the land surrounding their property. They seemed to know what was going on between him and Harry, even if they did not know themselves. Harry's fingers slid from Draco's wrist and were now clutching his hand.

With that small movement, the world seemed to have stopped spinning. Draco felt like all he had been doing that night was staring at Harry, but it was the only thing he could seem to manage. He couldn't speak, every word he knew chose to evacuate his brain right then. Did Harry realize what he looked like standing there looking up at him? Draco could not be held responsible for what he was about to do. The consequences could come later, but he had to have this.

He stepped forward suddenly and pressed his lips to Harry's briefly before pulling back the tiniest bit to judge his reaction. Draco didn't have to wait long. Harry wrapped his arm around the back of Draco's neck and pulled him down into another, deeper kiss.

Draco was lost.

I know I'm melting. If I could part from him long enough to look down at my feet I would see myself dissolving into a puddle. I'm kissing him. I'm kissing Harry Potter. And Harry is kissing me back. Isn't this forbidden somewhere? Aren't we enemies?

Harry moaned into Draco's mouth, dispelling that thought immediately. No. Harry Potter is sin personified, that's what he is. Let me be damned for this sweetest of sins. All that matters right now is how warm Harry's mouth feels on mine. This had to be wrong. It feels entirely too good to be anything but wrong.

Harry parted his lips as Draco's tongue invaded his mouth roughly. His tongue moved of it's own volition, conquering Draco's and pushing it back into his mouth to begin an invasion of it's own. His hands twisted in Draco's hair as Draco's hands slid down Harry's body, cupping his arse and squeezing, pulling Harry up, closer, deepening their kiss further.

A crack of thunder sounded in the distance suddenly, bringing them crashing back to earth. Draco was the first to pull from the kiss. Harry quickly leaned in again and grabbed his bottom lip between his teeth and tugged gently, trying to urge Draco back to his lips. He complied, but only kissed him softly and briefly this time. They had to say goodbye. First kiss and last kiss all at once.

"Come with me Draco. We'll leave tonight."

"What would Weasley and Granger say Harry? They would love the idea of a death eater tagging along, wouldn't they? And us—what if it happened again in front of them? Or if something more—" Draco flushed, but continued. "So many reasons for me to stay Potter. Including my father—I can't even imagine what he would do to my father if he found out I'd run off with you."

Draco gently pushed him away, but reached out and straightened Harry's glasses.

"Harry, please be careful. You're our only hope." Malfoy turned while he still could and walked away.

Harry stood there watching Draco's back until the darkness seemed to swallow him whole.

The thunder roared again and right away a heavy rain began to fall. Despite all of the bad news he'd just received and the fact that he was now almost drenched to the bone, Harry crossed the road to the Burrow with a silly grin plastered on his face and disappeared into the large, empty lot.

If he had lingered in the field perhaps a moment longer, he may have heard the tiny pop of someone disapparating.

A/N: Who was watching Draco and Harry? Was it that pesky Mundungus Fletcher, or someone else? Who is being held in the dungeons? Do we really care? Will Sirius show up again? Living and breathing, or will he be a ghost? (yeah, NH Nick says he can't but he obviously doesn't know Sirius Black!)

Next chapter is really crazy, so be prepared!!

This is a little taste of the Fiona Apple song I was listening to that inspired the kiss.

What would happen if we kissed?

Would your tongue slip past my lips?

Would you run away?

Would you stay?

Or would I melt into you?

Mouth to mouth, lust to lust,

Spontaneously combust..

I also wanted to take a second out to say thank you to the people who have been leaving me such lovely comments. I hope you're all enjoying this!