I won't waste your time after you have all been waiting so patiently... Enjoy!
Hold on, I should probably put a trigger warning... Please don't read if you can't handle dark stuff, cause it is about to get quite dark really quick. Please just skip this if you don't like that stuff.
Don't say I didn't warn you
"No!" Draco called his voice loud in the deadly silence surrounding them. "You can't! I'll do it!"
"No," Harry said quite calmly, "I won't let you, Draco."
Harry was slightly taller than Draco, so he was able to hold the cup out of his reach.
"Harry, you can't. Please just let me."
"No," Harry said again, "I'm sure you remember the conditions on which I brought you with me. You said you would listen to anything I told you. Now I'm telling you, let me drink it."
"Please," Draco begged, "Just let me do it!"
"Draco," Harry interrupted, "I am sure I will be fine, but if I'm not, you have to listen to me closely. If something happens, grab the Horcrux; that should be your top priority. I don't care if I'm almost dead, or going insane; grab the Horcrux."
"But—"
"No. We both know what this potion does. No matter what happens, you have to keep giving it to me. You have to get to the Horcrux. If anything happens, leave me here. Take the Horcrux and go."
"Harry, I can't…" Draco said weakly.
"Yes, you can, you have to!" Harry looked intently at his friend.
"What if it kills you?"
"At least we'll be one Horcrux closer to finishing this. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make, but I need your help! Please, Draco."
Draco sighed heavily, and Harry felt bad placing this burden on him, but it had to be done, and there was no way Draco would be allowed to drink it.
Before he could change his mind and before Draco could protest further, Harry plunged the cup into the sea of black. This time, his hand did not stop but sank into the potion. He scooped up the first cup and brought it to his lips.
"Remember Draco, every last drop."
With that, Harry tilted the cup back and drank the whole thing in one gulp. Almost immediately, the edges of his vision started to go black. The world was spinning slightly, too, but it was not unbearable….
"Harry, are you okay?" Draco asked. Harry merely nodded, not quite able to form words.
He reached into the basin and pulled out another cupful. He drank it, and his stomach heaved. He was becoming dizzier, and his vision was flickering in and out of focus.
He reached out and drank another cupful of potion, knowing there was no point in stalling. Harry felt himself fall to the ground, the goblet rolling out of his hands.
Draco was saying something, but he might as well have been speaking another language altogether. Then Harry's vision went completely black.
When he opened his eyes, he was in a small dungeon. His hands were tied up on either end of his head, enabling him to hang rather painfully off of the wall.
Standing in front of him was Bellatrix, a look of utmost delight on her face. She raised her wand over her head just as Harry's eyes fell on the reason for her joy.
Below her, his back ripped apart and bleeding was a pale, blond-haired boy who Harry knew too well. Her wand came down on him once again, and his body shook, and a horribly tortured scream rose from him.
"No!" Harry hollered, "Please hurt me! Curse me instead! Hurt me instead!"
Bellatrix looked at him and laughed her high, manic laugh. She brought her wand down harder on Draco.
Harry felt something on his lips. She was forcing him to drink something. He didn't want what she was giving him!
"No," He cried, "I don't want it. Don't make me drink it."
Suddenly, Bellatrix was much sharper, Draco's moans more realistic. She raised her wand high again.
"NO!" Harry bellowed, "Please, don't hurt him! Please! Don't hurt him!"
Harry was struggling against his binds, trying desperately to break free. "Please, hurt me instead. Hurt me instead! PLEASE!"
And again, he felt something being forced down his throat. "No, don't make me drink it! I don't want to!Noooooo!"
Bellatrix crackled louder, ripping open Draco's back with her wand. Harry wanted to do something, but what could he do?
"Just leave him be! Curse me instead! Hurt me, not him! LET HIM GO!"
Another drink was forced down his throat. "Stop it! MAKE IT STOP! I don't want to drink it anymore!"
Then, with a blink, Bellatrix was gone. However, replacing her was Voldemort himself. Harry struggled harder against his bindings, fighting desperately to break free.
"This is what you get for defying me!"The high, cold voice filled Harry, seeming to come from everywhere. He raised his wand and pointed it at Draco. Draco started to scream, the sound ripping through Harry.
"NO! Stop! I'll do anything…. Stop hurting him! I'll come back. I'll serve you; just stop hurting him! Please, stop hurting him! HURT ME INSTEAD… kill me instead! I promise I'll come back. Hurt me instead; punish me! No, please, STOP!"
Another drink was forced into his mouth. "No, I don't want it! Please don't make me drink more. Please… I don't want it. Make it stop! Make it end!" But the liquid came regardless.
Draco's screams filled Harry's ears. His body was twitching on the floor as Voldemort continued to curse him endlessly and without mercy.
"You'll kill him! Kill me instead! I'll serve you— I'll do anything you ask— just make it stop! Please, kill me instead— I'll do anything! NO!"
Voldemort stopped and looked at him, their eyes meeting, the bright green to the cold scarlet.
The drink was forced down his throat once again. "Don't make me drink more. I want it to stop, make it end!"
Voldemort sharpened again, and his voice hissed around the room, making it hard for Harry to breathe. "Once I find you, this will be your punishment." A smile played across his snake-like face.
"You can run, but you will never escape me. You can fight, but you will never win. I raised you, Harry… I know your weaknesses, and I know your strengths. You will never be safe! EVER!" Voldemort raised his hand again, and Harry knew what would happen a second before it did.
"Noooooooo!" Harry cried, fighting his binds with everything he was.
But it was too late. Voldemort had lowered his wand, and the bright green light filled the room, making everything go black once more.
Harry's eyes fluttered feebly open. To his immense relief, he was back on the island.
"Harry?" He heard a voice ask from far away. It sounded vaguely familiar but he did not bother responding to it.
His head hurt like murder, and his stomach was churning. The world was still spinning all around him, and he could not get enough air into his lungs.
Also, oddly enough, his throat was very dry.
It was extremely dry.
In fact, he felt as though he would die if he did not get water to drink.
His whole body felt like it was made up of fire instead of water.
It felt like a dry wind was coursing through his veins, making it hard to breath.
"Water," Harry said hoarsely, and Draco jumped up from where he had been crouched over Harry.
"Hold on," Harry heard him get the cup and try to fill it.
"It won't fill!" Draco tried repeatedly; the water disappeared from the cup each time. Harry was getting weaker by the minute as Draco tried desperately to fill the cup.
"Hold on!" Draco said, "Please stay with me, Harry."
Draco ran to the lake and plunged his hand in. Only this act could make Harry forget about the growing thirst and the complete agony he was in.
"No!" Harry called, his voice weak. But it was already too late.
A dozen Inferi rose up out of the lake and came charging towards the boys. Harry felt absolutely terrible, but he stood nevertheless.
Now was not the time for any of that. His mouth was still scorched and dry, in desperate need of water, but he pushed it out of his mind and turned to the onslaught of corpses.
Harry saw Draco trying to fight them off, but there were too many.
"Draco, fire, remember!"
Draco glanced at Harry, and a moment later, fire shot out of his wand. The Inferi stumbled back into the water as Harry, too, sent fire streaming toward them. But his blaze was weak and did not last. It took almost everything out of him, and it was all he could do to remain standing.
Luckily, Draco hurried over to him, making sure to keep the fire trained towards the Inferi, who were still putting up a fight.
"Come on, go to the boat." Draco said firmly.
Harry couldn't speak, so he just nodded, concentrating on remaining upright. Draco slung an arm under Harry and half carried; half dragged him towards the boat.
Harry's whole body felt as if it was on fire, ever nerve stabbing at his frame. He needed water, but he knew now was not the time.
He needed to walk to make sure Draco would be safe, so he focused on that and nothing else. He could see the fire reflecting in Draco's eyes, which were laced with deep concern.
"Come on, just a bit more." Draco coaxed. "We're almost there, just a bit further."
After what seemed like ages, they reached the boat, which no longer rested on peaceful water. The waves of the lake were hitting the shore with a velocity to match those outside of the cave.
Draco helped Harry climb in, but his foot caught on a rock as he tried to get in. Draco's wand slipped out of his hand and rolled away across the stone floor.
The fire disappeared, and the Inferi charged towards them. Harry whipped out his wand and sent a few sparks at them.
His power was greatly depleted. He had to do something, though; they were getting closer.
He concentrated hard on what he wanted to do and tried again. This time, fire shot from his wand, but it still wasn't enough. It went out after only a few seconds.
The Inferi were closing in now, almost near enough to drag Draco into the water. Draco, he had promised himself he would protect Draco!
Harry tried the spell one more time, and now, at last, the fire shot out of his wand at full force. Draco was then able to grab his wand and climb into the boat, kicking it away from the shore.
The boat started to move away from the island, away from the basin with the potion inside. But wait, the potion was not the only thing in the basin.
"The Horcrux!" Harry exclaimed, and it felt like his throat was sandpaper, still burning with the desire to drink something, was torture to be surrounded by water but be unable to drink any of it.
"Relax, I have it here." Draco put a hand on Harry's shoulder to keep him from falling out of the boat.
The boat bumped ashore in no time, and Draco jumped up. Harry got up, and his stomach lurched again, the world still spinning, his scar still burning.
And oh, the fire, the fire that felt like it was in his body. It was as if his whole frame was running out of water. Like every nerve in his body was drying up.
Draco kept a firm grip on Harry's arm, making sure he didn't fall.
"Oh no," Draco said.
"What?" Harry snapped to attention, trying his best to focus on anything but his all-consuming thirst.
"The rock sealed itself again."
"I'll—" Harry started, his voice weak, but Draco had already taken out his wand.
"Verberibus," Draco's hand split open, spewing out blood.
Harry shuttered and looked away. It was too much after everything else.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked, his eyes burning with worry.
"Nothing, just do it. I'm fine." Harry knew Draco could tell he was not fine. How could he be fine after that?
Draco let his blood leak into the wall, and it opened for them, just like it had last time. The walk back to the entrance was short; however, it felt like miles to Harry.
He could barely think, barely wanted to move, but he had to keep going. Draco was still in danger.
He didn't want to have to think about what had just happened, so he focused on each step, each breath, making sure it wasn't his last.
As soon as they were outside, Draco's grip on Harry tightened, and he pulled Harry with him into the darkness of apparition. And they both traveled away from the cave and all of its horrors.
Away to safety at last.