Abandoned Innocence

Chapter 6: Easier to Run

It's easier to run
Replacing this pain with something more
It's so much easier to go
Than face all this pain here all alone

Something has been taken from deep inside of me
The secret I've kept locked away no one can ever see
Wounds so deep they never show they never go away
Like moving pictures in my head for years and years they've played

If I could change I would take back the pain I would
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would
If I could stand up and take the blame I would
If I could take all the shame to the grave I would
If I could change I would take back the pain I would
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would
If I could stand up and take the blame I would
I would take all my shame to the grave

Draco pushed the drapes aside of the bed he was currently tiptoeing around.

He scrunched his face at the musky scent and the sight of the two bodies tangled together. Though they had thrown covers over them, there was no doubt in Draco's mind that both of them were naked underneath. He pulled the curtains closed loudly so as to wake them up.

"What?" Blaise rubbed at his sleep ridden eyes; it was obvious why he looked so tired, what with the activities that must have been going on between him and his other half.

"Can you two be a bit more discreet please?" Draco glared at him with his hands on his hips. "I don't need to come across this spectacle first thing in the morning."

"Bloody hell, Draco, it's before six in the morning. What are you doing up so early?" Blaise asked. "And anyways, if you had any sense in that blonde head of yours, you would have figured that there's a reason why there were charms around the bed."

"What's going on?" another head poked out from over Blaise's shoulder. "Urgh, Draco, it's too early in the morning."

"That's exactly what I was saying myself, dear Theo," Draco said with mock sweetness. "It is too early in the morning for my mind to be scarred for the rest of my life."

"It's not like you've never seen what's underneath before," Blaise yawned.

"Don't remind me." Draco closed his eyes.

"Where are you going anyway?"

"Morning jog."

"Where you get the energy from, I haveno idea, nor do I want to know." Blaise looked over his shoulder momentarily to find that his lover had already slipped back into dreamland. Maybe I should follow too, Blaise thought, but wait a minute...there's something else that he was supposed to be doing. "What did you want?" he finally asked, remembering that Draco was still standing there.

The aforementioned blonde came and stood in front of him with his tight suede clad arse facing Blaise.

"Oooh Draco, I didn't know we turned you on. Next time we'll invite you in on one of our orgies," Blaise suggested; he had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop from sniggering at Draco's snarl of frustration.

"No, you shit hole. I wanted you to do my laces."

"You should have said, rather than sticking your pretty arse in front of my face," Blaise joked as he took the silver laces at the back of Draco's black suede trousers and pulled at them so he could tie them tightly. "Turn." Draco turned side ways so Blaise could do the set of laces on his left hip and then right. "Why do you insist on wearing these blasted things even though you can't tie the laces, strings or whatever the hell they are?"

"So I can wake you up early in the morning." Draco smiled sweetly as he pecked Blaise on the forehead before walking out of the dormitory.

Blaise shut his eyes tightly in hope that maybe the sounds of screams would also be shut out from his ears, but nothing could remove the sight of the pale face contorted in agony and the inhuman sounds of desperation that escaped his best friend's mouth at night. No, this was their secret, all of Slytherin's secret. You can be defenceless or even downright weak but only in front of your family and only at the darkest hour for security purposes. Though why there were so many cautions, most of the Slytherins never understood. The dungeons were below the lake and the entrance to the common room rarely used except for maybe by younger students who hadn't grasped the navigations around the maze that was the dungeons.

Blaise let out an audible sigh of weariness. Draco Malfoy was an exception He would rather rip his throat out than accept help from anyone, even their head of house and if or let's say when such a situation did arise, he would act aloof and indifferent.

"Should we tell him?" Blaise was brought out of his grim reverie. It seemed that Theodore wasn't asleep after all.

"Maybe if he keeps ignoring the nightmares, they would go away pretty soon." Any trace of sleep was erased from both of their minds.

"You don't believe that, nor does Draco," Theodore said matter-of-factly. "I wish there was something that we could do."

"Yeah, maybe get Boy Wonder to work his magic He is the saviour of the wizarding world after all," Blaise suggested.

Theodore snorted, "If you want to lose your balls by a very furious blonde then be my guest. But seriously, Blaise, I am worried about him. Last night he didn't wake up but his screams could be heard despite the Silencing Charms, Blaise What is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know," Blaise sighed. "I just don't know."

Theodore got off the bed and put his boxers on. "I'm going to go for a shower and...Hades, no. No, no, no." He was thrown back under the weight of the large cat. "Yuck, panther drool," Theodore complained as he wiped the saliva off his face and got up.

The black panther was making his way to the rest of the beds in the dorm, and by the sounds of it he had managed to wake Crabbe and Goyle.

"He did that on purpose, you know," Theodore said to no one in particular.

"Even after five years, I haven't gotten used to Hades' wake up call," Blaise replied. "And considering that now everyone has woken up, I'm going to run for the shower."

~*~

Draco's blond hair was plastered to his forehead and his sweat drenched shirt clung to his slim form. He looked at his hands which now sported rope burns and were quite sore, but he wasn't about to give up or give any hint to Charlie Weasley that he was about ready to just drop. I need a shower; he thought vaguely as he picked at his burnt shirt, I should have worn something a bit more practical.

His attention was brought back to the black dragon in front of him, which he still hadn't managed to tame or even make it like him by this stage. Trust a Weasley to give me the hardest task on my first lesson, Draco thought bitterly But he wasn't about to demean himself as he raised his whip with newfound energy.

Charlie was perched on top of a rock at the edge of the clearing where they had been training so as not to get in Draco's way. He was quite impressed actually that the boy was still standing on his feet Obviously he had great stamina or perhaps an even greater will power. Charlie hadn't gone easy on him, just because yesterday he had reunited Draco with his pet dragon Zara didn't mean that the rest of the lessons would be as convenient.

"No, change your posture. You have to show the dragon that you're trying to befriend it, not intimidate it."

To become a Dragon tamer, one needs to have a particular fondness and patience with dragons which not surprisingly Draco seemed to possess but if he was to complete this programme, he needed to shred away his ego otherwise he won't be able to learn much. Charlie had been observing and making notes on his clip board through out their session together. He was just about to call Draco when the boy approached him and basically slumped down to the ground.

Charlie barely hid a grin before walking off towards the dragon his student had been training with. It was the same Hungarian Horntail that Harry Potter had had to fight in the Triwizard Tournament in his fourth year. Charlie had deliberately chosen this dragon because he wanted to push Draco to the limits so he could observe at what level the boy was working at Also, a little part of him had insisted that he choose that dragon because he wanted to show Malfoy that not everything in Harry's life was an easy ride, as the other boy seemed to think.

He tied the dragon's neck to one of the trees, just for precaution, and put slabs of meat in front of the animal as well as some milk. He petted the scales as the dragon bent down to devour his well earned meal.

"Well, so what did you think?" Draco asked. He was actually quite peeved when he found out that Charlie Weasley would be his mentor No Malfoy was going to slink low before one of the Weasel bunch, but after thorough research he had also found out that his assigned mentor was one of the best if not the best dragon tamers in the Romanian Colony, and a Malfoy always got the best.

"Not bad, Malfoy." Charlie grinned as he came to take his former position on the rock. "So have you decided what are you going to do?"

"No," Draco sighed, "I haven't thought that far ahead what with the upcoming war and - "

"What is it with this generation and their eagerness to get killed?" Charlie shook his head in disapproval as he finished ticking the last box on his clipboard. "I think you should come over to the colony this summer, train with some of the other guys, you know, just to get an idea of our methods. Personally, I think you shouldn't complete your seventh year here at Hogwarts. The sooner you start your apprenticeship, the better."

"But then I won't be able to graduate." said Draco.

"Yes, but see, they didn't have this programme in my days, so I think it's a great opportunity for you," Charlie explained. "Besides, you don't need N.E.W.Ts You'd have gotten a T.O.A.D instead."

Draco's eyes widened in realization. Totally Outstanding Apprenticeship Degrees or T.O.A.Ds as they were called, were usually awarded to people attending higher education academies. Draco hadn't known it was possible to get a T.O.A.D in the course he was doing, but if he did manage to get this prestigious qualification, he would probably be the youngest person in over a century to have received a full T.O.A.D. Because of the extensive coursework and training required, most people only managed to get half a T.O.A.D as not many academies offered a full degree.

As if reading Draco's mind, Charlie nodded, "That's something they recently introduced as well and as I'm sure you already know, 12 N.E.W.Ts are equivalent to half a T.O.A.D so you do the math. And I think you're more than capable of achieving that After all, you must be really exceptional if Albus Dumbledore thought you could start your training two years earlier than it's required or even possible in fact."

"I'll need to think about it," Draco said. "I've heard that if you don't get your N.E.W.Ts, then you have to do three years training rather than two."

"Well think about it, say you do your N.E.W.Ts and then attend any of the colonies, you'll still have two years to do. And if you start now, it would be three years, including the time you would have spent in your seventh year. So no matter what route you take, you will only be able to qualify at the same time more or less."

"Do you think I can maybe get a T.O.A.D this year?" Draco asked and then at the expression on Charlie's face, he hastily added, "I mean if I put in extra time training on my own."

"Well," Charlie started hesitantly. "it takes two years to get half a T.O.A.D and another two for a full one. I doubt you'd have enough time or skill to do it by the end of this year."

Draco nodded; already he was planning his schedule and how he could squeeze in extra training time. Oh, he was exceptional all right; at his insistence Professor Snape had given him practice N.E.W.T papers last year and he had come out with Exceptional in Care of Magical Creatures and Potions and Outstanding in the rest.

"I think we've done enough today," said Charlie "So tomorrow same time, same place." He stood to shake hands with Draco.

"Yes, I'll see you then." Draco shook hands before walking off.

His shirt was still quite moist from his sweat but now that he was outside the clearing, it was quite breezy actually. It was probably the flame erupting from the dragon's mouth that had heated things up Thinking about dragons, Draco remembered Zara. I'll go and visit her tonight; he smiled.

He took his burnt shirt off and started jogging towards the castle They had been training for an hour and a half, which meant Draco had just over twenty minutes to get ready for breakfast. He broke into a full speed run and relished in the feeling of the wind rushing against his face.

Draco preferred running to flying. While the exhilaration of being in the air was overwhelming, the rider just sat on the broom; Draco was a more active person. Though he enjoyed the control he had over his broom in the air, he loved the feeling of his feet hitting the ground as he pushed his strength to the point where his lungs were about to rupture. Nothing beat the feeing of adrenaline that Draco felt when he ran like the wind It was almost like there was nothing else that mattered but the whistle of the air rushing past his ears and the sound of his heart pounding around him in excitement.

Draco grasped the gold cross that hung around his neck on the thin gold chain and started chanting his morning prayers. His mother had taught him the verses from the Bible when he was young but he still carried out this morning ritual just out of habit. "...Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..."

He had his eyes closed but his other senses were acute as to where he was going. Draco ran along the lake's shore and was about to dive in when he felt someone behind him. He opened his eyes and turned around to find a very dishevelled Harry Potter floating behind him on his prized Firebolt. Draco had to struggle to stop the groan of exasperation from escaping his mouth. Seemed like wherever he went, he would never be free of Harry Potter's 'Holier than thou' presence.

"What do you want, Potter?" he asked, making sure his face was a blank mask.

"I didn't know you were Christian," The other boy replied simply.

"How long have you been following me?"

Harry shrugged and without another word he had swerved his broomstick around and flown off in the Quidditch Pitch's direction. Draco followed him with his eyes What a strange boy, he thought.

Well, he couldn't possibly dive in the lake now that he knew Harry was around With another sigh of irritation he started jogging towards the Entrance Hall, making sure to keep his eyes peeled for any other unexpected intrusions on his privacy.

Since the dungeons were spread out underneath the lake and basically all of Hogwarts, Slytherins could enter the pool in their bathroom through the lake. Of course this information was only available to Slytherins fourth year and above.

Somehow the high of running had come down as Draco walked towards the castle at a brisk pace, while conjuring images consisting of various ways of how he could slowly and painfully kill the Boy Who Lived.

The boy infuriated him beyond measure Despite what everyone thought, Draco wasn't jealous of him. There was nothing Potter had that Draco himself didn't possess What peeved him off was the fakeness that surrounded him Everyone tended to walk on eggshells around the Golden Boy as if he would break any moment.

So what if he had some unfortunate encounters in the short span of his life? Okay well, now Draco was lying to himself So maybe Potter had had more misfortune than the unluckiest sod this side of the world, but still so what? He's not the only one who's had a shitty life; it's not like the Dementors only effect him and the rest of us can invite the bloody soul-suckers for a tea party without flinching.

It's the fact that Potter seemed to think that the world would stop spinning on its axis without him or some equally tragic thing would befall everyone. Draco hated being lied to He himself was a perfect liar but that was beside the point He hated people lying to him and Potter was nothing but a liar.

"Draco?"

He turned around to find Cho Chang nervously standing two paces away from him. She gave him a shy smile and tried not to stare at his navel piercing or the well-defined chest and abdomen before opening her mouth and closing it again. Draco frowned, wondering what Potter's ex wanted from him. Evidently, she seemed to be wondering the same thing as confusion crossed across her face.

"Today, if you would please," Draco said sarcastically Well it seemed to work as she took a step closer to him and raised her eyes to look at him.

"I heard that you and Harry have to do prefect duties together,"she finally said while biting her lower lip.

Draco rolled his eyes "So has the rest of the school What's your point?"

"So then you two would be spending a lot of time together, right?"

For once, Draco actually looked at her. Of course he had seen her in passing She was quite easy on the eyes but Draco had seen better Her beauty sure did make up for her lack of intellect.

"Hmm..." Draco's expression became thoughtful. "You know, you're right, we will be spending quite some time together considering prefect duties are four hours every day." His voice became harsher at the end of his sentence as his patience was really running out. He could just turn and walk away from her but curiosity got the better of him.

"Look Malfoy," she dropped her shy-girl-act, "I have a favour to ask of you."

"And what's in it for me?"

She seemed not to have thought about that Now Draco knew why her and Potter went together; they were both stupid. She honestly didn't expect him to just do her a favour and not ask for anything in return now, did she?

"What do you want?"

"That depends on what you're asking of me."

"I - I ..." Cho faltered She looked down at her feet to collect her thoughts. Honestly, she felt quite stupid coming to Malfoy like this but this was her only choice. "I want you to speak to Harry and...and convince himtogooutwithme."

"Excuse me?"

She took a deep breath and averted her eyes as she made another attempt to collect her thoughts "I want you to convince Harry to go out with me."

Drcao stared at her incredulously Well his face was blank as always but internally he was wondering if the morning's encounter with the Hungarian Horntail had affected him more than he thought. While Draco was pondering upon his mental state and possibly his hearing too, Cho had already launched into an explanation, fearing that Draco might refuse.

"...and she said that you might be able to help me out. I know you guys are not friends but maybe you can kind of I don't know, provoke Harry to go out with me?" she looked at him hopefully, then hastily added, "Unless of course, this is beyond your ability of manipulation."

"It'll cost you," Draco replied nonchalantly. He carefully pasted an expression of boredom on his face but inside he was seething at her audacity to challenge his power.

"Wh-What do you want?" Cho asked hesitantly, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

Draco smirked and took a step forward to close the gap between them He grabbed her by the shoulders and leaned in towards her right ear "There are a couple of things I have in mind," he whispered seductively. "I'll let you know."

Cho shivered at the proximity and the warm breath lingering on her ear, she'd be lying to herself if she didn't find Malfoy attractive and downright sexy. Suddenly, the warmth was gone and she turned to watch Draco walking away She paused to study the muscles in his back working as he walked. Her eyes widened at the tattoo etched ingeniously on his back.

It was a sword with strange marks glinting all over the surface; its blade pointing down at the base of his spine and a dragon was wrapped around the length of the blade. A black panther sat snugly around the hilt of the sword. Then Cho noticed that the sword went through a white swan's chest, the tip protruded out from its abdomen as the large pearly white wings covered Draco's shoulder blades magnificently. Cho could have sworn that all three animals turned to scrutinize her and the wings actually fluttered before the blonde disappeared around the corner.

If Draco knew that Cho was staring at his back, he gave no indication to her nor did he confirm that he would do the Asian girl the favour either.

Draco walked towards the Great Hall at a brisk pace Chang had taken more of his time than he thought and he had to rush through his shower. At the moment his hair was wet and as his hair was allergic to the Drying Charm, he had to let it dry naturally to gain that silky look and texture.

He pushed open the doors and walked towards the Slytherin table He just happened to notice that the Gryffindor table was closer to his own than it had been previously. He tried to remember if he maybe had disregarded it before.

"Is it me or have we suddenly become closer to the Gryffindor table than the previous years?" Draco asked as he slipped between Blaise Zabini and Tracy Davies.

"Weren't you listening to the Sorting Hat's song?" Tracy asked. "Some shit about unity and the rival houses to bond 'in these grim times'." She made speech marks in the air.

"Where have you been?" Blaise raised his eyebrows at Draco's hair.

"You'd never believe what happened this morning." Draco smirked, ignoring the pointed looks at his hair. He knew his look of disarray was completely sexy as his bangs dropped over his right eye, completely hiding it while the rest of his blonde bangs reached his chin, shadowing his face.

"Try me." He went on to tell about the morning's incident concerning the Ravenclaw Seeker.

"You're not going to do it, are you?" Pansy asked from where she was sitting across from Tracy.

"And miss the opportunity to meddle in Potter's love life?" Draco looked at her incredulously. "Of course I'm doing it."

"That girl pisses me off so fucking much," Theodore hissed. The nearest occupants of the Slytherin table turned to look at the half-African boy in cleverly disguised shock as his amber eyes glittered dangerously. "First she tries to make a move on Zabini and then after Diggory's demise, she's seeking to lay her clutches on Potter. She should have 'slut' written in capitals across her face."

"Oh come on, Theo" Blaise rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you're still sour about that incident I was drunk and you know the kiss didn't mean anything to me."

"So you say," Theodore muttered.

"Well let me make you forget about that kiss by giving you a better one." Blaise grinned. Before Theodore could move away, his boyfriend had already climbed on the table across to him and captured him in an erotic kiss, making sure everyone could see his tongue sneaking into the other boy's mouth. Theodore wasn't too keen on displaying public affections like the rest of the Slytherins, but Blaise was a bit more flamboyant than the rest of his house.

"I think Snape's going to murder his toast," Draco commented casually, though the sight wasn't anything different to him. After over seven years, he had gotten used to it.

"Why do all the sexy guys have to be gay?" Pansy whined.

"I'm not gay."

"Yes well, Draco, I did say sexy guys." A toast hit her on the side of her head. "I better not have any crumbs in my hair."

"Speaking of sexy guys and Ravenclaws, what happened to Morag?" Blaise asked Draco.

"We broke up." Draco shrugged.

"You mean you broke up with her."

"I got bored." Draco was saved from giving further explanations as owl post arrived. His mother's snow-white owl came to perch perfectly on his shoulder as it held out its leg. Draco took the letter from her and fed her some of his toast; the owl hooted in disapproval at the measly toast and flew away.

"Here, mother sent this for you." He distractedly handed Blaise an envelope addressed to him. He broke the black seal wax and unfolded the parchment.

Dear Monster,

I don't need to enquire about your well being as a correspondence from Severus made me aware of the trouble you have already accumulated concerning one Harry Potter. Draco, I have told you this time and time again, we don't need more attention than necessary.

On a brighter note, you should be glad to know that your 'obnoxious brat' has been a complete terror since you left the Manor. As it is, I'm going over to the Chateau to visit your Aunt Meredith on your birthday, so the brat would be visiting you. I have already informed the Headmaster and he assured me that the visit wouldn't cause any complications.

Your book has gone through its final stages of publication. You should be receiving a letter from the editor soon.

Do be on your best behaviour; Draco, and darling don't be too harsh on Blaise. He's just trying to have some fun; you should too.

I'll be sending your present with the 'obnoxious brat'.

Take care,

Tu Mere.

Draco looked towards Blaise to see what his mother was talking about. He frowned at the look of pure glee and mischief on his friend's face as he took out his little white book. Blaise's 'Little White Book' was famous for holding his secrets and master plans concerning pranks and practical jokes. He could give the Weasley Twins a run for their money, while their pranks were harmless, Blaise's left lasting damage.

Draco hated to think what his mother, who herself had been one of the most famous pranksters in Slytheirn, would have to give Blaise to make him look as if Valentine's Day had come earlier.

"Blaise..."

But he had already left and Draco turned in time to see the wooden doors to the Great Hall closing after the boy. Draco got up without excusing himself to find out what his best friend was up to now.

"Aren't you going to follow them?" Pansy asked Theodore.

"Nope." He grinned. "My lover needs some straightening out every now and again."

~*~

While all the Gryffindors around him and most of the Great Hall, except for the Ravenclaws probably, were watching the interaction between the two Slytherin boys with interest whether it was positive or negative, Harry could only watch in confusion.

He had never seen two boys show anything remotely sexual towards each other; after all he lived in a dorm with four other boys Of course he wasn't so naïve that he didn't know about the other side of the fence, but he had never seen what actually took place there.

The Dursleys followed the Church of England and as all good Christians, attended the Church every Sunday. They dragged Harry along with them, not out of the goodness of their hearts but because they thought all ounce of magic would dissipate from Harry if he were more like 'normal' people. Harry's faith in God had ceased to exist at the tender age of four when he realised that if there really was a God, he wouldn't let a four-year-old boy suffer at the hands of monsters like the Dursleys. Even though he had no conviction in God, he never voiced his opinions and so sat through all the sermons, including the ones about what a disgusting sin homosexuality was and how it went against all that was holy and basically condemning all who took part in such revolting activities.

One phrase had stuck in his mind throughout these years, "God made Adam and Eve not..."

"...Adam and Steve!" Harry's attention snapped back to what Hermione was saying in front of him, a furious expression on her face as she shook her fork dangerously.

"Yeah, well everyone knows there is no such thing as God and you Muggles created the one God religion because you had no other explanation for magic," Ron retorted. Harry didn't know what the conversation was going on about but by the looks on the faces of his friends and other dorm mates, it was clear that this was an important argument.

"Hermione," said Seamus, "we're not saying that your opinions are not valid, but what Ron's trying to say is that in the Wizarding World, there are no gender limitations All that matters is that the souls of the people involved are compatible, in order for their magic potential to evolve with their spouse."

"But...but it's not normal!" Hermione screeched. "Think about it, just the thought of...of two guys doing it..."

"Up the arse?" Ron finished her sentence angrily. "What is so disgusting about this concept when having sex with a female is more or less the same? I mean the only distinction is that it goes in a different hole, right?"

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione banged her hand on the breakfast table, alarming people at the neighbouring tables. "How can you say such a thing at the breakfast table?"

"I don't see why you're getting your knickers in a twist, Hermione," he retorted. "Why can't you admit for once that you're wrong?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "The way you're talking, Ron," she pronounced his name icily, "seems kind of suspicious. Are you sure there's something you're not telling us?"

"What...I - I no, of course not," he spluttered, his face turning a very unbecoming shade of red as Hermione's face contorted in a knowing smirk. Ron clenched his jaw before leaning over the table menacingly in front of Hermione. "I would have researched my boyfriend's sexuality before I get too smug. Krum is not all you believe him to be."

With that he grabbed his bag from underneath the table, stood up, and walked out of the Great Hall.

"How - how dare he?" Hermione said, her own face turning red with anger. "Implying that Viktor is...is..."

"Gay? A poof? A faggot?" Seamus provided. Hermione let out a frustrated snarl before she too got up and left without a word. "That's what I thought."

"I have no idea what just happened," Harry said quietly as he stared at his plate in confusion, wondering why there was food still on it. "Nor do I want to know," he added just before Seamus opened his mouth to explain.

"You're no fun, Harry." Seamus pouted.

"Yeah, well, amongst other things." He picked up his satchel. "Come on, we've got History of Magic."

Two pairs of eyes at the Ravenclaw table followed the sixth year Gryffindors as they made their way out of the Hall.

~*~

Draco glanced at Harry sideways as they patrolled the ground corridor silently. They were nearly at the end of Draco's prefect duty for the day and so far they hadn't exchanged a word other than Harry chastising Draco on taking away points from any and everyone who wasn't a Slytherin.

"What is it, Malfoy?" Harry sighed.

"What do you mean, Potter?"

"Don't act innocent I've known the whole evening that you wanted to say something and frankly I'm getting annoyed by this barely repressed tension or whatever the hell it is." He rubbed his forehead warily. "So, spill."

"You're delusional, Potter." Draco sneered, angry at himself for not being discreet enough in his contemplation on how to go about reuniting Chang and Potter.

"Fine." Harry shrugged.

Damn it, damn it, damn! Draco cursed; this is not the way things were meant to be going. He was supposed to be in control not Potter. He took a deep breath, of course not so obviously for Potter to notice, as he prepared to just plunge ahead.

"So Potter," Draco started casually. "Tell me about your love life. Or the lack of it."

Harry stopped in his tracks as he turned to stare at Draco incredulously. Draco raised an eyebrow enquiringly and Harry just couldn't control it anymore as he burst out laughing.

Well this certainly wasn't the response I was expecting, thought Draco as he watched Potter clutch at his stomach while tears of mirth ran down his face. Draco didn't get the joke and he really didn't like when people laughed at him, especially when he didn't know what was so humorous.

"Care to share the joke, Potter?" Draco drawled as he crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his left foot impatiently, a scowl set on his pale face.

Harry shook his head and straightened up He hadn't laughed so much in a while and it felt good. He straightened up as the last tremors of hysteria left his body. He shook his head again and looked at the scowling Malfoy.

"You guys really have run out of ideas, haven't you?" Harry grinned.

"Yes, well, do remember to enlighten me when you figure out what you're going on about." Draco rolled his eyes as he started walking ahead.

"What will Voldemort think of next?" Harry shook his head in wonder. "What was this, an attempt to woo me and then hand me over to your Master?" He again raised an eyebrow. "Sorry Malfoy, blondes just don't do it for me."

"Don't flatter yourself, Potter," Draco said in disgust. "Christ knows your head needs deflating" He looked over his shoulder at Harry. "Not everyone is after you, you know."

Draco stopped when he realized the incredulity of his own statement; of course everyone was after Potter That's what this bloody war was about. He turned to look at Potter staring at him with a raised eyebrow. He scowled at the Gryffindor, noticing how he hadn't mastered the art of 'eyebrow raising' yet.

Harry started laughing again at the look of apprehension on Malfoy's face There wasn't much Draco could do to stop himself from following suit as he found himself chuckling.

"You really are crazy, Potter." Draco shook his head. "You know that, right?"

"I must be if I'm having a conversation with you without anything exploding," Harry said. "Yet," he added as an afterthought.

The smile faded from Draco's face as he felt an invisible hand envelope his chest in an icy grasp. He gasped and reached for his wand in his robe pocket. Harry had his wand out and pointed at Malfoy, every trace of amusement had left his face but instead of the duel he expected from Malfoy, the boy had turned around and ran away.

Harry stood there in confusion for a fraction of a second before he was jolted out of his stupor; he saw Malfoy sprinting past Hagrid's hut towards the Forbidden Forest. Harry took off after him, wondering how the hell could he have ran so far in such a short space of time There was no denying the boy was fast unless he had used a speed-enhancing spell.

Draco's heartbeat increased at the same time as nausea gripped him His eyes went wide at the sight in front of him; he dropped to his knees, his hand clamped over his mouth to stop the bile from erupting past his lips. Tears of restraint stung his eyes while the metallic taste burned his throat He couldn't hold it any longer as he began to choke on his own vomit and turned around to heave the insides of his stomach out.

He was vaguely aware of Potter coming to stand beside him and saying something, but an incessant buzz had started in Draco's ears while his stomach refused to settle down.

Harry's hand flew to his burning scar at the same time as his grasp tightened on his wand. He had seen too much death to be much effected by it but the spectacle at the edge of the Forbidden Forest was truly gruesome.

The bodies of a whole family by the looks of it were lined beside each other on the ground. They were all naked, even the corpse of a little baby who must have been less than a year before its untimely murder. What was sickening was the fact that there was no skin left on the bodies; Harry figured they must have been skinned alive, being familiar with the nature of Voldemort's sick mind. Their faces were just clumps of flesh tissue and blood Their mouths were shaped in a disturbing parody of a smile. Their eyes were missing from the sockets; the only thing recognizable was their blonde hair, devoid of any traces of blood.

Harry closed his eyes and tried to ignore the sickening smell of blood and decaying flesh. He walked over to inspect the bodies closer and found a scroll gripped loosely in the skinless fingers of who must have been the father.

He reached out with a stable hand and pried the scroll away. To his horror, Harry realized it wasn't parchment but pieces of skin sewed together, and it seemed words had been cut into the skin. Harry unwrapped the skin-parchment and started reading.

A present for you, Potter It's only courteous to show my gratitude after you so kindly returned the mutilated bodies of my Death Eaters. Now we're even. I'll be seeing you soon, good night.

Lord Voldemort

Harry's nails dug into the soft skin as he gripped it tightly He could feel his magic seeping into his veins, and it would be so easy to just lose control. A whisper faintly brushed across his ears, telling him what he wanted. He wanted to kill something. Give into the power...

Everything disappeared from his vision He was standing in an endless abyss of crackling energy, the river of magic flowed around him. He reached out...just a bit closer...but before his fingers could make contact with the inky well of power, he was dragged back to the present.

He turned around in time to see shadows stretching from the darkness of the Forbidden Forest.

Dementors.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry had found out long time ago that to produce a powerful Patronus, he needn't think of happy memories Now the silvery stag erupted out of his wand with a mere thought. The stag charged towards the Dementors Some shrank away but more were coming towards...strange, they weren't coming towards him...Harry turned around to see the Dementors gliding over the shaking figure of Malfoy.

The dark figures stopped in front of Draco He looked up at them and was struck by a strange image. It was as if the ground underneath had opened up and invisible hands were trying to drag him down, but he held on steadfast and for the first time he was able to see in to the dark caverns where the Dementors' eyes should have been, if they had any. They were saying something to him that Draco couldn't make out He knew this was the worst time to walk in to Death but he had no other choice.

He let the hands drag him down He knew his body had remained in Life but his spirit found itself standing against the current that flowed through Death. It seemed the Dementors had followed and they were bowing down to him; they were submitting their wills to him.

Master...

Draco knew he shouldn't be doing this Last time he was in Death; it had taken him longer than he liked to remember before he been able to cross over to Life. Besides, he couldn't stay for long knowing that Potter was present near his physical body, but he felt something inside him respond to the unspoken words.

Go until summoned.

Suddenly realization struck him like a stinging slap across the face He didn't have his bells with him, and there was no possible way to cross over to Life without them. Fuck!

Harry watched as one by one the Dementors disappeared His Patronus had died out and he had been too engrossed in watching the creatures surround Malfoy to produce another one. Once the last of the Dementors vanished, Harry saw that Draco's body had literally frozen His face had gone blue and icicles hung in his hair, the blood trickling out from Draco's mouth had frozen on his chin and then the boy dropped on his knees again with the sounds of breaking ice and fainted. Harry quickly made his way towards the still figure and he turned Malfoy over.

"Get away from him, Potter." He heard and looked up to see Professors McGonagall and Snape accompanied by the Headmaster nearly running towards them.

Snape arrived before the others and he bent down to place his fingers on Malfoy's pulse The relief was evident on his face as he took his fingers away. He looked at Harry and frowned before his eyes travelled and rested upon the corpses. Harry saw the Potion Master's face go green, but before he could say anything the others arrived.

"Harry, what happened?" McGonagall asked. "Dear Lord!" she exclaimed as she too saw the skinless bodies on the ground.

"Voldemort," Harry said emotionlessly and then looked at Malfoy. "And Dementors."

Dumbledore felt the extremely strong aura of magic disappearing He could feel the static coming from Harry but the magic he was most affected by was coming from where Snape was bent over Draco Malfoy.

"I'm going to take him in," Snape said as he picked up the frozen body of Draco Malfoy in his arms and started walking towards the castle.

...to be continued...