The Road Home

"And it's a leap of faith

When you believe there's

Someone out there

It's a leap of faith

When you believe that

Someone cares, oh

And when I call out to you

Will you be right there"

Leap of Faith - Michelle Branch

Chap. 9 - DREAMS

When Draco was eleven, his father had told him all about love. In the words of Lucius, love was a sentimental crap, something you could use to take advantage of your enemy in case he was stupid enough to believe in that kind of feeling. Love could be a valuable and useful weapon to crush your opponent.

Malfoys didn't love. Never. Malfoys only knew hate, power and ambition. His grandfather had stated many times over the years when he was alive that love was a curse, a poison ivy that grew around your heart and strangled it, and for that reason it should be exterminated at all costs. Lucius had taken his father's words very severely. He didn't allow himself to love even his own son. He had married for duty, not love. Malfoys needed heirs and that was all. Love wasn't part of the deal.

Draco never cared for it himself. In fact, he had agreed with them many times. But that was the past. That was the days when he thought his hate for Harry was just a silly envy, a boy's grudge. It was so much more than that. It was love in its purest state. It wasn't a curse but a blessing. It was the salvation of his cynical soul.

Draco was in heaven when he'd waken up in Harry's embrace. He felt as if he could dance around the room singing some foolish muggle love song. He'd waken up grinning, something he rarely did. He didn't remember a day he'd felt so happy in his entire life. He was feeling so content he told Harry about his desire to sing and the boy mercilessly made fun of him.

'Well, thank you so much, Potter! I'm opening my heart to you, you ungrateful bastard!'

'I'm sorry. But just imagining you - a Malfoy as you used to remind everyone all the time - dancing around the room and singing a muggle song... it's so unthinkable that it's hilarious! I'm sorry for making fun of you. Are you mad at me?' asked Harry placing soft kisses all over his face.

'No, I'm not mad. How can I be mad when you kiss me like this?' Draco said, kissing him back.

Too bad he had to go back to his cold and lifeless Mansion. He was feeling empty without Harry and bored like hell. The only thing he enjoyed doing was flying around the Manor and the Ghost Forest. Once or twice his mother had tried to talk to him about his school and his friends but he avoided the subject or talked as little as possible.

One night he lost his patience with Narcissa and let it out that she hadn't been worried with him when he almost died in the Dark Forest. He had the surprise of his life when he saw the shock on his mother's face and realized she didn't have any idea of what he was talking about. Lucius hadn't said a word to her.

That same night he listened behind the closed door of his father's office to his mother yelling at Lucius with an anger Draco never witnessed before except for that fatidic day when Lucius had left him alone in the middle of the Ghost Forest. She walked out of the room slamming the oak door and saw Draco staring at her with respect, admiration and love. She held him tightly.

"From now on, Draco, you'll write to me every time something like this happens to you. I don't care if it's only a scratch, I want to hear about it!" she ordered. "You're all I have. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you."

Then she'd walked away, leaving him alone and confused.

On the third day, his father gave a dinner party and invited all the main Death Eaters. Draco and his mother were obligated to be there to represent the role of the phony happy family. Narcissa had been too furious with Lucius to pretend everything was all right and whenever someone talked to her, she only muttered an unintelligible sentence.

Draco, on the other hand, had played his part perfectly. He had been all smiles, made nasty jokes about muggles and even talked about Harry with cruelty. Crabbe and Goyle had been at his side most of the time and for that he was actually glad since Celeste had been there too, hovering around him, expecting the perfect occasion to attack. He managed to stay as far away from her as possible because he'd given the silver stone to Harry and therefore he was not immune to Celeste's amulet anymore.

He kept an eye on his father all night and when the older Malfoy retreated himself with one of the most inhuman Death Eaters of the new generation - Ethan Clamch - Draco quickly followed him. He knew Malfoy Manor like the palm of his hand and he found the secret passage that leads to the room his father had entered discreetly. To his surprise, someone was already there. A hand covered his mouth and shushed him before he could scream. He saw the long blond hair, the soft and manicured hands, the silk blue robe and realized the person was none other than Narcissa Malfoy, his mother.

"Is everything ready for Christmas?" they heard Ethan ask.

"Yes, Lord Voldemort sent a crew to talk to the Dementors and they'd negotiated a union, just like in the old days. We're planning to take over Azkaban and release everyone. Lord Voldemort is eager to see the Lestranges by his side again. Personally, I don't like them. I always though Lestrange was too irrational for my taste."

"I never met him but I heard he was the most dangerous Death Eater ever existed. I think this is bullshit, of course, since he let himself get caught by those incompetent Aurors."

Lucius nodded. "Indeed. Like I said, he was an insane fellow and he was the one that went looking after the Aurors. If he'd been quiet he wouldn't have ended up in prison. What about you? What's your mission? I haven't seen you around much."

"I've been busy tracking down a rat among us. I also have to take care of a dissident Auror."

"A dissident? Who?"

"Erin Jones. She keeps getting in our way, you know? Almost all our missions failed thanks to her and that damned Order of Phoenix. There's a traitor in our side reporting every move we make to those bunch of legionaries of this Order of Phoenix crap."

"Oh, yes. The spy that calls itself Butterfly."

"We need to discover who this person is. And I think Erin knows. She always seemed to know everything. I used to call her Miss Know-It-All."

"Did you know Erin Jones intimately?"

"Yes. We used to be partners. She's also an ex-girlfriend, unfortunately. But she always had a dark side. I think I can convince her to jump to our side with a little persuasion."

"Good. Now, let's review some of the instructions for the next week, shall we?"

They talked over half an hour about some of the most important Death Eaters' missions. When they finished, Narcissa grabbed Draco by the arm and led him to her bedroom. She closed the door carefully and looked at her son, perplexed.

"What did you think you were doing?" she asked with her arms crossed.

"I could ask you the same thing, mother." he stated, raising his chin high and throwing back at her the question as a genuine Malfoy would do it.

She sighed. "I don't want you involved in any of this, Draco. This is not a game."

"I know."

"Then why? I know you agree with your father's idea. You said it yourself endless times that muggles and pure bloods shouldn't mix."

"I still think like that. I read too many books about this subject over the years and I saw the way muggles treated wizards. Like shit. They always took advantage of us. And what about Middle Age? They tried to eliminate all of our kind! I don't like muggles! But I don't want to kill them because of it. I'm not like my father! I'm not a heartless bastard!" yelled Draco.

Narcissa stared at him in total shock. "You're being disloyal to your own father to prevent muggles from getting killed by the hands of a monster? I'm proud of you, son. I really am. I never thought you'd have the courage to do something like this. But I know you admire Lucius. I just hope you realize what you are doing. This is serious, Draco."

"I KNOW! I know..." And that knowledge was eating him alive. Although he hated Lucius, he was his father after all. It wasn't easy to betray someone of his own blood.

"Right now, I want you to forget everything you heard. Let me handle this, ok? You're still a child and-"

"No, I'm not. I can take care of myself!"

"Oh, honey... You're too young to get yourself involved in this mess."

"Why are you betraying dad?" he asked.

"You and I both know that my marriage has been a lie ever since the beginning. You father doesn't love me."

"What about you? Do you love him?"

Narcissa looked down. "No."

Draco only nodded. He knew his parents only tolerated each other but to hear it out loud was devastating. 'Think about Harry and everything will be all right. And everything I'm doing will be worth it.'

"Are you Butterfly?" Draco asked.

"Yes. But please, Draco, keep out of this." she pleaded.

"I can't. There's someone I need to protect. Someone I like." he said with a choked tone of voice.

Bewildered, Narcissa covered her mouth with her hands. She'd noticed that Draco was different. More quiet than usual. He'd a confidence in him that wasn't there before. His eyes glowed with self-assurance and determination but most of all they sparkled with love. His son was in love. Her Draco, who was raised to be a carbon copy of Lucius, was in love.

"Oh, sweetheart. I'm so happy for you." But she was also scared. "Who is she?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Does she love you?" asked her protectively.

"I don't know, mother. Can we please change the subject?" he replied, annoyed.

"Ok."

"Do you know about the surprise Voldemort is planning for Christmas Eve?"

"No, I don't. I don't think Lucius knows either. Draco, if you really are willing to be part of this insanity, please be careful. And tell me anything unusual."

"All right."

"I've better go now. Your father must be looking for me."

She was almost out of the room when she heard Draco calling her back.

"What is it, Draco?"

"Please, be careful too, mum."

She smiled at him and left.

----------------------------

On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed earlier than he expected. He and Sirius had spent the entire day playing in the snow around the Hogwarts' grounds. Even though Sirius had been in his Animagus form most of the time, they'd a lot of fun keeping each other company. That was why when the night fell his eyes could barely stay open. He entered his dorm and jumped into his bed. He was alone. Ron and Hermione had gone home to spend the holidays with their families but he didn't feel sad about this since Sirius kept him company.

He lay down on his bed with a big grin on his face that quickly vanished when he thought about Draco. Draco... He was so worried about him. The fact that they weren't able to keep in touch was driving Harry mad. Lately his scar had been hurting again, which wasn't a good sign.

When the heart ached too much for Draco, he picked up the silver stone and squeezed it in his hands. It was a lame way of imagining the blond boy with him.

They'd spent an innocent and beautiful night together. Only one. It could have been more if Harry hadn't pushed Draco away for so long. If Harry hadn't been so stupid he would have more memories about them together, as a couple. Wow! Were they a couple? Harry wasn't sure about that even though he liked the idea very much. His immediate problem was Celeste. Ever since he and Draco had made up, Celeste lost almost all her charms. She didn't have the same strong effect over his senses. He hadn't said a word to her about their relationship but he knew they couldn't be together anymore. Not after Draco.

Draco was a hurricane in his life.

He still had doubts about Draco and all he stood for. After all, Draco was still a Malfoy. He didn't know what to expect from him. For all he knew, the brightness he spotted in Draco's eyes when they were together could be a fraud designed to make him believe in something that really wasn't there. But then, if that was the truth Draco was an amazing actor.

In spite of everything, the thought of losing Draco scared him more than anything else.

'Please, be careful. Don't do anything stupid and don't try to play the hero.' Harry had said on the morning they'd woken up together.

'Why? Because the role of the hero is a Potter's prerogative?' Draco said bitterly.

'Don't be stupid, Draco!' Harry held Draco's hand tightly. 'Because it's dangerous and I don't want anything to happen to you.'

'Oh. Are you worried about me?' asked Draco insecurely. 'For real?'

'Yes, of course I'm worried!' Harry smiled and hugged him. 'How couldn't I? You look like a Hufflepuff right now. So insecure and helpless...'

'Hey! There's no need to offend me!' Draco pinched his waist.

'I'm not offending you!' Harry grinned.

'Yes, you are. Calling me a Hufflepuff... Honestly scar face...' provoked Draco.

'Scar face? I'll show you who the scar face is.' Harry bit Draco's lower lip tenderly.

What happened next was a pretend fight full of jokes, verbal duels and hungry kisses.

'Stay.' Harry let it escape.

'I can't.' Draco said in a sad tone of voice, kissing Harry's forehead and brushing the lightning-shaped scar with his lips.

'I'll miss you.' Harry whispered.

'I'll miss you, too. More than you can imagine.'

With Draco on his mind, he'd an agitated night of sleep. He dreamt about the same place he saw Cedric died. The same place Voldemort had obtained a body of his own.

Harry saw a group of masked people heading for a clearing, passing by without noticing his presence. He followed them knowing exactly what was happening. Voldemort was about to lead a Death Eaters' meeting. He watched silently a line of hooded people forming in front of Voldemort, the hateful and hissing voice shouting Morsmordre over and over.

Pettigrew was right beside Voldemort, smiling pitilessly. Harry looked at him in shock. The pathetic and frightened Wormtail had changed drastically since Harry last saw him. He was more secure of himself and definitely more harsh and implacable. Peter Pettigrew was now officially Voldemort's right arm.

Voldemort stopped the ritual and started a long and dictatorial speech. Suddenly, Harry saw Lucius Malfoy being called and he felt that something wasn't right.

'You disappointed me, Lucius.' Voldemort hissed. 'Again.'

'I know. I'm terribly sorry, Master. But that damn Order of Phoenix appeared from out of nowhere.' said Lucius, kneeling before Voldemort and kissing the hem of his robe.

'Oh, yes. The famous Order of Phoenix. The legion that that old fool Dumbledore recruited to get in my way and spoil my plans. We have a traitor among us. Someone that has two faces maybe? Someone that in the past didn't even blink before jumping to the other side. Someone like you, my dear Lucius.' accused Voldemort.

'No, Master! I would never do such a thing! I'm your most loyal servant.'

'Indeed, you are. And I think you need a lesson so you can never forget that.' he raised his wand and shouted 'Crucio!'

'NO!' someone screamed at the same time, running towards Lucius and pushing him aside, receiving the curse in his place.

Immediately, Harry felt an excruciating pain in his scar. He kneeled down on the floor and sobbed. The person hit by the Cruciatus curse was screaming in pain as well. Harry looked up and saw that although the curse hit the wrong person Voldemort kept his wand firmly raised with a sadistic smile on his horrible face. The hood and the mask that protected the person's identity fell to the ground. In a glance, Harry saw the familiar silver-blond hair and the perfect and petulant face of Draco distorted with pain. Harry's eyes opened up wildly and even with his head hurting like hell he found energy to stand up and run in the direction of Voldemort to stop him.

'DRACO!' he shouted, but nobody listened except Draco.

Finally, he got closer to Draco, who looked up and stared at him in shock. Harry saw Draco moving his lips and fainting but before he could do anything, he woke up sweating and scared.

--------------------

Erin hated the dungeons. It was a cold, dark and extremely depressive environment. It was also where her class was located, so she had to get used to it. The only thing good about that sad place was being near the gruff Severus Snape. She knew he was harsh and cynical but she also knew he was brave, loyal and fair. Well, she thought with a grin, not that fair. But she noticed the way he protected and watched over Harry even though he passed the impression of doing the opposite.

Because of his bitterness he was a difficult man to live with and to understand. A woman should be very audacious to love such an impossible man. He was quite a risk. But Erin's heart didn't seem to care about any of this. After all, she was the perfect match for him.

That Christmas morning, she picked up two packages - one large and heavy and the other light and tiny - and headed for Snape's office. She didn't bother to knock - she never did anyway. She saw him sitting on the table correcting some students' essays and rolled her eyes.

It was just like Severus Snape to be working on Christmas. She sighed loudly and he stared at her with an unpleasant face.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want you to stop working. It's Christmas, for Merlin's sake!" Erin got near him.

"So?" he shrugged.

"Where is your Christmas spirit? The happiness and the joy and..."

"Oh, please. It's too silly. I never liked Christmas."

"Well, silly or not, I brought you something."

She put the large package on his desk. He stared at her stunned.

"Is this a Christmas present? For me?"

He looked so confused she almost felt pity of him.

"Yes, it's for you. I don't see anyone else in the room except us."

"Nobody ever..." he didn't finish the sentence. It wasn't the first time Erin had left him speechless, but it was the first time he felt a new and different feeling growing in his heart. He was almost... genuinely happy.

"Don't stare at me like that! Open it!" Erin grinned.

He unwrapped the parcel and discovered a brand new top-of-the-market Potions' kit.

"You shouldn't have. I mean, you... I..." he stuttered.

"Oh, I realize this is nothing. You probably have one of these already. That's why I have something else for you." she placed the small package on his hand. "I spent almost a month doing it and I'm not sure it'll work out the way I expect but I'm hopeful!"

"Another present?" Again, he looked at her in total shock. He opened it up and took a little green stone from it. "What's this?"

"It's an amulet. I've been doing quite a research about those things lately."

"Celeste Strut and her evil amulet?"

"How did you know?"

"Dumbledore told me. Honestly, Jones, did you expect to keep a secret from me?"

"Well..." she shrugged. "That's not the point."

"Isn't it?"

"No. The point is the amulet you're holding. I enchanted it, or at least I tried. I noticed your dark mark is giving you pain and-"

"How did you know?" He was more stunned than ever.

"I used to be an Auror, you know? We had some basic lessons about Death Eaters. I know your mark hurts, especially when Voldemort is feeling particulary moody."

"Yeah. It hurt like hell the night before." he said, touching his wrist sligthly.

"That's why I enchanted this amulet. It's supposed to reduce the pain and make it go away. Like I said before, I don't know if it'll work, but I'm hopeful."

"Thanks." He griped the little stone and it glowed greenly.

"You're welcome."

"I have something for you." said Snape blushing.

"Really?"

"Yes."

He opened up the drawer and took a parcel from it. Erin opened up and saw a book that she'd been looking for quite a while about the Egyptian Dark Arts.

"This is a relic. How did you get it?"

"I have my contacts."

"Hum..." She didn't want to know what kind of contacts he had. "How did you know I was looking for this?"

"Dumbledore told me."

"Dumbledore, the old bastard." she said with a grin while Snape looked at her astonished. Erin was the only person he knew that talked to Dumbledore in such an informal manner. "Thanks." She approached him and placed a kiss on his cheek. He blushed. "You know, we never talked about that last bet. You still owe me."

"What? You're the one who owe me since Potter ended up in the infirmary."

"But it wasn't Draco's fault."

"I won, Jones, just admit it."

"No, you didn't. They didn't kill each other."

"I don't care! I won."

"Oh, you're such an unpleasant man. All right! Ask me anything you want."

He stared at her with a malicious look. "What do you do every Friday night?"

"I knew it. I knew you would ask me this! You're so predictable!"

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are! You could have asked me anything, all my dark secrets, but the curiosity got you a big time."

"Hey! Maybe what you do on Friday's nights is a dark secret."

"You wish! Since you want to know so much, I go out clubbing."

"What's this? Some kind of dark magic ritual I never heard of?"

Erin laughed. "I suppose some people could say that. But no, it's nothing like that. I just go out to dance and have some fun. I discover a great wizard club on Hogsmead. It has the best El Florida (A/N: El Florida is a drink) ever."

"You go out to dance?"

"Yeah. Maybe I should take you with me some day."

"Oh, please. I hate dancing."

"Yeah, you hate everything that has the word fun in it."

"It's not like that."

"You know, you shouldn't let old feelings of resentment lead the rest of your life. I know you loved her. You probably still do. But-"

"What are you talking about?" his face hardened.

"Lily Potter."

The light and comradely air that was enfolding them suddenly became very heavy. He looked at her wishing she would drop dead right on the spot.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand."

"I know a lot more than you think. I know why you joined the Death Eaters. You did it to-"

"No! This ended a long time ago."

"No, it didn't. Your past still haunts you and you won't let it go. If you won't let her go, you won't allow anyone else in your heart."

"I don't want anyone else." he muttered.

"That's bullshit." said Erin coming closer to him and touching his face. "You know it isn't true. You want me."

"Ha! You're so full of yourself!" he stated but didn't pull away.

"That I already knew. But then, if I don't love myself, who will?" She got her mouth closer to his.

He smiled weakly. "Indeed, who will?"

They kissed very slowly, taking pleasure in each other's mouth. It'd been so long since he held a woman in his arms. He felt out of practice, clumsy, foolish. But Erin didn't seem to mind about any of these things.

A hard and impatient knock on the door pulled them apart. Snape opened up the door with a disagreeable look and saw a very nervous Harry Potter standing outside. Immediately, he grabbed Harry's right arm and, instinctively knowing something has happened to Draco, he muttered his name.

"What's the matter, Potter?" Snape asked urgently.

Harry kept staring at him like he was some kind of alien with big antennas. He was there to talk to Erin, not to him. Harry didn't know Draco had confided in Snape his feelings for him. For all he knew, Snape was only someone that hated him. But if his dream had been right, Draco was hurt and Snape's disgust for him was nothing compared to that.

"Erin, I had a dream about Draco. Voldemort cast the Cruciatus curse on him. It was meant to be for Lucius Malfoy but Draco got in the way." said Harry without more delay.

"Oh, my God. Potter, are you sure about this?" Snape asked with a worried expression.

"Yes! My scar hurt like hell when it happened."

"Maybe you were just dreaming."

"No, I was there. I mean, I was sleeping but my spirit was there. It's complicated. But what matters is that I saw Draco and he is hurt. You have to do something. Anything! Voldemort wasn't very happy with Lucius and I'm afraid of what happened next, after I woke up. I'm worried about Draco. I know how Cruciatus feels like. What if Voldemort cast it on him more than once? What if he didn't resist? What if- "

"Calm down, Harry." Erin said putting a hand over his shoulder. "Severus, please tell the Headmaster about this. I'll stay here with Harry."

"Potter should be heading for Dumbledore's office right now."

"No. He's too nervous. Let me calm him down."

"All right. I'll be right back." Snape said against his will.

After he left, Harry looked straight into Erin's eyes with a determination that sent shivers down her spine. "What?" she asked puzzled.

"I need to see him." said Harry resolutely.

"But how? You can't get out of here, Harry. Dumbledore will never allow you."

"You said something about Daydreams' Connections, remember?"

"No way! You can just forget about it. It's too dangerous."

"But you know how to perform the spell, right?"

"Theoretically, yes. But the Daydream Connection spell requires a higher level of union between two people; it has to be a very strong soul bond. I know what you and Draco have together is special, but-"

"It's more than just special. What we have together is out of this world. Let me do it, Erin. Please. I feel that he's in pain. I can feel his soul calling mine. He needs me. He needs me to save him."

"God, Harry. You had me at 'more than just special'. Do you think you can do it? Do you think you can enter inside Draco's mind? What if he shuts you out? Or worse, what if you get lost inside his mind? It could happen, you know. It's too much responsibility."

"Do you want me to sign a contract releasing you of any responsibility?" he asked acidly.

"There's no need to be sarcastic. All right! I'll do it. I'll probably be fired afterwards, but what the hell! I can't stand seeing you like this. Jesus. Dumbledore will kill me."

"Thanks, Erin."

"Yeah, yeah." she opened up her arms in defeat. "Let's go to my office."

Quickly, they walked out of Snape's workplace and entered Erin's office. She asked him to help her move out the furniture aside so the center of the room could be cleared. With a magical chalk she drew a large circle on the floor and a thin blue light shone faintly throughout the room.

Harry lay down in the center of the circle and closed his eyes. Erin raised her hands. Bit by bit, she muttered a very ancient spell in Druid language and the blue light glittered strongly until it filled up the entire room. The minutes passed by slowly.

Finally, Erin murmured the last words of the spell and Harry felt himself losing consciousness. While he was falling deeper and deeper into a subconscious level, traveling in high speed through the light and the darkness, Snape burst into Erin's office and stared at the scene incredulous.

Before he could say something, Erin pulled him out of the room and closed the door gently.

"What did you do?" he asked, bewildered.

"He went after Draco." Dumbledore answered for her.

"What? How?"

"Erin, I hope you realize what you just did." Dumbledore said looking intently at her.

"I do."

"Well, you'll have to wait then." Dumbledore stated. "Does anyone want a cup of tea?"

-------------------------

"Forget everything you thought you knew about me so far."

Harry landed in a cold and creepy place. All around him was dry, empty and sad. The only colors Harry could distinguish were black and different shades of gray. Gray... or silver.

He didn't know what to expect but he certainly didn't imagine finding such a devastated and abandoned place. The trees and flowers along the way were dried out, waterless. As he walked by, the darkness surrounded him suffocating his throat. A dense fog started to form and his eyes had to fight it to remain open.

Was this the inside of Draco's mind? It was so lifeless and frozen. Whenever Harry opened his mouth to breathe a small chilly cloud formed in front of his face. He heard thunder and lightning cutting the sky and he shivered. Suddenly he understood why Erin did not want him to be there.

It wasn't just the place itself, but everything surrounding him that was oppressive. At some points he saw depressive and lost memories of a little blond boy. He saw a younger Draco being left alone in a huge and empty mansion. He saw Lucius yelling at him and destroying his favorite toy. Harry even saw himself despising Draco every chance he got since the first year at school. Seeing all those reminiscences wasn't the worst part. The worst part was being able to experience exactly what Draco felt in all those occasions.

"Who are you?" asked someone behind him.

Harry quickly turned around to see who it was and saw an eight year old Draco staring at him.

"I'm looking for you actually. But an older version of you." answered Harry softly.

"Well, I can't help you." the younger Draco crossed his arms. "I don't know who you are. What if you hurt him?"

"I won't hurt him. I'm here to help. Can you show me where he is?"

"No, sorry." after saying these words, the eight year old Draco vanished.

"No, he's not sorry, Potter. And I don't know how did you get here, but I want you out. Now!" said another voice behind Harry.

Confused, Harry turned around again and saw a twelve year old Draco looking at him with the same insolence Harry had been used to in the past.

"No, I can't leave. Dammit, Draco! Where are you?" shouted Harry through the air.

"He can't hear you. He won't hear you. Face it, Potter. You lost. You can't save him. You had your chance and you blew it. Just give him up. Let the darkness drag him down. There is nothing you can do now. Not anymore."

"Fuck you, Draco! Stop fucking with my mind!"

Roars of laughter surrounded Harry mercilessly.

"You see that?" the twelve year old Malfoy pointed out one of his childish memories. "That was when I tried to defy my father's orders."

Harry watched the scene playing out in front of him as if he was watching a movie. He saw the younger Draco holding a puppy in his arms and playing with him, smiling in such a tender way Harry had the desire to reach out to him and hug him tightly. On the next scene, he saw Lucius Malfoy bursting into the room with an unpleasant look. Lucius took the puppy away from Draco harshly.

'I told you already, Draco. Don't get attached to anything or anyone!'

'Give him back to me!' Draco stood up against Lucius.

'Do you want him?' asked Lucius with a very cruel smile.

'Yes.'

Lucius broke the puppy's neck and dropped his inert body on Draco's feet.

'NO!' cried Draco heading for Lucius and trying to punch him.

Harry sobbed and made an attempt to walk towards them but the other Draco grabbed him by the sleeve and shook his head.

Lucius caught Draco by his arms and shook him. 'Don't you dare do this to me again. And don't you dare cry, Draco! A Malfoy never cries!' He let go of Draco and the boy fell on the floor.

When Lucius left, Draco crawled near the puppy and touched him with his hands trembling. He clenched his fists and let out a strangled sob. Harry felt his heart breaking.

"You see? You can't save him. You never saved him." said the twelve year old Draco.

"I didn't know. I never knew what kind of life he had." Harry felt hot tears running down his cheeks.

"Well, it's too late now." the other shrugged indifferently.

"No, it's not too late! Where is he?" demanded Harry.

"I don't know. I live here. I have no idea where he lives."

"What happened after Voldemort cast the Cruciatus on him?" asked Harry urgently.

"He passed out. He almost died, you know? He's still unconscious. Did he call you?"

"Why do you say that? How do you know?"

Harry saw something flickering in Draco's eyes.

"Well, did he?" asked Draco.

"Yes. I heard him calling me."

"And you came, just like a knight in a shining armor. How sweet. The only thing that's missing is a white horse, just like a muggle fairytale." the tone of voice was sardonic, but Harry spotted the flicker in the silver-blue eyes again.

The little Draco wasn't immune to Harry.

Suddenly, Harry understood. Of course, how could he be so stupid? That was his Draco. It'd been Draco all along, testing him, playing with his mind. Harry took a step forward.

"You know where he is." Harry said.

"No, I don't. I told you already. You're so dense, Potter."

Harry touched the boy slightly. "Yeah, I know. You say this to me all the time."

"Don't touch me." But the boy didn't pull away.

"I want to take you away from this place. This is not where you belong."

"And what would you know about it? I'm evil, Potter. I'm just like my father. You saw my memories."

"I saw a scared and lonely little boy. But I didn't see evil in him."

"You're wrong."

Harry shook his head. "No, you are wrong."

"Just go away, Potter. Go away and leave me alone." muttered Draco.

"I can't and I won't. You see, Draco, you made me a promise."

"And what was that?"

"You said you would come back to me. You said you would find your way back to me no matter what."

"It doesn't sound like me. It sounds like him."

"He is you, Draco."

"No, you're lying. I'm not him. I'm tough and brave. I'm not like him. He is a coward. He is probably crying right now and thinking about you. But I'm not. I'm still standing. I'm a Malfoy!" yelled Draco.

"You are all those things. You're brave, tough, but you are also gentle. You're not Malfoy, you're Draco. My Draco. Come back to me. Come back with me."

"Yours?" he laughed. "You're so funny. You're Harry Potter. I could never be with you. My father wouldn't let me. He... He would do to you the same thing he did to Harpy."

"Harpy?"

"My puppy."

"Oh, Draco..." Harry felt his eyes filling with tears once more.

"Just go. Please." He turned his back to Harry.

"No. If you're not leaving then I'm staying." decided Harry.

"You can't!" Draco stared at him astounded. "I won't let you."

"Oh, I really want to see you try! I'm not going, Draco. I'm staying here with you."

"But-"

"And since I'm staying, I think this place needs a new decoration. I think our subconscious is connected, so..." Harry closed his eyes and when he opened them he found himself in a different place. He saw flowers of all colors and shapes. Gradually, the darkness started to fade away, lightening up where he was standing.

It'd been a little change but maybe in time Harry could manage to transform the rest.

"Harry." said the soft voice of the real Draco.

"Draco!" Harry ran to Draco and held him tightly.

"You're not staying Harry. This is not the place for you."

"It's not the place for you either." Harry touched Draco's face tenderly and kissed him.

Harry's hungry kiss almost brought Draco to his knees. "You came. You came for me." muttered Draco against Harry's cherished lips.

"Of course I came, silly. Did you think I would let you get rid of me that easily?"

"I don't know. I guess. I wasn't thinking clearly."

"When I'm gone, you're going to wake up and that's an order."

"You can't order me around, Potter."

"Yes, I can."

"I still can't believe you're here. Or maybe I'm just dreaming."

"It's not just a dream." Harry kissed his forehead.

The silver-blue eyes looked at him in such an intense manner that made Harry shiver.

Harry closed his eyes and lost himself in Draco's arms. Both hearts were beating fast and in perfect unison. Draco's mouth savored his lips slowly and reverently. Harry moaned.

For Draco, kissing Harry felt like coming home after an excruciatingly long journey. He had to pinch himself so he could believe that Harry was really there with him. It'd been so difficult to keep his sanity intact ever since he got home that when he was hit by the Cruciatus curse he let the depression take over. He drowned into a subconscious state and stayed there, trying to rest his soul. The problem was that all his bad memories kept haunting him. It was when he started to call for Harry. His chaotic state of mind immediately calmed down after he laid his eyes on his love. Harry made him feel safe.

The most amazing thing was that it had only been a few hours but it felt like an eternity. That lifeless world he'd had drowned into was the way he saw the world without Harry.

"Just come back to me." Harry said, looking straight into his eyes.

"Yes." He nodded, defeated.

"I saw what Voldemort did to you, the sadistic bastard! And I saw the way your father treated you all these years. I'll kill them, Draco." Harry said in a strangled tone of voice.

"No, Harry. Let me handle my father alone. You already have a lot to worry about. I wished you could forget what you saw here. Can you forgive me? I know you saw when I-"

"Shush. You don't have to say anything. Just promise me something."

"What?"

"That you will come back to me."

Draco nodded and they spent quite some time sitting on the green grass Harry had created, whispering loving words to each other, kissing, holding hands and pretending there was only Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter left in the world.