Kisses

KISSES

The wall is cold and damp, and Harry would gladly move away if he were not chained to it. As it is, his wrists and ankles are seized with metal cuffs, and also with his own dried blood from his past unsuccessful attempts to break loose.

He is in a spacious room that looks like an abandoned dance hall rather than a torture chamber. Although the decorations in form of stone statures and paintings on the walls, all depicting some nasty magical creatures, seem too macabre to encourage dancing or any other sort of entertainment within these walls.

Harry wonders how much time he has left before Voldemort comes and executes him. He is not afraid of dying. There was never any chance of him killing Voldemort, and there were no unpardonable omissions, lost opportunities that he can blame himself for now. Harry did everything he could. He fought fair and square, and now he will die at the hands of his enemy.

He can see how similar his fate is to Draco's now. Harry lost the sense of time, and he is not sure if Draco already received the Dementor's Kiss he was sentenced to. Sentenced by Dumbledore, no less. Isn't it amazing how quickly the man has switched from a wise all-understanding Headmaster of a school to a ruthless leader of Voldemort's opposition? It appeared that Dumbledore waited for this, and as soon as the Ministry was ruined and the wizards fighting for the so-called "Side of Light" (not that Harry saw much difference between Light and Dark now) turned to him, he eagerly accepted the position.

Harry never noticed any faults with this appointment... until he heard about Draco's capture and sentence. It was unfair to punish the boy who never had any choice but to share his parents' views. It was also unfair to tear the said boy from Harry, when he was the only person Harry wanted. But Harry had no say in this decision, and no matter how fiercely he argued Draco was doomed.

Oh yes, Harry noticed the bitter irony of this situation. Two boys who were complete opposites in the beginning changed their lives with one glance, one touch. And since their very first kiss the paths of rivals became alike. Both fighting for things they did not believe anymore, both losing, both at their enemies' mercy and going to die.

Maybe Draco is already gone. Or will Harry be the first to go? Will Dumbledore understand why Harry is dying? That no Draco means no point in continuing? That Harry failed this operation because he could not keep his thoughts away from Draco tied to the chair and waiting for the hooded figure to approach?

The door opens, and Harry raises his head, almost hopefully. Will it be over finally? But it is not Voldemort who enters. Lucius Malfoy, his right hand and Draco's father. Tortures, then. Harry is sure that Lucius was not granted the right to take Harry's life - it was Voldemort's privilege. But undoubtedly Lucius asked for a private meeting with Harry, to make him pay for messing up with Draco. Harry is not really to blame for the Dementor's Kiss Draco will receive. Or maybe he is, maybe it is his fault that Draco was so careless on his mission. One more thing Draco and he have in common, they were too carried away with their romance to give a damn about the reality. Draco dies because he has been thinking of Harry too much; Harry dies because he has been thinking of losing Draco too much.

Lucius' face holds no hate, as it did during their previous encounter, just when Harry was captured on Malfoys' grounds. In fact, his face reveals no emotions at all. His expression is business-like, as if he is simply on a mission here. Lucius approaches, drawing out his wand, and Harry's suspicions are confirmed. But instead of whispering the anticipated Crucio, Lucius' lips are touching Harry's forehead. It is a kiss; Lucius Malfoy kisses him on the forehead. And he says something, something that sounds like "You will give me my son back".

The wand flicks in the air, and chains drop from Harry's ankles with a clatter, to his infinite amazement. Lucius steps closer, and begins to repeat the move, this time aiming for the wrists, but before he finishes, the door opens once again.

This time it is Voldemort.

"What a stupid decision, Lucius," he remarks.

"I was merely going to interrogate him, milord. If this displeases you, I humbly beg for your forgiveness," Lucius begins in a bored tone, without the slightest hint of remorse. It seems that the words are said out of habit rather than out of fear.

Obviously Voldemort is thinking the same. "I gave you too many chances, Lucius. I expected so much from your family, but you are failing me again and again, just like your son..." He smirks suddenly. "At least I won't have to bother about Draco. From what I've heard, Dumbledore already took care of this little nuisance."

Harry's heart stops beating at that moment. He has known all along that Draco has been practically doomed, but to hear that it is over, that Draco is gone...

Lucius' hand grips the wand tighter. His eyes narrow, and Harry somehow feels that Voldemort made some kind of mistake. Harry has no idea what it is.

"You should have known better than threaten me and insult my son in my Manor," a little smile plays at Lucius' lips. Harry does not understand why Lucius does not try to protect himself, does not even direct his wand at Voldemort. Harry knows for sure that in the next second a dead body of Lucius Malfoy will crumble at his feet.

"You should have known better than oppose me, Lucius," Voldemort hisses and raises the wand.

Before he utters the fatal incantation, a flapping sound distracts him. They all turn their heads, and Harry sees a figure to his left. It is of human height, but it surely is not human. It moves forward from the shadow, and Harry recognizes one of the gargoyle statues that decorate the hall. It is as ugly as it was while standing frozen on its pedestal, only now its eyes are bright as moonlight. Was it Lucius' spell that brought it to life?

The creature hisses, its round glowing white eyes focused at the Dark Lord. It is ready to strike, and Voldemort casts a stunning spell. It does not work. "You really think a stone figure can stop me, Lucius?"

"What I think does not matter; what they think does," Lucius' smile widens. "These gargoyles are here to protect the Manor, they won't turn back to stone until the danger for the Master is gone."

Gargoyles?

And Harry realizes that this one gargoyle could not produce so much noise. He looks around and sees several dozens of similar creatures stepping out of the shadows, corners, and niches. They hiss, and flap their wings, and rise to the ceiling, and begin to fly in circles there. And they attack.

Harry tries to watch but has to close his eyes after a few moments. He still hears the awful ripping sound and useless spells that a weakening voice is screaming, but at least he does not see it.

The noise dies down, and a clattering sound makes Harry open his eyes again. His wrists are free, and he slides down the wall, too exhausted to stand. All gargoyles are inanimate and at their old places, only a large pool of blood covered with pearl-grey feathers left as an evidence of the battle.

Lucius steps back and says just one word: "Come". The he walks out of the hall, not even turning around to see if Harry is able to walk.

Somehow Harry manages to rise to his feet, he follows Lucius, careful not to slip on the blood and not to look at the frozen stone figures that seem to be watching him. His mind registers the fact that Voldemort is dead and files it away for future consideration. He will deal with it later.

They pass several corridors, and enter a small room, occupied only by one person. It is Draco, and for one beautiful moment Harry is overwhelmed with joy, when he believes that Lucius Malfoy performed a miracle and somehow rescued his son from the terrible fate.

But Draco does not react to their appearance. When Harry rushes forward and touches his face, Draco slightly opens his mouth and a thin trace of saliva trails down his chin. Harry wishes he were back in the hall, waiting for Voldemort's arrival.

"They gave me his body back," the cold voice, unrevealing any emotions, states behind him. "They didn't ask why I wanted it."

Harry is afraid to turn; he does not want to see if Lucius is crying. If he sees the father crying over his son, it will be final. As long as he keeps his eyes on Draco, alive and breathing, he can believe that Draco is still with him.

"Do you want to bring him back?" The question is unexpected, and brings maddening hope that Harry does not want to trust.

But he still asks, his first words since he left the hall, "Is... is there a way?"

This is another room, and this time Harry is scared to enter, because he knows what awaits him there and what is expected of him. This is for Draco, he reminds himself, and opens the door. Lucius does not follow him inside, but his voice rings in Harry's ears.

"When a Dementor sucks a soul out of the body, he feeds on it for a while, until consuming it completely and looking for more. I found the one that performed the Kiss, but I will need you to get Draco's soul back."

Harry approaches the unmoving hooded figure in the armchair. The Dementor remains still, as Lucius said he would. The creature is entranced by a spell, and Harry was promised that it would not kiss back. It also does not react to Harry's presence and does not give him the feeling of dread and despair, as Dementors do.

A horrible suspicion that this was one big lie to avenge and make Harry share Draco's fate crawls into Harry's mind, but he pushes it away. It is for Draco, and he will do it.

Harry bends forward, to the grey scabbed skin and a gaping hole. For Draco, for Draco. Draco's soul is inside. He presses his lips to the hole, and the spell that Lucius cast on him, some weird combination of Patronus spell and Dark magic, is activated.

Harry hears a piercing scream, and he knows, no matter how unrecognizable the voice is, that it is Draco screaming. Something is filling him, he feels as if swallowing someone's bile, but he cannot move away. Lucius said that the spell evoking the urge and the power to claim one's soul would not allow him to stop until it was done.

The flesh his lips are touching yield, as if disintegrating, and suddenly the kiss is over. There is nothing to kiss anymore, because the Dementor's flesh crumbled away.

Harry looks down and sees grey slime pooling at his feet. He wants to throw up because this is what his mouth touched a moment ago, but his body is drained of energy that such action would require.

Lucius walks in and leads Harry away, back to Draco.

Harry feels that his clothes are being removed, and he is being pushed onto the couch, but he does not care. There is Lucius' voice, ordering to spread his legs, saying that he must let Draco enter him, that there must be ultimate physical contact to finish the ritual.

Harry does not understand how Draco can enter him, when there is no Draco, and Lucius speaks again, as if answering Harry's unspoken question, clarifying that there are simple spells that provoke certain reactions in human body, even if a body is unconscious.

There is a heavy weight on Harry, and it feels unusual and uncomfortable because Draco never was on top before. Then something slams into Harry with a violent thrust, making him gasp in pain and focus his glance on the person raping him, and Harry knows that this is not Draco. Grey eyes are empty, the facial expression hollow, and the body jerking on top of Harry does not give a damn about the fact that Harry is hurting, that it tears Harry's flesh and makes him bleed and cry.

The rhythm is accelerating, and Harry's pain grows with it. The room is filled with blindingly bright light, and Lucius is saying one more spell, the words of which are indistinguishable for Harry as they drown in increasing buzzing noise. Then Harry can hear Lucius' distinct order "Kiss him!", and he pulls the head above him down to his level, pressing his lips to Draco's mouth, opening it with his tongue, pretending that it is Draco, and not a soulless body that invades Harry right now.

All this is too much for Harry, nausea in his stomach, ripping pain between his thighs, deafening noise and blinding light, and he falls into merciful darkness.

When Harry awakes, the light and the noise are gone, and there is no body lying atop of him. He hears steps and turns his head in this direction. Lucius is approaching him. Harry tries to read the expression on his face; he has no energy and no courage to ask if it worked.

Then he realizes that Lucius looks past him and reaches there with his hand. Harry turns his head there right on time to see how the cover is pulled off the body lying next to him. It is Draco, and when the cover is gone, he shivers and mutters something incoherent, as a little boy whose sleep was troubled.

Harry should feel happiness, but there is no strength for that emotion either. So he turns to his side, without looking at Lucius and ignoring the pain in his backside that ensues from this movement. He curls around Draco, making sure that their limbs are entwined and that he can feel Draco's heartbeat.

A year later Harry still sleeps in this position because Draco needs it. The ritual that Lucius performed had a drawback of binding Harry and Draco together. Draco must feel Harry's presence all the time. Other than that, he looks and behaves normal. Harry found Draco's constant demand for his company unnerving at first, but then he got used to it. Unfortunately it means that Harry cannot leave the Manor, because Draco who is officially dead to the world cannot be seen. It made Harry feel trapped in the beginning, but he adapted. Now this place feels like home. Harry wakes every morning in the same position, entangled with Draco, kisses Draco on the lips and comes down to breakfast with him. And downstairs, when Draco kisses Lucius' hand, Harry repeats the gesture.

The End