Shatter

The door did not so much open as it was kicked in. A very irate Unspeakable followed it into the room. She stalked over to the desk, planted one foot on it and aimed her wand between Harry's eyes. "Now would you mind telling me why you haven't been to see my nephew in almost a week?"

Harry didn't answer, only pointed to his neck and the mottled green-yellow-brown bruises that still ringed it.

Isobel snarled and shoved her wand into the top of her boot, but kept her foot on the desk. "I know you can talk, so don't give me the silent treatment."

"He tried to kill me," Harry said.

Isobel growled deep in the back of her throat and muttered something.

Harry looked confused. "What?"

"How many times have people tried to kill you?" Isobel snarled. "You are Harry fucking Potter, for fuck's sake. People are always trying to kill you. Why should Draco be any different?"

Harry lowered his eyes. Isobel burst out laughing. "Oh, I get it! It's Draco that's the difference!" She toppled backwards to land still giggling in a chair.

"Are you okay?" Harry wondered, leaning over the desk.

Isobel wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "Oh, I'm fine. It's you that seems to have the problem."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Harry demanded.

Isobel fought back a snicker that turned into a cough. "You," she managed at last, "are smitten."

"I'm what?!" Harry blurted.

"You are!" she declared triumphantly. "I can see it. I have an excellent sense for these things."

"You're crazy," Harry said

"According to my fitness reports," Isobel replied. "But you are in love, which is the same thing." She leaned back in the chair, grinning smugly.

"You're wrong," Harry protested, but with diminishing force. "You're wrong, I'm not..."

Isobel stood up. "You are, Harry," she said. "Whether you recognize it or not." She walked to the door. "Tell him hello for me tomorrow."

"How do you know--"

But she was already gone.

***

He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting on the edge of Draco's bed when Skyler arrived, but he figured it was at least an hour. She didn't announce her presence immediately, only stood silently in the doorway.

"How long has he been like this?" she asked finally.

"A week." Harry's hand drifted absently to rest at his throat. "They were afraid...of him getting violent again. So they drugged him."

"Isobel says he tried to kill you."

"That's what it looks like."

"You don't believe it, then."

Harry shook his head. "When I came to, he was scared...He was afraid something had happened to me. Not exactly the attitude of my attempted murderer."

"What was he doing before you were attacked?"

"He was talking to his father."

Skyler's face was shaped by a strange expression. "His father is dead."

Harry nodded. "And this wasn't the first time. I know you said that he'd seem crazier as things wore on but--"

"Harry, you aren't safe here," Skyler blurted. "You need to go."

Harry grabbed Draco's hand. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Dammit, Harry, you're in danger! He could try something any minute!"

"Who could?" Harry demanded.

"Lucius Malfoy. He's still here." Skyler's blue eyes kept darting nervously around the room.

"Like a ghost?" Harry wondered.

"Spiritual manifestation with some physical capabilities; yes, a ghost. An invisible ghost who can still do things in the real world." Skyler stared at his throat for emphasis.

"But how can Draco see him?" Harry felt the hair on his the back of his neck beginning to rise.

"Some people with mental trauma can see otherwise invisible spirits," Skyler explained. "Now we don't have time for this. I need to go inside Draco's mind and check his progress. I'm afraid being drugged for so long might have complicated things."

"Take me in with you," Harry ordered.

"Excuse me?!" Skyler yelped. "You don't know what you're getting into. You'll have to go through the Gates, and I don't know how many there are or what they are. I can bypass them as an empath, but you won't be able to." She moaned. "I've never tried anything like this before."

"But it's been done?"

Skyler fisted her hands in her hair, tugging the short strands to their utmost. "Yes, it's been done, but not by me. I could end up severing your mind from your body, for Merlin's sake!"

"I'm willing to take the risk," Harry said, green eyes clear and calm.

Skyler muttered a string of curses under her breath. "Fine, but on your own head be it, Potter. I'll be back in a minute."

***

Skyler returned with Beatrice in tow. The blond woman was carrying a glass filled with a grayish-blue liquid. She instructed Harry to prop Draco's head up, then poured the potion down Draco's throat.

"What was that?" Harry asked.

"A restorative," Beatrice replied. "It won't fully take effect for a while, but that should be enough for your purposes." She glanced at Skyler. "What else do you need me to do?"

"Stay here and see that we aren't disturbed," Skyler instructed. "If the physical link is cut before the mental one...let's just say it's not a good thing." She took a seat at the foot of the bed and took Draco's free hand in her right. Skyler held out her left hand and Harry grasped it, closing the circle.

"Hold on," Skyler murmured. "This could be tricky..."

They closed their eyes and Harry felt a strange tugging sensation, almost like a Portkey. "Skyler?" he called nervously. "Did it work?" He opened his eyes and found himself in the middle of a vast plane covered in fog. "Skyler? Hello?" No one answered.

"Is anybody here?" In the distance, he heard a woman singing. He walked in the direction of the voice. Out of the fog, an enormous hedge full of roses appeared. A woman stood before the bush, trimming flowers from it with a pair of silver sheers and placing the blooms in a basket hung over her arm. She looked over Harry as he approached and smiled. He realized it was Narcissa.

"Oh, you must be Harry," she said. "I'm so glad to meet you. He's been talking about you endlessly."

"He has?" Harry wondered.

Narcissa nodded. "Oh, yes; everyday."

"I'm here to see him," Harry said.

"Yes, of course." Narcissa grabbed a limb of the rose bush and pulled it aside. Harry could see a narrow path leading beyond the hedge. "You'd best hurry. He gets nervous when he's waiting for someone." Before Harry could depart, Narcissa grabbed his arm with her free hand. "Here. Take this." She took a red rose from her basket and handed it to Harry.

"Thank you," Harry said.

"Quickly now," Narcissa urged and Harry ran down the path. When he threw a glance over his shoulder, he couldn't see the rose hedge anymore. He turned his eyes forward and kept running.

Soon, a pair of massive doors loomed out of the mist that still enshrouded the landscape. They were dark and gothic and Harry knew without knowing that these were the doors of Malfoy Manor. He raised the huge knocker on the right-hand door and let it fall. The boom echoed for miles. When there was no answer, he reached for the knocker again, only to have the door open before his hand touched it. He moved to step through it, but Lucius Malfoy blocked his path.

"What do you want, Potter?" Lucius snapped. "I thought I'd convinced you to stay away from my son."

"So it was you," Harry breathed, the bruises at his throat aching in memory.

"Of course it was me," Lucius said. "I had to keep you away from my son. I had to keep him safe."

"But I wasn't going to hurt him," Harry protested.

Gray eyes shimmered. "Oh, you have more power to hurt him than you will ever know," Lucius murmured. He began to close the door. "Go away, Potter. This is not any of your business."

Harry forced his shoulder through the doorway. "It is my business and you're going to let me in." His eyes blazed emerald.

Lucius stared at him as though he'd seen a ghost. "Ja--Potter..." Anything else he may have said was cut off by a cry from beyond the doors. Lucius glanced back. Harry took advantage of his distraction and forced his way past Lucius, running in the direction of the cry. Lucius shouted something after him, but he paid no attention.

There was a shadow of something in the distance, larger than the double doors he'd passed through a moment ago. He wondered if it was a house, until it moved. It was a dragon, silver-white with a large, narrow head on a serpentine neck. It snarled at him, stalking forward with its head bent low. The dragon parted its jaws; Harry could smell the faint scent of smoke and brimstone. Without knowing why, he held up the rose Narcissa had given him.

The dragon froze, staring at the flower. Finally, it roared and took off, leaving Harry alone again. He stood there for a moment, trembling slightly. Then he began running again.

He could hear voices now.

"I told you, I won't!"

"Why not? Draco, you're so close--"

"That doesn't matter!! Nothing matters anymore! Just leave me the hell alone!!"

"Draco, please--"

"No! You don't have the right to ask anything of me. You don't have the right!"

Harry emerged from the fog to see Draco glaring over his shoulder at Skyler.

"You're pissing me off, Trueflight. Go away." He made a dismissive gesture.

Skyler looked shocked, then disappeared.

***

Skyler fell backwards into herself and tumbled off the bed.

"What happened?" Beatrice asked.

Skyler rubbed her throbbing elbow. "I don't know...Somehow, Draco forced me out of his mind...Oh, no." She was staring at the bed, where Harry still sat, Draco curled beside him, their hands entwined.

"What's wrong?"

"Harry's still in there," Skyler whispered. "Harry's still inside...I can't get him out now."
"Can't you just go back in?" Beatrice demanded.

"Not that simple," Skyler murmured. "I'm afraid if I force my way back inside, it will disturb whatever link Harry and Draco have, causing damage to one or both of them."

"So all we can do is wait, then," Beatrice said.

Skyler nodded.

***

"What did you do to her?" Harry asked.

Draco turned, noticing him for the first time. "You saw that, did you?" He shrugged. "I threw her out. She was bothering me."

"She could have helped you!" Harry shouted.

Draco sneered. "Nobody can help me, Potter, don't you get that? I have to do this myself. That's what Trueflight was trying to get me to do." He tossed his head. "Showed her, didn't I?"

"What do you have to do?" Harry wondered.

Draco gestured to about ten or so pieces of mirror glass spread before his feet. "See these? I have to figure out where they fit." He held up a small silver hand mirror, a portion of the glass missing near the center. "If I do, then I'm all better and it's back to the real world."

"Why don't you? Then you can come home--"

"News flash, Potter, I don't have a home!" Draco screamed. "The Ministry's still crawling through it, I bet, pulling up floorboards and cutting into tapestries, looking for evidence for the Death Eater trials they haven't finished yet. And even if they're finished with the Manor, I can't go back there."

"Why not? You--"

"I can't go back! That place is too full of ghosts and memories and promises and portraits that will have no trouble reminding me of my failures. It's too full, there's no room for me, no room..." Tears were leaking slowly from Draco's eyes.

"Draco." Harry stepped forward and held out his hand which still held the rose Narcissa had given him.

Draco reached out, fingertips brushing the red petals. "Mother grew roses like this...There was a huge bush in the garden..."

"She gave it to me," Harry said. "I think she wanted you to have it."

Draco let a sob escape, then bit down on his lower lip. "I can't...I failed..."

Harry shook his head. "If you really failed, she wouldn't still care about you. Your father wouldn't have tried to kill me because he thought it would keep you safe, either."

"My father...You saw him?" Draco murmured, eyes dipping nervously to Harry's throat.

"We didn't talk long, but somehow, I think he understands." Harry smiled. "Come home, Draco. There are people who love you waiting."

"Isobel..."

Something shone in green eyes. "Not just her."

"If you're lying to me, Potter...I swear..." Draco's voice was contorted by too many emotions to name.

"I wouldn't lie to you."

Draco took a step, closing the small distance that remained between them. He cradled Harry's face with his empty hand. "I swear..." Harry never knew what it was that Draco swore, as the blond young man kissed him then and omitted the rest of his oath. Draco's lips were soft but insistent against his own, so Harry parted his lips, surrendering himself and all that he was in this place that did not exist outside of Draco's mind. Draco's hand traveled to his hair, threading itself through the midnight locks. He brought his other arm around Harry, crushing him against his own lean frame.

Finally, Draco pulled back, with a parting gesture of raking his teeth over Harry's lower lip. "I'll come back, if that's what you really want of me."

Harry nodded and tucked the rose behind Draco's ear. "Please."

"All right, then." Draco looked down at the pieces of glass.

"Would you like me to go?" Harry asked.

"It would probably be safer..." Draco murmured. He kissed Harry again; this time, barely a brushing of lips.

"I'll be waiting for you," Harry said.

Draco smiled at him, and then Harry was falling backwards and opening his eyes and back in Draco's room at St. Mungo's.

"Are you all right?" Skyler asked.

Harry nodded. "I'm fine. So is Draco. He should be back soon."

"You talked him into it?" Skyler looked impressed.

Harry's lips curved and he squeezed Draco's hand. "In a manner of speaking."

After a moment, Draco's eyes opened. He smiled, rolling his shoulders luxuriously. "I did it," he whispered. "I fixed it." He yawned and closed his eyes.

Harry started for a moment, until Skyler laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right," she said. "It's a natural sleep. He'll need a few hours of rest, but he's fine."

Harry sighed. "Thank you."

Skyler smirked. "Seems you did most of the work, but you're welcome."

"On that happy note, it's time for you two to be going." Beatrice opened the door and gestured meaningfully to the hall. "Mr. Malfoy needs his rest and you don't look like you've slept very much, either, Mr. Potter. Miss Trueflight, be sure that he makes it safely out the door."

Harry bristled a little at Beatrice's order, but Skyler took him by the arm and led him into the corridor. "Come on," she murmured. "She knows what she's talking about. You look dead on your feet. You'll be no good to Draco like that."

The mention of Draco did it, as Skyler had known it would. Harry cast one final, longing glance at the blond, curled comfortably on the bed, then followed Skyler out. Beatrice dusted off her hands. "Well, two out of three taken care of," she said, then turned to an apparently empty corner of the room. "Now, as for you, Mr. Malfoy--"

There was a rushing sound, as of fast moving air, then something stopped inches from Beatrice's face. She didn't flinch. "Very theatrical, Mr. Malfoy, but I am not impressed. I took no flak from your son; I'll take none from you. It's time you were going."

The wind returned, tossing Beatrice's hair around her face.

Beatrice raised an eyebrow. "Please, Mr. Malfoy, I've had second sight since I was five. My only regret is that I didn't recognize your presence sooner. Now, in case you hadn't noticed, you're dead. Let your son live."

A sigh issued from nowhere visible.

Beatrice smiled. "It's time you were going," she repeated.

The wind rose one final time, gusted out the door, and was gone. Beatrice watched it go.

***

One week later...

Draco was sitting on the edge of his bed, swinging his feet and humming to himself. His bags were packed; every picture taken down off the walls and placed neatly into folders. All that was left now was to wait. The door opened. He looked up.

"Hey."

"Hey, Draco." Harry sat down beside him. "Glad to be getting out?"

Draco grinned. "Very. Was only waiting for you, actually."

Harry cocked his head to the side. "For me? Why me?"

"Oh...She didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?"

Draco ducked his head. He refused to be embarrassed. Malfoys were not embarrassed. "Isobel's away on assignment and she won't let me stay at her place alone. So...she thought maybe I..."

"Maybe you could stay with me?" Harry prompted. Draco nodded. "Sure. I don't have a guest room, though, so I'm afraid it's the couch."

Draco smirked. "Won't let me sleep with you, Potter?"

"Never on the first date, Malfoy."

"What about the second?" Draco purred.

Harry arched an eyebrow. "We'll see, Malfoy."

"I'm counting the days." Draco stood up and shouldered one of his bags. Harry rose and took the other. He was almost out the door when he realized Draco wasn't following him.

"Harry."

The young man turned at the sound of his name. "Yes?"

Draco, who had been looking around the room, locked his silver eyes with Harry's green. "What happened...before I came back...that was real, wasn't it? When I kissed you, that was real. Wasn't it real?" He fidgeted , eyes now on the floor, and Harry thought he heard glass cracking.

"Yes." Harry walked back to the young man and cradled Draco's face with his free hand. "It was real, Draco, as real as this." And then he kissed him, gently and searchingly, feeling with his lips for any last slivers of glass, hoping to draw them into himself rather than cause the boy before him any more pain.

They pulled away slowly, uncertainly.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked.

Somehow, it didn't seem strange that he'd asked. "I'm fine," Harry said. "What about you?"

"Been better," Draco replied, "but things are improving." He brushed a piece of hair from where it had fallen between Harry's eyes. "Can we go home now?"

Harry smiled and led him outside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There it is, lovelies: the end, but this is far from over. I'm plotting a sequel, as well as a couple other projects I've been neglecting for a while.

Thanks to my reviewers: elethoniel, Jive, Ceresi, Capricious Sylph, Cunninglycrazy, Aarra, ddz008, and Cherish Chang. I need all the support I can get, and you guys always provide it. Thanks.

Don't forget to drop me a line about what you thought of all this madness. I rewrote this chapter about three times, so sorry if parts of it didn't come off well. If you loved it, who am I to deny praise? *grin*

Also, check out my live journal: www.livejournal.com/~heridraconigena. I post all update/new project notices there.

Hm, I can't do "In the next chapter...," so I'm going to leave you with a teaser for one of the other stories I'm working on. Note: I just started it, so it has some gaping holes and no official name. I'll see if I can get my point across, though.

In the next project...

Harry. Draco. Sixth year. Ancient ritual. Necromancy. The chance to bring someone you lost back from the dead. The trial: die the death you most fear. Truth. Consequences. Remus. Sirius. Narcissa. Hate. Lust. Love. Survival.

Interested yet?

Keep your eyes peeled. See you later.

~ Kat

"I thought, There goes my lord, whom I was born to follow. I have found a King. And, I said to myself, I will have him, if I die for it." - The Persian Boy, Mary Renault