Let the Darkness Take You

It was time to become the thing that he was always meant to be.

The circle was silent as more and more people began to Apparate into the area. Harry shivered as a cool breeze whipped around him, making goose bumps rise up on his skin. He moved his arm and the bumps rubbed painfully on his clothes. The full moon shone brightly down on them, the stars twinkling innocently beside it. To Harry's right, the trees of the forest groaned and cracked with the wind, and to his left, waves were breaking the shore, making the only other sounds.

When at last the final person arrived, completing the circle, Voldemort started walking around the circle, looking into each of their hoods. Every once in a while, he would stop, ponder something quietly to himself, come a decision and keep moving. He was half way through the circle when he stopped in front of one Death eater. "Mr. Malfoy. I have heard stories that amuse me. What do you have to say of this?"

"I did have a detention one week ago, cleaning Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

Harry's blood froze. How did Voldemort know of this? He certainly had not told him. "Hmm... yes, and you had it with Mr. Harry Potter. I heard some interesting things happened between the two of you." Voldemort then turned to face Harry and he glared. "I did not know you two had become friends. I thought I would have known of this by now."

"We are not friends, my lord," Draco answered hastily. "It was just the tension. We had been fighting at first."

"Yes, and it led to some good snogging, did it not?"

"Um.. yes, it did," Draco admitted, his voice shaking, and Harry knew that the Slytherin's face was probably red at the moment.

"Interesting. I was under the impression that you completely despised each other, but it does not seem like it now, does it?"

Draco stood completely still as Voldemort ran a slender finger down the blond's cheek. "And what did I tell you specifically not to do, young Malfoy?" Voldemort hissed angrily.

Draco hesitated. "To not take any consorts on my own time, my lord."

"How well you listened," the Dark Lord mused. "Crucio!" The curse was held on the young Slytherin for nearly a minute before Voldemort lifted it. Draco screamed out his pain as the curse worked its way through his body like knives, cutting through his nerves. He didn't let himself slump to his knees until the Cruciatus was lifted. There Draco kneeled, gasping for his breath. "Be sure that I do not hear of this again, for a much more painful punishment will be in order."

Without another word, Voldemort kept moving along the circle. Harry saw Draco's body shaking uncontrollably. Voldemort stopped again in front of another person, spoke a few quiet words that Harry could not hear, and then placed the Cruciatus curse on him. After Voldemort was done with him, he kept moving and he placed the curse on a few more people as he passed, before returning to Harry. He stared menacingly down at the younger man. "Snogging your enemy, are you?" he whispered.

"It was a mistake," Harry replied calmly.

"Indeed. If you wanted a person to snog so badly, I could have provided it. Be sure that you do not touch Draco Malfoy again. He is taken." The Dark Lord turned back to the circle, paused for a moment and then began a speech. "We meet here tonight because of a single person. This person surprised me three weeks ago by showing up at my headquarters. Had I not known that that day would come this year, I would have killed him on the spot. However, I knew that he wanted to be my faithful servant. Since then, I have personally been training him. He has now mastered all the Unforgivable curses and he will be rewarded tonight, as well as tested." He turned to Harry and motioned him to join him at the centre of the circle. "This, my faithful followers, is my new second in command. I am particularly fond of this one, so if any of you dare to threaten him, you will answer to me. Take your hood down now," he ordered Harry, who looked up at him, with a pleading look, though he knew that his face was darkened by his hood.

"But I do not want to show everybody who I am," he whispered.

"You will do as I say," Voldemort hissed. "Take down your hood."

Tentatively, Harry raised his hands and lowered his hood. A collective gasp was heard from the side of the circle that he was facing, and confused mutterings could be heard behind him. Voldemort grabbed his shoulders and turned him around so that everybody could see who he was. Another gasp went up and Harry glowered at them all.

"But my lord," somebody spoke up. "That is..."

"Harry Potter? Yes, I am proud to say that he has willingly joined our noble cause."

"How do we know that this is not some elaborate scheme from Dumbledore?"

"Because Dumbledore would not be fool enough to send his golden boy in and risk his life; his only means of defeating me." He let out a shrill laugh and motioned with his hand to somebody. A man walked forward, dragging a person with him who was bound, gagged and with a bag over their head. He threw the person onto the ground and walked back to his respective place. "This school year at Hogwarts, some very strange things have been happening." Here, Voldemort smiled evilly and then continued. "It seems as though the whole student body, and all the teachers have taken an extreme disliking to young Potter here. This finally pushed Harry to approach me. He knew that where he was his powers would not be appreciated; he also knew that he would find respect with me. Harry... tell us, out of everybody who started to hate you, which people hurt the most?"

"Sirius, Ron, and Hermione," he answered without hesitation.

"Indeed. Your godfather, and two best friends. Well, no need to worry in their regards. This is your reward."

With a wave of his wand, Voldemort took the bag, ropes and gag off of the prisoner. Violently red hair was exposed and Harry knew that it was his former friend, Ron Weasley, even with his face smashed into the ground. "Ennervate," Voldemort muttered. Ron woke slowly and looked blearily around him. When his eyes laid on Voldemort, they went wide and he very quickly got to his feet, though Harry could tell that he was in pain.

"How... how did I get here?" he stammered.

"That is of little importance," Voldemort said, waving him off with a dismissive hand. "Harry." At this dismissal, Ron looked to Harry and a relieved look crossed his face. "You may do whatever you want."

Harry smiled, lowering his head, making his eyes become dark and menacing. "Harry?" Ron asked uncertainly. "Um... did you get here the same way I did?"

"No. I came here by myself."

"But... are you crazy? He wants to kill you!"

"Not anymore." Harry raised his wand and pointed it at Ron's chest.

"What are you doing?"

"This is for all that you've done to me this year. Calling off our friendship, trying to beat me up, almost getting me kicked off the Quidditch team..."

"Harry, what are you going to do?"

"This. Crucio!"

Ron fell to the ground in immense pain, screaming so loudly that most people had to cover their ears to block the sound. Harry had the curse on him for almost a minute when he heard what he had been waiting for. The sound of cracking bones. He lifted the curse only then and stared down at Ron, satisfied for the time being. Voldemort's laughter sounded through the air along with Ron's ragged breathing. "And this is why you will not get on Harry's bad side.…which is why I feel a little sorry for you," he said, pointing at a man in the circle. "Come here." The man walked forward and stood only feet away from Harry and Voldemort. "This man, Harry, has been the operative inside of Hogwarts. Since I know that you two are already on bad terms, I know that you will have no qualms killing him. He is of no use to me any longer. Kill him, and I will give you my mark. Now, reveal yourself to Harry."

The man reached up, and lowered his hood. Harry's eyes went wide and he felt something inside of him snap as the rage started to make his blood boil. The dark waters started to recede just a bit more even as Harry raised his wand.

"Sirius," he growled.

"Harry," Sirius replied calmly.

"Is that all you have to say, you bloody two-faced Pettigrew wannabe!" Harry roared.

"Now, now, Harry. There is no need to get become so upset. You are on the same side after all," said Voldemort, grinning.

"I know," he replied tightly. "But he still did betray me when I was on the Light side."

"Well, are you going to do what I asked of you or not, Harry? Do you want the mark or not? I will not hesitate in killing you if you say no. Show where your loyalty lies."

"My loyalty lays with you, my lord."

"Then you should thank Sirius, because he is the one who helped to persuade you over to the Dark side."

Harry stepped forward so that he was only a foot from Sirius. "Thank you," he said in a deceptively calm voice. Without another thought otherwise, Harry raised his wand and pointed it at Sirius's chest.

Before he could get the deadly words out of his mouth, the trees behind them exploded with so much force that most people were knocked onto their stomachs and backs. Harry and Sirius were thrown forward, Harry landed on top of his godfather. Both of them were a little disoriented at first, but then Harry scrambled off of him, pocketed his wand and started throwing punches at Sirius, landing them wherever he could, in the stomach, face, and arms. Soon, Sirius came to and began fighting back.

Dimly, Harry was aware of curses flying above them, people falling to the ground dead, even more people being hit with the Cruciatus curse, but none of it fazed either man in the fight. They were too busy trying to do as much bodily harm to each other as possible. Fire was spreading across the ground; Sirius picked Harry up, and threw him through the air and onto the ground away from the fire. Harry stood up very quickly and charged Sirius

"You'll pay for this you stupid bastard!" Harry yelled viciously. "You don't deserve to live!"

The two began their vicious fight again, and Harry thought that Sirius probably was not putting his all into it because he was beating the older man more than he thought he could. By the time Harry remembered that he still had a wand, somebody grabbed him from behind, and another person grabbed Sirius. In the next moment, Harry felt a tug behind his navel, and he was taken through swirls of black.

**

Draco watched in horror as Sirius Black revealed himself to Harry. Harry was not going to take this well at all, even if he was not himself. Draco turned to the man next to him and elbowed him in the side.

"Severus," he whispered. "What are we going to do? We can't let Harry kill him or receive the Dark Mark."

"I know what I'm going to do. Just be quiet."

Draco started to fidget as Harry walked up to Sirius and said something that he could not quite make out. His eyes went wide as Harry pointed his wand at Sirius's chest. Draco was so caught up in what was happening with Harry, that he did not notice Snape throw a vial of potion towards the trees. In the next moment, the trees exploded, sending him forward, onto his face. Draco lifted his head, spitting out grass, and choking on smoke.

"Draco!" came Severus's voice. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. What the hell happened?"

"I'll explain later. We need to get Weasley, Black, and Potter before anybody notices."

As the smoke was beginning to clear, Draco felt Snape grab his arm and lift him off the ground. They began to walk, on the lookout for Ron Weasley. Some Death Eaters were yelling to Voldemort for instructions on what to do, while others were taking matters into their own hands and sending out the Killing Curse and the Cruciatus curse everywhere. Men and women were falling everywhere and general chaos ensued. Every couple of steps, Snape had to drag Draco down to the ground with him to avoid being hit by one of the curses. On one of these last attempts at not getting hit, Draco looked over and found himself staring into Ron's terrified eyes.

"Weasley! Are you okay?"

"Not really. Harry... Harry..."

"Isn't himself, and for that matter, neither are you. We need to get Harry, Black, and you back to Hogwarts, right now."

"Why are you helping, Malfoy?"

Draco started for a moment before he realised that his hood had fallen down from the blast, and of course, Ron could see who he was. "It doesn't matter right now. Can you stand?"

"No. Harry... my leg."

"Right." Draco turned to Snape who was lying next to him, trying to hear their conversation. "His leg is broken."

Snape cursed, crawled to Ron, and magicked a splint on his leg. "Better, Weasley?"

"Yes, thanks."

Both Draco and Snape helped him to his feet and together, they dodged curses, and looked for the other two men on their list to get back to Hogwarts. "There they are!" Ron said suddenly, pointing away from the fray. The two men could be seen away from the crowd of people, in the middle of a fight of their own. The three hurried their footsteps as quickly as they could with Ron being injured.

"I had made a port-key in case something like this happened. It's the necklace around my neck. Draco, you and I will grab it. Weasley, hold onto my arm. I'll hold Black, Draco you take Potter," Snape said quickly as they rushed forward.

They all saw Harry reaching for his wand and pointing it at his godfather. "Oh no you don't," Draco muttered, and leapt forward to grab Harry. Snape let go of Ron as well and grabbed onto Sirius. Ron limped forward, grabbed hold of Snape's arm, while Draco hurried forward, and grabbed Snape's necklace at the same time that Snape did. The familiar tug behind their navels came and whisked them away from the chaos around them. The last thing Draco saw was Voldemort yelling angrily and running towards them.

Well, so much for my life as a Death Eater, he Draco thought with a smile.

In the next moment, the group landed in the middle of Snape's chambers in a jumbled heap. Snape immediately took his wand out and stunned Sirius. But he immediately regretted it as Harry disentangled himself and looked at Snape with a manic glint in his emerald eyes. Harry smiled a very disturbing smile as he reached into his pocket for his wand....

***

Harry landed with a thump in a tangle of arms and legs. He lay confused for a few moments before he caught Draco's eyes and he figured out what must have happened. As he disentangled himself from the fray, a voice called out the stunning spell, and a body fell with a thud to the floor. Harry turned around and faced Severus Snape just as he was taking down his hood. He smiled, reached into his robe, looking for his wand, never breaking eye contact with Snape. Harry's heart dropped into his stomach as he realised that he did not have his wand with him anymore.

"Looking for this?" drawled a voice beside him.

Harry turned sharply and saw Draco looking at him with a benign smile on his face, twirling Harry's wand between his fingers. "Give me my wand, Malfoy."

"And let you kill us? I don't think so. You wouldn't be too happy with yourself once you're back to normal."

"I am normal right now. I don't know what you're talking about. Give me my wand back, or I'll reveal what you really are to Voldemort."

"Oh, I think you would have already, if that had been your intention all along," Snape sneered. "Besides, he has seen us taking you three away. We have been discovered, so there is nothing you can do about it."

Harry looked between them, feeling decidedly lost on what to do. He was now powerless against them. Snape and Draco were looking at him with superior looks on their faces, and Harry just could not stand looking at them anymore, so he looked down at the floor to see Ron looking up at him with utmost fury on his face. "I knew you were a low-life, but to think that you actually sunk so low as to become a Death Eater... I'm glad I broke off our friendship," Ron spat when he saw Harry looking at him.

"Believe me, nobody is as glad about it as I am," Harry snarled back and took a well-aimed kick to Ron's ribs. Before Snape or Draco could react, Harry had lunged at Draco and tackled him to the floor. "Give me my wand back so I can finish the job Voldemort asked of me. I'm not finished with Weasley or Black."

"Not a chance, Potter," Draco huffed out as he rolled out from under Harry and pinned him to the floor. "Let the Ministry deal with Black."

"They'll only send him to Azkaban! He deserves death!" Harry shouted and punched Draco in the face. Draco rolled off him, bleeding at the mouth. Taking advantage of his surprise, Harry grabbed his wand, jumped up and pointed it at Snape. "Do anything, Malfoy, and I will kill your precious godfather."

Snape held up his hands and stepped back. "You're outnumbered, Potter," he said quietly. "You can't do anything, unless you revive Black and I'm sure..."

"That I won't," Harry finished for him. "I don't trust him as far as I could throw him. No... I want to do this by myself." Harry muttered a spell that bound Snape and he fell to the floor. He then turned his wand to Ron. Grinning madly, he winked at Ron. "Have a nice afterlife, Weasley. Say hello to my parents for me."

"And I'm sure they'd be proud to hear what you've done," Ron spat. "Their precious son, working for the man that killed them. Yeah, that's something to be proud of."

"Shut up!" Harry shouted and kicked Ron again. "Avada..."

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Harry fell to the ground, his wand falling from his grip to the carpeted floor. His eyes were still open, and he could see Draco get up, unbind Snape, lean over Ron and then he came to Harry. "I'm sorry. I couldn't let you kill Weasley. Besides, how stupid could you be, taking your eye off me? You wouldn't last one day as a Death Eater."

Harry tried to retaliate but found that his mouth was also glued shut. Draco smiled a little and brushed the fringe away from his forehead. "I'm sorry I didn't succeed in protecting you. I wish we weren't in this situation right now. Well, at least you're safe now. We'll get you back to normal."

I am normal! Harry screamed in his head.

"Draco, cast a sleeping charm on him. We'll wake up Black to question him on what he did to everybody."

"Okay." Draco turned back to Harry and looked down at him with an expression that Harry could not really decipher. "You'll see me when you're better. Sleep well." He then muttered the charm and Harry fell into a peaceful sleep.

When he saw that Harry was asleep, Draco took off the body bind, picked up his light bodyweight and went to lay him on Snape's couch. He gathered a blanket from off of the back, tucked Harry in tightly and walked back to Snape and Black. Draco looked down at Ron and found that he had fainted from exhaustion, fear, and anger. Draco shook his head and sat on a chair while Snape revived the Defense teacher.

Sirius looked around groggily, took in Draco and Snape, then let his eyes wander to Ron, then to Harry on the couch. "What's going on?" he wondered aloud.

"We thought that you could answer that for us," Snape said icily.

"What do you mean?"

"What did you do to the school? What did you do to make everybody hate Potter? What kind of curse did you use to make Potter become a Death Eater?"

"Oh," Sirius said quietly, and looked down, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth.

"I suggest you tell us so that we can fix the wrongs you have committed at this school. The consequences will be even more dire if you do not tell us," Snape warned.

Sirius hesitated. "I... well, I administered a potion to everybody, saying it was tea, hot chocolate, what have you. I don't know how I fooled everybody into drinking it. It was red."

"That's why you were so insistent on having me go for a cup of hot chocolate with you!" Draco exclaimed angrily.

"Yeah. I... and why were you so suspicious of finding me in the dungeons?"

"Well, the only teachers I've seen in the dungeons are Severus and Professor Dumbledore. Most people avoid them as much as possible, it being Slytherin territory and all that."

"As interesting as this is, we've got more important matters to discuss here," Snape said silkily. "What potion did you use?"

"The Semi Vivus potion."

Snape stared in awe for a moment before coming back to reality. "Potter was right then. I suppose you were right about him after all, Draco. He isn't a complete dunderhead. So... when Potter had the accident on the stairs and the blood had been cleaned up..."

"I did that. I was following him, trying to figure out some way to make him bleed. The first batch of the potion I had made wasn't very strong because I didn't have much of his blood."

"How did you even get it the first time?"

"When I went to the Dursley's last summer on Harry's birthday. Before I left, I went up to his room to say something else to him, but he was asleep. I knew that he had a scar in the crook of his elbow, so I cut it open and took some blood. I healed it, then left."

"So... the second time you made the potion, you had a lot of blood, gave it to more people..."

"Well, by then I was re-administering it to the people who were closest to Harry. I noticed that Ron's potion was wearing off, so I gave it to him and it's still working."

"Okay, and how did you get Harry to become a Death Eater?"

"When I caused him to fall down the stairs, he was unconscious, so I placed a brainwashing charm and a charm on him so that I could speak inside his head. I told him that everybody was starting to hate him of their own free will because he was dark, and that he would be appreciated on the Dark side. I also gave him dreams. I think those worked the best because he'd agree with me while he was dreaming."

"I figured that that was what you were doing. You will have to go to him now to tell him to listen to Draco."

"Listen to me?" Draco asked, confused. "What would I have to say to him?"

"Reverse all those thoughts that Black put into his head."

"But..."

"Do you want him back to normal or not, Draco? He will listen to you because he likes you." Snape lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned further in. "He'll listen to you because he loves you."

That was Draco's undoing. He looked down as his face turned pink. Snape only scowled. "I'll never understand how you could love him."

"I don't expect you to.... I'll do it."

"Good. Let's bring Potter up to his room, then Black can tell Harry to listen to Draco," Snape said as he pointed his wand at Sirius and bound his wrists together. "One wrong move, Black, and I will not be stopped from doing something drastic."

Sirius nodded tensely and stood. Snape then conjured up a stretcher for Ron, placed him on it and was about to do the same for Harry when Draco stopped him. "Don't. I want to take him."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I understand that you are probably used to climbing the stairs, but it is a different story when you have a sixteen year old boy in your arms, Draco."

"Put a charm on him to make him weightless then. I'm carrying him."

Snape snickered, but complied to Draco's wishes. Draco went to Harry, gingerly picked him up and held the Gryffindor close to his body. Harry sighed in his sleep, and moved closer into Draco's warmth, as the Slytherin followed his godfather from the room. Sirius was in the lead, wrists bound, and Snape's wand sticking into his back. And Ron was floating behind Draco and Harry, still unconscious. When they arrived to Harry's room on the third floor, Draco placed the boy in his arms, onto the four-poster and tucked him in once more.

"Do it now, Black," Snape commanded. "Tell him to listen to Draco."

Sirius closed his eyes and started muttering under his breath as Harry began to stir in a dream. Snape performed the spell needed for Draco to speak to Harry in his dream, and then waited for Sirius to open his eyes again. After a long five-minute wait, he did, and Snape immediately cast the ‘mobilicorpus' charm on him and he flew up into the air, suspended as if by invisible strings.

"I won't disturb you tonight, Draco. It might take a while to talk him back. Do you know what you're going to say?"

"Yes!" Draco snapped. "Just leave. We'll be fine."

Snape glared but complied. He walked out, following Ron's unconscious and Sirius's bound form. After the door was shut, Draco went to Harry and sat at the edge of the bed. "Harry..."

Harry was back on the island, with the ocean lapping at the shore. The sky was still covered in thick, grey clouds, and the wind was chilling. Harry shivered and wrapped his cloak further around him. The piece of cloth did nothing but offer him a small amount of comfort. Harry shivered a little more violently as he sat down on the rocky ground, waiting for something to happen. He did not know why he was here, he could only remember the voice telling him to listen to somebody else. Harry was scared to hear this voice. If only it could bring him out of this cold, dark place. If only he could feel the sun's warmth again, if only he could... feel again. He did not like this place he had ended up in and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Harry," came a distant voice. "Harry, can you hear me?"

"Please... speak louder," Harry said, standing up.

"Harry...."

The voice sounded so hauntingly familiar. It sounded like somebody that Harry knew; somebody that would help him. Harry ran to the shore, stopping just before the water could reach him. "Please, help me!" he cried. "I'm so cold. Get me away from here!"

"Where are you?"

"I'm..." Harry looked around at his surroundings, taking in the small rocky island. A small tree stood in the middle, wilting sadly in the cold wind. "I'm on an island. There is so much water trying to get me. It's so cloudy, and dark. Please help me."

"Don't go near the water, Harry. Step away from it, and don't look at it."

Harry found himself complying. He went by the tree and lay down on his back to stare at the darkening clouds.

"The water isn't really there, Harry. It's all in your imagination, put there by somebody."

"Why would somebody want to put it there?"

"They wanted to turn you against all your beliefs. They wanted to make you dark. Did you ever let the water touch you?"

"Yes. I fell into it a lot. It was so wonderful. I felt so free."

"Do you want to go back there?"

"I... I don't know. It's so dark when I come out. There's less earth every time I land. I want there to be more land again, like when I was in the meadow. It was so nice there. The other voice lied to me. He said that I could be in that meadow if I let the darkness take me. He lied."

"You can go there again. You have to let yourself believe that you can go there again."

"How do I go there though? Do I have to touch the water again?"

"No. Whatever you do, don't touch it. It will pull you further in. The Darkness isn't what you were born for. You are the epitome of Light, you have to come back to us."

"But everybody hates me because of my power."

"That's not true, Harry. Everybody has been given a potion so that they would hate you. Voldemort did that. He tricked you into coming onto his side. The Light wants you, they have never stopped wanting you. You, Harry, were meant to fight against Voldemort, not with him. You are not his ally."

"It's where I belong. He treats me so well. He wants me to help him in his noble cause."

"His noble cause?" the voice scoffed. "His cause is to rule the world after killing all Muggles and Muggle-borns. Do you remember that your mother was a Muggle-born? One of your best friends is a Muggle-born, Harry. Do you really want to kill Hermione, do you really want to kill your mother all over again by working with Voldemort?"

"I don't want to kill my mother again!" Harry cried. "And Hermione could care less about me."

"You're wrong. She does care. Even if she didn't, could you really bring yourself to kill her after all the years of friendship you've shared?"

"I... I don't know."

"Don't you see, Harry? If you really were Dark, you would have answered yes without a hesitation. You are not Dark. The scar on your forehead is enough proof of that."

"But... but I thought I was," Harry replied quietly as he turned his head to the side. His green eyes widened and he shot up into a sitting position. "The water!" he cried out. "And the land! It's only a lake now! The meadow is back too." Upon closer inspection, he could see that everything was still dead and rocky. With a disappointed sigh, he lay back down and stared up at the endless clouds. "I want to see life again."

"Then see it."

"I don't know how."

"Just believe that you're not dark. You're not."

"Who are you? You sound so familiar."

There was a long silence and Harry feared that he had been deserted by the perfect voice. "Don't leave me! I like hearing you talk. Please don't leave me," he said desperately.

"I'm still here. I won't leave until you understand."

"But I don't want you to ever leave."

"You'll see me when you wake. Maybe not right away, but you will. I promise. I'll come see you."

"I'll be able to actually see you? Can't you show me who you are right now?"

"No. I don't know how. Later."

"Can I ask... what side are you on?"

"Would it make a difference to you?"

"It depends."

"I'm on the Light."

"Oh. Do you like me?"

"It depends on my mood," laughed the voice.

"Oh," Harry said crestfallen.

"No, Harry. I do like you. More than you know."

Harry then felt a warm hand on his cheek. His heart began to beat rapidly and he felt a warmth spread through his body from the touch. Harry lifted his hand and placed it where the hand should have been, but only felt his cheek.

"Do I like you when I'm awake?" he asked curiously.

"I'd like to think you used to before you went over to Voldemort."

"Did we ever... kiss?"

"Yes, we did. Quite a bit, in fact. Kind of like this."

Invisible lips were placed on Harry's in a soft kiss. Harry sighed his content and then again in frustration when he tried to touch his invisible person.

"I want to touch you."

"Soon enough, Harry. Not until you believe that you're not Dark."

"I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Look at the water. See how far gone it is now."

Harry did as he was told and found that the lake was now a river. The meadow was now nearly completely back, except for the life.

"It's a river, but there's no life yet. Help me find life again. Please."

"You're getting there, Harry. You have to find it in yourself to believe that you are Light. You have to remember all the wonderful things for the Light you have done. You saved the Philosopher's Stone in first year, you saved the school from the Chamber of Secrets in second year, you helped keep your godf... well, you saved a life in third year. You've saved more than one since then. You are Light. It's embedded into you, you just have to find it. Remember it."

"Is there anything else I've done?"

"Yeah. You've saved me from myself. You've helped to keep me on the right side. Even when I said I was going to go over to the Dark side to piss you off, I never did because I wanted to help you. I wanted to make you proud. I wanted you to love me the way I love you. I'm... I'm still working on that last part."

"Nobody has ever told me that they love me before."

"Then everybody you know is a bunch of fools to not let you know."

"Can I ask... what do you love about me?"

"Everything. I love the way you crinkle up your nose when you're thinking, the way your eyes show every emotion you're feeling, the way you bite your lip when you're nervous, the way you manage to aggravate me, your courage, your loyalty... You're everything I've always wanted to be but can't because of who I am. I love you for who you are, for being the opposite of what I've been brought up to be."

"What were you raised to be?"

"I was raised to be Dark."

"But... you're not. You said you were Light."

"Only because of you."

During the voice's speech, Harry had closed his eyes and committed every sense to his voice. Now at these words, he opened his eyes, and immediately had to shield them against the blinding sun. Harry sat up abruptly again and looked around him. He smiled so hard that it was beginning to hurt his face. The water was gone, the grass, the flowers, the trees, were all back. Life was back. Harry pointed his face towards the sun and took in the heat that it offered.

"Life is back," he murmured.

Harry stood up and began walking through the many flowers. He picked one of each colour, making a colourful bouquet. When he was done, he looked around, desperate to see his ‘saviour.'

"Where are you?" he asked, holding out his hand.

His hand was gripped by an invisible hand. "I'm here," the voice said as it pulled Harry's body into a hug. Harry felt his heart expand to ten times its size when he could actually feel the invisible body. He wrapped his arms around the body eagerly and buried his face into the man's neck.

"You brought me back," he whispered, as he brought his hands up to entangle into the invisible, silky hair. "Draco," he breathed, because he now knew that the voice was Draco Malfoy. He knew from the moment that Draco had pulled him into his arms. Harry would recognise the feel of those arms any day. He could recognise Draco's masculine scent anywhere, the silky feel of his hair...

Harry sighed with content as Draco rubbed their cheeks together softly and began running his nose along the skin of Harry's face, kissing Harry's skin softly in different places along the way. Draco finally let their mouths meet in a lingering kiss.

"Draco," Harry whispered against his lips. "I love you."

Draco sighed and Harry could feel the invisible arms wrap tighter around his waist. "I love you, too, Harry.... You need to leave this dream."

"I don't want to leave you."

"We'll see each other when you wake. I promise. Sleeping makes the time go faster."

Harry nodded, gave Draco's cheek a brief kiss and felt himself drifting away into darkness. Only this time, it was a welcomed dark.

***

Draco felt Harry's body relax in his arms and his head droop onto his shoulder. He laid Harry down from his sitting position, and pulled the covers snugly around him once more. Draco sighed with exhaustion and happiness. He had done what he had meant to do. It had taken all night, but it was done. The sun had been up for about an hour now and soon, the early Sunday risers would be up and at breakfast.

Draco watched Harry's chest rise and fall in a steady pattern and smiled. Harry did love him... Draco just hoped that he would remember this when he woke. Well, he would not do anything about it, Harry would have to be the first one to say something about his confession.

The Slytherin yawned as another wave of exhaustion came over him. He had had that problem all night and he had to fight to stay awake for the sake of Harry. Draco had found it fascinating the things that Harry had said to him. In all truth, Draco had had no idea what Harry had been talking about when he was talking about the water. Something inside of him told him that he had to tell Harry to stay away from it. And that is what he did. Whatever Draco had done, it had worked.

While talking to the Gryffindor, Draco found that he did not even need to think about what he was going to say next. It all came naturally. The things he said were not the things that he had planned in the beginning, but they proved to be better.

For a long while, Draco watched Harry sleep peacefully with no dreams. But after a while, the exhaustion in his body became too much and he knew he would have to leave before he fell asleep beside Harry. Not that the idea did not seem appealing. It just would be a better idea for Harry to not wake up beside him in case it had not worked after all. Though Draco was sure it had, it was better to be safe than sorry. With one final kiss, Draco got off the bed.

"Sleep well," he whispered and left the room.

Draco dragged his weary body through the almost deserted halls of Hogwarts. There were now some students wandering off to breakfast, and he received a few suspicious glances from people who were not in his house, namely Gryffindors, since he was in their path to the Great Hall. Just as he reached the top of the marble staircase, somebody who was running up them, collided with Draco and they both fell to the floor.

"Watch where you're going!" Draco said angrily.

"I'm sorry." Draco brushed it off, got up and offered a hand to his attacker. Not until he had helped the person up did he realise who it was.

"Granger!"

"Malfoy!" She seemed equally surprised.

"Do watch where you're going next time you find it necessary to run up the stairs."

"I said I was sorry. I was just... I can't find any of the professors. You're the first person I've seen since last night. I... oh, Draco! Ron's missing. I have no idea where he is! I've looked all over since yesterday. The last time I saw him was Friday night. He just disappeared. I even checked his dorm room last night when everybody was sleeping. His bed was empty!" she finally finished, on the edge of hysteria.

Draco rubbed his ear from her shrill voice and looked at her shrewdly. "You may want to check the hospital wing, Granger."

"What happened!" she shrieked.

"Oh, you know the usual," he said, waving a dismissive hand. "He was abducted by, most likely, Sirius Black, brought to Voldemort, tortured, saved, and now he's back and probably in the hospital wing. And not to mention, mad as hell at Harry."

Draco smirked as Hermione opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish and finally just let it drop. Draco reached forward and closed it for her. "You... you can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am."

"Sirius is a Death Eater?"

"Seems that way. He's duped everybody into hating Harry, that's why you hate him. It's a superficial hate, Hermione."

"Well, I know that now. The antidote was waiting on everybody's bedside table, and a message from Dumbledore beside it. I don't hate Harry anymore.... Draco, you look terrible."

"Hmm... thanks for noticing."

"What happened to you?"

"Oh, you know, a Death Eater meeting gone bad. I was forced to save a couple lives with Professor Snape, and then stay up all night talking to Harry in his dreams."

" ... Right. You saved Ron?"

"I suppose I had something to do with it, yeah."

Draco grunted as the small Gryffindor threw herself at him and had him in a suffocating hug. "Thank you! He'd be dead if it weren't for you."

"Uh huh. Get off me, Granger. I'm not yours to touch. Besides, I don't like touching somebody with blood so questionable as yours."

"Ever the Pure-blooded, self-righteous-"

"What can I say?" Draco interrupted. "It's who I am. Goodnight. I'm off to bed."

Draco waved and began to walk down the stairs but was stopped when Hermione grabbed him by the wrist. "You're coming with me to the hospital wing and telling me why you had to talk to Harry in his dreams."

"Granger!" Draco whined. "I'm dead on my feet if you hadn't noticed. I've had an exhausting night and I'm sure that Weasley wouldn't want to see me."

"Fine! Then at least tell me where Harry is so that I can go see him after I see if Ron is all right!"

"I can't. I don't know if what I did worked. If it didn't, then he's still dangerous. Just wait until he's allowed to come out. I'm sure he'll be out tomorrow. Maybe if I feel up to it later, I'll write you a letter and explain everything that happened because I'm not coming out of my dorm today. Now, do let go. Didn't I tell you that I don't want you touching me?"

"Fine. I could care less if I see you ever again. Just go."

"Get used to seeing me around, Granger."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. See you."

With another wave, Draco ran down the stairs, eager to get away from the dirty Gryffindor. He laughed as he felt her eyes on him until he disappeared. Of course, he would not write her a letter telling her what happened. It would take too long and it was time that he could not spend on filth like her... even if she was Harry's friend. She deserved any angst that came to her. Right now, it was time to sleep. As he had told Harry, it was the best way to pass the time, and if there was anything that Draco needed right now, it was to pass the time as quickly as possible. He could not wait to see his Harry again.