Immortalitas Aestas

The sessions with Sirius were coming along well, and Draco smiled in satisfaction.

He was currently sitting outside on the grounds on the same log he and Harry had occupied after their walk around the lake, when Harry had surprised him with his Animagus form. Harry was seated next to him, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his thighs, talking about their upcoming Potions exam. It was obvious that Harry was not looking forward to it, as he was currently lamenting the fact that he didn't study as much as he should have.

Draco let his thoughts drift, "hmming" and nodding at appropriate times, letting Harry's voice float over him. He loved the other boy's voice; it was a rich baritone that was very calming and tended to soothe Draco's scattered thoughts. Although that voice was never very loud, it seemed to penetrate into Draco's soul, and Draco welcomed the intrusion, more than willing to share himself with Harry.

He realized that the other boy had fallen silent and turned to look at him, head tilted slightly, studying the face that had come to mean so much to him.

"What?" he asked Harry, who smiled slightly at him.

"Nothing," he replied, shrugging, pushing his hair off his forehead. "You just seem lost in thought, that's all."

Draco nodded. He was thinking about his upcoming "mission", as Harry had termed it, and the fact that it really was a lot more dangerous than anyone seemed willing to say aloud.

He'd learned how to cast three of the six spells needed to take down the Manor's wards in four days, which had surprised Sirius slightly until Draco had told him with a smirk that he'd had Dark Arts training in the past. Sirius had simply responded with a quickly muttered, "Of course you have."

Harry had attended each of the sessions, sitting on the top of Flitwick's desk, and watching carefully. Draco had no doubt in his mind that Harry could cast all the spells they'd practiced, even though he'd never once tried.

Narcissa also attended the sessions. Draco wasn't sure if this was to be with Sirius or himself, and decided that it didn't matter either way, as long as she was happy. It had been too long since she was honestly happy.

He and Harry had spent all their spare time together, getting used to each other and how they fit together. They never went any farther than kissing, as Draco wanted Harry to be totally comfortable with the idea. Instead, Draco contented himself with small touches and stolen moments; hands brushing slightly in Potions, shoulders bumping together in the hall, and stolen kisses in broom closets and the Quidditch shed. Whenever they were alone, they were holding hands or touching in some way, and Draco loved it. And if he were honest with himself, that wasn't the only thing he loved.

He loved Harry.

Absolutely and completely.

When the realization had first dawned on him, Draco had been terrified, right up until the next time he had seen Harry. He couldn't help but be comforted in Harry's presence, and he had quickly accepted and become accustomed to the fact that for the first time in his life, he, Draco Malfoy, was in love with someone.

Harry was his whole world, and Draco thought, that maybe, just maybe, Harry felt the same way about him.

Glancing at his watch, he realized they needed to go back in, as they had Potions in fifteen minutes.

"Come on, Harry," he said, standing up. Harry stood, too, and Draco wrapped his arms around him, placing a kiss on his temple, feeling the other boy's arms come around to hold him as well. It was still very hot outside and the temperature, coupled with the boys' body heat was slightly uncomfortable, but Draco found he didn't mind in the least.

They stayed that way for a moment, Harry's head settled on Draco's shoulder. Harry finally pulled away slightly, placing a brief but not chaste kiss on Draco's mouth, and stooped to pick up his books.

Draco did so as well, turning up the path, Harry following a little behind him. He was meeting with Sirius again tonight, to hopefully learn the fourth spell. Dumbledore wanted him to go into the Manor on the coming Saturday, and Draco was working hard to get the spells learned in time. There was obviously some significance to Saturday's date, but Draco didn't ask, merely working hard to master the spells and contribute his part to the cause. He'd learned a long time ago that you didn't ask the Headmaster questions because you never received the answers you were looking for.

He knew Harry was concerned about his going to the Manor. He himself was nervous about it as well, but had faith in his abilities, knowing that he was powerful wizard and that he would succeed. He didn't even want to think about what might happen if he were caught; Lucius' punishment would most certainly be death.

They reached the school and began their walk to the dungeons. Draco's shirt was sticking uncomfortably to his back with sweat, making him miserable. Harry didn't appear to be feeling much better, but Draco had to admire the way the flush from the heat lit up his face. Harry was beautiful. Of course, whenever Draco tried to tell him that, he simply blushed and shook his head, saying, "No, I'm not," in an embarrassed tone of voice.

Draco pushed a hand through his sweat-dampened hair, shoving it back off his forehead. He ran a hand down his trousers, straightening them out. Harry regarded him with a smile; he rarely worried about his appearance. His hair was disheveled, shirt untucked, and his glasses were sliding down his nose.

And still Draco thought he was the most gorgeous thing in the world.

Draco gave up the idea of making himself look half-way decent as a lost cause, and instead opened the door to the Potions room. Harry stepped through and headed towards his seat in the front, looking backwards over his shoulder to see if Draco was following him. Draco did, of course, sitting next to Harry and pulling out his parchment and quill. Hermione entered the room behind them, walking up front and stopping next to Draco, eyebrows raised in question.

"Would you like to join us, Granger?" Draco asked, using her last name since they were around other people.

"That would be great, Malfoy. I want to sit next to Harry, though, so you both need to get up."

The boys obliged, Harry grinning, and Hermione sat, pulling out her supplies.

"How are you both today?" she asked softly, so the others wouldn't hear.

"Fine," Harry whispered, glancing briefly at Draco. "We're fine."

She nodded. "Have you talked to Ron?"

Harry shook his head. "He won't even stay in the room when I enter, how am I supposed to talk to him?"

She pursed her lips. "I don't know, Harry. But you'll have to keep trying."

He shook his head again. "I'm getting tired of trying, Hermione."

Draco watched the exchange silently, not wanting to interrupt them. He knew Harry was hurt by Weasley's reaction, and knew that Harry wanted nothing more than to have his friend back. He glanced around; Weasley was currently sitting next to Finnigan. They were chatting, but Draco saw the quick glances Ron was throwing in Harry's direction. Maybe they'd be able to work it out after all.

Snape came in and class started, although they didn't brew anything. They simply took notes: pages and pages of notes. Hermione didn't seem to miss a word, but Draco found that the lecture was too boring to hold even his attention, which was rare as Potions was a subject he truly enjoyed. Harry, too, seemed to be drifting off, but would snap to attention at the well-placed elbows in his ribs, courtesy of Hermione. Draco found it sort of amusing; he wondered if that happened in all their lessons and decided he'd have to start paying better attention.

The rest of his classes passed in a blur; Draco didn't really pay attention to any of them. To his surprise, he found that he was actually looking forward to his next session with Sirius, and, of course, seeing Harry.

Not watching where he was going, he walked directly into someone, the collision taking the breath out of him.

"Sorry," came a flustered response and he looked up, directly into a pair of green eyes.

"Harry," he said with a grin.

"Oh, Draco," Harry replied, bending to pick up his books. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you, I was in a rush...." His words trailed off and his breath hitched.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked. Harry looked like he was going to burst into tears at any moment.

Harry drew in a deep breath, which hitched again as he released it. "No," he said, eyes welling up. "No I'm really not."

After a quick, cursory glance around to make sure no one was nearby, Draco grabbed Harry by the elbow, propelling him down the hall, down the steps leading to the dungeons, and into the study room that had become a second home to them both. Harry collapsed into a chair, dropping his books on the floor, and covering his face with his hands. He drew in another breath and released it shakily before speaking.

"I'm sorry. I was just talking to Ron...." He pulled his glasses off, setting them on the table, and scrubbed his hands across his face.

"What did Weasley say?" Draco asked, a dangerous purr to his voice.

"Oh, you know. He called me a few names, said I was crazy, told me he never wanted to speak to me again. About what I was expecting I suppose."

Draco remained silent, placing his hands on Harry's shoulders and starting to massage out the tension. Harry shook him off and stood up, picking up one of his books and hurling it into the wall. This was followed by a swift kick to a nearby chair. The noise was loud in the small room, and Draco jumped.

"Feel better?" he asked after a moment, realizing that the tears he'd seen in Harry's eyes were from anger rather than sadness.

Harry sighed, and sat back down, putting his face in his hands. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Draco shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

"He just makes me so angry," Harry said. He rubbed his eyes again, then put his glasses back on. "And what he's saying, the names he uses...." He trailed off. "They hurt," he finally said, in a voice slightly above a whisper.

Draco leaned forward, wrapping his arms around him and kissing the top of his head. "I'm sorry, Harry. I wish there was something I could do."

Harry stood, turning to face him. "It doesn't matter. You're here. That's all I need." He hugged Draco to him, turning his face into the side of his neck. Draco felt one of those angry tears slide down Harry's face and into the collar of his shirt, belying Harry's words.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked Harry suddenly.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, after my session with Sirius, would you like to come to my room?" Draco asked the question calmly, although inside he was tense, waiting for Harry's response.

"Your room?" Harry asked, lifting his head to look in Draco's eyes.

Draco nodded. "Yeah, you know. It'll be a bit more private there...." He trailed off, looking closely at the other boy.

Harry seemed to think about it for a moment. "What would we do there?" he finally asked, voice catching on the last word.

"Whatever you want. I don't want to push you or anything...." He stopped again. Draco hadn't been intending to invite the other boy to his room. He wasn't sure how comfortable Harry was with the idea, and didn't want to scare him away. He was just about to tell Harry to forget the whole thing when the other boy surprised him.

"I'd like that. To come to your room. I...." Harry cleared his throat, cheeks flaming. "I want to spend time with you. Alone. I ... I want to ... you know...." He dropped his eyes to the floor.

Draco did not know what he meant, although he had an idea. "Harry, I want you, you know that. And if you come to my room, well, I may not be able to stop myself from going further than we have been in the past."

Harry looked up. "I want to go further." It was said matter-of-factly, although still quiet. "I want you, too, Draco. More than anything."

Draco drew in a shaky breath and released it on a hiss. "Are you sure Harry?"

Harry nodded, pulling Draco down for a kiss. "I'm sure. I know what I want."

Draco kissed him back, head spinning dizzily. Harry wanted him.

"Okay. Here's what we'll do then...."

***

Harry slipped silently through the door, Invisibility Cloak covering him, and followed Pansy into the Slytherin common room. He hadn't been there since second year when he and Ron had polyjuiced themselves into Crabbe and Goyle. He inwardly laughed at the memory; how could they have actually thought Draco was the Heir of Slytherin? Of course, Harry knew a lot more about Draco now than he had when he was twelve. But the thought still made him laugh a little.

He then sobered as he thought of Ron; he hadn't really said anything to Harry since his discovery of Harry and Draco's relationship with the exception of those hurtful words earlier that day, and never failed to frown or look disgusted when Harry would disappear for a while. He shook his head to clear that thought away; there wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment.

Pansy had seated herself on the sofa in front of the fireplace. There was no fire in the grate, of course, since the common room was still beyond hot. Harry took a moment to glance around the room.

The dungeon looked a lot like it had five years ago. There were two black leather sofas in front of the fireplace, along with two matching armchairs. An Oriental rug was on the floor, and silver and green tapestries hung over the fireplace. The Slytherin banner was hung directly over the entrance. There were several tables along the edge of the room, piles of books stacked on each. A few people were sitting at the tables, working on what appeared to be homework, bits of parchment and quills scattered around them.

There were three staircases, two going up and one going down. Draco had told him that the two staircases going up went to the boys' and girls' dormitories. The one going down led to the Prefects' rooms.

Harry pushed away from the wall, walking quietly across the room. He sidestepped Theodore Nott, who chose that moment to get up from one of the tables, and headed down the stairs. He skipped the second step from the bottom, as Draco had told him it squeaked, walking slowly down the hallway.

Each Slytherin prefect had their own room. Harry thought there was something wrong with that as it wasn't that way for the other houses. Draco had told him that Snape had pulled some strings, and it helped that the Slytherins came from rather rich households and gave large amounts of money to the school. There were six rooms in this hallway; Draco's room was the third on the left. Before Harry could reach it, the door to his right swung open, and fifth year prefect Natalie Montague stepped out. She narrowly missed walking directly into Harry, who managed to squeeze himself against the wall.

His heart now in his throat, Harry took a few calming breaths. He was already nervous about meeting Draco alone in his room. Any more shocks and Harry thought he might very well have a heart attack.

He finally made it to Draco's door and reached down and turned the knob. Draco had left the door unlocked in order for Harry to get in. He stepped inside closing the door gently behind him.

Pulling the cloak off, he quietly asked, "Draco?"

Suddenly, at a whispered Lumos, the room was filled with flickering light. There were candles all along the edge of the room. Harry allowed a small gasp to escape; the room looked absolutely beautiful.

Draco was sitting in one of the chairs in front of his fireplace. He was dressed all in black, which suited his coloring perfectly. He was also barefoot. Harry had never seen him look so stunning.

"Harry," Draco said, fluidly standing up. Harry remained mesmerized; he was quite content to stand there and stare at Draco forever.

Draco smiled, closing the distance between them. He reached out, pulling the Invisibility Cloak from Harry's numb fingers. He turned, carefully folding the cloak and laid it over the back of his desk chair. He then murmured a locking spell and with a flick of his wand, a silencing charm followed. The wand was then deposited carefully on his desk.

He then turned back around, raising his right hand to Harry's face, lightly caressing his cheek. "You made it," Draco said softly, running his fingers briefly across Harry's lips.

A quick and breathy "Yes," was all Harry was capable of responding with at first, as he turned his face into Draco's touch. "I almost ran into Natalie, though. She scared me half to death."

"Hmm," Draco responded noncommittally. He slid his fingers down over Harry's cheekbone and jaw line and rested them against his pulse.

Harry was dressed in another red polo shirt and a pair of khaki trousers. Draco's fingers reached his collar, dipping slightly under it, then stopped. "Did you have any other problems getting down here?"

"No," Harry replied, releasing the word in a shuddering breath. "Both Ron and Hermione are out. Not that Ron would have bothered me, seeing as we're still not talking."

Draco nodded, reaching up with his other hand to start undoing the buttons on Harry's shirt, sufficiently distracting Harry from his rather depressing train of thought that was his relationship with Ron. "So you don't need to leave for any reason then."

"No," Harry whispered, raising his chin to allow better access. He raised shaking hands, settling them around Draco's wrists.

By then Draco had the three buttons undone. He laid his hands flat on Harry's chest; Harry could feel the heat of those hands through the material of his shirt. Raising an eyebrow, Draco said, "Good."

Harry suddenly found himself pulled against Draco's body and nearly groaned at the contact. Draco slid his hands back up to Harry's face, pulling off his glasses and setting them on the desk. He leaned forward, stopping a breath away from Harry's mouth. "Kiss me," he demanded, and Harry had no choice but to oblige.

Draco's lips met his tenderly, his hands moving into Harry's hair. Harry found himself clinging to Draco as the kiss deepened and caused his knees to weaken. Draco's tongue met his in light teasing strokes and Harry nearly sobbed. He wanted Draco so much he could feel it in every part of his body. It was amazing what one touch from him could invoke in Harry; his heart was pounding in his chest, and he could feel a pressure building in his lower body that no one had ever caused him to feel before. The temperature in the room seemed to rise with the
contact of Draco's lips on his; Harry realized it would soon become almost unbearably hot in the room, but found that he didn't mind one bit.

Draco ended his assault on Harry's lips, feathering kisses across his cheek. He nibbled on his ear lobe, moving down to the spot directly below Harry's ear that he'd found drove Harry crazy. Using teeth and tongue, he worked mercilessly on the spot until finally Harry's knees gave out. Draco pulled away, laughing a little. "Come on Harry," he teased, supporting Harry's weight in his arms, "let's move this somewhere more comfortable."

Harry was barely coherent; the teasing touches and kisses were driving him nearly insane. He managed a slight nod, which made Draco smile. Draco backed him up until the back of his knees hit the bed. Before letting Harry sit, he quickly untucked the shirt from the waistband of Harry's trousers, and slid his hands under Harry's shirt. The action elicited a hiss from Harry; Draco's fingers were slightly cool against his heated skin. He obligingly raised his arms and noticed with amazement that Draco's hands were shaking slightly as he pulled the shirt over his head and threw it on the floor, unaware that he could have that effect on anyone, let alone the always composed Draco Malfoy. Harry kicked off his shoes, and drew in a deep breath. When he looked back up, the breath was released in a gasp of surprise; Draco's eyes were dilated with passion, just a thin ring of grey surrounding the black pupils.

Draco carefully lowered Harry to the bed, leaning over him. "Okay?" he asked softly, watching Harry's face carefully, as he lowered himself down on top of him.

"Yes," Harry whispered, reaching up and bringing Draco's lips to his own. Harry bit gently on Draco's lower lip, receiving a pleading moan in response. Yes, he thought with joy, I can do that to him, too.

Harry moved his hands down Draco's back, palms flat, fingertips teasing his spine. When he reached the waistband of Draco's trousers, he slowly pulled the shirt out, inch by inch, before finally sliding his hands underneath. He glided his hands gently over Draco's back, brushing light, teasing strokes over the skin. Harry slid his hands down and grasped the bottom of Draco's shirt, bringing it up over his head, where it was tossed carelessly to the floor. Draco braced himself on his forearms as Harry traced a finger slowly down his chest. He was watching him through half-lidded eyes, his gaze never leaving Harry's face.

Wanting complete contact, Harry flattened his palms against Draco's chest, fingertips brushing lightly across Draco's nipples. Draco groaned in response, and Harry smiled. He liked making him lose control. Harry wrapped his arms around the other boy's waist, bringing their bodies into direct contact with each other. Harry bit down on his lip to stifle a moan, moving his hips slightly against Draco's. This elicited a strangled sob from Draco, who pushed down with his hips in response.

"Harry," Draco groaned, sliding his hands down Harry's chest, nails scraping lightly. "Oh, God." It suddenly occurred to Harry that Draco wasn't even aware he had spoken, and the feelings of pride this knowledge evoked in him encouraged Harry to continue his exploration.

Harry lifted his head, brushing frenzied kisses down from the hollow of Draco's throat. He paused above Draco's right nipple, letting his breath ghost lightly over it.

"Harry," Draco groaned, pushing his hands into Harry's hair. "Please."

Harry closed the distance, taking a nipple between his teeth, biting softly, and Draco let out a long, low moan in response. He lavished it with attention, alternating between tiny bites and brushing strokes with his tongue. He then turned his attention to the other one.

Draco's fingers tightened in his hair. Harry pulled away, looking deep into the grey eyes in front of him, made luminous in the candlelight. Reaching down, he locked his hands around Draco's waist, rolling them both over. He leaned closer, propping himself on an elbow. "Draco," Harry sighed, reaching up with his other hand and taking hold of one of Draco's wrists. He brought the hand up to his lips, brushing a tender kiss over Draco's palm. He licked a path from the center of the hand to the tip of each finger. Draco responded with a moan, the grey eyes flickering shut. Harry put a final kiss in the center before releasing his hold. Draco's hand hit the bed with a thud.

Draco breathed in deeply before opening his eyes again. He then reached down, locked his hands around Harry's rear, and pushed down hard. This caused their erections to brush against each other, eliciting a strangled moan from both.

"Oh, fuck, Draco," Harry gasped, rolling his hips. "This is nice," he murmured after a moment, receiving a laugh from Draco.

"That is perhaps the biggest understatement of the year," Draco said, voice husky, pushing up at the body above his with his hips.

Tanned fingers went to work on the black trousers, pulling at the belt and throwing it across the room. The button was undone next, followed by the zipper. Harry paused, pushing a hand into the opening. "Oh, Harry," Draco groaned. "Do you know what you're doing to me?"

Harry smiled slightly, moving his other hand down to the waistband of Draco's trousers. "I think I have some idea, yes."

He pulled down on the trousers, raising himself slightly on his knees to tug them free of Draco's body. Draco then turned his attention to Harry's, pulling the button free and undoing the zipper. They were disposed of quickly with a toss across the room. Draco again rolled over, putting Harry beneath him. Draco reached down, grabbing hold of Harry's left foot. He brushed his fingers lightly across the arch of his foot, causing a gasp.

"Why, Mr. Potter," he said, smirking, "are we ticklish?"

Harry kicked in response before giving Draco a mutinous look. "Horribly so, yes."

Draco brushed his fingers once more across the sole of Harry's foot, then proceeded to pull off the sock. He repeated the action with the other foot until all Harry was wearing were his boxers.

Harry was a bit nervous about what would happen next, as he'd never done anything like this with anybody before. He was slightly comforted that Draco had some knowledge of what to do but at the same time was worried about disappointing him if he didn't do something quite right.

"Harry, relax," Draco said, knowing the thoughts that were racing in his head.

Harry drew in a deep breath and released it, then reached up and pulled Draco's face down to his own. He placed a chaste kiss on Draco's lips then let his hands fall to the bed. With the arch of an eyebrow, he gave Draco permission to do what he wanted with him.

Draco waited a second before brushing gentle kisses across Harry's entire body. He started with the crown of Harry's head, feathering kisses into his hair before stopping directly above the scar. He blew slightly, causing Harry to shiver. Harry had never let anyone touch the scar before as it was horribly sensitive to touch. But he wanted Draco to touch it, needed him to. It was a way to forget momentarily about the reason he had it in the first place.

Draco lowered his lips to the scar, tracing the outline with the tip of his tongue. This elicited a groan of desire from Harry, whose green eyes fluttered shut at the contact. Draco paid homage to the mark, trying to make up for all the times he'd insulted Harry or made fun of the scar over the years.

Harry reached up, running his fingers through Draco's hair. It felt like silk, and smelled wonderfully like apples, which had always been a favorite scent of Harry's, and would now forever be synonymous with Draco. Draco moved from Harry's scar, brushing kisses across the bridge of his nose, kissing each of his closed eyelids, before brushing a simple kiss across his lips. The journey continued down his jaw line to his throat, where his tongue dipped into the hollow there. Draco reached down then and entwined their fingers, bringing Harry's right hand up to his lips. He kissed the back of Harry's hand once, before tightening his grip slightly. Harry knew that he was looking at the words carved into his skin, and remembered Draco's reaction when he'd first noticed the scars. Draco held Harry's hand to his cheek and closed his eyes briefly, before placing a kiss on his wrist and releasing his hand.

He trailed his fingers up Harry's arms, over his shoulders, and down Harry's chest, never fully placing his hands on his skin. Instead he brushed his fingertips softly against Harry's chest, causing his breath to catch as the teasing touches traveled lower. Draco gave a small bite and lick to Harry's nipples, which elicited a rather agonizing moan from Harry, before the kisses moved down his navel. Harry groaned low in the back of his throat as Draco dipped his tongue into the indent, hips bucking upwards. The grip on Draco's hair became vice-like, letting Draco know how much his touch was affecting him.

Fingers slid into the waistband of Harry's boxers, pulling them off gently. They were tossed to the side and Draco breathed in deeply.

"Oh, Harry," he said, awestruck. He raised his eyes to Harry's own. "You're beautiful."

Harry blushed. It never ceased to embarrass him when Draco commented on his looks. He shook his head slightly, blushing even more. "No I'm not," he muttered.

Draco firmly took hold of Harry's chin, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Yes, you are," he stated firmly. "And I'm going to prove it to you."

With that, his mouth closed around him and Harry immediately saw stars. Draco used his tongue and teeth to bring Harry to the edge. Just as he thought he was going to fall over, Draco would pull him back, leaving him weak and shaking. The process continued many more times, until Harry finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Draco, please," Harry pleaded, desperation clear in his voice, gripping his fingers more firmly into Draco's hair. "Please."

Draco sucked hard once more and with that, Harry exploded, mind shattering into a million pieces, Draco's name spilling from his lips like a prayer.

***

Draco had never had a climax quite that strong before. He'd come without anyone touching him; simply touching Harry and pushing Harry over the edge had done it. After his breathing returned to normal, he bestowed a kiss to Harry's lips. He pulled his boxers off, muttering a cleaning spell for himself and settled down next to Harry's side. He reached an arm across Harry's abdomen, curling the hand around his waist. He pulled Harry tightly against him, brushing slow and tender kisses across Harry's face.

The green eyes finally opened and Harry murmured, "Hello."

Draco smiled, grey eyes sparkling in the candlelight. Harry turned into his embrace, resting his head under Draco's chin. He ran shaking fingers across Draco's chest, a look of contentment on his face.

"Can I stay here with you tonight?" he asked quietly.

"Of course, Harry," Draco replied, just as softly, pulling the other boy closer. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Harry smiled, then yawned. "I'm tired," he said, eyes drifting shut.

"Me, too," Draco replied, pulling the covers up over them. He reached down and held Harry's hand in his own, twining their fingers together. With a whispered Nox, the candles went out, leaving the two boys in the darkness.