Sweet Resolve

Don't kid yourself

And don't fool yourself

This life's too good to last

And I'm too old to dream

~~~

"I can't do this any more, I can't! I can feel you, I can practically taste you, but you're too far! This is too hard... I... I give up!"

His aching hands trembled and dropped the few granules of rock and sand that had relented to his control. Giving in to his body's cries of exhaustion, Harry rested beside the opening he was trying to break through. The hole was no bigger than his hands, but he had been digging into it, around it, trying to find a way to collapse the obstacle and discover the hidden treasure.

Now, he lay there, letting the cool air seeping through caress his face and soothe his tense muscles. The wisps of air soaked into him, saturating his heart with a longing twinge, and Harry's eyelids slowly dropped closed as he succumbed to the fulfilling ministrations of the power that lay behind. Harry knew instantly that once he opened his eyes again he would resume where he left off. Whatever was hidden back there was too important; too vital to his battered soul to just relinquish to defeat. He never even entertained the idea that it could easily be manipulating him, molding him to its own designs. No, this feeling was too pure to be disastrous...

Eventually, the coolness enveloped his entire body, and unknown to Harry, it flew into the darkness away from him, away from the wall. Harry lay in bliss, until he could feel the energy creep out of him. It reeled itself in, as if it had caught its bait, and was drawing Harry's attention back to his duty. He opened his eyes, reluctantly and stood, feeling the wind zip past him from behind and back into the hole. Harry wondered if it was pulling someone, something else in just as it did with him, and suddenly fear shot through his blood.

"What, who are you bringing, who!?!?" Harry yelled at the wall, at the air, at everything and nothing. "Is this a trap, is it? Please, just... let me know..." Harry was on the verge of collapsing again, when a hand fell upon his shoulder: pale, long, immaculate. He was whipped around, and was startled by who he found.

"It appears you have a lot of work ahead of you, Potter. And don't think I'm going to help. I would never desecrate my hands with such a menial job." Ahh, that drawl was so comforting right then, but Harry was suspicious as to why Draco had arrived in his dream, the first human to enter it aside from him.

"Then why... why are you here?"

"Consider it moral support. Or an intimidation factor. I have my wand, you don't. All I know is that you have to get through, and I'll hex you if you try and give up again."

Harry was shocked that Draco knew he had almost walked away from this forever, but dismissed it when an idea came to mind.

"You have your wand, you can just charm through it for me. This is perfect!"

"I don't think so. This is your task, not mine. That would be cheating... and Gryffindors never cheat."

Eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "I was almost put in Slytherin you know."

At this, Draco was visibly taken aback. "Really? The Boy Who Lived? Haha, that would have been rich. But alas, you are a full-blooded Gryff, and must abide by your own rules. But maybe if you're a good boy, I'll help out on occasion. When you realize you can't do this alone..." Draco settled regally on a large rock that protruded, and sat back to monitor Harry's progress, who shook his head and got back to work, a smile quirking his lips slightly.

At least I have company now. Better yet, I have Draco now....

~~~

Harry had been rolling around in the dusty earth at some joke Draco had cracked. He laughed with unadulterated liberation, eyes scrunched up, trying to fight the tears of mirth from escaping. Who knew Draco could be so funny? He felt a twist in his gut, the telltale sign that he had been laughing too long and really needed to get back to work. Finally relaxing enough to gain control of his body, Harry opened his eyes, intending to push himself up off the ground. Instead, he tumbled ungracefully out of bed and fell on his back. The ground was hard and cold, completely unyielding to his lithe form and Harry groaned in discomfort as he glanced up, taking in his surroundings.

Realizing he was in the hospital wing, Harry quickly stood up and tried to collect his thoughts from the night before. Images of his dream were drifting in and out of his mind though, muddling whatever coherent thoughts the boy could conjure up. He sat back down, one hand massaging shoulder, the other holding him upright on the bed.

"Harry! You're awake. Good I didn't want to have to wake you myself." Emerald eyes shot up and took in the figure that he hadn't really spoken to since the end of last term.

"Luna, what are you doing here?" Blue eyes focused intently on Harry, and then just as quickly they blurred back into their dreamy state.

"I tripped on the way to breakfast this morning, on a bar of soap. Twisted my wrist on the fall, and needed a bandage." She raised her wrist, and sure enough it was tightly wrapped, hindering all movement.

"Oh, that's too bad..."

"Not really. Inconvenient yes, but it just reinforces the fact that Prickly hippopines live on Hogwarts grounds. They eat soap you know, and must have left a mess of someone's soap. Father says if I can gather enough proof, I can write my own article for the Quibbler." Harry regarded her closely, and although he doubted the existence of such creatures, he saw the genuine joy she held in hopes of writing the article. As such, he let her enjoy that sense of pride, and moved on.

"Good luck with that, Luna, but why were you coming to wake me?"

"Madame Pomfrey asked me to. She had somewhere else to be, and wanted to make sure you woke up for class."

"I see..." Suddenly he recalled what happened the night before, and realized someone must have brought him here... if in fact it was the next day. Urgency pulsated in his next words. "How long have I been here Luna? Do you know?"

"Oh, just the night, Harry. Pomfrey said you just needed to rest and should be fine now. Oh, I do hope those hippopines did not give you trouble last night. It is said they can enchant the air around them, take the energy away from people. Meddlesome creatures, if you ask me..." Harry just shook his head in an almost brotherly way.

"No no, they didn't cause me grief. I should get back to the dorms before class then. But... I'll let you know if I do see any, ok?" Luna suddenly eyed him carefully, a change from her dreamy state of mind, and her next words were filled with much more care than he could have imagined her utter.

"No, Harry. You won't." Before Harry could interject, she continued. "You are too busy, so don't lose focus. I can deal with hippopines well enough. No you... need to focus." She smiled graciously and then her eyes floated towards the ceiling, and the enchanting persona fell upon her again. "I'll see you later."

He watched her retreating figure before collecting his belongings and heading out himself. Just as she exited the doors, he heard her say, "The DA misses you. "

The DA? Oh my God... Are they still doing that? They don't need to anymore. They don't have any reason...

But Harry knew that was a lie. The monster that he had faced too many times, the creature that was reborn from his own blood, after having stolen his family, his life... that monster was on the loose. Families were being attacked. Villages were raided. Innocence was being burned at the stake, so the more defenses everyone had, the better. Harry hoped it would not come to that though.

Maybe this was what Dumbledore had meant then about Ron and Hermione taking care of themselves. They were still carrying on, guiding the younger students, and reinforcing their own abilities. Harry wasn't even aware of the goings-on at school anymore. The distance he had forced early on felt too natural now, so the likelihood of asking his friends how they were and what they were doing was not possible- but well worth it.

And Harry rushed out- he didn't want to miss the last day of classes before winter break began.

~~~

Yawns of joy and elation erupted from the Magical History classroom, as drowsy Gryffindors and Ravenclaws stumbled out of their last class. Most kids were leaving Sunday morning, and since they now had the rest of the afternoon free, absolute mayhem and madness could inhabit Hogwarts for the next day and a half. Most students needed this bit of joy; there were not too many children staying at school over the holidays as Harry had guessed. Families apparently wanted to be together this year, especially if it might be their last time together.

Families ought to be together... and then there's me. Who have I got? Nearly Headless Nick?? Harry shook the thoughts out of his head; he had no space for dismal pondering.

Harry stood at his desk, slowly collecting his things, his air of indifference suffocating anyone near him. No one noticed the furtive glances at fellow classmates, the secret assessments of their moods. Harry eyed Ron as he strode out of class. His shoulders seemed to be sagging a little bit, which was a little too much for someone who usually looked forward to lack of classes, period. But maybe Harry was imagining it...

And Hermione, she apparently had become close with a few Ravenclaws, and he overheard them plan on meeting in the library in an hour. On her way out, the boy caught a sentence.

"... To finish this by tonight. Has to be ready for tomorrow..." A flame ignited in him and his eyes narrowed. Heat bubbled inside and made him want to scream at everyone to stop meddling in the affairs of the world- they were only children after all!

Calm down, Harry, you're only a kid too... It's just a safety precaution. You don't even know what they are talking about. Hermione is smart, she wont throw herself into danger... not like Ron has... wind picked up in his soul and the flame grew stronger, angrier, raging inside him with fury. Harry could not bear to watch his best friend with that filthy Zabini, and enjoying it so much! He stalked out of the classroom, planning to hex the first bastard that got in his way. Just as he blew past the door, a hand grabbed his arm.

"WHAT??"

"You're burning, Harry. Calm down. Frustration won't get you anywhere." Harry glared into Neville's eyes, and saw the concern swimming there. The fire in him dwindled, quelled by the soothing nature he felt emanate from the docile boy.

"Frustrated? Why would I be frustrated, Longbottom?" Harry injected as much venom as he could muster, although standing on the brink of a temper tantrum had taken its toll on his tired body. Memories of exhaustion from the night before reintroduced themselves and Harry knew he needed to have more self-control if he wanted to make it through the coming months. Harry was temperamental, but something today seemed to be different, as if someone was steering his emotions, if only for the moment.

Neville sighed and released his hold. "You just looked... frustrated about something. I thought you needed to ... maybe collect yourself before you did some damage."

"Damage? You haven't the faintest idea what damage is. One glance into my life, my soul, and you'll see damage!"

At this Neville turned rigid, and his face adopted a stern façade. His next words, though still dipped in concern, fizzled with anger.

"You aren't the only one, Harry. Remember St. Mungo's last year? Remember my parents? That is damage too, you know! Their lives, my life are scarred forever! I may not have the lightening bolt, but I have the scars!" Shock at his own words quieted the boy, as well as Harry. Neville pressed on after a moment, without the scolding manner. "I didn't mean to... I'm... I'm sorry Harry. It's just stressful, this war, everything."

Harry didn't even hear the apology, because he could not stop dwelling on something Nevill said. His cold eyes thawed enough to allow him to ask with a semblance of genuine curiosity.

"Do you... know why he attacked my parents in the first place?"

"What? No... umm but Grand mum said we would have been fortunate, if it hadn't been... been for... the Lestranges...." Neville's hands nervously fumbled together, and he looked down to hide the tears that were fighting to be released. Harry wanted to console his friend somehow, but the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs had just been released from their last class, and it would not be wise to show any sign of affection around possible spies. Before anyone was in earshot though, he whispered.

"You were fortunate, we all are, because you're here now. You're right... everyone has scars, everyone has some pain to attribute to that slimy bastard." Neville looked up, more hopeful than Harry expected at all. Harry had been curious if he knew about the prophecy, since Neville had said Voldemort basically marked him as well, if not directly. Harry hadn't even thought about it lately, but now it took all his willpower to push the damned prophecy out of his mind, to focus on Neville's sudden relief. Neville glanced over Harry's shoulder, seeing Draco standing not so far away, as if waiting politely for them to finish their conversation.

"He is a bastard, isn't he? I'm... honestly I'm glad to hear you say that."

"Oh, why is that?" Harry could see Neville recovering, so he pulled his act together and allowed the dullness in his voice to emanate.

"Because... some people wondered if you were going Dark on us. On account of... Malfoy." Harry did not blink an eye. "Is he safe?"

A sigh. "I'm still here, am I not?"

"Well, yeah but... ok it doesn't matter." Neville gathered his bag and was going to walk towards the dorms, but miraculously remember something else he wanted to say. "Do you know about the most recent attack?"

"No, Longbottom. Care to enlighten me?" Neville wasn't thrown off at all by the boredom in Harry's voice. In fact it almost amused him, but he didn't show it.

"Apparently You-Know-Who captured some Muggles instead of killing them. Their identities haven't been disclosed yet, but they're the first prisoners he's visibly taken in. Wonder what he's up to... Anyway, see you later."

Neville scurried away, and Harry had but a tiny moment to deliberate over this new information before he looked up to see Draco smirking right next to him.

"Annoying little bugger, isn't he? Kept warning me yesterday not to mess with you. He seems to be under the opinion I have some ulterior motives." He continued to smirk, and Harry couldn't help but gaze upon the wispy silvery hair that was blowing in the cool breeze, much like in his dream. Draco arched an eyebrow, waiting patiently for an answer, while reveling in the obvious look of approval on Harry's face. Acutely aware that he had been caught staring, Harry blinked and looked down, into those gray endless orbs.

"Ahh but don't you have a secret motive, Draco?"

"I'm offended, Harry! Have you been spreading rumors of me then? I have nothing but good intentions in this sweet Malfoy heart of mine." Harry rolled his eyes and they began to walk together through the halls. The two chuckled at Draco's remark and for a while, proceeded in silence.

Harry couldn't stop thinking about what Neville had told him about the Muggle kidnappings. He almost considered dropping his Occlumency shields for the chance to see Voldemort's plans, just once more at least. He needed to find out the sorcerer's plans, and soon. The Order still had little idea of what was brewing on the dark side of the world, despite the leads they had obtained from somewhere, from someone.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see the stoic look on Draco's face. He could easily see past it, and knew Draco had many secrets hidden, some of which were occupying his thoughts right now. As they strolled with no apparent direction through school grounds, Harry wondered if Draco shared the same dream as he.

That would be something... I wonder if I should say something. No, if he didn't then I just sound ridiculous. But if he did... maybe he found a way into my dreams? Or maybe I'm just being paranoid. Why is he walking with me anyway?

"Harry, you're mumbling to yourself. Do stop, it makes me look bad." Harry snapped out of his thoughts to see them standing in front of the Great Hall. "I'm heading back to the dungeons, I'll see you tonight, in the library."

"What? Hmmm I'm sorry, what?"

Draco's eyes were laughing as he brushed his hair back with his hand. "I said, tonight, we agreed to meet in the library. You had some work, I offered to keep you company. Now don't forget, eight o'clock. Ok?"

Harry nodded, and watched as the elegant Malfoy heir walked away, stifling the urge to call him back. Questions about his dream, Draco's intentions, the Muggle kidnappings, recent activities of his friends, and more started to amass in his throbbing head. There were so many mysteries developing like storm clouds around him, and it was only a matter of time before they all burst. Harry wished to every god in the universe that he would be prepared for the storm.

~~~

Draco stared at the messy black hair that was stooped over a book, allowing his brain to pull out memories of the past day. Last night was... perplexing to say the least.

Draco had been reclining in the common room, scanning a recent letter from his father (or to keep with pretenses, his mother) when he rose to head for Snape's quarters to hand over the letter. Just as he stepped out of the common room entrance, a blast of air from the hallway slammed into him, throwing him into the common room once more. The few Slytherins that were still in the room, Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent, and a few third years, regarded him oddly for only a moment, before they too were victims to the maddening maelstrom of papers, books, quills, everything. Draco yelled for everyone to run up to their dorms and keep the doors shut, which they rapidly agreed to. By the looks on their faces, he saw two things: utter fear, and utter confusion.

Somehow bracing himself against the still immobile sofa in the middle of the room, Draco managed to thrust himself against the wind. He flew right through it and shut the common room door. Papers and pillows plummeted all around him. The entire room breathed an anxious relief to be free of the gust that still pounded outside.

Lying down on the ground in exhaustion, Draco could see out of one of the few windows that adorned the chamber, and perplexity crawled through his flesh at the sight of the quiescent leaves of a tree outside.

How could there be no wind at all outside, when the hallways are fuming? It's as if the winds were diverted inside... yeah, but why?

No sooner had Draco come to this conclusion than the leaves began to rustle restlessly, and after a few moments, the pounding outside the door ceased.

Millicent tentatively peeked her head out of the stairway.

"Draco, what happened? Is it... safe now?" Draco didn't bother getting up from the ground, he just lay there, as motionless as the clutter around him, relishing the quietude.

"Yes Millicent. It seems that the anomaly has been righted somehow. Windy outside again." She nodded and came down to tidy up a little bit, and help Draco to his feet. He could feel the tremors of anxiety still coursing through her fingers, and an overwhelming sense of protection arose. "No one has any clue what that was about, do they?"

"No, no all the girls at least were scared. I don't think even the ones allied with the Dark Lord had a clue, so maybe it was just a random occurrence." Terror gripped the young girl as she realized she had just revealed her allegiance, or lack there of, to the son of the most feared Death Eater.

Inside the blonde's mind, the gears were spinning out of control; a year ago he would have punished the girl for losing her Slytherin tact in such a situation and revealing something so heavy. But her rigid terror was enough punishment, he believed, and instead of coming down on her, he merely made a comment before heading back out to see Snape.

"We all have secrets to keep, and yours is safe with me." He left a wide-eyed girl alone to wonder if there was more to the Malfoy heir than anyone chose to believe.

*

By the looks of Snape's reaction to the wind, it wasn't any doing of the Dark Lord, so maybe some student had a mishap with homework or some such insanity. Draco left his quarters, and decided to go for a stroll. From then on, time blurred in his memory...

It was as if he was riding the Gringott's Bank carts, zooming past the minutes of his life and a gut-wrenching speed. A few select times he would slow down to catch glimpses, like walking right into Gryffindor territory and trying to shake off a meddling Longbottom... Abruptly waking up from a dream he could not remember... Discovering in the morning that Harry was in the hospital ward.... Running into Granger after DADA, who looked at him oddly and asked how is extra credit for Hagrid was coming along. Each instance marked moments of extreme emotion. Irritation. Confusion. Worry. Anger.

But now it all seemed irrelevant, as the cart slowed to a stop and deposited Draco to real time, where his eyes brought back into focus that horrid mass of hair the Gryffindor deemed acceptable to show in public.

"Really, Potter, don't you even attempt to tame the wild animal living on your head? It's repulsive." The boy unburied his nose from the book and sat up straighter in the large armchair, suddenly aware of how sloppy he must look. Draco chuckled to himself that he got such a reaction, and pulled his own reading out of his book bag. He had assumed Harry would be trying to figure out his immunity to the Dark curse effects, but instead the boy had a dream analysis book out. He was having weird dreams too? But Draco dismissed the thought, because this was Harry Potter, boy with the freakiest scar on earth. Of course he would have weird dreams, probably did all his life.

"It's ok. Not everyone can be as dashing as I am. I've come to terms with having to exist with plebeians like yourself."

"Your altruism is overwhelming, Malfoy. But not enough..." And with that cryptic statement, Harry charmed his inkpot to zoom across to Draco and spill all over his lap.

"ARGH! Potter! You will pay for this! But not before I kill you first!" As he tossed Harry's inkpot aside towards his bag, his own inkpot flew across and deposited itself all over Harry's head, mucking up his hair, his face, even his glasses.

An all out charm war ensued after that. Thankfully there were no other students in there, and even Madame Pince was either preoccupied or was allowing them to have their fun (the former was more likely). Quills that tickled, parchment that wrapped around the victim, holding him down, nonstop mayhem. At one point Harry couldn't handle it anymore and broke free before a book could have slammed into his gut and lunged at Malfoy, smearing the ink all over his clothes. When Harry's hand accidentally made contact with Draco's neck, time stopped and Harry observed himself from above, finally pulling his rigid body off of Malfoy, and collapsing into the mess on the floor.

Draco for his part was just as surprised by the feeling of Harry's hand, so warm, so agile, and suddenly so not there anymore. He blinked and peered down at the boy lying on the ground, fumbling through a book he found.

Finding his voice hiding somewhere between his lungs and his heart, Harry managed to say, "The Essence of Wizardry: Auras and Souls? This was one of the books we used for the Gryffin project. Why do you still have it?" Draco tried hard to fight his face from flushing, but it didn't matter anyway, since his face was already red from their little scuffle.

"Oh, I know why... I'd never have thought this of you, Malfoy..." Draco's eyes stopped blinking, and his heart stopped. If Harry had figured out even a little step towards what Draco was working on, he was sure the boy's trust would run away like an errant Snitch.

"I, uhh... What do you think then, Potter? Out with it."

"HA! Hagrid won you over! Either you're doing some extra project for him, or you just think he's a brilliant teacher! Haha, I really never thought the day would come when Draco Malfoy would be pleased with Hagrid!"

Relief never tasted sweeter than at that moment. "Shut up, you sod. Did it ever occur to you that I found the subject matter itself remarkably interesting?" Feeling comfortable again, Draco got back into his groove. "No of course not. Leave it to a Gryffindor to skip over the most obvious explanation of all. But I really should have expected as much from you. You defy all notions of logic and normalcy, you know that Harry?"

Eyes still dancing with mirth, Harry looked into Draco's, silently asking for more detail. "Well you are a phenomenon like no other when it comes to fighting the Dark Arts. You have defied Voldemort on many occasions. You have more money than the Weasleys will have in a lifetime, yet you never bother to dress semi-decently. You clearly can't deduce a simple answer like why I would have a book about a subject I found to my liking..."

During all of this Harry just nodded with a small grin, as if he too wondered why he was as nutty as Draco implied. Hesitantly, Draco ventured into one more realm of Potter insanity.

"And... well instead of finding company with your friends of five years, you are sitting here with me, covered in ink, lines of laughter scribbled across your cheeks. You're with your nemesis, and yet enjoying yourself for the first time in... how long?"

Draco swallowed loudly and nervously, wondering what Harry would think, if finally the situation would settle on him and he would explode and leave, or if he would divulge a part of the plan he must be brewing. Draco hardly expected the boy to continue to stare into his eyes, those emerald valleys beckoning the gray clouds into his world. But that is what Harry did, once again defying normalcy, of course.

They both just stared; Harry crouching against Draco's knee, looking up, Draco perched to once side of the chair, looking down. Eternities of lies, insults, fights seemed to dissolve and all that mattered was that the earth and sky were becoming one. Draco's pendant shimmered, but instead of pushing Harry's magical energy away, it opened its gates to allow him in as well, and the two remained there in blissful silence.

*

It could have been minutes or hours later, neither boy could tell. But they had eventually moved and resumed their studies, breaking the physical connection, but never releasing the emotional one. Each boy would look back, and recall that the will to survive and succeed had never been as strong as it was at this point in their lives.

~~~

Thank god for armchairs, or else I'd be aching all over right now. Harry grumbled as green eyes fluttered open and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Ah crap, it's three a.m.! When did I fall asleep??" Harry yawned and stood up to stretch, only then noticing the moonlight cascading upon another dormant figure. Harry tiptoed towards Draco, mesmerized by the rhythm of his breathing, the way his lips pursed ever so slightly, like a child pouting. The golden boy stooped to his knees, allowing his eyes to absorb the trickling moonlight and focus on the fallen angel that lay before him.

A sudden emptiness invaded Harry's heart, urging him to awaken the boy, for another chance to peer into those bottomless spheres of mystery. Losing himself in there was the most fulfilling experience he had ever had, and looking upon the curled up arms, Harry just knew being wrapped in those would be even more fulfilling, rapturous really.

"Draco," he whispered, secretly longing for the boy to acknowledge him, jealous that he didn't. "I don't know how you are doing this to me. I just don't know. I was set in never allowing myself to feel... not until this is over." Harry leaned in closer, inhaling the airy smells of his companion. "Of course you have to challenge me in every way, in everything I do."

Draco's scent was so free, like he was floating on clouds. If the purity of the universe could have a distinct aroma, Draco embodied it. Every season wrapped into one: Snow, autumn leaves, rain, the setting sun. Harry was becoming drunk off of him.

"It's always been you. I have a feeling it will always be you. I have no clue what I even mean... but no doubt you probably would." Tilting his head, Harry got a better view of Draco's features. Even in sleep he looked so controlled, but maybe it was just the dream. Harry wanted to walk in Draco's dreams, just as he did for Harry. He wanted to feel Draco's essence. He wanted...

"Maybe... when he's dead... when... if we survive... maybe. But for now, I've let you come close enough, I've come close enough to you, and any closer would be too dangerous for you, your life..." Harry was only inches from Draco's face now, breathing in the blonde's spirit like it was his oxygen.

"Dangerous for me to like you, let alone love you. I can't let you in any further. Not until this is over." Yet against his better judgment, Harry leaned in; he needed to taste this angel before he flew away, before this moment vanished in the moonlight. The library faded away and he could feel them sitting in the snow, surrounded by colorful leaves. Mist seemed to descend divinely around them, and he could feel the warmth of a setting sun hundreds of miles away in the back of his mind. You are my past, present, and future...

It only lasted a few short seconds, and then the library faded back into existence. When Harry withdrew, ready to pass out in ecstasy, he brushed a stray hair out of Draco's face and returned to his chair, falling asleep. He failed to catch the disappearance of Draco's pout, and while the Gryffindor succumbed to dreams once more, Draco's controlled features somehow shifted into something closer to serenity.

~~~

"You came back, finally."

"I'm always here, Draco. Where else would I be?"

"Taking a break, naturally. Your lazy arse can't handle the work." With that, Draco rose from the rock and started to pull at the rumbling stones of the wall. "Don't expect me to do ALL the work for you, Potter."

Harry smiled, and stood side by side with Draco. "You knew I couldn't do this alone...thank you."

"Shut up and dig." Harry laughed at the grumpy mood of his companion, and together they slowly tore away at the massive wall. Only minutes into the endeavor, the raven-haired teenager started to pant loudly, forcing breath to enter his lungs. Suddenly he screamed out as a painful searing tingle burned through his blood. Before Draco could help him in any way possible, Harry was plummeted into a pool murky darkness... He sank away from the comfort of Draco and the treasures behind the wall. Sinking, sinking... He could hear his name, calling out to him, trying to reach him, but it was too late. He was immersed.

Stones were dropping all around him. It was pitch black and yet he could feel them absorb the horror of darkness. The more the stones accumulated, the stronger his blood boiled within him.

Unable to fight the anguish off any longer, Harry opened his mouth to scream, but instead the cheerless ooze infiltrated his body. Darkness not only surrounded him, it was inside of him, replacing his blood. It became him, or was he becoming it? Harry was beyond comprehension, and wanted to give up and just die in this mirthless pit of despair. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

His brain began to throb. He could feel it rattling inside his skull, as if trying to escape from this panic. Wait, it wasn't just his brain. His bones, they wanted to flee, they were trying to pull away from his body. They were shaking incessantly inside, trying to take the life away from the poor defenseless young man. Their restlessness caused his entire body to vibrate, to rattle consciousness back into him, and he threw open his eyes in frustration, only to see Draco holding him at arm's length, trying to revive him.

"Potter, you nitwit, wake up! We fell asleep in the library!" Harry nervously took in a breath, the air flooding him with relief. He could breathe, he could talk, and the pain was gone! He allowed his magic to probe throughout his body, and he found no traces of the darkness that had encroached upon his subconscious. Whatever the hell happened was no more.

Harry sat up, and Draco resumed collecting his belongings. Harry paid no attention to the perturbed look in Draco's eyes; the Gryffindor was dimly aware that the Slytherin was mumbling to himself about messes, beauty sleep, and other nonsense, but none of this bothered him. Somewhere in some dark hellhole, Voldemort had played a nasty little trick on Harry, and he wouldn't rest until he figured out what it was.

"Oh get up, Harry. They'll be serving lunch soon, and I refuse to go to the Great Hall in such disarray!" With a pull and a shove, both boys staggered out of the library.