De-resurrection

CHAPTER TWO

A Price Too High To Pay

'Bye, then,' Draco waved. He climbed off the platform and onto the train. 'I'll try and owl you, but, you know father.'

They all waved back at him, and he threw his belongings onto a seat in the compartment. He stuck his head out of the window and waved to them as the whistle went, and the train began to move, blowing his hair around his face. When he could not see them anymore, he slumped back into a seat and stared out of the window moodily.

--------

'Father?' Lupin choked.

'Remus?' The tall, grey haired man stared at him in disbelief.

'I thought... why are you here?'

'I got bitten!' he said proudly, showing Lupin a series of bites down his arm.

'I thought you got killed, when...'

'No, no. I went into hiding here. At the full moon they lock it up and we're all free to roam the corridors, no longer a threat.'

'Dad, do you remember the Bones of the Father De-Resurrection spell?' Lupin asked suddenly.

'Only off by heart! It was my specialty back in the good old days.'

'Can I just grab a pen...'

---------

Only his mother stood on the platform. Lucius never came, his son did not mean enough to him. Draco went over to her and hugged her quickly before they went out to the carriage, invisible in the street outside. She looked worn and tired.

'What's up, mum?' Draco asked, concerned.

She ran a weary hand over her face. 'Your father, he's in a frenzy. He keeps talking about initiating you. I didn't want to take you home, but... he'd kill us both.'

Draco's heart dropped out, he could not join them now! It would ruin everything, they could kill him in a second if he did not comply. He did not say this to his mother, instead, surprising himself, he said, 'Don't worry, mum. It'll be okay.' He put an arm around her shoulders and leaned back into the padded seat, where he gazed out of the windows all the way home.

----------

'I wish he didn't have to go home,' Harry sighed, then he stopped dead, his eyes wide in horror. 'Did I just say I wanted Malfoy to stay?'

'Yes,' Ron said seriously, patting him on the back. 'This means he must have been telling the truth about that potion.'

'Shut up,' Harry told him, smacking the back of his head.

They walked in silence back to the castle. The Christmas holidays always meant that there was plenty to do, but only in a nice way. They were going to Hogsmeade at the weekend to buy all their Christmas presents, and then it was Harry and Ron's turn to decorate the common room. Naturally, Hermione and Ginny were helping.

As they turned through the archway and into the Hogwarts grounds, a small owl crashed into the back of Harry's head, dropping a letter on the ground before flying away. Harry snatched it up out of the slush and wiped the envelope dry on his cloak. He recognised the narrow handwriting immediately. He tore open Sirius' letter and scanned the parchment quickly. Sirius reported that Lupin had gone to the Werewolves' Guild to scout for information, and so far said nothing. Sirius had had to leave again, and was now somewhere in the north, but he couldn't say where. Other than that he had very little to say, but Harry was glad to hear from him all the same.

-------

In fact, it was a decoy. Sirius had been sighted, and he and Buckbeak were sidling off again South. He had no plans as to where South, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

--------

'Are you totally sure?'

'Of course I am, son. You have no idea how glad I am to see you. I thought you'd have been killed by now.'

Lupin gave a somewhat forced laugh. 'No, I appear to be absolutely fine. We really must keep in touch, but, you know, zombies on the loose!'

'You can't leave,' his father said quietly.

'What?' Lupin's eyes narrowed as he turned back to his father. 'What did you say?'

'I said, you can't leave.'

'Why not?'

'Once you come in, you can never get out.'

'I bloody well can!' Lupin grabbed up his belongings and ran to the door he had come in through, except it was no longer there. He scraped the walls with his fingernails, but there was nothing there, no sign that there ever had been. He howled in frustration and despair. Lupin was quite an impressive werewolf, and he was incredibly strong, but the wall would not budge even slightly for him. He saw a window high up in the wall, and began to climb to it. He made surprisingly good progress, and smashed the window out with his elbow to slide through. It seemed that the werewolves had been expecting him back, and he could hear voices down the corridor. Panicking, he dragged himself through and tumbled to the ground, sprinting for all he was worth away from that foul place, just as the door reappeared, and several of them came out. He tried to calm himself, and disapparating, thinking desperately of holding together thoughts.

--------

'Back again, boy?' Lucius Malfoy snapped, not even turning around as Draco came into his study.

'I would rather have stayed at school, but requested you me to come home,' Draco said coldly.

'Ah, yes, I did, didn't I?' Lucius remembered. He turned in his chair to face the reluctant, pale boy standing in the doorway. 'The Dark Lord wants to see you.'

'What if I don't want to see him?'

'I'm afraid you don't have that choice,' Lucius told him, a cold fire flaring up in his eyes.

'So? What does he want?'

'He wants you to dress in pink and dance the can-can for him. He wants you to join him properly you idiot.'

'Oh, good. Pink just isn't my colour.'

'Stop trying to be funny.'

'I wasn't trying.'

'He will see you tomorrow.' Lucius spun his chair back to his desk and closed the conversation.

Draco scuffed his way out through the library and into his room. It was unnaturally cold, even for the Manor, so he pointed into the grate, and a fire burst forth. Green sparks rose from it steadily for a few seconds, then they turned the normal colour, and Draco slumped into a chair, his legs stretched out in front of him.

-------

'No! Not that way! You'll practically give me to that bishop!' the knight squealed, and Harry drew his fingers back from it sharply as it tried to bite him.

'Still got a lot to learn, my old friend,' Ron said, shaking his head.

'Shut up.'

'You two, please!' Hermione protested, raising her head from the pile of homework in front of her.

'Fine.'

They continued to play in silence until Ginny came in, waving a letter at them.

'It's from Malfoy!' she cried, breathless. 'He wants us all to go and stay there!'

--------

'Black, Draco.'

Draco sighed, and fished through his wardrobe for the nicest black clothes he had, and settled for a pedantic take on what his father had said. Choosing a black suit, black shirt, black silk tie, black socks, black underpants, black shoes and a long black cloak, he stuffed a black comb in his pocket and swept regally out of the room.

Lucius only glanced at him, before apparating both of them away. Draco felt a faint rushing, and a jerking behind his eyeballs as they apparated to wherever Voldemort happened to be.

Draco struggled to maintain his composure as they arrived in a room, high up in a tower. He tried not to stumble forwards in shock, and only just managed. His eyes were unfocused and he swallowed hard to stop himself from being sick. As the room slid out from behind the smoky glass, Draco saw Voldemort, just standing there, as though it were the most normal thing in the world, to be reddish, and to have slit yellow eyes.

'Lucius,' the Dark Lord greeted him perfunctorily.

'My Lord,' Lucius fawned.

'And Draco.'

'Yes, Sir?' Draco said, he refused to use his father's fawning, simpering tones, and held his head high, kept his voice steady.

'Very good. I admire a man who respects himself,' Voldemort said, staring coldly at the grovelling Lucius, who quickly got up. Draco's eyes widened in surprise at being called a man, but he was quite tall, and very mature. 'You are now of age to enter my service. I shall not brand you with my mark until you please me sufficiently. My first task to you, kill Harry Potter. You will befriend him, and invite he and his friends to your home. There you will kill him. Clear?'

'Very, but I won't do it.'

'You dare defy me?' Voldemort bellowed, enraged.

'No,' Draco said calmly. 'I am already friends with Harry, and I won't kill him and let you win.'

'Then you will do it under my curse,' Voldemort said, raising his wand to Draco's chest.

'NO!' Draco cried out, slamming himself sideways and trying to disapparate out of the horrible situation. Voldemort's spell missed him by inches, but Lucius grabbed his son by the arms, and dragged him over to the wall, where chains glowed and snaked out around the boy's wrists. They were hot with the magic, and as they settled around Draco's wrists they burned him. He clenched his jaw, refusing to scream. The pain seared through his arms, and balled up in his chest, then flowed up to ache in his throat, trying to force him to cry. He refused that even as he had refused Voldemort, and it was much harder.

'You are quick. You will be much rewarded when you enter my service,' Voldemort said, placing the tip of his wand against Draco's chest. Draco continued to hold onto his thoughts tightly, as though letting go would drop him into a deep pit, from which he would never escape. 'Imperio.'

What he felt now was not the lassitude that had slid down over Draco in fourth year, it hurt. There was an acute pain behind each eye, and a tearing in his soul. It seemed unable to pierce the very core of his being, and gave up at that point. He felt the chains slip off his sore wrists, and tried to apparate away, but he could not. He realised with horror that his body would do only as Voldemort said, and right now, Voldemort was telling him to kill Harry.

--

Lucius herded him into the Manor, and told him to write to Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione, and invite them to stay. The roaring in Draco's ears meant that he did not hear his father, but realised what his body was doing instead. Voldemort had transferred command to Lucius.

Draco marched woodenly into the study, pain lancing through his joints as he stumped up the stairs. He tried to stop, but nothing happened, he could just about swivel his eyes, but they shot right back immediately. He found his hands writing on the paper, and tying it to an owl, then he went back to his father, because he had no choice.

-------

'Of course you can, love,' Mrs Weasley smiled. 'Just make sure you and Ron thank the Grangers very much for having you.'

'We will, mum,' Ginny assured her, feeling desperately guilty.

'Goodbye, dear.'

'Bye mum.'

Ginny turned back to the others. 'All sorted, then?'

They all nodded, and Ginny got up from her knees. She picked up her bags, and swung her green cloak around her shoulders. Ron huddled deeper into his old blue wool one, and Hermione tucked her hair into her white hood. Harry wore black, and he looked worried. Ginny was not sure why, but he definitely did.

'Vide ne sis,' Ginny muttered, tapping all the bags with her wand. They shimmered briefly, then disappeared.

Harry groped where they had been, then picked some heavy things up. He shouldered whatever he was carrying, and they walked to Hogsmeade.

As soon as they got out of the grounds, Harry pulled them all into a bush, and grabbed hold of Hermione and Ron's hands, Ron held on to Ginny, and Harry disapparated. Ginny felt the pull on her hands, and held on tight. They were pulled with him, not exactly in any direction, just pulled. There was a loud crash, and they landed in the driveway to the Manor.

Ginny crawled to her feet, gasping and clutching her sides. Her eyes felt like they were filled with sand. She had a stitch, and it felt like she had been boiled. Harry looked fine. 'It's only you lot. You weren't contributing anything, so the spell took it off you with force,' he grinned.

'What? Is that possible?' Hermione looked on the verge of flipping out a notebook to start working on the theory.

'Maybe?' Ron shrugged, and reached down to help her up. He pulled on her arm quite hard, and she bumped into him when she came to her feet. With a dainty little 'ooph' and a flutter of her lashes, she landed against his chest and pulled back slightly. He was looking at her in amazement, like he had never really seen her before. Ginny reversed the spell on the bags, and they appeared in a pile a little way away. Ron was just standing there, so Harry groaned and picked all the bags up, flicking his dark hair out of his eyes and storming off. It started to snow, just as they had anticipated, and Ginny pulled her hood up, tucking her long auburn plait inside. Hermione and Ron stood there staring at each other, so Ginny rolled her eyes and walked off, leaving them standing in the falling snow.

-------

'Master Malfoy, your guests have arrived,' a house elf reported, then ran out. Draco's body got up and stumbled down the stairs to the hallway. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stood there, snow-covered and cold looking, and totally out of place.

'Hi Draco,' Harry said, raising a hand briefly to acknowledge him. Draco's body returned the gesture. Hermione gave him a terrified smile. He knew why she did not want to be there, and above the roaring pain, he tried to shout-

'Leave!'

'What?' Harry looked shocked. 'We only just got here!'

You don't understand- but that refused to come out. 'Please come upstairs, I will show you your rooms.'

They followed him out of the wood panelled hall, and into a corridor lined with malevolent portraits. Draco kept trying to stop, he managed twice, but that just served to make him look strange, as he started again instantly. Tears of frustration ran down the cheeks of his true face, and he hated his father. As much as he had hated Potter, he now liked him. Sirius' plan had forced them together, and it seemed like that was a good way to be.

He stopped in front of an ebony door, and opened it for Hermione. She wandered in, looking dubious.

'Make yourself at home,' he droned.

She gave him a strange look, and it tore at him to see it. 'Get out of here!' he gasped at her. Then he screamed as the pain of defying the curse scraped and tore at his skin. He fell to the ground.

They all rushed forwards to help him. Harry picked him up by the arms and set him on his feet. By that time Draco had lost control, and his body just walked on to Ron's room. 'Please go and make yourselves at home,' he said tonelessly to Ron and Hermione. They both turned and went into their rooms, looking worried.

'Are you alright Draco?' Ginny asked him, laying a hand on his arm. He looked at her, and was glad that his body did, because she looked very beautiful. She wore a short black dress over a pair of jeans, and her long hair hung in a plait from the nape of her neck. Her cloak was swept back in the warmth of the manor, and her milky porcelain skin shone against the dark material.

'Yes, thank you. I'm very well. How are you?' he asked her in a flat tone of voice.

'What is it?' her eyes were wide, it almost looked like she cared.

'I enquired after your health politely. This is the done thing.' He was not joking, but his sense of humour was such that there was no way to tell.

She bit her lip, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. 'Why are you mocking me?' she croaked through her tears.

'It's not me! Potter, you will sleep in here. Make yourself at home.' Draco shut the door in his face.

'What do you mean?'

'Voldemort- he cursed... You are well, I trust? Do you enjoy school?'

Ginny stared at him as they turned a corner, and Draco mentally clenched himself to quell the pain of speaking to her. Then he heard a voice, hissing, and rasping. 'Kill her.'

He threw his hand out, turning around to face her, and seeing himself briefly in a mirror on the wall, whispered 'Avada Kedavra.'

-------

Sirius ducked into the alley, panting hard. He threw himself against the wall and stared out towards the street. The wizards ran past, and Sirius slithered down the grimy black bricks to the ground. He folded his arms on his knees and put his head down on them. Sweat poured off his face, and he wiped it against the sleeve of his T-shirt.

They had spotted him. He had not, of course, intended them to, although he loved a good chase. The wizards had seen him across the street. Fortunately, it was quite easy to find somewhere to hide in London. He got up quickly, and looked to the wire fencing at the far end of the alley, then up to the roof of the building it was up against. A short jump would take him to the building, then he could apparate away from there. To do it here would have been too risky. Pushing himself off from the wall, he began to climb.

-------

Harry was very worried about Draco. He kept blurting odd things out, and stopping all over the place. He had not been mocking Ginny, which was odd, because he would have done. Convinced there was something wrong, Harry left his room and walked to where the corridor turned a corner. Then he felt a searing pain in his scar. He saw Ginny, backing away from something, and into his sight. He heard someone whisper the killing curse, and saw the green flash. It was heading for Ginny. He hurled himself at her, planning either to take it himself, or to save her.

-------

It was then that Potter leapt into view. He crashed into Ginny, and the two of them smashed into the wall, the curse skimming the top of Ginny's head and hitting the mirror. It was like slow motion, the curse hurtling back towards Draco, his body refusing to move as he hurled all of his will at it, and the words -unblockable, almost invariably fatal - rocketing around his head. It was getting so close to him now. He stopped trying to throw himself forwards, and just went for backwards. He collapsed, the green light whistling over the tip of his nose as he crashed into the floor. And, his breath knocked out, and his head twisted back, he witnessed, with the same slow detachment his father slam the door of his study open and stand unwittingly in the path of the curse.

As it hit him, he fell backwards. His head cracked against the heavy door, and he slumped down in a pool of blood, totally dead.

Several things happened at once, and, seeming to make up for the slow motion of before, it all started going double time. Hermione and Ron skidded around the corner, Hermione pointing at Draco and yelling 'Finite Incantatem!' at the top of her voice, Ron diving to his sister's side, to lift her up gently and cradle her in his arms, tears pouring down his cheeks. Draco still could not move. The pain of the curse was gone, but now the pain of falling hit him, and the surprising pain of seeing his father dead. Potter came and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, lifting him up, and facing him away from the sight of Lucius' corpse.

'I saw everything! It was the Potter boy, I'm sure!'

Draco whipped around, wincing at the pain, to see Macnair, a friend of his father, pointing at Harry.

'Summon the dementors! We'll bind him until they get here,' Goyle instructed. Macnair hurried away, and Goyle advanced on Harry. 'Get away from Draco!' he snapped, trying to pry Draco away, but the blond murderer smacked his hand away.

'I did it,' he croaked. 'I killed my father.'

'Nonsense, boy!'

Draco grabbed Harry's wand, and pointed at himself. 'Priori Incantatem,' he coughed. Smoke flowed from his chest and twisted itself into spidery letters above his head.

'Avada Kedavra.'

-------

It was a mark of how desperate he was, that Lupin tried to apparate anywhere, and ended up in Godric's Hollow. He was still running. It was the worst thing to do, but he did it anyway. When he arrived outside the town, he tumbled headfirst into the street, smacking his head on the wet cobbles. Rain swept across the village, and it tore at him, drenching his robes and hair in an instant. Blinking the rain out of his eyes, he focused on his home, and disapparated. Godric's Hollow held too many memories to stay.

When he appeared on his doorstep, he found many owls perched on the porch roof. It was not raining there, but it looked as though it had just passed. All the owls looked up simultaneously, and bombed him, shoving their letters in his face. Lupin managed to get them all, and the owls took off again. He straightened the pile of envelopes, and pushed the door open with his shoulder.

His house was as he had left it, and he dumped all the letters on the hall table. One caught his eye. He dropped his hands from the clasp of his cloak, and reached out for it. As his hand touched the parchment, there was a booming sound, and Lupin wrenched the door open.

Standing on the mat was Sirius. Blood flowed from a cut on his forehead, and his ebony hair was dripping, sodden. He wore a grubby T-shirt and jeans, and looked totally wiped out.

'Hiya Moony,' he grinned, without preamble, and wandered in to sit on the second stair. Lupin rolled his eyes and shut the door after him.

'What happened?' Lupin asked him, indicating the cut over Sirius' eyebrow.

'Oh, this? Well, got spotted, basically,' Sirius grinned, running a hand through his hair, so that it all flowed back from his forehead and made him look about the same age as Harry.

'And still he grins,' Lupin sighed, speaking to no one in particular. 'Should I get you some dry clothes?'

'Nah. I'll be fine. Could do with a drink, though,' Sirius added hopefully.

'Okay, I'll make some tea.'

'I don't really...'

'Okay. I'll get you a glass of water,' Lupin said tersely.

'I'm thirsty, Moony, not dirty.'

'Thirsty is your current problem. There is another to address later with a shower. I'll pour you a brandy.'

'Thanks.'

-------

'Adligare,' Macnair snapped, pointing his wand at Draco. Ropes snapped around his wrists and jerked them behind his back. Draco only looked at him, a mutinous expression on his face.

'The dementors have come,' Goyle reported, looking out of the window.

'Show them up,' Macnair instructed, and the man hurried away. He turned to Draco. 'Give me your wand.'

'I can't.'

'WHY NOT?' Macnair shouted, fuming.

'Because you tied my hands up.'

'Accio wand!' he snapped, and Draco's wand soared out of his pocket and into Macnair's hand.

There were sounds of movement in the corridor, and Macnair turned to Draco, a nasty smile on his ugly face. 'You'd better say your goodbyes, boy. They'll be sticking you away for life.'

Ginny clapped a hand over her mouth in horror. Draco got up with surprising grace, considering his tied up state. He turned to Harry.

'Can you unbind me for this?' he asked Macnair. 'I won't do anything. I don't have my wand, and you can kill me if I try.'

Macnair nodded, and removed the ropes. Draco held out a hand to Harry, who took it instantly.

'I'm glad that I'm not going to leave this world hating you, Potter. Contrary to popular belief, I don't like hating people. You're a great guy, and I'm glad that you are one of those I would count as a friend.'

Harry nodded, seemingly unable to speak, and grasped Draco's hand tightly with both of his. Draco went to Hermione. He hesitated, looking at her, for a moment, then hugged her. To Ginny's surprise, she hugged him back.

'Sorry for being such a shit, Granger.'

'You're forgiven,' she smiled.

'I've got two things for you, the first is my charm.' He pulled the chain over his head and gave it to her. 'The second is kind of an apology, but kind of a Christmas present for you.' He fished in his pocket and pulled out a silver locket on a chain, made not of links, but of tiny flowers and leaves.

'Thank you,' she gasped. 'It's beautiful!' She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he fastened the chain behind her neck.

'Stick a picture of Potter in it,' he suggested, looking uncomfortably at the girl around his waist.

'You are going in there, Draco,' she wept.

He patted her head, and turned to Ron, holding his hand out. Ron stood there, looking at it, frowning thoughtfully. Draco, without the slightest trace of embarrassment, kept his hand held out, waiting for Ron. Then, after a minute, Ron took his enemy's hand, and shook it hard.

'Sorry, Weasley,' Draco grinned.

'Don't I get a necklace, too?' Ron laughed.

'They didn't have any in your colour,' Draco shrugged.

'Ginny,' Draco said, turning to her.

It was like everything else dropped away. She could hear nothing but him, see nothing but him. He reached out a hand, and touched her hair. She noticed that he seemed to have some marks banding his wrists, like chains burnt into his skin.

'My curse hit you,' he said, still touching her hair.

'Did it?'

'You've got a white fringe.'

'I have?'

'Yes, your hair's all white at the front.'

'Oh. Okay.'

'Look, I hope you won't blame me for this...'

'I can't blame you, it wasn't your fault.'

'Good. I hope you can forgive me, then. But it's really me now, so I hope you can forgive me for this.' He tipped his head forwards and kissed her. She was too astonished by the feel of his soft lips on hers to respond. His silky hair fell in curtains around them, and she clung to his shirt, tipping her head right back. But then it was over. The dementors had grabbed at his wrists and were dragging him away. 'I think I love you,' he breathed. He stared into her eyes as they dragged him away. He was looking right at her, his mouth slightly open, his eyes so sad, then they jerked him around the corner, and he was gone. Never to return.