The Ivory Tower

CHAPTER ONE

Theft and Virtue

-----

Draco Malfoy thrust his hands deeper into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders up to protect his ears from the biting wind. His father spat out the butt of his cigar and crushed it with the heel of his Italian boot. In a sudden fit of anger, he bellowed 'Where the hell are they?!'

The pale man began storming around the wave-beaten dock. Draco knew better than to answer. If the question had been for anyone, it certainly wasn't him. He bravely reached up a hand to flick the collar of his coat up over his cheeks. The fierce wind ripped and screamed through the rigging on the boats beside them, and clinking, slapping noises came from the water. Draco felt the taste of salt on his tongue, and savoured it, thinking of all the breakfast he had missed to get out here and find that the Dark Lord had neglected to turn up. It was disappointing to say the least.

Lucius Malfoy was spitting out vile oaths and parading around the small concrete block pressing out into the grey sea. His boots clicked as he made his way, and the normally annoying sound soothed Draco beyond measure in the current situation. The cold autumn sky was so blue it seemed to glow. Draco wanted to reach out and touch it, but he had already learnt that lesson the last time he removed his hands from the sanctuary of his coat.

At last, when Lucius could barely contain himself, and was going the peculiar shade of a radish, the usual circle turned up, with the Dark Lord in the centre.

'I trust you have done my bidding?' he rasped, in a voice not unlike the sound of a candy-vending machine breaking.

'Of course, master. As ever,' Lucius grovelled, smiling up at Voldemort. Draco didn't bother. As long as he wasn't one of them, he refused to grovel. Voldemort seemed to understand his decision, and left him alone.

'Very well. You will be rewarded in due course. May I have the mirror?' He didn't sound as though he really expected to be denied the right to it, but frankly, who would say no to him?

'Of course, master. Boy!' Lucius called to Draco, holding out a hand to take the mirror in. Sighing, Draco picked it up and handed it to the blond man. It was lighter than it looked, and it looked pretty damn heavy. Voldemort took it without a word of thanks, and vanished.

-----

Voldemort traced the lines and words around the frame. It was a beautiful piece of work, even if it gave him very bad memories of four years before. He hadn't even broken it, and he still seemed to be getting bad luck. Oh well. All that was about to change. Yes, the mirror was just what he had been looking for. It would help him to conquer, basically. He could use it, with the spell he had found, to manifest his deepest desires. The mirror of erised would be a very useful ally.

Wormtail was cowering nearby, and Voldemort turned to him. He was a foul sight to behold, and he needed dealing with. Maybe an unusually daring errand would dispose of the worm for good. Unfortunately, he appeared to be most resistant to being stamped on. It was rather discouraging. Voldemort turned back to the reflection in the mirror. It would take a minute or two to do the spell, and then everything would work out perfectly. But there was always Potter.

-----

Harry poked Ron fervently, casting nervous glances at Snape.

'Wake up!' he hissed.

Ron stirred and groaned. Just in time, as it turned out, because it was at that precise moment that Snape looked up and shot Harry a look of pure, concentrated malice. Harry stood up and headed to the front of the class without bothering to wait for Snape to tell him to. The greasy professor glared at him, but showed no surprise at Harry's reaction.

'Mr Malfoy is absent,' he hissed, his cold eyes boring into Harry's.

'Thank you for alerting me to that happy fact. I'll go sit down now, shall I?'

It was a big mistake. Snape stood up like a jack-in-the-box.

'Potter!' he grated, his nostrils flaring and his sallow cheeks puffing out on the P.

'Yes professor?' Harry inquired sweetly.

'You did something to that boy, and I know it!'

'If only. I haven't had a chance. No. Malfoy just didn't turn up today. Sorry to disappoint,' Harry said silkily, and marched back to his place.

Snape was too busy glaring at the black haired boy to see Malfoy saunter in and take his place by Pansy Parkinson.

'If you did something to Draco I will gut you myself, Potter!' Snape raved.

'Potter? You offend me, professor! Potter hasn't the strength to threaten butterflies,' Malfoy drawled.

'Why do I need to threaten butterflies, when I've got a peacock?' Harry smirked unpleasantly. Fifth year was going to be far more fun now he had plotted responses to all of Malfoy's drawling insults.

Only, Malfoy didn't react the way he usually did. He just nodded and looked away. Harry was frightened into asking him if he was alright after the lesson.

'Oh, I'm just whacked out with all this evil plotting, Potter. Don't mind me.'

Harry couldn't be sure if the pale boy was serious or not. He didn't even sound like he was joking.

'Malfoy?'

The boy spun around, looking very agitated. 'What do you want?' he asked slowly, emphasising every word.

'I... I just want to know if you're okay,' Harry said lamely.

'Why?' Draco looked genuinely curious.

'You're acting odd.'

'Do you care?' Draco frowned.

'I suppose I do, a little bit. I don't think anyone should be unhappy.'

'Not even me?' Draco laughed hollowly. 'You want something, Potter, and you're not going to get it.' He swirled his cloak around him and marched to the lunch hall.

-----

The circle gathered again, but this time that mirror Lucius and Draco had stolen graced the middle. Voldemort stood before it, looking very pleased with himself.

'I have cast the spell,' he boomed, spreading his arms wide. The fires around them burst up brightly in celebration. Everyone cheered happily. Draco didn't. he was thinking about what Potter had said. It scared him a little. He had to admit that to himself, at least. His attention finally turned back to the snake-like face, as it began to announce what it planned to do with the mirror.

Draco seemed to have missed all the words, because while he watched, the flickering fires died right down, then beamed up to the very stars. The night air around the mirror started to swirl and dance. Voldemort raised his arms high above his head, chanting in a guttural voice. The dancing lights began to coalesce on a certain spot. They began to flow in and built up into the body of a huge monster. When the terrible apparition was formed, Voldemort called to it, 'Troll! Who is your master?'

The troll grunted, and shook its shaggy head, before pointing one gnarled finger at Voldemort. the Death Eaters burst into applause. Voldemort took an ostentatious bow, before turning back to the creature.

'As your master, I command you to go forth and hunt the Mudbloods and Muggles of this country. Go!'

The troll ambled off in a crouching run, and its booming footsteps were soon outside the circle of light.

Draco was enjoying himself immensely, watching all the ugly monsters come out of the mirror and go hunting Muggles. The sky began to grow light again, and they had to return home, but before they did so, Voldemort made one final announcement.

'My faithful servants,' he said grandly, 'I will now go into the mirror, to better control what it produces. If the mirror is smashed, my gateway is destroyed. No one may touch the mirror unless I invite them to. I will take some of my servants in with me to perform tasks.' He then reeled out a long list of Death Eaters who were to follow him. Thankfully, neither Draco nor his father was on the list.

With spectacular flashes, they disappeared into the glassy surface, and the rest of the meeting apparated off to other places.

-----

The news of what had happened spread like wildfire. Everyone's mouths were blazing with new rumours. Hogwarts had been sealed up, and many Muggles were taking refuge in prisons and the like. Voldemort seemed unstoppable, though, and his never ending source of monsters defied the Ministry's best efforts. The atmosphere in the school was tense, and people walked around in near silence. Oddly enough, Draco was the quietest. Enquiries were going out all over the place, and many students had been interviewed to see if they knew anything. Any time one of the officials walked past, Draco backed into a corner and hid, his face very pale.

The death toll rose and rose, new announcements being read out at every meal. Many students fled the hall crying at the knowledge of their parents' deaths. Hermione walked around numbly, talking in grunts about the NEWTs, which they didn't take for two years. Harry couldn't control the feeling that Draco knew something. He managed to cajole Ron into coming with him to talk to the silver-blond boy.

'What do you want?' Draco spat angrily as they cornered him in an upper corridor.

'We think you know something about all this,' Ron said ominously.

Draco sneered up at the tall boy. 'Like I'd tell you anyway.'

'I think you will,' Harry smiled, holding out their secret weapon. They had persuaded Hermione to help, telling her their thoughts on Malfoy's situation.

'Virtue potion?' Draco sneered. 'Where did you get that idea?'

'Maybe if you understand how wrong it is, you'll help us defeat him.'

Draco's face took on a look of almost pity. 'Don't you realise, Potter? If I tell you anything, both I and my father, and probably my mother too, will be killed.'

Harry was slightly surprised that Malfoy hadn't laughed at him. 'You have to help, Malfoy.'

'Make me,' the boy hissed.

'Ron,' Harry offered.

The red head grabbed Draco's arms, pinned them behind him, and lifted him off the ground. Draco didn't fight. He hung there, staring at Harry.

'Do it then. You won't believe how much trouble I can get you in for force-feeding me something like that, let alone brewing it.'

Harry faltered slightly.

'It's for the good of the whiney Muggles, Potter. Do it,' Draco urged.

'Fine, I hope it hurts!' Harry snapped. Ron cracked Malfoy's arms behind him, and the boy's mouth opened in pain and surprise. Harry hurled the contents of the little bottle into Draco's mouth, and Ron dropped him onto the floor. One of Draco's arms hung limply by his side, with an odd protrusion jut below his elbow, and the other was twisted behind his back still.

'We'll come back to you when it's had time to work.' Harry and Ron walked away, shocked at what they had just done. Harry cast a nervous glance back at Malfoy. He was kneeling on the ground with his twisted arm on his back and the oddly shaped one hanging by his side. His hair was curtained around his face, and he was gagging. By the time they had mounted the staircase, Draco was spitting blood onto the flagstones.

`Are you sure, Harry? I mean, I know he´s Malfoy, and all, but he didn´t look so good,´ Ron frowned.

`I...´ Harry stammered, wrestling with his guilty conscience. `We need this to work.´

Ron bit his lip, glancing back up the staircase to where Draco lay, coughing heavily and cradling his arm. `Whatever you say, Harry.´

-----

Draco stumbled blindly towards something he couldn´t understand. It was wrenching at him, and he was dimly aware of the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. His arms were killing him, and he felt like he had just been torn down the middle of his ribs. It was dark wherever he was, and there was nothing except a sort of watery sparkle a long way ahead. He didn´t know why he had to head for it, but he did. There were cold flagstones under him, but he stood on thin air. It was disorienting. His fingers reached out slowly and stiffly into the encroaching darkness, causing a fresh wave of pain, and a blunt stabbing in his elbow. He brushed the tips of his nails against that watery shimmer, and he was thrown through it.

The cold water rushed over him, and he somersaulted through. Everything came back into colour again, and he realised to late that he had pitched himself over the side of the railing. Many stairs and walls flashed past him. He was tumbling as he fell, and his cloak billowed out behind him. He thrust out his hands to try and grab something, but the pain shrieked in his mind, and the back of his head met the stones of the entrance hall floor.

-----

There was the sound of a shriek outside. Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed out of the library and leaned over the balcony to look down. Students were crowded all along the walkways and along the staircases just staring at the floor far below. The teachers were gathered in a ring around something. Harry couldn´t see what it was, but he could tell from the whispers that it was a person. Dumbledore conjured a stretcher, and lifted the figure onto it. Even at the distance of three floors, there was no mistaking that silver-blond head. Draco.

When the teachers moved out of sight the crowd dispersed reluctantly. Harry and Ron, however, ran down the spiralling stairs, and chased after the teachers. Hermione, calling out to them, followed. Harry bounced up and down, desperately struggling to see. In the end he gave up and just wormed his way through the legs of the other students.

Snape saw him. Snape also must have seen the worried look in Harry´s eyes, because he snapped `What did you do to him, Potter?´ in a horrible voice.

`We... what´s wrong with him?´

`Don´t play innocent with me, boy. I know your games!´

`Just tell me what the hell is wrong with him!´ Harry yelled, surprising everyone around them into silence. The narrow corridor suddenly seemed very wide.

`Dislocated elbow, dislocated shoulder, broken wrist, fractured skull, fractured leg, and slipped disk in his back,´ Dumbledore answered softly.

Harry couldn´t help it. His legs gave out, and he crumpled to the floor.

`Harry?´ Dumbledore said. `Harry, do you know anything about this?´

Harry nodded.

`We... I dislocated his shoulder and his elbow. I don´t know about the rest.´

Snape drew himself up. `Come with us, Potter.´

Harry nodded, his eyes closed. Professor Sinistra stayed to stop all the other students from following, and they went up a back stairway that wasn´t as steep as the others. In fact, it was more of a ramp. Harry couldn´t take his eyes off Draco. The boy lay twisted and bloodstained on the stretcher.

There was a gnawing sense of guilt in the pit of Harry´s stomach, and he knew that he was the reason Malfoy lay there like that. There was no way that he could have thrown himself off, or been pushed, for any other reason. At that point, Harry began to wonder if the spell would work, if all this had been worth it...

Then he kicked himself, and told himself not to worry about that, but the feeling abided.

-----

They, of course, took him to the hospital wing. Harry was too busy following them numbly to notice when Snape slammed the door in his face, so he walked right into it. The resulting shock threw him to the ground. Little stars and birdies winked in front of his eyes, and he rubbed one hand up under his glasses, supporting himself with the other.

In time the flashing cleared, and he realised that he was sitting on the flagstone floor outside a hospital. He jolted back to his senses, and began to hammer on the door. Eventually Professor McGonagall emerged, shutting the door closely behind her.

`What is it, Potter?´ she hissed, casting fearful glances back over her shoulder.

`I want to see Malfoy,´ he told her.

`You can´t,´ she replied.

`Why not?´ Harry demanded, starting to get angry.

`Well, firstly, he´s asleep. Second, we have no proof that you didn´t push him off. Your hatred isn´t exactly top-secret.´

`I didn´t do it!´ Harry shrilled. `I told you that I broke his arm, isn´t that enough for you? I was on a totally different floor, too.´

`Can anybody vouch for that?´ she asked him curtly, her nostrils pinched.

`You wouldn´t believe them anyway,´ he snapped. `Now let me see him.´

`You cannot speak to me in such a fashion!´

`Just bloody watch me. Now get the fuck outta my way!´

Maybe it was his expression, or maybe his clenching fists, or it could have been empathy, but whatever it was, McGonagall moved reluctantly aside.

Harry barged in, skidding his way across the cold floor to the side of Malfoy´s bed. Dumbledore looked at him oddly then motioned the other teachers away. Harry heard Snape hiss `But he´s up to something!´

`I know. And that is why I shall try not to get in his way,´ Dumbledore said, and there was a slightly ominous tone to it.

`Whatever you think is best, headmaster,´ Snape backed down.

Harry returned his attention to Draco. The boy seemed to have been healed while he slept, and a small weight was taken off Harry´s mind. But it wasn´t sufficient to cover the dark haired boy´s guilt.

`I didn´t mean to get you hurt,´ he told the sleeping boy.

`Like I´m meant to believe that,´ Draco scoffed. A long, pale hand snapped out and caught at Harry´s tie. Draco opened his bright silver eyes, and they were filled with malice. `What the fuck did you do to me?´ he spat.

`I gave you a virtue potion,´ Harry choked.

`I´m not a bloody imbecile. Why?´

`We need your help to defeat Voldemort.´

`Voldemort is my master. I´m hardly likely to hand all his secrets over to you, am I?´

`You know what he´s doing is wrong!´ Harry squeaked, trying and failing to remove Draco´s hand from about his neck.

`Wrong it may be, but guess what? I´m evil, and I couldn´t give a shit if I tried.´ Draco let go of Harry´s tie, and rolled over to face the wall.

`You do care,´ Harry said quietly to Draco´s back.

`Oh, I do, do I?´ Draco hissed, sitting up and staring Harry in the face.

`I think so.´

`And why do you think that?´

`Because you won´t face me about this.´

`I´m not facing you now? I know you have your face plastered on your arse, but I certainly don´t. I´m facing you, even if you´re not facing me.´

Harry hesitated, stung.

`Now get out of this hospital, or I´ll punch you so hard you´ll have to stick your hand up your arse to brush your teeth,´ Draco threatened him.

`I´ll be back.´

`I´ll be waiting,´ Draco retorted.

-----

Despite what he said, Draco felt a horrible surge of righteousness coursing through his veins. He wanted to protect the innocents, and slay dragons. It scared him more than he would care to admit. He listened to Potter´s words over and over. The more he heard them, the more sense they made. That was why he sat up to wait for Potter, as he knew the boy would come at night. That was when he made up his mind. He spat out the sleeping potion Madame Pomfrey gave him as soon as she was out of range. He decided what he would do, and planned every detail.

When Madame Pomfrey checked up on him later, she saw his eyes flickering beneath their vein-traced lids, and a sinister smile playing about his lips. His hands were folded calmly on his chest, and she envisioned him breaking out into peal upon peal of evil laughter. He didn´t, however, and she allowed herself a small shudder before walking away.

Harry pushed the door open an inch or so, and pressed his invisible eye to the crack. The wing was deserted. Moonlight slanted across the floor, and the curtains swirled slightly in a breeze from one of the leaded windows that was open. Harry crept in, closing the door silently behind him. He came to his knees by Malfoy´s bed.

`Evening, oh virtuous one,´ Draco intoned without opening his eyes.

Harry was slightly offended. He had been creeping around for nearly five years now, and he prided himself on his silence of movement. The fact that Malfoy had clearly heard him was somehow demoralising.

`How did you know I was here?´ he asked, pulling the cloak off.

`I´ve been blessed with a sense of hearing, Potter. You move like a baby elephant in a tantrum.´

`Have you decided to admit that we´re right?´

`Maybe.´

`You´re avoiding my question.´

`And you are fabulously gifted at pointing out the obvious, Potter.´

`Well?´

`I don´t need to be good to get my kicks. Just give me a few bottles of vodka, and I can get as high as that Ivory Tower of goodness you live in. I don´t need to be good. I can be alcoholic, and drug addicted.´

`But you aren´t, are you?´ Harry asked fearfully.

`No,´ Draco chuckled. `Look, as long as you won´t try to convert me, I´ll help you. Deal?´

`Sounds fair enough to me,´ Harry shrugged.

`Right, we´ll go to my house. All the Death Eaters are gathered where Voldemort is, so dad isn´t at home. We can grab the stuff we´ll need there.´ He swung his legs out from under the covers and stood up. Harry was surprised to see him fully clothed, in simple black.

`Well? What are you waiting for?´ Draco snapped. `Let´s go hunt some evil minions!´

~~*´*~~

This is (clearly) the first chapter of my new story. Anyone who read De-resurrection will probably be relieved to find that I´ve stopped writing it. It sucked, and I can´t bear the embarrassment of having my name under it. If anybody actually liked it, I can recommend an excellent psychotherapist. No, seriously, if you liked it, say so in a review, and I´ll keep writing. Otherwise, I´d like the right to burn it.

Okay, as for this fic. I don´t want any "Oooh, man, this is like sooooo OOC," style comments in my reviews (which are compulsory, by the way). This is how I see Draco, Harry and everyone. If you don´t like them, may I remind you that this is MY story, not yours.

Oh well. I may as well thank all those lovely people who read I Am A Slug, De-resurrection, Heaven Is A Place Nearby and Diary Of A Slug right now. I´m very proud to say that there are too many to list, but if you´ve read them, then you are fabulous, and I love you very much. You are all what keeps me tapping away on my PC, so you gotta be great!

Please, constructive criticism is okay, but no flamey things.

Thanks for reading up to this point!

Morgi Malfoy