Lost

Chapter Fifteen

Dance of Desperation

Slowly, cautiously, Draco wandered down the corridor, suspicious and wary that something was wrong. Instinctively he had paused on his way down to the dungeons, and decided instead to go this way. Now, as he walked ever further, the feeling of there being something around, something menacing, increased. He turned left, and spoke aloud, saying, "There."

Surprisingly, another voice echoed him. Turning to his right, he raised a brow at the little foursome he saw huddled there. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and of course Harry stood there, obviously having walked from the corridor opposite Draco's. Turning to gape at Draco, Harry froze where he stood.

Smirking, Draco said, "Well, well, well. If it isn't the Dream Team. So, what are you all up to on this lovely autumn day?"

There were mixed replies.

"None of your business, you insufferable little git!"

"Go away, Malfoy."

"I knew I should have gone to the library!"

"Draco? Did you feel it too? That...sense of foreboding, like something evil was near."

Nodding toward Harry, Draco walked over to join the group, included and yet apart. He stood out among them, different, clothes black, platinum hair like a beacon among the many variegated colors of the Gryffindors. Nudging Harry with his elbow, Draco grasped Harry's hand in his, pulling him over in the direction they'd both been going. "I felt it too, Harry, it's over here somewhere..."

Ron looked up, appalled and angry, shouting, "Hey! What are you two doing? Get back here, Harry!"

Hermione and Ginny simply looked on with pity to Ron, their stomachs churning as Draco leant in and whispered something to Harry, making the Gryffindor laugh. The two stood only inches away from each other, gazing at a wall as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

Seeing the image that Harry also saw pictured on the wall, yet only half paying attention, Draco gazed at Harry from the corner of his eye, that pleasant laughter ringing in his ears. Eyes squinting at the wall, brows furrowed, Harry was bending to look, his mouth slightly open, tempting Draco. Immersed by Harry's presence, desiring so much to brush his fingers or his lips against the other boy's mouth, Draco barely noticed as the rest of the group came up from behind. He frowned, looking back at the wall, as Hermione and Ron broke out in conversation with Harry, while Ginny stood there, still and impassive. Sighing, Draco turned his attention back to the wall image.

He knew that only he and Harry could see it, somehow.

It glowed with magic, not evil, but seeming not quite trustworthy, either. It was a map, strange names placed by dots that glowed different colors, mountains and caves shown by scraggly lines and circles. The whole thing was puzzling. Bending down to almost knock heads with Harry, Draco whispered, "So? What do you think?"

"I don't know what to think. It wasn't drawn on, can't rub off. It's strange. Spooky, in a way. I have this weird feeling...that it's really powerful. That's the feeling it gives me. That it's very magical, very dangerous, and...different. How does it make you feel?"

A shiver of foreboding went through Draco, as, hesitant, he murmured, "Well, to tell the truth, Harry...I want to go there. Badly. It's as if a magnet is pulling me there. I want to jump towards it, to be enveloped by it, I want that magic, that danger, that strangeness, to swallow me up in an embrace. It calls to me...like, as if it was my true home, somehow."

And hearing his own words, Draco suddenly realized where the place was, and was about to step away, when Harry fell forward unexpectedly. Grabbing at the other boy's wrist, he watched, appalled, as, turning back to him, Harry stared back at him, terrified. Hands touching the wall, touching a certain place on the map, the Gryffindor began to sink into the map! Tugging at Harry, even as the other boy's hands sunk so far into the map that they were invisible, Draco tried to get the others to help. Even as all four of them pulled, and as Draco whispered a devastated "no," Harry disappeared.

The wall rippled, and then the map, too, was gone.

Sinking to the ground, Draco buried his face in his hands, shaking with the horror of it all, his eyes stinging.

Harry was in the OtherWorld.

-----*-----

"Even without the map and Harry's invisibility cloak and all, I should be able to fix this situation up, easily. Once I get there. Why can't I get there easily? I should be able to go there easily. This doesn't make sense."

"I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, Mister Malfoy, but that was a trap. A trap purposely set in order to suck Harry into the OtherWorld. I am sorry to say, but Harry is most likely now in grave danger. I know you want to help him, but there is nothing the Ministry can do, as they are dealing with the muggle searching now, and trying to repair the magic that separates us from the muggle world. I, myself, will try to help Harry the best I can, and with the help of Ms. Granger we now know more about the OtherWorld, and Mister Weasley has helped to bring more wizards, but...we cannot get into the OtherWorld. You are the only one who can.

"But like I said, it was a trap, and the OtherWorld, even for a Summoner, is not easy to get into. Your powers, although you have practiced, you still cannot direct them what to do and how much power to use. That is why you are so easily drained with energy; your body has not adapted. You have only learned to Apparate, to do little things, to make yourself appear different, and to do explosions. None of those, I fear, will help us in this situation."

"Headmaster, you said Summoners can see, hear, and feel the OtherWorld, that we feel a pull towards it, because we are a part of it. I'm the only one here that can go there, that means, and Voldemort. But than whattabout the Death Eater that went there? And Harry?"

"The Death Eater was most likely Voldemort himself, in disguise, or a Death Eater being controlled by the Imperius curse of Voldemort. Due to their connection--Harry's scar, as you know, is connected with your scar and Voldemort, too. Thus it was easy to tug Harry into the OtherWorld."

Nodding, Draco said, "So, since Harry is there though, but not a Summoner..."

"He is alive, but he does not have the Sight that you have, so to him, he wanders in a permanent fog, unable to hear or see anything. And the magic encased in each dimension of the OtherWorld, it burns at his skin, is painful. This magic, for you, flows in your very veins, and you could live safely in the OtherWorld, since all magic of the three dimensions are, as you say, a part of you. But the OtherWorld gate has been sealed. The only way you could get through is to break it down--a nearly impossible feat--or to find the same hole that Voldemort went through and slip in there. Even so, it would take you long to find Harry. You would become so absorbed and loving of the OtherWorld, you might even forget all about this world, and about Harry. Unless, of course, you underwent more training. That could give you a chance."

"I don't want more training, I have no time! I need to get Harry back here, and I need to NOW!" Shaking with fury and nerves, Draco slammed his hands down on the table, hard, venting his anger yet also using the Headmaster's desk to hold himself up steady. A sad sort of twinkle in his eye, Dumbledore said, "It's hard knowing you could lose the one you love, isn't it?"

Staring, Draco stood there, motionless. Then, regaining his composure, he snarled, "The Mudblo- I mean, Granger told you, didn't she?!"

Frowning slightly, Dumbledore shook his head. "No. I suspected it, and your mood proves it, as do your words."

Shaking his head and plopping into a chair, Draco gazed solemnly into the fire crackling, saying sadly, "I'll never get there in time, will I? Neither Harry nor I have a chance." Then, turning back to Dumbledore, he said, "We might as well consider this world doomed, as well as the OtherWorld. We lost."

Shaking his head, Dumbledore smiled, saying, "No, we haven't. Not yet. There is one other way."

-----*-----

"Oh my god, he is SO hot! Look Leslie, that's him, look!"

Draco continued walking, pretending he wasn't hearing the muggle gossip that surrounded him, pretending not to notice the stares he was getting from various muggle--and perhaps non muggle--females. He knew he shouldn't have taken advice from Dumbledore. Once just the simple thought of dressing in muggle clothes made him scoff, and now, here he was tramping around the muggle world, wearing tight black muggle jeans and a gray button-up top. Of course, it was even more horrid seeing himself on the covers of millions of magazines, most of them teen girl magazines.

He had captivated them all, his performances, his looks, his every move made them gasp. And he was doing it all for Harry, putting himself in the gravest danger and humiliation for that boy's sake. Eventually, he knew, a Death Eater would recognize him, find him. They would realize that Harry was not the other Summoner, not the one they wanted. And then he would come along, dutifully go with Dumbledore's plan and let himself be captured. Once he nosed around and found out some secrets, he would go into the OtherWorld and lose the fools.

Part of him hated this. But he almost felt like playing with these people who adored him, telling them all that he had a boyfriend. Oh, how hilarious that would be, to dash the hopes of all these girls. Some younger, some my age...I even have older women after me! Lucky for Harry I'm not into girls, muggle or not. Some of them actually look okay...for muggles.

Sitting down, and slowly sipping his wine, he secretly felt tied up inside, as if a knot that was his stomach was constantly spinning. He felt like he'd transformed from a tiger, passionate, fierce, strong, and getting all that he wanted, to a peacock, weak, dull, yet admired for it's beauteous feathers.

He wanted to close his eyes, and let this world and all his troubles go...