"What's a Horcrux?"

Harry's legs pumped the pedals. He realized he could have charmed the bicycle to pedal itself-probably Malfoy was doing that very thing-but Harry liked the exercise.

Harry had never told anyone but Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Dumbledore about the Horcruxes and everything relating to Voldemort's demise. The Daily Prophet clambered for details but none of them had ever said anything. Harry felt that the less said about it the better…and safer. "Well, a Horcrux is a way to encase a piece of one's soul so that you cannot be killed. It's very Dark magic because you can best achieve it by murder, because murder already affects your soul."

"Voldemort," breathed Draco. "That's how he stayed alive."

"Yes. Only the evil prat didn't just tear his soul in half like any other decent Dark wizard might. He tore it into seven bits and hid these Horcruxes all over. In order to kill him, I had to destroy all six Horcruxes first."

"Six? But you said-"

"The seventh was still inside the bastard himself."

"How did you find out about all this?"

"Dumbledore told me in our sixth year. While you were busy working on those Vanishing cabinets, I was taking private lessons from Dumbledore. I'd only just found out the summer before about the prophecy and what it said. Neither can live while the other survives. I was destined to be the only one capable of killing him…or he to kill me."

"Gods! Why is Fate so desperately stupid! Leave the future of the world to a boy?"

Harry looked over at Draco. He knew Draco meant well, even if his words came out wrong. "Right. Well, it wasn't actually Fate, because I had a choice to ignore the prophecy if I wanted to. Of course, I didn't want to leave it. Voldemort had not only killed my parents but his own relatives, and Cedric Diggory, and so many others. He just had to be stopped and I wanted to be the one to do it. But to tell you the truth I didn't really think I had a scrap of hope surviving it. I mean, you knew what kind of a wizard I was. That versus Voldemort? But when Dumbledore took me on I started to think that at least he thought I had a chance."

"So what did he teach you? Hexes and such?"

"No. He just showed me memories of Voldemort's life."

There was silence. Only the sound of birds and the squeak of bicycle wheels met their ears.

Finally Draco said, "Was he mental? How the hell was that supposed to help?"

"It helped me to understand him. And it reinforced what Dumbledore was telling me all along. Voldemort never believed in the power of love. A power the Dark Lord knows not."

"What? What does that have-"

"Are you telling this or am I?"

Draco shrugged. "Sorry."

"Okay then. He showed me Voldemort's life, and he told me how he had begun to hunt for the Horcruxes with clues from these memories. Voldemort liked trophies, liked to collect things from the founders because he had an especial attachment to Hogwarts…much like…er…I do. In fact, I was a lot like Voldemort in a lot of ways. Except I wasn't evil and all."

"Only a bit of a mean streak."

"Do not!"

"Oh yeah? I have only one word for you: Sectemsempra."

"That…was an accident."

"Accident my arse!"

"Well I didn't mean it and I said I was sorry. Besides, you were trying to Crucio me."

Draco snorted. "Get on with your story."

Harry gripped the handle bars. "So Dumbledore had already tracked down some of the Horcruxes. And one of them I'd already managed to destroy: Tom Riddle's diary."

"Bloody hell. My father got into all kinds of trouble with Voldemort for that. Took him a week to recover from the Cruciatus."

Harry shook his head. "And you still wanted to join him?"

"You don't understand. I've been waiting for it all my life; trained to it; preened for it. When the reality was so far different from what I imagined, I wasn't prepared. Thought it was my fault. Until I finally-" Draco fell silent. "Isn't this your story?"

"Yeah. We were talking about Horcruxes." Harry took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of lavender. "Another one was a family ring-which Dumbledore destroyed-and another Slytherin's locket. Dumbledore took me on a journey to get that one. It was horrible. Voldemort had rigged the place it was hidden in. It was designed to be impossible to survive. The locket was at the bottom of this stone basin in the middle of a lake stocked with inferi."

"Bloody hell."

"Yeah. And the basin was filled with a potion you couldn't penetrate except…except by drinking it." It happened so long ago now, but Harry was still filled with dread when he thought of it.

"So which one of you drank it?"

"He did. And it made him see…horrible visions. He…he…pleaded, he begged for me to kill him. And all the while I had to force him to drink it all."

Draco looked at Harry. His eyes were horrified but he said nothing.

"Yeah. That was the night we returned to the Astronomy Tower and you tried to kill him. Bad night all around." He glanced at Draco who was studiously avoiding Harry's eye. "Draco, if the other Death Eaters hadn't shown up, what would you have done?"

Draco snapped his head toward Harry. "Hang on. How did you know about all that?"

"I was there. There was a second broom, remember? I was under my invisibility cloak."

"That damned cloak."

"But Dumbledore had petrified me. Or I certainly would have done something to you I would have later regretted."

Draco thought about that but said nothing.

"So. What would you have done?"

Draco watched the road ahead. "He said he could hide me. I was beginning to believe him. I think…I might have agreed."

"Of course, he and Snape had already decided ahead of time that he would pretend to kill him. Snape argued with him about it, because there was every chance that it really would kill him. Especially in his weakened state. But Dumbledore had decided it was worth the risk. He knew about your plan, you see, and wanted to save your soul."

Draco wiped his face again. "You were saying about Horcruxes."

"Right. Well, after all that, the locket in the basin turned out to be a fake. The locket was in fact at the Black residence in Kreacher's nest. Then there was Hufflepuff's cup. I was certain another was Gryffindor's sword, but I was wrong and I'm afraid I ruined it trying."

"Is that why it is so blackened?"

"Yes. I should have trusted Dumbledore. He said he didn't think the sword was it."

"What about Hufflepuff's cup? How did you know about that?"

"Through the memories. Hermione and Ron went with me that summer in search of them. We hadn't remembered about the locket's whereabouts until much later and we didn't know where the cup was or about the last two. Until I remembered something."

"You mean Ron and Hermione spent the rest of the seventh year searching with you?"

"Yeah. None of us really thought we'd make it out alive. You see, Voldemort never noticed when we destroyed them. But when we were down to the last two, something tipped him off and he sent everyone after us; Death Eaters, inferi, werewolves, vampires, Dementors…can't remember what else. Were you one of the ones after me, too?"

Draco swallowed. "I was supposed to be. The Dark Lord thought I might relish it, not that he was in to rewarding me. He rather enjoyed punishing more than rewarding. I went with the others but I did my damnedest to thwart them."

Harry smiled. "I know. I saw your veritaserum transcripts."

"You did? When?"

"Not long after the trial. I had to know. You see, that's why I knew I could trust you in my flat. I knew you wouldn't try to kill me. If you didn't try then when you wanted to, I knew you wouldn't later."

"Oh." Draco fell silent again until, "So what was the last one?"

"I thought it was the last one. It was Nagini."

"That great dirty snake?"

"Yeah. You see, when Voldemort was going to kill me when I was a baby, he was going to make his final Horcrux from my death, the prat. So when it backfired and he lost his body, he couldn't make the last one, and he really wanted to. Seven is supposed to be a very magical number. So because he could control Nagini he must have reckoned she was a good choice and keep this one close."

"You could use something living-a creature-as a Horcrux?"

"Yeah, but it's tricky busy because if it can think for itself it may not always want to do what you tell it."

"So that's why you made such a fuss about killing that snake first."

"And why Voldemort fought like the devil to keep us from doing it."

"Good thing Hermione's quick."

Harry nodded. "But before that, we searched. But I couldn't help but feel we were running out of time. We were getting pretty tired, Ron, Hermione and me. Constantly on the run, dueling. It was touch and go. Besides, we thought we'd got them all. I still thought one of them was Gryffindor's sword, you see. So after Hermione got Nagini, that's when I faced off with Voldemort. But I couldn't manage to kill him. That's when I discovered I'd been wrong. I pursued him to Hogwarts and there was no reason for him to be there because everyone was gone. And the only reason he should have gone there at all was to protect a last Horcrux. Then I finally remembered it. Tom Riddle had opened the Chamber of Secrets when he was a student at Hogwarts but he blamed it on Hagrid and got him kicked out of school. The Chamber was closed and the monster-they thought-vanquished. And Riddle received a special award for services to the school-like I did for killing the basilisk. It was a trophy-a real one-and it was kept in the trophy room. And that was it. The next to the last Horcrux-besides the one in Voldemort himself."

"So then he was able to be killed. But how did you actually do it?"

Entering into the village where the hôtel was located, they were momentarily separated by traffic. When they came back together again, Harry said, "With love."

"Didn't you A.K. him?"

"Not exactly."

"No?"

"I've told you. I've never been able to do the Unforgivable curses."

"Then how-?"

"It's not easy to explain. I'm not entirely sure I understand it. But since he was so full of evil-the opposite of love-I sent every loving thought and feeling, every loving experience I had into him-including what I felt about you-instead of using hate."

"Really?" Draco was so enthralled he nearly ran into a light post. He swiveled just in time and righted himself. "So how-?"

"He sort of-overloaded. His wand backfired. Everything that could go wrong did. And then I…well…I vanished him."

"Vanished him?"

"Like Snape used to do to my potions. Vanished him. His soul, anyway. And that was it. He died instantly. Well, not so instantly. All his being was sucked into a vortex and-"

"I know. I was there, remember. It was bloody horrible. But I cheered when it was done. At least inside."

They made it to the hôtel and parked their bicycles near the front steps.

"Were you glad, Harry?"

"I was glad it was over. But I hated having to do it. I was angry at a universe that expected me to. I mean, hadn't I already had enough with dead parents and guardians who didn't give a fig for me? Wasn't that enough?"

Draco breathed deeply and stared at Harry's feet. "I'll say it again. I'm sorry for any bad thing I ever did to you."

Harry put his arm around Draco's shoulders. "I know. You're forgiven, okay?"

"Sometimes I can't believe you love me."

"Well sometimes, mate," he said climbing with Draco up the stairs, "I can't believe it either."

Evening fell and they spent it cuddled on a sofa in their room, each reading a book they'd brought. Occasionally, Harry would look up at Draco silently turning the pages of his text, watching that pointed profile, that blond fringe catching golden light from the setting sun.

Intent on his book, Draco's mouth curved. "Stop staring at me."

"I can't. You're irresistible."

"Then kiss me."

Harry leaned over and Draco turned to him. He accepted Harry's lips and they kissed softly, gently. Harry sighed. "I'm starved."

"What? You're thinking about food? You're supposed to be thinking about me."

"Well…you're like food. But I need sustenance. Shall we go downstairs to the dining room?"

"All right. I'll try to teach you a little French."

Harry grabbed his jacket from the wardrobe and drew it on. "I wonder if I can teach you Parseltongue."

"How can you teach it when you don't know when you're speaking it?"

"Good point."

"But you can speak it to me any time."

"You're sick, Malfoy. You're way too Slytherin for your own good."

"Thought you liked getting up close and personal with the Malfoy snake."

Harry had grabbed the door knob and stopped. He made an embarrassed smile. "Yeah. Maybe I talk to it too much." He yanked opened the door and headed down the stairs.

Draco ran after. "No you don't. It's okay, Harry. Really."

"Don't worry," he said over his shoulder with a wide smile. "I do like a good natter."

They made it to the dining room and the maitre d' found them a cozy table by the window. A votive lit their table with a nimbus of golden light. Draco took Harry's hand. Harry felt a little strange about it in public, but Draco didn't seem to mind the occasional odd glance their way. "This is very romantic, Draco. This whole holiday."

"It's meant to be. Honeymoon, and all."

"Yes, but I mean that at every turn it's turned out to be very personal and intimate. I think it's the most fun I've ever had."

"Well, the sex is excellent." The waiter appeared at that moment and Harry was glad the man only spoke French. Or did he? Draco turned the smile he directed at Harry up to the man. He rattled off some French and the waiter bowed before he left.

"What are we having?"

"You'll see. Have I ever steered you wrong yet?"

When the food arrived, they ate cheerily and drank the wine. Malfoy had been right, of course. Harry had no reason to doubt him. He knew Draco was much better versed at these things than he was.

He felt the key in his pocket again. The whole thing was weighing heavily on him. He knew he should be enjoying himself, but he couldn't stop thinking of the inevitability of it all. Ever since he told Draco he had purchased Malfoy Manor for him for a wedding present, it seemed like the elephant in the room. After Draco's immediate and ecstatic reaction, he had never mentioned it again. And he knew Draco wanted to. He was torn between the feeling of giving his beloved something really special and his dread about going there, but he knew that sooner was better than later.

They were well into the courses when Harry took a long swig of wine and then cleared his throat. "Er…Draco. How attached are you to staying on at this hotel?"

Draco looked up. His grey eyes clouded. "Why? Is something wrong with it? Aren't you having a good time?"

"Oh yes! It's the best. It's really the fanciest place I've ever been. And you've done a great job picking it and taking me places." He beamed at Draco, trying to take the suspicious look off the Slytherin's face. "I just thought…well, you'd gone to so much trouble planning the wedding and the honeymoon and I've done nothing."

"You asked me to marry you. You made this ring. You're the one who always had faith in me."

Harry felt the heat travel up his neck and face. "But I mean all this. And so I just have a little suggestion. Um…another surprise, if it's all right."

"Potter," he growled. "You know I hate surprises."

"And every time you say that you love mine. So. Do you want to hear it or not?"

Draco scowled and drank his glass hastily. He slammed it back to the table. "What, then?"

Harry pulled the key from his pocket and slid it across the table. Draco instantly recognized it. "I thought that maybe you didn't want to wait to go. I thought…well. It was time you went. No time like the present."

Draco just sat and stared at the key. He swallowed. "Harry," he whispered. "Do you mean it? Can we really go?"

Harry felt Draco's emotions with his words and his heart melted. How could he have doubted doing this? Even though he didn't really want to. "Of course we can. In the morning, okay?"

Draco wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and nodded. Harry trained a forced smile at him. A sense of foreboding washed over him with a flash of heat.

When the next day dawned, they were in each other's arms, legs intertwined. As soon as Draco fully awoke he bounded up to the bathroom excitedly to take a bath and Harry lay back in the bed, his gut churning. Malfoy Manor. Not his favorite place in the world. He'd only seen it once when he bought it for Draco and gave it the most cursory of inspections. He had asked Dobby-bribed him, actually-to return there to get the house in order and though Dobby was hesitant to return to the place of his enslavement he cheerfully agreed to do it for Harry Potter. Harry told him to take Kreacher, too, who would probably thrive in the place once home to Dark magic, even though the Ministry had thoroughly checked it from top to bottom. Funny how no one had wanted to buy it. Not even Slytherin families. Any association with Death Eater activity made it off limits for most. When Harry made an offer the Ministry jumped at it. Harry believed he got it at a bargain price. But to see the joy on Draco's face when he told him it was his wedding present, that would have been worth thousands of galleons more in Harry's estimation.

Malfoy Manor. Well, he supposed one had to face one's ghosts in order to exorcise them.


On to Chapter Four
"Malfoy Monor"

Back to Chapter Two
"Draco's Detour"

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