Harry thrust his wand forward and yelled a hex. The blue light left his wand's tip and jetted forward but the old wizard lifted his own wand and deflected it. Suddenly, his mind was flooded with images and he was momentarily stunned into immobility. But it was enough. Dumbledore stuck his wand tip to Harry's forehead and said, "AK…you're dead."

"Damn it!" Harry nearly threw down his wand. If Love was his greatest weapon than his mind was certainly his greatest weakness. He couldn't manage to Occlude it even after all the lessons from Snape and Dumbledore.

"What the hell good is having the magical power of three wizards if it doesn't help me where it counts, Albus?"

Dumbledore, hiding his shortness of breath by conjuring a squashy armchair and settling in it, shook his head. "I'm afraid the magical ether doesn't work that way, Harry."

Harry conjured his own chair and sat heavily, glaring at his Defense classroom. "Well I wish someone could explain this 'magical ether' to me, 'cause I'd sure like to know!"

"No one understands it, I'm afraid," said Dumbledore. His cheeks were flushed but he was smiling. "But you did very well."

"'Very well'? You AK'd me! I'm dead!"

"The truth of the matter is, you are afraid to use your full power here. I can feel you holding back."

"I'm really trying, Albus."

"It wasn't a criticism, Harry. Merely a point of fact. You cannot bring yourself to harm me or Hogwarts. Were you to unleash your full power, I'm afraid you would certainly do both. But in a real fight I'm sure you would not take that into consideration. After all, what made you want to stop Voldemort?"

"He was an evil bastard."

"Besides that."

"He ruined my life. He killed people. And I…I didn't want him to…win."

"Exactly, Harry. You couldn't allow him to go on. To 'win', as you put it. He had already 'won' too much. It's the same in this case. You cannot allow any evil to win. Either it is stopped in its tracks…or you win it over to your side through Love."

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Like Draco."

"Quite right."

"But I'm still rubbish at Occlumency. And she reached my mind, Albus. I wasn't even aware that she knew of me."

"She knew. Her plan seemed to be to make her way into England. Perhaps she even suspected what I suspected about you. But now she knows that you are aware of her. Sending the Aurors did that."

He scrubbed his forehead with one hand. "I saw them die, Albus. I thought I'd never have to see anything like that again."

"The Aurors did their best."

"But now it's my turn."

"Yes." Dumbledore fell silent. Harry knew why. He had almost promised Harry that he wouldn't have to go chasing after Dark Wizards. Harry had almost promised the same thing to Draco. Now they both knew how untrue this was.

"I don't feel ready," said Harry quietly.

"Did you ever feel ready?"

Harry laughed softly. "No." He hadn't been ready to face Voldemort. He had just been too tired of it all to let it continue. And he was glad that he was able to go after him, because after all the years of Voldemort coming after Harry, it was a relief to be on the offensive for once. He'd have to do that again with this Annikki. It was time.

But how to tell Draco?

* * *

After the feast in the Great Hall was over, Harry and Draco made their way to their tower suite. It was a sign of how tired Harry was, because he slipped his hand into Draco's outside the Great Hall and clasped it all the way up to their door. He never would have done that if he hadn't been distracted. And now that they were situated safe and cozy on the settee in front of a warm fire, Harry didn't want to disturb the peacefulness of the evening. He laid his head on Draco's shoulder as he stared into the fire. Draco's arm encircled his body and they merely sat like that for a long time, neither of them speaking.

Finally, Harry said, "I have something I need to tell you."

"I know. You were holding my hand all the way here."

"Was I? Why didn't you do something? We aren't supposed to-"

"Who gives a fuck? I don't care what anyone thinks of us anymore. You told me so yourself, remember? Besides, I liked holding your hand through these halls. This is our home, too."

"I know."

"So…what is it? Is it about last night?"

Harry nodded. Waking up screaming was a bit hard to hide.

"You're going, aren't you?"

He nodded again.

"Okay." Draco sighed deeply, and a little shakily. "Then I'm coming with you."

"Actually…" Harry sat up and took Draco's hand, holding tightly. "You're not."

"Harry! We agreed-"

"I know we did. But I'm taking it back. I didn't know all that I knew before. I won't allow you to be put in harm's way."

"But you will allow you to be."

"I'm the barometer, remember? And I do my best fighting alone."

"You weren't alone with Voldemort."

"True. But in the end, it was still just me."

"Harry. I'm going."

"You don't really want to go anyway. I can tell."

"But it's better than staying behind."

"I won't allow you to go."

"Oh? And who's going to stop me?"

Harry jumped to his feet. His magic suddenly sizzled around him. He felt great waves of power engulf him and the room became brighter with it. Draco shrank back, eyes wide in fear. "I will stop you!"

Just as quickly as it began, the magic waves dissipated and the room returned to normal. But Draco was still pressed back against the sofa. "Merlin's beard, Harry," he rasped. "What did you do?"

"I tapped into my power. I know how to now. I can keep you from going but I'd rather not. Please just agree, Draco."

The terror had left Draco's face replaced by hurt. Harry slid back to the sofa and reached for his hand but Draco snatched his back. Harry let his empty hand fall to his knee. He knew Draco had power issues. Part of it was a Slytherin thing but mostly it was a Malfoy thing. The man wanted to be more powerful and sadly, he just wasn't. "I'm…I'm sorry I did that. I never meant to hurt you or your feelings."

"Yeah, well…." He gave Draco a long look until his husband glanced back at him. "When do you have to go?"

"Right away."

Draco shot to his feet. "Now?"

"Yes. The sooner the better."

He saw it all pass over Draco's face. Draco was his own little doomsday soothsayer. He seemed to think that this was the last time he'd ever see Harry again and he didn't know what to do or say. Finally, he looked up at Harry and a single tear glistened in one eye and dove down his face in a silver line. "I love you, Harry. Come back to me."

He took Draco gently in his arms and hugged him tight. "I will."

But he didn't promise.

* * *

Harry Apparated on a small country lane just as night fell. He looked around and felt outward with his magic, but nothing was coming to him. He knew he was right. He knew this was the place. So what was wrong?

With wand in hand, he cautiously headed for the verges and stuck to the hedgerows. A rustling. He spun, wand at the ready.

A hedgehog lumbered under the foliage, snuffling the air. Harry let out a long breath and lowered his wand slightly. But he couldn't shake the creeping sensation, first up his spine and then in the back of his mind, like fingernails drawing up his scalp.

When he turned again it wasn't a hedgehog. "I told you I would come for you," said the faintly accented English. He raised his wand but it was too late. Bright green light assaulted him and all went black.

* * *

Draco tried to read but gave it up as useless. He paced. He transfigured various objects in the room and then put them to rights. But mostly he paced.

After several hours, he just stood at the window and watched the sky. The stars were bright against the velvet dome of night, but as the evening wore on, clouds moved in, dense masses of dark grey, vanishing the stars from view. Draco stared out, his reflection on the diamond panes only a vague shadow in the flickering light of the dying hearth. The Dark Forest below crouched on the edge of the lawn like a great hulking beast and occasionally something large would rustle the forest roof, but Draco could never see exactly what it was.

And still he stood, even when grey light crept along the ridge in the east and gave way to a stretched ribbon of pink. Dawn was fully upon them now and chased the shadows over the Dark Forest with long stripes.

But Harry still had not come home.


A/N: It ain't over yet, folks. Not by a long shot. Many more chapters to go.


On to Chapter Nine
"The Great Witch"

Back to Chapter Seven
"Dark Power"

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