DANCING AFTER DEATH

[Chapter 14]

HARRY

"....would rather die than carry on the Malfoy name next to you one more day."

The pain throbs in his gut, it's deep and warm, but not in a nice way. It feels like someone has their hand in there and is squeezing his organs neither gently or as hard as they can. When it wanes he can move when it returns Harry can only hold still, breathe slow, and try his best to break the powerful body bind spell.

Draco's screaming tears through him in powerful sobs and Harry has never felt so helpless. His entire body is yelling at him to do something, anything, to save the boy next to him withering in torture. He wanted to hex Lucius Malfoy until he could no longer lift a finger without suffering the same pain.

He tries to remember the way he fought the Imperio curse when he was fourteen. The simple way he just said 'No' and nearly broke out of the curse entirely. He repeated the word in his head desperately like a mantra. Nononononono no.

He couldn't just stand by and watch this happen. It was more painful in ways than he ever thought imaginable to watch the Slytherin slowly die from the inside out. Years of fighting were washed away in the simple fact he had to get to Draco.

He tried to look for a way out when he caught sight of a clock behind the older Malfoy. 5:59 His eyes would have widened if they had the chance. The portkey discarded in the bedside table could leave soon. That was their escape, but that was only if something happens within the next minute.

He registered faintly that if they did use it, he would be sent back to the Dursely's next summer. He also didn't care.

He looked to his side where Draco was wiping the sweat off his brow and the blood off his lip, glaring up at his father with hurt and fear in his eyes. It was the same way Harry was when he was ten years old and was on the short side of his uncle's anger. The sight made his stomach and eyes ache. It reminded him too much of the graveyard. Too much of Cedric.

Draco saved him and just wished he could do the same.

"And you're hardly worth it. A waste of blood." The death eater glares down at his son. "Do you know how we found you Draco? A worthless muggle technique, fitting for the star. I had hoped you would have learned better than too leave your wand behind where it could have been so easily tracked. The mudblood to protect you, really? Her death was quick, hardly a fight. "

Draco was shaking his head rapidly, causing more blood to stain his lips from heaving gasps. His hands his ears to desperately block out the words.

"Stop!" He cries hysterically, the screaming sobs only being interrupted by his need to draw breath. His upper body and shoulders wrack with every sob that forces their way out, chest rising and falling unevenly and he squeezes his eyes shut, balling his hands into fists each time he throws his head back to let out a blood-curdling scream. "I'm sorry, please! Stop!"

It's Lucius turn to stop and stare at his son laid out on the ground, his face closed in a grimace, his skin pale and clammy. "We'll continue this when we get home. The Dark Lord is assistant on your presence." He glares down at Harry and sneers forms on the tips of his lips. "Gather Potter and don't let him escape. The Dark Lord may forgive you winning such a....valuable prize."

Lucius is next to him, cane underneath his chin to examine the damage already caused. Harry doesn't understand how everything went so south so quickly.

Draco doesn't move. He's on both his elbows glaring heavily at the ground. "I wish you were dead." He finally heaves, his entire body is shaking his fear and pain. It's not hard to believe him. "I hate you."

Lucius rolls his eyes as if he had told the boy to go to bed early and had thrown a tantrum. "Get off the floor. You're being pathetic."

He flicks his wand again and there's sudden deep yell right before the curse hits. It tears through Harry like a great shard of glass. He felt his eyes widen and pulse quicken, his heart thunder and smoke with lighting. It was the loudest most piercing noise he had ever heard. It sounded like a scream of wild panic. A scream of hysteria and disbelief, bordering on terror. Draco somehow screamed with his whole body. The eyes wide with horror, the mouth rigid and open, his chalky face gaunt and immobile, the fists clenched with blanched knuckles and the nails digging deeply into the palms of his hand.

Lucius suddenly took on a pale look, as if he'd been painted with whitewash - even his lips were barely there. Then with one step backward and he crumpled like a puppet suddenly released of their strings.

It only took a second for Harry to realize the invisible restraints were no longer intact. He was flying across the room and his tears started to take up most of his vision.

"Draco!"

Draco has a look in his eye Harry's seen before, but not on him, on his own. It doesn't belong on his face and it scares him. He's the one who supposedly knows what to do. Then Draco bends over double, hands on his knees, struggling to regulate his breathing.

Harry has his arm around him in an instant. He had to assure himself that Draco was alive and breathing. He wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, desperately trying to keep him close. His fingers dug into the blonde's side and buried his face into his neck. He had no idea what had made him so scared for the other's life. It was something deep inside him burning so bright and loud he had no idea how he had never noticed it before.

Draco barely seemed to notice. He was too busy staring at his father on the floor.

"I....didn't mean...." He sobs.

"Draco there's still deatheaters here. We have to go."

Draco. He doesn't remember when it came that.

"Is he dead?" He whispers brokenly.

Harry unwillingly unfolds himself from him and crawls towards the body quickly. It's silent in the room as he checks for a pulse. It's there, but only faintly. Harry didn't know whether to feel relieved or scared. Draco's magic had only knocked him out cold.

6:07

Footsteps rapidly started up the steps near their room. He shook Malfoy's shoulders dramatically to snap him out of it.

"Draco, they're coming. We have to leave."

Draco looks up dazed to Harry. There was an uncontrollable urge to hold him closer and comfort him. It was ridiculous considering they're about to die. By Malfoy's family no less. Was this how Malfoy felt back at the Dursley's? He cursed himself, frowning.

"We can't," Malfoy pulls away. He crawls towards where the discarded broom and truck were on the floor. He uses the bed frame to pulls himself up but almost falls on fault of his shaky legs. Draco's eyes were still glassy and blood was grazing his lip. It was scary to hear his voice so level after hearing him scream bloody murder. "If you get on the broom they'll strike you down."

He looks back at his father on the ground. Harry follows his gaze and finally notices it. A large container in the peaking out of the pockets of the heavy deatheater robes. Harry moved quickly, careful not to wake the man.

Harry's heart dropped (if that was even possible at this point) staring down at the smooth ombré wand flicking back and forth pointing at Draco. He tilted the box a little bit to test it. The wand stayed pointed.

So the Accio did work.

He opened it and it went flying directly into Draco's hand. Harry barely had enough time to react before Draco threw his broom at him and was pushing him towards the window.

"You should go."

"What? No-"

"Potter." He looks up at Malfoy's eyes. Harry couldn't help compare him to a ghost He wasn't joking. "Go, okay? Remember what I said?"

"I don't..."

"We can't have the Boy-Who-Lived dying on us." And he smiles, like its sometime of long time joke they've had since they were kids. Like he wouldn't be fucking killed.

Harry yells. "Like hell I am." He looks over Malfoy's shoulder at the door frame. The footsteps were getting closer. "Protego!" It was a shielding spell, but not nearly as strong as the one Draco had done in the hallway.

With Draco's wrist in his hand, he drags them over to the porky.

"Are you mad?"

"Are you?" Malfoy looked him like he was crazy. He probably was.

"You'll be sent right back to that hellhole if we take that!"

"Now is not the time to be a Gryffindor Malfoy," Harry nearly growls. "Grab the goddamn portkey."

"Fine!"

Draco grabs the pillowcase off the bed and wraps his hand in it then grabs the enchanted key. Harry has to do a double-take as he throws it through the empty door frame, yelling a spell in the process causing it to grow ten times it's size in midair.

"ARE YOU INSANE?"

"Maybe!"

Harry thought it over. On one side, it was a horrible idea. He shouldn't let deatheaters into whatever private location unarmed Order members were waiting for him. On the other side, it sounded quite appealing at the moment.

"Problem solved."

"We can't just-"

"For Merlin's sake, Potter. Get on the broom before I push you out the window."

~~~

They didn't make it all the way to France.

Draco was still shaking from the after-effects of the cruciuous curse and Harry's gut still felt like his Uncle had punched him. He had no idea what spell Draco's father had cast on him, but he was in no shape for flying.

They ended up staying at another muggle hotel. They got odd looks walking into the main hobby looking as if they had just survived a gang fight on a speedboat. Harry didn't really care at that point. He slapped down a galleon he had found in his pocket and demanded the nearest room.

It wasn't was a "chocolate on the pillow" hotel. The receptionist smelled of stale perfume and the tables had ashtrays instead of flowers. It was dingy, dark and cheap. Perfect. Harry said nothing as the room key was dropped into the lines of his hand.

Harry wasted no time heading towards the bathroom, throwing open the cabinets and finding the first aid kit.

"I'm fine, Potter. The cruciatus curse doesn't leave any real marks."

'Only mental ones', was the part left unsaid.

"You're still hurt."

"And you aren't? A couple stinging hexes aren't going to kill me. I'm not an infant." Draco scoffs. Harry wished he knew what Malfoy was thinking. His expression was guarded and made Harry feel as lonely as ever.

"They could get infected."

Draco rolls his eyes. "Fine, but I'll do it myself. You'll probably accidentally curse me to grow wart every time I open my mouth."

"Wouldn't be such a bad idea."

Draco throws a pillow at him. "Shut up. And go take a shower. I need to clean your wounds as well."

Harry looked down at himself. He wasn't that bad. He's certainly gone through worse. Besides, he knew they were both still on their adrenaline rush. The minute he starts to relax it'll all come back to him. He was going to wring it as much as it was worth.

He cast a quick Scourgify charm and Draco sighed.

"I guess that will do for now."

They both sat on the bed across from each other with the muggle kit in between. Draco heard him stifle a gasp when he was asked to remove his shirt.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. I'm not - oh."

On his stomach was a large black stain. It looked as if someone broke a glass of ink onto his clothes that sunk through. But it was darker than the normal ink. And it was moving, growing just barely enough for him to notice.

Draco grabs another pillow and hits him over the head. "You idiot ."

~~~

If I let go, would you hold on? Would we fly?

Is it safer if we just say that we tried?

Are we laughing at the danger?

Are we dancing after death, you and I?

~~~

hi :) I'm sorry :) I can't write :) writers' block sucks :)

anyways, I'm moving 800 miles away next month so I'll probably have even less time too write so :/

Also,

Words: 2129

Published: 2/23/20