Into The Long Dark

DISCLAIMER: Not mine, never will be. All HP characters belong to JK and Warner Brothers, etc, etc, etc.

SPOILER WARNING: The events in this fic take place immediately after Book 6.

Many thanks to knightmare for the wonderful beta work and innumerable pointers; and as always, EAS!


Sunday, 10 August 1997


~~~~~~THIRTEEN ~~~~~~~~"SUCCESSIO DE LUMINARIA"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Narcissa Malfoy sat at her dressing table, gazing at her reflection in the tri-fold mirror. Her house elf, Brev, stood off to the side, awaiting her orders. The lady of Malfoy Manor turned her head this way and that, occasionally moving her fingers over her cheek, or forehead, or neck. Opening her eyes wide, and pursing her lips, she studied her reflection. Frowning slightly, she snatched a puff from the table, and patted at her chin. Moving her head to and fro, she dabbed the puff at various places, always checking the results by moving her head still again, analyzing every angle. Once satisfied, Narcissa replaced the puff in its holder, and straightened the large frilly collar of her satin dressing gown.

"Tea. Now!" she snapped. Pettigrew jumped, and Brev bowed deeply.

"Yes, Mistress. Right away." The young elf fairly trotted across the huge bedchamber, closing the door quietly behind him.

Narcissa returned her attention to her mirror, and began fussing with her hair, finding the perfect places to insert a pair of jewel encrusted combs. "So, Draco is in good health. How very nice of you to relay the information, Peter." Her gaze never wavered from her reflection as she spoke. "I have been rather concerned about him, you know." Finished with the ministrations to her hair, she stood up, and gracefully smoothed the front of her dressing gown. She looked at Pettigrew for the first time, even though he had been standing in her bedchamber for many minutes.

"I would think that Severus would be a bit more watchful of him. Quite careless, I should think, to lose track of my son like that. I would never have known anything was amiss if it hadn't been for Draco missing our lunch date yesterday. Terribly sloppy of Severus. Quite disturbing." Narcissa had crossed over to her huge bed, sinking down onto the thick coverlet. Reaching down, she slowly removed her slippers, finally meeting Pettigrew's nervous gaze.

"Honestly, I don't understand why Draco must remain in that horrible place. I'm sure that he would be more confortable here. I believe I will arrange to meet with the Dark Lord in person, to rectify this situation. It is becoming quite tiresome." She stood again, and walked across the room entering the huge closet. Pettigrew could hear as she shuffled through the outfits, the hangers snicking loudly over the closet rod.

"Oh, I don't think that would be wise, my Lady. You know very well The Ministry has the Manor under constant surveillance. And the Dark Lord is quite busy, and does not like to be disturbed." Certainly not by some spoiled slag whose son failed Him, and is as good as dead, he thought, smiling. "I am sure Severus has explained this many times, my Lady." He leaned over a bit, attempting to get a better angle with which to see into the dressing room. Narcissa's voice wafted over to him.

"I am not concerned with what you think, Peter. And Severus' excuses never explain why my son, who completed a great task on behalf of the Dark Lord, is allowed to languish, unrewarded. If it were not for me, Draco would never have survived his task. If he has somehow fallen from favour, then the time has come for me to take matters into my own hands." She emerged wearing a knee-length black skirt, a low-cut black blouse, and was carrying a large, black hat. "If Severus will not assist me, I know of those who will. Someone must restore the Malfoy name to prominence. Since Lucius was incompetent enough to land himself in Azkaban, I must look after my own best interests now." Sitting once again at her dressing table, she began fussing with her hat, adjusting its position and clipping it in place.

Pettigrew moved closer to her, his hands clasped together. "Oh, my Lady, I would recommend very strongly that you reconsider this carefully! Our Lord is not in a good humour of late! Just be patient, and I'm s...."

Narcissa cut him off with a wave of her hand. "Patience is not one of my virtues! I have not attained my current station in society by merely waiting for things to happen, Peter. I will make sure our Lord is aware of how you and Severus have mishandled this situation, allowing Draco to fall into the hands of filthy Muggles for nearly two days. Oh yes, Peter, He will definitely want to hear about that." She stood up quickly, and strode over to the huge, full-length mirror in the corner. "No need to scurry back to Severus with this news. I have already dispatched an owl."

Brev then shambled through the door and into the room, laden with a huge tray holding the tea and condiments. The elf tromped by both of them, and placed the tray on the table by the large windows. Brev glanced at Pettigrew, and then stood motionless, silently awaiting further orders.

Pettigrew's eyes grew wide. "An owl? Narcissa, you must know how dangerous that is! That could give away Severus' location! And think of Draco! I am more than able to relay messages! Please, I beg you to reconsider!" Mrs. Malfoy had completed her self-examination and was staring at Pettigrew with disdain.

"Brev! Go! And take that tray with you!" The elf complied, grabbing the tray and shuffling from the room. "Thank you so much for coming by, Peter. If you will excuse me, I am very late. You know the way out." Pettigrew watched as Narcissa strode by him, stopping by the fireplace to adjust one of the pictures on the mantel. She then left the room without another word.

Pettigrew began to nibble at one of his fingernails. This was not a good thing. No, not at all. If she actually succeeded in seeing the Dark Lord, it could be very bad for both himself and Severus, not to mention Draco. No, they did not need His attentions turned in their direction. Especially not now. For once, he agreed with Severus. Narcissa had to be dealt with, and quickly. Brev, who was now standing by the open door, startled him.

"I will show you out. This way, please," the elf squeaked insistently.

He smiled broadly at the elf, and Apparated with a loud crack.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Snape traced his finger lazily over the smooth, pale skin of Draco's chest. He teased one of the lovely dark nipples ever so slightly, taking pleasure in the young Slytherin's sharp intake of breath. Moving his head down, he teased the hardened mound of flesh with the tip of his tongue, causing Draco to moan softly. Snape then ran his hand slowly down that beautiful torso, over the taut, smooth stomach, to stop finally at the nest of soft hair surrounding Draco's rapidly stiffening cock. His hand grasped the hardening shaft, eliciting even more moans from Draco.

Moving over to lave the other nipple with his tongue, Snape moved his hand down Draco's length, gently massaging the young wizard's balls, sucking, licking, squeezing, stroking, and kissing all at once. Draco began to arch his back, bucking slightly, his moans becoming louder. He struggled with the bonds that tied his wrists to the headboard, whipping his head back and forth, his breath coming in gasps. Snape left the tender nipple, and trailed his tongue down the center of Draco's torso, stopping occasionally to suckle and bite at that insanely silky flesh. His hand had finished torturing the young Slytherin's sac, and was once again stroking the throbbing erection.

Snape noted with satisfaction that Draco was very near release, the telltale fluid once again leaking from the tip of his cock. His tongue had arrived at the base of Draco's shaft, and continued up its length, his hand returning to massage his balls once more. The young wizard was moaning and gasping rapturously, and Snape began to tease the slit of Draco's quivering prick, lapping at the faintly purple head before taking as much of his length into his mouth as he could. He sucked and pulled on Draco's cock mercilessly, as the young wizard thrashed his head wildly, bucking about and moaning loudly. Draco then inhaled deeply, his back a near perfect arc, and Snape withdrew the throbbing member, giving one last lick to the head of it just as Draco's release jetted out, thick and hot and sticky.

Draco again began to breathe, and fell flat to the bed with an exhausted sigh. Snape ran his hand over Draco's spunk-slicked belly, enjoying the wonderful, warm texture of it, before slowly bringing his fingers to his lips and sucking them clean, reveling in the taste of the young Slytherin. With a sigh, he murmured cleaning charms for both of them and rolled over onto his back. Shifting over slightly, Snape shuddered at the touch of all the naked skin on skin.

"Finite Incantatem," he purred, and the bindings restraining Draco disappeared.

"A wonderful performance, Mr. Malfoy. Care to go for a third time?"

Still slightly winded, Draco shook his head. "Not unless you have Pomfrey standing by to reanimate my corpse. You exhaust me, you lecherous old bastard." He rubbed his wrists, and stretched his arms, wincing a bit at their stiffness.


Lying still for a moment longer, Draco swung his legs over the bed, reaching down to retrieve his boxers off of the floor. Plunging his feet into them, he stood quickly, pulling them up. Sitting back down, he glanced at Snape, who was lying there peacefully, eyes closed. Snape spoke very quietly.

"He is insane, you know. Too many years spent with the Weasleys, I expect. Pay him no mind." He opened his eyes, and turned his head to look at Draco, whose expression was blank.

"Yeah, sure. I'll just ignore everything Wormtail said. Nevermind that there was a ring of truth to all of it." Draco stared out the window.

Snape's tone was now mocking. "In that case, I suppose you will be acting on his advice? Shall I pack you an overnight bag? A small lunch? So tell me, where exactly would you go? Hogwarts? Malfoy Manor? Grimmauld Place? I'm sure Mr. Potter would welcome you with open arms." Smiling, he closed his eyes.

"Fuck you, Severus."

"So sorry, Draco, but I do the fucking around here." He chuckled heartily. Draco remained silent. A few moments later, there was a soft thwack, and both men turned to look at the window. A large barn owl was now pecking at the glass, an envelope tied to one of its feet. Snape could make out the Malfoy crest on the parchment from where he sat.

"Bloody Hell! That witless trollop!"

As if on cue, there was a huge crash in the kitchen, and loud, uneven footfalls approached the closed bedroom door. Snape dropped the silencing and locking charms, and a second later, Pettigrew burst into the room, out of breath.

"Severus! Apologies, I wouldn't disturb you, ah, both of you, if it, ah, oh my!" His voice trailed off, and he nodded at Draco, who merely glared back. Pettigrew's eyes darted from one to the other and back again. The owl continued to peck at the window with increased gusto.

"I think we have a problem, Severus!"

Snape pinched his nose as hard as he could. Sighing loudly, he threw a withering stare at Pettigrew.

"You don't say?"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Neville shifted uncomfortably in his chair, as both of Moody's eyes fixed upon him from the other side of the kitchen table. Tonks appeared to be examining her teacup with intense concentration. Neville alternated his gaze from his cup, to Tonks, to Moody, and back again. Even though they had simply been horsing around, he couldn't escape the feeling that they had been caught doing something they shouldn't have.

Thank Merlin they didn't get here a few minutes earlier! The thought made him shudder at bit, even though he had retrieved his shirt from the corner and shrugged into it, right before he had killed the boombox. Harry had gone upstairs to get a shirt for himself while Neville had charmed up some tea.

The silence hung in the air like dementor's mist.

Tonks glanced up at Neville, and cracked a small smile. She looked over at Moody, and his magic eye swiveled in her direction. Leaning back in her chair, she took a sip of tea.

"A little slam dancing does a body good, Alastor. We'd have taken it easy on you, ya know."

She flashed a wink at Neville, and he had to suppress a chuckle. The thought of Moody thrashing about was too ridiculous. The image of Moody's charmed eyeball popping out of his head after a really sound slam fixed in his brain, and Neville quickly raised his cup to his lips in an attempt to hide his silly grin. Moody harrumphed, snapping the young wizard's attention back to the table.

"Bollocks! Flopping about like a bunch of deranged house elves, more like. And that Muggle racket. Time could be put to better use, don't you think? We do have a little matter of a rather nasty delusional wizard to deal with."

His wandering eye fixed on Neville as he finished, only remaining there for a moment, before traveling over in the direction of the doorway. Harry strode into the kitchen a second later, wearing a black t-shirt emblazoned with the words "Green Day" on the front. He walked across the kitchen to the shelf over the sink, grabbed a cup, and took a seat next to Neville. Moody continued.

"We don't have time to waste on such nonsense. Pity more people don't realize that! Pay attention to the work at hand! We have no time for slum dancing! Constant Vigilance!" He punctuated the end of his statement by slamming his fist on the table, which only made the other three jump slightly. And spill some tea. He glared at all three of the younger wizards in turn, his enchanted eye in constant motion. It scanned the room briefly, before fixing itself upon Harry and remaining there.

Neville was having great difficulty, as he had just taken a swallow of tea, and was now choking on it, coughing loudly. Tonks was giggling, and Harry began to whack Neville on the back. Presently, Neville caught his breath, and Harry looked at Moody.

"Well, life goes on, Moody. All work and no play, eh? Can't stop living life just because of some insane megalomaniac." Harry took a sip of his tea, his emerald eyes fixed upon the old Auror. Moody continued to stare back, his face set, firm.

"Aye, well, you can be sure that Voldemort is counting on exactly that kind of attitude! The Ministry needs to crack down, impose restrictions, curfews! No one should be about after dark! We need to make some sacrifices in the short term if we are going to be successful. This is a war, you know! If we are to preserve our way of life, we have to pay a price!" He banged the table again, but this time at least Tonks and Neville were holding their teacups. Harry was glaring at his trainer, his face as grim as Moody's.

"Oh, I see. Impose a sort of martial law, yeah? Restrict the rights and freedoms of the Wizarding population for their own good? Is that what you mean?" Harry leaned forward. The smile evaporated from Tonks' face.

"Precisely!" Moody pointed a thick finger at Harry. "You do understand, don't you? If we have to give up a few things, lose a little bit of freedom for the time being, as long as it's for the common good, and it helps to defeat that maniac, we should do it! And we had damn well better start paying closer attention to what each and every citizen is up to. Monitor Owl Post, Floo activity. That sort of thing." Sitting back satisfied, he took a sip of his tea. Neville turned to look at his friend, and noticed that smile had spread over Harry's face. Uh-oh.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it now." Harry's tone was patronizing. "So you're saying we should give up the very things we are fighting for? That we should sacrifice our freedoms in order to preserve them? Make it illegal to walk about when you want, where you want, with whom you want, right, as long as it helps win the war? What's next, Moody? How about we start rounding up people whom we merely suspect of allying with Riddle? We can lock them up in Azkaban, and even if we're wrong, it will be for their own good, right?" Tonks eyes were growing wider, and Neville felt as if his stomach were trying to lurch out of his mouth.

"Now, no need to go off the trolley, Potter!" Moody had leaned forward, once again pointing at Harry. "You bloody well know what I'm tryin' to say here...." The younger wizard cut him off.

"Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about. Well, I'm not for turning our world into some sort of police state. That's exactly what Riddle wants to do. Bleeding daft to swap a madman for some kind of dictatorship. That's not what I'm fighting for, Moody." Neville grabbed Harry's knee under the table, and squeezed it tightly. Harry's head spun towards Neville, a noxious expression on his face.

Moody had flushed dark purple. He was slowly rising from his chair. "Now you listen here, I'm only gonna say this once...." Tonks quickly rose up, and put both her hands on his shoulders.

"Time out! Time out! Back to your opposing corners! Thanks ever so much for sharing your ideas! Bang on, both of you! Thanks for appearing on our panel! Don't call us, we'll call you!" She succeeded in reseating Moody, and looked over at Harry, clearly annoyed. "You've been on duty all night, Moody. Probably need a bit of rest, yeah? We'll chat about his some other time." Harry sat quietly, the smile never leaving his face.

"Sure, Tonks, sure. No worries, right Moody?" The color on Moody's face had faded to near normal.

"Aye, lad, aye. We'll chat again, you can be sure of that." He paused for a moment. "You should have that bite tended to. Good idea to have it healed, don't you think?" He watched as Harry's smug smile dissipated.

"Yeah, tricky things, that kind of bite. Ya wanna be careful of the side effects, very tricky." He finished his tea, and stood up. "Well, I'm off. It was a long night. Don't forget I'll be by tomorrow afternoon for more practice. See you both then." He glanced at Neville, and stared for another long moment at Harry before striding from the kitchen. Tonks made to follow.

"I'll walk you out, Alastor." She shot daggers at Harry, who merely smiled in response. She followed Moody into the hallway.

"Bloody hell, Harry, what's gotten into you? Talking to Moody like that? He's on our side, remember?" Neville was clearly annoyed with his friend as well.

"Right, yeah, so since he's one of the 'good guys', everything he says is acceptable? You've got to quit seeing things as just black and white, Nev. Nothing's either all good or all bad. Everything's somewhere in between. And Moody's idea to eliminate freedom in order to save it is absolute shite. We might as well just let Riddle have his way if we're going to engage in that sort of nonsense."

"Thanks for pointing things out so clearly for me, Harry." Neville shook his head. "Who appointed you to be the judge of what's acceptable or not? Moody's got some good points, and so do you. I might even agree with you, you know." He stared at those beautiful green eyes for a long moment.

"But both of you are so bleeding pig-headed once your mind's been made up." Neville stood up, and shoved his chair under the table with a bang. He paced about the kitchen for a few moments before turning back to Harry.

"You'll never get anyone to see your point of view if you attack them like that. This is Moody we're talking about, and you treat him as if he's a Death Eater or something. He's been great to us. We've learned a lot from him. You know he IS one of the good guys! Maybe a little respect would be a nice change of pace, yeah? And you're one to talk. Look at what you did just yesterday. Black and white? Bollocks!" Neville turned around and faced the counter.

Harry got up and walked over to his friend, wrapping his arms around Neville's waist from behind, pressing against him tightly.

"I'm not sorry for a single word I said, Nev. That's not the way we're going to win against Riddle. I hear you about how I could have handled it better, though. I'll try to be more tactful next time. I just don't seem to have any patience lately. There's so much weighing me down, sometimes I just lose it."

Neville turned around and encircled Harry, who nuzzled his head against the taller wizard's shoulder. Neville's tone was soft, but steady.

"Just don't lock me out, OK? You can't keep getting cheesed off every time you turn around. Let me in, Harry! Remember what I said earlier?" Neville lifted Harry's chin, and gazed into those bottomless green eyes. "I think we'd better come up with a way to make sure all that pressure doesn't get the best of you. I have a pretty good idea of how I can help you there."

They both moved towards each other simultaneously, their lips crushing together hungrily. Harry tasted so good, Neville could hardly stand it. He slipped his tongue past Harry's teeth, and ran his hand down inside the back of his jeans, reveling in the sensuous, silky feel of Harry's wonderful arse. After a few more seconds, Neville remembered that Tonks was most likely coming back to the kitchen. He quickly opened his eyes and looked up to see Tonks standing in the doorway, her mouth slightly open. He pulled away from Harry, who began to protest immediately.

"Aw, c'mon Nev, don't tease me like that. You get me all hard and then...." Harry noticed Neville's startled expression and turned around. His t-shirt was not nearly long enough to conceal his 'condition'. "Oh," was all he managed to say.

Tonks sighed. "Quite the little heartbreaker, aren't we?" She walked over to the table and drained her cup. "All I want to say is that in the future, please show a bit more respect when speaking to someone like Alastor Moody, Harry. He's spent his entire life serving the Wizarding world, and deserves a little better treatment than you showed him earlier." She looked as if she had more to say, but Harry jumped in.

"Neville already raked me over the coals, Tonks. I hear you. I don't agree with Moody, but I'll try be less blunt next time." He backed up against Neville. "I'm a little stressed, that's all."


"It might surprise you to know that I find his ideas as disturbing as you do, Harry." She took a deep breath. "I think that bite has affected you more than we thought. We'll both have a talk with Remus about it when he gets back. There might be effects from doxie bites that we aren't aware of. Yeah?" She had a smile on her face, but her eyes were intense.

"Yeah, sure." Harry looked down at the floor.

"Right, I'm off. I have to clean out that van of mine. And my Mum wants me over for supper later. Probably trying to set me up with another loser. I'll let you two get back to what you were doing. And stay out of trouble, both of you. Neville, if he gives you any problems, stun him." She stared at Harry until he met her gaze.

"Ta."

Harry drew Neville's hands across his stomach and stood there, just enjoying the closeness. They both heard the rear door slam shut. Harry let out a huge sigh, and walked over to the table, sitting down heavily.

"Sorry, Nev. I'm just not right. I think it would be best if, well, if we just ..." Neville cut him off.

"Stop right there, Potter. I'll have none of this self-pitying bullshit! You're the chosen one! You're going to find those Horcruxes and destroy them. You're going to defeat Voldemort! And I'm not going anywhere! And if I have to say it every five minutes before it gets through that thick skull of yours, then I will. I love you, Harry. I'm here for you. I can't imagine that changing. Ever. Trust me. For once, you're not alone."


He ran his hand through that gorgeous, raven-black hair.

"You're a bloody pain in the ass, you know that, don't you?"

Harry looked up at Neville, his eyes just the slightest bit misty. "Well, can't say you don't know what you're getting into." He gave his friend a weak smile. Neville brushed his finger over the bit of lightning-bolt scar that was peeking out from under the hair covering Harry's forehead.

"Right. We'd better get a move on if we're going to hit Diagon Alley today. C'mon, look alive, Potter! Get our jackets, and I'll get the cycle out of the shed." he gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze. Harry smiled again.

"Sure, Nev. I'll tell Kreacher. Meet you out back in ten." He got up slowly, and gave Neville a chaste peck on the cheek before leaving the kitchen. Neville followed him into the hall, and then headed towards the back door.

As he stepped out onto the small back stoop, he made a mental note to have his own little chat with Remus as soon he returned.


A/N: The chapter title translates roughly as 'Descent from the Light'