Gilded Soul

Chapter 18 the Second Trial

Harry watched the snowfall through the Headmaster’s office window. “Will he be okay, Professor?”

Dumbledore leaned back in his overstuffed chair and contemplated his tea cup. “If it is true what you say, about his dreams, then I’m afraid it is not as easy as that.”

Harry looked up and caught his own reflection in Dumbledore’s clear blue eyes. “You’ll be able to protect him though, right? He wouldn’t be susceptible to Voldemort if it weren’t for me.”

“It’s true that your connection with Mr. Malfoy made it possible for Voldemort’s link to extend to him through you, but you didn’t do this willfully.”

“I know,” Harry replied shaking his head. “But that doesn’t make me feel any better about him having my nightmares, him having the weight I hold on my shoulders taking him down with me.” The headmaster merely nodded his understanding and let Harry continue. “I just need to know that when – if something happens to me, he’ll be protected. I need your word professor, that you will do everything within your power to make sure he’s safe.”

Dumbledore watched him for a moment then nodded slowly. “Very well, Harry. You have my word.”

--

Harry was pacing back and forth in the owlery, alternating between glancing briefly out the large open window for Hedwig and watching the door. He knew it wouldn’t take long for Draco to find him if he wanted to, and he wanted to get these letters out before he did. He trusted Dumbledore implicitly, but with the war looming over all of them, Harry wanted to ensure back up protection for Draco if something were to happen to the Headmaster, hence the scrolls clutched in his hands for Hermione, Remus and Arthur Weasley. He knew Draco’s reputation was less then perfect and didn’t want anyone to doubt his allegiances in the end, especially if Harry himself was not there to defend him.

He had spent the last few days deftly avoiding the Slytherin, feeling increasingly guilty over pulling him so forcefully into a relationship, while knowing deep down, that the chances of him living were slim if even existent. He wanted nothing more then to hold tightly to Draco’s hand and never let go, be how selfish would that be? How terrible would he feel if Draco actually fell in love with him, and then Harry got himself killed? It wasn’t right. Too many people would already mourn his passing, and he didn’t want to leave Draco broken after all was said and done.

He finally spotted his owl, a growing white dot on the horizon and in moments she landed on the perch and held out her clawed leg. Those letters would find their way, and Harry was already feeling a little less worried. He crept back down into the castle proper and made his way back to the room of requirement. It was late, and if his luck held, Draco would be asleep already.

--

His luck didn’t hold. Harry walked in to find a furious Draco sitting on the edge of the bed. “This is the third night in a row you’ve disappeared for hours. What the hell has you sneaking all over the castle avoiding me?”

“I’m not avoiding you,” Harry replied simply, not looking him in the eyes. Draco’s eyes always melted him on the spot.

Draco got up and walked to stand directly in front of him. He roughly grabbed Harry’s chin making him look right at him. “You’re not avoiding me?” he asked, knowing Harry wouldn’t lie to him in this manner, he was well aware the hold he had on the other boy.

“I… erm,” was all Harry could spit out before Draco dropped his hand and stalked away to stand in front of the fire.

“I thought as much. Are you going to tell me why you’re avoiding me, or are you going to leave me to speculate on my own?” Draco asked.

Harry looked sheepishly at Draco’s back. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and the flickering firelight licked around the edges, forming a deep red aura all around him. “After the other night… you can’t protect me, Draco, but I can protect you. I can protect your reputation after I’m gone, and I can protect your heart.”

Draco turned abruptly and bore his eyes into Harry’s. “Protect my heart? I think it’s a little late for that,” he replied quietly. Harry went to him, but he stepped away, staying rigid with his hands crossed over his bare chest. “You would have to erase everything. You have always meant something to me from the time I was young, before I even met you. You were legend in my house, Harry, then when I discovered you would be at Hogwarts, there was the potential of friendship. After your quick and thorough rejection you became my enemy, even then you were important to me. Now this.” He gestured between them then let that hand fall limply at his side as he looked down at the floor.

They just stood there like that for what seemed like days. “I didn’t know,” Harry said at last.

Draco looked up and caught his own reflection in Harry’s emerald eyes. After a moment he just shrugged. “Its already too late for me, Harry. I’m in too deep, and I’m not turning back. I want you, this… even if it has an expiration date.”

Harry smiled at him, but it was a haunted smile.

--

Draco looked around him at the large shrubbery on either side of his body. The maze felt off in a way he couldn’t quite pinpoint. The feeling didn’t subside even as Harry joined him. “It feels like someone is watching us,” he said the moment he decided what felt wrong.

“Someone is,” Harry replied simply.

“You don’t mean…”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. We must be close to the second task. He watched us complete the first task as well.”

Draco thought back to the first task, but couldn’t place feeling Voldemort watch him, though he was fairly distracted at the time. He felt like shrinking and hiding, but he knew that would do no good. Voldemort was in his mind; there was no hiding from him. He mustered all of his power to try and shut him out. He was a fairly adept occlumens, but since his body was technically asleep, he didn’t know how effective it would be. He smiled slightly when he felt Voldemort’s presence dim in his mind, though he was certainly still there, lurking in the shadows of his subconscious.

It was only minutes until the boys came across the second trial. Another large archway presented itself in the path and the ground below them, which was once a patch made of dirt and rocks, was now made of finely hewn stone. They looked at each other for the briefest of moments before looking back to the archway, where a new specter floated, blocking their way.

“I have a riddle for you,” tinkled the soft voice of the girl before them. It was Hermione, or at least looked like her, though her voice held the dreamy quality of Luna Lovegood. He looked over to Harry, who was gaping at the vivid copy of his best friend floating before them.

“Go on then,” Draco said to her.

The specter smiled, but it was not a smile he had ever seen on Hermione’s face. This smile was ancient, and wicked. Draco felt a tug in his palm and tried to hold tighter as his wand fly up and away from him. Harry’s was doing the same, and they watched as the wands alighted into stone holders on each side of the maze. This seemed to trigger a reaction on the other side of the clearing ahead of them. Draco watched mesmerized as a wall on the opposite side shifted and slid aside, creating a new path.

Draco grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him, but he wouldn’t budge. He just stood their staring at the ghostly Hermione. “It’s not so easy as that, Draco.”

Hermione laughed and shook her head at Draco. “It flies in the night, burning bright. From ashes demise, a new will arise.”

“What?” Draco shouted, he had barely even been listening, still distracted from the door.

“A phoenix,” Harry whispered. Hermione smiled and shimmered out of sight.

“Was that right then?” Draco was getting increasingly confused, but the specter was gone, and the path was opened, so he pulled on Harry’s hand and this time he reluctantly followed.

“It can’t be that easy. Something’s wrong,” Harry mumbled behind him.

Draco crossed the threshold and felt a crumbling under his feet, then an instant later he was dangling above an endless chasm. The only thing keeping him from falling into the pit was Harry’s warm hand in his; holding tightly and pulling him back up the steep embankment. After several minutes of scrabbling and pulling Harry managed to get Draco back up and onto the path.

Draco took a minute to catch his breath before looking at the scene before him. The large stone he had stepped on was completely missing, having crumbled and fallen into the abyss below. The surrounding stones all had giant letters engraved into their faces. “You have got to be kidding me!” Draco shouted.

Harry shook his head. “It’s all part of the puzzle. One false move and we fall to our death. I think we have to spell out the answer to the riddle in order to cross.”

“You think?” Draco was shaking his head.

Harry looked carefully at the tiles in front of him. “It’s not as if I’m an expert or anything.” He shrugged.

Draco took a deep breath. “Okay, we can do this. It won’t be so hard. You already knew the answer, so we just need to look for a P.”

“Right.” They scanned the first few stones ahead of them and both spotted it simultaneously.

Draco made a move to step on it, but Harry held him back. “We should test it or something. It’s too far for me to pull you back up if it doesn’t work.”

He looked around and found a large rock on the floor. “This should do it, “ he said handing it over to Harry.

He held it in his hand a moment as if weighing it, then gave a light practice toss. When the rock finally left his hand it landed first on the stone in front of that which they were aiming, but rolled slowly onto the one marked “P.” The instant it hit that one, the stone crumbled under it and fell into the abyss.

“What the hell,” Draco grumbled. He looked closer though at the original stone the rock had touched upon. It was still in tact. “The F is still there… but I don’t understand. There is no F in phoenix.”

Harry laughed. “I thought I was crazy for a minute. I thought maybe I didn’t know how to spell. It doesn’t make sense though. Do you think the maze wants us to spell it phonetically? Or maybe there is an ancient way of spelling it that starts with an F?”

“Or maybe your answer to the riddle was wrong,” Draco intoned lightly, not wanting to offend Harry, but wanting to get through the second trial just the same.

“No. I know I was right.” Harry didn’t seem offended, but rather adamant.

“But how do you know for sure? Let’s just go over it again.”

Harry shook his head. “He told me the answer. He wants us to pass the trial.”

Draco’s eyes went wide. He carefully took down the walls in his mind blocking Voldemort out at the moment and could immediately feel him cackling. “Listen to your lover,” it whispered through his mind. He shivered and looked back over to Harry.

“You feel it to I take it?”

He nodded. “I blocked him out at first, but now I can hear him speaking to me.”

“You’ll have to teach me how you do that… blocking him out I mean. I was never able to master it.” Harry sighed, his eyes glued on the F stone.

“Gryffindor’s are all rubbish at it. You’re too emotional.”

Harry shot him a dark glare. “Dumbledore’s a Gryffindor and he’s the most powerful wizard there is.” He saw Harry wince and could feel the cold lashing extend through his own mind from Harry’s. Voldemort didn’t like what he had just said.

“Are you sure he was Gryffindor?” he asked.

“I… erm. I think so.” Harry blushed and looked down at his hands. “He’s never said exactly… I just assumed…”

Draco shrugged. “He might well have been. I never knew for sure. He is fairly cunning though, and father says he’s a pureblood. I think he could have easily been in Slytherin.”

Harry nodded. “Maybe, but then so could I.” Draco smiled remembering what Harry had told him weeks ago, about almost being sorted into Slytherin. “None of that really helps us solve the puzzle though.”

“I know… hey, what is his pet phoenix’s name?” he asked excitedly.

“Fawkes!” Harry shouted. “Draco, you’re brilliant!”

“I know,” he said blushing slightly.

They went back over to the stones. “Let me go first, then when I make my way to the second stone, you follow carefully, alright?”

Draco nodded and watched as Harry stretched out and stood tentatively on the F stone, then looked around for the next one. He pointed over to it just ahead and to the right. “The A is up there.”

“Thanks,” Harry said as he stepped forward to claim that stone next. As soon as he was standing on the A, however, the F crumbled behind him. “What? Oh no! We can’t both fit on one stone! How are we both supposed to cross?”

Draco had never wanted his wand so badly in his life. With it he could simply levitate himself across the chasm. He looked around and spotted another F stone, just a few blocks over from the one Harry had used. He looked across and was able to connect his own path to the other side that wouldn’t interfere with Harry’s. “It spells it out twice!” he shouted.

He took a tentative step forward and landing with firm footing on his own F. The stone began to crack under his feet though and he panicked and jumped to the next stone. Once there he made a move to leap to the next, but the stone below him was solid and secure. “I think we have to move at the same time.”

Harry nodded and they counted to three before moving to their next letters, then to the next and finally to the S stones, which were about two stones away from the exit. They leapt at the same time, each grabbing purchase on the small stone landing in front of the exit.

Gasping for breath they just stayed there a moment, leaning against the walls and each other. “How are we supposed to get our wands now? Draco asked.

“Accio wands,” Harry mumbled and both wands floated into his hand from across the divide.

Draco blinked several times before speaking. “You can do wandless magic?”

Harry shrugged. “Sure. Can’t you?”

He shook his head. “No, Harry. I don’t know any wizard that can do wandless magic. Not even my father, not even the Minister!”

Harry blushed deeply. “Dumbledore can, and so can Voldemort… I just assumed…”

“Harry, those are both tremendously powerful wizards, I… I had no idea you were so powerful.”

A dark blush worked its way up Harry’s face. “Maybe I have a chance of living after all.” A pained look crossed his features and he collapsed to his knees.

Draco reached out and grabbed him, pulling him back up. He could feel more then hear the mocking laughter in his mind. “Leave him alone you evil bastard!” Draco shouted to the air.

Harry slid his hand up and down Draco’s arm trying to calm him. “Don’t let him get to you.”

Draco shut his eyes and built the wall back up, effectively cutting off the maniacal laughter. His cover was sufficiently blown now. Voldemort knew his affections for Harry were real, and not some manufactured way of helping the Dark Lord succeed. Voldemort seemed not to care at the moment though. Draco only hoped his mother didn’t suffer for what Draco had done.