A Dream For The Dead

A Dream For The Dead

Chapter 26

In The Middle of a Gun Fight

Harry was sure that the day that Draco Malfoy and Ronald Weasley would be found to agree on anything, the entire world would come crumbling down around them. On principle. It was simply the way the universe worked.

Weasleys and Malfoys could never, ever get along.

And yet, as Harry sat there, his legs sprawled on the floor, alternating with Malfoy’s, staring into those deep silver eyes, he half-expected the annihilation of humanity to begin.

He couldn’t quite bring himself to actually speak for what he was sure was far too long. His mind was trying desperately to decide on a position in regards to the information he had been provided.

While the side of his brain that was expertly taught by Hermione screamed for him to laugh and brush off any such woolly conclusions about their predicament, Harry wasn’t quite sure he could do that.

While after the whole fiasco in third year with Trelawney predicting his death with images of the Grim, Harry would have gladly thrown his superstitions behind him and agreed with his bushy-haired best friend that the concept of a great, shaggy dog predicting his death was ludicrous. He would have easily done it if he could have. Draco had proclaimed his conclusion with such confidence that only a pureblood, being raised on and terrified by stories of the ghastly dog, could have managed. Ron’s determination to believe in advents such as the Grim had never swayed him in the past.

But Harry could not brush it off as being superstitious nonsense. Draco had described his own experiences with the black void, with Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, with Death so accurately that Harry knew he must not have taken his research lightly.

Harry knew, from his youth really, that he was plagued by Death. He had been dogged by it, whether some dark god, or an intangible concept, since his first year of life. It was only after his second close-encounter with the experience that he began to have rather serious side-effects. And Draco seemed to have them too.

Harry couldn’t deny Malfoy’s claims because he was too glad that there was someone with some kind of knowledge on the matter. Malfoy knew what he was talking about. This meant he had done research and understood the whole situation. He had been so afraid, for so long, that he was going completely mental. He couldn’t ever tell Ginny about what the world was doing to him. She would never understand. She never dealt well with anything related to death. After the war, after Fred’s death, she had wanted to distance herself from the notion entirely. It had been quite the fight to name the children. Harry had argued that in naming their children after their lost loved ones they were honouring them and allowing them to live again.

Ginny had then pointed out that Snape had never been one of Harry’s loved ones, but that was a whole different argument.

No, the point was, Harry couldn’t tell anyone in his family about his situation. Hermione would have sent him straight to St Mungo’s and Ron would have given him the same look he had treated Harry to when he found out that Harry was a Parselmouth in second year. It was frightened concern. Or awe. Harry couldn’t be sure.

But now, someone was presenting themselves to him, acknowledging his problem and professing to share it. All without the merest hint at insanity or mocking. Most shocking of all, the person was Draco Malfoy.

It was all very confusing to Harry and he found himself desperately needing to lie down. His head throbbed and he took a deep breath.

“You seem to know a lot about this,” Harry said, finally. He was aware of Draco’s eyes on him the entire length of the silence. Every lapsed moment between his words was filled with that same interminable silence, stretching out forever to meet the edges of eternity.

“As much as there is to know,” Draco whispered in response. Harry shivered involuntarily and nodded. He licked his lips, his heart skipping momentarily at the possibilities ahead of him.

“Then,” he began, trying not to sound too eager. “You know how to fix it. How to get the Grim off our trails, so-to-speak.”

Malfoy’s eyes flashed briefly and his expression travelled through so many emotions that Harry was unsure of what he was thinking precisely. He seemed just as likely to burst out laughing as he was to sobbing or lashing out in anger.

The blond, it seemed, decided on disgust and cast his eyes away.

“No,” he answered with a mite of desperation that Harry didn’t like in Draco’s voice. He did not like seeing the blond desperate. Ever. “You seem to think that throwing off the Grim is as easy as throwing off a real dog.” Malfoy’s eyes were back on him again, blazing with their intensity and Harry almost felt himself shrink. Harry realized, then, that he had lost himself in the years that had passed since the war. He had lost something to Death and he wanted it back. “As far as I can tell, there is only one sure-fire way to stop this rubbish that has been affecting us, Potter. And that it is not something I am willing to consider.”

Harry frowned and gritted his teeth, suddenly overcome with anger. If Malfoy knew of anything that might solve their problem and allow them to lead normal lives, how could he not want to consider it?

Probably some stupid selfish reason, as always.

“What is it?” Harry demanded harshly. “You have to consider it. No matter what it is, Malfoy. Do you really want to live this way forever? Because I don’t. So out with it.”

Draco’s eyes grew hard and his lip curled in a familiar sneer. Harry felt somewhat better at the return to normalcy. But only just.

“You’re a fool, Potter,” the blond spat. “The only way to get this all to stop, the black holes, the shifting, the Grim on our tails,” Malfoy motioned around at nothing. “Is to die. And I don’t know about you, Potter, but dying is the last thing I intend to do.”

Harry blinked and rolled his eyes. His jaw was tight again, his body tense. He shook his head and tugged at his hair.

“Obviously,” he snapped back. “No one really wants to die, Malfoy.”

Then Draco was straight and leaning forward again with the vicious swiftness of a trained predator. He closed some of the distance between them and growled deeply, staring directly into Harry’s eyes. Harry stared back with all the determination he could muster.

“You don’t understand,” Draco said in an undertone. “Other people have a healthy thirst for life that stills their killing hand. I don’t just have a thirst for life, Potter. I have an unwavering and rather crippling fear of Death.” He leaned back slightly and cocked his head back. “I’ve seen what’s waiting for me on the other side. I’ve heard the voices of the fallen calling to me, promising me my eternity. Too many enemies are dead and waiting, Potter. Too many hungry shades waiting to tear apart my soul for the rest of time. What waits for me is Hell, inasmuch as anything can be.” He paused briefly and, with wide eyes and a violent desperation, he finished “I can’t die.”

Harry found himself breathing raggedly and forced himself to sit taller. He wet his lips and looked around with a humourless laugh.

“You’ve got just as many enemies here, Malfoy,” he pointed out. He said it because he couldn’t help it. He was nervous and confused. He had to say something. “You’re life is being threatened, your soul. Your family’s lives and souls. You have people on the street just waiting to tear you a new one. What is the difference between them?”

Malfoy’s eyes drew a slow line from the ground between Harry’s legs, up his torso and finally his face, to meet his gaze. He shrugged very slightly in what might have been a silent, singular chuckle.

“Better the devil you know, Potter,” he breathed.

+++++

“Daddy! You’ll never guess what happened today!”

Harry walked out of the fireplace to the excited cries of his daughter. Lily very nearly threw herself into his arms before he had finished dusting off the soot. She caught him in the stomach and left him completely winded. He let his arms encircle her as he blinked away the blindness of the Floo flames and laughed.

“What did you do, Lily?” he asked, trying to match her excitement. It wasn’t all that difficult. Lily’s happiness was the kind of happiness that was infectious. “Nothing bad, I hope.” He gave her a questioning look before winking at her. She offered a rueful grin in return and showed all of her teeth.

“No,” Lily answered in a sing-song voice. She hopped once or twice. “I flew, Dad! I really flew! On a real broom! Not one of those Ashtracers for kids. A real one!”

“You did?” he asked, not needing to feign any kind of shock at the news. He didn’t need to feign his excitement at the notion either. He did, however, need to work very hard not to show the hurt in his voice. He swallowed as he hugged her tightly. “How did you do?”

“I’m brilliant!” she answered with all the obnoxious pride of a kitten. She was far too endearing to seem boastful. She began jumping around. “I flew all the way over to the little grove where we went for the picnic on Mum’s birthday that one time, remember? I got ten feet in the air and even did some twirls!”

Lily bobbed happily and then spun on her toes to illustrate her own moves in the air. She flourished with every movement and her long red hair whipped around in a sheet that nearly slapped Harry in the face with the force of her movements. Harry’s smile was genuine. So was the deep sadness that set in behind his eyes.

“That’s brilliant, Lily,” he answered her, pride blossoming in his chest. “What else did you do?”

Lilly swayed back and forth as Harry walked over to the sofa to lay down his outer-robes. It had been his first day in the office in a number of weeks. He had told Malfoy that he needed to complete some paperwork in regards to what he had discovered about the letters. Malfoy had shrugged it off, but Harry felt strangely guilty at leaving him alone. It had only been a couple days since they had spoken about their ‘situation’. He could have gone to visit the blond after work, but decided to take the opportunity to have dinner with his family. He had missed seeing Lily since Draco’s attack. Harry sat down carefully on the sofa and pulled Lily up onto his knee. She grinned wider.

“Well, not much else,” she admitted eventually. “Mum wouldn’t let me do too much. She got worried and kept nagging me to fly lower. Then she got on her broom too and showed me some of her moves, but wouldn’t let me try them.” Lily leaned in with a conspiratorial whisper. “Mum’s a bit of a show off.” Harry gasped in disapproval and then she cackled manically before shaking her head.

“Show off, huh?” Ginny’s voice suddenly came from the doorway. She rushed over to Lily and grabbed her from Harry’s lap, tickling madly at her sides. “I’ll show you, little monster.” She laughed as Lily giggled and tried to wriggle free of her grasp back to Harry’s knees. He smiled sadly at them as he watched.

“Mum!” Lily whined setting herself up next to Harry and out of Ginny’s reach. “Dad, protect me! Give her the claw!” Harry laughed and tried to look politely puzzled. The tension in him grew however. He glanced at Ginny who was not looking at him at all. He swallowed again.

“Claw?” he asked, feigning innocence. “What claw?” He hooked his fingers and slowly raised his hand without looking at it. “Oh… you mean, this claw?” he asked abruptly raising his hand to tickle his daughter further. She squealed with delight as she was forced into a fit of giggles again.

“Lily, that’s enough now,” Ginny said, her voice suddenly terse. Harry let up and let the little girl breathe. “Go tidy your toys and wash up for dinner.”

Harry sighed as he watched her run off down the hall with a dramatic groan. Ginny did not look at Harry as she walked back around the sofa toward the kitchen. With Lily gone, Harry let his frustration grow and got to his feet to follow her.

He cast a muttered Muffliato in Lily’s direction before planting himself in the entrance to the kitchen and setting his jaw.

“You took her flying,” he said calmly. It was an accusation. It took every fiber of his being not to scream. Ginny turned around, clearly ready for a row.

“I took her flying,” she answered. As much as Harry’s statement was an accusation, her’s was a challenge.

“I told you how important it was to me to be with her for that,” he said, his voice low. “We agreed that, no matter what our work schedules were, all of the children’s firsts would be in both our company. Do you remember that?”

Ginny bristled and shot him an unpleasant look before turning back to the counter as though he wasn’t worth her time at all.

“Do you remember promising never to miss family dinners?” she asked almost lightly. There was a hidden threat in her words. “Lily hasn’t had any time to spend with you in days. How do you account for that? I thought that perhaps your children’s lives were no longer a priority for you.”

Harry nearly allowed all the dishes to break. His magic roared inside him and demanded he release it as wildly as he would have when he was a teenager. He was so angry and so hurt that he would have allowed it to happen if Lily hadn’t been just down the hall.

“You know bloody well that the kids mean everything to me,” he answered, his tone deadly calm. She hesitated briefly. Ginny was ruthless when she was angry but she was never irrational enough to push Harry past his limits. She placed her hands on the counter and then turned slowly.

“Then what have you been doing?” she asked sharply. Harry clenched his jaw.

“I’ve been working, Ginny,” he answered, balling his fists. “On a case.”

She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. Harry’s eyes flashed. With one look he dared her, dared her to say that his job was a joke and that he never really worked. She stared him down for a moment, like one might stare down a disobedient dog.

“What case? You haven’t had a proper case in years,” she said, carefully skirting around what Harry had expected her to say. He nearly let his lip curl into the sneer it wanted to do. It was the same sneer Draco gave him and he knew it would do nothing to help.

“Things change,” was his only answer. “I can’t discuss cases with you.”

Ginny rolled her eyes and laughed disbelievingly. She shook her head and picked up the pot on the counter.

“That’s never stopped you in the past,” she shot. She stared out the window a moment and then looked back at him. “There’s only one story flying about that might require Auror attention.” She pressed a finger to her lips, pretending to consider. “The whole team is on about it. In fact, everyone is on about it.” She gave him a withering look. “Apparently Malfoy was attacked. Several times.”

Harry tried to keep his face impassive, hoping to gauge her reaction before doing anything. But he was never good a hiding his thoughts. Ginny studied him for a moment before her face shifted to a mask of incredulity and she allowed her eyes to bug out briefly.

“You’re working on the Malfoy case!” she half-shrieked. Harry grimaced at the sound. He hated that particular pitch. “You’ve been spending all this time with Malfoy, of all people!” Ginny shook her head and threw her arms in the air in a fit of melodramatic nonsense. “Not only have you been neglecting your family for the bloody wanker, but you’ve been fraternizing with the enemy team!”

Harry was so angry he nearly missed the final statement. He blinked, dumbfounded for a moment, before the shock wore off and he pulled his face into an expression of disgust and disbelief.

“You can’t be serious,” he said. “You actually accused me of fraternizing with the enemy? What enemy?” Ginny rounded angrily on him.

“He’s the seeker for the Catapults, Harry!” she snapped. “I know you stopped following Quidditch but surely you knew that, spending so much time with him!” Harry gritted his teeth and bit back a comment. “We play the Catapults next! Haven’t you considered that he might be using you to somehow spy on our team? He could be trying to sabotage us or something!”

Harry barked out a hysterical laugh. He couldn’t quite believe his ears. Was Ginny that paranoid? Was she really so self-involved that she couldn’t see passed her own situation?

“You sound just as delusional as Ron was when he was fourteen, Ginny,” Harry sneered, despite himself. “Grow up. He did.” Ginny flushed an angry red and opened her mouth but he didn’t allow her to speak. “Malfoy’s case is a real one. He’s got more important things to worry about than winning against the Harpies.” Harry rolled his eyes. “And from what I’ve seen of Eleanora Getty’s Seeking abilities, Malfoy doesn’t have anything to worry about.”

Suddenly Ginny’s wand was in her hand and Harry’s wand was trained on her. He glared, wide and warning at her.

“So help me, Godric,” Harry said in a low baritone. “If you attack me while Lily is in the house, I will arrest you and never look back.”

Ginny’s eyes were full of tears then and she dropped her wand. She was shaking with anger and hurt. Harry was hurt just as deeply, but he could not find the guilt necessary to take back what he had said.

“I don’t want to fight with you, Harry,” she said, almost weakly. Her anger was still there, but she seemed almost defeated. “I don’t like the tension between us.” Harry’s eyes flashed and he wanted to throttle her, then, but never could have.

“Do you think I enjoy this, Ginny?” Harry shot back. She let one tear roll down her cheek and shook her head.

“We were doing fine,” she said to no one in particular. “We were doing alright before this case. Why did you have to take it, Harry? Why do you spend time with him? He’s poisoning you against your own family. You would never have said something like that to me before.”

Harry nearly exploded from the effort to not answer what he wanted to. He wondered, somewhere in the rational part of his brain, if she was distressed by his words for their superficial value, or because they meant that he was going to stop letting her dictate every aspect of his life.

“He is not poisoning me against you,” Harry answered as evenly as he could manage. “And it’s my job to take cases. Whatever I’m given.”

Ginny retrieved some of the control she had lost and looked calmly up at him.

“I don’t want you spending time with him, Harry,” she said firmly. Harry cocked an eyebrow and said nothing. “I don’t like it, nor do I like the influence he is having on our family life.”

Harry moved closer and then spoke in a threateningly quiet whisper.

“I don’t approve of some of the friends you spend time with,” he breathed at her, his eyes hard and cold. “Nor the influence they have on our family, but that has never stopped you, has it, Ginny?”

Then her eyes glazed over with tears again but the hazel irises became dark and empty. She swallowed and stared back at him with whatever dignity she had within her. She opened her mouth, perhaps to retort, perhaps to apologize, perhaps to plead with him. Harry never found out.

At that moment, a silver streak passed by Harry’s head and landed on the kitchen table. His attention snapped to the figure.

There was a silver gyrfalcon perched on the edge of the table. Harry blinked at the brilliance of the Patronus and wondered whose it was. His question was answered when the bird’s beak opened and Draco’s voice spoke to him.

“Potter. She’s gone. They took Aurora.”

------

A/N: X_X ok. So. Yeah. First I need to say, I PROMISE this is NOT like Final Destination. NOT AT ALL. No one will be lying down in any tanning beds only to have themselves burnt alive, or any of that. No. The whole "Death is Chasing them" thing is more... soul-related than anything else. T_T No. I do not write teen slasher fics. Just wanted to clear that up.

*deep breath* Ok. So I hope you liked this. I'm having ISSUES with this fic but fear not, I will finish it and do my best. Unfortunately I do not have my artwork up yet. I am working on it so I can show you :). I also had to start classes again, which is frustrating because it SEEPS my writing/creativity from me. I will persevere.

I hope you liked the chapter. O_o Though I SWEAR I'm not TRYING to make this Ginny hate. I SWEAR I tried... I did. I really did try to make her... human. Well, maybe she's human, but yeah. *sigh* Oh well. Reviews = love! *sends out love vibes* ... I ish dead now. *dead*