Living in Darkness

Chapter 3: What I've Done

Warning: Death, blood. You get the picture.
The song mentioned later is the piano version of Linkin Park's "In the End"

Grimmauld Place - Two Days Earlier

"Quiet," Moody bellowed out to the frantic chatter of the Order, "I call this meeting to Order." The room fell silent and Moody nodded to Harry.

Harry glanced at Hermione and stood up to address the meeting.

"I wish to inform the Order that progress has been made in the search. If you do not know what I am speaking of, then do not trouble yourself to find out. Also, the training camp at an unknown location is in operation now. Again, this is classified. But rest assured we are preparing for the worst. It is likely that this war could drag out longer than we anticipated. We all must be ready for an attack. It could come at anytime, anywhere, in any form. That is all we are willing to share at this moment. It is all you need to know." Harry sat down and listened to the member's reports on their missions.

After the meeting Harry and Hermione went to Harry and Ginny's flat.

"Harry when do we leave to find the locket? We know where it is, we should go immediately," Hermione said seriously. Harry looked at her.

"We have to wait for Ron. Bill may die Hermione, we cant ask him to leave him now," Harry said as he had many times already.

"But Harry, others could die the longer we draw out this war. Bill is not alone. The whole family is there," Hermione said.

"Except Fleur," Harry said irritated, as he put his cloak on the kitchen chair.

"Oh come off it, Harry, she is there to represent her family," Hermione said, hastily.

"She's been acting strange, Hermione," Harry said impatiently.

"It's all in your head Harry, you're being paranoid," Hermione snapped.

"What do you want, Hermione, for us to leave right now and go to the darkest corner of the Earth on a hunch and probably die in the process without anyone knowing what happened," Harry yelled.

Hermione sighed, "No, I just feel like we should be doing something more."

"I'm going to go check on Ginny," Harry said, leaving the room.

Hermione sat alone in her thoughts. The Dark Side had gained in power in the last six months considerably. She had heard that Draco had redeemed himself and was the Dark Lord's new favorite. It didn't surprise her. His heart was black, incapable of love.

Suddenly, Hermione wondered what was keeping Harry. She rose from her seat and made her way to the bedroom. She creaked open the door far enough to see Harry standing next to the bed seemingly in shock.

"Harry," she said, "what are you doing?"

Hermione approached the bed and saw what Harry was staring at. Blood. A lot of it. Crimson stain scattered across the sheets and walls. The room suddenly drained of sound and the reality of the situation hit Hermione. Ginny. She's gone. How could this have happened? She stepped up to Harry and rested her hand on his shoulder.

Harry could not understand what he was seeing. All he knew was he had to find Ginny, and fast. He turned and strode out of the room with Hermione close behind him.

"Harry wait!" Hermione shouted, "You can't leave like this, there is too much at stake. It is a trap Harry, you know that."

"So what do you expect me to do then Hermione? Sit here and wait for them to return her unharmed? It's a little late for that. I'm going."

"No, Harry, you mustn't. There is another option."

Harry turned to her, "What is that?"
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The next day

Hermione looked around the camp. It was in ruins. All of the children were gone. Everything they had built had been destroyed. The wind roared and made her shiver from the cold. So many people dead... So this was it... this was why they got to Ginny, to find out where the camp was...

Hermione sighed and scribbled then sent a note to Harry and left.
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Present

Harry stood and looked around at the members of the Order, his eyes lingering over Fleur dangerously.

"I have some bad news to announce," Harry said, "Hermione is missing as well as Ginny."
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Draco slowly traced the corridors to the meeting room. The torchlight flickered as he walked past casting him in darkness momentarily. No. The wind from his movement caused the flicker. So he put himself in darkness. He did this. The choices he has made have put him where he stands. Alone. Draco finally reached his destination after what felt like eternity. He entered the large gathering hall to find the Death Eater's and the Dark Lord at the center. He took his place.
"Draco, so glad you could join us. After all, you are the focal point of our meeting tonight. Come forward Draco. Tonight you will be rewarded with the greatest gift I can give you. Life." Draco stepped forward and watched as the Dark Lord pulled Ginny Weasley to her knees and threw her with inhuman strength across the center of the room to Draco. He caught her and looked to the Dark Lord questioningly.

"Kill her, Draco."

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Draco's head hurt. His eyes burned. His muscles felt like they were decaying. He didn't even feel real anymore. He wondered if he was even really alive. The darkness seemed to seep into him and consume him. Thoughts of death and pain choked him as he took in the blood on his robes. It was all he was capable of... And now the control, the ability to end it all was lost from him.
Soon Draco found himself at his door. He waited to open it, unsure of how to act around the girl. He decided he didn't care and opened the door. She lay nestled in his bed like a kitten asleep. She looked like an angel the way her soft curls were spread out around her, her breathing peaceful. If only things were different... Draco only let his eyes linger on her for a few more moments before tearing them away. Draco made his way into the next room and sat down behind his grand piano.
His favorite memory of his mother was of them sitting at this piano together. Draco shut his eyes tightly. She would hate him for what he's become. He rested his hands on the piano and took a deep breath. He hadn't played since that night. The little light from the window was all he needed. He began to play. The tune was somber. The pain and misery flowed out of him into the keys as he struck each note. Draco felt his heart wrench as the blood flowed down his fingertips onto the keys. He continued anyway. What he had done was unforgivable. He played with talent and sadness that only he could understand. No one would ever see or know what he had done and yet he felt exposed to the world. As if everyone knew what a monster he was. A terrible, dark, and twisted fuck up of fate that he was even alive.
Draco's thoughts turned to the girl that lay sleeping in his bed. The girl he had almost raped hours earlier. The girl he knew nothing about. He didn't even know her name. And yet, somehow, her innocence has caused him to rethink every action he has ever taken. He knew she would be his undoing. The fact that such evil could corrupt her scared him. If there was good left in this world, Draco felt he should protect it, not convert it to what he has become. A dark, hollow shell of a man who fucked up his chance to escape long ago when he was weak. When he chose himself over selflessness. If only he had known then, maybe what he's done now may not have happened.

The girl stirred in the bed to the sound of music. Soft, quiet, depressing music. She opened her eyes and looked around for the source. She silently rose and gently made her way across the shadows to the intimate sadness. She noticed a door slightly ajar and slipped inside.

The sight she saw before her was one she never though she would see. Malfoy sat at a piano, his soft blond hair falling gently into his closed eyes. He never missed a note. The sound was enough to bring tears to her eyes. The sight of a man whom she thought incapable of such emotion playing it in darkness only made it worse. The night grew colder as the music seemed to freeze the air around them. She wanted to go to him. She wanted to comfort him. But she knew it would be unwise. If only she knew more. More of why he would sit here in the dark alone playing this. He still wore his robes she had seen him leave in and could only wonder what he had been doing. Whatever it was, it definitely had not cheered him up. She slowly made her way around the room, careful not to disturb him. As she neared she noticed him open his eyes as a glistening tear slid down his cheek. The crystal droplet was a bullet to her heart. She did not understand why she suddenly could develop such affection for her captor, but she did know that this man was hiding something. No, not something, everything. He was hiding everything that she wanted to know. She looked longingly at him in such a peaceful state. She knew though that he was anything but peaceful. He was torn. About something.

Draco's mind wandered. His hands moved freely without thought. He had heard her come into the room, but he wasn't ready to acknowledge her. His body was cold. Like it had been earlier. All he could hear was the music as he recalled the events that he so remembered so vividly that he almost felt it.

Her body was heavy. Not because of her weight, but because she was lifeless. Not dead, just not respondent. That's when Draco saw it, the dagger. He had left it with her the first night she was here when he handed her over to the Dark Lord. Draco looked up to his Lord who in turn nodded at the dagger.

At that moment in time, something snapped inside of him. It felt as if adrenaline were being poured down his throat and mercury were lining his veins. Gripping the dagger in his hand was the only thing he could do to alleviate the intensity with which he felt. Draco knew what he had to do. He had to kill her. He had known that was what he was supposed to do. He had to. So he did.

Every detail he could recall. He remembered raising the dagger high above his head and stabbing young Ginny in the stomach. The lifeless girl suddenly came alive with a scream he could still hear as the music played in the background. The pain she felt only seemed to encourage him more. The pain pushed him over the edge as he stabbed her again in the chest. Over and over again he struck her with the blade. Somewhere behind him he could hear the Dark Lord chanting an ancient curse. Ginny's pale eyes looked into his as she took her last breath before Draco slit her throat. That look didn't seem to mean so much to him then. But now it was all he could see when he closed his eyes. The light had left her forever. At that moment, he felt as if his heart had ripped in half and he was dying. The dagger that was covered in crimson was burning in his hand and he could not let go of it. Soon the pain began to ease. Now all he is burdened with are the memories. The memories of what he's done.

As Draco struck his final note, the pain that he had eased came flooding back to him. Without moving he spoke in a quiet, defeated voice.

"How long have you been here?" She looked at him without moving. She wasn't surprised he knew she was there. Just nervous.

"Not long. It was beautiful," she said, quietly, "I never learned to play, but I always wanted to."

Draco looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"Come here," he said. Draco noticed she looked frightened lowered his head.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he added in a soft tone. She slowly rose and walked quietly over to the bench.

"Sit down." As he felt her next to him he took her hands and placed them on the keys. He noticed how warm they were and realized how cold his hands must be. The girl kept her shock of the blood on his hands and the keys quiet, for he didn't seem to think she would notice. Perhaps he had forgotten. Or perhaps he didn't care. Either way, she did as he instructed and played the part of the song he could not. Together the music was strong and complete. Draco felt the warmth of her fingertips seep through the keys and into his. It was a soothing sensation he didn't know he could even feel anymore. Because for what he has done, one cannot be human.

As she sat beside him, playing the simple part of the song while he played the more difficult, she realized that this was a side of Malfoy no one ever saw. He wasn't allowed to show it. This was too human for it to be allowed. As they finished the song, she reached her hand over to his and cautiously rested it there. He was cold, very cold. After a few uncertain seconds he pulled his hand away as if she had burned him. Something happened in that moment that she couldn't explain. He rose and left without looking back.
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Please read and review. Sorry if the format sucks, I dont know how to bold or italize anything in this editor, if you know, tell me in a review please!!

~Amanda