The Right Choice

A/N Well I got my first review after reposting. Yay! This story is complete but it is under going a major rewrite so it may take a little while for chapters to be posted. I am keeping a log of all my stories and where they currently are on my profile page. At present I am concentrating on The Right Choice and hope to be able to complete the rewrite shortly.

Draco was a crumpled heap on the floor. Once he had reached his mind's limit on Crucio The Dark Lord had switched to more obvious slicing hexes and then giving up on his wand entirely and just started kicking his face and abdomen. His body was a bloody mess and his face was swollen and painful. Lord Voldemort sat in a high back chair, his legs crossed in front of him with an elbow resting on the arm of his chair, waiting for Draco to come around. He noticed the small changes in the prone body as Draco returned to consciousness. He got up and crouched next to the bloody heap on the floor.

"Time to get up, my sweet, you have some work to do." Draco slowly began to come back to himself and instantly regretted it as pain racked his body. He let out a groan, no longer having the strength or will to control his actions, and looked up to face his tormentor. "Ah, there is that beautiful face!" Voldemort stroked down his cheek with one finger, Draco tried to react but couldn't bring together the energy to do anything but glare. "Now, now, no need for that. We had best make you presentable." he got up and crossed the room to Draco's supply of robes. He grabbed one out of the closet and threw it over the naked body on the floor. He walked back over to Draco and grabbed his arm, hauling him up off the floor. "Come now, my sweet, we have to make a good impression on your lover, mustn't we?" Lord Voldemort let out a belly laugh as Draco tried to drag the robe around his body, ashamed. Voldemort pulled him towards the door and dragged him out into the corridor.

He stumbled along the corridor, Voldemort pulling him along, his nails digging into Draco's flesh. Anyone in the corridor quickly made themselves scarce quickly, hoping to not bring his wrath down upon them when he was done with Draco. The eventually got to the plain door behind which Harry was imprisoned. Draco had nothing left, he was near passing out again, he could hardly see and he could feel more blood running down his arm but still he tried to fight. He couldn't let Harry see him like this, beaten, bruised and barely covered, he couldn't allow him to see how badly it had all gone wrong. His struggling did nothing but make The Dark Lord laugh again before he pushed open the door and threw Draco in, following after.

Harry was sitting down in one of the high backed chairs, having drifted off to sleep from exhaustion. Not that sleep had been very refreshing as his mind refused to switch off, suppling him with visions of the future he didn't want to comprehend, he saw long black hair, sorrow and hared. He awaken suddenly as the door to his cage was slammed. He stood quickly and turned around, his hand instantly going for the absent wand holder at his hip. The tall figure in the doorway was hidden in shadow but he didn't need light to know who stood there. A shot of pain struck his forehead as his scar reacted to the presence in front of him. Harry controlled his reaction to the pain slightly and tried to close down the link between them. He had quiet a bit of practise over the years but it took a lot of effort still.

"Hello Tom and what can I do for you today? Another proposal? Let me save you the bother. Fuck off." Voldemort threw his head back and laughed. It was one of the most hollow sounds Harry had ever heard, it pierced through his chest, making his heart vibrate in his chest.

"Really Harry, do you not even want to hear my offer, believe me it has changed quite unexpectedly." He reached down to a black shape on the floor and walked forward out of the shadow. It was only then that Harry saw him, hanging by his hair from Voldemort's hand. The robe that had covered him had fallen away as he was lifted and Harry could see every bruise and cut standing out against his white porcelain skin, he had been pale before but with the loss of blood he looked almost transparent, he was barely conscious and could only open one eye, the other had been swollen shut. Voldemort threw him down to Harry's feet and started laughing again. His fists clenched together trying to contain his emotions. He couldn't look down, if he did he would break he would forget everything just to comfort him, be with him, so he kept his eyes forward, staring down into the empty pits of Voldemort's eyes.

"I see no change in your offer, Tom. Piss off." Harry desperately wanted to turn around, it would be easier to take if he could see Draco out of the corner of his eye, but he knew he couldn't, couldn't turn his back on Voldemort and he couldn't chose not to see his broken lover on the floor.

"Really, Harry. Well if he means so little to you..." Voldemort got out his wand and began to twirl it between his fingers before appointing it at Draco. "Aveda..."

"No!" Harry's control snapped as he reacted on instinct, falling to the floor, covering Draco's body with his own, covering his head with his hands. The wand moved slightly to release the half formed spell against the back wall of the room. Draco finally lost consciousness completely.

"Perhaps not so little after all?" Harry looked up at the Dark Lord.

"What the hell do you want from me?!" He couldn't keep the exasperated, exhausted edge from his voice. Voldemort swept his robes away and sat gracefully in a chair.

"I want your child…" Harry interrupted.

"So you want me to join your breeding scheme? Fine, ok! You win! Just please leave him alone!"

"Oh no, dear Harry. That offer has expired. You see I had a little bet with myself, I bet myself that your little bleeding heart would melt the moment Draco came to you with his perfect family romance he has been dreaming up and that you would fall upon him with open arms, forgiving him all your past woes, sooooooo romantic! Had you forgiven him you would have rode off into the sunset and that would have been the end, call me an old softy if you will but I do loovvvee a happy ending." Harry scowled and snorted. "Unfortunately for you, you are not the kind forgiving fool I thought you were. Now the price of your freedom is much higher." Draco started to stir slightly and Harry pulled him towards his lap. "Of course the price now includes your true love's life, but I didn't need to mention that, now did I?" Harry looked down at Draco's face and shook his head. "Good, good…"

"Just tell me what it is you want, will you?!"

"Temper, temper, Harry, I'm getting their. I require, from you, an heir." Harry looked dumbstruck for a second."

"What do you mean, an heir? You want to… No, not on your life, there is no way I would let you touch me! Never! Fuck off you perverted bastard! I would rather die!" Voldemort started laughing again.

"Oh no, my sweet, I don't think it is your life you would be bargaining with." Harry looked down at the beaten face, resting on his lap. Tears began to well up in his eyes but he blinked them away and tried to think rationally. It was impossible, there was nothing rational about this. Yesterday he had though that he could give up, give up on life, on love but he knew now that it was impossible. He could perhaps give up on his life but he couldn't give up on Draco's.

"...I ... I don't know. I can't…"

"Please relax, my dear Harry, this particular bargain has nothing to do with you sharing my bed… Although I am sure I could accommodate. Perhaps Draco could join us, once he has recovered, of course!" Voldemort began laughing again as a horrified look once again warped Harry's face. "You are so expressive, Harry, how can you ever hide anything when exactly what you are thinking covers your face? It is so much fun to toy with you." Harry tried to interrupt again but he was cut off. "So back to business.… You will bare for me a Malfoy child, it will be my heir and then you can disappear into the distance in a cloud of love and romance." Voldemort paused for a moment to properly observe the changes on Harry's face. At present he was speechless, looking down at the body in his lap. He decided to drop another bomb. "Now who is bartering with their children?" Harry looked up in horror "Did you really think I wouldn't have been listening to the two of you? Watching my little concubine scheme was one of the most enjoyable parts of his tenure, after his pretty body of course… oh and the screaming, I do like the screaming" Voldemort appeared to go off on a tangent for a moment before coming back to the room. "I do have to thank him though, giving me the perfect torture for you, sacrificing your child for your own life, what would you parents say? I think dear old Dumbledore would approve, however, he always applauded to sacrifice of children for the greater good, didn't he Harry?" Voldemort threw his head back and laughed again. Harry was still struck dumb, unable to say anything in defence of either his mentor or himself. "There will, of course, will be other conditions but they can wait until after I have my child. Just little things, you know, like restrictions on your magic, where you can go, who you can see, that kind of thing." He looked like a business man, negotiating some insignificant little deal, instead of the executioner his words belayed. "I'll leave you two to discuss my little proposal but remember there is always a time limit on every transaction. I suppose if Draco is not amenable I could always get Lucius to do it, he is always accommodating and the blood is the same." Voldemort got up and crossed the small distance between himself and Harry in one stride. He ran his finger down the side of Harry's face. "And I doubt he would give up the chance to take such a delicious morsel to his bed." Harry turned away, choking back tears that threatened to fall as his eyes welled up. "I will return shortly for your answer. Ta ta, Harry, my dear." with that he left the room with a flourish of robes and laughter.

A/N Well I can actually say that there is not a single word remaining from the original of this chapter! And seeing as I have changed this entire scenario the next chapter won't be much better! It has also doubled in length so it can't be all me