All These Things That I've Done

Ch. 1   Two Paths Diverged In a Lonely Wood



Harry’s eyes were beginning to grow heavy as he sat on guard duty outside their lonely little tent. He was oh so weary of camping now. As a child, he had always wanted to go camping, but the Dursleys would never dream of engaging in a pas-time that involved sleeping out of doors, and even if they had they would never have invited Harry along.



Admittedly, the first few days in the tent had been a sort of secret adventure for him. He pretended to himself that they were off on some fantasy adventure- perhaps out of some best selling muggle fantasy novel- rather than three real, very scared children on the run from a mad-man and his mad-wizard army! Now that the novelty had worn off however, Harry found himself irresistibly aggravated by the whole thing… and also irresistibly tired.



Harry was just about to stand and go in to wake Hermione for her shift on guard, when several things happened in very quick procession.



First, Harry’s scar seared with a white hot pain, worse than any he had felt in quite some time. He doubled over, and vomited on the spot, grabbing the fabric of the tent to hold himself steady. He felt the slew of visions and sounds as they pressed themselves into his unwilling mind.



A sprawling mansion that he immediately recognized as Malfoy Manor flew by beneath him. He could hear Voldemort’s high pitched laughter, and feel the cold satisfaction that only came when the monster was committing murder. He could hear a woman’s voice, shrill and terrified, as it begged with familiar words.



“Don’t kill him My Lord, please! Kill me instead! If  you must kill someone, please kill me!”



“Avada Kedavra!”



Harry saw the green flash, then he saw the fair blond form of Narcissa Malfoy fall lifeless to the marble floor.



Reality came rushing back into him, as Harry jerked upright… Just as he felt the tingle of a presence just outside their wards.



Feeling on edge from his jaunt into Voldemort’s mind, Harry drew his wand. He knew he should probably wake Ron and Hermione, but before this rational thought could completely take hold of him, Harry was off.



As he approached the borders of their magical barriers, he slowed to proceed with more caution. He could hear what sounded like a person stomping through the underbrush nearby, but the combination of darkness and the magic haze of the wards, meant he could see nothing more than two feet beyond the border.



Harry listened closely. Whoever the stranger was it was clear that they were limping by the dragging sound that accompanied every other step… and faintly, as if they were afraid the forest might be listening, Harry caught the sounds of broken sobs. Rather brought on by physical pain, or emotional turmoil, Harry no longer cared, it was all the inspiration he needed.



He rushed forwards, out of the boundaries of their protections, and he ran straight into the solid mass of a human form. The injured stranger, who was wearing a hood that completely obscured his face, toppled over backwards, then slowly began to back away from Harry, who immediately leaned down to help.



“It’s ok, I’m not going to hurt you! Are you alright.”



The stranger reached up, and yanked back his hood. If a Crumple-Horned Snorcack had appeared in front of Harry, he would have been less surprised.



“Do I bloody look alright Potter?”



Draco Malfoy was as pale as a ghost. He was bleeding profusely from a cut on his left cheek, and a wound that seemed from the blood stains to run the length of his left side. Though his voice sounded weak, he was glaring up at Harry with eyes full of pain, despair, and not an unrespectable amount of rage. He looked as if Harry could be either his savior, or yet another specter, sent to torment him.



As Harry gazed down in wonder and confusion he could almost feel the two courses of action before him as the diverged from one another. He realized that he should want to leave Draco bleeding and alone on the forest floor. He should want to retreat back inside the safety of the wards with one last scathing look and forget he had ever seen the Slytherin who was in so many way his foil… but he didn’t.



Instead he lowered his wand and took a slow step forwards.



“Actually Malfoy you look like cold shit, and you reek of dark magic, but I’ve just decided that I’m going to help your scrawny arse rather you want me to or not. Now are you going to cooperate like a good little Slytherin, or are you just going o lie there and bleed?”



Harry was proud of himself for that one. Even the prince of insults looked taken aback by his bluntness… for about half a second. Then his face drained of what was left of it’s color, his eyes drifted closed, and Draco Malfoy promptly passed out in the fallen leaves,.

Harry sighed,



“Not cooperate then.”



He said wearily, then he lifted his wand to levitate Malfoy’s body back to the tent. This was going to be hard to explain (especially given that Harry did not fully understand it himself) And Harry knew that there would be no rest for him that night. The path had been chosen, and whatever the consequences of the choice were to be, Harry knew he would have to follow the road  until it’s end.  











A.N.  Thanks for reading. I have the next chapter already in progress, (and the rest of the chapters will be considerably longer) but I wanted to see what reactions to this first one would be before posting, so you guys let me know what you think! I’m not afraid of constructive crit. In fact, I thrive on it! <3