Summary (story): Eighteen months have passed since the conclusion of 'Krum Do I Love?' Our young heroes are
a week away from the end of their seventh year at Hogwarts, or at least most of them are. Draco Malfoy had gone
missing barely a month after he and Hermione became a couple. Now, he is found among an army led by Voldemort -
the very same army that plans to raid Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the end-of-the-year feast.
Has Draco really become a Death Eater? Has Hermione truly gotten over him? What is Harry going to do about
everything that's happening, and what will become of the school?

Summary (Chapter): Harry has become a regular fighter for justice, when he encounters an unexpected opponent -
Draco Malfoy. Trusting that the boy, whom he hadn't seen for a long time would not harm him, Harry becomes injured
and forced to withdraw from the battle. Beaten, he returns to Hogwarts to find that everybody there has a plan to keep
him inside the castle walls. Will their plans work, or will they just bring on his destruction? In the best of tradition, the
chapter ends with a nasty cliffhanger. Be warned.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers
including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No
money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Note & Dedications:
Dedicated to Shai Levinhar, may he rest in peace.

Thanks to betas at the bottom.

Draco Falore

by yael
 
 

Chapter 1
Old Nemesis
 

Come to me, my sweet;
Put your head in my lap.
I will love you forever and a day
in a gold-made trap.

Stay by my side until the day you die;
For, in truth - this you can tell,
If you ever try to leave, my sweet,
Your life will be a living hell.

Harry edged his way along the black castle wall. He had been in this place many times and had the scars to show for
every one of them. Obviously, the Death Eaters who swarmed inside always came off worse, but still, the thought of
what was waiting for him in there made his skin crawl.

'Who's there?'

The voice, coming from the deep darkness, brought back memories of a friend long lost. Of course, this place offered
no friends. Harry stood very still, hoping that whoever this was, would think he'd been imagining things.

'Show yourself!' The other wizard called.

Harry felt a chill travel down his spine. This man sounded so much like Draco... A beam of light flickered in the air
and then landed directly on Harry's face. The blinding white in the otherwise perfect blackness pained his eyes. He
tried to stare through it, but could not see the wizard casting it.

'Potter,' the other wizard drawled, lowering his lit wand a little.

Harry could only gape. Thousands of thoughts ran through his head - questions he'd been bothered with for a year
and a half; cries of great joy for a resurfacing soul mate; horrible, horrible curses he wanted to cast. He was unable
to utter any of them.

'Potter, quit staring,' Draco said. 'You look like that brainless girl Parkinson, only she's got better hair.'

Mindlessly, Harry reached for his unruly hair and brushed it out of his eyes. 'Where have you been?' he finally
managed to say.

Draco's lip curled up in a sneer. 'Where do you think? I was helping Father serve our Master, who is here, by the
way, waiting for you.'

'Voldemort?' Harry asked in disbelief. 'You are not his follower. Last time I saw you, you were seriously dating a
Muggle-born witch. You know, she was a wreck when you first disappeared. She wept over you for long weeks;
didn't eat. She even neglected her studies. Would you believe Hermione didn't open a book for two months?'

Draco shifted his weight, trying to hide the chill that went through him. He seemed heart-broken, but was it for the
pain he had put her through, or because she had recovered? 'The stupid Mudblood is not your main concern now,
Potter. I suggest you flee before it's too late.'

'I came here to put an end to the murders,' Harry said. 'I know Voldemort is planning to raid Hogwarts during the
Seventh Year leaving feast. I'm not going to let that happen.'

'You and what army?' Draco laughed dryly. 'The only thing that will come to an end if you stay will be your life. He's
got all his top Death Eaters surrounding him now. You'll have to fight over fifty people before you can even go into
his chambers. You think you can do that? Even if you do, you think you'll have enough magic left to duel the strongest
Dark wizard ever to walk the earth?'

Harry lowered his eyes to the ground, feeling the blood rushing to his face. Had he been a dragon, he'd have
probably spat fire at that moment.

'You're that vain?' Draco continued, moving aside. 'Then by all means, be my guest. Barge right in and rid us of your
cursed existence.'

Harry did something he hadn't bothered to do in nearly two years of fighting Death Eaters. He pulled out his wand. If
Draco was telling the truth, he'd need his magic as concentrated as he could get it. Giving the newly discovered traitor
one last sidelong glance, he sped forward.

Draco waited until Harry turned his back to him, and then leapt after the charging boy. In the best of the Slytherin
tradition, he jabbed his wand in the surprised boy's ribs and leaned very close to his ear. 'Don't make a move,' he
hissed, leaning closer still. 'Not like you, Potter, to leave the guard conscious. Big mistake.'

'Don't do this, Malfoy,' Harry said. 'I don't want to hurt you.'

'How conceited you've become,' Draco spat. 'Considering that I'm the one with the wand.' He traced Harry's jawline
with its tip.

'If you're really Voldemort's servant, why am I still standing?' Harry said. 'You could have cursed me a dozen times
by now.'

'Eh, I want to make sure you don't have any wards that will make it backfire,' Draco stammered.

Harry's shoulders sagged. He was counting on that protective enchantment to get him out of the situation he had so
stupidly put himself into. How could he trust someone who had disappeared without trace the very same day his
Muggle-born girlfriend was found critically injured? What made him think the betraying boy would just let him go
by undisturbed?

'I can't get through this ward,' Draco said through gritted teeth. 'Seems like we have a dead-lock.'

'Not quite,' Harry said, standing up a little straighter. He turned rapidly around and held his wand forward at the exact
moment Draco found a weakness in the spell defending the dark-haired boy.

'Expelliarmus!' they both shouted as one.

Harry was blown backwards, but managed to keep a hold on his wand. He used it to extinguish the smoke that
engulfed his chest.

Draco's wand lay beside its barely conscious owner. Both were several feet from their original position. Draco raised
his head and watched his opponent trying to sit up. A satisfied smile spread on his lips as Harry's face contorted with
pain.

Harry closed his eyes and tried again, but the harsh truth was beginning to become very clear. While he hadn't
sustained any permanent damage, he was in no condition to face hundreds of Death Eaters. One platinum-blonde rat
had disabled him even before the battle had started. He watched the light head drop back to the ground and fought
the urge to blast it into oblivion.

Lazily, he cast a pain-killing spell on himself. He knew that it would make him even less fit to fight, but the day was
already lost. Scrambling to his feet, he prepared to use a Portkey back home. 'I hope you're satisfied,' he said,
kneeling beside Draco and reaching to grab his arm. 'I'm taking you with me to Hogwarts.' Before he touched him,
though, the prone boy disappeared.

Harry got up and, cursing passionately, activated his Portkey. A moment later, he was gone as well.

'Harry! Thank God you're safe!' Hermione put her arms around him and covered his face with kisses. 'What
happened?' she asked, keeping his mouth too busy to answer. 'You didn't find You-Know-Who?'

'I found him,' Harry said, pushing her slightly away. 'I couldn't reach him, though. I had trouble with one of his guards
before I could get anywhere close.'

Hermione frowned and took a step back, examining his disturbed features. All the while she and Ron were waiting
for him, she had been worried about his confrontation with the Dark Lord. She had been pacing the common room
until she nearly wore a hole in the carpet, and when she saw him walk in - he never got back from his solo vengeance
tours this early...

'One guard?' Ron asked, his voice conveying more worry than his face. 'One Death Eater never stopped you before.'

'This was someone special,' Harry said. 'I wasn't expecting... I didn't think he would...' He took a deep breath.
'You'd better sit down.'

His voice was so deeply sad that Hermione just sat on the carpet in front of him. Ron joined her, putting an arm
around her shoulder.

'This is someone I - we know well,' Harry said. 'He's - I thought he was dead.'

'Who?' Ron asked.

'I talked to him,' Harry went on, ignoring Ron's question. 'He seemed different. I still didn't think he'd attack me. I
tried to walk away...'

'Who?' Hermione nearly shouted.

'Draco.'

It was fortunate that Ron had an arm around Hermione, because he used it to support her when she fainted. Harry
touched her softly above her chest, muttering a reviving spell. He regretted it when she jumped off the floor, waving
her fists in the air.

'The lying filthy, cheating -' Hermione began yelling. One of her fists caught Harry off-guard in the jaw. 'I'm sorry!'
she said, trying to take the hurt boy's hand off his face to examine the damage. Tears began rolling down her cheeks.
'I didn't mean -'

'It's all right,' Harry said. 'Calm down.'

'Calm down?' she yelled. 'Calm down? I thought he was dead! Wait till I get my hands on him. He'll regret that he
isn't!'

Harry touched the spot above her chest again. 'I had to do it,' he said apologetically, supporting Hermione's limp
body.

'Absolutely,' Ron said, helping him get her to one of the overstuffed chairs. 'She would have hurt herself otherwise.'
He glanced at the red mark her fist left on Harry's jaw. 'Or someone else.'

Harry grimaced, glad that the pain-killing spell was still working. 'You think I shouldn't have told her?'

'She would have found out sooner or later.'

'I don't know,' Harry said, flopping into a chair next to Hermione. 'How do you think she'll cope with it? It's like
losing him for the second time. You should have seen him, wearing Voldemort's black uniform, ready to defend his
master.' He didn't notice the shiver going through Ron. 'He's a real Death Eater. A true servant of the dark forces.'

'He's a Malfoy,' Ron said. 'It was only a matter of time. I don't know how Hermione could be with him, it was so
obvious he would eventually turn.'

'You think she's still in love with him?'

'Are you mad?' Ron sputtered. 'She's with you now. You've already got an apartment in Hogsmeade. You're moving
in together next week.'

'I know,' Harry said, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes and then doing the same for the unconscious girl next to
him. 'Still...'

'You were supposed to protect him!' Sirius roared. 'Not give him the means to go face-to-face with Voldemort!'

'I didn't do that,' Lee said uncertainly. 'Harry was determined to go chase You-Know-Who, so I gave him a Portkey
that would help him get out fast if he needed to. He would have gone anyway.'

'You don't know that!' Sirius said. His face was burning with the passion of his words and his hands were clenched in
two enormous fists that were ready to strike the younger man at any moment. 'And now he used that Portkey. Who
knows what kind of trouble he's in.'

'No point in yelling at Lee,' Remus said, putting a calming hand on Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius turned to him, his rage ready to burst in any possible direction. 'He was supposed to make sure Harry didn't do
something as stupid as this! Those were his orders.'

'Well, you'd better set your anger on the one who gave those impractical orders,' Remus said, not yielding before his
commander's outburst. 'He is Harry Potter. There's no stopping him once his mind is set. Certainly not by a single
wizard.' He gestured to Lee.

Sirius sat down heavily. 'You're right,' he said, blowing out what little air was left in him. 'I shouldn't have told him
about the planned attack. He thought he was going to save the entire school.'

'You wanted him to be prepared,' Lee said. 'You wanted him to be ready to defend himself the very moment he
becomes a certified wizard. You couldn't have known that's how he'd react.'

'Oh yes I could,' Sirius said. 'That's what he always does. Every time he knows something is going to happen, every
time he thinks he can find Voldemort, he considers it his destiny.'

'So do many others,' Remus said quietly.

'He's just a child.'

'No, he's not,' Remus said. 'He's a grown man. Free to use magic as he pleases in one week. He makes his own
choices, and all you can do is try and help him. What Lee did was the only option.'

Sirius jumped off the chair and strode toward the door.

'Where are you going?' Remus asked. Sirius' determination worried him much further than his anger had earlier.

'I'm choosing the other only option. I'm going to stun him until this is all over.'

'Yes, that will help Harry defend himself.'

'Getting himself killed won't help either,' Sirius said. 'Our job is to take care of him, and that's exactly what I'm going
to do.

Remus watched Sirius striding away and sighed. 'Better catch him from behind,' he said to his back, 'or he's not the
one who's going to end up stunned.'

Draco kneeled, his head bowed down so low that his hair swept the floor. Although the windows were open and
allowed the starlight to enter the room, it was still darker than the night outside. The darkness was crawling out of
one figure at its centre. Draco raised his head slightly, ready to heave himself off the ground.

'Stay exactly where you are,' Voldemort hissed at him. 'I haven't yet given you permission to stand in my presence.'

Lucius moved slightly away from his master and put his foot on his son's shoulder. His cloak brushed half of Draco's
grovelling body.

'Why are you here without Potter?' Voldemort asked. It seemed like smoke was coming out of his slit-like nostrils.

'He got away,' the boy on the floor said. 'I tried to stop him, but he apparated away or used a Portkey, or some
similar spell. I came here immediately after, to warn you.'

'Warn me of what?' Voldemort's voice was that of a thousand angry snakes. 'I don't need to be warned of that boy.'

'Of course not, Master,' Draco hurried to say. 'I wanted to tell you that Potter escaped and we need to conceive a
different plan to capture him.'

'We?' Voldemort sneered. 'I don't remember you or your father ever doing anything useful. I don't know why I
keep you here.'

'My lord,' Lucius choked. 'We are both but your lowly slaves. We would die in your service.'

'That you shall,' Voldemort said, turning his back on the pair. His cloak swirled around him; a delayed reaction
that spread the blackness further in the already lightless room. He tossed something into the silver fireplace, and its
flames roared, green as a Common Welsh dragon. Without moving into the fire, and without as much as a tiny
popping sound, the Dark Lord was gone.

'Get up,' Lucius said, his voice oddly soft. He stretched out his arm and helped his son to his feet.

Draco's face was red from keeping his head lowered for so long. His bloodshot eyes were welled with tears of
exertion.

'The Dark Lord was merciful,' Lucius went on. 'That was a very simple plan you managed to spoil, and it's not the
first time either. Are you sure you're with us in heart?'

The blood ran out of Draco's face, taking every trace of colour with it. 'Of course I am, Father,' he said. 'Haven't I
done enough to prove it? Haven't I left Hogwarts to go to Durmstrang? Haven't I tried to kill that Mudblood girl you
wanted dead?'

'Tried!' Lucius roared. 'And failed. Like you failed today.'

'You were there, Father,' Draco said. 'You saw the life spell say she was dead.'

'The spell you cast, Draco,' Lucius said, his voice sounding sad. 'All the more reason to suspect you.' He paced
towards the fireplace and stopped. The flames, back to their normal red and blue, were beginning to die down.
Deep cold was creeping into the room, like an unnoticed thief. With a wave of his wand and a muttered word, Lucius
made the fire burn anew. 'You got your licence to practice magic two weeks ago,' he said, turning back to face his
son. 'In this time you served our master well with small errands and second-rate assignments. The first time you get
an important task, you disappoint him, and you disappoint me. I don't know if you will ever be initiated into his inner
circle now. This will also damage my status, but that is not what's important now. He turned his back to Draco again,
his fingers interlaced behind him. 'Make no mistake. The next time you fail, you will die, and there is nothing I can
do to change that.'

'Harry, sit down. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?'

Harry leaned against Dumbledore's desk and tried to catch his breath. He did not plan to go there, but that's where
his feet took him. That's where they always seemed to take him when he felt lost, and at this time he was more
desperate then ever. He refused the proffered chair and stood very close to the headmaster, trying to ignore all the
other eyes that were staring at him; the eyes of the non-sleeping past headmasters and headmistresses, and the eyes
of Severus Snape, leering at him from the innermost shadows of the office.

'Snake got your tongue?' Snape sneered.

'No,' Harry said. 'I came to talk to Professor Dumbledore. Maybe it's a bad time.'

'Of course it's a bad time,' Snape said. 'Look at the clock. It says bad time.' He pointed at the clock hanging above
the barely-lit grate. Its one handle actually showed exactly what he had said. 'Didn't you consider that the headmaster
might be asleep now?'

'He's never asleep,' Harry said with the utmost seriousness.

'Come now,' Dumbledore said with a laugh. 'I do sleep occasionally. Though, not these days, I'm afraid.' His
expression turned grave. 'There hasn't been a planned attack on Hogwarts in decades. We have to be prepared.'

'I went to Atrox today,' Harry began. 'I met -'

'What?' Snape jumped out of his seat. 'Are you trying to get yourself expelled with only one week of school left?'
There was a glint of victory in his black eyes. 'Well, seems like you've done it this time,' he said with a shadow of a
gloating smile. 'You were not allowed off the school grounds, and You-Know-Who's headquarters is certainly
outside this school. Hand over your wand.'

Harry took his wand out of his pocket, but held it tightly, making it very clear that he wasn't about to give it up. He
stood still as a lion's statue while Snape edged his way towards him.

'Oh, relax Severus,' Dumbledore said. 'Sit down, both of you.' He got out of his own chair and circled his desk.
The other two kept staring at each other, the black turmoil in one's glare getting steadily closer to the green fire in the
others' eyes. 'I said sit!' Dumbledore raised his voice in a rare gesture. Both were startled enough to obey.

'Good,' Dumbledore said. 'Severus, you may be the staff member in charge tonight, but I'm still the headmaster.'
He turned his attention to his student. 'Now Harry, what did you see that made you come here at this time and in
this state?'

Most of the portraits showed people fast asleep, but those that weren't craned their necks to better hear the answer.
A past headmaster named Hymenoptera even tried to move to a nearer position, but was pushed out by a fat
headmistress who wasn't willing to share her frame with him.

'Draco Malfoy,' Harry said.

'Impossible!' Snape leaped to his feet once again.

Dumbledore turned to him like a hungry tiger smelling its prey. 'One more comment and you will have to leave us,' he
said without a hint of his usual benign tone.

'Yes, Headmaster,' Snape took a step back. 'I'm sorry. I won't interrupt again.'

'How did you find him?' Dumbledore said, looking back to Harry. 'Is he well? Probably not, after being in captivity for
so long,' he added sadly.

'I only wish,' Harry said. 'He gave me this.' He put his hand through the burned hole in the cloak he was wearing. In
his hurry, he hadn't even stopped to change.

'What are you suggesting?' Dumbledore asked, his frown growing so deep that his eyes were barely visible in
between the wrinkles of his face.

'I'm not suggesting anything,' Harry said. 'I'm telling you: he's turned. He works for Voldemort now. He told me that
himself, and when I didn't believe him, he tried to kill me.'

'Did he use the killing curse?' Snape asked. Dumbledore pursed his lips at him, but said nothing.

'No,' Harry said. 'He used a disarming spell first, but look at the power he was putting behind it.' He pulled up the
scorched edge - the result of Draco's spell.

'I suppose he thought you were trying to attack him,' Snape said.

'I had my back to him,' Harry said, his voice shivering slightly. 'I used to think he was dead. I kept wishing I were
wrong. Now I think he might have been better off if I were right.'

Dumbledore moved back behind his desk, causing Hymenoptera to nearly fall out of his frame. 'There isn't much we
can do about Draco. If this is truly the path he had chosen, then he now belongs to the other side of this war. We
will fight him exactly like we fight any other Death Eater.'

'What if he's under Imperius?' Snape asked.

'I don't believe Voldemort really uses this curse to get his soldiers,' Dumbledore said, 'but to give him the benefit of
the doubt, we'll cast Finite Incantatem on him before we use any other curse, but only if it's possible without risking
any lives. I wouldn't put high hopes on it, though.'