Everything Remains

Chapter 21- Evil is as Evil Does

*TW: gore and pain*

It's been a few weeks since Draco was admitted to the hospital wing. The curse breakers from the ministry were there attending to him daily, not having any luck. 
Draco's condition continued to worsen. He was weaker, not sleeping well, he could barely eat. His eyes looked sunken in, his skin dull and lifeless. The curse was getting stronger, sucking any life out of Draco that he has left. 
Harry hasn't left his side, of course. Worried sick about this predicament. Hermione and Ron have searched through hundreds of books in the library to see if there is anything they can work off of, and they haven't found anything yet. 
'What kind of sick bitch would want to do this to their own nephew?' Harry pondered one afternoon, biting on his lower lip. He was looking rough as well, having been taking care of Draco and not himself. 
Harry was sitting in an armchair, a few feet from Draco's bed to let the curse breakers work. 
Every time they tried something new, it seemed as though Draco ceased to exist. His embodiment was gone and shrouded by... something or someone else? 
Harry had just started to notice this in the past week. He studied Draco for changes whenever the curse breakers cast a spell or used some magical instrument on the cursed scar. 
Harry focused intently on Draco. With each poke and prod, Draco's face contorted, skewing into a figure that wasn't quite his own. His voice didn't even sound like his voice, a huskier, deeper tenor came out of his mouth instead. It was strange to witness, and even more troubling to think about what it implies.

Hermione was with Harry and Draco that day, wanting to see this strange abnormality for herself. To make sure that Harry wasn't just projecting or seeing things due to exhaustion. 
The curse breakers hovered over Draco, one of them placing their wand tip against the scar and muttering some enchantment. Sure enough, Draco's face contorted, his features flattening and becoming more serpent like. His voice was deep as he moaned and groaned against the pain. 
Harry suddenly shot up from his chair and pulled Hermione by the arm into the hallway. 

"Harry! What? I wanted to keep watching and understand more." 
"Hermione. What if that curse is more in depth than we realized? What if the curse is almost... a pseudo-horcrux? You see it, he doesn't even look like himself. Like he's being taken over by some other being... What if she cursed him with... something to do with Voldemort?" 
Harry was shaking, the realizations and ideas flooding his brain were becoming too much. 
"What if that's why it's like his body is a host for something else? The sicker he gets, the more he looks and sounds and acts differently?!" Harry was panicking now.
"Hold on, hold on. Let me think..." Hermione began to pace. "We know it can't be a full horcrux, because Voldemort is dead. But you're right, it seems like there is something else, some other being inside of him. And it isn't a full horcrux of Bellatrix either, she's dead too. But if it is some pseudo-horcrux curse, then would curing it be similar to ridding the earth of a regular horcrux?" 
"Like with a basilisk fang or the sword of Gryffindor?" Harry asked. 
"Exactly. Maybe... and this will sound absolutely mad. But maybe, if we use something like that against the curse, it will free him?" 

"But what about the Black motto? Is that a farce then?" 
"Maybe we need to combine it all together. Maybe.. to override this curse, we need to... carve 'toujours pur' over the scar, with a basilisk fang or the sword?" 
"That sounds insane, Hermione. Even coming from someone as brilliant as you." 
"I KNOW. I know. But, I was reading something in the library while on my search for a cure. It was in a really old book about curses, of course. There was a few chapters on similar curses in the 1800s, but in much, much smaller cases. Kids used to do a sort of curse where they would write a word, say 'loser', onto someone's arm with their wand. And the word 'loser' would appear in bigger, bolder letters on the kids' forehead. To break the spell, the kid afflicted would have to neutralize it with a kind word. It's vastly different, but it's the only lead we really have." Hermione explained, her brain working on overdrive. 
"I agree, it is the only lead we have. But what if it doesn't work? What if it makes things worse?" Harry asked, eyes watering. 
"I don't know. But we're at the point now where if we do or don't try it, we risk losing him either way." 
Harry gulped down a breath, mulling over her words. 
"Get Ron. I'll try to talk to Draco once the curse-breakers are gone. I doubt they would want us to try anything like this, so we need to be careful." 
"I'll get him."
"Wait, what about a basilisk fang or the sword?" 
"Well... once we got back to school this year, I made my way back down to the chamber of secrets, like I had during the war. I gathered some more fangs, just in case. You never know when you might need one, apparently." Hermione smiled weakly at her feeble attempt at humor. 
"Hermione, you truly are brilliant. Meet me back here in an hour. They should be gone by then."

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The curse breakers had just barely left, saying their goodbyes and sorrys. Draco seemed weaker than before, resting with his eyes closed on the bed. The sun was setting behind the hills, the beams of light cascading over the marble floor. Hermione hadn't shown up with Ron just yet, which gave Harry enough time to let Draco know the plan. 
"Drac? Are you awake?" 
"Mmhmm."
"Uh.. we have a plan. A really good one, I think." 
Draco opened his eyes slowly and looked at Harry. "What plan would that be? Smothering me with my pillow to get it over with?" 
Harry rolled his eyes, "Hermione and I talked and we came up with a plan that we think may be the key to curing you. But... it's harsh. And it isn't going to be pleasant."
"Yes, because all the treatments I've gone through so far have been a vacation on the beach." 
"Save the angst, that's my job." Harry explained the situation and how they came to that type of conclusion to Draco, answering questions as best he could.