Death's Curse Undone

Chapter 2 - Confrontation

Chapter 2 - Confrontation

Harry stood breathing heavily in the centre of the clearing that had formerly held Aragog's family.

The war was over. The repair of Hogwarts was well under way. He was in his 'eighth year' which meant he was to give his NEWTS at the end of the academic year. He was an intern in the Ministry's Auror Department alongside Ron. Kingsley had promised him the Head position as soon as he passed out. Hermoine was similarly an intern in Magical Law Enforcement and similarly poised to take up Madam Bones' position. On the home front, he had officially adopted Teddy Lupin who was currently living with Andromeda, his grandmother. He was engaged to Ginny Weasley. Ron had asked him to be his best man. George was finally on the way to recovery after Fred's death. Lee Jordan had joined him as his partner in WWW. The Death Eater trials had been concluded. Lucius Malfoy was behind bars. Narcissa and Draco were free, as they deserved to be. Draco was at school with him. He, himself, was often out of the school catching fleeing Death Eaters due to his intern position. All was well. Except for him.

Harry sighed and looked down at the ground. Despite what everyone believed, Harry DID have negative emotions. Anger. Hate. The need to lash out. This was where Harry came to exorcise those emotions now that so many people knew about the Room of Requirement. He smiled sourly. People were always eager to learn the counter-curses and anti-hexes he taught the DA (which had now been formally declared as the student branch of the Order) but no one ever thought to ask how he knew how to perform the curses and hexes, many of them Dark or verging on it, themselves. Harry knew. He knew because this was where he came to perform them.

Draco Malfoy fled to the Forbidden Forest, searching blindly for distraction. He'd made as few advances towards Harry as he could get away with and they had all been unthinkingly brushed off or gone unregistered; leaving him in an odd limbo. Worse, his mother had realised that he's met his bondmate and had been pestering him for the information. He'd finally told her and now was fleeing. Draco hesitated a moment at the fringes of the Forest and then plunged in. The Forest had always terrified him and now he needed to feel something, anything, other than this burning need for Potter. Hopefully, he thought, terror would suffice. He remembered how the giant Acromantula the Death Eater's had driven out of the Forest had terrified him. He decided to find the clearing that had been their home.

Draco stared, gasping, falling to his knees in submission, keening. He hadn't expected to find his mate here, his shields had been down. Harry heard a sound that didn't belong and cast a full Body Bind before he even registered who stood there. He walked over to the frozen boy. He meant to release him and apologise, he did; but his Dark side was too close to the surface. Draco closed his eyes. He meant to resist and deny, he did; but he didn't have any defences.