When Darkness Threatens - Moment by Moment Book #5 (Harry Potter, Drarry)

The Dark Prince's Aftermath

The burning of his scar settled, but magic still churned inside Harry, and he knew the aftermath of Draco's battle was going to be brutal.

"Look after Severus," he ordered Gripas.

The man looked down at him stupidly, but there was no time to waste on those already recovering, so Harry just scrabbled to his feet and dashed to the door. He found the handle more by accident than judgement and then staggered out into the corridor. Draco was stood between Tonks and Seamus, staring at the floor, his eyes wider than Harry had ever seen them, his face aghast and his breathing was coming in fast gasps. Tonks and Seamus were looking worried, but clearly did not understand the gravity of the situation; as yet, his lover was silent and white, but Harry could see and feel the storm behind his gaze ready to break out.

Harry closed the distance between them with a speed he didn't know he possessed and wrapped Draco in all the protection he had. His lover leant against him, unresisting, shock taking away any reaction for a few moments. Yet in the warmth of the embrace, something began slowly to show outwardly: a sound somewhere between a growl and a whine came out of Draco's throat, and fingers wrapped themselves tightly into Harry's clothing.

"Let it out," Harry encouraged as the conflict reminded him of the rune removal.

Draco began to shake, tremors going from nothing to violent in a heartbeat. The Dark Mark was a bitter spell to fight, and its barbs had bored deeply. Draco's magic convulsed, turning Harry's gut, and Draco's shudders ran in a wave through him and into Harry. The feeling of helplessness, which came with the knowledge of his lover's internal battle, was familiar to Harry, and he just held Draco as the consequences of the battle ran their course. Draco finally let out a bark of pain, but he choked on it and clung on more tightly to Harry.

"Don't fight it," Harry told his charge, trying to keep his tone strong and reassuring.

The cry that came from Draco then grew from the strangled whine into angry hurt. Clenched fists dug into his chest as Harry held Draco close, but they were insignificant compared with the tumult in Draco's magic. equilibriums had been challenged, and defences fought defences as the Dark Mark's retaliation was expelled. Draco buried his face into Harry's shoulder, muffling the cry, but it made it no less difficult to which to listen. Harry buried his own feelings by glaring at Severus, who had been helped into the corridor by Gripas and was leaning against the wall, cradling his arm like it had been broken: the ex-Death Eater just looked back, his normal calculating, self-protective demeanour broken by the actions of his one-time protégé.

Harry was so intent on Severus, and so used to the tension in his lover, that when the latter fell away, it took his a second to notice. Draco became a dead weight in his arms, and Harry's knees nearly gave out as he failed to compensate quickly enough. Yet there were people all around them: Seamus, Tonks, Gripas, and they were more alert. Seamus and Tonks grabbed for Draco and Harry was hauled away from his boyfriend by the hefty resistance fighter. He was quickly installed against the wall next to Severus, and left to regain his own balance as Marcus went to help their companions, who were lowering an unmoving Draco to the floor.

"He's alright," Tonks looked up at Harry and spoke very clearly once her charge was lying on the ground, "just passed out."

"What the hell happened?" Gripas demanded, while shoving a hastily removed sweater under Draco's head.

"Draco did something to the Dark Mark," Harry spoke only as the hostile man's glare came to rest on him, forcing him to concentrate past the worry that Tonks had tried to head-off. "Then it attacked him."

"So why did he mess with that demon of a spell?" it was Seamus who spoke this time, appearing to agree with Marcus.

Harry really didn't have an answer, his brain was still trying to handle the what, let alone the why.