Disclaimer: None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me.

Title: Always

Author: hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Their first order of business was to visit the spirit of Malfoy Manor, and Draco was very reluctant to bring Harry up to the spirit once more, considering what had occurred the last time they had paid a visit to the fateful room. However, after much cajoling from Harry – involving a few sneaky kisses – Draco led Harry up to the room. They paused a moment before opening the door into the room, staring at each other. Harry's eyes were determined, and Draco rolled his eyes in the face of his mate's determination. Taking a deep breath, Draco twisted the handle of the door and then pushed it open. Harry stepped in first.

The room was the same murky darkness as the first time they had entered it; it appeared empty and devoid of any spirit form. However, Harry closed his eyes and let his newfound awareness of magic encompass the room. He gasped in amazement at what he saw in his mind's eye. Draco's hand came to his shoulder and steadied him, making sure that Harry didn't get lost in his amazement.

The walls of the room were bathed in a brilliant white light, which centred in the middle of the ceiling and then spiralled down into the middle of the room. The pillar of light emitted small wisps of white smoke, which, like a fog, snaked across the floor. Harry let out an astonished laugh, and then, extending his hands, he instinctively called for his staff. It materialised in his hands, and then, suddenly, an impulse came over him. He gripped his staff strongly with both of his hands, and then raised the staff over his head. He heard Draco move uneasily behind him, but Harry ignored his mate, caught in the rush of instinct. Instead, he slowly lowered the staff to the ground, until it rested on the floor and Harry knelt down. Opening his eyes, Harry saw the spirit of Malfoy Manor standing in the middle of the room, where the spiral of white light had just been. The spirit looked terribly disgruntled at being forced to appear, but, as Harry realised, even something as powerful as the Manor was subject to the will of a staff that had been gifted by Lady Magic herself.

"That was very strong magic, Mr. Potter," The Manor rasped, stepping forwards. "And that is a very powerful weapon you hold."

"I'm still learning," Harry answered, stepping forwards to meet the Manor. "Can you tell me more about it?" he asked, holding out the staff. The Manor nodded, and Harry let go of his staff. The Manor stretched out his hands and the staff hovered in between them. There was a rustle behind Harry, and a look behind him revealed that Draco had unfurled his wings.

"You have been through much since you last saw me," the Manor observed, while he twirled the hovering staff with his fingers. The staff rotated in the air, and Harry could see the Manor's face scrunched up in concentration, as if what he was reading concerned him greatly.

"Yes," Harry replied without elaborating. The Manor knelt down and started examining the bottom of the staff, his look of intense concentration slowly disappearing into realisation. Harry waited.

"Lady Magic made an odd choice by choosing you to do her bidding here," the Manor said conversationally, breaking the silence. Draco moved to stand beside Harry, and spread his wings so that they extended behind Harry, providing a strong shield.

"What do you mean by that?" Draco asked the Manor. With a groan, the spirit stood up and looked at both Harry and Draco very seriously.

"I know what you did in the Wizengamot, and this staff only confirms what I could already surmise from your minds. What House Merlin made you do – that choice – could have been avoided. If I had been called forth, young Master Malfoy, I would have prevented him from doing such a drastic thing." The Manor's eyes fixed themselves onto Harry. "Sadly, the Malfoy Family is not that powerful." He chuckled mirthlessly. "Despite this, it was apparent that Lady Magic wanted you. I don't know for what reason she now interferes with the state of humanity. I will guess that it has something to do with what was in your head, young Mr. Potter," The Manor said, nodding towards Harry's forehead.

"Voldemort's soul?" Harry asked, looking worriedly at Draco. "What has that got to do with anything?"

"Above all, Lady Magic loves all magical beings – and by beings I mean creatures as well as humans. There has been such darkness in the Wizarding World recently. Look at Grindelwald," The Manor looked sad for a long moment, as if remembering past horrors. "However, Grindelwald sought to make himself immortal through the Deathly Hallows – the Elder Wand, the Invisibility Cloak and the Resurrection Stone – not through an act of magic so dark that it would split the very essence of his being, as Lord Voldemort has done. Grindelwald never tried to pretend that he was something he wasn't, and I truly believe that at his heart, Grindelwald was capable of love."

"What has love got to do with Voldemort?" Harry asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Are you aware that Voldemort was created from a love potion?" Draco and Harry glanced at each other. Harry nodded, remembering the words of Voldemort's soul. Draco shook his head, and Malfoy Manor turned to Draco to explain. "Voldemort's father was under the influence of a love potion when his mother became pregnant with him. As such, Voldemort is incapable of love; the very act that conceived him was at its heart a lie, and such a lie is an abomination of what Lady Magic ever intended to happen. Don't scoff at the power of love, young Master Malfoy," the Manor warned. "You of all people should be aware of the power that loving young Mr. Potter affords you." Harry blushed brilliantly. "As a Veela, love is integral to your very being, which is why you are one of Lady Magic's favoured creations."

"Are you saying that because one of Lady Magic's creations – the wizard in Voldemort – has violated what she sees as one of the most powerful magicks in the world – love – then he has to be destroyed?" Draco asked, sidling close to Harry and wrapping an arm around his mate's shoulders. Harry leant into the embrace instinctively.

"No, not destroyed. Never destroyed. That's why she chose you, Mr. Potter. At your heart –" at this, the Manor strode forward and placed his index finger on Harry's heart. "At the very heart of your being is this incredible capability to love and forgive, and I have seen it. Your family, if they can be called a family, treated you abominably in your childhood, but yet, and here lies the integral difference between you and Lord Voldemort, yet you have been kind."

"My parents loved each other!" Harry exclaimed. "That's the difference between him and me. It's nothing to do with our childhoods." Draco was looking askance at Harry, and Harry could feel a thread of irritation seeping through their bond. Harry knew that a talk was coming up.

"Oh Mr. Potter, it has everything to do with your childhoods. You're both as bruised and battered as each other, though I would argue that your childhood was worse because you were never the bully, only the bullied, and worse, the bullies were your family, and Voldemort's weren't." the Manor looked long and hard at the staff hovering in the air. "You both made a choice, and though Lord Voldemort cannot love, he could be kind. And so Lady Magic ordered House Merlin to send you to her. Though your choice was biased – life or death – it was a choice to go to her. She has seen the parallels between you and Lord Voldemort, and wants you to help him. If helping Lord Voldemort requires you to kill him, then you helped him."

"That's why Voldemort's soul asked me to ask Voldemort for remorse. He said that Voldemort had been good once, but years of injustice took their toll," Harry murmured in realisation, remembering the sadness that had poured off the grey soul.

"You must never excuse Voldemort from the evil he caused, simply because of a hard childhood," Draco said, shaking his head. He looked hard at the Manor. "Are you saying that because of the choices that Harry and the Dark Lord have made in their lifetimes, Lady Magic chose Harry to represent her, so that when the time finally came, Harry, as the channel of her will, will be able to offer Voldemort the remorse that his soul said he needed?"

"Yes, that is in essence what I am saying," the Manor said, nodding. "There are many differences, of course, between your mate's and Voldemort's upbringing. I'm not saying that your mate would have become Lord Voldemort. I am saying that Mr. Potter here is the closest that Lady Magic has managed to come to someone who could offer sincere remorse to Voldemort, and then understand if he refused it." The Manor closed his eyes. "Voldemort is in such great pain. Only such pain can turn into such evil." The Manor turend to look at the staff. "And this staff embodies that mission of yours, boy. It's mainly carved with runes of protection. You're here to protect people from ever becoming as twisted as Voldemort ever again. Don't forget that."

Harry took a deep breath, his head reeling with all the revelations that had just been given to him. It was almost too much for him to handle just then, and he crumpled to the floor and watched his staff hovering inches above the floor. Draco knelt down beside him, and his wings lay heavy on Harry's back, offering him the anchor that he desperately needed just then. He felt as if there was a raging storm in his mind, and only that heavy weight of Draco's wing stabilised him. After taking some very deep, calming breaths, Harry felt a sort of forced calm come over him, and knew that Draco was projecting his own feelings of calm onto Harry. Slowly, Harry absorbed Draco's feelings of calmness and was finally able to look at the Manor again.

"And Lady Magic, is she able to access my thoughts? She can speak into my mind."

"Lady Magic watches from above, boy," the Manor answered. "She sees everything that's out there, and will only speak to you when you need guidance or she sees that something needs to happen in a particular way. Trust yourself, though. You were chosen for a reason, boy." The Manor knelt down in front of Harry and looked at him. "You are strong, and stronger than you realise. Don't worry."

Harry found some form of courage in the fathomless eyes of the spirit of Malfoy Manor. There was something in the wisdom that Harry saw there, and the way he had spoken of Lord Voldemort reminded Harry that the Manor had seen inside Voldemort's mind. Harry nodded and let Draco pull him to his feet.

"Thank you," Harry whispered, bowing his head to the Manor.

"Child, the pleasure was all mine, I do assure you," the Manor answered, bowing at the waist and slowly fading away. Harry plucked the staff from the air and left the room clutching Draco's arm. Neither boy looked back.

A/N: What do you think of all of that? I hope it made sense, do tell me if it didn't. Or ask any questions if you need clarification.