Title: The Other Side of the Veil
Author: J. Myst
Rating: Who knows? Who cares?
Pairings: Draco/Harry, Ron/Hermione, Sirius/Remus
WARNING: ^ Slash, duh! ^
A/N: In all my Harry Potter stories I use the same OCs, none of them will have 'romantic situations' with the original cast, so bear with me, please?
Summary: Sirius is dead, or is he? Draco knows… but what's his game?
This Story is Dedicated to all those who like the pairings I've listed above and were as torn up about the fifth books deceased as I was. This is my attempt to solace the aching hearts of a lost slash pairing.
Chapter One
Through the Rabbit HoleDraco Malfoy lay facedown in his bed at the Malfoy Manor. He was, to say the least, humiliated. His father had been taken away and Draco had just been returned to a normal state after being a slug for the past eight hours.
He was a little relived that his father wasn't there to witness that disgusting display, he would have gotten a beating worse than the one he had received last year…
Draco was pretty pissed off at the moment, he didn't even do anything to the damned golden boy and he was attacked from all sides.
Leave it to Potter to have his whole frickin' fan club attack an innocent bystander when for all they knew he could have just been walking past… yeah right… Draco knew that that wasn't right, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't have said anything particularly nasty to Potter. Not to mention a curse or two, but still… really now…
^ ^ ^
Remus Lupin was lying in his bed at this moment as well. It would soon be four o' clock in the morning and he hadn't slept all night.
Not that you could blame him though. He had, after all, just lost his closest friend. He really should have known that it was a bad idea for Sirius to come with them. He had felt
something inside his gut and he really should have said something… protested, made Sirius stay.
But the real reason he felt so bad about the whole thing, wasn't because Sirius was his only very close friend left, but because he had never got the chance to tell Sirius what he felt towards his schoolmate pal.
He had always procrastinated the inevitable and told himself, 'Tomorrow, I'll tell him tomorrow.' And now there was no tomorrow… not for Sirius… and he had died without ever knowing the feelings Remus had harbored all these long years…
He had always fooled himself into thinking that Sirius would always be there, even after James was gone, and Peter was gone as well, he'd always fallen back on the fact that 'Padfoot will always be here.' Hell lot of good that did.
He clutched a pillow to his chest and struggled to suppress the anger and frustration he felt. He chose to ignore the fact that he was crying.
^ ^ ^
Draco was more than pissed and he was even more so when an extremely high-pitched shriek and giggle exploded from downstairs.
Muffling his groans he stood and made his way to the door. More laughter from down below.
Draco dragged himself down the dense corridor and down the stairs into the 'visitor' section of the manor where it appeared his mother was having a 'small' get-together. Small as in only about 30-35 people.
Draco winced when he saw that Pansy was there. He carefully avoided her and approached his mother. "Mother, what's going on?"
Narcissa looked down at him with disapproval. "You poor boy, does no one tell you anything? Sirius Black is dead! He's dead and that means the Dark Lord is rising to power even more-so, that and I being the next heir in line get possession of that god-awful house! With a little touching up and house-elves it could be a second home! Isn't that wonderful?"
Draco glared at her, "Yeah, just splendid." Draco was sick of living up to the charade. He had voiced quite loudly that he never wanted to be a Death-Eater when he was very young, as a result, he got the Cruciatus curse and a month locked in a cell under the Malfoy Manor. He decided not to voice his opinion in the presence of those people again.
Even worse was at school, with the other kids always watching him and expecting so much from him because he was after all the-son-of-Lucius-Malfoy. He really had no choice but to act as though he were a Death-Eater in training and bugging Potter was a plus and was just plain fun.
As he grew older and the more sure he grew that he wanted to be nothing like his father, and a good thing to as the stupid old fool had gotten himself caught by the Ministry of Magic.
"I'll be in my room." Draco said, excusing himself from the room and motioned for Pansy to come into the un-crowded hall with him. There he asked her to tell him everything about the death of Sirius Black.
"Oh it was great," The pug-faced girl said gleefully. "Belletrix LaStrange, you know the one who tortured the Longbottoms into insanity?"
"Yes, yes, get on with it."
"Well anyway, she cursed him and he fell behind the veil in the room of death! Isn't it funny?"
"But I thought no one knew for sure what happens when you fall behind that curtain, how can you be sure he's dead?"
"Well what else is there?"
"Hm, thanks, bye." Draco hurried on his up the stairs and ignoring Pansy's pleas for him to stay or dance with her or something.
^ ^ ^
Harry stared out his window at the Dursley's, they had been actually 'civil' to him, since he'd arrived home, he guessed they had taken Moody's words to heart. Good.
Yet, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was about to happen... something... big.
^ ^ ^
Draco was flipping through book after book with a fury of research that could rival Hermione's.
He finally found what he was looking for.
"The veil of death," He read out loud to himself. "Is said to be the resting place of the long lost ring of power, (see above picture)"
Draco looked at the picture of this so-called ring of power. It was beautiful. It was a green stone and looked extremely expensive. Draco let out a low breath as he looked at it and then continued reading.
"The wizard William Harrison the Second, in the fourteenth century tossed it into the black veil of death and it disappeared forever. No one knows what is behind this mysterious veil but it is rumored to be something extraordinary."
Draco frowned, that's where it ended. "That's it? Oh yeah, that's a big help." He said glaring at the book; this was the only book in the entire Malfoy Library with anything on this 'Ring of Power' and 'Veil of Death'.
He was reading through it again when he heard someone come in and he looked up. There was no one there. Frowning he surveyed his surroundings, everything seemed fine, except that he knew there had to be someone in here. Doors just don't fling open by themselves and they didn't have any ghosts on campus.
"Who's there?" He called out, and listed for an answer. One did not come.
Putting down his book, he carefully walked up and down the aisles of books; their library was much, much larger than that of Hogwarts.
"I know you're in here. Pansy? Goyle? Mother?" Draco called as he continued to hunt through the shelves.
Suddenly a girl about his age jumped out from behind a bookcase. "Boo!" She said and then started laughing, Draco was not amused.
"Who the hell are you?" He asked glaring at her.
She had straight black hair and green eyes, she was wearing a black and silver cocktail gown and he figured she was from the party.
"You are not allowed in here. What's your name?"
The girl smiled at him, "I'm Spade Silver, and you're Draco. I'm here to talk to you about something."
Draco rolled his eyes, if his mother was trying to set him up again he was going to fucking scream. That would be the fiftieth time this week.
"I'm not interested." He said and tried to push past her but she grabbed his arm with an amazing amount of strength. "I need you to listen," she said.
"You're going to do looking for the Ring of Power. Aren't you?" She asked and Draco's eyes went wide. "How the hell did you know that?"
The girl smiled again and released his arm. "I just do, ok? Now, I should probably tell you that you need to take someone with you, or else you'll most likely die."
Draco narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh yeah? And what makes you think that?"
Spade sighed. "I just know, alright. Just like I knew you were going. Listen, you have to find someone with the same determination as you to accompany you. A friend perhaps?"
Draco snorted. "The so-called 'friends' I have are not capable of such a task."
"Then you will have to find someone."
"Oh yeah? Like who?"
Spade Silver grinned, "Harry Potter."
Draco looked at her as if she had just said that Snape was his father. "You're kidding right?" He said horrified.
"I'm afraid not, he's the only one on this side of the world who would go to just bout any lengths to get what he wants, just like you."
"And what does he want to bad?"
"His godfather of course."
"Oh yes, I'd forgotten..." Draco thought this over for a moment, he needed someone who could hold there own and would go through anything to get to their destination, but still... this was Potter they were talking about! They were hardly school chums. Was a ring all that important? Would he go crawling to Potter over a stupid ring?
A ring that he could use to defy his father with. He could kill that bastard Voldemort and make his precious Death-Eaters beg for mercy. He could anything he wanted... but was that all worth teaming up with Potter? Acting 'civil' towards Potter? Getting along and not pounding his head in? ... Of course it was! What the hell, he could make Potter pound his own head in!
"Alright," he said. "I'll do it."
Spade rubbed her hands together. "Good! Now hold still, I just have to do one thing..."
Draco glared suspiciously at her but allowed her to do as she will.
She placed her hands on either side of his forehead and muttered a spell of some sort. In the next instant Draco felt a searing pain shot through his skull and enter his brain. He let out an ear-splitting scream and collapsed on the floor. Clutching his head in agony he wondered if this was a screwed up version on the Cruciatus Curse. The pain stopped soon after but he was left to catch his breath and clear his head. And once he had done that, Spade Silver, was gone.
^ ^ ^
Harry felt a shot of pain rush through his head and he clamped a hand to his forehead, it wasn't his scar, of that he was certain.
Aunt Petunia entered his room then and shot him a nasty look. "Write to those freak friends of yours," She said with a sneer. "I don't want them anywhere near my house."
Harry nodded and she left. He obediently wrote a quick, short letter to the order and sent it along with Hedwig.
Moments later another owl appeared and it had a letter addressed to him, he frowned, could they replied that quickly?
He opened it; there was no signature, only the words, "Fireplace, Midnight."
He looked at it for a while, trying to decipher the handwriting, he knew he had seen it before, but he couldn't put a finger on it.
~ ~ ~
At midnight that night, Harry made his way down to the fireplace and waited.
Harry wasn't sure what he expecting as he sat there to meet the writer of that mysterious letter, Lupin, Ron? Hermione or Dumbledore? Any one of his other teachers? But who did appear in the fireplace that night was the last person on earth Harry had expected.
"Malfoy!?"
"Potter." Draco snarled. He wasn't too happy to be here. In a Muggle house, talking to Harry Potter of all people.
"You wrote that letter?"
"Very clever of you, Potter. That would be why I am here, wouldn't you say?"
Harry glared, "What do you want."
Draco stepped out from the fireplace and Harry instinctively stood up to defend himself if he had too.
"Relax, Potter I have to talk to you about something."
Harry was, as you could imagine, very suspicious about this.
"About what?" He asked, making sure to stay a save distance away from Draco incase he tried something; he didn't have his wand on him at the moment.
"About your Godfather." Draco stated.
Harry then became very suspicious. "You don't say anything about him or I'll—" He couldn't believe that Malfoy had come all this way to taunt him! The nerve! Didn't he have a life!?
"Hey, will you shut up and listen?!" Draco said and sighed furiously.
"I won't listen to it." Harry said and was turning to go.
"He's still alive!" Draco called out before Harry had got very far.
Harry stopped in his tracks. "What did you say?"
Draco growled under his breath, "Are you deaf? I said that Sirius Black is still alive."
Harry looked at him intently. "How would you know."
Draco tossed a heavy book at him and Harry caught it. "I've been doing some research. He isn't necessarily dead, according to page 1489." Draco said and examined his hair.
"I don't trust you." Harry stated and this was fair.
"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't, so I thought that we'd bring it to your Mudblood friend and see what she thinks."
"Don't call her that." Harry said. He stared at the book. Could it really be true?
"Why are you doing this?" Harry asked and Draco stared at the uninteresting ceiling. "I have my reasons, ok?"
Harry glared. "You're leading me into a trap, aren't you!? You're trying to deliver me to Voldemort aren't you!?"
Draco looked utterly appalled. "I have nothing to go with those fucktards!" He said loudly, clearly insulted.
Harry blinked, "What? Sorry, I find that hard to believe."
"Yeah well you would," Draco spat. "For your information," Draco resumed. "I've never been a member of the Death-Eater club and I've never planned to be so."
"But you... you act just like—"
Draco waved his finger at him. "Nah-uh, I'm a very good actor Potter, looks can be deceiving. Snape's an ex-Death-eater... wonder why we get along so well? We both hate the damn fool."
Harry frowned, how could he trust Malfoy?
Draco was growing impatient. "Do you want to save your Godfather or not?" Draco asked growing angry now.
"I—I still don't trust you." Harry said, he felt strangely less depressed at this sudden and unexpected burst of news, even if it was coming from Malfoy.
"Like I said, we'll go to Granger's. Will that cure your doubts?"
"I don't know... why are you doing this again?"
"I said before, Potter. I have my reasons. I just need some help and black-mailing you with your Godfather seemed ideal."
"Couldn't just say please and thank you, hm?" Harry said sarcastically.
"It's not my style." Draco smirked.
Harry walked over to Draco again. "Alright," He said. "I still don't know what to think but I'll go to Hermione's with you."
"Good." Draco said, he was breaking him down.
Draco handed him some floo powder. Harry looked at him as if he were insane. "I am not going by floo powder." Harry said.
Draco frowned. "Why not? Scared?"
"No! How do I know that you aren't going to trick me and we'll end up in some Death-Eater camp?"
"I told you! I have nothing to do with them!"
"Then why the feigned support?"
"What would you do if they screamed Crucio at you whenever you didn't?" Draco glared; he never saw it this hard in convincing Potter.
Harry gave him a wary gaze.
"Then how do you purpose we get there then?" Draco asked annoyed.
"Uh... we'll fly." He said, brightening, he really never ever thought that one day he'd be considering working with Draco in anything besides forced Potions work, but the loss of Sirius had been very hard on him and if he could just have one sliver of hope, even if it was from a school bully, be was willing to hold onto anything he could get.
"Fly? I don't have my broom with me." Draco said.
Harry smirked. "Mine's upstairs. I'll go get it."
Draco frowned, "But what about me?"
"I guess we'll just have to share."
Harry never saw Draco's eyes so big. "You're kidding right?" He said, staring at Potter as if he'd just said he was actually a girl, although that would explain a lot...
Harry's smirk grew. "Not scared are you, Malfoy?"
"Of course not!" He said in a huff and Harry ran up to get his broom...
Moments later Harry was trying to convince a paranoid Malfoy to just trust him for once and get on the broom.
"Malfoy, just get on the frickin' broom!"
"How do I know that you won't send me to my death from ten thousand miles in the air?!"
Harry gave an exasperated sigh. "If anyone should be worried about falling it should be me! I'm the Gryffindor remember?"
Draco glared at him. "Slytherins wouldn't do something to stupid." He said.
Harry snorted. "Yeah right."
Draco crossed his arm, which was sort of hard considering the big book in his arms.
"How am I supposed to hold the book."
"I don't know," Harry said, becoming annoyed. "Just hold it ok? Now get on or you can go jumping through Death Curtains on your own."
Draco scowled and got on the broom.
As they took off, Draco panicked and placed the book in between him and Harry, it was pretty save from falling there, considering the death grip he had around Harry's waist.