Disclaimer: I do not own Lucius Malfoy, Jackie Estacado, the darklings, or anything else you might recognize. I'm just borrowing them for a bit. I promise to return them in roughly the same condition in which I found them, though Jackie may be a bit ruffled before I'm through.

Afraid of The Darkness

A Darkness/Harry Potter crossover

oOo

The flickering of a pair of candles provided the only illumination in the room. The flames danced on their wicks, casting strange, sinister shadows on the walls and the room's only furnishings—a rickety wooden table and two chairs. On one side of the table sat Lucius Malfoy, and behind him stood five masked Death Eaters.

The only other occupant of the room sat across the table, his face hidden in darkness.

Lucius swallowed heavily, attempting to hide his distaste from the muggle before him.

"The Dark Lord's offer is exceedingly generous. Do we have an agreement?"

For a moment, the room was eerily silent. Lucius tried to get a glimpse of the man's face, but the candlelight was simply not bright enough to pierce the shadowed corner.

"So lemme get this straight…"

The mysterious man leaned forward, revealing a curtain of black hair falling around a handsome, chiseled face. Golden eyes glittered menacingly in the candlelight.

"Your lord wants me to kill an innocent family, then kidnap some kid and turn him over to you so you can do God knows what with him?"

"If you must phrase it in such coarse terms, then yes—that is precisely what the Dark Lord wants."

"Good to know. I'd hate to kill you over a misunderstanding."

Lucius snorted derisively. "You are alone, Mr. Estacado—you would be dead before the intention became movement."

His matter of fact tone might have unsettled a lesser man, but Jackie Estacado merely laughed.

"I suppose I'll have to even the odds then."

The darkness around Jackie suddenly seemed deeper-almost tangible. The shadows writhed and pulsated as they coalesced into a horde of small, demonic looking creatures. Hundreds of glowing green eyes stared back at the Death Eaters, the candlelight glinting evilly on a multitude of small but sharp teeth.

Panicked, Malfoy jumped to his feet, hurling a Killing Curse at Estacado. A small black figure jumped in the way, intercepting the bright green curse and crashing to the floor somewhere beneath the table. The Death Eater was preparing to cast again when the fallen darkling let out an eardrum-shattering wail.

"I'm hit, boss!" it moaned melodramatically. "It's gettin' dark…" Jackie rolled his eyes, but his attention never wavered from the Death Eaters.

"I'm s-s-so cold." The creature coughed feebly. "Hold me, Jackie."

A chorus of inhuman voices joined the first. "Oh Lenny—he was so young…so ugly!"

"I dunno…he still looks pretty ugly to me."

"Jeez man, he really f'ed you up."

"Dude, if you die—can I have your stereo?"

"You idiot, he doesn't have a stereo."

"Will you guys shut up? You're embarrassin' the boss!"

Malfoy started badly, knocking over one of the candles, when a darkling jumped onto the table. It was roughly a foot and a half tall, its scrawny black body covered by baggy shorts, a t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers. Two large, wing-like ears protruded from under a backwards baseball cap and its eyes glowed the same Avada Kedavra green as its brethren.

Lucius slowly backed towards the door, staring in horrified awe at the creature. The being studied him for a moment. Then it grinned, and Malfoy's heart stopped at the sight of dozens of needle-sharp teeth. It jerked a clawed thumb in his direction. "C'mon Jackie, can't we murderize 'em now? We ain't eaten in ages!"

Jackie smiled indulgently. "They're all yours, boys. Just remember to chew your food."

He leaned over and snuffed out the remaining candle.

oOo

Author's Note: The "He was so young…" line was taken from a similar line in the comic.

Thank you to Jaki, my beta.