Light and Dark
Ron and the other werewolves were trying their hardest to stop Harry from continuing to ram himself up the barrier. By the looks of it, Harry could no longer discern from which is friend and foe as he continued on the path he is in. He looked at Hermione and the other witches who were also trying to keep the other werewolves and witches at bay. Hermione looked like she was about to pass out. Ron could see the exhaustion in her every breath and the sweat upon her brow.
He had never seen the ever poised and gifted witch of Ravenclaw that vulnerable but then again, he was not looking so cool either. He heaved in a deep breath and it became slightly hard to exhale as he could feel the wound he had a while ago. He was sporting a huge blue bruise just below his ribs.
They had to wrap up things here before it became messier than it already was. From his peripheral view, he could still feel the heavy presence of another Alpha that could definitely challenge Harry in his role as the Heir to Gryffindor. It was not uncommon for a few Alpha’s to be born, though rare. To think that another Alpha could rival Harry and knowing that he was not a part of their pack, it would be crucial that Harry not lose to that other Alpha when the challenge would be issued because if Harry were to lose, Gryffindor would fall.
He turned his head towards Harry. He could see him growling at Remus and his brothers who were trying to stop him from continually hurting himself while trying to break Bellatrix’s hella tough barrier.
“Harry!” he screamed at the mind link but he was lost to them. He could feel him but all he could sense from Harry were simple words. Protect. Draco. Mate. He spared a look towards Bellatrix who was within the dome and he could see her stepping away from Draco.
Draco looked like he was only a shell of himself and tears keep on streaming from his face. Harry’s howls and growls were loud. The others began attacking the barrier again, they all did their hardest to stop the Alpha’s cries upon them. The wolf was now in control and his rational mind was buried deep within those rooted instincts of his.
Barty Crouch Jr. and the cloaked werewolf figure were staying still as if waiting for something. He parried with two werewolves who tried to attack Harry as Remus tried to connect with Harry to regain his senses. He wounded the werewolves and they retreated near the cloaked werewolf. He huffed his breathing and kept a cool head. He shook his head to stop himself from thinking too much, for now, that was. For now, he had to keep those wolves from Harry
Ron watched as the figure seemingly cracking his neck. His body posture was looking as if he was preparing for something. He then decided to stand in front of his path. He unclenched his palms and elongated his claws, crouched ready to face the figure. There was a still calmness between the two of them watching to see if who among them would make the first move to attack. As he blinked, he saw that the figure was no longer in front of him. When he turned his face in search, he suddenly felt a stab on his stomach.
“You shouldn’t have blinked.” The figure whispered at him and retracted his clawed arm from his stomach. He was then left on the ground with a gaping hole in his stomach. Ron coughed up blood and he could feel his blood trickle away from him. His body is trying its hardest to heal despite it being such a slow process. He then huffed at himself as he began to think if he would heal first before the loss of blood would kill him.
He shook his thoughts away. No, he could not fall at this rate. Harry, his Alpha still needed him. Then a peal of laughter rang within his head. Soon, he released a breath that he did not know he was holding. He gritted his teeth. He held onto his wound. His mind now alerted as a tear began to fall. Pansy. His mind supplied and with a newfound determination, he focused all of his remaining strength and energy into healing himself.
He could feel his body slowly losing consciousness as it focused all his energy on his wound. But before he fully passed out, he could hear the others screaming in pain. He could smell the blood and hear the laughter of Barty in the background as he raved about their future Alpha.
In his hazy state, he saw the barrier fell. Draco’s cry and tears fell down his cheek as he could slowly feel his link with Harry, their Alpha, weaken. He could feel the despair that ran to his blood and made everything felt like ice. He could feel his helplessness in the current situation, but even if he did move, he knew he would be of no help. So he gave in, he gave in to the darkness. And he swore, the next time they would face their enemies, he would be stronger. So, he kept the faith and believed that their Alpha would survive.
--
Hermione was feeling the exhaustion seeped into her bones. She had never felt like she had cast this much spells in the whole year that she was within Hogwarts. But in a single night, she broke that record
She kept up the barrier to prevent the Dementors from re-entering the Great Hall while she duelled some of Bellatrix’s guards. Their situation could not have been so much worse than it was supposed to be, but it did. Whatever Bellatrix did to Draco within that dome broke the restraints of Harry to his wolf. The takeover was so quick that instead of all of them focused on the enemy, they were split into two. One group to stop Harry’s rampage and one to defend all of them. No one could blame Harry. If they were in his
shoes, they were sure to have made a huge explosion like him as well when they sensed their respective mates in peril.
She watched the witches with Bellatrix were slowly backing out along with a few of the werewolves who were injured. Hermione found this odd, but that was when she realized the hooded werewolf that felt just like Harry began to move. Before she knew it, Ron fell and soon, the others began to fall as well. It all happened so fast that she felt a chill run up her spine and she kept herself on high alert now knowing where the werewolf would strike next.
“RON!”, she screamed.
Before she could even run to their direction, she felt the Alpha’s presence behind her. Her eyes widened and she turned back only to feel the claws singe her dome of protection. The attack merely pushed her back. Her arms were crossed in front of her. When she looked up, her enemy was no longer in front of her. She felt the aura re- appearing behind her. She raised her wand above the ceiling and she froze the floor with spikes among them. The werewolf barely evaded her attack.
Hermione glared at her enemy. She saw blood trickled down his foot, but her enemy did not even seem fazed by his wounds.
She noticed that her barrier had small cracks in them. Strong. That was the only thing that popped within her mind as she waved her wand to re-new her barrier. There were only a handful of wolves who could inflict damages to her barrier and this wolf by far was the closest to breaking hers. Her sweat trickled down the side of her face as she calculated her next move to defeat the wolf.
“Your barrier—“
Hermione was startled when the wolf suddenly spoke using his voice. Her eyes widened. Her heart skipped, feeling dread. Her hand shook with a certain familiarity she could never place, not knowing the reason that she did not realize she had let her guard down.
“—is weak when your mind whirs to think.”
That was all Hermione heard while she watched her barrier break into a million pieces in front of her. She quickly tried to reform it as she was pushed back, but the wolf was faster and slashed at her.
“Fickle, Hermione”
She held onto her side as the blood spilled out of her. Losing her footing, she fell and hit her head to one of the boulders. She groaned at the pain. She looked up at the cloaked figure, reaching out her hand to see the bastards face but all she could see now are black spots before she lost consciousness.
The hooded werewolf looked at the scene in front of him. His eyes were glazed and he looked toward Barty who had a look of pure and utter happiness at his
accomplishments. He watched as the caged Dementors by the witch he felled ran free and began sucking the life out of their enemies once again. He could hear screams and blood and magic. He was all used to such violence ever since he came upon the world. But looking at the scenery right now, he had never once felt so desolate.
He looked toward the Alpha he was born to kill and all he sees within those eyes are nothing but the eyes of a pure wolf, desperate, rage, and the full need to protect. He watched as the blond within the dome break and he felt something within him broke as well. Soon the Dementors began to suck everything out of the huge black wolf, he released a breath.
“Looks like I won without even a proper fight,” he mumbled to no one as he watched, his eyes bored.
--
Draco was lost. The memories of that day replayed within his head over and over again. He just wanted it to stop. He was so caught up and so out of himself that he had no idea on what was currently happening outside of him. All he remembered was curly brown hair, clear blue eyes, someone’s rich laughter and the smile that made his heart skip.
Cedric.
They were always together. When he was so shy to be near strangers, it was him that held his hand to him. Cedric who expanded his world and showed him its beauty beyond his own world that only consisted of him, his mother and his Beau, Cedric who was always by his side, who always made him smile, who became the center of his world, his first love and the one he thought to be his last.
It broke him when he found his body within the same woods that they explored and shared a dozen of memories that he could ever count. He had always known that Cedric did not love him the way he did him, but Draco always found comfort and thought it enough just to be by his side.
He always smiled when Cedric would talk about a girl that he knew was his mate. Deep within him, a sickening feeling eating up at him every time Cedric would mention the girl but he gave his best smile as always, masking his hurt and pain from his ever-smiling Cedric.
He never knew who mutilated Cedric to the point that Draco could no longer feel the presence of his soul in his body. When he found him in the woods that day along with his family, cold and so so dead that something chained deep within him awoke, he called it forth and he delved in it, he permitted it. The presence of humans within the area was prominent upon him that in his crazed state. He committed a crime he did not know he was capable of doing.
He burned and killed the human village that took his wolf away from him. He made sure that no one got away. The ground was bathed in blood as he hummed a broken melody that Cedric used to sing to him. He laughed at the humans' screams of agony and pain and despite it, he felt so empty. He was 13 then, a boy who lost control.
By the time his mother found out what happened, coming back from a long journey from another village, the sight broke her that she sealed his powers till he would finally have the capability of controlling it. His mother did her hardest to ease him and comfort him but despite all of it, he still could never forgive himself. His hands were stained with blood.
He killed Cedric, his Aunt who has an affinity with death showed him that. He can’t think he could live with that. Draco, lost in his darkness, was not able to see the smile his Aunt hid when she eased away from him.
Draco closed his eyes and all he saw was darkness, but something was pulling him away from that abyss. And he heard it, he heard the voice loud and clear calling upon him, upon his poor lost soul.
Draco.
He opened his eyes and looked towards the one who called him and all he saw was Him.
Harry who was currently attacking the barrier to get to him.
Harry who lost himself with worry as he saw him kneel in front of his Aunt.
Harry who knew of his darkness yet still held him within his warmth and accepted him despite the lie of his identity.
Harry who chose him not because he was a Black, but because he was his mate, his Draco.
The cloud within his head cleared up and he looked towards his Aunt. For once, he saw something akin to fear within her well-guarded eyes.
He stood up as he stared right through her Aunt’s eyes. He steeled his voice as he spoke to her. “I will not fall for your tricks anymore,” he held up his hand and his wand flicked right back in his palm as he pointed it at her.
“But you saw my memories. I spoke to his soul.”
“That is your flaw, Aunt!”, His eyes were full of rage that Bellatrix gritted her teeth. Her hold on the darkness she weaved within his magic was failing.
“When I found Cedric, his soul was already gone. You manipulated your memories. You lied to me.” He flicked his wand into an arc and the barrier around them fell away.
“That still did not change the fact that you are as dark as me. Your hands are soaked in blood the same as mine.” Bellatrix cast a spell that Draco easily felled away with a flick of his hand.
“That is our difference, Aunt. I found someone who accepted me despite everything I have ever done. That person told me that I was brave for not running away from what I did. I know that it does not excuse what I did and it never will, but I would spend my life repenting for it. By defeating you. By helping Harry defeat the Dark Lord and finally bring peace to our worlds.” He then surprised his Aunt as he cast a spell that threw her to the farthest corner of the room. He saw a cloaked figure jumped up to her side.
--
“I was rejected,” Bellatrix whispered, her eyes blank as she was caught from fully hitting the column where she was thrown by the spell. The cloaked figure just clicked his tongue and looked toward the pure light barrier.
--
Draco did not spare it another glance as he cast another Patronus so huge that it covered all his allies. He chased away all the Dementors that are crowding upon Harry then recreated another barrier that covered all of them before he began to heal Harry.
“Harry, you idiot,” he mumbled as he watched those red eyes turn back to his beloved emeralds. He could feel every bit of emotion Harry was trying to imply to him with just one look. He could feel the prickles of tears starting to form from his eyes.
A scream that sounded so close to that of a child having a huge tantrum echoed within the quiet hall. Draco and the others lifted their heads to the direction where the sound came from. Their eyes widened when they could not believe what they are seeing. A slightly crazed than ever Bellatrix Lestrange stood where her usual smile now gone and the only rage reflected her eyes.
“Nobody rejects me!” Bellatrix raised her hand and mumbled spells. Soon, shadows danced from the ground and dead monsters began to crawl up to the surface. Their bodies were mutilated. Draco was sure those corpses were some of her Aunt’s prisoners.
Draco’s barrier was surrounded by an undead army. He looked back to see that the remaining people who were able to fight were few. Everyone looked so exhausted and fear radiated from their very pores.
--
“Lady Bella, is this wise? Waking the undead army was one of our trump cards,” Barty began.
The witch merely glared. “The Dark Lord would forgive me once I have Draco!” she lashed out.
She lost her composure and memories of her past flooded her. Rabastan Lestrange warned them it might happen when things do not go her way or if she ever got rejected. It was a huge complex she had due to deep-rooted hate towards her mother who favored her light children than her. Whenever she snapped, her inner child awakened and only her husband or the Dark Lord could calm her.
“I guess even the ‘oh great witches’ lose their marbles at times,” Barty mumbled to himself as he watched the dead army march towards the dome of light. He knew that that undead would not easily fall as long as Bellatrix stand. He was sure they would all die then maybe when Draco Black was finally a corpse, Bellatrix would be pleased.
“Let’s see how you will deal with this, nephew. Nobody rejects me, not anymore. You will fall to my darkness,” she whispered to herself as she smiled.
--
Seeing the situation getting more and more drastic, Draco stood up and turned his back towards Harry. He spoke to those who remained standing to prepare for a fight, his voice loud and clear.
“Protect Harry and leave this to me. All you have to do is trust me and close your eyes. Please, let me do this.”
Remus looked toward Narcissa’s child. He could see the silhouette of Narcissa when he turned his back at them. He could not help but feel as if this would be the first and last time he would see him, but he kept it to himself.
He heard a whine that emanated from Harry, his eyes daring him to leave him again. Draco did not have the heart to look back at him because he knew that he would not be able to let go. He would not be able to perform the spell needed to save them all. He released a breath he did not know he was holding and steeled his voice.
“Sleep, Harry. Everything will be over soon. You will wake up and you will see me by your side because that is where I am meant to be.” To assure that Harry would not do anything reckless, he cast a sleeping charm upon him.
He only knew of one spell that could break through the mess that they were in. His Aunt would not even be able to par it. He remembered the very day he came upon it and his mother explained it along with a very heavy warning and strict orders to never use it. A
spell that would cleanse the undead and heal those wounded, even capable of bring those who have just passed away their life back.
But it exacted a heavy cost.
He swallowed. The pros and cons of his plan were almost on the same scale. One look behind him and he knew his mind was already made up. He would just have to return. He took a breath then flicked his wand in motion as he voiced out the spell.
“Requiem.”
Light poured out of him and all who were presently closed their eyes at the sheer brightness of it. Remus tried to peak at the scene and he watched as the undead army just outside the barrier that was attacking it all burst into light. When he felt the light that emanated from Draco, all he could feel was warmth. When he looked down at his wounds, he found that all his injuries had healed.
He watched as the others were the same. He saw those he knew to have died rose once again. He saw their enemies scream out in pain as they too became light. The light from Draco spread out far and wide, giving life to everything he deemed his allies. All he deemed enemies were wiped away. Remus felt something on his cheeks only to notice that he was crying. He touched his cheek and he felt something that touched his soul. All he could feel was Draco’s protection.
--
Bellatrix’s eyes widened at the sudden burst of light that it took her a while to cast her barrier. She screamed as half of her body burned at the very touch of that pure light magic. She watched her witches fell to the surge of light along with the other werewolves who were not protected by her dome. She heard cracks from her barrier and cast another to prevent it from shattering.
“Bellatrix, what is happening?” Barty shouted as he covered his eyes and shielded their Alpha from the light. As Barty glanced at Bellatrix, for the first time since he had known her, he had never seen her look as serious as she was right now.
“Damn you, Narcissa!”, she knew this spell very well, one that her sister once told her about.
Her mind reverted as she knew the spell that Draco used. For now, she had to keep up her barrier or risk getting killed, permanently.
--
“You do know that releasing the seals of your magic at your age and casting that magic outright as soon as the seal fell away right now is dangerous.” Twin voices once again greeted Draco as he was back again within the dredges of his mind.
“I fully know that.”
“Then, are you prepared to face the consequences?” The twin voices stepped closer to him.
“I am.” Soon, the figure once again appeared in front of him and all he saw was darkness. “How? Why? The balance—“
“Is it not obvious? I, your darkness, won out with you pouring out this much light. They easily influenced me. It would suck following orders from that Dead Witch, but this is what you wanted.”
Draco felt cold, his control failing within him.
“You wanted them to heal. You wanted them to live. This is the price you have to pay.”
Draco closed his eyes as his control over his body, over his magic, faded away. To heal them all and to protect them at the same time, he had to give in to his magic. Those he deemed enemies would burn within his light magic and all he deemed his allies would live.
He was fighting the urge to close his eyes and before he went under, he heard his darkness whisper upon him. “Sleep. Gain back your strength and take back our body, Draco Black. We would keep our hardest to keep things at bay, but don’t expect us to be nicer this time.”
--
The light soon slowly faded.
Bellatrix held up her hand to see it burnt along with half of her body, her face now scarred. She clutched it and her eyes widened. She looked up and saw her nephew passed out on the ground along with the others. Their wounds, no matter how heavy, were all healed.
She began to take a step, but then a wisp of snow began to fall. She looked up at the sky to see that snow is falling upon them. She held out her hand and as soon as the snow fell to her hands, it slightly burned her. She could feel her magic being wasted away by the snow. She watched as the snow continued to fall on the witches that were on her nephew’s side only to see that it did not harm them. Instead, it strengthened them.
She then tilted her head up to the sky and laughed. She laughed at the capability of her nephew to be able to cast such a spell. But as she looked toward him. She watched as his hair slowly turned black, the consequence for casting the spell.
Requiem. A spell that not anyone could just simply cast as the cost would be too great. The spell takes all the light magic, the innocence, the purity of one person and in turn left only the darkness, an almost empty husk of the original.
Draco Black had now fully fallen from grace. With her influence fresh within him and merged with him, she now completely owned him.
She motioned for the Young Alpha towards Draco’s direction and the boy leaped near Draco’s unconscious figure. The Young Alpha looked hesitant in touching Draco, but he tucked away the stray hair from his face and then carried him.
He tucked Draco’s head under his chin and he felt how cold he was. He huffed a breath as he looked down at Harry. He closed his mouth and turned his back as he walked towards the portal that Bellatrix created.
“Do we kill the unconscious ones?” Barty voiced out, his claws already out. He hissed when the snow touched him.
“Even if you tried, this snow will continually heal them,” Bellatrix voiced out as she played with the snow that kept on falling from the sky.
“What is this snow anyway?”, Barty asked.
“Remnants of my nephew’s light magic, the last of it anyway,” she looked down at her unconscious nephew who was being held by the Young Alpha.
“Looks to me that we were the ones with the most loss here,” Barty grounded out and Bellatrix laughed out. Yes, indeed. She evoked her undead army, lost some of her elite witches and werewolves, then got half of the Dementors purified as well. It would take them a few years at most to fully regain their army. However, she smiled.
“We may have lost this battle but—“ She eyed her nephew and a smile bloomed in her face as she opened up her portal and gestured for Barty to enter, “—they may have already lost this war now that I have you.” She brushed the black hair of her nephew away from his sleeping face.