Part 3 of Tightrope
Read Part 1 | Part 2
@drarrymicrofic | Halloween prompt: hex | word count: 546
Draco lay on the floor gasping with the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse. He didn’t know how long the Dark Lord had held him under, but it had felt like an eternity.
“You know exactly where we are,” Voldemort said, continuing his conversation with Harry, who was not there. “You have a wand, and you know how to apparate. You just apparated from here. It should not be difficult for you to return. And until you do, this is how Draco and I will be passing the time. Crucio!”
Draco screamed, curling in on himself. But this time, the pain cut off abruptly, leaving as quickly as it had started. What happened in that moment happened very quickly, but Draco seemed to see it in slow motion.
Harry appeared suddenly, directly between Draco and Voldemort. He had a sword raised defensively in front of him, like he was a knight from medieval times. It was the same sword that Bellatrix had been so horrified to see less than an hour earlier.
Harry had apparated directly into the path of Voldemort’s curse. But he didn’t fall to the ground screaming beside Draco. Instead, he seemed to catch the curse with his sword. A mere fraction of a breath later, Harry dropped to his knees, reached behind himself with one hand, and seized Draco’s wrist.
“Avada Kedavra!” Draco heard Voldemort scream, but he and Harry were already spinning away, and the world around them blurred and disappeared.
Draco landed, still on his back, staring up at the grey sky. He could hear the ocean. He scrambled to his feet, anxious to get his bearings. Harry, who had landed on his knees next to him, got up as well. His hair was long, nearly down to his shoulders, and even messier than it had been at Hogwarts. His face was blotchy from a fading hex, and his clothes were rumpled and dirt-stained. He was still holding the sword in one hand, and now Draco could see he was also holding a wand — Draco’s wand — in the same hand, pressed up against the hilt of the sword.
A dozen thoughts ran through Draco’s mind as he stared at Harry. If Harry hadn’t apparated to just the right spot... If Voldemort hadn’t been too proud to ask for help, if he’d told Bellatrix and Draco’s parents to stay in the room with them... If he’d told Greyback to stay… If Harry hadn’t held the sword in just the right spot when he apparated…
Why hadn’t he just apparated behind Draco? Why intercept the curse at all? Had he known that that particular sword could withstand an Unforgiveable? It could have burst into a hundred pieces, leaving Harry vulnerable. What had Harry been thinking? Was he crazy? Draco’s mind whirred with everything that could have gone wrong.
But when Draco opened his mouth, all he could say was, “You came.” His voice sounded shaky and disbelieving in his ears.
“You!” Harry said, dropping both sword and wand to the ground so he could jab a forceful finger in Draco’s chest. Draco would have taken a step back, but Harry still had a vice-like grip on his wrist.
“You are not allowed to die on me,” Harry said, his green eyes blazing.
***
This is the final part! Thanks for reading!
