Another World

21-Returned

Harry opened his eyes to a strange sight. Shades of grey swirled like swaying curtains, dizzying him. He felt heavy chains holding down his hands and his breathe grew heavy from fear.

"Hello?" Harry called out hesitantly. Whatever this place is, it wasn't in his realm of reality.

Then a cold raspy voice emerged, "So you're finally here."

This time Harry could feel his throat constrict. He tried to speak but could barely utter a sound.

A laugh echoed, and Harry felt it was the same laughter he had heard from Prof. Quinn during the possession. It sound cold and almost swift as the wind.

Harry shuddered. He held his throat helplessly, glaring into the darkness ahead. The space started to compress, feeling smaller each time he reached out. Flashes of of his claustrophobic memory surged, the endless nights in the dark cupboard, hacking his lungs out from the sawdust. Harry's found it hard to breathe and he struggled harder. He began to feel an overwhelming sense of exhaustion, then drifted off, curling into a fetal position.

-

When Draco felt movement from the bed, he hurriedly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He saw Harry sitting dazedly, staring out the window at the darkening evening sky. He smiled, an relieving joy sprung through his heart.

"You're awake." He was about to reach out and tidy a piece of Harry's messy hair when he noticed the weird changes in Harry's appearance. His eyes widen in shock, but he made no comment.

Harry's skin was pale, so much so that he could see the bluish veins in his cheeks. He had dark circles under his eyes and appeared exhausted despite having been asleep for at least 4 hours. But what stood out the most was his eyes. They were bright red, like fresh blood his irises shone.

Harry looked surprised, and Draco thought he muttered the word "Lucius." But then he sat up a little straighter, looking down at his body as if he was observing it for the first time.

"He's weaker than I thought," almost as if he knew he was recognized as a new person, Harry looked up at Draco with a smirk, "Tell me, what's your name?  I never thought Lucius was one to bring a child to the world at that unprecedented time." His blood red eyes didn't waver as he spoke.

Draco stumbled back a little, "Who are you?" He realized how ridiculous it sounded but icy anger overtook him, "What did you do to Harry? What did you do?" He grabbed this unknown person's shirt neck.

The other person merely pushed him away, a tilted smirk on his face.

"Tcht! Where are your manners?" although his words was polite, his voice was full of mockery. He scowled. "Did you know how hard it was to suppress him? He's persistent, but weak."

As he talked, he pulled off the quilt covering him, stepping out of the bed on shaky legs. Still he continued, "Tell your father, Lord Voldemort is back!" His smile grew sinister, his eyes shining more darkly.

Draco's eyes went red, he sent a jinx but Voldemort easily dodged it. 

The other tsk at him, "Don't be preposterous! If you kill me, if you hurt me, you'll only hurt him as well."

The only other option Draco had was to bind the other, which resulted in a wrestling match between the two. 

"Harry wake up!" Draco yelled at the possessed person, "wake up you prick. Wake up."

They fought each other almost like a muggle brawl if not for the strange wizard robes. Harry's head hit the marble ground hard. He cried out sharply and his eyes clouded over before retiring to the bright forest green they always were. He looked confused, and scared. Draco stopped abruptly and hugged him tightly in relief, shaking slightly from the adrenaline and fear.

His voice was barely there, "I ... I thought he killed you."

Harry could only hug him back softly in comfort. He then touched his head, which was still smarting from the earlier fall. Seeing his pained expression, Draco helped him back on the bed, grabbing a small glass of water along the way.

"What happened? I feel horrible,"Harry softly spoke, the weird feeling of strangulation still haunting him.

Draco stayed silent, only looking at him worriedly and checking his face and body for any other injuries. Harry didn't know if that was because the other didn't know if because the other didn't want to say. He decided to look pass it. 

"Are you hungry?" 

Harry then noticed the protest his stomach was shouting, nodding innocently. He raised the glass of water to his lips and felt the color come back to his face as he drank the sweet liquid.

"Do you remember anything from before?" Draco asked hesitantly.

Harry shook his head, "I'm not sure. I thought I did, but everything was so dark. It felt like I died."

"Don't say that," Draco pinched his cheek. He smiled, but Harry felt as if it wasn't as pure a smile as his true one. Harry could only hope he didn't do anything drastic while unconscious.

Draco handed him a tray of sandwiches he just ordered from a house elf, sitting on the end of the bed so they could face each other, "Eat."

Harry wanted to laugh, it was so Draco to command such things; other people could easily misunderstand that he was being bullied even though he was being pampered. The unease in his heart lightened, but it heightened in Draco's heart. 

How could he tell Harry that there was the Dark Lord inside of him all along? Just thinking about it was wrong. He couldn't tell Harry this, he couldn't bear to hurt the other person. He'll just have to figure this one out by himself. Draco patted Harry head to reassure himself, though his stormy eyes showed how turmoiled he felt inside.