The castle of Hogwarts was bored. Not bored in a sentient way of course, the castle was not alive. It was, more or less, a pile of rocks, wood and glass. But it was put together with Magic. The grounds on which it stood had been the place of magical learning for millennia and the castle itself had stood there for at least a third of that time. The builders of the castle had gushed their personalities into their work; Bravery, Cunning, Wisdom and Sensitivity.
It had since then seen thousands upon thousands of young magical minds passing though its gates, each hungry for learning, full of potential and longing for the future. It had housed the most knowledgeable minds in history and every one of them had left their magical signature in the very heart of the stones. It had also housed hordes upon hordes of hormonal teenagers overflowing with sexual frustration and curiosity.
Hogwarts castle had seen trouble. It had observed several Muggle wars, all from bloodthirsty Celts, to crusades, to bombs falling from the sky (one of which had damaged one of the outer walls when the ancient wards did not anticipate modern Muggle technology). It had partaken in magical wars, the two most significant were the one that ended about eighteen years prior and the one that ended just about six months ago. Time that short did not mean anything to the castle, not that anything did. But still.
But still. The castle was bored, even if it did not know what bored was. It had been patched up by magic, rebuilding was on the way. A new class had been created for those who volunteered: Structural and Building Magic. The students taking this class were surging their magic into the castle's walls, leaving whole fortifications of new pure magic behind.
A small group of students were at the moment working on the innermost sanctuary of Hogwarts, the Founderstone. If the castle had been sentient, which it icould not be since it was only castle, this stone would be its real heart, mind and soul. Of course no one knew that now, the knowledge of the Founderstone was lost in time (and if Hogwarts was sentient it would say that it had hid the stone away for self-preservation).
The last war had opened up the wards and barriers around the stone, and the group of students (surly unaware of this fact) was now going to re-build them. The group was not building though – they were arguing, and bubbling with magic. One of the students in particular held more magic than the other ones put together. The castle looked closer and was suddenly delighted (that is, it should have been delighted if it had the ability to be so).
"You said you'd help us!" said the powerful one. "You can't go back on that now!"
"I can do what I want, Potter!" huffed one of the other two boys. "You said time-travel! Not anything about fighting Death."
"Just like a Malfoy," spat the other of the two boys. "I knew he would chicken out!"
"Shut up, Weasel!"
"Boys please," said the only girl in the company and stepped forward. "We have gone over this, Malfoy. The Relic we need is hidden somewhere inside Hogwarts and we need to go back to the time to when it was hidden so we can find it now… Remember our deal, Draco. You don't have to come with us to 'fight Death', we are doing that when we come back. We just need you for this part."
There was a short silence, where the Castle felt over the magical auras of the four humans. A small piece of (hypothetical) excitement was running though its walls, making the portraits hanging on them look curiously around. The portrait of Severus Snape rolled his eyes and started muttering about stupid children – this was quite common so nobody took notice.
"Fine!" the boy said. "What do you want me to do?"
"We all touch the stone at the same time," said the girl.
"What deal?" asked the powerful one.
"I'll explain later," said the girl. "On three. One, two, three!"
Four hands were put on the Founderstone and the castle reeled.
The four students surrounding the Founderstone were Bravery, Cunning, Wisdom and Sensitivity! The founders had returned and the castle just wanted to hug them (that is, if it had a will of its own, which it did not have). So the castle did, and then Founderstone mended the wards and barriers itself since the students were gone.
"That was fun", thought Hogwarts and did not feel as bored anymore. "I wonder what is going on in the kitchen..."
"Did it work?" Harry rubbed his eyes under his glasses.
He leaned against a wall that had not been rubble only seconds ago. Something had happened anyway.
"Err…" said Ron.
"Hmm…" said Hermione.
Draco screamed like he had full row of banshees in his ancestry.
"Slight miscalculation," Hermione took up her notebook from the pocket of her Ravenclaw robes. "Interesting." She jutted down some words in the book.
"Slight?" hauled the upset blond, gripping hold of his yellow robes. "You said Potter was going to be the Hufflepuff!"
"Yes, Hermione," Harry looked down at his green Slytherin robes. "What is going on? Did something go wrong with the spell?"
"I don't think so…" she bit her lip. "I'm a Ravenclaw, Ron's a Gryffindor… It… it must be you Harry!"
"What?" asked Harry looking amused at the newly made Hufflepuff hitting his forehead in the nearest wall in time with the words stupid, stupid, stupid.
"Voldemort was a part of your soul," explained Hermione. "You are just not…" She looked pained.
"…Hufflepuff-material," sighed Harry and nodded.
"Where as Malfoy here…" laughed Ron.
"Fine!" Draco pulled himself together with a deep breath and a dignified aristocratic face. "I can live with that I'm cuddlier than the former vessel of the Dark Lord. Fine! Now let's do what we came for so I can get the fuck back where I belong."
"You are so kind," said Harry sarcastically.
"Simply playing the part," sneered Draco and walked towards the stairs leading to the Entrance hall. "Hufflepuffs are mushy and say they 'neat' all the time."
"I'm feeling Dumbledore's wards" noted Harry to his friends as they followed the blond.
"That is good," Hermione dotted another note in her book. "According to my calculations this is the year 1935, The Potions professor Reginald Skatter had…"
"I don't know Hermione…" Harry held out his hand to the surrounding magic. "Dumbledore had just become a teacher in 1935, these wards feels like he is the headmaster…"
"Oi!" called Draco back from the Entrance hall. "It still amazes me that you have more than one brain between you. Maybe if you had let me do the calculations I would be wearing that Ravenclaw-robe."
"What are you talking about?" Harry entered the hall and gasped.
"Right," Draco folded his arms. "This will actually be much better for my end of the deal…" he mused with a handsome but evil smile.
There was a big banner hanging over the doors to the Great Hall: Hogwarts' Halloween Extravaganza 1977 – One day and counting!
"Well," swallowed Hermione "At least the date is right."
"This is not good," Ron nervously looked around. "If Harry meets his parents the future can change."
Harry took of his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Let's go to the Room of Requirement and regroup… Oi, Malfoy! Where are you going?"
"Fuck off, Potter! I have things to do!" Draco left to run up the stairs.
"We can't have him wander around," Harry sighed. "He can get us all into trouble."
"You go get him," Hermione touched Harry's arm. "I'll go get the books from the library, Ron…"
"I'll get dinner," said the redhead with a grin moving to the secret passage to the kitchen. "Meet you by the Room."
Hermione shook her head and dashed of to the library. Harry went after Draco. He caught up with him just a few meters down the walkway on the second floor. The former Slytherin looked a little worried, but he frowned in anger and irritation as he saw Harry.
"What?" sighed Harry. "Scared you run into daddy?"
"Father graduated in 1972," muttered Draco. "I just…"
"What?" repeated Harry, tired of what ever was happening. "I just want this mess cleared out, find the stupid Relic, go back and get my friends back!"
"I don't' want to run into any Slytherins while I'm alone... We were not so kind to Hufflepuffs in this time…"
"In this time…?" Harry was cut of by laughter coming from the opening door of a classroom.
It was a Charms classroom and the lecture was over. Harry bit his lip as he saw Gryffindors and Ravenclaws exit the room. They were all old enough to be seventh years.
"Oh shit!" gasped Harry
He grabbed hold of Draco and dragged him into an alcove, blocking him with his body.
"What the fuck?" breathed Draco gripping hold of Harry's shirt. "Get off…"
"Hush!" Harry put a hand over his mouth. "My parents! Let them pass."
The alcove was narrower than he expected and Harry had to press himself close to Draco. He was so nervous, thinking that his parents were passing just behind his back. He started to tremble and without thinking he laid his head on Draco's shoulder. Draco's hand was still clasping his shirt.
"You better not be enjoying this, Potter," grumbled Draco.
"Are you?" Harry launched on to the distraction, noticing the heightened breathing of the boy pressed against him.
"I'm not!" His face was pink.
"I think you are…" Harry moved a little closer, closing the small gap between them.
"Well, you are too…" whispered Draco, leaning his ear to the side of Harry's head, his lips close to...
The next moment Harry was hauled magically across the corridor and thrust, painfully, into the opposite wall. The wind went out of him and he blacked out for a couple of seconds.
"Potter!" screamed Draco.
"Yes?" said the voice of James Potter. "Are you all right, mate? Did he hurt you?"
Harry blinked at the fuzzy images as he had lost his glasses. The yellow blob that was Draco was surrounded by four red blobs that he without a doubt could identify, by their magic, as the Marauders.
"I'm fine, I think…" Draco's voice sounded uneven. "Oh, my glasses," he bent down and picked up something from the floor.
"Slytherin pervert," said Sirius and poked at Harry with his wand.
"Come on, we'll follow you to your common room," that was James' voice.
"Thanks," Draco sounded quite chipper. "He was so very scary. Not neat at all."
Harry wanted to scream some profanities after them but stopped just in time not to draw attention to himself. He grumbled and wondered why Draco had taken his glasses. Once a prat, always a prat, he thought. He just had to feel his way to the Room of Requirement and ask for new glasses there. He was able to conjure glasses by himself but they were never as good as real ones, and it was better if he could see what he was doing.
"Bastards," muttered a figure beside him and fussy hand came into view. "Here."
Harry took the offered hand and let himself be helped to his feet. He blinked to focus but it was too bright next to the big window where they were standing. But he had recognized the magic around the boy beside him.
"Snape?"
"What?"
"Nothing," Harry turned and walked into a pillar. "Ouch!"
"Do you need some help?" there was a kind hand on his elbow.
"Harry!" a blue blob was sprinting towards him. "I've been looking everywhere for… oh!"
"I'm fine," he held out his hand towards her and she took it gently. "Thank you, Snape."
There was a huff as an answer and the Slytherin left. Hermione took a better hold of him. His back hurt from where he had hit the wall. Typical, first time meeting his father and he gets thrown into a wall.
"What happened?"
"Parental abuse," smirked Harry. "Malfoy took my glasses."
"Yeah, I saw him walking passed wearing them. He was having as much trouble with them as you are having without them. It was probably a good thing. You are the spitting image of your father with them on."
Harry snorted.
"Snape was really cute as young," giggled Hermione. "Don't you think?"
"I don't know! I couldn't see," muttered Harry, trying not to remember the close moment with Draco. "Hufflepuff bastard."
"Sanctuary!" screamed Draco Malfoy an hour and a half later as he pushed inside the Room of Requirement and slammed the door behind him and sinking to the floor. "Merlin, save me!"
"What's going on?" Ron looked away from the tempting plate of sandwiches that Hermione had insisted that they save for Draco. "Why are you holding a teddy bear?"
"This?" Draco got to his feet holding up the fluffy pink toy. "Apparently if you are a Hufflepuff sexually accosted by a Slytherin in the hallways you get a prize to comfort you by your fellow housemates! And cookies and sweet hot tea and too many hugs." He gagged. "The Muggleborns wanted to paint flowers on my face! Flowers!"
"You were sexually accosted by a Slytherin?" laughed Ron, and then: "So you don't want your sandwiches then?"
"Ron!" Hermione's knuckles turned white around Hogwarts A History.
"Take them," Draco dropped down on the two seat sofa next to Harry, who was looking through a big tome with a magnifying glass.
The Room had taken shape of a nice living room. Hermione and Ron sat in armchairs that stood framing a crackling fireplace. The sofa was opposite the fire. Four beds, each with curtains in the proper house colour, stood further in. Apparently they where spending the night.
"Have you named her Helga?" asked Harry as Ron jumped for the food.
"What makes you think that this pink monstrosity is a girl or even a Hufflepuff?" Draco patted the teddy. "That is very bigoted of you."
"Takes one to know one," Harry snickered. "Where are my glasses?"
"His name is Zephyrinos," Draco handed over the glasses. "It is a good name for a protector."
"Why do you need a protector?" asked Ron in between bites.
"Hello? Sexually accosted by a Slytherin?"
"I don't see what a teddy bear can…" Harry was interrupted by a pink fluffy teddy bear hitting him hard on the head. "Ouch!"
"Indeed." Draco leaned back in the sofa, hugging the bear. "And I think it's time you filled me in on the details. If I'm going to suffer though Hufflepuff hugs I want to have a good reason."
Hermione closed her mouth that had been hanging open like a goldfish. To further collect herself she pulled out her notebook and put it down on the low table in front of her. The three boys leaned closer to her. Even Harry and Ron were a little confused by the details of Hermione's plan.
"Well as you know, Harry is the Master of the Deathly Hollows…"
"He is what?" Draco stared at Harry. "I didn't know that!"
"Well, he is," Hermione went on. "We are going to give the Hollows back to Death, the Relic will able us to do that. It was made by Grindelwald, the same wizard that made the Veil in the Ministry. The Veil is a gate to Death, and the Relic is sort of a key. He hid it here in 1935 when he assisted Dumbledore to move to Hogwarts…"
"But we are not in 1935," Ron grunted. "What went wrong?"
"I don't really know," she bit her lip. "But I guess that since it was because we used the castle to travel back in time. The castle is magical, and therefore thinks magically. We wanted to go to 1935 to find the Relic when Grindelwald hid it here, but we ended up in 1977. That is twenty-one years instead of sixty-three."
"Twenty-one times three is sixty-three," nodded Draco. "And seven times three is twenty-one."
"What? Wait!" Harry shook his head. "And for those of us not taking Arithmancy?"
"Hogwarts thinks in magic," explained Hermione patiently, with the air of someone that has to explain a lot of things. "Three and seven are the most magical numbers there are, and so is all numbers that can be divided by both." She looked embarrassed. "I missed a calculation in the spell."
They sat quiet for a while. Even Draco knew that Hermione admitting she had been wrong was a thing of wonder. She cleared her throat and looked bravely around on her companions.
"We can't go back further, since the only way we could do it now was because the castle was damaged and revealed the Founder's stone…"
"How do we get back?" asked Harry. "The stone is covered now."
"We ask the Room!" smiled the girl like she had found gold on the moon and held out her hands to show of the room. "We are out of place in time, Harry. We don't belong here, and if we all four wish to go home, especially on the night of Halloween tomorrow, when the magic is extra strong, then it's to put us right. I hope. Magic wants order. But we must find the Relic first."
Again there was silence. They had all heard her say the I hope.
"Tomorrow we go into our separate houses and look for the clues we have to find the Relic. The reason we could not find it in our time is that Hogwarts was damaged both in the first and second war. This is before the first war; the clues will still be here."
"To bad we can't warn them…" Ron sighed.
"We could," Hermione sighed. "Half chance – we'll stop both wars, half chance – Harry dies as a baby and there will be no need for a second because then Voldemort will win. Or then again, nothing would matter whatever we do."
"Neville could…" whispered Harry.
"Do you want to risk it?" Hermione looked up.
"No," Harry rubbed his scar. "Not with those odds. And not with Voldemort."
"No," Ron sighed.
"I would…" whispered Draco.
Harry looked over at the boy. Draco lay folded with the bear and knees to his chest and head against the armrest. For the first time since they got there Harry realized that it was not his fault that he became a Slytherin, it was Draco who was a Hufflepuff. Draco, who had sacrificed just as much as Harry, but instead of opening up; Draco had closed himself in.
"Father takes his Dark Mark on All Hallows Eve this year," Draco whispered on looking into the fire. "There is going to be a big revel and the Dark Lord is forming his inner circle."
"Draco…" Hermione looked saddened as she used the boy's given name. "Do you what to send the letter?"
"What letter?" asked Harry, he was struggling not to touch Draco, to comfort him.
"We needed a forth to travel, four houses, four founders," Hermione sighed. "I thought we needed a Slytherin, but…" she shrugged. "Draco was the only one of the returning Slytherins I felt I could trust not to use or steal the Relic… But he wanted a deal…"
"I wanted to write a letter and send it to the Manor, magically hiding it so my father would find it when he was old enough. I wouldn't ask him to refuse The Dark Lord, only to set up a letter of precaution… so when the trials came… he could show that he joined against his will…"
"It would be a lie…" Harry breathed.
"Yes," Draco sighed. "My father did nothing against his will until it was my turn to take the Mark, and then it was too late." He scratched his lower left arm uncomfortably.
"The thing is…" Hermione swallowed. "I agreed to his deal since I read in the Prophet this morning that Lucius indeed have a letter of precaution, dated 1977."
They sat quietly looking into the fire. Harry then sighed, gave up and patted Draco's leg.
"Let's go send the letter," he said and got to his feet.
"Are you sure?" Draco looked worried. "You know it's a lie and he will not be punished for all what he has done."
"Not sending the letter would be to condemn him to death. We are here to fight Death…" Harry held out his hand "…even his. When we get back we'll put him to hard work making amends."
"Thank you," Draco took his hand, let himself be helped to his feet and then let go. "I'll go to the owlery."
"I'm coming with you…" Harry smiled under his bangs and whispered;. "I can't let any other Slytherin accost you."
Ron looked shocked at that statement. Harry conjured a hood to his robes and pulled it over his head. Glamours would not work on his hair, he had tried before. They left the room and headed off for the owlery. Draco was quiet. It was about eight o clock and most students were hopefully in their dorms.
"Do you think it will work?" asked Draco.
He had written his letter and was now nervously turning the folded parchment over in his hands. They sat on the floor outside the owlery. They were waiting for the two students inside to come out. By the sounds of it, the students were in the middle of a very intense shagging. Grunts, sighs and occasional profanities escaped from behind the closed door, obviously not charmed for sound. It was two boys – which made it harder to ignore. Draco just hoped that any owl that had not escaped would not be too traumatized to deliver his letter.
"Hermione said that your father…" Harry shifted, trying not to show how turned on he was listening to the couple on the other side.
"Not that," Draco paused as he thought he heard a grunt of completion, but the noises continued. "Honestly, what kind of rabbits are they? Probably Gryffindors."
"Hey," Harry huffed. "It only shows how much stamina we have! Not like Slytherins who just lay down and take it!"
Draco raised an eyebrow, looking him over.
"I mean… err… Well we…"
"So…" Draco leered, nodding to Harry's green robes. "Are you going to take it?"
"I would," Harry folded his arms and pulled his robe tighter to hide his even more budding erection. "But Slytherins don't bend over for Hufflepuffs."
"Touché," he smirked. "But to get back to subject… Do you think your plan will work when we get back?"
"It must. It is your only plan."
"Don't you think that the dead should stay dead?" Draco shivered. "Just look at the Infiri and the vampires…"
"It will be nothing like the Infiri!" Harry protested, anger flashing in his green eyes. "Infiri is like zombies, mindless corpses on magic strings. Vampires have minds but are without souls. What we are doing with the Relic is going to get them back, mind, body and soul."
"Someone read their Defence Against the Dark Arts," Draco looked back at the door, frowned and sighed. "Gryffindors or not, someone better come soon, or I will." He pushed his palm lightly to his groin.
"Fuck," Harry grunted, looking away.
"Did you just…?" Draco laughed.
"No…" panted Harry sourly turning away.
Draco wanted to taunt Harry some more but was interrupted by a simultaneous screams from behind the door, followed by the sound of several upset owl-hoots. He gave a sigh and got up to his feet, adjusting his trousers to accommodate his own straining erection. It seemed that it was not only Gryffindors that had stamina. Hufflepuffs could also hold their own. Probably so that they could snuggle longer, Draco thought and cast a glance at Harry embarrassed cleaning himself.
But then again Draco had a lot of stamina in himself. Not that he had tested it against anything else than against his own fingers and some toys that he was too shamed to even think about. Hufflepuffs were such prudes. He did not confess to himself that the yellow robe was just a yellow robe and not a new personality.
"Want to go again?" the muffled voice was low and out of breath but audible to both Draco and Harry.
Draco went pink with sudden anger.
"Hell, no," he grunted between his teeth. "I need an owl now…" Draco turned to Harry. "I demand that you do something, Potter!"
"Me?" Harry looked up from inspecting that his trousers were clean.
Draco stamped his foot and put on his best Do-What-I-Tell-You-I'm-A-Malfoy-face. It was actually kind of cute. And irresistible to Harry's post-orgasmed mind. He knocked on the door.
"Err… Hello?"
There were some ruffling and panicked whispers on the other side of the door. Draco could here the words forgot and silence spell and FORGOT? being used. The voices were quite familiar…
The door creaked open, and the untidy head of Sirius Black popped out. His cheeks were red and his robes were on backwards. His eyes first caught on Draco, who clearly was not so amused anymore.
"Erm… We are just… cleaning…"
"Well," Draco narrowed his eyes. "It is neat to know that you won't get bird shit up your arse then. Now I need to send a letter to my father!"
He pushed passed Sirius and bumped right into Remus Lupin, who was struggling with his shoes, his shirt undone.
"Hey! We used a blanket… Oh. Hi, Prongs." Sirius smiled at Harry. "I thought you where sneaking Lily into the dorm tonight. Are you done? Can we go back? It is quite hard floors here, and there is down everywhere… Why are you wearing a Slytherin robe?"
"Err…" Harry looked over his father's friends, seeing them in a new light and so many of his questions and suspicions about the two where answered. "I…"
Remus had joined Sirius, helping him to turn his robes right. They both seemed calm now. It was not the first time that James had found them like this. Harry looked over their shoulders to Draco who was examining a barn-owl for traumatic damage. The bird seemed fine since Draco tied his letter to its leg.
"That is a cool spell you done on your eyes," Sirius continued, a devious smile coming over his face. "Are we sneaking into the Slytherin dorms? Are we turning Snape's bed-sheets to jelly? I knew you liked that spell! But I thought we were going to use it on his underwear in Potions tomorrow?"
"Err…" Harry did not want to hear this.
"Padfoot," Remus sternly grabbed hold of Sirius' arm and nodded to Draco's direction.
"I don't like that spell," Harry wondered if it was too late Obliviate them (and then himself for the mental image of Snape in jelly-underwear). "Let's never use it. And stop me if I try to."
The two boys exchanged an odd look.
"Are you feeling all right, Prongs?" Sirius looked worried. "Has Lily dumped you again?"
"Excuse me," Draco moved to Harry's side, his voice sounded like a sad five-year-old. "But James is helping me retrieve my kitten. She ran to hide in the Slytherin common room and now they are holding her hostage. I was just writing a letter telling mommy and daddy how mean they are."
"Those Slytherins really has it in for you today," Remus narrowed his eyes. "Shall we tell their head of house?"
"Moony!" Sirius gasped. "I worry about you sometimes." He turned back to Draco. "Are we related? You look a like a Black, except for the hair and the robes. A Black would rather die before being sorted into Hufflepuff, of course. Actually you look like my cousin's idiot husband. Do you remember him Prongs? Ha! He was in final year when we were in first. Poncy vain git! I bet he combs his hair more often than Narcissa…"
"Anyway!" Harry shouted as he grabbed hold of a dark-eyed Draco's wand-clutching hand. "We have to go and rescue the kitten… Please don't tell anyone that you saw us. And let's never talk about this again – I don't want to be reminded of you shagging..."
"You always say that. But then you find us again and…" Sirius was probably beginning on one of his monologs again, so Harry interrupted him.
"I can show you a really good hidden shagging-place where no one will find you," Harry smiled. "If you swear that you never talk to any one about it, not even me. I'm…" he almost shocked on the words and felt a little nauseous. "I'm… sha… hrm... using it with Lily now but after Halloween midnight it is all yours."
Both boys' eyes lit up.
"I can't believe what that wanker said about my father," muttered Draco as they again sat in the Room of Requirement.
He was clutching a parchment of likely hiding places for the Relic he was going to search though in Hufflepuff tower the next day. Harry had got a similar one and Draco was helping him by drawing a map of the Slytherin dungeons on the back.
Ron was in the bathroom getting ready for the night and Hermione was still buried in Hogwarts A History. Harry sighed, he had given Sirius and Remus instructions to open the Room but made them swear that they would not use it until the day after Halloween. He had convinced them that he was going to make his 'big move' on Lily then. He felt a little nauseous once more and concentrated on Draco instead.
"Come of it, you and your father brew your own shampoo. You even smuggled a bottle of it in to Azkaban when he was there!"
"It is not a shampoo!" Draco threw the pink teddy bear at Harry. "It is a hair-tonic! Malfoys' have sensitive hair! Not like the Potter-bush-weed!"
"Would you shut up about your hair, Malfoy?" grunted Ron who just exited the bathroom. "It was enough that we had to listen to Harry going on about it all summer…oops…" His ears turned red as Harry glared at him. "Sorry, mate."
Hermione snickered from her seat. She escaped to the bathroom as Harry turned his angry eyes at her.
"All summer, Potter?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "I'm flattered. Of course I can not return the favour. Your hair does not deserve a summer, more like a minute, maybe less…
"Hey! It's not that bad!" Harry grabbed hold of Draco's arm and placed it on his head. "See?"
Draco's eyes widened as he drew his finger though the thick, but soft hair. It was like the coat of a long haired dog. Soft. He could not even smirk when he noticed Harry's face change from rage to uncertainty. Draco pulled his hand quickly to his chest.
"All right," he murmured and shifted his seat, his fingers tingling. "Maybe a minute…"
Harry bit his lower lip and looked away, suddenly very confused again.
"Have you really used this room for shagging?" asked Draco, his voice low so that Ron would not hear.
"No…" Harry blushed and looked over to his friend climbing into the red bed. "I have thought about it though… But I have… you know…" he made a suggestive motion with his hand.
He did not feel the need to tell Draco about the time in sixth year he had snuck away with Ginny, only to emerge half an hour later with a whole new perspective on his sexuality and a very disappointed ex-girlfriend. This fact would stay buried, at least until Ron was on the other side of the world – or further.
Draco had the decency to blush, but did not break eye contact.
"Oh my…" Hermione had just stepped out of the bathroom dressed in nightshirt and bathrobe.
Harry reluctantly turned away from Draco to see what was going on. A big lump of heat stuck in his throat and he had to cough. The green and the yellow bed had merged into one. The bedding was green as new spring grass.
"I think…" smiled Hermione, "…that the room is trying to tell you something."
"Stupid room" muttered Draco and hugged his knees to his chin. "I need my bear."
They had tried to wish the bed apart, but had not been successful. Harry had even offered to sleep on the couch, but it disappeared. In the end he and Draco shared the bed but made a barrier of the covers between them.
The barrier had disappeared over night and they had woken up in each other's arms.
"Stupid room," muttered Draco as he disentangled his arm that had some way sneaked under Harry's nightshirt.
"Are you blaming the room?" Harry rubbed his hands over his face, trying to urge down his morning erection by pure will.
"No!" Draco moved towards the bathroom with suspiciously limping steps. "I'm blaming Black and Lupin – giving me… nightmares."
The bathroom door closed behind him. Harry chuckled, he knew what Draco was talking about. But he was not going to have one off with Hermione snoring lightly in the next bed.
Instead he concentrated on listing the ingredients for spider bite-antidote in his head over and over again.
It was not until Ron came though the door carrying a food basket, that Harry realized that he had not heard anyone else snoring.
"The house elves don't mind that we are from the future," Ron announced as he set the table by the sofa (that had returned). "They knew we were here."
"They must be intoned to Hogwarts," said Harry, rising from the bed and walking over to the tempting breakfast.
"Eat up," Ron took a pile of pancakes and drowned them in syrup. "We only got until to night to search the entire castle and avoid everyone between the four of us."
"It's good that I'm a Slytherin," Harry buttered a hot scone. "There is not so much chance I run into my parents there. It seems that I'm destined never to know them…"
"Isn't your mom friends with Snape?"
"Not any more," he looked up to see Draco emerge from the bathroom, yet again dressed in yellow robes. "They had a fight, and Snape said some stupid things… I'll be fine."
"Except that you look like James Potter, and all Slytherins hate him," Draco sat down beside him on the sofa even though the seat Hermione had occupied last night was vacant.
"Can't we change clothes?" Harry frowned.
"Oh! Why did I not think of that?" Draco put his palms to his face in mock horror. "I could have gotten out of Hufflepuff hugs all this time!" His face turned sour. "We are sorted, Potter. Deal with it."
A yawn was heard from Hermione's blue bed as she woke up. The boys hurriedly got back to eating; she would not wait long before assigning today's tasks.
"I've noted that there are still three beds in the Room," said Draco as they walked with Hermione through the castle; Ron had already turned to the Gryffindor tower.
"So?" Harry was still a little embarrassed over how tightly he had snuggled up to Draco during the night.
"I just thought it was odd," continued Draco, blushing slightly. "The Room thinks it can feel some strange, and completely ludicrous and not true at all, tension between me and you…" he straightened his Hufflepuff tie. "Then why not between Granger and Weasley? I thought you had done the dirty by now…"
"Not any of your business, Malfoy!" Hermione narrowed her eyes.
"But he is right though," said Harry, green hood over his head. "About the beds."
"If you must know," she pushed away some errant hair from her face. "We've broken up. We agreed that we just rather be friends. It felt like I was dating my brother."
"When were you going to tell me this?" asked Harry indignant.
"When we were not in front of him," she pointed to Draco, who was not trying to smirk. "Now can we please, please, talk about something else?"
There were a few moments of silence as they walked on. Harry was thinking of the beds, especially his and Draco's joined. When he suddenly felt a stirring in his cock her knew he had to change the subject.
"Can I tell Snape to always carry snake antidote?" he asked.
"No," Hermione sounded stern, but relieved to the new topic.
"What is the difference?" Harry protested. "Draco can send a letter to his father but I can't tell…?"
"But we already know that Mr. Malfoy has a letter…" Hermione looked around a corner to see if the coast was clear. "We know Snape is dead in our time, so giving him clues about antidotes won't help."
"That is ridiculous," said Draco. "You are saying that what will happen is set in stone what ever we do. Why then are we then hiding, looking around corners and avoiding Potter's parents? If it is destined for us to be here, it would not matter if Potter and I shagged on the High table at dinner, everything that has happened would happen anyway."
There was a couple of seconds of silence. Harry blushed.
"Not that I want to shag Potter on the High table…" murmured Draco. "Just an example."
"Time is a perfect mix between destiny and coincidence," said Hermione in a know-it-all voice, stopping at the juncture leading to the Ravenclaw tower. "We can't tell which is which, so better play it safe and don't interfere."
She gave them each a smile and headed for Ravenclaw.
"Do you think…" Harry bit his lip as they made their way towards Hufflepuff and Slytherin, "…we changed time with what we told Sirius and Remus last night?"
"Fifty-fifty," Draco shrugged and stopped at his turn. "But she has a point." He hesitated. "Be careful."
He suddenly leaned in and gave Harry a quick kiss on the lips and then he was gone with a blush. Harry touched his lips in shock.
"Bloody hell," he whispered to himself and smiled.
Harry had sneaked in to Slytherin when a first year had come running out of the secret door. The boy had thought Harry was a prefect and begun to cry, begging for forgiveness for his tardiness. The thought about how the Slytherin prefects were treating their charges made Harry uncomfortable. He had let the boy go with a simple shove off and entered the snake den.
It was exactly like Draco had described it; apparently change in the castle took more than twenty one years. Harry looked down at the list of good search places, turned to paper over and compared to Draco's scribbled map. He would go through the list first and then move on to a search of his own.
Little over three hours later he was exhausted. None of the places on the list had turned up anything. He had only found hidden stashes of liquor, marijuana, forbidden potions, porn and sex toys. While this had brought both entertainment and embarrassment, it had still been a fruitless search.
He was sitting in the big couch in the middle of the common room, hood pulled tightly over his head, staring at the map, trying to think of more hiding places, when the door opened. He looked up to see Draco stepping over the threshold.
"How is it going?" he asked.
"Nothing," sighed Harry and walked over to him. "You?"
"Nothing, except that Hufflepuffs are perverts," Draco shook his head. "And they are practicing some strange magic called 'flower power', have you heard of that?"
"Yeah," Harry smiled, catching Draco's confused eyes. "It does not surprise me that Hufflepuffs are hippies,"
"Is it some kind of hex?" Draco grabbed hold of his arse in panic. "Does the flowers make your hips bigger? There were a lot of flowers. Are my hips big?"
He hiked up his yellow robes around his waist and looked with dread on Harry.
"You are not wearing any trousers…" noted Harry with dry lips staring at the silk black boxer-like underwear covering Draco's, slim, hips.
"Focus, Potter!" blushed Draco, grabbing his robes tighter. "How does my hips look?"
"They're…" What? Perfect? Shaggable? Oh my God, he has a outie navel!
Before Harry could find the right word, the door opened again. Both Harry and Draco turned to look at a shocked seventeen year old Severus Snape clutching his books, one of them his potions book. The young Slytherin collected himself fast enough, though.
"Moved on to Hufflepuffs now, Samuels?" Snape glared at Harry. "You make me sick… I…" he stopped and looked at Draco. "Malfoy?"
Draco dropped his robes, hiding his bare legs again. He pulled up to his full length and really looked exactly like his father for a moment.
"Look, Severus," Draco grabbed hold of Snape's shoulders in an angle so that the dark boy could not examine his face more closely. "You know about the revel tomorrow night?"
"Y-yes?" Snape hugged his book tighter, his face pale.
"We need to find something here at Hogwarts," continued Draco in a voice that was hard and to the point, just like Lucius'. "A powerful object that is hidden…"
Harry gasped, but Draco shook his head to keep him quiet.
"You know this castle better than anyone, better than that twat Dumbledore even…"
"I…" Snape looked both flattered and confused, glancing over to Harry who was thankful for his hood.
"Do you know anywhere that has changed or rebuilt in the last, say… forty two years?"
"There is that wall…" Snape said hesitantly. "But why are you wearing Hufflepuff robes?"
"I was going to use polyjuice potion…"
"What is that?" Snape suddenly peaked up and looked interested.
Draco blinked and bit his lip, suddenly not looking so sure of himself. Harry thought he looked adorable.
"A potion…" Draco looked confused, but was still holding on to Snape so that the boy could not see his face properly. "Haven't you heard…? Oh, right, yes…" He cleared his throat and regained his father's voice. "It's a Dark Potion that transfigures your appearance to another person. The Ministry is still debating to take it of the Dark list so that they can use it in covert operations. I guess that will happen next year."
"Oh," Snape looked down at his potions book, like he wanted to take notes.
"What wall, did you say?"
"There was a wall that was accidently bombed in the big Muggle war, 1944, before the castle wards were strengthened to protect from such Muggle weapons… The left side of the outer east wall… "
Harry suddenly noticed that the other book Snape was carrying was Hogwarts a History, why had not Hermione noted that information? And by the way, Hermione was right, Snape was cute as young. Harry was going to wash his brain later for thinking that.
"I will trust you to never speak of this again, Severus," Draco held Snape tighter, a not so hidden threat in his words. "I will speak well of you to the Dark Lord. You may come to the revel tomorrow."
"I… I may?" Snape's dark eyes suddenly got darker.
"Yes…" Draco looked sad, let Snape go and turned around facing the exit. "Remember, not a word."
"I promise…"
Harry followed Draco out of the Slytherin common room, leaving a rather terrified looking Snape behind, hugging his books. When the door closed Draco began to run. Harry caught up to him just before the Entrance hall. He grabbed hold of Draco turning him around, pushing him to the wall.
"What was that?" he shook the other boy. "You sent him to the Revel!"
"He was going there anyway!" whispered Draco back, his eyes full of tears. "Father told me that Snape turned up unexpectantly that night and that he covered for him, telling the Dark Lord that he had invited him…" he turned his face away, tears running down his cheeks. "I just never expected it to me to send him there."
Harry didn't know what to say, so he just gave in and embraced Draco. The boy sobbed into his shoulder.
"It had to be one of those destiny things, right?" murmured Draco between silent tears. "It could not be avoided, right?"
"Right," Harry tightened his hug, and felt brave enough to place his cheek against the soft ear.
They stood there for about a minute. Then Draco shoved Harry away so hard that he hit the other wall. Harry blinked from the pain and confusion.
"You tell anybody about this, Potter!" Draco straightened his yellow robes, giving Harry his best death glare. "I'll make your little Sectumsempra look like a paper cut. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!" Harry smiled, touching two fingers to his temple in a salute.
"Prat!"
When they returned to the room of Requirement, Ron and Hermione had already begun to eat their lunch. Two plates stood ready waiting for them. Harry and Draco sat down by the table.
"Any luck?" asked Hermione.
"Snape told us about a wall that was bombed by Muggles," said Harry looking over the stew on his plate, it looked like beef. "It was rebuilt with new wards in 1944, which could have hidden the Relic, right?"
"Snape?" Ron looked up from his food. "He caught you?"
"Yeah… But Draco… well…"
Draco said nothing, just poking his stew with a disgusted look on his face. If the look was over the food or what had happened, Harry could not tell.
"Draco managed to talk us out of it, and get the information."
"Snape was a really lonely child," muttered Draco pushing the untouched plate away from him. "He had nothing else to do but to walk the halls and stay out of everybody's way. He once told me that he stayed hidden here for the last two summers of his schooling, just because he did not want to go home…" he sighed. "If anyone knew, it would be him."
"That is so sad!" Hermione almost sobbed.
"Steady on, 'Mione," Ron huffed. "It's Snape we are talking about."
"We should go look at the wall, when classes start again after lunch," Harry reached over under the table to touch Draco's hand in comfort, to his surprise Draco held on.
"There is nothing about that wall in iHogwarts A History/i" complained Hermione. "Not a word. It says the Castle iwas/i accidently hit by a Muggle weapon, but that there where no real damage! " She thought about it. "We could be on to something here."
"I never thought I would say this…" Ron was eying Draco's rejected lunch, "…but those Gryffindors are perverts. You would not believe what I found…"
"Porn?" drawled Draco pushing over his plate to Ron. "We all found that."
"Yeah," Ron dug in. "And apparently there is a meteor shower or something coming up… I found a list of names of people who wanted go and see some kind of star war next weekend."
"I found one of those too," Draco sighed and intertwined his fingers with Harry's under the table. "Too bad we can't stay that long, I love astronomy… Not in the romantic way, of course. The scientific way! Yes."
Harry and Hermione just exchanged amused looks.
"So…" Harry stood back with Ron while Hermione and Draco were examining the wall. "I heard you and Hermione broke up…"
"She said that?" Ron winced. "But yeah, it's over. I love her, but I'm not in love, you know…? How?"
"Draco guessed it, with the beds and all."
"Does that mean that you and…him…" he winced even more.
"I don't know," Harry looked over to Draco and felt a little warmer inside. "Maybe…"
"Good luck with that," Ron huffed. "You're going to have your hands full."
"I hope so…" Harry smirked at his own audacity.
"Gross."
Hermione suddenly gave up a happy squeak, tapping her wand to a stone.
"Here!" she said. "Something is hidden."
"How do we get it out?" asked Harry laying his hand on the stone. "The wards are made to withstand an air raid. Dumbledore put these up, I can feel his magic." He closed his eyes. "Definitely something not by Dumbledore under here…"
He let go of the stone and took a breath to regain himself. Draco actually looked like he was going to reach out to steady him, but seemed to change his mind and crossed his arms instead. Harry smiled, despite himself.
"I don't know what Grindelwald's magic feels like," he mused. "But it is defiantly worth a shot."
"Dumbledore must know it's here," Hermione cast some detection spells. "Why has he let it remain?"
"Because I can not remove it, young lady."
They all swiftly turned around.
"Expelliamus" shouted Harry before he knew what he was doing and suddenly he was holding the Elder Wand in his hand.
"Well, that was actually unexpected…" Dumbledore looked at his empty hand. "Indeed."
Dumbledore looked just like he had done in their first year, maybe with a little shorter beard. Harry bit his lip and suddenly noticed that Draco was staring at him like… like… like he wanted to rip the clothes of Harry's body with his teeth. The image was strangely not disturbing at all.
"Err…" Harry cleared his throat. "I... I'm sorry, sir. Please. Hit me and take it back."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hesitated for a moment, but then gave Harry a stinging slap on the cheek and took back the wand.
Harry gasped, holding his cheek. Draco flinched. Dumbledore chuckled with a hesitant smile.
"That was much easier the the last time I won this. You are a powerful young man…" He looked him over. "Mr Potter? You look just like your father… You two look more like your mothers, though, but you can't mistake the hair. Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Weasley." He turned to Hermione.
"Muggleborn," she whispered. He nodded kindly.
"I have a feeling that I need to Obliviate myself after this," his blue eyes were twinkling.
"That would be the best, sir," Harry felt sorry for all the things he wanted to say but could not. "Do it thoroughly. No bottled memories either, please sir."
"I'm going to trust you on that," Dumbledore stepped forward to the wall and placed his hand on the stone that Hermione found. "I felt four people arrive though the Founder Stone," he said. "I thought you just came by mistake, the Castle likes to play tricks on people. I was going to help you, but then I noticed that you were staying in the Room of Requirement, and apparently knew how to get back by yourselves… so I left you alone. But then you came here and I became worried."
"Does this happen often, sir?" asked Hermione.
"Spontaneous time travel?" Dumbledore lifted away the stone from the wall by his fingertips. "It happens. Not very often, but it happens."
There was a cavity opening up in the wall, reviling a dusty box. It looked like a simple box for a wand. Dumbledore took a step back, stone between his hands, looking to Harry.
"Only the one meant to take it can take it. The Master of the Hollows."
Harry felt nervous. Ron and Hermione nodded encouragingly. Draco, well, Harry did not dare to look at him right now, but he could hear the boy breathing. He dried the sweat of his hands and stepped forward.
Stretching out, he could feel the magic of Dumbledore's wards, and the other magic hidden inside the box. Holding his breath he closed his fingers around the cool, brown, wood. As he pulled out his hand, he could see something flicker in Dumbledore's eyes. Was it greed? Envy? Harry pressed the box to his chest for protection.
"Do not worry, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore sighed. "It may be a bitter defeat for me now, but once I am Obliviated I will feel hope once again."
"Oh," Harry still held the box tight. "Do it soon, please, sir. And you better forget all about the wall as well."
"Of course, my boy. I'll even remove it from Hogwarts A History."
"I so fucking want to kiss you right now," Draco took hold Harry's hand, his low voice was like silk, honey and lust all wrapped up into one.
"And that also, sir," blushed Harry, feeling hungry hands move over his back.
"One for me too," Ron looked a little green.
"Of course I'm attracted to power," said Draco haughtily, he was holding Harry's hand as they walked to the Room of Requirement. "I'm a Malfoy. Power is sexy."
Harry was still blushing. He felt really dizzy after checking Dumbledore's mind so that the Obliviation had worked. It was after that Draco had started holding his hand. His other hand was still holding the Relic-box to his chest.
They had left Dumbledore thinking that he had a run-in with one of the time travel visitors; Hermione with her hood up. The gap in the Headmaster's memory would be explained that way, and he would have no need to pry his own mind open, hopefully.
"So what you are saying…" said Ron slowly. "…that you wouldn't be attracted to Harry if his wasn't powerful?"
"That is not an issue, Weasel, since he is," Draco waived his hand as if chasing away an irritating fly. "It helps that he is cute, but that is beside the point."
Hermione gave out a small laugh and Draco glared at her.
"Are we going to look in on the party?" sighed Ron to change the subject. "It would be fun to see how they celebrated Halloween, back then… – I mean, now."
"Sure, we can dress up…" Hermione looked around a corner; it was almost the end of afternoon classes so they had to be careful. "It would be interesting out of an anthropological point of view… We just have to be in the Room by midnight to wish ourselves back."
"How about it, Draco?" Harry cast a blushing glace at the Hufflepuff Slytherin. "Do you want to dance?"
"Very well, but I'll lead. You can't dance worth a Knut. But…" he leaned in closer with a dangerous smile "…I'll let you lead later."
Harry, who had just begun to recover, suddenly felt more dizzier than ever.
"Ron snogged Lavender Brown's mom," smirked Hermione.
"I did not!" Ron's ears shone red. "She threw herself on me! I must've been something in the punch."
"You still snogged her."
"I was being polite," he adjusted his loose tie. "You should talk, you where staring at Sirius all the time."
"Everybody was staring at Sirius," huffed Hermione. "He was wearing a toga."
"Anyway," Ron looked away from her to Harry. "Everything all right? You left the dance early."
Harry could still not shake his bliss from snogging, groping and being groped by Draco for the last three hours and just nodded with a silly smile on his lips. Draco had a similar smile, but maybe not to silly, he imagined.
"Please don't tell me," Ron held up his hands as a shield.
"I had no intention of telling you," Draco had his arm casually over Harry's shoulders. "But I do intend to tell Pansy. She would kill me if I withhold any details."
"Draco!" Harry swatted him in the stomach.
"Don't worry, Potter," smirked Draco. "Gentlemen never kiss and tell."
"Since when are you a gentleman?" huffed Ron.
"I've always been a gentleman, Weasel. I just never followed the rules before."
Harry, Ron and Hermione all rolled their eyes over this.
"Two minutes," said Hermione. "Concentrate on our time and home."
"I can't wait to show you off," smiled Draco, holding tighter on to Harry. "This will show them never to count a Malfoy out."
"Harry!" Ron bellowed. "Are you going to let him talk about you that way?"
"I don't know…" Harry cast a glance on the suddenly worried looking man at his side. "It feels good to be the prize for once. I have been chasing things all my life; it's my turn to be chased." He leaned his head to Draco's shoulder. "Just as long as I can show you off too."
"Of course!" Draco smoothed his hair. "I'm made for showing off."
"Yeah," muttered Ron. "You'll win first prize in a ferret show any day…"
Ron was saved from being hit on the head by a pink teddy bear by a bright light and then darkness…
("Hmm…" thought the Castle of Hogwarts – if indeed castles can think – "That was strange… Oh well… moving on…")
A door opened carefully and a young man in a toga looked inside, he was holding the hand of another young man dressed in a skeleton costume.
"Look Moony! This is awesome!"
Epilogue
Ron held the cracked Resurrection Stone to his chest as he approached the Veil.
"Fred Arthur Weasley" he said loud and clear. "Brother and friend. Sé fod ar goll me och rwyf eisau lui siar " *
He placed the stone on the floor in front of the arch.
Hermione, with young Teddy Lupin on her hip, stepped forward. Teddy was smiling and plying with the shimmering cloth of the invisibility cloak.
"Remus Nicolas Francis Lupin," she took the cloak from the child with a kind smile. "Father, Teacher and friend. Sé fod ar goll me och rwyf eisau lui siar"
She laid the cloak on the floor next to the stone. Teddy looked a little sad for the loss of his shimmering toy. She backed away to give room to Draco, who was clutching the Elder Wand. With a sigh he put down the wand on the floor.
"Severus Tobias Snape. Mentor, teacher and friend. Sé fod ar goll me och rwyf eisau lui siar"
He stretched out his hand for Harry who took it firmly in his. In his other hand he held the box of bones.
"Sirius Orion Black," he said, tears running down his face. "The Father I never had and friend. Sé fod ar goll me och rwyf eisau lui siar"
Harry placed the box on the floor, never releasing Draco's hand, and levitated all the items into the Veil with a wordless and wandless spell.
"That is it, I guess," he leaned his head on Draco's shoulder.
"How do we know if it works?" asked Ron, biting his thumbnail.
"We wait."
They sat down on the floor in front of the arch. Harry let Draco's arms fold around him and moved closer. Hermione placed Teddy on her lap and let him play with her hair. Ron paced.
As four shadows began to form behind inside the arch, Harry let out a sigh. Draco kissed him on the cheek and held him closer.
-The End-
(*a combination of Welsh, French, Icelandic and Swedish meaning: "He is missing from me and I want him back")