*Important Update (Dec. 09):
hullo dear readers,
some people may love the news, I certainly do: this story is under construction + temporarily paused because of this construction.
it's completely the author's fault, and as much as she hates it when authors do things like that to their readers it's unavoidable now. (better sooner than later, she wanted to say, but it's late anyway, so it really just sucks.)
for an explanation see pathetic lines below.
*pathetic-lines-below*
'as I said above, I don't like it when authors do this, so sorry. but i'm very unhappy with the fic as it is and dumdumdum to make a long story short: it was the first fanfic I posted, it was rushed, the background not properly thought through, plot holes developed while posting and are now hindering the story to go where i've planned for it to go. (the last chapters were attempts of saving the story somehow, but they failed. arrggghh) so now I've decided to give it a make-over and hopefully soon-ish (motivation, where art thou) re-post the first chapters with the (small) changes so we can finally continue the story, the real thing.
as I keep getting reader-alert mails (huh), I thought I'd put this up here. so, now you're informed and know why updates will be delayed.
very sorry for the inconvenience.
thanks for reading.
xo
ps.: if there's something about this fic you found utterly ridiculous/annoying/stupid/weird – you are very welcome to tell me about it. (or tell me/ask something else)
pps.: you're allowed anonymous comments, if that makes it easier to be honest ;-) (please remember, I can't reply to these)
(ppps.: put this note up on the first and last-posted chapter; don't know where people read it.)
*End of Important Update*
gray-eyed Athena: thank you very much for being my beta, this story would be nothing without your help.
Chapter 1
The weather was abysmal. They had just managed to slip away unnoticed from some of their parents' 'so-called' friends and were about to plan further steps for their newborn freedom, when they were greeted by laughter – or rather tears from the sky above. To say that the rain was heavy would have been an understatement.
An hour before, they had met at a secret spot in the forest to discuss their current situation:
"You know where and when to meet, if they come." It was more a demand than a question.
"Yes," came the simple answer.
After a few moments of silence the blond started speaking again.
"I can't stay at Severus' place anymore. They will notice sooner or later, and then he will be in trouble, because of us…" the blond boy said, while watching the dark forest for any sign of movement.
"Actually not thinking about yourself for a second there?" The taller one smirked slightly and raised an eyebrow, moving his wand about silently. The blond glared at his companion, choosing to ignore his comment, and continued on.
"…and they will have an easy go at finding us. He can't say anything, or they will suspect him and he'll lose his status. He can't risk that. They would find us in the end and my life would be fucked up even more."
"Ah, back to being self-absorbed as usual," observed the young wizard, blithely.
The blond wizard did not even flinch at the insult. "So, we need a plan."
"Yes, I quite agree to that. I really can't continue sleeping through every single female household in London, just because I need a place to stay and you're not up to sharing."
"Having certain problems?" Now it was the fair-haired wizard's turn to smirk, as he glanced in a southerly direction on other boy's body. The taller boy merely smirked at this, keeping his cool mask perfectly in place upon his face.
"I can assure you, everything is working fine. I'm sure I could teach you a thing or two…"
"Shut it already."
"…whenever you want."
"Shut it!" hissed the blond, standing up and listening into the dark, while taking a firm hold on his wand.
After a few seconds of listening to utter silence, it became apparent that the only things moving in the moonlight were the ominous clouds above the two runaways.
Their eyes met, and both stared attentively at one another while they listened to their surroundings. After a few more moments, it seemed safe enough for them to return to their conversation. Both young wizards let out a breath they had not noticed holding and continued, though much quieter than before.
"Where were we?" asked the blond, sitting back down with a frown etched across his face, annoyed with the circumstances.
"You wanted me to teach you how to…"
"We need a plan," reiterated the blond, disregarding whatever his dark-haired friend had begun to say. He contemplated the situation for a few minutes, allowing his mind to sift through all the options.
Then he suddenly snorted and said, "We should almost go to Potter and his stupid friends; they would never think to find us there." He let out a small laugh, obviously picturing himself getting covered by his enemy. Or was Potter his enemy?
"That's… good!" responded the taller wizard, sitting up straighter at the thought. His eyebrows knitted while thinking.
"I was joking," said the blond, cross with his friend's unexpected reaction.
"No, think! That would be the last place they'd go looking for us. And we would have time to think about our next move! It's our best option."
"Yes, you're right, we'll just march on up to the Weasley's, knock on their door and ask if they would be so kind as to let us live there for a few weeks, as we are unfortunately being followed by Death Eaters who are likely to obliterate everything in their way to get us. Meanwhile, we would be drinking tea with the Golden Trio and baking cookies for Granger's bloody cat. Sure, good plan. Let's go."
"Damn. I forgot the cat. You're right, the plan is ruined."
The blond glared at the dark-haired boy, which looked amused and spoke again with a shrug. "It's the best plan we have."
"No, it's the only plan we have," admitted the other, annoyed.
"Right."
"And why are you being so calm about it?" asked the blond, still irritated. His friend was obviously hiding something from him, which was not helping his mood.
"I have my reasons."
"Spit it out already." At this, the other wizard just smirked and winked at him.
"Oh…please don't tell me you're in love with the Weasel." The dark-haired boy laughed out loud at this.
"Better than fancying scarhead." The blond snorted.
"So, what is it already?" demanded the fair-haired wizard after a few moments of sharing ridiculous jokes – it seemed odd to experience such a fleeting moment of fun in such a serious situation.
The dark-haired boy slipped a hand in his pocket and fished out a small bottle, tossing it to him.
"A potion?" The blond raised one eyebrow suspiciously.
"Mother took it," he answered with a shrug, as if this was a satisfactory excuse.
"Right, but if I remember correctly, she got slightly addicted to shit like this."
"So."
"And you don't think that will happen to you too, idiot?"
"I'm not overdoing it."
"Sure." The blond muttered and then continued, when he noticed his friend hadn't heard, "So. Are you depressed or something?" he asked, feeling awkward at the personal moment between them. It was not like they shared them often; they kept their problems to themselves and tried not to let too much emotion show through their masks.
"I would certainly be, if I left my home and family and was in fear for my life, wouldn't I?"
The blond didn't answer, but stood up and starting pacing. Didn't he notice the seriousness of the situation? Maybe he would jeopardize their potential for freedom when he was in this state. It was possible that he would misjudge situations and not act properly and hence endanger their lives. Stupid.
"You can have some if you want to." His friend's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"You're pathetic." He spat out, turning on his heel and walked away.
"I'm carefree," the other corrected, lying back and looking up at the moon, which glowed through the dark clouds now and then. A raindrop hit his forehead, right above his left eyebrow.
That was the moment the Death Eaters choose to attack.
A ray of green light shot at his head, but he managed to roll to the side at the last second and call out for his friend.
"Draco!" He was not able to search for him, as he tried to hide and fight back against the hooded figures, while the rain intensified.
"DRACO! DAMN IT!!" He shouted a few spells and hit two of the attackers. Suddenly there was an uncomfortable silence, with only the sound of the hammering rain to fill the black void of the once-secret spot in the forest.
He let his eyes search the dark, but could only see a pair of bodies lying on the damp ground, the two Death Eaters that he had struck down.
Then he felt it. Something thin was pressing against his neck and before he could act, he heard a deep voice.
"Where is he?" The young wizard licked his dry lips, before answering.
"I don't know who you're talking about." He said boldly and felt the wand press further into his skin.
"STOP acting stupid; it doesn't suit you. Now, where's my son?" He could see no way out of this, and was contemplating his next futile move, when another ray of light shot through the air.
"CRUCIO!"
"Fuck, Blaise!"
He felt the wand leave his neck the moment after the curse was cast, and he instinctively leapt in the direction from which he had heard Draco's voice. Turning, Blaise could see a dark figure lying on the ground, writhing slightly. He felt Draco's presence beside him, and he glanced over to see the blond wizard soaked through, rain dripping from the ends of his light-coloured hair. Draco was staring dispassionately at the wizard on the ground, his father. Blaise didn't know what to say, so he remained silent, wishing they could leave the forest.
"Come on," said Draco after a few more seconds, as his father was regaining consciousness. The spell had been surprisingly strong, and Draco had not been conscious of having this power (or hate) in him, as much as he disliked his father.
He was about to Disapparate, when a hand abruptly grabbed his arm, stopping him. Draco drew his wand at this automatically, but relaxed slightly, when he saw to whom the arm was attached.
"I can't," said Blaise, clearly uncomfortably, still holding on to Draco's arm.
"What? This is not the time for your stupid jokes, you better…"
"Side effects." Blaise interrupted quickly, knowing they didn't have much time for lengthy conversation.
"You're telling me this now?" Draco said incredulously, looking mad, knowing full well what he was talking about. Then he nodded, let out an annoyed sigh, and holding on to his friend, they Disapparated.
When they appeared in an abandoned alley, Draco quickly directed them to behind a brick wall, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.
"We'll have another go, in case they knew where we Apparated to." Blaise just nodded and continued to hold onto Draco.
They Disapparated again and found themselves on a dark street, rain dumping down on them once more, old buildings rising up in front of them.
"Where they hell did you take us?" shouted Blaise through the noise of the weather.
"I don't know, I just tried to get us to bloody Potter!" Draco shouted back.
"Potter after all, eh?"
"Where the hell are we?" Draco ignored Blaise once more, searching for a street sign or any indication of their location.
"Grimmauld… something… I can't read it, it's too dark," declared Blaise, pointing to a street sign down the alley.
"Let's get out of here!" And they Disapparated again, just a second before someone looked out of a window, which one couldn't see from the street.
"What is it?" Sirius asked.
"I just thought I saw..."
"What?" Sirius got op from his chair and walked over to stand beside Harry and looked down at the dark and wet street.
"Nothing. Never mind… Uh, I'm hungry already!"
"Me too, should we really wait for Moony?" Sirius said, smirking at his godson.
"Let's give him five more minutes." Sirius nodded, but sighed, and then he let himself fall back down in his chair.
"Is it tomorrow that Ginny's throwing this farewell party?" he then asked, trying to get his mind off of his protesting stomach.
"Yep."
"And why wasn't I invited?" he said, trying to look grievously hurt.
"Because you don't know her friend, who is moving out, anyway. AND," he hurried to continue, when he saw Sirius mouth open, "she says she can't have you seducing her girlfriends because she wouldn't listen to their moaning, when you leave them for another." Harry concluded, grinning.
"Ginny knows too much." Sirius said with another mock pained look.
"She's just trying to protect her friends. …and NO!" he continued quickly, when Sirius started to speak again.