First real chapter; please don't be expecting two-three chapters a day like this one, please; I do have other things to be doing.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the Tairlai and the plot
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, end of Fifth year.
That year at Hogwarts had never been harder on Harry. First he had to deal with the fact that Voldemort really, truly was back, then he had to just have that vision about the Department of Mysteries, which lead to the untimely death of his godfather, Sirius, which all ended with him hearing the damn prophecy about him and Voldemort. Damn that idiot. Harry thought miserably, poking at the eggs that were sitting on his plate, the contact he had with them had been his repeated poking at them, a scowl set in place.
Everyone thought Harry would be stricken with grief at the loss of Sirius; so stricken they thought he'd lose all mental stability he held onto, but they were wrong. Sure Harry mourned a great deal for Sirius, but something at the back of his head told him it'd be all right, that Sirius wasn't truly gone, but simply waiting. And Harry chose to listen to that little something, so he kept his grieving at a low level.
The chatter and warm buzz of everyone in the Great Hall died down as the large doors were thrown open, and in sauntered Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, looking as smug and perfect as they always did. Slowly, they made their way up to the head table, and stopped directly in front of Albus Dumbledore, who addressed the two with a nod and all merriment was forgotten as they briefly discussed something of a serious kind before the two nodded, smiled, turned and made a beeline for Draco Malfoy, who had paled greatly, and was trying his hardest not to shrink back as his parents approached.
Now, the sight of Malfoy looking so terrified intrigued Harry, watching the three Malfoys quietly converse, his emerald eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Wonder what's going on...?" Someone mumbled down the table from him. Harry turned briefly to regard the speaker before turning back to the scene, like everyone else in the school, but what was said next caught Harry's attention.
"Didn't you know? Malfoy's a Tairlai. It's the first of June... If I remember correctly, his birthday's the fifth, and he's turning sixteen..." The voice trailed off suggestively, which led Hermione to speak up, also having gotten interested in the conversation.
"...Which means if he's seen his mate, he'll come into inheritance of his blood. I remember reading about the breed in 'Dying races of the World'. They have a whole chapter on them, but it's rather vague." She whispered excitedly, and soon the whole Gryffindor table was whispering to one another, trying to guess what would happen to the Slytherin.
Harry frowned thoughtfully. The sound of this entire thing seemed familiar and even the word 'Tairlai' didn't seem as foreign to him as it should. His frown deepened. What exactly did all this mean? Harry turned to glance at the blond just in time to see him rise slowly, and cast a glance at Harry, his liquid silver eyes shining with something Harry couldn't comprehend. Hope? Need? ... Fear maybe? But before Harry could try to guess, the blond turned away and left with his parents.
The minute the trio left the Great Hall, an eruption of whispers exploded from the other tables, everyone trying to guess what was going on. Those who knew what was going on were discussing the fate that Malfoy had walked into. But nothing else mattered at that moment to Harry. All he could concentrate on was the look Malfoy had given him, which worried him slightly.
At the instant, Harry knew what he was now pining for.
Suddenly and quite quickly, Harry stood up, glanced at his friends and mumbled, "I'm going to the library..." And as soon as the last word was out of his mouth, he headed off; quite thankful that it was a Saturday.
As soon as he out of the Great Hall, Harry sped off towards the library, where he was sure the answers he wanted awaited him.
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Three hours and fifteen books later, Harry laid his head down with a sigh. The only information he had found and recorded was about a foot of parchment... Libraries are supposed to hold the answer to everything... At least that's what 'Mione says... Harry thought dully to himself.
"Harry? What're you doing?" A soft voice said next to him, making him jump up in his chair and whip around to stare at the intruder coldly. Instantly, his eyes softened when he saw that it was just Hermione, looking a tad bit worried.
Letting out another sigh, Harry gestured to the unorganized stuff in front of him. "Trying to figure out what exactly a Tairlai is..." Harry trailed off, looking down at the table with a frustrated glare. Why did this all make sense in a 'You know this stuff but you don't' way? Everything just had to be difficult when it came to Harry Potter.
Hermione smiled softly and sat down beside her friend. "Why are you looking up stuff about the Tairlai?" She asked, and then added, "Are you worried about Malfoy?"
Harry's head snapped up at the word 'Malfoy'. "I don't know why I'm looking this all up... Just curious I guess." An involuntary shiver ran down Harry's spine. "I'm not worried about Malfoy." He said, a bit rushed.
Slowly, Hermione nodded. "Okay, well, first of all, let's see what you have here..." She started, reached for the list he had created.
Neither was seen by Ron until dinner came around.
Please Read and Review! Please be patient as I work on my other fic and it's chapters, along with the chapters for this one and my other commitments!
