Title: Dragonpox and Flying
Rating: Chapters will vary but the story in general will be somewhere around PG-13 or a soft R.
Summary: Harry has a problem with minding his own business, and Draco has a secret.
Author's Notes: The grand secret is revealed! Oh noes! My favorite chapter is the next one, though :] you'll see.
Reviews are the best. EVAR.
Chapter II: Feathers and Falling
Harry found himself at the foot of the stairs to the Astronomy Tower within just a few minutes - six years of wandering the school meant that he knew the fastest ways to get almost anywhere. He folded the map closed and mounted the stairs as quietly as he could, on tiptoe, but he felt like he was as loud as Hagrid.
When he got close enough to see the door, he saw it was open, and redoubled his efforts to be silent. Perhaps it was his body finally growing to its full potential, but he'd been annoyingly clumsy for weeks now. He inched closer to the doorway, then finally eased out and looked around.
To his right, there was nothing, just the stars and the slight glow of lights against the sky from the direction of Hogsmeade.
To his left, though, the full moon was rising, fat and almost yellow, balanced for the moment on the edge of the Tower. And leaning against one of the gaps in the edge, staring up at it, was Draco Malfoy's slight body, silhouetted against its light, and oddly, not wearing a shirt.
Harry thought at first that he was wearing a cloak which was blowing oddly... then realized there was no wind. He squinted, wondering if he needed new glasses yet again. Then Malfoy shifted and turned slightly, and the outline of his body against the moon brought the odd shape of the shadows behind him into sharp relief, and Harry gasped.
There were wings sprouting from his back, feathered and reaching from above his head almost halfway down his calves. The shadows couldn't hide how the light of the moon glinted through the edges of the white feathers.
But Harry only saw their full glory for a moment, because as soon as he gasped, Draco spun, bringing his hand up as if he had pulled his wand.
"Who's there?" he demanded in a harsh whisper, a quaver at the back of his voice as his hand fell again, dangling helplessly by his side. He did not have his wand. Harry pulled his own from his waistband and stepped closer, crouching to keep the invisibility cloak from showing any hint of his feet.
"Damnit, show yourself!" Malfoy hissed, clenching his hands into fists; Harry could see the wings behind his back spread a little, like the hair rising on a cat's neck. He was glaring fiercely in Harry's general direction, his usually-perfect hair tousled.
He took a deep breath, then dropped the Cloak, hoping that his assumption that Draco was wandless was true.
There was no sound for a second, as shock froze Draco's face, the edges of the wings behind him glinting as they caught the light. Harry said nothing, his inner voice (which sounded suspiciously like Hermione) demanding why in the world he had done such a stupid thing, and could he ever just keep his nose out of other's business, and sneaking up on Draco had gotten him cursed before, now hadn't it?
Draco's face changed, somehow, and Harry caught his breath as the blond's tongue slid over his lips. A tiny smirk graced his face, and Malfoy stepped forward, eyes on his and his wings spread further than ever. He parted his lips and whispered, "Up here all alone, are we, Potter?" with his usual drawl.
Harry panicked, tried to run backwards somehow, tripped over his own legs, and started scrambling back, trying to get to his feet, wand in hand. But Draco had frozen, staring at him. He shook his head, violently, then brought his hands up to his temples.
"Potter, go, now," he grated, not looking up.
"No!" Harry answered defiantly, unsure why he'd refused but considering removing himself to Saint Mungo's if he could miss classes.
"Potter, if you do not leave right now or curse me unconscious, I will not be able to keep myself - " his breath hitched, and he looked up. Harry felt a twinge of fear at the desperate look on his face - "From touching you. You want that even less than I do, I'd wager."
"I want to know what's going on," Harry snarled back, raising his wand and drawing on his famed Gryffindor courage to take a step closer.
Draco moaned, hands digging into his upper arms as if he was hugging himself. "Go. Now. Ask McGonagall. Before I do something I regret," he gasped out, and spinning, he ran for the edge of the wall, then vaulted over it in one smooth motion.
Harry almost choked, his scream catching in his throat and making some sort of noise like a strangled cat. He was to the wall, the stone pressing into his hip bones hard as he leaned over the edge, before he knew it. Memories of Dumbledore's death, the body lying limp and broken on the ground, filled his mind, and he almost sobbed when he saw Malfoy gliding slowly back and forth towards the bottom of the Tower before landing safely and folding his wings.
He left the Astronomy Tower at a run, not even stopping as he barely caught the Invisibility Cloak in his fingers, taking the stairs three at a time. When he reached the bottom he could tell he'd sprained his ankle but he ignored it and kept running, reaching the now-repaired statue and shouting, "I need to see the Headmistress!"
The statue stood silent for a moment as he panted for breath, bracing his hands on his knees and letting some of the blood back into his head.
"It's important," he gasped, tucking his wand in his waistband and stuffing the Invisibility Cloak in his pocket. "Please!"
Finally, it moved aside slowly, and as soon as he could get through the gap, he started up the stairs, still breathing hard. When he got to the door and opened it, he found McGonagall sitting in the chair behind the desk, an irritable expression on her face. He stopped for a second, struck by how different the office seemed now that Dumbledore was gone. The silvery gadgets that had scattered the room were gone, replaced by books and potted plants. But the portraits on the walls remained. Harry let his eyes skip over Phineas Black's blank picture, and felt a twinge of sadness as he saw Dumbledore snoring as he leaned against his picture's frame.
"Well, Mr. Potter? What is so important that it requires waking me up at three in the morning?" she snapped, nodding towards a chair. He stepped closer, but didn't sit down. In the well-lit, warm office, what he was about to say sounded illogical, ridiculous even, but he opened his mouth anyway.
"I saw Malfoy on the Astronomy Tower and he had wings and he told me to come talk to you," he blurted out, feeling like a first-year again. McGonagall's lips drew together in a thin line.
"By which you mean, unlike the other students in this school, you felt the need to seek out Draco Malfoy after being strictly forbidden to disturb him, and thereby found out something that you were not supposed to know," she hissed. "Malfoy is part Veela, from his father's side of the family."
At Harry's blank stare, she continued. "That means, Mr. Potter, that he is going through a very difficult maturation process right now. For the next month or so, he will have the wings that you saw. He is being kept away from the student body for a few reasons. One of the unfortunate consequences of the change is that he cannot use magic, leaving him undefended against his fellow students. He also has a nearly uncontrollable desire to touch other mal- others - " here she reddened, just a little, " - and of course, the wings he currently has are nearly impossible to hide. The most important reason, is that if the Ministry finds out out that he is part Veela, he would be removed from this school immediately."
"Oh," was all Harry could find it in himself to say.
"Yes, Mr. Potter, oh," she echoed him.
"Is there anything I can do to help him?" he asked, immediately wishing he could take the words back. McGonagall looked at him measuringly.
"He has been supplied with his notes on a daily basis by me, and the house-elves have brought him food and whatever other items he has needed. However, I know that he has found his isolation difficult already." She stood up, crossing her arms. "If you would be willing, Potter, I would allow you to visit him after classes in the evenings."
"But he doesn't like me," Harry said, bewildered.
"Yes, and that is exactly the reason that I'm allowing you. He needs to gain control over his desire for... contact... as soon as possible, or when he is allowed to re-integrate into the student body, it will become a problem. His dislike of you will lead him to fight his instincts. You also have the magical strength to fight him off." She moved towards the door of the office. "I will see you in my office after dinner tomorrow night."
"Yes, ma'am," he answered, taking the hint and leaving the office as quickly as possible, starting down the stairs as she closed the door behind him.
As the statue shut, he ran his hands through his hair with a sigh.
What had he gotten himself into now?