CHAPTER FOUR
4. Jealousy
Draco's patience was tested as he waited for the King's daily audience to end. More than once he found himself biting his tongue to stifle his outrage at what he saw. It was by now clear to him that this boy had his father wrapped around his little finger, smiling shyly in what Draco was sure was meant to be a seductive manner.
The King was revelling in his mentor duties to the boy. Draco had never been cooperative when required to attend meetings of State, and could understand why Lucius would relish the opportunity to bestow his knowledge upon a young and seemingly devoted attendant.
Finally, after many fatherly chuckles and encouraging smiles directed at the boy, the audience chamber started to empty, and the King made his way to a smaller ante-chamber alone – not without administering a proud pat to the brunette's head Draco couldn't help but notice.
After waiting a few beats, Draco made his way down from the gallery and followed his father.
"Draco! What an unexpected pleasure." Lucius cried from behind a large desk. "It is a rare occasion indeed that you would come within ten feet of the audience chamber."
"I see you know how to make me feel welcome, as always." Draco sneered.
Lucius gave a wry grin at this. "How was the hunt, my son? I heard you had returned, but as I had yet to see you I was beginning to doubt my sources."
"Hunting was excellent as usual. I think we might move it to another location next season though, the forest is about to run out of wild boar." His expression turned sour. "As for your sources- I don't think you'd be willing to doubt your new young friend." He spat.
Lucius raised his eyebrows at his son's tone and pursed his lips together expectantly. It wasn't long until Draco continued.
"I saw how you treated him in there! Who is he? Why isn't Snape advising you? You've never let Severus leave your side for a minute and all of a sudden this young twerp is whispering in your ear as though he's got all the experience to do so!" Draco began to pace in-front of his father's desk.
"I don't know how he's done it, but you've all been blinded- he's a Gryffindor for crying out loud!"
"Draco…"
"And do you have any idea the level of access he has? The first time I saw him he was swamped with detailed strategy maps belonging to the Slytherin army that I alone had the rights to oversee!" He thumped his fist on the heavy panel to emphasise his point.
"Draco!"
"And I don't care if he's Snape's slave- buying someone doesn't really inspire loyalty does it?! Yes father I made the connection, which is even more worrisome because it means that he was one of the Order of the Pheonix, the rebels who opposed us!"
"Silence!" Lucius shouted at his son. "Sit down."
Draco, who had paused at the no-nonsense tone of the King's voice, moved to sit in one of the chairs opposite his father. Slightly red in the face and breathless from his outrage, he rolled his eyes and prepared himself for a lecture.
Lucius sighed and pressed his hands together before him, as if praying for the patience required when dealing with his son.
"Severus was absent because he is preparing for the Deatheater's visit, so I have excused him from his regular duties. As for the rest…What I am about to tell you, Draco, must never leave this room. Am I clear?"
Draco sat up straight upon hearing this and nodded. "Yes sir."
"Harry, the boy you are referring to, was indeed a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He-"
"See! Then why are you-"
"Draco! Do not interrupt me again." Lucius admonished. "He is vouched for by Severus, who was also a member of the Order." He paused while a look of shock settled onto Draco's face.
"The Order was never opposed to us, Draco, only to Voldemort. While the peace treaty stands we serve him, but as you know we have been looking for ways to subtly undermine his plans and wriggle free of his grasp. Harry has agreed to help us."
"But how? When? And Severus…?" The prince could barely articulate his confusion.
"I will explain, quiet." Lucius settled himself more comfortably in his chair. "When we first discovered Lord Voldemort's designs on Hogwarts, I became very uneasy. I knew that Slytherin would not escape being drawn into this conflict, but in order to minimise the damage his reign would have on our kingdom, I joined him. What the Dark Lord did not know was that I was also supporting the resistance against him.
"Before Voldemort had even begun the long campaign against Hogwarts, I moved to strengthen our ties with his other open enemy, Gryffindor. As you know, Severus is loyal to me almost to a fault, and when he was fourteen I sent him to King James as a hostage. I knew I could send him into the Lion's territory and he would instinctively act to my benefit.
"It took some time, but eventually he was taken into the inner-most fold of the Order of the Phoenix - and before you have thoughts labelling him as a double agent; they knew he represented me, and I accept that he took their cause to heart as well."
"But how did they trust him at all? Knowing that he was your man?" Draco couldn't hold on to his anger as his curiosity shone through.
Lucius smiled at this.
"No doubt he was aided by the fact that he had the trust and unswerving devotion of the Golden Prince himself."
Draco riled at thought. "Severus knew that coward?! How could he stand to associate with that deserting bastard?!"
"That 'coward,' as you call him, inspired a lot of people to the Order's cause. He represented the youth and beauty of their nation. Many would sacrifice their lives in his name. Our friend Harry is one of them." Lucius paused when a snort was heard from his son.
"Perhaps you should not be hearing this from me. Harry was very close to the Golden Prince, and as such would be infinitely more helpful to you." The King said bluntly.
"In fact I think I will make that an order." He grinned at Draco's look of protest. "You are to befriend the boy and make sure he finds happiness here. He was an emissary to the Golden Prince whose family we were allied with. The least we can do is take him in."
HPHPHPHPHP
The young prince had a headache.
After being released from his father's presence, he wandered the halls of the palace aimlessly, going over in his mind the revelations uncovered in the conversation. The biggest surprise of all was his father's advisor Snape.
Severus was almost like a big brother to him until the day he left when Draco was eight. He still remembered the day his surly hero had been collected by Filch, the stable master who was to escort him to Gryffindor.
Draco had hidden in one of the towers, refusing to bid farewell to the boy he had looked up to ever since he could remember. He didn't understand that Severus would not come back until the King had shown him the first correspondence from the south. Severus had been outraged that he was to play nursemaid to the young Prince of Gryffindor, but even then, hidden beneath the acerbic wording of the letter, the young man's tenderness and fondness for the Golden Prince could be detected.
Now that he thought about it, Draco could see that the seedlings of jealousy that would grow to an unnecessary hate were planted with that letter.
"Your Highness, can I help you with anything?"
Disrupted from his musings, Draco focused on the woman in front of him and realised he had wandered into the Hall of Tomes which housed Slytherin's largest collection of books and records.
"Ah Madame Pince, I just need to check a reference for an agricultural report I am reading." He said as he stalked off towards the darkest section of tall shelves which conveniently hid a selection of the most comfortable chairs in the kingdom.
Sinking down into his favourite- a dark green leather armchair of the squishy variety, he slowly closed his eyes and willed the throbbing in his head to go away. He had almost succeeded when he heard a faint shuffling off to his right. Annoyed, he pried open one eye and was about to warn them of their imminent beheading when he realised who it was.
Harry, one of the subjects of the conversation with his father, was searching along a shelf of ancient tomes, leaning close to the spines in order to read the faded titles.
From the shaded section where he was seated, Draco was afforded an unobstructed view of Snape's apprentice as he twisted and turned, trying to find a book while supporting three or four he already held in his arms. His father's order still fresh in his mind, he was determined to start afresh with new eyes, and settled in to watch the boy he was to befriend.
Not even a minute had passed and the blond found himself swallowing hard.
The Gryffindor had taken off the outer garb worn by palace officials, and was now left in tight breeches the colour of charcoal, with soft black leather boots reaching just above his knees. Over a long-sleeved white silk shirt he wore a dark green embroidered vest, on the back of which was resting thick raven locks pulled back into a black ribbon. His hands, as always, were covered by gloves.
Draco was beginning to find it difficult to breath. He loosened the knot in the silk neck-tie he wore, and pressed shaky fingers to his forehead.
What am I thinking? He is a boy! I can have any girl I want in this kingdom- why am I looking at a boy?!
The blond drew in a couple of forced breaths and began to calm down- only to have his predicament worsen as Harry bent over to place the books he held on the ground.
Squeezing his eyes shut until he was sure the boy was standing straight again, Draco could have cried for joy when he saw Blaise enter their section of the library and was about to call out to him (a welcome distraction), when he noticed his friend was moving towards Harry with a strange determination.
Draco struggled to stay completely still to remain hidden in the shadows as he watched Blaise come to a halt behind the brunette.
"You know, I think I'll confiscate your outer robe if it means I can see more of this." Blaise breathed into Harry's ear as he placed one hand on the back of his thigh. Harry voice hitched in his throat in shock.
Draco felt a strange boiling in the pit of his stomach and by this point was content to reveal himself if it meant a stop to his friend's behaviour, but for some reason found himself frozen in place.
"Please remove your hand, or I will be forced to remove it for you." Came the soft but firm response.
"Aw c'mon," replied Blaise as he leant his entire frame into the slighter boy's back, wrapping his other arm around his chest, "we would be hot together, I'm practically royalty here…"
"And I'm the Golden Prince." The other snapped sarcastically.
At this, Blaise gave a low sultry chuckle and slid his hand up to cup Harry's arse.
Draco finally got a grip on the situation and went to pull Blaise away from the boy, but no sooner had he stepped into the light then his man-at-arms was sprawled at his feet.
Harry spared the shocked prince a cursory glance as he shook his bloodied fist, before turning his glare back to the prone form on the ground.
"You will stay away from me."
END CHAPTER FOUR
A/N: Another chapter yippee!!! Please let me know if you liked it- even if it's a note urging me to update- I need the motivation! Also let me know if anything needs to be cleared up, I'm only too happy to oblige!
Sorry for the long delay too- I went on a spontaneous trip backpacking around the USA for a few months, and as you can imagine, the Aussie dollar conversion was shocking so I didn't spend much time in internet cafés updating fics. Have a look at my other fic too and let me know if I should continue it after such a long absence! Lotsaluv, aarcher xxxx
