Author's note: Hey everyone! Here is the next chapter. I hope you all like it!
Chapter 6: The Past, Mostly
~Draco~
I give James my best death glare. I smack his hand off my shoulder, the warmth from his skin scorching against my pain. I wish I was more put together, but the tears flowed as soon as I was away from the cottage. How was I to know James would follow me? I stand my ground and let my fury out.
"What?! What do you want?" This all comes out a vicious snarl. "Go back to your boyfriend. I do not want your pity. I do not need anything from you."
"Draco," James pleads, his eyes so wide and green. That look should be illegal; I can already feel my resolve cracking around the edges. "He's not my boyfriend. Viktor is my brother. Well, partially my brother."
"What?" My resolve is completely gone, "then … then I don't understand." And I break down into tears, yet again. This time, though, a pair of arms wrap around me and pull me securely to a muscular chest. I turn my head and bury it in the crease between James' neck and shoulder.
"Shhhhh, it's okay," he whispers soothingly, rubbing his hands up and down my back. "Do you want to know? Would you like to understand my past?" Those last words he accentuates by pulling my hand to trace the scars that cover his chest.
I nod my head. I do not think my voice will cooperate with me right now. And I really want to understand. I want to know why James has those scars, why he has a Bulgarian 'brother', and why he is so ... him.
"Let's go back to my cottage. I will make us some tea, and, once we are settled, I will tell you about my past." Again I nod my consent. Then I feel the squeeze of apparation. I unbury my face to see us standing in the living room. There is a note sitting on the coffee table, and the house is silent. James picks up the note as he ushers me to the couch. He tucks me in with a blanket and heads to the kitchen. There, on his back, is the tattoo I glimpsed earlier. This one is much larger than the one on his chest. It is a dragon, a realistic one but a stylized one.* The body goes down his spine, the tail curling just before the dimples at his tailbone. The wings open up on his shoulder blades; this gives the dragon the illusion of flying every time James moves is arms. Once his gone, all I can think about is running my fingers over that tattoo.
He returns in a few minutes holding two steaming cups. He hands one to me, then starts to move to the chair. I grab his hand and gently tug at it, indicating I want him next to me. He smiles softly and settles beside me. I snuggle into his side and begin to sip the tea. He drapes his free arm around my shoulders. We sit silently for a few minutes, each sipping our tea.
He takes a deep breath. "Where would you like me to start?"
"Well, the beginning is always a good place to start." I am happy my wit has returned. This means I am feeling more like myself. That does not, however, mean I will be leaving this spot any time soon.
"Ok then. I was born here in England. I lived with my parents for my early childhood. However, they died when I was eight. The people I was sent to, they hated everything about me. They hated my hair. They hated my 'bad' attitude. But most of all, they hated my magic. So, they decided to try and rid me of it."
I suck in a horrified breath. How could someone even think to do that to a child? James gently squeezed my shoulder again. He set down his tea and started talking again.
"It was bad. They beat me, hard and repeatedly. That did not stop my magic. If anything, it made it flare up more. Then they started to cut my flesh, thinking the magic was in my blood. It was horrible. If not for my magic, I am pretty sure I would be dead."
His voice wavers as he speaks of this. I reach out my free hand and catch his. I lace our fingers together and place them in my lap.
"That went on for two years. I was sure I would not survive for much longer. Then, two days before my tenth birthday, I was saved. My godfather had apparently been looking for me since my parents died. He took me away from my horrid relatives. He and his partner adopted me, so I became their pup. We moved out of England, for many reasons. For them, it was too painful to stay: they had known my parents all through school and before they died. They had only stayed in England to find me. For me, I wanted to be as far from those horrible people as possible.
"So we settled in Serbia. Then, when I was eleven, I got my letter. I actually got two: one from Hogwarts since my parents went there and one from Drumstrang since we lived in the neighboring country. I chose Durmstrang because England was still too painful, the horrors still too fresh.
"So I started at Durmstrang. There, students choose a path when at the beginning of their educational careers. I chose to follow the path with magical creatures, because I had always been good with creatures, magical and not. For the first month, all was well. I was doing especially well; I was stronger than the other students in my year, therefore I could do more. Then, into the second month of school, I started to get bullied. It started out as minor stuff: name calling here, shoving there. However, it steadily got worse. It was originally just a few boys in my year, but more started in as I soon showed up lots of people in my studies. It bothered many students, most of them wealthy and from strong magical families, that a half-blood younger than themselves could best them.
"One day, I was cornered and beat bloody. It was bad. Not only was I greatly injured, but it had triggered horrible flashbacks of my cousin's beatings. I dragged myself to a bathroom where I just curled up and cried. I desperately wished I had my godfathers to hold me, to comfort me.
"That is where Viktor found me. I was shivering under the sinks. The tears had finally stopped but the shaking had not. When I first saw him enter, I had cowered farther under the sink, thinking he was going to beat me up some more. He was very popular and famous, even at that time."
I must look really confused, because James stops and chuckles slightly. "I'm sorry; you do not know who he is. Viktor, as in Viktor Krum, from the Bulgarian National Quidditch team."
Oh, my god. The Viktor Krum. The Viktor Krum is here. Well, was. I can hear no one else in the cottage, so I assume he left soon after I stormed off. I guess that note was him telling James he left.
"May I continue?" James asks. I nod. "Well, I thought I was in for round two, but Viktor showed compassion, asking what he could do. I looked into his eyes and saw the concern clearly written there. I take a breath to answer, but I flinched in pain; they might have broken my ribs. I saw Viktor's eyes cloud with rage, and I became scared again. I was braced for a punch, but instead he gently reached out and picked me up, cradling me to his chest. He then took me to the hospital ward. When we arrived, the mediwitch was in a state. I must have looked bad.
"Viktor then requested the headmaster come. After he arrived, Viktor told him how he had found me. He had overheard the people who beat me bragging about how they put the know-it-all scum in its place. Viktor demanded justice. And it was given, because Viktor was the pride and joy of the school.
"From then on, Viktor never left me defenseless. For the rest of that year, if anyone tried to hurt me, Viktor would fight them off. Gradually, people started to leave me alone. By then, Viktor and I were as close as any brother could be. He would even come and spend most of the summer with me and my godfathers.
"He is the one that helped me graduate early. I finished school three years early."
"How?" I interrupt. I know it is rude to interrupt, but I do not understand how a fourteen year old could perform at the level of a seventeen year old.
"Well, it seems that my relatives did something, inadvertently, to my magic. As you well know, a child's magical core is constantly growing at that young age. When they were trying to get rid of my magic, it affected the growth of my magical core. I needed more power in order to survive, so it grew and developed faster to protect me. That is how I was able to finish early. In addition, I had some help from Viktor. Also, that is one of the factors that allowed me to come to Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament."
"One of the factors? What were the others?"
"Well, people had started grumbling about my advanced work again. Viktor was afraid that if he left, I would be targeted again. So he issued an ultimatum to the headmaster: either I went with Viktor or Viktor was not going. The famous athlete had to go, so I went as well."
"Wow, Viktor really had some pull with people in power."
James raised his eyebrow at me. "Did you not see the way Karkaroff bent over backwards for him while we were there?"
I blush, smiling sheepishly. "Point taken."
"It was really amazing to see Hogwarts. The castle was, of course, breathtaking. I think my favorite class we took there was Care of Magical Creatures." James looks sideways at me and winks. "I was really good at that class."
I snort at that. "But of course you were." I pause as a memory pops into my head. "Weren't you part of the second task?" I remember seeing a black-haired boy being pulled out the lake with Krum.
James shutters. "Yeah, that was terrifying. No matter how much I love magical creatures, merpeople always creep me out. This probably has to do with that task. I was summoned to the headmaster's office, two other people were waiting there. We were informed of our part in the task, and then we were put to sleep, somehow. The next thing I remember was waking up in the middle of the lake. When we got to shore, it was hilarious watching Viktor. He essentially threw a hissy fit about me being used in the task. I was not happy either, after I found out I was under the 'care' of merpeople. By then, I knew all about them, including their hostile nature. When dealing with merpeople, it is best to be fully conscience.
"The other thing I liked must about visiting Hogwarts was flying. There, I could fly with Viktor. We would always fly over summer, whenever he visited, but at school, no one was allowed to practice with him. I loved flying with him. He is the one that taught me how to fly. He said to me that first summer, 'Flying is an escape; it allows you to leave your problems on the ground.' So he taught me everything he knew. So, I became an excellent flying.
"When I was thirteen, my godfathers got me that broom," he points to the broom leaning against the wall. "Their friends thought them to be crazy; who in their right mind gives a thirteen year old a professional racing broom? I treasure that broom. With it, I could keep up with Viktor better. I think Viktor might have been grooming me to be a seeker, with all the one-on-one seeker challenges we did. Hogwarts was the first place that we actually got to use a stadium for our games."
I remember, when I was heading to Herbology, I would see two figures on the pitch. They flew together so perfectly, both masters of the air. I was always curious as to who was flying.
"Viktor won against me most of the time, but it was always close. A few times I did manage to beat him to the snitch. Those instances were few and far between. It happened once during the summer after we graduated. My godfathers decided to emancipate me because I had finished school and was magically considered a fully functioning adult. Because of this, I decided to spend the summer at Viktor's. We were practicing, both trying to outdo the other. I had fooled Viktor with a feint and changed directions at the last second to catch the snitch. Viktor decided to chase me down to the down. Once there, he engulfed me in a big, bear hug and spun me in circles.
"The moment was shattered when we heard clapping. He put me down shielding me from the intruder. I was still dizzy from being spun around and could not process what was happening. Then Viktor started laughing and stepped aside to introduce me to his team's owner. That is how I became the reserve seeker for the Bulgarian National Team. So I played for them for three seasons. I decided to do this, since even though I was magically strong enough to handle creatures, I was not physically strong enough.
"It was a lot of fun playing for the team. I got to practice and work out with the players. Even though I was the reserve seeker and really young to boot, the other players treated me fairly, helping me to become better. During my second season as a part of the team, I had to play as starting seeker. When Viktor had his crash, I was terrified. Seeing him lying on the ground, limbs at awkward angles and not moving, was the second most terrifying and heart wrenching moment I ever experienced. I knew I would never replace Viktor, but I played my best until he was fully recovered.
I decide to store that piece of information away for late. If seeing his 'brother' lying on the ground, looking dead, was the second most terrifying and heart wrenching moment for James, what was the first? I know I will not pry that out of him if he does not want to share it; I too have horrible memories that I hope will never see that light of day again.
"When I turned seventeen, I decided I wanted to follow my passion and work with creatures. So I enrolled in dragon training. Once there in Romania, I lived on the grounds of …"
He continued his tale, but my mind could not focus on it. James' voice is very hypnotic and soothing. The deep rumble against my side had been threatening to pull me under. I had been fighting it for a long time, but just as James was starting to speak of his dealings with dragons, I lose the battle. I feel my body slowly shutting down and I let my head settle against his strong pectoral muscle as I fall asleep.
~Harry~
I pause as I feel more weight at my side. I look down and see Draco's head nestled against my torso, fast asleep. He is really breathtaking when he sleeps; he looks just like the small child I knew. The sharp angles on his face soften; the cold mask is removed. I set my cup on the coffee table, careful not to disturb him. I gently raise my hand to brush the pale, fine hairs away from his forehead.
Oh, how much I have missed him, how much love him. I think I have probably loved him since we were children; I just did not know what it was then. I never want to let him out of the circle of my arms. However, I need to move him somewhere more comfortable. The couch is not the best place to fall sleep. I carefully slip my other arm under his legs. Once situated, I slowly lift him off the couch. The movement causes him to stir, but he calms back down under my gentle soothing.
I cautiously climb the stairs. It is not like he is heavy, he is very lean and I am rather strong. I cradle him against my chest, enjoying the feel of him in my arms. I wish I could do this every day. I make it to my room. Not the master suite, I cannot live where my parents did. I gently lay him in the bed. I transfigure his clothes into sleep clothes; it is rather uncomfortable to sleep in trousers and a dress shirt. I carefully tuck the quilt around him. He looks perfect against the quilt; his pale complexion contrasting beautifully with the vibrant colors my mother selected for the quilt. The pattern always reminds me of dragons' tails.** It seems fitting that the man with the dragon name should sleep under the dragon quilt.
I change out of my jeans and into my sweats, pulling the note from the pocket of my jeans. It reads, "I'm sorry Jamie, I will leave you be for a few days. Owl me when you have everything sorted out. Again, I am sorry". Once everything is back to normal with Draco, I will have him come back and introduce him to Draco. After that decision is made, I make my way to the armchair in the corner. I cast a dim Lumos and settle down with The Taming of the Screw. I just love Shakespeare. I read until my eyelids grow heavy. At that point, I turn off the light and curl up in the chair like a cat.
*the dragon tattoo inspiration: www. elfwood art/ k/ r/ krystal321/ dragondesign .jpg (remove the spaces)
**the quilt design: www. generations-quilt-patterns images/ scrappy-quilts2 .jpg (remove the spaces)
Another note: This is the last chapter that is already finished. I will try to write as quickly as I can, but I think I will only be able to update on the weekends (college work is getting to me). I am sorry. However, that being said, if I finish a chapter before the weekend, I will most definitely post it. Thank you all for your support.