Luminescence

Story Note: The romance will be coming shortly, no worries! =) Starting next chapter (*hint*).

Chapter 8: Seeds of Change

When Harry woke up the next morning he was extremely groggy. He hadn't been able to sleep well yet again. At first he thought maybe he had dreamt the whole thing about agreeing to date Malfoy. Then he turned his head and stared at the vial on his bureau that held the bloody thorn from the plant. The thorn wasn't throbbing anymore after he froze the piece of it. It had shriveled up, which meant they probably hadn't succeeded after all. They would most likely have to go back and get a live piece.

Then Harry sat up. He hoped Malfoy was okay. He suddenly pictured Malfoy turning blue in his bed. He rushed downstairs still clad in only his comfortable gray pajama pants. When he realized Malfoy wasn't in the kitchen, he went into the living room, but he wasn't there either. So Harry ran back up the stairs to the top floor. Taking in a deep breath, he knocked on the door. There wasn't an answer. His heart started to race. He knocked again.

"Malfoy?"

He heard a soft voice grumbling but couldn't understand it. He opened the door and peered inside. Malfoy's head lifted from the bed.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?"

Malfoy stared at him and then he smirked. "Why, are you worried about me?"

Harry gave him an annoyed look. "Just making sure you're not feeling worse than before because I've got some bad news."

Malfoy groaned and pushed his messy bangs out of his face. "Great. What is it?"

"The thorn we pulled out of you – well, since I had to freeze it, it withered. So…"

"Don't tell me we have to go back and deal with that thing!" Malfoy exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, yes. But I think it's best if we wait until your leg has healed more. How does it look?"

Sighing, Malfoy kicked the covers off and Harry flushed when he saw he was only clad in his boxers again. He had seen Malfoy several times already in his boxers but he still couldn't get used to it. Harry walked over to the bed. Malfoy untied Harry's now bloodied shirt from the wound. There was a deep gash where the thorn had gone in, but otherwise it had stopped bleeding.

"Well, it doesn't look infected or anything," Harry said, leaning forward. "Can you walk okay?"

Malfoy slowly turned and slid out of the bed. He winced. "Not really."

Harry nodded. "Okay. Maybe we'll wait a couple days before we go then."

"Fine with me," Malfoy grumbled. "But when we do see it again, I've got unfinished business with it."

Harry snorted. "We kind of need it alive, Malfoy."

Shrugging, the blond limped over to his trunk.

"Er, I'll go see if I can find some Dittany."

Malfoy nodded. He didn't open his trunk and seemed to be waiting for Harry to leave. Harry went up to the attic. He hadn't been there since Buckbeak and Sirius were there. Thinking of Sirius still brought back a painful twinge. He went over to where there was a storage cabinet and opened it. He remembered Sirius telling him there were still some old ingredients and other things up in the attic. He searched through the cabinet. In the back there was an old Dittany vial, the same stuff Hermione used for emergencies: Essence of Dittany. It was dusty, but there was half a bottle left.

Harry knocked on Malfoy's door minutes later.

"Come in."

Harry came in holding the vial and Malfoy stood. He was lying in the bed again, resting. Thankfully he had the sheet over him.

"Er, here's some Dittany."

He handed it to Malfoy who nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem," Harry said.

He turned to leave.

"Hey," Malfoy said, as Harry turned around. "When we finally get this thing, we need to go out and celebrate. This one's surprisingly worse than the Venomous Tentacula."

Harry smiled. "Yeah. Well, you should take it easy today."

"Yep, that's what I'm doing," Malfoy said, leaning back against his pillows.

Harry raised an eyebrow in amusement. Clearly the blond felt fine. He then turned around heading for the door.

"Say, Potter," Malfoy said. Harry turned again. "I'm surprised that you didn't follow through."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "With what?"

Malfoy smirked. "Remember when you got attacked by the Grindelow on our second assignment?"

He did remember. Malfoy had told him he wasn't dying and that he'd be fine.

"I distinctly remember you saying you would remember that if I ever got injured."

Harry stared at him in annoyance. "Fine. How's this? You'll live, Malfoy. There, happy?"

Malfoy just smirked. Harry then turned and left the room. Harry stopped mid-step as he was going down the stairs. If Malfoy was stuck at home for the day, Harry could go check out the Archives. He wasn't sure when or if he'd ever have a dream about it again and he was too impatient to wait.

He didn't even bother to eat breakfast first. He flew over to the Hellebore building. Glancing around, he was relieved to not see Cyprian anywhere. He went up to the Archives room and slipped inside. He glanced around to make sure no one was in there before proceeding to the back of the room.

"Revilus" Harry whispered. He remembered the words Malfoy had used.

The doorway appeared and Harry stepped inside. He gazed around at the shelves of old books and other items. It wasn't just a bookshelf room after all. There were old pendants, wands (some of which looked broken), items that he didn't recognize. He remembered seeing Malfoy walk over to the backside of the bookshelf near the back. Harry did the same thing and stared at the rows of books.

He sighed. How the hell am I supposed to know what he looked at?

It seemed impossible. Still, since he was there, Harry pulled out one of the books. It was about prophecies. Glaring at the book, he put it back. He stared at all the titles. Only three really stood out to him: Ancient Myths and Legends: A Dark Mystery, Vampires: Threat or Nuisance?and Legendary Creatures of Old.Harry picked up the vampire book and flipped through it. He skimmed a couple pages. It didn't make sense that Malfoy would need to look up vampires. It wasn't like he was going to look for one; he hoped. Sighing, he put the book back. This was pointless. He grabbed the Legendary Creatures of Old book and flipped through that. There were some moving pictures of some creatures. One of them he suspected was an Ogre, an ancestor of Giants. Harry suddenly stopped when something caught his eye. One of the pages was glimmering. Harry turned toward the page. He stared at it closely. The entire page was glimmering. None of the other pages were. It was very subtle, like looking at shiny paper. It seemed to go in and out a bit, which was what really caught his attention.

Harry looked at the page. It was about the rare and legendary Onyx Dragon. There was no picture of it. He skimmed the page. It basically said this dragon had only been seen a few times dating back to even before Merlin's time. It's known as the Eldest Dragon because it was one of the first dragons ever born. Some still think this miraculous creature with golden eyes and white flames is still around somewhere. It's said that they found a place to hide where humans, wizard and muggle alike, don't dwell. Some have speculated this creature hides in the Vasyuganor swamps in western Siberia or the vast mountains of Tasmania in Australia or possibly in the snowy range of The Latium Mountains in Italy. A couple decades ago black shadows in the night sky were spotted a couple times in the Alaskan mountains.

Harry flipped the pages. Nothing else glimmered. Curiously, he grabbed the other book Ancient Myths and Legends. He flipped through and noticed a page was glimmering in that book. He flipped to it. It was called "A Herbologist's Nightmare: A Plant-Beast Hybrid".

He began to skim the material. There was a supposedly dangerous, but currently mythical plant. It's said to be able to take the form of anything, which is why it hasn't been concretely spotted or tested. One man claimed he saw a tree turn into a flower bush. Harry read the last section of the page.

"An unfortunate event that will forever haunt the lives of Herbologists everywhere. A witch supposedly encountered this massive plant-beast hybrid. She used a spell to record everything that was happening with her wand. This creature she described as not being solely a plant. It could change colors, and even shape. It could force flowers to bloom from its back. It looked like it would be a huge tree with long feather-shaped leaves all over its body. These were like shiny furless feathers. When it stretched out is body, it was apparently 7 feet tall. There was a pair of white eyes that stared out from the tip as it bent down toward her. The head part that came out with the eyes also had a mouth described as large and expanding, like a snake's jaw with layers of little black sharp teeth. It apparently also had long bony legs covered in spikes with sharp claws at the ends. She had just enough time to describe it before her screams echoed in the recording. The creature's screech was like that of a piercing howling wind. It was like nothing anyone had ever heard before, or even to this day.

"It apparently devoured her, leaving behind a shard of what could've been a piece of a black tooth, but no one to this day knows for sure. What was clear was her wand which was left intact with the recording. Investigations into this as well as a high alert from the Ministry at that time came up with no leads. The strangest part was that there were no tracks, no drag marks, no claw marks of any kind, nothing to suggest how the plant-monster-hybrid got away. If what she said was accurate, it could prove to be the most powerful plant in history and maybe even more powerful than some beasts like the Kappa Demon. According to her brief description, it was still more plant than beast-like, but had beast-like properties. Perhaps this creature has unheard-of potential for potion making. If it was real, I'm sure that it would indeed prove to have great discoveries.

Harry closed the book. A plant-hybrid. That was more suspicious especially with the type of work they did. He reached out for another random book and flipped through it. There were no glimmering pages.

"The potion," Harry whispered aloud.

Shoving the books back on the shelf, Harry left the Archives room. He went back down the elevator and nearly lost his balance when he saw Ron and Cyprian walking down the hall together. They were talking about something. Harry felt his entire body freeze. His throat constricted as Ron's eyes met his.

"Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "What a pleasant surprise. I was just going to leave an owl for you here."

Harry remembered he talked with Ron about not coming over to Grimmauld Place so he probably figured that owling Harry there wasn't safe either. Ron and Hermione were the only other ones that knew the correct location and password to get in.

"Er, hey. What's going on?"

"I was telling Cyprian about the Quidditch champtionships coming up next weekend. We're having a celebration at my house while watching the game. We couldn't get tickets to the live game this year, but my dad just purchased a fancy Quidditch charm made by the World Cup broadcasters themselves. It's a permanent charm that allows you to take any wall in the house and be able to watch the game live! I invited you but I thought since I bumped into Cyprian to invite him also."

Cyprian grinned. "I'm not usually a Quidditch person but it sounds fun."

"I invited Hermione too so hopefully she can make it," Ron said, smiling.

"Oh, er, yeah that sounds good."

"Great!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry felt guilty. Malfoy was the one being excluded. Even if he told Ron about Malfoy being his partner now, he wouldn't be able to explain having the urge to invite him.

"I'll see you both next weekend. I'm sure I'll see you soon, Harry. Let me know when you're free for a game of Quidditch with Ginny, George and Bill."

Harry nodded. "Okay. I will. See you."

Ron walked toward the entrance and Cyprian turned and smiled at Harry.

"That should be fun. I really like Ron. I can see why he's your best friend."

Harry smiled. "Yeah, thanks. I'm sorry, I should get going. There's this assignment that, er, didn't go very well so we're doing another take."

"Oh, well good luck then," Cyprian said. His gaze lingered for a second before he smiled and waved goodbye.

Harry waved back. Cyprian disappeared up the elevator and Harry hurried out of the building. Cyprian didn't seem bad to hang out with but it just wasn't the same as with Ron or even Malfoy. He didn't think he had anything in common with Cyprian.

When he went back to the house, Malfoy wasn't downstairs. He must have still been up in his room resting.

Harry made some lunch for himself and then decided to finish brewing Snape's potion. It took several hours and by that time it was dinner. He had to let the rest of the potion cool after combining it with the half he had done previously. It only needed a couple days to cool. Still, he wasn't sure what he should try it out on.

At dinner, Malfoy came downstairs. He wasn't limping, but he still looked irritated.

"Do you feel better?" Harry asked.

Malfoy shrugged. "Yeah. I'm fine. The Dittany helped a lot. We can finish that assignment tomorrow."

"Er, you sure?" Harry asked, sitting down on the couch with his butterbeer.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm going to pay that plant back big time," he said coolly. "Besides, it beats sitting around the house. I don't do well sitting around."

"I've noticed that," Harry retorted.

Malfoy gave him a look. "What have you been doing?"

Instantly, he thought of him and Cyprian being invited to Ron's Quidditch night. He felt his stomach tighten.

"Er, not much. Just ran some errands. Had to, er, brew some more of my eyesight potion."

Malfoy snorted. "Sounds like a good time, Potter."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well it beats laying in bed all day."

The blond's eyes narrowed. He took a swig of his butterbeer. Harry glanced at him while he wasn't paying attention. He swallowed nervously. Malfoy must've remembered what they talked about the previous night. Thankfully, he hadn't mentioned it since, probably because he was too busy recuperating. Harry licked his lips nervously. Maybe Malfoy would just forget that conversation ever happened. He was pretty miserable and in a lot of pain. Maybe he hadn't been thinking clearly. However, mentioning Pansy the other night got Harry thinking about whether or not Malfoy was still in touch with some old friends. He shuddered at the thought.

"I can't wait for this assignment to be over," Malfoy said, rubbing his forehead.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, me too. It's the most aggressive plant we've come across so far. How do you think we should capture it?"

Malfoy took a bite of his meal. "Hmm. I don't know. We could use you as bait."

Harry glared at him in annoyance. "Hilarious. How about we use you as bait? You did a great job drawing it out last time."

The blond shook his head as he stared up at the ceiling. He draped an arm over his head. "Real clever, Potter."

Harry was silent for a few seconds. "Well, bait might not be such a bad idea."

Malfoy sat up on the couch staring at him incredulously. "You better be joking, Potter! Because if anyone's going to be bait, it's you."

"I don't trust you, Malfoy. I was barely able to react to that plant and I don't want to rely on your reflexes."

"What the hell is wrong with my reflexes? They're probably better than yours!"

Harry rubbed his temple. "Whatever. Look. All we really have to do is use that thorn piece as bait. I'm sure that the plant would still be able to recognize a piece of itself and it might get angry enough to attack."

"Oh, great," Malfoy muttered.

"This time we'll be prepared. We'll have to set up a live trap just long enough to hold it down so we can cut off a thorn and preserve it. If we use a freezing charm again it will be destroyed. And I'm sure the same would happen if we used a fire charm too. I think the best approach is to cut off a thorn with a knife."

"What if that doesn't work? What if the thorn dies again? We can't take that thing back to Hellebore."

"Good point. There must be a reason it needs the plant. Maybe some sort of nutrients feeds the thorn part of it. I suppose we could cut off a section of the plant with a thorn and then try to keep the whole thing alive. If the thorn needs the plant, we can take a piece of the plant. Then to keep the plant piece alive we'll have a vial full of water."

Malfoy shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

They fell into silence. Harry felt awkward there. He wanted to treat it like any other night that they were having dinner, but after their conversation the previous night he was afraid that Malfoy would bring it up again. Harry was already regretting what he said. He didn't even know why he said what he did. He didn't like guys! Even if Malfoy did like guys and was interested in him, there was no way Harry could date a guy, especially not one who was a Slytherin and former Death Eater. He glanced over at Malfoy who was calmly sipping his drink. The blond didn't seem like he had been a Death Eater. In fact, he wasn't even as horrible as he used to be when he was younger.

Harry quickly looked away before Malfoy noticed he was staring. Slowly, he got up. Malfoy turned his head.

"Er, I'm going to bed. I'm tired."

Malfoy shrugged. "Are you still not sleeping?"

Harry turned, surprised. "Er, not real well."

"Have you used a sleep potion?"

Harry's heartbeat increased. "Er, yeah, but it didn't help much."

Malfoy nodded. "You just need to get wasted every night, Potter."

"Oh, right," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Alcoholism is the solution."

The blond snorted in response. Harry watched as the blond downed the rest of his butterbeer.

"Er….don't drink too much. You need to be in top shape for tomorrow."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Potter?"

"Yes, seriously. If you're off your game even a little – "

"Relax, Potter," Malfoy drawled. "It will take much more than two butterbeers to get me drunk. I'll be ready."

He relaxed his shoulders a bit. His heart was pounding. Secretly, he just didn't want to see any more of Malfoy's dreams. He was afraid of what he might dream of next.

"You better," he said. "I'm going to bed."

The blond made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat. Harry went upstairs and sighed heavily. He waited until it was around 11 before he crept to the library to look in the hidden room again. Nowhere did it say anything about seeing glimmering pages. He wasn't sure if those pages were glimmering because that's how they were made, or because Malfoy was looking at them. He was pretty much back at square one now.

I have to get into his trunk!

He glanced at Snape's potion as it sat idly on his desk in the vial container. It was still cooling and was still a dark cobalt blue. It had to turn violet in the next couple days if it was done properly.

He collapsed into bed. He hoped he wouldn't see any more of Malfoy's memories too. Although Harry was intrigued because it helped him figure out things about the blond he would've never known otherwise, he was too exhausted. He just wanted to sleep normally. He was almost positive that the Astringo potion was to blame for his feeling tired all the time. Whenever he saw Malfoy's dreams or memories, he probably wasn't actually sleeping. So long as Malfoy hadn't drunk any more butterbeers before bed, he most likely wouldn't see any dreams. Sighing, he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.

He was approaching the doors to Malfoy Manor. It was dark outside and the wind was howling. He could see there were no lights on inside. However, standing guard outside the entrance stood two Aurors. Instead of going toward the front entrance, he was now walking swiftly toward the back of the mansion. There was only one Auror in back who was standing by a window, not facing the direction of the corner of the house he was standing. In the back of the house there was a very, very tiny impossible-to-notice dot on one of the bricks. Pressing it and murmuring "Draken the Pureblood" opened a doorway through the brick wall. It was a small doorway. He hesitated making sure the Auror didn't turn before he slipped inside.

Inside the doorway shut and the wall was back to normal, looking as though there had never been a doorway. He could hear Malfoy murmuring a spell and suddenly he had night vision. That way no lights had to be turned on. He crept quietly across the storage room past a number of old coats and brooms. The hallway was dark. He was focused on one thing – the stairs. Climbing up them slowly, he got to the third floor and made his way down the hall. There was a family portrait of Lucius, Narcissa and Draco, probably age 14 or 15, hanging on the wall. Reaching out a hand, he pushed in the family ring on Lucius' finger and turned it several times back and forth in a specific pattern. The wall moved aside and there were more narrow stairs to climb.

There was a small attic atop the stairs. There wasn't much in the room. There was a rug on the floor and a couple cabinets that were empty. Murmuring a disillusion spell, another portrait appeared of Salazar Slytherin. His black eyes glared out of the portrait. He pressed certain things on the portrait, such as his right eye, then left hand, then the snake's head that was wrapped around his arm, then his wand, then his ring, and then his mouth. The mouth curled into a smirk and the portrait swung open. Inside was a metal black chest with a password lock on it.

After murmuring Salazar the Great, Voldemort the Invincible, Purebloods above all, the chest unlocked. There was a small click and then it opened. He couldn't see what was inside because Malfoy had suddenly stopped moving. He heard footsteps. He held his breath. After a couple minutes, he quickly pulled out a cloth from his pocket, wrapped something from the chest inside of it, and shrunk it down with his wand so it fit in his pocket.

Very cautiously, he put everything back the way it was and even slipped something inside of the chest to replace whatever had been taken. He then waved his wand to make it more difficult for someone to trace what he had done. Slowly, he crept back down the stairs and listened at the door. There was silence. He carefully pressed the crevice in the wall and the doorway to the secret attic opened. He slipped out quietly looking both ways. Suddenly, he heard footsteps again. The secret passage closed and he pressed himself in a dark corner, holding his breath. The footsteps were coming from the second floor beneath. A robed figure with a hood up passed by quickly, too quickly to really make out. He was still holding his breath.

Finally, once the figure was out of sight, he crept down the stairs slowly. He then made his way to the back of the house again. First, he peered out the window. The Auror was still there so he waited until his face was turned before he opened the passage to outside. He then slipped around the corner unnoticed and disappeared into the night.

Harry jolted up in bed, gasping. He blinked several times to adjust to the darkness. It had been another of Malfoy's memories. He had snuck into Malfoy Manor while it was being guarded by Aurors, since Narcissa was on House Arrest, and he took something. Something that was very well hidden. Something that the Aurors hadn't discovered, at least not yet. Did Malfoy grab it to protect his parents? What would be so important to take out of such a secure location if not to make sure the Aurors guarding the place didn't find it? Perhaps what he had taken was hidden in his trunk.

Rubbing his eyes, Harry decided to go downstairs. He wanted to take a shower, but it made no sense since they were going on an assignment. He got dressed and went downstairs to get some breakfast. Malfoy wasn't down yet, but came down while Harry was eating.

Malfoy stopped in the kitchen and stared at him, raising his eyebrows slowly.

"Wow, Potter. Still not getting sleep, huh?"

Harry glared at him. It wasn't very effective considering how sleepy he was.

It's not my fault I keep getting sucked into your head. Maybe that potion wasn't a great idea.

"Shut-up," he grumbled.

Malfoy's lips curled into a wide smirk. "Considering that your reflexes will be off, I think it's safe to say we'll be using you as bait."

He inwardly cursed, remembering their argument about who should be bait.

"Fine. Whatever. Just be ready."

"Obviously," Malfoy drawled.

Harry studied the blond as he walked past to get some food out of the fridge. He was acting normal. It wasn't like anything seemed to change between them. Maybe Malfoy really did regret suggesting they date and was pretending it never happened. If Harry got through all of the sneaking and spying around Malfoy, secretly pretending to like and be friends with Cyprian more than he actually was, and hiding everything regarding Malfoy from his best friends, without it blowing up in his face, it would be a miracle.

Malfoy went into the living room to eat since he loved lounging on the couch while doing so. After twenty minutes where Harry sat in the kitchen finishing up his meal and thinking about the best way to draw the plant out, Malfoy came in again.

"Let's go, Potter. I want to get this assignment over with."

"You always want to get the assignments over with," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "But I want this one over with too. I'm counting on you to be responsible for my life here, Malfoy."

"Oh joy," Malfoy retorted.

They left the house and flew to the same area as before, only this time with a better plan in place. Harry had the dead thorn with him and he was hoping to lure it out of hiding. He hovered over the same area it had come out before. He hovered there for ten minutes on his broom levitating the thorn out in front of him. Malfoy was hovering a distance away with his wand ready.

"Maybe it moved to a different spot," Harry said.

Malfoy sighed irritably. "Maybe. Or maybe it's waiting for us to be distracted."

Glaring at him, Harry turned back to looking at the ground. He was only three feet above it, which was disconcerting already, on top of which he was relying on Malfoy to save him. If he would've known he'd be in a situation where his life depended on Malfoy, he would've laughed at the cruel irony. At the moment he felt more like throwing a rock at Malfoy.

After ten more minutes passed, Harry became impatient.

"Malfoy, it's not coming," he said, resting his arm. "We need a new plan."

The blond slowly lowered his wand and then crossed his arms. "Well, what then, Potter?"

"Maybe…er, we could put the thorn directly on the ground, but have a trap set up, like a sticky charm, so that when it tries to touch it, it will get the charm's effect."

"So, once it's stuck and can't move we can cut a thorn," Malfoy finished.

Harry nodded. "It's worth a shot. The only way for it to work is if we're slightly farther away so it can't sense us near the thorn."

Malfoy sighed. "All right."

He flew over to Harry and they both determined a good place to put the thorn on the ground. Harry figured the plant might remember being taken by surprise in the same spot, so they chose an area nearby. Harry charmed the thorn after it was placed on the ground. Malfoy charmed two nearby bushes which barely reached a foot off the ground. Then they both hid behind a large rock. It was the same rock that Harry had helped Malfoy lean against when he was injured. They both had their wands ready.

They kept their eyes on it. Harry felt Malfoy's arm move and it brushed against his shoulder. He tried not to look. He needed to stay focused. Nothing was happening.

Malfoy exhaled loudly. "Where the bloody hell is that thing?"

"Shh!" Harry exclaimed, turning his head slightly.

Their faces were a few inches apart. Harry felt his face heat up a bit. He quickly turned his gaze back. Harry bit his lip. He wondered if he should at least tell Malfoy that he might be going to watch Quidditch at Ron's house. He knew Malfoy disliked Ron greatly so he doubted he'd want to come. Still, he wondered if he would be upset that Cyprian got invited.

"I see something!" Malfoy hissed softly.

Harry's body jerked and he elbowed Malfoy's shoulder. "Sorry," he muttered.

The blond glanced at him. He snorted softly. They both looked out to see the ground moving. Harry's body tensed. The ground shook closer and closer to the thorn. Then suddenly stopped. Harry's eyes narrowed. He gestured to Malfoy that he was going in to check it out. He was opting to be bait himself hoping that Malfoy knew what he was doing. Slowly, Harry stepped on the ground and began walking. He stopped five feet away from the thorn and waited. He stared at the ground waiting for something to pop out. The ground was still and he didn't hear any sign that the plant was getting ready to bounce.

Just then the ground beneath his feet began to crumble. Harry made a sound of surprise as a hole appeared, just as his feet were beginning to sink, and a large purple flower-shaped mouth appeared, hissing. Before it could lock its flower-mouth on him, he was suddenly thrown up and away. Harry gasped as his body went flying as if he took one large leap and then landed softly by one of the bushes that Malfoy had charmed. He glanced up to see Malfoy with his wand out. He had definitely saved him. The plant took the bait and dug in the ground heading straight for Harry. It had completely bypassed the thorn. Harry reached for his wand, but before he could do anything, the plant got close enough to the charmed bush Harry was standing by. The bush reached and expanded creating a shield in front of him and swallowing half the plant's body.

The plant began hissing and squirming to get out. It was then Harry realized this plant had more than one tentacle. All of a sudden the ground was moving in three other areas right by him. Harry took a risk and jumped over by the thorn. He knew he wasn't as protected but he had to trap it. The ground shook as it tore through to get to him. All three trails were headed for him and he waited, tensed and ready. A hole appeared almost simultaneously as he was ambushed by three more purple flower-shaped mouths. Harry did the only thing he could. He grabbed the thorn and when the plant wrapped tightly around his body the charm reacted on them all. Harry felt his hands and knees glue to the ground. The three mouths that had been after him were hissing as they attempted to rise from their glued position on the ground. One of them was still wrapped around Harry's ankle and snapping, but it couldn't raise its mouth enough to get him because one petal part of its mouth was stuck to the ground. It thrashed angrily. Harry sighed with relief.

He gazed up to see Malfoy rushing over.

"Hurry and get a sample!" Harry exclaimed. "I don't know how long the charm will last with it thrashing like this."

Malfoy approached the tentacle that had the thorn pulsing and ready to attack. He used his wand to keep it steady so it wouldn't thrash.

"Crap! Do you have the vial?"

Harry's heart nearly stopped. He tried to move his hands but couldn't. "Er, yeah. It's in my pocket."

Since his wand was on one of the tentacles, Malfoy kneeled down and reached out his free hand toward him. Harry felt the blond's fingers brush up against his hip. His heart pounded as Malfoy's fingers found the entrance to his pocket and pushed in. He could feel the pressure between his hip and pelvic region. As the fingers dug down further into the pocket and grasped the vial, Harry felt as though they weren't moving fast enough. He felt his ears burn as Malfoy's fingers trailed back up his hip and out of his pocket. It felt like it had been several minutes that Malfoy was in his pocket, but it couldn't have been more than a minute.

"Malfoy, make sure to get a large piece with the mouth attached."

"What?! Are you insane, Potter?"

"It's possible that the mouth is what feeds the thorn. We may need the mouth in order to keep the thorn alive so – just do it and stop arguing with me!" Harry snapped.

Malfoy muttered something under his breath and then quickly said the slicing spell. The snapping mouth as well as the thorn came off. He then expanded the vial with his wand to fit both pieces which were almost a half a foot in length.

"There!" he exclaimed.

Harry felt the plant's grip on his ankle tighten. "Malfoy, I think it's getting loose."

Malfoy stood up and Harry inclined his head. The blond was smirk and it widened as he raised his wand.

"Payback's a bitch."

With that he said the freeze charm loudly and the entire plant and all its tentacles began to frost over. Within a matter of seconds it stopped thrashing and hissing. Harry could feel the cold sting by his ankle. The sticking charm was wearing off but Harry still couldn't move much so Malfoy reversed the charm. Harry shook his leg and the piece wrapped around his ankle shattered. Harry stood up and stared at the frozen remains. The entire plant was connected, all of its tentacles and mouths. Even the part that had been captured by Malfoy's bush spell had frozen and was obviously dead.

"Well, I feel better," Malfoy said proudly. He stared at the large vial full of water with the thrashing plant piece.

Harry snorted. "We better get it over to Dimitri now before it dies. I don't know how long it will survive in there."

Malfoy pocketed the vial and summoned his broom. Harry did as well. Malfoy turned and glanced over his shoulder as they were taking off.

"See, Potter, my reflexes were just fine."

"Yeah, yeah, they were fine," Harry said.

Malfoy's smirk widened.

"What?" Harry asked, annoyed.

"You owe me."

"No. I distinctly remember saving you last time when you were attacked. So we're even again."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Whatever. This is still my victory."

"Oh, right, and I did nothing except lure the plant and use my body as bait. It wasn't fun being glued to the ground, you know," Harry said. He glared at Malfoy as they flew over the trees and toward the Hellebore building.

Malfoy just smirked in response. They got to the building and Harry noticed as they approached the elevator that an envelope with wings was soaring behind him. It floated into the elevator with him and hovered by his shoulder.

Being there made him remember what he had read in the Archives room. He had a strange feeling it was the potion that caused those pages to shimmer. Even if Malfoy had read those pages, what was the significance?

"Huh?" Harry said, breaking out of his thoughts.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "Deep in thought there, Potter? Don't hurt your brain too much."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "That should be my line."

The blond just shrugged and leaned back against the elevator. He was clearly proud of himself. Harry was never going to hear the end of it. The doors opened and they walked out. The envelope seemed to follow them all the way to Dimitri's office.

"Maybe it's for Dimitri," Harry said as they came to the door.

Malfoy shrugged nonchalantly.

They walked inside to see Dimitri sitting at his desk going over some papers, many of which were floating in the air.

"Ah, Harry, Draco, welcome," he said. "Did you finish your assignment already?"

"Sure did," Malfoy said, grinning. He took out the vial and handed it to him.

"My word. No wonder none of the other thorns were useful to study. The head was necessary too! Well done, gentlemen."

As Dimitri turned around, Harry smirked back at Malfoy. It had been his idea to take the head too. Malfoy just gave him a look.

"Here's your pay. I may have a small assignment ready for you in a couple days. There is a bigger one coming up, but I still have to finish up some things first. I've been getting great data from the Blue Snargaluff you brought."

Harry smiled. "That's great."

Dimitri smiled back. Harry heard fluttering and turned to the envelope. "Er, is this for you, sir?"

"I don't believe so. I think it's for you, Harry."

"Oh," Harry said.

"See you boys later," he said.

They both walked out and Harry reached up to grab the envelope, which didn't resist. He opened it.

"What is it?" Malfoy asked.

"It's a letter from the Minister. He wants to see me," Harry said. Malfoy gave him a puzzled look. "Er, you can come too if you want. It might be about the attacks on our apartments."

Malfoy crossed his arms and shrugged. "It's fine. It's addressed to you so."

Harry just nodded. As they made their way to the elevator, it suddenly opened and Cyprian stepped out. Harry's stomach knotted up at the sight.

"Harry, there you are!" Cyprian exclaimed.

Please don't mention Quidditch!

Harry forced a smile. "Er, hi."

"I have something for you," he said, smiling. He held out a gold card. Harry opened it and the card burst to life, unfolding. It read: You are cordially invited to attend the opening of the Shrake Pearl on March 13.Malfoy glanced over his shoulder curiously.

"Oh, er, thanks," Harry said.

"My parents are excited to meet you," he said, grinning. Then he nodded toward Malfoy. "Draco."

Draco gave him a very curt nod.

"See you later."

Cyprian waved and then walked down the hall. Once they were in the elevator, Malfoy turned to him.

"What the hell was that about?"

"Oh, er, he's inviting me to some opening event in Hogsmeade. I guess his parents are opening a new store or something."

Malfoy gave him a nasty look. "That prick purposefully said something in front of me knowing he didn't invite me."

"Yeah. That was rude," Harry admitted. "I think that he's just excited to introduce someone famous to his parents. Maybe he thinks it will help the publicity of their new store too."

Malfoy snorted. "Still. Now I hate him even more."

"Yeah," Harry said, staring down at the envelope from the Minister.

Malfoy glanced at him. "Are you worried about something?"

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling. I mean, I had a bad feeling after the Inferi attack and it hasn't gone away."

"But the Minister said at the celebration that the hexes at my place weren't lethal."

"Yeah, but that's what doesn't make sense. Why put annoying hexes in one place, then lethal Inferi at another. Unless the hexes at our apartments were by random people who wanted to break in, but that seems like too much of a coincidence."

Malfoy shrugged. "I don't know who would want to attack me, but I know you probably have loads of enemies."

"Thanks," Harry said dryly. "At least most of them are locked up or dead."

The tension in the room suddenly heightened and Harry wished he hadn't said anything. He was sure Malfoy wasn't happy about what happened to his parents.

"Er, anyway, I'll let you know what he says," Harry said.

Malfoy nodded and then took off back to the house. Harry sighed and took off toward the Ministry. When he got there, he was immediately escorted up to the Minister's office. Kingsley was there talking with other Aurors when he walked in.

"Harry, welcome," Kingsley said. The Aurors smiled at Harry as they left the room.

"It's bad, isn't it?" Harry asked before he had even sat down.

Kingsley sighed. "Well, it's looking a bit nefarious. It's been discovered there are a couple less Dementors guarding Azkaban than there should be and no one can account for them. It may or may not mean something."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "You think that is connected to the Inferi attack."

"I don't see how, but at this point we can't rule anything out. Anything strange that happens we'll just have to keep in mind. Also, there was a former Death Eater, Macnair. He agreed to ally with us and help us out with anything we couldn't figure out even after all the interrogations of the Death Eaters. It appears that Voldemort wiped a lot of important details from his closest Death Eaters' memories. Well, we were never able to interrogate Bella Lestrange as you know."

"Good riddance," Harry muttered.

Kingsley smiled. "Yeah, well, there are some unclear things. We wanted to make sure that Voldemort didn't have anything in motion, or any back-up plans like agreements with the Giants or vampires. It seems that Voldemort was careful not to divulge too much to his Death Eaters except for specifically what they were required to do. He was clever that way, unfortunately."

Harry nodded. "Well, even if he had other plans he's dead and most Death Eaters are in Azkaban, right?"

Kingsley nodded. "That's true. Anyway, Macnair agreed to ally with us, which means we had him do an Unbreakable Vow to help us in any way he can and to never betray any of us, or anyone from our side. We were very specific. Due to this bond, we felt it was safe for him to go back home with his wand. He had spent three months in the Tower being interrogated and talked to. Just yesterday, we found his body."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "What happened?"

"That's…unclear," he said. "It looked like a horrible curse, one that twists and deforms the body, torturing the person to death. However, there was no sign of the house being broken into. The door was completely intact and there no charms on it to suggest it had been repaired. I'm concerned as well because Macnair was going to collect all illegal items from his place and other old hideouts to give to us, things that could be used for bad purposes. We found nothing in his place."

"You think whatever he had collected thus far was taken?" Harry asked.

"Yes. And there's no telling what he had. Most of the dark items and illegal things we managed to get out through interrogation of the other Death Eaters and were able to collect some things. Macnair knew of a place where only Voldemort could get into. We were going to ask for your help."

"My help?"

"Apparently Voldemort sealed this place using Parseltongue and Macnair was going to take us there. He agreed wholeheartedly."

"Didn't anyone go with him to watch him?"

"Yes. There were five Aurors accompanied him. Everyone was standing outside the building guarding it as Macnair went in. They didn't even hear any screams. When he took too long, one of them went inside the door and found his body like that. No sign of breaking in or anything. And the Aurors were guarding it carefully. They said no one had gotten past them."

"So then the only explanation would be that the trap was already set up," Harry said.

Kingsley smiled. "Yes, exactly." He then frowned. "I don't know who would've been powerful enough to do so, or who would want to do so, but I'm concerned maybe there were other supporters that even the other Death Eaters knew nothing about. I'm sure Voldemort didn't tell them everything for his own protection."

"Do you still know the location of this hidden place protected by Parseltongue?"

"Yes. Macnair had told it to us before he died. We will need your help with that, but not just yet. I'm a little wary that someone else may want us to open it for them."

"Oh! That's true," Harry said.

"If that's the case, that could be why someone's after you, but it doesn't explain why they nearly killed you with the Inferi attack. Perhaps they changed their mind about killing you and have decided instead to capture you. You have to be prepared for anything."

Harry nodded slowly.

Kingsley sighed. "I'm sorry, Harry. I wish I could tell you not to worry. It will hopefully be over soon. I've gone over all the Death Eaters and made a list. I've been trying to figure out who we may have missed, maybe friends of the family or extended family."

"Oh, er, what about the Greengrass family?"

"Yes, we've looked into them. That was one of the names given in the interrogations we had with other Death Eaters. Currently, we have no evidence to support that they've been directly involved with Voldemort, the war, or Death Eaters. They've been in Russia the whole time and there's no sign that they ever left in the past 13 years. However, we will keep an eye on them. If we find out that any of them were in the area, we will have a reason to question them. For now, it looks as though they're clean."

Harry's heart sank. The one lead he had found out from Malfoy's dream that could've actually been useful turned out not to be.

"Why did Macnair switch sides?"

"To get a lesser sentence and avoid Azkaban altogether. After he agreed to an Unbreakable Vow, all he got was House Arrest for three years, with more flexibility than others like Crabbe and Goyle's family and Narcissa Malfoy. Besides, it seemed clear to me, especially after interrogating him, that he wasn't so sure about his loyalty to Voldemort anymore. He was rather impressed by you."

"Really?"

Kingsley nodded. "Just be careful. I feel better knowing that you're in one of the safest places you can be. I don't know if Mr. Malfoy was an actual target or was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Because I was there," Harry added darkly.

"Possibly. We don't know very much right now. I hope we can uncover something soon. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, I would suggest not going off anywhere alone."

Harry nodded. "I won't. I'll keep my eyes open."

Kingsley smiled and nodded. He went over and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

"Thanks. Bye, Kingsley."

"Take care, Harry. I'll be in touch."

Harry walked out of Kingley's office and toward the elevator. When the elevator doors opened Harry nearly bumped into Professor Slughorn.

"Professor!" Harry exclaimed.

Looking confused, Slughorn stared at him for a minute then smiled a bit. "Harry. Nice to see you again."

He looked pale and had a balding spot on top of his head.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. Just tired. I have been feeling under the weather lately, but I'll be fine," he said. "I'm just stopping by to see the Minister. I think I'll wait until I'm feeling better before we schedule that tour."

Harry nodded. "Of course, sir. Hope you feel better."

Slughorn coughed and then straightened up. He nodded. "Thank you, Harry. How generous you are."

He then nodded at him and disappeared up the elevator. Harry sighed and flew back to the house. It was already approaching early evening. Harry decided he just wanted to call it a night and be lazy the rest of the day. He was too stressed to care. He took a shower and got dressed into his PJs. He didn't even think to use a drying charm as he went downstairs to get a butterbeer. His hair was still damp and he had on a thin black t-shirt that was slightly damp due to the beads of water that had still been on his chest. He was wearing his comfortable black PJ pants as well. Malfoy was just coming out of the kitchen and they almost bumped into one another. The blond was wearing an almost see-through, soft white t-shirt and his gray PJ pants. Apparently he had the same idea about relaxing.

As they almost bumped into one another Malfoy's eyes briefly trailed down his body before their eyes met again.

"I didn't realize you were back," Malfoy said. "How did it go?"

Harry made a frustrated sound, slipped past him and went to the fridge. He grabbed an entire 4-bottle thing of vanilla-fizz butterbeer and then headed back toward the exit. As he passed Malfoy again, the blond raised his eyebrows.

"That well, huh?"

He followed Harry up the stairs and into the living room. Harry collapsed on the couch and took out a butterbeer, taking a large gulp.

"All right, Potter, what did he say?" Malfoy asked.

Harry sighed heavily and put an arm over his eyes. He briefly summarized what the Minister had told him about the Dementors missing and Macnair being found dead.

"And who do they think is behind it?"

Harry hesitated. He knew Malfoy had been cleared by the Ministry, but after the dream he had last night, he wasn't certain he should spill too much. It wasn't that he necessarily thought Malfoy knew who was behind it, or would go warn the person. Unless the person didn't mean to put Malfoy in danger, but still, it didn't make sense. Then again, the Minister warned him to be overly cautious.

"Er, they're not sure yet. It could be some random crazy person."

Malfoy stared at him for a second then lay back down. For a couple minutes they're silent.

"Great. Now I'm never going to be able to sleep," Harry muttered aloud.

He heard Malfoy turn his head toward him in response. "Actually, there is some good news."

Harry put his arm down and turned to look at him. The blond was eyeing him briefly and then he stared up at the ceiling.

"I got reservations at the wizard resort."

Harry's eyes widened. "You did? When?"

Malfoy shrugged. "After you were whining about it so much, I contacted them through secure owl and they said they would put me on the list so if they had an opening they would let me know."

Harry knew secure owl was like the flying envelope the Minister sent to him. It was to find and follow the person wherever they were when there wasn't a home address that an owl could find. It was for special circumstances and considering that they lived in an unknown and unplottable place, that was Malfoy's only choice for communication.

"They contacted me yesterday and said there was an opening so I booked it since there probably wouldn't be another opening for a while."

"Wow!" Harry exclaimed. "So, er, when is it for?"

"Next weekend."

Harry's heart just about stopped in his chest.

"It's Friday through Sunday."

He swallowed. Malfoy turned and caught sight of his surprised expression. "What? Is that not good?"

Harry only had seconds to think. If he was honest with himself, he didn't want to go to the Quidditch thing with Cyprian being there. He already was going to the Hogsmeade event. Not to mention, Malfoy went through the trouble of booking a wizard resort, knowing that Harry really wanted to go. It was probably some sort of payback for taking Malfoy to the muggle amusement park when he was bored, but still…it was a generous offer.

"Er, no, it's fine, er, I just – what about our assignments? You think anything will be pressing?"

"I doubt it," Malfoy said. "After all, there's no time limit on them."

Harry nodded. "Great. Er, thanks."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. He took a sip of his butterbeer. "Now you owe me."

Harry glared. "Fine."

He lay back down and finished off his butterbeer. Then he reached for another one. Malfoy snorted in response, watching him with amusement. Harry just opened it and took another sip. On top of the potential danger of other Death Eaters wanting revenge against him, and lying to Ron about Cyprian, now he had to find an excuse to Ron to miss out of spending time with him to spend it with Malfoy. Harry hoped with all his might that Ron would never find out about Malfoy, at least not anytime soon. He would have to think of some excuse to tell Ron. Biting his lip, he wondered if he was doing the right thing. Should he really cancel with Ron? He did want to see everyone. But Malfoy hadn't been invited to that. What if he found out Harry went someplace without inviting him? What if Ron found out he cancelled with him over Malfoy's kind gesture about booking the wizard resort? He rubbed his temples. He would have to sleep on it.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note:I will update asap! Usually the best time to update is on the weekends since I work during the week. I'm also still studying but I've been giving myself breaks. So I should have the next chapter up no later than next weekend! Thanks again for all the reviews!

To Reviewers:

HPmeghan7474: Thanks so much! Glad you liked it! Yeah, I know Draco's stubborn but it makes for some great moments, haha! He was just vulnerable because he was injured and still embarrassed about the kiss he had nearly committed. It will definitely continue to progress, but a bit slowly at first. There will be some things that come up that help the progress move faster. I won't give away who will make the first real move!

DeiStarr: Aww, thanks so much! I'm so glad you really liked the last chapter. I promise the relationship is still not going to move too fast. It will be believable. Yes, I know, it's horrible that Draco is in the dark, but then again, Harry is in the dark about some things too. But yes, it's sometimes hard to watch when drama unfolds in relationships. Still, I promise that everything happens for a reason! I'm so glad you like Harry's job too! I try to think of unique things every time I do a story. I'd get too bored with my own writing if I did things over and over again. I will update shortly! Thanks again for all your feedback! =)

Missy Padfoot: I'm so glad you like the way things are starting out in their relationship. I definitely took an unusual turn compared to my other Drarry stories, but I kind of like this idea the best so far. Lol! I'm hoping that it's an improvement. Hahaha! Yes, I can see a future like that too, lol! Sadly, no, Ron will not play matchmaker. At least that's not what I have planned at this time. Yes, there are lots of possibilities, muahhahaha! I will not give out any hints as to what's in store. =)

Yes, in this chapter you get to see Draco's more sensitive side. I think I've mentioned before that when I remembered the two times Harry saw Draco crying in the books, I remember thinking: Wow, really? Draco, crying? So he's more sensitive than he lets on. I think this characterization of him in some ways is more accurate than the ones I've had before. His character is more 3-dimensional this way. Instead of just being an ass, or stubborn, and Harry initiating everything, there's a balance in this story and you see different sides to both of them. Draco will always have his obnoxious attitude, don't worry! You'll just see other sides than that when it matters. =)

I promise to not let you cry in your corner for too long! I will update shortly!

WammygirlZ: Awww, I'm so glad you thought the cotton candy scene was cute! In response to your question (not sure if you got my private message or not), another review suggested to me about different modes of transportation to make it more believable. So I figured you guys have seen a lot of the wizard train thus far so I'm just toying with other transportation methods. Plus, I figure the train rides are for the really long trips, the ones muggles would normally take planes for. I'm so glad you like the mystery component because it's only going to grow until it comes to its peak! You won't figure out who is behind the attacks for a little while, but it's coming! I will update shortly!

Ninjacatprincess1: Awww, thanks so much! I'm so flattered by that! Aww, but don't say that about yourself. I'm sure you're not a bad writer. And all it takes is practice to get better. Looking back at my old stories, I'm like gosh, did I really write that scene? Lol! I actually like this story better than Captivation because there are things about Captivation I would change if I had to do it over again. I'm so glad you like the detail in the stories because I LIVE for detail, lol! Sometimes I get carried away with it, so just let me know if there are times when it's overwhelming. I will update shortly! =)

Guest: Thanks! I'm so glad you liked the chapter! Yes, finally some progress with the relationship, lol! It had to start somewhere. I will say that it's still going to develop slowly for a couple more chapters, but there are things in store for them that will help with that. =)

FairyDust353: Awww, thanks so much! I'm so happy you like my stories! And I'm glad that my stories are unique. Sometimes I forget things that I've put in other older stories and realize later that I've used the same or similar ideas. I'm hoping this story is a big improvement from Captivation and that everything in it hasn't been done before. =) Awww, thanks again! Yeah, I love exploring the wizard world too and thinking of crazy things. That's why fantasy is so cool! I understand completely that you can't always review every chapter so thank you for taking the time! Any chance you get, whenever you get it, to just let me know what you think or how you feel is greatly appreciated. I promise to never lose hope in my ability! Thanks so much for that! It's such a great feeling knowing I'm writing for such amazing people like you! =)