Tenth
"Your first task is dragons, young Master." Harry stared at his butler incredulously, the first stirrings of fear curling up from his stomach.
"Dragons?" he nearly shrieked, startling Draco out of his slumber.
"Wha? Whazzat? Mum?"
"Sorry Draco," Harry murmured, his voice trembling with the panic that threatened to overwhelm him. "Go back to sleep." The blond turned his head, his silver eyes intent on his friend's face, then sat up, facing Harry.
"What's wrong, Harry? You look like you're about to pass out." Harry gave a shaky laugh.
"Oh, nothing. I just have to face dragons for the first task. No big deal, really." Draco gaped at the other teen, his face paling rapidly before he snapped his mouth shut, eyes suddenly intent.
"It's doable, Harry," Draco said casually, watching his friend's face. Harry scowled at the nonchalance of the blond, then crossed his arms and huffed irritably.
"You have an idea, then?" he snarked.
"Why yes, Harry, I do," the other teen replied with a grin. "As you know, my name is the Latin derivative for 'dragon'. When I was a child, I was fascinated with the creatures I'd been named after, so I read everything I could get my hands on about them." He paused and looked at Sebastian. "Do you know what kind of dragons they are?"
"I believe, Master Malfoy, that they are the Hungarian Horntail, the common Welsh Green, the Swedish Short-snout, and the Chinese Fireball."
"Excellent," Draco purred excitedly. "I know that, of all the dragons, the Chinese Fireball is the fastest and most clever. It is also more serpent-like so you may be able to get away with using your parseltongue to reason with it. The Hungarian Horntail is also fast, but it's incredibly vicious as well. The common Welsh Green is the more subdued of the four, so if you get that one, you might be able to use a strong stunner on it. The Swedish Short-snout is by far the most dangerous. It's fire burns the hottest and it is a most agile flyer. However, since it has no forefeet, keeping it on the ground is to your advantage, since it's rather clumsy earthbound."
"Sooo, three of them might be good and one is bad? Which one should I pick?"
"You will not be able to see the one you choose, young Master," the demon interjected, watching the boy's face fall at the news. "The identities of the dragons will be kept from you. You will have to pull a replica from a cloth bag. Unfortunately, the choosing will go in order of the champions, which means you will be last."
"So I get the leftover," Harry grumbled, eyes on the floor. "Which dragon would be the optimal one for me to get out of this task in one piece?"
"It would be a choice between the Fireball and the Short-snout," Draco said helpfully.
"Master, if you tell me of which dragon you would like to face, I can ensure that it will be done. With a drop of your blood and my power, I can ensure that the dragon of your choice avoids the other hands reaching for it." Harry nodded absently, thinking over his options. The Short-snout or the Fireball. One is clumsy on the ground, but extremely agile in the air. The other is intelligent and more serpent-like, so possibly his parseltongue would benefit him. Which one? Which one? Finally, after minutes of silence, Harry made his choice.
Krum glared at Harry as he slowly made his way into the contestant's tent. Fleur looked at him snootily, and Cedric threw him a nervous grin. The teen stayed away from everyone else; he didn't want questions about his being in the Tournament, nor did he want to have people poking at his raven. His fingers restlessly combed through the breast feathers, and Sebastian nuzzled his head into Harry's cheek and neck, trying to soothe his master the only way he could. When Ludo Bagman came in with the pouch, Harry took a deep breath, hoping and praying that the dragon he wanted would be avoided by the other competitors. Viktor was the first to choose, and he pulled out the Hungarian Horntail. The tiny dragon hissed flame at the boy, who scowled down at it. Fleur drew next, and she got the common Welsh Green. Cedric drew the Swedish Short-snout, leaving the Chinese Fireball for Harry. Each dragon had a number around its neck, denoting the turn in which each competitor was to face his or her dragon. To the roar of the crowd, Cedric tentatively left the tent to face his dragon. There were roars and screams, and the announcer stating that Diggory had retrieved his egg, but had received severe burns and was taken to the medical tent.
Next was Fleur, and the cheers were louder for her, especially with the males. She put on a brave face, and was a little more confident as she strode out to face her dragon. The crowd quieted as if someone had cast a silencio, and it was a few moments after Madam Maxime had left the tent that the announcer had stated that Fleur had retrieved her egg. Harry listened as Bartemius Crouch Sr. announced that Fleur had used her Veela allure to charm the dragon to sleep, and had successfully retrieved her egg. However, because the dragon had snorted fire in her sleep, Ms. Delacour's robes had caught fire, causing minor burns to the girl.
The third to go face the dragon was Viktor Krum. He went out there, fully expecting to best the Horntail, but was driven back time and again by the harsh breath of the mother's fire. Krum wasted valuable time trying to lure the dragon away from her clutch with no success. Finally, he threw a conjunctivitis curse at the beast, but only partially blinded her. He was able to retrieve the egg, but suffered a deep gash to his back as the dragon had attempted to stomp on the tiny insect.
Finally, it was Harry's turn, and he shook so hard that the raven on his shoulder rocked back and forth. Carefully, Harry lifted the bird from his shoulder and placed it on the back of a chair.
"I'll be back soon," he whispered to the bird, gently stroking its head. Straightening, he marched purposefully to the stadium, hiding behind a rock formation for a moment to catch his breath and get his shaking under control. Pulling his plan to mind, he stepped out from his shelter and bowed deeply to the Fireball. The dragon was startled at the behavior of the human, and hesitated on an indrawn breath. Her maw was open, and Harry could see the ball of superheated air and flaming liquid that sat at the back of her throat. Before he lost his nerve, he stepped closer and began to hiss to the dragon.
"The magic that surrounds this castle will harm your eggs, he said softly, stepping ever nearer. There is a golden rock within your nest that will contaminate your young if it is not removed. It may have already done some harm."
"Something in my nest harms my babies?" Harry heaved a small sigh as he pulled out a shrunken vial of potion from his robes.
"Yes. The golden rock with the rune shapes carved into it is harming your babies. Allow me to remove it and put this potion on your clutch. The potion will seep in and purge your babies of the harmful magic. Will you allow me to do this for you?"
"Why would you want to help my babies?"
"You are a wondrous magical being. It would be a shame to lose any of your beautiful young. Please let me protect them." The dragon eyed Harry suspiciously, but she backed a short distance away from her nest. She watched carefully as the teen enlarged the vial and poured it carefully over the true eggs, coating every one with the substance. It wouldn't leach any of the ambient magic out of the eggs, but it would seep into the shells and strengthen the embryos within. It was an advanced nutrient potion, made especially for Chinese Fireballs, and one that Sebastian had found in a rare potions book. When he finished, he shrank the vial back down and tucked it away before gently removing the egg that didn't belong. The dragon's head swooped down suddenly, and Harry froze as the beast's face hovered inches from the egg in his hands. He could feel the dragon sniffing the air around himself and the egg, and trembled, suddenly afraid that the dragon would swallow him whole. Finally, she pulled away and bowed to him.
"I smell the wrongness of the rock in your arms, and I thank you for your help."
"Would anyone in the wizarding world deliberately destroy dragon eggs?" Harry asked. He, Draco, Theo, and Blaise were in Draco's bedroom, sitting around, snacks and beverages scattered about the room. The house elves had been pleased to bring the boys food and drink, since they didn't want to join the widespread celebrations throughout the castle. Harry had been waylaid by Ron and Hermione on his way to the dungeons, and he'd had to suffer through their congratulations, Ron's jealousy, and Hermione's lecturing about his use of a Dark talent. It took him an hour to escape the pair, but he was finally in the dungeons, with people he liked.
"Dragon eggs are protected, Harry," Draco answered. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, when I took the fake egg from the nest, the dragon leaned down and sniffed at it." Theo broke in before Harry could continue.
"Yeah, we saw that. We thought she was going to eat you." Harry laughed and nodded.
"I did too. Anyway, she sniffed at the egg, then thanked me for helping her. She said she smelt the wrongness of it. Would anyone try to hurt dragon eggs?"
"There are some in the Ministry that don't like magical creatures of any kind," Draco said, thinking over what his father had said. "I believe there's an undersecretary to the Minister that is completely against all magical creatures. She seems to have Fudge's ear on all things. Maybe she was able to get into contact with the maker of the false eggs and have some kind of spell woven into it to destroy the dragon eggs."
"Maybe. She sounds like a Voldemort supporter." Blaise snickered, and everyone looked at him, curious.
"I know who Draco's talking about, and she's only a supporter of whomever is in power. As long as it's Fudge, she'll do all she can to advance his agenda. If Voldemort were to take over tomorrow, she'd fall all over herself kissing his arse. She figures that, as long as she backs whomever is in charge, she'll also come out on top."
"Ah," Harry sighed, grimacing. "One of those. My uncle Vernon was one of those. Couldn't wait to backstab his friends if it meant he got the promotion."
"Um, Harry? What was it like, living with muggles?" Theo asked softly. The brunet stiffened at the question, his face stony.
"You'd best ask someone else that question," he answered a little sharply. Everyone flinched at the hard tone, and Harry heaved out a harsh sigh before he spoke again. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound angry. It's just that…Before Sebastian found me, I had to return to those filthy muggles every summer. My first ten years in that home were spent in a small boot cupboard underneath their stairs. That was my bedroom, and where I was sent when they didn't want to look at me. I was made to do every single chore they didn't want to do, and was required to cook every single meal, while receiving hardly any food for myself. I was called names and made to feel like less than nothing. Their son took great joy in beating me up almost daily, and uncle Vernon tended to be a little free with the fists on occasion as well. I don't like to think about them, because it makes me angry and sad, and I don't want to feel like that anymore."
"Young Master, why have you never told me any of that?" Sebastian asked. He was kneeling in front of Harry, unbuttoning the shirt, and his copper eyes were intent on his fingers. Harry sighed again and looked at the man who had come to be so much more than a manservant. The demon raised his eyes and found himself caught by brilliant emeralds.
"I don't like talking about it. I don't like remembering it. I think of the day that you came to me as the first day of my life. I didn't feel the need to tell you, because there's nothing you can do about it now."
"Why don't you want vengeance on them for the wrongs they committed against you?" Harry scrubbed his face, slightly irritated that the subject just wouldn't go away.
"They are meaningless to me," he finally answered, a little anger in his eyes. "What they did, was done out of ignorance and prejudice. It's stupid to punish them for their natures. It's who they are, and believe me, they'll suffer more for who they are than anything I could do to them. Let them wallow in their prejudices. Karma's a bitch, and it will come around and bite them in the arse one day."
"I understand, young Master." Sebastian finished massaging Harry's feet, and made to stand, but the teen's hands on his shoulders prevented him from rising. He looked into the brunet's eyes, and his own widened as the boy leaned closer, pressing his mouth to Sebastian's. The demon inhaled a gasp as a tentative tongue flicked along his lips, and he eagerly opened his mouth, letting Harry take the lead in this interaction.
The brunet's tongue danced and played within the demon's mouth, and the taller man moaned delightedly as he felt the other's tongue rub against the roof of his mouth, making him shiver uncontrollably. His own tongue came out to play, and he deepened the kiss, pulling on the teen until he was straddling Sebastian's lap. The butler's arms wrapped around the small waist, pulling the boy into his body fiercely as the kiss turned from exploratory to passionate with the flick of a tongue.
Fire raced along Sebastian's nerves as Harry's innocent mouth inflamed his desires. Slender legs wrapped around the demon's waist, and he gasped again, bucking up into the teen's pelvis and making his arousal known. Harry ground down into the butler's erection, moaning wantonly as they both spiraled out of control. A snuffling whimper from the next bed made them freeze their actions, their mouths slowly pulling apart. Harry turned his head to the other bed, worry creasing his face as he looked at the other occupant. Thankfully, Draco had only been shifting in his sleep, and Harry breathed a quiet sigh of relief. A soft chuckle rumbled from the demon's mouth, and he kissed the corner of the teen's pouting lips as he stood from the floor, Harry still wrapped around him. He gently lay the boy into his bed, feathering kisses across his forehead, over his eyelids, down the slope of his nose, across his cheeks and over his chin until his mouth finally settled on the teen's. It was a slow, soft kiss, with just an undercurrent of heat, and Harry had to bite back a moan when Sebastian pulled away.
"Soon, my young Master. I will have you, soon."