Author's Note: Hello Everyone, here's the next installment. With the upcoming holidays I'm not sure I'll get a chapter posted next week as I'll be on vacation, but I promise to be back on track after that and will try to post two chapters.
Disclaimer: Not my characters, just my story. This is 'K+'. No firebolts were destroyed by whomping willows in creation of this work. Draco takes a beating again; maybe eventually I'll think up something more original, but you have to admit it's kinda fun that way. On with the show.
Chapter 11 – Of Duels and Other Diversions
The next few days saw the Golden Trio, Draco, and Ivy settle into something resembling a regular routine. Harry would get up early and stop by the kitchens to get coffee to take down to the dungeons with him. He knew he was spoiling Draco something awful, but the blond-haired boy was so whiny and obnoxious if he didn't have coffee in the morning that Harry decided it was worth the risk. It never occurred to Harry that Draco was doing it on purpose so that Harry would bring him coffee. Draco had rationalized it to himself by saying to himself that even though they were friends, all was fair where coffee was involved, and it wasn't really his fault that Harry was so gullible and trusting.
Harry would help Draco get ready for school and they would go up to breakfast together, where Harry would join Ron and Hermione and Draco would eat alone. After classes were over for the day, they would spend a few hours in the library doing homework, after which Draco would dictate everything to his quill back in his room before Harry returned to get Draco ready for bed. Usually Ivy would sneak in during this time and she and Draco would talk for a while until Harry showed up. Ivy never stayed long once Harry was around; Harry always seemed to get embarrassed or tongue-tied when Draco's sister was there, so it was a good thing, from Harry's perspective.
Their next Defense Against the Dark Arts class had been pretty exciting because they had the Dueling tournament. The students had been looking forward to it, and had quite naturally assumed that the duels would be between Gryffindor and Slytherin students for house points. They were wrong.
"Before we get started with the dueling, class, I want to lay a few ground rules," Professor Marion had said by way of introduction once the class had settled down enough for him to be heard. Unlike their other professors, Professor Marion seemed content to let the students chat until the conversations naturally died down. Dexter lay in his usual spot on the desk, uninterested in everything. "First, there will be no Unforgivable Curses." The class looked shocked. "Oh, give me a break. You can't tell me you people don't know them, I know better than that. Just don't use them, or you'll have me, the Headmaster, and the Ministry of Magic to deal with. Second, you will not cast spells that intentionally harm your opponent. I know it's not reasonable to expect that you only cast spells to disarm your opponent; just don't do anything damaging. If you do, I'll deduct an ungodly amount of house points, give you detention for a week, and subject you to the same spell you just cast." The class murmured. It appeared that Professor Marion was very much a pragmatist, but would not be tolerant of intentional rule-breaking.
"Finally, we're going to be doing this little duel a little differently than you're used to. We will not be competing in houses, rather we'll be using something called 'single elimination'. What this means is that if you win your first duel, you keep going, if you lose, you're out. The idea is for you to brush up on your dueling skills, and not have too easy or too hard a duel, so I've taken the liberty of reviewing each of your records for this class from years past, and we'll start with an initial pair of students of similar ability. The winner of that duel will duel again. Then the dueling will proceed one duel at a time until we have an overall winner. The winner will then get a…well, a special treat, let's say."
Upon hearing this explanation, Harry and Ron traded glances. Fred and George had been running a pool on who the winner of the dueling tournament would be. Ron had put 15 Galleons – his entire life savings – on Harry, while the Slytherins had been betting heavily on Draco in spite of their newfound hate for him. Apparently that particular emotion did not extend to profit potential. Oddly enough, Fred and George had declined to place any money of their own in this particular pool, preferring only to take profits on the exchange of funds. Neither Harry nor Ron had been able to figure that one out.
Professor Marion was making his way around the room, lining up students. Crabbe and Goyle were paired together for the first duel. "That's a shocker…they're the dullest of the bunch," Ron whispered to Harry, and it wasn't long before Goyle had defeated Crabbe soundly with a lucky Expelliarmus.
"Well done, Gregory. Pansy, you're up next."
Not surprisingly, Pansy Parkinson walloped Goyle, and she was paired against Dean Thomas. As this was the first inter-house duel, things got a bit more heated. Harry was half-afraid that Pansy would try something illegal or try to hurt Dean, but Harry's uncle gave her a look that could have shattered stone. Several duels later Hermione, who had defeated Pansy and had quite a run defeating the majority of Slytherin house and a good portion of her Gryffindor classmates was paired against Ron. Neither Harry nor Draco had dueled yet; they were the only students left.
Ron and Hermione faced off. Neither of them was particularly thrilled about having to hex each other. Ron, looking very pale, let fly with a rather weak Expelliarmus, which barely missed Hermione, who retaliated with a Rictusempra. This too missed, and Ron was ready with another Expelliarmus. Harry figured Ron really didn't want to hit Hermione with anything that might make her like him less. This spell was true, and Hermione found herself wandless.
"Nice work, Ronald. Harry, you're up." Harry looked at his uncle in surprise. He, and everyone else in the class, had assumed that he was probably the most powerful wizard, and would be dueling last. It appeared that privilege was reserved for Draco Malfoy, who looked somewhat surprised himself.
Though Ron and Harry were best friends, they were also very competitive, though they had never dueled. The two friends faced each other with no small measure of unease. After Professor Marion had counted down, Ron and Harry stared at each other for a moment before Harry grinned evilly, winked at Ron and let fly with a powerful Tarantallegra charm. It caught Ron square on the chest, causing him to drop his wand before the charm even had the chance to take effect. Professor Marion stepped back in with a "Finite Incantatem" and Ron quickly went back to normal. Harry went over and shook his hand. "Sorry, Ron. Figured I'd better make the first move."
At first, Harry thought Ron would be angry, but he grasped his best friend's hand and shrugged, "It's OK, Harry. You just caught me completely off-guard. I'll be better prepared next time, mate."
Ron sat down, and Harry turned back to Professor Marion, who smiled at his nephew. "Mr. Malfoy, I believe you're just about the only one left. Harry, Draco, take your positions. Oops, hang on, just a moment, Mr. Malfoy, I forgot about your collarbone."
Harry and Draco, who was just rising from his seat, both looked at the professor. Harry was wondering how his uncle was going to compensate for Draco's arm and collarbone. Draco was as well, but he had a slightly annoyed look on his face as if it was a great inconvenience to be dueling at all.
"Now, Draco, your right arm – the one in the sling – is your wand arm, is it not?"
"Yes, sir." Draco said in a slightly irritated voice.
Professor Marion winked at Draco, and then turned to Harry, "Then it seems that it's only fair to make your opponent operate under a similar handicap." From somewhere in his robes the professor produced a sling. Harry didn't know what else to do, so he just stood there, mouth opening and closing soundlessly while his uncle put the sling on him. "Now, Harry, stop looking like a fish out of water," the professor said cheerily. Harry glanced over at Draco, who was trying his best not to laugh out loud, and more or less failing.
"Shut it, Malfoy," Harry said through gritted teeth.
"Oh please, Potter. You couldn't duel your way out of a paper bag if you had three arms and a pair of scissors to go with your wand. This will be a piece of cake."
The level of excitement in the room had been growing more palatable with each succeeding duel; with Harry and Draco facing off under these unusual circumstances, the atmosphere in the room fairly crackled from the tension. Each student remembered what had happened the last time Harry and Draco had dueled two years before, and as both boys' powers had clearly developed significantly since that time, everyone was wondering what would happen; more than a few students were a little fearful.
Draco had been walking to the front of the class during this exchange to face Harry. As Professor Marion counted down, Draco assumed his trademark smirk, but was surprised to see Harry with a similar expression on his face. It was most unnerving. Of course, Draco planned to throw his first hex at the count of two, and he did so. Harry was ready, having started his own incantation of "Protego" on the count of two as well. Draco's spell, a bolt of blue light, bounced harmlessly off Harry and dissipated. There was a murmur in the crowd of students. Most of them assumed that since Draco had lost the advantage, Harry would make mincemeat out of him. He was the Boy-Who-Lived after all. Harry fired back at Draco with Rictusempra before, he hoped, the Slytherin had time to regroup, but Draco was very good, and dodged the hex, then returned his own. The two erstwhile enemies continued in this fashion for several tense minutes with somewhat awkward movements as they were hampered by their slings until Draco, getting a little impatient, threw a hex with as much force as he could muster. He actually thrust his arm so hard at Harry he lost his balance, still being somewhat off-kilter from dodging Harry's last curse and needing to be a bit careful of his collarbone. This opening was all Harry needed, and a quick shot of the old standby Expelliarmus found Draco without a wand.
All of the Gryffindor students cheered, and even the Slytherins looked appropriately downcast. Draco Malfoy might not be the Prince of Slytherin anymore but he was still in their house after all. Draco looked quite angry at having lost the duel, but to everyone's surprise, he walked slowly over to Harry, shook his hand, and said, "Well done," though his smile was strained as if he were in pain. Harry wondered if Draco had pushed himself a little harder than he should have during the duel. Ron looked as if he were about to faint, as did most of the other Gryffindors. The Slytherins' pretended to ignore what had just happened; they looked either uncomfortable or royally peeved. Draco walked slowly back to his seat, holding his bad arm with his good one. Once he sat down Hermione leaned over him with a concerned look, but Draco waved her off, saying he was fine, just a bit sore from putting the odd strain on his collarbone and shoulder.
The students now assumed that the dueling tournament was over, and that Harry had won. Accordingly, the jingling of money changing hands began to occur surreptitiously toward the back of the class. "Students who have made wagers on the outcome of this tournament, if I may be so presumptuous as to assume that any students would dare break the school rule about gambling," Professor Marion said dryly, "may wish to wait until the dueling tournament is truly over to collect or pay their bets."
Everyone in the classroom turned and looked at the professor, clearly perplexed. Harry spoke for everyone, "But, professor, you said yourself that Draco and I were the only two left."
"Ah, I believe you're mistaken there, Harry." Professor Marion looked at his nephew. "What I said was that Draco was just about the only one left. I, also, am in this class, though not as a student, and in order to have truly won this little tournament you also have to defeat me." Professor Marion smiled broadly.
Harry gulped, "Er…are you sure about that, professor?" Harry couldn't resist a little bit of a jab at his uncle. "Do you think you can still, ah, get around well enough to duel someone half your age? Sir? Maybe you had better leave my good arm in a sling just in case?"
The majority of the students gasped. It was unthinkable to talk to a teacher that way. Only Ron, Hermione and Draco knew the true nature of Harry and Professor Marion's relationship, and they each had to stifle a laugh.
"I think, Mr. Potter, that I can manage, even if your right arm is not in a sling." Professor Marion did his best Snape imitation. "You will take your place, now, Mr. Potter.I was thinking that perhaps I would be kind to you in this duel, but now, I think not." The professor's voice was as cold as iron. Harry gulped again, but took up the ready position opposite the professor. "Draco, please count to three for us, and Harry, three means three, not two-and-a-half."
Draco counted down, and the duel started normally with both Harry and Professor Marion doing a good job of throwing spells and countering or dodging them. This continued for a couple of minutes, when gradually the students watching the duel with fascination began to notice a change. "They're getting faster," Hermione whispered to Ron, and other students were noticing it as well. Harry and his uncle had begun by throwing spells at what could be called a normal speed, but as the duel progressed the speed at which they alternated spells increased. Harry and the professor began to move around the room as they dodged back and forth avoiding and casting spells with even greater frequency, ever faster, until it seemed that their wand arms were a blur, and rather than distinct spells, the students could only see flashes of color shooting between the two duelers. That was when they realized that neither Harry nor the Professor was speaking. They were casting spells without using their voices! The students continued to watch, riveted, as the duelers danced their eerie silent dance, hexes flashing back and forth in reds, blues, and oranges, wand arms moving almost frantically as if conducting a symphony of spells. After nearly 10 more minutes of this, Harry was caught off-balance and slightly out of rhythm, just as Draco had been, and the next spell cast by the professor caused Harry's wand to fly out of his hand into his uncle's. Harry and Professor Marion were both breathing hard from the exertion as they came to a sudden halt.
"Very well done, Harry!" Professor Marion said between deep gulps of air, "Twenty points to Gryffindor! Each of the rest of you take five points apiece for each time you dueled as well." The students had been entranced with the duel, and what they had seen, but at this news, everyone broke out in cheers as the bell rang for the class to end. Everyone shuffled out happily to lunch, talking about the amazing display of magic they had seen. "Oh, Harry, would you drop by my office after Divination this afternoon? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco, who were all headed out of the classroom together turned to look at the professor. "You three may join him if you like. The matter I wish to discuss is related to family, but it's not a family matter, if you understand the difference, and since you three are aware of the family connection, it may be beneficial for you to understand what's going on."
Four heads nodded, and they exited the classroom, chatting about the really excellent lesson. Professor Marion chuckled to himself, gathered his things and exited as well. Dexter the cat had never moved from his spot on the desk.
Lucius had paid another visit to Voldemort. He really hated traveling to the Riddle Mansion, and he certainly hated having to grovel for the Dark Lord and that sniveling wretch Wormtail, but such was the price of future greatness and glory.
Voldemort had been stewing on the problem of Severus Snape. It had not pleased him that one of his most trusted servants and spies was actually a double agent. When Lucius had shown up empty-handed yet again, Voldemort had been rather incensed. Lucius was quite glad that Voldemort was as yet too weak to assume his "normal" form; the Dark Lord was capable of inflicting significant amounts of pain in his current condition and Lucius Malfoy had been on the receiving end of many curses as they discussed Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape.
The Dark Lord was so worked up about the traitorous Potions Master that he had given Lucius another assignment. The trip to Cornwall to secure the Dragon's Tear had been put on hold. Instead, Lucius was to develop a plan for an attack on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that would serve four distinct purposes.
"One, Lucius," Voldemort had explained, "we will exact vengeance on that traitorous wretch Severus Snape. He will wish I had merely struck him down long before I will allow him to die. Second, you can discipline that spoiled brat of yours, and make good on your promise to force him to kill his mother and give him to me. Regret does not even begin to describe how he will feel about defying me. Third, we will be able to get our hands on Harry Potter, who will be very much necessary for something I have in mind, and then fourth, we will all go to Cornwall - yes Lucius, even Harry Potter, and that bastard of a son of yours - and there we will obtain the Dragon's Tear by whatever means necessary and I will be resurrected at last."
Lucius refrained from correcting Voldemort regarding Draco's legitimacy. Lucius did not have many scruples, but one of them was that he would never have tolerated an illegitimate heir. Thus, Draco was not in fact a bastard, but Lucius decided this was not the time to discuss semantics with the most evil wizard currently in residence on the planet. In fact, Lucius had simply nodded in assent, though he was really quite amazed at the Dark Lord's desire to undertake so bold a plan, backed out of the room, and apparated as quickly as possible back to Malfoy Manor, where he had descended once again into his underground chamber; once again Narcissa Malfoy, hearing the eerie quiet overtake the manor, wondered what evil deeds her husband was contemplating and sadly prayed to whatever god might hear that all would be well with her children.
Professor Marion was sitting in the combination office/library in his apartment working through his second pot of coffee for the day and contemplating what Albus Dumbledore almost nonchalantly had told him as they passed each other in the hall that morning about Voldemort seeking the Dragon's Tear. He had several old rolls of parchment, and several bound books of his own notes open on the desk, which he was staring at as if he wasn't seeing the pages at all.
The professor had done extensive research on the Dragon's Tear, and had gone so far as to visit locations in England where he thought it might be several years ago. He was really quite amazed that all that time back in his homeland had not even jogged the slightest memory of his life before he went to America. He was still having trouble adjusting to all the memories of a life forgotten; it was still very surreal, almost like reading someone else's diary, but somehow realizing it is your own.
"Ah well," the professor shrugged mentally, "back to the task at hand." The Dragon's Tear, the professor thought to himself, was most likely hidden somewhere in a small neglected church – a shrine really, in southwestern England. This particular shrine, steeped in legend, was supposed to have been the first of its kind in England that heralded the arrival of Christianity to the British Isles. It had supposedly been built sometime in the third or fourth century, in an area that according to legend was where those who fled the destruction of Atlantis settled. Merlin, who descended from the Atlanteans was thought to have brought the Dragon's Tear to this shrine after King Arthur disappeared from Britain. The Dragon's Tear was supposed to have many magical qualities – Merlin himself was involved in its creation – but most of these qualities were lost or unknown. Professor Marion feared, and Dumbledore concurred, that if Lord Voldemort somehow found and gained possession of the Dragon's Tear, he would be able to assume his normal form, and once again wreak havoc in the wizarding world.
Professor Marion wasn't sure how long he remained lost in these thoughts, but sometime later he was still so deep in his musings that he missed the knock at the door, which was shut, but not latched.
"Uncle Brandon?" said a tentative voice. Professor Marion jumped.
"Bloody hell, I mean, er, good heavens." The professor looked up at his nephew, embarrassed at his outburst. "Sorry, Harry, you surprised me. Come in and have a seat."
Harry smiled at his uncle, and sat in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk, though not before taking a long look at what his uncle had been working on.
Professor Marion, seeing Harry's perusal of his desk said, "Er, let's go into the living room, shall we?" He guided Harry out of the library and back into the main room of the apartment, and they sat in a couple of overstuffed chairs in front of the fire.
"Coffee?"
Harry looked oddly at his uncle. He couldn't figure out why the older Potter liked coffee so much. "Er, no thanks. Why don't you drink tea, uncle?"
Professor Marion frowned. "Well, I suppose I remember drinking tea now that you mention it, but ever since I went to the States, I have to have coffee." He waved his hand and conjured some tea for Harry, who fixed himself a cup.
"How much exactly do you drink a day?"
"I haven't really thought about it. Let's see. There's three cups at breakfast, two cups during morning classes, another two cups at lunch, then four cups in the afternoon, and another couple of cups in the evening."
"That's an awful lot of coffee."
Professor Marion shrugged. He and Harry continued to sit and sip their respective beverages. Neither was particularly sure what to say next. Professor Marion still marveled that the little baby he now remembered was sitting in front of him, a teenager. He wanted to know everything his brother's son had experienced, and regretted missing so much of Harry's life. Harry, on the other hand, was having trouble digesting the fact that he was sitting across from his Dad's brother – his own uncle! He wanted to ask his uncle so many things - about his parents, about what it was like growing up in America – but he didn't know where to start. Both Harry and his uncle were very glad they would be able to spend time together, and make up for time lost.
"So, tell me, Harry, what do you think of my classes? I'm very new at this you know, so don't worry about hurting my feelings; I've got pretty thick skin."
"Actually, I've enjoyed it so far, but it is really different. I don't know if I can explain it. It's like you're our teacher and all that, but you're also a lot less…er, stuffy, than our other professors. I like it. I know I'm probably not really a good person to ask. You are my uncle, and that's a bit weird, too."
"Yes, it's definitely taken some getting used to the idea that I have a nephew. I'm glad you like the class so far. The duel today was something wasn't it?" Professor Marion smiled broadly at Harry. "I don't think the class quite knew what to do when you accused me of being too old to duel. That was well done, but I think we might need to be a bit less familiar in class. Not everyone knows we're related."
"I know, uncle," Harry said, in a somewhat downcast tone. "It's just that, well, I've not really ever had any family, and then to have an uncle here at Hogwarts, it's like….like it's not real, and I almost feel like I have to make sure it's true, that I'm not dreaming or anything."
Unbeknownst to Harry and Professor Marion, they had left the front door of the Professor's apartment ajar. Ron, Hermione, and Draco had been at the point of knocking when they noticed the door ajar and listened in on the conversation between the two Potters. Upon hearing Harry's last statement they all traded glances and listened attentively.
Professor Marion reached over to his nephew and lifted his face up so that deep green eyes were looking into now blue-green ones. "I understand, Harry, because I feel the same way. It just doesn't seem real. You need to know that even though I'm not your father, I love you very much, and I'll always be here. You don't have to worry about being alone anymore."
Harry nodded, overcome with emotion. Then he noticed his uncle's eyes. "Your eyes, they're blue-green. What does that mean?"
The professor chuckled. "You can't leave that alone, can you?" Harry shook his head in response. "All right, I'll tell you. Normally, my eyes are hazel – that means happy, but when they're green, I'm in a serious mood, blue means sad, and if you ever see them gray, watch out, because it means I'm very, very angry."
"Note to self," Harry mumbled to himself. At this point Hermione, Ron, and Draco decided it was probably OK to interrupt, and they knocked loudly on the door before entering the professor's apartment.
Professor Marion looked up and saw the three other students entering. "Do come in! Let me find you a place to sit." He conjured up three matching chairs, and the newcomers sat down. "What would everyone like to drink? Harry has tea by him, and I've got coffee here, if any of you would prefer that." Hermione and Ron took tea. Draco, whose eyes had lit up at the mention of coffee (Harry couldn't help but smirk at seeing Draco's reaction), helped himself as well. "Harry and I were just talking about the duel that took place in class today."
"That was a pretty mean trick you pulled on me, Uncle Brandon, making me duel Draco one-handed and then making me duel you!" Harry said grumpily.
"Wow, Harry you sounded just like Malfoy here," Ron interjected with his mouth full of scone. Hermione whacked him on the arm with the back of her hand. "What was that…oh, right. Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
Now Draco was grumpy too. He didn't like being called a whiner, even implicitly. "Yes you did, Weasley. And I do not whine, for your information." Everyone except Professor Marion and Draco had to work to keep from laughing upon hearing that pronouncement from the Slytherin boy; Draco looked even grumpier.
"Anyway," the professor interjected, sensing it would be best to change the subject quickly, "it was rather a dirty trick of me, but it did put you in more of a real-world dueling situation than a very controlled classroom, and that will be valuable experience for all of you to have."
"Er, professor, what exactly happened in your duel with Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Ah, now that's a good question, Hermione. What do you think happened?"
"Well, it looked like you were doing spell-less magic. I know that most people can do magic using only a wand or gestures for simple things, like turning a doorknob and such, but you and Harry were throwing some powerful hexes back and forth, and that's pretty rare, isn't it?" The bushy-haired girl had a frown on her face.
"Yes it is. As we all know, Harry is a very powerful wizard, as are all of you by the way, though, unfortunately, not as powerful as Harry is, or will be, once he's fully grown."
"Gee, I never saw that one coming," Draco said dryly.
"That's actually why I wanted to talk to Harry, and the three of you. Harry, you are a Potter, as am I, and Potters, like all old wizarding families inherit certain magical abilities, almost like genes. Draco, for example, is an excellent Seer. That particular talent is in the Malfoy magical "gene", so to speak. Weasley's tend to be very good at Charms; Potters, for whatever reason, are gifted with the ability to do spell-less magic, among other things. This is amplified in you because of your peculiar power."
"Wow," all four students said at once.
"You said, 'among other things' uncle. Do Potters have other inherent talents?"
"Er…yes." Professor Marion looked a bit uncomfortable, but he went ahead. "You will find that given the level of your magical ability, you will probably also eventually be able to do wandless magic, though this is not inherent to the Potter clan. We have one other gift – that of being able to sense magical ability in others once we are trained to do so."
"Will you train me?"
"Yes, but not this instant, dear boy. Patience!" The professor laughed. All four students weren't really sure how to react to this news of Harry's additional abilities. They all knew he was a powerful wizard, they just didn't know what that would entail. Seeing their confusion, Professor Marion decided to change the subject yet again. "What do you four think about a Quidditch match this Saturday?"
"Hermione doesn't play Quidditch."
"But I will certainly come and watch, Ronald," Hermione added testily.
"I think it's a brilliant idea. Can we get enough together to play a real game?" asked Harry.
"I think so, if Malfoy will play, that is." Harry, not to mention Draco, was surprised that Ron had asked Draco if he would play as well.
"I'll play. It's not as if I'm likely to be playing on the Slytherin team this year anyway," he sighed.
"Excellent! Let's meet on the pitch at ten in the morning." They all chatted amiably for a few minutes longer, then Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco all left to head for the library and their evening homework. Professor Marion went back into his study to ponder the problem of the Dragon's Tear once more.
After they arrived in the library, Harry said, "Do you remember when I told you about Dumbledore mentioning the Dragon's Tear to my uncle?" The other three students nodded. "When I went to see my uncle this afternoon, he was in his study, and his desk was covered with things related to the Dragon's Tear."
"That's interesting," Ron said. "One question: what the Dragon's Tear?"
Harry opened his mouth to reply, then realized he didn't know what it was either. Both Draco and Hermione had similar expressions on their faces. Harry, Ron and Hermione all started to grin at each other; Draco looked suspiciously from one to the other. "Why is it," he said slowly, "that I have the feeling we're about to embark on some bloody Gryffindor quest/adventure/whatever, and that I'm going to regret having anything to do with it whatsoever?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione's adventures were legend at Hogwarts, and Draco was very much less-than-enthusiastic about being pulled into the middle of one of the Golden Trio's misadventures.
"Oh come on Draco, you've got to admit, it'll be fun to find out what my uncle's up to, and besides, now that you've defected, it's not like we're trying to stop you from opening the Chamber of Secrets." Harry couldn't resist prodding his old enemy a bit.
Draco harrumphed, and crossed his arms in a most pouty manner. "Whatever. I can't believe you actually thought I was the Heir of Slytherin. Honestly."
"Uh-oh, he's whining. Maybe we should call it a night. You know how grumpy Draco gets when it's his bedtime." Harry had gone just a bit too far that time.
"Alright, Potter. I don't need this from you. I'm leaving. I'll see the three of you later." Draco grabbed his things with his good arm and stormed off toward the Slytherin dormitories, cursing under his breath.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all a bit surprised at Draco's reaction. Harry said in a low voice, "I think I may have hit a nerve. I'll let him cool down for a bit, then go help him get ready for bed."
"Good idea, mate," Ron agreed, and they chatted for a few more minutes about the Dragon's Tear. Hermione had that thoughtful look on her face, as if trying to recall some reference to the thing she had seen in a book somewhere.
"Well, I'll see you two later. Stay out of trouble." Harry winked at Ron, who immediately blushed bright red. Hermione just rolled her eyes.
Draco was really quite angry with Harry as he stormed back to the Slytherin dormitories, as he wasn't even sure why. As he thought about it, he decided that he wasn't really angry. He was hurt. Hurt! It was nearly unthinkable that Draco would allow himself to be hurt by mere words, especially from Harry Potter. But, the fact of the matter was that Harry Potter was the only person Draco could even begin to think about calling a friend. Draco had trusted Harry, and Harry had called him a whiner! It really hurt, and he didn't know what he was going to do or say when Harry showed up in a few minutes to help Draco get ready for bed. Draco knew that Harry would show up, of course, because he was Harry, and in that sense was really quite predictable. Draco arrived at his bedroom – he didn't even recall giving the password to the Slytherin Common Room, and sat down on his bed to wait, trying to figure out what to do.
Harry felt worse and worse about what he'd said to Draco the closer he got to the Slytherin dormitories. It wasn't that what he'd said was particularly evil, just a little insensitive. He hadn't expected Draco to react so strongly, and even if Harry's statement was true, he probably shouldn't have thrown it in Draco's face.
Harry, too, arrived at Draco's room without even really realizing he was there already, and he knocked tentatively before entering. Draco was sitting with his arms crossed, looking pissed off.
"Er…hi." Harry figured it would be best to just get the unpleasantness over with. "Listen, Draco, I'm sorry I made you angry. I didn't realize it was such a big deal, and I…um, should have been more sensitive about it." Harry was very uncomfortable apologizing to Draco, but that was mostly because he wasn't sure how the other boy would react.
Surprisingly, Draco's features softened. "It's fine, Harry. I know you didn't mean anything by it. I guess I just had a bit of a 'relapse', so to speak. I'll get over it." Draco was a little astonished that he accepted Harry's apology so easily. There was just something about the Gryffindor boy that made it impossible to be mad at him, especially when he apologized.
The two boys went through their nightly routine, both looking forward to the time when they wouldn't have to go through it, but each a little anxious, because they had really come to enjoy each other's company, though neither could have told exactly why or how that was.
Saturday turned out not to be the best day for Quidditch, but that didn't stop anyone from playing. The day had started overcast and cool, and while the temperature never really dropped, by the time the match had been going for about 45 minutes, rain was falling heavily, making it hard to see and turning the pitch in a quagmire of mud and sand.
The interesting thing about the match was that Harry and Draco had ended up being the only two players who were on the house teams. Everyone else who showed up to take part just liked to play.
Since Draco and Harry were on the teams, they were chosen as captains for the match, and they took turns picking players. Harry had chosen his uncle first, and Draco had surprised everyone by picking up Ron. Then Harry had chosen Seamus Finnegan, a couple of Ravenclaw girls, a Hufflepuff boy, and Professor McGonagall who showed up to play looking like she would eat alive anyone who made comments about her playing abilities. Draco had picked a couple of younger Slytherin boys, who looked most unhappy about having to play on Draco's team, Madam Hooch, and a couple of very scared looking Ravenclaw girls as well.
The match was progessing well when it started to rain. Harry and Draco had ended up as Seekers – Harry because everyone knew he was the best Seeker, and Draco because he was a good seeker, too, but mostly because of his bad arm. Seeker was the least strength-intensive position. Harry had wanted his uncle to play seeker, but Professor Marion demurred, saying that he was too far out of practice, and that he would another time.
Thus it was when it started raining that things were very much status quo ante on the Quidditch pitch. Harry and Draco were above the action, both looking for the snitch. "All right there, scarhead?" Draco had yelled without any malice in his voice, for old time's sake.
"Bite me, Malfoy." Harry smiled at Draco, who just looked back at him, one eyebrow raised, and then suddenly he shot past Harry, who immediately turned to follow.
Draco had seen the snitch pass just the other side of Harry's head as they exchanged words. Both Draco and Harry chased the snitch toward the other end of the field, a mere two feet off the ground. Draco was much closer than Harry to the snitch, but Harry had the faster broom. Draco inched ever closer to the elusive golden orb, knowing that he needed to hurry or Harry would pull ahead of him. This was Draco's undoing, for as they raced on and on, two blurs of speed chasing an even blurrier golden flash, Draco became impatient and reached for the Snitch, leaning just a little too far forward on his broom. This motion unbalanced him and he toppled headfirst onto the pitch, which was only two feet under him, at top speed. He rolled over once and when the weight of his body fell on his injured collarbone, he screamed as the white-hot pain seared through him, then passed out.
Harry saw Draco lose his balance and go flying, literally, but he didn't stop to help immediately, though he wanted to. The match was still on, and so he sped up to catch the Snitch, then went to see about Draco.
He still managed to get to Draco before anyone else. Draco was unconscious, but other than that and the fact that he was covered in mud from having effectively rolled in it, appeared to be alright. Harry knelt over the blonde boy, and slapped him lightly on the face. "Draco, wake up! Are you alright?" It took Harry several tries to rouse Draco.
"Oooooo….it hurts," Draco moaned, and then his eyes went wide as he turned over and vomited. The pain was making him nauseous. By this time the rest of the players had arrived, and Harry wiped Draco's mouth clean with his robe then helped Draco stand, supporting him under his good shoulder.
Draco was bobbing in and out of consciousness, the pain in his shoulder was so great. "I'll take him to the hospital wing. I'm kinda used to it by now." Harry smirked, but Draco was in too much pain to even be aware of his surroundings. "I'll see you guys later." Harry and Draco very slowly made their way up to the hospital wing; Draco was delirious.
Madam Pomfrey threw a fit when she saw Draco's condition. "Who in their right mind would let him play with a broken collarbone. I'm going to speak to those professors. I don't care what they do to me!" She was really very angry, and even Harry telling her that Draco refused to sit out the game did not mollify her. She gave him a pain potion right away and said, "He's going to have to stay the rest of the day at least, and I'll need to look at his collarbone, but there is no way he's getting into one of my beds like that. Potter, why don't you help me get him out of these filthy clothes and into the shower?"
Draco roused himself enough at this to protest. The pain potion was starting to take effect. "What in the world is he going on about? He must be delirious, the poor boy."
"Actually, ma'am, Draco is really quite shy. I don't think he wants you to, erm, take off his clothes," Harry blushed slightly. Draco nodded somewhat vigorously, though it made him nauseous again.
"Nonsense, he doesn't have anything I haven't seen before."
"I'll take care of it ma'am. Really. He's very self-conscious," Harry protested.
"Fine, Potter. I'll be back in thirty minutes to check on him. Really, who ever heard of such nonsense." Madam Pomfrey stalked out of the room in a huff.
Draco was feeling the effects of the potion, but was only able to mutter a weak "Thank you" as Harry maneuvered him into the shower. He began to remove Draco's robes, and the other boy began to protest again.
"Draco, be reasonable. I know you're shy, but I don't think you should be left alone, and it's either me or Madam Pomfrey."
Draco was feeling pretty bad still, but he felt well enough to wash himself. "If you'll help me get out of the clothes I think I can wash myself." He still sounded week.
"Well, alright, but I'm staying in here, just in case." Harry was firm.
"OK." A few minutes later, Draco was in the shower, leaning against the cool tiles. They had managed to get him undressed without either Harry or Draco becoming unduly embarrassed. Draco managed to shower by himself, and Harry handed him a towel through the shower curtain, which allowed Draco to maintain a shred of dignity.
They were back in the main room of the hospital wing when Madam Pomfrey returned to check on Draco.
"Well, there doesn't seem to be any additional damage, though I daresay he's had a setback on healing that break, and he'll be in a lot more pain for a few days. You will stay here and rest for the remainder of the day and then you may return to your dormitory tonight."
"I'll stay with him," Harry volunteered.
"You don't have to do that, Harry. I'll be fine."
"I know. I don't mind." Harry and Draco chatted for a few minutes then Draco fell asleep. They had several visitors after lunch. Ron and Hermione brought in stuff to do homework, and they passed the afternoon catching up on assignments as Draco dozed on and off. Harry's uncle came in for dinner with a few bottles of butterbeer for a treat ("Don't tell Madam Pomfrey"). They all talked about how much fun the match had been, in spite of Draco's mishap, and decided that they would make the matches a regular occurrence.
As he got up to leave, Professor Marion said, "Oh by the way Harry, I've made arrangements for you to sleep in Draco's room tonight, in case he needs something. He seems most comfortable with you anyway." The professor looked at Draco knowingly, and then turned and left.
Draco pretended to look perturbed, but he was really glad that Harry would stay the night in his room. He really was more comfortable with the raven-haired boy around, for some reason. Draco wondered how Professor Marion had known that Draco had been wondering if Harry would mind staying with him, but he was thankful he hadn't had to bring up the subject himself. That would just have been embarrassing. He also secretly hoped that the professor couldn't read minds, or if he could, that it wasn't another one of the Potter "genes". That would make being Harry Potter's friend an unbearable nuisance, to say the least.
Around eight in the evening, Madam Pomfrey returned one last time to send Draco and Harry to the dormitory. Ron and Hermione said goodbye and walked out of the hospital wing. Harry saw them grab each other's hands as they went through the door, and made a mental note to ask them later why they were being so secretive. Harry and Draco walked down to Draco's room and got settled for the night, Draco in his bed, and Harry in a cot placed close to the fireplace – but not too close.
As Harry tried to fall asleep in a strange place, he wondered how it was that he seemed to be spending almost as much time in the Slytherin rooms as in his own, and he came to the realization that he was spending an awful lot of time "taking care" of Draco. In the twilight of drowsiness where some thoughts are obscured and others are illuminated for just a moment, Harry realized that this no longer bothered him. Draco had somehow in spite of everything become Harry's friend. He wondered if Draco felt the same way, and with that thought he fell asleep. Draco, across the room in the other bed, was already snoring.