(Cat)astrophe!
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
Warnings/Disclaimers: All Harry Potter names, places, and related indicia are copyright to JK Rowling. All Final Fantasy "loot/sundry items", "monsters", and other related indicia are copyright to SquareEnix. Loraine Ingleton is the intellectual property of Moraine Lendreth. Use of the character without permission in stories not penned by said author is a violation of her intellectual property rights.
Author's Notes: Nothing much to say, really. Um…aside from the usual begging and pleading for reviews…I hope you enjoy reading! This chapter delves deeper into Lors's background. And also, more Harry/Draco scenes. Ah yes, and an attempt to include a bit of crack-ness into the fic, just to break the drama. Tell me if I screwed it up royally or not (just don't kill me!).
o0o0o0o
Chapter 11 – Fruitful Conversations
Hermione heard Lors before she even saw her come in, the door slamming loudly before a distinct sniffling sound broke the silence. Because she had been crying not too long ago, Hermione knew right away that Lors was upset.
Blowing her nose for what must have been the hundredth time and wiping away the tears, Hermione poked her head through the drapes of her four-poster bed and asked thickly, "Are you alright?"
Although Lors had her back to her, Hermione could see she was wiping her face with her sleeves. "Yes," Lors hiccupped. "I'm f-fine."
Momentarily forgetting her own troubles, Hermione crawled out of bed, still wiping her face with a handkerchief. She sat beside Lors, who had curled up into a ball on the floor against the bedpost, leaning down slightly. "What happened?" she asked, genuine concern in her voice. She had never seen Lors upset before. The girl was normally energetic and cheerful. What could have happened?
An uneasy feeling suddenly churned inside Hermione, and she automatically gripped Lors's shoulder. "What happened?" she asked again, more urgently this time. "Did something go wrong with Harry's cure? Is Harry alright? What—"
"H-Harry is fine," Lors cut in before Hermione could finish her next sentence. She smiled weakly and sniffed. "The potion worked. He's back to normal now."
"Oh." The worried frown melted from Hermione's face as she sat straighter, leaning against Lors's bed. "Then…why are you crying?" she asked in a softer tone.
Lors bit her lower lip and exhaled a breath. "Professor McGonagall forbade me from using the Potions lab on the second floor."
"What? Why?"
Hermione listened with a slight frown as Lors explained. It was quite obvious that she felt horrible about it; she kept sniffing and biting her lip to keep from crying. When Lors reached the end of her tale she sobbed once and dabbed at her eyes with the end of her sleeve. "Draco and Harry tried to change her mind, but she wouldn't budge."
"Well I don't think that's fair," Hermione said in a slightly miffed tone. She knew how important the lab had been to Lors; she was like Neville had been with his plants. "But why would she ban you from the lab? It would have been better to give you detention—not that I want you to have detentions of course."
Lors chuckled weakly at that. "My mom probably thought detentions wouldn't do me much good," she said, still sniffling. Her nose was quite red by now. "I was home-schooled, so I think giving me detention would have been more of a novel experience than punishment."
Hermione quirked a smile. Yes, she could imagine Lors getting excited over detention. With a sigh she patted Lors's knee. "If it's any consolation, I think Ron deserved whatever it was you did to him, not that I'd want you to do it again." She paused. "Erm, just out of curiosity, but what did you do to Ron? Was it some sort of wandless magic?"
Lors gave a morose sigh. "It's more than just wandless magic. It has something to do with my…condition."
Hermione's brows furrowed. "Your condition."
Lors nodded. "Haven't you ever wondered why I suck at everything except Potions?"
The question struck Hermione. "Well, no. I thought you just had a hard time adjusting. You did say that you have been home-schooled before coming to Hogwarts."
Lors made a face. "Yes, and there's a reason for that. My condition makes it near impossible for me to do even the simplest of spells." She sighed. "When I was ten my parents tagged me along on one of their explorations. Mom and Dad always do, whenever they don't have a project that needed their attention." Her face took on a faraway look. "We climbed the Himalayas."
Hermione leaned a bit closer to listen. "And?"
For a while Lors didn't speak. She was staring blankly at the air in front of her, lips slightly parted. Hermione waited a few seconds before nudging her friend. "Lors?"
Lors jumped slightly at Hermione's voice, her face confused for a moment. When her eyes focused on Hermione she settled down. She smiled rather forcedly. "Sorry. I was spacing out, wasn't I?"
Hermione gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "It's fine."
With a grateful look Lors continued. "The trip to the Himalayas didn't go as smoothly as planned. There was an accident, and I ended up with a very unstable magic core. These rings," she said while holding up her hands, "act as shields that help stabilize my magic."
Hermione eyed the colorful bands on Lors's fingers. "Why so many?"
Lors smiled wryly. "Safety precaution, in case I needed to use my magic in an emergency."
"Oh. Well, two of them are cracked," Hermione noted.
Lors grimaced as she nodded. "Yeah. I have to replace those as soon as possible."
"What happened to them?"
"Well…the rings chip or break when I use my magic in its raw, unstable form. It's different from the way we usually do spells." At the look on Hermione's face she added, "Like what I did with Ron. No matter how much you look, I doubt you would find that particular spell in any book anywhere."
Hermione flinched. She had tried finding the spell, but came up with nothing. Lors, however, did not notice. "Did you make the spell?"
"What? No, of course not!" Lors sounded genuinely shocked at Hermione's question. "Whatever gave you the idea?"
A slight blush appeared on Hermione's face. "It was just a thought. You do love experimenting with things."
Her friend chuckled. "Yeah, but with Potions ingredients, not spells." She scrunched up her nose. "Except when I try bottling the spells, but that's entirely different."
Not quite, Hermione wanted to say, but instead she said, "Did your parents teach it to you?"
"Ah, no. You could say I earned it," Lors answered evasively. "I really can't go much into details—it's a long story." She glanced out the window. "Plus it's getting pretty late. We should go down and get dinner."
It was pretty obvious she was avoiding the topic, but Hermione let it slip. Besides, she had concerns of her own…one of which was her headstrong boyfriend. "You go on ahead. I'm really not that hungry at the moment."
Lors was already up and halfway to the door when she stopped and looked at Hermione. She pursed her lips in a thoughtful manner, titling her head slightly. "He'll come 'round to his senses sooner or later. Ron's just a bit slow on the pick-up."
Hermione smiled wanly. "I know."
"But if you want to speed things up I could bash his head in for you," Lors offered with a too-innocent smile. "And I won't use magic, either. Just my hands and an old-fashioned crowbar."
Hermione smiled a bit wider this time, but did not laugh. "Thanks, but I don't think that would work. Ron might think Draco put you up to it."
Lors sighed exasperatedly, shaking her head. "So that's what has been making Ron such an ass. Again."
Hermione nodded sadly, the smile fading. "Where is he?"
"Last time I checked, Ron was brooding over by the lake," Lors answered. "I asked the house elves to haul him back here if he's still there by bedtime. I figured he might be, seeing as he's too stubborn for his own good."
"No, he'll come back by himself. He won't be able to stand being hungry for too long."
"Hmm. You have a point." Lors paused. "Are you sure you won't come down to eat? Come on, we'll sit together."
Hermione hesitated for a moment, until her eyes caught sight of Lors's face. "Alright," she answered as she stood, her smile loosing its stiffness. "I'll come with you."
o0o0o0o
Harry quickened his steps to catch up to Draco, who nearly ran out into the corridor the moment the stone gargoyles sprang to life to let them pass. Swallowing the frustrated growl that threatened to slip, he stared hard at Draco's back. "Will you slow down? I need to talk to you."
Draco did not even look back. As they turned a corner, he began to run.
Harry cursed under his breath and sprinted after him. He knew he was quick, but he was surprised to find that Draco was almost as fast; or maybe something just effectively spurred him on. Judging from the way he stiffened when Harry called his name, both were probably true. The thought gave Harry an extra burst of speed, and he finally caught Draco by his wrist, pulling him around as he did so.
Draco hissed at the contact, his gray eyes hard and glaring as he spun to face Harry. "Let go of me!" He tugged on his left hand, where Harry had a firm grip.
Harry's face was set. "No. Not until you talk to me."
Draco ignored Harry's words at first, trying to pull out of his hand. When he finally stopped struggling he growled and raised his chin haughtily. "There is nothing to discuss between us, Potter."
Harry was sorely tempted to shake Draco silly, but knew that would only make things worse. Instead he gritted his teeth and ground out, "Yes, there is. You are avoiding me, Draco. Don't even try to deny it."
Draco sniffed and looked away. "I'm not."
"Then why?"
"What do you think?" Draco snapped, his head turning so quickly Harry thought his neck might snap. "Do you expect me to be happy after learning that you…when we all thought you wouldn't remember anything…" He seemed to be struggling with his words, his face taking on a bright pink hue. He closed his eyes, almost in pain. "And I even let you go and…and…"Draco shuddered and turned away from Harry.
A moment of silence. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Draco."
An uncharacteristic snort from Draco. "What makes you so sure I'm embarrassed about it?"
Harry raised an eyebrow even though Draco couldn't see it. "I've been living with you for the past few weeks. I think it's safe to say I know you more than anyone else at this school."
Blood rushed back to Draco's face. "You don't have to remind me," he snapped again. He tugged on his left hand once more. "Now can you let go of me?"
"No."
Draco turned around, his face a thunderhead. "Why not?"
"I haven't finished talking with you yet," Harry replied. He began to drag Draco down the empty corridor.
"Well I'm finished talking with you," the ex-Slytherin drawled out even as he let Harry pull him. He glared, though. "Where are we going?"
"I want to talk somewhere private."
"There's no one out here except us, Potter," Draco pointed out in a flat tone. "You can't get anymore private than that."
Harry glanced at him. "Not for long. Dinner would be over in a few minutes."
Draco sighed irritably. "Just make this quick. I have things to do, Potter."
"Will you stop calling me that? You were fine with calling me Harry before."
"Alright, Harry." The sarcasm practically dripped from Draco's drawling tone.
Harry rolled his eyes, but did not comment. He quickly led them both to an empty classroom on the fourth floor, closing the door with a soft click and locking it for good measure. When he turned around Draco was leaning back against a table, glaring cold gray daggers at him. "What now, Harry? You said you wanted to talk, didn't you Harry?"
Harry roughly ran a hand through his messy hair. "Can you stop being an annoying prat for a moment and just listen to me?" He sighed in aggravation. "Look. I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't have a choice in the matter."
"Like hell you didn't have a choice." Draco's tone was brittle. "You could have just shut up about it and pretended nothing happened!"
The vehemence in his voice startled Harry. "But that wouldn't have been fair to you."
Draco laughed bitterly. "Nothing in life ever is." He gave Harry a mocking smile. "Let me guess. You thought all would go just fine if you told me you remembered every little humiliating moment I had to endure, right?" His smile dropped. "Well you're absolutely wrong." He straightened and made for the door.
His hand was already closing around the door knob when Harry spoke. "I never thought of humiliating you, Draco."
The ex-Slytherin turned and froze. Harry was already walking towards him, his face so serious and his green eyes piercing, that the words Draco wanted to say died in his throat. His hand dropped away from the knob.
Harry steadily closed the distance between them. "Yeah, I remember. Everything, like you said. You never let me starve, you were always patient, and you weren't such a git. At least, not as much as I thought you would be." When he stopped, he was only a foot away from Draco, his face inscrutable. His emerald eyes seemed to glow in the semi-darkness. "And you saved my life."
His last statement sparked a memory, and Draco opened his mouth before thinking. "That's because you saved me. From those first years."
Harry's eyebrows rose slightly. "So you took upon yourself to save me from drowning…as repayment?"
Draco smirked. "What do you think? I'm not a Gryffindor. And I hate being indebted to anyone, least of all you."
Harry flinched as if struck, and guilt made the lie more bitter on Draco's tongue. But this was something he knew, and knew well: the rivalry and hatred he had with Harry was something known, unlike the unfamiliar territory he had been drowning in for weeks ever since this horrible catastrophe started.
The brightness in Harry's eyes dimmed, his face hardening. "I see. At least now I won't be such a nuisance to you will I, Malfoy?" His voice was cool, and Draco fought hard to maintain the smirk on his face.
Harry moved around Draco and opened the door. Draco turned his back to him. "For what it's worth though," came Harry's voice as he slid the door shut behind him, "thank you." And then, in a more whispered tone, "I'm sorry."
Draco gritted his teeth, hating himself. The voice inside his head mocked him. I knew it, you were a sick masochist from the start. You just love putting yourself in misery, don't you? Not only that, but you've hurt Harry's feelings, too.
Damn it all to hell! This is the only thing I know to do!" Draco growled angrily, kicking a chair violently in the process. He sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Shit. What the hell do you expect me to say?"
Outside, Harry pushed himself off the doorframe, his eyes half-closed. "I don't know anymore than you do, Draco," he whispered before heading for the dormitory.
o0o0o0o
Hermione and Lors felt much better after dinner, and they were in high spirits as they settled comfortably in the common room. They both agreed to wait for their fellow dorm mates before heading off to bed. They were worried that, aside from Ron, both Harry and Draco were absent in the Great Hall, too.
"I'm more worried about Harry and Draco," Hermione admitted after they had sat staring at the fire for a long moment. She pulled her legs underneath her on the armchair and frowned. "Ron is predictable, but those two…"
Lors glanced at her friend from her seat on the long couch big enough for three, where she lounged comfortable with her head leaning against an arm. "Do you think they might be dueling somewhere right about now?"
Hermione's frown deepened, but then shook her head. "No," she said at last. "Although I don't know Draco that well, I'm sure Harry wouldn't let things go that far." Lors had told her earlier during dinner about Harry's confession of retaining his memories as a kitten, and that Draco had been avoiding him because of it.
"But you said they have been rivals since first year."
Hermione nodded. "Not only that, but Harry was the one who killed V-Voldemort, and Draco is an ex-Death Eater."
Now Lors was confused. "Then why…?"
"Because," Hermione explained with full conviction, "Harry is never one to hold a grudge. And he believes Draco deserves a second chance, no matter how horrid he's been." Hermione smiled. "And I agree. I mean, Draco is nice, once you get to know him."
"Mm." Lors nodded and grinned. "And they look good together," she commented casually.
Hermione craned her neck to stare incredulously at Lors. "What?"
Lors's grin grew wider. "You haven't noticed?"
"But I thought it was because Draco was just feeling awkward about being around us so much," Hermione mused aloud.
"Oh, it was more than that," Lors said with a wriggle of her eyebrows. She told Hermione everything she had noticed so far, including Draco's uncharacteristic blushes, both the boys' attitude towards each other, and—
"Draco's nosebleed?" Hermione repeated dubiously. "From when Harry turned back to human? You can't be serious."
Lors cackled evilly. She was clearly enjoying this. "I am serious, Hermione. Trust me, I know. Draco fancies Harry a lot. I just don't know if he's playing hard-to-get, or he is in denial." Her cheeks were flushed, and she giggled on the couch.
Hermione was looking oddly at her. "Erm, if they do end up together that's well and good, but why are you so…ecstatic about it?" At least she isn't depressed anymore, but this is really…weird.
"Aw, come on, Hermione! Think about it," Lors sat up, her face alight. "Draco is drop-dead gorgeous when you get past the sneer and the cold eyes, and Harry is potential eye candy once he has properly-fitting clothes on."
Hermione's eyebrows disappeared into her bushy hair. "Eye…candy?"
Lors waved her hand impatiently at that. "Just listen. Imagine Harry and Draco together."
Now Hermione was frowning. "I don't see anything wrong…"
Lors rolled her eyes. "I mean together together, Hermione. Use your imagination."
And she did. With very little material to go with, she had—with a slight flush of embarrassment—come up with an image of how she and Ron would have looked like if they had been snogging. Then she replaced herself and Ron with Harry and Draco—
"Oh!" A hand went to her cheek, which was now a bright red, her eyes wide. She looked at Lors, who grinned smugly at her, a glint in her eye.
"Like I said, they look good together."
Hermione nodded her head dazedly. "Yes, but it's more than that. They look so…so…" She suddenly had a strange urge to giggle.
Lors's grin widened expansively. "You mean cute? Ridiculously hot? Downright sexy?"
Hermione went beet red again, her hands suddenly busy with a loose thread on the armchair. She nodded once.
Lors cackled again. She threw her arms up in the air and whooped. "And the BL community has another convert join its ranks!"
That made Hermione look up. "The BL community?"
"Boys' Love." Lors looked very excited. Hermione's only response was to blush again while Lors continued by saying, "Strangely enough, almost all members are female, but that's beside the point." She stood up and grabbed Hermione's hands in hers, shaking them profusely. "Welcome to the club, Hermione!"
Hermione gaped at her. "You mean there's actually a community for…erm…that?"
"There are hundreds, but I meant what I said figuratively," Lors replied. She was still grinning from ear to ear. "Back to Harry and Draco though. I believe Harry's going to be seme. What do you think?"
"Um…"
"Oh, right. You're new to this," Lors slapped a hand lightly to her temple while giving Hermione an apologetic look that quickly turned to a bright smile. "I know! What you need are reference materials." She walked briskly to the door.
Reference materials? "What do you mean?"
Lors turned around, her body already halfway through the door. "Have you ever read a Japanese graphic novel before?"
o0o0o0o
Harry was halfway up the winding stairs when he heard something that sounded like a scream. His head whipped up in alarm. It came from the common room.
Hermione! Lors!
He ran up the steps, wrenching the door wide open, his wand already in his hand. Bright emerald eyes were already scanning the room for any sort of danger. "What's wrong?" he demanded.
Hermione and Lors were gawking at him in shock, their eyes glancing from his face to the wand in his hand. Harry stilled when he noticed they were both fine; the fire in the hearth crackled and gave a particularly loud snap, which seemed to stir the girls into action.
It would have been comical, had Harry not been confused. Hermione immediately jumped up and stood in front of Harry, hiding Lors from the boy's vision. She gave a nervous laugh and smiled at Harry. "Harry! You're back! I mean, Lors told me—and I'm really sorry I hadn't been there when Professor Slughorn had administered the potion—but you're here!" She smiled again, her face slightly flushed.
"Er…that's alright…" Harry said slowly, trying to peek from over Hermione's shoulder. He could see that Lors was stuffing things into a bag hastily. Hermione sidestepped, and her bushy brown hair obstructed his view. She was smiling innocently at him, though. Too much. Harry stepped back and frowned slightly at her, lowering his wand. "What were you two doing?"
"Oh, nothing," Hermione answered, her voice an octave higher than normal. "We were just…um…"
"Reading!" Lors answered from behind her, slightly out-of-breath, a bag slung over her shoulder as she stood. She smiled at Harry and gave a small wave. "Hey, Harry. Have you talked to Draco, yet?"
The question wiped the frown from Harry's face, replaced with an uneasy expression. "Er…no. Not exactly. I—hang on," he turned to Lors with an accusing expression. "I was asking you what you two were doing." He shot the same look at Hermione, who looked away guiltily.
Lors huffed and stood beside Hermione. "It was nothing, really. Just a bit of reading."
"Reading?" Harry repeated, clearly not believing anything she said. "I heard screaming, Lors."
"We were just…er…caught up in what we were reading!" Hermione answered quickly. She lowered her eyes when Harry turned to stare at her. The flush on Hermione's face deepened.
Harry looked at them for a moment longer before sighing with a shake of his head. He pocketed his wand and scratched at his head. "Well, that's alright I guess. I thought you had been attacked or something. Scared the crap out of me." He flopped down on the nearest armchair.
"Sorry," both girls apologized simultaneously. They shared a look, and then grins threatened to split their faces. They giggled.
Harry noticed all of this with a rueful expression on his face. "You two seem to be getting along quite well," he remarked.
"Oh, we just found something we both agree on," Lors replied with a shrug, the smile never leaving her face. "So anyway. I was asking about you and Draco."
Somehow he could almost imagine both Lors and Hermione's ears pricking up, waiting for his answer, although their faces looked rather…calm. It made Harry's hackles rise. "Er…"
"Oh for Merlin's sake, Harry, just say it," Lors said rather impatiently. "Have you talked with Draco?"
"Uh…define 'talked'."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "So you haven't apologized?"
"I did!" Harry said defensively. "Wait. How did you know about it?"
"Lors told me," Hermione replied, like it was the most natural thing in the world for Lors to be telling her everything that transpired while she had been locked up in the room she shared with the other girl. "So you apologized?"
"Yes, but he's still angry." Telling it out loud effectively dampened Harry's mood, and he frowned. "He doesn't want anything to do with me, that's for sure."
The girls shared another look, and they settled back on the long couch. Lors shrugged off her bag and put it down on the floor. "Did you hear Draco say that?"
"No, but—"
"Did he tell you to stay away from him?" Hermione cut him off.
"No, but I thought—"
"Then you thought wrong," Lors said, overriding whatever it was Harry was going to say. "Draco may be mad, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want anything to do with you."
Harry looked strangely at her, then at Hermione, who was nodding in agreement. "What made you an expert on the subject?"
"Oh, this and that," Lors replied airily. "Still, you have to consider, Harry. Draco isn't really the kind of person to express what he feels outright."
"He's a Malfoy," Hermione added. "You know how they're like. I—we think Draco's just having a hard time. You might have caught him unawares with the fact you remembered everything that happened while you had been a cat, you know."
"She's right," Lors nodded. "Like—oh I don't know, you might have seen him in nothing but a towel once. Or you found out that he snores." She looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow. "Or was it something else?"
The question made Harry's cheeks burn. "I don't know what you're talking about," he answered, too quickly for his liking.
Both Lors and Hermione suddenly had a predatory look in their narrowed eyes, a smile creeping up on their faces. Harry suddenly felt a very strong urge to bolt from the room. "Is there something you're not telling us, Harry?"
"I—" Harry swallowed audibly. Flashes of what had happened between him and Draco appeared in his mind. He could feel his cheeks grow warmer with every second.
A long, low groan drifted from the bed, and Harry jumped back, hissing. There was the sound of someone shifting on the bed. "No…Harry…"
Harry's ear twitched at the sound. He knew that voice, and he had remembered being called that name. Slowly, he approached the bed, parted the drapes, and slipped inside.
Harry climbed up the bed with practiced ease, still on all fours, until he hovered directly above Draco, who was tossing and mumbling in his sleep, beads of perspiration rolling off his forehead. Harry gave a happy mewl at the sight of Draco, recognizing him instantly, his tail waving widely in the air.
"Meow!" Harry smiled, looking down at Draco. But the former Slytherin only moaned again, shaking his head, muttering incoherently.
"P-please…don't…don't…stop…"
Hermione and Lors watched as Harry made a noise against his throat, like a moan and a gurgle mixed together, before jumping out of the armchair and hastily leaving out the room, saying something like needing to get dinner before the door closed fully behind him. Both of them stared blankly at the door for a few moments. It was Lors who spoke first.
"I knew it, "she crowed triumphantly. "Something is going on between them."
Hermione shrugged. "I thought we already established the fact that they both fancy each other?"
"That's not what I meant," Lors replied with a giggle. "I meant something is happening between them."
It took a few seconds for the words to sink in to Hermione. "Oh," she exclaimed, her eyes wide. She shared a grin with Lors. "Do you think something happened already?"
"I'm sure of it," Lors smirked.
"I still say Draco's the seme."
Lors turned to look at Hermione. "Is that a bet, Granger?"
It was Hermione's turn to smirk. "Ten galleons say Draco is seme, Ingleton."
"And I say Harry's seme," Lors replied with a smirk of her own. "That's a deal." She took up her bag again and took out a book. "In the meanwhile…want to borrow the second volume of Gravitation?"
Hermione's smile widened. "Sure."
o0o0o0o
End Chapter 11.
Note: The term "seme" is the Japanese term that is used to connote who is the…dominant…in a male/male relationship. In cruder terms, he's the one who tops.
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