A sense of awareness had Harry going into a standstill. He narrowed his eyes as he came to a stop in the middle of the walkway. They had just left the hotel but there was a buzzing of magic that startled him. It was so alive. Harry ignored the curious looks Draco was giving him and twisted his head left and right trying to figure it out. He wasn't a sensor like Finneus had been so he wasn't sure why he was detecting this magic.
Harry closed his eyes as he tried feeling out the magic. Instinct was driving him to be careful. He wasn't sure if this was a person, magical being or perhaps something else. It would have been rude to just force his magic into the unknown sorcery that was surrounding him. He tilted his head to the side when he realized it wasn't just around him but it was around the entire area. Magic was crackling everywhere. He couldn't quite see anything but he could feel it and it was empowering. Harry carefully pushed small slivers of power out, as if he was extending a finger to a handshake. It was a small way of making himself known but not in a way that would come across as pushy or unwelcoming.
The longer Harry stood there, he began to retract his own small bursts he had emitted. He made his presence known, so there was no reason to keep his magic constantly active. Instead, he focused on the type of energy that was being released into the air. There was something special about it. He knew without a doubt that he had never in his life experienced something like this. The magic itself was of no harm but there was an underlying danger to the situation. The power was so rich and so vast that he knew he could lose himself in it all. Self-restraint was required if he was going to keep a level head. He had to remember that he had his own magic and that it was okay to admire the power but not to take it into his own. It wasn't his and admiring for too much longer would break the reality of it being okay. Move on. His instincts were telling him to let it go and to take a mental step back from all of it.
The only problem was that it was hard. In the face of so much magic that was readily available, how do you just walk away? It was almost too much to ask for. Could he really just step back and leave it all how it was? Was that even possible? Harry needed to shield it all away, he needed a barrier keeping the temptation away. As soon as he thought that, he pulled up the strongest shield that he could and hoped it would be enough. Almost instantly he felt his own senses come back to him. It was bittersweet. He was already missing the magic, already missing the way it made him feel. Missing the seduction of the power. It was making him feel a pang of longing. There was something addicting to the magic, something that gave him a rush. He wondered if this was what being high on drugs would resemble.
Draco watched Harry with interest. What was happening? He wasn't feeling anything too alarming in the bond. It was as if Harry was meeting someone for the first time. He could feel a politeness to him that only resembled first introductions. There was a small happiness to the bond, it wasn't a happiness he would relate to when his husband is happy around himself. It was more like a happy satisfaction of seeing a favorite book or possibly favorite food. The intricate emotions were making Draco highly curious. He was not used to the depth he had to use to understand the exact emotion that Harry was releasing.
When the longing hit the bond, Draco staggered. It was so strong. Again, he marveled at how much thought he had to put in to figuring out the depths of the emotion. It was a longing that he wasn't used to feeling from Harry. Typically, when Harry feels longing it is sexual. There is also the longing of family or friends, that one was a popular emotion from Harry. But... this? This was different. This was longing for something you couldn't have.
There was so much that went into reading emotions. Sometimes it is several feelings wrapped into one that make up an emotion overall. The love of a significant other compared to the love of a family member are two separate feelings that make up the same emotion of love. It was almost a science to separating the strings of feelings to picking up the emotion. It was a challenge in its own rights. One that Draco always had fun figuring out.
Draco frowned as he tried to understand the longing further. It was almost similar to the longing Harry feels when around Sirius' painting. When Harry sometimes speaks to his godfather, there will be a longing of something you just can't have. He furrowed his brows as he sighed in frustration. He couldn't fathom what Harry could possibly be longing for right now. It wasn't just longing either, there was a deeper-rooted sense of want. Some would say they are synonyms but Draco could feel the differences. The want was entangled so deeply into the longing that it was almost impossible to tell the difference. Almost. It was making his head spin. He felt like he needed to sit down to gain his bearings.
With another shift of emotions, Draco really did sit down. He abhorred the fact that he was doing something as plebian as sitting on the dirty asphalt but he couldn't stop himself. The bond was too much. He never thought he would ever think something like that but it was the truth. The bond was emitting such power to the emotions that it was making his mind jolt every time Harry felt something else. He wanted it to stop, he wanted the bond to go away for just a few moments.
The feelings were intensified and it didn't feel as if it would be stopping anytime soon. Every small emotion was overpowered and felt like a punch to his gut. The emotions Harry was releasing weren't small right now though. They were huge and powerful. Making it all erupt inside of him. He felt a flash of bittersweet sadness that stabbed him through the heart. Normally, something like that wouldn't affect him but with everything being kicked into a higher gear, he felt the emotion as if it was a loss of limb. The sadness to the feeling sent his own emotions out of synch, causing his eyes to well up. The tears weren't coming from an emotion inside of him but a secondhand overwhelming sadness in the bond. Draco wasn't sure he could handle much more of this.
Just when Draco thought it was never going to stop, the overwhelming emotions were gone. The sudden stark change would have brought him to his knees if he wasn't already on the ground. He breathed out shakily, trying to control himself. The shock of going from so out of control to normal was messing with him. It was too sudden.
Harry was finally able to gain control of himself. The shield had worked wonders. He could still tell that there was the unknown magic out there but he couldn't detect it in the same way. When he turned to see Draco, he was startled at the emotions in the bond. He panicked at seeing his lover on the ground, clutching blonde hair and eyes filled with tears. He dropped to his knees and quickly pulled Draco into his arms.
"Shh." He wiped Draco's eyes gently. "What's wrong baby?" He tried looking over his soulmate's body but it was difficult with the way Draco was clinging to him.
Draco shuddered at the concern. If he concentrated, he could still remember the way the bond had been moments ago. It was still at the forefront of his mind. It was hard trying to distinguish between the memory and the reality of the present.
Woah. Harry leaned back in surprise at the odd feelings in the bond. It was distant and the frequency felt off. As if he wasn't actually experiencing Draco's emotions. He was confused. If they weren't Dracos, then whose were they?
"Can you talk to me?" Harry whispered as he pressed soft kisses to the top of Draco's head. "What has got you feeling like this? Your emotions are all over the place."
Draco snapped his head up with a weak glare. "My emotions?" His tone was of an outraged but dampened anger. "All that was coming from you." He didn't wait for a response, he just kept barreling forward. "Something was going on with you and it sent all of your emotions into some kind of overdrive. They were so intense and raw. I couldn't take it." He whispered a little brokenly. "It was the first time I had ever wished that the bond would just stop." His anger bled out and he looked to Harry in worry.
The guilt in the bond was heavy. Harry stared at Draco sadly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to have all that bleed into the bond." There was a slightly exaggerated sniffle, which caused Harry to smile internally. Leave it to Draco to milk it for all it is worth. "Don't feel guilty." Harry begged.
"But I was wishing the bond would just stop." Draco couldn't look Harry in the eyes. "It is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I was wishing it would go away."
Harry cupped Draco's jaw and forced watery silver eyes to look at him. "It's okay." He promised. "I would probably have felt the same way. It wasn't the bond you wanted to go away, not really. It was the overwhelming emotions." He paused to place a chaste but sweet kiss to Draco's lips. "I understand."
"What caused it all in the first place?" Draco wondered as he pushed past his feelings. He still wasn't okay with wishing the bond away but he didn't want to think about right now. He needed something else to distract himself.
"I don't know." Harry began honestly as he pulled them both up into a standing position. He rolled his eyes when Draco placed two cleaning charms on them. One would have been fine.
"I felt unknown magic." He was busy trying to understand how to put into words to notice the way Draco had frozen. "It was… vast, Draco. I don't know how to really describe it other than that." He admitted. "It was intoxicating and felt like it would never end."
Draco snapped his head up and began looking around them. This wasn't right. This shouldn't be happening. There were protections set up all around the place to prevent this. Shield charms were activated and dampening spells along the perimeter. A shift. He couldn't believe it, a bloody shift. He ran his fingers through his hair in surprise.
"Hey..." Harry trailed off at the panic in the bond. "What's going on? Do you know what the magic is?"
"It's a ley line." Draco explained. "Disney World was built on top of a ley line. What else could power the place? Not with so much going on, wizard and muggle alike."
Ley line. Harry had really only heard of it when Draco was explaining about the Lactera and how they like to covet ley lines and wild pockets of magic.
"A ley line is a natural progression of magic. There really is no say in how long one will last or how much magic is there. It is too expansive for anyone to contain or control it all. That much untapped power is too raw. Natural magic isn't like the magic of our cores. It is too wild. Too uncontrollable and highly dangerous if exposed to it at any great length of time." He explained as he pulled on Harry's hand and half ran towards the back of a wall. He had to get them out of the areas not under a shield charm.
"Ley lines stay in one area but will shift periodically around the space of land. The magic isn't quite sentient but it will move in stages. Some scholars suggest that it will shift during the seasons. There isn't any proof of that though."
"What do you mean shift?" Harry wondered as he watched Draco walk up to the wall and place his hand on an odd-looking bump in the cement. He thought it was just a screw up when the cement was being placed but that was proven to be false when a section of the wall warped into a door.
"I would compare it to a person who toss and turns in their sleep." Draco shrugged as he opened the door. "It is like the ley line grows restless and just shifts slightly within the area."
That sounded a lot like it was sentient to Harry. Why would it move unless it wanted to? When they walked through the doorway, Harry felt a cleansing spell wash over him. It was a light one, not one that would take off charms but one that refreshes things. He furrowed his brows when he realized that the unknown magic was severely dampened once on the other side of the door. He looked around and realized that they were still outside just on the opposite side of the wall. He could see the shape of ticket booths in the distance.
"The spells surrounding Disney World protect against the ley line. It is to ensure that the guests don't experience any backlash." He narrowed his eyes in anger. He was angry that the spells seemed to not go far enough if Harry had fallen victim to the ley line.
"How come I could feel it but you couldn't?" That was what was confusing Harry the most. "Shouldn't we both have felt it? You only felt my emotions in abundance but not the power."
Draco sighed. "Not necessarily." This would be easier to show than to explain. "Inside the perimeter there are areas where a limited amount of the ley line is accessible. Say there are fifty people there and all of them are attempting to access the magic, maybe one or two will be able to feel it. I am unsure why I couldn't sense it. We do have the same magic." He furrowed his brows in confusion. Perhaps if they still had separate magic, it would make sense that one of them might detect the ley line while the other couldn't. But with them sharing magic, it just didn't add up.
"But I didn't try to access it, not really." Harry mused. He had tried to figure out what it was, so maybe he was accessing it. It wasn't as if he knew what was going to happen. "If there are protections, how come I still felt it?"
Draco growled. "That is the thing. You shouldn't have been able to. They have experts on ley lines in their employment that are constantly monitoring the magic of the ley line. They adjust the spells and charms accordingly. There should have been no reason that anyone should have been able to feel it that far out."
"Are ley lines bad?" Harry wondered as Draco's words made him pause. Were all these protections really necessary?
Draco wrinkled his forehead in thought. "Yes and no." He mused. "They are amazing in the beauty of their existence. That much natural magic producing on its own? Amazing." He explained. "But the problem is that the magic of a ley line wasn't meant to be harnessed by humans. There are some Magical Beings that aren't affected by the ley line but our bodies don't have the capacity for the sheer amount of concentrated magic that is in the magic."
Harry arched his brows. "It is concentrated?" That would make sense. The magic seemed too powerful to him. It was something he had never come across. Even the darkness with the Sorcerer's stone had felt like there was a limit to it. This magic had felt like it could go forever.
"Mhm." Draco hummed in agreement. He pulled out their tickets the closer they got to the lines. They were on the wizard side of Disney World, so the lines weren't too long. "Which would explain why I was feeling the emotions to such a degree. Just a small amount would feel bigger than it should be." He was mad at himself for not realizing it sooner.
"What happens if someone tries to harness the magic?" Asked Harry. He was thankful that his instincts had him retreat before it could have gotten to anything of that level.
"Power-drunk." Draco shivered at the thought. "The body can't take the power of the ley line and it causes people to go delirious. No doubt we will see evidence of it in a little bit."
"Muggles have power-drunk too." Harry mused. "Only it is when the power goes to your head. Drunk on power." He watched Draco hand over their tickets to an employee, he shivered when he felt magic leave an imprint on his body. He wanted to ask Draco about it but decided to wait until this conversation was over before bringing it up. He smiled when they were officially inside of the park.
"Wait." Harry demanded. "What did you mean we will see evidence?" He didn't like the sound of this at all.
Draco waved his hand in the air, waiving away the concern. "Disney World is split into two worlds. Muggles only ever see the rides and the attraction. The wizard aspect to it is hidden. What we are entering right now is the wizard side. Wizards don't come to Disney World for the muggle side or the rides. They come for the ley line." Draco thought this was a little silly. Perhaps before Harry, he would be like the other wizards but his first time on a muggle rollercoaster was with Harry and he loved it. They would definitely be enjoying the muggle rides a little later.
"I told you that Walter Disney was eccentric." Draco reminded him of the conversation they had at the twins' flat. "Some people would say crazy." He admitted with a wry grin. "With the dangers of ley lines, why would he build an attraction for wizards and muggles here?" He led them toward what looked like the beginnings of a forest.
"What makes this place so special isn't that it is just a ley line. It is the only unclaimed ley line in the world. Not all ley lines are on land. The majority aren't. Those ones are nearly always claimed and used by Lactera or other magical water creatures that survive off of magical intake." Draco decided to not get into an explanation of all the other creatures besides Lactera that ate magic as sustenance. It would take too long.
"The ones on land have been fought over for centuries." Draco raised his hand to clear away some of the branches away from his face. "Mainly Magical Beings have the rights to them. There are a few Centaur claimed lines, some Goblin, Dwarf, Vampire and surprisingly even house elf claimed ley lines. But it didn't always used to be that way. There have been several wars over the years over the right to the ley lines. Incubi used to have a ley line but the Centaurs took over control about 90 years ago." He scrunched up his nose as he tried to remember exact dates. He didn't think of history as one of his strong suits.
"The house elf ley line used to be a werewolf one but with the werewolf council being so poorly ran, it was easy for the house elves to take possession of it."
Harry was grinning widely at the thought of a little army of house elves kicking a bunch of werewolf arses in a fight. He knew it was probably a serious thing but he thought the idea of house elf soldiers as adorable.
"There are a lot of Magical Beings that don't get involved in ley line battles. Giants fight amongst themselves too strongly to ever really fight against other Magical Beings for long. There is also Trolls… well… don't tell Jake and Blake this but Trolls are really thick." Draco bit his lip a little guiltily. "Those two obviously aren't but I can't exactly speak for their fathers. Trolls wouldn't be able to actively form a plan of attacking."
Harry hid a smirk as he considered Draco's words. He wouldn't tell Jake or Blake but he might hold the blackmail over his husband at a later date.
"I imagine fights will kick back up over the ley lines in the future. They never stay under control of one set of Magical Beings for long." Draco spoke up when he cleared his thoughts of Trolls and their lack of smarts.
"Is there a wizard claimed ley line?" Harry wondered. He looked around the path they were on curiously. Where were they going?
Draco shook his head. "Nope. A few wizards tried over the years but overcoming power-drunk is no easy feat. Not to mention it would mean fighting a race of Magical Beings. During the Goblin wars with wizards, there was a battle that was over a ley line. The building that now houses The Three Broomsticks, back in 1612 was used as headquarters for the Goblin resistance. A lot people say that battle was actually about there being a lack of Goblin representation in the Wizengamot. But that isn't true. It was the one battle in Goblin history where they had allowed a select number of wizards to join the battle on their side." Draco had been about to continue but Harry held up a hand.
"Why would they allow wizards into their side of the battle. That doesn't sound like something the Goblins would do." Harry shook his head at the notion. Goblins didn't really like to associate with wizards outside of Gringotts.
Draco grinned at the question. He loved teaching Harry things because the brunette actually retained the knowledge and legitimately wanted to learn. At Hogwarts, he was always having to tutor someone. Being the leader wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. He abhorred tutoring because hardly anyone bothered to care what he had to say when it came to school work.
"Typically, you would be right." Draco conceded. "But the battle was over a ley line and even smart wizards know they shouldn't be messed with. There was a huge chunk of people that wanted to fight with the Goblins to protect the ley line. It wasn't as if they believed the wizards would damage the ley line but it was a protection for the wizards who wanted to claim it. They all would have been lost to the effects of being power-drunk."
Harry tilted his head to the side as he ducked under a few branches. He could see a bunch of scurrying insects and he wondered what that was about. "So it was like wizards had a small revolution?"
"You could say that." Draco said with a small chuckle. "But it was only the one fight before it was once again wizards against Goblins. Only it wasn't over the ley line anymore."
Harry made a thoughtful noise. "And what did you mean when you said this one was unclaimed?" He was having a hard time seeing Magical Beings letting this ley line go.
"Walter Disney wanted a place where Wizards, Magical Beings, animals, Muggles and anything else could come without fighting. The ley line had been recently discovered around his time. For a lot of years people just thought it was a small pocket of wild magic. Which isn't something anyone fights over since pockets of magic pop up all over the world and in great quantity." Draco stopped walking and gestured for Harry to stop as well.
"When Walter realized it was a ley line, he petitioned the American Ministry for the legal rights to the land and not the ley line." Draco grinned wickedly. "It was so Slytherin of him." There was pride to his voice. "With the land being his, no one could get to the ley line to claim it without breaking Ministry law. He set it up so that anyone could come here and enjoy the ley line if they wished or just to watch it from afar. There was no discrimination on who is allowed in. It remains an unclaimed ley line and is completely open to the public."
Harry was impressed. He could see the Slytherin aspects to the idea and he thought it was brilliant. A ley line claim didn't seem to be worth anything if Magical Beings kept fighting for it. But to claim the land surrounding the ley line was a stroke of genius.
"Not only that but he also made it possible to charge people an entry fee." Draco shook his head in a little awe. "I mean, the man was kooky but brilliant."
Harry snorted loudly. "You would find charging people crazy amounts of money as something amazing."
"Duh." Draco looked at Harry like he was crazy. "The man may have been kind but he wasn't stupid. This place makes a fortune every single day."
Harry opened his mouth but a loud roar made him look around rapidly. "What was that?" He whispered as he huddled into Draco's body.
Draco snorted at the very un-Gryffindor reaction. "That Harry, was just the beginning of the wonders to a ley line." Draco announced as he lifted the nearest branches and pushed past the rest of the trees.
With the trees no longer obstructing their vision, Harry let out a little squawk of surprise at the sight below them.
They were standing on the top of a hill, overlooking vast open land. Every part of the land was covered in grass and bright colored flowers. Some of them were definitely magical plants, while others were perfectly mundane. It wasn't just the beautiful scenery that was attracting his attention. Everywhere he looked there were magical creatures; like Thestrals, Pixies and Crups. He spotted normal animals like lions, monkeys, and panthers.
Harry wasn't sure where he was supposed to look first. Every time he looked even just a few feet away, he spotted something new to look at. There were a lot of Magical Beings as well. He could see a few Goblins talking in a circle while also shooting suspicious looks towards a group of Vampires. There were Veelas in their bird forms and even a couple Trolls.
"Woah." Harry whispered when he spotted a couple Centaurs. He hadn't seen any outside of the Forbidden forest. He furrowed his brows when he noticed that the Centaurs were conversing with house elves. Huh. He thought that would be an interesting conversation to listen in on.
He took in all the animals in interest. "It's like an open zoo with no glass windows or employees telling you not to touch anything."
Draco snorted at Harry's words. "I am sure they would find that offensive." He pointed out.
"I didn't mean like that!" Harry protested. "I just mean that there is so much to look at and it reminds me of a zoo. Not that the Magical Beings are comparable to animals." He tried explaining.
Draco kissed the side of Harry's head. "I know love. I was just teasing you." He pulled on Harry's hand and the slowly made their way down the hill towards the bottom.
Before they could make it to the bottom, a sign burst out of the grass startling them both.
"What's it say?" Draco asked since it was closer to Harry.
"Entrance beyond this point is at your own risk. Upon handing in your ticket, all visitors entered a binding magical contract that ensures that any accidents, deaths or deformities will not reflect against Disney World or its cooperation counterparts. This ley line is unclaimed so therefore Disney World will not be held accountable for what happens while visitors are under the effects of the ley line's magic. If medical attention is required it will be the responsibility of the visitors to pay for it. If death occurs it is the responsibility of the next of kin to take care of the body. Please read over the list of known animals and Magical Creatures that frequent this land, fright is not an excuse for a refund. If allergies of any wild plants or the fur of any animals will stop you from proceeding forward, refunds will not be given. Refunds of any kind are not permitted. Please read over safety guides that are free of charge at entrance to ensure the proper way to handle the wild life that Disney World is known for. Thank you for your continued service and tread carefully."
"Well…" Harry trailed off a little uncertainly. He was not reassured by the sign at all. He was feeling a little nervous about this. "I don't remember seeing anything about a binding magical contract."
"That is because it was on the back in the fine print." Draco retorted as they sidestepped the sign and entered the area that was under less protection charms. Harry honestly couldn't remember seeing anything on the back of the tickets other than black lines that he thought were the cause of a printer. The writing must have been tiny.
Harry made sure to keep his shield charm activated, he wasn't take any chances that the magic of the ley line would get to him again.
Once they reached the bottom, Harry noticed that there were other wizards as well. He missed them at his first glance. He furrowed his brows when he saw that some of them were huddled together sitting on the floor with quick quills out.
"What are they doing?"
Draco tore his gaze away from what he thought looked like a hybrid Centaur and Troll to see what Harry was talking about. "Those are the scholars that Disney World has employed. My guess is they are out here cataloguing the newest shift." He grumbled a little upset that Harry had been subjected to the ley line when he shouldn't have been. He was not feeling very friendly towards the scholars at the moment. Draco went back to watching the other visitors. He was happy to see a wide variety of people here.
Harry was fascinated by them. They were in typical wizard robes but they weren't behaving like normal wizards. The scholars were moving around in a circle now, it looked like to him that they were preparing a sacrifice or perhaps singing songs like people would around a camp fire. The whole scene was intriguing.
Harry gasped when one of the scholars started seizing, which stopped the other scholars as well. His eyes widened when none of them lifted a hand to help. They just started furiously writing in their parchments and staring down at their coworker in fascination. "Why aren't they helping him?"
Draco hummed as he once again looked back to where Harry was gazing. "See the way his body is moving? That looks like he is seizing but really it is the excess magic of the ley line. It is a visible representation of what is happening to his insides. The magic is too strong for humans to take in." He paused when the shaking body stopped moving. Harry looked at his husband incredulously. How could they just be calmly talking about the man? Shouldn't they be trying to help him?
"I don't know if you can quite make it out from here but his eyes will be completely bloodshot and he will have tremors for a few hours after this. His speech will be disoriented and he will begin to grow delirious. That is just the beginning stages. If he doesn't receive medical treatment soon then the shakes will morph into something worse and his body will actually start rejecting his own magic. But at the same time his core will try and take in more of the wild magic in the ley line which will accelerate the corrosion of his own body. Because that is what wild magic will do to you if you can't handle it all."
Harry watched the poor guy shakily stand up and look down at his parchment. "Why are his coworkers not doing anything?"
"Their job is to write down everything that happens and analyze it all. All of them were trying to access the ley line. Remember earlier when I told you that even if fifty people tried to tap into the line that only a few would manage it?" He waited until Harry nodded his head.
"That is what happened. Only that one was able to actually feel anything. So they are writing down a number of things from the time it took for the power-drunk symptoms to hit, how long it took stage one to stop, what kind of body shakes happened and even how they ley line was fairing during it. They catalogue it all. Even if he had gone into the second stage, they wouldn't have done anything about it because they treat it all like a science experiment. The scholars for ley lines take their work seriously and they believe that their lives are expendable." Draco shook his head at the intense wizards.
Harry blinked rapidly. "So if I had interrupted?"
Draco snorted loudly. "They would have taken it as a serious insult. You would have been interrupting the validity of their test results."
"You really know your stuff." An impressed voice spoke up near them.
Harry looked over to see a man in his mid-thirties, the guy had a business suit that stood out against the wizard robes of the rest of the people.
"Thank you." Draco spoke up, eyeing the man warily. He wasn't sure about meeting anyone while inside the ley line area. Some people here are… not all the way there in the head.
"Mark Etchings." The man held out his hand.
Draco arched his brows. "Lead researcher of the Wizards for Humanity Movement." He noted, refusing to hold out his hand. He wouldn't touch this man for any amount of galleons in the world.
Harry watched the man in interest. It would seem that the guy wasn't offended by Draco's snub but the man didn't know that there was hate bubbling up inside of the blonde. He wondered who this guy was.
"That is me." The pride in the man's voice had Draco's mouth curling in distaste. "But I am also the cofounder of the organization."
"Oh, I know." Draco told him with narrowed eyes. "Your work has been plastered all over the world for the past ten years."
Mark grinned widely, completely unaware of the anger coming from Draco. "So our work has made it overseas? That is excellent. We have a tour coming up in a few weeks, we are trying to gain more followers in other countries. We would love to have someone as knowledgeable as you in our midst. It would really show other young adults that we know what we are talking about."
"Except that you don't." Draco retorted back. He smirked internally when the idiot finally figured out that he was barking up the wrong tree.
"Your organization is exactly what is wrong with the world." Draco spat out. "Magical Beings deserve the same freedom and rights as the rest of society. Your people think that only wizards are what make up humanity. You think that collaring and caging Magical Beings is okay. That would completely dehumanize them. That would set us back centuries in the progress that we have made in overcoming prejudice. For the life of me, I can't fathom how anyone could be so thick to believe in the shite your organization spews."
Harry folded his arms across his chest and settled in for a show, because he could tell that Draco was just getting started. He noticed that several Magical Beings paused in what they were doing to watch the argument between his husband and the other man. He could make out surprise in a lot of their expressions and some were looking at Etchings with anger.
"I was eight years old the first time I saw a flyer from Wizards for Humanity. I had been in Diagon Alley when one of your members handed it to me with a smile. You want to know what I saw?" Draco rhetorically.
"A Centaur being beheaded by a witch." He growled out. "It was bloody and it was gory and it was wrong. Even as a little boy being influenced by society, I could see that no one should be treated like that. What kind of organization are you running where a child is handed a flyer like that? What kind of organization are you running where you don't see life in everything on this earth? Whether it is a Bowtruckle, a Magical Being or a wizard, they deserve to be treated with respect."
"Excuse-" The man was cut off by Draco's hand.
"Oh no. I don't want to hear what you have to say." He told him with a shake of his head. "It is no doubt some idiotic excuse of wizards being at the top of the food chain. That is your usual argument when questioned." Draco narrowed his eyes when he saw the guy's eyes widen in surprise.
"You perceive wizards as the top of the food chain by your silly data and corrupt line of thinking. We are not at the top. We are not the strongest. We are actually far weaker in comparison. Just because we have deluded ourselves into thinking that since we deny them rights, that that must mean we have jumped over the gap that separates us physically and magically, does not make it true. No matter what your people say, we will never be top of the food chain." He paused to see if anything that he was saying was making it through the man's thick skull. He sighed when the guy just looked angry.
"Let's just say that there was something out there that was undeniably stronger than us, and they decided that they wanted to trap, cage and kill wizards just because they can. What would you have to say about this? Wouldn't you fight it? Wouldn't you rebel? Why is it okay to put down the ones you perceive as beneath you? I just don't understand the mentality that you place into your organization. Nor do I understand the sense of self-righteous importance that you place on wizard. We are not better than Magical Beings. There should be equality for everyone and I hope one day that everyone understands that." Draco finished with a glare.
Draco grabbed Harry's hand and started to walk away from the guy. "Oh and in case you haven't realized it, I refuse to be a part of any organization that has your beliefs. You come to England and I will organize a protest outside of any place you hold a meeting."
"That was amazing." Harry whispered into Draco's ear the further away from the guy. "I didn't even know there was an organization like that." He could feel the lingering anger in the bond so he placed his hands on either side of Draco's face and placed gentle kisses along pale skin.
The tension left Draco's body with each kiss, he smiled gratefully at his wonderful husband. "Unfortunately there is." He shook his head sadly. "A lot of people across the world support it. Umbridge, for example." He sneered her name distastefully.
That honestly didn't even surprise him. "I love that you spoke up." Harry slid his hands down to wrap around Draco's waist. He was proud of Draco.
"So do we."
They both startled heavily before turning their heads to see that a huge group of Magical Beings had surrounded them. A tug of Draco's trousers had him looking down into large eyes of several house elves.
"We would like to thank you kind Sir." The one who had tugged on his trousers squeaked out.
Draco smiled before kneeling down till he was on their level. "You are welcome." He said a little shyly. He wasn't used to being thanked for just being himself. "What's your name?"
The elf's eyes widened and let out a gasp. "Sir can call me Milly, ifs you like." Her ears bobbled when she nodded her head. "No one has asked Milly's name before." She admitted with a whisper that carried around them all.
"I think it is a beautiful name." Draco told her kindly. He smiled when her eyes widened further and she looked away shyly. "I have a friend named Millie. She spells it differently but it is the same either way. Millicent."
Harry didn't realize that Draco was actually friends with Millicent Bulstrode. He wondered if she was friendlier than she appeared. The girl had some muscles to her that he was not afraid to admit frightened him. He had seen the girl physically restrain people years older than her.
"Sir is too kind." Milly whispered. "If you is ever needing an elf please summon me. Milly will appear at once." She tilted her head to the side as she regarded Draco curiously before looking to Harry.
"You are not bound to an elf like Sir's friend." She gestured to Harry. "But Milly is detecting lingering elf magic." She peered at them in thought. "Are Sirs bonded beyond marriage?"
Harry smiled at her and lifted his left hand to show her his torque. He grinned when the house elves gasped. He saw several ears twitch rapidly and he had to stop himself from cooing. There was just something about house elves that softened his heart.
Milly reached out a hand and placed it on Draco's head. "Oh." She gasped in delight. "Sir has found his mate for life." There were gasps from all of the other Magical Beings around them.
Draco figured that must have meant that they knew they were soulmates. He was impressed that the elf magic had been able to look past the dampening shield placed on their bond. "Milly." Draco stage whispered. "Do you mind keeping that just between us?"
Milly nodded her head so vehemently that her ears flopped all over the place. "Milly won't tell a soul Sir."
"Neither will we." A few Goblins said together.
"Thank you." Harry and Draco told them with small smiles. It wasn't that they didn't trust them, they just didn't want word of their soulmate bond to get out.
A Goblin in the front cleared his throat. "We are not one for gratitude." His tone suggested that it was against all his moral codes to even be discussing kindness. "But we would like to express our pleasure for speaking out on our behalf."
Harry could feel Draco's confusion for being thanked and it melted his insides. How could his lover not see how different he was compared to other wizards?
Draco knew that he was not to respond the same way he had with the house elves or it would have offended them. "We won't discuss this further." He said in a less than kind tone. He smirked internally when they Goblins let out relieved sighs. He knew that it must have been torture for the Goblin to be nice.
"Mister Malfoy, we will not breathe a word of your union with anyone either." A Centaur spoke up.
Draco blinked rapidly at the Centaur. He wasn't even going to ask how they knew who he was. Centaurs were so similar to Luna in many ways. They were always the one Magical Being that he just didn't understand no matter how he tried.
"Mars was aligned with Venus this morning." One of the other Centaurs added when they noticed his surprise.
"Ahh." Draco faked understanding. He honestly had no idea what the fuck that had to do with anything.
Harry almost snorted at how well Draco could bullshit someone. He could feel Draco's indignation at his humor and knew he would get it later. He just poked the bond back with more humor, letting his soulmate know that he was up for the challenge.
"Mister Malfoy as in related to Lucius Malfoy?" Both a Goblin and a Vampire spoke up at the same time. Harry watched in amusement as the both of them shot distrustful looks at each other. As if they were blaming each other for saying the same thing.
"Yes." Draco said slowly. "That is my father." He watched the Goblins straighten up and look at Draco with even more respect than they had previously. He rolled his eyes at that. What interested him was the way the Vampire seemed to be saddened by this.
"How do you know him?" Draco wondered. It was impossible to tell how old the Vampire was really but his age on the outside appeared to be around twenty. The Vampire had long hair, it kind of reminded him of his father's hair only it was black. The guy was almost as pale as Draco and he could see brown mixed in with red in the guy's eyes.
"Past relationship unfortunately." There was a strong Russian accent that was reminding them of Peter.
Harry and Draco looked to each other in shock before gaping at the man. "Pardon?" Draco was not proud of the squeak he released.
A flash of fangs had Draco huffing when he released the guy was amused with him.
"Afanas is my name." He provided in the realization that he hadn't introduced himself sooner. "Your father was visiting the Russian Ministry for political reasons when he was fresh out of school." There was a small smile of remembrance. "I was not supposed to be in my homeland." There was anger in his tone and Harry remembered that Peter said Russia had barred Vampires from entering the country.
"He discovered me before I could get away. I thought he would turn me in but he let me stay with him for the night." Another small smile. "One night turned into twenty. Before I knew it, he was extending his trip for me."
Draco couldn't help but be hurt that his father never told him about this. It wasn't that he cared that they had a relationship, it was the fact that it was with a man. Draco had gone his whole life thinking that he was the only one in the long line of the Malfoy family that was gay. It wasn't as if he had thought his father wouldn't accept him since the wizarding world accepted relationships between two men. Despite that, he still had felt alone. He didn't know anyone who was gay besides Blaise and that wasn't until their fourth year that his friend had admitted that.
"I knew I would never be able to keep him." Afanas wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. "I knew he had obligations in England. I knew that he was to be wed off into a pureblood contract. Lucius didn't want to leave but wasn't strong enough to give it all up for me. It was a nice dream while it lasted." There was a regretful sigh.
"He helped me out of the country a month later and I have never seen him since." Afanas looked back to Draco with a sad smile.
"You look a lot like him." Draco shifted a little uneasily. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to that.
"Do you want me to let him know that we met?" He was kind of hoping the guy would say no. This would make an awkward conversation, one that he didn't want to have. Especially not in front of his mother.
"No." Afanas responded firmly. "Sometimes the past should stay locked away." He cleared his throat. "Thank you for what you said earlier." There was a pause. "I must be going." There was a crack in his voice but the next moment he was gone with the rest of the vampires.
Harry rolled his eyes when the Goblins looked relieved at the Vampires departure. He wrapped his arms around Draco's waist when he felt the turbulent emotions coming from his husband.
Draco was having a hard time processing this. He wondered what his father's life would have been like if he had told Abraxas to go to hell and lived his life with Afanas. Despite knowing that he wouldn't have been born otherwise, he mourned for the life his father didn't get to have. It was interesting how life can change when you live it how you want versus how others dictate it to you.
Several odd grunts drew both of their attention towards three Trolls. Draco tilted his head to the side when they all just kept grunting at him. There was even some odd moans added in too. He had no idea what that was supposed to mean.
"I am guessing that is their way of thanking me?" Draco raised his hands a little helplessly when the grunts picked back up.
"Actually, they are saying that you should have left the guy for them. They wanted to beat him with their clubs." An amused voice piped up.
Draco turned to the hybrid Centaur and Troll that he had seen earlier. It was hard to tell but the hybrid appeared to be a teenager. They boy mainly resembled a Centaur but there were some Troll qualities to him as well. The hands and parts of his ears definitely resembled a Troll.
"These are my parents." The boy said, pointing to one of the Trolls in the back and the Centaur who had known his last name. When the boy looked back to them, he had an excited aura about him. "You are really interesting. I can sense that you both will-" He was cut off by several poundings of hoofs against the grass.
"Chiron!" His father barked out. "You know better to give out the secrets of our ways."
Chiron whined low in his throat. "But father!" He protested. "I can see-" One look into his father's eyes had the hybrid stopping.
Harry startled when Chiron's Troll parent started making noises in a fast-paced way towards the Centaur. He wasn't sure if the Troll was female or not. He was surprised when Chiron's father was responding in the same noises.
Chiron looked to them with a shake of his head. "Sorry about them. They like to fight a lot." He rolled his eyes. "My mother likes to think that I should be allowed to do whatever I want with my gifts but father is strict with the knowledge of the sky."
This Harry understood. He could remember the Centaurs in the Forbidden forest. He was fascinated by this pairing. He wondered what kind of relationship they had. He didn't want to think too hard on it or it might gross him out in the end.
There was a rustling behind them that had Draco turning around. He wasn't too surprised to see Veela. He had spotted some earlier. But what did surprise him was that there were a few male Veela among the girls. Male Veela were rare. Even believed to be approaching extinction.
Harry hadn't really ever seen a full-blooded Veela up close. He had seen one in the forest of the Quidditch World Cup during the commotion of the deatheaters. Other than that he had seen some with the Omnioculars. He could spot a difference between them and Fleur. It reminded him of when he met Scarlet. She had a beauty to her that just wasn't human. These Veela were too beautiful. Instead of enthralling him, it had the opposite effect. He could tell that there was something about them that wasn't all the way there, which made their affects worthless on him.
"We would like to offer our deepest appreciation." One of the female Veelas told Draco with a way too friendly smile. Harry narrowed his eyes at her. He was surprised to hear an Australian accent. That was not what he had been expecting.
"It was no problem." Draco told her politely while he ran a soothing hand down Harry's hands that were still around him. He saw the way the Veela tracked the movement in what he thought might have been disappointment.
The Veela nodded as one and excused themselves. Harry was a little surprised at the quick departure. Perhaps Veela aren't big on conversation?
"It was worth a try." They heard the female Veela tell her companions as they disappeared behind a line of trees.
Harry bristled at the implication that she had attempted to use her abilities on Draco.
Draco turned around in Harry's arms. "Let it go, angel." He whispered before placing a kiss to Harry's nose. "It didn't work and I am completely yours." He knew that would kick in a possessive side to the brunette.
"Mine." Harry reaffirmed firmly before capturing Draco's kiss in a possessive and deep kiss. Draco moaned as his mouth was invaded by a thrusting tongue. He clung to Harry as he submitted to the kiss. He would have to get Harry possessive again when they had more privacy.
Draco broke the kiss and panted lightly. "Mmm." He murmured against Harry's lips.
"I almost wish I could take you right here." Harry whispered before kissing Draco again. He almost felt drunk again, only instead of on the ley it was Draco. This was a drunk that he would never get tired of.
"Oh Merlin." Draco retorted before kissing Harry just as forcefully. "I'd let you." He managed to get out in between fevered kisses. He wasn't entirely sure if that was true. He was so not into voyeurism.
The thought was really tempting but Harry knew that they wouldn't want to get lost in each other in such a public place. He reluctantly broke away from the kiss. He smirked at the glazed eyes of his husband and kiss swollen lips. The sight alone made him want to either continue or take them back to the hotel. He had to force himself to look away. He jolted a little when he realized that all of the Magical Beings were gone. They must have left to give them privacy. He was a little sorry that he hadn't had a chance to tell them goodbye.
Draco glared at his husband. "You can't tease me like that and not follow through." He grumbled with a pout. A hand caressing his cheek made his mood shift. He nuzzled Harry's hand.
"I'm sorry. I promise you that I will follow through tonight." Draco shivered at the want in the bond.
"You better." Draco warned. "Or I will…" He trailed off uncertainly. He wasn't sure what kind of threat would be good. He was going to suggest holding off on sex but that was punishing himself too!
Harry waited expectantly for whatever it was Draco was going to threaten him with.
"I will make you volunteer at the quartet's shop." Draco finished with a smirk. He noticed the way Harry's eyes widened in panic and his smirk turned to a slightly evil smirk.
"You wouldn't." By the way Draco's eyes lit up, Harry knew that his lover was dead serious. "Well it is a good thing that I won't make you use the threat. I have every intention of following through."
"Good." Draco said in a very haughty voice. He looked over and his eyes widened. "Baby, look!"
Harry turned to see what Draco was so excited about. His breath left him in a whoosh.
The field was filled with so many different flying insects. He could spot butterflies, fireflies and even colorful moths. There were quite a few that he didn't recognize and knew that there was also some Magical Creatures mixed in.
"You see those pretty ones flying around the butterflies?" Draco pointed off in the distance. "Muggles call that one a sunset moth but that's not what it is." Harry could make out an almost rainbow hue to the moth. "That is really a Clarum. They aren't just colorful, they leave behind traces of magic that show up as color. Muggles can't see the trail of color but it is beautiful. Legend says that if they ever go exstinct that the world will lose all color." Draco shrugged. "No proof of that but it keeps their population alive."
Harry watched a Clarum land on a tree before it flew away. He smiled at the bright yellow and red splat of color that was left behind. He was fascinated with them. He wondered where they were typically found.
"Harry look at that butterfly closest to us." Draco whispered. Harry did as he was asked and saw that it was a gorgeous red color with dark blue patterns. "Do you see the way the outer edges of the wings are brighter, almost reflective."
Now that Draco mentioned it, Harry could see that. He had just thought that the sun was glinting off the butterfly. "That isn't a butterfly." Draco said in excitement. "It's a false creature."
"A what?" Harry asked incredulously.
Draco smiled. "They are imposters. They can morph into any flying insect. Whether it be muggle or magical. There is no guessing what their original form looks like. Watch it closely, they don't stay in the same form for long."
They watched the red butterfly for a few more minutes before it suddenly morphed into a blue dragonfly. "Woah." Harry whispered in awe. "How did you know? Was it the edges of the wing?"
"Mhm." Draco nodded his head. "They can't match the form perfectly and leave behind little key pieces that lead to identification. Some people think that the false creature must be fully reflective but I am not so sure. There just isn't enough evidence to support that."
There was an odd shriek that startled several animals around them. Harry looked up only to shake his head when he caught sight of Cornish Pixies chasing some of the insects and playing around.
"We should probably leave before they decide to mess with us." Harry whispered. Draco thought back to their second year with the idiot Lockhart.
"Good thinking." They slowly edged away until they weren't in the sights of the mischievous creatures.
"Do you want to explore more of the ley line land? It goes on for miles." Draco asked as he entwined their fingers.
"What is the other option?"
"We visit the muggle side." Draco told him with a kiss to the cheek. He loved being able to show physical displays of affection. He knew that if they were to go to the muggle side that they would have to tone it down some since the muggles weren't as accepting.
Harry bit his lip in indecision. He really wanted to see the muggle side of Disney World but he also wanted to see more of his own world, things he didn't know. He loved having Draco show him things and teach him aspects that he had never been taught before.
"We can always come back to this area later tonight, if you want." Draco offered when he felt warring emotions in the bond.
With the offer in his mind, Harry nodded gratefully. "Okay, let's go play muggle for a little bit."
"Woah." Draco protested dramatically with his hands in the air. "No one said anything of the sort. I am not playing muggle." He sneered slightly. "I like to think of it as hiding in plain sight."
"I think you are splitting hairs." Harry laughed when Draco's hands flew to his hair in panic.
"Not literally. It was an expression."
"For that, I think I am going to ignore you till we get there." Draco looked away putting his nose in the air.
"I always did like a challenge." Harry warned as he thought of all the different ways he could get Draco to talk.
Author's Notes:
There was a lot of lessons in this chapter. I don't mind Draco teaching Harry things. I prefer it. The only problem is that Harry just doesn't know things like the ley line. Also where it comes to actual Magical Creatures, not Magical Beings, Hagrid was his teacher. And let's face it guys, Hagrid sucked balls at teaching. When you take in account of how I have set up my world, with the Ministry taking out things about Magical Creatures and Magical Beings, there aren't many opportunities for him to learn. I explained in the last instalment that a lot of the knowledge is passed from parent to child. So a lot of this stuff Harry would have to learn from an actual person. Same with his past life. If the knowledge isn't readily available then he can't learn it. So who better to teach him than Draco?
Wondering why the ley line really only reached out to Harry? Well keep wondering. I am not answering that just yet. I debated about it reaching out to Draco and not Harry but there are extenuating circumstances that led to that decision. No worries, I will have Draco be the next recipient of something later on. I'll figure it out.
The ley line is not bad. Wizards are just dicks that think everything belongs to them. If they can not handle the power then they should stay away.
I like the idea of essentially two worlds of Disney World. The side that muggles never know exists and the other side that wizards don't really go to. With the place being so magical, I needed a really strong sense of magic. Even if hundreds of wizards built the place, it just didn't seem realistic to me. So I thought of the ley line. Which I fucking love. Ley lines were mentioned in the last instalment so it isn't something I am just springing on you.
Can I just say that I love my Walter Disney. Pretty smart and definitely with Slytherin tendencies.
Magical Beings being able to hold parts of the ley that wizards can't? Makes sense to me. There is just so much about Magical Beings that wizards don't know. Partly because they choose to think they are better.
Speaking of thinking they are better. Etchings is someone to remember. I would like you guys to keep in mind just about everything that was said in this chapter. There are a lot of key things that will be brought up later and they play some kind of part to the story.
House elves kicking werewolf ass? I would pay money to see that battle.
So far in the past couple chapters, we have seen evidence of unrequited love, missed opportunities for love and unwanted obligations that separate love. I want to show so many different aspects to love other than Harry and Draco's happily ever after. I think that sometimes people idolize the kind of love that Harry and Draco have and forget that there is a lot of other kinds and not all of them end in happiness.
The bit in the beginning with Draco deciphering the intricate depth to the emotions is something that I haven't really touched on before and that was unintended. Apologies. Emotions aren't as forthright as they might appear. When your heart is breaking for someone else and then for yourself, it is two different kinds. The question is having someone else feel it and being able to decipher it and tell the difference. That, I feel would be like a science to it. There would be so much that goes into figuring it out. Without Harry's words, Draco only had intuition to go off of. I wanted to give you a more of a complete picture to what they actually do when they feel each other's emotions.
There was a reason that Etchings was there and that will be discussed at a later date. There is a reason I mentioned Milly, Chiron, and Afanas. All of that will be at a later date as well.
Afanas means immortal. Chiron is actually the name of a Centaur in Greek Mythology. I tend to choose names for a specific reason. Other than Milly. That one is just because. ;P
Okay, that is all.
-XxTheDarkLordxX