I'm sorry that it took me two weeks to get this updated. I've just been distracted with other things, recently.

But here it is! I hope you enjoy it.

Concealed Torture

Chapter Fourteen – Lucius' Crime

"Draco, I'm not kidding. Get up now."

Draco groaned and clutched at his covers. He didn't want to get up, not just yet. Surely he hadn't been asleep long enough to wake up now...

"I swear to Merlin that I will drag you out by your ear if you don't snap out of it!"

He was startled out of his sleepy state by Pansy shaking him roughly. He pushed her off him and got out of bed.

"Bloody hell Pansy, something gentler would have been nice..." he mumbled, before he yawned and stretched.

"You can't say that I didn't try! Come on, we've overslept. Breakfast is in five minutes!" she said. Draco picked up his robes hurriedly and ran to the bathroom to get ready. He was out of there only a couple of minutes later, fully changed.

"Wow, alright then. You certainly can get yourself ready a lot faster than you used to."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Draco grinned. "Come on, we better get going."

Pansy nodded and they walked out of his room and up the two flights of stairs to the common room. Blaise was waiting down there for them, looking a little impatient.

"What took you guys so long?" he asked.

"Sorry babe, we overslept," Pansy said, giving him a kiss on his lips. Right on cue, Draco let out a loud yawn. They looked at him, both appearing slightly annoyed.

"What? You and Harry are worse," said Blaise. Draco tilted his head, confused.

"What are you talking about? I am shattered," he said. When they both grinned he laughed. "Oh, right... Bad timing. Sorry, I didn't get a huge lot of sleep last night."

They grinned at him before the three of them made their way through the dungeons, up the stairs and through the corridors to the Great Hall. Their Gryffindor friends immediately waved at them when they saw the trio enter the hall, and they walked over to their seats. Draco noticed that none of the other Gryffindors gave them a second glance as they walked by them. He couldn't help but chuckle at how they had gotten so used to having three Slytherins sit among them.

"What's so funny, Draco?" Harry asked after he had given him a quick kiss.

"I was just thinking about how the rest of the Gryffindors barely even acknowledge me, Pansy and Blaise sitting here anymore. Actually, now that I think about it, I haven't really noticed anyone be incredibly shocked by how we are together, at least not anymore. At first people seemed to stare a lot, but now they've just accepted it, it seems," he said thoughtfully.

"I'm glad that they have – I thought that they would all find the situation far too different for them to accept. We still do have girls giggling about it though, for some reason," said Harry. He and Draco looked at the others, and both looked confused at how Hermione and Pansy were exchanging glances and grinning at each other.

"What is it?" Draco questioned. Hermione sighed and shook her head, though she still had a grin on her face. Pansy did the exact same thing.

"Don't tell me that you honestly don't understand why," said Pansy. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"What is there to understand? I'm confused," said Harry. They both laughed.

"You two are literally perfect for each other, Harry. Isn't it obvious? Just think about it; the contrasts between you as well as the similarities, the understanding, how protective you are of him... How you both have opposite hands to write with so you can hold hands while you do your work together..."

Harry and Draco rolled their eyes, but Hermione ignored them.

"Not to mention the trust that you have in each other... It's so sweet!" she finished with a deep and dreamy sigh. Yet again, Pansy did the same.

"Well, I guess that explains the acceptance, but it doesn't really explain the squealing and giggling girls," said Draco, with Harry nodding beside him. Hermione and Pansy both sighed and shook their heads.

"Honestly, you two are both so hopeless. It's exactly what girls want themselves in a relationship. They want a guy who is protective and daring like Harry, and yet they also want the caring and more relaxed nature of Draco. Seeing you both together is like seeing the best of both worlds," said Hermione.

"Plus, you're both hot. I mean, I was interested in you before you told me you're gay, Draco. Obviously you are going to get fan girls!" Pansy added. Blaise and Ron both coughed simultaneously.

"Ahem Pansy, you a boyfriend right here," said Blaise.

"Same to you, Hermione."

"Oh, sorry boys," Pansy laughed, and both of them planted a kiss on their boyfriends' lips. Harry grinned and immediately pulled Draco in for their own kiss.

"Off to your first lesson, everyone."

The three couples broke apart at the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice echoing through the hall. They sighed and picked up their bags, though Draco was grinning. Harry looked at him with curiosity.

"What is making you so happy, Draco?" he asked. Draco looked at him as though he was mental.

"What do you think? We have Care of Magical Creatures and then Potions! What could possibly be better?"

Harry laughed and shook his head at Draco's enthusiasm. He didn't know how someone could be excited for Potions, but as long as his boyfriend was in such a goof mood, he didn't really mind what lesson they had.

"I really think that I should have chosen Care of Magical Creatures," Blaise sighed. "I'm not a big fan of Divination."

"I'm not either, but at least we are together," she said with a wink.

"Good morning, class! I've got a real treat for yer all today."

"The last time you said that, Hagrid, Draco got attacked by a hippogriff," said Ron, grinning at Draco. He and the rest of the class laughed.

"At least the last time I was with a hippogriff, it clearly liked me and let me ride it," he said with a shrug.

"Anyway, come along now," said Hagrid, and he then lead them through the forest.

"I hope it's not another hippogriff. I like them a lot, but it would be nice to see something else, in all honesty," said Draco. Harry squeezed the hand he was holding and grinned down at him.

"Don't worry about it, Malfoy. I'm pretty sure that you will like this most of all. And... Here we are!"

All of the students gasped loudly at, what appeared to be, a teenage dragon standing proudly by Charlie Weasley.

"Charlie!" Ron exclaimed, a huge smile on his face. His older brother laughed and rushed forward to give him a hug. Surprisingly obedient, the dragon stayed where it was, and clearly adored the attention it was receiving from the students.

"Hagrid, how in the name of Salazar were you allowed to show us a dragon?" Draco asked, staring up at the magnificent creature with admiration.

"Well, you see, Charlie has been working very hard at his job. He's been training this beauty for years, and she's probably the tamest dragon there is. Me and him had a talk with ol' McGonagall, and here she is!" Hagrid announced. The students stared in wonder at the dragon.

"What is her name?" Hermione asked.

"Norberta. Previously known as Norbert," he said with a wink aimed at her, Ron and Harry. They widened their eyes at the dragon. "Turns out she is a girl, so she was renamed Norberta."

"Wow, she has grown so much..." Harry said in awe at the beautiful creature. The dragon let out a small roar and rubbed up softly against Charlie, who laughed and stroked her scales.

"Who wants to stroke her?" he asked, looking around at the students. The majority of them looked a little nervous at the thought of stroking a dragon, though there was one person who had a look of obvious excitement on his face.

"Come on over then, Malfoy. Don't walk over too quickly though; you might startle her," said Charlie, gesturing for Draco to come over. He nodded and slowly made his way towards Norberta. She looked down at Draco, curious.

"Don't worry girl, he won't hurt you," Charlie reassured her while he continued to stroke her scales. She rubbed her head gently against her master before turning back to Draco. The class gasped and were suddenly concerned for the Slytherin's safety when she stepped towards him, but he barely flinched. Instead, he smiled at the dragon stood before him.

"Aren't you beautiful?" he murmured, and slowly reached out a hand to pet her. She lowered her head so that he was able to reach her neck easily. The smile which he had on his face grew wider at the dragon's friendliness. Norberta noticed his smile, and lay down beside him. She looked up at him eagerly.

"She wants you to ride him, Malfoy," said Hagrid. Draco looked at him in shock, and then at Charlie, who nodded.

"I can tell that she does. You can if you want to, Malfoy. She is very careful," he said.

"Of course I would like to," Draco replied with joy. His friends smiled at him, clearly happy for him. Norberta let out a small growl of happiness before she pressed her body closer to the ground. Hagrid walked over to help Draco onto the dragon. Once he was safely balanced on her back, she raised off the ground slowly. Draco held onto her thick neck and steadied himself. He was quite shocked at how much larger Norberta seemed to be once you were actually on her back. She looked down at Charlie in a questioning way, who then looked up at Draco.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Draco nodded and tightened the hold on her neck slightly. Charlie smiled at her and nodded his head to tell her it was alright for her to go. Slowly, understanding that Draco had never rode a dragon before, she flapped her wings and raised them into the air. Once they were at an altitude higher than the trees in the forest, she roared and flew forward. Draco's eyes widened as they soared through the air. The grin on his face was one of the widest he had ever had. Riding a hippogriff was one thing, especially with your arms wrapped around your crush's waist, but riding on a dragon was a completely different thing entirely. He loved every single moment of it. Norberta flew around the castle grounds, earning them both a few shocked looks from people who saw them through the castle's windows from their classes. He laughed as he felt the wind blow against his face.

They flew across the grounds for several more minutes before Norberta flew back to the rest of the Care of Magical Creatures class. She landed on the ground gracefully and lay down so that Hagrid could reach over to Draco and help him dismount. His hair was wild and messy, but the huge smile proved that he didn't care one bit about his hair, at least at that current moment. He walked over to his friends, still smiling widely.

"That was so amazing. Seriously, it was one of the best experiences of my life. I am definitely never forgetting that moment."

"Alright, anyone else want to have a go?" Charlie asked. The class started chattering excitedly, but stopped when Hagrid suddenly looked very disappointed.

"We can't, it's time for them to get to their next lessons, Charlie," he said glumly, making the students groan. "I know, I know. Tell yer what, if Charlie can get down here again, we'll continue."

"I would be more than happy to do that," Charlie smiled. The class sighed in relief at regaining their chance of riding the dragon. He shook Hagrid's hand, hugged Ron and waved to the students before he mounted Norberta and flew out of the forest.

"Come along, all of yer," said Hagrid, leading him out of the forest. Harry peered down at Draco's hair, grinning.

"That's a nice look on you, Draco," he chuckled. Draco touched it, looking panicked.

"Oh Merlin. It feels dreadful," he said, and quickly grabbed a hairbrush out of his bag to fix it. Harry laughed and shook his head as he put his arm around Draco's shoulders. This was just one of the many reasons why Harry adored him.

"Today, we are going to be brewing the Oculus potion. Can anyone tell me what this potion is used for?" Professor Snape asked his class. Harry tilted his head slightly – he was sure he had heard that from somewhere before. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"It is the counteract for the Conjunctivitis curse," she said.

"That is correct, Miss Granger," said Snape. He paused for a couple of moments, looking thoughtful. "Five points to Gryffindor."

The class gasped. It was just five points, but he had still given points to his rival house. Hermione stared at him, shocked that she had been rewarded by a teacher who she had been convinced had hated for all of the years she had been there.

"I'd rather that you didn't all stare at me," Snape scowled, though it didn't fully reach his eyes. "Anyway, I have added a couple of extra ingredients, which I mixed in with your ground unicorn horn to make a slight change to the syllabus. These ingredients I added will not only make this potion counteract the Conjunctivitis curse, but will also cure the consumer's eyesight completely. I am fine with all of you to keep some of the potion after you have completed it, if you have made it perfectly. The instructions are on page thirty-five," he said, and glanced over at Harry for a moment before he gestured for them to start and sat down at his desk to finish some marking.

"You don't think that he actually..." Harry started, but stopped when Snape looked up at him.

"I would start this potion if I were you, Mister Potter, if you and Mister Malfoy have any chance of completing this potion perfectly," he said, before going back to the papers in front of him. Harry shook his head at Draco in disbelief and they grinned at each other. Draco began to set up the cauldron and the equipment while Harry went to collect the ingredients that were needed. Once they had everything ready, Harry turned to Draco with a slight smirk.

"So, I'm not really the best at Potions, you are, and I wouldn't mind getting rid of these glasses..."

"Yes, I shall do most of the work," Draco finished for him. "Not all, though. Come on, Potion waits for no man."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"It's true. Anyway, I'll need you to stir for a minute," said Draco after he shook the vial containing the ground unicorn horn. He carefully added the ingredient until the potion turned to an orange colour.

"Alright, stir it until it turns purple," he ordered. Harry nodded and continued to stir. He stopped when the orange had changed to the vibrant purple. Draco grabbed a vial of crystalized water and slowly poured it into the purple until it turned red.

"Okay, that's all good so far. We just have to wait a couple of minutes for it to turn yellow," he said. Harry stared at him in amazement.

"I just bloody realised something. You didn't look at your textbook, at all," Harry exclaimed, pointing to Draco's closed textbook. He merely shrugged as though it wasn't a big deal.

"Come on, I needed some hobbies all those nights at the manor. Severus bought me a potions set when I was seven, and I soon got the hang of it easily. Father saw my talent for it and soon asked me to brew certain potions for him to sell."

"He asked you to do that for him?" Harry asked, looking slightly shocked.

"Well, 'asked' isn't really the right word. It was more of a threat than anything. But after all he has done to me, that shocks you?" said Draco, brushing a few strands of hair behind his ear. Harry's eyes glanced at the scar laid there, and shook his head.

"No, not really."

"That's what I thought," Draco chuckled, and looked down at the potion, which was now yellow. "Could you pass me the stewed mandrake, please?"

Harry nodded and passed him the container. Draco thanked him and added the mandrake until the potion turned turquoise.

"Well, this potion is definitely colourful," Harry chuckled. Draco grinned and reached over for the ground unicorn horn again and added it to the potion until the turquoise changed to a subtle pink.

"It's your job again, my marvellous stirrer," said Draco, bowing dramatically. Harry laughed and began to stir the potion again. He stopped when Draco told him to do so, which was when the potion was coloured orange once again. Draco added the wormwood until the potion turned green, secondly added the crystalized water again until it turned turquoise, and finally the mandrake until the potion turned indigo. He turned back to Harry, who had been watching the process.

"Go on, then. Until it's orange again, by the way," said Draco. "Right, we're almost done. Just let it heat again for a minute or two, and then we can add the wormwood again. After that, it's finished."

"Are you certain that you've been doing the steps precisely, Draco? Everyone seems to be further behind than us," said Harry. Draco chuckled.

"Yes, I am sure. They are further behind because their skills aren't even close to my superior ability. Check it if you wish," said Draco, smirking. Harry rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smirk back at his boyfriend. He opened his textbook and found that Draco had indeed been following the steps correctly.

"Told you so," he said with a wink.

"Show off. Hey, it's purple again," Harry said, nodding at the potion. Draco got out of the chair he had sat back down in, then shook and added the wormwood once more until the potion turned back to the common orange.

"There we are, it's done," Draco announced, probably a little louder than needed. The class looked over at the pair. Hermione had a look of shock on her face.

'How?' she mouthed to Harry.

Harry merely shrugged his shoulders at her. He looked up to find Snape standing by their desk, inspecting the potion.

"It's perfect. Of course, that does not surprise me. Ten points to the each of you. Actually, only five to Gryffindor because Draco clearly did the majority of the work."

Draco laughed, and Harry even had to chuckle himself.

"You are free to take some of this. You won't need it all, luckily, as I need it for your marks," said Snape. He turned around, shouted at Neville for doing something wrong to his and his partner's potion, and then went back to his desk. Draco carefully filled a vial of the orange potion and passed it to Harry.

"Here you go," he said. Harry thanked him and looked over at Snape for permission. When he earned the professor's nod of approval, he drank the potion. He shuddered at the vile taste, but made sure that he had downed every drop of the liquid. He looked at Draco, who nodded at his glasses. Harry smiled and slowly took them off. His face lit up and he blinked several times.

"This is bloody amazing," he grinned. Draco hugged him, and he looked into the frameless green eyes.

"It's really unusual seeing you without glasses."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, I can see your eyes better this way."

Harry chuckled and leaned in to give Draco a kiss. They were interrupted by a cough from Snape, and they realised that the whole of the class was staring at them.

"If you all don't mind, it is actually time for you to go to lunch now. I hope you have all finished. If not, you will have to finish at the beginning of next lesson. Longbottom, you have detention with me this evening for almost blowing up your cauldron," he said, and dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Pansy, Blaise, Ron and Hermione rushed over to Draco and Harry after packing their bags, and grinned at the now glass-free Harry.

"Wow, I think you actually look better without your glasses! No offense, of course. You were attractive beforehand, too," said Pansy.

"Mister Malfoy, Mister Potter? Can I talk to you before you leave, please?" Snape called to them before they left. They nodded and gestured for the others to go on without them.

"What is it, Sev?" Draco asked once everyone had left the room.

"Severus. Well, I guess this concerns both of you. You don't really need to be here, Draco, but considering you are both my godson and are with Harry I think you should hear this too," said Snape, turning to Harry. "I am sorry for how I have treated you over the years. Everyone is aware that I am not exactly as... Kind, as other professors. But I have been wrong to you especially. I just saw you as a clone of your father and I held a grudge against you because of that. But, I've come to realise I shouldn't be like that. As we can see from Draco, it isn't always 'like father, like son', and so I shouldn't see you as him, but rather, as yourself. So I apologise."

Harry and Draco stared at him with obvious shock. They looked like that for a couple of moments before Harry snapped out of it.

"Thank you sir, I appreciate it," he said with a curt nod.

"Would you mind me asking why exactly you hated his father, Severus?" Draco asked cautiously.

"Potter knows one reason why. He and his friends had a tendency to bully me while we were in Hogwarts. But it's also because..." Snape paused for a moment, and breathed in deeply. "I was in love with Lily. We had known each other before Hogwarts, and we spent time together. We drifted apart when we attended school and I couldn't help but feel hatred towards James for capturing her heart when I thought I had done the same thing when I met her."

"Oh..." Harry said simply.

"You may go; I do not wish to continue this conversation," said Snape quietly. They both nodded and walked to the door silently. "Oh, and Potter?"

"Yes, professor?" said Harry, turning back around to look at him.

"You have your mother's eyes," he replied, and then started to neaten up some papers. Harry simply smiled at him, and then walked out of the room with Draco. That line seemed to be filled with much more meaning coming from Snape.

The friends had just finished with their dinner when Professor McGonagall had rushed over to them in a hurry with a concerned look on her face.

"What's the matter, professor?" Hermione asked as she looked up at the headmistress.

"It would be easier to show you. This mainly concerns Blaise and Draco, but you are all free to come too if you wish to do so," she said. Hermione, Ron, Harry and Pansy all nodded to show that they'd come too and followed McGonagall out of the Great Hall. They had to walk fairly fast to keep up with her hurried and long strides down the corridors and up the flights of stairs.

"Where exactly are we going, professor?" asked Blaise, slightly out of breath.

"To the hospital wing," she replied. The friends looked at each other, but did not say anything as she seemed to be quite panicked. Thanks to their quick pace, they had made it to the infirmary in just a matter of minutes.

"Oh thank heavens, Minerva! Come in, all of you," said Madam Pomfrey. They entered the room, and Blaise gasped when he saw the figure lying in one of the hospital beds.

"Mum?! Salazar, what happened?" he cried, rushing over to the bed, which Blaise's father and Kingsley stood by.

"I will be fine, darling, don't worry," she said, smiling weakly. She had a bruise around her eye, bruises around her neck, and her arm was in a sling. It was easy to tell that there was other damage which wasn't visible, however.

"I think you should all sit down," said McGonagall, sighing. Kingsley nodded and spoke once they had sat down in the chairs.

"I'm afraid that Lucius and some other Death Eaters had managed to break into the Ministry. They were dealt with, though Mrs Zabini was attacked, who was under our protection."

"Was anyone else hurt?" asked Harry.

"We managed to deal with them fairly well and there were next to no injuries, but..." Kingsley paused and sighed. "They managed to take Narcissa with them. We have no idea of their location or what they want to do with her."

Draco stared at him with wide eyes full of horror. He put his head in his hands, shaking.

"No, no, no... I don't want him to hurt her too."

Ahhh, I love drama. *leans back and sips tea*

I actually heavily dislike tea. I am not really a British stereotype.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was far too similar to the original in my opinion, despite some of the lines being written better, but I think that the next one will be written fairly different.

Feel free to review, as they always bring me joy. Always.

Until next time!