Hi everyone :)
Thank you all very much for the reviews :) As I've said about twenty other times, they're very much appreciated and really do help to keep the creative cogs well oiled. We're down to the last seven chapter now though people; won't be much longer now.
For those I excited by posting again today, I apologise but even I can't write that fast lol. This is simply a repost because I messed up the Maths. So, I've fixed it and it's actually right now. Sorry about that --;
That's all I have to say; I'll just let you all go ahead and get reading. Enjoy :)
"...Were you thinking? You just left him in a totally unprotected..."
Who the Hell is speaking so damned loud so early in the morning? Merlin, how inconsiderate, I am trying to sleep here...Though thinking about it, judging by the light coming in through the window right in front of me, it's not that early in the morning; maybe it's not even morning, maybe it's afternoon. That doesn't matter though, the whole point is that it's completely inconsiderate of people to talk so bloody loud when there's a sleeping child in the next room!
"Honestly, how were we to know Draco? And Harry seemed more than happy for the oppotunity to spend the extra time with..."
That sounds like Narcissa so I reckon that means Contessa's here as well. Oh, this will be such fun, (ah sarcasm; anger with a smile I've been told). I suppose I'd better get out there and let them know I'm not dead and perfectly fine. I feel completely normal, like nothing ever happened. I still know something happened though so the only comfort I have at the moment is the fact, as I thought last night, that I'm not going to die. Everything else seems pretty bleak now if you ask me. Just the other day I thought that seven and a half years of no Voldemort activity was just too good. I shouldn't have thought it, it was tempting Fate who doesn't like me that much anyway.
I'm wearing a totally over-sized pyjamas jacket...Huh...I'm guessing it's Draco's as it smells like him, it's made of black silk and it's ridiculousy big on me: the hem's almost trailing along the floor; I couldn't even start to try and find my arms in these huge pythons of sleeves and the left-hand side keeps slipping off my shoulder. He obviously changed me to make me more comfortable which is a sweet thought though not really necessary since last night I would've probably been able to have slept anywhere in anything. Still, it's probably the reason why I slept so long.
And now we open the door and face the cooing/fussing/scolding/hysterics.
"I cannot believe how incredibly selfish you both are! You knew there was still a threat to Harry from Voldemort and yet you left him in a place you knew wouldn't be safe enough and, to top it all off, you didn't even tell me about it!" I hear Draco rant as I open the door into the sitting room a crack, peering in to see him standing and gesturing wildly in front of Narcissa and Contessa who are sitting next to each other on a two-seat sofa. Narcissa looks pretty neutral but Contessa looks like she's on the verge of bursting into tears. If she cries I'm going to have to have a go at Draco for it; what happened is hardly her fault and it's not fair that Draco's taking his worry out on her.
"It didn't even happen at the Weasley's home." Narcissa pointed out in a raised, overly controlled voice. She's no doubt getting a little ticked off with Draco yelling at her.
"Do you think that even matters to me?" Draco demands angrily. "The fact is, you left my Harry, my soul-mate, in the care of people who might've meant well but who couldn't, not in a thousand years, provide an adequate amount of protection; protection which he, more than anyone else on this planet, needs!" Woah, Draco's way beyond ticked off now, he's playing the soul-mate card and he hasn't done that since during the Triwizard Tournament; didn't even use it after that last Death Eater incident.
"Do you have to discuss things in such overly loud voices?" I grunt as I plod further into the room, my small feet making soft padding noises on the oak floorboards of the floor.
Looking at the faces of the three adults in the room, I think they're rather surprised to see that I'm up and walking about as they all look like they're totally gob-smacked. Merlin knows why. Draco's the first to recover from whatever shock they all suffered from, as he gives me that gentle "I'm glad you're okay" smile before coming over to me and picking me up. I'm settled in his arms until we're both comfortable and then I'm treated to a kiss on the corner of my mouth just before Draco starts to fuss over my hair.
"Sorry if we woke you." He apologises quietly as he moves a stray strand of hair away from my eyes.
"Doesn't matter, had to get up sometime." I reply with a small shrug, lowering my head down to rest on his shoulder; who am I to hold a grudge against someone so bloody sexy?
Draco leans his head down a bit, so that his lips are just next to my right ear. "You know, you look adorable in my pyjamas jacket." He whispers and I can hear the grin in his voice. He pecks me on the cheek and then sets me down on the floor again all before I can release the indignant huff brought on by that comment. I do not look adorable! I am not some girl who looks sweet and huggable and all that other rubbish. I may be cute, I'll give them that, but there is a difference between cute and adorable. "I have to go and tell Dumbledore that you're awake; I'll be back in a few minutes." Draco tells us as he heads towards the door to his rooms.
"Oh, Draco?" I quickly call out to him as I remember something. He pauses and turns to look at me, raising an inquiring eyebrow. "Could you ask Snape to come back here as well? I need to ask him about something." Confusion and questioning comes across the bond I share with Draco and I send back playful reassurance underlined with a very serious desire to not start a whole discussion on it now. He seems to accept that as he gives a small nod before turning back 'round to face the door. Myself, Contessa and Narcissa watch in silence as he leaves and now we're remaining in silence when he's gone.
With a sigh, I turn to look at the two women to my side...Only to see Contessa's really, really on the verge of tears now. That has to be one of the strangest sights I have ever seen. It's like...Well, it's not quite as weird as Snape crying would be, (he probably can't) but it's still really weird.
"Mama, are you all right?" I ask gently, slowly stepping up to her.
"Oh Charlemagne!" She sobs suddenly, very loudly, as she flings herself off of the sofa and crushes me to her chest. "I'm so sorry I left you alone. I'll never again, I'll never, ever, leave you on your own again."
"It wasn't your fault, don't listen to what Draco said, his nerves are just a little frazzled at the moment." I try to reassure the sniffing woman, who is still crushing me in her arms, as I gently pat her back albeit a little awkwardly.
"Exactly, now for goodness sake, listen to your son Contessa and stop your wimpering." Narcissa scolds her as if she's a child rather than a fully grown, late-twenties woman. However, Contessa's reply is hardly something to help justify her maturity though; she lifts her head enough to stick her tongue out at the older woman. Narcissa tuts and shakes her head and tries to hide the smile that fights its way onto her lips.
Contessa abruptly gives a loud sigh and wipes her eyes with the back of her right hand before standing up. Seconds later, she's reached back down to pick me up. "Merlin knows why Fate chose me to be the mother of the Boy-Who-Lived." She mumbles, mostly to herself I think, as she moves us over to the sofa and then sits down, settling me on her lap comfortably.
"What time is it?" I decide to ask because, well, I'm curious to know what the time is.
"Around two-ish in the afternoon; you were out for twelve hours." Narcissa answers as she adjusts the skirt of her dress a little, probably more for something to do rather than an actual need to straighten out the material.
"We couldn't find any injuries on you but I can't believe that he just let you go without hurting you. Did he use the Cruciatus curse darling?" Contessa inquires gently, smoothing down the hair on the back of my head.
"No, he put me under some kind of trance and then...I'm not sure what he was doing but I'm thinking he didn't finish it as I'm still here and feeling just fine." I explain, leaning back against Contessa's chest as her hand moves to the front of my face and presses against my forehead.
"Did he start to chant a spell?" Narcissa question curiously.
"I think it was meant to be a spell; he was speaking in Parseltongue."
"What was it he said?"
I shake my head. "I don't know. Well, I do know but I don't know how to translate it into English; I don't think there are any words which are the same in English and I can't think of a way to explain the meaning..."
The door into Draco's rooms open suddenly and he walks back in followed by Dumbledore and Snape and Professor McGonagall...I don't remember asking for her to come...
"Ah, Harry my dear boy, how are you feeling?" Professor Dumbledore greets me in his usual cheerful manner and I smile back at him.
"I'm very well, thank you Professor." I turn to look at Professor McGonagall as Draco sits in between Contessa and Narcissa and takes hold of my legs, bringing them to stretch out on his lap. "Good afternoon Professor."
"Afternoon Potter. It's good to hear you're feeling better." She answers with an air of formal motherly/grandmotherly concern; odd combination, I know.
Finally, I turn to Snape and give him a half smile and a nod. "Good afternoon Professor Snape."
"I did not come down here to listen to pleasantries Potter." Snape says by way of reply and I can't help buth grin, internally at least. I'm not sure why I'm amused, I just find his bitter attitude comical now more than anything.
"Fair enough." I shrug easily. "I've only one question for you; how long will it take for you to brew an aging potion?" That seems to be a shocking question as everyone's gone completely silent and is now staring at me. "What?"
"Why do you want to suddenly take an aging potion?" Draco inquires and I can feel an odd sense of worry coming from him over our link.
"Well, first of all because Voldemort's taking them already and he's about 16 years old now and second of all because I never knew it was a serious option before."
"It's not an option." Snape says stiffly. Frowning, I turn to look at him where he's standing all sour-like next to the arm chair Dumbledore's sat himself in.
"Why not? I can't fight an older Voldemort like this, I'll be no match for him."
"Charlemagne, dear, aging potions are extremely addictive. The Dark Lord no doubt doesn't care about what he does to his body but it really wouldn't do for you to take the number it would require for you to become the appropriate age." Contessa tells me gently, continuing with her hair smoothing which she hasn't stopped since I sat on her lap.
"And taking large quantities all at once is dangerous." Draco adds, giving my right leg a few affectionate pats.
"But not lethal." I check though I've made it sound more like a statement than a question.
Draco releases a long sigh but shakes his head. "No, it probably wouldn't kill you."
"It would, however, be severely painful as your body grows several years in a matter of hours. You'd be in complete agony for quite some time Potter, surely not even you can be stupid enough to demand to try it." Snape sneers though, if I'm not wrong, he is kinda, just a little, concerned that I am going to make him do this.
"Facing an adult Voldemort the way I am now would be suicide and you know it." I tell Snape calmly and there's no doubt that everyone in this room knows that's a fact; even with my magical ability, with such a weak body there's no way I'd be any match for Voldemort who probably will be fully adult the next time we meet.
"Why don't we just allow the Dark Lord to drink aging potions to death? They're so addictive he won't be able to stop himself and he'll eventually drink them to such an old age that his body will just give up on him." Contessa points out and that would actually be a good plan if it wasn't for the new bit of information said Dark Lord gave me...
"We can't just let Voldemort die. He told me this morning that when one of us dies, so will the other." That's shocked them all again as they're all once more staring at me with the horrible, tense silence.
"Harry, I think it's probably best if you explain everything that happened between you and Voldemort yesterday." Dumbledore tells me solemnly.
Oh, won't this be fun?
I think I must've been Vlad the Impaler in a past life; or Hitler or Joseph Stalin or someone equally as evil. The fact is, I must've been someone really bad in a previous life to warrent the fact that the last two lives I've had have been so incredibly bad. First, I was Harry Potter and, let's face it, we all know what kind of life I had then. Now, I'm Charlemagne once Frank now Willow and my life still isn't all that great. It's better than my last one but then that's not a hard thing to beat.
I can't kill Voldemort. It's that simple. I can't kill Voldemort because then I'd die, but not only that, the great big git and myself would then just be reincarnated once again so he'd just come back and try and take over everything and I'd have to stop him again. I'd kill him again and then we'd be brought back just so we could continue this stupid cycle for the rest of the human existance. Not a particularly desirable thing to do and Voldemort no doubt knows this as well which is why he wasn't trying to kill me earlier. We're not sure what he was trying to do but we know he wasn't trying to kill me.
So here I am, a seven year old boy with the survival of the world resting on his shoulders, hauled up in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry because it's the only place safe enough for me now. Though there is a very small plus side to all of this; I won through with my aging argument; Snape's making me an aging potion laced with quite a strong sleeping potion so I'll sleep through the changing process to reduce stress and he's also adding a pain-killer for obvious reasons. Since too long a period of extended time under a sleeping potion is dangerous, we reached a compromise. Initially, I wanted to be turned 21, the age that if I was still legally Harry Potter, I would be now. However, that would take too long to be safe plus Dumbledore and McGonagall both insisted that I complete my Hogwarts education. Therefore, I'll be returned to my fourteen year old state, ready to turn fifteen on my birthday and then join Fifth Year, picking up from where I left off.
How long is this going to take I hear you ask? Well, Snape said that every hour the potion is brewed for equals one day added onto a person's life. We want to add on seven years. Thanks to some quick Maths on Draco's part, he calculated that there are two-thousand, five-hundred and fifty-five days in seven years so that's the number of hours it will take to brew. That's one-hundred and six point four days worth of brewing. Add that onto the date we're on at the moment and I'll be ready to become a fourteen year old again around late May.
Contessa was actually really supportive of my decision to grow older. I think she understands that I can't possibly fight Voldemort in my current state and naturally doesn't want me to die so she's not stopping me doing what I need to do. Snape's bitter about the whole thing; no real surprise there. Dumbledore's quietly worrying while trying to keep a cheerful exterior. McGonagall's not even trying to hide the fact she's worried. Narcissa I think is more concerned for Draco than anything.
And then there's Draco himself. He's being very weird. He's oddly silent most/all the time and I know he's worried rather than angry at me because I can feel it through our bond. He won't speak unless spoken to and if ever I'm already sitting down when he comes to sit down, he'll immediately pull me into his arms or onto his lap. It's all rather un-nerving as I'm used to him yelling and screaming at me he's scared for my safety, (I instantly think back to just after the Second Task in the Triwizard Tournament when I think of Draco's usual reaction to such things). He knows I'm only doing what I have to though and I reckon that's why he's not saying anything. However, I'd rather he did say something, I don't like him being so quiet.
It's been about three days since Voldemort attacked me and I've been living in Draco's rooms ever since. Contessa and Narcissa have gone back to Malfoy Manor but Contessa visits me everyday. I'm not sure what the Weasleys and Sirius and Remus know at the moment but I'm hoping I'll be able to find out soon. I want to know how Hermione got on at the hospital as well; I wonder if she had a boy or a girl?
As much as I've missed being in Hogwarts, I think I'd rather be at home now more than here. Being at Hogwarts isn't half as much fun when you have to spend all day and night in the same couple of rooms, the majority of which you're on your own. With Draco and everyone else teaching for most of the day and having to attend the meals, (we all decided it would be too suspicious if Draco started to suddenly not be present at meal times) I spend most of my time in Draco's three rooms on my own. And then when someone finally does come and join me, we either discuss Voldemort, (Dumbledore there) or we can't talk because they have marking to do, (that's Draco's area of expertise). Plus, even when Draco doesn't have marking to do, he's still extremely quiet, something I'm going to have to have a moan at him about because I'm sick of it.
I suppose if you have to look on the bright side of things, there is one advantage of having huge chunks of the day all to yourself; you get to research. Now, I know what you're all thinking; pod-person. I assure you though, I'm still me, I've just happened to find something to research that I can really sink my teeth into. Did you know that there's a whole bunch of different spells that you have to be a Paselmouth in order to cast? It's true, very true, Dumbledore managed to find me a copy of this really old, (aka, really rare) book on the different spells which Parselmouths can cast. And it's extemely useful. Why? Because whatever it was that Voldemort was trying to do to me, it involved one of these special Parselmouth spells. The only problem is, I have no idea which one.
With these spells, it seems, it doesn't just have to do with saying the words. No, it has to be overly complicated and involve hand gestures and body movements and the such. Wouldn't usually be a problem I'll admit, but when Voldemort tried whatever it was he was trying, I was in a trance. Trance equals unaware of surroundings equals unaware of Voldemort's exact movements. Hence, I have no idea exactly what spell it was he was using. I've got it narrowed down to twelve different possibilities though...That's kinda like progress, right? But I've reached a plato and everything's getting very dull now...I'm starting to seriously consider the option of peeling off my own skin just so I have something to do.
"Harry my boy?" Dumbledore's voice suddenly comes from the fireplace and, peeking over the top of this massive Parselmouth book, I see his cheery face in the fire.
"Yes sir?"
"You have some visiters if this is a conveniant time."
Conveniant time? CONVENIANT... Merlin, yes, please, someone, whoever you are, save me from this torturing boredom!
"Yeah, now's a good time; send them through." I answer out-loud in a far more sedate manner than I'm feeling. I get the idea that Dumbledore knows just how I'm feeling about it though because his eyes are all twinkly again.
He withdraws from the fire-place and I fold my book over, shutting it, before slidding it onto the seat on the sofa I'm lounging on next to me. Then, there's a roar of flames seconds before an over-excited Padfoot bounds out of the fire and throws himself at me, promptly proceeding to lick me senseless.
"Honestly Sirius, be a bit more controlled, he's only little." Remus scolds lightly as he walks in through the fire-place as well, brushing off his sleeve casually as he does.
Sirius takes this moment to turn back into himself, no doubt so that he can pout effectively. "He's not little, he's my big, strapping young man." He insists, sweeping me up into his arms and giving me a big hug, a total contridiction to what he's just said I am. "How are ya Harry?" He asks then, settling me at his hip like everyone seems to enjoy doing so much now.
"I'm good thank you. It's great to see you both again." I smile, first at Sirius and then towards Remus. No need to go into detail about reassuring them about Voldemort; we've already spoken since that little incident. This is the first time in person since the incident though, hence all the licking/hugging/picking up.
"Yeah, we would've come sooner but neither of us could get the time off work at the same time. But, we're here now. So, what have you been up to?" Sirius gets out in one big gush and it's rather amusing to see a fully grown man so excited.
"I've mostly just been reading that," I point to the abandoned book on the sofa. "And trying to figure out exactly what spell it was that Voldemort was about to cast on me."
"Are you having any luck?" Remus inquires, wandering past Sirius and I, over to the book and picking it up before leafing through the pages.
"So far I have it narrowed down to a dozen or so different possibilities." I answer rather dejectedly, letting myself slump against Sirius in defeat.
"That is an impressive number for only a week Harry, you should be pleased that you've made such progress in this short time." Remus insists, closing the book and sitting down on the sofa just as Sirius moves us to sit on the sofa as well. I'm shifted around a bit until I'm settled in between the two of them, (does Sirius not think I'm capable of moving by myself or something?) and after that I'm free to reply.
"I suppose, but there are so few differences between the one's that are left, it's practically impossible for me to figure out what one it is." I sigh as I slide the book over onto my lap and start to flick through it for the hundreth, millionth, billonth time. "Take these two for example." I point out two different spells that are on the two pages I'm open to now. "The only difference between them is one tiny hand gesture and the rest is exactly the same. Even if it was one of these that Voldemort used, I can't know because he put me in a bloody trance, I wasn't aware of anything."
"Have you tried using a Pensieve?" Sirius asks by way of suggestion.
I nod. "Yeah, it was one of the first things Professor Dumbledore had me do. The memory was completely distorted though, couldn't see anything properly and you could only just hear the incantation if you listened really, really hard." I sigh here and rub my eyes tiredly before pinching the bridge of my nose. I've got an all too familiar, dull, throbbing headache, right above my eyes. My eyesight must be getting worse, I'll have to start wearing my glasses for reading close-up soon.
"Have you had lunch yet Harry?" Sirius asks suddenly.
"No, not yet." I answer, letting my hand drop. Though if I'm completely honest, I wasn't even aware it was time for lunch.
"I think I'll go have a wander to the kitchens and get us all something then. I'm feeling a bit restless." He informs myself and Remus before getting to his feet and heading over to the door as we turn our heads in order to follow his progress. "See ya both in a minute or two." Sirius tells us with a wink before he leaves the room, the door clicking shut behind him.
I'm actually kinda glad he's gone now, there's something I want to ask Remus, about Draco, and I've found that mentioning Draco around Sirius should be kept to an absolute minimum. Sirius, being Sirius, is a bit, well, paranoid, and he still suspects Draco of being a Death Eater. To be brutally honest, I don't think Sirius is really all there in the head. Azkaban has effected him so badly, that horrible place should be outlawed if you ask me, and then there's the fact that he was released a few months after I died. His life's been so rough, it's understandable that he's a little unstable. Still, that doesn't make everything all right, just all the more unfair.
Anyways, enough of that, time to ask Remus.
"Erm...Remus?"
"Hmm?"
"Has, erm, has there ever been a time when Sirius has been annoyed or worried about something and he won't talk to you about it?" Merlin, this is so embarrassing. I'm desperate though, I need wisdom!
"Yes, once or twice. Usually though, he rants about it, very loudly, when something's annoyed him and he rants about nothing in particular when he's worried so getting him to talk about things isn't usually a problem. However, when it comes to big problems, he does have a tendancy to stop talking completely and become very docile. It's when he's like that, that you have to start worrying about him."
"...Oh..." That was absolutely no help what-so-ever.
"I'm going to take a wild guess here and assume you're on the way to asking for some advice on Draco." Remus says with a small, amused grin and I can feel a slight blush colouring my cheeks. "What have you done to make him so angry with you?"
"It's not 'cause he's angry with me." I protest as I sake my head a couple of times. "He's really worried."
A pause.
"About?" Remus prompts kindly.
"The aging potion."
"Ah."
And that small sound of acknowledgement pretty much says it all because Remus can totally sympthise with Draco's feelings on this one, as could Sirius if he were here. Neither Remus or Sirius were/are, (not sure how they feel about it still) particularly keen on the idea when I first told them either. Come to think of it, Sirius went very quiet once I'd told him and he'd realised there was no changing my mind. Yet the next day, he fire-called me and told me that although he was still worried, if it was really what I wanted then of course I had his support. So, that makes me ask the question; what did Remus to break his cycle of silence?
"How did you get Sirius to start talking again the day I told you both about the plan?" I inquire out-loud.
Remus' cheeks suddenly burn an intense red and he looks anywhere but my general direction. "I, uh..." He clears his throat. "I don't think that's anything you really want to know and, uh, you're not, um, exactly in a position to, erm, replicate anything." He manages to stumble out and his meaning gets across to me loud and clear...Ew...I wish I hadn't asked now.
But it's something to work with...Maybe I can twist it in a way so that I can use it on Draco without running the risk of getting him thrown into Azkaban.
Target, Draco Malfoy: located. Current status: hunched over a desk marking Fifth Year essays. Objectives: liberate hostage quill; distract the Target's attention; cuddle with the Target for at least a half hour. Bonus objective: cuddle with the Target for the rest of the night.
Okay, now I've got my little SWAT mission fantasy out of my system, it's time to get down to business. This will be tricky. It's never been easy to get Draco away from work/studies and right now, with him in the mood he is at the moment, it's going to be even harder. But I am not a Gryffindor for nothing! I have come, I have seen and, mark my words, I will conquer...I think my nerves are making me a little over-dramatic.
Let's do this calmly now Harry, can't be too tense, gotta be cool, relaxed, nonchalant if you will. Really, all you've got to do is get his attention long enough to swamp him with the right emotions and then that'll make his attention stick on me. It'll be easy...Hopefully. And now you're right beside him, so, anytime you're ready Harry...Anytime at all...Sometime soon though preferably.
"Draco?" There, good start.
"Not now Harry." Okay, fine, that brush off was expected, I can't be too put off by that. Just have to ignore it and move on.
"Draco." That sounded a little more forceful.
"Harry, please, I have to get this marking finished." Oh please, I know for a fact those essays aren't due back to the students for at least another three days; they were only handed in this morning. Fine though, if he wants to play tough, I can do that, just means I'll have to move things along a little faster than I intended. So, I grab the arm rest of his chair and give an almighty yank and manage, (somehow) to pull the chair out slightly, enough so that he can't ignore the movement and had to properly acknowledge me. "Harry!" He cries indignantly, twisting his neck around to look at me properly, just like I knew he would.
Leaning forward, propping myself up on his knees, with a suitably annoyed glare fixed on my face, I look up at him and speak in a very firm tone that, despite my young voice, demands no arguement: "This has all gone on for long enough. Now, we are going to sit here until everything's been sorted out and you stop bottling things up inside."
Draco stares down at me for several moments, several long moments, before he shuts his eyes and gives a tired sigh. "Fine." He breathes, throwing his quill down onto his desk before bringing his hands up to his face to rub his eyes.
"Good." I say with a prim nod despite the fact I know he's not looking at me. I hold out my arms to him and give one simple command: "Up." I think it's rather amusing that he doesn't even hesitate in picking me up. He simply lifts me wordlessly and settles me on his lap so I'm straddling one of his thighs. I shift around a bit until I'm comfortable and then face him head on with, what I hope is, a stern expression on my face. "Now, you're going to tell me exactly what it is that's worrying you so much."
"I would've thought that was obvious." Draco replies and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
"The aging potion, yes, I know that, duh Draco. What I meant was, what exactly is it about it that has you worried?"
Draco sighs again, a little softer this time however, and gently brushes my hair behind my left ear. "Harry, I don't think you really understand just how dangerous taking an aging potion that adds so many years in a single dose actually is. There are so many things that can go wrong."
Can't lie there, I wasn't aware of any significant dangers. "What kinda things?"
"Well, if the pain killers aren't in the right proportion you may feel the process and that could very well damage your heart or increase your blood pressure due to the shock. Or, if there's too much of the pain killer then it can have a long-term, negative effect on your central nervous system. Then there's always the possibility of too much sleeping draught accidently being added or too little and then there's the risk of exactly how many years older you grow. It's such an exact process and brewing it just as second longer than you intend to can have disasterous side..."
"Draco," I interrupt quickly, seeing a pattern in his line of thinking. "I want you to calm down and think for a second kay? Tell me, who exactly is brewing me this potion?"
"Severus." Draco answers, sounding confused.
"And tell me Draco, what does Severus do for a living?"
"Yes, but Harry..." He starts, obviously seeing where I'm going with this. I'm in the middle of making a point here though so I put my index finger on his lips to get him to stop talking.
"No." I say, shaking my head. "Answer my question Draco, what does he do for a living?"
"Teaches Potions." Draco mumbles, sounding a little sulky if you ask me.
"Exactly. He teaches Potions. He makes potions day in, day out, every single day of the year. He brews anything and everything, complicated and easy, common and rare. He gets other people to brew potions and then he decides whether they're any good or not, usually just by looking at them. He is a Potions Master, brewing potions is what he does. Can you really see him "accidently" mucking up a potion, especially when there's so much at stake?"
"No, but..."
"Uh, uh, no Draco, we both know that Severus Snape is a man who knows his potions and has a one in billion chance of messing anything he works on up." It's my turn to start fiddling with Draco's hair now as I pull it out of its loose pony-tail and promptly begin to smooth it down on his head soothingly, leaning closer to him and resting my head on his chest, just below his shoulder. I feel his arms come around me and I can't stop the smile which fights its way onto my face. "I know you're worried about me doing this and you've probably got every right to be, but don't let it cloud your judgement and make you forget the facts. And, more importantly, don't let it eat away at you from the inside. I can always tell when you're worried so there's no point keeping it all inside. Being all silent and moody isn't healthy and it bugs the Hell out of me. So," I draw back so I can look him straight in the eyes. "Just stop it."
Draco holds my gaze neutrally for several seconds before a small smirk twitches the corner of his mouth and I can feel the beginnings of amusement trickling through our bond. "Yes dearest." He mumbles through a grin, lifting his hold on me a little so he can give the sides of the stomach a playful squeeze.
"Good, I'm glad that's all sorted then. You can leave that marking now and pay attention to me, I've been feeling awfully neglected lately." I pout as I lean forward press a light kiss onto Draco's lips before snuggling against his chest again. I feel and hear the slight rumble of a chuckle deep inside his chest and a hand comes up to card through my hair gently.
"You do realise that you actually payed Severus Snape a compliment, right?" He checks, his voice filled with laughter.
"Yes, I know, but it was a necessary evil in order to get you to start talking again. If you ever tell anyone I said those things though I swear I'll get Fred and George to put an itching charm on all your clothes."
Draco gasps dramatically. "You fill my heart with terror."
"Prat." I mutter, lightly slapping his arm.
"And I love you too darling." Draco coos playfully, leaning down to drop a kiss on the top of my head before straightening up again. A stupidly giddy grin breaks onto my face at that and I give Draco a small squeeze in reply. Things are getting back to normal once again.
End of Chapter 20.
I think this is my favourite chapter so far. It's certainly the longest that's for sure. But I like it because of that, because it means I've managed to fit a lot in it. There's some explanations, there's some humour, there's some fluff; all very good things. So, yes, this is my favourite chapter so far :)
Next chapter is the one we've all been waiting for people; THE LEMON! O.O!
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