A/N: I know that it's taken me a really really long time to post this chapter. I'm sorry. School ended and I graduated and then I had a dance recital and lots of parties and getting ready for college and life and...yeah...lots of things. But it's here now, so i suppose that's all that matters, right? Enjoy :)
Draco's POV
There I was, mere feet from the Dark Lord's camp. Alone. I cursed Ron as I took a few hesitant steps forward. The wards would be coming up soon. After a few more steps I felt them, an invisible wall standing between me and a falling apart house. I took out my wand. Ron had given me the spells I'd need to get through the wards; I just hoped they'd work. I felt the wards fall. That seemed too easy. A few steps later, I found out why; there was another set of wards.
In the end, it took me nearly half an hour to get through all of the wards. Honestly, I was shocked that it didn't take me longer. In a moment, I realized why the wards weren't as hard as I had expected them to be. There was a patrol of Death Eaters all around the manor, which no longer looked rundown. As I silently slipped across the dewy grass, I wondered how Ron had known where the Dark Lord's camp was.
He could be a Death Eater, I realized, I could be walking right into a trap. I quickly shook the thought from my head. Ron was the embodiment of Gryffindor. There was no way he could be a Death Eater.
I reached the doors of the manor and stifled a groan. Three Death Eaters guarded the door. How was I supposed to get inside now? I backed away from the door and walked the perimeter of the manor. There was no other entrance. The three Death Eaters had not moved by the time I got back to the entrance. I had to get to Harry as fast as possible, but with these three buffoons standing in my way, I didn't see how that was possible.
A Death Eater came up behind me, and I barely jumped out of his way in time. It would have been chaotic if he had run into me. I probably wouldn't have made it out alive. The four Death Eaters began talking. Their voices were muffled by the masks, but I could hear some of what they were saying. "McNair and…switch…but Crabbe…here…eye out…Malfoy. He's…coming…rescue his…"
I couldn't be sure, but it sounded like there was going to be a change in guards eventually. If I just waited for that, maybe I could sneak in and get to Harry.
Twenty minutes passed and still there had been no change in guards. My feet were beginning to ache and I worried that I wouldn't be able to reach Harry in time. Ten more minutes passed and I heard voices behind me. I turned around and saw two more Death Eaters headed my way. Finally.
For a while, the Death Eaters conversed. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, trying to work the stiffness from my legs. The two new Death Eaters took positions by the doors, and the three that had been relieved of their duties went inside. Before the door could close, I slipped inside. The inside of the manor was dark and dank. I struggled to see even three feet in front of me. After running into a few walls, my eyes began to adjust. I could make out enough to navigate through the maze of narrow hallways.
Where Harry was being held was a mystery to me. I started searching for a room that was heavily guarded. When I didn't find one, I searched for the dungeon, but found that the manor had no lower level, simply the ground floor and the second floor. I went back through the entire ground floor, looking into every room the best I could without arousing any suspicion.
Finally, I came to a door that would not open on the second floor. I muttered an Unlocking charm, but the door remained firmly locked. Several charms and spells later, the door remained unopened. I didn't know what else to try. I had run through my entire knowledge of spells and charms that would be helpful in a situation such as this. "Bombarda." I muttered, grasping at fleeting ideas. There was a small explosion, but, when the smoke cleared, the door was unharmed.
"What the hell?" I hissed angrily as I kicked the door. There was absolutely no way to get through this door. I rested my forehead against it and sighed. "Harry?" I called softly. "Are you there?" It would be just my luck to be trying to get into a room that Harry wasn't even in.
For a while, there was silence, and then, "Draco? Is that you?"
Relief flooded through me. "Yes, Harry, I'm here."
"Why?" Harry asked. His voice was closer than it had been before. "You shouldn't be here. They'll get you too."
"No they won't." I said confidently. "Besides, how was I supposed to sit back and wait at Hogwarts? You can't honestly tell me that you'd wait for someone to come rescue me if it had been me who'd been taken." Before Harry could protest, I asked, "Harry, are there any windows in there?"
"Yeah," he answered hesitantly, "but don't get any wild ideas, Draco. The window doesn't open either, I've tried."
I pulled the Invisibility Cloak a little tighter around myself as a few Death Eaters came down the narrow hallway. As soon as I'm sure they're out of earshot, I whisper, "Stay away from the window Harry, I'll be right there."
"Draco!" Harry protested, but I was already walking back to the entrance. The grounds were emptier than they had been when I had arrived. I walked carefully through the shadows until I reached the other side of the manor, where the window Harry's room was. My wings slid out silently, pressing warmly against my back.
This rescue was going to have to be pulled off perfectly. As soon as I took the Invisibility Cloak off, I'd only have so much time to break the window and get Harry out of there before the Death Eaters shot me out of the sky. I slowly removed my outer robes and my shirt. If I didn't time this right, I'd be dead.
In one quick motion, I threw off the Invisibility Cloak and pushed forcefully off the ground. Seconds later I could hear the gasps of Death Eaters and colorful spells whizzed past me. I finally reached the second floor windows and quickly found the window to Harry's room. He stood in the corner as I sent a spell through the window, shattering the glass.
"Do you have a death wish?" Harry asked as he leaned out the window hesitantly. I grabbed him around the middle and held him close to me as I flew quickly around the spells the Death Eaters were shooting at us. "We're going to die!" Harry yelled when I turned into a dive as we reached the wards.
We were outside of the wards in seconds and I pulled out of the dive. Harry caught his breath while I gained altitude. "Do you really not trust me enough to pull out of the dive in time?" I asked, trying not to sound as hurt as I felt.
Harry wrapped his arms around me, trying to find the most comfortable position for me to hold him. "Of course I trust you, Draco. It's just that I'm used to being in control when I do dangerous flying stunts."
I grinned. "If I let you take control, will you do dangerous stunts with me in bed tonight?" Harry blushed bright red and I laughed.
(+)(+)(+)
"It's good to have you back, Harry." Ron clapped my mate on the shoulder as we sat in the Gryffindor Common Room. I could feel the other lions watching me carefully from all corners of the room. It made me uncomfortable. I couldn't wait to get out of there with Harry.
Harry turned to me and I brought my attention back to the conversation. "I think I'm going to stay here tonight."
I felt my heart break in my chest. A lump rose in my throat. It was a good thing I didn't know how to respond to that because I didn't think I could talk without that lump dissolving into tears. As a Slytherin, I couldn't afford to cry in front of all these Gryffindors.
"Is that okay?" Harry asked. He looked concerned.
I nodded and forced a smile. "Of course it is." I said quietly, swallowing the lump in my throat. "I'll see you at breakfast."
In less than five minutes I found myself in the bedroom behind the bookcase, breaking down in tears. Viola had noticed that something was wrong when I entered the rooms, but I ignored her. She would give me hell for it when I came out of the bedroom, but I just needed to be alone right now. I collapsed onto the bed and curled into a ball.
When I woke up, it wasn't yet dawn. I had too much energy to just lie in bed all morning, so I got up and worked on the wedding plans while making pancakes in the small kitchen area. Viola scolded me for ignoring her last night. I quickly got fed up with that and silenced her portrait. Her face turned red, but I could no longer hear her, so I was content.
I was sitting in my favorite chair, having long finished the pancakes I had made, when Harry came into the room. "You weren't at breakfast." He said as he sat down in the chair next to mine. "I was worried."
"Sorry, I got caught up in the wedding plans and I lost track of time." I said without looking at him.
"Are you mad at me?" He asked and I looked up. "I feel like you're mad at me."
It took me a while to figure out how to answer him. "I'm not…mad, per se." I said slowly. "I just missed you last night. You have no idea how worried I was. I felt like you didn't care."
Harry moved to kneel in front of me. "Of course I care Draco. I care about you so much that it hurts sometimes. It's just that sometimes I need a little space, and some time for just me and my friends. As much as I love you, I can't be around you all the time." He smiled and brushed my cheek with his fingertips. "But today I'm all yours to do with what you want."
I raised an eyebrow. "Anything I want?" I asked suggestively.
He laughed. "I thought we were going to wait until after the wedding."
I sighed dramatically. "You're right. I guess I'll just have to be patient."
A kiss was placed on my hand. "Yes, but the sooner you finish the wedding plans, the sooner we can move onto the actual wedding."
"Maybe I should work on the plans today then." I said, picking my quill up. Harry pouted and I smiled. "I'm just kidding, but we're not going to go flying for a while. I'm too afraid that I'll lose you again."
A/N: R.E.V.I.E.W. Find out what it means to me. Nope...doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Respect.
