A/N: Oh my gosh I am so sorry that this is so late. First of all I was super busy this weekend, but also I started a new story that I got wrapped up in. It's another Harry/Draco story so be looking for that soon. Anyway, when I finally got started on this one I could not for the life of me get focused on it. You'll have to excuse the randomness that is there. Part of it sets things up for the sequel, but the rest relates to this one. I hope you enjoy it either way. I find the ending to be exciting. Oh and this is the last chapter before the Epilogue. I think I had a hard time writing this because I'm sad to see it be over, well almost anyway. Okay, enough rambling from me. Thank you everyone for reviewing last chap! I love you all! Enjoy and review please!
Ch. 28
After a few hours of playing in the snow and flying on their brooms, all four boys made their way back inside to warm-up. Kreacher finally put his blanket away and had lunch and tea waiting on the table. He also had a large fire roaring in the fireplace.
They shrugged off their jackets and boots and shook any remaining snow from their hair or clothes. They looked at the warm soup and tea that was waiting for them gratefully and sat down eating and drinking quickly.
"Thank you Kreacher for having this ready for us," Harry said.
"Masters have a good time outside?" Kreacher asked as he washed the dishes from the morning.
"Yes!" All four of them chimed in. Kreacher chuckled happily and went back to his cleaning.
After they had their fill Scorpius and Teddy's eyes began drooping. "Boys how about you head up to your room and take a nap?" Draco suggested.
"Aw, dad, we aren't really that-" Scorpius began, but stopped when his eyes closed and his head dropped to the table. It hit the table with a dull thud and then he jolted back up and shook his head.
"Boys, I think Draco's right. Go take a nap," Harry said. They nodded slowly and stood dragging their feet all the way up the stairs. Kreacher followed behind them to make sure that they didn't fall asleep in the hallway.
Draco turned to Harry and wrapped his arms around him. "This is the best Christmas I've ever had," Draco whispered.
Harry returned the hug and nodded. "You know what would make it even better?" He asked brightly.
"No, what?" Draco replied in a teasing tone.
"We should go upstairs and get under the blankets and watch a movie," Harry said happily.
Draco smiled at him. "Anything for you love," he replied.
Harry jumped up dragging Draco with him and pulled him quickly up the stairs. They zipped past Kreacher who had just made sure that the boys got into bed safely and rushed into their room. Draco laughed happily as Harry let go of him and both boys toppled onto the bed in a laughing heap.
Harry propped himself up on an elbow as he looked down at Draco. He brought his other hand up and cupped Draco's face. He leaned down and kissed him lightly. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" He asked quietly.
Draco looked up at him thoughtfully. "Not in the past five minutes or so," he replied with a smile.
Harry smiled at him and kissed him again. "I love you more than anything in this world," he said quietly.
Draco pulled him down and kissed him hard. "I love you too," He said back.
They kissed for several more minutes before turning a movie on.
"What movie is this?" Draco asked.
"It's one of the best Christmas movies ever. It's called 'It's a Wonderful Life'. It's sad, but good at the same time. It's almost fitting I think," Harry replied.
"Hmm, okay," Draco replied already captivated by the movie. Harry chuckled and burrowed deeper into the blankets wrapping his arms around Draco tighter. Draco absently held him closer and kissed the top of his head barely looking away from the movie.
A couple of hours later Harry was brought out of his slumber by someone yelling. He opened his eyes and looked around. Draco was no longer next to him and the movie was no longer playing. Harry sat up and looked around the darkened room. Suddenly the bedroom door burst open and Harry whipped his wand out and yelled the disarming spell. He watched in horror as Ron's wand flew from his hand and he flew back at the same time out into the hallway. Draco was not far behind and managed to break his fall. Harry flung the blankets off of himself and ran out into the hallway looking guiltily at them both.
"Ron, I'm so sorry! Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Harry said quickly as he helped him up followed by Draco. "Are you guys okay? I'm so sorry!" Harry pleaded feeling tears come to his eyes. Draco pulled him into a quick hug calming his fears.
"We're fine mate. That was my fault. I should have known better than to just barge in on you. Nothing broken and nothing that a pain potion can't take care of. Thanks Draco for breaking my fall," Ron said rubbing the back of his head where they managed to knock into each other. Kreacher showed up immediately after with two pain potions for Draco and Ron.
"I'm so sorry," Harry mumbled into Draco's chest.
"We're fine. Don't worry love. Go lie down. Ron has some information for us," Draco soothed. He exchanged worried looks with Ron before taking Harry into their room. He flicked on the lights and waited for Harry to sit down on the bed. He looked angry with himself.
"Uh, okay so we went into Hogsmeade this afternoon to pick up Avasta, but she was nowhere to be found. Her house didn't look like anyone had been in it for months and when we went up to Hogwarts and checked her quarters there we found nothing. There was no evidence that she had been there at all. We backtracked and checked Carikove's place and figured out that she'd been staying there, but judging by the contents in the ice box she hasn't been there for a few weeks now. We have people watching her parent's house, but we've seen no one matching her description there either. I'm not feeling good about this," Ron explained.
Harry thought for a moment before responding. "Okay, well there isn't much we can do, but keep a look out for her. If they do decide to attack Hogwarts we need to be ready. They won't do it until after the holidays when there are more people there. We need to get into that room that has a map of the castle and put up a shield around the whole place. Since we don't know when they are going to attack we can't keep everyone in the great hall waiting for it. We will just need to strengthen our wards around the place. Ron, I don't think it's a good idea for anyone to venture into the forest to try and find the statues. It will only get us hurt. I think this is all we can do for right now," Harry replied all business.
"Well, wait; remember in third year when we all had to sleep in the Great Hall because someone broke into the Gryffindor room?" Draco asked.
Harry's expression brightened. "Yeah, you're right I remember that. So we could have them all stay in there so that we could just put extra protection on that one room instead of spreading out the protection for the whole castle," Harry replied.
"Okay, excellent. I will talk to McGonagall today and get that straightened out with her so that we are ready for when the kids come back to school. Now Harry, I think we are going to need your help on this one at least in strengthening the wards around the Great Hall. Are you up for it?" Ron asked hopefully.
Harry looked at him for a moment, the guilt coming back. "Ron, I don't know. I just sent a simple disarming spell at you and you flew out into the hallway along with losing your wand. Plus you saw what happened at the hospital. I can't control my magic like I used to," Harry muttered angrily.
"Harry, listen, I will help you control it. I'll be by your side in case you start to lose it. Don't worry. Despite your magic being a bit strange, they need you. You are a very powerful wizard and I agree with Ron on this. If we want to keep everyone safe we need you to help," Draco assured.
Harry nodded reluctantly.
Draco smiled in affirmation and said good bye to Ron. He turned to Harry and ran his fingers along his jaw line. He leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. "Babe, you are going to make things worse on yourself if you keep getting angry about your magic," Draco said softly.
"Dray, I don't know what's wrong with me! I do not understand why my magic is so screwed up. What if it never gets back to normal? What if I always need you to calm me down or to refocus me? That's no way to live!" Harry exclaimed. He flung himself backwards and pulled the blankets up and over his head. Draco grinned at him and reached out to pull the blankets down. He looked into Harry's anguished face and cupped his chin so he couldn't turn away.
"Harry, your magic will come back just like it was. I think ridding this world of Carikove was a fair exchange for the way your magic is now. Everything will be fine. Until then I will keep helping you," Draco assured him.
Harry looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you," Harry said. He pulled Draco down on top of him and showed him just how thankful he was.
XXXX
Soon the holidays were over and Hogwarts was once again filled with several young witches and wizards. The first couple of weeks had all the houses sleeping in the Great Hall. Draco and Harry spent most of their time there trying to protect everyone inside. Ron and the rest of Aurors were at their wits end because nothing had happened as predicted. Avasta never returned. There were no attacks on the school or the surrounding areas.
Things reluctantly went back to normal before everything went crazy. Harry was spending his days catching up on some much needed rest and had gone back to studying Defense Against the Dark Arts in order to possibly become the new Dark Arts teacher when school started in September. Hermione loved every moment of her pregnancy. There were no complications and they were counting down the days until they would know if they were having a boy or a girl.
In a blink of an eye it was April and the things that had happened at the end of last year were nearly forgotten. Harry continued to keep watch on the castle because he wasn't quite ready to call off the threat. He was still trying to control is magic and was making some progress, but he still felt off. He spent a lot of time alone anymore since Draco was especially busy at the school. For the most part Harry didn't mind, but for Draco it worried him how much Harry was withdrawing from others. He was missing his usual vibrancy and his eyes didn't sparkle like they once did.
Harry sat down as he did most days under the tree by the lake that Hermione and Ron used to sit with him under or where his father and his friends would sit. He stared out at the lake sadly.
"Hey," Draco called as he approached him. Harry glanced up at him and gave him a tight smile and looked back to the lake. Draco stared at him for a moment feeling his heart ache. He sat down next to him and kissed him lightly on his head.
"How has the day been going?" Harry asked quietly.
Draco sighed. "Fine. Look, Harry, I love you more than anything, but this (he motioned to Harry's sad expression) is not working for me. Every day that I see you, you're down here looking out at the water like your dog died. What is going on with you?" Draco demanded.
Harry turned to Draco angrily. "What is going on with me?! I'll tell you what's going on with me! I am feeling sorry for myself. My magic is unreliable. I'm angry that I can't get a handle on it! I'm angry with myself for destroying Carikove the way I did and screwing up my magic! I feel paranoid that someone is going to attack Hogwarts and destroy all of the people I hold in my heart! I'm so damn afraid that our child will have a poor excuse for a father! And I am mad because I miss you terribly and I can't find anything to distract me that doesn't cause me to get angry," Harry let out angrily and ended in a trembling voice.
Draco wrapped his arms around Harry's shaking form and ran his fingers gently through his hair muttering soothing words. Harry sobbed loudly. Tears continually streamed from Harry's tired eyes. Draco felt his heart clench again at his lover's pain. "Harry, it's okay. You did what you could with Carikove. Whatever happened to your magic was meant to happen and you will get it back. If an attack should happen, we'll be prepared. There is no reason to keep worrying about something that you have no control over. The only thing you can control is how you handle the situation. As far as being a poor excuse for a father, you are dead wrong. I would not have chosen you if that were the case. You will be the best father that any child could have. Don't you dare think any different. And I miss you more than you can imagine. I know I've been gone longer and longer each day and I'm so sorry. It's getting to the end of the year and I am swamped with end of year stuff. I will make it up to you. I promise. I am taking you out tonight. Just the two of us," Draco responded. He held Harry's face in his hands and kissed him passionately without caring who saw.
When he pulled away he looked at Harry's tear stained face. "I love you so much. Please don't keep these things inside anymore. I hate to see you like this," Draco said quietly.
Harry nodded. "I love you too. Thank you for listening," He whispered.
"You're welcome. I always here for you no matter what," Draco replied. He leaned back against the tree pulling Harry with him. They sat in silence staring out at the lake. Harry felt the burden lift slightly from his shoulders and Draco sensed the change as well and smiled smugly at himself.
An owl was flying towards them. Draco looked up as it landed about a foot from where they were. He sat up and looked at the unfamiliar owl as it walked towards him bobbing its head up and down. He reached out and took the parchment from its leg. He unrolled it and quickly read the words. He handed it to Harry who read it aloud, "Filiolus Confringo attero. What does that mean?"
Suddenly, a loud boom was heard on the other side of the lake. Harry and Draco stood up quickly and looked in the direction that the sound came from. They watched as a large arrow shot out from the trees and soared through the air. Their eyes widened as they watched its descent and immediate strike to the grounds in front of the castle doors. On impact there was a loud explosion that sent a cloud of dust and wave of energy at Harry and Draco. They flew backwards into the water behind them. Harry recovered quickly and broke the surface, leaping out of the water. Draco was not far behind and they took off to the castle. They watched in horror as three more simultaneously streaked across the sky and hit the grounds in front of the castle. Each time a wave of energy came and nearly sent them toppling over if it weren't for the shield that both men had put up around them.
They heard screaming from inside the castle and watched as small bodies were thrown about by the energy waves. They recovered as quickly as they could and made it inside. Harry sent out a patronus to get Ron and the other aurors there fast.
"Drake! We need to make sure that no one else is outside! Send a patronus to McGonagall and have her get the students rounded up and into the Great Hall and follow me around the grounds!" Harry yelled over the constant explosions. Draco nodded and sent his deer on its way with the message. They zipped around the castle looking for any stragglers. They were lucky to find no one else outside. After they made their check they ran inside and into the Great Hall. McGonagall was directing students to designated areas and checking off every child that passed through the doors. She turned to Draco and Harry as they ran inside. Scorpius and Teddy were in the mix, but didn't move as they understood that they needed to stay where they were. Harry and Draco sent them reassuring looks and turned to McGonagall.
"What is going on?!" She cried.
"It's happening. The attacks have started. They aren't hitting the castle yet just the grounds. Ron and the rest of the aurors should be here soon. Is everyone here?" Harry explained quickly.
McGonagall glanced down at her list and shook her head angrily. "There are a group of seventh years that aren't here yet. I have no idea where they are seeing as this is lunchtime and it's a beautiful day. Who knows where they could be," She explained angrily. Another explosion rocked the castle which sent several of the students into fits of screaming. Harry and Draco braced against the impact as did McGonagall.
"What house are they in?" Draco asked glancing towards the door as another group of students filtered in lead by a fifth year prefect.
"Your house," She replied. Draco stared at her for a moment and shook his head furiously.
"I know exactly where they are. We'll get them on our way to check the wards and strengthen them over the Great Hall," He said as he glared in the direction of the Slytherin dorms.
She nodded brusquely and turned back to her list and looked out at the other students. Harry and Draco left the hall quickly after glancing over at their boys. They ran down the hallway towards the stairs to the dungeons.
"Of all the days for that group to break the rules," Draco muttered angrily. Another explosion rocked the castle and Draco lost his footing in his moment of distraction and nearly toppled to the floor, but Harry caught him around his middle before he fell completely. He nodded at him in thanks and turned down a side hallway. The same hallway that Harry got injured in the first time. They paid no attention as Draco ran all the way to the end. He slammed into the door at the end not able to stop himself. They heard shrieks from behind the door. He spelled the door open and stalked into the room Harry on his tail.
"Greengrass, Nott, Davies, and Flint! Get your arses to the Great Hall now! Of all the days to misbehave! That'll be 50 points from Slytherin! Get going now!" Draco yelled at them.
Harry looked at him in admiration, but sent a shield around the group as they scurried out of the room without a second look at Draco.
Draco turned back to Harry still visibly fuming at his students and ran down the hallway with Harry following close behind. They ran into the ward room and Harry quickly waved his wand over the model. Nothing happened. He looked over at Draco who stepped next to it and followed the same motion. It lit up then showing all areas green with several fading to yellow.
"You told us to change security so we did," Draco said with a slight smile. Another explosion shook the castle grounds as both men grabbed the table to keep from falling.
"Let's do our magic together," Harry suggested. He held out his left hand and Draco took it with his own left hand. They stood across from each other and then pointed both their wands down at the area above the Great Hall. They concentrated on the spot and felt the magic vibrating through each other. Harry glanced up and smiled at Draco who returned the smile. They began muttering several protection spells on the Great Hall and watched as it began glowing a brighter and brighter green.
After several minutes of repeated spells Harry and Draco stepped back and relaxed for a moment. "That should be good," Harry muttered.
"Yeah, nothing is getting through that," Draco replied quietly.
"What does that spell mean?" Harry asked.
"It essentially means 'detonate on impact'. They've spelled those statues to shoot the arrows and they explode on impact because of the spell," Draco explained.
"Couldn't we come up with a reversal spell? I mean how else are we going to stop them?" Harry asked.
"They've created this spell. I don't think there is anything that we can do to reverse it, but I think if we could get up into the air and explode them mid-air like muggle missiles or something that would help. We might even be able to send some back at them destroying the statues," Draco suggested.
"Yeah, it's worth a shot. Let's go. The school brooms should work just fine. I made a generous donation a couple of years ago," Harry said with a grin. Draco rolled his eyes at him, but reached out and pulled him into a hug. He kissed him several times all over his face, neck, and head. Harry returned the kisses and then they hugged each other tightly again.
"No matter what happens, I love you and I am so happy to have you in my life," Draco whispered. He looked intently into Harry's emerald eyes. Harry looked back and nodded.
"I love you too," He whispered back. Draco dipped down and planted a deep and passionate kiss on Harry before leading him out the door and rushing back to the front of the castle.
Explosions continued to rock the castle. Draco and Harry burst out the front doors nearly running into Ron and his team who were spread out in front of the entrance.
Everyone turned around quickly as they heard the doors open. "Harry! How do we stop this?!" Ron exclaimed.
"Keep some of your team here to protect the doors. The rest of us are going to get up in the air and intercept these arrows before they hit the castle. We concentrated all the wards on the Great Hall and it's only a matter of time before the other wards are taken off. We need to act fast. Draco and I are going to look for where they are coming from and try and send them back to destroy the statues. Let's go!" Harry replied as he took off for the broom shed by the Quidditch pitch. Draco ran behind him and Ron followed along with Ginny, Seamus, Charles, Sarah, Fred, and George. They reached the broom shed in record time dodging several smaller arrows. They looked around them fearfully as they tried to pinpoint where they were all coming from.
Harry spelled the shed open and the doors burst wide apart. He didn't blink an eye since he didn't really have time to worry about the intensity of his spell. He pulled out as many brooms as they needed and kicked off into the air followed by everyone else.
"Use explosive spells to take care of the arrows! Draco follow me! We are going to stop this once and for all!" Harry ordered in a determined voice. He streaked through the sky towards an arrow that was heading his way. He flicked up a shield around himself and sent a blasting charm at the arrow. It burst into several pieces and filtered through Harry's shield dusting him with light powder. He let out a cry of joy and Draco whooped behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and watched as everyone else was having success in blasting the arrows. He waved his hand at Draco who pulled up next to him and glanced over at him smiling triumphantly. Harry returned the smile.
They watched as another arrow shot in the air. They circled around coming up behind where the arrow came from. Harry motioned down and told Draco to wait just a minute. Draco nodded reluctantly. Harry blew him a quick kiss as he sped down towards the ground. He rushed through the trees sending a powerful blasting hex at a statue and watched as it exploded sending several large pieces of rock flying through the air. There were a few people surrounding the statue that screamed and started running. Draco flew down into the trees and helped Harry stun every person that was there.
They burst through the trees and zoomed over to Ron letting him know that one statue had been destroyed. They flew off after another area and watched as three arrows flew into the air at once.
"Shit, Draco! Watch out!" Harry screamed. He whipped around narrowly avoiding an arrow and watched as Draco blasted two arrows at once. He watched in awe and laughed at the smug expression that crossed Draco's face. Harry blasted the next arrow and dive bombed into the trees. Draco followed close behind and took out the statue this time. Several people scattered in the area and each was stunned by Harry as they tried to get away. They shot back up into the sky and flew off towards their next target.
Draco pulled in front and watched in horror as three more arrows came at him from the front and sides. Harry watched as well and zoomed up next to Draco gripping the broom between his legs he reached out and pulled Draco onto his broom. Draco let out a yell as Harry shot the broom down towards the ground. Draco gripped Harry tightly around his shoulders holding on for dear life. The arrows above them crashed into each other exploding on impact. Harry kept one arm securely around Draco and the other on his broom as he guided it into the trees. Draco recovered finally and summoned his broom back and jumped back on before they hit the trees. They zoomed expertly through the trees and hit the statue at the same time. It was the biggest explosion yet, but no one was near this statue. They flew back to the top and watched triumphantly as only one more statue remained. They flew off towards it.
Draco zoomed ahead again expertly missing several arrows that were heading his way. The arrows were no longer being sent to the castle. Their focus was now those who were in the sky. He broke through the trees followed closely by Harry, but shot back up again as an arrow flew towards him. Harry barely missed getting hit as he flew back up. He scanned the sky looking for Draco and saw him making a wide loop. He started flying back and Harry watched in terror as a smaller arrow zipped behind Draco closing in on him. Draco didn't see it. His focus was on the last statue. Harry lurched forward and pushed the broom as fast as it would go to intercept the arrow before it hit Draco's broom. In a split second Harry crossed its path and it collided with the back of his broom. The end of his broom burst into flames and flew off the end. Harry looked back fearfully as he tumbled to the ground. Draco heard him cry out and whipped around to see him falling to his death. Draco turned abruptly and careened down towards him. He managed to get close enough to grab Harry's hand, but it was too late for him to correct himself and pull Harry up at the same time.
Harry hit the trees first hitting practically every branch on the way down. Draco followed behind losing all control over his broom. Suddenly Draco's ring shone brightly and light shot out from the eyes of the snakes. Harry and Draco managed to lock eyes. Since Harry was falling with his back to the ground now, Draco could see how close the ground and closed his eyes as Harry hit first followed by himself. The last thing they both saw before everything went black was the statue exploding, bodies falling, and a cocoon of light surrounding them.
