Chapter 35
"Come on guys, just tell me. It can't be that hard for the two of you to get girls. Why don't you have girlfriends, I mean you sixteen for Circe's sake." Lee said to the twins the next night at dinner, students were milling about anxiously. Tomorrow the students from the other schools were scheduled to arrive.
"Come on Lee, why would we get with some stupid bint who can't even tell the difference between us?" George asked their friend.
"They can never tell who's who, could you deal with that man? Knowing your chick can't even pick you out from someone else?" Fred said, picking at his mashed potatoes.
Lee shrugged. "I'm not saying anything about getting married or nothing, but Merlin, you two have to need some kind of... release, if you know what I mean." He finished with a little leer.
Fred and George both looked up at the suggestive tone. "Wow, Lee, never thought I would hear you spouting the joys of per-marital sex." George bit into his chicken leg.
Lee sputtered indignantly.
"Now George, it's not his fault that his hormones are clearly leading our dear friend." Fred said sweetly. "Or maybe it's just that Lee is wondering if we don't exactly swing that way, eh? Lee, are you asking for a piece of hot sweaty Weasley loving?" And here Fred's voice took on a far more suggestive tone than Lee's had previously. "So which of us were you interested in? Or do you just not care?" He teased.
Lee was flushed bright red at this point, his food lay forgotten in front of him. He shook his head mutely and the twins both laughed at him. No one knew, and since they knew how everyone would react if they ever found out, they weren't about to tell anyone.
"So you two really aren't together or anything?" Seth asked Marshall and Harry at lunch.
"No, we're not. Why?" Marshall asked slowly.
"Well I was just wondering if, that is since you two aren't you know, then maybe Harry might be interested in..." He trailed off, unsure how to phrase himself properly.
Harry flustered. "Well that's flattering and everything Seth, but..." He didn't get to finish his sentence though as Seth was interrupting him.
"You don't swing that way, I should have known after how you reacted with Moore. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help hoping that..."
"Seth!" Harry shouted to get him to shut up.
"Yes?" He asked hopefully.
"It's not that, I have a boyfriend." Harry explained.
"You do?" Seth asked.
"Yes, he just doesn't go here is all." Harry told him.
"Oh, well I'll just shut up then, shall I?" He was bright red by that point.
"That might be for the best in most situations." Marshall quipped.
"Why can't things just be simple? Ever?" Fred asked George that morning in their dorm. Everyone else had finally left and the twins were getting ready for their showers.
George looked over his shoulder at the question. "What do you mean?" He asked. The question had, after all, come quite out of the blue.
"Us" Fred answered. "Our relationship, people's reactions." He expounded.
George sighed. He hadn't been expecting anything so deep this early, so he tried for levity. "Come on Fred, if it were simple you know we wouldn't have gotten into it."
But Fred was having none of that and continued to stare at his brother.
George sighed. "I don't know Fred. I don't know why people wouldn't accept us. I don't know why Ginny didn't, but that's what 'Obliviate' is for right?"
"But if we get caught for doing that we'd get in so much trouble." Fred shivered.
"We'd get in more trouble if we hadn't done it." George argued and Fred shrugged. It was true.
"I don't think I could stand not being with you." Fred said quietly and George stepped over to wrap an arm around him.
"No one's asking you to. Not now, not ever." He assured him.
"But they will." Fred insisted.
George closed his eyes, leaning his head against Fred's shoulder. "They will, but we won't listen. When do we ever?" And Fred finally cracked a smile at that.
Voldemort ran a hand through his hair after casting the glamor to change his eye color to a simple brown. It looked horrible, and he wanted to look good for the trial today. He changed his eye color to blue but that looked even worse than the brown.
He thought about the shade of green of Harry's eyes but it would be too odd if they both had the same shade of green eyes so he tried hazel, and to his immense relief he didn't look half bad. He was already wearing his best black and silver velvet cloak with black satin lining, making him look every bit the lord he was.
Lucius was just down the hall, primping and preening himself and Voldemort was sure he would look his best as brilliant as ever. Narcissa had declined to attend, thinking it best not to overplay the sympathy angle since he was already going as Harry's lover. They especially didn't want anyone in Harry's new school to think he was some sort of momma's boy either.
He sighed, running his hand through his hair again. It just wouldn't stay where he left it!
Harry dug through his wardrobe desperately. Nothing looked right! He needed to look perfect for the trial. Distraught but with an air of professionalism, not willing to let what had been done to him bring him down.
"What in the world are you doing?" Marshall asked incredulously, walking into the room. He was dressed in simple black fleece robes with a soft silver lining. He was going as a collaborating witness, being the one to find Harry and free him and was attending the trial as well.
"I need to find something to wear." Harry said desperately.
"And you're going to find it by tearing apart your wardrobe?" He inquired.
"No, yes, I don't know. I haven't yet." Harry groaned, flopping backwards into the pile of clothes in frustration, picking up the clothes that he was lying in and glancing briefly at each.
"What are you looking for?" Marshall asked helpfully.
"I don't know, something perfect." Harry shrugged.
"That's a bit general, do you know what you're looking for at least?" He asked.
"No, I guess I'll know it when I see it." Harry finally stopped tearing through his clothes.
Marshall frowned. "Well it helps if you know what you're looking for. Do you know what kind of look you're going for though?"
Harry sighed. "I guess something that shows I'm not going to let what he did get to me, you know?"
Marshall nodded. "Okay, well what about that robe right there?" Marshall pointed to a navy blue velvet robe with black fleece lining.
Harry looked at it and smiled. It was perfect!
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Harry jumped up and hugged his friend.
Marshall laughed and patted Harry on the shoulder. "Careful Harry, don't want to make that boyfriend of yours jealous." He joked.
Harry jumped back at that with a bright blush.
Everyone was nervous at 2:30, though they all tried their best to hide the fact. They all appeared in the same room clutching their respective portkeys, though Voldemort was also using Lucius's. The official sitting at the desk didn't even look twice at his presence though and Harry and Lucius certainly weren't about to draw attention to it.
"Young Mr. Malfoy, we're ready to take your statement accounting what occurred between yourself and Mr. Moore." The official stated. "Do you require any legal council?"
Harry nodded absently and everything was briefly explained to both Harry's satisfaction as well as everyone else around him. Lucius was still scowling at the end of the council though, as he was well aware of the likely outcome of the trial.
And so Harry recounted the tale, carefully omitting his comment to Seth that even if he had been more than a quarter incubus he wouldn't touch Moore. When he got to the point that Marshall had come in, the official looked to the blue skinned boy and motioned him to continue the story which he did.
"And Mr. Malfoy, would you care to explain why you did not use some of magic to escape?"
Harry flushed. He'd tried, damnit. "I tried, it didn't work. It was like someone just switched it off or something."
The official frowned at that. "Mr. Malfoy, magic is not like electricity. It cannot simply be 'switched off', that's impossible."
"Well then I don't know why it wasn't working, but I tried to throw him off with magic." Harry insisted.
The official said nothing to that but wrote everything down anyway.
"What did you mean, your magic wasn't working?" Lucius asked when the official had left the room to deliver the testimony.
"It just wasn't." Harry shrugged, not having thought about that particular aspect of the incident in any great detail.
"I've seen you use your magic though, and not just with the ring Corey and Dana had you get as a focus. You did it without even pointing a finger or anything that day you were captured." Voldemort pointed out with a sly glance to Marshall. He seemed to be Harry's friend and hopefully he wouldn't need to be disposed of after this incident. But he had no doubt that by the end of the trial, the allegiances of at least one of them would be revealed, if not all of them.
Harry turned to him. "I told you then, I wasn't captured." Harry glared playfully.
"Yes, yes, I remember. You just willingly attended a meeting having followed a known enemy." Voldemort chuckled.
Lucius didn't know his lord's train of thought and was slightly concerned about the new boy catching on to something he aught not. "Uh..." He didn't know how to properly address his lord without giving anything away. Damn.
"Lucius, do shut up, you sound like a babbling idiot. As well-bred as you are I should think you would know better than to use the word 'uh'." Voldemort jibbed.
Lucius snapped his mouth closed with an audible click making Harry giggle.
"The smallest things will always amuse you, won't they?" Voldemort asked.
"Only from you." Harry told him and went to him for a hug. Voldemort opened his arms to his young lover. "I missed you." Harry told him.
"I should hope so." Voldemort tucked Harry close. "Are you sure you are well?" He asked. "Corey and Dana are stationed at Hogwarts as teachers but they didn't have formal training and they seem fairly powerful. We could have you privately tutored and get those two to assist during school breaks." He suggested.
"Corey and Dana?" Marshall spoke up, eyes wide. Everyone knew of those two.
"Yes, what of it?" Voldemort locked eyes with the boy.
"Nothing, they would make excellent teachers." Marshall replied quickly.
"That's not all you were thinking." Voldemort accused.
Marshall hesitated but the heated glared from both adults had him giving up his secrets. "Those two are very well known. They're some of the most powerful Chaos Magi alive today. They're... well they're infamous actually."
"Infamous?" Harry inquired lightly.
"Yes, they're known for causing the worst kinds of havoc imaginable." Marshall told him.
"Wonderful, it will be good to have two such well known and powerful magi at my disposal." Voldemort grinned. He had known that with Harry's abilities and notoriety the war would be made more interesting, but with two infamous and powerful magi things would be even more fun.
"Well I suppose that answers that question eh?" Harry smiled at Marshall.
"What question?" Lucius asked.
"Which side of the war my family is on." Harry answered.
"And why would anyone ask that?"
"Fey are naturally curious creature." Marshall shrugged.
"Are you like an ice fey or something?" Harry asked. Now that the subject had been breached, he felt he wasn't being too rude in asking.
"No, nothing like that. Fey is just a generalized term for any kind of demon that doesn't come from the demon realms. I'm actually an elemental, I come straight from the water itself."
Before anyone could comment on that bit of news, the official was coming back in.
"It's time for the trial."
"How do you plead?"
"My client pleads not guilty to all counts on the basis that the defendant was capable at all time of leaving, rendering all accusations null and void." Moore's lawyer spoke up.
"The council will now deliberate."
"Jason Moore has been found not guilty on all counts." The foreman said ten minutes later. Harry looked over and saw Moore smirking at him, a hint of lust dancing in his eyes.
Harry shuddered in repulsion at the look but stood with his group.
"Harry, I will be with you shortly, I wish to have a few words with this Moore fellow before I leave. I want it made very clear that he is to leave you alone." Voldemort told Harry before walking off. Harry glanced at him oddly but nodded gratefully.
A/N: No, that's not all he's about to do. What is Voldemort up to? He's not going to get caught is he? You'll just have to read and find out!