Disclaimer: Nothing related to Harry Potter belongs to me. It belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Thirty Six: Intoxication

Harry groaned, stretching his sore muscles and hoping that Voldemort would hurry up and challenge him already. After all, he had to know that Harry was very powerful now, and getting more powerful by the day.

Or at least, Harry thought wryly, getting more control over the power he had so that his magic could be used more effectively in battle. After the bonding, Severus and Remus had decided to start training Harry physically, teaching him hand-to-hand combat. They didn't hold back, either, hence the reason that Harry was doing his best to soothe sore and bruised muscles, as well as trying to retain what was left of his dignity.

Sitting next to him, Draco groaned as well, muttering under his breath about bloody werewolves and ruthless Death Eaters. Harry agreed whole-heartedly. The adults, once they had decided to do something, went all out to see that it was done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Harry and Draco had only been at it for a week, and already they had fallen into a routine.

They rose from bed at five in the morning and ran a few laps around the lake. Then they moved inside for a shower and breakfast before learning to fight with their bodies, courtesy of Remus. When Remus had class, Severus taught them weaponry. Every day for the past week, a time turner had been employed so that they could receive extra training in both hand-to-hand combat and weaponry. So far, they had learned to wield swords, daggers, throwing knives, staffs, and a bow and arrows.

That last one surprised them. What would they need archery for? When they asked, Severus told them that a bow and arrow were useful for long distance attacks, intended to pick off specified people. Harry frowned at this and asked why they couldn't just use Muggle guns. They would have the same effect, only death would be a bit more ensured. At this, Severus had paled and walked away, leaving behind two very confused boys. They hadn't asked again.

Severus walked up to them. "All right, boys. We're going to try something different today, all right?" The young wizards nodded quickly, eager to try anything that, hopefully, wouldn't result in them being covered in bruises and wincing in pain every time they moved.

Severus instructed Harry to shift into Amarth, which he did without question. Severus turned to Draco. "All right, Draco. I want you to try and take him out. Knock him unconscious or immobilize him, it doesn't matter." Draco looked at Amarth and then stared up at his godfather in horror. Severus just smiled grimly. "Amarth here is very strong. Even the Unforgivables don't greatly affect him. If you can knock him out of the picture, it will mean that your powers have increased significantly. We've taught you weaponry and physical combat, but you need to practice your magic as well."

Draco frowned. "What about Harry, then, sir?" he asked.

Severus just shook his head and gestured for them to begin, stating, "Harry will be next. For now, he's just working on defending himself and strengthening his already potent internalized defense system."

Draco nodded and turned back to Harry, throwing a series of stunning and weakening curses at him, which gradually grew stronger and closer to the Dark Arts. Apparently, this is what Severus had been looking for, because he nodded to himself from behind the shield that he had set up and that Amarth had so considerately reinforced and strengthened.

Draco was briefly distracted by the entrance of the last member of their makeshift family, and Amarth used the opportunity to rush him, bowling him over and landing on top of him, his tail lashing madly behind him in glee. Once he had gotten over his surprise, the Slytherin boy growled at him and hissed, "Obrigesco corpus."

Much to everyone's surprise, Harry's body stiffened where he sat on top of the other boy. He was still aware of what was going on, but he couldn't move. He was helpless. Before he had a chance to panic or hurt himself trying to break the curse while he couldn't think properly, he concentrated on calming himself down. Once he was settled and thinking straight again, he turned his mind to breaking the curse and made short work of it, his body going limp on top of Draco as he regained his capacity of movement.

Growling lowly, he rolled off of his bond-brother and shook himself, erasing the last remnants of dizziness that still plagued him. Looking up at Draco, he asked What was that curse? And where did you learn it?

Draco flushed when he noticed that Amarth had obviously opened the mind link between all of them, as he now had everyone's attention. "It was something that my father taught me. He told me that it would stop just about everything and was almost impossible to break, although it can be done by really powerful beings like Harry and Voldemort."

Amarth nodded and shifted back into human form, grinning at Draco and offering his hand. Draco took it and smiled; Harry had let him know that he didn't hold a grudge for that curse, even if it was considered to be a Dark Arts spell.

Harry grinned. "Is it my turn yet?" he asked sweetly, watching in glee as Draco paled. 'That's right', he thought wickedly, 'there's no chance of escape now. One serving of revenge, with a side of mischief, coming right up.' Remus apparently had much the same idea, because Harry could see the amusement dancing in his eyes. The last of the original Marauders, Remus' inner prankster was finally coming to the front.

As this thought ran through Harry's mind, he frowned. He was remembering Lucius' letter. Was it really possible to bring Sirius back from beyond the Veil in the Department of Mysteries? If so, how was he going to get that information now? Voldemort hated him, and knew full well that Severus was a traitor and Draco would not be joining him. Just the other night, Lucius had been tortured for failing to bring his son to Voldemort, and orders to kill all four of them, starting with Harry, were given to the Death Eaters.

Fortunately, none of them felt any particular need to leave Hogwarts' grounds, so they were safe. The Slytherins who had parents who were Death Eaters might try something, but they'd have to take out Harry first or risk getting themselves killed, and Harry was never in classes. Ron and Hermione were also protected by a teacher at all times, so that no one could try to use them to reach their best friend.

Well, they were also in danger of Voldemort using Lucius again to contact them. It had happened three more times since that first night. They were all rather surprised that he didn't torment them more, until Draco pointed out that the strength of the link was proportionate to the closeness of the family members involved. Even Draco had to admit that he wasn't all that close to his father. Therefore, it took Voldemort a good deal of power to wield the link like that, and he probably had better things to do...like plan Harry's demise and the reorganization of the wizarding world in Britain.

Severus shifted in the corner, distracting Harry from his thoughts, and both boys looked up at him, one eager and the other pleading. Severus answered his godson's plea and declared that Harry would be trying to knock him out of the picture while in human form, while curses were being shot back at him.

Once Remus and Draco were settled along the sides of the dungeon room, shields in place, the duel began. There was no formality to it, just two wizards trying desperately to take out their opponent before they were taken out themselves.

"Cachinnationis!"

"Abicio corpus!"

"Stupefy!"

"Obdormiscere!"

Back and forth the curses went, each more powerful than the last. Both wizards dashed and dodged and reflected the curses as best they could. It was a good forty-five minutes before Harry managed to grab hold of Severus' wand and end the duel.

Draco laughed. "Oh, that was rich, Harry! I don't believe I've ever seen anyone fight quite like that. I like it. If you cheat like that in the final battle, you'll be sure to win. Voldemort will never see it coming." Harry flushed, a look of mock indignation covering his face.

"That was perfectly fair! The only rules were no Unforgivables, and no maiming or killing, which I wouldn't have done anyway. The rules said nothing about my plan of attack." Draco conceded his point. It was the truth after all. There was nothing to say that Harry couldn't plunge a room in darkness and then use his enhanced senses to hit his opponent with a concentrated burst of power, slamming him into a wall, which just happened to be cushioned. It also never said that Harry couldn't turn his magic into a bunch of flowers, invading the room with their intoxicating scent to daze his opponent.

Speaking of intoxicating, Draco had a hard time muffling his laughter as Severus rose to his feet, swaying dangerously. Remus caught him as he stumbled, and Harry burst into giggles. When he had pitched the room into darkness, he had wordlessly summoned one of Severus' potions, one that was intended to disorient its victims for a short while. It wore off in about fifteen minutes. After all, the Dark Lord was often impatient when it came to torturing, and he wanted his victims to be aware when he started cursing them for his own amusement.

Deciding that he didn't want to hurt his mate, he had conjured up a bunch of rose petals from the air and fused them with the potion, throwing the whole concoction at Severus. When they touched the man, the potion entered his bloodstream through his skin, effectively making him rather intoxicated. It was by no means honorable, but it sure as hell was funny.

Apparently, Severus was one of those people who gained a sense of humor when they were drunk. He also got intoxicated very quickly. Right now he was clinging to Remus, his face buried in the other man's neck as he murmured to himself. Whatever he was saying obviously amused the werewolf, because he was chuckling and shaking his head in mock exasperation.

When Harry raised an eyebrow in inquiry, he shook his head and smiled, saying only that Severus didn't know what he was saying, and that he had obviously mixed up the two lycanthropes in the room. Harry took a moment to process this before his eyes widened and he lunged forward, taking Severus from Remus' grasp, flushing madly.

Severus accepted the change easily, closing his eyes and laying wet, open-mouthed kisses along Harry's jawbone and throat, murmuring terms of endearment, if they could be called that. Some of them were rather vulgar, and Harry vowed to himself to avoid getting Severus drunk in front of guests ever again, if this was how he acted. Merlin, this was awkward.

He was so busy focusing on Severus and trying to get him to move so that they could leave the training room and put him in bed, that he didn't even notice the owl waiting for them. Draco did, and he tried to remove the bit of rolled up parchment from the owl. The owl snapped at him, and the letter zapped him, forcing him to draw his hand back quickly, as if it had been burned.

Narrowing his eyes, Draco stared at what he could see, and paled. "Ummm...Harry?" Harry just grunted, not answering him. "I think you should come see this, Harry. It's for you."

Harry snapped back at him, "Can't you get it? I'm a bit busy right now, in case you hadn't noticed."

Draco just shook his head, not bothering to respond to Harry's impatient tone. "No, Harry, this can't wait, and I can't get it. It's from Voldemort." At this, both Harry's and Remus' heads snapped up and Harry nearly dropped his mate. Shit. Harry's challenge had been answered. Time was up.