Death Spell -

Harry learned later the true extent of Voldermort's influence on him. Sure, he had nightmares- maybe some would call it night terrors- but he tried not to think much of them. Now, though, he was noticing more and more how they seemed to feature You-Know-Who. Could his nightmares have been about this all along? He swallowed the awful feeling down, knowing he had just tried to go back to sleep before his roommates at his old school could wake up and terrorize him. They had gotten more and more terrifying. Could he be seeing something from someone's else's eyes? This, Dumbledore explained, was not because of him.

Rather, and most abhorrent, he was connected with Voldermort through the Elder Wand. Which could be used to destroy him... if Harry weld it. Harry wanted to barf. The old man looked at him with knowing eyes and a calm expression, while Harry was being struck with news after news that his family's killer was inside of his mind. Or he was inside of his. What was worse? Was he going to witness more murders? Harry couldn't stand it. He knew he had no choice after all but to get rid of this murderer for good, no matter what Hermione or Draco said. But even Dumbledore had his own qualms.

"Mr. Potter, there's a group that's already there to protect you and others like you." Even while pestering him, he still wouldn't give him much more. How was Harry supposed to put faith into 'Dumbledore's Army', a group of people Harry didn't even know? And he couldn't even tell anyone, not even his friends? Harry was bloody seventeen, and he thought he deserved more bloody answers than this! Dumbledore must have realized Harry's simmering anger, because he ended up sparking Harry's interest again. "I do not wish to keep these secrets, Harry, but there is a person whose identity I must not disclose."

"But why?" Harry asked, annoyed. He knew it was a lost cause, but how else was he supposed to protect himself? Was he just going to trust Dumbledore? Without any proof? He needed to talk to Hermione about this. Rules be damned. He was stuck in this stuffy room, as Dumbledore had wanted to talk with him after seeing him practice defense against the dark arts on the field, even though Harry thought he was alone. Dumbledore knew immediately what he was training for, even though Harry said it was just homework. Now, he couldn't even go home, because Dumbledore was giving him half-answers in his office.

Harry wanted to kick the desk he was sitting in, if only to relieve some of his stress. Now all he could think about was Voldermort out there somewhere, hurting people, maybe even planning to hurt Draco. Harry's stomach curled. Voldermort had had to come to Draco's house before with that thing. Harry had seen it in his dreams before ever since Draco had told him about it. And now he had told Dumbledore. So there would probably be more tonight. Did Nagini... if that was really its name, ever hurt Draco due to Voldermort commanding it to? If that was the case, Harry might bring Ron along to kill that thing too.

~.~.~.~.~.

Set in his own idea of killing both of them once and for all, Harry finally went back to his tower after Dumbledore left him go. Harry wanted to believe he was stupid enough to let him off, but Harry wouldn't be surprised if he was up to something. The wizard seemed to know everything about everyone, and maybe that was why all the witches made rumors about him scaring off Voldermort before. Well, him and his bird weren't enough to scare Harry off, even if the thing molted and freaked him out every once and awhile. Angry more at himself than the phoenix, Harry flew faster on his broom.

Once he landed, he found Draco laying his bed. He tried to come in quietly, but he was awake. "Where were you?" Draco asked sleepily, as if it was normal and dandy for Draco just to wait for him inside his room without asking. Giving up, Harry put his broom down and settled down next to him. "Dumbledore corralled me. Again, the old bugger." Draco sat up and made room for Harry, who gratefully sunk into the pillow. Draco looked far away in his thoughts, even though he was a inch away from him, looking down at his palms as if it contained a tiny universe. "What is it? I'm grateful and everything, but why come here when I'm away?"

"Well, I like working on sad sack projects. I just needed a break." Draco said snootily, referring to Harry's messy room. Draco disapproved of the both muggle and Wizard sports comics lining the walls, the dirty robes making a faux rug on the floor. Harry just hadn't gotten to it yet. "Very funny. But what's the real reason, or are you still going to egg me on with your ego?" Harry challenged. "That could be arranged." Draco said, looking up from his hands into Harry's eyes. They were butting heads, but Harry couldn't help himself from being blown away with the anger and passion that lit up his once cold grey eyes.

Shaking it off, Harry pushed Draco away. "Tell me, you stupid prat." He didn't want to give Draco any reason to notice him getting lost in his eyes. If he had even assumed... the taunting would be terrible, even if it was between relentless snogging. "I'm hiding from my father, obviously. I snuck out to come see you, assuming you were here. You weren't, so I stayed, rather than go back to the terrible discussions my father is meaning to have with me." Draco didn't elaborate, but Harry was exhausted already after Dumbledore. "Are you planning on staying the entire night?" Harry asked carefully. He accioed a cup of tea and handed it to him, knowing Draco wouldn't spill a drop.

"Probably." Draco took a sip. His nose scrunched. "Most definitely. Your subpar accioing skills are good for now." Harry took the tea back and put it on the nightstand. "You could be nicer to the person offering you hospitality. Who is also your boyfriend, might I add." Harry quipped, bunching up the blankets that Draco had pushed to the bottom of the bed. "Fine. Thank you, Harry." Draco said, strained. He even offered a smile, which seemed real enough that Harry dropped it. "Well, it's late. I'm going to sleep, so either get under the covers or get out." He told Draco. Draco sniffed the air before getting obediently in, having distracted Harry from his goal.

TBC -