Author's Notes: Once more, thanks for the great reviews!
Disclaimer: See part one.
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For three long months nothing different happened. I began to relax in the prison a little as it became my home. I became firm friends with Claw, Gary and Rubber, and for the most part Harry and I ignored each other comfortably. Our mutual silence made the others a little uncomfortable, but when Gary mentioned this to us one mealtime, Harry quirked one eyebrow, gave me a grin, and returned to his food without answering. This, I had found out, was his way of saying that he didn't give a damn and wasn't going to be bothered by it. The others in our close knit group - Claw, Gary, Rubber, Eddie, Harry, and myself - gradually got used to it.
I had no more visitors, and no letters, although many of my new friends in the prison did - except Harry, but most, if not all of us, knew who his friends were, and knew that they could not take the risk of visiting him, or even sending a letter. But I think he missed seeing people, especially when others were called for their visitors. Anyone who didn't get anything from the outside felt left out at those times.
So first November passed, then December - Christmas was celebrated by a small bar of chocolate for each man - and January. It was at the beginning of February that things between Harry and I became...different. Something happened, actually, several somethings happened that changed a lot in the prison.
The first event was that Harry, for the first time in nearly six years, had a visitor.
It was a cold evening, and the whole group of us had gathered in my cell to play cards, as we usually did after supper. For once I wasn't losing - Rubber was - and for once we were all laughing and having a good time. There was some commotion in one of the cells a couple alleys over, but we didn't pay any attention to that - we all unanimously agreed that it was too cold to move much. It was Gary, with his almost supernatural hearing, that lifted his head when he heard something. I looked at him curiously; he was half-frowning.
Harry saw him too. "What is it?" he wanted to know. Gary looked at him, his eyes filled with surprise. "Gary?"
"The guards are calling for you," he said slowly. "I think...I think you have a visitor."
Rubber and Claw, who had been joking around, stilled and looked at Harry, as did Eddie and I. He was white, almost shaking, but he carefully put down his cards with an admonition not to touch them, and stood up. He left my cell. The other four of us looked at each other, then stuck our heads out of my cell.
My cell, on row C, has only five cells until the end of the row, and beyond that are the visitors windows. We could see Harry approaching the guard there, who nodded and jerked his head at one of the windows - the one, luckily, that was closest to us. Harry sat down in front of the window.
"Come on," I said, suddenly making a decision. "Follow me." I slid out of my cell, made sure the others were coming, and slipped down the alley, making sure to keep out of sight of Harry's visitor. When I reached the end of the alley, I pressed myself against the wall so that I couldn't be seen by the visitor, although a flash of Harry's eyes let me know that he knew I was here. I met the eyes of a guard; he looked away, and I smiled grimly. No, the guards would not interfere with Harry unless they had to. Claw and Rubber joined me; Gary and Eddie were leaning against the end of D row.
Then his visitor spoke, and I nearly choked. It was Hermione Granger. I could hear every word clearly.
"Hello, Harry," Hermione greeted him, a little timidly. I watched Harry's face anxiously; after three months I knew enough to be wary of any reference to his past, and Granger was definitely that. "How are you?"
Harry's eyes flashed again, in anger this time. "Don't ask me that," he spat. "You have no right to ask me that, Granger. In fact, you have no right to even be here." He shook his head at her. "I don't see why you are."
"Because I care about you," she said hotly. "And there have been rumours.Harry, I needed to see you again..." I had trouble hiding a snort, but I turned it into a small cough, and leant against the cool wall in an attempt to calm down.
"Well, took you long enough," Harry retorted sharply. "What's the matter, lose the address?" I winced despite myself. I don't know what I would have done if I had been in Harry's situation, but it was clear from the sob on the other side of the window that his sarcasm was hurting her. "What were you expecting, Hermione?" Harry asked after a moment, sounding a little tired. "Were you expecting me to welcome you with open arms? Even if it hadn't been six years without seeing you, you're a collaborator, Hermione." His eyes were deadly cold now, and I shivered. I had known, of course, that Granger was a collaborator - it had been some of the main gossip several years ago, how one of the trio had turned traitor. It had reminded me a little of Harry's parents and their friends.
I could hear Granger crying now, but Harry didn't seem to be paying attention to it. He looked furious - in three months I hadn't seen him this angry. In fact, when I thought about it, I'd never seen him this angry before, not even at school.
Never at school.
"Don't come back, Granger," Harry said curtly at last. "Don't come back. I don't want to see you, or anyone to do with you, ever again. Understood?" He pushed back his chair; it scraped harshly on the floor, and the noise echoed around the prison, which I suddenly realised was quiet, as if everyone was holding their breath collectively.
Harry stalked down Helga Alley, and we began to follow, but we all froze when we heard the unmistakable groan of the cell doors opening.
Every single cell door in his wake was pulling on its hinges. Most of the bars were bending, straining against their welding, and several doors even flew off - one leapt across the alley just in front of me, crashing into the opposite cell. It wasn't just the bottom level - all three levels of cells had bent bars as Harry stalked down to the end of the alley and disappeared.
I was frozen in the middle of the alley, my eyes roving over the devastation that Harry had created of Helga Alley. Self-preservation made me glance to the side to my cell - only a few bars had bent. I could scarcely believe that Harry had been able to do this. It made me beg the question that I had, so far, been avoiding.
Just how powerful was Harry? Even with a wand, most wizards wouldn't have been able to do what he had just done without severe backlash. Yet Harry had not only wrecked the alley, he had walked away from it with no apparent weariness, and he had done it without a wand - and with a prevention bracelet on!
I wondered if *he* was that powerful. I assumed so, since *he* was an heir, but if Harry...it wasn't making much sense, and I hated it.
The guards were coming along now, pulling everyone from their cells and moving them to empty ones for the night. They didn't want anyone managing to walk around at night, I supposed, but it was a little premature - there was still an hour until curfew.
I decided, as I sometimes did when I was deep in thought, to have a shower. I was fairly sure no-one would be there just now, so I ducked into my cell, grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste, and hurried out of Helga Alley and down to the showers on the other side of row A. I walked into the showers, and stopped. Someone else was there.
Harry was there.
He looked up at me, and I could tell that he had been crying, although I would never have told him that I knew. He was leaning up against the wall, wearing only his trousers, a towel slung over one arm. Obviously he had had the same idea I had.
I found my voice. "She shouldn't have come."
He shrugged. "Probably not."
"You, uh, really made a mess out there," I told him, my voice shaking a little. He shrugged again. "Are you...are you alright, Harry?"
He looked at me then, a strange glint in his eyes. "Why do you care, Draco?" His voice was oddly bitter. "Why do any of you care?"
"Because you're Harry fucking Potter," I spat. "Because you do what you can to make this damned prison tolerable. Because..." I trailed off, my anger dissipating as quickly as it had come. "Because..."
He dropped his towel on top of his shirt on the floor, and moved towards me. I backed up until I was pressed against the wall; he lifted a hand as if he was going to touch me, then he seemed to change his mind, and turned away.
"Have your shower and leave, Draco," he said flatly. "Trust me, you don't want to be around me right now."
I made a split-second decision to act on the thoughts that had plagued me ever since our last years together at Hogwarts. I stepped forward, and pulled him back to face me. I pressed my lips to his.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To be continued.
Replies to reviews:
Colibi, Blanche and janibo - thank you! And janibo, yes this is slash (there was a warning at the beginning of the fic).
Hana-chan - 'fraid to say that you won't find out what happened to Narcissa for a while yet! And thank you!
Jass - My updates are fairly regular - mostly every two days, sometimes even every day if I have the time to write. The longest you'll have to go without an update is probably three days. And as I've been saying, you will find out why Draco is in Talsgate...soon. I promise. Thank you!
drika - *grin* thanks, but wandless Harry is firmly under my control. (Hey, Harry, what are you doing over there? Come back here!!!!)
Ciara Moondagger - thanks!
Disclaimer: See part one.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
For three long months nothing different happened. I began to relax in the prison a little as it became my home. I became firm friends with Claw, Gary and Rubber, and for the most part Harry and I ignored each other comfortably. Our mutual silence made the others a little uncomfortable, but when Gary mentioned this to us one mealtime, Harry quirked one eyebrow, gave me a grin, and returned to his food without answering. This, I had found out, was his way of saying that he didn't give a damn and wasn't going to be bothered by it. The others in our close knit group - Claw, Gary, Rubber, Eddie, Harry, and myself - gradually got used to it.
I had no more visitors, and no letters, although many of my new friends in the prison did - except Harry, but most, if not all of us, knew who his friends were, and knew that they could not take the risk of visiting him, or even sending a letter. But I think he missed seeing people, especially when others were called for their visitors. Anyone who didn't get anything from the outside felt left out at those times.
So first November passed, then December - Christmas was celebrated by a small bar of chocolate for each man - and January. It was at the beginning of February that things between Harry and I became...different. Something happened, actually, several somethings happened that changed a lot in the prison.
The first event was that Harry, for the first time in nearly six years, had a visitor.
It was a cold evening, and the whole group of us had gathered in my cell to play cards, as we usually did after supper. For once I wasn't losing - Rubber was - and for once we were all laughing and having a good time. There was some commotion in one of the cells a couple alleys over, but we didn't pay any attention to that - we all unanimously agreed that it was too cold to move much. It was Gary, with his almost supernatural hearing, that lifted his head when he heard something. I looked at him curiously; he was half-frowning.
Harry saw him too. "What is it?" he wanted to know. Gary looked at him, his eyes filled with surprise. "Gary?"
"The guards are calling for you," he said slowly. "I think...I think you have a visitor."
Rubber and Claw, who had been joking around, stilled and looked at Harry, as did Eddie and I. He was white, almost shaking, but he carefully put down his cards with an admonition not to touch them, and stood up. He left my cell. The other four of us looked at each other, then stuck our heads out of my cell.
My cell, on row C, has only five cells until the end of the row, and beyond that are the visitors windows. We could see Harry approaching the guard there, who nodded and jerked his head at one of the windows - the one, luckily, that was closest to us. Harry sat down in front of the window.
"Come on," I said, suddenly making a decision. "Follow me." I slid out of my cell, made sure the others were coming, and slipped down the alley, making sure to keep out of sight of Harry's visitor. When I reached the end of the alley, I pressed myself against the wall so that I couldn't be seen by the visitor, although a flash of Harry's eyes let me know that he knew I was here. I met the eyes of a guard; he looked away, and I smiled grimly. No, the guards would not interfere with Harry unless they had to. Claw and Rubber joined me; Gary and Eddie were leaning against the end of D row.
Then his visitor spoke, and I nearly choked. It was Hermione Granger. I could hear every word clearly.
"Hello, Harry," Hermione greeted him, a little timidly. I watched Harry's face anxiously; after three months I knew enough to be wary of any reference to his past, and Granger was definitely that. "How are you?"
Harry's eyes flashed again, in anger this time. "Don't ask me that," he spat. "You have no right to ask me that, Granger. In fact, you have no right to even be here." He shook his head at her. "I don't see why you are."
"Because I care about you," she said hotly. "And there have been rumours.Harry, I needed to see you again..." I had trouble hiding a snort, but I turned it into a small cough, and leant against the cool wall in an attempt to calm down.
"Well, took you long enough," Harry retorted sharply. "What's the matter, lose the address?" I winced despite myself. I don't know what I would have done if I had been in Harry's situation, but it was clear from the sob on the other side of the window that his sarcasm was hurting her. "What were you expecting, Hermione?" Harry asked after a moment, sounding a little tired. "Were you expecting me to welcome you with open arms? Even if it hadn't been six years without seeing you, you're a collaborator, Hermione." His eyes were deadly cold now, and I shivered. I had known, of course, that Granger was a collaborator - it had been some of the main gossip several years ago, how one of the trio had turned traitor. It had reminded me a little of Harry's parents and their friends.
I could hear Granger crying now, but Harry didn't seem to be paying attention to it. He looked furious - in three months I hadn't seen him this angry. In fact, when I thought about it, I'd never seen him this angry before, not even at school.
Never at school.
"Don't come back, Granger," Harry said curtly at last. "Don't come back. I don't want to see you, or anyone to do with you, ever again. Understood?" He pushed back his chair; it scraped harshly on the floor, and the noise echoed around the prison, which I suddenly realised was quiet, as if everyone was holding their breath collectively.
Harry stalked down Helga Alley, and we began to follow, but we all froze when we heard the unmistakable groan of the cell doors opening.
Every single cell door in his wake was pulling on its hinges. Most of the bars were bending, straining against their welding, and several doors even flew off - one leapt across the alley just in front of me, crashing into the opposite cell. It wasn't just the bottom level - all three levels of cells had bent bars as Harry stalked down to the end of the alley and disappeared.
I was frozen in the middle of the alley, my eyes roving over the devastation that Harry had created of Helga Alley. Self-preservation made me glance to the side to my cell - only a few bars had bent. I could scarcely believe that Harry had been able to do this. It made me beg the question that I had, so far, been avoiding.
Just how powerful was Harry? Even with a wand, most wizards wouldn't have been able to do what he had just done without severe backlash. Yet Harry had not only wrecked the alley, he had walked away from it with no apparent weariness, and he had done it without a wand - and with a prevention bracelet on!
I wondered if *he* was that powerful. I assumed so, since *he* was an heir, but if Harry...it wasn't making much sense, and I hated it.
The guards were coming along now, pulling everyone from their cells and moving them to empty ones for the night. They didn't want anyone managing to walk around at night, I supposed, but it was a little premature - there was still an hour until curfew.
I decided, as I sometimes did when I was deep in thought, to have a shower. I was fairly sure no-one would be there just now, so I ducked into my cell, grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste, and hurried out of Helga Alley and down to the showers on the other side of row A. I walked into the showers, and stopped. Someone else was there.
Harry was there.
He looked up at me, and I could tell that he had been crying, although I would never have told him that I knew. He was leaning up against the wall, wearing only his trousers, a towel slung over one arm. Obviously he had had the same idea I had.
I found my voice. "She shouldn't have come."
He shrugged. "Probably not."
"You, uh, really made a mess out there," I told him, my voice shaking a little. He shrugged again. "Are you...are you alright, Harry?"
He looked at me then, a strange glint in his eyes. "Why do you care, Draco?" His voice was oddly bitter. "Why do any of you care?"
"Because you're Harry fucking Potter," I spat. "Because you do what you can to make this damned prison tolerable. Because..." I trailed off, my anger dissipating as quickly as it had come. "Because..."
He dropped his towel on top of his shirt on the floor, and moved towards me. I backed up until I was pressed against the wall; he lifted a hand as if he was going to touch me, then he seemed to change his mind, and turned away.
"Have your shower and leave, Draco," he said flatly. "Trust me, you don't want to be around me right now."
I made a split-second decision to act on the thoughts that had plagued me ever since our last years together at Hogwarts. I stepped forward, and pulled him back to face me. I pressed my lips to his.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To be continued.
Replies to reviews:
Colibi, Blanche and janibo - thank you! And janibo, yes this is slash (there was a warning at the beginning of the fic).
Hana-chan - 'fraid to say that you won't find out what happened to Narcissa for a while yet! And thank you!
Jass - My updates are fairly regular - mostly every two days, sometimes even every day if I have the time to write. The longest you'll have to go without an update is probably three days. And as I've been saying, you will find out why Draco is in Talsgate...soon. I promise. Thank you!
drika - *grin* thanks, but wandless Harry is firmly under my control. (Hey, Harry, what are you doing over there? Come back here!!!!)
Ciara Moondagger - thanks!