Chapter 16 – Dean's Dandruff
Hermione grabbed Draco as soon as they left the dungeon and pulled him into an empty classroom.
"Hey, careful!" Draco yelped as Hermione's fingers dug into his arm. "I bruise easily."
"I think I might know what happened," she said quickly. "But I can't help you. We have to see Dumbledore about it."
"No!" Draco protested. "We can't go to Dumbledore. What are we going to tell him? Oh, we were just going off on a road trip to find the Dark Lord? I don't think so."
Draco turned to leave but Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Stop doing that!" Draco said, rubbing his arm crossly.
"This is serious. I think you may have been cursed with Dark Magic. You are still under the influence of this curse, which is why you can't remember. That is why we have no choice but to go to Dumbledore," Hermione explained gently as Draco gasped.
"Dark Magic? But how? Who?" he asked hesitantly, not entirely sure he wanted to know. Although in the back of his mind he knew there was only one person it could be.
"That's why we have to see Dumbledore. He will be able to remove the curse and you can remember what happened," she said quickly before grabbing his hand again. "Come on, we have to do it now."
"But what about Herbology?" he asked.
"Fuck Herbology," was the shocking reply.
"Hermione! I like this wicked class-cutting side to you," Draco said admiringly as he followed her up to Dumbledore's office. "You should let her out more often."
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The rest of the Gryffindors, along with the Hufflepuffs, were digging merrily in the gardens surrounding the green houses. Well, some of them were digging merrily…
"Dean!" Seamus screeched suddenly. A few heads turned in their direction but most ignored the pair.
Dean, who had been squatting down to pull out a weed, straightened up and looked anxiously at his boyfriend.
"What's wrong?" Dean asked an obviously horrified Seamus.
"You have dandruff!" Seamus said in a stage whisper, pointing at Dean's head.
"Oh, is that all?" Dean asked and returned to his task of weeding their patch of the garden.
"Is that all, he says. No, that is not all. You have dark hair. Dandruff is white," Seamus explained patiently. "It looks like it's snowing on your head!"
Ron and Harry, who were digging nearby, chuckled
"So I'll just get some anti-dandruff shampoo," Dean said exasperatedly. "It's really nothing to get worked up about."
"But we don't have a Hogsmeade trip for two weeks. Two weeks!" Seamus said, holding up two fingers. "Besides, where in Hogsmeade would you get anti-dandruff shampoo?"
"I don't know. Does it really matter right now?" Dean asked tiredly, running his hand absentmindedly through his hair. Seamus looked scandalised.
"Dean, we have to do something about that today. I cannot sleep with someone who could build a snowman on his head."
"So sleep in your own bed," Ron suggested with a sly grin. Seamus gasped in horror.
"I can't not sleep with Dean. I need him next to me or I can't sleep properly," he whined.
Harry looked strained. Draco always said he couldn't sleep properly without Harry beside him. Harry wondered how the blonde boy had slept last night. Actually, thought Harry, I wonder where he slept last night.
"There's nothing we can do," Dean pointed out dryly.
"There must be a potion we could make," Seamus suggested. "Lavender and Parvati will know where we could find one. Oi, Lav!"
Lavender turned around and flashed them a smile, "What is it boys?"
Seamus beckoned her over. Lavender giggled with Parvati for a moment before joining Dean and Seamus.
"Dean has dandruff," Seamus whispered loudly as Dean rolled his eyes. "Do you know of a potion to get rid of it?"
Lavender glanced over at Parvati and nodded. Both girls giggled.
"Sure, Seamus. Actually I have some made up in my room. Come by tonight after dinner and I'll give it to you," she said, her voice dripping with kindness.
Seamus beamed, "Thanks Lav. I knew we could depend on you."
Lavender merely smiled back and wandered back to whisper to Parvati. Both girls had vindictive grins on their faces. Dean thought back to breakfast, when all the seventh year girls were ignoring them.
"Seamus, I don't think this is a good idea," Dean started to say.
"Dean," Seamus said condescendingly. "Leave the thinking to me. We all know that I'm the brains in this relationship and you're the pretty one."
Ron snickered behind them, they all knew that the opposite was true (including Dean, who rolled his eyes but didn't correct his boyfriend). Then he glanced around at the students working hard around the garden.
"Hey Harry, where's Hermione?" Ron asked his best friend.
"I don't know. Haven't seen her since Potions," Harry said thoughtfully, gazing at the students around them. "Dra…Malfoy's not here either."
"You don't think she could be with Malfoy, do you?" Ron asked sceptically.
"They looked pretty cosy at breakfast," Harry commented darkly.
"Hey, maybe he kidnapped her," Ron said brightly, trying to cheer Harry up, then he realised what he'd actually said. "You don't think he'd actually do that, do you?"
Harry glanced at Ron curiously. The redhead almost sounded like he believed the crap Harry knew Ron had been feeding him. Harry knew Draco would never harm Hermione, just like he knew that Draco hadn't reverted back to his old persona. It was just easier to deal with his broken heart if he pushed all of Draco's goodness aside and focused on the bastard he'd known and loved to hate.
"No, I don't think he'd do that," Harry replied dryly. Harry sank his shovel deep into the soil and leant on it, staring intently at the Forbidden Forest. Ron followed his gaze and, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, realised Harry was deep in thought. Ron sighed and continued digging.
Harry, in the cold clear light of day, was regretting his impulsive reaction to Draco's declaration. Something was definitely up and Harry didn't like it. Hermione and Draco clearly knew something he didn't about the entire situation and if Harry allowed himself to analyse last nights events closely, he could see that something strange must have happened to Draco at Malfoy Manor.
After all, Harry thought, just hours earlier we had been fucking like rabbits. Drac told me he loved me, Harry remembered a tad mistily.
"Oh fuck, what have I done?" Harry cried softly. Ron glanced up, startled by Harry's harsh words.
"Harry, you did the right thing. That prick was just stringing you along," Ron said consolingly.
"What would you do if Hermione did something like this? Would you immediately suspect her motives?" Harry demanded.
"But that would never happen. You always know where you are with Hermione, besides, she's always been on our side," Ron pointed out.
"True…" Harry murmured. Draco had been the enemy until recently, so they really didn't know him as well. Draco, being Draco, was always guarded about what he revealed to other people. Except with me, Harry realised suddenly with a pang in his heart. Draco had always been completely open and honest with Harry.
"Harry! Ron!" someone called from afar.
Ron and Harry glanced up as Hermione came rushing over to them.
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"Ah, Hermione, Draco, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company on this fine November morning?" Dumbledore asked cheerfully, his eyes twinkling merrily as the two students sat before him in his office.
Hermione glanced at Draco and realised that he wasn't going to talk about this anytime soon so she took a deep breath and began explaining the events that led up to Draco's strange behaviour. She deliberately left out the fact that Ginny, Neville, Dean and Seamus had been there. There was no reason for them to get caught up in this mess.
"And then Draco appeared back in the fireplace. He came out and he broke up with Harry. But the truly weird part about that was that Draco's eyes were blank the entire time. I was watching and he displayed no emotion at all. Then Harry ran out of the room, followed by Ron, and I tried to get Draco's attention but he was staring into space. So I yelled at him and he suddenly came back to normal but he didn't remember anything that had just happened," Hermione paused to take a breath.
"Then, this morning, I was in the shower," Draco started to say, then stopped. How was Dumbledore going to react to this?
"Please continue, Draco," Dumbledore said, smiling supportively.
Draco swallowed nervously, "I was in the shower when I noticed something that wasn't there before. This."
Draco pulled up his sleeve to reveal the dark mark. "I don't know how it got there, Sir. I don't remember it being put there. I scrubbed and scrubbed this morning but it won't come off."
Draco was starting to become slightly hysterical. He knew how bad this looked and he hated the permanency of it. This disgusting ugly blank tattoo would be with him for the rest of his life and Harry would never be able to look him in the eyes again.
"Oh dear," Dumbledore said heavily, suddenly looking older than his years.
Dumbledore's reaction was not at all comforting and Draco felt a lone tear slid down his cheek.
"Let's deal with the problem of the missing memories first, then we'll worry about the dark mark," Dumbledore said, picking up his wand. "First I'm going to scan you for dark magic, Draco, just like I did to Harry a few weeks ago."
Dumbledore murmured the words of the spell to reveal the dark magic used on Draco.
"Imperius," he announced solemnly.
"What?" Draco and Hermione asked at the same time, twin expressions of shock on their faces.
"I think we'd better have Harry and Ron up here for this, since they were affected by this as well. Hermione, would you go and get them? I believe they are in Herbology right now," Dumbledore said, his twinkle returning as he reminded them of the class they were missing.
Hermione nodded and left the room.
"Draco, when Hermione gets back with Harry and Ron, I'm going to remove the curse from you. Your memories will return and this could be distressing but I need you to tell us what happened," Dumbledore said gently.
"I know," Draco replied nervously. He was not looking forward to remembering how he received the dark mark. It would be a very painful memory.
Hermione, Harry and Ron entered the room. Ron scowled when he saw Draco sitting in an armchair but Harry didn't react, his face remaining deliberately blank.
"Ah, Harry and Ron. So glad you could join us," Dumbledore said warmly.
"What is this all about?" Harry asked, eager to get it over with so he could get away from Draco. It was too hard to be in the same room as the blonde boy and not be able to touch him. He still had some thinking to do about the whole situation before he could figure out where to go from here. There were still too many questions to be answered.
"Hermione and Draco were just telling me about a journey the four of you were going to embark on last night," Dumbledore revealed.
"What?" exclaimed Ron, his eyes shooting daggers at Hermione and Draco.
Dumbledore ignored Ron and continued, "As a result of this, Draco has been cursed with Dark Magic."
Harry gasped and stared at Draco but the blonde refused to meet his eyes, staring down at the carpet instead.
"Prepare yourself, Draco. I'm going to end the spell now and you will have the memories rushing back. They may not be pleasant," Dumbledore warned before saying, "Finite Incantatum."
Draco was instantly glad he was sitting down as the memories came flooding back. He closed his eyes and watched what had happened.
As Draco cried out in distress at the memories Harry felt like he was being torn in two. He wanted to gather Draco in his arms and make it all better but he couldn't forget that Draco had broken up with him so he stayed where he was, a look of anguish on his face as he watched Draco wrestle with the memories. Eventually Draco started speaking, describing what he was seeing.
"I arrived at Malfoy Manor to find Mum and Dad sitting by the fire. I ran to hug them but they didn't move and I realised that they were magically restrained to the chairs. Dad told me to watch out and I turned around. Voldemort was there, smirking at me. I remember being confused because the Map in the Order of the Phoenix room showed no one there but my parents. I tried to move but that was when I realised that Voldemort had used the leg locker curse on me. I couldn't move my legs at all, although I tried as hard as I could," Draco scowled as he remembered how helpless he'd felt.
"Voldemort laughed at me and asked me how my precious boyfriend was. I didn't answer, just tried to get my wand out of my pocket, but Voldemort knew what I was doing and he sealed my pocket. He didn't even try to take my wand. I think he liked torturing me with the thought of my wand being so close but inaccessible. He stood in front of me and told me that he was tired of trying to kill Harry and Harry getting away each time so he had come up with a better plan, one which would cause Harry a lot of pain. He told me he was going to cast imperio on me and make me break up with Harry," Draco had tears running freely down his face. He wasn't really aware of them. All he could think of was how weak he was, not to be able to throw the Imperius curse. It was all his fault.
"Voldemort said that Harry would be devastated and when I found out what I'd done, I would be just as devastated so he would take care of the traitor at the same time as he took care of Harry. And then…then…" Draco chocked back a sob. He didn't think he could say this, with Harry in the room.
"Then," Dumbledore prompted gently. Damn, Draco knew he couldn't get out of it.
"Then Voldemort grabbed my hand and burnt the dark mark into my wrist," Draco said harshly, pulling his sleeve up to reveal the tattoo.
Harry gasped in shock and felt tears stinging his eyes. Draco had been through so much and now this. Harry felt pure rage burning through him. He would kill Voldemort for hurting Draco if it was the last thing he did.
"Voldemort said that it would drive Harry away from me. That he would hate me for it," Draco finally cracked and started sobbing. Voldemort was right. Draco had heard Harry's horrified gasp when he had revealed the dark mark.
Harry let out a strangled cry and rushed over to Draco's side. He gathered the blonde in his arms, just as he'd wanted to earlier.
"Draco, honey, I could never hate you. Especially not for something like that. It wasn't your fault," Harry said passionately, willing Draco to believe him.
"I didn't want to break up with you, Harry. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to fight it," Draco managed to say.
"Shh," Harry said, one hand gently smoothing Draco's hair as he pressed his lips against his head. "You have nothing to apologise for. I'm sorry that I didn't fight harder for you. I should have known you would never willingly do something like that."
Draco clung to Harry, relief flooding through him.
"Draco, what happened next?" Dumbledore asked.
"Voldemort cast Imperio, told me to break up with Harry and that when the curse was broken, I would not remember anything that had happened," Draco said.
"So, for all we know, Voldemort is still at Malfoy Manor with your parents as prisoners," Dumbledore mused. "Thank you for telling us all this, Draco. I know it was hard for you. I'm sorry but you'll have to leave now so I can get Aurors out to the Manor as soon as possible."
"Of course," Hermione said, practically dragging Ron out of the room. Harry, with his arms still around Draco, helped him up and they walked out of the office together.
"We'd better get going, we have History of Magic soon," Hermione said, ignoring Ron's groan.
"We're not going," Harry said as he led a subdued Draco down the corridor. Hermione caught Harry's gaze and nodded. They needed time together to heal their relationship. Hermione linked her arm with Ron's and started walking in the opposite direction.
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Draco was curled up on one end of a sofa in the Gryffindor common room before a roaring fire staring blankly into the flames. With lessons still in progress, the common room was empty apart from himself and Harry, who was standing in the doorway to the boys' dorm watching the blonde Gryffindor.
Draco had stopped crying but his eyes were red rimmed and his cheeks were tear-stained. He also had dark smudges under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't slept at all well that night. But he looked absolutely beautiful to Harry.
Harry crossed the room to Draco's side. He sat down and Draco immediately wrapped himself around Harry and clung to him, almost childishly.
"I love you," Harry whispered in Draco's ear as he held the blonde in his arms.
"I love you too," Draco replied, a small smile playing on his lips.
Both boys sat silently for a long moment, both revelling in the feeling of contentment the other brought them.
"Are you…" Draco started to ask but then thought twice. Did he really want to open that can of worms?
"What?" Harry asked gently.
Draco was silent. Harry moved Draco in his arms so he could see Draco's face. He brushed the blonde hair out of his eyes and smiled.
"You know you can ask me anything," Harry reminded him. Draco looked apprehensive.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Draco blurted out, holding up his wrist, his sleeve falling away to reveal the dark mark in all its glory.
Harry slid his hand up Draco's arm and held his wrist gently, looking at the mark. Slowly he brought Draco's wrist closer to him and he kissed it.
Draco wrenched his arm away and stared at Harry in horror. "Don't do that! It's evil, it's horrible, it's-"
"It's a part of you," countered Harry, "so it's beautiful and it's good."
Draco gazed into Harry's eyes and wondered how anyone could be so damn perfect.
"Did it…did it hurt much?" Harry asked, trying to sound casual as he rubbed his thumb gently over the dark mark.
Draco avoided Harry's eyes as he simply said, "Yes."
Harry's head fell back against the seat as he stared up at the ceiling and blinked away the tears that suddenly appeared. Obviously it had been excruciating and Draco had suffered through that pain because of him. It was just like Draco to understate something so serious, just so he wouldn't hurt Harry. If he thought he could get away with it, he probably would have lied and said no, it didn't hurt at all Harry, it was licked on by kittens, Harry thought wryly.
Harry pulled Draco's wrist towards him again and pressed butterfly kisses over the mark, as if he could make it all better with a kiss. His eyes never left Draco's and the blonde boy felt cherished by Harry's gentle attention. Harry continued kissing Draco's arm and licked the crook of his elbow lightly before moving to softly, slowly kiss Draco's lips. Neither of them moved a muscle, they just slowly kissed each other. It was a kiss that reaffirmed their unconditional love for each other.
Harry carefully unfastened Draco's robe and slid it from his shoulders. Harry gazed into the blonde Gryffindor's eyes as he leisurely unfastened the buttons on Draco's shirt. He gradually pushed the shirt away and leant forward to kiss the pale skin of Draco's shoulder as it was exposed. Draco trembled beneath Harry's lips. This was what he lived for. The sweet and sensuous kind of lovemaking that spoke of love, not merely lust.
About an hour later…
Harry's gaze softened as he watched Draco asleep in his arms. He softly ran his fingers over Draco's face, as if memorising the lines and angles. So beautiful. How could I ever have pushed Draco away, the way I did yesterday, and then this morning in Potions?
"Harry?" Draco murmured sleepily as he became aware of Harry's gentle caress.
"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Harry asked contritely.
"It's okay," Draco yawned as he stretched beside Harry. He didn't move out of the loose embrace, rather he snuggled in closer to his boyfriend's warm body.
"Draco, I'm sorry I said those things to you in Potions and by the lake. And I'm sorry I called you Malfoy," Harry said remorsefully.
"I'm sorry too. You know it really scared me, how quickly we were able to fall back into our old pattern of insulting each other," Draco commented lightly, his arm across Harry's chest tightening slightly.
"I know," replied Harry.
"You're not still thinking of going after Voldemort, are you?" Draco asked apprehensively, finally voicing a thought that had been worrying him all day.
Harry's face darkened. "I want to kill him for what he did to you. No, I want to watch him writhe in agony for what he did to you first and then die a slow and painful death."
Draco was shocked by this announcement but he also felt a sudden warmth flood him as he realised just how protective of him Harry felt. Draco turned his head so he could see Harry and gazed intently into his eyes.
"You know I'd kill someone if they did anything to hurt you too," he said softly. Harry smiled at Draco's earnest declaration.
"Seamus threw a piece of toast at me this morning," Harry said solemnly.
"I'll kill the bastard," Draco replied, trying to match Harry's mock seriousness but failed miserably.
"Oh I love you," Harry said laughingly.
"And I adore you," Draco said before stretching up to kiss Harry.
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to be continued
Hermione grabbed Draco as soon as they left the dungeon and pulled him into an empty classroom.
"Hey, careful!" Draco yelped as Hermione's fingers dug into his arm. "I bruise easily."
"I think I might know what happened," she said quickly. "But I can't help you. We have to see Dumbledore about it."
"No!" Draco protested. "We can't go to Dumbledore. What are we going to tell him? Oh, we were just going off on a road trip to find the Dark Lord? I don't think so."
Draco turned to leave but Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Stop doing that!" Draco said, rubbing his arm crossly.
"This is serious. I think you may have been cursed with Dark Magic. You are still under the influence of this curse, which is why you can't remember. That is why we have no choice but to go to Dumbledore," Hermione explained gently as Draco gasped.
"Dark Magic? But how? Who?" he asked hesitantly, not entirely sure he wanted to know. Although in the back of his mind he knew there was only one person it could be.
"That's why we have to see Dumbledore. He will be able to remove the curse and you can remember what happened," she said quickly before grabbing his hand again. "Come on, we have to do it now."
"But what about Herbology?" he asked.
"Fuck Herbology," was the shocking reply.
"Hermione! I like this wicked class-cutting side to you," Draco said admiringly as he followed her up to Dumbledore's office. "You should let her out more often."
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The rest of the Gryffindors, along with the Hufflepuffs, were digging merrily in the gardens surrounding the green houses. Well, some of them were digging merrily…
"Dean!" Seamus screeched suddenly. A few heads turned in their direction but most ignored the pair.
Dean, who had been squatting down to pull out a weed, straightened up and looked anxiously at his boyfriend.
"What's wrong?" Dean asked an obviously horrified Seamus.
"You have dandruff!" Seamus said in a stage whisper, pointing at Dean's head.
"Oh, is that all?" Dean asked and returned to his task of weeding their patch of the garden.
"Is that all, he says. No, that is not all. You have dark hair. Dandruff is white," Seamus explained patiently. "It looks like it's snowing on your head!"
Ron and Harry, who were digging nearby, chuckled
"So I'll just get some anti-dandruff shampoo," Dean said exasperatedly. "It's really nothing to get worked up about."
"But we don't have a Hogsmeade trip for two weeks. Two weeks!" Seamus said, holding up two fingers. "Besides, where in Hogsmeade would you get anti-dandruff shampoo?"
"I don't know. Does it really matter right now?" Dean asked tiredly, running his hand absentmindedly through his hair. Seamus looked scandalised.
"Dean, we have to do something about that today. I cannot sleep with someone who could build a snowman on his head."
"So sleep in your own bed," Ron suggested with a sly grin. Seamus gasped in horror.
"I can't not sleep with Dean. I need him next to me or I can't sleep properly," he whined.
Harry looked strained. Draco always said he couldn't sleep properly without Harry beside him. Harry wondered how the blonde boy had slept last night. Actually, thought Harry, I wonder where he slept last night.
"There's nothing we can do," Dean pointed out dryly.
"There must be a potion we could make," Seamus suggested. "Lavender and Parvati will know where we could find one. Oi, Lav!"
Lavender turned around and flashed them a smile, "What is it boys?"
Seamus beckoned her over. Lavender giggled with Parvati for a moment before joining Dean and Seamus.
"Dean has dandruff," Seamus whispered loudly as Dean rolled his eyes. "Do you know of a potion to get rid of it?"
Lavender glanced over at Parvati and nodded. Both girls giggled.
"Sure, Seamus. Actually I have some made up in my room. Come by tonight after dinner and I'll give it to you," she said, her voice dripping with kindness.
Seamus beamed, "Thanks Lav. I knew we could depend on you."
Lavender merely smiled back and wandered back to whisper to Parvati. Both girls had vindictive grins on their faces. Dean thought back to breakfast, when all the seventh year girls were ignoring them.
"Seamus, I don't think this is a good idea," Dean started to say.
"Dean," Seamus said condescendingly. "Leave the thinking to me. We all know that I'm the brains in this relationship and you're the pretty one."
Ron snickered behind them, they all knew that the opposite was true (including Dean, who rolled his eyes but didn't correct his boyfriend). Then he glanced around at the students working hard around the garden.
"Hey Harry, where's Hermione?" Ron asked his best friend.
"I don't know. Haven't seen her since Potions," Harry said thoughtfully, gazing at the students around them. "Dra…Malfoy's not here either."
"You don't think she could be with Malfoy, do you?" Ron asked sceptically.
"They looked pretty cosy at breakfast," Harry commented darkly.
"Hey, maybe he kidnapped her," Ron said brightly, trying to cheer Harry up, then he realised what he'd actually said. "You don't think he'd actually do that, do you?"
Harry glanced at Ron curiously. The redhead almost sounded like he believed the crap Harry knew Ron had been feeding him. Harry knew Draco would never harm Hermione, just like he knew that Draco hadn't reverted back to his old persona. It was just easier to deal with his broken heart if he pushed all of Draco's goodness aside and focused on the bastard he'd known and loved to hate.
"No, I don't think he'd do that," Harry replied dryly. Harry sank his shovel deep into the soil and leant on it, staring intently at the Forbidden Forest. Ron followed his gaze and, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, realised Harry was deep in thought. Ron sighed and continued digging.
Harry, in the cold clear light of day, was regretting his impulsive reaction to Draco's declaration. Something was definitely up and Harry didn't like it. Hermione and Draco clearly knew something he didn't about the entire situation and if Harry allowed himself to analyse last nights events closely, he could see that something strange must have happened to Draco at Malfoy Manor.
After all, Harry thought, just hours earlier we had been fucking like rabbits. Drac told me he loved me, Harry remembered a tad mistily.
"Oh fuck, what have I done?" Harry cried softly. Ron glanced up, startled by Harry's harsh words.
"Harry, you did the right thing. That prick was just stringing you along," Ron said consolingly.
"What would you do if Hermione did something like this? Would you immediately suspect her motives?" Harry demanded.
"But that would never happen. You always know where you are with Hermione, besides, she's always been on our side," Ron pointed out.
"True…" Harry murmured. Draco had been the enemy until recently, so they really didn't know him as well. Draco, being Draco, was always guarded about what he revealed to other people. Except with me, Harry realised suddenly with a pang in his heart. Draco had always been completely open and honest with Harry.
"Harry! Ron!" someone called from afar.
Ron and Harry glanced up as Hermione came rushing over to them.
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"Ah, Hermione, Draco, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company on this fine November morning?" Dumbledore asked cheerfully, his eyes twinkling merrily as the two students sat before him in his office.
Hermione glanced at Draco and realised that he wasn't going to talk about this anytime soon so she took a deep breath and began explaining the events that led up to Draco's strange behaviour. She deliberately left out the fact that Ginny, Neville, Dean and Seamus had been there. There was no reason for them to get caught up in this mess.
"And then Draco appeared back in the fireplace. He came out and he broke up with Harry. But the truly weird part about that was that Draco's eyes were blank the entire time. I was watching and he displayed no emotion at all. Then Harry ran out of the room, followed by Ron, and I tried to get Draco's attention but he was staring into space. So I yelled at him and he suddenly came back to normal but he didn't remember anything that had just happened," Hermione paused to take a breath.
"Then, this morning, I was in the shower," Draco started to say, then stopped. How was Dumbledore going to react to this?
"Please continue, Draco," Dumbledore said, smiling supportively.
Draco swallowed nervously, "I was in the shower when I noticed something that wasn't there before. This."
Draco pulled up his sleeve to reveal the dark mark. "I don't know how it got there, Sir. I don't remember it being put there. I scrubbed and scrubbed this morning but it won't come off."
Draco was starting to become slightly hysterical. He knew how bad this looked and he hated the permanency of it. This disgusting ugly blank tattoo would be with him for the rest of his life and Harry would never be able to look him in the eyes again.
"Oh dear," Dumbledore said heavily, suddenly looking older than his years.
Dumbledore's reaction was not at all comforting and Draco felt a lone tear slid down his cheek.
"Let's deal with the problem of the missing memories first, then we'll worry about the dark mark," Dumbledore said, picking up his wand. "First I'm going to scan you for dark magic, Draco, just like I did to Harry a few weeks ago."
Dumbledore murmured the words of the spell to reveal the dark magic used on Draco.
"Imperius," he announced solemnly.
"What?" Draco and Hermione asked at the same time, twin expressions of shock on their faces.
"I think we'd better have Harry and Ron up here for this, since they were affected by this as well. Hermione, would you go and get them? I believe they are in Herbology right now," Dumbledore said, his twinkle returning as he reminded them of the class they were missing.
Hermione nodded and left the room.
"Draco, when Hermione gets back with Harry and Ron, I'm going to remove the curse from you. Your memories will return and this could be distressing but I need you to tell us what happened," Dumbledore said gently.
"I know," Draco replied nervously. He was not looking forward to remembering how he received the dark mark. It would be a very painful memory.
Hermione, Harry and Ron entered the room. Ron scowled when he saw Draco sitting in an armchair but Harry didn't react, his face remaining deliberately blank.
"Ah, Harry and Ron. So glad you could join us," Dumbledore said warmly.
"What is this all about?" Harry asked, eager to get it over with so he could get away from Draco. It was too hard to be in the same room as the blonde boy and not be able to touch him. He still had some thinking to do about the whole situation before he could figure out where to go from here. There were still too many questions to be answered.
"Hermione and Draco were just telling me about a journey the four of you were going to embark on last night," Dumbledore revealed.
"What?" exclaimed Ron, his eyes shooting daggers at Hermione and Draco.
Dumbledore ignored Ron and continued, "As a result of this, Draco has been cursed with Dark Magic."
Harry gasped and stared at Draco but the blonde refused to meet his eyes, staring down at the carpet instead.
"Prepare yourself, Draco. I'm going to end the spell now and you will have the memories rushing back. They may not be pleasant," Dumbledore warned before saying, "Finite Incantatum."
Draco was instantly glad he was sitting down as the memories came flooding back. He closed his eyes and watched what had happened.
As Draco cried out in distress at the memories Harry felt like he was being torn in two. He wanted to gather Draco in his arms and make it all better but he couldn't forget that Draco had broken up with him so he stayed where he was, a look of anguish on his face as he watched Draco wrestle with the memories. Eventually Draco started speaking, describing what he was seeing.
"I arrived at Malfoy Manor to find Mum and Dad sitting by the fire. I ran to hug them but they didn't move and I realised that they were magically restrained to the chairs. Dad told me to watch out and I turned around. Voldemort was there, smirking at me. I remember being confused because the Map in the Order of the Phoenix room showed no one there but my parents. I tried to move but that was when I realised that Voldemort had used the leg locker curse on me. I couldn't move my legs at all, although I tried as hard as I could," Draco scowled as he remembered how helpless he'd felt.
"Voldemort laughed at me and asked me how my precious boyfriend was. I didn't answer, just tried to get my wand out of my pocket, but Voldemort knew what I was doing and he sealed my pocket. He didn't even try to take my wand. I think he liked torturing me with the thought of my wand being so close but inaccessible. He stood in front of me and told me that he was tired of trying to kill Harry and Harry getting away each time so he had come up with a better plan, one which would cause Harry a lot of pain. He told me he was going to cast imperio on me and make me break up with Harry," Draco had tears running freely down his face. He wasn't really aware of them. All he could think of was how weak he was, not to be able to throw the Imperius curse. It was all his fault.
"Voldemort said that Harry would be devastated and when I found out what I'd done, I would be just as devastated so he would take care of the traitor at the same time as he took care of Harry. And then…then…" Draco chocked back a sob. He didn't think he could say this, with Harry in the room.
"Then," Dumbledore prompted gently. Damn, Draco knew he couldn't get out of it.
"Then Voldemort grabbed my hand and burnt the dark mark into my wrist," Draco said harshly, pulling his sleeve up to reveal the tattoo.
Harry gasped in shock and felt tears stinging his eyes. Draco had been through so much and now this. Harry felt pure rage burning through him. He would kill Voldemort for hurting Draco if it was the last thing he did.
"Voldemort said that it would drive Harry away from me. That he would hate me for it," Draco finally cracked and started sobbing. Voldemort was right. Draco had heard Harry's horrified gasp when he had revealed the dark mark.
Harry let out a strangled cry and rushed over to Draco's side. He gathered the blonde in his arms, just as he'd wanted to earlier.
"Draco, honey, I could never hate you. Especially not for something like that. It wasn't your fault," Harry said passionately, willing Draco to believe him.
"I didn't want to break up with you, Harry. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to fight it," Draco managed to say.
"Shh," Harry said, one hand gently smoothing Draco's hair as he pressed his lips against his head. "You have nothing to apologise for. I'm sorry that I didn't fight harder for you. I should have known you would never willingly do something like that."
Draco clung to Harry, relief flooding through him.
"Draco, what happened next?" Dumbledore asked.
"Voldemort cast Imperio, told me to break up with Harry and that when the curse was broken, I would not remember anything that had happened," Draco said.
"So, for all we know, Voldemort is still at Malfoy Manor with your parents as prisoners," Dumbledore mused. "Thank you for telling us all this, Draco. I know it was hard for you. I'm sorry but you'll have to leave now so I can get Aurors out to the Manor as soon as possible."
"Of course," Hermione said, practically dragging Ron out of the room. Harry, with his arms still around Draco, helped him up and they walked out of the office together.
"We'd better get going, we have History of Magic soon," Hermione said, ignoring Ron's groan.
"We're not going," Harry said as he led a subdued Draco down the corridor. Hermione caught Harry's gaze and nodded. They needed time together to heal their relationship. Hermione linked her arm with Ron's and started walking in the opposite direction.
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Draco was curled up on one end of a sofa in the Gryffindor common room before a roaring fire staring blankly into the flames. With lessons still in progress, the common room was empty apart from himself and Harry, who was standing in the doorway to the boys' dorm watching the blonde Gryffindor.
Draco had stopped crying but his eyes were red rimmed and his cheeks were tear-stained. He also had dark smudges under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't slept at all well that night. But he looked absolutely beautiful to Harry.
Harry crossed the room to Draco's side. He sat down and Draco immediately wrapped himself around Harry and clung to him, almost childishly.
"I love you," Harry whispered in Draco's ear as he held the blonde in his arms.
"I love you too," Draco replied, a small smile playing on his lips.
Both boys sat silently for a long moment, both revelling in the feeling of contentment the other brought them.
"Are you…" Draco started to ask but then thought twice. Did he really want to open that can of worms?
"What?" Harry asked gently.
Draco was silent. Harry moved Draco in his arms so he could see Draco's face. He brushed the blonde hair out of his eyes and smiled.
"You know you can ask me anything," Harry reminded him. Draco looked apprehensive.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Draco blurted out, holding up his wrist, his sleeve falling away to reveal the dark mark in all its glory.
Harry slid his hand up Draco's arm and held his wrist gently, looking at the mark. Slowly he brought Draco's wrist closer to him and he kissed it.
Draco wrenched his arm away and stared at Harry in horror. "Don't do that! It's evil, it's horrible, it's-"
"It's a part of you," countered Harry, "so it's beautiful and it's good."
Draco gazed into Harry's eyes and wondered how anyone could be so damn perfect.
"Did it…did it hurt much?" Harry asked, trying to sound casual as he rubbed his thumb gently over the dark mark.
Draco avoided Harry's eyes as he simply said, "Yes."
Harry's head fell back against the seat as he stared up at the ceiling and blinked away the tears that suddenly appeared. Obviously it had been excruciating and Draco had suffered through that pain because of him. It was just like Draco to understate something so serious, just so he wouldn't hurt Harry. If he thought he could get away with it, he probably would have lied and said no, it didn't hurt at all Harry, it was licked on by kittens, Harry thought wryly.
Harry pulled Draco's wrist towards him again and pressed butterfly kisses over the mark, as if he could make it all better with a kiss. His eyes never left Draco's and the blonde boy felt cherished by Harry's gentle attention. Harry continued kissing Draco's arm and licked the crook of his elbow lightly before moving to softly, slowly kiss Draco's lips. Neither of them moved a muscle, they just slowly kissed each other. It was a kiss that reaffirmed their unconditional love for each other.
Harry carefully unfastened Draco's robe and slid it from his shoulders. Harry gazed into the blonde Gryffindor's eyes as he leisurely unfastened the buttons on Draco's shirt. He gradually pushed the shirt away and leant forward to kiss the pale skin of Draco's shoulder as it was exposed. Draco trembled beneath Harry's lips. This was what he lived for. The sweet and sensuous kind of lovemaking that spoke of love, not merely lust.
About an hour later…
Harry's gaze softened as he watched Draco asleep in his arms. He softly ran his fingers over Draco's face, as if memorising the lines and angles. So beautiful. How could I ever have pushed Draco away, the way I did yesterday, and then this morning in Potions?
"Harry?" Draco murmured sleepily as he became aware of Harry's gentle caress.
"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Harry asked contritely.
"It's okay," Draco yawned as he stretched beside Harry. He didn't move out of the loose embrace, rather he snuggled in closer to his boyfriend's warm body.
"Draco, I'm sorry I said those things to you in Potions and by the lake. And I'm sorry I called you Malfoy," Harry said remorsefully.
"I'm sorry too. You know it really scared me, how quickly we were able to fall back into our old pattern of insulting each other," Draco commented lightly, his arm across Harry's chest tightening slightly.
"I know," replied Harry.
"You're not still thinking of going after Voldemort, are you?" Draco asked apprehensively, finally voicing a thought that had been worrying him all day.
Harry's face darkened. "I want to kill him for what he did to you. No, I want to watch him writhe in agony for what he did to you first and then die a slow and painful death."
Draco was shocked by this announcement but he also felt a sudden warmth flood him as he realised just how protective of him Harry felt. Draco turned his head so he could see Harry and gazed intently into his eyes.
"You know I'd kill someone if they did anything to hurt you too," he said softly. Harry smiled at Draco's earnest declaration.
"Seamus threw a piece of toast at me this morning," Harry said solemnly.
"I'll kill the bastard," Draco replied, trying to match Harry's mock seriousness but failed miserably.
"Oh I love you," Harry said laughingly.
"And I adore you," Draco said before stretching up to kiss Harry.
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to be continued