Chapter 17 – Pavarti's Prank
Harry and Draco were sitting with the Gryffindors at dinnertime, ignoring the curious glances the other students were sending their way. Harry felt it was significant that Dumbledore had yet to put in an appearance that evening. McGonagall kept glancing worriedly at the door to the right of the head table before she got up to leave.
"What do you think's happening?" Draco whispered in Harry's ear, his warm breath tickling Harry's ear.
"Uh, I'm not sure," Harry replied, trying to concentrate on Draco's words rather than the sensation of his lips so close to his ear.
"Potter," McGonagall said from behind them. "Come to my office when you have finished your dinner," she gave Draco a pointed look. "Alone."
Harry agreed and quickly gulped down his dinner. He was eager to find out what McGonagall might know about the situation at Malfoy Manor. He and Draco were quietly hoping that Dumbledore and the Aurors would catch Voldemort but they didn't want to get their hopes up only to have them dashed, like the last time.
Harry gave Draco a quick kiss and headed off towards McGonagall's office.
Draco watched him leave with a sigh. His gaze returned to his Gryffindor friends still sitting at the table with him. His gaze fell on Dean and Seamus, both completely bald. Draco smirked, trying to hold back his laughter. Even five hours later, it was still funny.
Lavender and Parvati had given them a potion which they had claimed would cure Dean's dandruff forever. The unsuspecting boys then took a shower together and lathered up the potion on both their heads. The potion had actually caused all their hair to fall out.
Draco didn't think he'd ever forget the sounds of their girly shrieks from the bathroom as they were left holding great hunks of hair. The worst part was, they had no idea whether their hair would grow back.
Parvati and Lavender had both received a week's detention but that hadn't fazed them. They were now the toast of Hogwarts, pranksters to rival Fred and George. Draco had reason to believe they were planning a second prank, one far superior to this one.
"So Draco, what happened in Dumbledore's office earlier today?" Dean asked from across the table.
"No, I want to know what happened after you left Dumbledore's office!" Seamus exclaimed. Being bald had not diminished his enthusiasm for life. Actually, if possible, it had increased it.
Draco blushed, confirming Seamus's suspicions. "Harry and I made up and that's all I'm going to say about that," he said primly. "As for what happened in Dumbledore's office, well, he scanned me for dark magic and found out that I had been under the influence of the Imperius curse and that was why I broke up with Harry. It also made me forget what happened at Malfoy Manor. Dumbledore removed the spell and I remembered that Voldemort had been there when I arrived-"
All the Gryffindors within earshot gasped.
"He…well he tortured me a bit and he…" Draco thought quickly. Should he show them the mark? They might freak out but then they'd get used to it…well as used to a dirty great black splotch on your skin as you can get. It would definitely be better to be in control of the situation, rather than have them see it by accident some time. "Well, Voldemort used the leglocker curse on me so I couldn't move although I tried as hard as I could to get away and he…he burnt the dark mark into my arm."
Draco pulled back his sleeve to show them all.
All the Gryffindors within sight gasped.
"Then he cursed me, told me to break up with Harry and he told me I wouldn't remember after I did it," Draco fell silent, perilously close to tears.
Many of the girls were in tears. The boys looked impressed that Draco had experienced all that and lived to tell the tale. They all knew that Draco would never do anything to hurt Harry, and to join the Death Eaters would be going against Harry. Besides, he never would have shown them if he were really a Death Eater.
But then, these were the Gryffindors. People who relied on gut instincts and courage under fire. Who knew how the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs would react once word got around. Draco wasn't too sure about the Slytherins reactions either.
Draco took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. Hermione rubbed his back supportively. It wasn't just the fact that he now remembered what had happened that was upsetting him. He also didn't know what had happened to his parents. For all he knew, they could be dead. No, Draco thought. Be positive. They'll be okay. Dumbledore won't let anything happen to them.
*
Meanwhile, in McGonagall's office, Harry was listening to the professor briefly relay what little information she'd received from Professor Dumbledore.
"Unfortunately Voldemort had already fled the scene when the Aurors arrived, but they were able to catch a few Death Eaters who were slow to make their escape," she was saying gravely. "I believe Mister Malfoy's parents are fine. A bit shaken, but fine. Now, on to the reason I asked you here. I am sure you are aware that the Quidditch season was postponed due to the events of Halloween but Dumbledore has decided that it shall start again after Christmas."
"But that's only four weeks away!" Harry said, startled.
"I realise that, Mister Potter," McGonagall said wearily. "And since most of our players have graduated, you will have to recruit almost an entire team."
Harry sighed. He had been Quidditch captain since the Weasley twins had graduated at the end of his fifth year, and he enjoyed it but at times like these, it was a bit overwhelming.
"There is also another matter to consider," McGonagall said carefully.
Harry looked apprehensive. "What now?"
"Mister Malfoy is now a Gryffindor and therefore is no longer the Slytherin seeker," the professor pointed out gently.
Oh crap, Harry thought. If I put him on the Gryffindor team, everyone will think it's because he's my boyfriend. But he really is a good player…
"I will be putting up a notice in the Gryffindor common room announcing tryouts for the team on Saturday morning," McGonagall said briskly as she started shuffling papers on her desk.
The meeting was clearly over.
*
Harry slipped into the common room after his meeting with McGonagall and flopped down into an armchair in front of the fire. There were a few younger students in the room, studying and doing assignments but no one Harry really knew.
Harry sighed. What was he going to do about the Quidditch team? The trouble is, he mused, that Gryffindor now has two good seekers and no beaters or chasers. Luckily Ron had replaced Oliver Wood two years ago so they didn't need a keeper. But that still left five positions empty.
Draco stepped lightly into the room and his face lit up as he saw Harry had returned.
"Hi sweetie, how did the meeting go?" Draco asked as he sat in the chair next to Harry's.
"Okay," Harry replied guardedly, not too sure how to broach the subject with his lover.
"Did McGonagall have any news?" Draco asked, reaching out to thread his fingers through Harry's.
"Nah, she just wanted to talk about Quidditch," Harry said.
There was a sudden commotion around the portrait hall and Harry and Draco turned to see what the first years were shrieking about.
Harry suddenly felt cold all over as a Dementor swept into the room, followed by two men in dark blue robes who were flashing official looking badges at any students who dared to even look in their direction.
All the colour had drained from Draco's face as he watched the men stride into the room, heading towards him and Harry.
"Harry Potter?" One of them said, his eyes flicking up to Harry's scar.
"Yes, who wants to know?" Harry replied with more courage than he actually felt.
"The Ministry of Magic has recently been informed that you have cast an unforgivable curse on a…" he glanced down at his small notebook. "Mr. Draco Malfoy. Do you deny the accusation?" the man's partner said curtly.
"Uh…" Harry stumbled, unsure of what to say.
"Harry Potter, you are under arrest for the illegal casting of an unforgivable curse on another human being," the first man said as he pulled handcuffs out of his pocket.
"NO! You can't arrest Harry!" Draco cried, unable to believe this was really happening.
But it was too late for protests, Harry was already handcuffed and being led out of the room.
"Where are you taking him?" Draco asked desperately.
The men just looked at Draco scornfully. Where else would he be headed but Azkaban?
Draco choked back a sob. This could not be happening to them. He felt so utterly helpless and like such a failure. He wanted to save Harry but could see no way out of the situation.
"Your wand, Mr Potter, where is it?" the second man suddenly said, halting the proceedings.
"In my robes," Harry reluctantly admitted. "Give it to Draco."
The man pulled the stick of holly out of Harry's robes and studied it for a moment before handing it over to the blonde. He was obviously loath to let it out of his sight, but it was Harry's wand and as long as it wasn't on his person, it didn't really matter who looked after it.
Draco slipped the wand into his robes, next to his own, and then pulled Harry into a one-sided hug.
"I love you," Harry whispered in his ear. "Tell Dumbledore asap."
"I love you too," Draco managed to choke out before he was roughly pulled off Harry and the Gryffindor seeker was led out of the room.
As soon as the portrait snapped back into position, Draco collapsed into a sobbing heap. It had all happened so fast that he had barely had time to process the fact that the love of his life was being sent to the worse place on earth.
About five minutes later Ron and Hermione flew into the common room and glanced around, searching for a flash of blonde hair. They found him, still sitting where he had collapsed in the middle of the room, still very upset.
"Oh Draco," Hermione murmured sympathetically as she hurried to his side. She sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around him, almost motherly.
Ron sat down near them and they both waited for Draco to calm down enough to explain what had happened.
Ron and Hermione had seen Harry being escorted through the halls of Hogwarts and out of the castle. They hadn't been able to get close enough to speak to Harry thanks to the Dementor.
"Draco, can you tell us what happened?" Hermione asked softly.
Draco hiccupped and nodded. He wiped his eyes with his hand and smiled weakly at the two of them before recapping the events that had just occurred.
Ron and Hermione were horrified to hear that their best friend had been sent to Azkaban.
"Oh my god, this is like a bad soap opera!" Hermione exclaimed. Ron glared at her.
"What do we do?" Ron asked, sounding as frustrated as Draco and Hermione felt.
"The last thing he said to me was 'tell Dumbledore asap'," Draco confided.
"Do you think we should do that? Run to a teacher? We haven't done that before," Ron said, his mind kicking into gear to process all the options as they faced yet another obstacle at school.
"Yeah, but this is different," Hermione said. "This time we're up against the Ministry, so we'll need the help."
"Hang on a second!" Ron suddenly shouted, sounding triumphant. A light of hope ignited in Draco's eyes. "My dad is the Minister of Magic! Surely he'll make sure the charge is dropped!"
"I say we still need to go see Dumbledore right now," Hermione said firmly, although she too looked hopeful at this announcement.
"Let's go then," Draco said, standing up.
*
The three decided that the best place to go would be the Order of the Phoenix room. In light of what was going on at Malfoy Manor, it seemed logical that the team would be assembled to deal with the fallout of this and Harry's arrest, if they were aware of that.
Draco, Ron and Hermione slipped into the room and were shocked by the scene in front of them.
The elder members of the Order were calmly seated around the table discussing the events in such a composed manner that the three Gryffindors were stunned.
"Ah, Draco, Ron and Hermione," Dumbledore said warmly when he noticed them standing there. "Where is Harry?"
"He's been arrested," Draco blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer. "Two men from the Ministry and a Dementor came in the common room about half an hour ago and took him away, for casting an unforgivable on me."
The uproar they expected to see at this announcement never came. The members glanced at each other in surprise but no one seemed inclined to say anything. Well, no one but Sirius.
"Oh my god!" Sirius was incensed. "They've taken my godson to Azkaban. I…he…we have to do something! We have to get him out of there."
"I agree Sirius," Dumbledore interjected. "But we must remain calm. Ron, Hermione and Draco, please take your seats. This is not the only thing to happen tonight. Draco, I'm afraid your father has also been arrested, for casting an unforgivable on a student."
Draco buried his head in his hands. "If there is anything else, please tell me now."
"You will be aware that your mother has never been very strong," Dumbledore started, trying to soften the next blow. "She is not taking your fathers arrest very well. You know she relied on him for a lot of things. She is currently sedated at St. Mungo's and her mental state is being monitored. They are concerned that she might be in danger of having a mental breakdown."
Draco shook his head in his hands. This was unbelievable.
"What happened?" Hermione asked curiously. "How did they find out about the unforgivable curses?"
"When the Aurors arrived at Malfoy Manor tonight to capture Voldemort, all they found was the Malfoy's still tied to their chairs," Dumbledore explained. "They don't entirely trust Lucius yet and they administered Veritaserum before anyone arrived. The whole story tumbled out and Lucius appears to have implicated Harry as well."
"So how do we get him out?" Ron asked, focusing solely on the task at hand and not on thoughts of how his best friend was coping in the horrifying wizard prison.
"Unfortunately at the moment we have greater problems," Dumbledore started to say.
"Greater problems?!?" Ron said, jumping to his feet and starting to turn red with anger. "What could be more important than getting Harry out of that God forsaken place?"
Draco, too, had looked at the headmaster in surprise. His red-rimmed eyes were wide. What could be more important than saving his Harry from a fate worse than death?
"Voldemort is taking advantage of Harry being out of the way and he is attacking villages all the way down England. We've plotted his movements on a map and he is clearly heading towards the Ministry of Magic. Of course it could be a trap but we can't take that chance. Your father is sorting out things at that end. They are going to evacuate the most important members of the Ministry to a secure location some time this evening," Dumbledore explained gravely.
"But surely that means we need Harry here more than ever," Hermione protested.
"Hey," Draco spoke up finally. "Harry is more than just the Boy Who Lived! You can't just expect him to take on the task of saving the whole wizarding world. He is a person, who has needs and feelings."
Draco broke down at that last point. He couldn't really think straight, all he could see when he closed his eyes was Harry sitting in a cold, dirty cell.
"I agree," Sirius said as Hermione rubbed Draco's back supportively. "We can't let Harry sit in that prison one minute longer than absolutely necessary."
"What do you suggest we do then?" snapped Mundungus Fletcher testily.
"There is nothing we can do tonight," Dumbledore said, calmly ignoring the tensions rising around him. "Tomorrow Ron and Draco will go to see Arthur about letting Harry go. Arthur doesn't want to keep Harry locked up but the fact is Harry is guilty of the crime he was incarcerated for. But Draco's testimony that it was an accident and that he doesn't blame Harry for it will go a long way towards getting Harry released."
Dumbledore gazed into Draco's hopeful eyes. "But Draco, you must be aware that they will have to administer Veritaserum to verify that you are telling the truth so you must be very sure in your mind that it was an accident and that you don't blame Harry, otherwise Harry will be locked up."
Draco nodded gravely.
*
Early the next morning, Ron and Draco left Hogwarts via the fireplace in the Order of the Phoenix room. They arrived at the Ministry to find it in utter chaos. There were people hurrying around carrying files and talking to each other in hushed but frantic voices.
"Mr Weasley, Mr Malfoy, if you will follow me," a young man said. They nodded to him and he led them through the office and up to the top floor where the Minister's office was located.
They were ushered inside the office and Arthur immediately pulled Ron into his arms. He hugged his son and then looked over at Draco. The blonde had his arms wrapped around himself protectively. His eyes were still red-rimmed and he looked tired.
"Please tell me Harry can come home," Draco said softly, gazing up at Arthur.
"I hope he can soon, but the Department of Magical Law Enforcement need to hear from you before they will consider letting him go," Arthur explained.
"I just can't believe this is happening. It's like one bad thing after another at the moment. Why can't we just be happy and live in peace?" Draco said plaintively.
"You can get them to let Harry go, can't you?" Ron asked his father hopefully.
"I can't just make them let him go. Unfortunately there is a lot of red tape to get through. As I said, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement needs to hear what happened before they can make their decision about whether to put Harry on trial."
"How long could that take?" Ron asked.
"Could be five minutes, could be five days, we don't know," Arthur said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Five days?" Draco said incredulously. "Harry can't be in there for five days. He has an extreme reaction to Dementors, he won't last that long."
"Why didn't you get rid of the Dementors when you took over as Minister?" Ron asked his father.
"We have set the ball rolling but again, red tape is holding us up on that. In about three weeks the Dementors will be gone, but until then, there's nothing I can do," Arthur said wearily.
Ron stared at his father in disbelief, all his hope of Harry coming home that day draining away.
"I'll get them in here and we'll sort it out right now," Arthur said, going to the door and inviting a man into the room.
"Mr Malfoy, if you would drink this potion, we'll get started," the man said, holding out a small blue vial.
Draco eyed the vial distrustfully. Eventually he reached out and took it. He swallowed the contents quickly, wincing at the bitter taste.
"Right, Mr Malfoy, can you tell us in your own words exactly what happened on the day in question?" the man asked.
Draco sighed. "My father was teaching Harry about the dark arts so he could use them to defeat Voldemort. They were duelling because Dad was teaching Harry how to block curses and they started using unforgivable curses but because of the blocking, they weren't hitting each other."
Draco felt himself getting a bit teary as he remembered but he pulled himself together. "I was getting upset because my father and my…boyfriend were cursing each other. Finally I couldn't take it anymore so I ran between them just as Harry was casting Crucio. He didn't know I was going to run between them or else he wouldn't have done it. It wasn't his fault!"
"Are you sure about this, Mr Malfoy?" the man asked sternly.
Arthur and Ron looked concerned, Draco seemed so fragile at the moment, one shock after another had been taking its toll on Draco.
"Yes," Draco said firmly, gazing intently into the man's eyes. "I'm sure."
The man glanced at Arthur and then back at Draco. "We'll get back to you."
Draco watched in disbelief as the man left the office.
"That's it?!" Draco exclaimed as the door clicked shut. "'We'll get back to you'? Harry sits in a cell in Azkaban and they're going to think about it? Bastards."
"I warned you that could happen," Arthur said, sitting behind his desk. "They are not known for being quick decision makers."
"Well, can I at least see him?" Draco asked, looking pleadingly at the Minister of Magic.
*
Harry sat on a cot bed in his cell, his arms wrapped around his knees as he rocked back and forth. All he could hear was his mother screaming and all he could see was a bright green light.
He whimpered.
No, not Harry. Take me, kill me but leave my son alone!
"No, no, no, no, no," Harry said softly, shaking his head. He had tried to hang on to thoughts of Draco but the Dementors had left him incapable of any happy thoughts.
The Dursley's, think about the Dursley's, he thought desperately. Any memory of them was guaranteed not to be happy but at least it was better than reliving his parents death over and over again.
It was no good. The thoughts just wouldn't stay there.
Stay away from them!
Lily, go, take Harry and get away from here
I'm not going to let you hurt them
Harry started screaming without really being aware that he was doing it.
James! No! You killed my husband!
Not Harry! Don't you dare touch my child
Harry curled up in the foetal position on his bed.
"Make it stop, make it stop," he moaned.
*
Draco stood outside Harry's cell with tears streaming down his face. He gripped the bars separating him from his love and sobbed. He couldn't bear to see Harry in so much emotional pain.
"Harry?" he called out gently. He watched as Harry froze on the bed, obviously concerned that he was hearing things.
"Harry, it's me," Draco said, a bit louder this time.
Harry sat up and turned towards the voice. "Drac?"
Draco struggled to control himself. Harry sounded so lost and so distant.
"I'm here, love."
Harry pushed himself up off the bed as if he was an old man and he walked over to the bars. Draco realised that he didn't have his glasses on; they were nowhere to be seen. As he got closer, Harry seemed to find him through the blurriness.
Draco reached out through the bars and Harry fell into his arms. They hugged each other as tightly as the bars between them would allow.
"Help me," Harry whispered mournfully.
"I am. You'll be home soon," Draco whispered back.
"I don't think I can stand it much longer."
"I'm here with you now, I'm always with you."
"It hurts so much, Draco."
"I know, baby. It's going to get better, I promise."
"Take me home with you."
"I can't, I'm sorry but I can't."
"…please?"
"I'm sorry. I love you so much."
"I love you too."
"I have to go now."
"No! Don't go!"
"I have to, sweetie. I'll be back soon."
"……Draco?………….DRACO!"
TBC