~ Chapter 14 : The Sound Of Silence ~
The Great Hall
It was lunchtime. The Slytherins were eating their meal, all feeling a tad uneasy, wondering if the Gryffindors had done something to their food. Any minute now, they would play their prank and the Slytherins would be forced to act as if they thought it was funny. It had annoyed the Gryffindors no end when the Slytherins had put on an enthusiastic performance, exclaiming happily over their green hair. It was still green and they intended on keeping it that way, at least until the weekend.
Harry chanced a glance over at the Hufflepuff table. Ron was sitting with his back to Harry and was engaged in what looked like a serious discussion with Neville. That was strange in itself. Ron had never really had much time for Neville. He'd always been too busy to bother with the accident-prone boy.
Harry sighed. As much as he was enjoying his growing friendship with Draco, he really missed Ron. Of course, his relationship with Draco was very different to his relationship with Ron. He didn't kiss Ron, for one thing. Their relationship was totally platonic. Draco offered a very different kind of friendship. Nights were now spent in the same bed, whether it was his own or Draco's. It was comforting, having the presence of another person lying beside him. When he was woken by a nightmare, Draco was always there to hold him and brush away the tears that came unbidden. Harry smiled. Draco could be surprisingly tender when he wanted to be. Although usually that was only at night, when they were alone, hidden away from the world behind the curtains around the bed. Draco wouldn't allow that side of him to show in public, Harry knew and it made it seem all the more special because it was a side of Draco reserved for him alone. Pet names were okay, they reinforced their relationship to the rest of the school and small, light touches here and there, but never anything more.
Harry glanced sideways at Draco. The blonde boy was arguing fiercely with Fred about the advantages of the new Apollo ™ broomstick over the now obsolete Firebolt ™.
Suddenly, a large number of the older Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws stood up and pointed their wands at the Slytherins.
Harry stared in shock as Ron pointed his wand directly at him and as one, the group standing up said an incantation.
"Reticeo vox vocis."
The Slytherins all glanced around at each other in bemusement. Nothing appeared to have happened. At least until Harry tried to talk to Draco. He opened his mouth to comment on Ron's increasingly strange behaviour but no sound came out.
*
Draco's eyes widened as he watched Harry's mouth move, so he tried to speak. Again, no sound. The bastards had taken away their speech.
Draco shot up out of his seat and immediately started blasting the other three houses, who started laughing when nothing came out of his mouth. Draco glared at them all and silently promised them retribution for this completely uncalled for prank. Green hair was one thing, but taking away their speech? That was going to far.
Of course, Draco would never mention the fact that if he had thought of the prank first he would have used it without a second thought.
He felt Harry's hand on his back and glanced down at him.
Sit down, Harry mouthed to him. Draco cast one more fierce glare around the room before he slowly sat back down. At least none of them were laughing anymore. In fact some of them (mainly Hufflepuffs) were looking a bit worried that they had angered the blonde Slytherin so much.
Let them worry, Draco thought angrily. I hope they have fucking nightmares tonight.
Obviously, lunch was a silent affair after that. Finnigan laughed pretty much continually, although they couldn't hear him, they could see his shoulders shaking and a wide grin on his face.
Draco glared at him too. He knew the plan, they were supposed to be like Finnigan, acting like they loved the prank. But Draco knew Finnigan wasn't acting. He honestly thought the prank was funny. It annoyed the hell out of Draco and he couldn't even tell Finnigan to knock it off.
Harry slipped his hand into Draco's and squeezed lightly. Draco turned his gaze to the dark haired boy and sighed. Harry smiled tentatively at him.
You okay? He mouthed slowly. Draco attempted a small smile and nodded.
Harry let go of his hand and started rummaging around in his bag. Draco watched, curious to know what the former Gryffindor was doing. Harry triumphantly pulled out a piece of parchment and something obviously muggle.
Draco plucked the long, thin plastic thing from Harry's hand. He gazed at it curiously and tried to figure out what it was for.
Harry was grinning at him, obviously amused by Draco's ignorance. He scowled at Harry and thrust the thing back at him.
Harry wrote something with the muggle contraption and pushed the parchment across to Draco. It's a penOh, Draco mouthed to Harry before rolling his eyes. Like he cared what the muggle piece of shit was. He watched Harry scribble some more and noted that the pen seemed to have ink inside it. Handy little device, he thought although he would never admit it to anyone.
Why are you so angry about this? It's just a prankDraco scowled and grabbed the pen from Harry. He mimicked the way Harry held the pen and scrawled down his reply. It worked surprisingly well, this pen thing.
It's just a prank that means we can't do our prank until they remove this jinx. We can't use the Emperor's Curse if we can't say it! Fuck, we can't even do our classes and we have Charms next.
He watched Harry's eyes widen as he read Draco's response. Obviously he hadn't thought about the implications of this little prank.
Did you see Ron jinx me?Yeah. Don't worry, the little runt will pay for that.
I think I'll talk to Hermione later and ask why her boyfriend suddenly has it in for me.
Good idea, except it'll be a little hard to talk to her won't it.
Ha ha. I'll write stuff down, idiot
Hey! Who are you calling an idiot?
Stop sulking!
Fuck off
You fuck off
They grinned at each other.
So are you going toHarry paused and Draco glanced up from reading the parchment. He was amused to see Harry looking shy.
What? He mouthed to Harry, who still had the pen.
Sleep in my bed again tonight?No, he mouthed.
Draco watched disappointment flit across Harry's face before he took the pen and explained.
I'm sick of always sleeping in your bed. You're going to sleep in my bed tonight.
Harry grinned at him and stuffed the pen and parchment into his bag. Lunch was over and it was time for Charms.
Draco automatically reached for Harry's hand as they followed Justin and Seamus to class. He was glad they were taking things so slowly. Although they hadn't spent a night apart since they found out they were soulmates, they hadn't done anything more than kiss and hold each other. Hell, he hadn't even seen Harry naked yet. They always wore pyjamas when they were in bed together.
Although he was starting to get a little frustrated. Especially this morning, when he'd woken to find himself spooning Harry, his usual morning erection pressing up against Harry's pyjama clad arse. It had taken all his willpower to pull away from Harry and go take a cold shower.
The Library
That evening, Harry tapped Hermione on the shoulder as he sat down beside her at a table covered with enormous old texts.
"Oh, hello Harry," Hermione said brightly as she smiled up at him. Harry mouthed 'hello' and waved before pulling another piece of parchment and his pen out of his bag.
"Oh dear, you still can't talk?" Hermione said sympathically.
Harry shook his head as he scribbled down a note. He passed it across to Hermione.
Why is Ron so angry with me?Hermione sighed. "He's jealous of Draco. He thinks he's been replaced as your best friend."
Harry gaped at her and reached over to take the parchment back.
That's stupid. What Draco and I have, or might have eventually, is totally different to my friendship with Ron.
"I know that," Hermione said after reading the note. "But you know what Ron's like. He and I had quite an argument about it after lunch. I saw him jinx you. He's so angry that he's not thinking straight."
What did he say? I'm sure he had some inspired words to justify his actions (in case you couldn't tell, I'm being sarcastic)
"Sarcasm duly noted," Hermione said, smirking at him. "He said that if you're going to choose Draco over him, then…"
Harry raised his eyebrows at her, hoping she'd take the hint and continue. The way this jinx was going, he'd be an expert at non-verbal communication by the end of it.
"He said that if you chose Draco over him, then he was no longer your friend," Hermione finished sadly.
Harry stared at her, unable or unwilling to comprehend what she had just said. He shook his head disbelievingly.
He's not my friend?
"I'm sorry Harry, but he was deadly serious when he said it," Hermione said. "I can't believe he'd act like that. I mean, I've seen him talking to Pansy Parkinson a few times at the Hufflepuff table and we're still his friend even if he is chatting to a former Slytherin."
I can't believe this. It's the Triwizard Tournament all over again.
Harry was shocked and dismayed by Ron's reaction to his burgeoning relationship with Draco. I mean, fair enough, he has reservations, Harry thought, but surely he could keep them to himself and support me in this. I would if he were dating someone I didn't like. Did I say anything when I found out he was dating Hermione, even though I thought it was wrong for both of them? No. I stood by and supported them and kept my reservations to myself.
"He really is being very childish," Hermione commented darkly. "Can you believe he had the nerve to call me a traitor, just because I wouldn't join his side in this ridiculous prank war?"
It's not ridiculous! Just wait until you see what we've got lined up for those bastards….well, when we can actually say the incantation, that is.
"I don't want to know, Harry," Hermione said wearily. "Consider me Switzerland."
Huh?
"For God's sake, Harry, don't you ever read?" Hermione said exasperatedly. "Switzerland is always neutral in wars and the like."
Oh. Well, you, Ginny, Lee and George are exempt from the next prank, but the rest of your house is not going to know what hit them. And I'll thank you not to enlighten them when the time comes.
"What on earth are you talking about, Harry?" Hermione asked, confused. "Enlighten them about what?"
You'll know when the time comes. Well, best be off. Draco and I are going to do some star charts tonight, up in the Astronomy Tower.
"Oooh," Hermione said teasingly. "The Astronomy Tower, the place of lovers."
Shut up, Mione. We share the same dorm room. We hardly need to go to a cold, hard tower to be together. Oh, that reminds me, what else do you know about this soulmates thing?
"Not much," Hermione admitted, making a face. Harry knew how much she hated not knowing things. "I know that the bond between the two of you will grow stronger with time. And I mean years. It took Mr and Mrs Weasley about ten years before their bond was truly fixed between them. Their sparks flew in Mrs Weasley's second year and Mr Weasley was in fourth year. Now they have a sense about the others well being, according to Ginny. She said her mother always knows when her father is particularly upset, even if he's not at home."
That doesn't sound too bad
Hermione looked cagey.
What?
"Well, it's not bad, per se," she said, biting her lip apprehensively. "It's just that, well, when you and Draco…uh…"
Harry was startled to see Hermione blushing.
WHAT?
"When you…consummate your relationship, the bond will instantly strengthen immeasurably. It could even be the impetus to cement it completely," Hermione explained. "And in some cases, it can result in some rather unusual changes."
Consummate? What does that mean?
"I'm not a walking dictionary," Hermione snapped. "Go look it up for yourself."
Harry was hurt that she would snap so suddenly at him. Was it his fault that he grew up with ignorant people who wouldn't read anything unless it was a sensational tabloid newspaper? How was he supposed to expand his vocabulary with those idiots as his guides?
Hermione sighed a long-suffering sigh. "I'm sorry Harry, but I'm not explaining that one to you. If you need a lecture on the birds and the bees, then go talk to Snape. He's your Head of House."
Harry was horrified by the suggestion and hurried off to find a dictionary. He flicked through the A's and B's and finally found what he was looking for:
con·sum·mate Pronunciation (k
n
s
-m
t
)
tr.v. con·sum·mat·ed, con·sum·mat·ing,
con·sum·mates
Oh, Harry thought after reading it. That's why Hermione wasn't about to explain. Well, that was fine by him. He certainly didn't want to hear about the intricate details of sexual intercourse from Hermione. Particularly not since she was a straight female and he was a gay male. He was a bit hazy on the details, but he rather thought that there might be a bit of a difference between sex with a man and a woman and sex with two men.
Now all he had to do was find out what she meant by 'unusual changes'. Harry shelved the dictionary and turned to walk back to the table and ask her what she meant, but Ron had joined her. Harry watched them for a moment and noted the defensive body language of Ron and the pained expression on Hermione's face and decided to leave that conversation for another time. Besides, Harry thought as he glanced down at his watch, it was almost time to meet Draco.
TBC
A.N. Translations of the jinx the other houses used on Slytherin –
reticeo -ere intransit. [to keep silence , say nothing]; transit. [to keep silent about].
vox vocis f. [voice , cry, call; accent, language; sound, tone; a saying, utterance].
All found from a useful little site –
http://catholic.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookdown.pl?
It translates any word into Latin. Great for making up your own spells.