Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, I don't own Adam Redamo, I don't own Terry Pratchett's stuff or Patricia C Wrede's stuff. So there you go.
A/N- Alright people. This is where it starts to get interesting, and people die! MUHAHAHA! Sorta, *grins sheepishly* but anyway enjoy!
Another thing is that although I know Harry was born in '81, so all this would take place a few years ago, but I'll be blending in modern events. Live with it!
UNFORTUNATE OCCURENCES"Hagrid?" Hermione shouted. She leapt up and hugged the half giant. Ron stood awkwardly for a second and then hugged him too. Hagrid grinned a massive smile that split his face in two. He roared with happiness and embraced Harry as well, waking a sleeping Draco.
"Wha-?" Draco said and then drifted back into la la land. Harry felt so incredibly happy that Hagrid was all right he didn't even notice.
"'Ello everyone, we are back, no?" Madam Maxine said from behind Hagrid. After a flurry of tearful hugs and the slinging of one drunk sleeping Slytherin over Hagrid's shoulder, the group trekked back to Hogwarts.
"SHIT!" Screamed the woman. This would ruin everything! But it was to late now; they would just have to come up with something… but no time now. She had to put on her face and play the part, and maybe leave a few surprises behind… Yes that would work beautifully… Time to go.
"So, how did it go?" Harry asked. Hagrid shot him a glance and nodded meaningfully towards Malfoy.
"Don't worry about him." Hermione said for Harry. Hagrid looked at them and shrugged.
"Well, after Olympe and I found one o' the villages we managed to do sommat fast talkin', and we got 'em persuaded to think sommat 'afore they think about changin' sides." Hagrid said proudly. Harry, Ron and Hermione blinked at the sentence.
"Well Rubeus was certainly daring during 'zat time, I tell 'ou I was scared witless at times, but Rubeus was always so calm!" Madam Maxine purred. Hagrid blushed. Soon they were at the castle doors, and awaiting them was a satisfied Dumbledore, a paranoid Moody and one very unhappy Severus Snape.
"Draco?" Snape asked in wonder as Hagrid unloaded the sleeping Slytherin.
"He's had a long day Severus, please take him to bed and then go to my office." Dumbledore said. Snape nodded and gathered up the sleeping boy/man in his arms.
"Well Hagrid, I see you've returned, and my dear Madam Maxine." Dumbledore said, embracing Hagrid and inclining his head to kiss Madam Maxine's hand. Hagrid began to weep little tears at being home.
"Now I think you three had better get to bed, Alastor would you mind?" Dumbledore asked. Moody nodded and turned to the three. He smiled, or at least tried to smile, it came out rather lopsided.
"Welcome back you three, now scat." He said. Ron grinned and Harry yawned. Hermione rolled her eyes. Moody kept grinning and offered her his arm. She smiled, curtsied and took it. Ron snorted while Harry yawned again. Moody barked a sharp laugh.
"Well come on then." He led Hermione down the hall with Ron and Harry in tow. Ron nudged Harry and winked at him. Harry looked at him in confusion; it was too late at night for thinking… Ron sighed.
"Never mind Harry, but uhm- well I have a question for you." Ron said. Harry nodded, expecting his friend to continue.
"Well, let's wait 'till we're in the dorm." Ron said hurriedly as Moody turned his head back to look at them with his good eye. Soon the three were dropped in the dorm after whispering "Cockle Tree" to the portrait of the fat pink lady.
"Well good night boys." Hermione said slyly and trotted off to the girl's dorm. Harry looked at Ron who suddenly began to look at a group of 2nd year boys that were all huddled around something whispering excitedly.
"Well?" Harry asked. Ron flushed and this time looked at a group of 3rd year girls that were looking at Fred and George who were sitting with Lee Jordan obviously planning something. Harry made a noise in his throat and Ron jumped guiltily.
"Well I uh- that is- Harry, do you have gay-dar?" Ron asked rather quickly. Harry looked at him bemusedly.
"How do you know about gay-dar Ron, that's a Muggle thing?" He said. Ron flushed.
"I heard Lavender saying something about how her gay-dar had told her that you were gay, and that all women and gay men have it…" Ron trailed off. Harry sighed.
"I don't know about other gay guys, although for the record I'm bi Ron, I just think Seamus and Draco are, well let's not get into that. Anyway, I can tell when it's obvious, like with Justin and Colin who have been hanging off of each other's every word and totally oblivious to the other's attention. And don't worry about them, Hermione has been notified." Ron nodded, and then a thought occurred to him.
"Don't you think it's odd that Hermione of all people, is the person everyone but the Slytherins go to with their love lives?" Harry nodded.
"Yeah, she's the witch version of Dr. Drew." Ron frowned. "Muggle thing." Harry explained. Ron nodded wisely.
"Anyway Ron, do you want to know if you're gay, because that-"
"Ah no Harry, I already know that." Ron whispered quietly. Harry nodded.
"Well then who-"
"Well what are you two talking about?" Fred asked brightly. George stood slightly behind him smiling craftily and Lee looked about ready to pop with excitement.
"Nothing, well that's good because Harry we need to borrow the map for tonight." Fred continued brightly. Harry nodded and went to go get it. After he left George and Lee cornered Ron.
"So Ron, we just happened to be across the room and couldn't help but wonder what you and Harry were talking about." George began.
"So we cast an eavesdropping spell." Fred continued.
"And lo and behold the youngest Weasley man is heterosexually challenged." Lee finished. Ron paled.
"You wouldn't-"
"No, we won't, we might be into jokes but we're not cruel." George said firmly. The other two nodded and Ron sighed in relief. Then Fred smiled.
"That doesn't mean you're off the hook Ronald, we will treat your boyfriends the same way we'll treat Ginny's, we can't have just any boy dating our dearest Ronnykins." Fred said.
"Well now that that's sorted out." Harry interrupted cheerfully. "Ron and I have something to do." He said. Ron sighed in gratitude as Harry hauled him off the fifth year boy's dorm.
"Remind me again why the hell I'm doing this?" Draco muttered. Neville snarled.
"You don't have to be here, I could send you straight to the bottom of the ocean if you'd like." Draco's eyes narrowed.
"I'd like to see you try, there's a reason male Veela are feared throughout the magical world-"
"And there's a reason why Sorcerers are the most powerful magic casters in the world-" Neville snapped back.
"And there is only one reason which is going to make me kill you two in a few minutes if you don't bloody well shut up!" Hermione snapped. The two boys glared at each other stonily and then set back to reading. Hermione sighed, and got back to the book, which was fascinating.
"Draco, the book says that you should be able to cast energy, like a female Veela, can you try that?" Hermione asked. Draco raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you were fond of books, if I start throwing fireballs around in here-" Hermione sighed in exasperation.
"We'll do it outside obviously." She retorted. Draco made a "whatever" expression and went back to reading. Hermione took the moment to lean back and stare at her surroundings. The teacher's library had all the books that the regular library had, and more. There were some incredibly potent spells in here, some of them of a definitely darker nature.
"So do you want to try now?" Draco asked. Hermione and nodded and the three got up and went over to one of the wide balconies.
Draco stood there for a moment; gather himself, gathering his power. Reaching down into himself, and bringing it forth-
Hermione felt an immense longing sweep over her as Draco began to glow with an unearthly silver light, and then it vanished.
"Careful with that 'Mione," Neville said, she smiled in thanks. Draco stopped then and casually extended a hand and pushed-
A tree some 100 feet away burst into flame.
"Holy shit." Hermione said. Neville frowned.
"Poor tree." And then the tree was green again and the fire was put out. Draco growled softly under his breath. Neville smirked and walked back in. Draco followed him, walking slightly stiffly. Hermione clucked to herself and followed the two back in.
After some time, they all put their books down and leaned back.
"So, find anything else of note?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, apparently Malfoy's are the best in the world, and as such-"
"Shut up Malfoy." Neville snapped. Draco glared at him.
"Jesus Christ Longbottom, what have you shoved up your ass? Just because you can't get in Weasley's pants you-
"SHUT UP!" Neville jumped up, power shivering around him like a cloak. Draco leapt up to, his features contorting as he drew his power to him. Hermione felt herself growing almost faint in the complete swamping of her senses with pure energy.
"Stop it." She snapped angrily. The two didn't seem to here her. They were sweating now, and the energy surged back and forth between them.
"Harasu Kijutso!" Hermione shouted, the words coming to her lips from a place she didn't know in a language she'd never learned, and suddenly the two boys slumped forward and barely caught themselves from hitting the floor. Hermione stared at the wand in her hand, what had she just cast?
"And that Ms. Granger, is why you are the Creator." Dumbledore said quietly from behind them.
"Well then, shall we proceed?" Voldemort hissed. Peter stood beside him, his back stiff and his posture arrogant. In recent months he had been taking on more and more power, Voldemort's gift to him had strengthened him; he had true power now, and was utterly devoted to his master.
"Yes of course my lord." The hooded figures formed a circle quickly. Within it was a man, his silver blond hair looking ragged, and his face pained.
"My master, I have- bad news." Voldemort narrowed his eyes. "And good news." He paused.
"Out with it friend Lucius, the bad first, it always good to get such things out of the way." Voldemort smiled, but it was smile that was without happiness, it was a smile that could watch people die.
"Fudge has- changed." Lucius said carefully and related what he had heard in the chamber. "And that blasted Trenton Ainsley found a section of some ancient outmoded document that says the mud blood loving fool at Hogwarts can raise a militia if he wishes." Lucius finished angrily. Voldemort remained perfectly calm, but Peter knew better, Peter knew his master better than anyone.
"I see." Voldemort was control purified combined with the essence of evil. "And the good news?" Lucius smiled.
"Azkaban falls tomorrow."
"So Draco, I uh- that is…" Harry trailed off. Draco smiled, enjoying Harry's obvious discomfort. Seamus sighed.
"Oh will the two of you cut it out." He said. "Now Draco, I want you to apologize for every mean thing you've ever done to Harry, and Harry, the same goes for you. And then you can kiss and make out while I watch for a bit." Harry suddenly got a naughty idea and glanced at Draco. He mentally shot the idea to Draco who "caught" it and his smiled widened. Seamus glanced warily between the two boys and then he was caught. Harry gently began to nibble his neck while Draco latched himself onto Seamus' mouth. Seamus squeaked for a second and then began to return the favors.
Soon Harry had maneuvered so as to give Draco total access to Seamus from the front. He wrapped his arms around Seamus and placed his hands facing away from each other so that he could reach down and-
"Ahhh." Draco moaned and Seamus inhaled swiftly.
"That's- oh god, Jesus fuck me." Draco said and Seamus smiled, so Draco was virginal.
"Let's give him a ride." Harry whispered in Seamus' ear. The Irish boy smiled gleefully and began to kiss Draco's clothes off of his body. Harry smiled as he conjured a futon, a spell he'd learned some time ago in some class or other. He'd been rather proud of it, as Hermione had had a lot of difficulty with it for some reason.
Seamus then merrily tumbled a nearly naked Draco onto the futon and began to ravish his nipples. Draco arched his body and moaned. Harry knew he was sporting a huge lump in his robes, so he got rid of them.
He then took Seamus' place and began to taunt Draco, he used some of the same tricks he had on Seamus, but Draco wasn't quite as ticklish which gave him more room to work. But Draco didn't like being nipped, as he quickly learned.
"What the bloody fuck are you doing?" Draco yelped as Harry nipped his beautiful neck. "You aren't some sort of vampire are you?" Harry sighed and then shut Draco up with a furious kiss that made the other boy shiver to the tips of toes as the sheer intensity shook him in a deep and profound way. Then Seamus joined in, and for a second the three were a little lost at having to deal with three tongues in a kiss, but after awhile it became a game.
Harry breathed into Draco's ear who shivered and gasped as Seamus twirled his tongue around a nipple. Draco then dived into Harry's stomach; he relished the taste of Harry's skin as he felt Seamus twine around him. Soon things began to heat up, and within minutes things got a little- sticky…
Harry collapsed wearily and sighed in contentment as Draco and Seamus lay on either side of him. All three of them held each other, and dozed for about an hour, before Seamus' little alarm went off. And then it was back to the dorms, until the morning that is…
Dumbledore approached the front of the school somberly. Slowly silence spread thickly through the castle. Draco sighed and watched, waiting to see what would happen. On either side of him Crabbe and Goyle maintained their guard, utterly loyal to Draco.
Harry looked at Draco with interest; they still had some things to work out but-
"Stop it Seamus, Dumbledore wants to speak." Seamus pouted and removed his hand from Harry's assets.
"My friends, I have, bad news." He said gravely. At the Griffyndor table Laura and Catherine looked up with the whole school.
"Oh god, it better not be-" Hermione started.
"Voldemort has made his first move, I'm sure that those of you subscribing to the Daily Prophet or any other wizarding magazine will know soon enough, but Azkaban has fallen, and the Dementors are free." There was a terrific uproar at that, and fear spread like an insidious infection amongst the students. Dumbledore raised one hand.
"Fear not though, appropriate measures have been taken, and we have been promised aid from the American and Japanese Ministries. Other European magical institutions are preparing for the rise of Voldemort, the safest place you can be is here, and rest assured, the school year will continue as normal. On a lighter note this is the last day to submit yourself for the tournament, good luck to all that've entered." Dumbledore said, and sat down.
"Wow, so this Voldemort guy, just how bad is he?" Joel asked. Harry felt himself grow detached.
"He's horrible." Harry breathed, and looked at his plate. Hermione took his hand and Seamus took his other. Laura jabbed Joel in the side and whispered something to him.
"Oh sorry, but I know what's like." Joel said. "In America there's this lady, she's a vampire witch that's been terrorizing the country for the past 50 years. My father was a hunter, she got him and my older sister." For a moment the table was silent and Harry looked into Joel's eyes, and saw a kindred spirit.
"Just so you know, if you wanna talk or anything." Joel added. Harry nodded.
"They've done what?" The woman asked coldly.
"I said, they've freed Azkaban." Repeated the other woman. "And that half breed oaf has returned so I must leave soon." The other woman snorted, her pale features composed into rigid calm.
"I shall tell the court, time is moving against us." The other woman snorted.
"You've got all the time you need, and how did the melding go? Is that why you can appear in the teleson?" The woman asked. The other woman shrugged.
"I guess, I just wish to appear and it happens, it's the one thing about being a vampire that pissed me off. So, is that boy there?" The other woman nodded and the vampire smiled.
"His sister tasted so sweet, I wonder if he will too?" The woman shrugged.
"How should I know Countess? But I will try and see to it you two, meet up." She added slyly. Countess smiled.
"Excellent Lady, I look forward to whatever you have set up and-" She looked off at something, Lady couldn't see what in the mirror. Countess nodded and looked back, her brown hair long and with a seductive shine.
"King wishes to speak with you." Lady nodded. King soon appeared, her first impression was, as always, of fear. King looked perfectly normal, but underneath that exterior was one capable of such atrocities she didn't even want to know what was kept in his dungeons.
"Is it time Lady?" Lady nodded.
"It is, I must depart from Hogwarts soon, what shall I do King?" King frowned.
"You have cast a confusion spell on the Weasley right?" Lady nodded.
"Then return to that home for a few days, and be called out on assignment, I shall arrange it. You shall be called to deal with the discovery of a quicksilver dragon, that Levy man gave me an idea. The quicksilver will "burn" you to a "crisp" and you shall of course escape, but the death of the Weasley will come as a certain shock, one which of course could be exploited…" King smiled, and Lady shook in fear. King wasn't truly that powerful, but he was devious. Queen was the far more dangerous of the two, but like chess she was useless without King.
"Luck Lady, and do leave something, interesting, for the staff to discover." Lady smiled.
"Of course King."
Draco fiddled with his quill, listening to Snape drone on and on. Right now his tolerance for anything and everything was going down the tubes. Crabbe and Goyle were the only people he let near himself without biting their heads off. To the casual observer it would appear that the two were rather stupid and Draco didn't particularly care for them, but they were wrong.
At first Draco could have cared less for them, and they for him. All three had been ordered by their fathers to be friends together, and Crabbe and Goyle to defer to Draco by their fathers. But friendship found a way… Lucius…
Draco idly crushed the quill in his hand, and then sighed as he reached down to get a new one. Lucius, Lucius was a problem, one he would have to deal with. The man had no feelings, no sense of love or laughter; Lucius was a narcissist, a power-hungry one at that. But he had no style, no flair, and he was absolutely detestable, at least so Draco thought, little did Draco know just what his father was truly like. Draco sighed, something that didn't go unnoticed by Snape, who decided to ask Draco what, was up.
"Now for partners." Snape said. "Match up and begin to brew it, this will only be the first part as the potion takes three days to set. And remember that dragon scales are not inexpensive, so be careful with them or else." Nobody dared to ask about "or else." Snape smiled softly to himself, and twirled his wand. He loved his new wand, he could feel the greater ease with which he did spells, Ollivander had been absolutely right, it was better suited to him.
A sudden hissing warned him, he looked at Neville's potion, which was a pretty deep red, dark like the color of a red wine. It was supposed to be a baby blue, a light baby blue. Can the boy do nothing right? Snape growled, and then remembered what he owed Neville, and softened. To Snape, that was beyond a debt, to have such a burden, a foul scare, removed…
"Mr. Longbottom." Snape said as he rose up and glided over to Neville and Hermione. The rest of the class tensed in anticipation, with the Griffyndors almost waiting for Snape to push Neville to far. Harry tried to catch Snape's eye in vain, to remind the man that he owed him, and not to bother Neville.
"Longbottom, throw that out and come with me to my office so we can work on just what makes you fail so badly at potions." Neville nodded and suppressed the little trickle of fear that arose from the thought of going to Snape's office of all places…
Snape looked at Hermione's potion. It was of course, perfect. The exact right color, the exact right level of universal indicator. The exact result one would get if one followed the rules exactly.
Pitiful, a talent like that wasted on a mud blood, and wasted on that sort of mentality. And she's supposed to be the Creator… Hah!
"Well Granger, I see you've managed to wow us once again with your ability to follow directions, it's amazing what students can do with no imagination." Snape snarled and dragged Neville out to his office.
"I trust none of you will be, unruly, in my absence." He shot as a parting comment. The whole room nodded, who wanted an angry Snape on their tail after all?
Hermione fumed silently, what the hell had Snape meant? Wasn't following directions what you were supposed to do? The criticism replayed constantly in her head, she knew she looked absolutely furious to everyone else and she was. Damn it, she was one of the most powerful witches her age, and had the best grades in Hogwarts, and nothing she ever did was good enough for that- that- SNAPE!
"It's amazing what students can do with no imagination…I see you've managed to wow us… Following directions…" Hermione stopped, and slowly a smile spread across her face. No imagination eh? Following directions eh? She'd show him. She looked at the potion and her smiled widened, and then hardened. To the immense surprise of the class she got up, and dumped her potion out.
"Uh, 'Mione, what are you doing?" Harry asked.
"What does it look like I'm doing Harry?" Hermione returned quietly. "I'll show him imagination…" Harry shot Ron a worried glance. He felt his Clypeus swell with warmth under his robe and looked up. Nothing was happening… But it was warming. He reached out to Neville rather cautiously.
Neville? He felt a shield being put up and a packet of emotion that plainly said, "not now."
"Hey, Harry." Seamus whispered. Harry looked at Seamus.
"Yeah?"
"What did Hermione just do?" Harry sighed and watched his friend, who appeared to be silently cackling to herself as she mixed ingredients that were most definitely not involved with the making of the potion.
"I don't know, and I don't think she should be- disturbed right now." Ron chuckled to himself absentmindedly and gazed at the closed door to Snape's office.
I wonder how Neville's doing? Harry picked up the thought from Ron and stared at his friend. Was Ron… oh wow he is! He'd have to let Hermione know, she could take care of the two of them. She did it with everyone else after all…
"Why can't you do this?" Snape growled. He was fast losing patience. Snape had never had much patience for those he considered stupid or inept, and Neville was testing him more than any other student ever had.
"I don't know, I just, and well I forget and- maybe I'm just not cut out to do potions." Neville wailed. Snape grimaced.
"Then we need to work on your memory. I want you to report back to me tomorrow afternoon so that I can give you something." Neville shrugged and went out of Snape's office, or rather tried to.
"Where do think you're going Longbottom, we're not done by a long shot." Neville groaned in resignation and Snape smiled slightly, whoever said teaching wasn't fun?
Draco ate lunch with the attitude of an extremely bored cat. He played with it, rolling it around and mashing the potatoes into weird shapes, but never actually took a bite. Crabbe and Goyle noticed, but they were a little busy stuffing food into their faces to wonder about it.
"Draco, what's the matter?" Pansy Parkinson asked. Draco shrugged.
"Nothing, I just feel, I dunno, bored almost, everything just seems a little pointless." He couldn't very well tell her that it was pissing him off that Harry and Seamus could sit at their table together and display affection, but he couldn't.
"Look at Potter and Finnigan, isn't that sick?" Millicent spat suddenly. Blaise looked at her in amusement.
"I see we have a wee homophobe here, I thought girls thought gay guys were better than the straight kind?" Blaise said. Millicent growled at him. Pansy laughed.
"Now why on earth would you think that? I don't have anything against it really, it doesn't matter who you're attracted to, and as long as you're strong that's all that matters." The others considered that. "I mean honestly, I have no issues with it at all, it's just another facet of someone, something to be used against them or to take advantage of. Power is all that matters, the weak and the strong, the pure and the tainted. That's all." Pansy finished. The others nodded in understanding. Then Draco said something that made Pansy swell with pride.
"You sound just like Him." The others hushed as they realized just what, or rather who, "him" meant. Indeed, Draco had heard Lucius and Voldemort have that very discussion and it had seemed odd to him at that time but- He froze. What if Voldemort knew, knew about him and what he was. What if he had staged the whole thing, staged so that Draco would hear that from Voldemort and come to the dark lord with that to use as Voldemort saw fit. It scared him to the core.
"Draco, Potter's looking at you." Pansy remarked in disgust. Draco looked up and saw Harry looking at him in concern. It tore him to see Harry look like that; he needed to talk to someone… He flicked Harry off who narrowed his eyes in "anger." Who'd have though that Seamus' idea to have a secret signal language would pay off. Truly Draco had learned it only to get the insane Irish boy off his back, figuratively speaking of course. Draco liked it when Seamus was- bad thoughts, bad thoughts!
"Harry, what's the matter?" Seamus asked as Harry looked up.
"Draco." Was all Harry said, ignoring Ron's wince.
"What about him, huh?" Seamus anxiously looked at the Slytherin table and saw Pansy gesture at Harry. When Draco flicked Harry off Seamus sighed and then smiled.
"So he's using the signals, that's good!" Harry rolled his eyes.
"Do you have time to talk with him? I need to go do some mind stuff with Dumbledore and Neville." He paused, "Although maybe I can talk to him during ADADA, but if not snag him please." Seamus nodded.
"Sure, although you may be missing out on a little bit of-"
"That is far to much, I don't need to know anymore!" Dean said suddenly. Harry blushed and Seamus smiled nastily.
"Oh really? You don't want to hear about how Draco moans just like a little kitten when you-"
"Seamus." Dean said, his voice full of friendly warning, but it was warning all the same. Seamus sighed.
"Oh Harry, no one understands me-"
"Shut up." Harry remarked absentmindedly. Seamus gasped in mock horror and then squeezed Harry in a place that is not considered appropriate in public. Harry gasped. Ron gave him a weird look but Hermione glared at Seamus.
"Not at the table." Harry squeaked and Seamus sighed in regret. Dean edged away from the horny Irish boy. Lavender and Parvati began to laugh, and then Hermione began to snicker at Harry's facial expression.
"Hey guys, heads up." Parvati said suddenly. Dumbledore had stood up.
"I am pleased to announce that tonight we will be telling you who will be the champions for their schools, and in honor of that the American's are throwing a disco party." At the table Jacob Levy buried his face in his hands. Dumbledore smiled.
"And now if I may pass the ball to Mr. Levy." Levy stood up and smiled.
"The party will not be disco, it is going to be a dance party featuring music and will be more like a nightclub than anything else. For those of you that don't know what that is, just come. The dance is only open to those in 5th year and up, so I hope to see you tonight at the edge of the Forbidden Forest." Levy winked at them and Joel shook his head.
"You guys are in for a wild ride." He said. The rest of the table looked at him.
"Jacob is a big fan of Muggle music, so you guys are going to be hearing things that'll make your parent's ears curl." The pure blood's looked confused but Dean and a couple others nodded.
"Wait, so do you know what music he'll be playing?" Hermione asked. Joel smiled.
"Ever heard "Baby Got Back"?" Hermione nodded, and then smiled.
"This'll be interesting, who're the chaperones?" Joel shrugged.
"Probably just Jacob."
"So it's just going to be a huge group of students and one teacher?" Lavender asked.
"Probably, but Jacob is one of the craftiest wizards in the US, don't underestimate what he can catch you at." Laura said. Catherine flushed before turning back to the Weasley twins, and Harry wondered what Levy had caught Catherine at.
"You guys talk like you know him fairly well." Hermione said. By now the rest of the table was talking about other things.
"Yeah, our families all know each other, and Jacob is actually only a couple years older than us, he doesn't teach officially, but he decided that he needed to protect our Ministry's interests with the rise of Voldemort over here." Joel said. Harry looked up.
"So just how powerful is he?" Joel shrugged.
"I dunno, he did kill one of the Court, as I recall it was Jester who truly was one of the most dangerous." Harry and Hermione looked stumped.
"You guys haven't heard about any of this?" They shook their heads.
"Have any of you?" Everybody but Parvati gave a negative.
"My dad's mentioned them a couple times, but never for very long." Joel nodded and looked at Laura who looked at Catherine who was flirting with the Weasley twins.
"Well I guess I'll explain then." Laura said. "The Court is basically the band of the most powerful and deranged Dark wizards in the America's. They have contacts within the Muggle world and hold positions of power within it as well." She paused. "The strike without warning, and are easily capable of killing anyone they choose. Except for a few key locations they are able to penetrate anywhere they want on either continents."
"Every single child is therefore trained in the, what we like to call, Combat magics. These do involve what you label as Dark Arts, but determining good and bad is all in how you use the spell. Only a few spells are truly evil, like Crucio." Neville choked a little on his food, something Ron noticed and thumped him on the back. He didn't know it but right then and there he made Neville feel better than he had all day.
"So it sounds just like You Know Who, or rather a group of him." Lavender said.
"Yeah." Harry said quietly, and looked at Joel who was absentmindedly twirling his wand in his fingers.
"There also all named for positions within a court. So the leaders are distinguished by being called King, Queen, Lord, Jester, Knight, you get the idea." Laura continued.
"Oops, time for class!" Hermione squeaked.
Draco sighed as he collapsed into his chair in Professor Figg's room. Soon everyone else filed in and basically did the same.
"Jesus Christ Draco, what called up Snape's ass and died?" Harry said. Draco shrugged.
"I bet it was chainsaw." Hermione said darkly, and Harry laughed at the imagery.
"Hello class, today we have a visitor." Ms. Figg said. The students all turned to find Levy standing at the front of the room with Ms. Figg.
"Howdy." Levy said. "Today, myself and the lovely Arabella," at that Ms. Figg snorted, "will be teaching you the basics of Muggle weaponry. Oh and just call me Jacob, when I get called Mr. it makes me feel old, and if you call me professor I'll hex you." Ms. Figg snickered at the expressions on her student's faces.
"So for now let's frolic on out." Ms. Figg said and the group followed her out the door.
"Harry, I just, well- we need to talk." Draco said quietly. Harry nodded and reached out to grab Draco's hand for a brief squeeze. Draco smiled and then dropped Harry's hand.
"Don't get all mushy on me Potter." Draco mocked. Harry rolled his eyes and both of them ignored the "ahhh" noise the three girls were making. All to soon they were outside and then down by the Forbidden Forest. They all stopped and looked expectantly at their teachers.
"Well the most basic Muggle weapon is the gun, does everyone know what that is?" Jacob asked, Draco snorted. Jacob shot him a look.
"Do you have something to contribute Mr. Malfoy?" Draco smirked.
"What could Muggles possibly come up with that's more dangerous than magic?" Jacob's smiled disappeared.
"Have you ever heard of the atomic bomb Mr. Malfoy?" Draco looked puzzled, along with Parvati and Patil. Harry thought about it, he'd heard about nuclear weapons before, but he'd never really been exposed to learning about what they could do. Hermione nodded and Ms. Figg got a faraway sad look on her face.
"I want you to watch this next illusion very carefully then." Jacob got out his wand and began muttering at the ground. Soon an imaginary city began to rise up; tall metal skyscrapers came up as tall as Harry and Harry could see small people like forms bustling around inside them. The city spread until it covered an immense amount of space. Then Jacob pointed his wand at the sky and then a miniature Muggle airplane appeared, hovering in place.
"Now this is about the same size a city called Hiroshima was in Japan." Hermione paled. "About 50 years ago there was a war on the earth, World War II. During the course of which Japan bombed an American naval base called Pearl Harbor. In retaliation and the need to end the war, the US responded with a weapon that would dominate the planet's fears until this very day, and it still does. Now watch." Jacob gestured and they saw a small oval shape drop from the plane. It hit the ground and-
Harry watched in horror as the buildings were ripped to pieces and small screams were heard throughout the imaginary city. He watched the blast travel until it ended and saw a strange ripple that he guessed must be radiation continue to travel outward. By the end of it the city was a gigantic ruin, and at the epicenter stood the 7 wizards.
"Oh my god." Patil said softly. Parvati stared in horror and Draco- Draco stared in a mix of awe, fear, and something else, something indefinable.
"And that is just how powerful technology is, Muggles are far more resourceful than we as wizards will ever be.' Jacob said softly. "And you have to remember, every time you pick up your wand it can be used to create or destroy, hurt or heal. But when you pick up a Muggle weapon, be it gun, knife, grenade, or a small remote which can launch ballistic missiles a thousand miles away, you are most likely going to kill someone, and when people die, that's that. Obviously." Then the mage pulled out his robes a silvery object, one Harry dully recognized as a gun, a bulky one from the looks of it. Jacob sighted along the barrel and pulled the trigger.
In the forest a tree seemed to explode in the middle. Jacob put his hand down and then drew out five more.
"These won't hurt anyone, mine is the only one with live ammo, but someday you will find your wand just won't cut the job, and what the enemy doesn't expect they can't defend against." The rest of the lesson was a very somber one, and Harry found himself shaking very hard by the end of it.
"Come on Neville, find it." Dumbledore pressed gently. Harry trudged toward them, his mind full of thoughts about what he'd seen earlier. That such weapons could be made… but worse than that used… Dumbledore turned Harry, a sad look on his face.
"Harry, you will find that throughout your life that people are inherently selfish and cruel. We all have the ability to do good, it just requires the extra effort. But don't despair, because a good many people do." The twinkle in Dumbledore's eye grew brighter for a moment and Harry felt oddly comforted. Neville shouted in triumph.
"Blackberries!" Dumbledore looked startled and then smiled.
"Correct Neville, very good I didn't even notice you get under my mental shielding, now Harry…" And soon they were wrapped up in the lesson.
"Draco?" Seamus asked softly. He crept around, hoping that he wouldn't actually have to investigate closer to the Slytherin dorms.
"Looking for me?" A voice inquired archly. Seamus spun around to see Draco and sighed in relief.
"Wow Draco, you scared the shit out of me." Draco smiled and approached Seamus.
"It's nice to see you Seamus, but do try and wear less next time." Seamus smiled and then Draco lanced forward to smother Seamus with velvet fire in the form of a kiss.
Pansy reflected that power truly was a sweet thing. I can rule Draco with this she thought as she watched him cover Finnigan with kisses.
"Hey sweet heart." Arthur Weasley said to his wife. Mrs. Weasley smiled softly and turned around from the sink to kiss her husband.
"Honestly Arthur, you need to come home earlier, you missed Charlie heading out on call. He-" Any further speculation as cut short as the clock in the Weasley household went to Mortal Peril… on Charlie's hand…
"Oh God!"
"Get him-
"NOOO!" The rest of his team watched in horror as the body of Charlie Weasley fell slowly to the ground, burnt beyond all recognition. And then the quicksilver spat fire again, and there as nothing left but ash.
"Point." King said. Queen laughed softly. He turned to her and slowly ran a hand through her long beautiful hair. She smiled seductively and soon they were taking to celebrating, in a most unusual position…
"Yes!" Voldemort hissed. Wormtail sighed in relief; whatever his master had sought was now his… Master. Wormtail hated that word. He clenched his fist, crumbling the rock within it like so much gritty sand.
Maybe, just maybe, it was time for Wormtail to ascend to his own destiny…
Knight backed up in fear as the dragon rose up before him. It bugled once and then the others began to awake. Within a couple seconds all of them had awoken, and very small dragon began to weave his way in and out of his larger comrades. He was about the size of a six-foot man, and he was sleek and lithe while expelling a feeling of great age and dignity.
It appears we have a visitor, and we have numbers amongst us missing. The humans have found us again The smallest one said. It turned to Knight who stared in horror. The Muggle slaves whimpered in fear and then Duke was there.
"What is the-" Duke froze at the sight of the dragons and then vanished. Knight tried to Apparate, but suddenly he couldn't.
"What- I-" And the smallest dragon sighed.
I hate humans. And after that there were only screams.
Seamus positively skipped down the halls, after an exhausting snogging session with Draco he felt ready to-
Aw crap, Draco never did say what was wrong with him, shit! Harry's going to be pissed… Seamus sighed wearily and continued walking. He looked up, strange; this isn't a hallway I've been in before-
He didn't even have time to scream as he felt himself being pulled, expanding, contracting, falling-
With a dull clank a small cube landed on the floor.
"Wha-?" Harry sputtered as his Clypeus suddenly began to pulsate and then glow.
"What is it Harry?" Neville asked. Dumbledore took one look at Harry and then closed his eyes.
"Seamus-" Harry whispered. Dumbledore closed his eyes and opened them again. His spectacles seemed to glow and then he was gone. Harry and Neville looked at the spot and then tore back to the castle.
"Narcissa, we have things to- discuss." Lucius said quietly. Narcissa Malfoy turned to him with a half smirk on her lips.
"What is it Lucius?"
"Draco, I fear that-"
"That he's gay and attracted to the greatest enemy of our dark lord?" Narcissa said with that same strange half smile. Lucius hissed as he took a quick surprised breath.
"What should we do?" Narcissa shrugged.
"Our first responsibility is to Draco, we cannot let anyone, not even Voldemort, hurt him." Lucius nodded.
"Of course, but I think this, taint, should be purged in any case." Narcissa nodded.
"And when shall we dispose of them?" Lucius sighed.
"I don't know, the signs are not in our favor. Voldemort is too strong yet, and Potter has surrounded himself with allies. I think it is time for us to release the Slayer." Narcissa inhaled sharply and whirled around to face Lucius.
"So soon? But this could mean the end of everything!" Lucius sighed again.
"I know, but if we don't?" Narcissa frowned.
"When will the conditions be met?"
"Four months from now, on the eve of the half moon." Narcissa nodded.
"Acquire what you must Lucius, we shall proceed soon enough. And let Draco have his fun, who knows, maybe Potter can be turned." Lucius nodded and kissed his wife's hand. Narcissa smiled coldly and bowed to him. Their plans were set; all they had to do now was wait.
"Listen Colin, have you seen the way he looks at you?" Hermione asked gently. Colin shook his head no and resolutely refused to meet Hermione's gaze. Ginny sat by the two silently warning off anyone that came near. Hermione thought for a moment.
"Listen, Colin, I assume you've taken pictures of him?" Colin nodded quickly and blushed.
"Yeah, I know it sounds sorta sick, truth be told I feel really sorry for what I did to Harry-"
"Oh nonsense, Harry could care less about that." Hermione dismissed the old guilt with a wave of her hand. "The thing I want you do is, bring out some of those pictures. You know, show Justin some of them. Get him talking; ask him if he likes any of them. If he asks why you're taking pictures of him, say he's photogenic, or he looks good in the photo. Trust me, it's a no risk with a lot to gain." Colin nodded and thanked Hermione profusely. He nodded to Ginny and practically skipped off.
"What was that, three in one day?" Hermione muttered to herself. First had been George and Fred arguing over who should get Catherine, and then Hannah Abbot, who was crushing horribly on Terry Boot. And lastly poor Colin who really didn't have much self-confidence under that bubbly exterior. Dennis still hadn't mellowed and was a regular terror in the Griffyndor tower, and Fred and George had taken him under their wing…
Hermione shuddered at the thought.
"Where is it?" Harry snarled in frustration. He ripped through his trunk, and finally there it was, rolled up in the corner all nice and neat. He practically tore the scroll apart as he opened it and turned it on with a quick mutter.
He looked at it for a second and with a whispered "mischief managed" he ran to find Dumbledore.
"I found it!" Harry said. Dumbledore nodded and promptly set off. Harry ran up to him and they met Neville.
"He's this way." Harry said before leading them forward. Soon they were in a hallway that nobody but Dumbledore had been in before.
"He should be here." Harry said and began looking around. Neville yelped as he tripped over something and then clutched his shin in pain. Dumbledore swiftly picked up the small object, a box.
"Oh my." Dumbledore said softly. "It's a Maze Charm." He looked at it and then his face began to fill with that terrible ancient power that Harry had felt before. "Harry, I want you to go get me Professor Flitwick." Harry nodded shakily and ran to the Charms room. Dumbledore turned to Neville.
"What do you see?" Neville looked at the box and unfocused his eyes just slightly and-
"It's like, well a maze, I can see it winding within itself and something's, something's trapped in there!" Neville's voice ended in a squeak. It was then that Draco Malfoy appeared.
"What happened?" He snapped. Neville bristled but Draco paid him no mind.
"Professor Flitwick- Dumbledore, needs you right now!" Harry yelped. Flitwick squeaked and ran out of the room with an anxious Fleur who happened to have been talking to him.
"What is it 'Arry?"
"I- I don't know." Harry replied truthfully. Flitwick nodded and pulled open a drawer in his desk. Harry stared at him, what was the man doing. Finally he pulled out a small crystal globe and looked at it hard.
"Harry, Fleur, please grab onto my arms." Harry started, this didn't sound at all like the timid emotional professor, this sounded like a confident warrior, someone that was used to command. Without thinking he put his hand on Flitwick's arm and then the world swayed and trembled and blurred-
-Before reappearing next to Dumbledore. The first thing that caught his eye was Draco and Harry collapsed into his arms, heedless of what anyone else would think.
"Uhm." Draco looked confused as Harry clung to him, and Neville's face softened. Fleur pursed her lips and sighed.
"Oh zat is so cute!" She said. But Flitwick had eyes only for the small cube Dumbledore was holding.
"Oh my, is there a- there's a student in there!" Flitwick sounded aghast. Suddenly it all clicked for Draco, and he became incensed.
"Who did this?" He growled softly. Harry sighed into Draco, taking comfort in him, making sure he was still there. He couldn't bear to lose anyone else, not know, Seamus… He felt anger boiling up within him and reached out with his mind to Draco. Draco stiffened and repulsed Harry without thinking. Harry groaned in pain and dropped to his knees clutching his head.
"Oh, I'm sorry Harry." Draco said, and missed the surprised look on Neville's face at Draco apologizing. Harry nodded and reached out again, and this time Draco let himself open. They melded for a second, and Harry had a vision of a bright line connecting them, and one from both of them reaching out to the square that Flitwick was examining.
Without thinking Harry "flung" a line to Neville, who joined the two boys.
Do you see that Neville? Harry asked mentally.
Yeah, I think it links you Malfoy and Seamus, maybe… Neville reached out with his power and "grabbed" Seamus' link to the other two and pulled-
There was a popping sound as the cube exploded and Seamus flew into existence. Flitwick gasped and his face began to turn blue. Dumbledore looked surprised for barely a second before turning to Flitwick and muttering a spell. Flitwick froze, as if he was in some sort of suspended animation, and then color returned to his cheeks.
"I would advise not surprising teachers like that you three, some of us do have weak old hearts." Dumbledore said, his voice dead serious but his eyes twinkled, still it was a warning. Harry nodded and blushed along with Neville. Seamus looked confused and then threw up. Draco shrugged and then hopped out of the way as Seamus emptied his lunch on the floor.
"Mr. Weasley?" Professor McGonagall asked quietly. Ron looked up from his Divination predictions, it was the usual, death by torture, drowning, disemboweled by an angry Snape…
"Yes Professor?" Ron hoped he wasn't in trouble, and then took in the expression on McGonagall's face. He pocketed the rat Charlie had given him, he still hadn't thought of a name for it. The rat squeaked happily and snuggled into Ron's pocket.
"What? I-"
"Ron, please come with me." Was all McGonagall said before leading him out of the Griffyndor tower. Soon he was in Dumbledore's office, and when he opened the door his parents, both of who had tears in their eyes, met him. Ginny sat in a chair, her expression stark and her demeanor defeated. Fred and George looked lost, and then Ron noticed Percy and Bill were there. Percy looked forlorn, and angry. Bill just looked sad, very sad. The whole Weasley family was there, except for-
"Where's Charlie?" Ron asked. And nearly everyone burst into tears.
"Say Hermione, have you seen Ron?" Neville asked. He'd just gotten back from the odd incident that had imprisoned Seamus, and he felt oddly drained, very tired. Hermione looked puzzled.
"No, I think McGonagall came and got him, where were you?" Neville sighed and told her what had happened. By the end of it Hermione's eyes were widened to their fullest.
"Oh dear." She said. Neville smiled.
"Well at least it all came out for the best." Hermione nodded and then close the book she'd been reading.
"Let's go find him then." She said simply.
Shout Outs! Hooray for Reviews!
Creamy Mimi- There's a reason why 'Mione is beginning to depend on the book; I bet you can figure it out soon enough. I heard that they were selling every flavor beans at certain showings of the movie, and yes I do wonder about that. Truthfully I don't know where that scene came from. I like sarcastic funny characters (case in point, Ms. Figg). So thank you for the lovely review!
Myst- Well we've talked, and I still want to know who you're friend is and thank him or her. And I think I've already told you this, but the triad will be unbalanced for a while, till I've dragged out all the angst from it I can. Hee hee… And I love your story so write more soon (I know you're working on it… but encouragement (or death threats) can't possibly hurt, can they?).
Ruka-chan- Are you one of those people (like me) that stay up to late reading fics and then they don't make sense, or it's reading something totally different when you come back to it? It's fun isn't it?
~*Mistique*~ ()- Well here's the next part out, sorry it took so long. I won't be able to write over Thanksgiving break, so nobody expect anything till like a week into December. Yeah, what is it about Slash that seems to eliminate plot in a lot of stories? But there are some really fantastic ones out there.
Yen- Yen you rule! I so love your story, and thanks for the reviews. Sorry for any OC's, but it happens when I get carried away. It's hard to maintain Draco's character integrity, but I find it almost as hard to do Neville. I have a feeling Snape will be difficult as well once I get into him…
Mizzy- Oh yeah? Well thanks for your nice long review! Anyway thanks for the review, and the S/H/D is quite scrumptious wouldn't you say? ^_^; Anyway thanks for the review and I can't wait to see the next chapter of your story!
IF ANYONE WANTS TO GET AN EMAIL TO LET HIM OR HER KNOW ABOUT A NEW CHAPTER, SEND YOUR EMAIL TO ME AND I'LL EMAIL YOU! I ALSO WILL GET NO WORK DONE DURING THANKSGIVING, SO DON'T EXPECT MUCH FOR THE NEXT 2 WEEKS OR SO. HAVE A FUN THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!! LOVE ALL OF YOU (ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT REVIEW *WINK WINK*).