Now I Know What Love Is, Chapter 8-Better and Worse
Draco lounged in bed, still in the hospital wing, trying to work on an essay for Charms. Madame Pomphrey had allowed him to get up and get dressed, but had ordered him back to bed afterward. Consequently, Professor Dumbledore's requested meeting was going to be held by Draco's bedside.
Dumbledore and Ron arrived at nearly the same time, taking seats in the rather uncomfortable velvet chairs that had been provided for them. Harry and Hermione came in next. Hermione took a seat as far from Ron as possible. He, in turn, pointedly aimed his knees in the other direction and turned his nose up in the air.
Harry ignored his chair, going instead to sit on the edge of Draco's bed. He smiled tentatively at Draco and was rewarded with an answering grin. Draco slid his hand toward Harry, over the covers, showing Harry that he was wearing his ring. Harry covered Draco's hand with his own, averting his eyes from the look of stunned betrayal Ron shot him.
"Well, are we ready to begin?" said Professor Dumbledore pleasantly. He looked around at the small group assembled before him and continued.
"I asked that your Heads of House not be present today," he said. "because there are matters at stake here that I wish to keep private. Severus and Minerva tend to be a little... excitable when it comes to their favorite students." Dumbledore winked gravely at Harry and Draco. "So who would like to begin by telling me exactly what happened last night?"
"What happened," Ron began angrily, "is that this stupid git here-"
"It was my own fault, Professor," Draco interrupted smoothly. "I was out for a, er, stroll, when I came upon Weasley and Granger. I attacked Weasley first, and I missed. He was just defending himself."
Three pairs of astonished eyes regarded Draco, who only continued to look impassively straight ahead. Harry squeezed his hand, trying to let him know he understood what Draco was trying to do and he was grateful for it. Professor Dumbledore smiled at Draco and said, "That was an admirable try, Mr. Malfoy, but I am afraid I doubt your veracity. However, since you are recovering rapidly and no one else has been hurt, I think we shall let the incident pass."
"Now then," he continued, "I do have another question. Would you care to explain, Harry, why a ring that you were supposed to be keeping a secret is currently on Mr. Malfoy's finger?"
Harry was silent for a moment. The truth was, he was so used to telling Draco everything that he had forgotten he was supposed to be keeping the ring secret from everyone.
"You told him about the ring?" Hermione and Ron burst out at the same time, she in disbelief, he in anger. Harry looked at Hermione.
"How do you know about it?" he said. Hermione cast her eyes down.
"Well, I asked Ron, I mean I convinced Ron to tell me, and... I was just worried about you," she finished in a miserable whisper.
"I see there are no secrets among friends," said Professor Dumbledore. "Unfortunately, this changes matters considerably." He turned to Hermione and Ron. "I must ask the two of you to go and pack your things now. You are put in considerable danger simply by possessing this knowledge, and you are going to have to be sent somewhere safer for the time being."
"What about school?" said Hermione anxiously. "We'll miss loads of important classes if we're gone."
"Miss Granger, I assure you, wherever you'll be, your education will not suffer," said Dumbledore reassuringly.
"And what about you?" said Ron to Harry, "I suppose you're just going to hang around and hold this miserable bugger's hand until he gets well, never mind your FRIENDS." He glared at Draco. "You're gong to get killed. I can't believe you'd do this of your own free will. You have to be under some sort of curse."
"Ron," said Harry, then stopped. He was at a loss for words.
"Mr. Weasley, all will be explained to you in time, I am sure," said Professor Dumbledore evenly.
"I don't want to know," said Ron, stalking out the door. Hermione shot Harry a look of concern and trailed out after Ron, closing the door behind her.
Professor Dumbledore turned back to Harry and Draco. "Gentleman," he said, "I must regretfully ask you to hand over that ring to me for safekeeping."
Draco was heartbroken. He raised his hand and tried to tug the ring off, but it wouldn't budge. He twisted and turned it, an expression of rising panic on his face, before holding out his hand to Dumbledore. "Professor, it won't come off!"
"I was afraid of that," said Professor Dumbledore. "It seems that neither of you want that ring to be removed from Mr. Malfoy's finger, do you?"
Harry and Draco looked at each other and silently shook their heads.
"The ring, being a discerner of truth, realizes that fact. That's why it won't come off. There is nothing but good faith between the two of you, and it resonates with both of you. It seems that the two of you are inextricably bound by loyalty on one side and danger on the other. The two of you are going to have to be moved to someplace more private and more safe for now, until that ring can removed."
"Harry, you should go and pack your own things and prepare to go into hiding for a while. Later, I'll have someone go to the Slytherin dormitory with you and you can pack Draco's belongings for him as well. I trust that that arrangement is agreeable?"
"Yes, Professor," said Harry.
"Of course," said Draco.
"Harry, I think it best if you have dinner here with Draco a little early. I shall be back later to escort you to your new residence."
Professor Dumbledore rose and left, leaving the two boys alone. Harry looked at Draco apprehensively. He still wasn't sure Draco had completely forgiven him for betraying him to Dobby.
Draco was exhausted just from the effort of sitting up throughout the meeting. He lay back against his pillows and looked at Harry for a moment, then made a weary gesture with his hand. "Come here to me," he said softly.
Harry turned around and crawled across the bed toward Draco. Now that he had started his progression, he couldn't stop. Neither were satisfied until they were wrapped around each other, so enmeshed in each other's bodies that an observer couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.
"I dream about you every night," Draco confessed. "I wake up thinking you're there, in my arms, but it's always smoke and wishful thinking. I come back to reality knowing it can't be true, that I can't have you, you're not mine to kiss and touch and hold. You are more than my dreams. How am I supposed to live without you? I love you."
"I love you too," Harry said. "Don't even think about trying to live without me. You don't have to. I won't let you. When you wake up tonight, I'm going to be there beside you, close as skin." Harry closed his eyes and breathed in Draco's scent. "I'm jealous of the air you breathe, do you know that?"
"Why, love?" Draco said.
"Because it knows how you feel inside," answered Harry.
The two boys lay there for a minute, until the sound of footsteps walking toward the bed could be heard. Harry disentangled himself from Draco and sat up. Madame Pomphrey poked her head in the door.
"Five minutes, Potter," she said. "Mr. Malfoy needs his rest."
She left, and Harry turned toward Draco again. He leaned over and kissed Draco gently.
"Mmmm," Draco said, attempting to pull Harry back into bed with him. Harry almost gave in but managed to resist, knowing that if he got back in bed with Draco he'd never get out. He needed to talk to Hermione and Ron, to try to straighten things out between the three of them.
"Don't worry, I'll be back later, very soon," said Harry, leaning in for one more kiss before leaving. He turned and walked swiftly out the door before his resolve weakened.
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Harry found Hermione and Ron on the front steps of Hogwarts, waiting for a carriage to come and take them to the Hogwarts Express. Hermione threw her arms around him as soon as she saw him, almost overbalancing the two of them. Harry managed to stay upright and return her hug, so grateful for her support that tears started to leak out of his eyes. He blinked them away.
"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you," he said. Hermione kissed his cheek and pulled away from him. "I didn't want you to be in danger, you know, from the ring. Do you know where you're going?"
"The Burrow, I should think," she said. "It's the safest place. Isn't it, Ron?" She turned to Ron, who shook his head, glowered at both of them and turned away.
"He'll come around," Hermione whispered. "He doesn't understand, you know, about Malfoy...Draco...yet."
"And you do?" Harry asked.
Hermione sat down on the steps, pulling him down to sit beside her. "I have a confession to make," she said. "Please forgive me, Harry, but I was so worried about you. I saw you and Draco looking at each other, and I thought I knew what it meant...I just couldn't believe it. So, after Ron told me about the ring, I snuck into your dorm one night and tried it on, hoping it would help me see the truth about what the two of you were up to."
Harry blushed furiously. "Well, at least it wasn't you trying to curse Draco, I'm sure you know some Ron hasn't even heard of. Were you shocked when you figured it out?"
"I was flabbergasted," she said. "But I understood. I guess I felt the same way last year when I didn't tell you about Viktor. Funny, isn't it? I was afraid you wouldn't approve."
One of the Hogwarts carriages rumbled up just then, driven by a squat and extremely wrinkled elf. Hermione stood up.
"Goodbye for now," she said. "Owl me when you can. Don't say anything about the ring in your letters," she said sternly, "you never know who might get hold of one." Hermione captured him in another bone crushing hug.
She stepped inside the carriage and was gone. Harry watched Ron preparing to follow her, and decided he wasn't going to let his best friend leave like that. The thought of Ron being too angry with him to speak to him hurt him unbearably. He walked up to Ron, touched him on the shoulder and when Ron turned, he seized him in a hug that was a twin to the ones Hermione had given him earlier. Ron resisted for a moment and then gave in. Ron hugged him back as tightly as he could and pulled away, stepping into the carriage without a word to Harry.
Harry watched the carriage bounce down the drive and away out of sight. He turned back to reenter Hogwarts with a heavy heart, already missing his friends.
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It was extremely odd, thought Harry, to be sitting here having dinner and a normal conversation with Draco. He had had so many desperately hurried encounters with him, knowing that there was not enough time to say everything he wanted to say. Well, he was having a conversation with Draco now, and he had discovered something important. Draco was a dedicated flirt, and rather candid about how attractive he thought Harry.
The final straw was when Draco leaned over and licked Harry's neck, right in the middle of a perfectly innocent point about Quidditch Harry was trying to make. Harry shivered violently, as much from the surprise as from the pleasure. Draco sat back and surveyed him with amusement.
"Are you like this all the time?" Harry said. "Here I am, trying to talk to you about Quidditch, there's nothing sexy about Quidditch, and you, you just lean over and lick me."
"Nothing sexy about Quidditch?" said Draco, raising one eyebrow. "EVERYTHING about Quidditch is sexy, where have you been?"
"Like what?" said Harry, grinning. "Name one thing."
"Quidditch gloves," said Draco, a faraway look in his eyes. Harry laughed at him. "I'm serious," said Draco, wide-eyed. "Think about it. They're nice soft leather, think how good they'd feel running over your skin. Bare fingertips and leather palms, stroking your body, wouldn't that feel fantastic?"
Draco looked innocently at Harry, who was now staring at him dazedly, no doubt imagining how exactly it would feel.
"I hope we never have to play against each other again," Harry said. "You've ruined me. I'm corrupted. How am I supposed to concentrate on catching the snitch now?"
"You are not corrupted," said Draco. "You, love, are easy."
"I'm what?" Harry said. "I am not, it's not me, it's you."
Draco scooted closer to Harry, running his hands up Harry's chest and locking them at the back of Harry's neck. He pulled Harry closer, placing small kisses up and down his throat. Harry moaned, easily submitting to Draco's desire. Draco pulled away, earning a small noise of protest from Harry.
"See?" said Draco complacently. "Easy."
"Well, maybe for you," Harry admitted.
"For me, that's right," Draco answered.
Harry shuddered. "Can we change the subject now? Dumbledore will be here soon. I don't want to be here in the middle of this conversation when he walks in."
"Sure," said Draco.
"So, what are we having for desert?" Harry asked.
"Ice cream," Draco answered, grinning devilishly at him.
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"This way, Harry, Draco," said Professor Dumbledore, leading them through the entrance to his private apartments. Harry supported Draco, still walking with slow, faltering steps, to a comfortable looking, cushy sofa, depositing him carefully on it. Draco lay down, and Harry sat down by his feet. Professor Dumbledore sat down in a high backed chair facing the two boys, folding his hands in front of him.
"How are you feeling, Draco?" he asked.
"Still really weak, Professor," Draco admitted. "I'm not feeling sick anymore, though, so the venom must be wearing off."
"Good, good," Dumbledore said. "Regrettably, I have been called away on Ministry business, and I will not be able to stay here with you. However, I am sure you will find everything you need to be comfortable, and I will be returning as soon as possible."
"So we're going to stay here until you get back?" said Harry, surprised.
"There is no safer or more magically protected place," said Professor Dumbledore. "And it would seem that the two of you need all the protection you can get." He turned to Harry. "In your conversations with Augustin, Harry, did he share anything about the history of the ring with you?"
"No, nothing," Harry replied.
"Then it is time you knew the truth," Professor Dumbledore said. He looked somberly at Harry and Draco. "Much has been kept from you about your family, Harry. Have you ever heard of the Alliance de L'oiseau Se Levant?"
"No," Harry replied. Draco was silent. It seemed he had decided to let Harry do all the talking on the subject.
"The Alliance de L'oiseau Se Levant was a magical sect, at it's strongest in the early part of the nineteenth century," he informed them. "The order had three nominal leaders. Augustin Lesadre was one. My father, Albion Dumbledore, was another. The third was your own great-grandfather, Harry...Phineas Potter. They created the Boucle de la Verite-the Ring of Truth-as a weapon against the Dark Wizard Grindelwald. Its power was instrumental in his defeat, but its potential for evil was so great, these three men decided the ring must be kept secret. Augustin agreed to be magically bound to the ring, even after death, in order to become its guardian. They didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands, you see."
Harry nodded, too spellbound by the story and the mention of his ancestor to say anything.
"Augustin Lesadre has no living descendants, and you, Harry, are the last of the Potters. You and I are now responsible for the ring and the powers it possesses."
Harry reached almost unconsciously for Draco's hand. Draco, knowing what Harry wanted, gave him his left hand, the one with the ring on it. Harry grasped Draco's hand and distractedly twirled the ring around on Draco's finger.
Dumbledore pulled an elaborate pocket watch out of his robe and peered at it intently. "It is time I was off. I shall see the two of you shortly." He smiled benevolently at the two boys. "I trust there will be no fighting between the two of you?"
"Of course not, Professor," Draco said.
"Get some rest," Professor Dumbledore said. With that, he turned and left.
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