This is going be the lighter than I thought because even I felt sorry for dear Harry, and just to cut him some slack. He's going to have lots of love and support before all the bad things happen. ^_^ Oh! And adding in small pairings, or going-to-be pairings: Ron/Hermione, and Blaise+Harry. Mwahahaha... Don't worry- it's still going to be Harry and Draco. ^_^ But just to warn you- it's a pretty sad/disturbing Draco/Harry. (And I finally decided to break this into different stories! ^^;; The plot's waaaay too big....)
Shamera
"So… we're going to the Yule Ball, right?"
Hermione halted in her page turning, her head snapping up as she glared at the boy who sat across from her in the library, squirming uneasily. It had been three weeks ago when they had started speaking to each other, though not on their own devices, and a week since they gradually became close friends.
"And that's supposed to be an invitation?" she retaliated with a question.
Ronald Weasley fidgeted for a moment, mentally cursing as his cool was blown off. He had planned on having Hermione too busy studying that she agreed without thinking, allowing him to tell her about the agreement at a later date.
Hermione had to resist the urge to bang her head against the table, having been waiting the last few days for Ron to ask her already. But she never expected such a… stupid way of asking! She had to resist the urge to sneer at his lame attempt, thinking to herself that she had been hanging with Slytherins for too long.
The brown-haired girl had to set her quill down quietly and sigh to herself for choosing to like such a dense boy. It was all Blaise's fault, it was. For suggesting them together in the first place. Harry hadn't stopped trying to set them up until he saw them holding hands one day, and he went away grinning. And at that information, Hermione made sure to blame Harry and Draco as well, as the three continuously made to set Ron and Hermione together. Neville, too! And while she was at it, she blamed Seamus and Dean for approving, and Professor Snape for sitting her next to the redhead.
But she blamed herself for actually liking him.
"I suppose I can go with you," Hermione said slowly, trying to look like she was thinking about it. She eyed him, taking guilty pleasure in watching him so nervous. "But I'm not leaving my friends behind in the Ball…" which most likely meant that if Ron wanted to take Hermione to the Yule Ball, he was going to have to deal with hanging out with Slytherins the entire time.
Ron grimaced slightly but still seemed relieved that his invitation hadn't failed.
"I'm not sure if the others are going to the Yule Ball, though." Hermione mused. "Though I wouldn't be surprised is Blaise asked Harry." It was plain knowledge to everyone in school that Blaise was sweet on Harry, although the boy in question was seemingly oblivious to the attention. It was amusing to see Blaise coo to Harry in classes and the other boy not even noticing.
"You have to give Zabini credit for determination and perseverance." Ron admitted grudgingly. "He's been trying since Harry arrived."
"Yes, and Harry's succeeded in being oblivious for the entire month." Hermione said with amusement. "You have to give Harry credit for being that dense. It takes a lot of skill." She laughed.
Ron closed the book before him. "I think Harry actually knows about it. I think Harry knows how Blaise feels, but he's sort of… pretending that it's just Blaise being friendly. He gets some of the highest marks in classes, there's no way he hasn't figured it out yet."
"I don't think Harry's as cruel as that."
"I don't think he's trying to be cruel, 'Mione." Ron said, adopting the nickname that Harry had given so long ago. "It's just… a natural defense or something, I guess. I don't think he would really notice anyone coming on to him. Oh, he'd know, but at the same time, he wouldn't."
Hermione shook her head. Normally, she would protest that Ron wasn't making any sense, but she actually understood that statement. Harry was smart- but dense.
"I mean… not to insult Harry or anything, but… what could prompt him to become friends with Slytherins in the first place?"
Hermione resisted the urge to throw something at the redhead, instead opting to go back to her studying with a sigh. "Never mind the Yule Ball. We're getting sidetracked from homework."
Ron wrinkled his nose, but settled back to work on the Charms homework that was due the next day about a spell that told a person's statistics…
Harry lounged by the fire, his legs kicking in the air as he scribbled down Draco's potion notes. For some reason, they were always better and more organized than his- so he just gave up on taking notes in that class and made sure to have Draco explain everything to him later.
Honestly. Still relying on Draco's potion skills to get him through class…
"Harry." Draco, who was lying next to him and also doing his homework, sounded a tad uncomfortable. "Your snake's bothering me."
Harry looked up from his notes, firelight flickering across his face as he grinned at Draco, and saw his snake slithering across Draco's shoulders, making the blonde boy squirm. He had to bite back a laugh. "But don't you like snakes, Draco?"
"Not this particular one," Draco grumbled, feeling better immediately once Harry reached over to extract the baby snake from between his shoulder blades. The dark red snake hissed its displeasure at Harry, but was content enough to settle on the raven-haired boy's shoulder and curl up around his throat for the time being.
"I would think a Slytherin would love to handle snakes," Harry teased lightly, pushing up glasses up with a finger. He smiled at the other boy, who rolled his eyes.
"Not a snake with such Gryffindor colors." Draco pointed to the gold markings below the triangular head of the dark red snake… so dark that the color could easily be mistaken for black. It was the fire that brought out the highlights on the snake… as well as the red in Harry's hair, Draco mused.
"Carnus is special."
Draco smiled slightly when he saw Harry go back to his work, the snake around his neck lazily tasting the air. It had been a month since Harry had arrived, and just a week or so since he had gotten his new snake- one that he had one day found (refusing to tell anyone where he found the snake) and kept from then on. It had been funny, actually, to see the students' reactions to Harry carrying around that snake. Because although Harry proclaimed Carnus to still be a baby, the snake was already well over three feet long and as wide as one's wrist.
"You're staring again, Drake." Harry's voice came through his thoughts, startling him slightly. But Draco just blinked for a moment before grinning at the other boy, knowing that Harry didn't feel unsettled by his scrutiny.
"You always seem to notice." Draco teased, settling down his quill and rolling over, stretching to ease his back muscles. They had been studying like this for the past hour or so, stopping only to tease each other on the strangest things. Usually, they would also be studying with Ron, Hermione, and Blaise- but Hermione had insisted on studying enough for the Charms test to beat Harry, and Ron had gone with her. Blaise had Quidditch practice that day, and so Draco and Harry were left to study alone.
"If you want to take a break, Lily left cookies over by the couch. It's covered, though, since she thought we'd mostly likely do something to knock it over." Harry said, amusement laced in his tone. He had also set down his quill, although he couldn't roll over to stretch like Draco did because Carnus was still settled over his shoulders.
Draco made an agreeing noise before reaching for the cookies, too lazy to actually get up for them. It was already the middle of December, although the warmth in the room suggested otherwise. It was so comfortable that he didn't want to leave at all, much preferring to stay and study more with Harry.
"Why do you call her Lily?" Draco asked suddenly, curiosity piped. He sat up, settling the plate of cookies on his stomach so that Harry could also access it.
"What do you mean?"
"I always figured Mrs. Potter to be the kind who would want her children to call her all kinds of endearments." Said Draco. "And not just her name."
Harry was quiet for a moment, carefully contemplating how to phrase his words. "I think you're right on that one. But she gets… too attached, you know?"
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Not really. And now that I think about it, you never called our dear Professor Potter 'father' either."
Harry sat up, careful not to disturb the snake on his neck, and blew the fringe from his eyes tiredly. One thing about glasses was that if hair got stuck behind the lenses, it was irritating and annoying to get out. Almost like nosy friends, he mused to himself.
"You seem to love giving to rest of your friends nicknames," Draco pointed out, "So I'm a bit curious why you're so formal around your own parents. I mean, I know that Professor Potter is strict, but… Mrs. Potter seems nice enough."
She is, Harry wanted to admit. But he knew that James had the right idea when he proclaimed that although he would not be indifferent to Harry, there was no way that the boy could ever replace the son he had once lost. Lily didn't seem to see it that way, always fussing over the scarred boy and smiling those tender smiles that made Harry feel so warm and happy… only to be feeling extremely guilty afterward. Those smiles weren't meant for him.
"I guess…" Harry thought quickly. "I'm just used to it."
Draco gave him a dubious look, but didn't comment more on it.
"So how's your Christmas list going?" Harry asked, wanting more than anything to change the subject. He reached over to Draco for a cookie as well, ignoring Carnus' hissing and protests. The snake was used to something like that anyway, having been with Harry for the past week and knowing his friends and classes. Not that any of the Professors allowed the snake in class, but still.
Draco threw a cookie crumb at Harry. "You are a hard person to shop for, you know that?"
Harry watched in amusement as Carnus tried to snatch the crumb in midair. "How so?" he asked, wondering why Draco would say that. He didn't remember anyone having trouble shopping for him before- in the past… in his own world.
Feeling another memory coming on, Harry firmly squashed the thought for a later time. It wouldn't do for him to have another flashback and mix up the Draco from this world and the Draco from his own.
He had done that often enough, thank you. He didn't want to mix them up, even thought technically they were the same person.
Who would want to get technical in a situation like this anyway? he asked himself, knowing that thinking more about it would only make him more confused. If you fell in love with a person from one dimension, and fell in love with them again in another… is that considered romantic? Or more among the lines of… cheating?
Harry already felt guilty enough about Lily. He didn't want to feel guilty because of Draco.
"Well, what do you get a person who's probably going to get everything one can think up of from family this Christmas?" Draco asked.
From family? Harry nearly snorted. He knew that if he did manage to stay for Christmas, only Lily (and probably Remus, just to be polite) would get him a Christmas present. He didn't blame any of them, as James was trying his very best to stay unattached, and Sirius didn't want anything to do with him- only standing to tolerate him when he realized that it really was an accident that Harry was there.
Which brought up the question of if he wanted to stay through Christmas or not. Dumbledore and the other Professors had been working on a way to figure out how to get him home, with the vague details that he had been able to provide. They had been struggling to find out where Harry had come from in the first place, but with that information, it was easier to find a way for Harry to go home.
But he remembered the flames. He remembered the warmth that was death, and the coldness that was life. His skin still felt frozen to his own touch, still felt as if he had a layer of ice surrounding him. He had dared not experiment with his new-found elemental powers since he had gotten to this universe, finding that every time he worked with water, his skin got just a degree cooler.
But other than the coldness that he felt all the time, he wanted to go back home again.
Yet at the same time, he didn't.
There were so many bad memories there, but so many good ones as well. He didn't want to leave the people that he grew up with behind, didn't want to leave the person that he loved more than anything behind.
But this place was so happy compared to his home. Hogwarts was still there, and while there was still a war going on, there weren't many deaths and Voldemort seemed to be more in hiding than anything else. People were still happy, and the students were oblivious to the outside world. It was a sanctuary for his weary soul.
And as much as he hated to admit, he didn't miss everyone so much with his friends there. He hated that feeling, it was as if he had replaced his friends with the people in this universe, but he couldn't help but feel it. There was no way that they could be replaced, even with someone who shared the same DNA.
Harry couldn't help but be lost in his ambivalence. The people he loved couldn't be replaced… he missed them, wanted them back, wanted to be with them. Yet he loved the people in this universe too. He loved the feeling of happiness that surged through him whenever he laughed with his friends, and the freedom of his magic.
But…
You do remember how much I love you, don't you? How I can't live without you?
"I don't even know if I'm staying this Christmas." Harry said.
"You mean you're going to leave for the break?" Draco blinked, but then smiled again. "Well, I'd still be owling your presents to you. You better not forget mine just because you're away!"
Harry managed a weak smile, not telling Draco that perhaps he was going home before Christmas.
He just couldn't leave the one he loved behind.
Blaise gave his hair a final tousle before entering the library, looking for Ron and Hermione. It was right after the Slytherin Quidditch practice, and although he wanted to go visit Harry first, he knew that the dark-haired boy wouldn't approve of him wandering around in December (and heavy snow!) with wet hair. Sure, he was cold, but he wasn't cold enough to try one of those ImmediDry products. Besides, he was bad with magic when it came to his hair. He didn't want to accidentally charm it purple or something.
Seeing his targets in a far corner of the library, Blaise sauntered over to them, grinning. House relations really have improved since Harry arrived.
Leaning over the oblivious couple, he read with a raised eyebrow, "Hermione Granger, Female. Brown hair, brown eyes… Current residence: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Born in 1980. Still alive today."
The girl in question nearly shrieked when she heard his voice behind her shoulder, and she whirled around, glaring at Blaise. The auburn-haired boy only smirked, refusing to be intimidated by the smaller girl.
Then she blinked. "Your practice let out early today, Blaise."
He shrugged, running a hand through his still damp hair. "It started snowing again. None of us really felt up to playing today, anyway, so we just figured to reschedule the practice."
Ron snorted. "So it didn't have anything to do with the fact that Harry's studying alone with Malfoy…?"
"What do you take me for?" Blaise asked, indignant. He placed a hand over his heart, pretending to be angry. "I think I should trust my own best friend and the object of my affection in the same room together for several hours!" He then grinned, and swiped the paper that held Hermione's statistics. "It's kind of like what happens when I leave the two of you alone."
"You mean to say that Draco will ask Harry to the Yule Ball?" Hermione asked lazily, grabbing at the Slytherin's wrist to take her paper back. "And don't touch my homework! At least, not until it's done."
Blaise only grabbed with paper with his other hand and turned his eyes to Ron. "You asked her to the Yule Ball? Good job! How'd you do it? I should try it on Harry…"
"I doubt it would work if you tried it on Harry. It was the worst invitation in the history of mankind." Hermione retorted dryly.
"It was not!" Ron flushed. "You agreed to go, didn't you?"
"Not because of that phrasing, no."
Blaise only rolled his eyes at them. "What is the homework here, anyway?" He took a closer look at the paper, to find that the ink didn't look quite right.
"It's Charms homework. Remember? The Stats Charm?"
Blaise turned to blink at Hermione before comprehension dawned. "Oh! That nifty spell that tells you a person's statistics! You already have it all figured out?" He ducked as Hermione got up to grab at her homework. "Hey, can this show me Harry's statistics?"
As if the paper heard him, the ink blurred for a few moments before changing. Blaise managed a cursory glance at it before Hermione knocked him down, landing on top of him to grab at the paper.
"Ha!" She crowed, delighted that she could take down a Slytherin Quidditch player. "That shows you for trying to- whoa!"
"Hermione!"
She heard Ron's exclamation right after she was thrown backward by Blaise, who grabbed at the paper, wide-eyed.
Ron rushed across the table to help her back up, glaring at Blaise all the while. "What in the world do you think you were doing, you git?"
Blaise ignored him, instead reading the paper aloud.
"Harold James Potter, Male. Black hair, green eyes. Born in 1980, died in 1986. Current residence: Godric Hollow Cemetery."
"So where are you going this Christmas?"
It was a casual question, one that didn't have any hints of malice or deception, only a genuine curiosity. Draco and Harry were both sprawled over the couch in the room, both nudging at each other for more space. Carnus had long since disappeared, having slithered off somewhere to find food. After all, he was still a wild snake and Harry didn't want to tame him by feeding him.
"Home." Harry answered simply, feeling a stab of guilt at those words. He thought he had already diverted the conversation onto other topics, but then Draco just had to go and bring it back up. He grabbed for one of the couch cushions before Draco could take them all. "How about you? Staying here for Christmas like everyone else going to the Yule Ball?"
Draco frowned, snatching back Harry's cushion and ignoring his indignant cry. "I'm staying for Christmas, but I'm probably not going to this year's Yule Ball."
"What, not taking Pansy?" Harry joked. Pansy Parkinson had always been a sore subject for Harry, even before he remembered his past relationship with Draco.
Not that he remembered everything now, he thought bitterly. Just bits and pieces of things, but enough for him to piece together the whole picture.
"Pansy? I wouldn't want to interrupt her date!"
"Maybe you should go with Blaise, then." Harry said. "He was complaining to me that he didn't have a date for the Ball."
In actuality, Blaise had done more than complain to Harry about it. He had teased Harry about going with him, hinting (quite blatantly) that he wanted the small Gryffindor as a date.
"I think Blaise already had someone in mind." Draco said dryly.
"Really? Good for him, then! I hope he gets his date." Harry smiled.
Ron had been right about Harry. The green-eyed boy had the slightest suspicion in the back of his mind that Blaise was actually interested in him, but that thought was shoved away into an abyss somewhere. The only thing that the boy knew was that Blaise spent more time with him than Ron and Hermione, and that was saying something since Gryffindor and Slytherin only had three classes together.
Draco would have choked on something at that moment had he been eating. Fortunately, he only gave Harry an incredulous stare before shaking his head and hiding a smile behind his hand.
"Oh! You've got to help me with my transfiguration project." Draco interjected, changing the subject before he was tempted to ask Harry to stay for Christmas break. "You and Hermione are tied for highest grade in that class, you know?"
Harry flushed at the compliment, wondering why he was doing so well in his classes as well. He had been an average student before, barely passing his classes (especially Potions) and getting just decent scores on his tests and projects. Yet with his arrival in this universe, everything seemed so much easier. Magic was so… full here that he could barely control the flow of it.
Maybe the wand that his parents had given him was better than the wand he had before?
"You'll have to ask Hermione on that." Harry said. "I don't really understand the concepts of it, and the project is based more on theory than actual demonstrations."
It was true. While Harry was much better at magic now, he still didn't completely understand the theories and the written part. Hermione was the one with all the information, not him. It was because of that that they were tied for first in their classes. Harry performed the magic exceptionally, while Hermione understood all the history and reasons behind the magic usage.
"And it's not like you're lagging behind. If anyone needs help, it's Ron."
Draco grinned. "Yes, but I still figure you could help me anyway. You always make it look so easy…"
Harry flicked his arm. "I do not! I have a hard time with the tests that McGonagall gives!"
"But not the work!"
The two of them continued mock-arguing and teasing each other for a few minutes before there was a banging on the door, and voices from the other side. Giving each other curious looks, Harry got up to let the people in, only to have Ron, Hermione, and Blaise stumble over the barrier once the door opened.
"What in the world-?" Harry exclaimed, staring at the tumble of people on the threshold. He gave them room to get up. "Why are you guys in such a hurry?"
It was Ron who spoke first, grabbing onto Harry's shoulders. "We've got some very, very strange information here, mate. Either someone sabotaged your reports, or the spell was really cracked, but-"
Harry blinked as Blaise knocked Ron out of the way and shoved a paper in his face. "This! It's Hermione's homework… the Stats Charm. We thought we did in wrong at first, but then we repeated the spell at least eight times and tried it with different people, and theirs was all correct, and…"
"What are you talking about?" Draco was sitting up in the couch now, curiosity evident in his gray eyes.
"It says that Harry Potter died ten years ago." Hermione said in a serene voice. Her eyes were suspicious as she watched one of her best friends.
At this, Draco's eyes widened and he turned to Harry.
"It says that Harry Potter died when he was six and is now buried at Godric Hollow Cemetery. Why does it say that, Harry?" Hermione asked, her posture the calmest out of everyone in the room.
Harry fingered the paper, reading the contents before pursing his lips. Should he tell them…? He should have known, really. Hermione always found out things that people didn't want her to find out. It was, after all, the reason that they solved all those mysteries during their school years together.
Besides, he had always felt guilty about keeping the information from them. Might as well let them know, right? It would be a great burden to unload… but why did it feel like something was gnawing at his stomach?
"You did a great job, Hermione." Harry smiled. "It's not often that a person can complete this charm the same day that it's taught to us." He took a deep breath. "And your paper's absolutely correct. Harry Potter did die at the age of six, and is now buried in Godric Hollow Cemetery.
"At least… the Harry Potter of this world."
Much love to the reviewers! *glomps* Lady Phoenix Gryffindor, Myk, angel, TeeDee, Phoenix353, amythest, SailorGurl, Mirai no Jennyfur, lillie chan, Otaku freak, Sternschen, Reiken, Amy, Relle, serapotter, and izean. *beams*
Carnus is one of Nagini's children, and Nagini being at Hogwarts will be explained! Harry doesn't have visions anymore, he has flashbacks. The basilisk never woke up in the first place, and no one knows that Harry is a Parselmouth. *winks* I'm not sure if I'll write a scene with Remus and Harry, although I might consider that. As for Harry and Draco's relationship... it's kinda... both. ^^;; I'm glad people liked my description for Lily, though! *teary-eyed* Thanks so much for everyone who put me on their favorites lists.... XDDD You are much beloved!
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