Draco Malfoy and his Unknown Fate:
Author's Notes: Well, here's the next chapter. I'd like some feedback on this chapter if you have the time as I'm not quite sure how well I did with this one.
Warnings for this chapter: Language. Eh, that's all I think.
Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm merely borrowing them for the time being. This is slash. Don't like it? Don't read it. Otherwise, enjoy.
Eventually, they arrived at their destination; Hogsmeade, to be precise. Harry shook Draco awake and the groggy Slytherin collected his broom and stumbled off the bus, ignoring the chattering driver in favor of peering blearily about. Harry finally exited the bus with his broom in hand and the knapsack on his back, quickly stepping off to the curb to watch the bus drive off with one last awful spluttering sound. Draco was surprised the thing hadn't broken down yet.
"Ready, Draco?"
"Yeah." The Slytherin mounted his broomstick, but before he kicked off he spoke up. "Dumbledore had better damn well appreciate the fact I risked my life to get that skull! And worst of all, I think I've got blisters! I expect Slytherin to be given many, many points for this. And a nice award wouldn't go amiss either." He informed the Gryffindor haughtily.
Harry dropped his gaze and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, er. About that. You see." Then he mumbled something quickly that Draco couldn't make out. He had his suspicions however.
"What was that?"
Harry squinted at the sky, as if studying a cloud as he spoke. "Dumbledore doesn't actually know I was going to get the skull. I sort of um. Did it on my own."
"What?!" Draco exploded. "We could get expelled for this, Harry! Leaving school grounds without permission can get us into serious trouble! At the very least they could take away our prefect badges! What were you thinking you dense sod?!"
Harry set his jaw and his green eyes flashed behind his glasses as he stared down the other boy. "I had to, Draco! Professor Dumbledore was going to send Sirius to do it and he would have gotten caught, you know he would have. No one even knew that the secret chamber can only opened with Malfoy blood, not to mention Sirius would have had no clue how to get on the Manor grounds in the first place so it's a bloody good thing we did go, isn't it?"
The Slytherin sighed. "I guess. Not much we can do about it now, is there?" Draco had visions of the Headmaster promptly kicking him out of Hogwarts while his precious Harry Potter was lauded for his heroism once again. Being familiar with his own awful luck and the way Dumbledore was so obviously biased towards Gryffindors the Slytherin felt justified in fretting.
Harry leaned over and swiftly brushed Draco's lips with his own, cupping the blonde's cheek with one hand. "Don't worry about it, Draco. I'll take care of everything." He searched Draco's eyes, attempting to reassure his lover.
"Whatever, Harry." Draco grumbled, but his lips curved upwards in the corners just the tiniest bit.
Harry grinned at him and winked before swinging onto his Firebolt and shooting into the air. Draco followed, maneuvering so that he was just a bit ahead of Harry as they flew. The Gryffindor glanced over and increased his pace, making sure the tip of his handle was two inches in front of Draco's. Seeing this, Draco slowly inched his way back into the lead, relaxing once he'd managed to pass the other boy again.
Harry however, was not to be bested, and immediately increased his Firebolt's speed. It rapidly degenerated from there until both of them were hurtling through the air, crouched over their broomsticks in an attempt to win the impromptu race. "Is that the best you can do, Harry?" Draco hollered above the rushing wind and grinning maniacally, Harry shouted back.
"Hardly! Even Hermione can fly faster than you!"
"Ha! Then why am I ahead of you?"
"Don't worry Draco, you'll be eating my dust soon enough!"
Draco laughed before yelling his reply. "You wish!"
With their competitive tendencies riled, the two boys raced towards Hogwarts as fast as their broomsticks allowed. It was exhilarating. The air was a bright shade of robin's egg blue and sun shone merrily as Harry and Draco jostled each other in an attempt to gain the lead. They passed trees at a breakneck speed, turning them into mere streaks of green. Draco, Slytherin that he was, elbowed the other boy and darted ahead, almost howling with laughter at the utterly indignant look on Harry's face. Draco landed first and hopped of his broomstick with the intention of teasing Harry about his loss once he'd landed.
As soon as the Gryffindor touched down however, the main doors opened and McGonagall, looking even more sour than usual, stepped out. Draco immediately sobered at the stern look she was giving them. "Well, now. I see you two have finally deigned to return. Follow me." She said sharply, turning swiftly and stalking down the corridor like a miffed cat. Harry cast Draco a reassuring glance and the two boys hurried to keep up with her, their footsteps ringing on the stone floor. "Never, in all the years I've been teaching at Hogwarts, have I had a student more disobedient and foolhardy than you, Mr. Potter. Both you and Mr. Malfoy have quite a bit of explaining to do."
She led them to the Headmasters office and turned to observe them with pursed lips and a disapproving expression. "Canary Cremes. Go on, now. Professor Dumbledore is expecting you." With the password given, the two boys climbed the stairs quickly while the Transfiguration teacher turned and left, intent on her own tasks.
The office was empty when they reached it though and, feeling distinctly uncomfortable, Draco took a seat in one of the two chairs facing the desk. Harry joined him and they shared an uneasy look. "Where is he?" The Slytherin asked quietly, but before the other boy could respond the Headmaster made his entrance.
"Right here, my dear boy." Dumbledore entered the room from a hidden door in the back and sent them an absent minded smile. "Ah, I was wondering when you two would return. You had us all very worried." He peered over his half moon glasses, giving the boys a gently chiding look. Harry seemed to shrink several inches at the remonstration, but his jaw still had that stubborn jut to it.
"Well, we're back and we're not even scratched. Though Draco claims he has a blister." The Gryffindor gave the blonde a grin before turning back to Dumbledore. "Here's the skull." He fished out the bag embroidered with runic symbols and plopped it down on the desk next to a paperweight that kept shifting it's shape.
"Ah." Albus Dumbledore studied the bag in a meditative manner, his eyes no longer twinkling. "You have completed your self-appointed task, I see. But your… carelessness worries me, Harry. You risked your life needlessly. Sirius is perfectly capable of completing his own missions. He was trained as an Auror and is an animagus. You must remember Sirius survived twelve years in Azkaban and managed to escape when no one else has. Your godfather is adept enough to have done a more than adequate job of fetching the skull if you had given him the chance, yet you put yourself in danger in his stead."
"The only reason we managed to get the skull was because Draco knew the Manor inside and out. And it was his blood that was the key to opening the secret chamber. I'm sorry you don't approve, but it was something I had to do."
"I understand that, Harry. But you must not throw yourself into peril quite so often. Or so enthusiastically, may I add." The spark of humor lit the Headmaster's eyes once more. Harry replied, but Draco found himself tuning out of the conversation in favor of examining the raw sores on the palm of his hands from his broomstick and wishing he could simply leave already.
Draco stayed quiet as they conversed, feeling very much out of place. Dumbledore was one of the most powerful wizards of his time and Harry wasn't far behind. And in Draco's opinion, Harry was in all probability going to be far more powerful than Dumbledore once he came into his own. Of course, he probably wouldn't be anywhere near as perceptive as the almost omniscient Headmaster. Harry's magical abilities were the sort only found in dire times and were more about force than technique. His power was a vital part of the balance of magic and something that normal wizards had no hope of competing with. It had taken Draco a very long time to accept that and let the resentment he felt because of it go. And Harry's own strength of will only made his magic more potent.
The way Dumbledore seemed to take advantage of that however, made Draco ill at ease. It was why he'd never really liked the old doddering fool, because he didn't know Dumbledore's motives and sometimes when he looked into those unreadable twinkling eyes he had the feeling he was being perceived as just another piece on the chessboard of life. Like now, come to think of it.
"And you Mr. Malfoy? What prompted you to accompany Harry on this quest of his?"
Draco shrugged, easily assuming the familiar façade of the arrogant heir, though it was no longer his role in life. "I was getting homesick you know, thought I'd nip back to the Manor and give the hellhounds my regards." The Slytherin tilted his head to a rakish angle, met the Headmaster's gaze, and smirked.
"I see."
If Dumbledore had more to say, it was lost in the sudden frenzied entrance of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. "Harry! What were you thinking?! I was almost mad with worry! Don't ever do that again." Harry stood up just in time to be swept into Sirius' bear hug and Draco caught a glimpse of the sweet smile that curved his lips before Granger and Weasley swarmed the two, turning the bear hug into some sort of group hug. Sirius Black reached out a hand and tugged Lupin into the love fest and Draco sat in his chair, observing the relieved merriment and friendly affection from a distance.
"Lemon drop?"
"Why not?" He took the proffered candy, glad to have something to occupy himself with while the Gryffindors had their little group therapy session. After Harry reassured his friends and family that yes, he was fine and no, he hadn't been hurt and Weasley had done the obligatory 'why'd you go with that git Malfoy?!' a few chairs were conjured and the crowd took their seats. However, just when order had been restored, pandemonium broke out again.
"Draco! Oh dear Merlin! Are you okay, are you hurt? Snape sent me over as soon as he heard you were back. I've been fretting for hours!" Pansy rushed in and Draco managed to get himself standing before she tackled him with a hug. "Oh you poor thing, what happened to you? And your hair!"
"I'm fine Pansy, honestly. And what's wrong with my hair?"
Pansy made a vague gesture towards his head. "It's horribly messy." With a squawk, Draco rushed to stand in front of a conveniently nearby glass cabinet and began attempting to tame his tousled, blonde locks. He knew he was being snickered at, but ignored it in favor of trying to get his wayward locks back into order. Harry might have been able to pull off that just-been-shagged hairstyle, but he was probably the only person who could in Draco's opinion.
A cleared throat made him direct his attention towards the doorway where Snape was standing with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. "As amusing as your… antics are, perhaps our time would be better served neutralizing the power of Slytherin's skull?" He suggested with a sneer.
"Well said, Severus. Do you have the potion?"
"Of course. I wouldn't be here otherwise."
Dumbledore smiled kindly. "If you don't mind my asking, how were you able to procure the unicorn blood given willingly to a wronged innocent?"
"Peony Parkinson. She agreed to gather the unicorn blood for three hundred points to Slytherin and Hogsmeade passes on demand next year. I escorted her into the Forbidden Forest last night, so I was able to brew the potion this morning when I learned of our missing wanderers."
The Headmaster looked pleased. "I'm glad the young Miss Parkinson is doing so well. It's a very Sytherin trait I've found; managing to turn even the worst of situations to your advantage. Something we will need in the coming days, I do believe." He turned his attention from Snape to Draco and then to the bag on his desk. Weasley, who had been fuming the whole time about the way Harry had left him behind on his most recent adventure in favor of bringing Draco Malfoy along, had quieted at Dumbledore's words.
"Remus, if you would hand me the large bowl to your left." The werewolf did so quickly, picking up what appeared to be a bowl carved out of some sort of ivory. He set it on the desk and Dumbledore carefully set the skull in it, tucking the bag into one of his many desk drawers. "And Severus, if you would do the honors."
"Of course, Headmaster." The Potions Master removed a large bottle from his voluminous robes and removed the stopper. While everyone's eyes followed the graceful movements of his hands, he tipped the bottle and let the stream of silver liquid fall onto the blackened skull. There was a hissing sounds as the liquid dissolved the skull, almost melting away the scorched bone until there wasn't anything left in the bowl but a few specks of black and the excess potion.
"And there we have it." Dumbledore said, beaming around at everyone. And it was all so anticlimactic Draco couldn't help but feel cheated. Where were the sparkles, the bright lights, and the funny sounds? But of course, the most powerful magic was the subtle kind and not half so crude or flashy as what Draco had expected.
"Indeed." Snape said, speaking up in that smooth, rich voice before he turned his dark eyes towards Draco. The blonde Slytherin winced, aware that he was in for it. "Now, Mr. Malfoy if you would come with me. I believe you have a lecture you need to hear as well as a large batch of stink bugs to ground."
"Oh? Well, with an offer like that how can I resist?" Draco said dryly, standing up to move towards the door. Pansy bounced up from her seat and joined him, taking her place at Snape's side in the doorway. Draco paused halfway there to swing around and face Harry who was watching him leave. "I'll see you later, right?"
Snape made an impatient noise that both boys ignored. "Right." Was all the Gryffindor said in reply, but the warm smile he sent Draco's way said more than enough.
To be Continued
Comments and constructive criticism are more than welcome.