By: DaDomz (Branw3nand Lestat)
DISCLAIMER: WE DON'T OWN NOTHING.
WARNINGS:
1.) This is a HP/DM fic. But not entirely. Read it and understand.
2.) Also a R/Hr fic so be warned!
3.) Idea derived from the Travelers Incognito.
DEDICATIONS:
1.) Martha Alexanders: She did the Latin translations for me. Thanks for being patient, you're an integral part in the development of this story's plot, or lack thereof. I might just take you up on your offer.
2.) Mech- My number one fan who fails to review anything. Oh well.
3.) Loenne- For just being green.
Author's Note: Yes, Draco will now have straight hair, due to vehement argumentations when I suggested otherwise.
donelle- yep. I was supposed to put down sedative guess I was too lazy to re-read this.
I somewhat regret having this thing entirely narrated by Sirius and Snape. What happens when they both kiss? Would they have to censor those parts for the little girl!!! Waaaaaah! Wait, I've got an idea! Ha!
Chapter Four: Hell Hath No Fury Like a Potions Master Scorned
Severus Snape had never been so frustrated in his entire existence. He had been awakened before the crack of dawn by that godforsaken bond Lucius Malfoy had instated in him and Draco. He immediately knew that something was wrong with the child.
'What isn't?' a calloused voice at the back of his mind interjected.
'Shut up' he bit back harshly, sneering at it.
It wasn't the dear child's fault that his father was a sickly, controlling megalomaniac. Poor child, never knowing which was which, right from wrong, male from female…
He shook those thoughts away, there was no time for them. He had followed their bond and found the child in the Infirmary. Now the only problem was to enter the aforementioned place, had the territorial beast not intercepted him. Wasn't his bloody fault that those bed pans were stacked just within the immediate proximity of the double doors. Bleeding house elves, they'd get a good thrashing for all of this.
He looked down at the plump woman who stood before him, gulping. Curse Dumbledore for hiring her. She had been here for forever. He had encountered her more than once while he was but a student in this castle. Yet she remained to look as young as fifty. She must have worked some of those miracle cures upon her own face.
Now, to reason with the beast.
"Madame, I do insist that you let me enter," his voice was as cold and sinister as winter, though it affected her in no way.
"Professor Snape, if you persist on waking my patients with that action which you mistakenly call walking, I firmly maintain that you leave the premises before you give them headaches or nightmares."
She crossed her arms under her chest and he glimpsed of the potion she held in her hand. It was a pale bluish green color though curiously enough glowed red. He immediately knew what it was.
"Mr. Malfoy has hypothermia," he stated it, leaving no room for question, thankfully remembering to address Draco formally. "As the Head of his house, I am privileged to see him." He barely finished the sentence as he shoved past her, leaving her with mouth hanging agape.
He rushed to the only occupied bed in the area, brow furrowing at the too large lump atop it. Draco was in no way miniscule but certainly not as large as that. He slowed his pace, approaching the uncomfortable hospital bed from the side when he noticed an all too familiar lump of black hair.
"Potter!!!" he bellowed, causing Mdm. Pomfrey to approach him like a charging bull.
She was on him in an instant, shaking her finger and reprimanding him harshly in a fierce whisper. He looked over her head to see the Potter boy turn his head to face him, eyes wide with shock and fear as they came to rest upon Snape's seething figure. That was when he saw what Potter cradled in his arms.
"Get off he-him!!!" Severus could feel his blood pressure rising, his face turning an alarming shade of purple, and steam nearly escaping from his ears.
Mdm. Pomfrey took him by the elbow and dragged him to the nearest cot; she was unnaturally strong for a woman of her stature. She then removed some pills from her apron and stuck them inside his mouth, leaving no room for question, clamping his mouth closed with a hand.
Snape chewed automatically, wincing at the familiar bitter iron taste of the pills. They were for his heart. But his eyes were still on Potter and Draco, boring a hole in the former's head and fearing for the latter's sake.
Potter sat up, careful not to disturb Draco, who, to Snape's dismay, clung to the bespectacled man as if he were a buoy that kept him from drowning. Potter *had* to have created a love potion to induce this type of affection from the child.
Sputtering as Mdm. Pomfrey removed her paws from him lips, his voice was a chemically induced threatening calm. "What is he doing here?"
"He found and saved he-Mr. Malfoy," she replied stiffly, though he caught the slip in her words. How in the world-?
He returned his gaze to the sleeping child who leaned on Potter contentedly. He could perceive the hospital pyjamas on the teenager, that and half a dozen blankets with the comforter wrapped around Draco's slender frame. That did not assuage his anger, only heightened his fear. He took in the way Potter held Draco and didn't like it one bit. He noticed but disregarded the way his student clung to Potter, a hand clutching at a handful of Potter's sweater and the other unconsciously playing with the hair on Potter's nape.
He took Poppy Pomfrey by the arm and dragged her behind a curtained off section of the Infirmary, far from Potter's prying ears, though not as far as Severus might have liked.
"You know," was his first statement.
"About 'Mr.' Malfoy?" she sniffed at the title. "Of course I do, what do you take me for? An imbecile?"
He chose not to reply. "What about Potter, then?"
"There's nothing wrong with him."
"Does he know?!?!?!" he yelled, his grip on her arm tightening.
She pulled out of his grasp, bestowing upon him a disgusted look. "Of course not! Whatever business the Malfoys have doing what they did is strictly theirs." She sounded revolted. "And apparently yours as well."
He pretended to not have heard her last remark or its implications on his humanity. "Well, let us leave it at that. Now, why is Potter here, and all the more, why is he on the same bed with *my* student?"
"As I said, Professor Snape, he found Mr. Malfoy and decided to take him here. Mr. Potter was intelligent enough not to let his biases get in the way when it comes to his fellow classmate's condition. He brought Mr. Malfoy here, nearly collapsing out of exhaustion."
Snape seemed unimpressed. "Then why is he occupying the same bed Mr. Malfoy inhabits? I see no lack in cots as I came in."
"I asked him to help warm-up Mr. Malfoy," she huffed.
He slapped his forehead. "Bloody brilliant of you! He's a teenager for god's sake! They're fucking hormonal!"
"Are you implying that Mr. Potter has homosexual tendencies? HE-DOESN'T-KNOW!!!!!"
Severus took in a deep breath before exiting the oppressive space the curtain veiled and turned to face Potter, who was trying but failing to extricate himself from Draco's grasp. To Severus, he didn't seem to be trying hard enough or putting up much resistance.
"You may leave now, Potter," he scoffed, malevolently glaring at Potter's unruly bush of hair.
"Yes, professor," he muttered distractedly, successfully removing Draco's hand from his hair and was now tugging at the other, still clinging possessively on his shirt. He tried to pry nimble fingers off the poorly-made material, when, to Snape's utter amazement, Draco turned, snuggling all the more closer to Potter, burying a flaxen head into Potter's broad shoulder, too-long hair brushing against Potter's cheek, muttering inarticulate words, seemingly complaining against Potter and Severus Snape's intentions.
Potter mumbled soothing words against Draco's silvery mane, extracting a disgruntled whimper from the Slytherin. Snape tapped his foot impatiently, though for Draco, he would wait. He could comprehend that Draco wouldn't act this way under normal circumstances and it wasn't due to some love potion but some temporary illness that caused his student to require warmth and obtain it from any source that could offer it.
He watched Potter, somewhat amused at his reaction to Draco's unwarranted attention. Potter looked up at him, nearly pleading, finally succeeding in disentangling his legs from where they previously were. Snape shuddered to think of their prior location. Control your temper, not Potter's fault, not Potter's fault… Why in the hell did he comply with Draco's… Don't think of it, no, no, no, no…….!!!
"Hurry up, Potter," he growled feverishly, snarling at the boy.
"I'm trying, professor!" the young man bit back, struggling to remove Draco's possessive grip on his sweater. Then, as if a spark of intelligence had finally decided to inhabit Potter's altogether cobweb-filled head, he had the mind to remove his sweater, looking rather proud of himself, then his face fell, an almost discreet change in his eyes.
The Gryffindor sighed and gently plucked Draco's hands from the white tee shirt he wore, tucking it into his discarded sweater, an unbelievably fond smile crossing his features as he glimpsed upon Draco's contented smile as the Slyhterin's tiny frame buried itself into Potter's enormous sweater, sighing blissfully.
Potter gazed at Draco for a slight moment before turning around, starting to leave when Severus caught his arm in a steel-like grip filled with all the vindictiveness that he could muster. "Where did you find him, Potter?"
Harry regarded him coolly for a second, trying to decide if he was to tell the Potions Master the truth or some variation of it. Snape could tell that he had settled for the truth for he had this resigned look to him. "I couldn't sleep and decided to take a stroll. It was four in the morning when I found someone perched atop the Astronomy Tower roof. She, I had at first presumed it was a woman," he quickly added after taking in Snape's scandalized face. "I saw the figure stand and with the strong gales and all, I immediately thought it was some sort of suicide act. I rushed to the Astronomy Tower, found a secret passage and dragged Malfoy away from the ledge just as he was about to fall.
"He was unconscious, shivering, lips blue, skin paler than normal. I presumed he had hypothermia. The goblet half-filled with wine by his feet didn't seem to have the desired effect, as to wine does not give the warmth he needed. It dehydrates the body even more. So, I wrapped him in his robe and carried him here."
Snape met his eyes, emerald orbs daring him to disbelieve the tale. "And may I ask who gave *you* permission to sneak out at night?"
"It was near-morning, I did nothing wrong. I only awoke earlier than the rest of this castle," he countered, so angry that Severus could feel his muscles stiffen.
"Well, then seeing that you have saved Mr. Malfoy's life, I suppose I can let that err pass without a point deduction," Potter gave him a grateful look. "But with a detention sanction." Potter's face fell and nodded with a world-weary cynicism and resignation.
"Thank you, Professor Snape," he said, pulling out of Severus' grasp and exiting the Infirmary.
Severus Snape stared at the young man's retreating back until wooden double doors blocked out Potter's tall muscular frame. "Now I owe you once again."
He then turned to face the sleeping seraph which he had, ironically enough, been assigned to guard and had nearly failed in doing so. "Nunc, dracus parvus meus. Quod in terram facere probovisti?" (Now, my little dragon. What in the world have you tried to do?")
* * * * *
He snuggled under the heavy comforter, desperately trying to cling to the last remnants of a dreamless sleep. He groaned as a sudden wave of nausea threatened to envelope him and he suddenly felt insecure. What happened to the solid wall of safety and warmth that had stayed beside him from the beginning?
Suddenly he felt penetrating eyes upon him and he bolted upright, head whirling around to face the unknown stalker. His eyes landed on the quite harried features of one very agitated Professor Snape. He frowned, quite mystified at the situation. Where was he? And how did he get here?
"Professor Snape?" he questioned, his voice like dry parchment. Severus nearly broke out into a smile at that long-forgotten epithet.
Draco coughed for quite some time before a glass grasped in an enormous hand was set under his nose.
He drank greedily, the water restoring his strength for his ordeal with Snape.
"Voleris si vultis mei dicere quod ibi factus est, Draco?" his voice was calm, belying the edginess that he felt. (Would you please inform me of what had happened back there, Draco?)
Innocent eyes stared up at him as Draco steeled himself, struggling to forget the feeling of comfort that still lingered over every fiber of his being as he tried to recall far past that, to when his emotions were cold and as hard as iron and where memories consisted of images, not impalpable emotions.
"Donas sibi tempus, liber," Snape soothed, calmly running his fingers through too long silken strands of gossamer hair. "Attendisi longior tempus in te desterto.." (Take your time, child, I've waited far longer for you to wake.)
It was his turn to voice a query. "Quid sum hic? Sed super quod, ubi sum?" (Why am I here? More important, where am I?)
Snape sighed, palm now lying on Draco's rounded shoulders. "Veraciter non scis?" (You truly do not know?)
Flaxen head shook in reply.
"Apparet que habuisti attactum hypothermiae et apparet que Potter," he spat out the name as it left a vile taste in his mouth. "salvatorem erat cum tu voluisti ipse conicere de turri Astronomiae, ad mortem. Nunc, si possum esse ita liberius, quid, Draco? Quid vita tuus probere finiri?" (It seems as though you had caught a bout of hypothermia and Potter seems to have been your saviour as you were about to throw yourself off the Astronomy Tower and to your death. Now, if I may, why, Draco? Why try to take your own life?)
Detached silvery irises widened to show a range of eternally suffocated emotions as confusion left pallid features to be replaced by enlightenment then shame. Then, reverting to English; "I was up there contemplating upon unspeakable choices."
Snape's eyes widened in surprise and understanding, knowing full well what had been the cause of Draco's botched suicide attempt. "Child, is it truly worth taking your life?"
Glossy lashes fluttered over creamy skin, blinking in uncontainable surprise. "Pardon me?"
"Dracus parvus meus, you understand full well that your father would not cause you harm if you chose differently. I'd make sure of it," Snape seated himself on the cot, laying a protective hand on silvery-gold hair.
"No," tiny voice came out breathless at the implications of the professor's words. "No." The voice was more firm this time, full of reluctant assurity. "I recall standing atop the roof, the wind caressing my face. I love that feeling, as you do know."
He was given sparse periods out in the sun. He was a tiny delicate child and his parents feared that he might collapse out of physical exertion, especially with the hateful rays of the sun on his back. Snape understood him, empathized with his want for a few seconds of freedom, even with such an insignificant thing as that.
"Nausea enveloped me, rendering me unconscious and the last thing I could see was the grass looming before me." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "But I felt arms wrap around me, pulling me back, though that could surely be my imagination. Who would selflessly try to save me, the bane of all Hogwarts? I had strictly implied that I was not to be followed at nights and Blaise, Vincent and Gregory have firmly remained adamant with my request."
Snape shook his head. "Did you not hear me, Draco?" He admonished softly. "Potter saved you."
The incessant fluttering of seemingly burnished lids began its ritual once more. "What?"
"He saved you, though more for his own egoistical reasons, I'm sure."
Draco could not conceal the shock that settled upon his features. "Potter?" No. It couldn't be. Why would he save him? Potter hated him with the same vindictiveness that Draco had for him. Or was Potter truly what everyone claimed him to be? A saint. Altruistic, noble, gallant, every girl's dream? Draco shook his head. No one was perfect, no person with that much humanity in them.
"Do not torture yourself, Draco. He had done it for himself. Now you owe him your life. Just as he had wanted."
Disbelieving eyes stared back at Snape.
"Draco," Snape halted, trying to grasp at a change of topic. "You've stopped eating your meals. You shouldn't have done such a thing. Your lack of sleep as well as that had caused your Immune System to weaken and it had been unable to shield you from the cold. The wine you drank did nothing to add warmth to your body."
"But it turned out all right, didn't it?" he replied defiantly, refined chin slightly tilted upward. "The blankets helped as I slept, as did Mdm. Pomfrey's cures."
"That was not all," Snape muttered to himself, too low for Draco's ears.
"Pardon?" his voice held an impertinence that reminded Severus of the child he once was and in the Slytherin Head's mind, still was.
Severus regarded Draco's clothing with a wariness he could not place. Golden head bent down to see the much abhorred piece of garment. The crimson coloring of it held nothing sinister, though he had never owned such a shade in his entire wardrobe. Its too large fit hinted at its owner's size. It was a man's shirt. He pulled the sleeves to his face, arms disappearing inside its length as he breathed in the pleasant odor. The minty smell of old spice mixed with a manly musk blended well with his own scent.
The sweater's essence suddenly brought a face to mind.
"Potter's," he breathed, struggling to detach himself from the article of clothing but a firm hand halted him.
"As much as I abhor Potter, I believe that keeping that sweater on will be for the best."
He grunted, feeling a strange sense of ambivalence, not wanting to keep any item which belonged to Potter but liking the smell he left on his clothes, feeling a familiar wave of comfort rush at him, but now causing him to blanch.
It just couldn't be.
* * * * *
It was now Thursday; Dean stared at the board and copied the figures written all over it, wiping his mind clear of any thought. It was Transfiguration and the only noise that could be perceived was the silent chirping of the cicadas and Ron's soft snores. He slept much and studied only when he felt like opening a textbook, which was a rare occasion, but surprisingly enough, he still managed to squeeze through his tests.
Hermione was probably just as tired as everyone else, she wasn't enthusiastic about the lesson and her mind had drifted far away from the Transfigurations classroom, her thoughts switching from a sleeping Ron beside her and the world outside the classroom. The Slytherins' were bummed out as well, either too busy snoring or snapping at each other.
Harry was not in attendance for the last match Gryffindor had, versus Hufflepuff, though ending gloriously for the former, had resulted in broken ribs and beaten in face for their much-appreciated Head Boy and Seeker.
The only people who were probably listening out of the entire lot were Dean and Draco. Pansy was busy peeping in on everybody, staring at Blaise and staring at him looking straight out the window, his attention laying on the bright blue fowl flitting around the castle. Pansy could see Gregory and Vincent sleeping, drool spilling onto their shared desk, Nott toying with his wand and Millicent writing down ways to trim down on fat and lastly, her eyes settled on Draco.
He appeared to be deep in concentration, listening to whatever McGonagall was babbling about and arduously taking down notes. Pansy grinned. This was a first. A very attentive Draco and a possibly deranged Pansy was a sight that would only possibly come once in a million lifetimes. And besides, she had to try and cheer him up after his near-death experience a few days ago. He wasn't one to talk about such things, not anymore, but she had this feeling, as all best friends did, that he was truly bothered by it.
She tried to peer at his piece of parchment, though his hand was victorious in shielding his notes from any and all prying eyes.
She couldn't take it anymore that she flicked Draco's nose with her fingertips and immediately clamped a hand to his mouth, to minimize his yelp. The blond was aggressive and distraught as he rubbed his ear repeatedly. Pansy ignored his piercing glare, though cringing involuntary but paid it no heed and continued to look at the pieces of parchment.
Draco's pierce made others wince and shudder at the same time, his growl would induce lions to whimper.
There wasn't a single word related to the subject on the parchment paper. In fact, there were no words or anything with curled slanted edges on it to begin with. Instead, there was a large circle with two smaller, pebble-like spheres positioned in it, an upside down number seven between both coals while a straight line with sharp pinecones hanging from it was situated beneath the inverted number. It took her several minutes to realize that the big circle was a head, the small circles were the eyes, the upended seven was a nose and the line with the cones were a monster-type of mouth. Several limp hay-like strands were hanging from the head with a too thin body and a deformed hands and too big feet.
Pansy blinked for a few moments. "You know," She turned to look at Draco. "I told you when we were three, that you never did have some artistic capabilities or any of the like, don't you remember? Now, this proves my theory... You really should try a new form of self-expression... and as I recall, I also told you that then."
"And if you would remember, it was the time I also shoved your face in the sandbox and asked you to eat dung in more or less two words. Mummy and Father were quite proud of my impressive communication skills at age two." Draco grinned. "I was set to do a self portrait but then I suddenly realized that the drawing didn't quite resemble me at all but seemed to take after you." He grinned to see Pansy's shocked expression. "Don't worry love, the drawing is wearing a full-proof Givenchy perfume."
Pansy was about to protest when people started to gather and pair-up. McGonagall was writing complicated things on the board and listing the contents of the criteria for perfect grades. Pansy started to re-read the spells written above.
"Guess, we're partners," Draco shrugged. "You do it first since you're quite eager and very talented, go on, be honored that I am allowing you to try the spell on me. It's supposed to bestow upon us animal instincts, transfigure our own abilities to that of animals."
"Okay," Pansy shrugged and held her want tightly, muttering the spell in less than no second. A bright pink light emerged from the tip of her wand and bright pink smoke engulfed the room. Pansy coughed over and over again, hearing the other students do the same.
Suddenly, the cacophonous noise was suddenly engulfed by an even stentorian discord, which could be discerned to be a high-pitched scream. Presumably, Draco's as it could be heard a mile from its inception. McGonagall, had her left hand on her chest, as if she was having a heart attack, her eyes wide with fright. The smoke quickly cleared out and Pansy could see orange flames dancing around the hem of Draco's robes.
"What the fuck! Parkinson!" He shouted out-loud. "Help me put out these blasted things! Ow! It's bloody hot! What in the bloody hell is happening!?!"
McGonagall quickly performed a spell to put out the fire. Draco was drenched from head to toe. His hair covered his eyes and a gash on his back that ran from his middle to his waist was noticeable. Draco roughly ran a hand over his face and glared at Pansy as soon as all the excess liquid left his eyes. McGonagall intervened before he could maul Parkinson. "Take off your robes, I had poured down a chemical to quell the flames, which is absolutely horrible when put in contact with human flesh."
"No!" Draco protested as McGonagall tried to yank his robes off. "There is no rule that entails with the removal of my clothing when I am wet! Just let me assist myself to the hospital ward."
"The chemical reacts within a few seconds, if you don't remove your garments right now then I fear you're going to suffer from an Albino result for the rest of your life!" McGonagall threatened.
"Who cares? I'm probably Albino-ridden already!" Draco countered. McGonagall's face twisted into an incomprehensible grimace before jerking Draco's robes off his body. He was already shivering, though it wasn't snowing, Scotland was, after all, a cold country.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and embraced himself. Everybody was probably staring and googling at him; some were snickering behind his back. He was tempted to strangle each and every one of them.
McGonagall scratched her head in mild agitation. "Take of your vest and your top off, Mr. Malfoy... Please don't defy me... Parkinson, please help..."
*------*
{Potion's dungeons}
Severus was staring off into space, his mind blank. Every blasted Gryffindor 6th year was boring the hell out of him. He let out a desperate sigh before reaching for an empty glass vial and decided to walk around the room. He was studying each pair's potion.
He deliberately stopped before Weasley and Creevey's potion, then deciding that their cauldron wasn't boiling right, decided to whack both outstretched hands, ready to add more wrongly measured ingredients with his wand. Both hands withdrew and he found two pairs of eyes staring at him, both trying their best to contain their joined opinions of the sneering professor.
"I said a dash of crushed beetle wings, not a handful," Snape was tempted to smack both heads until his wand broke. Figures, a Weasley. The name alone meant 'stupidity and Idiocy'. "I'm disappointed, Creevey." He mumbled.
He had expected so much from this particular Gryffindor. Severus had taken a certain liking for him. A naïve and fully interested Gryffindor First year. He had spent his extra time cleaning the place up and well... the only thing he probably hated about this student was his clicking camera.
There was a loud crash from a few floors above. Snape looked up and saw a few grains of dusts falling from the dungeon's roof. He rolled his eyes and smacked the boy's head in front of him. The dust was clearly the outcome of some certain mixture gone wrong. He rolled his eyes and went over to the board, disregarding it as something of no consequence and began to write the formula.
He wrote in a clear penmanship, the right formula before another explosion startled the hell out of him. "Who did that?" He growled. "Who was responsible for that eruption or do I have to go around and look into your cauldrons, checking if there are any holes in them?"
"That's only happened Longbottom sir, 7th year," A Slytherin replied politely. "He's the only one who dissolved a cauldron and made an arse out of himself in front of everyone."
"I didn't ask for your opinion," Snape glared at him. "Either tell me who caused the upheaval or you will all suffer a 20 point deduction from your house, choose!"
Students started talking all at once, most of the Slytherin's fore fingers pointing towards the Gryffindors' side while the Gryffindors' own were pointing above.
"CEASE!" Snape shouted. He then got up and smacked each of his students' heads. "Have any of you been taught anything about decency? To talk one by one? Creevey!"
"It was from above sir, Transfiguration classroom, I think." He nodded curtly before sitting down. Severus nodded in turn and pulled out his own scroll.
Schedule
Transfiguration: Mondays
08: 00am -10: 00am-Hufflepuff and Gryffindor 6th years-
10: 00am -12: 00nn -Slytherin and Gryffindor 3rd years-
01: 00pm -03: 00pm-Ravenclaw and Gryffindor 4th years-
03: 00pm -05: 00pm-Slytherin and Gryffindor 7th years-
"Bloody Hell!" he exclaimed as a promiscuous sense of foreboding invaded his thoughts. He dropped the scroll and hurried out of the door. He did not turn to look and regard his students. He directly rushed up the flight of stairs headed towards the Transfiguration classroom.
Severus Snape to the rescue.
* * * * *
Author's Note: When the story was in Snape's POV, it was a lot hard to try and have him speak and think of Draco and not specify his gender and not use pronouns!!! Do I get a review as a reward???