Chapter 1
".Harry, Draco you two are the heirs of Gryffindor and Slytherin,"
A shocked silence followed Dumbledore's speech. Hesitantly he looked at Harry and Draco. To his utter surprise, they were sitting there looking at him in the same calm manner as before. What was wrong with them? This was not usual for Harry or Draco so either they couldn't grasp what he said or they had acquired a new personality trait over the summer. Even Snape was shocked by their lack of reaction.
Dumbledore was particularly worried about Harry. He already had a lot to deal with- Sirius' death, and that damned prophecy. He knew that he should have told him that he was the heir of Gryffindor along with the prophecy, but at that time, he didn't have the heart to put another burden on Harry. Now there was no other choice. It had to be said now.
"Are you two all right?" Dumbledore asked tentatively. "I know this is a lot to grasp at once, but you have to accept your destinies. I would have waited longer, until you're more mature but I didn't have a choice. It had to be done now, before your sixteenth birthday."
"Why?" for the first time after coming in to the Headmaster's office Draco had spoken.
"You see the Powers will be released a few days before you turn sixteen. No one knows how many days before."
"Oh." said Draco.
"Umm.Professor, does this have anything to do with the Prophesy?" asked Harry.
"What prophesy?" inquired Draco, a bit surprised.
Dumbledore then explained the prophecy to Draco.
Everyone was silent for while.
"So, it's Potter's destiny to defeat the Dark Lord. Why am I here then?" sneered Draco; but there wasn't much force in the sneer.
"I was just getting to that part, dear boy. I have not told either of you the whole prophecy. There was another part to it. It is time for both of you to know the full contents of the prophecy," said Dumbledore.
Dumbledore stood up and walked towards his cupboard. As he took out his pensieve, he said to Harry, "I know you can never forgive me for the pain I have inflicted on you, Harry. But please believe me when I say that I did all the things I did, because I love you. I could have revealed the entire prophecy to you that night. However, I did not. I did not, for your sake, my child. I did not wish to give you another shock; and knowing that your destiny is inter-related with Draco's would have come as an unpleasant shock. After all, the enmity between you two is legendary." Dumbledore's eye's twinkled as he said the last part.
As Dumbledore sat down and started swirling the liquid in the pensieve with the tip of his wand, Harry said, "I have no hard feelings towards you Professor; and I'm sorry I screamed at you like that the other night. I had no right to after all you have done for me. If anything, I'm grateful to you, Professor."
Dumbledore smiled. For the first time he realized how understanding and mature Harry really was. "Thank you, Harry," he said, "Now, back to the Prophesy."
Professor Trelawney's form rose from the pensieve started saying in a heavy voice that Harry had heard twice before, " The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord can not vanquish the Dark Lord alone. When the Shadow falls over the land, another hero shall emerge. A serpent by birthright, born in darkness, fed on blood, and bred in fear. Born to servitude to darkness, he shall stand by the savior of the Light. Bound by heritage and an alliance forged years before, two rivals shall unite in a comradeship that exists between few. Divided they are invincible and united they are immortal, for they have powers which exceed the limits of imagination, shatters the boundaries of space and time. The vanquisher of the Dark Lord shall not."
Dumbledore sat waiting for some kind of reaction, but none came. Only a calm question, "Potter's the Vanquisher of the Dark Lord, I'm the person who helps him and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is Demetrese Slytherin's heir?" came from Draco. The Headmaster nodded.
Meanwhile, Harry was thinking about something completely different- "We will never be friends, Professor. We're too different in two many ways." he said.
"Yes, we shall talk about the rivalry between you two tomorrow, now run along. You will start your training from tomorrow, so you two should get some rest," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he continued, "I believe Mr. Potter is very hungry and also requires some medical attention?" Harry flushed. "Madam Pomfrey is not here at the moment, in fact none of the teachers are here apart from Professors McGonagall, Snape and myself. So I suggest you all go back to the Slytherin common room. Professor Snape can then tend to Harry and give him something to eat." Snape nodded.
"Umm.Slytherin common room Professor?" asked Harry.
"As there's no one from Gryffindor here you would be alone in your own tower. You might as well stay with Draco and Professor Snape and get to know them better. You will have to work with them after all," Harry frowned and Draco sneered. Dumbledore continued, "Sleep well. There is still a lot more you will find out tomorrow."
Harry nodded and he heard Draco say, "Why does this destiny crap have to happen to me?"
Harry replied, "Yeah tell me about it Malfoy."
At once Dumbledore's head snapped up, Snape looked at him questioningly and Draco reddened and muttered, "Did I say that aloud?"
Dumbledore shook his head and said, "No Mr. Malfoy, you did not say anything."
Harry looked as puzzled as he felt, and said, "But I heard him Professor,"
Suddenly it all clicked and the old Professor understood. The strange calmness and now this.
"The power of Dracenus Parcentium has been released. " Dumbledore said calmly.
"Excuse me Professor?" Draco asked.
"In simple words, your Orion powers and 'Gifts' have been activated,"
"But, how?"
"Harry you heard something that Draco was thinking about, not something that he had said aloud. You read his mind," Dumbledore explained, "and you are to be 16 in a few weeks, am I correct?" Harry and Draco both nodded. Dumbledore continued, "So this is the perfect moment for your powers to be released."
Although Draco's head was in a total mess, he said calmly, "So we're Orions now?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Now run long."
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The Slytherin common room was the same as Harry remembered it from second year. All the walls were draped in green curtains, a dull light from the fireplace illuminated the room and small fluffy chairs were scattered about here and there.
"Behold, the great Slytherin common room. " said Draco, his gray eyes shining with pride.
"Ours is better," said Harry.
"Yeah right. As if Gryffindors know anything about room decoration,"
"Shut up Malfoy. I'm in no mood for this."
Draco was about to say something more when Snape said, "Come here Potter, I've got to fix you up."
Glad for an excuse to get away from Malfoy, Harry went towards Snape. He pointed his wand towards Harry's face and muttered something. All the cuts and bruises disappeared. Snape was healing his arms when he noticed Draco staring at him. He looked at him.
He was not smirking or gloating. On the contrary, his eyes were filled with understanding.
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Harry was lying down on a bed in the furthest corner of the Slytherin fifth year dormitory. He was thinking about everything that had happened since Draco and Snape had collected him. It had all happened so fast that he couldn't really grasp anything. All that Orion business made him dizzy. And then there was Malfoy. Had he really seen understanding in his eyes? But that couldn't be possible. What would Malfoy know about pain?
"I know more about pain than you think Potter."
Startled Harry looked up. It was Draco and he had something in his hand. He walked towards Harry and put the thing on his bed. When Harry looked closer he saw that it was a tray of food, "I thought you would want some," Draco said quietly.
"Thanks Malfoy, " Harry said taking a sandwich. "I appreciate it."
They sat in silence for quite a while when Harry suddenly said, "What is it that you understand about pain?" Draco lowered his head and said nothing. Harry pushed on, "Come on Malfoy. You know my secret, now tell me yours."
Draco sighed. "Well I guess its only fair that you know. Why don't you go ahead and read my mind?"
Harry gaped. "You would let me," he asked incredulously.
Draco shrugged. "It'll be less embarrassing than actually telling you."
"Good point."
Harry concentrated on figuring out what Draco was thinking and suddenly he heard it. no, he could feel it. He felt Draco's hatred towards his father. He felt how much he feared Lucius. He felt how painful it was for Draco when his father beat him. He felt Malfoy's despair that he could never satisfy his father. He felt how lonely he was because he had no real friends. All the Slytherins only listened to him and feared him but no one actually understood him. He saw images of people being tortured by Lucius Malfoy. They were screaming and there was blood splattered all over the place. A six-year-old Draco stood in a corner, watching and crying.
Harry had had enough. He broke the connection with Draco and stared at him.
Harry shocked himself by feeling sorry for Malfoy. After all this was Draco Malfoy, the same Malfoy who had tormented him and his friends for four years. However, Harry couldn't bring himself to be angry with Draco or even hate him. Instead, he felt as if he had finally found someone who understood his suffering.
"Malfoy, I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"It's ok Potter."
An awkward silence followed. None of them even looked at the other. Suddenly Harry shocked Draco by bursting out in laughter.
"Sorry Malfoy," Harry managed to say in between fits of laughter. "It's just that I find it really odd that Draco Malfoy could have any sufferings. You know what I mean."
"Yeah. To tell you the truth, I felt the same way too when I found out about. you know.about the Dursleys." he said awkwardly.
"You think the Dursleys are my only my only problem?" asked Harry quietly.
"There's more?" inquired Draco skeptically.
Harry looked up. As their eyes locked, thousands of memories, millions of emotions passed between them. A black haired boy crying in a cupboard because his cousin had beaten him up.pain, humiliation.his aunt yelling at him for asking questions about his parents, sitting in front of an enchanted mirror, staring at his dead parents.grief, a sense of loss, sadness, love, happiness, desire.people whispering around him and sending him furtive glances.anger, isolation, frustration.Hermione lying petrified in the hospital wing.anger, fear, grief.Ginny lying in the chamber of secrets.grief, anger, fear.Tom Riddle twirling his wand.betrayal, anger, fear.Aunt Marge calling his mother a bitch.anger.learning his father was betrayed by his best friend.rage.a hundred Dementors sweeping in on him and Sirius.fear, pain, anxiety."Not Harry. Please, not Harry." "Stand aside you silly girl." A flash of green light and a cackle of high-pitched laughter.grief, despair, pain, a sense of loss.Cedric lying dead on the ground.horror, grief, fear.a pair of pitiless red eyes staring into his own.fear, repulsion, hatred, pain.the smoky forms of his parents giving him advice.grief, shock, love, despair .stuck in Privet Drive on his own.anger, frustration, depression."Does Dumbledore think the Voldemort possessed him." . Horror, shame, disgust, repulsion from himself.People avoiding him, calling him a liar.anger, frustration, depression.Umbridge banning him from Quidditch and calling him a liar.violent anger.cutting open his own hand during detention with Umbridge and watching his blood trickle down his wrist.pain, anger, determination, hatred.Standing in a dusty room full of crystal balls with Death Eaters.fear, anger, repulsion, determination, courage. Sirius falling through the veil.violent grief, shock, guilt, self- hatred, heart wrenching agony .either shall die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives.horror, numbness.
Draco was so shocked that he could not think of anything to say. What Harry had shown him was more than he had bargained for.
"Thanks. Thanks.for trusting me," he finally managed to say.
Another silence followed, but this one wasn't awkward like the ones before. They both felt comfortable in each other's presence, just sitting there and eating sandwiches. It was as if the last four years had never happened. It was as if they had never been enemies. It felt natural for them to sit together, as if they had done it for years. Maybe it was the shared pain, maybe it was the understanding, or maybe it was the fact hat Malfoy had brought Potter sandwiches, but from that day on Draco and Harry were friends.
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Dumbledore sat stroking Fawks, and wondering about Harry. He had lost his godfather a few weeks ago, but Harry did not seem to have been affected by it at all. Considering Harry's reaction after Sirius' death, Dumbledore thought that Harry would be in a very bad shape today, broken; but to his utter amazement, he was not. Yes, he was in a bad shape, but not because of emotional turmoil, but because of abusing treatment from his aunt and uncle.
Harry's eyes were not bloodshot, there were no lines on his face to show stress, and even his eyes did not show any pain. It was as if, Harry had not been affected at all; but that was not possible. Dumbledore knew that Harry was very close to Sirius. Sirius had been the closest thing to a father Harry had ever known. So, why had he not been grieving then?
************************************************************************ Draco suddenly woke up. Someone was shaking him. He was shocked. Draco wasn't used to being woken up in this manner. His "friends" never did this, either because they were too scared or because they didn't care. At home, his mother just called him from outside his bedroom door. Surprised Draco looked up to see who it was. It was Harry. He was smiling and his green eyes were twinkling.
"Finally woken up have you? I thought I'd have to pour water on you." he said.
Draco groaned. "What's the time, Potter?"
"9 a.m. Now get up. We've got to have breakfast," Harry said cheerfully, "and by the way my name is Harry,"
Draco smiled as Harry said the last part.
"Call me Draco," said Malfoy.
He felt very weird asking Harry to call him by his given name, but he didn't mind. He was actually happy. He had finally found someone who he could talk to not because that person had powerful "connections" and would make a good ally but because he actually liked the person (not that the person in question- Harry- didn't make a good ally)
It's amazing the way people's feelings can change over one night. Even yesterday, the person he hated most (apart from his father) was Harry. Now, Harry was his best friend. The friendship between them was very strange, but he could feel that it was very strong. Friendship usually takes time to develop, but there's just grew over night. They understood each other's pain and sufferings although none of them had verbally expressed anything. It was a very rare understanding. For the first time Draco started to take the prophecy seriously (divination was never his subject). Harry and him were destined to be friends, that was inevitable; and Draco had a crude suspicion that they would be very good friends indeed (If they already weren't).
Unknown to Draco, Harry was thinking along the same line as he.
*
After a few minutes, they were off towards the Great Hall.
"Draco, do you- do you find all this Orion business a bit strange, or is it just me?" Harry said lamely.
"A bit strange Po- Harry? It totally twists my mind up and puts a million knots on it."
"I just can't believe it Draco. It's all so sudden and unexpected."
"Tell me about it."
Just as they entered the Great Hall, they saw Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonagall talking in low whispers.
"Wish we could find out what they're talking about." said Harry
Draco stopped in his tracks, "But we can find out."
"What do you mean?"
"You're really thick aren't you? We can just read Snape's mind."
"Right. But I don't think we should."
"Come off it Potter. As if you never did anything that you shouldn't have."
"Well.if you put it that way."
"Cut it Harry. Just go on and do it."
"Why me?"
"Because I don't want to."
"It's your idea."
"Come on Harry. You're not scared are you?"
"In your dreams."
He concentrated hard on Snape and suddenly he heard Snape's voice.
[A/N: The words in italic are Snape's thoughts, and the one's in inverted comas are the ones he's actually saying aloud.]
"You want to do what?" . The old man has finally gone nuts . "You want to open the position of the Alpha knights?" . This is totally absurd. "Headmaster the position has many requirements, requirements that neither of them can fulfill." . Oh God. I'm not hearing this. I'm not. He thinks they are worthy enough.His logic is suddenly making sense.He's right. By the likes of it, it probably was made for them. I mean who else could fulfill all those absurd requirements. So, since they're the only one's who can they will be the only Alpha Knight's ever. "I agree, Headmaster. They can fulfill the position of the Alpha Knights"
Harry looked away. He had had heard enough. He looked at Draco and started to tell him what he had heard, but he cut him off.
"I heard Harry."
"How?"
"I was reading your mind."
Harry frowned and said, "Wouldn't it have been easier to just read Snape's mind?"
"It would have been," Draco smirked, "but this way I got to feel how confused you were feeling."
"Draco can you give it a rest for a while? We have other things to think about. Like, what the hell are Alpha Knights?"
"Do I look like Granger?"
Harry chose to ignore that remark.
"It must be something important," said Harry.
"You're right. Maybe we should look it up in the library or something,"
"Yeah. But now I'm too hungry. Let's go and eat."
"That's the best idea you had all morning."
Seeing the two boys enter, Dumbledore motioned them towards the teachers' table. Harry and Draco went there obediently.
"Good morning. Had a good night's sleep?" asked Dumbledore cheerfully. Harry and Draco nodded. Dumbledore continued, "Sit down and have something,"
After the meal was over, the three professors got up and motioned them to follow.
************************************************************************ Harry and Draco found themselves in a huge room with such a high ceiling that they could hardly see it. The floor was extremely smooth, almost like a dance floor.
Dumbledore broke Harry's musing of what this room exactly was. "This is called a Training Room. You will be training your powers here. Since there never have been any Orions before, we have absolutely no idea as to what powers you have and to what extent they go. So we will just be teaching you the most advanced spells that we are aware of.
"We can not actually train you since your powers are well beyond our limits. All we can do is make you experts in our magic. However, I am afraid that that will not be enough. It will only provide a basis for you. You must work with each other and develop your powers on your own. All we can do is help."
"You mean, we first have to find what powers we have and then learn to use them all by ourselves. That's impossible."
"Well, not all by yourselves. You two can use each others help," said McGonagall
"Great. I can see the world destroyed already," muttered Harry.
"Now Harry, this brings up another important thing. You two will have to drop that attitude. I know it's hard but eventually you will have to except the fact that the fate of the entire world depends on you. If you're not strong, the whole world will crumble. It's your destiny to defeat Voldemort."
"With all this power it shouldn't be that hard," said Draco, with a pompous and indifferent air.
"Draco, you have the power but you do not know how to use it. No one does. What good is it then? It all depends on the two of you. You have to discover it yourselves, and to do that you will have to work together because no one else will even understand your level of magic."
"Great," muttered Harry again.
"Now, I know that your history with each other isn't very encouraging but there's nothing I can do about it. It has to be this way. You two will have to work with one another. Now, so that you two can get to know each other better all your classes in fifth year will be Gryffindor - Slytherin and because of your N.E.W.T.S., you will be given many projects. In every project you two will be partners." Dumbledore finished and looked at the two boys. To his surprise, they did not seem upset at all. In fact, they were smiling. Well, no time to waste trying to figure out how the mind of great Orion's worked. He had to get on with the task on hand.
He clapped his hand together and pointed towards Snape and McGonagall, "Professors McGonagall, Snape and I will help you develop your skills. But before we start your training I would like to give you something."
He took out two rings from his pocket. One had a blood red ruby on it and the other had an emerald gem. He handed the red one to Harry and the other to Draco.
"These are not normal rings. They possess immense power. Wear them and say solus." continued Dumbledore.
Harry and Draco did so, and instantly Harry felt the ring go warm and then it started to twist and melt. Surprised he opened his eyes. In his hand was Gryffindor's sword. He looked at Draco. In his hand was another sword similar to his own.
"Very good." said Dumbledore. "Now say him o' te."
"Him o' te." Said Harry and Draco together.
This time the sword melted and in its place was a magnificent staff. Harry's had a small golden lion wrapped around it. Its mouth was open and in it was a blood red orb. Draco's a poison green snake twisted around it with a silver orb in its mouth.
"Wow," commented Harry.
"You will not be needing these staffs or even wands for that matter to do magic. You should be able to do any magic, simple or complex, with your hands alone. But this staff will help you focus your powers better and the sword will be needed when you learn sword fighting."
"We'll be learning sword fighting?" asked Draco incredulously
"Yes. Sword fighting, martial arts and much, much more," explained Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "Now there's just one last thing I have to tell you before you start your training. You two can access the Restricted Section of the school's library. It will help you learn many things. Though I don't suppose Madam Pince will be too happy about it.Now let's get started shall we."
".Harry, Draco you two are the heirs of Gryffindor and Slytherin,"
A shocked silence followed Dumbledore's speech. Hesitantly he looked at Harry and Draco. To his utter surprise, they were sitting there looking at him in the same calm manner as before. What was wrong with them? This was not usual for Harry or Draco so either they couldn't grasp what he said or they had acquired a new personality trait over the summer. Even Snape was shocked by their lack of reaction.
Dumbledore was particularly worried about Harry. He already had a lot to deal with- Sirius' death, and that damned prophecy. He knew that he should have told him that he was the heir of Gryffindor along with the prophecy, but at that time, he didn't have the heart to put another burden on Harry. Now there was no other choice. It had to be said now.
"Are you two all right?" Dumbledore asked tentatively. "I know this is a lot to grasp at once, but you have to accept your destinies. I would have waited longer, until you're more mature but I didn't have a choice. It had to be done now, before your sixteenth birthday."
"Why?" for the first time after coming in to the Headmaster's office Draco had spoken.
"You see the Powers will be released a few days before you turn sixteen. No one knows how many days before."
"Oh." said Draco.
"Umm.Professor, does this have anything to do with the Prophesy?" asked Harry.
"What prophesy?" inquired Draco, a bit surprised.
Dumbledore then explained the prophecy to Draco.
Everyone was silent for while.
"So, it's Potter's destiny to defeat the Dark Lord. Why am I here then?" sneered Draco; but there wasn't much force in the sneer.
"I was just getting to that part, dear boy. I have not told either of you the whole prophecy. There was another part to it. It is time for both of you to know the full contents of the prophecy," said Dumbledore.
Dumbledore stood up and walked towards his cupboard. As he took out his pensieve, he said to Harry, "I know you can never forgive me for the pain I have inflicted on you, Harry. But please believe me when I say that I did all the things I did, because I love you. I could have revealed the entire prophecy to you that night. However, I did not. I did not, for your sake, my child. I did not wish to give you another shock; and knowing that your destiny is inter-related with Draco's would have come as an unpleasant shock. After all, the enmity between you two is legendary." Dumbledore's eye's twinkled as he said the last part.
As Dumbledore sat down and started swirling the liquid in the pensieve with the tip of his wand, Harry said, "I have no hard feelings towards you Professor; and I'm sorry I screamed at you like that the other night. I had no right to after all you have done for me. If anything, I'm grateful to you, Professor."
Dumbledore smiled. For the first time he realized how understanding and mature Harry really was. "Thank you, Harry," he said, "Now, back to the Prophesy."
Professor Trelawney's form rose from the pensieve started saying in a heavy voice that Harry had heard twice before, " The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord can not vanquish the Dark Lord alone. When the Shadow falls over the land, another hero shall emerge. A serpent by birthright, born in darkness, fed on blood, and bred in fear. Born to servitude to darkness, he shall stand by the savior of the Light. Bound by heritage and an alliance forged years before, two rivals shall unite in a comradeship that exists between few. Divided they are invincible and united they are immortal, for they have powers which exceed the limits of imagination, shatters the boundaries of space and time. The vanquisher of the Dark Lord shall not."
Dumbledore sat waiting for some kind of reaction, but none came. Only a calm question, "Potter's the Vanquisher of the Dark Lord, I'm the person who helps him and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is Demetrese Slytherin's heir?" came from Draco. The Headmaster nodded.
Meanwhile, Harry was thinking about something completely different- "We will never be friends, Professor. We're too different in two many ways." he said.
"Yes, we shall talk about the rivalry between you two tomorrow, now run along. You will start your training from tomorrow, so you two should get some rest," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he continued, "I believe Mr. Potter is very hungry and also requires some medical attention?" Harry flushed. "Madam Pomfrey is not here at the moment, in fact none of the teachers are here apart from Professors McGonagall, Snape and myself. So I suggest you all go back to the Slytherin common room. Professor Snape can then tend to Harry and give him something to eat." Snape nodded.
"Umm.Slytherin common room Professor?" asked Harry.
"As there's no one from Gryffindor here you would be alone in your own tower. You might as well stay with Draco and Professor Snape and get to know them better. You will have to work with them after all," Harry frowned and Draco sneered. Dumbledore continued, "Sleep well. There is still a lot more you will find out tomorrow."
Harry nodded and he heard Draco say, "Why does this destiny crap have to happen to me?"
Harry replied, "Yeah tell me about it Malfoy."
At once Dumbledore's head snapped up, Snape looked at him questioningly and Draco reddened and muttered, "Did I say that aloud?"
Dumbledore shook his head and said, "No Mr. Malfoy, you did not say anything."
Harry looked as puzzled as he felt, and said, "But I heard him Professor,"
Suddenly it all clicked and the old Professor understood. The strange calmness and now this.
"The power of Dracenus Parcentium has been released. " Dumbledore said calmly.
"Excuse me Professor?" Draco asked.
"In simple words, your Orion powers and 'Gifts' have been activated,"
"But, how?"
"Harry you heard something that Draco was thinking about, not something that he had said aloud. You read his mind," Dumbledore explained, "and you are to be 16 in a few weeks, am I correct?" Harry and Draco both nodded. Dumbledore continued, "So this is the perfect moment for your powers to be released."
Although Draco's head was in a total mess, he said calmly, "So we're Orions now?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Now run long."
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The Slytherin common room was the same as Harry remembered it from second year. All the walls were draped in green curtains, a dull light from the fireplace illuminated the room and small fluffy chairs were scattered about here and there.
"Behold, the great Slytherin common room. " said Draco, his gray eyes shining with pride.
"Ours is better," said Harry.
"Yeah right. As if Gryffindors know anything about room decoration,"
"Shut up Malfoy. I'm in no mood for this."
Draco was about to say something more when Snape said, "Come here Potter, I've got to fix you up."
Glad for an excuse to get away from Malfoy, Harry went towards Snape. He pointed his wand towards Harry's face and muttered something. All the cuts and bruises disappeared. Snape was healing his arms when he noticed Draco staring at him. He looked at him.
He was not smirking or gloating. On the contrary, his eyes were filled with understanding.
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Harry was lying down on a bed in the furthest corner of the Slytherin fifth year dormitory. He was thinking about everything that had happened since Draco and Snape had collected him. It had all happened so fast that he couldn't really grasp anything. All that Orion business made him dizzy. And then there was Malfoy. Had he really seen understanding in his eyes? But that couldn't be possible. What would Malfoy know about pain?
"I know more about pain than you think Potter."
Startled Harry looked up. It was Draco and he had something in his hand. He walked towards Harry and put the thing on his bed. When Harry looked closer he saw that it was a tray of food, "I thought you would want some," Draco said quietly.
"Thanks Malfoy, " Harry said taking a sandwich. "I appreciate it."
They sat in silence for quite a while when Harry suddenly said, "What is it that you understand about pain?" Draco lowered his head and said nothing. Harry pushed on, "Come on Malfoy. You know my secret, now tell me yours."
Draco sighed. "Well I guess its only fair that you know. Why don't you go ahead and read my mind?"
Harry gaped. "You would let me," he asked incredulously.
Draco shrugged. "It'll be less embarrassing than actually telling you."
"Good point."
Harry concentrated on figuring out what Draco was thinking and suddenly he heard it. no, he could feel it. He felt Draco's hatred towards his father. He felt how much he feared Lucius. He felt how painful it was for Draco when his father beat him. He felt Malfoy's despair that he could never satisfy his father. He felt how lonely he was because he had no real friends. All the Slytherins only listened to him and feared him but no one actually understood him. He saw images of people being tortured by Lucius Malfoy. They were screaming and there was blood splattered all over the place. A six-year-old Draco stood in a corner, watching and crying.
Harry had had enough. He broke the connection with Draco and stared at him.
Harry shocked himself by feeling sorry for Malfoy. After all this was Draco Malfoy, the same Malfoy who had tormented him and his friends for four years. However, Harry couldn't bring himself to be angry with Draco or even hate him. Instead, he felt as if he had finally found someone who understood his suffering.
"Malfoy, I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"It's ok Potter."
An awkward silence followed. None of them even looked at the other. Suddenly Harry shocked Draco by bursting out in laughter.
"Sorry Malfoy," Harry managed to say in between fits of laughter. "It's just that I find it really odd that Draco Malfoy could have any sufferings. You know what I mean."
"Yeah. To tell you the truth, I felt the same way too when I found out about. you know.about the Dursleys." he said awkwardly.
"You think the Dursleys are my only my only problem?" asked Harry quietly.
"There's more?" inquired Draco skeptically.
Harry looked up. As their eyes locked, thousands of memories, millions of emotions passed between them. A black haired boy crying in a cupboard because his cousin had beaten him up.pain, humiliation.his aunt yelling at him for asking questions about his parents, sitting in front of an enchanted mirror, staring at his dead parents.grief, a sense of loss, sadness, love, happiness, desire.people whispering around him and sending him furtive glances.anger, isolation, frustration.Hermione lying petrified in the hospital wing.anger, fear, grief.Ginny lying in the chamber of secrets.grief, anger, fear.Tom Riddle twirling his wand.betrayal, anger, fear.Aunt Marge calling his mother a bitch.anger.learning his father was betrayed by his best friend.rage.a hundred Dementors sweeping in on him and Sirius.fear, pain, anxiety."Not Harry. Please, not Harry." "Stand aside you silly girl." A flash of green light and a cackle of high-pitched laughter.grief, despair, pain, a sense of loss.Cedric lying dead on the ground.horror, grief, fear.a pair of pitiless red eyes staring into his own.fear, repulsion, hatred, pain.the smoky forms of his parents giving him advice.grief, shock, love, despair .stuck in Privet Drive on his own.anger, frustration, depression."Does Dumbledore think the Voldemort possessed him." . Horror, shame, disgust, repulsion from himself.People avoiding him, calling him a liar.anger, frustration, depression.Umbridge banning him from Quidditch and calling him a liar.violent anger.cutting open his own hand during detention with Umbridge and watching his blood trickle down his wrist.pain, anger, determination, hatred.Standing in a dusty room full of crystal balls with Death Eaters.fear, anger, repulsion, determination, courage. Sirius falling through the veil.violent grief, shock, guilt, self- hatred, heart wrenching agony .either shall die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives.horror, numbness.
Draco was so shocked that he could not think of anything to say. What Harry had shown him was more than he had bargained for.
"Thanks. Thanks.for trusting me," he finally managed to say.
Another silence followed, but this one wasn't awkward like the ones before. They both felt comfortable in each other's presence, just sitting there and eating sandwiches. It was as if the last four years had never happened. It was as if they had never been enemies. It felt natural for them to sit together, as if they had done it for years. Maybe it was the shared pain, maybe it was the understanding, or maybe it was the fact hat Malfoy had brought Potter sandwiches, but from that day on Draco and Harry were friends.
************************************************************************
Dumbledore sat stroking Fawks, and wondering about Harry. He had lost his godfather a few weeks ago, but Harry did not seem to have been affected by it at all. Considering Harry's reaction after Sirius' death, Dumbledore thought that Harry would be in a very bad shape today, broken; but to his utter amazement, he was not. Yes, he was in a bad shape, but not because of emotional turmoil, but because of abusing treatment from his aunt and uncle.
Harry's eyes were not bloodshot, there were no lines on his face to show stress, and even his eyes did not show any pain. It was as if, Harry had not been affected at all; but that was not possible. Dumbledore knew that Harry was very close to Sirius. Sirius had been the closest thing to a father Harry had ever known. So, why had he not been grieving then?
************************************************************************ Draco suddenly woke up. Someone was shaking him. He was shocked. Draco wasn't used to being woken up in this manner. His "friends" never did this, either because they were too scared or because they didn't care. At home, his mother just called him from outside his bedroom door. Surprised Draco looked up to see who it was. It was Harry. He was smiling and his green eyes were twinkling.
"Finally woken up have you? I thought I'd have to pour water on you." he said.
Draco groaned. "What's the time, Potter?"
"9 a.m. Now get up. We've got to have breakfast," Harry said cheerfully, "and by the way my name is Harry,"
Draco smiled as Harry said the last part.
"Call me Draco," said Malfoy.
He felt very weird asking Harry to call him by his given name, but he didn't mind. He was actually happy. He had finally found someone who he could talk to not because that person had powerful "connections" and would make a good ally but because he actually liked the person (not that the person in question- Harry- didn't make a good ally)
It's amazing the way people's feelings can change over one night. Even yesterday, the person he hated most (apart from his father) was Harry. Now, Harry was his best friend. The friendship between them was very strange, but he could feel that it was very strong. Friendship usually takes time to develop, but there's just grew over night. They understood each other's pain and sufferings although none of them had verbally expressed anything. It was a very rare understanding. For the first time Draco started to take the prophecy seriously (divination was never his subject). Harry and him were destined to be friends, that was inevitable; and Draco had a crude suspicion that they would be very good friends indeed (If they already weren't).
Unknown to Draco, Harry was thinking along the same line as he.
*
After a few minutes, they were off towards the Great Hall.
"Draco, do you- do you find all this Orion business a bit strange, or is it just me?" Harry said lamely.
"A bit strange Po- Harry? It totally twists my mind up and puts a million knots on it."
"I just can't believe it Draco. It's all so sudden and unexpected."
"Tell me about it."
Just as they entered the Great Hall, they saw Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonagall talking in low whispers.
"Wish we could find out what they're talking about." said Harry
Draco stopped in his tracks, "But we can find out."
"What do you mean?"
"You're really thick aren't you? We can just read Snape's mind."
"Right. But I don't think we should."
"Come off it Potter. As if you never did anything that you shouldn't have."
"Well.if you put it that way."
"Cut it Harry. Just go on and do it."
"Why me?"
"Because I don't want to."
"It's your idea."
"Come on Harry. You're not scared are you?"
"In your dreams."
He concentrated hard on Snape and suddenly he heard Snape's voice.
[A/N: The words in italic are Snape's thoughts, and the one's in inverted comas are the ones he's actually saying aloud.]
"You want to do what?" . The old man has finally gone nuts . "You want to open the position of the Alpha knights?" . This is totally absurd. "Headmaster the position has many requirements, requirements that neither of them can fulfill." . Oh God. I'm not hearing this. I'm not. He thinks they are worthy enough.His logic is suddenly making sense.He's right. By the likes of it, it probably was made for them. I mean who else could fulfill all those absurd requirements. So, since they're the only one's who can they will be the only Alpha Knight's ever. "I agree, Headmaster. They can fulfill the position of the Alpha Knights"
Harry looked away. He had had heard enough. He looked at Draco and started to tell him what he had heard, but he cut him off.
"I heard Harry."
"How?"
"I was reading your mind."
Harry frowned and said, "Wouldn't it have been easier to just read Snape's mind?"
"It would have been," Draco smirked, "but this way I got to feel how confused you were feeling."
"Draco can you give it a rest for a while? We have other things to think about. Like, what the hell are Alpha Knights?"
"Do I look like Granger?"
Harry chose to ignore that remark.
"It must be something important," said Harry.
"You're right. Maybe we should look it up in the library or something,"
"Yeah. But now I'm too hungry. Let's go and eat."
"That's the best idea you had all morning."
Seeing the two boys enter, Dumbledore motioned them towards the teachers' table. Harry and Draco went there obediently.
"Good morning. Had a good night's sleep?" asked Dumbledore cheerfully. Harry and Draco nodded. Dumbledore continued, "Sit down and have something,"
After the meal was over, the three professors got up and motioned them to follow.
************************************************************************ Harry and Draco found themselves in a huge room with such a high ceiling that they could hardly see it. The floor was extremely smooth, almost like a dance floor.
Dumbledore broke Harry's musing of what this room exactly was. "This is called a Training Room. You will be training your powers here. Since there never have been any Orions before, we have absolutely no idea as to what powers you have and to what extent they go. So we will just be teaching you the most advanced spells that we are aware of.
"We can not actually train you since your powers are well beyond our limits. All we can do is make you experts in our magic. However, I am afraid that that will not be enough. It will only provide a basis for you. You must work with each other and develop your powers on your own. All we can do is help."
"You mean, we first have to find what powers we have and then learn to use them all by ourselves. That's impossible."
"Well, not all by yourselves. You two can use each others help," said McGonagall
"Great. I can see the world destroyed already," muttered Harry.
"Now Harry, this brings up another important thing. You two will have to drop that attitude. I know it's hard but eventually you will have to except the fact that the fate of the entire world depends on you. If you're not strong, the whole world will crumble. It's your destiny to defeat Voldemort."
"With all this power it shouldn't be that hard," said Draco, with a pompous and indifferent air.
"Draco, you have the power but you do not know how to use it. No one does. What good is it then? It all depends on the two of you. You have to discover it yourselves, and to do that you will have to work together because no one else will even understand your level of magic."
"Great," muttered Harry again.
"Now, I know that your history with each other isn't very encouraging but there's nothing I can do about it. It has to be this way. You two will have to work with one another. Now, so that you two can get to know each other better all your classes in fifth year will be Gryffindor - Slytherin and because of your N.E.W.T.S., you will be given many projects. In every project you two will be partners." Dumbledore finished and looked at the two boys. To his surprise, they did not seem upset at all. In fact, they were smiling. Well, no time to waste trying to figure out how the mind of great Orion's worked. He had to get on with the task on hand.
He clapped his hand together and pointed towards Snape and McGonagall, "Professors McGonagall, Snape and I will help you develop your skills. But before we start your training I would like to give you something."
He took out two rings from his pocket. One had a blood red ruby on it and the other had an emerald gem. He handed the red one to Harry and the other to Draco.
"These are not normal rings. They possess immense power. Wear them and say solus." continued Dumbledore.
Harry and Draco did so, and instantly Harry felt the ring go warm and then it started to twist and melt. Surprised he opened his eyes. In his hand was Gryffindor's sword. He looked at Draco. In his hand was another sword similar to his own.
"Very good." said Dumbledore. "Now say him o' te."
"Him o' te." Said Harry and Draco together.
This time the sword melted and in its place was a magnificent staff. Harry's had a small golden lion wrapped around it. Its mouth was open and in it was a blood red orb. Draco's a poison green snake twisted around it with a silver orb in its mouth.
"Wow," commented Harry.
"You will not be needing these staffs or even wands for that matter to do magic. You should be able to do any magic, simple or complex, with your hands alone. But this staff will help you focus your powers better and the sword will be needed when you learn sword fighting."
"We'll be learning sword fighting?" asked Draco incredulously
"Yes. Sword fighting, martial arts and much, much more," explained Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "Now there's just one last thing I have to tell you before you start your training. You two can access the Restricted Section of the school's library. It will help you learn many things. Though I don't suppose Madam Pince will be too happy about it.Now let's get started shall we."