Chapter 16
DRACO's POV
It was getting late. The students were coming back from Hogsmeade and we'd have too many questions to answer if we didn't show up for dinner in the Great Hall. That's what I was thinking. That's why we left my room and started in that direction. Of course, neither of us realized what had been going on all day.
It would appear that somehow, for some unknown reason, people began talking about us being friends. It's not difficult to imagine the wide variety of reactions to such news, but if I had known those reactions were going to lead to so much trouble, I would have kept us in my room forever. Instead, we were walking along minding our own business when suddenly. . .
~*_*~
"How dare you!"
Harry turned quickly, to search for the owner of that voice and found himself looking at none other than Preston Bates, seventh year Hufflepuff. This was confusing. Harry knew Preston, he'd spoken to Preston a few times over the years. He knew that Preston was good in Herbology and not so good in Transfiguration. He knew that Preston had started dating Cho Chang last year. None of this knowledge explained why Preston was suddenly, very obviously, in a complete rage over something Harry had done.
"How dare I, what?"
His calm tone and perfectly innocent expression seemed to anger Preston even more. The fury was a bit startling to everyone around (and by this time there were at least two dozen people around), because it's not often that you see a Hufflepuff get THAT upset about anything. Before Preston could answer, though, he was joined at the front of the crowd by Megan Diggory, a third year Hufflepuff. She had been quickly liked by most everyone and gained the support and protection of many, having come to school the year after her brother's death.
"Harry," Megan said calmly. "Tell us what's really going on, please?"
"I'm sorry, Megan. I don't know what you mean."
"People are saying that you've become friends. . . with . . ." she flicked her gaze in Draco's direction, refusing to actually look into his eyes. "Malfoy."
"Yes, actually. That's true." Harry looked from Megan to Preston, then skimmed across the waiting faces in the ever-growing crowd. "Draco is my friend," he announced, loudly enough for everyone to hear him. "He's not a Death Eater, and he's not Voldemort," he paused for the obligatory gasp that came after saying that name. "I'm sorry for those of you who have a problem with this, but maybe someday, you'll understand."
With that, Harry turned, glanced at Draco for a moment to assure himself that the boy was all right, and they continued their path toward the great hall. Or, rather, they started to. The booming voice behind them brought them to a quick halt after only a few steps. It was Preston again.
"You should know better, Potter." The disgust with which he said Harry's last name could easily have rivaled every confrontation Harry'd ever had with Draco. "You, yourself, told everyone that Lucius Malfoy was there when You-Know-Who came back. His whole family is guilty, including his son. By befriending him, you're supporting what they stand for. You're belittling Cedric's death."
Harry turned on Preston, green eyes stormy and dark, and slowly began to advance on the Hufflepuff. His face seemed perfectly calm, the only indication of his unhappiness was in his eyes, now growing so dark that they appeared nearly as black as Snape's, but with just a tint of green.
"I will say this again, but only because I like you, Preston." The tone in Harry's voice clearly said that his 'like' for the boy was quickly fading. "I'm sorry if you have a problem with this. Draco is not his father. Aside from childish teasing, he's done nothing to you, or anyone else here. Draco's never killed anyone. He is not at fault here."
"Honestly, Potter. Don't you think anyone but yourself these days? No, what am I saying. The Great Harry Potter doesn't have to think of anyone else. Everyone loves the Golden Boy, everyone will ALWAYS love the Fucking Golden Boy. Who cares if our precious Golden Boy Harry Potter is supporting the enemy. Who cares about all the people that are dead now. Hell, Potter, you might as well start the killing yourself. You might as well have killed Cedric yourself."
"And Justin." Cried a voice from the crowd.
"And Charlie Weasley"
"And . . ." there were murmurs running throughout the crowd now and Draco was now beyond irritated with the way they were treating Harry. He was about to let Preston Bates know exactly how irritated he was when Harry's booming voice caught everyone's attention.
"STOP IT!" As they all looked at Harry, Draco picked up on something the rest of them didn't notice. Harry was levitating. Not much, but an inch or two off the floor. Draco wondered, not without some trepidation, what was going to come next. He stayed still, watching, silent, yet prepared to step in and defend Harry if the need should arise.
Harry stared intently at Preston, making sure he had the boy's complete and undivided attention. "Preston. You've always been a nice kid. And I've always been proud of my understanding and forgiving nature. Because of that, I'm going to give you the chance to apologize nicely so I can decide whether or not to forgive you for that statement." Draco was shocked and a little confused at the tone of his boyfriend's voice. It sounded NOTHING like Harry. It sounded much more like Crabbe's father, or even Draco's own father.
Oddly enough, Preston didn't back down. He seemed to be completely oblivious to the power with which he was dealing. He glared at Harry with the hatred of the betrayed and said quietly, yet firmly, "I won't apologize for the truth. How do we know you didn't kill them all?"
In a flash, time seemed to stand still for Draco. He saw the following events in slow motion, saw Harry take a deep breath and slowly raise his hand. He saw Preston flinch ever-so-slightly, and then relax when he realized Harry was not holding his wand. He felt himself reaching forward, desperate to pull Harry away before. . . before something. Before whatever Harry was about to do. Just as his fingers brushed Harry's sleeve he heard the near whisper, "Cruc.."
"NO HARRY, NO!" Draco pulled Harry around, desperately seeking eye contact, believing that he could keep Harry distracted and keep that curse from being completed if only he could connect with Harry's emerald green eyes. After mere moments, it seemed to work. He could feel Harry slowly come back to the ground, he could see the darkness in his eyes begin to lighten, he could sense the tension draining from Harry's muscles. Without taking his hands off the young man or breaking the eye contact, he quietly suggested to the rest of the students that they leave the corridor immediately, which they did.
Once the hall was completely empty Draco pulled Harry to him, holding him tightly and waiting for the angered shakes to subside. As he felt his boyfriend beginning to calm down, he finally allowed himself to take a much needed deep breath.
"What were you doing, Harry?" Draco's voice was very quiet, just above a whisper. He searched Harry's face and eyes for an explanation, seeking an answer to the question he was almost afraid to ask.
"I was arguing with Preston. I thought that was rather obvious." Harry's expression and voice gave no answers, no explanation, no emotion of any kind. He stood like a statue, eyes cold, face hardened. It frightened Draco, the image of his Harry, closed off and emotionless, much like the fathers of his friends often appearing at Malfoy Manor after a Death Eater meeting.
"Harry," Draco glanced around the corridor, and decided that it was too open for this conversation. "Come on, let's go back to my room for a little while." Harry narrowed his eyes momentarily, then seemed to snap out of his . . . mood, mask, trance, whatever. He grinned, suddenly looking perfectly boyish and joyful, eyes twinkling and everything. "Wow, Dray, I thought we agreed to wait a while," he teased.
Draco didn't move. He simply stood in shock, amazed at the complete and sudden change he had just witnessed. He vaguely remembered hearing about some Muggle disorder where a person has more than one personality in their head. He hoped sincerely that this wasn't going to be the case with Harry. He honestly didn't think he could handle it. Meanwhile, Harry released himself from Draco's grasp, caught the blonde's hand and began to move in the direction of the Head Boy room they had just left. Draco felt he had no choice but to follow.
~*_*~
At the other end of the castle, in a large, round office behind a hidden staircase guarded by a stone gargoyle, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry sat quietly, analyzing the surge of power that had just run through his school. Realizing that the 'something' he'd been waiting for during the last twenty years was finally coming to pass, he looked to his fireplace and called for Professor McGonagall to join him in his office.
~*_*~
Back in the privacy of Draco's bedroom, Harry pulled his boyfriend into a sweet and explorative kiss. Draco's first reaction was to break away but his intentions were quickly squashed by the firm hands on his waist and the gentle tongue flitting across his lips. When Harry paused for a moment, Draco opened his mouth to speak, but gasped instead at the tingles caused by Harry's lips gently brushing the corner of his mouth.
'How can something so innocent make me feel so excited?'
Draco had no further time for thought as he felt Harry tangle his fingers in the loose blond hair again. Diving into the moment, Draco pulled Harry closer, thrilling in the feel of the warmth along his body. As their kiss deepened, lips caressing, tongues exploring, hearts pounding, souls joining, they lost themselves completely in that moment.
Finally, breaking apart the two young men stood, intrigued, aroused, completed.
Harry spoke first, "wow".
Draco replied, "yeah".
They knew. Each of them knew that they needn't go any further into the physical aspects of the relationship. Not just yet. Each of them also knew that something had changed. Just when they thought there was nothing greater, invisible forces seemed to show them differently.
After untold moments standing there, staring into each other's eyes, Draco finally remembered his real reason for suggesting they return to the room. His eyes darkened noticeably as he thought about what he had almost witnessed, that image burning in his mind's eye, the one image he thought he would never see.
Harry noticed. He knew what Draco was thinking about. He was so overcome with his own emotions that he couldn't quite 'hear' Draco's thoughts, but the look on the Slytherin's face was enough of a clue. Harry walked to the armchair and sat down, took a deep breath and then looked up into the upset face of the one he loved.
"Go ahead, ask."
Draco stood, silently, considering. After a moment, he walked over and knelt in front of the chair, searching the green eyes he had come to know so well. "I don't think I want to."
"But you feel you have to, don't you?"
"Harry, please, just tell me I was wrong. Tell me you were just upset and you were going to yell at him or something. Please, just tell me you were not about to cast an unforgivable curse on that guy."
"I can't." The two of them sat in silence for a few more moments. Harry was caught up in the thoughts of how angry he was with Preston Bates, how close he'd come to breaking the law and - though he couldn't tell anyone this - how exhilarating it had felt. Draco was caught up in the thoughts of how much Harry had changed and how he wasn't sure how he felt about those changes. The idea of Harry being dark had entertained him for years, but the reality of it was a bit frightening. Perhaps he could talk to Harry's friends about it, they knew him better, after all.
Still considering these thoughts, the two of them finally headed out to get dinner, sitting at their individual tables with little conversation.
~*_*~
Dumbledore looked across the desk at Minerva McGonagall with a touch of sorrow in his sparkling eyes. He knew that she couldn't understand, at least not yet. As headmaster (not to mention the most powerful wizard in the world) he had the ability to sense shifts and changes in power, almost as easily as the scales held by the Ministry.
"It's happened, Minerva."
"Albus, there have been many things to happen in this school, especially since Harry Potter first entered it nearly seven years ago. I'm afraid you'll need to be more specific as to ~what~ precisely has happened."
"The darkness. To be completely specific," here he paused a moment and reached for a bag of lemon drops, offered it to the Professor, and then took one for himself. "About half an hour ago, I felt a powerful surge of power from one of the students in this school. The unusual thing, is that it was a shift in power as well. I believe this to be the shift in power seen on the Ministry scales. We should be expecting some unusual events around here until this is straightened out."
"You still believe that James Potter and Lucius Malfoy will be able to do something about this? And that it won't cause havoc within the school?"
"I intend to catch them as soon as they arrive and place some mild appearance charms on them so they won't be recognized. It obviously wouldn't do for anyone to know who they are. We'll also need to keep their contact with the students to a minimum so they won't learn too much about their future. We wouldn't want to change any major events in history, now, would we?" His tone and the ever-present twinkle in his eye showed that he clearly would love to changes some major events.
"I'll be watching for them. Ironically, I have to meet their sons for detention tomorrow evening. They were caught trying to sneak into the kitchens. It seems they have indeed become quite good friends."
"That's something I had almost expected, though I have to wonder if that's the reason for this power shift."
"Sir, are you saying the shift was within Harry Potter? That boy couldn't possibly be involved in the Dar - oh" Her eyes went wide as she placed all the puzzle pieces together. "Oh, Merlin." Neither of them said another word as the implications of the 'Savior of the Wizarding World' being on the wrong side were too heavily hanging around them.
~*_*~
It was nearing midnight when Draco heard a knock at his door. He jumped up, happily running to greet his boyfriend. He spoke as he swung the portrait hole open. "Hey sexy, I didn't know you were coming by tonight!"
Only after the statement was out of his mouth did he realize that he was speaking to a worried looking red-head. Ron stepped into the room, not bothering to wait for the invitation he felt sure would never come. "Okay, Malfoy, listen," he spoke quickly, hoping to all the gods that Harry was right when he said Malfoy could be trusted. "I know you and Harry are friends, and he trusts you. Harry's my best friend and I feel like I should trust his judgment and all, but I'm getting a little worried now because I can't find him. And, see, well," he paused, unsure how his friend would react to this particular secret being exposed.
After a moment, he decided it was worth the backlash, so long as Harry was safe, and right now he saw two possibilities for help; Malfoy or Dumbledore. With that thought, he pulled a rolled up piece of parchment from his robes, along with his wand. At the sight of the wand, Draco's eyes narrowed slightly, but he made no move for his own wand, deciding to trust the frantic red-head.
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Draco watched in awe as the map of Hogwarts appeared on the parchment. "Now pay attention Malfoy. This map shows where everyone is on the grounds. See, here's you and me. There's my dorm mates in our room. There's Filch. There's Hagrid in his cabin. The thing is, Harry's not on here. I can't find him anywhere and I don't know what's happened to him. I thought about going to Dumbledore, but I was afr. . ."
"Weasely, Stop!" Draco looked over the map carefully, checking some of the places he knew that Harry like to go to get away from things. He checked the lake, the pitch, the broom shed by the pitch, the Astronomy Tower, the alcove behind the third knight in the North corridor, then just to be certain, checked Harry's bed and his own room. He didn't see a dot labeled Harry Potter anywhere.
"Maybe he's got his invisibility cloak with him," Draco suggested. He knew that the cloak was safely folded in his own trunk, but he wasn't about to tell Ron that Harry could disappear at will.
"No, the map sees the person, no matter what form they're in. Even if he were transfigured into an animal, it would still know it's him." Ron was getting more and more upset. He couldn't face the possibility that something bad could have happened to his best friend.
"Okay, let's do this," Draco said. "Let's look through the map and see if anyone else is missing from the grounds. Maybe that will help us figure out what could be going on."
Ron looked at the concern on Draco's face and felt more worried than before, yet comforted at the same time. He realized that Harry had been right about Draco, the Slytherin really did care for him. Cared for him as more than a friend, if Ron's observations were correct. His worry increased, though, once he saw it validated by someone else. The two of them sat down together, carefully scanning the map and mentally categorizing the people they found.
Ron found all the Gryffindors in their beds, all the instructors appeared to be accounted for, and there seemed to be an adequate number of Hufflepuffs. Draco was highly unsure about the Ravenclaws, having never paid much attention to them in the past. He felt certain that all the Slytherins were present, though. Scanning the grounds, he noticed something rather odd.
"What's this?" Draco pointed to the edge of the map where it appeared that someone was at the very edge of the Hogwarts grounds. Ron looked, watched closely as a dot halfway appeared, then disappeared again. It was so quick that the name didn't completely show up, but Ron saw enough to know. That dot was familiar to him. That dot had lived with him for years. That dot was most certainly NOT supposed to be on school grounds.
"Peter Pettigrew"
TBC
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Firstly - to all of you wonderful readers, THANK YOU!!!! And, though I know it was mean of me to tease like that, I'm glad to know that you wouldn't want me to stop!
Woo-hoo! 60 reviews, that's an average of 4 per chapter! And to think that just about 5 chapters I was averaging 2 reviews per chapter!
Peach: I agree completely and if I can ever get over the fanfic obsession and back to writing my original stuff, I think I'll be a better writer for it!
She-Who-Is: Wow, I'm totally flattered. Please don't curse me, I promise to continue. I couldn't stop anyway because this story is way to prominent in my head. I DREAM about it for Pete's sake!
Menecarkawan: I'm glad you liked Harry in Chapter 15, I'm waiting now for your screams and vicious shaking as a result of this chapter.
ShaeLynn: Thank you! : ) I'm very flattered. I hope you'll follow it through the end and the sequel!
Delie: Yes, I think you are a suspicious person, not that it's a bad thing to be - especially when dealing with Malfoys, but in this case, Harry needn't worry, at least not about Draco.
Jade Maxwell: I really wish you hadn't lost your computer, too. I hope you'll be able to update your own work regularly, cuz I like it! I'm glad you liked Ron and 'Mione in that one. If you like to read something that no one expects, then I would presume you liked this chapter too. Unless of course, you were expecting Harry to try that!
Cassa-Andra: I'm not sure how that sounded in your head but it sounded a little threatening and just a touch kinky in mine =) I'm going to try the quick summary with the next chapter, but I'm not sure I'll be able to fit EVERYTHING in. I'm not doing it now because I'm anxious to get this up before I leave work. (yes, I write this at work, don't tell anyone.)
Aramani: Yeah! Thank you so much!
For the record, everyone here should read 'Whispers in the Rain' by Aranami. It's a great story! Okay, that's my promotion for this chapter (I've decided to try promoting one of my favorite stories with each of my posts. These great authors deserve it!)
I hope you all enjoyed this and I hope to have chapter 17 up within a week. Like I promised, we're going on a time-trip to see what James and Lucius have been up to in the 70's. ~grins~
DRACO's POV
It was getting late. The students were coming back from Hogsmeade and we'd have too many questions to answer if we didn't show up for dinner in the Great Hall. That's what I was thinking. That's why we left my room and started in that direction. Of course, neither of us realized what had been going on all day.
It would appear that somehow, for some unknown reason, people began talking about us being friends. It's not difficult to imagine the wide variety of reactions to such news, but if I had known those reactions were going to lead to so much trouble, I would have kept us in my room forever. Instead, we were walking along minding our own business when suddenly. . .
~*_*~
"How dare you!"
Harry turned quickly, to search for the owner of that voice and found himself looking at none other than Preston Bates, seventh year Hufflepuff. This was confusing. Harry knew Preston, he'd spoken to Preston a few times over the years. He knew that Preston was good in Herbology and not so good in Transfiguration. He knew that Preston had started dating Cho Chang last year. None of this knowledge explained why Preston was suddenly, very obviously, in a complete rage over something Harry had done.
"How dare I, what?"
His calm tone and perfectly innocent expression seemed to anger Preston even more. The fury was a bit startling to everyone around (and by this time there were at least two dozen people around), because it's not often that you see a Hufflepuff get THAT upset about anything. Before Preston could answer, though, he was joined at the front of the crowd by Megan Diggory, a third year Hufflepuff. She had been quickly liked by most everyone and gained the support and protection of many, having come to school the year after her brother's death.
"Harry," Megan said calmly. "Tell us what's really going on, please?"
"I'm sorry, Megan. I don't know what you mean."
"People are saying that you've become friends. . . with . . ." she flicked her gaze in Draco's direction, refusing to actually look into his eyes. "Malfoy."
"Yes, actually. That's true." Harry looked from Megan to Preston, then skimmed across the waiting faces in the ever-growing crowd. "Draco is my friend," he announced, loudly enough for everyone to hear him. "He's not a Death Eater, and he's not Voldemort," he paused for the obligatory gasp that came after saying that name. "I'm sorry for those of you who have a problem with this, but maybe someday, you'll understand."
With that, Harry turned, glanced at Draco for a moment to assure himself that the boy was all right, and they continued their path toward the great hall. Or, rather, they started to. The booming voice behind them brought them to a quick halt after only a few steps. It was Preston again.
"You should know better, Potter." The disgust with which he said Harry's last name could easily have rivaled every confrontation Harry'd ever had with Draco. "You, yourself, told everyone that Lucius Malfoy was there when You-Know-Who came back. His whole family is guilty, including his son. By befriending him, you're supporting what they stand for. You're belittling Cedric's death."
Harry turned on Preston, green eyes stormy and dark, and slowly began to advance on the Hufflepuff. His face seemed perfectly calm, the only indication of his unhappiness was in his eyes, now growing so dark that they appeared nearly as black as Snape's, but with just a tint of green.
"I will say this again, but only because I like you, Preston." The tone in Harry's voice clearly said that his 'like' for the boy was quickly fading. "I'm sorry if you have a problem with this. Draco is not his father. Aside from childish teasing, he's done nothing to you, or anyone else here. Draco's never killed anyone. He is not at fault here."
"Honestly, Potter. Don't you think anyone but yourself these days? No, what am I saying. The Great Harry Potter doesn't have to think of anyone else. Everyone loves the Golden Boy, everyone will ALWAYS love the Fucking Golden Boy. Who cares if our precious Golden Boy Harry Potter is supporting the enemy. Who cares about all the people that are dead now. Hell, Potter, you might as well start the killing yourself. You might as well have killed Cedric yourself."
"And Justin." Cried a voice from the crowd.
"And Charlie Weasley"
"And . . ." there were murmurs running throughout the crowd now and Draco was now beyond irritated with the way they were treating Harry. He was about to let Preston Bates know exactly how irritated he was when Harry's booming voice caught everyone's attention.
"STOP IT!" As they all looked at Harry, Draco picked up on something the rest of them didn't notice. Harry was levitating. Not much, but an inch or two off the floor. Draco wondered, not without some trepidation, what was going to come next. He stayed still, watching, silent, yet prepared to step in and defend Harry if the need should arise.
Harry stared intently at Preston, making sure he had the boy's complete and undivided attention. "Preston. You've always been a nice kid. And I've always been proud of my understanding and forgiving nature. Because of that, I'm going to give you the chance to apologize nicely so I can decide whether or not to forgive you for that statement." Draco was shocked and a little confused at the tone of his boyfriend's voice. It sounded NOTHING like Harry. It sounded much more like Crabbe's father, or even Draco's own father.
Oddly enough, Preston didn't back down. He seemed to be completely oblivious to the power with which he was dealing. He glared at Harry with the hatred of the betrayed and said quietly, yet firmly, "I won't apologize for the truth. How do we know you didn't kill them all?"
In a flash, time seemed to stand still for Draco. He saw the following events in slow motion, saw Harry take a deep breath and slowly raise his hand. He saw Preston flinch ever-so-slightly, and then relax when he realized Harry was not holding his wand. He felt himself reaching forward, desperate to pull Harry away before. . . before something. Before whatever Harry was about to do. Just as his fingers brushed Harry's sleeve he heard the near whisper, "Cruc.."
"NO HARRY, NO!" Draco pulled Harry around, desperately seeking eye contact, believing that he could keep Harry distracted and keep that curse from being completed if only he could connect with Harry's emerald green eyes. After mere moments, it seemed to work. He could feel Harry slowly come back to the ground, he could see the darkness in his eyes begin to lighten, he could sense the tension draining from Harry's muscles. Without taking his hands off the young man or breaking the eye contact, he quietly suggested to the rest of the students that they leave the corridor immediately, which they did.
Once the hall was completely empty Draco pulled Harry to him, holding him tightly and waiting for the angered shakes to subside. As he felt his boyfriend beginning to calm down, he finally allowed himself to take a much needed deep breath.
"What were you doing, Harry?" Draco's voice was very quiet, just above a whisper. He searched Harry's face and eyes for an explanation, seeking an answer to the question he was almost afraid to ask.
"I was arguing with Preston. I thought that was rather obvious." Harry's expression and voice gave no answers, no explanation, no emotion of any kind. He stood like a statue, eyes cold, face hardened. It frightened Draco, the image of his Harry, closed off and emotionless, much like the fathers of his friends often appearing at Malfoy Manor after a Death Eater meeting.
"Harry," Draco glanced around the corridor, and decided that it was too open for this conversation. "Come on, let's go back to my room for a little while." Harry narrowed his eyes momentarily, then seemed to snap out of his . . . mood, mask, trance, whatever. He grinned, suddenly looking perfectly boyish and joyful, eyes twinkling and everything. "Wow, Dray, I thought we agreed to wait a while," he teased.
Draco didn't move. He simply stood in shock, amazed at the complete and sudden change he had just witnessed. He vaguely remembered hearing about some Muggle disorder where a person has more than one personality in their head. He hoped sincerely that this wasn't going to be the case with Harry. He honestly didn't think he could handle it. Meanwhile, Harry released himself from Draco's grasp, caught the blonde's hand and began to move in the direction of the Head Boy room they had just left. Draco felt he had no choice but to follow.
~*_*~
At the other end of the castle, in a large, round office behind a hidden staircase guarded by a stone gargoyle, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry sat quietly, analyzing the surge of power that had just run through his school. Realizing that the 'something' he'd been waiting for during the last twenty years was finally coming to pass, he looked to his fireplace and called for Professor McGonagall to join him in his office.
~*_*~
Back in the privacy of Draco's bedroom, Harry pulled his boyfriend into a sweet and explorative kiss. Draco's first reaction was to break away but his intentions were quickly squashed by the firm hands on his waist and the gentle tongue flitting across his lips. When Harry paused for a moment, Draco opened his mouth to speak, but gasped instead at the tingles caused by Harry's lips gently brushing the corner of his mouth.
'How can something so innocent make me feel so excited?'
Draco had no further time for thought as he felt Harry tangle his fingers in the loose blond hair again. Diving into the moment, Draco pulled Harry closer, thrilling in the feel of the warmth along his body. As their kiss deepened, lips caressing, tongues exploring, hearts pounding, souls joining, they lost themselves completely in that moment.
Finally, breaking apart the two young men stood, intrigued, aroused, completed.
Harry spoke first, "wow".
Draco replied, "yeah".
They knew. Each of them knew that they needn't go any further into the physical aspects of the relationship. Not just yet. Each of them also knew that something had changed. Just when they thought there was nothing greater, invisible forces seemed to show them differently.
After untold moments standing there, staring into each other's eyes, Draco finally remembered his real reason for suggesting they return to the room. His eyes darkened noticeably as he thought about what he had almost witnessed, that image burning in his mind's eye, the one image he thought he would never see.
Harry noticed. He knew what Draco was thinking about. He was so overcome with his own emotions that he couldn't quite 'hear' Draco's thoughts, but the look on the Slytherin's face was enough of a clue. Harry walked to the armchair and sat down, took a deep breath and then looked up into the upset face of the one he loved.
"Go ahead, ask."
Draco stood, silently, considering. After a moment, he walked over and knelt in front of the chair, searching the green eyes he had come to know so well. "I don't think I want to."
"But you feel you have to, don't you?"
"Harry, please, just tell me I was wrong. Tell me you were just upset and you were going to yell at him or something. Please, just tell me you were not about to cast an unforgivable curse on that guy."
"I can't." The two of them sat in silence for a few more moments. Harry was caught up in the thoughts of how angry he was with Preston Bates, how close he'd come to breaking the law and - though he couldn't tell anyone this - how exhilarating it had felt. Draco was caught up in the thoughts of how much Harry had changed and how he wasn't sure how he felt about those changes. The idea of Harry being dark had entertained him for years, but the reality of it was a bit frightening. Perhaps he could talk to Harry's friends about it, they knew him better, after all.
Still considering these thoughts, the two of them finally headed out to get dinner, sitting at their individual tables with little conversation.
~*_*~
Dumbledore looked across the desk at Minerva McGonagall with a touch of sorrow in his sparkling eyes. He knew that she couldn't understand, at least not yet. As headmaster (not to mention the most powerful wizard in the world) he had the ability to sense shifts and changes in power, almost as easily as the scales held by the Ministry.
"It's happened, Minerva."
"Albus, there have been many things to happen in this school, especially since Harry Potter first entered it nearly seven years ago. I'm afraid you'll need to be more specific as to ~what~ precisely has happened."
"The darkness. To be completely specific," here he paused a moment and reached for a bag of lemon drops, offered it to the Professor, and then took one for himself. "About half an hour ago, I felt a powerful surge of power from one of the students in this school. The unusual thing, is that it was a shift in power as well. I believe this to be the shift in power seen on the Ministry scales. We should be expecting some unusual events around here until this is straightened out."
"You still believe that James Potter and Lucius Malfoy will be able to do something about this? And that it won't cause havoc within the school?"
"I intend to catch them as soon as they arrive and place some mild appearance charms on them so they won't be recognized. It obviously wouldn't do for anyone to know who they are. We'll also need to keep their contact with the students to a minimum so they won't learn too much about their future. We wouldn't want to change any major events in history, now, would we?" His tone and the ever-present twinkle in his eye showed that he clearly would love to changes some major events.
"I'll be watching for them. Ironically, I have to meet their sons for detention tomorrow evening. They were caught trying to sneak into the kitchens. It seems they have indeed become quite good friends."
"That's something I had almost expected, though I have to wonder if that's the reason for this power shift."
"Sir, are you saying the shift was within Harry Potter? That boy couldn't possibly be involved in the Dar - oh" Her eyes went wide as she placed all the puzzle pieces together. "Oh, Merlin." Neither of them said another word as the implications of the 'Savior of the Wizarding World' being on the wrong side were too heavily hanging around them.
~*_*~
It was nearing midnight when Draco heard a knock at his door. He jumped up, happily running to greet his boyfriend. He spoke as he swung the portrait hole open. "Hey sexy, I didn't know you were coming by tonight!"
Only after the statement was out of his mouth did he realize that he was speaking to a worried looking red-head. Ron stepped into the room, not bothering to wait for the invitation he felt sure would never come. "Okay, Malfoy, listen," he spoke quickly, hoping to all the gods that Harry was right when he said Malfoy could be trusted. "I know you and Harry are friends, and he trusts you. Harry's my best friend and I feel like I should trust his judgment and all, but I'm getting a little worried now because I can't find him. And, see, well," he paused, unsure how his friend would react to this particular secret being exposed.
After a moment, he decided it was worth the backlash, so long as Harry was safe, and right now he saw two possibilities for help; Malfoy or Dumbledore. With that thought, he pulled a rolled up piece of parchment from his robes, along with his wand. At the sight of the wand, Draco's eyes narrowed slightly, but he made no move for his own wand, deciding to trust the frantic red-head.
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Draco watched in awe as the map of Hogwarts appeared on the parchment. "Now pay attention Malfoy. This map shows where everyone is on the grounds. See, here's you and me. There's my dorm mates in our room. There's Filch. There's Hagrid in his cabin. The thing is, Harry's not on here. I can't find him anywhere and I don't know what's happened to him. I thought about going to Dumbledore, but I was afr. . ."
"Weasely, Stop!" Draco looked over the map carefully, checking some of the places he knew that Harry like to go to get away from things. He checked the lake, the pitch, the broom shed by the pitch, the Astronomy Tower, the alcove behind the third knight in the North corridor, then just to be certain, checked Harry's bed and his own room. He didn't see a dot labeled Harry Potter anywhere.
"Maybe he's got his invisibility cloak with him," Draco suggested. He knew that the cloak was safely folded in his own trunk, but he wasn't about to tell Ron that Harry could disappear at will.
"No, the map sees the person, no matter what form they're in. Even if he were transfigured into an animal, it would still know it's him." Ron was getting more and more upset. He couldn't face the possibility that something bad could have happened to his best friend.
"Okay, let's do this," Draco said. "Let's look through the map and see if anyone else is missing from the grounds. Maybe that will help us figure out what could be going on."
Ron looked at the concern on Draco's face and felt more worried than before, yet comforted at the same time. He realized that Harry had been right about Draco, the Slytherin really did care for him. Cared for him as more than a friend, if Ron's observations were correct. His worry increased, though, once he saw it validated by someone else. The two of them sat down together, carefully scanning the map and mentally categorizing the people they found.
Ron found all the Gryffindors in their beds, all the instructors appeared to be accounted for, and there seemed to be an adequate number of Hufflepuffs. Draco was highly unsure about the Ravenclaws, having never paid much attention to them in the past. He felt certain that all the Slytherins were present, though. Scanning the grounds, he noticed something rather odd.
"What's this?" Draco pointed to the edge of the map where it appeared that someone was at the very edge of the Hogwarts grounds. Ron looked, watched closely as a dot halfway appeared, then disappeared again. It was so quick that the name didn't completely show up, but Ron saw enough to know. That dot was familiar to him. That dot had lived with him for years. That dot was most certainly NOT supposed to be on school grounds.
"Peter Pettigrew"
TBC
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Firstly - to all of you wonderful readers, THANK YOU!!!! And, though I know it was mean of me to tease like that, I'm glad to know that you wouldn't want me to stop!
Woo-hoo! 60 reviews, that's an average of 4 per chapter! And to think that just about 5 chapters I was averaging 2 reviews per chapter!
Peach: I agree completely and if I can ever get over the fanfic obsession and back to writing my original stuff, I think I'll be a better writer for it!
She-Who-Is: Wow, I'm totally flattered. Please don't curse me, I promise to continue. I couldn't stop anyway because this story is way to prominent in my head. I DREAM about it for Pete's sake!
Menecarkawan: I'm glad you liked Harry in Chapter 15, I'm waiting now for your screams and vicious shaking as a result of this chapter.
ShaeLynn: Thank you! : ) I'm very flattered. I hope you'll follow it through the end and the sequel!
Delie: Yes, I think you are a suspicious person, not that it's a bad thing to be - especially when dealing with Malfoys, but in this case, Harry needn't worry, at least not about Draco.
Jade Maxwell: I really wish you hadn't lost your computer, too. I hope you'll be able to update your own work regularly, cuz I like it! I'm glad you liked Ron and 'Mione in that one. If you like to read something that no one expects, then I would presume you liked this chapter too. Unless of course, you were expecting Harry to try that!
Cassa-Andra: I'm not sure how that sounded in your head but it sounded a little threatening and just a touch kinky in mine =) I'm going to try the quick summary with the next chapter, but I'm not sure I'll be able to fit EVERYTHING in. I'm not doing it now because I'm anxious to get this up before I leave work. (yes, I write this at work, don't tell anyone.)
Aramani: Yeah! Thank you so much!
For the record, everyone here should read 'Whispers in the Rain' by Aranami. It's a great story! Okay, that's my promotion for this chapter (I've decided to try promoting one of my favorite stories with each of my posts. These great authors deserve it!)
I hope you all enjoyed this and I hope to have chapter 17 up within a week. Like I promised, we're going on a time-trip to see what James and Lucius have been up to in the 70's. ~grins~