Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me. It belongs to the wonderful people at Warner Brothers and Bloomsburg and Scholastic and of course J K Rowling.
Summary: Harry Potter's life is about to change forever when he finds out the truth about his mother and makes a decision that can and will effect the entire wizarding world. TR/OC HP/DM and various other pairings.
Warning: This is Slash, which means two guys in a relationship in case you didn't know. This story will have other plot lines but if this bothers you then leave now. This will also be MPreg, which means that a male character will become pregnant. While I don't plan on going into intense detail this is an element of the story and if this bothers you than you should also stay away.
Authors note: This is my second attempt at fan fiction and my first attempt at slash. Criticism is welcome but if you plan on giving me a review about how wrong male/male relationships are and that is the only problem that you have with the story then please don't write the review. I have given you fair warning about the nature of this fic. SLASH and MPREG.
***
Chapter five: Contracts
Draco sighed as the fire in front of him cracked once more, this time its flame diminishing into an unrecognizable glow of the burning deadly blaze that it once had been. It was late into the night, he knew, not due to the Grandfather clock that stood opposite of the hearth, but from coolness of the room. From the way the flames seemed unable to warm him anymore. He glanced at the doorway that led to the living room for what seemed like the hundredth time that night.
He'd forgotten what it was like to lose something that had been a large part of him… or maybe he just hadn't known what it was like to begin with.
He knew what it was like now. He could feel the loss inside of him, beating in tune with his heart. Every beat reminding him…. Who would have thought that Harry Potter would be the one waiting to comfort him after these past few insane days?
When he turned back to look at the doorway for the one hundred and first time, it was with the memory of the first time he had seen Harry – in a robe shop looking quite nervous and almost in awe of everything around him… like he expected it to all be taken away from him any moment. He saw that boy's face light up when a giant of a man stood in the shop window holding two ice creams dripping under the heat of the sun.
Twenty feet away from him he saw a much older version of that boy leaning against the frame of a French door, looking troubled and weak.
Draco knew what Harry was going to say before he opened his mouth.
The words seemed to cut into him, like a knife in his gut.
***
It was two days after what Draco had dubbed 'the-incident-that-will-be-discussed-at-Dark-Revels-for-decades' when Harry had finally come out of their room. Draco felt this was a good sign – he was forgetting about that oaf's death and moving on with his life. Though still, under the circumstances, inviting Harry to dinner with Lord Voldemort probably wasn't the most cunning idea that Draco ever had. But Harry had barely eaten a thing all day and he was finally out of his room, roaming around the empty corridors, and Draco felt that a good meal would help fix something… if only to get rid of that sallow look that Harry's skin had taken on.
Unfortunately Wormtail also seemed to feel that dinner with Lord Voldemort was a good idea. Harry had gotten, perhaps, a little out of control at the sight of the person who had helped to murder his parents….
Draco did think that those boils had been a tad juvenile. It was certainly a good thing that Wormtail was supposed to be dead… no man or woman would touch him with that on his…, Draco shuddered.
And even though dinner had gotten off to a bad start Harry had asked to be shown where the library was located, so Draco knew that he must be feeling better – after all who would want to start studying so early into vacation.
Though he did find it… suspicious… when the Dark Lord kept trying to catch Jennifer's eye while she went on and on about the different resources that were available to her, and now to Harry as her heir.
Harry managed a weak smile and asked her if he might be able to start looking over the materials right away, and Draco couldn't blame him. Given the slightest chance to escape that boring conversation, he, too, would have rather spent an evening in a musty old library.
Only Harry never made it back to their room that night. And in the morning when Draco cancelled his wake-me-now charm, there was no sign that Harry had been there at all the night before.
Shaking off the strangest feeling of trepidation, he threw on his robe and brushed his white blonde hair giving his reflection a final wink.
"Who's the special person?" The mirror asked noisily.
Draco ignored the mirror and closed the door firmly behind him before trying to remember what he had overheard Jennifer say the night before.
"So – where is the library?" Harry had asked timidly.
"Oh! Well… if you take the staircase to the left and walk past three portraits there should be a tapestry full of…"
'Full of what?' Draco thought impatiently. He'd noticed, a few days ago when he had been exploring the manor, that there were about a hundred tapestries all over the manor and at least three of them were with pictures of books. And he was pretty sure that none of them could be reached by using the staircase to the left of the dinning room.
Well, he was sure of one thing – he definitely was not going to spend his entire day waiting for a house elf to show up (or until lunch when they made their regular checks on Harry and him). Normally in his own house, he would just summon one using his wand – the Ministry's underage wards didn't reach his house thanks to his father – but, he was in another person's home and servants only obeyed their masters directly unless told otherwise. In fact if Jennifer or Lord Voldemort wanted, they could stop elves from visiting Harry and himself all together.
Of course there was the second option. He could seek Jennifer out and ask her for directions… only he had heard her mention an important meeting she was holding sometime this morning, during dinner the night before, and even Draco didn't have the guts to interrupt that for a simple question. …Especially when he could figure out the answer himself. Asking the Dark Lord, the person Draco had been brought up to fear and respect, never entered his mind.
Irritably, Draco looked around for something to help him find his way, but the hallway was void of portraits and tapestries, in fact the only real decoration was a small fountain at the end of the hallway, partially blocking the sunlight from the window behind it. It was carved into the image of an owl in mid flight, the water was pouring from the scroll clutched in its claws to the round pit below it, and Draco recognized the structure as a Magical Messenger – there were several of them laying wait in Malfoy manor. He walked toward the messenger quickly and reached forward and tapped the scroll with his wand before stepping out of the way hastily. He watched with fascination, though he had seen his father do this many times, as the water stopped flowing from the letter and the marble carving sprung to life. Its pearl eyes looked past Draco, and its empty talon was stretched out in front of Draco waiting for instructions.
"I don't have a letter, but I wish for you to lead me to Harry Potter." Draco said. He watched as the stone wings seemed to flap as the owl glided down the hallway. He was so fascinated that he had almost forgotten to follow it, almost, but not quite.
Draco followed the owl – having to run at times to keep up with it, though the owl did seem to sense when he was unable to keep up with it, because it did slow at times. Finally it led him to a tapestry full of….
"…Cats?" Draco said hoarsely before turning to the now immobile owl and taping the scroll with his wand and watching the statue take off again, this time for its holding space.
Draco inspected the cloth carefully and sure enough he found one of the cats was sitting unnaturally still, compared to the others who were licking their paws and playing with little balls of string. He reached forward as though to pet the cat and his hand went straight through the material and grasped at a door handle. He turned it to the right and the tapestry glowed for a moment before dissolving into thin air. Behind it there was an open door leading to what Draco hoped was the library.
He paused for a moment before gathering the air of an aristocrat and storming into the library as though he owned the place… only to find it empty.
Some of the assurance in his posture left him as he glanced at the hidden library. It could have been a beautiful place if it hadn't looked as though no one had set foot in it for several years. 'In fact', Draco thought, 'there is probably a good reason no one has been here.'
The shelves (and there were hundreds of those) were covered in inches of dust. The chandelier looked as though it were living on a prayer and the floor… Draco didn't really want to examine the floor too closely, but curiosity overwhelmed him. He crouched down and ran a finger along the floor and when he felt the dried gooey substance… well, that combined with the reddish black color that desiccated blood tended to take on – he decided to leave well enough alone.
Draco was just about to abandon the search for Harry altogether when the dust was unsettled and it swept over the shelf closest to him. He turned to sneeze and noticed Harry sitting in one of the cleaner corners of the room completely undaunted by the mess surrounding him. As he bent down to look through the bookshelves, feeling foolish, he even noticed that Harry seemed to be surrounded by books and if his wrinkled robes were anything to go by, he'd been doing this all night. Draco stepped out behind the bookshelf, walked around it and came to a spot three feet away from the piles of parchment strewn about on top of the books. When Harry still didn't look up from his work, or acknowledge his presence in the room at all, he reached down and snatched the piece that Harry was writing on from underneath the quill.
"'Dark Intentions: Not only does it take the skill to perform half of these rituals and spells but in order to complete the spell you have to want that person to end up dead or in the specified amount of pain.'" The writing ended there but Draco had a fair idea what the end of the sentence would have looked like. "I don't remember this being a part of our summer home work. Showing an interest in the Dark Arts now, are we, Potter?"
Harry held out his hand expectantly, and Draco, a little disappointed, placed the parchment in it. He watched as Harry wrote something else down quickly before looking up at Malfoy quizzically. He noticed that Harry's eyes were as they had been for the last few days, red instead of green. It looked wrong.
"My name is Harry." Then he silently went back to his work, selecting a book to his left and flipping through it.
"Yes, well, my name is Draco, though you continue to call me Malfoy." There was something terribly wrong with Harry. He was frightfully calm for someone who had just lost a good friend.
"Yeah, but I've never claimed to be infatuated with you." Harry paused, but whether it was for effect or not – Draco didn't know. "I've been thinking about you a lot over these past few days. Do you know what I've been thinking, Draco?"
The sound of his name on Harry's lips was intoxicating but he kept a cool expression on his face and answered, "You've been thinking about my good looks and wit, I imagine."
Harry shook his head, finally lifting his eyes to meet Draco's.
Draco was blown away by the complete malice and hatred shown in his direction.
"I've been thinking about how completely pathetic you are. Following your father around your whole life, I bet you haven't had an original thought. And it sickens me that you would ever stoop so low as to fall in love with your worst enemy. Do you get off on insults and humiliation, or have I broken your heart so many times over the years?" Harry stood up and stepped over his mountain full of books and began to back Draco into a corner. "Answer me, Draco."
His back was against something smooth and cold. Harry hands were on either side of him, and there was only a foot separating their bodies. The control that Harry had over him nearly scared the magic out of him on a normal day, but the way Harry was acting right now – it was enough for him to run any day. "You wouldn't understand."
Harry banged his fist against the surface and the sound of glass breaking was excruciatingly loud. "I didn't ask for your opinion on my chances of winning top scores on my O.W.L.'s this year."
Draco balanced his weight against the wall and pulled his right arm as far back as it could go. When it connected with Harry's jaw there wasn't enough force behind the back handed punch to break it, but he could tell that it would smart in the morning. "A little of both I suppose."
Harry lifted his right hand from the wall and rubbed his face, stretching his jaw painfully. When his hand moved back to its position at the wall Draco noticed an unhealthy amount of blood was smeared across Harry's face. He twisted his head to the left slightly and noticed for the fist time that the wall he was leaning against was built entirely of mirrors and it seemed as though Harry had taken a large chink out of the 'wall'. Draco could almost see through the hole from his place and it looked as though there were another room on the other side… but before he could move to investigate further he noticed that Harry was talking to him again.
"Is that why you came here? …So that we could fight?"
'Actually,' Draco wanted to say. 'I was worried about you.'
"No, Potter, I came here to sing Christmas carols. I've been practicing and I can do a killer 'Silent Night'."
Harry grabbed his hair and yanked his head to right, leaning forward Harry brought his lips to Draco's ear. "My name is Harry." Then Harry's lips were on his, and his hands were still in his hair and it was so wonderful that you could almost feel magic surrounding them, binding them. It was so amazing that when Harry moved to pull away Draco reached forward and grabbed hold of Harry's robes, and Harry lost his balance and crashed into him. Draco's head smacked painfully against the mirror wall but he didn't care because he was kissing Harry. He was so lost in the moment that he didn't notice when Harry stopped kissing him back and he attributed Harry's hand in his hair tightening its grip to desperation – but he didn't think once that it might be anything other than Harry showing Draco that he was enjoying himself….
So it came as quite as surprise when he felt Harry kick him in the shin. So much, so, that he disentangled his hands from Harry's shirt and grabbed his leg cursing. When he finally looked up he noticed that Harry had scrambled back a few feet and collapsed to the floor. Draco watched as the young man buried his face in his lap. He suddenly had this horrible feeling that he'd done something very wrong. 'But that can't be right,' Draco thought wildly. 'He kissed me. It isn't as though I jumped him.'
He took a step forward and paused when he noticed that Harry's shoulders were shaking. Draco felt a flare of anger at the sight. 'He had better not be laughing at me, or I'll show him what it means to be a Slytherin.'
Though, somehow, it didn't look exactly like Harry was suppressing laughter. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about the way he was sitting, with his hands over his knees, that made it look like he was trying to curl into himself – like he was trying to disappear. Happy people didn't usually want to disappear, right? As the shaking calmed a bit he took a few more steps forward until he was almost in front of Harry.
Uncertainly, Draco moved around to kneel next to Harry, and reached over to place a hand on his back. This seemed to upset him further so Draco snatched his hand back and sat next to the wizard quietly, not having a clue how to rouse him.
His eyes wandered over to the pile of books several feet away, and welcomed the distraction by trying to make out the titles.
Necromancy, a beginner's guide.
Bringing back the dead: what to do when the spell goes wrong.
Giants, a History of magic.
His eyes snapped Harry, who still hadn't moved a muscle, and suddenly he understood. He understood why Harry wanted to spend the night in the library, and why he had been defensive. He knew why Harry had sought out his comfort. Draco didn't really understand why he was so upset, though, when Harry had initiated the kiss, but he wasn't about to call him on it considering that he'd spent all night researching the darkest of the dark arts – things that Draco had only heard of.
When Harry finally lifted his head, Draco met his eyes in the broken mirror and noticed that at least something had come out of that mess of an afternoon. Harry's green tear filled eyes were asking him for forgiveness. He was Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, again – and while Draco didn't know if this were a good thing or not, he welcomed the change. The other side of Harry that he'd just seen, while incredibly arousing, was also very disturbing… and he didn't think either of them was prepared for the pure magic that had surrounded them. All the same he knew that he would never forget the way his name sounded on those lips or the way those lips felt on his. One thing was for sure… nothing was ever going to be the same.
***
Jennifer pushed her wand back underneath her sleeve and turned her attention to Tom and Remus who were trying to usher her out of the room and into the hallway. She took one last look at her grandson and Draco before following them reluctantly.
Once in the hallway, Tom smiled. "Everything is going exactly the way I planned."
"Ahem." Jennifer said quietly and Tom amended: "Alright the way we planned."
She turned to Remus. "Although you could have waited a little longer, I have to congratulate you on your timing."
Remus blushed under her grateful stare. "I do feel a bit sorry for Harry though. I don't think any of us expected this kind of reaction."
"Hmm," Jennifer said noncommittally. "He'll be fine… don't feel sorry at all, Remus. It's just one less person on Dumbledore's side."
"His death was painful?" Tom asked suddenly.
"I'd say that it was very painful, my Lord." Lupin said, stonily. He tried not to show any emotion regarding the people he was 'asked' to kill. If he did, if he, for one moment, remembered that Hagrid liked Dragons and a good drink at the bar, or that he had made an… entertaining Care of Magical Creatures Professor – he didn't think he would be able to handle it.
"Good… I always hated Hagrid – he had absolutely no sense of proper Wizarding decorum." Riddle seemed to be recalling something for a moment or two before he snapped himself out of it. "Dumbledore will believe that the giants killed him?"
"I've planted every bit of evidence myself. The only way he'd know was if he brought Hagrid himself back from the dead."
"Yes, well, I wouldn't put it past the old coot. He's always talking about how wrong the dark arts are – but he doesn't seem to mind using them himself now and again." Jennifer took a deep breath. "Sometimes – sometimes I wish that he had brought Lily back… I thought he might… he was so fond of her." The last part was said in disgust.
Tom moved to put a hand on her shoulder, and then he leaned down to meet her level. "I've already told you I'd kill Dumbledore before the year was out – what more could you possibly want?"
"Everything he's ever taken from me Tom… but you're right, Dumbledore will be dead by Christmas… or he'll wish he was."
Remus stood by quietly, watching their interaction. No one knew of their plan for Dumbledore yet… it had only been mentioned twice, both times vaguely. But Remus knew Jennifer, knew how much she had lost to that man… arranging one of the headmaster's closest friends' death was only the beginning of the destruction she planned to cause. He just hoped that Harry wasn't standing in the middle of the crossfire, because he made a promise to the boy's father – and he'd die before breaking it. Even as he thought this, he knew that Harry was always going to be caught in the crossfire. The werewolf turned his complete attention back to the Dark Lord who was speaking.
"– Christmas Past was always the worst."
***
Minutes passed before either of them spoke… it was Harry who broke the silence.
"Did – did you feel that?" His voice shook slightly and Draco could tell that he was angry with himself over it.
When Draco didn't answer Harry continued.
"It was…. Is it always like that?"
For a moment Draco didn't really understand the implications of that question and when he did, he nearly choked on his own tongue. "Do you mean – was that your first time?"
"I'm only fourteen… there isn't anything wrong with that." Harry said, sounding defensive.
"I'd always thought that you and Weasley might have…."
"With Ron! How many other people think that I've done that with Ron? Have you been spreading rumors, Mal – Draco?"
Draco smiled at the blush that had crept up Harry's neck. "Actually I was talking about the girl – Ginny, right?"
"Right, of course, Ginny, big crush, follows me around – that Weasley."
Humiliation looked good on the Boy Who Lived.
"So, um, you didn't answer my question." Harry offered timidly after a few seconds.
"No I haven't been spreading rumors about you and Ron Weasley." Draco paused for a second. "No, wait, that's a lie. There was the one rumor – but just one, I swear."
Harry looked horrified. "What did you say… who did you spread it to?"
Draco waved a dismissive hand. "I'd heard that Cho Chang was waiting for you to invite her to the Yule ball and I ran into her on the way to class one day…."
If Harry's eyes got any larger, Draco swore, they would fall out of head. He wondered briefly if they made magical eyes in green….
"Tell me that you're joking… you didn't tell Cho that me and Ron were involved." Harry said, scandalized.
"Well, not in so many words." Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "I told her that I'd walked in on you two in the locker room and that you were doing unspeakable things with your –."
Harry groaned. Then he seemed to brighten. "Did you say in the locker room? Ha! She couldn't have believed you. For one – we didn't even have Quidditch last year, and two, you can't even get into the Gryffindor locker room."
Draco shook his head doubtfully. "She didn't seem to think of that. There was the second task thing – I think that's what really helped the rumor."
"She's a Ravenclaw – they're smart!"
"Longbottom's a Gryffindor – they're brave."
Harry ignored that. "Wait… what second task thing?"
"Oh, you know, the whole – we've taken what you'll sorely miss – all of the other champions rescued their girlfriends. You rescued Ron."
"Not Fleur – she rescued her sister." Harry said desperately.
"Yes, but it was her sister. And besides not all of Fleur's class was at Hogwarts at the time, and her family was staying in Hogsmeade, so it was chosen from that."
"You've thought way too much about this." Harry said, eyes narrowing.
Draco shrugged. "It doesn't matter. What does matter is that out of all of Hogwarts Ron Weasley is the one thing that you can't live without."
"That isn't what the rhyme said." Harry said shaking his head wildly; trying to deny that there was anything wrong with missing a friend was one thing, but trying to deny that you wouldn't be able to live without them was another.
Draco kept talking as though Harry hadn't spoken. "Just look at Weasley – there isn't anything special about him. He doesn't have any money; he isn't particularly good looking, or smart for that matter. People were bound to talk. Besides that Chang girl wasn't good enough for you – her money and looks would have only taken you so far."
Harry frowned. "But you just said –."
Draco jumped to his feet, irritated. "I don't even understand what you see in him anyway!"
Harry looked up from his spot in confusion. "Him? Who?"
Draco ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "What do you mean?"
Harry raised himself off of the floor, wincing slightly as he stretched out his legs. How long had they been sitting like this? "You just said that you don't understand what I see in him. Did you mean Ron? I've already told you that me and Ron are friends."
"Of course you are." Draco said quietly.
A few minutes passed in silence. Harry brushed off his trousers and walked over to the pile of books that he had been reading from before. Draco watched as he picked them up one by one and proceeded to put them in their correct place.
"Pedem referre," Draco said impatiently, returning his wand back to his pocket. He watched as the books flung themselves in different directions. He hid a smile behind his hand when a copy of Yesterday and Today: Turning back time hit Harry in the head on its way to the shelf.
"Thanks." Harry offered bitterly, rubbing his head.
Draco shrugged.
"So," Harry said when it became clear that Draco wasn't going to break the silence.
Draco started to shuffle his feet back and forth when it occurred to him that it wasn't a very pureblooded thing to do. He was feeling rebellious. Besides, he was sure that Harry wouldn't mind.
"You aren't going to tell Sirius what I was reading, are you." Harry said quietly, as though it had just occurred to him that his Godfather probably wouldn't agree with his recent reading material.
"You sit too close to him in potions." Draco exploded a second later.
"Sirius doesn't take potions with us, Draco." Harry said calmly.
"You know who I'm talking about." Draco said angrily.
"I really don't see how it's any of your business." Harry shot back.
"People are bound to talk." Draco said through gritted teeth.
Harry bristled. "You're the only one I've heard talk about it so far."
"And you spend so much time with him."
"Friends tend to do that." Harry said, his temper rising.
"Don't you ever get sick of him?" Draco asked curiously.
Harry looked at him in amazement. "I can't even talk to you." He walked over to a shelf behind him and picked up a heavy book. Draco watched as he flipped through it. He was even more confused when Harry threw the book down in front of him and stormed out of the library.
Draco bent down to pick up the book. There was a word circled on the left page. He read it aloud. "A person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard." He looked back to the word that it was describing (Friend) and felt a childish anger rise within him. He grabbed the dictionary and headed out of the library, almost absently giving the hole in the mirror one last look.
If Harry wanted to insult his knowledge then Draco couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he told Harry what their little kiss actually meant. Harry didn't have to know that the contract was reversible….
***
Narcissa sat on the edge of the bed, avoiding Lucius' angry stare – every few minutes he would smooth out the piece of paper in his hand and stare at her before crumpling it up again and resuming his pacing. After a few minutes he finally threw the parchment at her before sitting opposite her.
"What were you thinking?" Lucius asked, his voice a mixture of betrayal, anger, and heartbreak.
Narcissa ran her hand across the silk duvet quietly. She tried to strength her resolve; this was something that she had to do.
"Well? Do you have any idea what the press will do with this? Hmm, Narci', what do you think the press will say when they hear that Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy has suddenly decided to divorce her husband."
"I imagine they'll congratulate me." Narcissa finally answered. "Jennifer says that I should have done it ages ago."
Lucius' mouth twitched in outrage. "She put you up to this, did she?"
Narcissa lifted herself off the bed in one smooth movement. She wandered over to the desk that she had converted into a Vanity her first night at Riddle Manor. Her blond hair fell behind her as she sat down. She reached for the emerald studded brush and began to comb out her hair, something of a nervous habit that she had picked up as a little girl. Barely three strokes of the brush later, and it was violently snatched from her hand and flung at the opposite wall.
She hardly flinched. Lucius was always one for dramatics; really she felt it was trivial. They both knew that he would never really hurt her. "Jennifer did not 'put me up to this'. If you listened to me, you would know that I have not been happy for a long time."
"This is about him, isn't it?" Lucius spat.
Narcissa turned her cool and disapproving eyes on the enraged wizard. "Actually, it is very much about you."
"You can't leave me, Narci'. There is Draco to think about." Lucius' voice had taken on a note of desperation. Narcissa loved Draco… if he could make her see that leaving him would hurt their son then surely she wouldn't go.
"Draco will remain well cared for. My mother has already offered her summer house in Jamaica for me to use until I find a place of my own."
"You can't take my son to Jamaica, I'll never see him!" He roared. This was getting serious! She couldn't take their son away from him because he couldn't get along with Sirius. That was absurd.
"I'm sure the ministry would be more than happy to issue a portkey to one of their upstanding citizens once a month. Besides the new school that they opened there is renowned."
"You mean to take Draco out of Hogwarts!"
"Well, of course. There isn't anything left in England for us." Narcissa said, barely containing her tears.
"What about our Lord?" He asked harshly. That was it! She couldn't leave him while she was still indebted to Lord Voldemort… it just wasn't heard of.
"Jennifer has allowed me leave." Narcissa said calmly. "After Harry goes back to school I am allowed to sever all connections with them. I told her that was preposterous, and that I would continue to serve them both in any way I could – in Jamaica."
Lucius stood in shock, watching as his wife rose from the bench and opened their dresser and dragged her traveling trunk out. He stood, helplessly as she began to pack her belongings inside of it.
"I'll be moving out of our room and into a smaller one down the hall. If you sign the papers you can send them to our lawyer, he'll tie up any loose ends. By signing the agreement you are giving up custody of Draco. I will be his primary caretaker. Due to my lack of suitable employment you are obligated by law to pay monthly alimony – but I'm sure that won't be a problem. I'd appreciate a week's notice before you come to visit Draco." She had packed the few things that she had brought to the manor by the time her speech was over. Narcissa reached into the pocket of her robe and withdrew her wand. A few words later and her trunk was small enough to be placed in her pocket. Without so much as a glance in her soon to be ex-husband's direction she walked toward the door.
"Lord Voldemort and Jennifer have never allowed anyone to walk away from their service before." Lucius said softly, barely aware of the words that were leaving his mouth.
"There is a first time for everything, I suppose." Narcissa offered curtly, and Lucius knew that she was hiding something.
"You still love me. I can feel it." Lucius said, his voice shaking slightly.
He watched as she stood completely still, not betraying an ounce of emotion from her stance. "It was never about that. We just need to be apart."
"So then go on vacation for a while, don't file for a divorce. Don't leave me." He sounded weak now, he knew.
"Goodbye, Lucius." She was out the door, and she didn't look back.
Lucius looked down at the divorce papers that had found themselves on the floor somehow throughout the commotion. He bent down, his hands shaking violently, to pick it up. A million things filtered through his head, missed chances, reasons for her leaving, thousands of plans to make it better… Sirius. What was it she had said about him?
A trial – that was how he could fix things with her. He pulled out his wand and set the magical contract on fire. Only one thing left to do.
Lucius cleaned himself up and left a note behind, before leaving the room and walking down the twisting hallways. He finally came to the front door, which he opened. He walked the length of the dirt road until he reached an area outside of the wards. He apparated with only his destination in mind: the entrance to the Ministry of Magic.
***
Draco opened the door to their room roughly. All thoughts of throwing the dictionary in Harry's face were forgotten when he saw Harry lying flat on the bed staring at the ceiling remorsefully. He put the book on their writing desk and closed the door.
"Do you think he's happy, wherever he is?" Harry asked.
Draco felt something unmentionable go through him. He shrugged it away quickly. "He's probably in the middle of some dragon's nest trying to teach a whole lot of them to read or something."
Harry smiled weakly. "I feel… almost selfish, because I miss him, especially if he's happy."
"Well, in that case, he's probably burning in a fiery hell pit somewhere."
Harry looked at him sharply before realizing that Draco was joking. Then he sat up and stared at Draco with a strange look in his eyes. "I… liked that... before. I know that I wasn't exactly me – trying to raise Hagrid from the dead, and all, but I really liked it. I –"
"What?" Draco prodded when Harry remained silent.
"I don't understand it. I don't understand how I can like that when I've never felt that way about another… guy before." Sometime during his speech Harry had leapt off the bed, and had begun to pace.
He did that, sometimes when he was nervous; Draco found it endearing.
"So, you don't understand it… but you like it. What's the problem?"
"The problem, Draco, is that it goes against every single one of my morals!"
Draco shrugged. "So get new morals. There isn't any reason to brood, Harry. I've told you a hundred times, at least, that no one will care if you start to date a man. There will probably be a fuss about you dating a Malfoy, though."
"I – I just feel sort of lost, you know, with Hagrid gone, and my Grandfather being a Dark Lord. And then there is this – with you – I'm not sure what it is exactly. Maybe I should talk to Sirius...."
"I still don't see the problem. I like you… you apparently feel some sort of attraction towards me. Both our guardians think a union would benefit them. The only person's blessing we're waiting for is yours." Draco sighed.
Harry stopped pacing suddenly and whirled in Draco's direction. "I don't even like you!"
Ouch, that stung. "Well, maybe they forgot to tell you, but that little kiss we just had – it sealed our betrothal. You're looking at your future husband, so you'd better learn to like me."
Harry stood in front of Draco, jaw down, eyes wide. "I'm sorry – our what?"
Draco gave Harry a crooked grin and walked over to their desk, picked up the dictionary and began shuffling through the pages. Once he had come across the correct page he handed the book to Harry, smirking.
"Betroth: to arrange a marriage of; affiance." Harry read quietly, though Draco was strangely pleased to see his face turning purple.
He merely blinked when Harry threw the dictionary at the wall. He watched dispassionately as it bounced and fell open onto the floor. Draco made a show of rolling his eyes. "Now, really, that was uncalled for."
Harry growled and ran at Draco with his hands spread out in a fashion that left little to the mind about what Harry was intending to do to him. Harry had almost gotten his hands around Draco's throat when the door to their room burst open and his mum and Sirius rushed into the room, looking very distressed.
Harry released Draco, looking sheepish.
Neither of the adults noticed. They were both looking at Draco with such intensity he began to feel a growing dread in the pit of his stomach.
Sirius walked over to Harry and began to steer the young man out of the room. His mother's eyes remained transfixed on him.
Distantly, he could hear Harry ask Sirius what had happened.
"There was an attack at the Ministry." He heard Sirius answer.
"An attack! What do you mean?" Harry was asking. "Mr. Weasley works there. Is he – do you know if he's okay?"
"They closed the Floo system, Harry; we don't know anything right now." Sirius said rubbing his face tiredly. When Harry and Sirius moved closer to the door Draco noticed that Sirius looked every bit the murderous criminal he was rumored to be.
"They? Who is 'they'? The Ministry closed the Floo or the people who were attacking? Who's attacking… it isn't Voldemort, is it!" Harry voice was taking on a hysterical pitch.
"It wasn't the Dark Lord. I don't know who it was." Sirius said quietly, stopping to put a hand on Narcissa's shoulder.
"What do you mean, 'I don't know'? Someone should Apparate over to the Ministry and find out! Why isn't anyone –?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Sirius yelled, losing his temper, and interrupting Harry. Narcissa closed her eyes and opened them in time to see Sirius push Harry toward the door.
Draco locked eyes with his mother, and shook his head, barely registering the sound of the door closing after Harry and Black.
She was clutching a piece of parchment in her hand, and as he looked closely at her, Draco noticed that she'd been crying.
The feeling of dread encompassed his whole body until all he could do was shake his head in denial.
"Where is father?"
More tears fell down Narcissa's face and she handed him the note.
He took a few deep breaths before smoothing the paper out (his mother had wrinkled it, clutching it in her hand) and read it silently to himself.
To whom it may concern,
It has come to my attention that there is some urgent business I must attend to. I will be back before nightfall, but if anyone needs to contact me I will be at the Ministry.
Draco let the paper flutter to the floor. He heard his mother sniffle and he looked up at her questioningly.
"He says he'll be back before sunset."
More tears fell. "The attack happened a few hours ago, Draco. One of our contacts made a Floo call right before it had begun. Jennifer went looking for your father, and she found the note. Your father was in a meeting with Mr. Fudge when it occurred." His mother took a deep, shuddering breath. "They're both missing." Narcissa clung to her wedding ring, which was on a golden chain around her neck. "He's in mortal peril."
Draco sucked in a quick breath. "But he isn't dead." He rushed forward and grabbed Narcissa's arms. He shook her roughly. "HE ISN'T DEAD."
Narcissa pulled her son into a hug. "I don't know – there's just so much pain, Draco, so much…." She grabbed his hand and put the wedding ring inside of it.
Draco snatched his hand back upon contact. It was just too much… pain, suffering.
He remembered thinking, before he ran out of his room and into the hallway, that no human could withstand that much pain for long.
***
"He's gone, Draco." Harry said quietly, not really sure of how to break the news. "Your mother says that she can't feel him anymore."
He watched as Draco stared into the fire, or what was left of it. "That could mean several things. He could be under stasis, they could have broken his ring, and he could be under a curse."
"He could be dead." Harry said softly.
Draco flinched. "He isn't… he can't be." He turned his lost eyes away from the fire and fixed them on Harry. "He can't be."
Harry watched Draco Malfoy fall apart for the first time that day. The boy didn't cry, he didn't throw things, he didn't yell.
He sat in that chair in front of the grate for two days straight.
He didn't speak.
***
Author's note: I really can't apologies enough for the wait. All I can say is that this chapter gave me a lot of trouble and that I've re-written it several times. Without Moonchild's help this chapter would still be a half finished mess, so I just want to take the time to thank her profusely for her wonderful editing skills and her ideas. Thank you. I'm not going to give up on this story, and I want to thank all of the people who e-mailed me and took an interest in the story's status. If I took the time to reply to everyone's reviews, I'm afraid I would have to wait until tomorrow to upload this chapter so, I'm only going to answer a few questions.
Illucia: The reason why Harry agrees with things has to do with the house. It should be explained in chapter 7. The house kind of makes certain people, well… that would be telling, wouldn't it? J
Slice: The reason for Voldemort's change in appearance (it wasn't just his hair, because then Harry might have recognized him) will be explained, eventually.
Grrrinning Golden Retriever: Jennifer's identity will be cleared up in the next chapter.