Does my bum look big in this?
Chapter fifteen: Harry
MANY THANKS TO:
~ Elrohir lover ~ Thank you for your sympathy, and your review, to be perfectly honest I wasn't especially sad because I didn't really know my grandfather that well. I can tell your English isn't all that great but I got the general gist of what you're saying!!
~ NewSecretRose ~ Lol, yes . . . I was struggling hard for a name for Draco when I thought of two people most people really adore, it was either Orlando Felton, or Tom Bloom, lol, everytime I say it I crack up, hehehe . . . . I should have read your fic by now and reviewed it, thanks for asking me too! Oh and California's cool, sometimes England is really annoying cus' it mostly just rains . . . and don't worry, Draco's acne will be cleared up very soon . . .
~Harryforeva ~ Lol, thanks for the review and your opinion on what sort of ending it should be. To be honest, I think sad endings can sometimes be good, depending on if I'm in KILL mode . . .
~Happigolucki ~ Sad ending huh? Surprising, but I'm going for whatever the majority says, so I don't know yet. I'm glad it was a surprise and not a disappointment! I had a strange feeling that some people might say something like - 'all this tension and a POSTPONED???' you know, that sort, but luckily, you didn't! Thanks for the review!
~Burgundyred ~ YAY, I'm so happy that you like Dennis too, and that finally someone has confirmed what a Mary-sue is, oh and that fic you mentioned, I think I've already read it, but I didn't review it for some reason I have forgotten! I love parody fics, especially the ones that dis Draco/Hermione fics. I know that sounds weird, seeing as I write those kinds of fics and all, but it really tells you what people don't like, and really helps you to see what NEVER to do. You know we have a lot in common that I never knew about, freaky . . . oh yeah and thanks for the review and the hint about what's going to happen next in your fic!
~Smileyface1314 ~ Thank you very much for the review and your opinion on what the ending should be. I kind of guessed what ending you like because of Happigolucki (she's your long lost twin isn't she?) and what she said in her review, but I'll decide on the ending later, now, I'll focus on what on earth I'm doing now . . .
~Paprika90 ~ Thanks for the review, and for telling me what kind of ending you would prefer. I don't know what the ending will be like as I haven't written it, and the happy/sad thing . . . well I'm going with the majority!
~NitenGale ~ Lol, no need to thank me, I thank you for reviewing! Why don't people acknowledge you? It's not like you're mean or something . . . everything about Harry should be revealed in this chapter, (hence the chapter title) and about Lucius . . . well, I'm not sure what to say exactly, you'll just have to read! HAHA!! If you don't have an email address then you should get one! It would make life a lot easier, hehe . . . and remember, if you need my help just ask, and if you don't just tell me to bugger off or something, I'll get the message.
~Starry ~ Thanks so much, and it feels so nice to know that this fic is different, you know, unique. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope you had a very Merry Christmas too!
~Dead Lenore ~ Yes . . . tis was a short chapter, and I do hope I didn't keep you hanging too long! My counting made it six days . . . actually, that is pretty long, but here's the update anyway, so it's here now and that's all that matters! Thanks for the review.
~ShortStuff10 ~ Thanks for reviewing my story too! Your story is really good, so just update sometime, even if it isn't necessarily soon. Well, your friend might have said it was stupid, but people have different opinions so there you go, I know you probably won't be reading this, but I wish you a good vacation! HAHA!
~Heather Malfoy ~ Lol, thanks for all the reviews!! And no, they didn't bug me, you said this fic was hilarious, but it shall be changing into a serious fic soon, if it isn't now, which I think it is. Reason being . . . oh I don't know! Hope you don't mind and shall carry on reading!! Oh and before I forget, didn't you use to write a fic called The Dead Guy and the phantom lover? Something like that . . . what happened to it? I really did like that fic . . . Oh and thanks for telling me there was a problem but I knew which was why you got an author alert 3 times, sorry bout that.
~Ss ~ Okay, sorry if the ending is sappy (I'm good at sappy endings ya see :P)
Disclaimer: This disclaimer is purely here to inform a little piece of information that you may have missed if you could not have been bothered to read my tad bits at the beginning. Now enjoy the story, the plot and Dennis is all I own!
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As Draco rose to the light of the fake morning sun from his especially charmed window, one thought echoed in his mind - 'Why do magical birds have to be so bloody real?'
He groggily sat up and scowled at the cheerful chirrup of the birds. Oh how miserable they made him feel, with their fluffy feathers and their bloody annoyingly joyful songs. What could he do now? He couldn't slam them away with a pillow like he had done at the burrow, after all, they were FAKE birdies. Maybe he could blow up the entire window, which would shut them up, but then he would have no special underground window . . . oh what a problem.
A few minutes later, Draco jumped out of bed and decided to have a quick shower before starting his new lessons for this term. His decision was to leave the birds until he was driven to insanity, THEN blow up the window and demand a better room. How anyone stood up with them for so long he didn't know.
He strode into the bathroom and looked around. He hadn't inspected his bathroom much as there was really nothing there to inspect, and there still wasn't. The only thing remotely interesting was a magic mirror located right at the back of the large (and I mean LAAAAARGE) bathroom, green colours swirling in its depths, meaning that the mirror was at rest.
Draco stood in front of it and stared for a while, thinking of what to say. His magic mirror at home hardly ever rested, and if she did, she would wake upon a word, the word being 'Precious'. He wondered what word this mirror would awake to. Luckily, he didn't have to think for much longer.
"Good morning new master," The mirror stopped swirling and a green masked face with flames flickering from beneath it appeared. His voice was very deep; Draco automatically assumed it was a boy.
"Hi?"
"My word of rest is 'appearances'."
"Thanks, so, tell me the truth, I look awful don't I?"
"My dear master, sir, you are indeed looking better than what I have heard of you."
"What are you on about?"
"Why, Mr Malfoy, us talking mirrors can communicate with each other. But it is a truce and a secret that all mirrors have sworn not to tell of how we do this. I happen to know a mirror that knows you, master. She is awfully fond of you, but from what she's told me, you don't seem like a very nice person at all. Now . . ."
"I don't understand."
"Magic mirrors may not know as much as you humans, but we can see all that lies within our masters and mistresses - see beyond all appearances."
Draco frowned. See beyond appearances . . . was this cooky mirror related to Dumbledore or something? 'Oh god not another one' he thought. That fairy (Buttercup) that used to be a witch was bad enough! Hold on . . . look beyond the appearances, if that meant what Draco thought it meant then . . . had he changed from what he was like inside?
That was a stupid question, as it was quite obvious (even to him) that he had changed, even if it was slightly. And it was all because of Granger . . . stupid Granger, Granger Granger, HERMIONE Granger. He snapped out of his thoughts and frowned, realising something that he had not yet thought of.
"How do you know that I'm a Malfoy?"
Draco asked. The magic mirror's face remained calm and expressionless. He looked wise and old, like he had been alive (well, not alive, ALIVE, but alive) for a few hundred years.
"Like I have said, young master, we see all, it is all inside yourself master, and we can see it all too clearly."
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"Orli!! Come sit here with me and Ginny!"
Hermione shouted across the hall, waving a hand to guide him across the room towards the middle of the Gryffindor table. Draco plonked himself down between Hermione and Ginny. Ron was just opposite, stuffing down as many pieces of bacon as he could manage. Harry was sitting next to Ron, eating calmly and slowly, with his eyes closed. He opened them and stared straight at Draco, his eyes gleaming with unspoken horridness.
"Sorry you guys, I'll meet you in the dungeons for double potions. I don't want to be late and I've had enough food. Ron you can have my leftovers."
Ron nodded thanks to Harry as Harry hurried off; he then happily started on Harry's food while the two girls frowned. They both shook their heads and continued to eat.
"Well, Hermione, Orli, Ron, I'm going to go find Lauren, she should be somewhere around here . . ." Ginny drifted off, looking around her to try and find one of her friends, in this case, Lauren. She walked off quickly without another word.
"So which lessons have you got first Orli? I don't think you have potions with the Slytherin and Gryffindors, do you?"
"I don't know, I haven't got my timetable yet. I'll go get it from Dumbledore now, I'm not very hungry."
Draco clambered up from the Gryffindor table and strode towards Dumbledore, trying to ignore his father sitting just nearby. Dumbledore watched as he walked, a hint of amusement, as always, in his eyes and a small smile playing on his lips.
"Excuse me Professor, I need my new timetable."
"Here Mr Felton, I do not see why you need it though," Dumbledore said with a twinkle and a wink, "You shall be doing all of the tasks with the Gryffindors - following their timetable. I thought it would be a lovely and unique experience for you."
Dumbledore winked once more and passed a sheet of parchment to Draco, who eyed it suspiciously. He was going to spend his time at Hogwarts as a Gryffindor, and not a Slytherin. New and unexciting . . . yet he found it strangely appealing.
With a curt nod, Draco swiftly turned and walked back towards the Gryffindor table to tell the 'good' news to Hermione and if Ron wasn't eating too much to listen, him too.
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" . . . Miss Granger and Miss Parkinson, Weasley with Goyle, Miss Brown and Miss McNair, Crabbe, you go with Longbottom over there, Miss Bulstrode and Miss Patil will do, and Mr Felton with Mr Potter."
Snape smiled slyly at Draco as he mentioned the last pair. Draco strongly resisted the urge to scowl. Through all these strange experiences living the life of someone else, Draco had grown more self-control than he ever thought he could manage. It was strange and a big change to him, and he didn't like not being a spoilt brat.
Snape waved his wand with a lazy air, making instructions appear on the blackboard.
"Now I want you to also open up your books, the one entitled 'The magic wisdom of Wolfbane'. Indeed this potion is based around the Wolfbane and in case any of you were wondering, this potion is fairly new and is known and used to stop the transformation of the werewolf." Snape announced before settling down at his desk to watch them all.
They set off to work in their pairs, Harry not looking up once at Draco as he cut up his Garble scales. Draco set to work reading the text in the book, seeing as Harry was too busy chopping things up anyway.
"Wolfbane is one of the most commonly used ingredient in many forms of potion making. It is extremely useful, and is even involved in the making of the potion that is known to put a stopper to death. Its uses are many; this book will contain many interesting facts that all wizards and witches of today should learn. Erm . . . let's see . . ."
Draco screwed up his face in concentration and looked in the contents page, trying to find the chapter that might actually help with the potion they were making. He had not the patience to read the entire book (which was approximately 999 pages long).
"Ah! Here it is - moonlight crescent. I think that's the name of the thing we're making, how is it coming along?"
"Fine, I need you to try and find some Mooseweed for me."
Draco looked around. Mooseweed was something brown and thin, much like a stick except when you touched it, it would curl. He looked under the table and saw a piece lying on the floor. Harry saw it too.
"Careful, it says not to let it curl before you put it in. Actually, don't worry about it. I'll get it."
Harry immediately crawled under the table armed with his wand. Draco didn't understand it. The last time they were at the burrow, Harry had tossed him his wand and let him try to wake Ron. Why had he not done the same this time? Did he not trust him enough? Draco shook his head and thought nothing of it, pushing this thought to the back of his mind. He returned to the book.
"Moonlight crescent, the potion used for the stopper to the transformation of the werewolf. Largely used in America, this potion is brewed and sold by many for more than it is worth, as many think that this potion is highly rare, which we assure you, it is not. It would be easier to make the potion, as the ingredients are not hard to find. The reason being that the main ingredient is the Wolfbane, the subject this book is based on."
Draco let out a snort. Boy was this book boring, and they were expected to use this for homework and research? How could they when he could hardly stay awake on the first ruddy chapter? He closed the book and put it back into his bag. Helping Harry make the potion was much better than learning all the properties of a blimmin' INGREDIENT.
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Draco looked at his timetable and sighed. Next lesson was Defence against the Dark Arts with the Hufflepuffs, and he was absolutely dreading this, as you would expect. He walked alone towards the DADA class, he had absolutely no idea where Hermione, Harry and Ron had gone, but he suspected that Harry had probably led them away from him anyway; after all, he was acting very strangely.
He entered the classroom to see Hermione waving at him to come with them to the very back of the class, which was unusual, as somebody like Hermione would want to be at the front.
"Sorry, Harry said that he thought you'd already gone, but I chose a back seat for you because Lucius Malfoy, okay, PROFESSOR Malfoy isn't exactly someone who you should get too close to."
Hermione smiled at him and Draco managed a small smile back. She would think something was wrong if he didn't. To his right he could see Harry staring blankly at him, his eyes empty and deep in thought. Ron was already yawning and trying hard not to fall asleep and the lesson hadn't even begun.
"Welcome, class," Lucius suddenly appeared out of the shadows of the stairs, his eyes fixed on Draco and Draco only. Ernie McMillan burst through the door and hurried to an extra seat next to Justin Finch- Fletchley, breathing heavily. Lucius' eyes darted to him.
"You, why are you late?"
"Sorry, Professor, sir, I was, er . . . in the library, yeah, trying to get some more information to get myself ready! Yeah, that's it." Ernie looked up and tried to look convincing.
"Mr McMillan is it? Pray tell me why on earth you have a touch of lipstick on your collar." They whole class began to giggle as Ernie turned a brilliant shade of red and looked down at his desk, fiddling under the table with his fingers.
"Now go to the back Mr McMillan, I do not want to see you this lesson, 10 points from Hufflepuff and a detention for tomorrow." The whole class fell silent. A detention and house points taken just because he had lipstick on his collar?
"But Professor, there's no room."
Lucius smirked the famous Malfoy smirk and his eyes gleamed with an unforeseeable plan. He looked straight at Draco, and immediately he knew that something was definitely going on in his father's mind - as always.
"Mr . . . Felton, if you would please make your way forward, and be so kind to swap places with Mr McMillan."
It was an order and Draco knew it, he gathered his stuff and moved to Ernie's place, cursing his bad luck. He had to be extra careful now, with his father's gaze, he could not make one single mistake that might give him away even more. Lucius smirked at Draco and gave a slow and sly nod.
"Now let us begin our lesson. For this term, I shall be teaching you the art of dark magic for I believe that if you know the different kinds, you shall know the defence against it. To begin with, let us have a look at some magic spells that are not dark, but are indeed very powerful and may lead to the invention of new and darker spells."
Lucius took his wand and tapped the board, making writing appear on it, the writing read: 'The art of the curse of appearance.' Draco's eyes widened. His father must be doing the specific curse that Buttercup had most probably used on himself. That meant what Draco was already most positively sure of, his father MUST know.
"Now, if I could have a volunteer to stand up on my desk," Lucius scanned the class lazily, only Hermione's hand seemed to be raised. His eyes landed on Harry, who scowled and set his jaw, but then his eyes suddenly moved to Draco. He smirked.
"Mr Felton, please do stand up on my desk and I shall explain all."
Draco did as he was told and awkwardly walked to the front of the class, standing up on Lucius's wooden desk.
"Now, the art of disguise is all very simple. By altering the features of one person, it can change their whole appearance. This can be done with polyjuice potion if you have one person whom you want to look like, but the spell for this needs very powerful magic, very powerful indeed and can change the appearances of one person to be one of another that no one has ever seen before."
Lucius waved his wand and immediately. Draco seemed to be wearing different clothes. He looked at his plain robes to discover that they now had the Slytherin symbol on it. Lucius smirked at the class.
"As you all know, my son has been missing for quite some time, and indeed, he still has not been found. Using the art of magic, we can easily change the appearance of Mr Felton to that of my son. This is how more advanced wizards can disguise themselves and their acquaintances."
Lucius waved his wand gain and muttered a spell under his breath, making Draco's hair straight and hanging loose. With another wave, it was gelled back and looked smart, not a hair out of place in sight.
"Acliano!!!"
Lucius said, and immediately, the whole class, including Draco could hear the spots disappearing one, by one. When the final pop had echoed around the room, Draco could hear gasps of horror, shock and Neville Longbottom fainting in a nearby corner. He looked at Ron, who by now was in utter shock, his eyes as round as saucers and Harry was just . . . scowling hard at him. Hermione looked like she was going to puke.
Lucius held a mirror up for Draco to see. "As you can all see, even you Mr Felton, the resemblance to my son is unmistakable, just by using a few spells. So beware everyone, maybe someone in this very room, is not all they seem to be."
Draco put down the mirror feeling slightly ashamed. He was the one who was not what he seemed, he was the one who was betraying their trust, yes, HE was the one . . . but if he was still the old Draco Malfoy, why was he feeling so guilty about it?
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The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, Draco's next lessons being Charms and Transfiguration. Soon, dinnertime had arrived, and Draco found himself in the Entrance Hall, staring at the hourglasses that contained the house points: Ravenclaw = 20, Hufflepuff = 15, Gryffindor = 15, Slytherin = 25. 'Well, Slytherin did have potions today,' Draco thought as he heard someone head towards him, their footsteps stopping just behind him. He turned and faced Harry. Harry's face was set and solemn; he didn't look very happy at all.
They began to walk up the steps towards Gryffindor tower and Draco's living quarters without a word. All too soon, they had reached their destination. Draco used his wand to open the door to his room and gestured for Harry to sit down next to him on one of the sofas by the fire. Instead, Harry plopped himself down on the one opposite and stared at Draco with something he couldn't quite muster.
"Er . . . well, what is it?"
"Haven't you figured that out yet?" Harry said in a rather rude way.
"No actually, I haven't." Draco replied in the same tone, he was starting to get annoyed of all this grumpiness.
Harry sighed and reached into his bag, bringing out yesterday's Daily Prophet - the edition he had seen on the train with Hermione. He showed the picture to Draco. It was a picture of himself (obviously).
"Recognise him?"
"Yes . . ." Draco said slowly, looking into Harry's green eyes. He closed the paper and folded it back up, tucking it back into his bag of many books. Silence. Harry looked up. Draco could see that the coldness had gone, and instead, was replaced by confusion and sorrow.
"Tell me, ORLI, how much do you like Hermione?"
He shrugged, "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No."
Harry took a deep breath, and decided to ask another question, this one more important than the last. Hopefully, this question might actually get him somewhere. "I know who you are."
Draco gulped inwardly and tried to pretend he didn't know what Harry was on about. He would never confess, not until he was absolutely sure. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that I know EVERYTHING. There's no point in pretending, I've figured everything out, and Hermione has her suspicions too, especially after that Defence against the Dark Arts lesson with Malfoy. She just doesn't want to believe it, because she likes you too much, but if she accepts the fact that you're not who you say you are, she'll notice more things that point in one direction - the real you. We're not that dense, even Ron's suspected something."
Draco didn't react. At this rate, everyone would know. Oh this was not good. Wait . . . Harry hadn't said his real identity yet, maybe he thought he was another person, the wrong person, maybe . . .
"Malfoy! Are you even listening to me?" Whoops, there goes the maybe.
"Yes! Potter, I don't even know what's going on myself."
Harry's eyes gleamed with triumph that soon faded once he saw Draco bury his head of curls into his pale hands. "I knew it. But . . .Why? Why did you pretend to be someone who you're not? Why are you not even at least TRYING to kill me right now?"
Draco sighed and began a long conversation with Harry. He told him all about how he had been at his Aunt and Uncle's, how he had met Buttercup and she had thought he was too vain, how he had become 'Orli', how he had met Hermione and so on. To be perfectly honest, Draco had absolutely no idea why on earth he had told Harry, HARRY POTTER, his archenemy, of all people, everything that had happened, but one thing he was sure of, was that he felt a whole lot better afterwards. He took a deep breath after finishing his sentence and glanced at his watch. It had only been fifteen minutes since they had entered his living premises, and yet it felt like he had been talking for hours on end. His mouth felt dry and no saliva was left.
"Well that's quite a story Malfoy, and I'm guessing it still hasn't ended," Harry said, staring into the fire. A lone cricket could be heard outside, making the only noise that the pair could hear now.
"Well?" Draco asked, breaking the silence.
"Well what?"
"Aren't you going to go and tell everyone? Aren't you going to run to my father and make sure he kills me? Aren't you, at least, going to tell Granger?"
Harry shook his head and looked Draco in the eye, "No, if I go tell everybody, what good will that do? If I go to your father and tell him, if he doesn't already know that is, then he'd want to hurt Hermione too. And if I tell Hermione, she wouldn't believe me. Like I've said, she doesn't WANT to believe it, and she won't if she likes you enough, and I'm sure she does."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Harry looked deep in thought. He finally replied a few seconds later, "I'm going to help you keep it a secret for as long as I can. If anyone else finds out, which they're bound to - I mean, look at you! If you look long enough, you'd see who you really are Malfoy."
They sat together after this with nothing to say, Draco couldn't bare it for much longer. He wasn't even sure if he should believe what he was being told. He guessed that it was possible that Potter with do all this for Granger, after all, she was one of his closest friends, the other being Ron.
"Look Malfoy, I'll help you but you have to do something for me in return."
Draco groaned but nodded and gestured for him to carry on.
"When you turn completely back, which I'm positive is some time soon, please, don't hurt Hermione. I don't care what you do, write her a letter, treat her badly again, or even confront her, face to face, I don't care AS LONG AS SHE DOESN'T GET HURT, compeesh?"
Draco nodded. He had no idea what would happen once he changed back, he was scared of what would happen, as much as he hated to admit it, even to himself.
"Tell me, Malfoy, why? Why didn't you tell anyone? Why were you so nice to . . . well, all of us?" Harry asked as he gazed into the fire.
"I honestly don't know. Call it a truce . . . Harry?"
"Yeah, whatever but call me Potter."
Harry and Draco both got up and shook hands, squeezing each other's hand as tightly as possible, making each of them grit their teeth. Draco thought calling Potter, Potter was better than calling him Harry. They had a history, and the past can never be erased, no matter what happens, or however hard you try.
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That night, Draco couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed, feeling hot under the covers. Kicking them away, Draco continued to roll around, feeling more uncomfortable by the second. When he and Harry had entered the Great Hall (just before the end of dinner, and just after Draco gave his letter addressed to Dennis to Hedwig to send), Harry had acted more normal, now even friendlier towards Draco than ever before. Hermione seemed keen to find out where they were, but of course, they didn't tell her anything.
As Draco finally fell asleep, he had the usual dream, the dream about which path he would choose. Then, something stranger happened that had never ever happened before:
'He was still on the boat heading towards Hogwarts, the angels and devils flying by his side. A large light appeared in the misted sky, which halted the boat. A larger devil appeared on the side of the darkness, rising above all. He was bellowing something that Draco couldn't understand, and the next thing he knew, all the devils were gone, leaving only the light and the angels to one side of him. Draco felt relieved but, as he turned towards the angels, they disappeared too, leaving him alone on the lake in front of a mystic light, making everything around it seem darker.
He looked up at it and heard a voice, a voice that was very familiar. She was saying, "Choose your path now, before all is lost."'
It had ended there and Draco had then woken up, finding that it was 5:00 am. He couldn't sleep, and therefore tried to bore himself to sleep with 'The magic wisdom of Wolfbane', but only succeeded in finding out more about Wolfbane than he had ever wanted to know. Finally, it was 7:00am and Draco decided to get out of bed and wash. He hoped against hope that this day was going to be better than the last.
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A/N: I'll tell you this thing, right, when I tried to upload this thing IT WOULDN'T WORK, so, I typed up another chapter as quickly as I could, and it is down after this note! Yes, I'm giving you two chapters, yes, TWO in one go, so, pleeeeease do enjoy, and keep one word in mind: REVIEW!
Does my bum look big in this?
Chapter sixteen: Lots of lovely letters
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Draco stumbled clumsily into the bathroom, yawning as he went. He was hoping to receive a letter from Dennis today, to try and at least get his mind off things.
"Appearances." Draco mumbled, still half asleep (aw, mental image of sleepy Draco, ugly or not, still very sweet). The green mask appeared once again, its features looking grave and sad, making it look older. The flames flickered beneath it; green flames that seemed like leaves, swaying off a branch in the summer, except it all seemed far gloomier than summer ever was.
"Yes my master, how may I help you on this fine morning?"
"Yawn . . ."
"You look mighty good today if I do say so myself."
"God, you sound cheerful, what do you mean by 'mighty good' anyway? Inside, or has my curls stopped or something? Acne cleared up slightly? Cus' I really don't feel that different you know."
"Both my young master, both."
"I said three things."
"All, my young master, all. Let me show you."
The surface of the mirror began to swirl, the flames still flickering, now more and more, making them larger and larger. A blue circular hole began to make way in the centre of the mirror, where the green mask should have been. The hole grew wider and more reflective, until it was like a normal mirror surface. Draco could see himself, no, it wasn't Orli HIMSELF, it was HIMSELF, HIMSELF.
Draco feverishly placed his hand on his forehead and felt his face all over. All the spots were gone - his old skin was back!! He looked at his hair in the mirror and then ran his fingers through it. It was back, the fair, non-curly, easy-to-gel-back hair was back! Draco stood; he felt a surge of mixed emotions run through him - happiness, anxiousness, confusion, sadness, everything surged though him all at once, leaving Draco more mixed than he had ever been.
He thought of what to do, the first thing that came to mind was to contact Potter. But how? He couldn't risk the chance of going out into the corridor. Someone was bound to see him come out of ORLI'S lair, and, with his luck, he might even bump into his father. No, he couldn't leave now. He could only hope was for a miracle to happen, and when did miracles happen to people with his luck?
'Okay now Draco, get a shower and decide this LATER.'
Draco, obeying his mind, then thanked the mirror and went back into his bedroom to get his clothes. He hoped that a shower might cleanse his mind a little at the least . . .
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It was now 9:00am, and Draco was sitting on the floor in front of the now open window, a sheet of parchment set in front of him with a quill and some ink. He had been sitting in front of the fireplace ever since he had gotten dressed. The lessons were starting now; he wondered whether anyone would notice that he hadn't attended breakfast. Surely Granger would have, and if Potter did then maybe he would try to contact him and see what was the matter . . .
How could Draco contact anyone? He couldn't use the fireplace, as he had no floo powder, he couldn't write to anyone because he had no owl, and all he had was his wand. What use was a wand when you couldn't do anything with it? During his peaceful shower, Draco had thought about contacting Dumbledore, he would know what to do, even if he had to be bloody annoying in the process.
"Help . . ." He mumbled to himself as he tried to think of another way to contact people. He was rocking himself backwards and forwards and backwards and forwards, and then he stopped, burying his head in his hands.
"God, I'm talking to myself again, wait, I'm doing it now! Argh!"
He stomped up in a fit of rage and went to slam the window to try and stop the annoying breeze that was messing up his hair (yep, there was the vanity creeping up again. But Draco will always be Draco, and he had changed from being very vain, now to only slightly vain, so there you go). Suddenly, he stopped. Somewhere in the distance he could see something flying towards him, something that was as white as the mist surrounding it, in fact, whiter, as white as snow.
It was Hedwig.
She landed on the windowsill, dropped a letter from her beak and intended to fly off again, before Draco stopped her by shouting at the top of his voice.
"WAIT! Hedwig wait!"
The owl seemed to understand him as she swooped back into the room, a regretful glint in her eyes. She landed on one of the sofas and sat as Draco sighed. He could not believe that now he was talking to animals! 'Oh well, you had to stop talking to yourself SOMETIME' he thought.
"Look, I'm sorry for what happened in fifth year, but that's the past! Please do me this little favour, just once??"
As Hedwig didn't move, Draco took that for a yes. He couldn't bear to think negative thoughts NOW. He swiftly moved over and took his wand. Then, he showed it to Hedwig, who began to click at him viciously, thinking that he was going to do something horrible.
"No, no! I'm not going to do anything to you, I'm just saying, if you do something for me, then I'll try and summon some owl treats and give them to you, okay?"
Hedwig stopped clicking and looked at Draco with her big round eyes. She seemed to understand him, as she fluttered her wings and began to nibble at her right wing, distracting Draco from his thoughts.
"Right, erm, what I need is three owls. If you could get three, or maybe be one yourself, but, then again, you might want to go back to Pot . . . I mean, your master. Can that be done?"
Hedwig looked up and then flew off the sofa, flying through the window without even a click. Draco wondered whether she would come back or not, but if she would then he had to get his plan into action before she came back. First, he had to get some owl treats, after all, he had been taught that lying to an animal never did any good, whether it end in a black eye and bruises, or a sore butt.
He opened the trap door and entered his room, trying to find some left over sweets that he had. He eventually found some Bertie Botts every flavour beans stuffed under his bed (Dumbledore had given him to wish him luck when he had sent him that letter). Using his transfiguration skills that he had learnt during his six years at Hogwarts, Draco successfully changed the beans to owl treats. They may have looked like owl treats, but Draco had no idea what they tasted like, as he was not daring enough to try for himself.
Now that he had his owl treats, he went back into the upper room and looked at some parchment lying on a table nearby. He ripped it up into three separate pieces. Then dipping his quill into the inkpot beside the parchment, he wrote:
'Dear Potter,
You may have noticed that I'm not there where you are right now. The reason is because I have changed back, yes, BACK, to my old self and have decided that it is simply not safe to go outside. Please help me, I shall be sending a similar letter to Dumbledore, go to him and he should know.
Thanks,
Orli, D.M.'
Draco re-read his letter. He thought it was not safe to put his real name so bluntly, just incase anything happened. He folded the parchment carefully, and then printed on it in big bold letters - TO HARRY POTTER, DO NOT OPEN UNLESS ALONE. He put it aside and dipped his quill in the ink again, starting on a new scrap of parchment. He hurriedly began to scribble:
'Dear Professor Dumbledore,
I am stuck in my room today for my transformation is complete. I need help, as I cannot leave now, in case anyone spots me, especially if that person was to be my father. I have contacted Potter as he knows everything about my identity, and I've told him to go to you as soon as possible.
Also, I am going to be sending a letter to Dennis Granger, Hermione's cousin. He has asked me to keep him informed, and he is one of the only people whom I trust. I will ask him to come to Hogwarts, but please could you organise something that could actually get him here safely. I would truly appreciate this Professor,
Yours,
Orlando, DM'
He again folded the parchment up, and quickly scratched on it - 'PROFESSOR ALBUS WHATEVER-HIS-MIDDLE-NAME-IS DUMBLEDORE' then put it to one side, on top of Harry's letter. Draco was about to grab the third piece of parchment when he realised that Hedwig had brought a letter back FROM Dennis. He decided that reading that first might be better.
He hurriedly ran and got the envelope, made sure it was paper (rice paper rips very easily. Unbelievable!) Then ripped it open, unfolding it with fumbly (not a word but never mind) hands. Scanning the letter quickly, Draco read:
'Dear Orli,
Lucky for you, this letter did not wake me up from my beauty sleep, instead THE RUDDY OWL GOT TO ME IN CLASS. Greeeeeeeat thinking Orli! You've just got me detention for THE ENTIRE WEEK AND everyone thinks I'm loony (if they don't already) for having an owl peck me just so that I'd write a reply! I can't say much right now SEEING AS I AM IN CLASS! But I'll write later me old mate!
Oh but I just want to say this first: do you feel lonely at times? Would you want a companion to listen to you when you feel down? Do people never seem to understand you? Well do not fear! For here, is the cardboard friend! Easily accessible, and easy to make, easily foldable when you get annoyed and easily punchable but very hard to break! Only ten pounds per friend! All colours available, while stocks last!
Yep, you've guessed it! I'm a door-to-door salesman! Ain't that cool? The salary stinks, but I get to annoy the hell out of people with my advertising! Well I have to go now, BYEEEEE!!
Dougy, the plonk, the first.'
Draco couldn't help but smirk. Even at a serious time, Dennis still was as stupid as hell. But then again, Dennis didn't know that it was a serious time at all. He wondered what Dennis would be like serious . . . but then thought that there were more important things to waste his time thinking on. Draco pocketed the letter, then grabbed his quill and scribbled:
'Dear Dennis,
I need you to do something for me, something has happened. I've contacted Mr D. and I'd like it if you stayed with me at this school. Mr D will contact you hopefully and tell you the details, hopefully. Thanks Dennis, I'll hopefully, be seeing you soon,
Bye,
Orli, DM'
Draco had written in code about Dumbledore in case anyone intercepted the letter, which he doubted, but just to be on the safe side, he did anyway. At that moment, three owls swooped in through the open window, surprising Draco as he swiftly turned around. Like all Malfoys, Draco handled surprise awfully well and did not jump like many of us would, instead he calmly got up, retrieved the owl treats and gave them to the three owls, all of which began to peck at them hungrily.
Draco watched, clutching the three letters in his hand. Hedwig had returned to help him, which he was surprised about, but then again, she was HARRY'S owl. He was a bit disappointed, however, that she had gotten Ron's owl, Pig, to help. Knowing this little owl, he'd get lost before he even set off. The other owl was just an old barn owl that Draco thought belonged to the school and had been in the owlery for God knows how long.
They finished the transfigured bean meal soon, and stared up at Draco expectantly. He walked up to them and began to talk, trying hard to convince himself that he wasn't going mental . . . yet.
"I need this one to go to Harry Potter, so I think you, Hedwig, should go, seeing as you're his owl," Draco tied the letter to her leg using some old string. She fluttered her wings a little before flying off from the windowsill. The remaining owls stared at him, Pig squeaking and beginning to fidget with the excitement of it all.
"Erm, Pig, I think you better give this to Dumbledore, because the other letter is kind of for a person a long way away. So, take this to Professor Dumbledore," Draco tied the letter to Pig's leg and he flew off, very excited, and very wobbly. The school owl stuck out his/her leg, ready to receive the last letter.
"Thanks, take this to Dennis Granger, I'm sure you can find him." The school owl seemed to puff itself up with pride that Draco thought it was good enough to find somebody that he didn't the location of. It flew off after Pig when Draco finished tying the last letter to its leg. Now all he could do was wait, and hope that he would get a reply as soon as possible.
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HAHA! SO that was my two chapters, I hope it was okay! Please review, I mean, IT WAS TWO WHOLE CHAPPIES! Pretty, pretty please??
PS. Okay, this is a really important question that I need to know maybe for some sort of future fic. What do you guys think of a fic, that basically is a romance (my specialty) but is all written from Ron's point of view (bare in mind that Ron is has hardly any romantic relationship at all, AND if I do write it, it will be a Hermione/Draco and Harry . . . and somebody else I will decide later). I NEED TO KNOW THIS, EMAIL OR REVIEW TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THE IDEA!!!
Chapter fifteen: Harry
MANY THANKS TO:
~ Elrohir lover ~ Thank you for your sympathy, and your review, to be perfectly honest I wasn't especially sad because I didn't really know my grandfather that well. I can tell your English isn't all that great but I got the general gist of what you're saying!!
~ NewSecretRose ~ Lol, yes . . . I was struggling hard for a name for Draco when I thought of two people most people really adore, it was either Orlando Felton, or Tom Bloom, lol, everytime I say it I crack up, hehehe . . . . I should have read your fic by now and reviewed it, thanks for asking me too! Oh and California's cool, sometimes England is really annoying cus' it mostly just rains . . . and don't worry, Draco's acne will be cleared up very soon . . .
~Harryforeva ~ Lol, thanks for the review and your opinion on what sort of ending it should be. To be honest, I think sad endings can sometimes be good, depending on if I'm in KILL mode . . .
~Happigolucki ~ Sad ending huh? Surprising, but I'm going for whatever the majority says, so I don't know yet. I'm glad it was a surprise and not a disappointment! I had a strange feeling that some people might say something like - 'all this tension and a POSTPONED???' you know, that sort, but luckily, you didn't! Thanks for the review!
~Burgundyred ~ YAY, I'm so happy that you like Dennis too, and that finally someone has confirmed what a Mary-sue is, oh and that fic you mentioned, I think I've already read it, but I didn't review it for some reason I have forgotten! I love parody fics, especially the ones that dis Draco/Hermione fics. I know that sounds weird, seeing as I write those kinds of fics and all, but it really tells you what people don't like, and really helps you to see what NEVER to do. You know we have a lot in common that I never knew about, freaky . . . oh yeah and thanks for the review and the hint about what's going to happen next in your fic!
~Smileyface1314 ~ Thank you very much for the review and your opinion on what the ending should be. I kind of guessed what ending you like because of Happigolucki (she's your long lost twin isn't she?) and what she said in her review, but I'll decide on the ending later, now, I'll focus on what on earth I'm doing now . . .
~Paprika90 ~ Thanks for the review, and for telling me what kind of ending you would prefer. I don't know what the ending will be like as I haven't written it, and the happy/sad thing . . . well I'm going with the majority!
~NitenGale ~ Lol, no need to thank me, I thank you for reviewing! Why don't people acknowledge you? It's not like you're mean or something . . . everything about Harry should be revealed in this chapter, (hence the chapter title) and about Lucius . . . well, I'm not sure what to say exactly, you'll just have to read! HAHA!! If you don't have an email address then you should get one! It would make life a lot easier, hehe . . . and remember, if you need my help just ask, and if you don't just tell me to bugger off or something, I'll get the message.
~Starry ~ Thanks so much, and it feels so nice to know that this fic is different, you know, unique. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope you had a very Merry Christmas too!
~Dead Lenore ~ Yes . . . tis was a short chapter, and I do hope I didn't keep you hanging too long! My counting made it six days . . . actually, that is pretty long, but here's the update anyway, so it's here now and that's all that matters! Thanks for the review.
~ShortStuff10 ~ Thanks for reviewing my story too! Your story is really good, so just update sometime, even if it isn't necessarily soon. Well, your friend might have said it was stupid, but people have different opinions so there you go, I know you probably won't be reading this, but I wish you a good vacation! HAHA!
~Heather Malfoy ~ Lol, thanks for all the reviews!! And no, they didn't bug me, you said this fic was hilarious, but it shall be changing into a serious fic soon, if it isn't now, which I think it is. Reason being . . . oh I don't know! Hope you don't mind and shall carry on reading!! Oh and before I forget, didn't you use to write a fic called The Dead Guy and the phantom lover? Something like that . . . what happened to it? I really did like that fic . . . Oh and thanks for telling me there was a problem but I knew which was why you got an author alert 3 times, sorry bout that.
~Ss ~ Okay, sorry if the ending is sappy (I'm good at sappy endings ya see :P)
Disclaimer: This disclaimer is purely here to inform a little piece of information that you may have missed if you could not have been bothered to read my tad bits at the beginning. Now enjoy the story, the plot and Dennis is all I own!
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As Draco rose to the light of the fake morning sun from his especially charmed window, one thought echoed in his mind - 'Why do magical birds have to be so bloody real?'
He groggily sat up and scowled at the cheerful chirrup of the birds. Oh how miserable they made him feel, with their fluffy feathers and their bloody annoyingly joyful songs. What could he do now? He couldn't slam them away with a pillow like he had done at the burrow, after all, they were FAKE birdies. Maybe he could blow up the entire window, which would shut them up, but then he would have no special underground window . . . oh what a problem.
A few minutes later, Draco jumped out of bed and decided to have a quick shower before starting his new lessons for this term. His decision was to leave the birds until he was driven to insanity, THEN blow up the window and demand a better room. How anyone stood up with them for so long he didn't know.
He strode into the bathroom and looked around. He hadn't inspected his bathroom much as there was really nothing there to inspect, and there still wasn't. The only thing remotely interesting was a magic mirror located right at the back of the large (and I mean LAAAAARGE) bathroom, green colours swirling in its depths, meaning that the mirror was at rest.
Draco stood in front of it and stared for a while, thinking of what to say. His magic mirror at home hardly ever rested, and if she did, she would wake upon a word, the word being 'Precious'. He wondered what word this mirror would awake to. Luckily, he didn't have to think for much longer.
"Good morning new master," The mirror stopped swirling and a green masked face with flames flickering from beneath it appeared. His voice was very deep; Draco automatically assumed it was a boy.
"Hi?"
"My word of rest is 'appearances'."
"Thanks, so, tell me the truth, I look awful don't I?"
"My dear master, sir, you are indeed looking better than what I have heard of you."
"What are you on about?"
"Why, Mr Malfoy, us talking mirrors can communicate with each other. But it is a truce and a secret that all mirrors have sworn not to tell of how we do this. I happen to know a mirror that knows you, master. She is awfully fond of you, but from what she's told me, you don't seem like a very nice person at all. Now . . ."
"I don't understand."
"Magic mirrors may not know as much as you humans, but we can see all that lies within our masters and mistresses - see beyond all appearances."
Draco frowned. See beyond appearances . . . was this cooky mirror related to Dumbledore or something? 'Oh god not another one' he thought. That fairy (Buttercup) that used to be a witch was bad enough! Hold on . . . look beyond the appearances, if that meant what Draco thought it meant then . . . had he changed from what he was like inside?
That was a stupid question, as it was quite obvious (even to him) that he had changed, even if it was slightly. And it was all because of Granger . . . stupid Granger, Granger Granger, HERMIONE Granger. He snapped out of his thoughts and frowned, realising something that he had not yet thought of.
"How do you know that I'm a Malfoy?"
Draco asked. The magic mirror's face remained calm and expressionless. He looked wise and old, like he had been alive (well, not alive, ALIVE, but alive) for a few hundred years.
"Like I have said, young master, we see all, it is all inside yourself master, and we can see it all too clearly."
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"Orli!! Come sit here with me and Ginny!"
Hermione shouted across the hall, waving a hand to guide him across the room towards the middle of the Gryffindor table. Draco plonked himself down between Hermione and Ginny. Ron was just opposite, stuffing down as many pieces of bacon as he could manage. Harry was sitting next to Ron, eating calmly and slowly, with his eyes closed. He opened them and stared straight at Draco, his eyes gleaming with unspoken horridness.
"Sorry you guys, I'll meet you in the dungeons for double potions. I don't want to be late and I've had enough food. Ron you can have my leftovers."
Ron nodded thanks to Harry as Harry hurried off; he then happily started on Harry's food while the two girls frowned. They both shook their heads and continued to eat.
"Well, Hermione, Orli, Ron, I'm going to go find Lauren, she should be somewhere around here . . ." Ginny drifted off, looking around her to try and find one of her friends, in this case, Lauren. She walked off quickly without another word.
"So which lessons have you got first Orli? I don't think you have potions with the Slytherin and Gryffindors, do you?"
"I don't know, I haven't got my timetable yet. I'll go get it from Dumbledore now, I'm not very hungry."
Draco clambered up from the Gryffindor table and strode towards Dumbledore, trying to ignore his father sitting just nearby. Dumbledore watched as he walked, a hint of amusement, as always, in his eyes and a small smile playing on his lips.
"Excuse me Professor, I need my new timetable."
"Here Mr Felton, I do not see why you need it though," Dumbledore said with a twinkle and a wink, "You shall be doing all of the tasks with the Gryffindors - following their timetable. I thought it would be a lovely and unique experience for you."
Dumbledore winked once more and passed a sheet of parchment to Draco, who eyed it suspiciously. He was going to spend his time at Hogwarts as a Gryffindor, and not a Slytherin. New and unexciting . . . yet he found it strangely appealing.
With a curt nod, Draco swiftly turned and walked back towards the Gryffindor table to tell the 'good' news to Hermione and if Ron wasn't eating too much to listen, him too.
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" . . . Miss Granger and Miss Parkinson, Weasley with Goyle, Miss Brown and Miss McNair, Crabbe, you go with Longbottom over there, Miss Bulstrode and Miss Patil will do, and Mr Felton with Mr Potter."
Snape smiled slyly at Draco as he mentioned the last pair. Draco strongly resisted the urge to scowl. Through all these strange experiences living the life of someone else, Draco had grown more self-control than he ever thought he could manage. It was strange and a big change to him, and he didn't like not being a spoilt brat.
Snape waved his wand with a lazy air, making instructions appear on the blackboard.
"Now I want you to also open up your books, the one entitled 'The magic wisdom of Wolfbane'. Indeed this potion is based around the Wolfbane and in case any of you were wondering, this potion is fairly new and is known and used to stop the transformation of the werewolf." Snape announced before settling down at his desk to watch them all.
They set off to work in their pairs, Harry not looking up once at Draco as he cut up his Garble scales. Draco set to work reading the text in the book, seeing as Harry was too busy chopping things up anyway.
"Wolfbane is one of the most commonly used ingredient in many forms of potion making. It is extremely useful, and is even involved in the making of the potion that is known to put a stopper to death. Its uses are many; this book will contain many interesting facts that all wizards and witches of today should learn. Erm . . . let's see . . ."
Draco screwed up his face in concentration and looked in the contents page, trying to find the chapter that might actually help with the potion they were making. He had not the patience to read the entire book (which was approximately 999 pages long).
"Ah! Here it is - moonlight crescent. I think that's the name of the thing we're making, how is it coming along?"
"Fine, I need you to try and find some Mooseweed for me."
Draco looked around. Mooseweed was something brown and thin, much like a stick except when you touched it, it would curl. He looked under the table and saw a piece lying on the floor. Harry saw it too.
"Careful, it says not to let it curl before you put it in. Actually, don't worry about it. I'll get it."
Harry immediately crawled under the table armed with his wand. Draco didn't understand it. The last time they were at the burrow, Harry had tossed him his wand and let him try to wake Ron. Why had he not done the same this time? Did he not trust him enough? Draco shook his head and thought nothing of it, pushing this thought to the back of his mind. He returned to the book.
"Moonlight crescent, the potion used for the stopper to the transformation of the werewolf. Largely used in America, this potion is brewed and sold by many for more than it is worth, as many think that this potion is highly rare, which we assure you, it is not. It would be easier to make the potion, as the ingredients are not hard to find. The reason being that the main ingredient is the Wolfbane, the subject this book is based on."
Draco let out a snort. Boy was this book boring, and they were expected to use this for homework and research? How could they when he could hardly stay awake on the first ruddy chapter? He closed the book and put it back into his bag. Helping Harry make the potion was much better than learning all the properties of a blimmin' INGREDIENT.
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Draco looked at his timetable and sighed. Next lesson was Defence against the Dark Arts with the Hufflepuffs, and he was absolutely dreading this, as you would expect. He walked alone towards the DADA class, he had absolutely no idea where Hermione, Harry and Ron had gone, but he suspected that Harry had probably led them away from him anyway; after all, he was acting very strangely.
He entered the classroom to see Hermione waving at him to come with them to the very back of the class, which was unusual, as somebody like Hermione would want to be at the front.
"Sorry, Harry said that he thought you'd already gone, but I chose a back seat for you because Lucius Malfoy, okay, PROFESSOR Malfoy isn't exactly someone who you should get too close to."
Hermione smiled at him and Draco managed a small smile back. She would think something was wrong if he didn't. To his right he could see Harry staring blankly at him, his eyes empty and deep in thought. Ron was already yawning and trying hard not to fall asleep and the lesson hadn't even begun.
"Welcome, class," Lucius suddenly appeared out of the shadows of the stairs, his eyes fixed on Draco and Draco only. Ernie McMillan burst through the door and hurried to an extra seat next to Justin Finch- Fletchley, breathing heavily. Lucius' eyes darted to him.
"You, why are you late?"
"Sorry, Professor, sir, I was, er . . . in the library, yeah, trying to get some more information to get myself ready! Yeah, that's it." Ernie looked up and tried to look convincing.
"Mr McMillan is it? Pray tell me why on earth you have a touch of lipstick on your collar." They whole class began to giggle as Ernie turned a brilliant shade of red and looked down at his desk, fiddling under the table with his fingers.
"Now go to the back Mr McMillan, I do not want to see you this lesson, 10 points from Hufflepuff and a detention for tomorrow." The whole class fell silent. A detention and house points taken just because he had lipstick on his collar?
"But Professor, there's no room."
Lucius smirked the famous Malfoy smirk and his eyes gleamed with an unforeseeable plan. He looked straight at Draco, and immediately he knew that something was definitely going on in his father's mind - as always.
"Mr . . . Felton, if you would please make your way forward, and be so kind to swap places with Mr McMillan."
It was an order and Draco knew it, he gathered his stuff and moved to Ernie's place, cursing his bad luck. He had to be extra careful now, with his father's gaze, he could not make one single mistake that might give him away even more. Lucius smirked at Draco and gave a slow and sly nod.
"Now let us begin our lesson. For this term, I shall be teaching you the art of dark magic for I believe that if you know the different kinds, you shall know the defence against it. To begin with, let us have a look at some magic spells that are not dark, but are indeed very powerful and may lead to the invention of new and darker spells."
Lucius took his wand and tapped the board, making writing appear on it, the writing read: 'The art of the curse of appearance.' Draco's eyes widened. His father must be doing the specific curse that Buttercup had most probably used on himself. That meant what Draco was already most positively sure of, his father MUST know.
"Now, if I could have a volunteer to stand up on my desk," Lucius scanned the class lazily, only Hermione's hand seemed to be raised. His eyes landed on Harry, who scowled and set his jaw, but then his eyes suddenly moved to Draco. He smirked.
"Mr Felton, please do stand up on my desk and I shall explain all."
Draco did as he was told and awkwardly walked to the front of the class, standing up on Lucius's wooden desk.
"Now, the art of disguise is all very simple. By altering the features of one person, it can change their whole appearance. This can be done with polyjuice potion if you have one person whom you want to look like, but the spell for this needs very powerful magic, very powerful indeed and can change the appearances of one person to be one of another that no one has ever seen before."
Lucius waved his wand and immediately. Draco seemed to be wearing different clothes. He looked at his plain robes to discover that they now had the Slytherin symbol on it. Lucius smirked at the class.
"As you all know, my son has been missing for quite some time, and indeed, he still has not been found. Using the art of magic, we can easily change the appearance of Mr Felton to that of my son. This is how more advanced wizards can disguise themselves and their acquaintances."
Lucius waved his wand gain and muttered a spell under his breath, making Draco's hair straight and hanging loose. With another wave, it was gelled back and looked smart, not a hair out of place in sight.
"Acliano!!!"
Lucius said, and immediately, the whole class, including Draco could hear the spots disappearing one, by one. When the final pop had echoed around the room, Draco could hear gasps of horror, shock and Neville Longbottom fainting in a nearby corner. He looked at Ron, who by now was in utter shock, his eyes as round as saucers and Harry was just . . . scowling hard at him. Hermione looked like she was going to puke.
Lucius held a mirror up for Draco to see. "As you can all see, even you Mr Felton, the resemblance to my son is unmistakable, just by using a few spells. So beware everyone, maybe someone in this very room, is not all they seem to be."
Draco put down the mirror feeling slightly ashamed. He was the one who was not what he seemed, he was the one who was betraying their trust, yes, HE was the one . . . but if he was still the old Draco Malfoy, why was he feeling so guilty about it?
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The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, Draco's next lessons being Charms and Transfiguration. Soon, dinnertime had arrived, and Draco found himself in the Entrance Hall, staring at the hourglasses that contained the house points: Ravenclaw = 20, Hufflepuff = 15, Gryffindor = 15, Slytherin = 25. 'Well, Slytherin did have potions today,' Draco thought as he heard someone head towards him, their footsteps stopping just behind him. He turned and faced Harry. Harry's face was set and solemn; he didn't look very happy at all.
They began to walk up the steps towards Gryffindor tower and Draco's living quarters without a word. All too soon, they had reached their destination. Draco used his wand to open the door to his room and gestured for Harry to sit down next to him on one of the sofas by the fire. Instead, Harry plopped himself down on the one opposite and stared at Draco with something he couldn't quite muster.
"Er . . . well, what is it?"
"Haven't you figured that out yet?" Harry said in a rather rude way.
"No actually, I haven't." Draco replied in the same tone, he was starting to get annoyed of all this grumpiness.
Harry sighed and reached into his bag, bringing out yesterday's Daily Prophet - the edition he had seen on the train with Hermione. He showed the picture to Draco. It was a picture of himself (obviously).
"Recognise him?"
"Yes . . ." Draco said slowly, looking into Harry's green eyes. He closed the paper and folded it back up, tucking it back into his bag of many books. Silence. Harry looked up. Draco could see that the coldness had gone, and instead, was replaced by confusion and sorrow.
"Tell me, ORLI, how much do you like Hermione?"
He shrugged, "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No."
Harry took a deep breath, and decided to ask another question, this one more important than the last. Hopefully, this question might actually get him somewhere. "I know who you are."
Draco gulped inwardly and tried to pretend he didn't know what Harry was on about. He would never confess, not until he was absolutely sure. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that I know EVERYTHING. There's no point in pretending, I've figured everything out, and Hermione has her suspicions too, especially after that Defence against the Dark Arts lesson with Malfoy. She just doesn't want to believe it, because she likes you too much, but if she accepts the fact that you're not who you say you are, she'll notice more things that point in one direction - the real you. We're not that dense, even Ron's suspected something."
Draco didn't react. At this rate, everyone would know. Oh this was not good. Wait . . . Harry hadn't said his real identity yet, maybe he thought he was another person, the wrong person, maybe . . .
"Malfoy! Are you even listening to me?" Whoops, there goes the maybe.
"Yes! Potter, I don't even know what's going on myself."
Harry's eyes gleamed with triumph that soon faded once he saw Draco bury his head of curls into his pale hands. "I knew it. But . . .Why? Why did you pretend to be someone who you're not? Why are you not even at least TRYING to kill me right now?"
Draco sighed and began a long conversation with Harry. He told him all about how he had been at his Aunt and Uncle's, how he had met Buttercup and she had thought he was too vain, how he had become 'Orli', how he had met Hermione and so on. To be perfectly honest, Draco had absolutely no idea why on earth he had told Harry, HARRY POTTER, his archenemy, of all people, everything that had happened, but one thing he was sure of, was that he felt a whole lot better afterwards. He took a deep breath after finishing his sentence and glanced at his watch. It had only been fifteen minutes since they had entered his living premises, and yet it felt like he had been talking for hours on end. His mouth felt dry and no saliva was left.
"Well that's quite a story Malfoy, and I'm guessing it still hasn't ended," Harry said, staring into the fire. A lone cricket could be heard outside, making the only noise that the pair could hear now.
"Well?" Draco asked, breaking the silence.
"Well what?"
"Aren't you going to go and tell everyone? Aren't you going to run to my father and make sure he kills me? Aren't you, at least, going to tell Granger?"
Harry shook his head and looked Draco in the eye, "No, if I go tell everybody, what good will that do? If I go to your father and tell him, if he doesn't already know that is, then he'd want to hurt Hermione too. And if I tell Hermione, she wouldn't believe me. Like I've said, she doesn't WANT to believe it, and she won't if she likes you enough, and I'm sure she does."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Harry looked deep in thought. He finally replied a few seconds later, "I'm going to help you keep it a secret for as long as I can. If anyone else finds out, which they're bound to - I mean, look at you! If you look long enough, you'd see who you really are Malfoy."
They sat together after this with nothing to say, Draco couldn't bare it for much longer. He wasn't even sure if he should believe what he was being told. He guessed that it was possible that Potter with do all this for Granger, after all, she was one of his closest friends, the other being Ron.
"Look Malfoy, I'll help you but you have to do something for me in return."
Draco groaned but nodded and gestured for him to carry on.
"When you turn completely back, which I'm positive is some time soon, please, don't hurt Hermione. I don't care what you do, write her a letter, treat her badly again, or even confront her, face to face, I don't care AS LONG AS SHE DOESN'T GET HURT, compeesh?"
Draco nodded. He had no idea what would happen once he changed back, he was scared of what would happen, as much as he hated to admit it, even to himself.
"Tell me, Malfoy, why? Why didn't you tell anyone? Why were you so nice to . . . well, all of us?" Harry asked as he gazed into the fire.
"I honestly don't know. Call it a truce . . . Harry?"
"Yeah, whatever but call me Potter."
Harry and Draco both got up and shook hands, squeezing each other's hand as tightly as possible, making each of them grit their teeth. Draco thought calling Potter, Potter was better than calling him Harry. They had a history, and the past can never be erased, no matter what happens, or however hard you try.
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That night, Draco couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed, feeling hot under the covers. Kicking them away, Draco continued to roll around, feeling more uncomfortable by the second. When he and Harry had entered the Great Hall (just before the end of dinner, and just after Draco gave his letter addressed to Dennis to Hedwig to send), Harry had acted more normal, now even friendlier towards Draco than ever before. Hermione seemed keen to find out where they were, but of course, they didn't tell her anything.
As Draco finally fell asleep, he had the usual dream, the dream about which path he would choose. Then, something stranger happened that had never ever happened before:
'He was still on the boat heading towards Hogwarts, the angels and devils flying by his side. A large light appeared in the misted sky, which halted the boat. A larger devil appeared on the side of the darkness, rising above all. He was bellowing something that Draco couldn't understand, and the next thing he knew, all the devils were gone, leaving only the light and the angels to one side of him. Draco felt relieved but, as he turned towards the angels, they disappeared too, leaving him alone on the lake in front of a mystic light, making everything around it seem darker.
He looked up at it and heard a voice, a voice that was very familiar. She was saying, "Choose your path now, before all is lost."'
It had ended there and Draco had then woken up, finding that it was 5:00 am. He couldn't sleep, and therefore tried to bore himself to sleep with 'The magic wisdom of Wolfbane', but only succeeded in finding out more about Wolfbane than he had ever wanted to know. Finally, it was 7:00am and Draco decided to get out of bed and wash. He hoped against hope that this day was going to be better than the last.
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A/N: I'll tell you this thing, right, when I tried to upload this thing IT WOULDN'T WORK, so, I typed up another chapter as quickly as I could, and it is down after this note! Yes, I'm giving you two chapters, yes, TWO in one go, so, pleeeeease do enjoy, and keep one word in mind: REVIEW!
Does my bum look big in this?
Chapter sixteen: Lots of lovely letters
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Draco stumbled clumsily into the bathroom, yawning as he went. He was hoping to receive a letter from Dennis today, to try and at least get his mind off things.
"Appearances." Draco mumbled, still half asleep (aw, mental image of sleepy Draco, ugly or not, still very sweet). The green mask appeared once again, its features looking grave and sad, making it look older. The flames flickered beneath it; green flames that seemed like leaves, swaying off a branch in the summer, except it all seemed far gloomier than summer ever was.
"Yes my master, how may I help you on this fine morning?"
"Yawn . . ."
"You look mighty good today if I do say so myself."
"God, you sound cheerful, what do you mean by 'mighty good' anyway? Inside, or has my curls stopped or something? Acne cleared up slightly? Cus' I really don't feel that different you know."
"Both my young master, both."
"I said three things."
"All, my young master, all. Let me show you."
The surface of the mirror began to swirl, the flames still flickering, now more and more, making them larger and larger. A blue circular hole began to make way in the centre of the mirror, where the green mask should have been. The hole grew wider and more reflective, until it was like a normal mirror surface. Draco could see himself, no, it wasn't Orli HIMSELF, it was HIMSELF, HIMSELF.
Draco feverishly placed his hand on his forehead and felt his face all over. All the spots were gone - his old skin was back!! He looked at his hair in the mirror and then ran his fingers through it. It was back, the fair, non-curly, easy-to-gel-back hair was back! Draco stood; he felt a surge of mixed emotions run through him - happiness, anxiousness, confusion, sadness, everything surged though him all at once, leaving Draco more mixed than he had ever been.
He thought of what to do, the first thing that came to mind was to contact Potter. But how? He couldn't risk the chance of going out into the corridor. Someone was bound to see him come out of ORLI'S lair, and, with his luck, he might even bump into his father. No, he couldn't leave now. He could only hope was for a miracle to happen, and when did miracles happen to people with his luck?
'Okay now Draco, get a shower and decide this LATER.'
Draco, obeying his mind, then thanked the mirror and went back into his bedroom to get his clothes. He hoped that a shower might cleanse his mind a little at the least . . .
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It was now 9:00am, and Draco was sitting on the floor in front of the now open window, a sheet of parchment set in front of him with a quill and some ink. He had been sitting in front of the fireplace ever since he had gotten dressed. The lessons were starting now; he wondered whether anyone would notice that he hadn't attended breakfast. Surely Granger would have, and if Potter did then maybe he would try to contact him and see what was the matter . . .
How could Draco contact anyone? He couldn't use the fireplace, as he had no floo powder, he couldn't write to anyone because he had no owl, and all he had was his wand. What use was a wand when you couldn't do anything with it? During his peaceful shower, Draco had thought about contacting Dumbledore, he would know what to do, even if he had to be bloody annoying in the process.
"Help . . ." He mumbled to himself as he tried to think of another way to contact people. He was rocking himself backwards and forwards and backwards and forwards, and then he stopped, burying his head in his hands.
"God, I'm talking to myself again, wait, I'm doing it now! Argh!"
He stomped up in a fit of rage and went to slam the window to try and stop the annoying breeze that was messing up his hair (yep, there was the vanity creeping up again. But Draco will always be Draco, and he had changed from being very vain, now to only slightly vain, so there you go). Suddenly, he stopped. Somewhere in the distance he could see something flying towards him, something that was as white as the mist surrounding it, in fact, whiter, as white as snow.
It was Hedwig.
She landed on the windowsill, dropped a letter from her beak and intended to fly off again, before Draco stopped her by shouting at the top of his voice.
"WAIT! Hedwig wait!"
The owl seemed to understand him as she swooped back into the room, a regretful glint in her eyes. She landed on one of the sofas and sat as Draco sighed. He could not believe that now he was talking to animals! 'Oh well, you had to stop talking to yourself SOMETIME' he thought.
"Look, I'm sorry for what happened in fifth year, but that's the past! Please do me this little favour, just once??"
As Hedwig didn't move, Draco took that for a yes. He couldn't bear to think negative thoughts NOW. He swiftly moved over and took his wand. Then, he showed it to Hedwig, who began to click at him viciously, thinking that he was going to do something horrible.
"No, no! I'm not going to do anything to you, I'm just saying, if you do something for me, then I'll try and summon some owl treats and give them to you, okay?"
Hedwig stopped clicking and looked at Draco with her big round eyes. She seemed to understand him, as she fluttered her wings and began to nibble at her right wing, distracting Draco from his thoughts.
"Right, erm, what I need is three owls. If you could get three, or maybe be one yourself, but, then again, you might want to go back to Pot . . . I mean, your master. Can that be done?"
Hedwig looked up and then flew off the sofa, flying through the window without even a click. Draco wondered whether she would come back or not, but if she would then he had to get his plan into action before she came back. First, he had to get some owl treats, after all, he had been taught that lying to an animal never did any good, whether it end in a black eye and bruises, or a sore butt.
He opened the trap door and entered his room, trying to find some left over sweets that he had. He eventually found some Bertie Botts every flavour beans stuffed under his bed (Dumbledore had given him to wish him luck when he had sent him that letter). Using his transfiguration skills that he had learnt during his six years at Hogwarts, Draco successfully changed the beans to owl treats. They may have looked like owl treats, but Draco had no idea what they tasted like, as he was not daring enough to try for himself.
Now that he had his owl treats, he went back into the upper room and looked at some parchment lying on a table nearby. He ripped it up into three separate pieces. Then dipping his quill into the inkpot beside the parchment, he wrote:
'Dear Potter,
You may have noticed that I'm not there where you are right now. The reason is because I have changed back, yes, BACK, to my old self and have decided that it is simply not safe to go outside. Please help me, I shall be sending a similar letter to Dumbledore, go to him and he should know.
Thanks,
Orli, D.M.'
Draco re-read his letter. He thought it was not safe to put his real name so bluntly, just incase anything happened. He folded the parchment carefully, and then printed on it in big bold letters - TO HARRY POTTER, DO NOT OPEN UNLESS ALONE. He put it aside and dipped his quill in the ink again, starting on a new scrap of parchment. He hurriedly began to scribble:
'Dear Professor Dumbledore,
I am stuck in my room today for my transformation is complete. I need help, as I cannot leave now, in case anyone spots me, especially if that person was to be my father. I have contacted Potter as he knows everything about my identity, and I've told him to go to you as soon as possible.
Also, I am going to be sending a letter to Dennis Granger, Hermione's cousin. He has asked me to keep him informed, and he is one of the only people whom I trust. I will ask him to come to Hogwarts, but please could you organise something that could actually get him here safely. I would truly appreciate this Professor,
Yours,
Orlando, DM'
He again folded the parchment up, and quickly scratched on it - 'PROFESSOR ALBUS WHATEVER-HIS-MIDDLE-NAME-IS DUMBLEDORE' then put it to one side, on top of Harry's letter. Draco was about to grab the third piece of parchment when he realised that Hedwig had brought a letter back FROM Dennis. He decided that reading that first might be better.
He hurriedly ran and got the envelope, made sure it was paper (rice paper rips very easily. Unbelievable!) Then ripped it open, unfolding it with fumbly (not a word but never mind) hands. Scanning the letter quickly, Draco read:
'Dear Orli,
Lucky for you, this letter did not wake me up from my beauty sleep, instead THE RUDDY OWL GOT TO ME IN CLASS. Greeeeeeeat thinking Orli! You've just got me detention for THE ENTIRE WEEK AND everyone thinks I'm loony (if they don't already) for having an owl peck me just so that I'd write a reply! I can't say much right now SEEING AS I AM IN CLASS! But I'll write later me old mate!
Oh but I just want to say this first: do you feel lonely at times? Would you want a companion to listen to you when you feel down? Do people never seem to understand you? Well do not fear! For here, is the cardboard friend! Easily accessible, and easy to make, easily foldable when you get annoyed and easily punchable but very hard to break! Only ten pounds per friend! All colours available, while stocks last!
Yep, you've guessed it! I'm a door-to-door salesman! Ain't that cool? The salary stinks, but I get to annoy the hell out of people with my advertising! Well I have to go now, BYEEEEE!!
Dougy, the plonk, the first.'
Draco couldn't help but smirk. Even at a serious time, Dennis still was as stupid as hell. But then again, Dennis didn't know that it was a serious time at all. He wondered what Dennis would be like serious . . . but then thought that there were more important things to waste his time thinking on. Draco pocketed the letter, then grabbed his quill and scribbled:
'Dear Dennis,
I need you to do something for me, something has happened. I've contacted Mr D. and I'd like it if you stayed with me at this school. Mr D will contact you hopefully and tell you the details, hopefully. Thanks Dennis, I'll hopefully, be seeing you soon,
Bye,
Orli, DM'
Draco had written in code about Dumbledore in case anyone intercepted the letter, which he doubted, but just to be on the safe side, he did anyway. At that moment, three owls swooped in through the open window, surprising Draco as he swiftly turned around. Like all Malfoys, Draco handled surprise awfully well and did not jump like many of us would, instead he calmly got up, retrieved the owl treats and gave them to the three owls, all of which began to peck at them hungrily.
Draco watched, clutching the three letters in his hand. Hedwig had returned to help him, which he was surprised about, but then again, she was HARRY'S owl. He was a bit disappointed, however, that she had gotten Ron's owl, Pig, to help. Knowing this little owl, he'd get lost before he even set off. The other owl was just an old barn owl that Draco thought belonged to the school and had been in the owlery for God knows how long.
They finished the transfigured bean meal soon, and stared up at Draco expectantly. He walked up to them and began to talk, trying hard to convince himself that he wasn't going mental . . . yet.
"I need this one to go to Harry Potter, so I think you, Hedwig, should go, seeing as you're his owl," Draco tied the letter to her leg using some old string. She fluttered her wings a little before flying off from the windowsill. The remaining owls stared at him, Pig squeaking and beginning to fidget with the excitement of it all.
"Erm, Pig, I think you better give this to Dumbledore, because the other letter is kind of for a person a long way away. So, take this to Professor Dumbledore," Draco tied the letter to Pig's leg and he flew off, very excited, and very wobbly. The school owl stuck out his/her leg, ready to receive the last letter.
"Thanks, take this to Dennis Granger, I'm sure you can find him." The school owl seemed to puff itself up with pride that Draco thought it was good enough to find somebody that he didn't the location of. It flew off after Pig when Draco finished tying the last letter to its leg. Now all he could do was wait, and hope that he would get a reply as soon as possible.
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HAHA! SO that was my two chapters, I hope it was okay! Please review, I mean, IT WAS TWO WHOLE CHAPPIES! Pretty, pretty please??
PS. Okay, this is a really important question that I need to know maybe for some sort of future fic. What do you guys think of a fic, that basically is a romance (my specialty) but is all written from Ron's point of view (bare in mind that Ron is has hardly any romantic relationship at all, AND if I do write it, it will be a Hermione/Draco and Harry . . . and somebody else I will decide later). I NEED TO KNOW THIS, EMAIL OR REVIEW TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THE IDEA!!!