Day Walker
Disclaimer: I own only Damien and Professor Crow. I can only dream about owning the others. ^-^
Summary: Harry gets some usefull information from an unexpected source.
Warning: This story is still slash. *Snigger*
Author's note: Ten chappies! Who would have thought I'd get this far? Not me, at least. I thought I would grow tired by number five. ^-^ Thanks for all the lovely reviews, guys. It means alot to me when I read them and I've actually given you the same feeling I got when I wrote it. There has been some flames here and there, but I won't let them get me down. (If you don't like my writing, then for God's sake stop reading!) Again, thank you! Lots of thanks and hugs to my new beta, Whitney! I'm soooo grateful!
~Chapter 10~
~Newfound Knowledge ~
Another week went by and Harry was so proud of his Draco's ability to cope with his newly acquired independence. The two of them talked about it to the minimal, but it occurred. The other students never even mentioned it.
Hermione told Harry that Damien had explained the shower incident to her, and she started being more patient about the awkward silence between them. That silence had begun to disappear. The two dark-haired boys could talk about ordinary things like classes and Quidditch, but they didn't dare go near subjects that had anything to do with Draco or love. Harry both accepted, and expected that.
What he didn't expect was what happened when he was on his way to the boy's bathroom between Charms and Divination.
"Harry?" Blaise Zabini's voice called him from about fifteen feet away. Blaise was a Slytherin, but he had never acted meanly towards Harry or his friends. So he didn't see any harm in finding out what he wanted.
"Hi Blaise. You wanted to talk to me ? Wouldn't your friends use an Unforgivable on you if they saw you conversing with the enemy?" Harry tried not to sound suspicious, yet something told him that he didn't have to be.
"Yeah. They probably would." Blaise smiled. "But I just have to tell you something."
"I see. And that is.?"
"Well, it's Draco's birthday this Saturday."
Harry's jaw dropped.
"Yeah. I suspected you didn't know. He pretends to despise birthdays; never tells anyone about them. But secretly he loves the attention he gets, and to shower the ones he loves with presents on their day." He smiled again. "The guys and I have thrown him a party before, but we're supposed to hate him now, you know. Especially after that dreadful Gregory Goyle chose to be the new 'leader' of our so-called gang. I despise Goyle. He's a stuck up snob who's used to getting what he wants. You can see why he's so pissed off that he couldn't get Draco. For the first time in his life he got 'no' for an answer, and we both know how that went. But I don't hate Draco. I want you to tell him that. I also want to say that I'm happy for the two of you. I'm kind of on your team myself." Again, he smiled, but that time it was a shy smile.
"Oh." That was all Harry could say.
"I understand that you're a little surprised by this. I would be too if it had been the other way around. But I have to go now. Tell Draco that he only needs to give me a sign and I'll be there for him." Blaise sighed. "And I will get him something for his birthday, but tell him that. It's a surprise."
"I will and I won't," said Harry when his tongue worked again. "Thank you for telling me this, Blaise. I won't forget it. You're an okay guy. I've begun to see that not all Slytherins are crap, but some are better or worse, than others. Draco helped me realise that."
The two boys said 'goodbye' and went their seperate ways. Harry, to the bathroom, and Blaise, off to Herbology in Greenhouse Three.
'Saturday,' thought Harry. 'That's December 7th. It's only four days away. Damn! I'm running out of time fast.' Harry kept on thinking about what he was going to get Draco. He thought about getting him something for school, but threw it away. His mind drifted by a number of subjects and items, but nothing felt right. 'I'll never find something in time,' he thought when he was sitting in an armchair in Professor Trelawney's classroom. That day, they were staring aimlessly into crystal balls, and Trelawney was, as usual, claiming to see Harry's death lurking in every shadow.
Harry yawned while he continued to stare into the clear ball of glass on the table in front of him. Suddenly, a pink haze appeared at the ball's centre. In the blink of an eye, Harry was wide awake. 'I wish 'Mione was here. Or Damien for that matter.' Harry was the only one of his tight knit group that had Divination. Hermione had chose Muggle Studies in stead, Damien had chosen Art, and Slytherin had that particular class directly after the Gryffindors. 'I wish I had taken Art class instead,' Harry, silently, said to himself. 'This freaks me out.' The same second, the pink haze got bigger and began to take the shape of something. It turned into a necklace, a wrist-chain and a dark blood-red rose. Harry stared at the foggy image in awe for a couple of seconds before the loud voice of Professor Trelawney rung through the room like high-pitched thunder.
"There, there! I can see that you see something, Mr. Potter." She hurried over to the little, round table where he sat, alone. 'Go away!' Harry thought to the haze, and it did. The image faded and by the time the professor came over, only a little pink cloud lingered in the centre of the crystal ball.
"I lost it." Harry smiled shortly at the woman with the too large glasses.
"Well, that happens," she said, but something in her voice revealed that she didn't quite believe him. "What was it you saw?"
"Nothing much. Mostly just pink fog, and it turned blue once," he lied. He knew perfectly well what he had seen. 'That's settled then. Maybe I should me one of these,' he thought while Trelawney was ranting something about the fog being the beginning of an image. He muttered a vague answer and she walked over to an other student who had a question. The second she turned away, the haze started to move again. It took the same shape as before. 'Ha! I've got it now,' Harry thought. 'That's what Draco wants for his birthday.' The image got blurry and dissolved into nothing. The crystal ball was see-through again. Not a trace of the pink fog remained. Harry smiled and decided to take a trip down to Hogsmead the next day. That was generally not allowed on a school night, but as the proud owner of an Invisibility Cloak he could sneak out after his afternoon classes without anyone ever knowing. Or, to avoid getting into trouble, he could just talk to Dumbledore and explain things to him. Harry chose to try the latter.
He took a trip to Dumbledore's office before lunch. The Gargoyle guarding the door jumped away and the door swung open when Harry spoke the password, 'Lemon Drop.' He went up the revolving staircases and up to the door into the Headmaster's office. He knocked gently on the wood.
"Come in, Harry!" Dumbledore's voice sounded from inside the office. He always knew who was coming.
"Hello, professor," Harry said.
"What brought you up here, son?" Dumbledore asked.
"I have to ask you something."
The Headmaster nodded.
"Well, it's Draco's birthday this Saturday and I really want to get him something, but to do so I'll have to go to Hogsmead tomorrw. And I know what you're going to ask..." said Harry to keep the professor from asking. "I couldn't do it last weekend because I found out just two hours ago. And I can't wait until Friday because I'm going to get something engraved on the gifts. So I was wondering if you could grant me permission to go down there after my afternoon classes tomorrow." Harry drew his breath and looked at the professor.
"Well." Dumbledore stroked Fawkes the Pheonix with one hand. "I understand your problem, Harry, and I'm going to let you go to Hogsmead. IF you bring Hagrid. I don't want the other students or teachers to think that I excuse you from all the rules, now would we?" His blue eyes sparkled.
"Sure! I understand that. And thank you! I won't ask anything like this again, but as I said, didn't know until today."
"It's okay. I can understand your desire to buy your boyfriend a nice present for his birthday. Don't worry about that, but I trust you to keep you word and not ask me anything like this again. Because between you and me; I do tend to be a little too loose on the reins with you and your friends." The Headmaster smiled again.
"I'll keep my word. Cross my heart." Harry drew a tiny cross over his heart with his index finger.
"Good! Now, go down and eat lunch, and then you can let Rubeus know. I think he'll be happy to join you tomorrow."
"I think so too." Harry turned and walked towards the door. "Thanks again, Professor Dumbledore."
"You're welcome, Harry." Dumbledore smiled as Harry disappeared out the door.
~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~
Harry met Draco at lunch, being sure not to mention his newfound knowledge. They talked about normal things and, as Blaise had foreshadowed, Draco didn't say anything about his birthday. And neither did Harry. After lunch, Harry walked up to the teacher's table to talk to Hagrid. He explained the situation to him and told him that Dumbledore had agreed. The half-giant agreed to go with him and they decided to meet in the Entrance Hall when afternoon classes had ended.
A/N: I know that this was a short chapter, but the next one is very much on the way. ^-^
Disclaimer: I own only Damien and Professor Crow. I can only dream about owning the others. ^-^
Summary: Harry gets some usefull information from an unexpected source.
Warning: This story is still slash. *Snigger*
Author's note: Ten chappies! Who would have thought I'd get this far? Not me, at least. I thought I would grow tired by number five. ^-^ Thanks for all the lovely reviews, guys. It means alot to me when I read them and I've actually given you the same feeling I got when I wrote it. There has been some flames here and there, but I won't let them get me down. (If you don't like my writing, then for God's sake stop reading!) Again, thank you! Lots of thanks and hugs to my new beta, Whitney! I'm soooo grateful!
~Chapter 10~
~Newfound Knowledge ~
Another week went by and Harry was so proud of his Draco's ability to cope with his newly acquired independence. The two of them talked about it to the minimal, but it occurred. The other students never even mentioned it.
Hermione told Harry that Damien had explained the shower incident to her, and she started being more patient about the awkward silence between them. That silence had begun to disappear. The two dark-haired boys could talk about ordinary things like classes and Quidditch, but they didn't dare go near subjects that had anything to do with Draco or love. Harry both accepted, and expected that.
What he didn't expect was what happened when he was on his way to the boy's bathroom between Charms and Divination.
"Harry?" Blaise Zabini's voice called him from about fifteen feet away. Blaise was a Slytherin, but he had never acted meanly towards Harry or his friends. So he didn't see any harm in finding out what he wanted.
"Hi Blaise. You wanted to talk to me ? Wouldn't your friends use an Unforgivable on you if they saw you conversing with the enemy?" Harry tried not to sound suspicious, yet something told him that he didn't have to be.
"Yeah. They probably would." Blaise smiled. "But I just have to tell you something."
"I see. And that is.?"
"Well, it's Draco's birthday this Saturday."
Harry's jaw dropped.
"Yeah. I suspected you didn't know. He pretends to despise birthdays; never tells anyone about them. But secretly he loves the attention he gets, and to shower the ones he loves with presents on their day." He smiled again. "The guys and I have thrown him a party before, but we're supposed to hate him now, you know. Especially after that dreadful Gregory Goyle chose to be the new 'leader' of our so-called gang. I despise Goyle. He's a stuck up snob who's used to getting what he wants. You can see why he's so pissed off that he couldn't get Draco. For the first time in his life he got 'no' for an answer, and we both know how that went. But I don't hate Draco. I want you to tell him that. I also want to say that I'm happy for the two of you. I'm kind of on your team myself." Again, he smiled, but that time it was a shy smile.
"Oh." That was all Harry could say.
"I understand that you're a little surprised by this. I would be too if it had been the other way around. But I have to go now. Tell Draco that he only needs to give me a sign and I'll be there for him." Blaise sighed. "And I will get him something for his birthday, but tell him that. It's a surprise."
"I will and I won't," said Harry when his tongue worked again. "Thank you for telling me this, Blaise. I won't forget it. You're an okay guy. I've begun to see that not all Slytherins are crap, but some are better or worse, than others. Draco helped me realise that."
The two boys said 'goodbye' and went their seperate ways. Harry, to the bathroom, and Blaise, off to Herbology in Greenhouse Three.
'Saturday,' thought Harry. 'That's December 7th. It's only four days away. Damn! I'm running out of time fast.' Harry kept on thinking about what he was going to get Draco. He thought about getting him something for school, but threw it away. His mind drifted by a number of subjects and items, but nothing felt right. 'I'll never find something in time,' he thought when he was sitting in an armchair in Professor Trelawney's classroom. That day, they were staring aimlessly into crystal balls, and Trelawney was, as usual, claiming to see Harry's death lurking in every shadow.
Harry yawned while he continued to stare into the clear ball of glass on the table in front of him. Suddenly, a pink haze appeared at the ball's centre. In the blink of an eye, Harry was wide awake. 'I wish 'Mione was here. Or Damien for that matter.' Harry was the only one of his tight knit group that had Divination. Hermione had chose Muggle Studies in stead, Damien had chosen Art, and Slytherin had that particular class directly after the Gryffindors. 'I wish I had taken Art class instead,' Harry, silently, said to himself. 'This freaks me out.' The same second, the pink haze got bigger and began to take the shape of something. It turned into a necklace, a wrist-chain and a dark blood-red rose. Harry stared at the foggy image in awe for a couple of seconds before the loud voice of Professor Trelawney rung through the room like high-pitched thunder.
"There, there! I can see that you see something, Mr. Potter." She hurried over to the little, round table where he sat, alone. 'Go away!' Harry thought to the haze, and it did. The image faded and by the time the professor came over, only a little pink cloud lingered in the centre of the crystal ball.
"I lost it." Harry smiled shortly at the woman with the too large glasses.
"Well, that happens," she said, but something in her voice revealed that she didn't quite believe him. "What was it you saw?"
"Nothing much. Mostly just pink fog, and it turned blue once," he lied. He knew perfectly well what he had seen. 'That's settled then. Maybe I should me one of these,' he thought while Trelawney was ranting something about the fog being the beginning of an image. He muttered a vague answer and she walked over to an other student who had a question. The second she turned away, the haze started to move again. It took the same shape as before. 'Ha! I've got it now,' Harry thought. 'That's what Draco wants for his birthday.' The image got blurry and dissolved into nothing. The crystal ball was see-through again. Not a trace of the pink fog remained. Harry smiled and decided to take a trip down to Hogsmead the next day. That was generally not allowed on a school night, but as the proud owner of an Invisibility Cloak he could sneak out after his afternoon classes without anyone ever knowing. Or, to avoid getting into trouble, he could just talk to Dumbledore and explain things to him. Harry chose to try the latter.
He took a trip to Dumbledore's office before lunch. The Gargoyle guarding the door jumped away and the door swung open when Harry spoke the password, 'Lemon Drop.' He went up the revolving staircases and up to the door into the Headmaster's office. He knocked gently on the wood.
"Come in, Harry!" Dumbledore's voice sounded from inside the office. He always knew who was coming.
"Hello, professor," Harry said.
"What brought you up here, son?" Dumbledore asked.
"I have to ask you something."
The Headmaster nodded.
"Well, it's Draco's birthday this Saturday and I really want to get him something, but to do so I'll have to go to Hogsmead tomorrw. And I know what you're going to ask..." said Harry to keep the professor from asking. "I couldn't do it last weekend because I found out just two hours ago. And I can't wait until Friday because I'm going to get something engraved on the gifts. So I was wondering if you could grant me permission to go down there after my afternoon classes tomorrow." Harry drew his breath and looked at the professor.
"Well." Dumbledore stroked Fawkes the Pheonix with one hand. "I understand your problem, Harry, and I'm going to let you go to Hogsmead. IF you bring Hagrid. I don't want the other students or teachers to think that I excuse you from all the rules, now would we?" His blue eyes sparkled.
"Sure! I understand that. And thank you! I won't ask anything like this again, but as I said, didn't know until today."
"It's okay. I can understand your desire to buy your boyfriend a nice present for his birthday. Don't worry about that, but I trust you to keep you word and not ask me anything like this again. Because between you and me; I do tend to be a little too loose on the reins with you and your friends." The Headmaster smiled again.
"I'll keep my word. Cross my heart." Harry drew a tiny cross over his heart with his index finger.
"Good! Now, go down and eat lunch, and then you can let Rubeus know. I think he'll be happy to join you tomorrow."
"I think so too." Harry turned and walked towards the door. "Thanks again, Professor Dumbledore."
"You're welcome, Harry." Dumbledore smiled as Harry disappeared out the door.
~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~
Harry met Draco at lunch, being sure not to mention his newfound knowledge. They talked about normal things and, as Blaise had foreshadowed, Draco didn't say anything about his birthday. And neither did Harry. After lunch, Harry walked up to the teacher's table to talk to Hagrid. He explained the situation to him and told him that Dumbledore had agreed. The half-giant agreed to go with him and they decided to meet in the Entrance Hall when afternoon classes had ended.
A/N: I know that this was a short chapter, but the next one is very much on the way. ^-^