WARNING:This chapter contains adult themes. Please read the Author Notes chapter first if you are easily offended by homosexual characterisations.
Chapter 17 - Never trust a serpent.
(The Art of War by Sun Tzu - All warfare is based on deception.)
The Hogwarts Express pulled up to the snow covered station in Hogsmead, bringing back the students from their Christmas break. Onboard Draco was getting more than a little tired of the conversation of his two companions.
"Goyle for the last time, I cannot discuss what was said at the meeting, especially here! So don't even mention it again. It never happened, got it!" Draco snapped.
Of course, he could not discuss what he was told at the meeting of the Death Eaters where his father presented him to Lord Voldemort, especially here on the train with so many ears to overhear, especially Gryffindor ears. Goyle, unhappily, accepted the edict. He had no choice now they were back at school.
Shortly after the coach ride to the school, the three Slytherins pushed aside other students to enter the crowded entrance hall, Draco turned suddenly aside. His two companions turned to catch up. "I think I can manage in the boy's toilets by myself, if you don't mind. Go sit at the table, I'll join you presently" Draco in his most dismissive tone told Goyle and Crabbe. He walked away from the crowd and around the corner towards the nearest boy's toilet. But upon reaching it, he gave a quick glance over his shoulder.
//Perfect, no one is about.// Draco thought to himself. //This is my chance.// And he began to run up the closest stairs hoping to avoid meeting anyone except the one waiting at the agreed upon rendezvous.
Hermione paced back and forth in the lonely little corridor were she waited and prayed that no one would discover her. Draco turned into the same corridor and upon seeing him, Hermione turned and walked quickly the other way. At the end of the corridor she checked both ways and signalled Draco, the coast was clear. And so they went from corridor to corridor through the castle, avoiding being seen. They finally turned into the corridor that lead to a familiar portrait of a fat lady and there, Ron Weasley stood guard at the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. Without a word to Draco, Ron gave the password and all three passed inside.
"Its ok, the tower is empty, everyone is down in the Great Hall for the feast." Ron said with great relief in his voice.
"Red hair and a hand-me-down-robe. You must be a Weasley!" Draco said in his most sneering dismissive tone.
"Ha!" Ron laughed back at Draco "did it work, did you get to see You-Know-Who?"
"Yes, and he is very pleased with all I had to tell him. He even invited me to become his loyal Death Eater. No he didn't give me the dark mark. It wouldn't be good for his spy at Hogwarts to be so easily identified. Yes, I am to be the Lord Voldemort's eyes and ears at Hogwarts. The Lord Voldemort took me into his complete confidence and his plans for overthrowing the forces of the light are brilliant. We will all need to work very hard in complete secrecy now to achieve our goal."
Ron and Hermione were delighted. Their hard work would soon pay off. There can be no doubt of it now.
"First though there is a little matter upstairs that needs to be disposed of." Ron told Draco seriously.
"Mmmm, not what I have been looking forward too, but it must be done." Draco replied and began to climb the stairs to the boy's dormitory.
Harry Potter lay on his bed in the dormitory unable to move more than a few feet from his bed because of a restraining spell cast around him by Hermione Granger. He had been a prisoner here for the last 10 days. Upon seeing Draco, he jumped to his feet and at the full extension that the restraining spell allowed him to go from his bed, he waited for the blond to get within arms reach.
"You know I am going to kill you the moment you release me, don't you?" he hissed at his visitor.
"I can't blame you for that!" the blond told Harry, "I have done what was necessary. I hope you will let me explain…"
"Explain! EXPLAIN!" shouting and stretching his arms out to get at the blond just beyond his reach.
In a quiet, calm voice the blond simply said "Did you really want to go home this time? Honestly Draco, did you?"
Harry's hair was beginning to lighten in colour and the scar on his forehead had all but disappeared. In a few moments two identical Draco Malfoys stood looking at each other until on the forehead of one, a mark began to form. Soon the familiar lightening shaped scar had full formed and the hair had turned dark. There, still dressed in his Slytherin robes, stood the real Harry Potter.
"Thank God that the polyjuice potion has worn off at last." the real Harry said.
"I can understand why you had to take the potion to look like me Potter, but why was it necessary to force me to take it to look like you?" the real Draco Malfoy asked.
"If anyone happened to look in, they would only see Harry Potter in his dormitory and not Draco Malfoy. There would be no connection to the Draco Malfoy who was at home with his family for the Christmas break." Harry explained. "Draco, if you will calm down for a minute I will remove the restraining spell."
Draco still flushed with rage but he also fighting the fatigue that being in a rage for 10 whole days had caused. He simply nodded and Harry was able to concentrate on undoing the spell that held Draco to the area around the bed.
"I guess you are free to leave if you want to but before you do, please listen." Harry said, he too was fighting the fatigue from being Draco Malfoy for the last 10 days.
"What could you possibly say to excuse kidnapping me and holding me prisoner, Potter?" Draco said
"I know about the summons you received last month, Draco. Your summons to meet with Voldemort." Harry told Draco. "You would not have survived Draco. I was able to answer Voldemort's questions satisfactorily even under the Veritaserum potion."
Draco was staggered. "Veritaserum! What… What did he ask?"
"Many things but his first question was... well it concerned your… your desires and who…" Harry was having a hard time saying what Voldemort had most wanted to know. He certainly wasn't about to use the same terms as Voldemort.
"He wanted to know if I'm gay." Draco said whitefaced. He slumped back down on the bed.
"Well… yes!" Harry replied.
What did you tell him?" Draco asked in a quiet voice without any of his usual blustering arrogance.
"I was under the Veritaserum potion so I had to answer truthfully, I told him I wasn't gay. I'm not you know. Luckily no one thought to ask me if I was the real Draco Malfoy." Harry told Draco.
Draco looked up at Harry Potter with naked amazement splashed across his face. "Are you telling me Potter that You-Know-Who asked you if your gay and you said no and no one worked out that it wasn't me?" Draco asked.
"Your father looked particularly relieved." Harry continued
"I bet he was. He was probably the one who would have to…" Draco voice trailed off before he finished the sentence. There were somethings he never wanted to think about. Draco knew the strength of his father's ambitions in the death eaters. He had no doubts about which his father would choose if forced to decide between the dark lord and his son.
"The questioning went on for sometime. Why have you never made love to Pansy Parkinson? Ha! I told them whereas she would make an excellent wife for a Malfoy, she wasn't exactly a sex kitten. All the Death Eaters laughed at that except one. I think your future father-in-law is a bit pissed with you, Draco. Voldemort then asked, "Who do you desire then?" They were surprised when I said a Ravenclaw witch took my fancy but they were not displeased. Anyway, Voldemort must have liked what he heard because he appointed me… I mean Voldemort appointed you as a Death Eater spy here at Hogwarts. You are to report back to him all you see and hear especially about me." Harry told Draco whose face grew even paler than it had been before. It was too much to take in. His head hurt and he could not think. He dropped his head into his hands and remained that way for some time. Harry waited in silence.
Finally Draco raised his head and spoke, "So you would have me believe that you did all this to save my life, is that it Potter!" but there was no sting in his voice.
"I won't lie to you Draco. I didn't do it to save your life. I did it to discover Voldemort's plans." Harry told him. "But I am sorry for what we did to you. If you want to go to the headmaster or the aurors, I will back up your story. Then everyone will know I illegally kidnapped you and held you prisoner here. Of course, they will also know that it was Harry Potter your father took to a secret Death Eater's meeting with Lord Voldemort. And that it was Harry Potter who answered those questions, not Draco Malfoy!" Harry said with a hard glint of ruthlessness in his eyes.
"Very clever Potter! You know both my parents and myself would not live the day if certain parties learn that father took you and not me to the meeting. So what is your great plan now. You do have a plan don't you? Or am I just to be thrown to the wolfs?"
"Simplicity itself. You walk down to the Great Hall and sit with your friends and act as if you were the one who went to that meeting. And if you are willing, I'll give you the information to report back to Voldemort at regular intervals. It will be real enough to satisfy Voldemort." Harry said.
"So I am to be a double agent for you. Is that it?" Draco replied.
"If you can think of another way out of this, tell me?" Harry said feeling sorry for the position he had put Draco in. "You can't tell Voldemort you won't be his spy and as I know about it, I am not going to let real information get back to Voldemort, am I? You would be caught if you tried and in a time of war, you know what happens to spies."
"Seems I don't have a choice, thanks to you Potter!" Draco said and he dragged himself to his feet.
"Ron will go ahead of you and make sure no one sees you leave here." Harry told Draco as he was leaving. "And Draco I meant what I said. I am sorry for all this and if there is anything I can ever do to make it up to you…"
Draco had stopped in the doorway and now turned with a look on his face that made Harry stop in mid-sentence. "A kiss!" is all Draco said.
"What?" Harry asked.
"You asked if there was anything you could do to make up for this. I want you to kiss me!" Draco said.
"You can't mean…" Harry said somewhat alarmed.
"Oh but I do Potter, or are you going back on your word." Draco purred at Harry, now enjoying turning the tables and playing with him.
"I'm not… I mean I don't…" Harry spluttered.
"Yes, we have established that you are quite straight but as you surmised, I would have answered the Dark Lord's questions very differently. I probably won't survive this stupid war, now you have dropped me in the middle of it. So I thought, what the hell, I might as well enjoy the time I have left. So pucker up Harry. I can call you Harry, can't I?" Draco said moving in on his prey like a stalking tiger. Harry was backing away until he came up against the wall of the dormitory. Draco had moved in and was now well within Harry's zone of comfort.
"Just one little kiss. No one would ever have to know. It'll be our little secret. And I'll completely forgive you for this little incident and I be the best little double agent there is!" Draco had his man where he wanted him now.
"Oh… Oh… I don't know…" Harry stuttered trying to think, "Alright! But just a little one." Harry steeled himself for what was to come. He always knew he would have to make great sacrifices in the war against Voldemort but kissing Draco Malfoy was not one that had occurred to him. "and absolutely no tongue Draco!" Harry said firmly.
"Anything you say, Harry." Draco said as his face beamed in anticipation.
Their lips met and although Harry had meant this to be as brief as possible, he was pinned to the wall and was unable to break away from the hungry lips of Draco Malfoy. For Draco did not intend this to be quickly over. He was well aware that this would be his only chance to quell that desire that had burned in his heart for the last few years. He had Harry Potter to himself and he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by. His lips were locked onto Harry's and slowly forced their way in. Draco's tongue penetrated Harry's mouth. Harry was shocked with the intensity of Draco's kiss. Draco had a thought even in the midst of his desire //In for a Knut, in for a Galleon!// and his hands catching Harry by surprise, penetrated his robes and grabbed Harry's…
"HARRY! NO!" Ron shouted. He had come to tell them to hurry up, never expecting the scene before him now. His best friend and his enemy locked in a passionate kiss. RON WAS WAY BEYOND HORRIFIED!
"Weasley, can't you see we're busy! Go away!" Draco hissed.
But the moment was broken and Harry had caught himself and pulled out of Draco's grasp.
"Oh well, never mind." Draco sighed and headed for the door, happier than he had ever been in his life.
When they were alone, Ron turned to Harry but Harry cut him off saying, "Ron, sometimes to win, you have to appear to lose!" Harry stated with a wry grin slowly appearing on his face.
"But you… and him." Ron stammered.
"I know… I know but its all part of the GAME, Ron. The great GAME we are now playing, that's what I'm talking about." Harry replied.
Harry began to walk towards the door but just before he reached the door, he turned to Ron and with a wry smile on his face said. "You know, Draco is a surprisingly good kisser." and with that Harry turned and walked out the door.
"Aaaargh! I did not need to hear that!" Ron protested following his friend down to the common room.
Separately Draco, then Harry and his friends entered the Great Hall and sat at their house tables. Draco looked across at Harry and Harry returned the stare. Without word or gesture, they knew what the other was thinking and the two greatest rivals at Hogwarts had come to a new mutual respect and a silent agreement. Harry had his spy in the Death Eaters and Draco had a chance to be free, if he had the wits to survive this war. Besides he quite liked the idea of being on Potter's side for once. You never knew if another opportunity would arise where Potter owed you big time. Draco had enjoyed that kiss. Both Harry and Draco turned back to their fellow housemates and their meals.