Protégé part 3
Warnings and notes: This is a slash fic, which means that it involves two guys having strong feelings for one another. This is your only warning; so if you do not like reading about two men in love, then don't read. You've been warned lots now. Do not harass the author, please.
(New notes) I am rewriting this for a repost. This is the first part in my trilogy, in which I need a name for, I think. The second part of the trilogy is called Move Heaven and Earth, and the third is called Evil Begets Evil. I don't know how much will be changed, since I'm writing this note first before I edit. If anything does change, I will make note of it at the end of the chapter. (and I may make fun of my own fic once in a while, but hey- it is my first HP fic I've ever written.)
Contents: This fic will contain Slash, sap, drama, angst, adventure (let's hope), and maybe lime.
First written: July 9, 2002
Pairings: Draco/Harry, Ron/Hermione
Year: 6th
Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of these characters! J.K. Rowlings is the wonderful person who does, and I wish her luck with her next book. I will read the others, I promise!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry came down for dinner and met his friends at the table. They were already there because Hermione had been tutoring Ron in subjects that he needed work on. Specifically Potions and Transfirguration.
"Do you get it now?" Harry heard Hermione say as he sat down next to Ron.
Ron looked like he was trying very hard to understand the difficult assignment for Potions and he gave her his patent confused expression.
Harry leaned over to look at what they were working on, his shoulder just brushing Ron's, which made the red-head startle a bit.
"Sorry." Harry mumbled.
Ron smiled, "It's ok, Harry. I was just too involved in trying to understand Hermione." Then he laughed, "It's not like you can shock me or anything."
"No, of course not." Harry shook his head. He almost forgot that he was a walking lightning bolt.
Hermione took a bite of her apple and chewed it slowly while the two boys talked. She had a feeling that once Harry got there, there wouldn't be as much work getting done as she originally planned. Although Hermione didn't appreciate being interrupted, especially when there was a test the next day, she still liked to watch her two best friends yap at one another.
"Speaking of which," Ron said, moving his book aside, "Have you heard from Malfoy? Or even Professor Dumbledore?"
Harry shook his head. "Not a word. I don't even know if they'll let Draco keep this charm on me."
Ron gave him a weird look, "Oh? So, it's 'Draco' now? Not Malfoy?"
Harry stuttered, "I-I meant Malfoy! I did! It just slipped." He turned his head to hide the small blush.
Ron looked over at Hermione, whom was giving him that same knowing look.
~**~
Harry had finished with his dinner sooner than the other two, which was mainly because they were still studying, and wandered back to the Gryffindor common room.
He was deep in thought; head down as he watched his feet, not paying attention to what was in front of him. His forehead hit something rather solid.
"Watch where you're going, Potter." The deep voice grumbled.
Harry's head snapped up. He blinked owlishly into scowling stormy eyes. The very solid thing he had hit was Malfoy's chest, just barely missing his chin.
"Sorry." Harry muttered, feeling a slight blush coming on for some odd reason.
Draco placed his hands onto Harry's shoulders, "You're lucky that it was me and not someone that would end up getting the shock of their lives. Then what would you do?"
"Look, I'm not in the mood for this." Harry moved away from that heaving chest, trying to control himself. "Tell me what Dumbledore said."
"That's none of your concern." Draco sniffed, putting his nose in the air.
"So he didn't tell you to take the charm off of me?"
"Well… of course he did."
Harry cocked an eyebrow, "And?"
"And… I don't want to, yet." He grinned.
"So you're gonna defy the Headmaster?"
Draco shrugged. "The old coot has no idea what he's talking about."
"Did you tell him about your… dream?"
Draco smiled, "Yes, and no. I didn't go into detail."
"You pretended not to remember it all, didn't you?"
Draco laughed, "Very good, Potter. You deserve a cookie."
"Stop patronizing me and take the charm off like Dumbledore asked."
"No." Draco snarled. "I will take the charm off when I'm good and ready to. You're just gonna have to deal with it."
"You're gonna get into more trouble if you defy him." Harry said, talking about the Headmaster. His scowl deepened when the Slytherin put his hands on his hips and started to pull him forward. "Don't even start with me."
"What?" Draco asked innocently. "Don't you go nutters not being able to touch someone?"
Just for spite, Harry spat out, "I can touch Ron."
Draco snarled. "Yes, but he's your friend."
Harry smiled, noticing the jealous look on Draco's face. Bingo. "So he is. But, you made it so that I could touch him. Oh yeah, and I can also touch Hermione as well."
Draco's sneer stayed in place, "Aren't that Mudblood and weasel going out?"
"They are?" Harry said, ignoring the comment made toward Hermione, "Oh yeah, that's right. But I'm sure that they wouldn't mind sharing…"
"What??" Draco's eyes flew open. "Are you crazy, Potter?? Threesomes usually end badly! Trust me, I know."
"You've been in a threesome?" Harry gaped.
"No, a friend of mine was. It ended rather horribly. Poor guy. He really loved them too."
"A boy and girl?"
"No, two girls." Draco grinned. "The girls decided that they didn't need dick, so they dumped him."
Harry swallowed a snicker, "What?"
"That's what they said. I found that funny myself, but I still felt bad for my friend."
"Who?"
"No one you know. Anyway, I'd love to stay here and continue with our male bonding, so to speak, but I must return to the dungeons." He smirked.
"Good. I was getting tired of this charade myself."
Draco smiled recalling that he still had his hands on Harry's hips. He moved forward slightly and placed a small kiss on the bridge of Harry's nose. Poor Harry didn't react fast enough and when he jerked his head to move, his glasses started to fall off of his face. Draco chuckled as he placed his glasses back onto his nose.
"Be careful there, Harry. You wouldn't want to go walking around blind and accidentally run into someone."
"Sod off, Malfoy." Harry yanked himself away from Draco's body.
"This is what I get for worrying about you?" Draco huffed. "Maybe I WILL take the charm off of you."
"Then do it." Harry huffed.
Draco smirked, placing his hands on his hips, "In due time. Maybe tomorrow. I can't risk having Longbottom or Finnigan crawling into your bed tonight, now can I?"
"Very funny, Malfoy."
"Well, see you at breakfast tomorrow." He sauntered around Harry, sliding his hand around Harry's waist until his fingertips lost contact. This action turned Harry's body around and he watched the blond wizard go. Draco looked over his shoulder and winked, making Harry feel a bit funny… all over. "Bye, Harry." He purred.
Harry continued to watch him walk down the corridor, and then he sighed, finally turning back around to go to the painting. He was not staring… he was not…
~*~
That morning, Harry had woken to the sound of Ron shushing someone beside his bed. When he got into the covers last night, he had pulled the curtains around his bed so that any movement wouldn't bother him. He finally opened his eyes and sat up, listening to the hushed voices from behind his bed's curtain.
"Don't disturb him, he had a bout with Malfoy last night and doesn't want to be bothered. Just let him sleep."
"I heard that Malfoy refused to take the charm off of him and that Dumbledore isn't too pleased about it."
Harry nodded to himself. Maybe Draco would get himself detention for doing this to him.
"I heard that he's getting expelled because of it." Neville said.
"It's possible." He heard Ron say, sounding rather smug. "I'd sure be glad if he did, then we wouldn't have to worry about him anymore."
"But what would Harry think? You think he'd be upset by it?"
"What? Harry upset that Malfoy is leaving? That's absurd!" Ron said, sounding like he was walking off somewhere.
Harry searched for his glasses on the table beside him and then put them on. He slowly got out of bed and walked quietly around the curtains. Ron noticed him and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry Harry, I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's ok. I should be getting up anyways."
"Hey, good morning, Harry." Neville said, looking apologetic as well, "Um, we heard that Malfoy's getting kicked out."
Harry looked a bit shocked, Ron noticed, but only took the shocked look as a surprised-relieved look, and not what it really was.
"He is? Are you sure?"
"That's the rumor." Neville said. He still looked apologetic.
Harry began to dress frantically. Ron seemed to know what was on Harry's mind. "What do you think you're doing? This is Malfoy we're talking about here! So what if he's getting expelled!"
"I need to speak to Dumbledore." Harry pointed out. He finally got his robe on.
"But Harry… why must you? I mean, he's your rival isn't he? And he placed that protection charm on you; doesn't that make you mad?"
"He's protecting me from something. Him refusing to take the spell off shouldn't get him kicked out. I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore and find out the truth."
"Oh, that reminds me," Neville said quietly, "I heard another rumor that Professor Sprout is very sick. They said that she accidentally got bitten by some strange and exotic plant and that she doesn't know what the cure is."
Harry turned around to face Neville, "Professor Sprout? Does Dumbledore know?"
"Who doesn't?" Ron said.
"I'll have to go visit her later. Right now I need to go speak to Dumbledore."
"Harry," Ron walked over and placed a warm and friendly hand on his shoulder, "I want you to know that I respect your concern for Malfoy, but I don't want you to be getting yourself into trouble for sticking up for him. If it was me, then I'd say good riddance!"
"And just how would I get the Protection Charm off if he's not here?" Harry asked, giving his red-haired friend a stern look.
"Well… well… I'm sure that Dumbledore can think of something."
"Fixed charms like this are extremely hard to take off. We *need* Malfoy here so he can do it. He just needs more persuasion, that's all." Harry walked over to the door, "Don't worry about me, ok guys? I'll see you later." He quietly shut the door behind him.
Ron sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Once a hero, always a hero."
~*~
Harry easily recalled the new password into Dumbledore's office that Professor McGonagall told him. The gargoyle moved to the side and Harry stepped carefully in. He knocked, got the signal to enter, and then opened the door. He took a seat in front of the Headmaster, not knowing that a few hours ago, Draco had just occupied that chair. Fawkes was sitting on his perch, his eyes fixed on Harry.
"Welcome, Harry. I take it you have something to talk to me about."
"Yes, sir. It's about Malfoy."
"Ah, I see." Dumbledore said quickly. "I take it you heard the rumors as well. Bear in mind that I don't plan on kicking him out. He was just worried that I would. Or, rather, Severus was." Dumbledore chuckled at that, which made Harry do so as well. "Yes, don't fret, Harry. Draco will still be here. He will just be serving detention, that's all."
"Oh." Harry smiled to himself; he had been right. "So, is he going to take the spell off of me or not?"
"He really doesn't want to, but I have a feeling that he will. Severus gave him a good talking to this morning."
Harry couldn't help but smile at that. "Didn't know that he cared."
"You would be surprised. And he also tried to force Draco to tell him the entire nightmare, but Draco is still rather tight-lipped about it. It really must be horrible if HE can't talk about it. Professor Snape is wondering why a nightmare about you should bother him. He figured that Draco would be happy about it."
"That's what I thought as well." Harry said. He blushed slightly as he remembered how close their bodies were that one night he visited him. "Sir? How do you think we'd be able to get him to reverse the charm on me?"
Professor Dumbledore began to stroke his beard, "That is something that I've been pondering myself. It seems to me that you're going to be the one to provoke him into doing it. If he's not listening to Severus, then he won't listen to anyone else. Maybe you might be able to succeed."
Harry nodded to show his understanding.
"So," Dumbledore said, "Was that all you wanted to ask? Or was there something else?"
Harry sighed, standing up, "I think that's all, sir. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Harry. But if there's anything else you need to talk about, I'm always here."
"I know." Before Harry exited, he turned back around, "Oh, um, sir? About Professor Sprout…"
"Yes, I know. It's most tragic."
"What kind of plant was it?"
"Something new that Sprout as never seen before. She claimed that it just suddenly appeared out of thin air. A real mystery. She went to touch it to see if it needed any water or nutrients, and it lashed out and bit her. She said that before she passed out, she saw tiny sharp teeth on each leaf. We discovered that she had been poisoned by the plant, and we are trying everything in our power to help her."
"Isn't there something that can cure poisons?"
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes. But for some reason we can't find any Bezoars."
"Bezoars?" Harry stopped himself, suddenly remembering what Snape had told him years ago. "Oh, that! Professor Snape said that it cured most poisons. Are you saying that Madam Pomfrey is all out?"
"All of them mysteriously disappeared around the same time as the plant appeared. No one knows why someone had targeted her of all people. We are trying our best to make sure that she gets through this."
"Bezoar…" Harry thought out loud, thinking back to what Snape said where a bezoar could be found. "Isn't that inside something's stomach?"
"A goat." Dumbledore nodded.
"Then we'll just get a goat."
"It's not as easy as it sounds, Harry. Please don't worry about such things right now. Snape is doing his best to finding out where one is located. You should be off to your first class anyways."
"Oh yeah." Harry blushed, remembering that he came up here first thing when he woke up. "I'll talk to you later, sir."
"Of course. Bye, Harry."
Harry's last thought as he left Dumbledore's office was, 'Why can't Snape find a goat? Or is it hard to find one with a bezoar inside of it's stomach? Or maybe all the goats were already emptied.
An image of Snape with a billy goat popped into Harry's mind. He laughed at the sudden image, but muffled his laughter when a second year looked at him funny.
Harry wanted to say, 'Yes, I'm going crazy. So what's new?' He thought imagining Snape with a goat made him nuts, but when he thought of Draco again and didn't feel any hate… 'I belong in St. Mungo's!'
~*~
It was finally lunchtime, and Draco's stomach was rumbling like a purring tiger. For once, nothing else was on his mind but filling his stomach with some delicious BLTs. Bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich… and French toast. One of his favorite every day foods. With syrup. Scrumptious golden brown maple syrup on bright yellow toast. Wonderfully drenched in syrup.
'Potter covered in maple syrup…'
'The hell? Where'd that thought come from?' Draco mused. He pushed that thought aside immediately once he got in the main hall. "Why am I not surprised?" He groaned to himself when he saw that Harry was already there, helping himself to some of the sandwiches, and then he began to pour syrup over what Draco believed to be French toast on his plate. His mind instantly sprang back to that image of Potter lying on his back, in his bed, covered in hot, sticky maple syrup. Draco growled in frustration.
"Something wrong?" Pansy asked, fluttering her eyelashes.
"No." Draco drawled out. "I'm fine."
"Just in a cranky mood, huh? I can totally understand." She smiled.
Draco grunted as he poured his syrup over his own French toast. He tried his hardest NOT to think about what he did last night, the conversation he had with Professor Dumbledore, and about the white rose that he decided to buy. That would surely get Harry to trust him more, wouldn't it? It should, Draco resolved, if not, he had to do some serious beating on an old coot who could see through his haughty disguise.
"So did you take that charm off of Potter yet?" Goyle asked as he speared a piece of meat from his plate.
"No, I haven't. Just leave me alone about that." Draco snapped. He took a chuck of French toast and shoved it into his mouth.
"Ok fine. Be that way."
Draco ignored the big hulking boob as he stared over at Potter, who was in a conversation with the Mudblood, Granger. She was smiling and laughing at whatever he said, and then she patted him on the shoulder. Draco felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up. The fork in his hand was beginning to bend slightly.
After a while, Pansy spoke up. "More Potter watching? I swear that will become some kind of twisted sport for you."
"Oh stuff it, Parkinson!" Draco sneered, determined to clean his plate now and get the hell out of the room before anyone got suspicious. He poked at a piece of toast the best he could with his bent utensil.
^**^
'He's staring at me, isn't he?' Harry thought to himself, slipping his eyes over at the Slytherin table. Sure enough, he saw that Draco had his eyes on him, watching him carefully. Harry quickly averted his eyes and tried to continue eating without blushing stupidly.
Then, suddenly there was a flapping of wings filling the air. Harry could almost do a jinx with Ron, knowing just what he was gonna say and when he was gonna say it.
"The mail's here!" Ron said, right on schedule.
Harry smiled, knowing that he was right. Different colored owls swooped down at the tables, dropping packages and letters here and there. And then, suddenly, an eagle owl swooped by and landed in front of Harry.
"The hell?" Ron exclaimed. In the owl's beak was a single white rose, and on its leg was a small note. It squawked at him with impatience, its round haunting eyes boring through him. Yes, it was definitely a Malfoy owl.
Everyone else was 'ooo'-ing and 'aww'-ing at the sight. There were some gasps when the owl was recognized.
"No way…" Hermione said, blinking rapidly. "It can't be…"
Harry took the note with a shaky hand and read it.
White roses currently mean innocence and purity, which describes you very well. The original meaning also strikes true: An end to innocence and purity. For Harry Potter, I would oh-so like to do to you.
With deepest condolences,
Draco
The owl dropped the rose and took off, leaving one of it's feathers as well. Harry stuffed the letter quickly into his robe, and was surprised when his friends didn't even ask him what the letter said.
"Um, Harry? What does this all mean?" Hermione asked.
Ron sighed, resting his chin on an open palmed hand. "I think I know. He's trying to apologize for keeping that charm on you, isn't he, Harry?"
Harry shrugged, not too sure about the meaning of it all either, but he had a faint suspicion. And of course, that faint suspicion was that when Draco held him close and kissed him on the forehead… and also the nose…
Harry picked up the feather from the table, noting that it would make a perfect new quill. And then, with a shaking hand, he finally picked up the single white rose (which was still half-way wrapped in plastic). He looked over at the Slytherin table to get a good look at Malfoy, but he wasn't there.
~TBC~
Thanks for reading. :)