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. Go read some other fic. Do not harass the author, please. And there is some strong language in here!
Sorry that this took so long to re-write. I just kept forgetting about it, mainly.
Contents: This fic will contain Slash, sap, drama, angst
Pairings: Draco/Harry, Ron/Hermione (others?)
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 don't believe this," Harry muttered.
Standing there, next to a gold chest, was the little man.
"What say you, Harry Potter? Are you surprised? Are you not? Are you even the real Harry Potter? What say you?"
"I say explain yourself," Harry snarled, bringing his wand out.
"Or else what? You kill me? Ha! Harry—cursed by Lord Voldemort—Potter cannot harm me! I am a Demon Imp! Beelzebub's helper! Now what you say, boy? Now what you say?"
"I say Harry—working on his last nerve—Potter is going to give you one chance to give me back those bezoars or you'll regret it."
The Demon Imp laughed. It was a high-pitched laugh meant to pierce a Muggle's ears. Harry didn't even flinch. "Ok," The imp said with a satanic smirk, "I will tell you this much. I do have the bezoars, I have them in this chest." He stroked the top of the chest like it was a cat. "I am the one that gave Sprout that plant. Was that not ingenious? Plant poisoned Sprouty, like I have planned. I have pilfered the bezoars before I did, however. I have taken that into account, no? So then, I get revenge on Sprout for getting me put in Azkaban, and then I repay the kind wizard that let me out."
Harry was stunned, but wasn't sure what to say. 'Someone let this thing out of Azkaban? Who would do such a thing?'
"You must be wondering who that endearing wizard was, aren't you? Well, I do not know his name but he was a rich Death Eater with a lot of tasty House Elves. Oh yes, he let me crunch and munch on one. Wasn't that nice of him?"
Harry grounded his teeth. "Lucius Malfoy."
"So, of course, how am I to repay this wonderful wizard? Well, what else do I do but hand him the head of Harry Potter? Clever, isn't it? So, while I waited for you to get a clue to where I have stashed the bezoars, I have been entertaining myself with you and watching Sprout die a slow and miserable death."
Harry brought his wand up in front of his face, "Over my dead body."
The imp grinned. "Precisely."
Before Harry could react, the imp's face went from his usual pale color to a putrid gray. The green and brown clothes ripped from his body, his teeth grew to large proportions, and his legs and arms became big and lanky. The thing's jaw, claws, feet, and tail were twice the size of the rest of his body. It looked like all of the muscle and other mass had all gone to it's claws, head, and feet.
"NOW," It growled, drool oozing out of the corners of its mouth, "NOW WHAT YOU SAY, HARRY POTTER? YOU READY TO BE SERVED AS A MAIN COURSE??" It brought up a humungous hand, "TIME TO LOPPITY-LOP POTTER'S HEAD!!"
Harry leapt out of the way just as the Demon imp's giant claw came forward. He needed time to think, he had to decide just what curse he should use to stop this heartless creature. Harry brought his wand up and positioned it.
The demon imp walked heavily on the ground as he moved toward him. It swung its massive knuckles back and forth as it came closer, its long, forked-like tongue rolled out from between two oversized fangs. He casted the first spell that came to his mind.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
The thing shrieked as it stopped for a moment, but then its arms suddenly jerked outward, like it was ripping itself free from rope.
"NICE TRY," It bellowed, smirking. The imp slashed at Harry with one of its enormous claws. Harry jumped backwards and the claws just ripped the front of his school uniform. The imp picked up a very heavy looking bookstand and threw it at him.
"Winguardium Leviosa!"
The bookstand rose up into the air, and then Harry made it move back toward the enraged imp. He let it crash down on top of the monster, but it wasn't phased.
"HOW LONG CAN YOU KEEP THIS UP, POTTY? YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF ROOM, AND YOUR PETTY SPELLS CANNOT HARM ME." Harry dived away from another attack. "TRUST ME, YOU CANNOT WIN. NOT EVEN THE ONE YOU LOVE WILL BE ABLE TO HELP YOU. HE TRIED THOUGH, DIDN'T HE? PROTECTION CHARM! PAAH! LOVE ALONE CANNOT DEFEAT ME. NEITHER CAN HATE."
"Love or hate can't stop you?" Harry gasped. He had just dodged another attack that made him go flying into something heavy, giving him a rather large wound on his arm.
"ALONE THEY CAN'T. IT IS SOMETHING OF RARITY, I ASSURE YOU."
"Like, what? Love and hate together?"
"YOU'RE CLOSE, POTTY. MAYBE I HAVE UNDERESTIMATED YOU."
"Everyone does," Harry ground his teeth. He swished his wand and enounced, "Avada Kedavra!"
"Oh, gods, no!" Draco gasped. This wasn't supposed to happen. This was NOT supposed to happen!
He ran, as fast as his legs could carry him, toward the light under the painting. This was it, the one in his nightmare, the one with the rolling hills and the bright blue sky with moving clouds. He heard a rumbling roar. It was. . . it sounded like a voice! It sounded like the beast had a major drooling problem.
Draco took out his wand, put his free hand on the side of the painting and swung it open. The bright light inside of the room blinded him for a moment before he urged himself forward.
He was a coward. He had known this ever since he was put into the Slytherin House. He would never have the nerve to go up against anything that would rather eat him whole than have tea with him.
Suddenly he heard it, within the room, that familiar spell. . . "Avada Kedavra!" He saw a bright flash of green. Draco smiled, feeling stupid for ever doubting that Harry could take care of himself.
Draco suddenly froze with fear. The creature had laughed. The curse didn't work! Why? Suddenly, the bright flash of green was seen again, like it was bouncing off of something. It bounced? The green light was getting brighter. "Harry!"
It wasn't what he expected to happen. When Harry did the curse, he tried his best to do it with love. He focused on his love for his friends, for his dead parents, for his new boyfriend Draco Malfoy, and for the want of everyone and everything to be happy and free.
And it didn't work. When the killing curse had bounced off of the imp, making the imp laugh, Harry had a split second to dodge it. The curse barely missed the top of his head, hitting a shiny gold shield behind him. It bounced off of that and came toward the imp again.
"BATTER'S UP!" The imp shouted, and knocked the curse away again with its large fist. It hit a giant spider in the corner of the room, killing it instantly. "NO MORE GAMES!" The imp roared. "TIME TO FINISH THIS FOR GOOD!" With surprising speed, it came at Harry, and then knocked his wand out of his hand. Before Harry could duck or dodge, the monster had a firm grip around Harry's skinny middle.
"DUM, DUM, DEE, DUM. . . DUMB, DEEEEE DUMB, DUMB, DUMB, DUMBY DUMB!!" It squeezed him.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!" Harry screamed, just as Draco entered the room.
"Harry!" Draco gasped. It was as he feared after all. Harry was in the clutches of the nightmare monster. "Unhand him!" Draco demanded, poising his wand at the ready. He saw the unconscious look on Harry's face, along with the caked on dirt and blood, and felt like screaming.
After a silent stare-down, the creature finally said. "IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU GOT HERE. WHAT KEPT YOU?"
"Wha—what??" Draco gasped. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?"
The monster gave him a toothy grin. "JUST WHO DID YOU THINK GAVE YOU THAT NIGHTMARE EVERY BLOODY NIGHT? THE TOOTH FAIRY??"
Draco cocked a brow. "The what?"
"I GAVE YOU THE STUPID, SEMI-TRUE NIGHTMARE TO LURE YOU HERE! YOU REALLY ARE A BRAINLESS TWIT, AREN'T YOU?"
"I dare you to say that again!" Draco sneered.
"BRAINLESS TWIT! BRAINLESS TWIT! BRAINLESS TWIT! BRAINLESS TWIT!! NOW WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?"
Draco growled low in his throat. What could he do? He had to save Harry. . . his Harry. Draco jerked in surprise. 'His Harry? Since when did I own Potter?'
"IT'S JUST AS I THOUGHT. ALL TALK AND NO ACTION. THAT'S A SLYTHERIN FOR YA. AND AS FOR THAT LITTLE ROMANTIC DOINGS YOU TWO HAD GOING, I THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW THAT I FOUND IT VERY SICKENING TO WATCH. BUT THE FUNNIEST PART WAS WHEN YOU TRIPPED AND FELL INTO THE MUD! NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A MUDBLOOD!! HAHAHAHAHA!!"
"You Son of a Harpy!!"
"SO MAYBE I AM, SO WHAT?" It grinned. "ANYWAYS, NOW THAT YOU'RE HERE, I SUPPOSE IT'S TIME TO GET ON WITH MY PLAN. I KNOW THAT YOU'RE VERY FOND OF POTTER'S BODY, SO I WILL KEEP THAT IN TACT FOR YOU. BUT I NEED HIS HEAD FOR THE NICE WIZARD WHO SET ME FREE FROM AZKABAN. SO, SHALL WE PLAY POP GO THE POTTER?"
"Wait! Why AM I here? What do you want with me?"
The thing grinned wickedly, "OH, I SUPPOSE I COULD TELL YOU. YOU SEE, WHEN I POP THIS BOY'S HEAD, YOU WILL BE LEFT WITH THE BODY. I NEED SOME KIND OF COVER UP, DON'T I?"
"You're using me as a scapegoat??" Draco fumed.
"VERY GOOD. I GUESS NOT ALL BLONDES ARE DUMB."
"And what made you think I'd come down here to even save him?"
The imp laughed. "BECAUSE YOU'RE POSSESSIVE OF YOUR RIVAL. YOU WANT TO BE THE ONE TO DEFEAT HIM. IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU. YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU. . . EGOTISTIC LITTLE PRAT! WELL, GUESS WHAT? YOUR PRECIOUS EGO, AND LITTLE BOY-TOY, IS GOING TO GET CRUSHED, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. COOL BEANS, NO?"
Just as the imp began to squeeze Harry again, Draco screamed.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!!!"
Bright, bright, silvery-green light went straight toward the demon imp. Thinking that it was safe, it didn't move as it stared at Draco with amusement.
That look changed the moment the curse hit it. With a look of disbelief on its face, the imp cried out in agony and then slumped to the floor. Harry fell with a bone-crunching thud onto the stony ground.
"Harry!" Draco ran to his boyfriend's side. Instantly he used his wand to fix whatever he could on Harry. The boy was still unconscious when he was finished with the broken bones. That was all he remembered what to do when it came to healing. He just never thought he needed to know any more about healing spells.
Draco took a hold of Harry's head and placed it into his lap. "Don't you fucking dare die on me, Potter! Only I am allowed to kill you!" he placed his shaky hand over Harry's exposed chest. Carefully he fingered with the rips and tears on Harry's uniform. "You're not allowed to leave, you bastard!" Draco's voice cracked. "You're not allowed!"
Harry coughed and spit up some blood before he said weakly, "Shut up, prick, and let me rest."
Draco felt the hot sting of relief flood through him. "Don't you dare pull that kind of idiotic stunt again! I don't care how brave you fucking are! You try something like this again and I won't be there to save your skinny arse! And speaking of which, Potter, are you eating enough? You're awfully skinny. . ."
Harry smiled as he went unconscious again.
Harry woke up again in the infirmary. This place was beginning to become like a second home for him.
He suddenly felt a pair of hands place his glasses on his face. He looked over and saw a relieved looking Ron Weasely.
"Hey there, Harry. Welcome back to the conscious world."
"Hey," Harry's voice cracked. "What time is it?"
"It's seven. You missed your classes today, but Hermione is bringing your homework." Harry scoffed at this. "Are you feeling all right, Harry? Do you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm a bit woozy, but I'm fine." Suddenly, without thinking, Harry asked. "Where's Draco?"
Ron jumped, "Why do you want to know where that git is? He's probably kicking himself that you survived. By the way, what did you go and do? Where were you? And more importantly, did you meet up with Malfoy down in the dungeons? He was looking for you."
"Yeah. He helped me."
"He did what??" Ron gasped.
"Oh, the bezoars!" Harry said suddenly, changing the subject, "someone needs to go down to the dungeons and get. . ."
"They're back where they belong. Somebody had dropped off a huge chest full of them."
"And Sprout?"
"She's doing much better. She'll be up and teaching again tomorrow."
"That's a relief." Harry sighed, relaxing more into his pillow. 'Draco brought the chest of bezoars back, I'll bet. I'll have to remember to thank him.'
Hermione walked in with an armful of books and treats. "This is getting ridiculous, boys. The hospital wing isn't a social gathering you know." She handed Harry a chocolate frog. Harry smiled. "So, how's my adopted brother doing?"
"Better." Harry said, opening his chocolate frog. It almost jumped out of reach, but Harry snatched it quickly before it could get away.
"Gotta love those Seeker reflexes, eh, Harry?"
Harry smiled around his chocolate treat before biting down.
A scapegoat. Draco threw his silver tray into his bedchamber's mirror. The image-him leapt out of the way before it smashed the glass into pieces. That was all he was to the creature? A fucking scapegoat! Someone to blame the death of Harry Potter on!
But what he didn't understand was why his 'Avada Kedavra' worked and Harry's didn't. Was he stronger than Potter? Did Potter have too much love in him to pull it off? Was it because he was a coward, standing up for the one he loved?
Love? Yeah right! He just lusted after Potter, that was all. Love had nothing to do with it. It was completely irrational!
'What about that feeling you had on the beach?' his inner voice asked.
"A fluke." Draco muttered to himself. He half believed himself. "It was the hormones talking. Potter's emotions are just catching, that's all. It's like the plague. . ."
'How is it like the plague?' That voice asked. 'Didn't you feel it? Your heart grew to great proportions!'
"Shut up!" Draco screamed, clamping his hands over his ears. "Shut the fuck up!"
Draco's owl hooted in annoyance. He looked up at the animal and sneered.
"Who asked you?"
Draco finally got himself more in control and he walked up to his wardrobe. He opened it, revealing a dark hooded cloak. "Well, at least it wasn't a total loss."
TBC