Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H!
Shamera
They arrived in chaos.
The moment Harry opened his eyes, expecting to be slightly sick with nausea from the journey (he had never liked portkeys, but the hatred of them had only increased after fourth year), he was greeted with an extraordinary sight. He was oddly reminded of when he had seen Hogwarts for the first time, and how that breathtaking view had left him absolutely speechless and in love with the school the instant he set eyes on it.
It was moments later when he realized that there were people rushing around all about him, and that it was only because of Draco holding him steady that he wasn't already knocked over.
Ron didn't seem to notice that havoc around them at all, still gaping at the sight before him.
"It looks like something straight from a fairy tale…" was Hermione awed murmur. Her eyes were widened and also glued to the view, taking in the steeping towers and beautiful gothic arches. The many towers ended in needle-points high up in the sky, its delicacy making it look like a strong gust of wind would be able to topple it over, much like many of the shops in Diagon Alley, only with more grace.
It was a picturesque scene with beautiful forests and landscapes in the background, if not for the many creeping vines that spiraled its way around the beautiful castle, looking like chains holding the delicate towers from collapsing. The vines looked old, thick and strong to a point that it looked impossible to ever get those vines off the castle.
"Faerie magicks." Draco explained in a hush voice. "With all the faeries asleep, the vines would ensure that constructions all over the kingdom don't collapse with the sudden lapse in magic."
Harry could only manage a numb nod, eyes trying to focus on the scene before him. With a frustrated growl, he finally took off his glasses after a few moments, bringing up a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose, trying his best to dispel the gathering headache.
It was only then that Ron and Hermione realized what was going on around them when they nearly fell over when the ground around them started to shake violently. The dim and muted background noises suddenly registered to all of them when they started hearing spells being yelled out and exchanged back and forth.
Ron gave out a yelp and shoved Hermione to the ground, shielding her with his own body as he saw several spells aimed at where they were just a moment ago. Draco dragged Harry out of the way as he also focused on what was happening around them, not wanting to be crude enough to the push Harry to the ground, but eyes darting about furiously to make sure that he would be alright.
There were people rushing all around them, dressed in light grey cloaks with their hoods pulled firmly over their heads, each either carrying something or helping people with blue cloaks shoot spells at an opposing enemy that none of them could yet see. The ground was scorched and black, with clumps of half-burnt bushes and trees to block offending spells from coming in. Although the sky was a beautiful blue, there were already small fires starting and clouding up the air with the acidic smell of smoke.
It looked like a battleground.
There was a small figure in a deep blue cloak that came their way quickly, head bowed to try not to attract attention from the opposing side. The person reached them quickly, and crouched down next to Ron and Hermione, throwing off the hood to reveal a pale face surrounding by spiky, hot pink hair. "You guys from Hogwarts?"
They stared at her, making her fidget as sounds of fighting continued around them. Finally sick of being the object of their scrutiny, she snapped, "Look! I don't have time to play around. We're barely holding back the Death Eaters as it is. I'm supposed to show Draco Malfoy and his group into the castle."
"That's me." Draco confirmed. He seemed to be finally coming back to his senses, and tried to subtly put himself between Harry and this new person. "Are you the guide that Luna sent?"
The girl nodded her head. "Name's Tonks. I'm the official ambassador sent to negotiate land with the elves… but also the head of this group of Aurors here." She fumbled around in her cloak. "Princess Luna said that you would be arriving, but she never said you would be so late…"
"We arrive precisely on time." Draco retorted, sounding offended that someone would accuse him of not arriving to anything on time.
There was a groaning sound as the tree they had been hiding behind rapidly caught on fire, and some of the weaker branches teetered dangerously as the leaves were immediately consumed by the flames.
Tonks grabbed a hold of the back of Draco's robes, and dragged both him and Harry behind another row of more stable bushes, Ron and Hermione quickly scrambling up to follow them. It was only seconds later that several branches broke off from the tree and crashed onto the ground which they had been standing previous.
Hermione stared in horror.
"Don't have much time." Tonks muttered as she watched a group of Aurors dispatch into the open field to try and get a more secure area. She turned pale eyes back towards the group. "I'm just here to inform you of the details. Draco- Luna said that you should know your way around the castle, so I don't have to tell you where to go. The rest of you should know about what You-Know-Who wants, so I don't have to tell you to get to the throne at all costs. There a dragon guarding the entrance of the castle gate, but I don't doubt that the Death Eaters would get past the dragon if they were given time." Her eyes darted back to her people as a tree a few meters away fell down completely from the fire.
"A dragon?" Ron's eyes were wide. "You want us to get past a dragon?"
"Not want." Tonks amended, her eyes turning back to the kids before her. "Need. I know you to get past the dragon before the Dark Lord's forces do. You have the get the faerie throne!"
This was all starting to sound like one of the video games that Dudley used to play. Harry wasn't sure how they were supposed to defeat the Death Eaters even if they got the faerie throne. What then?
Maybe he shouldn't think that much ahead.
Tonks' pale eyes bored into Harry's. She seemed to see his insecurities and doubts in one swoop. "The return of the faerie prince signifies the end of the prophecy. If Emerald reclaims the throne, then the faeries who pledged themselves to his service at his birth will be freed. If the throne is claimed by the Dark Lord, then the faeries will not awaken until Emerald is reborn in another future life."
Draco grabbed onto Harry's hand when Tonks said that, his lips set into a grim line. Harry stole a glance at the vampire, wondering if Draco would wait another few hundred years for him if he lost. What if he died? Would he drag the prophecy on forever and ever? He really didn't want to think about that.
Tonks handed Hermione a small device. "This is for communications. Don't contact me unless things have gone seriously wrong, and you are in desperate need of backup. I'll only contact you if the Dark Lord gets through our forces. This is a just in case type of emergency, since there is no other way to communicate once inside the castle. Portkeys and any other magical transportation items are all automatically disabled.
"I can get some of the elves to cover you until you reach the castle." Tonks was saying, "But from then on, you'll have to be on your own." She gave them a slight nod, and then a lopsided grin. "Good luck to you guys. I trust in Princess Luna. I'm sure you guys will do fine."
Several minutes later, the group was waiting by the front side of the castle, letting some of the Aurors to go in before them to make sure that things were safe. Or at least, get through the heavy maze of vines first. They were going to be the only ones going into the castle.
Both Hermione and Ron were situated deep in a crevice created by the patchwork of plants, having been told not to attract any attention at all until they were ready to go in the castle. Draco and Harry were doing the same, waiting nervously for the Aurors to finish up so that they could continue on.
Harry especially couldn't stop moving, his eyes darting from one area to another as his muscles tensed sporadically in anticipation of a fight. He was too used to being in the middle of the actions, even if the adults were trying to hold him back. He was always involved somehow despite the older wizards not wanting to endanger him.
But now he realized how it must have felt for his friends to have to be the one that waited. If anything, it was as bad as being in the fray, if not worse. The tension that surrounded the four of them was tangible enough to be cut with a knife, and Harry knew that it was only going to hinder them later on when they really did start jumping into the battles.
Ron and Hermione seemed reluctant to start a conversation, or to do anything other than wait and save up their energy, so Harry knew that he would have to try and build a bridge between his best friends and the one person who was really starting to grow into his life.
Another explosion in the distance, and this time they all held their breath to make sure that there would not be any more explosions… especially closer to their area.
After a few seconds, Harry let out his breath and with a heavy sigh and looked up again at the clear sky. It would have been a beautiful scene if not for the background shouts and curses, and the creeping of smoke that was starting to cloud the distant edges of his vision.
Wait a minute.
Harry frowned up at the sky, wondering why things looked slightly different. He thought he had gotten used to the green tint that everything seemed to hold since Hermione had changed his glasses, but the sky looked…
Blue.
Blinking, Harry patted his robe pocket where he had placed his glasses right after they had arrived. He remembered that his eyes had irritated him, so he had taken off his glasses to rub at them. Or was it a headache? Whatever it was, it was gone now.
And… he could see perfectly.
That was odd.
"Are you sure that we were supposed to wait here, Malfoy?" Hermione was asking nervously. She was hopping from foot to foot, eschewing Ron's balance when he tried to hold her down.
Draco nodded, also looking queasy the longer he stood still.
Harry sighed. Oh well. Things like that always just seemed to happen to him, so he was resigned to let things happen. Besides, he should be glad not to need glasses, right? Why look a gift horse in the mouth?
"So," he spoke up after having thoroughly thought out what just happened to him. Harry turned to his left slightly, smiling at Draco. "Since we seem to have nothing to do… how did we first meet? Formally, that is."
Draco looked taken aback. "Ehh…"
Surprised grey eyes swung around to stare at him in blatant shock. "You? You're the faerie prince?"
Emerald bristled slightly at the disbelief in the vampire's eyes. Inside the courtyard of his own castle, his parents had welcomed the fugitives with open arms, going off to have a talk with Princess Luna and leaving their son to deal with the vampire whom had accompanied her. Emerald knew that he was expected to be the perfect host, so he refrained from saying something extremely biting back at the vampire childe.
"Is it that hard to believe?" He asked shortly, unforgettable eyes glued on the foreigner. He clasped his hands together in front of him, frowning when the pale boy gave him a disbelieving look. "I know I may not look like much, but appearances can be deceiving." He recited from his lessons, glad that he remembered something useful. "Isn't that how it is in the outside world as well?"
"The outside world?" The blonde paused in where he was examining some of the exotic plants that spotted the courtyard. Emerald bit his lip to prevent a torrent of questions from rushing out. He had always been a curious child, and it had always been his curiosity and his mouth that got him into trouble. His people had always forgiving him for any unintended rudeness, but the outsider might not be so forgiving.
Emerald watched as the blonde boy studied the stability of many of the pillars that supported the castle, tapping the glass-like structures with the tip of his fingers; as if afraid they would fall over if he applied too much pressure on it. The faerie prince himself was seated at the edge of the shade of trees, leaning back into the castle.
"The outside world is much crueler than you can know." The vampire said. "I doubt you even know the full meaning of that phrase."
Which phrase? Appearances could be deceiving? Emerald frowned, crossing his arms across his chest. "I know what it means." There was a brief hesitance before he continued timidly, "It means that you shouldn't be fooled by looks because looks doesn't make a person."
"It also means that you shouldn't trust even the best of intentions," The blonde said plaintively, "because there is always an ulterior motive."
Emerald's frown only grew deeper, not suiting his kind demeanor at all. "That's not true." He rebutted.
The vampire snorted. "You wouldn't think so."
Such rudeness! "What are you called, anyway?"
Those grey eyes looked up from examining several rainforest flowers and turned amused as they gazed at him. "Draco Malfoy. I'm surprised you didn't ask earlier, seeing as to how you were falling all over yourself attacking Luna with questions."
Emerald shifted in his seat, contemplating the sound of that name. Draco Malfoy. It was such a strange name. Did all outsiders have names like that? But then… it wasn't that strange to name a child 'dragon'. It was the abruptness of the name that sounded strange on Emerald's tongue. "That's a strange name." Emerald said honestly.
Draco scowled. "Isn't it usually polite to introduce yourself after someone tells you their name?"
Name? Outsiders sure were strange… why would he have told his own name to someone he just met a few hours ago? "You haven't earned the trust to learn my name." There was an odd silence that Emerald took as hurt from the other boy. "But… I am called Emerald."
"Emerald?" Draco scoffed. "That's such a girly name."
The faerie prince scowled back, imitating what Draco had been doing earlier. "It's not girly. Emerald is a color, a gemstone. How is that associated with girls?"
The vampire blinked at the honesty. "Colors and jewelry are always associated with girls."
"How are they always associated with girls? Boys have color and jewelry too."
Draco bristled slightly. "I can't believe you're the faerie prince. I heard that the prince was actually mature and insightful- you don't seem to be either of those. You look like a little girl."
Despite that insult having never been used in the faerie kingdom before (there was no discrimination between boys and girls there, after all- both genders held equally dangerous positions as warriors or healers), and the fact that most faeries looked androgynous anyway, Emerald could tell by Draco's tone that it was meant to make fun of him. "I do not!"
The pale vampire narrowed his eyes at him. "You do too. You're short and small and have long hair… and… you have skinny chicken legs!"
Emerald gaped. He wasn't short or small! He was already considered pretty tall for a Seelie faerie! And…. And… and!!! "There's nothing wrong with long hair! And I don't have skinny chicken legs, you jerk!"
Draco looked triumphant. "Ha! If 'jerk' is the best insult that you can come up with-"
"Insolent albino bastard of a hunchback and Unseelie! Misbegotten son of a snow demon with funny hair!"
Funny hair? Draco steamed, opening his mouth to give a sharp comeback, when-
"Emerald!" The faerie queen gaped as she stepped into the courtyard after having excused herself from the meeting with the elven princess. "Where on this earth did you learn language like that?!"
Surprisingly, both boys looked extremely guilty.
"Let's… um… not talk about that right now." Draco squirmed a bit, but managed a smile at Harry. "I swear I'll tell you all about it later. Just… not right now."
Harry snickered, and ventured a guess, "Did you say something you weren't supposed to?"
Draco declined to answer, as at that moment they saw the Aurors cast a spell that meant it was safe to go on. The small group looked at each other, then moved forward as one, Draco in the lead and Ron taking the rear, making both Harry and Hermione feel more than a little frustrated.
The fanning of blue robes seemed to start moving away from the castle, leaving the four of them to themselves with the cleared passage of the entrance like a foreboding augury. The once beautiful courtyard that led to the entrance looked dead and deprived of the spirit it once held, and Harry couldn't help noticing the areas of dead plants as they passed.
Anyone who looked would be able to easily tell that the place used to be wondrous.
Draco rushed through the courtyard, not giving the place a single look or thought as the other three stared at the delicately carved stones with fascination. He headed straight for great doors, wasting no time in pushing them open and urging the others to get through the threshold and abandon the wonderment of the dead courtyard.
Once they were all inside, Draco pushed the doors closed once again, muttering a spell under his breath to hinder the progress of whoever was trying to get in after them. It wouldn't delay a person for long, but at least that would give them a few extra seconds should they need it.
Ron was staring up at the high vaulted ceilings in awe, eyes darting over the walls covering liberally with paint and pictures of the past. The entire place was covered with dust, so much that you could see the swept pollen clearly in the sunlight that streamed from the tops of the towers, coming in neat rows to fill the room with brilliance and sparkle.
Hermione sneezed.
"This place looks like a tomb." Harry said quietly, his voice low in reverence of the scene around him. Green eyes darted around. "Either that, or a gothic cathedral that's been abandoned." He shivered. "With ghosts and all."
"It doesn't matter." Draco spoke up. "We have to get going- we might not have much time."
With that, he grabbed onto Harry's hand and marched forward through the multiple layers of dust, leaving Ron and Hermione little choice but to run after them.
"Draco-! Not so fast!" Harry struggled to get his hand out of the vampire's grip, finally managing to yank it out after a few moments' struggle. He glared at the blonde in front of him, flexing his fingers to make sure that the blood circulation started up again, since Draco had held on very tightly. "What are you trying to do, yank my arm out of its socket?"
Then Harry got a look at Draco's face, and softened. The vampire looked extremely tense, face pale with his lips in a firm line. Draco looked like he would have rather been anywhere but there at the moment, and Harry immediately felt guilty for how harsh he was just a moment ago.
"Sorry." Draco muttered, swallowing thickly. "This place just holds too many memories, that's all."
The raven-haired Gryffindor resisted the urge to sigh. It really wasn't Draco's fault, but he was making the situation very tense with his tangible nervousness. He waited for just another moment for Ron and Hermione to catch up to them, and then asked, "Fine. Which way to the throne room, though?"
Draco nodded his head towards their left. "That way."
Harry nodded, and was about to go down the dark passageway before Hermione held out a hand to stop him. He gave her a questioning look.
"Just hold on a moment, Harry. I wanted to confirm something ever since we got inside here, but then you two had to go running off… you might not want to march into the situation like this unarmed."
The green-eyed boy took another look at the passageway, "What do you mean, Hermione? It certainly doesn't look too dangerous. And we're on ground level, so there's little chance of us falling into an underground passageway without knowing something like that could happen."
Hermione shook her head, and yanked Ron closer to her. "Not that. But this entire story of yours is a little clichéd, in my opinion. And coming here to see a fairy tale castle covered in dangerous vines and a battle raging outside? Tonks did warn us about a dragon."
"So we'll be careful. Don't be loud and don't attract this dragon's attention. She said that it was guarding the entrance- but we didn't see a dragon at the entrance, did we?"
Hermione gave Harry a pointed look, and then deliberately looked down the darkened passageway leading to the throne room.
Harry's followed her eyes. "Oh."
"Yes, oh."
"Granger's right." Draco stated, face grim. "I hadn't really given it much thought before… but this is a dragon conjured from elvish magic. That's a little different from the dragons that you're probably used to. Your magics won't work on it."
"What do you mean our magic won't work?" Ron asked warily.
"Elvish magic and wizard magic cancel itself out. That's probably why there are Aurors outside to fight the Dark Lord's forces- because the elves can't do it themselves. Most magical creatures with the exception of dark creatures use wild magic, whereas wizards use high magic. Those two magics just aren't compatible." (1)
Hermione seemed subdued, probably remembering that from several of Hogwarts' lectures. "I'd forgotten about that…"
"That means that we have no weapons and that we have to face off with this elvish dragon before we can get to the throne room." Harry summarized. "That's... not good."
"Wild magic has the weakness of being hard to control, though." Hermione recalled, crinkling her forehead. "Does that mean that the dragon wouldn't be able to control magic like normal dragons?"
"Pretty sure." Draco confirmed. "But that doesn't exactly help if we're trying to get past it… unless anyone bothered to bring an invisibility cloak with them?"
Harry made a face.
"Didn't think we'd be getting past a dragon." Ron grumbled. He had his arms crossed across his chest, and a thoughtful look on his face. "We can't use magic to fight this dragon, and we don't have any weapons either."
There was a great explosion sound that drew all of their attentions. Harry startled and whirled around, hand already going to his wand. Draco was ready to push Harry behind him, stopping only at the last moment. Hermione and Ron gave each other knowing looks, tensing as the sounds of shouting and cursing started echoing in the hall.
"Does this mean that the Aurors didn't hold them off…?" Harry ventured a guess.
"We've got to get to the throne before Voldemort does." Draco stressed, turning again. "I really don't think we can worry about the dragon right now." He eyed the corridor warily. "Now the biggest decision between a rock and a hard place…"
Death Eaters or a dragon…?
Harry resisted the urge to sigh. This really was getting repetitive. His entire life got down to these moments so much that it seemed like a fiction story. What if it was? He thought to himself. It would certainly be interesting.
But then, he was a Gryffindor. And he was supposed to get through the dragon in order to get to the throne room, anyway.
So… dragon it was.
"Come on." He said to Ron and Hermione. "It's not like it's the first time we've run headfirst into danger unarmed."
continued in chapter 11
1. I forgot where I read that. It's in a whole bunch of different fantasy books, I'm sure- that humans who can wield magic would use high magic, which is controlled... and magical creatures use wild magic, which is untamed and uncontrollable. Does anyone remember where this is from?
Authoress' Rambles: Arg. I'm sorry about how sucky this chapter was. Especially the ending. Can't think. Was supposed to end this story after they were done with the dragon, but I found that I can't write lately and I think I'll write that scene when I'm more in the loop. ^^;; As for the flashback of when Emerald formally met Draco? ^^;; Sorry- but I was longing for something really cute and fluffy. *laughs* They're much younger when they first met, remember? It doesn't matter what age they are, age and maturity don't always go hand-in-hand. *points at several friends for example* And it was before the war, and both of them had been pretty spoiled. ^^;; Hope I made at least one person chuckle at their antics, though!
This chapter seems kind of rushed. ^^;; That's because I'm not good with action scenes, or even scenes that lead up to actions. I should just stick to angst and fluff, huh? I used to be good with action scenes, but that talent has lost itself somewhere. LOL. Anyway~ I love all my reviewers!!! *kisses* All responses will be up by Monday on my LiveJournal- please comment!!