Chapter 32

Dragon's Predicament

On their way to Room of Requirement, the two boys walked in silence, thinking over what had transpired only moments ago and the meeting Malfoy had attended. Harry wasn't sure what he was thinking or what to do. He knew that by dueling, Draco Malfoy would be able to have an outlet, vent his feelings and think things over. True, he knew that his, questionable friend, is in a sticky situation right now but he didn't know what to make of it or what to do about that. Except for, of course, is to help lead him toward the Light side.

After all, for the past two, three months, he saw that Malfoy underwent a lot of changes about his own values and beliefs. Well, he wasn't sure about that anyway, for all he knew, Malfoy could still hold the same values and beliefs. Oh and especially about muggles and muggle-borns in general. Since Malfoy had practically ignored Hermione, or pretty much that he had.

The pair spoke nothing as they reached the corridor that contained Room of Requirement, after Harry did the required perquisite for getting into the room. Malfoy opened the brass knob that appeared and the two entered the room. The room was in a dungeon-style theme as the teenaged boys set into their stances and bowed to each other as a sign of respect and turned around and walked to the maximum distance and Harry threw the spell first before Malfoy could even utter the first syllable.

"Pastry Nogginius!"

"Protego!" screamed Malfoy, deflecting the pastry head hex in the nick of time. "Expilliarums!" This sent Harry flying back as the wand flew out from him three foot away from him. "Ac—"

"Accio wand!" yelled Harry, using the basic wandless magic to retrieve his wand, "Aquadis Buffitis!" a spurt of water stream shot out of his wand, knocking Malfoy off his feet. Draco rolled on the floor and pushed himself up with the aid of his wand, landing quietly as he shot another curse.

"Crucio!" Harry was ready for this spell as he shout the necessary blocking charm and both collided with a resounding crash noise. Then the two stared at each other, blinking.

"Something's off," said Harry, frowning, his wand still trained on Malfoy.

"Yea—wait, you're still standing!" exclaimed Malfoy. Harry stared at himself and blinked again and grinned.

"You're right, I am still standing," he agreed, "but why? What happened? I haven't dueled in a long time…"

"Maybe the 'break' we had might have helped you to make yourself stronger…" said Malfoy, thinking. "Don't you feel the least bit tired at all?" Harry shook his head in negative. "Mmm… well I still stand by my first theory then. The break did you some good after all."

"I suppose you're right Malfoy," said Harry, nodding. "Do you want to continue dueling?" Malfoy hesitated and nodded.

"C-can I try what you did against me?"

"You mean, casting the Unforgivables on you so you can practice the blocking charm?" asked Harry. Malfoy nodded, his wand arm fidgeting slightly, out of nervousness than anything. "I don't know, all right, we'll try just once, if you fail, we won't try this again until May or something like that."

"'Course," agreed Malfoy, nodding to himself about something. "Okay, I'm ready whenever you are," he said, getting in a defensive stance. Harry sighed and took a deep breath, remembering what you had to do to cast the Cruciatus Curse. He glanced at the door warily, wondering if someone would suddenly barge into the room and back at Malfoy. He aimed his wand at the door and uttered a few spell-locking doors and an Imperturbable Charm to prevent anyone from entering the room unannounced. "Paranoid, are we Potter?"

"Yes, I am," answered Harry and then aimed his wand at Malfoy.

"Crucio!" yelled Harry as Malfoy spoke the same time as Harry did.

"Fortifyia Aegis!" The blocking charm did little to block the Cruciatus Curse. For only a few seconds, it had paused at the blocking shield but broke clean through and hit Malfoy. Who let out a yell as he fell to the ground, twitching slightly only when Harry stopped the spell in time before he could hear Malfoy any real screams of agony.

"Well, it did pause a bit," said Harry as he had observed as Malfoy composed himself as he stood up. "Attempt one failed, do you want to try again?"

"Why are you asking this, Potter? You said only one go—" said Malfoy, frowning.

"I know, but clearly you had nearly stopped the Cruciatus Curse. I don't see why we can't try again, maybe if you can do this, perhaps we can improve the blocking charm into something new, newer version for everyone to use," said Harry, thinking about the different aspects of the spell. "As far as I know, you need a lot of power to block the Cruciatus curse and possibly the Imperius curse… hmm, Malfoy, can you just try casting that as well?" Malfoy nodded in answer as they settled into their familiar stances again.

"Imperio!"

"Fortifyia Aegis!" yelled Harry, though this time, the spell broke through the shield and hit Harry straight on. He immediately felt calm and somewhat dazed as he heard a small voice.

Come to me Potter, come to where I am standing… He felt compelled to answer the summons but another voice in his head argued. Why? Why should I come over there?

Come now Potter, come to me.

No, I don't see the reason why.

NOW Potter! Walk over here damnit!

I don't really feel like it, though...

Damnit, Potter, come over here!

No.... no....

"NO!" yelled Harry, breaking out of the Imperius curse, surprising Malfoy to no end. Harry panted slightly from the effort he had to break out of the curse, glaring at the floor and at no one in particular.

"Y-you broke—" stammered Malfoy.

"I'm surprised you, about my unusual talent in throwing Imperius curse off," said Harry, arching an eyebrow. Malfoy slapped his own forehead stupidly.

"Of course, I had forgotten you can block Imperius curse," said Malfoy, "but you'll have to admit that this is the first time I have seen you break out of one."

"True," agreed Harry, nodding. "Anyway, it seems that the blocking charm doesn't work against the Imperius curse…." Muttered Harry, frowning.

"Maybe it has to do with the spell itself, made for pain only?" asked Malfoy, throwing theories out. Harry blinked several times, trying to match the spells that had been used to block. Then he shook his head.

"No, it can't be, you used the blocking charm against Silencio in our first time training so it can't be that," disagreed Harry.

"Oh right," muttered Malfoy. The two fell into silence and two chairs popped out of thin air as both sat down, thinking about the underlying 'rules' of the spell. "Well, one thing for sure, is that it's something to think about."

"Yeah," murmured Harry, as he tried to think about the applications of charms and spell casting from Professor Flitwick. He thought of the spells they had all ready learned such as Protego, vigilance charm, freezing charm, anything that helps to stop a spell. He would have to research more into it. Though, he knew he had to worry about Voldemort and Tengu. As such, Tengu haven't been exactly active as of late but throughout his researching with Hermione and McGonagall, they had realized that Tengu usually attacked every three or four months with several murders made in the duration of two months or so. So, basing on that assumption, they had to worry until sometime in March or April for the next move. Still, it made Harry uneasy, not knowing what Tengu was up to. The pattern of his attacks was the only pattern to follow. Other than that, they were pretty much lost in the dark.

"Well, if this is true that it takes another kind of spell to block the Imperius and possibly the Killing curse, then we will have to research…"

"Yeah," agreed Harry, still mulling over his thoughts. "That was what I was thinking, do you think you can cooperate with Hermione for once and … research?" Malfoy looked at him disdainfully and huffed.

"I don't need help in researching, Potter," he drawled. "Do you really want my house catch me with you Gryffindorks in the library? Especially when—when I have the decision to make," said Malfoy quietly, remembering the meeting. "I don't bloody know what the hell I am going to do."

"Talk to Snape then," said Harry, twirling his wand listlessly. "I'm sure he can give you some aspects of… well… all right Malfoy, what do you want?" he asked, sitting up in his seat straighter. Malfoy looked up at him, brows etched together.

"In all honesty? I—I think I have to be a spy f—y—against You-Know-Who," muttered Malfoy, his eyes drifting to the floor. "I would be fried alive if I flatly refused the offer, I don't really think I can just stay here at Hogwarts. Plus Slytherins will have my hide," alleged Malfoy. The two heard the knocking on the door, rather impatient at that. Harry looked at Malfoy away from the door and nodded. He took the wand out of his pocket and spelled the door open, Snape entered the room as his cloak billowed wildly behind him. Then he stopped when he saw the two sitting in the chair and not training.

He narrowed his suspicions at the pair and walked up to them and stopped beside Malfoy. "What are you two up here so late at night?" he hissed.

"Talking, sir," replied Malfoy. He looked at Harry hesitantly and back at Snape. "Just talking is all."

"About what?" he asked coolly, looking at Harry in the eyes.

"Do you really want me to say, sir?" asked Harry, trying to get him to shut up if Malfoy wanted to ask about the 'dark' side later. The glare he earned from Professor made Harry relent.

"We were just talking about the spells, Professor," spoke Malfoy as Harry nearly spoke something about the meeting. Harry blinked and mentally kicked himself.

'Of course, I forgot about the spells! Can I be any more daft?'

"Spells," drawled Snape, staring at the boys, disbelieving them.

"Yes sir, we were just wondering if the Blocking charm would defend against the—uh—Imperious Curse," finished Malfoy. Snape arched an eyebrow at the pair, waiting for further explanation. When they didn't speak, Snape handed his hand out to take their wands.

"What?" asked Harry, eyeing Snape cautiously.

"Give me your wand, I have to see if you two have been training or not," said Snape, boring eyes into Malfoy's who gulped nervously as both turned over their wand to Snape. After doing a quick Priori Incatatem spell, which showed the Imperious curse and the Blocking charm.

"So, you have been training," said Snape, returning the wands to their rightful owners. "Before I deem to punish you, did the blocking charm work against the Imperious?"

Harry shook his head in answer, "No, it didn't work, it went clean through, Professor."

"I see.... I assume you broke the spell, naturally?"

"Well, yeah," replied Harry as Draco nodded, apprehensive as to what their punishment might be.

"As I recall," he continued to drawl, "Professor McGonagall has promised detention for the remainder of this year," the sixth year boy's eyes positively widened in horror, just realizing what's to come. "Now, I assure you, she tend to over exaggerate the future punishments, I, however do not."

"Professor—" began Draco, trying to get out of the harsh punishment.

"Shut up and listen to me, do not interrupt me or it will be points. Now, I won't assign detention for the remainder of the year. Rather, I will be having you until May, where you can study for your exams peacefully."

"May?" gasped Harry, horrified at the loss of time. He would have to drop one of the things he was doing, Quidditch, D.A., researching, and becoming an animagi!

"You should have thought about the consequences before coming here tonight, Mr. Potter," he drawled.

"Yes but—" Harry began, looking at Draco. "We came here to vent…"

"Vent, vent your anger?" asked Snape. Harry sighed, finding this argument was a losing battle. "Draco, please head on back to the dormitory as I have something to discuss with Mr. Potter," he drawled, sending Malfoy off. After Malfoy left, Harry was still looking at the ground, wondering which ones to give up in exchange for the cruel detention he was about to serve for practically the rest of the year.

"Listen Potter, I do not need you to be with Mr. Malfoy tonight, he has—" he started.

"—been at the meeting tonight," said Harry finished for him, quietly. Snape stared hard at him and growled softly.

"So, you know of Mr. Malfoy's predicament then?"

"Of course, I do, Professor, otherwise we'd never been here," answered Harry.

"So, that's what you mean by venting," he concluded and Harry nodded. "You've misdirected me," he commented, thinking. Harry wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not but remained quiet. Then Snape sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his left fingers. "What did you talk to him about?"

"Um… well, that he should talk to you… he thinks he want to be a spy," replied Harry uncomfortably. "But he doesn't know that you're a spy," said Harry quickly, seeing the incredulous stare on Snape's face. "He's not sure, but I'm trying to sway him, sir."

"I see, I suppose it is effective," he said, relaxing slightly when Harry said that Malfoy doesn't know he's a spy. Yet. "Continue working on it, and from what your memory in our… Occlumency last year, what Sorting Hat said, work with your Slytherin qualities in swaying the tricky individual. I will see to Mr. Malfoy tomorrow before we have the meeting. So, he suspects that I'm for the Dark?"

"Yes sir, he does," replied Harry quietly. Snape nodded, appearing to think of what to say to Malfoy to sway him to the Light, show that the Dark side in the most horrible way, in descriptive words.

"Very well, good night Mr. Potter, go back to sleep, and occlude your mind!" snapped Snape, not very happy as to Harry's dreaming of visions.

"Sorry sir," replied Harry, meekly. "I was… distracted and fell asleep in the common room."

"Idiot child, you should be occluding your mind at all times! Now, leave or I will take points!" With that, Harry ran back to the common room and into the dormitory, finding no one else awake. He promtly went back to sleep after shedding his cloak.

I really apologize for the long update! Anyway, I'm in the process of revising of the 'The Mirror's All He's Needed' and this story, to be suitable for the SkyeHawke Archive. So, while I am doing that, I will be rereading the chapters and reacquainting myself with the story. Since I do not know how to go from this point A to Point B, which I know how to end the story. Well, I do have an idea getting to point B, it's just a matter of getting them down on the computer screen. Thanks to Deepps for being so patient and a loyal reviewer along with Zenn. Anyway, it might be a month for the next update. All I'm saying is that, this story is temporarily on hiatus as I am finishing 'To Have Silence'.

Again, thank you for your patience and I would love to have reviews!