Hi I'm at home with the fluey so I thought -hey let's do my backlog of homework! .... then I sobered up and wrote this instead. Ok I will start in a min, just need to go be sick... ok I'm back and I've been gone so long (leaving internet on -ooopps) that it's time for 'neighbours' so adios!!! ok I'm back and I've been in paiiiin all day!!!! ok on with tale...
LAST LINE OF PART 9 "Because you're the ONLY ONE left!!!"
I've realised that I didn't do Hortense's accent last time -it might have been a bit hard to do with such long dialogue. But I'll make an effort from now on :)
PART 10 OF 'FLYING THE NEST'
The window steamed up and cleared itself over and over again, so that you couldn't have seen out of it even if you had wanted to, which would have been difficult anyway because the outside was covered in ivy and grime. The glass was cool and slightly clammy with condensation that soaked through the stray strands of hair across Malfoy's forehead. He exhaled, misting the window again. He felt ashamed but he didn't know it. The feeling was one he couldn't recognise, so he had interpreted it as a small dose of resentment, mixed with a headache -hence why he was cooling his forehead on the windowpane.
He had felt so angry and envious when he had seen... what he had seen. It didn't need a caption. He didn't want to remember it. His head pounded again and he shifted his head to a cooler part of the window. It was pounding because he desperately needed to cry, scream, vent his frustration, hex someone, or kill that bloody werewolf. A small nagging voice that sounded like Potter piped up inside his head: 'but he said he Loved her...' Malfoy growled at the voice and it quietened. Hortense was... he didn't know what to make of her. Hell, they'd only met, what-? Four months ago? Five? He didn't need to share her. And it was...kind of ok, having someone to rely on for a bit. She'd never mentioned Lu- the werewolf.
Harry was sitting in the deserted kitchen drinking tea. He wondered if Hortense had gone to see Malfoy after Lupin had disapparated. He felt very guilty for snooping. And almost sorry for Malfoy. Almost. You can't really get too much compassion for someone you've hated for 6 years, but Harry knew what it was like to be an orphan -or as good as orphaned. He was also curious. He didn't know why or how Narcissa Malfoy had died, and he certainly wasn't going to ask Malfoy or Hortense about it. He himself had helped send Lucius to Azkaban at the end of his fifth year, and was even gladder for that after seeing Malfoy's arm.
Harry washed up his cup and put it back in the rack. Draping the invisibility cloak around himself he crept up the stairs into the hall and nearly bumped into a stack of cauldrons that Mundungus had left there. They wobbled. Harry froze. They steadied. Harry breathed again.
In his room Harry could not sleep. It was nearly half 7 in the morning, soon everyone would be up -if they weren't awake already. He heard the lid of Malfoy's trunk being kicked open. So he couldn't sleep either. 'Good', he thought spitefully, before feeling guilty again. Now he was trapped in his bedroom. The creepiest room he'd ever had to sleep in. He glanced at the wardrobe, and then at the chest of drawers with the serpent handles. He hadn't tried to open either yet. He scooted across his bed and sat on the end, examining the handles of the chest. If he squinted in the dull light, they looked rather life-like.
"Open," said Harry.
"Doesssn't cossst anything to have a little pleassse and thank you," said one of the snakes, sleepily.
"Er, right, sorry," said Harry.
"'Sss ok Missssster Potter. Nothing in my drawer anywaysss," said the little silver snake, uncoiling delicately and yawning. "Limussss wake up," it said to the handle of the next drawer. Limus didn't stir. "Sssorry he'sss asssleep," said the snake (Note -Limus =latin for slime-I know it's terrible but I was outta ideas). "My name isss Anguisss." (Note- Anguis is a Latin word for the snake star appearing in the constellation known as either 'the serpent' or 'Draco' -u can see why i thought that would be a nice touch!)
"Pleased to meet you," said Harry cautiously, relaxing a little because the little snake appeared to be quite harmless.
"Ssso nice to have sssomeone else in thisss room after ssso many yearsss," said Anguis. "Another parsssseltoungue. Massster Regulusss used this room for a while but that wasss many yearsss ago -have you ssseen him about? He hasssn't used thisss room for at leassst thirty yearsss."
"Sirius' brother Regulus? I didn't know he was a parselmouth!" said Harry, feeling horrified that he was occupying the former death-eater's room, "no, no he's not here, he joined Voldemort -sorry, You-Know-Who..."
"Ssssilly boy," commented the snake, flicking the end of it's tail angrily.
"He's dead now," said Harry."
"Sssilly boy," Anguis repeated. "I thought it wasss ssstrange when sssomeone else ssstarted usssing thisss room."
"Who else has been in here?" said Harry eagerly.
The snake contemplated for a minute. "Let me sssee... Remusss Lupin. Nice boy... alwaysss folded his clothesss... pity i think he alwaysss thought I wasss telling him to go away... who elssse? I don't know, time hasss little meaning for a sssnake. But you remind me of sssomeone... no, lossst it.... well, some boysss with red hair. Twinsss I think. kept trying to open the wardrobe -sssilly thing to do; nearly lossst their handssss... but I know there wasss sssomeone elssse... much further back. At leassst twenty yearsss ago...no perhapsss less. But he only came once. Misstresss didn't like him at all. It wassss jussst before Massster Ssssiriusss left.... Jamesss Potter?"
Harry leapt up and squatted right next to the handle. "That's my dad!" he exclaimed, "well, was my dad anyway."
"Didn't fold any of hisss clothesss!!" said the snake crossly. Harry chuckled. Anguis frowned and was about to tell Harry off when the other snake woke with a jolt and said:
"Wassss all the noissse? I wasss sssleeping."
"Thisss is Harry Potter, Limusss. He wantsss to look in the drawersss."
"Then look and be quiet," snapped Limus, and his drawer slid smoothly open. Anguis curled up again. Harry pawed through the drawer. On the top was a red jumper that smelt of age and mothballs. Harry didn't want to touch it at first, but there was something compelling about that jumper.
Three hours later, ignoring Mrs Weasley's knock asking him to come down for breakfast, Harry was sitting on the end of his bed, staring at the garment clutched in his hands. A red sweater. V-necked. About his size. The front sported the Hogwarts crest on the left hand side in frayed embroidery. The back was. The back... James Potter Chaser Gryffindor. Another involuntary tear fell off his nose, staining the ancient fabric. This was something far more personal than the invisibility cloak. The other contents of the drawer lay scattered at his feet. They were irrelevant things -old essays for charms, a valentine to Lupin from someone called 'Ethel Hallow', a list of chess tournament scores. Someone must have put the jumper in the drawer years and years ago and forgotten about it. It would never have found his father again because he never came back.
Harry slipped the jumper over his head. It did fit. If it had only said 'seeker' on the back and wasn't so obviously old-fashioned, he could have passed it off as his own. He guessed it did belong to him now. There was another knock. Harry wrenched it open, expecting Mrs Weasley.
Lupin nearly had a heart attack. "James." he breathed, clutching the doorframe, before recovering. "Harry. Harry? Where did you -how did-" his gaze fell on the open drawer.
"Don't worry Professor, it's just me."
"I- I know. I know that," said Lupin, calming down. "But Harry -I thought I had seen a ghost."
"Sorry. I understand. Do you want me to take it off? It's pretty old anyway."
"About twenty five years old," said Lupin, "no, it's yours anyway. We never thought it might be here, I remember, James was certain Severus had taken it after a particularly brutal match against Slytherin." He stared at Harry again for a while. "You look...so much like him. I was going to ask if you wanted any breakfast. Molly's going spare down there because Draco didn't turn up either."
"I think I know where he is, tell Mrs Weasley we'll be down in a moment -I'll get him," said Harry, clearing the rest of the mess, excepting the jumper, into the drawer with a wave of his wand and exiting the room.
Malfoy was sitting on the window sill again, flicking his lighter on and off. "Malfoy."
"It's Draco." said Malfoy, turning. "I'm not a fucking Malfoy anymore. So please, relieve me of that one 'privilege'."
"...Draco, Mrs Weasley will have a fit if we don't eat something soon."
"You look like your dad in that jumper," said Draco. Harry looked at him. "I've seen some school photos. That's his, isn't it." Harry nodded once. "Yeah, you look like him a lot."
"You used to look like yours. But you don't anymore."
"Oh yeah? Who do I look like then? Dumbledore?"
"No, now you just look like Draco. Come on, she'll send us a howler if we don't get down there soon."
What a lot of dialogue!
AM I DRONING ON A BIT WITH THIS FIC? IT'S GUNNA COME TOGETHER SOON -10 PARTS IT'S ALREADY A BIT LONG! BUT I LIKE FINDING OUT THEIR PRIVATE CHARACTERS!
Dear reviewer Crystal: your wish is my command, here's part 10 so please review again and tell me what you thought!
Important: does anyone know who writer 'DiamondsOnTheInside' is? Or if you are that writer can you please contact me?? I was reading your fic with Hermione and Malfoy as head boy and girl but then it said 'this member is no longer active'. I would really like to finish reading that! I must have the rest of it somehow! I check every week to see if their fics are back up but they never are! I'll cry if I can't find out what happens! It was the best Herm/Draco fic I ever read but I never got to the end! So can someone PLEASE fill me in!
PLEASE R n R this fic! When it's done I might do another more Lupin based one –or attempt some LOTR. Love to you all, skinnyrita xxxxx