Disclaimer: Hmm... So... Don't own nothing. Except for crappy semi-plot thing.
You guys have all been making my day! Thanks tons for the reviews. It's so cool. Anyway, I have mapped out a sort of plot thing where this is going. So I say I've made some progress. lol
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Chapter Four - A Grim Discovery
Harry woke up slowly, the light hurting his eyes as he opened them.
"Unh?" he groaned, head pounding. He sat up gingerly, looking around. He was lying on a large green and silver canopy bed, the room surrounding him was also decorated in similar colors. "Oh shit, what happened?"
"You fainted, Potter," Malfoy said, entering the room and startling the Gryffindor. "You've been out for at least an hour."
"What? Why?" Harry muttered, rubbing his face. The pain in his head was gradually subsiding, but the burning feeling on his arm was still there. "I didn't do anything..." he slowly trailed off, looking over at Malfoy, who didn't seem to notice as he was still talking.
"I have no clue. Something happened to your head. But I felt it too, that was really bad. So I was going to drag you to the Hospital Wing," he continued, " but you were too heavy to carry. My room was closer. Plus, when I got you through the Entrance Hall, you started convulsing or something. You — " He stopped, noticing Harry's stare. "What?"
"Let me see your left arm," Harry demanded, eyes narrowed.
"Why?" Malfoy tried to act nonchalant, but Harry could see the fear starting to form in his eyes.
"I'm just curious. When I blacked out, my arm hurt. Actually, it still hurts. So, because of that bonding potion, we're supposed to feel the same pain, right?"
"I — I didn't feel anything there," Malfoy denied the claims.
"Come on, then a peek won't hurt," Harry assured him, getting off of the bed. Malfoy paled, if even possible, and tried to move back inconspicuously. "Why are you moving away?"
"I'm not," Malfoy said, now visibly panicked. Harry backed him into the wall, grabbing his wrist. Holding him down with his other arm, Harry twisted Malfoy's arm around and slid his sleeve up. There on his pallid forearm was a fading black Dark Mark.
"I knew it," Harry hissed, eyes moving from Malfoy's arm to his face. "You're a Death Eater."
"Look, you've got this all wrong! Let me explain," Malfoy said desperately, trying to wrestle away.
"Why should I?" Harry questioned sharply, not letting go. "You don't deserve it."
"I never wanted to be a Death Eater!" Malfoy explained. "It was all my parents' idea! I've had my name down since I was born. I swear..." His light gray eyes seemed to plead to him to listen. Harry's gaze softened.
"We'll see..." he muttered, releasing Malfoy. "I — My god, what is wrong with my arm?" He frowned, rolling up his sleeve.
"What's wrong?" Malfoy asked, seeing the dazed look on Harry's face. "Oh my..." They both stared in disbelief at the newly formed Dark Mark on Harry's forearm.
"Oh no. No way. There is NO WAY I am going to go around with this thing on my arm," Harry spat in contempt.
"How do you think I feel?" Malfoy said softly.
"We are going to see Dumbledore," Harry declared, pulling his sleeve down.
"No!" Malfoy stopped him, putting an arm on his shoulder. "Even he doesn't know about mine!"
"You're kidding me," Harry said. "So there could be a ton of Jr. Death Eaters that he doesn't know about?"
Malfoy was silent.
"This thing could be dangerous! To me and the school. But mostly me! I need to get it off!" Harry demanded.
"I don't think it's possible you can...but I know one person we could talk to..." Malfoy started. "But you might not like it."
"There is no way I am going to ask Snape for help," Harry protested as Malfoy stopped in front of the Potion teacher's office.
"Come on, give it a rest," Malfoy rolled his eyes. "You want help with that thing, right? We don't even know how it got there."
"I have a pretty good idea..." Harry muttered, glaring at Malfoy as he knocked on the door.
"It's open," Severus Snape called in response. Malfoy dragged Harry inside. Snape was sitting at his desk, mulling over a large textbook. He looked up, mildly surprised at seeing the Gryffindor and the Slytherin together voluntarily. "Yes?"
"We're having some problems," Malfoy started. He glanced around. "Your office is safe, right?"
Snape raised an eyebrow. "How big are these, problems, Mr. Malfoy?"
"This big," Harry growled, pushing up his sleeve and presenting the older man his forearm, where the Dark Mark was still faintly visible.
"Good god, Potter," he rasped, going noticeably paler. "When did you --- ?"
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Harry snapped, letting his sleeve fall back in place. "We don't know exactly how it happened."
"Then tell me everything you do know," Snape said. "From the beginning."
An hour later, the three of them were still sitting in Snape's office, Harry and Malfoy finally having finished their story. Snape thought for a moment, then asked,
"Potter, when you blacked out, do you remember anything at all? Any voices in your head, or images? Or even something that you did yourself?"
Harry shook his head. "Nope. One second I was out on the grounds, the next I was inside finding out that I had this thing on my arm!"
"Well...The best thing I can think of at the moment is that the Dark Lord summoned you, Draco, with your Dark Mark, and since you were bonded..." He paused. "But the mark did not burn on my arm... So somehow he had to be contacting only you."
"You don't think he knows about the bonding thing, do you?" Malfoy asked.
"No, probably not," Harry shook his head. "Unless you've told him. Maybe it had something to do with your father."
"My father?" Malfoy looked over at him.
"He's dead, remember? And I had that premonition..." he trailed off, recalling something. "Oh shit. I forgot to tell you in detail. I think Voldemort killed your father."
"What?" the two Slytherins gaped at once.
"He was talking about Malfoy failing at something, and then he killed him..." Harry told them.
Snape slammed a hand down on the desk. "That's it!" He quickly strode over to his corner bookshelf, scanning the titles. "No...perhaps...but it's not accessible..." As if remembering the two boys were still here, he turned to them and said, "You may go now. I have some work to do. If you find out anything new, tell me at once."
Harry and Malfoy glanced over at each other, shrugging. As they exited the room, they heard Snape call out, "And don't tell Dumbledore."
"This is so not going to be a good year..." Harry moaned, leaning against the wall a few corridors down from the Potion's room. "What a wonderful way to graduate Hogwarts..."
"Hey, it's only the beginning," Malfoy tried to console him, sitting lightly on a windowsill. "We might be able to solve it soon."
"Doesn't look like it. This is probably just going to get more complicated." He groaned and put his face in his hands. "I wish we had never done this potion..."
"It's not that bad..." Malfoy whispered. "I sort of like it."
Harry lifted his face up, staring at the pale blonde. "What did you say?"
Malfoy flushed slightly, as if unaware he had said that out loud. "I mean, why did we start this rivalry in the first place?"
Harry opened his mouth as if to answer, found he couldn't, then promptly shut it again. "I...don't know..." he admitted.
"Exactly. Why should we still be fighting if we're going to be stuck together for who knows how long?"
"You do have a good point..." Harry muttered. "But what would our friends say if we stopped attacking each other at every moment?"
"Who cares? Do you?"
"Actually, I do care if my friends like me or not, thank you very much," Harry responded, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Hmmmmm..."
"Hey Malfoy. When Voldemort summoned you, did you go?" Harry asked.
Malfoy shook his head, lips tight in a frown.
"Then you know he's going to be angry at you when you see him again."
Malfoy didn't answer, and Harry decided to drop the subject.
"Shouldn't we be going back to our houses? It's getting kind of late."
"I suppose..."
They headed down the hallway together in silence. When they came to the passage where they were to split off in separate directions, Malfoy paused and said,
"Do you want to start over?"
"Huh?" Harry looked baffled.
"You know, with our introductions. Maybe this acquaintance could come with some sort of benefit," Malfoy suggested.
Harry contemplated about this for a moment, then finally gave in and stuck his hand out to shake. "Alright. We'll see how this goes."
"We'll see..." Malfoy smirked, taking Harry's hand in his own.
But instead of shaking the Gryffindor's hand, he brought it up to his lips and kissed it lightly. "Goodnight, Harry."
And he disappeared down the hallway before Harry could even register what he had done.
TBC...mwahaha. getting into the slashiness now. oh joy. Welp, review then, so I can see your comments.