Distribution: Just Ask
Rating: PG 13 for now but will move up to R in later chapters.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything except the plot and the original characters, creatures, etc. The language Quenya and most anything elven related is the creation of J.R.R. Tolkein.
Authors Note: Wow, new authors note, don't think I've ever done this before. Anyway, for those who just want to get on with the story, just consider this random author musings and skip it. I want to thank all the kind readers who've reviewed this fic, you know who you are so I won't list everyone. Those who have reviewed are, in my mind, the best readers. So, if you've read the story up to this point and enjoyed it at least a little, do the poor author (me) a favor and leave me a little tidbit of response to it, please? I'm not like many authors who hold the next chapter hostage for reviews, but I truly do want to know people are reading and enjoying my work so please, review.
Chapter 14
The next few days served as proof positive that Drakkaras' warning to the Slytherin Prince had gotten through. Draco Malfoy seemed to be in top form, evoking fear in the lower years of all houses, annoyance among the upper year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and fury at his continued existence from Gryffindor house as a whole, with one exception that went unmarked by his housemates.
Through years of observation and practice, Draco knew how to get on the last nerve of anyone in the school important enough to merit his attention. Though he mainly concentrated his efforts on the Gryffindor Trio, certain significant members of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff felt the force of his superiority complex, as did the lower years of all houses.
His first class on the morning after he spoke with Harry was Transfiguration, which warranted a very careful assault on his new friend in light of having the Head of Gryffindor house as that classes professor. Though he really did not want to do it, he launched into a verbal assault against Harry, Ron, and Hermione outside the class that even made some of his own housemates internally wince and thank the gods they weren't on the receiving end of the blondes' razor tongue.
Draco noted that for his part, Harry played the scene out wonderfully, especially considering the brunettes' horrible acting skills. The bespectacled teen had appeared to fight against his temper, trying to hold on to the trios' new motto of 'ignore him and maybe he'll go away', and held his redheaded friend back from launching a physical assault the moment Draco called him Weasel.
Before the Slytherin could progress in his tirade enough to merit Harry releasing his hold on his temper, Professor McGonagall had appeared and put a halt to Dracos' assault. That didn't stop the Slytherin long however, and the fifth years left the class with Weasley sporting silver and green hair and Slytherin house minus fifteen points.
The nasty remarks continued at points through Herbology and CoMC, though the amount of abuse hurled at Ron and Hermione lessened until the final meeting between the four legendary enemies was directed at Harry alone, indicating to the raven-haired teen that his blonde rival wanted to meet with him that night. The Gryffindor consented with a few words hissed in Parseltongue as he shoved Draco out of his way so that the trio could enter the great hall for dinner.
None of this went unnoticed by those who were watching, either obviously or out of the corner of their eyes. In the staff room, both Minerva McGonagall and Floriana Sprout commiserated over Mr. Malfoys' vehemence in their classes, joined by Professor Grubbly-Plank when the woman came up to the castle for dinner. Only Severus Snape gave an outward sign of pleasure over this, though he caught an amused smirk from both DADA professors.
As arranged during their argument before dinner, Harry quietly excused himself from the Gryffindor common room at eight o'clock, saying he wanted to look something up in the library for his potions essay. Hermione gave him a dubious look, having noted his late return to the common room the previous night, but didn't object to his leaving.
The Gryffindor waited silently outside the Slytherin common room under his invisibility cloak until Draco appeared. Harry reached out and brushed his hand over the other boys' arm to let him know he was there and followed behind the blond as he lead the way to their meeting place.
Once safely inside the room, Dracos' masks went down and he gave Harry a sorrowful look, silently apologizing for his behavior during the day. The Slytherin had been growing increasingly nervous and fearful that the bespectacled teen would take his words and actions to heart and be angry when they met that evening. But The Gryffindor boy had merely shaken his head, called the blond a silly git, and given him a friendly hug to soothe his anxiety.
The hours that followed were spent cementing their new friendship in the planning of pranks to be pulled by the Slytherin, all of which could be countered by Harry. Draco helped the raven-haired boy to finish and polish up his potions essay for the next days' class, guaranteeing his friend a good grade to balance out the zero for the practical lesson he'd sabotaged.
The next day passed with the same routine of nasty comments, harmless but embarrassing hexes, and shows of temper. Their potions lesson for the day started on a surprising note as Snape paired his students off the same way they were in DADA, putting Harry and Draco together towards the back of the class. It made the class easier for both of the boys as the Slytherins would not expect their leader to botch his own potion just to get Harry Potter into trouble, and the potions professor would not fail his favorite Slytherin.
Harry and Draco did not meet in their secret room that evening, though they wanted to and each debating signaling the desire to their counterpart. The main reason they chose not to meet was Hermione. The bushy-haired girl was quick to become suspicious over her raven-haired friends' disappearance on two consecutive nights, coming back long after curfew had passed and the second time with a completed potions essay and the counter charm to Rons' green and silver hair.
Luckily, Hermione had questioned her friend about his nighttime wanderings in the corridor between classes, unaware that the person Harry was meeting was walking just a few steps behind them. Draco made sure to address his next tirade at the muggleborn girl, though he caught Harrys' eye to let the other boy know he was aware of why they couldn't meet that night.
Fridays' first lesson for the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins was DADA and for once the two groups were in accord, sharing the excitement of their next lesson with the two professors. Even the teens who normally turned in dodgy homework assignments had labored over the two-foot essay they had due. The group refrained from sniping at each other as they waited for their professors to arrive, remembering that at least one of the adults was likely to take copious points if they found their students arguing.
Drakkara and Remus were in good moods that day, having completed the hardest stage of the potion brewing the previous evening without any problems. The theory part of the lesson they had planned for the fifth years focused on questioning what common dueling spells the teens knew. "Revision is important during this year, as the OWLs test not only what you've learned this year, but how well you've retained the knowledge of your previous years." Professor Lupin had explained at the beginning of class, a speech the teens had heard from all of their teachers.
The second half of the class was devoted to practicing the spells they'd spoken about earlier. While Remus had been teaching the theory, Drakkara had been placing cushioning charms around the room to prepare for her part of the lesson. "Alright class, time to put words to action. You all seem fairly well versed in the theory and use of several common dueling spells, now I want to see how well you can cast them. You will each come to the front of the class with your partners and duel using the spells we discussed today. As you no doubt noticed I've placed charms around the room to prevent injury from your use of the disarming charm." Drakkara explained.
The raven-haired professor called up one pair at a time and had them demonstrate their proficiency with the disarming, stunning, and petrifying charms. While all the students were able to cast the spells correctly, several had problems putting any true power behind their casting or showed poor aim. When they finished off with Harry and Draco giving a perfect demonstration, she addressed her students.
"Who can tell me what the common problems I've seen in these duels are?" She asked the class.
Everyone looked confused, as if they didn't know what she was talking about. Blaise Zabini raised his hand after a few moments, when it seemed no one else was going to answer. The professor pointed him out and he said, "Well, a lot of spells went wild. Some people didn't aim correctly and their spells missed the target."
Drakkara nodded her agreement and awarded five points to Slytherin for the answer. She then asked for any other problems and was a bit displeased when no one raised a hand. Finally she turned to her colleague. "Remus, can you answer the question for me? It seems our students aren't as experienced as they should be in this matter."
"Of course Drakkara." The tawny-haired man turned and spoke the answer to the class, along with an explanation. "It's okay that none of you were able to give the answer Professor Vanimaer is looking for, considering your string of DADA professors, excluding myself. I would've been surprised if someone did answer. The three spells you practiced today are among the most common and useful of combat spells, but they are only useful if cast with enough power to thoroughly accomplish their tasks."
He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts and continued. "Most of you are not casting with any power. If you will recall, in at least two duels, the disarming charm was cast and though it struck the intended target, they remained in possession of their wand. That is due to lack of power behind the spell. A weakly cast spell is easily thrown off. Watch as Professor Vanimaer and I demonstrate."
Remus faced off with Drakkara across the room and cast a seemingly careless disarming charm. The violet-eyed woman allowed the spell to hit her, holding her wand hand out as it did so that the students could see her wand shudder for a moment but remain firmly in her hand. "Professor Lupin could have easily disarmed me, had he put any power into the spell, like so." She said before casting the same charm at the man, sending him flying into a cushioned wall while his wand arched through the air to land in her free hand.
The werewolf gracefully leapt to his feet again and shook his head to clear it after the impact with the cushioned wall. "Right, next class you get to be the one thrown into the wall Drakkara." He complained teasingly and caught the wand his mate tossed to him before addressing the students. "I'm sure you all noticed the vast difference in our castings of the disarming charm. The same is true of both the petrifying and stunning hexes. If either is cast without sufficient power, the object of the hex will be able to throw it off after a few moments."
Drakkara came to stand near her tawny-haired friend and took up where he left off. "Even casting those spells at full power is no guarantee of a capture. If the will of the hexes victim is stronger than the power behind the casting, the victim can still fight it off. I believe that your professor of last term, the man impersonating Alastor Moody, subjected you all to a practical demonstration of the Imperius curse and asked that you attempt to fight it off. Was anyone in this class successful?"
Several pairs of eyes turned to the back of the classroom, focusing on the single hand raised, belonging to Harry Potter. "Well done Mr. Potter. Can you explain for your classmates how you felt under the curse and how you were able to fight it off?"
Harry looked annoyed, but stood up anyway. Before he spoke the bespectacled teen sent a surge of annoyance at his godmother to let her know she was the object of his pique. "Um, well. Hey, you guys all got put under the Imperius, the same as me so you know what it feels like. Sorta like you're floating and don't have a care in the world. All I did to fight it off was say no to the voice trying to give me orders. I just kept saying no and eventually it went away." The boy retook his seat, face reddening in embarrassment.
"Very well explained Mr. Potter. Probably far easier to understand than the explanation Professor Vanimaer or I would give. As she said earlier, despite a spell of that nature being cast at full power, as in Mr. Potters' case, it can be fought off if you can train your mind to do it, order yourself not to give in to the magic. We have a few minutes left here, so we'll give another demonstration." Professor Lupin said before turning and casting a strong stunning hex at his colleague.
The students watched as their raven-haired professor fell to the floor in a heap, unconscious under the effects of the stunner. "Professor Vanimaer has the most thorough training in DADA that a person can receive. Watch closely and you'll see her come out from under the effects in just a moment, though the power I cast it with would keep an average wizard unconscious for about two hours."
As the amber-eyed professor had said, within moments Professor Vanimaer was awake, though she didn't move. Catching the eye of her students, she gave a sly wink before casting the petrifying hex at her mate, who had his back to her. The werewolf stiffened and fell straight back in the same position he'd been standing in, and the dark haired woman lifted herself off the floor gracefully. "Turn about is fair play Remus. You fight that off while I tell the class what their homework is." She said teasingly to the petrified man.
The students giggled. Well, at least the Gryffindor students giggled, the Slytherins managed to suppress their humor down to superior smirks. Every one of the fifth years enjoyed having Professors Vanimaer and Lupin teaching them. The pair were extremely informative, but they also had a knack for making their classes fun. It amused the teens to no end seeing the adults playfully dueling each other, demonstrating the point they were trying to make.
While the amber-eyed professor fought against his petrified state, Drakkara addressed the students. "Alright then, we'll leave Professor Lupin to free himself and continue shall we? As to homework, and don't groan at me I do realize the weekend is coming up. For next class I'd like two feet on how the power used in casting spells affects the results of the spells. I'd like to see three examples of spells that are more effective when more power is put behind them besides the ones we discussed today."
When the older woman had finished, and was about to dismiss the class, several hands raised around the room. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity Drakkara pointed to Hermione. "Professor, I was just wondering, and I think the others are too. Will you and Professor Lupin be teaching us how to fight off curses at some point this year?"
Remus managed to release himself from the full body bind just in time to provide the answer. "Good question Miss Granger. Yes, we'll be teaching you all how to fight off the effects of minor curses during the practical part of your next lesson. Until then, have a good weekend and don't forget your homework. Class dismissed."
The group of teenagers filed towards the door, shoving things in their satchels as they conversed with their friends. Remus and Drakkara had disappeared into their office for the few minutes they had before the next class and so didn't notice that one boy stayed behind to talk to them, and another boy waited outside the class to catch the other. Harry waited until everyone was out of the room before he went into the professors' office to talk to his godmother and her mate for a moment.
"Knock, knock. Mind if I come in for a sec?" He asked, poking his head through the open door.
A smile lit the adults faces and they beckoned the raven-haired boy in. "Hey Ama, Remy, Snuffles. I just wanted to make sure we're still on for a visit tomorrow evening. I've missed you guys over the week, even though I'm really enjoying your classes."
Remus ruffled the boys' already messy hair. "You bet Harry. Come on up here after dinner. The password to get by your mum is Forever. Are Ron, Hermione and the others coming with?" He asked, anticipating the visit.
Harry ran his fingers through his hair, trying to restore some sort of order to the chaos that was his hair. "Nah, I don't think so. The twins are up to something with Lee Jordan, Ron wants to spend the day with his new Cleansweep, and 'Mione is planning to spend the day researching her extra credit project. I guess it'll just be us this time." He replied, smiling at the thought of having some time with his family.
"You can bring anyone you like Harry-love, remember that. I'm looking forward to spending some time being Ama; Professor Vanimaer is getting old really quick, makes me feel like I have to act like Minerva. Let's have a hug, then you need to scoot along to your next class, I don't want you to be late. Professor Flitwick chewed us out the other day for you and Draco being so late to his class." Drakkara said with a smile, hoping her godson would choose to reveal his new friend to them the next night.
The bespectacled boy nodded his agreement and stepped forward to embrace his godmother tightly for a moment before saying goodbye and heading off to Charms. "Do you really think he'll bring Draco up to see us Kara?" Remus asked after the teen was out of sight.
Drakkara gave a lazy shrug, "No idea Remy-love, but I hope he does. We can't help them much unobtrusively, but once we 'learn' about their new friendship, we can give them some time together to develop it. I haven't worked out exactly how or where yet, but give me some time."
The halls emptied out fairly fast as Draco hung back waiting for Harry. The DADA classroom was the only one in this particular corridor so there was no mad rush of other classes. The fifth year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws would be coming from their classes on the other side of the castle and wouldn't be anywhere near yet. The raven-haired boy wasn't long in coming out of the classroom and walking off toward Charms.
Draco looked around once more to make sure they were along before he fell in beside the other boy. "Hey Harry, I'm glad you stayed back after class. Now I won't have to think of something really horrible to say to you after Charms so that you'll know I want to meet again tonight. That okay with you?" The blond asked.
"Sure Draco, I was gonna signal you myself on the way to lunch. Anything in particular you want to talk about or just hang out for a while?" Harry replied, switching from public persona to private as easily as the Slytherin had.
The blond teen smiled at his friend, "Just hang out, be myself for a while. I'll bring my potions book down and we can work on our essays, get them out of the way since we both have quidditch tryouts and practices after the weekend. If we have time maybe we can work on the transfiguration and whatever we get for charms too."
Harry shook his head sadly as he responded. "Draco, you're as big a nerd as Hermione. Alright, I'll bring the transfiguration and DADA books, you bring potions and charms. For once, I really would like to get my homework done before the weekend starts. Well, one of us had better run ahead so we don't get caught talking. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs will be coming down the hall soon. See you tonight at eight-thirty Dray."
The green-eyed boy ran off before Draco could do more than sputter and look indignant over the nickname. 'Yea gads I've been given a nickname! My name is all of five letters! Two little tiny syllables and he has to go and shorten it? I can't even do the same to him! Grr!' The blond stalked off towards his class, wondering how he could get his friend back for the nickname.
The rest of the day passed without much in the way of excitement. Draco continued to harass the Gryffindor trio, sending Hermione into an unusually vehement show of anger when he hexed her hair into a style that resembled the bride of Frankenstein. That stunt got his own hair cursed to Gryffindor red and nearly had his nose introduced to Rons' fist. Luckily, Harry had been able to hold his best friend back until the emerald-eyed boy could retaliate with the dye job.
When Harry and Draco met in their room later in the evening, the former blond demanded that his lovely locks be restored to normal as soon as the Gryffindor closed the door behind him. "Whoa Dray, hold your horses. You hair will be back to normal in an hour or so. And don't give me that look, even if we hadn't planned that part of the prank I would've done it. If I hadn't cursed you, Ron would've splattered your nose all over your face and 'Mione would've cursed you into next week."
"But Harry, you made me a redhead! Look at me, I'm not meant to have bright hair, I'm too pale! Couldn't you have done Gryffindor gold instead?" The Slytherin whined petulantly.
The raven-haired teen laughed and attempted to ruffle Dracos' brilliantly colored hair, drawing his hand back in disgust when he encountered the boys' hair gel. "It wouldn't have made much of a prank, turning you from a silver-blond to a golden-blond. Nope, had to be red. Eww Dray, is there an actual good reason you coat your hair in this crap? It feels gross."
Draco chuckled as he replied, "Well, it doesn't look like yours without the gel or anything, but it gets in my way and makes me look girly. Pansy actually called me pretty the last time she saw me without my hair slicked back."
Harry cocked his head to the side, thinking about that. Like him, Draco was short and slightly built. The blond had the same lean, wiry muscles gained from quidditch too. He didn't think the other boy could be considered pretty though. Girls were pretty, and his new friend was far from being a girl. That wasn't to say the Slytherin wasn't good-looking though, in fact he was almost too handsome. If it weren't for the nasty attitude he exuded girls would flock to him. "Nah, not pretty Dray, just way too handsome for your own good." The bespectacled teen commented.
Draco was mortified to feel his face heating over his friends' remark, not to mention the butterflies that had just some to life in his stomach. To distract them both before Harry noticed his sudden blush, the Slytherin turned his head away and picked up the transfiguration book his friend had dropped onto the couch beside him. "Let's get started on our homework. If you want to get most of it done tonight we should get to it."
"I'd like to get most of it done tonight, at least potions and transfiguration. That's something I wanted to ask you about before I forget. The reason I want to get my homework done is cause I'm gonna go up and spend tomorrow night with Kara, Remy, and Snuffles; I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?" Harry posed the question tentatively, not sure if his friend was ready to talk with the adults about his problem.
The other boy looked up, silvery-gray eyes showing a tinge of fear. "I…n…y…I don't know Harry, would it be safe?" He asked, torn between wanting to get the DADA professors' help and the need to keep his secrets only between himself and Harry.
The raven-haired teen was quick to notice the fear in his friends' eyes and sought to soothe him. Harry scooted close to the other boy and laid a hand on his back. "Shh Dray. It's okay if you don't want to see them outside of class yet. I just thought you might like to meet the real people, not the teachers. They're different when they're not being professors, I think you'd like them."
Draco leaned into the one armed hug, resting his face against the Gryffindors' shoulder and forcing the nervousness down. "It's not that I don't want to Harry. Part of me really wants to talk to Professor Vanimaer and see if she can help me get out of this mess. But I have a hard time trusting people, especially adults. Not to mention Professor Lupin is a werewolf and that just plain scares the crap out of me. So does Snuffles to a lesser extent; I just have a problem with dogs of any sort."
Harry squeezed the silver-eyed boy gently and replied, "Would it help any if I said I spent the last full moon watching movies with both of them? Moony, that's what we call Remus in wolf form, is harmless with the potion he's taking. And Snuffles really is just a great big baby. If you're not ready to talk to them about everything that's okay too, I can tell them not to push the subject."
"I guess, as long as I'm back in the dorms by curfew I could come up for a while. How else can I learn to trust them if I don't get to know them. What time are you going up there?" Draco asked, reluctantly raising his head from Harrys' shoulder, though he didn't pull out of the hug.
He was rewarded for his courage with another squeeze from his friend as the green-eyed boy responded, "I'll probably go up after lunch, we're gonna have dinner in the suite. Can you get away from your housemates and meet me in the DADA corridor?"
Draco nodded, "Yeah, they're buying the act so they won't be suspicious if I take off on my own for a few hours. I'll just say I'm going outside, none of them like wandering around when they can sit on their arses in the common room."
That settled, the boys got down to work. They managed to finish the essay for Professor McGonagall easily and switched to the assignment from Snape. Draco ended up having to explain the entire potion from their last class to Harry, muttering under his breath about the raven-haired boys' Longbottom-like ineptitude. Just before eleven o'clock they managed to finish the monster essay, cursing the potions master for assigning such complicated piece of homework for the weekend. They said their good-byes and left the room, both wondering what the next day would bring.
A/N Again: If you read the beginning AN just consider this an authors final plea and if you skipped it, please read this. I am desperate to see what people think of this fic. Love it? Like it? Absolutely can't stand it? I want to know, so please review. Thanks!