Life Long Love: Chapter Six
Disclaimer: not mine, other warnings same as other chapters.
Author's note: Hold on peoples, the honeymoon's over so the mood is going to be gradually shifting.
Draco fidgeted, eyeing Harry's tie for the sixth time in less than ten minutes as they sat in a separate, smaller compartment of his parent's horseless carriage which looked much like a muggle limousine but was much more luxurious than any muggle invention. Harry's tie was coiled loosely around Harry's throat as he rested his head on Draco's lap, the angle of the red and gold tie tauntingly contrasting with the starched white collar, the soft wisps of unmanageable ebony hair, and the golden tan smattered with the blush of kisses marked by Draco on Harry's skin. Sleeping lightly, Harry swallowed, the motion causing Draco's breath to catch. Harry was unintentionally stirring Draco, the added feeling of Harry's subconscious curling out around their bond making Draco tingle and squirm slightly. Draco was very conscious of the fact that the walls of the carriage were purposely built so that sound would carry into the next compartment in which his parents were driving the carriage. Lucius had curiously never taken to having someone drive him around and preferred instead to drive himself—which was always a source of amusement to Draco's mother.
Slitting one eye open, Harry's mouth twitched at the fascinated look on Draco's face as Harry swallowed a second time. The slightly open mouth, the pink tongue peeking out to wet the lips as eyes darkened and narrowed as they focused on the movement. He was very aware of what his mate was thinking, which would not be considered suitable viewing for anyone under the legal age. Catching Draco's eyes and distracting him, Harry lifted a hand to brush a strand of platinum blond behind a small ear.
"I wish I knew what the situation was at Hogwarts right now…" Draco whispered, his own hands tangling slightly in Harry's Hair.
"Father said that there are rumors flying around like you would normally expect and that the cover stories are holding for the general populace. The only people we have to worry about fooling are my friends and Blaise." Harry tried to comfort his mate unobtrusively, leaning into the hands running through his hair.
"I'm not so worried about what Blaise would think about us together as I am about your friends. They're not used to being told to stick their noses elsewhere. I'm still not sure I'm going to tell Blaise. I know he won't tell a soul if I ask it of him but I don't know your friends well enough to know if they would do the same for you. Ronald and I do not have the best record…nor is my relationship with Hermione the greatest." Draco was now actively wiggling in his seat, his nervous energy seeking the nearest outlet.
Becoming uncomfortable from all the movement, Harry sat up and pulled Draco to sit in his lap and curled around the agitated blonde. "First, it's Ron and 'Mione. You don't need to call them that in public because of our little secret but I would appreciate it when it's just us. I'm hoping that someday this won't be a secret and they will get along with you. The first step is getting familiar with them as people not just as my sidekicks."
Smirking his signature Malfoy smirk, Draco agreed with his mate. "I guess that would be a good idea. Just don't expect me to be overly friendly with all of the Gryffindors. I doubt that I could ever fully convince all of them that I wasn't a baby-eating, blood-drinking, Death-Eater-in-Training maniac."
"You don't have to get along with all of them. Even I don't get along with everyone in my house. I broke Colin Creevy's camera last year when he wouldn't leave me alone… he's never forgiven me for it and I don't know if he ever will." Harry found himself grinning at the memory of Colin's enraged face as he showed it through their link to Draco. The way Colin's pasty face had scrunched itself up with the eyebrows receding into his overly green-tinted blond hair had been very satisfying at that moment in time—Colin had been taking pictures of Harry in the shower to sell. Evidently Harry had become quite the pinup sometime during sixth year and Colin had been quick to capitalize on selling duplicates of his pictures. The time in the shower had been the first time Harry had caught Colin trying to take pictures of him in the nude, pictures Harry did not want to be seen anywhere by anyone except maybe Draco now that they were mated.
Draco's smirk widened into a toothy grin as he picked through the memory Harry shared with him, slightly preoccupied with Harry's state of dress in the memory as he appeared in one of the bathroom mirrors. "So you're the one who foiled the first of my diabolical plans to get a picture of you au natural. I offered to pay him very well if he could obtain that picture." At this Draco's eyes sparkled mischievously. "You weren't completely successful you know. I do have a few pictures from Creevy of you bare assed. I was lucky Creevy was peeved enough at you to not ask why I wanted the pictures."
"He has pictures of me naked?" Harry's voice squeaked.
"Yes, but don't worry. I made sure that the only other person who has copies is me. I was very persuasive." The maniacal gleeful pride that Draco was giving off left Harry feeling imbalanced. "The pictures are quite good. I'll let you have a look when we get to school."
"You kept them at school?" Harry was really wishing his voice wasn't squeaking so much.
Purring lightly, Draco nuzzled into Harry's neck while biting the red and gold tie. "Where else would I keep them? I was an unmated veela who was extremely aware that his intended mate wanted nothing to do with him. The only bit of consolation I had of you was a few pictures. In one of them you're asleep on a bed with the sheets tangled in your legs. Don't worry, you're laying on your stomach so Colin didn't see the more interesting bits because the sheet fell just right."
Groaning and covering his eyes with one hand, Harry was mortified. "I can't believe he actually has more pictures of me."
At that moment the unassuming limousine pulled to a stop. Looking out the small window, Draco saw the gates of Hogwarts opening before the car pulled through into the main courtyard. "We're here."
Giving Draco a light squeeze, Harry grabbed the heavy black cloak and began wrapping Draco in it. Draco then batted his hands away and pushed a second identical cloak into Harry's hands. Quickly they both hid their faces in the thick cowls and muffler, pulling the hood as far forward to let it hide their eyes.
Hand upon the door, Harry turned around to place a quick passionate kiss on Draco's mouth. "Whatever comes love, I'll be right beside you."
"You and your Gryffindor tendencies…" Draco huffed in mock sarcasm before kissing Harry chastely. "Be careful love; don't forget you've mated a dragon."
"Yes, my dragon." Harry's eyes sparkled as they connected with Draco's. Reluctantly Harry turned back around and opened the door, following a waiting Narcissa and Lucius who were also heavily cloaked.
Severus and Blaise watched as four heavily cloaked figures walked towards the main entrance from a hidden balcony very early in the morning, just moments before dawn on Sunday. "We should go to Dumbledore's office," Blaise said quietly, wondering why Severus had told him that they would wait until the Malfoy's arrived.
"Yes we should." Severus turned silently and glided away, his footsteps making no noise on the stone floor. Sighing, and quite tired of his Head's mood swings, Blaise turned away from the windows to follow Severus since he only had a few educated guesses as to where Dumbledore's office actually was.
Up several flights of stairs, down two very long corridors and down two rickety spiraling hallways, Severus stopped in front of a gargoyle. Blaise stood by his side patiently, wondering what Snape was waiting for when the four cloaked and muffled figures appeared from the other end of the hallway. As they came nearer, the four of them seemed to stare at Blaise in surprise, unsure why he was there. Severus just nodded his head in greeting then turned on his heel to face the gargoyle and said, "Licorice whips."
A faint grinding of stone on stone accompanied the turning of the gargoyle to create a set of circular stairs, leading Blaise presumed, to Dumbledore's office. Snape did not hesitate at all and began to climb the still moving stairs. Blaise followed after as the other four fell in behind him. No one said a word as they entered the cluttered office space where Dumbledore awaited them at his desk.
'Harry, why do you suppose Blaise was with Sev?' Draco asked his mate worriedly.
'I would assume he's here to help us out, but I'm sure we're going to find out soon.' Harry said, his tone grim and serious. 'I don't suppose you ever hinted to Blaise what exactly was going on did you?'
'Not one word, but that doesn't mean anything with Blaise. He's had some spectacularly nasty premonition spells before—he could have seen us together in one and started to put things together. He's third in our class you know and that's only because he and I don't try to outdo each other for first and let Hermione have it.'
'You let Hermione have first in class deliberately?' Harry lifted the mental equivalent of an eyebrow as they sat down on a loveseat.
'Yeah, well, it's deliberate on my part and Blaise just kind of follows along with me. Don't know why exactly. You have realized the irony of just where we chose to sit…'
Chuckling quietly with his mate, Harry turned his attention to Dumbledore who was busy asking everyone if they wanted a sherbet lemon. Predictably, no one was reaching for the candy dish. Narcissa was carefully unwrapping her braided hair from her hood and Lucius was removing his muffler. Taking their cue, Harry and Draco pushed their own hoods to fall back.
Blaise gasped lightly in shock when he saw Harry and Draco sitting together. Somehow, their eyes had changed colors. They were now exact duplicates of the dream images except Draco did not yet have a scar. Harry's posture was erect and polite, a mirror image of how Draco was sitting. Blaise had never seen Harry sit like that before; he tended to slouch as if he was trying to make himself less noticed. Realizing he was staring at his best friend and Potter, Blaise forced himself to turn to face Dumbledore.
Dumbledore popped a sherbet lemon in his mouth as he looked over the six people in his office. Harry and Draco sat close together on the loveseat, both faces carefully neutral. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy sat in separate chairs, both composed and waiting patiently for Dumbledore to begin. Blaise Zabini sat awkwardly in his chair, eyes darting back and forth from Severus to Dumbledore. This was going to be interesting, to say the least.
"According to requests I have had a suite prepared for young Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter to share. However, I do not feel that this is the only safety measure we should be making. Due to the nature of their relationship I am suggesting that we gradually reintroduce the boys to their peers, with Draco reentering classes a few days ahead of Harry so there is less suspicion." Dumbledore resisted the urge to fidget in his seat under the stripping gaze of the Malfoys, Harry, Severus, and Blaise. If Dumbledore hadn't known better he would have insisted he was in a room full of Slytherins.
"As I understand, I am supposedly in isolation because of an accident. Would it be possible to start with only half days? I do not think at this point that prolonged separation would be a good idea." Draco felt Harry's light touch on his waist, and leaned his weight slightly into the touch. Harry's incessant worry was back and vibrating through their bond.
"Half days may work out best and the illusion of a bad head injury could be elaborated upon. It is widely known to most wizard born students that head injuries are hard to heal quickly and would make the cover story harder to see through. I think that complaining of a bad headache may be sufficient to get yourself excused from lessons early." Albus's mind was racing—he couldn't help but wonder why he sensed worry from the mated duo and why would they have issues with being separated for less than a whole day?
"Then we are agreed. I will only start half-days back on Monday. Harry can wait until Thursday or Friday to return to classes. I expect you will explain to his housemates why he is not sleeping in the dorms any longer?" Draco was impressive, Harry decided as he watched his mate negotiate with the Headmaster.
"If I must, but I feel that Harry may explain himself. My explanations will not be taken as seriously as Mr. Potter's," Dumbledore told Draco.
Lucius chose to interrupt. "Blaise I believe you may be able to help with this part. You may act like you are escorting my son back to the hospital wing and then comment within hearing range of Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley about seeing Harry talking to Madame Pomfrey in the infirmary."
"I could do that, but what happens afterwards?" Blaise agreed with Mr. Malfoy, secretly thinking that Draco could probably accomplish the same thing.
As if reading his thoughts, Snape answered Blaise while he ignored the Headmaster's attempt to speak. "Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley are more apt to believe something you say in passing to the other Slytherins than they are to believe something Draco says—they are almost always skeptical when listening to my godson. This way, there will be less confusion because they will choose to ask Mr. Potter himself where he has been."
Harry and Draco silently conferred on what he should tell his friends and reached a quick agreement. "It will be easier if I stick as closely to the truth as I can. I'm less likely to get details mixed up. When they ask how I got away, I'll tell them that someone rescued me but I'm not sure who because they were gone when I woke up the next morning and I was at one of the Order's hideaways."
"Sometimes the easiest cover is the most obvious one," Draco quoted when Harry was done speaking.
"Yes it is," Lucius agreed, the small smirk he gave his son and his son's mate making his face seem lopsided. "You may also say that you spent most of your recovery time sleeping."
Harry blushed deeply as Draco coughed. "Well, I guess that would be near the truth."
Blaise just stared at them, his jaw slightly open.
"Blaise you may shut your jaw now," Draco admonished.
Blaise started then shut his mouth with an audible click of teeth. Harry found he couldn't meet anyone's eyes. Draco just sat proudly next to Harry with a large, cat-ate-the-canary smile. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled happily at the couple, but behind the twinkle his agile mind was taking notes of every gesture and emotion on the pair's face.
"If that is all, Harry and I would like to rest. It is still quite early and Harry is still recuperating." Harry felt like disappearing as Draco sent some very suggestive thoughts through their mind link.
"Yes, it is rather early. Severus would you please see young Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter to their rooms?" Dumbledore said with a clap of his hands.
"I will." Snape stood to leave and waited patiently for Harry and Draco to join him. As they started to leave, Lucius and Narcissa briefly embraced both boys and told them that they would see them as soon as they could arrange it safely but that it would likely be the Easter holidays—not the winter ones. Lucius had been forced to tell Voldemort about his son's injury and the lasting effects meant that he would have to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays.
"Take care of him," Lucius ordered Harry as he gave him a light squeeze. "He has waited too long for this."
"I will and I know," Harry said as he impulsively gave his new 'father' a hug that did not fit with Lucius' tough and cold outer persona that he had been wearing since they had stepped out of the carriage.
With a meaningful look, Lucius let Harry and his son follow Severus out the door. Slowly turning back to face Dumbledore, Lucius glared at the old man. "I need access to Dragonmount."
Lifting one aged, shaggy eyebrow Albus looked at Lucius in puzzlement. "Why would you need to get in there?"
"There are some books in the Potter vaults I need to access—and I'm not going to tell you why until I have all the answers I need." Narcissa was also glaring coldly at the Headmaster, her shoulder lightly brushing against her husband's as she showed her support for her husband's demands.
Albus did not answer immediately, going over what he knew to be in the vaults he could not think of anything that Lucius would need a copy of that he didn't already own. Puzzled but not ready to admit defeat quite yet, Albus folded his hands into a triangle before answering. "I will have to ask Hagrid or another messenger to fetch the passkey to the front gates from Gringotts—it is currently in the vault that Harry has access to so I will need to borrow his key from him."
"I will have Severus fetch it then," Lucius barked knowing that Dumbledore was trying to buy time. "This isn't something that involves you old man so I advise you to keep your nose out of it."
"Then I insist you tell me the moment you can." Albus found himself standing to his full height, trying to bully Lucius but not succeeding.
"You will know the moment it becomes necessary for you to know and not one moment sooner." Lucius turned and took his wife's arm before gracefully, yet forcefully left the Headmaster's office.
Frowning at the door, Dumbledore was startled when Fawkes let out a trill and flew to land on Blaise's shoulder. Having forgotten that Blaise was in the office, Dumbledore instantly smoothed his face and became the bumbling old fool he often played. "Ah, Mr. Zabini you should probably return to your dorm as well."
Not impressed, Blaise let his contempt show on his face. Two could play this game. "I think that I shall but I think Mr. Malfoy had the right of it. Stay out of Draco's business unless you want to have even more problems than you have now."
"I'll keep that in mind," Albus returned as Blaise lifted Fawkes to his regular perch then left quietly, the grinding of stone the only sound as the gargoyle staircase returned to close the doorway.
Severus said nothing as he lead Draco and Harry to their new suite, concentrating instead on the twists and turns that he needed to take to lead the boys deep into the dungeons. They were now far below ground level, the air was cool but not freezing as they passed through corridors that saw very little use until several days ago. Stopping before a carved section of wall, Severus glanced up and down the corridor before taking out his wand. This section of wall was made of rose quartz, much different from the rest of the castle which had been made out of granite, flint, and concrete. The carving was of a dragon swallowing his own tail, his wings curving gracefully six feet to the left and right. Severus was quickly coming to the conclusion that Slytherin had used this image as his own marking, but this was not the only section of wall with the symbol carved into it; it just was the only section of wall that Severus knew how to open.
Tapping the tip of his wand on the dragon's snout, Severus mumbled the password he had set into the carving less than three days ago, "Blood bonds."
At the touch of his wand, the doorway began to split in two with one half moving up into the ceiling and the lower half moving down into the ground to reveal a set of stairs that spiraled out of sight into the ground. Turning, he motioned for Draco and Harry to enter before pointing out a wall sconce with a candle bearing the impression of the carving on the door. "When you need to close the door, light the candle if you're on this side. On the other side, repeat the password. If you want to change the password, you need to place your wand on the dragon's mouth and announce your name and the old password, followed by the new password."
Shooing the boys down the stairs, Severus watched as Harry and Draco clasped hands before taking the steps. Rose quartz carved to look like flames lit the stairs as they descended over fifty feet. At the bottom was a large sitting room with a ceiling that easily reached thirty feet that was decorated in warm, chocolate colored furniture with silver and crimson accents. The floor made of obsidian was covered with a plush midnight black fur area rug from an unknown animal. A waterfall cascaded from the ceiling to cover an entire wall before creating a quick flowing channel that went through a doorway across from the entrance.
"Wow…" Harry whispered, his eyes darting from place to place as he took in his new living quarters. "How did you convince Dumbledore that we should have this place Uncle Sev?"
Severus glared at Harry at the use of the words 'uncle' and 'Sev' coming from his mouth. "Actually, Dumbledore doesn't know where these rooms are. I actually had started preparing a much smaller set of rooms for the two of you when Lucius mentioned something about an oroubous. I then changed where you would be staying with Blaise's help."
"It's beautiful Sev. I can't believe no one knows where these rooms are," Draco was sharing in his mate's amazement. The room was furnished to perfection and even with Draco's extensive knowledge of outrageously priced furniture and fabrics were congratulating Draco on his good turn of luck.
"Blaise insisted that your rooms be put here. He said that it was fate that you have these rooms." Severus was getting annoyed with the sugary cooing that was threatening to ensue.
"Oh? Well then. Let's explore the rest of it Harry. Do you want me to stop by your rooms tomorrow before I go up to breakfast?" Draco asked his Godfather, his carefully taught manners just barely managing to hold him back from careening through the rooms to discover what else the suite contained.
"That would be a good idea. I'll tell Blaise to meet you at the entrance at a seven thirty. If you need to reach me before then, and it better be an emergency, any of the fireplaces may be used to call me either in my rooms or office. Behave yourselves." Severus turned to leave, and called over his shoulder that lunch and supper, as well as any snacks they might want could be summoned using the fruit portrait that hung in the next room.
Watching as his new Uncle left, Harry wasn't surprised when the moment they heard the door closing Draco grabbed him and they began to explore.
Tbc…