Title: Walk Along a Spiral
Author: Princess-Meru
Chapter Title: Chapter 3 – Moving In
Beta: Nimeneth
Disclaimer: The original story is by J.K. Rowling. All character, location, and spell rights belong to her and all publishers involved in getting Harry Potter around the world.
Author's Note: Originally, I had intended on making Draco Dumbledore's killer, but what with the whole Half Blood Prince thingy, that TOTALLY isn't possible unless I do an AU pre-HBP. Ah well, I'll work something in. This chapter is hard to do, simply because I'm bad at doing natural explanations. Now, you should know thatI'm getting behind in my writing and soon I will be trying to cram in a chapter a week. If I don't get the reviews, I wont keep up the motivation of a regular schedule. Super thanks to Nimeneth, who between working on this and Necessary Affections and Vicarious Life at my command, has somehow managed to stay patient enough to still talk to me and be my friend. Everyone give her a big thank you.
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The first thing Harry noticed once he had gotten his bearings was that he hadn't moved an inch. He was still standing in the office, the pensive was on the desk, and McGonnogal was in front of them. The only difference was that there were shrieks coming from behind him.
He and Malfoy turned around to see two Ravenclaw girls running into the room, gasping for breath. "Professor! Professor!" Oh, so this McGonnagal wasn't the memory one. Someone who looked like her identical twin came running down the stairs, nearly as breathless as the children. She certainly was not as young as she used to be. "Professor, there's a muggle by the greenhouses!"
"Tell Professor Longbottom to bring him here." This muggle was obviously Vernon Dursley. What puzzled him was how a muggle, no matter how vicious and fat, was able to break through the wards.
Moments later Uncle Vernon stomped into the room, amazingly squeezing his enormous frame through the door frame. He sneered at his surroundings, which was to be expected from such a square adult. McGonnogal motion for Uncle Vernon to sit down, but the fat man just glared and remained where he was.
"I'll need your name," McGonnogal conjured a quill.
"Vernon Dursley." His mustache twitched in a way that made Harry choke.
"Now I understand that there has been a bit of confusion," the memory McGonnogal began "But this can be righted immediately."
"This is that freak wizard's school, isn't it? The one that retched boy went to." Vernon yelled, turning beet red.
She nodded. "You must mean Harry. Yes, that is the problem. You shouldn't be able to see the castle, let alone enter it. We will look into the matter, but in the mean time, we will need you to stay here for a few days until we can call someone in who can hear your testimony. However those protection spells slipped, they seem to have righted themselves."
"You can't keep me here! I have a family!"
"I promise, you won't even remember being here. You're family will be taken care of, I swear on my life." McGonnogal shuffled some papers.
The present day McGonnogal put a hand on the two boys' shoulders "Time to go."
Harry and Malfoy felt themselves being sucked up and blinking. Harry realized that his dear uncle was no longer in the room. He would never get used to the idea of a pensive, no matter how many times he used one. He collapsed against his chair, much to the amusement of Malfoy. "What's wrong, Potty?" Malfoy sneered.
"Shut up," Harry leaned back in the chair "So Prof-um, Minerva, did you find out how my uncle got in?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, we did." Minerva sat down in her very big chair, and Malfoy followed suit. "The magic is running out."
"But that's not possible!" Harry shouted "Magic is individual!"
"Control is individual, which is why the Imperius curse was invented," Draco spat. "You should have paid attention to history of magic, Binns had the right idea."
"Oh sure, you focused as well as I did," Harry rebutted.
"The point is, magic is linked. Once a magic is released, it is sewn into the threads of life. No one knows the details," he sighed. "Which makes our job all the more difficult."
"To the point," the Professor interjected. "You two will have to work together to figure out why the magic is wearing off. If the magic on this school runs out, then there will be no telling how bad things will get. We don't know about the other schools, but I'll owl them immediately. Now, here are the details…"
"What?" Joni jumped on Harry's back, knocking him over.
Harry sighed. "Yes, I'm going on vacation."
"With that blond bloke of yours?" The taller man let go and went to go grab a suitcase "I thought I was your one and only."
"Yes, well…" Harry winked. "The sex is better with him. Hostility brings out the best in bed buddies."
"So he's that Malfoy guy from your old school?" Joni took a pile of pants from Harry and dropped them into the suitcase.
"Yup," Harry said as he picked up a shirt and folded it. "I'll be staying at his house during the vacation. Luckily, he lives in a mansion so I'll probably get a wing to myself."
Joni laughed. "Then you wont have to run into him."
Harry tossed the shirt into to his room-mate "You betcha. Thanks for helping me pack."
"What are friends for?"
Malfoy ordered one of the house elves to grab Harry's things. "Show Potter to his room, Tilly."
"Right away, Master," the house elf sqeeked, lifting with ease the bag that Harry had packed and wiggling inside the oversized pillowcase.
"Don't tell me that's all you have," Malfoy eyed the case.
Harry smirked. In truth, that was it. That, and the rucksack on his back carrying his school books. His wand was in his back pocket, despite Moody's age old warning of losing a piece of buttock. He would risk it. "I'm afraid so." He then turned to follow Tilly, who was skipping forward, and every now and then shivering with excitement.
She walked up a big flight of stairs, then another, and then into a large gilded hallway. At the end of it were two rooms and Tilly opened the one on the left. Inside was the most beautiful room that Harry had ever seen. On the left was a large oak four poster bed. In front of him was a deck that looked out onto a very big garden. On the right was a book shelf, drawers, and a door.
"Umm… Tilly, where does that door lead?" Harry whispered.
Tilly blushed "Why, the young master's bedroom."
"Oh." And then Harry realized, "Ooooooooh," this was the mistress's bedroom.
There was a cough. Harry whipped around to come face to face with Malfoy "When you're done ogling -yes, I know this I the nicest room you've ever had the chance to look upon- I want you to meet me in the dining room. It's on the first floor next to the statue of my family."
"Yes master," Harry bowed, imitating a house elf.
A few minutes later after Harry had refused Tilly's help and unceremoniously thrown his suitcase into a drawer, he made his way down the stairs. It wasn't very hard to find his way, there were paintings of the ancient Malfoys who were kind enough to point the way. When he came to the family portrait, he did his best to ignore the sneer he received from Lucius' painted face and entered the hall.
Although the dining hall was more of a grand hall, considering the fact the room looked as though it could seat two hundered. It appeared greater because only Malfoy was sitting at the elongated table. Harry blushed "Where should I sit?"
Malfoy waved his wand and the table instantly became a lot shorter, and was just the right size for the two of them. Harry pulled out a seat across from Malfoy and plopped down with very little eloquence. "Ah, I see you learned your manners," Malfoy sneered.
Harry snorted. "Around you? Who needs them?"
"If you're going to be living in this house," Malfoy unfolded the napkin on his right and placed it lightly in his lap, "then you will treat me with respect."
Harry copied his actions. "I didn't choose to live here, and you certainly can't throw me out since McGonnogal ordered us to stay together."
"Yes, but I can make you live in the cupboard under one of the smaller staircases," Malfoy smirked at the shorter man, expecting to get some form of protest, but Harry only shrugged.
When dinner materialized onto their plates (naturally with salad first), Harry realized something that both McGonnogal and Malfoy overlooked "We're going to have to get rid of the elves."
Malfoy looked as though he was having a heart attack. "WHAT?"
"Yes. You have to learn to live without magic. If the magic runs out before we can find the source of the trouble, then we're going to have to work without it," Harry sighed and leaned forward, propping his head up with his fist. "But I know a big bad wizard like you will be just fine without your powers. Come on, where is that egotistical macho attitude?"
"We'll be done before then," Malfoy snapped, "and then you can go back to your barbaric lifestyle."
"We have to prepare for worst case scenarios," Harry grumbled, "and in this case, that means learning to function without magic. If the magic runs out, all of the wizarding world will have to learn to blend in with the muggles. Magical properties within the magical creatures will be non-existant. In the end, if we mess up, which knowing our compatability, we probably will, then we will have to go to the muggles for help."
Malfoy rolled his eyes "Are you finished?"
"Yes."
"Well then, here's my say. We are going to work together whether you like it or not. Neither of us want the magical community to vanish, so we're going to bite our tongues and work together until we solve this."