Title: Walk Along a Spiral
Author: Princess-Meru
Chapter Title: Chapter 6 - It's spreading
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: I'm afraid I don't know how well I did after my beta went through it. A lot needs fixing with me and my bad writing. Anyway, I'm hoping to get somewhere in the next few chapters, but what with NaNoWriMo, I don't know how much I'll be able to write.

---

Harry stretched in his bed the next morning, reveling in the feeling of total peace. He had the most wonderful dream, even though he couldn't remember it, and held on to the smile that he had woken up with. He held his hand above his head, watching as he twirled it around the rays of light streaming through the window. He could sense the characteristics of morning when he closed his eyes. The clean feeling of new air, the relaxed muscles after a good night's rest, the lazy feeling his eyes took when he shut them, the smell of...

Smoke?

"SHIT!" Harry bolted upright, and ignoring the fact that he was still wearing his pajamas, ran out the door and down the stairs "MALFOY! MALFOY! FIRE!"

He ran around, checking the different rooms. Nothing in the study. Nothing in the library. He followed the scent of ash until he saw a smoke trail along the ceiling, which led into the kitchen. His heart stopped in his chest.

There was Malfoy, hands covered in burns and blood, and beside him something that would have looked like waffles if it wasn't up in flames. Malfoy was trying to put out the fire with his hands, but to no avail. Not only were his hands getting thoroughly cooked, but they seemed to have been cut by knives from previous chopping.

"Malfoy! You dope!" Harry picked up some pot-holders that were by the over, picked up their "breakfast" and dumped it unceremoniously into the sink. He turned on the cold water and once the fire was out, took a pot, filled it with cold water, and dragged it next to Malfoy. He then went to grab a towel and sat beside the blond and the pot. "Put your hands in here." Harry pointed at the pot and then dipped the towel in the water and proceeded to clean the blood off Malfoy "What were you thinking?"

The taller man blushed "I thought I would let you sleep in and make breakfast myself. You were so upset yesterday I figured you needed a lie in."

"Do you even know how to cook?" Harry asked, his voice dripping the sarcasm.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "You're asking that after this mess? I thought since it was so easy for you, it would be easy for me too."

Harry sighed. "Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. I've been working in a kitchen since I was old enough to hold a pan. You on the other hand, have had little creatures half your size do it for you since you had enough brains to command them to."

"I'm sorry." Malfoy stared at the ground, unable to think of anything else to say.

This made Harry laugh. "Don't be sorry, Malfoy. You had good intentions and that matters more than the results. Means can't justify ends, but it can make the ends more understandable. Just be more- BLOODY HELL! I think we're going to need to take you to St. Mungo's."

Malfoy stared in absolute shock and then laughed. "No, I'll be fine. These are only first degree burns and the cuts would need to be much deeper for me to need stitches. A bandage should do just fine."

"Are you sure?" Harry looked him in the eye, just to be sure he wasn't lying.

Malfoy nodded. "Positive."

Harry then sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go get some bandages and then we can have a nice happy breakfast."

"Sounds good," Malfoy replied as he slowly pushed himself to his feet "You know, I hate to say it but..."

"What?" Harry turned around.

He smirked "If it hadn't been for you putting up the anti-magic wards, I wouldn't have been burnt and we would already be eating."

Harry yawned and stomped to the closet to get an apron.

---

"I'm going to work, dear," Malfoy shouted from around the corner. Harry was curled up in the study, paging leisurely through a book about wizarding history. Harry responded with a half hearted wave and then turned the page. He then began reading out loud.

"Merlin was the first wizard to ever exist on the planet. The second was the esteemed Morgan Le Fay, who rumor had it was Merlin's lover at some point in time. When Merlin came into his power, he immediately started carrying a rather large book around with him. He would never let it go and refused to let anyone besides himself look at it. The day he died he passed this book on to his apprentice, who kept it secret for many years, until the first wizard's government was formed in 1283. Since then it has been under high security in palaces, museums, and ministries. After the Dark Wizard Grindewald was defeated, Albus Dumbl-" Harry stopped, and stared very carefully at the text, willing himself not to mourn over the man once more, "Albus Dumbledore insisted that the book be kept under severe lock and key, saying that Grindewald had wanted to use the book to his advantage, and if that were to happen, then the entire wizarding world would be in severe jeopardy.

"This book, titled the Book of Avalon, is rumored to contain immense power. Many wizards have tried to get their hands on it, but the wards around the book are so strong that now only certain people are allowed to come within five feet of it, and even less to touch it."

Dumbledore had probably set up these wards, and if the power was fading, then that would explain why Draco had brought the book home. Harry knew so little about the book that the secrets that it held would mean much more to a mouse than to him. He placed the history book down on a nearby desk and got up. He needed to get out of the house. He picked up one of Malfoy's many wallets and decided he would go grocery shopping.

Harry had hoped that once he spent the hour getting off Malfoy grounds (which entailed finding his way and walking the mile and a half to the gates) he had hoped to find a market. Instead it was nothing but a long dirt road to nowhere. He would have found it if he had looked at a map before he left. The location of the manor was definitely going to be a topic at dinner tonight.

He pulled out his wand and apparated to the first wizard's community which came to mind: Diagon Alley, but when he arrived, he thought he was in the wrong place.

Too many Auror uniforms.

He tapped a nearby man on the shoulder and nearly had a heart attack when he saw that it was Seamus Finnegan. Seamus had changed since Harry had last seen him; which had been chained to a St. Mungo's bed screaming bloody murder.

"Harry!" Seamus's scarred face contorted into what Harry thought might have been a smile. It was hard to tell, since the right half of Seamus's face had been burned. The wave of his right arm showed that his right limbs were in the same condition.

"Hello, Seamus," Harry replied, trying to muster up a bit of breath.

The Irishman realized that Harry was staring at his wounds and laughed. "The price of being a half blood. I wear it proudly."

Harry was going to ask Seamus what he was talking about, but then remembered the reason he had confronted him in the first place . "What's going on here?"

Seamus shrugged. "Some of the older wards are wearing off around here. They've called in the high level Aurors to set up new ones, but they'll only be temporary until we can find a powerful wizard to do it. Dumbledore was the last one to check the wards and update them, and I doubt we'll find any wizard as powerful as him lying about."

"Here too?" Harry stared towards the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron "This is happening at Hogwarts as well."

"So I've heard. They've got Minerva dealing with that one by herself. Right state she's in."

"Listen, Seamus..." Harry lowered his voice "I'm one of two people investigating this. Do you know anything about where we might be able to start?"

"If I knew I'd be on the case with you," Seamus emitted a hearty laugh. "But I'll owl you if I hear anything."

Harry bowed slightly. "Thank you. I'd best get my shopping done; I'm playing maid while moonlighting as a detective and a uni student."

Seamus whistled. "We're all gonna have to be university students if you don't get this wrapped up. I don't think we'd be able to assimilate."

"Neither do I."

---

"Malfoy?" Harry mumbled while they were scanning history books in the library.

"Yes?" Malfoy looked up from 'History of Magic: The Less Boring Edition'.

The smaller man squirmed a little . "I went to Diagon Alley today. The wards are shutting down there as well."

"I know," the blond muttered.

"What are we going to do?" Harry's voice was barely above a whisper.

Malfoy slammed his book shut. "What do you care? When this is all over you'll just go back to your bloody boyfriend in bloody muggle land and leave us all to rot! That's what you did last time!"

"I-"

"Just up and left your friends and your home and your home and your life! You never stopped to help clean up the mess! And you think this is penance? IT'S NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT I SUFFERED AFTER YOU LEFT!"

"Please lis-"

"NO! I WON'T LISTEN! JUST BECAUSE DUMBLEDORE ISN'T HERE TO TELL YOU THAT YOU'RE THE BLOODY GOLDEN BOY DOESN'T MEAN YOU AREN'T ANYONE'S HERO ANYMORE! JUST BECAUSE NO ONE TELLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING DOESN'T MEAN YOU AREN'T OBLIGATED TO..." His voice faded off and he took deep breaths.

"I don't think you understand..."

Malfoy collected his books. "No, but we all would have understood if you had just faced us, instead of running away. Goodnight." And with that, Draco picked up his stuff and stormed to his room.