A/N- Despite the title of this chapter, the Gamera aren't really important. Just kinda fun. Oh, and I made them up, actually. The word "Gamera" I pulled from an arc in Sorcerer Hunters, but I think there it was "Gameru". I could be wrong. Oh, whatever. It's not important.
In reply to a reviewer's request, I have used Ron quite a bit more in this chapter. I know he should've appeared more earlier, but I don't think I'm that good at writing Ron... Nevertheless, I will give it a shot! I hope I don't disappoint the Ron fans out there. I'll be trying to keep him as "In-Character" as I can, which means that he's not exactly going to be a sudden convert into the Draco Fanclub. Maybe he'll lighten up eventually... but I wouldn't count on it being soon!
In other news, I know I gave you the "Draco's movement" teaser in the last chapter, but it's not in here. Well, the answer isn't, anyway. I know! I'm sorry! #dodges flying vegetables# The plot for this chapter ran away a little, and I liked where it ended up so much that I decided to let it roam freely for a while.
There are several review responses at the end of this. I moved them there because there were so many to do this time around. Please go ahead and read them! Or, at the very least, don't decide not to review because you didn't feel like scrolling down!
Enjoy!
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Chapter XXV -- Gamera (Because I Can't Think of an Actual Title...)
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Harry was the first one to realize that something was wrong. This wasn't because of any mystical psychic connection, however. In fact, even Harry would have had no idea if he hadn't tripped across it.
Care of Magical Creatures class was back in full swing, with the mix of students hopping about, just barely avoiding the fangs of Hagrid's newest acquisitions (which, Harry was fairly certain, had come by way of Mundungus Fletcher). The beasts, which Hagrid called 'Gamera' ("They're re'lated t' yer Chimera, bu' a good bi' tamer, o'course," Hagrid had enthused) were small, only about two feet high, but had two heads each, and the left head on Harry's Gamera kept giving him slanty looks while the right head kept trying to take a chunk out of Ron's leg with its needle-sharp kitten teeth. Finally, the left head made its strike, and Harry took several quick steps back to avoid it, glad that, at the very least, the stingers on the beasts' scorpion-like tails hadn't grown in yet.
(A/N- You think me silly for the kitten teeth, but you have not known fear until you have faced off with an angered kitten, sans gloves.)
He managed to avoid the Gamera's jaws, only to have his heel catch over something on the ground that certainly wasn't there a moment before. Harry's arms pinwheeled and he tipped backward, landing on his butt in the grass, his knees bent over the shape that had tripped him.
"Ow..." Harry griped, rubbing his hip and looking to see what had tripped him (all the while hoping that Ron was keeping the Gamera busy). He was rather surprised to find that the object he had tripped over was not an object at all. Rather, it was a person. To be specific, it was a rather unconscious Draco Malfoy. Harry blinked.
"Bloody hell. What's he doing here?" Ron made his way over, and Harry noted that he had managed to stun the beast and tie it securely to part of Hagrid's fence. Harry shrugged.
"How'm I supposed to know? Anyway, he's out cold." Harry leaned over to check the blond's pulse. It was strong and steady. He wasn't dead, just unconscious. And somehow, in the middle of Hagrid's paddock. "Professor!" Harry called out, trying to attract Hagrid's attention. At the time, the half-giant was occupied with detaching one of the smaller Gamera from Ernie McMillan's cloak. He finished, and came over. Unfortunately, with him came the attention of the entire class.
"All righ' there, Har- Oh. Well. Tha's odd, in't it? How'd 'e get out here?" Hagrid crouched down a bit as Harry got up to his knees. Around him, he could hear the various members of the class whispering to each other, every once in a while interruped by muted sounds of pain when someone wasn't quick enough to avoid a set of sharp teeth.
"He's fine, I think. Just unconscious." Harry repeated for Hagrid's benefit, trying to ignore the stares coming their way.
"Too bad." Ron quipped, earning him a short, coughing laugh from Hagrid and a rather stern look from Harry. "What?" The redhead put on his most innocent face, and Harry shook his head slightly, trying to hide a smile. Trust Ron to keep everything as normal as possible.
The class's Gamera had been all but forgotten in the commotion over Draco. Which made sense, really, because the Slytherins, at least, were aware that Draco was supposed to be in Charms at the moment. Harry sighed. A rumor of some kind was inevitable at this point. It would probably be outlandish and silly, but it would be there. Harry placed his personal bet on 'Malfoy was trying to kill Harry, but Harry managed to knock him out before any of us even knew it!'. The sad thing was, he knew that he was being rather conservative with his guess.
"I'll take him up to the hospital wing, Professor." Harry volunteered, wishing to get both Draco and himself away from the prying eyes as soon as possible. Hagrid nodded his assent.
"Ah'm sure Ron 'ere can take care o' Fluffball fer the rest o' class, eh Ron?" Hagrid clapped the redhead on the shoulder, causing him to stumble forward. He cast a wary look at the beast tied to the fence, which seemed to be grinning at him. He gulped.
"Er, maybe Harry needs some help? I mean, he is out cold and all, and-" Ron was cut off as Draco groaned and his eyes fluttered open.
"Did anyone get the number of that troll?" the blond groaned, using Harry's offered hand to sit up. Ron groaned as well, but his was one of misery rather than of pain. The beast was definitely grinning at him. He just knew it.
"Alrigh', Malfoy. Off to the hospital wing wi' ya. Harry, see tha' he doesn't get inter any trouble on the way?" With that Hagrid shooed them out of the paddock. Harry gave Ron a look of apology as they began to walk up to the castle. 'Fluffball' was grinning more wickedly than ever, and Harry cringed as he heard a yelp of pain behind him.
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Harry had been rather forced by public opinion to let Draco make most of the trip up to the castle unaided. Once they were out of sight of the paddock, however, he reached over and wrapped an arm firmly around the blond's waist. Draco gave him a grateful smile. He had only been knocked out, but for some reason he felt extremely exhausted.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked, concernedly. "What happened?"
Draco grimaced. "I got knocked out." He snapped, perhaps a bit harshly.
"I know that," Harry matched him for sheer sarcasm, "What I was asking was how, idiot." He melted a little. "And if you're okay." Draco leaned in to the embrace a little, apologizing without words.
"I was in Charms. Flitwick had us doing this thing to reveal spells, and mine looked really weird. All shiny. It was really pretty. And then he tried to take it off, but I don't know if it worked, because then I woke up down there." He nodded toward the paddock sleepily.
"And?" Harry pushed for his other answer. Draco smiled a little sheepishly.
"And I think I'm okay. I feel a little out of it, but mostly okay."
"Good." Harry tugged him a little closer as they approached the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey's sixth-sense for student injuries had her waiting at the door.
A few minutes later, when Draco had been situated in a bed and given strict instructions to rest, Harry realized something.
"Er, Draco?"
"Hm?"
"If you got knocked out, what happened to Professor Flitwick?"
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By the time Madam Pomfrey summoned help to locate Flitwick, he was already waking up. Professor McGonagall was the one pressed into service to bring him down to the hospital wing, where he told his version of events. As his more-or-less matched Draco's account, the blond wasn't held accountable for anything that had happened.
The professors weren't done with him yet, though. Rather quickly, the Headmaster and Professor Snape (being head of Draco's house) were summoned to help determine what, exactly, had happened, and what to do about it. Once the events of the afternoon had been recounted yet again, Dumbledore spoke.
"Well then, let's see what this spell affecting Mr. Malfoy may be, and we will decide our course of action from there. Professor Flitwick, if you would?"
"Yes, yes, of course!" He performed the revealing charm on Draco again. The room took a collective gasp, and everyone except Dumbledore and Harry (who had been allowed to stay, despite Professor Snape's usual protestations) took a half-step back.
Honestly, Harry's first thought was that Draco had been right- the halo of sparkling silver-and-gold rays surrounding the blond were "really pretty". His first spoken thought, though, was, "Wow."
"'Wow' indeed, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore was doing his smiling thing again. He addressed the assembled teachers (plus Madam Pomfrey). "Does anyone know what spell could cause this particular effect? I confess that I have never encountered something quite like it."
The professors shook their heads one by one. Harry blinked. This was the first time that he could remember that the teachers had no idea what was going on; no miracle solutions to whatever problem had come up. He suddenly felt a little nervous.
"I tried 'finite incantatem'," Flitwick spoke, "But I feel it may not be in our best interest to try again, considering its effects the last time."
Dumbledore nodded. "I agree. Minerva? Severus?" The Potions master shook his head, but McGonagall spoke up.
"I have an old acquaintance who may be of some help. An expert in spell identification. I shall send an owl immediately, with your permission." She bowed her head slightly in deference, but her eyes were sharp.
"You have it." Dumbledore nodded her out of the room. "Professors? Perhaps you should be returning to your classes? I would like to have a private word with Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy." The two men nodded and exited the wing, and Madam Pomfrey occupied herself at the far end of the space.
Smiling his enigmatic smile, Dumbledore leaned in close to the two boys and spoke quietly. "While I, personally, have no objection to whatever sleeping arrangements you prefer, I feel it is my duty as Headmaster to inform you that school policy forbids students from different Houses to enter each other's dormitory bedrooms, for any reason. Therefore, I will give you this warning again, Harry," He paused briefly, his eyes twinkling as they did whenever he was up to something, then whispered conspiratorily: "You must not be seen."
Dumbledore stood straight again, signalling that the conversation was near its end. He paused before leaving, however. "You may wish to ask Ms. Granger about this particular phenomenon. I believe she has been doing some extracurricular reading that may be of some use. And, on a personal note, I do wish you both the best of luck." His eyes still twinkling, Dumbledore exited the hospital wing, leaving two confused teenagers with beet-red faces staring after him in shock.
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"... and then suddenly Malfoy is just laying there, on the ground, out cold, and Harry trips on him! And then the git, I mean him, not Harry, he wakes up acting like nothing at all happened! Harry took him up to the Hospital Wing and I haven't seen him since. Harry, I mean, not him."
Hermione walked beside Ron, only half-listening as he fought with his pronouns. She didn't really understand why he was so angry over the whole event- after all, nothing had happened to him but getting a bit scratched by Hagrid's new pets. Still, the story Ron was telling was very interesting indeed.
Somehow, Draco Malfoy had gotten from the Charms classroom to Hagrid's paddock in less than ten minutes since she had last seen him in the classroom (which meant most of that ten minutes should have been spent with Professor Flitwick), and he hadn't been seen by anybody. Which would have been hard, even if he'd had the whole ten minutes, because he'd been lit up like a Christmas tree when she'd last seen him. And she still hadn't accounted for how he'd been knocked unconscious; Ron had said Draco had been flat on his back when Harry had tripped over him.
It was a mystery, and Hermione had always had a bit of a weakness for mysteries. Something about the whole situation was nagging at her, there was something familiar that just wouldn't go away. It felt, she realized upon further introspection (and further ignoring of Ron as he detailed several Gamera attacks), rather like the time in First Year that she couldn't remember where she'd read about Nicholas Flamel. The situation seemed eerily familiar, and she knew the key to it was somewhere within her grasp. She was determined to find it. To know, not just wonder. Besides, having memorized all her textbooks over the summer, she was finding her classes a trifle dull.
However, she would put it off until she had more time to think about it, perhaps with the aid of the quiet library and its many tomes. Until then, she would walk beside Ron and make sympathetic noises until he stopped whining about the Gamera and went back to being angry about Dark Lords, Malfoy, Slytherins in general, Dean dating his sister, and the Montrose Magpies soundly beating the Chudley Cannons for about the four-millionth time.
Not necessarily in that order.
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They rather quickly located Harry in the Hospital Wing, where he had apparently decided to stay and make sure that Draco was perfectly alright. Madam Pomfrey had apparently decided that Harry was no threat to her patient's recovery, and had gone off to continue whatever it was she had been doing before he and Draco had arrived. Hermione grinned quietly to herself about that. If only Madam Pomfrey knew...
When they walked in, Harry was seated on the edge of Draco's infirmary cot, somewhere around the middle, with his torso turned so he could face the blond. This was obvious to anyone who entered; i.e- Ron and Hermione. It was only Hermione, however, who noticed that both of the boys' cheeks were slightly flushed, and their lips were perhaps a little more swollen than they normally should have been. If that wasn't enough, Harry wasn't directly meeting her eyes. Textbook case of Harry being embarrassed. Hermione diagnosed, her grin escaping all semblance of control. Ginny was going to love this.
Ron, however, was oblivious.
"Heya, Harry!" He grinned, then looked over at Draco, grinning maliciously. "Hey, Ferret. Feeling better?" Draco's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he grudgingly gave the redhead the credit he deserved for that one. The Weasel had figured out how to insult him without actually being hostile, thus not incurring the wrath of either of his best friends. Sneaky. Two could play at that game.
"Not bad, Weasel. And yourself? I do hope Fluffball didn't harm you too badly in Harry's absence? We wouldn't want you stuck in here as well." Draco found great joy in stressing the name of the beast; it was tremendously funny that the boy had been scratched up by a two-foot cat-thing named 'Fluffball'. Ron, however, did not find it so funny. The two boys matched glares for a long moment, silently declaring war.
"Come on, Harry. It's time for dinner, and then don't you have Quidditch tryouts to handle?" Hermione interrupted, forestalling World War Three for a moment, at least. Harry nodded, but glanced down at Draco briefly, hesitation apparent on his face. Draco himself saw it even before Hermione did.
"Don't worry about me, Pomfrey'll let me out of here in a minute, anyway. I'm fine. Go eat." With that, he gave Harry a light shove off the cot. "When we beat you sorry lot for the Cup this year, I don't want all your little Housemates whining about me keeping you undernourished." He grinned at Harry and made little shooing motions with one hand, ushering them toward the door.
"Oh, you wish, Malfoy!" Ron was quite suddenly up-in-arms at this perceived challenge, and didn't notice that Harry was rolling his eyes at him. Draco snickered as Hermione dragged "her boys" out of the Hospital Wing by their sleeves, intent on force feeding them if it became necessary.
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tbc...
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A Few Review Responses:
Little Loco Lad: Er... If you don't like slash, why did you click on a fic labeled HPDM Slash? Just wondering. However, I am glad that you did, and I'm glad you left a review. And such a kind review, too! I confess, I was worried that it was a flame at first, but thank you. Being compared to JK is about the highest praise an HP fic author can get! Just for you, there's some more Ron in this chapter.
Joana: I promise, I haven't forgotten to explain how Draco appeared at Privet Drive. To give a slight hint, it's connected to how he keeps appearing in Harry's bed, and to what happens in this chapter. (BTW- extra credit to anyone who figures out the connection before I explain it!) As for the dreams... I sort of meant them to be obtuse, that way I can't back myself into a corner. Don't worry, they'll be getting less metaphorical as we go along. And my OC might start explaining things a bit more, which will help everyone (Harry and Draco included!).
Charming Marauders: Thanks for the review! However, I'm not sure you mean by who "burst into" their dream. Did I say that anywhere? Maybe I'm being stupid for not having a clue what you're talking about, but if you could pinpoint where you're referring to, I'd be more than happy to clear it up for you!
Juniper: The "pants" comment was partially random flirting, and partially a reference back to the beginning of the chapter where Harry was imagining Draco in his missing pj pants (which, incidentally, Draco was indeed wearing).
MJLuvsPolar: Aw! Now you went and messed up all my subtle-ness with the Siri thing... psh! Just go tell everyone, why don't you? No, I'm not mad. Nice catch. As for Ron... well, he's going to remain oblivious a little longer. I need comic relief, and as you have seen in this chapter, a war is brewing... (didn't that sound all nice and foreboding? I know. I'm so proud.)
dreamerdoll: Yes, Draco lied. You just don't know about it. But trust me, he lied. It will be important later. Really. Maybe. Unless the plot runs away with me again. It was important in the beginning! I promise it was! #hides#
KatsuKitsune: yay! you reviewed again! I love returning reviewers! Especially when they bring muffins! #accepts muffins and crawls back into her hiding place to write chapter 26#
I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed! I'm sorry I can't respond to everyone, but if you ask a direct question, I promise I'll try to answer it in the next update! I actually have a folder in my inbox just to save those reviews to make sure they get a reply, so don't be shy about asking questions! #huggles to all# I love you guys!
(HINT: Click the Little Box!) #grin#