I am so, so sorry this chapter sucks and has taken so long to come out. It'll be a bit before I get the next chapter done. Atani and Draco are going to start having a much more…intimate…relationship coming up soon.

Disclaimer: Once again I do not own.

Chapter 29

Atani let out a yip as he felt something slither up his leg. He pushed his blankets off to find a black snake slithering up his leg. A sigh of relief escaped his lips and he reached down to rub its head.

"I miss Veneficus." He sighed as the snake disappeared.

"That wasn't one of my nasty wake-up calls considering your affinity with snakes." It was Shadar; he recognized the mask and his voice, besides that he had been told he was going to wake him up.

Shadar chuckled softly, "Get up, get dressed, your training is going to begin as soon as you're up and ready so be quick about it."

Atani crawled out of bed with a sigh and sleepily pulled on the robes that he found draped over his desk chair before pulling on the boots and cloak he wore the previous day. Once he was ready he made his way out to where Shadar was waiting. He took to his training with enthusiasm. Even though his teachers were strict and a couple of them were rather harsh when he did something wrong, he enjoyed it. Seraph and Demay were the hardest on him and Demay believed in corporal punishment, using a switch to punish him. That night he slept like a rock, too exhausted to stay up after his lessons. His lessons went on until one day when no one woke him up. It had been two months since he had been 'kidnapped' and he had learned a lot. He was more physically fit and magically powerful then he had been but he missed Draco and he missed Veneficus.

Slowly he got out of bed, putting on his robes and grabbing his wand, before making his way out of his room. The halls were empty as he made his way towards the dinning room. When he got there he found a note and food on the table. Without a word he picked up the note, reading it.

Atani,

There were some matters that had to be attended to. You will have no lessons today as the Elites are otherwise indisposed. I expect you to study but think of today as a day off. There will be a surprise in the papers tomorrow. I'm not sure exactly when your lessons will begin again. Do not forget to practice and I will see you as soon as I get home.

With love,

Your father

Atani blinked at it for a moment before setting it aside and beginning to eat his breakfast. It felt odd to be alone here; usually there was at least someone around. He couldn't wait for summer; he wanted Draco to be back, to be with him. He wanted to finally play more with Draco, to take their relationship to the next step. He sighed, finishing his food before getting to his feet and stretching. He had no idea what he was going to do in his teachers' absence.

Draco was bored, he wanted his partner, wanted Atani back. Since his kidnapping Draco had been asked question after question, they wouldn't leave him alone, wouldn't stop asking about Atani's whereabouts, and they didn't like the lack of answers they were getting. Draco only told them what happened that night; how they had been sleeping when masked people came and took him away. He told them how he had bitten one of them before they took Atani but after that he didn't remember anything. The rest of the Slytherins had a good idea of what really happened but they wouldn't say anything about it to anyone. Draco was pretty sure that Snape knew the truth as well but if he did he was keeping his lips tightly sealed. Over the past few months he had received letters from Atani through Sirius. He wished that they would come right to him but he knew they were more then likely watching his mail. The pages of his letters were filled with details of what had been going on and how much he missed him, how he thought about him every day and dreamed about him every night. Draco couldn't wait until he went home, couldn't wait to see him.

Draco was jolted out of his sleep by the sound of someone screaming. Quickly he jumped out of bed and ran out of his room, the rest of the Slytherins were making their way into the common room as well, wondering what in the world was going on. When the entrance swung open and Snape walked in Draco spoke.

"What is going on professor?" He questioned before anyone else could speak.

He looked over at him, "Headmaster Dumbledore is dead."

He raised an eyebrow, "How? Who killed him?"

"Someone in a mask." He replied, "All of you back to bed."

"What was that scream?"

"I said back to bed." He said quickly, almost snapping.

Once everyone was in their rooms Draco peeked out, looking to see what was going on. The entrance was open again and Snape was being arrested, Draco watched intently as the aurers dragged him away. A part of him was amazed at how quickly they had acted, how quickly they had chosen to arrest Snape as, he was sure, the killer. He wondered how Dumbledore had died, who had been able to kill him.

When Atani got up the next day he found the paper with his breakfast. He raised an eyebrow as he read the headline. Dumbledore was dead and according to the paper Snape was responsible. He read as he ate, taking in all that had been going on. He hadn't been exposed at all to the outside world, except for the letters he got through Sirius, since his kidnapping. He sighed, putting the paper down and stretching, getting to his feet after a moment. He had no idea what he was going to do and just wanted to curl up with Draco but he couldn't really do that.

"Why can't it be summer yet or why can't Draco be here?" He stretched again, "Maybe I should study but I don't want to."

It wasn't long before he was bored out of his mind and began studying. A part of him wished he had never agreed to the kidnapping. After what felt like hours the door to the study opened and he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He looked up and back to see his father standing there.

"Hi papa." He smiled, "I've been studying."

"I can see that. There's a surprise for you in the dinning room."

He blinked, "What kind of surprise?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you now would it?"

"I suppose not." He said, getting to his feet and walking out of the study, heading towards the dinning room and his surprise.

When he walked in he found himself embraced and pulled close. An undignified yip escaped his lips and he smiled when he saw who it was. Quickly he wrapped his arms around his assailant. His father walked in behind him, smiling at the two of them.

"Happy Atani?" He questioned.

"Oh yes. What are you doing in Drac?" He asked, leaning his cheek on his shoulder.

"Saving you from boredom. Father decided that since Dumbledore was killed in the school it wouldn't be safe for me to be there." He smiled, "Ok, so his death was just an excuse." He gave him a soft kiss, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you more!"

He laughed, "I bet you didn't have everyone questioning you about everything."

"No, I just had lessons to deal with."

Draco kissed him again, "Well, I have to suffer through them with you now."

"I'm glad." He said, giving him a soft kiss, "Come on, I want to show you around." With that the two of them walked out.