Title: A Torturous Reminder
Chapter 4: Poison, Woes, and Harm
Rating: M
Warnings: H/D SLASH, HBP SPOILERS
DISCLAIMER: We do not own Harry Potter! Characters (except those created by us) belong to the amazingly talented J.K. Rowling, WB, and the publishing companies. Don't sue us! We are just bored teenagers having a go at poor Harry and Draco!
Harry woke up with a pounding headache. His temples were throbbing as he groped along his bedside table for his glasses. A few seconds after he found them, he was rushing to the bathroom, nauseated.
After a few minutes he began to feel better and went back to his room. He turned to the clock which now read '9:01 a.m.'.
"Damn it, I'm late!" he said, looking around for his clothes. 'Why didn't Alex wake me up!' he thought when he suddenly remembered the scenes of the night before.
He sat on his bed, half-dressed, and ran a hand through his hair. 'What did I do!' he thought, thinking back to the scene. 'I've got to go apologize,' he decided, and, finishing dressing himself, went over to Alex's apartment. He knocked on the door, but no Alex answered. He continued knocking for a while but still, there was no response. 'He must've left before me. I hope I didn't hurt him badly,' he thought as he walked out of the building and made his way over to the ministry.
"I told you not to be late, Harry," Mr. Bradford said in an irritated tone. "I do have other things to tend to."
"Sorry Mr. Bradford, I just-," began Harry, when Mr. Bradford interrupted him.
"Save your excuses," Mr. Bradford said, sitting down behind his desk and signaling for Harry to sit down.
"Well, as you heard yesterday," Mr. Bradford began once Harry was seated, "Alex was the one that spotted the death eaters here in our own city. He gave us clear descriptions of two of the death eaters and we've identified them as Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. Alex saw about five more with them, though they were all covered with black cloaks. We do not know what their intentions are, nor do we want to wait to find out.
"And that is where you come in, Mr. Potter. You and Mr. Malfoy have been assigned to go capture the death eaters and stop whatever purpose they may have. We hope you two will use as little magic as possible, but if need be, we are granting you permission to perform magic in front of muggles. But only in extreme situations.
"Another piece of information that we have is a clue that Alex retrieved from the sight. Currently, Draco is working to decode it, but we have no idea what it could mean or contain."
"At least its something," said Harry, taking all the information in and going through it in his head. "By the way, where is this clue?"
"Right here, Potter," said Draco, coming into the room with two papers in hand, "and decoded, thanks to yours truly."
"Don't flatter yourself Malfoy; it must have been an easy code you cracked," said Harry, turning around towards Draco as he stepped in and made his way over to them.
"Even then, you probably wouldn't have been able to decode it yourself," said Draco, sneering at Harry.
"Gentlemen, please, drop your antics. This is an extreme situation and childish antics will get us nowhere," Mr. Bradford said chidingly, now getting annoyed. "Now, Mr. Malfoy, please inform us of your findings."
"Well, the death eaters probably left to Bane Alley. The meeting place must be somewhere around there. I doubt they would be roaming around the alley. When we get there, we're going to have to see where they could have met and see if that gets us anywhere. We can interview some people, too, and see if anyone might be able to help us."
"When you say 'we', do you mean you and I?" asked Harry, seeming almost afraid of the answer.
"Unfortunately yes, Potter. You're coming with me."
"Excellent work Mr. Malfoy. Now please excuse me, I have an appointment to go to," said Mr. Bradford, closing his suitcase and leaving the room.
"So, shall we?" said Draco, beckoning towards the door.
With a sigh, Harry stood up. He was ready to give it his best, and hopefully make some headway in their investigation. The names of Lucius and Bellatrix had incited a fire in him and he was willing to do anything, even side with Draco, if that meant the downfall of those two death eaters.
They stood outside the ministry and Harry began signaling a cab. Once it stopped, though, Draco went over to it and, leaning into the window spoke some words to the cab driver, and then it was off.
"Why did you send the cab off! Don't tell me we're walking?"
"Potter, don't be lazy, and no, we are not walking. I have a car. The Ministry highly approves of it. Says it makes us more 'muggle-like'," said Draco, making his way to the parking lot and telling Harry to stay where he was. Seconds passed and Harry stood there in silence. Malfoy had a car, who would have thought.
A brand new, black, Mercedes-Benz pulled up by Harry, snapping him out of his thoughts. The window rolled down and inside was Draco, smirking at Harry's shocked face.
"What are you waiting for? We have to go. Get inside," Draco said impatiently.
Harry regained his composure and, opening the door, slid into the car next to Draco.
"So what is Bane Alley?" asked Harry, breaking the heavy silence.
"It's like Knockturn Alley. You don't want to roam there; you definitely don't want to be seen there. It's a bad place, a lot of dark arts dealing in there."
"Seems like the perfect place for death eaters then," said Harry, looking out the window at the buildings they passed by.
"And that's exactly why I don't think they'll be there,' said Draco, turning his head to look at Harry.
"I thought you had cracked the code! Are you saying you're not sure you got it right then?" said Harry, turning back around and staring incredulously at Draco.
"Of course not, I'm still a genius, and you… are not. Honestly Potter, just because its written in paper, doesn't mean they will be there... they could have been there months ago for all we know. That's why we're going to see what we can find, and from there we'll start making our conclusions."
"Fine, whatever you say, Malfoy. Are we almost there?" asked Harry, turning back towards the window and looking at the scenery.
"As a matter of fact, yes, just around the corner…" Draco said as he made a right turn and parked in front of a dingy bookstore. People were passing it by, probably not noticing it was there nor feeling the energy being emitted from the place.
They got out of the car and made their way inside the bookstore. The bookstore was filled with very little people, but those that were there looked like practitioners of the dark arts. The graying walls and décor gave the room nothing to suggest a welcome or comfort.
Harry unconsciously stood very close to Draco as he led them to a door, and then to an alley.
"Poison, woes, and harm," said Draco to a wooden fence that immediately opened once he had uttered those words.
Harry let out a gasp as he saw Bane Alley for the first time.
In front of him stood a black fountain, with dark red water coming from it and shops were all over the place, at first forming a circle around the fountain and then going in lines and alleys down several paths. Some shops had piles of books lined up against the windows, others had strange artifacts lined in their shelves, while others were simply grotesque, with black cats hanging by their tails outside of the shops and other such ingredients for rare and dark potions.
"Is – Is that blood?" asked Harry, stunned by the whole alley, but mainly shocked at the fountain that seemed to pour blood out of it.
"Yes it is. It's charmed so that blood pours from it," said Draco indifferently.
"That's sick!"
"Well, the people here are sick," said Malfoy, motioning to the people around them, "which is why I suggest that you, Potter, stay close to me."
"Why? Oh, I get it, you just want to be close to me, don't you?" asked Harry, smirking at Draco.
"Potter, I mean it!"
Before Harry took notice, Malfoy had gotten his hand in a firm grip and led him away from the fountain.
"What was that for?" said Harry in a scandalized tone.
"Turn around for a second. See that man over there?" asked Draco, pointing behind them, just where they had been standing a few seconds ago.
Harry nodded. A tall, vampire looking man stood there looking at him.
"He's a dealer," stated Draco simply.
"A drug dealer…?" asked Harry, not comprehending what Draco meant.
"No! Potter, don't be daft! He takes naïve, attractive young men for, shall we say, his private collection."
"Oh…" Harry paled at this statement and took a better hold of his wand. "Wait, did you just call me attractive?"
"…," Draco remained silent, unable to come up with an answer.
They kept on walking through the dark alley. It was near noon, yet no sun shined here. The alley was as black as if it was night.
Harry noticed that Malfoy and him were still holding hands and tried to get out from Malfoy's grip, but his grip was too strong.
"What are we looking for?" asked Harry, after giving up, after a few tugs, of getting out of Draco's grasp.
"We're going to interview Larson Edwards. He's the owner of Hypatia, a store dedicated to the dark arts," said Draco, leading them knowingly down alleys and paths.
"Oh, and I assume you will do the questioning?" asked Harry, feeling unhelpful.
"Yes, and please Potter, do behave yourself and shut your mouth while we are there!" said Draco, continuing to pull him forwards as he walked on.
"I'm not going to screw this up for you!" said Harry, annoyed.
Draco, though, ignored the statement, having at last found the shop he had been looking for. He stopped in front of a fancy shop. Glittering, golden letters spelled out the name "Hypatia", and Harry noticed that the store had no customers.
"What is this place?" asked Harry, curiously looking inside the store.
"It's a dark arts store. Specializes in every need you may have to complete a curse, or anything forbidden, for that matter," Draco said as he walked, with Harry close behind, into the store.
"What are we doing here?" asked Harry, casting glances around him and marveling at some of the things on a shelf.
Draco let go of Harry's hand and bade him to follow him deeper into the store.
They both slowly walked towards the back of the room, where a countertop seemed to be placed.
"Larson," said Draco, a little loudly. Immediately, a small, nervous looking man appeared. He was clad in a robe which covered him completely, except for his hands and face. The hands twisted nervously as he glanced around the room.
He laid his eyes on Harry and immediately drew back.
"What is he doing here, Mr. Malfoy! He should not, could not… b-b-but why would you bring him here!" he said, quickly and all jumbled up.
Draco, seeing his intentions, leaned over the counter and grabbed him by the collar before he could disapparate.
"Hold on," said Draco, "we need to know if there's been any strange occurrences about here? Have you seen any strange, black-robed people around here? They call themselves death eaters."
"D-Death Eaters," gulped Larson. "N-No sir, I haven't seen any D-Death Eaters around here," he said, trying to pry himself out of Draco's grasp.
Draco, though, tightened his grip on Larson, almost choking him. "Once again…," said Draco impatiently, "did you see anyone strange around here?"
Larson let out a squeak and then pointed to an alleyway almost right across his store.
"There," he said nervously, "that's where they were, but beware, Mr. Malfoy," he said, squirming out of Draco's grasp and disappearing once Draco had loosened his hold on him.
"Come on, Potter," Draco said as he walked towards the door. "Potter?" he said, turning around and finding Harry extending a hand towards a vial of yellow liquid.
He walked over to Harry, grabbed him by the shoulders, and led him out of the store.
"What'd you do that for, Malfoy?" asked Harry.
"Unless you wanted to die, Potter, by a mesmerizing potion, I think you should be thanking me for saving your life," said Draco, grabbing Harry's hand once more as they walked towards the alley.
"Look at his," said Draco, bringing Harry forward and then letting go of his hand.
"It's a death-eater robe," said Harry, "and a note's clipped to it," he said, lifting the hood at the sight of a yellow corner and finding a piece of parchment inside it. He tore it off and glanced at it, surveying what it contained.
Draco came up behind him and looked at the note over his shoulder, almost leaning against Harry as he looked through the note.
"Could you step away?" asked Harry, growing conscious of how close Draco was and beginning to get uncomfortable.
"If you didn't hog up the note so much," began Draco, embarrassed, but not wishing to start up an argument, he let it go.
"Come on, we'll go back to my apartment," said Draco, getting up and grabbing the death eater robe.
"Why are we going to your apartment?" asked Harry, following Draco with the note in his hand.
"Because, that happens to be where I decoded the last note," said Draco.
"Aren't you going to hold my hand?" asked Harry, looking around nervously.
"Well, I would, but seeing as the man's gone, there's really no need. Of course, I understand you wanting to feel my fingers intertwining with yours, but only in emergencies, Potter," said Draco smirking as they walked back towards the muggle world and towards Draco's car.
Draco led the way and faced the front, so he didn't see the faint blush that began to form on Harry's face.
They both got into the car and Draco drove over to his apartment.
"What did that man mean when he said you shouldn't have brought me there?" asked Harry curiously, looking over at Draco.
Draco gave him a quick glance and shrugged. "I think some people here have heard about you and don't want you alive. Plus, think of it. Harry Potter, the defeater of evil, in his store. It could make him unpopular and he could even lose customers."
"He was a weird chap," said Harry. "I wonder why the death eaters would conveniently locate themselves in front of his store."
"I'm thinking Larson's in on it," said Draco.
"On what? On luring us in? Are you saying this is just a trap?" asked Harry, a bit incredulous yet cradling the thought in his head.
"It could be. I know my father, and I know he wouldn't be careless enough to be seen in public, especially to be seen by someone like Alex. He must be getting inside information of some sort," said Draco as he pulled up to a gargantuan building.
"Well, come on, Potter," said Draco as Harry looked up and marveled at the building which Draco lived in. He followed Draco as they went in and entered the elevator. Draco clicked the number 12 and they were on their way.
Once on the floor, Draco led Harry to his apartment, number 1201, and opened the door for Harry.
Harry stepped in and looked around, eyeing everything and marveling at Draco's house. He was stunned as he looked on. Draco's walls were painted a nice cream color and portraits were hanging sporadically across the room. A black couch, which lay on top of a black rug, was in the center of the living room. Come to think of it, all of Malfoy's furniture was black. Silver pieces belonging to technology were seen here and there, Harry noticed as he walked into the living room.
"Just sit here and watch T.V. or something," said Draco, lazily pointing at the T.V.
"Well, what's the point of me staying then if you don't want my help? Couldn't I just go home?" said Harry.
"You are not going to be bumming around your house and getting paid for it. I now you probably don't want to be with me, so it's a nice trade off. I do work while you get to enjoy my loveable company."
Harry snorted. "You, loveable. It's an unfair trade, Malfoy! I'll be the one who suffers the most."
"Whatever, Potter. I'm heading to my library," said Draco, grabbing a stack of papers from the table and leaving to another room.
Harry flipped through the channels but found nothing interesting on. He contemplated on whether to go and help Draco crack the code or not, but, figuring that Draco could probably do it all by himself, and, aside from that, being very tired, he decided to take a nap on the huge couch that seemed to take up a lot of space.
He was still sleeping when he felt a hard poke to his stomach.
"Ow, go away," he said sleepily, turning on his side. He felt another hard poke and opened his eyes slowly. "What the fuck do you want, Malfoy?" he said as the blonde stood right next to him.
"I've decoded the information," Draco said, looking down at him and his cloudy expression.
"What? Oh great, yes get me some food," said Harry, wanting nothing else but to keep on sleeping.
Draco ran a hand through his hair and looked at Harry while he tried to go back to sleep.
"Do you like Alex?" asked Draco smirking, making room for himself and sitting next to Harry's feet.
"No, maybe… I don't know," Harry said drowsily.
"Do you still love Oliver?" continued Draco with his questions.
"Oliver.. Yes, call him here for me, I need to give him something," Harry said, his face burrowing into the sofa.
"Something?" asked Draco curiously, lifting an eyebrow.
"Yes, and its none of your business," said Harry, throwing a cushion at Draco and then falling back asleep.
"Will you ever like me?"
"I might alr-," Harry began when he snapped wide awake and saw Draco sitting by his feet. He pushed himself off the couch and stood in front of Draco. "What did you ask me!" he asked, rubbing his eyes awake and trying to remember what Draco had been asking and whether he had said anything Draco could use against him.
"Nothing, never mind. We need to get you back to your apartment," said Draco tiredly, not missing what Harry had implied.
Harry looked at Draco, some suspicion gone though most of it still with him. 'Malfoy would have been gleeful if he had found out anything, but he was being indifferent as always. Then again, he was particularly good at hiding his feelings,' thought Harry as he followed Draco out of his apartment and down towards his car.
They drove back to Harry's apartment in silence. Draco kept stealing glances at Harry now and then, and Harry tried his best to ignore him.
Finally, just when Harry was debating on whether or not screaming or saying something because he couldn't take the silence any longer, they arrived at his apartment. He got out of the car without a word and entered the building.
He made his way to the elevator and stepped out into his floor. As he lifted his head down his hallway he saw Alex with his key in hands, about to open his apartment. Remembering how rude he was to Alex, he made his way over to apologize.
"Alex…" Harry said nervously, getting his attention.
Alex turned around and saw Harry standing there, fidgeting.
"I'm sorry for treating you like crap last night. I didn't mean too, the drinks just caught up with me, I guess," said Harry, looking at the floor.
After a few seconds of silence, Alex turned around and, facing Harry, finally spoke. "Harry, please, be honest with me. Did you mean the kiss? Do you like me?"
Harry looked up at Alex's face and saw his eyes filled with sadness and hope that seemed to hurt Alex and pain Harry. Making his decision, he stepped forward.
Harry took Alex's shin in one hand and pulled Alex's lips towards his own, pressing them together as Alex stood in shock. Harry was actually kissing him and wasn't drunk or out of it this time. Alex kissed Harry back, pressing his lips against Harry gently and carefully.
Harry, noticing Alex's restraint and feeling something tug at his heart, kissed Alex ardently. Alex figured that Harry was giving him permission to proceed and, almost a bit lustily and greedily, passionately kissed Harry back, pushing him up against the wall. He placed both hands against Harry's chest and traced Harry's body, going unusually low and sending a lusty shiver down Harry's back.
Draco winced as Harry slammed the door. He saw him walk towards the door, knowing that he was probably mad. He thought back to what had happened and was glad Harry had been drowsy enough not to remember the scene. He began to pull out when he suddenly remembered.
"Shit!" yelled Draco, getting out of the car hurriedly. "I forgot to tell him about the code!"
Draco cursed his luck and stepped into the elevator, pressing the number 7 and recalling where Harry's apartment was located.
The elevator finally opened and he got out. As soon as he stepped out he stepped towards his left where Harry's apartment was and stopped as he saw the action occurring before him. Harry and Alex were kissing.
"Potter and Bloom in PG-13 mode. Wow, what a moment," Draco muttered coldly, his eyes drained of all emotion and his knuckles clasped tightly at his side.
A/N: wheee another chapter! So what do you all think? PLEASE review, any feedback is welcomed!