Disclaimer: This is based off of a series of novels by JK Rowling. Need I say more?
A/N: Well it appears that you all still like my writing, and I thank you for the time you have spent with me. Sunday, July 31, 2005 marks the 1-week anniversary of this fic! So we've been together for a week! And now that we've gotten Draco and Harry to kiss, what's next? What is approaching in their new future? Will they ever figure out where Rowena Ravenclaw's bracelet is? And what about Ginny? Will she ever get to kiss Harry? When are Harry and Draco coming out? These are all questions that will be answered in the coming chapters, so please keep reading. Before we proceed, the normal thank yous:
Ameinias: You are supa fly. You reviews never cease to amaze me; their depth shows that you are at one with yourself and understand the world around you very well… I'm glad that you have enjoyed the chapters up to this point, and I will try to make sure you continue to overfill with glee at the sight of a new chapter. As for the spells that I have made up, you have also shown that you read closely. It is true that those spells were based on Latin, much like how JK Rowling creates the spells in her novels. And finally, I have been trying to expand the amount of imagery that I'm using. I make sure to describe the scenes, trying to make the scene in the fiction even more real than life. I appreciate the thanks.
Yunchen: I'm glad you find my fanfiction, for lack of a better word, so WONDERFUL. And you noticed the part about floating in happiness. Well, you have taken it to heart. It's a joy to read your reviews, as always.
RisuMusume: Hmmm, thank you for loving my story it so. It means a lot to me to see people cherish something that I have made with my bare hands (and a keyboard, lol). And thanks for the error check-I have no Beta, but I try to proofread the stories myself. Thanks again!
Silly little 13 year old: I'm glad that you found this chapter so enjoyable! The kiss was hard work, but somehow I managed to make it seem sexy. And I have been thinking about what to name the next chapter… (giggles) I guess there's no cliffie this chapter because I finally shot one of the evil monkeys, which made them less belligerent. But watch out, I think they're regrouping. I'll have to keep my eyes open. And I do want to murderfie Ginny with you!
fifespice: I know, trust Hermione to get excited by a library. Thanks for the review! YAY!
LuzEterna: Whore/Bitch/Slut/ POWER! LOL. Glad you enjoyed it.
Amok Necrorragia: I forgive you for not reviewing chapter 10 since you and Poe are the BOMB! And that fact that you've been kept away from the computer may have something to do with that. And I'm a computer geek too, sorta. Although I can't make a virus that would do that to my computer, I can: System.out.println("WEEEE JAVA!"); / see, I can program. I think it would have been ironic if I put Hello World there, so I decided against it. Finally, if you ever need help choking Poe just call me. I'd be glad to come right over and help out. Chapter 12: Back to the House…Hermione had just walked over to Harry and Draco with both a stack of books and some good news. She said, "Harry, I found something on updating portkeys! So now we can finally get those rings working. I haven't found anything about the horcruxes persay, but I did find some references to a place where light cannot escape," she paused, looking at Draco and Harry expectantly. She asked, "Have you two found anything yet?"
"Well, um… Hermione, it's a funny thing, you see…" said Harry trying to avoid answering the question. Draco sighed and decided that it would be best for him to answer.
He tersely answered, "No," making Hermione roll her eyes. She hadn't really expected that they would find anything of use, but she had hoped that they would have found something.
Hermione continued, "We might as well keep looking for a little while, to see if we can find anything else. Harry, I think I'm going to look for how Lucius and Bellatrix were able to block your spells."
"But Hermione, I told you…" said Harry, pleading with Hermione. He saw her search as a waste of time.
"I know Harry, but it never hurt anyone to look. Okay? I'll be back soon…" she said, turning her back to them and striding away. She called out, "Thanks for watching my books!" and before they had a chance to argue, she was out of sight.
Harry and Draco busied themselves looking through the shelves standing in front of them; but even though they put forth quite an effort, they managed to find nothing. Just as they picked up a green, tattered book, Hermione came running back to them with her arms full of books.
"I'm ready to leave when you are," she said. "I have enough books for what we need. I'll meet you over by the librarian's desk. And can you carry the books I left on the table?"
Again, before either of them could protest, she had walked away. Harry asked Draco, "How are we going to carry this many books?"
Draco his shrugged his shoulders, "I have no idea…but Hermione seemed to be able to alone, so we might as well try." They walked over to the table and filled both of their arms with the tomes that Hermione had found. But there were still a few more left on the table. After a bit of some crafty maneuvering, Draco was able to fit those last books on the top of his stack. They shakily made their way to the front of the room, where the desk was located. Thankfully, their eyes were able to peer right over the top of the books, so they sort of knew their feet where taking them. Having this sight did not stop them from almost stumbling over a few things on the floor, however.
Their long journey came to an end as they caught sight of Hermione's bushy hair in the distance. With a final huff, they put the books down on the wooden desk and looked over at Hermione, who was blushing.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't think they'd be such a trouble. I guess you didn't use magic…" But somehow, Harry did not think Hermione was apologizing to him. First of all, she was distinctly looking straight at Draco when she had made the apology, aiming it away from Harry. Plus, Harry knew he was due pay back for that pinch sometime, and he knew Hermione would do something like this…
They waited as a woman, whom looked very much like the man that they had met upstairs, checked the books out for them. The petite lady would open each book to the last page and murmur, "Siccosomes." All of the sudden some black writing would appear on the lower right hand corner of the inside cover, and then she would abruptly close the book and move on to the next one, taking it right off the top of the leaning tower of books. Once she was done, she muttered, "Adieu," to the trio, and she went to sit down in a chair in a corner, picking up a dusty old tome from a nearby shelf and reading it. Hermione quickly gave the books a general swoop of her wand before they divided them up. Both Harry and Draco noticed that the books were considerably lighter than they had been when they had carried them before. After a journey back through the building, they finally reached the outdoors, where the red sun bathed them.
"Harry, I think I'm going to be the one who is going to be apparating us to the house this time," said Hermione.
Harry, who could just barely see over the mountain of books, noticed that Hermione was beginning to look angry. He didn't dare push any of her buttons when she looked like that.
"Good," she said, waving for them to come closer to her. They tried to hold onto Hermione with whatever they could. Somehow, they managed to get a firm grip upon one and another, and before Draco or Harry knew it, they had heard an all too familiar pop and they were off.
When they had gotten back to Grimmauld place, they could not help but look towards the west, where the Sun seemed to be sitting on horizon, toying at falling and leaving the world in darkness.
"It's so beautiful," said Hermione, "The ruby red shade is to die for…" she trailed off, lost in admiration for the beauty of nature. But after a moment, she noticed something out of the corner of her eyes; Draco had gotten ahold of Harry's hand and they were both enjoying the touch of their lover as they gazed on the amazing Sun. Hermione allowed this to persist for a minute, but after that time, she had lost her patience with the two of them.
"AHEM!" she coughed, trying to break them up as discreetly as possible, trying to hide her initiative. It didn't work. She tried coughing even louder, but again the two did not break apart. She sighed; she would just have to do it by hand. She moved to the middle of them, sneaking behind them slowly. Then she simply karate chopped them apart with her right hand. Harry and Draco looked at her like they wanted to kill her for doing that. She couldn't help but feel bad that she had just done something so crude to the two, yet she knew it was completely necessary.
"You guys! Don't glare at me like I'm the bane of your existence! I had to do that! You two would not come apart…and we have to go inside. Am I the only one that realizes they still don't know about you guys?" she said with her hands on her hips.
"Sorry Hermione," replied Draco, softening his gaze, "you're right. And thank you for caring about us." Draco had done the right thing; Hermione let her hands drop of her waist and smiled at them.
"Well," said Harry, a little ruffled from the situation, "Let's get inside, it's getting a little dark." Hermione and Draco nodded their heads, following Harry to the door. "We better ring the doorbell, just to let them know we're coming. It's polite when there's no emergency…"
"Doorbell?" asked Draco, not knowing what Harry was speaking of.
"Harry, wait!" said Hermione, grabbing for Harry's arm. She was too late; the doorbell had already rang through the house, rousing the exceedingly unpleasant Mrs. Black. Soon her screams had reached them, accompanied by many of the other people in the portraits of the living room, creating an awful cacophony.
They heard a few footsteps coming down the hallway, and a series of clicks come from the door. A vehement Mrs. Weasley was standing in the doorway, red in the face and glowering at them.
"Why did you go and do that?" she asked with her nose curled. "Now we have her to deal with…"
"I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley, I sort of forgot…" said Harry, realizing the mistake he had made by rousing rambunctious Mrs. Black. Mrs. Weasley stared him down for a few moments, but eventually the anger left her face, once the echoing screams from the portraits had calmed down.
"Well, stop standing out there in the cold and come in," she said, letting a little smile make its way onto her face. When the threesome got inside, they all practically jumped in fright. They had all forgotten how eerie the whole house was. After being outside and witnessing such a beautiful sunset, the house seemed to be particularly gloomy. The walls were drab, the floor was dingy… it really depressed them all, making them wish they were back outside…
"I'm glad you all made it back in one piece," said Mrs. Weasley, bringing up the rear after she had magically locked the door. "And you all made it back just in time for dinner! You better go sit down as soon as you can. We don't want it to go and get cold, now do we?"
They made a pit stop by their rooms to drop off the books and speedily made their way to the table for the evening meal. When they all walked into the room, they saw the beautiful banquet awaiting them on the table. At the center was a large roasted turkey and surrounding it were a large plate of mashed potatoes, a few trays of stuffing scattered along the table, a saucer full of thick brown gravy, a large bowl of cranberries, a plate of sweet potatoes, and finally an oversized salad. With them away at the library, it appeared Mrs. Weasley had spent the afternoon cooking as a facet for her immense stress. Although the others at the table had already started, there was plenty of food left. They dug in, leaving behind their worries…
Draco had had one too many servings at dinner and could feel the after effects now, weighing him down as he made his way back to his room. He collected a few garments from the dresser and walked out to the hallway, where he met Harry.
"Where are you going, Draco… I wanted to talk to you," said Harry with his emerald eyes scanning Draco for his reaction.
"I'm going to shower…" responded Draco.
"Fine," replied Harry, cutting off Draco in his anger. Draco was a little taken back, but he decided to give Harry a taste of his own medicine.
"What are you going to do then?" asked Draco in a tone similar to Harry's.
"I'm going to sleep since you're going…" said Harry, who could not finish his sentence.
"Fine," said Draco, "Just don't get mad at me for going about my business. Okay Harry?"
"Okay," said Harry, realizing how much of an ass he had just been, "Can we still talk in the morning then?"
"Sure," replied Draco with a smile. "Good night Harry, I'll see you in the morning."
"Night Draco," Harry said, walking into their room, leaving Draco out in the hallway standing alone.
Even though Harry got to sleep in his own bed that night, he had trouble falling asleep without the presence of Draco in the room. He rolled around, searching for a way to drift away from his surroundings. Nevertheless, he could not start sleeping until he had heard the door open and slowly close…
"Creak," heard Harry in the middle of the night, waking him up from a deep slumber. He quickly looked over the room, scanning it for an intruder. In the right-hand corner, he saw something move. Something fairly small… Harry threw the covers off of his body and ran over to check out what exactly was there. He was not happy when he got there, to say the least.
"Kreacher? Is that you?" he whispered, astounded the house-elf was in his room. He had not seen his servant in days and it was probably for the best.
"Yes, master," said Kreacher, murmuring something under his breath.
Harry was slightly intrigued by what his house-elf had been doing the past few days. He asked proceeded to ask Kreacher, but it took a moment for him to respond to Harry. Harry said his name to try to push him towards an answer.
"I have been working for the little Malfoy," Kreacher said, pausing before he added on, "m-master."
"Why? Has he been ordering you around?" asked Harry who was keeping his voice down.
"N-no," said Kreacher, "I have been doing all I can to help him…" Harry knew that Kreacher had imprinted upon him a prejudice towards mudbloods, left upon house-elf by his despicable past owners. And Harry knew that he worshipped the ground that purebloods walked on, which included his Draco…
Yet, Harry was not quite satisfied yet. He asked, "Why have you been doing this work at night?"
Kreacher had trouble answering this final question, but eventually his closed lips parted and the answer sprang out. "I have been trying my best to avoid the m-m-master's friend and master," said Kreacher, not able to say the word mudblood after Harry had forbidden him calling his master's friends names.
Harry was content; his mutual hate for Kreacher had been keeping them apart. Before he returned to his bed, he did not scold Kreacher. Instead, Harry simply whispered to him, "Well, you may continue avoiding me. Just don't wake me up again." He watched Kreacher nod and went back to his bed, falling over and diving into a deep snooze.
When Draco awoke, he noticed that Harry was not there. He could hear the faint sound of water running and knew that Harry must have gone and showered when he saw that Draco was not quite awake. Draco got up and changed out of his clothes and into one of the new ensembles Harry had bought him at the mall.
He heard the shower still running once he had finished getting dressed, so he decided to sit down on the bed and wait for Harry to return to the room. He started tapping his foot on the floor as he waited, trying to make the time pass more quickly. Time kept moving as slow as molasses, however, so Draco just had to keep waiting. Once he heard the shower stop, his spirits lifted. He would be able to give Harry the talk that he had wanted so badly last night…
Draco kept waiting for some time after the shower, making him wonder what Harry was up to. Ten minutes had passed already, making Draco wonder even more. Draco was worried, and he got up from the bed and started pacing while he eyed the dreary, dirty floor. He slowly raised his eyes upwards and when they caught sight of the door, he could not wait any longer. He leaped towards the door and ripped it open. The scene his eyes met outside was not pretty; it was eerily familiar, however.
Up against the bathroom door was Harry, pinned by Ginny. And Draco had gotten there much too late this time. He was not mistaken; Harry was being kissed quite excessively by Ginny. Harry's eyes were closed, his whole face wearing a disgusted expression. Nonetheless, Draco did not see Ginny stop smooching his man… She just kept running her slutty red-rose lips against Harry's…
Draco could feel the intensity within him building; he was mad at Ginny. He could feel his heartbeat pick up, the adrenaline rushing. His whole body filled with fury, his hands began to twitch, and his gaze narrowed. He may have been shell-shocked, but he was still extremely furious and needed to get Ginny off his man. Draco knew he couldn't just go towards them and rip them apart from each other, so he resorted some alternative methods to try to make Ginny get off Harry.
He tried tapping his foot loudly and impatiently, but it wasn't working.
He tried coughing noisily, but it wasn't working.
He decided to talk to Ginny, knowing that that idea may be able to interrupt them without physically pulling them apart. He said, "Ginny…"
She broke apart from Harry, a little mad that someone had talked to her while she was kissing Harry. Regardless, she was still very smug; she had done what she had set out to do: kiss Harry. She turned towards Draco and looked him in the eyes, giving him a smirk.
It was a wonder Draco didn't jump her right then, but he exercised magnificent self-control. He just looked at her loathingly.
Ginny was a little surprised by the fact that Draco was flaring his nostrils at her, as though he had something to be mad about.
Ginny looked away from Draco, eager to break the stare that he was giving her, and looked back towards Harry and said, "I guess that means that we're back together?" She smiled like Harry was going to do whatever she said…
Harry was frightened, his eyes were wide; they looked like jade plates. He glanced at Draco, his eyes searching for help.
Draco saw Harry's plea for rescue, but still…Draco didn't know what to do; he didn't know how Harry would react to any of the plans of action running through his head…
A/N: Sadly, that's the end, so you'll have to wait until next time to see what Draco will do to that evil bitch (sorry Ginny lovers). But she had just done that against Harry's will, letting her urges get the best of her. Will Draco rip her limb from limb? Will he punch her in the face? Will he just sit there fuming, wondering what he should do? Hmph, those are all good ideas… The next chapter is title Taking Care of Business. Hope you enjoyed this one! And you better review! Thank you all! You're the best! I'm off to bed. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ