Disclaimer: I don't own it, or the books would be for mature audiences only.
Pairings: DM/HP, RW/HG, BZ/NL and possibly others.
At breakfast the next day Harry sat quietly at his house table, thinking on the night before. He was broken out of his thoughts by Ron. "I think that the Slytherins are planning something. They keep looking at you and whispering Harry."
Harry looked up; several Slytherins were looking at him. They all glanced away when he turned his gaze on them. "I wouldn't worry about it." He was fairly certain that the looks had to do with the events of the night before.
"Good for you Harry. Ron's just being paranoid."
"Am not! They're up to something, I know it!"
"Relax Ron." He almost filled his friends in as to why the Slytherins kept looking at him, but something made him hold back. "I'm sure its nothing." Ron's mouth was agape at Harry's attitude. "I have to go. I left my potions book in the Common Room." Grey eyes followed Harry out of the room; they weren't the only thing.
Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Baulstrode approached Harry just outside of the Great Hall. Millicent shoved him into the wall. Harry didn't know what they wanted, nor did he ever find out; Theodore Nott chose that moment to intervene.
"Leave him alone. He's off-limits."
"What are you talking about?" Millicent looked offended at the idea that Nott knew something she didn't.
"A claim has been made." Theodore gave them no more information then that. The girls looked at each other, then, scowling at Harry, stormed off. "Watch your back Potter; not everyone is in the know and not everyone who is would be willing to help you." Nott turned and left. The delay, thankfully, didn't make him late for potions. Not that Snape would have noticed as far as Harry could tell. The professor didn't so much as look at him the entire period.
"What was with Snape today? It was like you didn't even exist." Ron collapsed onto a couch in the common room.
"At least he didn't yell at me. Who cares why?" Harry took a chair near Ron.
"I must agree with Harry on this Ron. The break was refreshing. All we can hope is that it lasts." She lifted Ron's head and sat on the couch, laying his head on her lap. Harry smiled lightly at the pair; they still didn't realize how much they liked each other.
"It's probably for the same reason that the Slytherins keep watching Harry. There is something going on. You better watch your back, mate." Ron closed his eyes as Hermione played with his hair. Harry looked on and didn't reply; he felt bad about keeping the council meeting a secret, but found himself doing so anyway.
"If they're planning something, we won't know what it is until they do it." Ron grumbled, but accepted the statement as true. Hermione smiled down at him as she petted his hair. The boy-who-did-want-to-be-a-third-wheel slipped out of the room as quietly as possible.
Harry knew that he was going to return to the room that night; he had to know more about, everything. Who is this king? Does Dumbledore know about this council? What does it mean that I'm claimed? Draco better give me some answers, and since when is he 'Draco'? Half an hour later Ron came up the stairs, a goofy grin on his face.
"Finally ask her out?"
Ron jumped at the question. "How did you know?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Ron the whole school, and I mean the whole school, knew you two liked each other with the exception of yourselves. There was actually a bet going." Harry looked thoughtful. "I think that Malfoy won actually. I'll have to check with Fred and George, they were the ones taking the bets."
"Malfoy won? That almost ruins the moment."
At 10:45, when Harry was certain that the others were asleep, he headed out of the dorm, grabbing his invisibility cloak on the way. Harry hurried through the halls not wanting to be late; he had no idea what Malfoy would do if he was. His watch showed 10:58 as Harry opened the door and stepped into the meeting room.
"Cutting it a little close aren't you Potter?" Malfoy lounged on a couch set in the middle of the now seemingly empty room.
"What happened to the other stuff that was in here?"
"This is called the Office of Options, similar to the Room of Requirement that you are so fond of, with a few choice differences. We can discuss that later." Malfoy gestured to the area of the couch that he did not occupy; Harry hesitantly sat down. "Did anyone come after you today?"
"Parkinson and Baulstrode, but Nott stopped them. Just then, something occurred to Harry. "Is that why Snape ignored me today, because of the claim?"
"Wow, Potter, did you actually make an intelligent observation? Our world might actually have a chance. So, Potter, how long did you wait until you told your cronies about the meeting?"
"I..." Why am I embarrassed? "I didn't tell anyone." Malfoy raised an elegant brow.
"Really? The Golden Boy kept a secret from his friends? Perhaps you really do have some Slytherin in you." Malfoy stood then and made his way to one of the walls, a cupboard appeared.
"The Room of Requirement can't do that, you have to think of everything before you enter."
"One of the differences that I mentioned." Harry couldn't see into the cupboard, which worried him slightly, his worry heightened at Draco's next statement. "Take your shirt off and lie down."
"What?"
"If you want to be trusted with anymore information about the Serpent Council you will have to be Marked. Don't worry, the King knows that you were nearly a Slytherin and will probably initiate you into the Council soon. You can remove the piercing then." Harry dropped his shirt to the ground just as 'piercing' left Draco's lips.
"Piercing?" His voice squeaked and he hoped that Malfoy didn't notice.
"I told you to lie down." The blond had turned around with a strange device in his hands. Harry tried to avoid looking at it as he lie on the couch. His breath caught when Draco straddled his waist. The Slytherin paid no attention, outwardly, to Harry's reaction, instead concentrating on the teen's chest. "Hold still, this will hurt. I'm not sure how much; I've never claimed anyone before."
"Doesn't that make me feel confident? What exactly does claiming entail, you never really got to that part." Draco placed the device behind him on Harry's shins.
"Have patience. I'll explain it…eventually." He ran his hand over one of Harry's nipples lightly, before tweaking it harshly.
"What are you doing?" His voice was breathy. Malfoy glanced up to the other teen's face; Harry cheeks were tinged in a blush, and his eyes were wide. The blond fought down a smirk.
"You nipple has to be hard for this to work." Draco's hand returned to Harry's chest, but he now used it to brace himself as he lowered his head to the slightly firm nub. He ran his tongue over the abused area before taking the nub into his mouth. Harry's back arched as Draco's teeth grazed his nipple. "So responsive." Malfoy chuckled, his smirk widening as Harry's blush grew brighter. He brought the device to the prone teen's chest, then fished a silver ring out of his pocket, dropping it into a small bulb in the device. Without warning, the blond pulled the trigger. The Gryffindor's back arched again, and his eyes grew even wider; below his hips Draco felt Harry's semi-hard member harden fully. "Bit of a masochist are we Potter?" Malfoy dropped the piercing device to the floor and moved his fingers up to the silver ring that now hung from the brunette's chest.
"This," He tapped the ring, cause Harry to gasp. "Will allow past all wards that would normally only allow me or a member of my family through. It will also alert me if you are in trouble or pain." Draco continued to play with the ring as he spoke. "There are three types of claims. The first is the most common, the One-sided claim, this claim is mainly to protect; it's used on friends, innocent bystanders, etc. One-sided claims involve no marking. Those who are claimed with the One-sided claim have no idea that they have been claimed and most have never heard of the Serpent's Council. Should they find out they must be upgraded to one of the other two. The second type of claim is a Master's claim; this claim is used on subordinates, lackeys, concubines, people you want to protect but don't terribly care about. The marking of a Master's claim is usually a highly visible tattoo. This leads me to the final claim, the True claim." Draco stood and began pacing the room, Harry stayed where he was simply letting the other teen's voice wash over him. "This makes the claimed nearly equal to the claimer in the council's hierarchy. Making this claim is a very serious thing, challenging it is even more serious, that is why no one tried last night. True claims trump all others, even if a person wears the tattoo of another council member. It has two levels, a High and Life. High is used on family members, very close friend, people who you care greatly for or about. Life claims should be used on the one you love and only the one you love, the marking process is in depth and intense with an exchange of blood and the forming of a Bond. I chose a High claim to use on you, though I am quite certain that everyone believes that I am going to use a Master's claim."
"So why didn't you?" The Gryffindor gently stretched, missing the flicker in Malfoy's eyes as he did so, his own eyes remaining closed.
"I'm not an idiot, that's why. If I had used a Master's claim then I would be expected to fight Riddle for you," Draco moved closer to the couch. "Not to mention the fact that no matter how much I want to possess you, I don't want to own you." He was whispering in Harry's ear. A shiver ran down the teen's spine and his eyes snapped open, but Malfoy had disappeared.
"Possess me?"
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In the next chapter: Neville gets cornered, Draco explains more about council dynamics, and Harry learns more about the Serpent King.