Andi " wakes up after a long sleepy slumber during the winter" My harry/draco cravings are coming back " writes like a mad woman"
OM! i updated! sorry i took so long it was just so many problems with it...THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU so much my lovely beta chan, i know it was a pain but thanks so much! Thank you fans who last reviewed and i hope you will read this one too, im sorry it took so long! Enjoy the chapter and Read and review please!
Chapter 16
The Watch
Tick tock tick tockThe fire flickering in the grate caused shadows to dance across the curtains of the two Gryffindor colored beds. The light occasionally flickered high enough to cause the Quidditch cup from last year to flash brightly in Harry's eyes as he absent-mindedly either rubbed his tingling scar or his itchy nose.
He was watching the boy in the bed closest to the window. Seamus was flipping back and forth on his bed, swatting at something only his imagination could see; and he was sweating bullets.
"Do you realize," Dream Harry asked as he climbed on the bed and then slid up until he was sitting on Seamus' chest, "That you have something around your neck?" Harry didn't really seem interested in hearing Seamus' answer either as he watched a plant which even Neville probably would not be able to identify twisting and twining around the Irish lad's neck until he was choking.
Harry smiled sweetly and pointed at the plant as Seamus tried to make a response. He lifted his hands to Harry, and to Dream Harry's surprise, he pulled him down to his chest as if to say, "Listen to my dying heartbeat." Of course, as a last wish, Harry obliged. He even tapped the beats on his chest for him so that Seamus would know how slow his heart rate was becoming.
Seamus woke up in a startled state. His dreams were always like that now, they were becoming more disturbing by the day. He lifted his hand to his heart, and his eyes widened. He could still feel the ghostly tapping on his shoulder maintaining time with his slowing heartbeat. As the adrenaline kicked in, his heart rate jerked back to normal then accelerated until it was beating wildly.
HDHDHD
Harry moved gracefully along the corridors, his face hidden by a hood. Unlike the others, he did not condescend to wear a mask, he found the things loathsome and tacky. He was also opposed to the idea that he could be pointed out by wearing one. If he wanted a bulls-eye target on himself, he would like the circular kind with the pretty red center…
Again, he carried an arrow in his hands. Just like the others, it pulsed, radiating memories of others. This arrow seemed particularly fond of feeding memories of the many failures of others. He wondered if it was because this mission seemed a bit dodgy from the beginning.
The whole deal had seemed way to 'convenient' for comfort as he broke into the museum near Hogwarts. The first thing he had seen was several members of the 'Order' and Mr. Sexy Stud Muffin aka Derrick. The lot of them looked totally stupid and completely obvious as they gallivanted up and down the museum's hallways.
Harry almost snorted as he thought, 'Good thing no one is bothering to look up.' As he crawled along the ceiling to avoid being caught. He could have sworn at one point that Derrick had seen him, but the other boy had abruptly turned around as if he had heard another noise.
As Harry clutched the arrow to his chest; finding it had been ridiculously easy. What he hadn't expected to find in the museum was the ruins of a small monument; a monument of him and his family, a record of their story.
Harry wanted to stay and look at the sculpture, one side of him wanted to rip it up, tear it down, and smash it. 'How dare they act like they felt remorse?' He was the one suffering for them and he knew they didn't care. But another part of him didn't want to. That statue behind him contained accurate representations of his two parents. They stood behind him, their hands placed on his shoulders, looking outward. He couldn't bring himself to smash the replica of his mother's beautiful face. Not that of his proud father either.
Harry left with arrow in hand. He walked down the wall and entered the door to the right, adjacent to the usual office where he usually handed over the arrows; his team, which he had gained sometime in early December, walking behind him.
The team consisted of two older men who acted as some sort of lookout for him. Truthfully, they did a really crappy job because their scouting abilities were worse than horrible. They normally walked behind him, steps in sync, and only stopped when he glared at them while hissing a warning not to come in.
He opened the heavy oak door without knocking, or asking to be let in, then flopped down in a chair near the fire where Voldie was sitting, sipping some pungent brew. Harry narrowed his eyes at the smell while wrinkling up his nose to fight off a sneeze, but didn't say anything to the old wizard.
They sat in silence for several minutes, watching the cherry wood fire that glowed such an unusual bright red that it almost looked orange. Finally, Harry thrust the arrow at Voldemort's now empty hand and stood up. Still no words were exchanged, there seemed to be something between them that negated the urge to communicate verbally. Something about the day made it so.
Harry decided that since this had been his last mission, he was finished and deserved the time away. He would be leaving the house for the first time without a mission since he had come to Voldemort in October. It would be good to visit Malfoy Manor for a few weeks and just relax.
Voldemort did not stop him as he opened the door, dismissed the men, and headed off down the hall. Harry felt the older man's concern, but did not show it. He went straight to his room and after opening and closing the door without a sound, he sat down in his desk chair and relaxed slightly.
Hedwig soon landed on his shoulder, and quietly asked what was wrong. She seemed to understand his problem when he merely shook his head and nipped his ear gently. Her low hoot was loaded with amusement when he finally conceded. "Nervous!" Hedwig already knew that.
So did Riddick, who lifted his head at the sound of Harry's voice. Riddick knew that he was nervous about seeing the person he was currently writing to, but that was not the only thing on his mind. The snake knew all! He wasn't symbolized in many countries as being an animal with wisdom for nothing.
Riddick looked at the boy; the skin was tight around his body, ribs poking out when he stretched his abs only faint now. The snake could see that even the boy's muscles were being run down from overwork. The strenuous exercise that Harry seemed to be doing to distract his thoughts, or to think, the magic he seemed to do to himself was starting to eat him alive.
The child was power hungry, and it seemed that he had just got a clue in to this too. That last spell must have done the trick… It is not every day that a wizard researches ancient magic and then practices it on himself to find out exactly what it does. Riddick kept hissing, but saying nothing at all.
His young charge was on the verge of collapse from exhaustion; he withered away as he attempted to gain one accomplishment. Harry Potter's goal was to take down the one who was keeping this war going. He wanted to stop the unnecessary killings and just let the Wizarding world be at peace.
Riddick watched Harry nod off slightly as he sat in the chair. The snake reflected on his young charge; the boy might have evil slipping through his veins, and the innate goodness of his magic would eventually try to battle it out. The result being that Harry would be a constantly unbalanced boy who would never find the balance between ying and yang in his mind if he did not slow down and address the problem of his unhealthy lifestyle.
Riddick eased over to settle on the bed and let the bird-thing that Harry called Hedwig settle next to him. Both animals watched Harry as he roused from his light doze and stood up to change into a nice pair of black dress pants. He paired a collared shirt with them, leaving the top few buttons undone on the shirt, before sliding into a belted jacket that he did up gracefully. Both familiars watched as he adjusted the sleeves so that the silver stripes ran straight down the black sleeves before doing up the front of the belted jacket.
Harry picked up his back pack, threw it over his shoulder, and lifted up his hood. Both pets sat up and watched eagerly as he moved his hands upward, resetting the locking charm on the door, and charming everything that was in the room that belonged to him (which wasn't much- only his trunk and a box full of letters) to be secure until his return.
It was time to go. Riddick eagerly slithered over to him as he motioned to him. He was soon tucked safely into the backpack, his head sticking out so that he could breathe and see what was going on. Hedwig drifted on silent wings, slightly behind him.
Harry felt her settle on his shoulder just as he reached the fireplace where Lucius Malfoy had agreed to meet him earlier. Nodding to the older man, he stepped into the fireplace with him and the two of them disappeared in a flash of green fire.
With the help of Lucius, who had been instructed by Lord Voldemort to take extra special care of his young friend, Harry managed to walk lightly out of the fireplace and got his first look at the inside of Malfoy Manor.
Tick tock tick tock Draco looked down at the watch his father had given him. It was emblazoned with the image of a phoenix on the front with a snake in its mouth. He heaved a sigh and shifted restlessly so that his legs were stretched out in front of him; he was on the Hogwarts Express, waiting impatiently for the train to arrive at Platform 9 & 3/4s. He was getting heartily sick of watching the snow covered hills as they passed through them. Every once in awhile he would glance over at Pansy… Her face still had that pinched look, even though it had been a few weeks since he told her that Harry was alive and kicking. She had nearly ripped his head off at the time for keeping Harry's existence a secret for so long, and she certainly hadn't taken well to him making her swear a Wizard's Oath not to tell anyone. Draco knew her loyalties lied with him, but she had been really loathe to keep the secret from the rest of the Slytherins. He was actually scared to mention it to Hermione. From Pansy's reaction, he knew Herms would be ten times worse. There was also the thought that she would want to go out and look for Harry just so she could bash him over the head with her favorite book Hogwarts: a History. A book that big was sure to cause a concussion. For the tenth time in as many seconds, Draco's eyes flicked back to Pansy. She was staring at him and it was getting unnerving. Hermione was nestled nicely into the crook of Pansy's arm, snoring quietly because of the angle her head was tilted at. Draco knew that she had been lacking in sleep. For that matter, all of them were lacking sleep. He looked around and saw Blaise asleep, sprawled out on the floor with his head in Dean's lap. Dean felt eyes on him and looked up to see Draco peacefully watching him card his fingers through the long silky black hair in his lap. He couldn't help but feel a bit of optimism as he smiled back at the blond and saw him nod slightly before moving his eyes restlessly back to the window. The few who were still awake enough to appreciate any humor snickered slightly when Draco gave another dramatic sigh into his hands then pushed them through his hair. He looked up, uncomprehending that he had mussed his hair and it was standing out everywhere, and was rewarded by Pansy flattening it back down lovingly, then tapping his cheek lightly in reprimand as she giggled at how silly he looked momentarily. He must have dozed off eventually, as had everyone else, either that or someone had cast a sleeping charm over the compartment because they were exhausted from watching him watch the time… A few utterly boring, grueling hours later of riding the train, it arrived at the station. The whistle hadn't stopped before the Slytherin compartment was emptied. They fairly grabbed their things and hustled off to get carts to put trunks and bags on. The rest of the train was still trying to right itself; children grudgingly waking up as they walked past, acting like they had not just spent a tedious eight hour ride. They stepped off the warm train onto the platform and felt the frigid air burst into their lungs. They quickly wrapped their cloaks and scarves around their overheated bodies with their arms to keep the heat in. Draco's teeth chattered at the cold and clutched at his cloak before he regained his control and managed to cast a small warming spell on his cloak. He looked around once he was back in control of himself and saw Hermione going toward her parents. He nudged Pansy to stay alert since he didn't know if she knew about the Grangers being on friendly terms with the Weasleys and were most likely in the same vicinity. He actually sighed in relief when he located them standing off to the side with Dean Thomas's parents seemingly having a light discussion if the smiles and body movements were any indication. He and Pansy stood back and watched as the Grangers looked up and spotted their daughter. Mr. Granger had opened his arms and scooped her up to swing her around as she laughed and hugged him back. As soon as she was on the ground she grabbed her mother and greeted her with kisses on the cheeks and bone-crushing hugs. They also watched as the slightly less exuberant Dean also greeted his family. He hugged and kissed his mother, then shook hands with his father before giving in and giving him a very masculine hug. Once the private greetings were done, Hermione and Dean called the rest of the Slytherins over and introduced them to their families. Draco smiled nicely at them, but inside he wished he could see his mom and dad already. He so wanted to give his parents hugs and kisses the way Hermione so enthusiastically did. But, there was protocol to observe when Pure Blood families greeted each other in public. They would normally exchange 'Hellos' then walk to the car as if they had seen each other just before lunch. He knew Pansy and Blaise thought the same as he did. They would all three be lucky to see their parents here at all. They weren't lucky, except for Pansy, who actually broke protocol by pressing a kiss to his cheek in greeting so that she wouldn't embarrass Hermione and Dean while introducing him to everyone. The boys were met by their family's limo drivers just after they finished making a few minutes small talk to the families of the newest Slytherins. "It seems that we have to cruise by ourselves this year." Blaise said as he managed to step around one of the Weasleys. He gave Draco a horrified look and stage whispered, "I think they are multiplying even faster!" Draco turned his head to see a baby girl in the oldest brother's hands, while a baby boy clung to his mother. "I think you might be right. And, they are all here except to the jesters." He pointed out. As they went outside, Blaise nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, that was odd. Even for that crew."Draco recognized the family limo and scowled. He hated the bloody thing. He just wanted to go home and he didn't want it to take fifteen minutes to do so. He wanted to be there, NOW!
Blaise saw his friend's warm blue-grey eyes turn to storm cloud black and decided to leave quickly. He said, "Goodbye." With a sigh of relief and headed for his own vehicle as quickly as possible.
Draco opened the door and threw his stuff inside without looking; grumbling to himself the whole time. The winter jacket and trunk he had shrunk to the size of a small valise, instead of palm size so that he wouldn't lose it, landed awkwardly and rolled onto the floor. He snarled in anger at the offending items before climbing into the limo and settling down in the seat with a sigh.
"Was it really necessary to throw that stuff at me?" Harry asked, smiling as he reached down and moved the abused items off of his legs and feet.
Draco smiled brilliantly and tossed the items back on the floor from where Harry had set them neatly on the seat beside him.
"I said I would come. Why are you looking so surprised?" Harry chided him.
Draco just shook his head, and then was jerked back in surprise as the limo slid smoothly into the traffic. As the car wove its way through London, Draco sat there in embarrassment, staring hungrily at Harry, but not sure what to do.
Finally, Harry swatted his nose. Draco hadn't realized that Harry had moved until he did that. Harry was now leaning on his shoulder as he smiled up at him still staring in amazement. Draco was actually shocked that Harry was here; as in PHYSICALY here!
When the noise of Draco's watch started to tick louder than the silence around them, Harry spoke. With a roll of his eyes, he became determined to get Draco out of his stupor. "How do you celebrate Christmas?" He asked, curious to know if he would be required to attend any grand parties that the Malfoys were known for.
Draco's social training answered automatically. "A simple house one; a couple of cousins, aunts and uncles, that's about it." He said. He never once stopped staring at Harry, but he did move his arm up to shift a strand of hair from Harry's face.
The happy smile on Harry's face had him speaking again. "Nothing fancy, and by the look on your face, you're quite happy about it too."
Harry pointed his nose in the air in that classic Malfoy pose. "I just don't like to dress up." He drawled as he ruined the effect by cuddling closer to Draco. "Your house is beautiful by the way. There are a lot of rooms, and it's pretty much how I imagined it. I have yet to meet your mother though. Your dad told me she was at an appointment and will be back by the time you come home. So I decided to come pick you up."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "You decided?" He asked in a skeptical voice.
"All right," Harry smiled and nudged his side, "So I volunteered, OK? Nothing wrong with that I hope?"
Draco smiled and nodded his head 'no'.
"Good!" They sat there holding each other for a couple of minutes before Harry's grin turned downright feral.
Before Draco could enquire as to what was going on, Harry pounced him. The blond sat there with a goofy smile on his face after having been kissed lightly on the nose. When that did not get the desired response, he found himself lying back in the seat with Harry straddling his hips.
The smaller boy whispered, "Missed you," before kissing him lightly on the lips then burying his face against Draco's neck.
Draco felt the blush on his face. Harry hadn't actually meant to do that and it gave him the incentive to move the other boy's face away so that he could smile up at him as he nodded his head back and forth. "I couldn't tell, really I couldn't. Thank you for explaining it to me."
Harry swatted him with his hand.
"You go through more mood swings than Mother." Draco said, wondering silently to himself if that was good for Harry.
Harry pouted and lifted himself from his position. "There you go now, ruined a good moment because you think I am having mood swings!" He crossed his arms and glared down at Draco.
Draco raised an eyebrow, but didn't dare say it out loud. 'This just practically proved the point!' Instead he gently tugged him back down on top of him and they lay there together in comfortably whispering to each other until the chauffer tapped the glass as they went through the security gates.
Both boys sat up then and watched in silence as the large house came into view. The car stopped and Draco opened the door by himself before extending a hand to help Harry out of the car.
Harry beside him, Draco didn't let loose of him; instead choosing to hook Harry's hand underneath his arm and led him to the front door. He escorted him inside, both boys silent and alert as they went to Narcissa who was waiting patiently for them.
Draco quickly checked and saw no house elves around; no one was around except his parents, himself and Harry. As Harry turned confused eyes to Draco, Narcissa took one last look around also then fairly apparated out of her chair to glomp her son. "I MISSED YOU!" She squealed, nearly knocking both Draco and Harry over since Harry was still attached to Draco's arm.
Draco spent precious seconds returning his mother's embrace before moving back. He saw the pleased look in her eyes and couldn't help leaning forward to place a small kiss on each side of her face before adding, "Yes, yes, Mother. I know. I missed you too."
Narcissa finally stepped back and sobered up. She glanced at her son's companion; appraising his attire, hair and general bodily appearance.
Harry swore she had checked out his 'lower area' and cringed at the thought. His blue jeans didn't hide the fact that he was in company that he was enjoying…
She decided to ease the situation she hadn't meant to cause. "So you are the famous Harry Potter? Come here."
Draco let loose of his arm and he took a tentative step forward. He was soon surprised to be encircled in her arms. A few seconds later he decided to return her hug gently. Afterwards, she reached up, twisted his ear and hissed, "AND IF YOU EVER PUT HIM THOUGH THAT AGAIN I WILL PERSONALLY COME AFTER YOU."
Harry squeaked and tried to apologize. His blushing and the tightness of his throat got in the way and all he could manage was, "Yes, Ma'am. I do apologize."
Draco rescued his flabbergasted lover. "Mother, please! Don't mangle the guests." He said, trying to hide his amusement.
Harry was promptly let go of and he began massaging his sore ear as he pouted.
Draco couldn't help rubbing it in by whispering loud enough for both his parents to hear, "Harry Potter, world famous for his death defying feats, slaughtered by an enraged mother!"
Lucius, used to seeing the young man in front of them exuding confidence and capability, was strangely moved by the vulnerability being displayed. He stepped forward and bowed slightly to Voldemort's chosen heir. "It is a pleasure to have you in our home. If there is anything you think of that you need or want simply ask."
Harry returned Lucius' formal greeting between Pure Bloods. "It is a pleasure to be here, Sir."
Draco grinned at Harry's good manners and decided to take him away so his parents could discuss his choice of mate with each other before terrorizing the two of them again. "Harry, would you like to have a complete tour around the house?"
The brilliant smile from the younger man was all Draco needed as encouragement. He led him away.
Malfoy Manor was just as Harry imagined it. It was huge; the rooms were all large, lush and formal. It was almost a relief when a house elf appeared an hour or so later to inform Master Draco and Master Harry that Lady Malfoy required their presence in the family dining room for High Tea.
Draco gave a surprised squeak and began to race out the door and down the hall. It only took Harry a second to ask the house elf to apparate him to where they needed to be. The happy elf was quite pleased to help Master Harry.
Tea moved magically in the air, pouring itself into tiny bone china cups covered in floral patterns. Harry, watching the rest of the family, soon placed his cup and saucer in his lap like Aunt Petunia had drilled into Dudley and listened to the cheerful conversation between Draco and his parents. He didn't say anything because he thought most of it was highly personal and did his best to distract himself by looking around at the ornaments and what-not that wizard homes seemed to collect.
Both parents noticed that Harry was trying not to interfere in the conversation and were just as determined that he would join in. Harry was studying a picture of Draco, obviously taken as he was just learning to walk, and feeling sad that he had nothing from his childhood to share with them when Narcissa figured out what he was thinking and asked him if he would like to look at a few pictures she had of him and his family before they went under the Fidelus Charm.
Harry's eyes filled with tears as she pointed to the mantel where there seemed to be a plethora of happy pictures of the family and friends. Off to the side of the formal family portrait, done in oils, that hung above the fireplace and looking as if they were attending a funeral was a picture of Sirius, James, Lily and Harry. As he watched the picture of baby Draco which was tilted to see the picture of baby Harry would blow childish kisses at him. The formal portrait would often catch Harry returning the kisses and the parents would share a very quick secret smile with each other before resuming their somber persona.
Eventually the four of them retired to the family lounge where Draco was explaining to them about his grades and how he believed that he was going to score higher than Granger and finally surpass her top marks. Harry stared down at his wrist and cringed as he realized the importance of the discussion. As much as he felt free and more in control now, and even siding with what he believed was the 'good side', he still wished he was graduating. Even if he did believe that he was probably not going to make it, at least he would have finished and got a degree right? He squashed the thought before it could overwhelm him.
HDHDH
Dumbledore squeezed his fingers tighter together; he might have squeezed them a bit too tightly due to the fact that his fingers were turning white. He looked outside the window of his office, listening to the complete silence of the school.
' Perfect.' He thought. He needed the peace; his mind was a jumble of ideas and memories that he needed to sort out. His mind, for once in his lifetime, was maxed out.
He smiled bitterly as he began thinking logically about the whole situation. All he asked for was a few weak-minded lackeys who would jump when he said jump and sing when he deemed so. But no, it seemed when children grew, they often developed a conscious also. Really, maybe he should just get rid of their souls; it would make life ten times easier for him.
That is what he should have done to Potter, like he did to the father some sixteen years earlier. It was so much easier then to do things in that degree than it was now. The Potter boy was smart, Dumbledore gave him that. But, it wasn't likely that the boy could slip it past him that he was still alive and he, Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard alive, would not know that.
Bah! The boy had no idea who he was dealing with. If he thought he was dealing with some senile old man, he had another thought coming that was for sure. Dumbledore had seen the curse on the Finnegan boy immediately and knew exactly who had hexed him.
Potter's magical signature had been written all over it. He could also tell that his new lackey had a particular infatuation with the Potter boy. The old man sat back in his seat to contemplate the exact reason why everyone who came into contact with the boy became enamored with him. The idea that that could be his downfall made him smirk.
The boy was strong. He wouldn't be surprised that right now an unmarked letter with a mysterious letter containing a curse was being sent to him. As if some deity was reading him mind, a letter arrived via a mysterious owl. He rolled his eyes and proceeded to open it anyway.
Dumbledore sneered and threw the letter on the desk. It was just the Minister requesting more information. "Pitiful!" He snarled out loud. "What does it take to make someone notice that you hate them and are going to take over their country?"
He considered the options for a few minutes. "I can do it the Voldemort way. Hi, yepp, I'm evil. Ummm, if you would step down now, I'm going to kill you. However, if you are helpful, I'll kill you after I take over instead of before." He stroked his beard for a few seconds before admitting that he did not want to do that. Just look where it had landed Voldemort. "Yes, look where that landed him." Dumbledore said out loud. "More powerful and with the greatest back up ever: Potter!"
In the deep of Malfoy Manor, sipping tea, Harry sneezed then looked around. He wondered if he was getting a cold.