DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and all other characters and locations belong to J. K. Rowling.
Chapter 22 – The Panther Who Walked Among Lions
Lucius Malfoy sat in the brightly lit dining room at Malfoy Manor. The eggs sitting on his plate had grown cold long ago, the minutes ticking by as he stared in bemusement at the Daily Prophet laying beside his plate. The delicate teacup held between his fingers was slowly raised as he gently sipped at the remaining liquid resting in the bottom. Cold eyes rested upon the picture in the center of the front page. Whoever had taken it had done an excellent job. The young wizard looked arrogant and completely composed, eyes locked on the photographers as if he could care less that his picture was being taken. The massive animal standing next to him looked strangely passive as he leaned into the young boy's hand. Curling his lips and flattening his ears as his eyes remained pinned on the camera. The panthers snarling visage was a silent taunt in Lucius eyes. His son no longer belonged to him but rather to the boy-who-lived. The tea cup smashed against the far wall, small chips of porcelain raining down to tinkle gently against the hardwood floor as the mark on his arm began to burn.
Harry sat cross-legged in the center of Draco's bed, fingers playing idly with the braided ribbon that had bound the note. He chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully, playing certain parts of the note over and over again in his head. Sighing deeply he ran his hands down over his face, eyes once again returning to the piece of parchment calling him from where it lay.
"Well?" Harry turned at the question, peering at Draco who leaned elegantly in the doorway, blue eyes silently repeating the question.
"I just don't know anymore. Yesterday, she acted like the Hermione everybody knows and loves, but that day in Diagon Alley…" Harry murmured, eyes once again returning to the note that Hermione had given him. Addressed to both him and Draco, the note was a very simple apology. Generally Hermione would go on and on, but she had been so straight forward it really made him wonder.
"Perhaps you should go and talk to her." Draco whispered, approaching Harry and wrapping his arms around him. His chin rested on the top of Harry's head, eyes lingering on the piece of parchment that was causing his bonded so much frustration.
"I know I should. I owe her an apology and an explanation for my actions over the past few days but I don't know how to approach her. I mean look what I did to Ron; do you honestly think they'll just let me wander right in to the Gryffindor dorms?" Harry whispered, eyes closing tightly as he leaned back against Draco, taking comfort in the blondes arms.
"Where'd your famed Gryffindor bravery go, hm?" Draco murmured softly, fingers tangling in the ribbon Harry was running between his fingers absently.
"I though you said I was a Slytherin." Harry joked, tugging playfully on the tri-coloured ribbon.
"You're as much Slytherin as I am, you just happen to have a few Gryffindor qualities. Besides it's not like being brave is a bad thing. I'm brave, when I need to be." Draco grinned, pulling the ribbon away from him carefully and smoothing it out.
"You, brave? That's hilarious Draco; what else do you have?" Harry snorted, watching the pale fingers gently wrap the ribbon around his wrist.
"I took on a panther didn't I? Now go and talk to her." Draco said, tying the ends of the ribbon together. "Besides, if anything goes wrong, I'll be right here." He said, fingers taping Harry's temple. Harry nodded and looked at the piece of parchment lying forgotten on the bed, his fingers returned to stroking the ribbon he now wore as a bracelet.
"I'll go now." He muttered, raising his hand and sliding his fingers through the pale locks on his bonded's head.
"Right, and if you need help just give us a shout. I'll be there in a flash with an army of snakes." Patting Harry's head in a gesture of finality, Draco freed his hair and glided from the room. Harry stuck his tongue out in the direction of the door, damn Draco for making it sound so simple.
Ron lay perfectly still in the hospital wing. His leg was screaming in pain but Madam Pomfrey had given him the only medication she could based on the guidelines of the duel. He clenched his teeth together and thought of every way he could kill Harry when he finally got out of bed and his leg was freed from the cast. Reaching over he grabbed the book resting on the small table next to the bed, grimacing as he read the title 'Large Cats and their Habits'. The smiling face of a panther splashed across the cover, fangs flashing mockingly. Ron shrieked and hurled the book across the room, wincing when it hit a tray of medical tools and sent something glass to the floor. The sound of shattering caused the old witch to appear, mouth already open to deliver a speech. Ron whimpered and drew the pillow over his face, why was his life going so wrong?
Lucius Malfoy knelt before the Dark Lord, head bowed respectfully as he awaited the powerful wizards command. The minutes ticked by slowly, each second causing his mouth to dry even further. He knew what was coming though; at this point in time it was inevitable.
"Well Lucius, it seems we have finally gotten our chance to get rid of that terrible little brat." The cold voice whispered softly, causing goose bumps to creep up Lucius's arms. He bowed his head in agreement, biting his lip as he concentrated on the interlocking stones resting under his pale hands. "You will of course assist me in getting what I want. There will be no failure this time Lucius, am I understood?"
"Yes my Lord, but my son-" Lucius began, stumbling over his tongue as he questioned the only man who had ever brought him to his knees.
"Yes, your son. I think he'll make the most wonderful bait. You don't have a problem with that, do you Lucius?" Voldemort asked, face hidden in the deep cowls of his hood, the shadows themselves seeming to wrap around him.
"No my Lord." Lucius whispered, closing his eyes tightly. Biting his lip, he focused on containing the words that were swirling about his head. Draco was the only heir he had, with his death the Malfoy name would vanish from the wizarding world.
"That's what I thought." The chuckle that followed the statement was spine tingling, causing the deatheater to press his forehead against the stone, allowing the cold touch to wash away all thoughts and feelings.
Harry strolled slowly towards Gryffindor Tower. His eyes watched the students ahead of him, clutching their books to their chests and tossing terrified looks over their shoulders, they rushed ahead of him, thankful when he turned down a different corridor. Shaking his head and smiling, he paused at the bottom of a staircase, ignoring the whispers of the paintings lining the walls. His hand rested on the railing, fingers caressing as he thought back to all the times he had raced Ron up these stairs, slid down the banister on a dare, stumbled and laughed with old friends. Straightening his back, he tightened his grip and began the steady climb to the top, eyes already resting on the frame of the Fat Lady. His mind reached out to Draco's, wanting the comfort of knowing that the other was there if needed. He smiled when he felt laughter creep along the bond and tighten itself around his magic, a silent promise of comfort and strength should he have need of it. Reaching the top of the stairs, he took a deep breath before slowly raising a hand and knocking lightly.
Severus Snape sat across from the Head Master. The old man was loudly sipping tea from the cup he was clutching between his fingers. Severus ran his fingers down the neat row of buttons lining the front of his robes, curling a lip in disgust at the brilliant shade of red the older wizard was decked out in.
"Now Severus, we really must figure out what we are going to do with young Harry. The boy was sorted into Gryffindor yet he has been staying in the Slytherin dorms for the past week. It's completely unacceptable." Dumbledore rumbled, fingers burying themselves in a small dish of yellow candies perched upon the desk.
"Well Professor-"
"Call me Albus, Severus." The older man chortled, holding the dish of yellow candies out in a silent offering.
"No thank you Albus." Severus grumbled, less then impressed with the offering and the man making it. "I believe that we should leave Mister Potter where he is. After all, you must admit the number of detentions being handed out the past week has gone down. His presence in the Slytherin house can do nothing but assist in those inter house relations you're always talking about."
"I suppose, I'm just worried that something could happen that would endanger the boy. You must acknowledge the fact that your house doesn't always play the nicest Severus." Albus announced, carefully pouring more tea into the cup. The portraits on the wall behind him nodded in agreement. The large painting of Salazar Slytherin smiled in satisfaction at the statement, nodding proudly.
"He's been living with Draco for a large part of the summer, Albus. I highly doubt Draco's going to feel the sudden need to injure him. Besides how's he supposed to defeat the dark lord if he can't handle a bunch of ignorant children?" Severus questioned, trying to get the older wizard to see his way. "There's also the fact that the bond between them could be injured or damaged if they were to be separated. Bound as they are, both are stronger. Harry has more power now then he did before, to separate them could take away the only chance he has at beating Voldemort." Snape muttered, trying to coerce the older man into seeing his way. Eyes narrowing as the old man returned his hand to the dish of lemon candies.
"I suppose so, Severus. Well then that's settled, Harry shall remain in Slytherin house." Albus nodded and smiled as if it had been his idea all along. Fingers slowly swirling around the candy dish absently, the older wizard's eyes glazed over as he stared at the book shelf. Shaking his head, Severus rose and left, escaping the presence of the older wizard as fast as he could while keeping up his appearance as dreaded potions master.
Standing impatiently outside the Gryffindor entrance, Harry curled his fingers and glanced down at his shoes. He ignored the prattle of the Fat Lady, more interested in trying to figure out what exactly he was going to say when the painting swung open. The slow creak had him taking a deep breath and raising his gaze to meet that of the Gryffindor leaning cautiously out the entrance.
Draco sat next to the blazing fire in the common room, a cup of hot chocolate resting on his knee. He gaze may have been focused on the chess board resting between Blaise and him but internally he was focused on Harry. Which was the excuse he was going to use when Blaise finally figured out he was winning. Holding his place within the dark haired boys mind was tiring and took a lot of concentration but worth the effort. If Harry needed him he would be able to go to him immediately.
"Checkmate!" Blaise shrieked, causing Draco to jump and slop the warm liquid all over his thighs. Hissing at the burning sensation, he glared at Blaise who was now doing a happy dance around the common room; waving his arms and hooting in such a way that he appeared every bit the demented owl. Sitting back, Draco grinned and continued to watch Blaise prance about with several first years; this was what it was to be a Slytherin.
Harry looked into the curious eyes of Dean, before he was pushed into the arms of the waiting Gryffindor by an unknown force. Harry hit the plush red carpet before he was quickly hauled to his feet and embraced by two bodies.
"Oh Harry!" Seamus bellowed directly into his ear. "We've missed you."
"With you guarding the Slytherins Harry, we've had no one to tease that would actually fight back! It's been utterly terrible!" Dean mock whimpered, tugging on the lapels of Harry's robes before throwing himself onto the other wizard.
"We've stooped so low as to pick on the Hufflepuffs." Seamus cried, pretending to burst into tears and clinging to Harry playfully.
"The Hufflepuffs Harry!" Dean wailed, before bursting into guffaws and leaning backwards to look Harry up and down. Seamus was snorting happily as he let go of Harry and tottered over to one of the couches before collapsing with a contented sigh. Harry remained standing there, eyebrows raised as he stared at the pair silently.
"The Slytherins are still out of bounds." He grinned and ignored the groans from the pair, "I give you leave to do whatever you want to Pansy though." He chuckled as both of the Gryffindors brightened immediately. Harry watched slightly confused as Dean pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket.
"What's that for?" He asked, eyebrows drawn together in confusion.
"That is their to do list. Goals and pranks they want to pull before they leave Hogwarts. I personally disagree with their concept of leaving with a bang and making a lasting impression on the younger students." The quiet voice had heads turning. Hermione stood silently at the bottom of the stairs into the dorms.
"Hi Hermione." Harry muttered, running a hand through his hair nervously. "I was wondering if I could talk to you." He didn't look at her; afraid she would say no and turn him away. His mind reached out but found Draco's waiting, immediately offering all the comfort and warmth possible.
Hermione stared at Harry, trying not to smile at the guilty look on his face. It was the same smile he had worn when he and Ron had done something they shouldn't have and were worried they would get caught.
"Sure Harry, this way please." She murmured, gesturing for him to follow her. She silently trekked up the stairs into the boys dorms, knowing they could talk quietly there without having to worry about anyone eavesdropping. Hermione climbed on to one of the beds, pulling the thick red velvet over her lap to keep her toes warm. She watched as Harry paced slowly before her, fingers seeming to go automatically to the silver bell dangling from the collar he wore.
"I guess I wanted to apologize for the day in Diagon Alley. I overheard you and Ron talked and lost it. It hurt for Ron to say what he did and for you not to defend me. Then just when I was starting to feel happy again you came into the Slytherin common room and blew my cover." Harry murmured, fingers tightening on the bell he clutched between his fingers as if it was a life line.
"I'm sorry too, Harry. I did notice the way you and Draco were acting and wondered if he knew who you were. I thought that you were enslaved to him and couldn't get free. It never came to my attention that you might actually care for him. I must admit you do have him wrapped around your finger, I've never seem him lose his temper before." Hermione murmured, smiling at the memory of Draco threatening her and Terry in the empty classroom. Harry just grinned and gave her a playful wink.
"So we're good?" Harry whispered, offering one hand slowly. Hermione nodded and grinned, looking down at the ribbon tied around his wrist.
"We're good." Pulling him in for a quick hug, she pushed him away gently but held him at arms length before giving him a slight shove towards the door. "Draco's probably wondering where you are." She mumbled, wiping at her eyes before waving a hand at him as he walked towards the door. Hermione allowed herself to sink back on the bed, staring up at the canopy above her head. She chuckled slightly as she heard the yelps and laughter as Harry passed back through the common room. Everything was settled for now, but she knew there would be many more disputes before the war between the snakes and the lions was over.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I finally finished packing, which is a great relief but at the same time it appears as if I've been robbed. I'm officially done for the year so technically I should party the night away but I have more important stuff to do. Thanks again to everyone who took the time to review.
dragonlores68 – lol, sounds like a wonderful plot and one I haven't seen before.
Natasha AKA Tash – Thank you for the compliment.
Elentari – Good luck with the translation.
brody0113 – The chapter title came from a comment by one of my reviewers a while ago. They said they had a friend who said that Dumbledore was like a mouse and would eat his owns babies if he had too. Then for some strange reason he started to remind me of the door mouse who lived in the teapot in Alice in Wonderland; in his own little world.