Fate and a Rose

DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

Warning: I'm sure that you all know that this fic is SLASH by now, so I'll stop warning you about this. Spoilers of HBP in this chapter and further chapters along the line! If you haven't read HBP yet, please do so before continuing on!

This chapter also contains SLASHY, SLIGHTLY GRAPHIC moments. You have been warned, so I ask that anyone who continues to read even after this warning does not complain about them.

A/N: I have also started up a new account on AFF dot net, because the content in this and a few of my other fics have a large amount of sexual content. If you wish to read the NC-17 version of this and my future fics, please go there to do so. You will find me under the same pen name, so that I won't be hard to find. (I have posted this fic there if you wish to view the NC-17 version of it. Nothing changes up until this chapter, though, so in order to save you time from reading the whole thing, just jump to chapter 11.)

In the course of nearly a week, the fic list that I am to read has grown to over 35! Thanks to all for the suggestions, keep them coming:Greedily hogs all good fics to self: lol, just kidding!

FOR A GOOD READ, CHECK OUT: Bond, by Anna Fugazzi, My Hero, by XxRoGuExHeArTxX, Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match, by fantasylover12001, and I Can't Fight the Stars, by LMG. More suggestions coming up, so keep a look out!

Goddess: I do apologize for that, as that article was where I got the idea for the news article in the fic. Thank you for pointing out that I forgot to put a disclaimer up, and I will do so now. I was going to, but it must have slipped my mind with all the other editing that I had to do. I am glad that you are continuing to read despite my mistakes.

Disclaimer part 2: Regarding the article in chapter 10. © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. (The idea was taken from it, so credit given where credit is due. Thanks to Goddessoftheweb at hotmail dot com for pointing this error out.)

(1)Taken directly from HBP, page 501, hardback copy.

(2)Taken directly from HBP, page 503, hardback copy. Quote taken from Harry and converted to fit this plot.

There may be other similarities between this chapter and chapter twenty-three in HBP, because I am trying to bring the idea of Horcruxes into the fic without much struggle in between. I apologize in advance for this. If there are any quotes or the like that I have not pointed out as belonging to JKR that were taken directly from that book or any of the others in the Harry Potter series, please do not hesitate to point this out, as I do not wish to steal any of JKR's work without giving her the credit that she so thoroughly deserves.

Chapter 11

The Horcruxes

Harry was led to Professor Dumbledore's office at a quick pace. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that his fellow school mates were throwing him looks filled with fear as they scurried away from him. Madam Pomfrey had warned him this would happen, and had performed a Bubble-Head charm on herself, along with multiple other spells to put protective shields up around Harry, both to "keep him safe from other bacteria" and to "keep the children of the school safe from the Dragonorrhea".

"Ah, Harry, welcome," Dumbledore greeted as Harry entered his office.

Harry nodded in greeting, and Madam Pomfrey smiled at them both before stepping out, probably on her way to collect more of the salve to heal burns, as burn victims were most often her usual customers in the Hospital wing. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed as he popped a Lemon Drop into his mouth, a contented yet tired sigh escaping as he did so.

"What about?"

"Harry, this is of utmost importance, you see." Dumbledore stated, albeit a tad muffed because of the candy he was happily sucking on. "As you know, Voldemort has not been very active as of late. I now know the reason for this, and though it may not be enough for the Wizarding world to relax just yet, I'm quite sure it will be very soon. You see, Voldemort has been using Horcruxes to survive." At Harry's questioning gaze, Dumbledore raised a hand and motioned for him to allow him to continue.

"A Horcrux, Harry, is used to keep part of the self hidden and safe, not to fling it into somebody else's path and run the risk that they might destroy it."

"Part of the self?" Harry asked, more confused than he had ever been in his life.

"Part of the soul," Dumbledore clarified, and Harry's eyes widened in surprise.

"So…Voldemort is…"

"Nearly immortal," Dumbledore confirmed, and Harry gasped.

"There were seven in all made; now, only two remain."

"Where could we find them?" Harry asked, desperate to know how he could destroy Voldemort once and for all.

"(2)They could be found anywhere in the world," Dumbledore stated, a morose look upon his face. "hidden--buried or invisible--"

Harry sighed at the severity of the situation; if Voldemort was immortal, that would mean that…

Harry shuddered to think about it. There was no hope for him; not anymore. He didn't have his soul shattered into millions of pieces and hidden all over the world.

Dumbledore looked at Harry over the rim of his glasses. "Do not worry about this, Harry. Four Horcruxes have been destroyed. Two others are very close to being located, and the seventh; that soul, Harry, resides in Voldemort's body itself. Once the other two Horcruxes have been destroyed, there is a very probable chance that you will win the war. Voldemort may allow you to kill him, if he knows, or believes, that his Horcruxes remain. Of course, I'm sure he won't go without giving up quite a fight, but if he thinks that the Horcruxes still exist he may be a bit more reckless than he would be if he knew that he no longer had any soul except for the one-seventh that resides in his own body. That is why the work done to destroy them is done in silent; no one knows about the Horcruxes but me and a select few, yourself included."

"Does Snape know?" Harry asked, suddenly alert.

Dumbledore glanced at him sternly. "Professor Snape, Harry. And yes, he does. I am only telling you these things because I believe that it is time you know; you have gone into dangerous situations without knowing the extent of the danger; you will no longer be allowed to do so, as I am trusting you with this information as I should have years ago. That is something that I will regret until my dying day, Harry, and for that I deeply apologize."

Harry looked at Dumbledore, shock written clearly across his face. Dumbledore gave him a weary smile, then stood. "Harry, if you will." Dumbledore gestured for Harry to stand, and Harry complied.

Dumbledore reached across his desk to shake hands with Harry. The handshake was strong and lasted for quite a few moments. Dumbledore's hands were warm and dry, worn and calloused. Harry smiled at him lightly, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Please, return to your current residence. I hear that the owl you received this morning has not left Hermione alone since you left; it wants you to read that note attached to the package you've received recently, and refuses to leave without you doing so. Hermione refuses to read the note, and Mr. Malfoy's disappeared into the bathroom again, so I do hope that you hurry."

Harry's eyes widened in panic as he rushed from Dumbledore's office hurriedly, and Dumbledore smiled softly as he watched the boy that was so much like a son to him take off without so much as a backwards glance.

XXX

When Harry got back to the hospital wing, two things caught his eye at once; one, Hermione was guarding her bushy head with what looked to be Harry's Muggle Studies book, and two, Draco must have come out of the bathroom in the time it took for Harry to get back to his current residence, because he was now pointing and laughing merrily at Hermione, who was being pecked at relentlessly by the brown owl that had come bearing Harry's package.

Hermione was the first to spot him. "Harry, make it stop!" She cried, running past a still laughing Draco. The laughing caught the owl's attention, and soon it lost interest in Hermione for a more active prey: Malfoy. Draco's eyes widened suddenly, and he shot a glare at Hermione before retreating into the safety of the bathroom with a slam of the door, which the owl ran into.

Harry chuckled. When the owl recovered from the blow, it actively shot towards Harry, reminding him of Ron's owl, Pig. His laugh stopped short as the ball of fluff rammed straight into him, the force almost knocking him over.

"Okay, okay! Let me find it first! Merlin!" Harry said, pushing the owl off of him and glaring at it before looking over at the table on which one thing sat; the note.

It was folded in half, but didn't have an envelope. The parchment itself was normal, but it was gold-edged, the script across it fancy, like one of those that Harry so often received from the Ministry for underage magic. But Harry was no longer underage, and he was still at school. Harry eyed it curiously, before Hermione let out a squawk and yelled at Harry to read it before the owl actually did some damage that was irreparable. Harry sighed and reached out for the note.

One last glance at Hermione told him that if he didn't read it soon, hexes would start flying, so he unfolded it and glanced at it. At first his eyes only skimmed over the words, but as realization finally dawned on him, his eyes shot up to glance at Hermione with a worried look on his face before quickly going back and re-reading the note he held in his hands.

Hermione approached him cautiously. "What…what does it say, Harry?"

"Uh…they've been…cleaning." Harry said, as if it would explain everything.

"Cleaning?" Hermione asked, confusion dawning on her face for the first time Harry could ever remember.

"The…house."

"You mean number twelve…?" Hermione trailed off and Harry nodded his affirmative. "Oh, Harry…I'm sorry."

Harry shook his head. "No, don't say that," He said, eyes shielded. "It's just that…I didn't think they'd get rid of everything so soon, you know? I…I guess I just thought they'd wait for me to do anything like that. I mean, it is my place, isn't it?"

Hermione sighed. "I know," She said, a stern look on her face. "They shouldn't have done anything without your permission. They could be getting rid of stuff that's very valuable to you!"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's not that." He said, staring down at the note wistfully.

"Well then, what is it?"

Draco cracked open the door to the bathroom warily after the commotion stopped suddenly, and he watched as Harry read over the note and conversed with Hermione, a look of pure grief written clearly on his face before his shields came up, covering all emotions.

"Horcruxes, Hermione."

Hermione blanched. "Harry, you can't-"

"Not me! Voldemort…he has them. You don't think I would do that, do you? I mean, I share a soul with Draco…wouldn't that affect him, too? Besides, I don't want to be half a creature like that bastard. I want to be completely human when I destroy him."

Draco noticed the resolve in Harry's voice. He had said when, not if. Draco sighed, staring at Harry, a mixture of emotion pooling into his normally unexpressive eyes.

"Harry…what do you mean "them"? Usually only one can be created…if it doesn't kill the wizard making them, that is."

Harry sighed, sorrow reflecting in his eyes. "Seven." He said. "He made seven of them. One of them is in his body…two have yet to be found, and the other four have already been destroyed…I don't know if he knows about the ones that have been destroyed yet, though."

Hermione looked at Harry, horror written clearly on her face. "Harry, you can't risk your life against that!"

"I've got to!" Harry said, his back stiff and his eyes hardening again. "It's in the prophesy, Hermione. I just…ugh, I have to!"

"What has the Wizarding community ever done for you, Harry?"

"Hermione, he's going to kill you!"

Hermione's eyes widened. "Harry-"

"No, Hermione! He's going to kill you, and he's going to kill everyone else. If I don't stop him, who will?"

"Harry, I-"

"I know that no one's ever done anything for me! I just want to be left alone; I want to be normal, but I can't! I haven't even had one school year without something happening to me. The Sorcerers Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, Sirius, The Tri-wizard Tournament, Sirius dying, Snape's freaking messed up potions book…and now soul mates and Horcruxes! Hermione, if I kill him, everything can be normal. I'll finally know what normal feels like!"

"Harry, shut up for a minute, okay!"

Harry glared at her for interrupting his rant, but clamped his mouth shut nonetheless.

"Okay, I get that he's going to kill me eventually; I also understand that you have to kill him. I just don't get why you have to do it now; you're so unprepared!"

"Hermione, I won't do it now. Just sometime soon. I've been working on my Occlumency, you know. I don't know if it works, because no one has been trying to read my mind lately, but I've been trying."

"Harry, that could be dangerous! You should only practice under strict supervision; you could hurt yourself otherwise!"

"Hermione, clearing my mind isn't dangerous."

"Yeah, and you'll be telling me that when you've forgotten why you're supposed to kill Voldemort if he decides to mess with your mind again."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Hermione, I don't know what that child of yours is going to think. With your strictness, I'll bet she'll rebel against you constantly! Hey!"

Harry ducked a pillow that Hermione flung at him and laughed softly as Hermione began to chase him around the room. "Harry, you could never be normal!" Hermione screeched as she plucked a pillow from a vacant cot and threw it forcefully at Harry. "You're Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived! You're nearly immortal! You have a soul mate! Being normal is the least of your worries."

Hermione cackled evilly as she charmed two other pillows from empty bets to throw themselves at Harry repeatedly and then hefted another and started pounding it into Harry's back as he tried to block the other pillows and grab one for himself at the same time. No one noticed the owl leave through the still open window, or Draco watching Harry and Hermione thoughtfully as they got caught up in the tides of a full-out pillow war.

XXX

Hermione spent the night with Harry and Draco again. Even though she didn't have permission, she knew that she was welcome.

Draco had dejectedly lay down on his own bed when Harry had pushed him out of his in the midst of sleep before hogging all of the blankets to himself and covering the entire twin mattress with his body.

They had changed Draco's bed back to a hospital cot, and Harry had said that his bed was more comfortable than Draco's anyway, so he slept on, oblivious to the fact that Draco sulked in his bed, glaring at a peacefully sleeping Harry. Hermione smirked as she read one of the books she had brought with her, a lumos spell lighting the area around her softly. Draco shot a glare her way, too.

"It's not funny, you know." Draco said with a glare.

"I know," Hermione said absently as she turned the page of the book she was reading.

Draco huffed and resumed glaring at Harry, hoping that somehow his glare would cause Harry to wake up and move over to make room for Draco to slip in beside him. Then, an even better idea came to mind. Climbing from his bed, Draco quietly padded over to Harry's, lifted the sheets that were wrapped around Harry, and climbed in between them, right on top of Harry himself.

"I'm still awake, you know," Hermione said as she glanced up from her book, turning the page again.

"Shh!" Draco said, grinning as Harry continued to sleep.

"Well, I am," Hermione whispered, glaring at Draco.

"I said be quiet!" Draco snapped. "I'm trying to do something."

Hermione looked at him questioningly. "Do what?"

"Do you mind?"

Hermione snorted and rolled over, summoning some hangings for around her bed and pulling them closed. Draco smirked and went back to the subject at hand.

Laying one hand on Harry's chest, Draco trailed it down to the elastic of his pajama bottoms. With a swift yank, Harry was rid of those. But he didn't notice, as he slept on. Draco grinned widely as Harry's body began responding to his touch even though Harry wasn't conscious of it. Palming Harry's now half-erect member, Draco leaned forward to kiss Harry sensually on the lips.

Harry blinked his eyes open blearily. Wow, that dream was amazing. He thought to himself. As he pondered over the dream, he ceased to notice that the pleasurable sensations had yet to stop even though he had woken up. He was nearly coherent as he felt Draco's tongue lapping greedily at the hollow of his neck. His eyes widened when they caught a wisp of Draco's blonde hair out of the corner of them.

"D-Draco?" Harry stuttered out.

"Mmm?" Draco's tongue traced a trail up Harry's throat to his jaw, lapping softly at a sensitive place.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

Draco pulled away slightly, hand still fondling Harry, and grinned down at him as he thrust gently against Harry's hip.

Harry's eyes widened and he glanced down to where Draco's fingers were slowly making their way to his balls.

"That didn't answer my question," Harry said, though it was hard to act annoyed when the object of your aggravation was straddling you, humping you, and fingering a place that had barely had any attention in nearly a week. A soft moan emitted from Harry as Draco smiled softly at him and leaned down to capture his lips, hand trailing up to the head of his now fully-erect member and twisting. That single motion alone sent chills through Harry's entire body.

"Much as I love you, Harry," Hermione said from the closed hangings around her bed. "I do wish you'd be more quiet."

Harry looked at Draco in surprise, before hissing, "She's still here, and you're on about sex!"

Draco smirked, twisted his hand again and causing Harry to moan loudly, even if it was against his will. "Much as he tries, Hermione," Draco said mockingly. "Harry just can't suppress himself! He's a screamer, you know."

Harry shot Draco a horrified look. Draco licked his lips seductively before descending to meet Harry's once again.

"Ugh!" Hermione cried, and seconds later, Draco could hear Hermione muttering a silencing spell on her hangings before everything on her side of the room went silent.

"I am not a screamer," Harry hissed out after his and Draco's lips parted again. His eyes fluttered as Draco twisted a final time before removing his hand and trailing kisses down Harry's chest towards his navel. His tongue dipped in teasingly, and Harry moaned at the loss of it as Draco continued to make a path of kisses down further.

At the first gentle lick at the head of Harry's dick, Harry let out a surprised yelp. By the second, Harry was a trembling mass of bones on the bed. And by the third, Harry was afraid he would come, spurting into Draco's parted mouth at any moment. Whimpering, he thrust up to meet Draco's mouth, but Draco pulled away with a scolding lilt to his voice, though obviously teasing.

"Now, now, Potter. One should be patient. This calls for an extra amount of punishment. I was going to be sparing, but now that you've decided to push your limits…" Draco trailed off as his grin turned into one equivalent to the one the Cheshire Cat always carried with him.

"What purpose did you have for-ah!-punishing me in the firs-sssssssssoh! Don't stop that!-place?"

"Talking out of turn, Potter. And ten points from Gryffindor for asking stupid questions."

"Hey!"

Draco returned to playing with Harry's dick, enjoying the silky hard feel of it. "Never question my reasons, Potter." He said, his unoccupied hand reaching down and grasping Harry's balls tightly, but not too tight. Harry gasped and Draco smiled widely, continuing his torture as he went to meet Harry's lips again.

Harry sighed against Draco's lips as he parted them, liking the feeling of being completely vulnerable to Draco's ministrations.

When their lips parted again, Harry looked down and noticed for the first time that Draco was still completely clothed.

"Draco," Harry mumbled, nearly incoherent because of the new pressure Draco had been applying to his arse hole.

"Mmm?"

"You're still dressed."

Draco pulled away again, a questioning look shot at Harry, who could hardly see straight, let alone decipher what the look was saying to him.

"What?" Harry asked, desperately reaching up to Draco and drawing him back down to meet his lips with his own. Draco shook his head, smiled softly, and lapped insistently at Harry's lips until they parted to allow Draco's tongue in. A soft sound of approval left Harry's throat as he pulled Draco as close as he could go.

XXXXXXiXXXXXX

A/N: Sorry about the late post and the cliff hanger, but if I had gone into any further detail, you would have had to wait another week, and I don't think anyone would have liked that very much. In the next chapter, Harry and Draco complete their bond! It's the least I can do, since I've made you all wait this long for it!