You guys, I'm so excited about this chapter. Beyond excited. Big changes here and probably from here on out. You guys have been so awesome with the reviews, support and encouragement. Thank you, so very much.
Draco carefully tied his final letter to the leg of the owl in front of him. He gave the bird one last stroke over its feathers before sending it off. He watched as it swept through the sky, gliding over the Forbidden Forest and out of sight. There was no turning back now. His modification to Pansy's plan was going to cause an uproar. But, Umbridge was horrible and couldn't be allowed to torture students. Feeling pleased with himself, he left the owlery in search of his boyfriend.
He found Harry near the library chatting with their usual group, plus Neville. "There you are," Harry greeted with a smile. "Neville found the perfect place for us to work. We've been spreading the word so we can meet there in an hour."
"Well done Neville," Draco said, pleased. "Where is it?"
"I can show you," Neville offered.
They followed Neville through the castle, climbing staircases and marching through long hallways. When the reached the seventh floor, Neville stopped in front of a blank wall across from a tapestry that showed Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance ballet. Neville began to pace in front of the wall, his face tense with concentration. After his third pass, a large door appeared. Neville twisted the handle and pulled at the heavy door. Blaise hurried forward to help, earning a grateful smile from Neville.
The room inside was quite large. It was nice and open with a padded floor, cushions to sit on and several practice dummies that looked a bit like masked death eaters. There was also a pair of bookshelves in one corner. Hermione walked straight toward them to examine their contents.
"What is this place?" Draco asked, looking around in awe.
"The Room of Requirement," Neville replied. "Or the Come and Go Room. You think about what you need while you pace in front of the wall. When the door appears, the room inside answers your request."
"We'll just skip right over the fact that it's creepy for this room to know what you're thinking," Blaise commented. Neville laughed.
"This is perfect," Harry said, pulling the Marauder's map out of his back pocket. "Alright, let's start directing people in here. I see the twins heading up this corridor now." Ron gave a thumbs up and stepped outside to guide people in.
Soon, there were almost forty students gathered in the room. Each house was represented, though Gryffindor outnumbered the other houses. Harry was a little surprised to see Adrian, Pansy, Daphne and Millicent standing together near the entrance. They were eyeing the other students warily.
"I can't believe they actually came," Harry murmured.
"I had to be careful with who I invited," Draco told him quietly, reaching back to stroke along Harry's lower back. "A group like this could be seen as a stand against the Dark Lord just because you're leading it."
"How did you know that they would be alright?" Harry asked, trying to lean into the caress without making it obvious to everyone else.
Draco bit back a smile, sliding his hand up Harry's spine before stroking over his shoulder blades. "Pansy supports you," he said. "Obviously a lot of the Slytherins know about the Dark Lord's return, but not everyone wants to follow him. Some of them were really shaken up by Diggory's death. Pansy has this creepy way of knowing everything about everybody, so she knew who was safe to invite. There are a few others, but we couldn't be certain."
"I guess we'll just have to trust her judgement for now," Harry shrugged.
Hermione set about gathering everyone to stand in a loose circle. Once she was satisfied, she impatiently waved Harry and Draco closer. Once they had joined the circle, Hermione looked around at everyone. "Alright, clearly Umbridge is going to be nothing but a hindrance," she said. "We need to be able to use spells. Especially if we're going to defend ourselves against V-Voldemort."
"How can we be sure that you-know-who is back?" Seamus asked.
"Maybe Harry can tell us how Cedric died," Michael Corner said.
Harry stiffened. "I'm not going to talk about Cedric," he snapped. He turned his body so that he was facing Draco and Hermione. "I'm not doing this if they're here because they think I'm some sort of freak," he hissed.
"Harry doesn't have to talk about Cedric," Ron said sharply, scowling at Michael. "That would be painful for everyone. So if that's what you're waiting for, clear out. If you want to learn defensive magic, shut up and listen to Harry."
There was silence as everyone looked at one another. Nobody moved toward the door. Hermione gave Harry an encouraging nod.
Harry sighed in resignation and then straightened his posture. "Alright then," he said awkwardly. "We're going to work on the spells that Umbridge won't teach us. You'll be able to pass your exams and you'll be able to defend yourself. We'll start with Expelliarmus."
"What?" Michael cried incredulously. "That's first year stuff. It's useless."
"It's the spell I used against Voldemort," Harry responded quietly. This statement was met with stunned silence. Harry hadn't said much about his fight with Voldemort to even his closest friends. "I know the spell is pretty basic, but it's a good spell. It's easy to use and it can give you a few extra seconds. It saved my life. So yes, that's where we're starting," he concluded, his tone cool and firm.
"Let's pair off then," Hermione suggested, patting Harry's arm.
The students selected partners and began taking turns disarming one another. Harry, Draco and Hermione moved around the room to check everyone's progress. Blaise had paired up with Neville for the exercise, walking the Gryffindor through the spell patiently. Ron was partnered with Adrien in an attempt to make the other students more comfortable with the inclusion of the Slytherins.
"Great job!" Harry praised when the wand flew from Blaise's hand.
Neville looked startled and apologetic, but Blaise was smiling. "That was good," Blaise nodded. "Next time, don't hesitate. In this case, I want you to disarm me." Neville relaxed, hurrying to retrieve the wand so they could try again.
They all practiced a few more defensive spells and a simple shield charm until everyone was exhausted. Aside from some skeptical glaring, it had been a rather peaceful meeting. They all sat down to rest before heading to dinner, feeling rather pleased with themselves.
"This was brilliant," Ginny said, leaning back on her hands and looking around at everyone.
Beside her, Luna Lovegood was looking around as well, but she seemed to be looking just over everybody's head. "This room has a lot Wrackspurts in it," she noted in her airy voice. "Especially around them," she added, pointing to Draco and Harry.
Draco squinted at Luna before eyeing the space over his own head suspiciously. Harry grinned at the sight before looking away, only to catch Ginny's eye. She winked at him, obviously amused.
"So are we all keen to continue?" Hermione asked, before Luna could make Draco feel even more uncomfortable. The blond Slytherin was patting at his hair self-consciously, as if he suspected that the wrackspurts were defiling is pristine locks
"I think this was a great idea," Parvati Patil said cheerfully. "I was never going to pass my Defense OWL with just theory."
"And Umbridge is the worst," Fred commented emphatically.
"We're up for anything that she wouldn't want us to do," George added.
"We need a name for our group," Ernie McMillan said. "Make it official."
"We could call it the Defense Association," Dean suggested.
"The D.A. for short," Seamus added.
"Except we could have that stand for Dumbledore's Army," Ginny said with a grin.
"Please no," Daphne said, wrinkling her nose in distaste.
"Yes, that's far to obvious," Pansy agreed. "It takes the meaning out of this if we make it about Dumbledore. Besides, if anything, we're Harry's Army."
Harry blanched. "If we call it anything even resembling something as ridiculous as "Harry's Army, I will quit." Harry just hoped that they'd take his threat seriously despite the giggles that filled the room.
"So, something less obvious," Blaise said, "but still meaningful to us."
The room filled with murmurs as everyone discussed potential names. Fred and George threw out increasingly ridiculous names while Lee Jordan cackled in delight. Hermione rolled her eyes but refrained from lecturing them when Fred winked at her, causing her to blush.
"Harry, you and Draco can conjure a patronus, correct?" Adrian asked. He nodded to himself when Harry confirmed. "And they take the form of-" He looked at Harry expectantly.
"A wolf for each of us," Draco supplied.
"Both of you?" Daphne asked, surprised.
"Yes," Harry said, blushing slightly.
"Well, you two are clearly the leaders here," Adrien went on. "You both have a wolf patronus... So that sort of makes us your pack."
"The Wolf Pack," Ron mused with a grin. "Sounds dangerous."
"Sounds ridiculous," Pansy corrected with an eye roll.
"I think it's sort of fitting," Hermione said, a smirk pulling at her lips.
"All in favor of being a pack?" Blaise asked, looking around. Most of the group cheered in response. He nodded, satisfied. "Good. The idea is to grow and learn as a team. We protect our own, no matter the house affiliation." The others nodded eagerly.
Harry checked the Marauders Map and sent the students away in small groups. Dinner would be starting soon. The last to leave were Harry's core group of friends. They left the Room of Requirement feeling good about their first meeting.
"I did some reading about wolves," Hermione mentioned as she walked down a flight of stairs. "I was curious after Draco and Harry learned the patronus charm."
"Of course you were," Blaise chuckled. "Did you find anything interesting?"
"I did," she nodded. "Such as, in our pack, Harry and Draco would be the Alpha pair. The rest of our group here would be betas," she said, gesturing vaguely to the present group.
"Us too?" Greg asked in surprise as gestured between himself and Vince.
"What are betas?" Harry asked.
"Second in command to the Alphas," Hermione replied.
"Then yes," Harry said, smiling at the two hulking Slytherins.
"But, we're not as clever as you lot," Vince objected sheepishly.
"First of all, your grades have improved," Hermione argued. "Secondly, that's not how a wolf pack works. You don't have to be the smartest."
"In our pack, you just outrank the others," Draco said with a grin.
"The whole pack raises and protects the pups," Hermione went on. She looked over at Draco and Harry with another smirk. "It's usually just the Alpha pair that's able to rear a litter of pups to maturity."
Draco stumbled and nearly fell down the stairs.
"And in this bizarre scenario, the pups would be-"
"I'd say anyone under third year," Hermione replied with a little shrug. "There's just two second years in the group now, but I suppose that number could grow."
"I don't think I'm ready for pups," Draco mumbled, his face flushing.
"It's just a metaphor," Harry responded with a laugh, taking the opportunity to reach out and take Draco's hand.
"Somebody should tell Hermione that," Draco grumbled. "She's enjoying this far too much." He shot Hermione a petulant look. "You're a terrible beta."
Hermione just giggled.
Just as they were reaching the Great Hall, Harry paused and shot a worried look at Draco. "I, er- I forgot to mention that I have detention tonight," he said, looking guilty.
"What?" Draco yelped. "Why?"
"I might have been a bit... rude with Umbridge earlier," Harry admitted sheepishly. "She's so set on making me out to be a liar."
Draco sighed in aggravation. Their friends shot him a sympathetic look before hurrying into the Great Hall. "You're not making this easy Harry," he complained. "Would it kill you to hold your tongue? I know she's awful, but you're giving her reason to punish you."
Harry ducked his head. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I wasn't thinking. She just makes me so angry."
Draco nudged Harry forward, urging him to move toward the Slytherin table. They ate their dinner quietly, both dreading the upcoming detention. It would likely be painful for both of them. Harry felt like the worst boyfriend of all time.
At the end of the meal, Harry made his way to Umbridge's office while Draco returned to the Slytherin dorms with Blaise, Vince and Greg. They each sprawled out on their beds to work on homework, but they were all tense. When the pain started, Draco cried out, suddenly jerking his left hand in toward his chest.
Vince and Greg stood at the foot of Draco's bed, looking down at him helplessly. Blaise had approached the bed and nudged Draco aside in order to sit down. "Come on Draco," Blaise coaxed quietly. "Breathe through it."
Draco whimpered as his hand seared with white hot pain. He honestly didn't know how Harry could stand it. It had to be so much worse to actually be cutting his skin open. Harry would actually be losing blood.
After half an hour, Blaise suddenly stood up. "We can't let this go on," he said worriedly. "It's worse than last time and it's gone on too long." He pulled Draco up and led him toward the door. Vince and Greg followed quickly.
Ignoring the people that remained in the common room, Blaise guided Draco out into the hall and straight to Professor Snape's office. He banged on the door impatiently, his heart racing as Draco sagged a bit against him. When Snape opened the door, Blaise pulled Draco a little closer. "You've got to put a stop to this," Blaise insisted, beginning to feel frantic. "Draco's in a lot of pain, and Harry's likely in worse shape. We can't let her do this."
"Come with me," Snape growled, quickly marching off down the hallway.
After what felt like ages, they got to Umbridge's office. Vince and Greg settled Draco to rest between them while Snape rapped on the door waving the students away from the door.
Umbridge cracked the door open, startled to see the Potions Master. "Severus?" she questioned. She gasped when he pointed his wand directly at her chest. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, taking a step back.
Snape stalked inside, gratified that she was backing away and eyeing his wand nervously. He turned his head to see Harry sitting at a small desk, his left hand bloody and his face alarmingly pale. "Potter!" he snapped. "Let's go."
"Mr. Potter's detention is not yet finished," Umbridge said stiffly.
"Yes it is," Snape retorted coldly. Seeing Harry sway on his feet, he reached out and caught the boy's arm and began maneuvering him out to the hall.
"You have no right to interfere!" Delores objected shrilly.
"Watch me," the potions master snarled. He kept a firm hold of Harry as he closed the office door after one last threatening look at Umbridge.
Harry and Draco slammed into each other like giant magnets, nearly toppling over in their desperation to get close. Vince and Greg steadied them, practically holding the two smaller boys up as they embraced. "They're both shaking," Vince noted anxiously.
"To my office," Snape muttered. "Quickly."
They moved as quickly as they could with Harry and Draco stumbling along and clinging to each other. Once inside his own office, Snape waved his wand at a chair and transfigured it into a small couch. Harry and Draco were coaxed into sitting down while Snape poured a yellowish fluid into a bowl.
The bowl was set on a small table in front of Harry and Snape guiding Harry to soak his wounded hand in it. "This is essence of murtlap," Snape explained. "It will help with the pain." He straightened and looked at the other three Slytherins. "Return to your dorms. These two will be fine to rest here while I speak with the Headmaster."
A moment later, Harry and Draco were alone in the office. Draco's grip on Harry's torso lessened and he leaned back a bit. Harry still looked rather pale, but wasn't shaking any more.
Harry reached up with his uninjured hand to gently wipe away Draco's tears. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "Are you okay?"
"I'm alright," Draco answered, cupping Harry's face in his hands and using his thumbs to stroke Harry's cheek bones. "I was so worried. That woman is a psychopath."
Unable to resist, Draco leaned forward and pressed their lips together briefly. He drew in a shaky breath against Harry's mouth before kissing him again, his fingers sliding up into Harry's hair.
Harry broke the kiss with an apologetic smile. They couldn't get carried away while sitting in Snape's office. "We're fine now," Harry murmured, wrapping his free arm around Draco. "Just relax with me." Draco complied by slumping into Harry's side and resting his forehead against Harry's neck. Harry stroked Draco's back tenderly while Draco's fingers curled into Harry's jumper.
When Snape returned, he checked Harry's hand before looking the two Slytherins over. "Go back to your dorms now," he said. "You won't have to worry about Umbridge any more tonight."
"Thank you for stopping her," Harry said quietly.
"Just stay away from her as much as you can Potter," Snape answered warily. "If you are assigned another detention, you are to inform me at once."
Harry nodded and steered Draco out of the office and back to their common room.
"Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy, you are to report to the Headmaster's office," Snape said sternly, shortly before lunch the next day.
It was a Saturday so they didn't have classes. And Harry couldn't think of why they'd been summoned to the Headmaster's office unless it had to do with his shortened detention from the night before. He felt certain that Umbridge wasn't going to take that lying down.
Bidding their friends a swift goodbye, they followed Snape to the Headmaster's office, exchanging looks of uncertainty. Once they were inside the office, they were surprised to see Cornelius Fudge sitting in a chair and looking quite annoyed. Professor Umbridge stood next to the Minister's chair, offering Draco and Harry a smile that was somehow menacing.
On the other side of the office were a group of people that Harry really hadn't expected. Sirius, Remus and McGonagall were standing close together along with Arthur and Molly Weasley. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy stood near them but Lucius was very obviously trying to avoiding looking at the others. A few others stood behind them, their expressions grave. Harry thought he recognized Neville's grandmother in the crowd.
Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk looking perfectly calm.
"Can we get on with this?" Fudge asked impatiently. "I have many important matters to attend to. What is the purpose of this meeting?"
"Well, I believe these parents have some concerns," Dumbledore said, waving to the parents.
"Our children are concerned," Arthur began, "that they are receiving a sub-standard education when it comes to Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Children cannot be expected to know what is best," Umbridge said sweetly. "I am following a Ministry prescribed course."
"We need more than just theory," Harry said calmly. "We have to be able to use defense spells."
"That's just foolish," Umbridge frowned. "Do you expect to be attacked in my classroom."
"Yes."
Everyone startled at this pronouncement, though Dumbledore looked amused.
"Mr. Potter-"
"In first year, I was nearly killed by a teacher than had Voldemort's facing poking out the back of his head," Harry reasoned. "In second year, that moron Lockhart tried to obliviate me and my friends. In third year-" Harry paused and looked back at Remus.
Remus cringed. "Sorry," he muttered. Sirius coughed to cover a little laugh.
"In fourth year, a death eater used polyjuice potion to replace a professor at the school," Harry said with a little shrug. "I've just come to expect that someone's going to attack me."
"And then there's this," Draco added helpfully, gently taking Harry's left hand and turning it to show the parents.
Remus lurched forward and inspected the hand closely. "Oh my..." he said faintly.
Lucius took a step forward to peer at Harry's hand with a frown. "You used a blood quill on students?" he queried, turning to look at Umbridge. His gaze shifted to his son. "Has she forced you to use it?" he demanded.
"Not yet," Draco said, careful to look far more anxious than he felt. "But Harry's certainly not the only one. Everyone is terrified of her."
"If students would simply behave-" Umbridge began, only to squeak and shrink back when Sirius got in her face.
"Nothing excuses the torture of students," he snarled.
Alarmed, McGonagall grabbed Sirius and pulled him back. She glanced over to see Remus seething as well, and wondered if she'd need to restrain both of them.
"It could hardly be considered torture," Umbridge replied, smoothing down her hair. "It's negative reinforcement."
Molly made an angry sound but remained still when Arthur rested a hand on her shoulder.
"I interrupted such a detention last night," Snape drawled. "Mr. Potter was pale and his hand was covered in his own blood. The pain was enough that he was light-headed."
"I don't want that woman anywhere near our son," Narcissa said indignantly, glaring at Lucius. The other parents had started muttering angrily as well.
"Really, Minister Fudge," Lucius chided. "This is unacceptable. If she cannot be trusted to behave appropriately around children, than she should not be here."
"I'm sure we can work this out," Fudge said, nervously.
"What are you going to do then?" Molly demanded. "I have four children in this school and they're obviously not safe."
"Well, certainly no more blood quills," Fudge said, giving Umbridge a pointed look.
"That is not good enough," Lucius spat harshly. "I demand that you remove this woman. Otherwise I shall be forced to remove my son from this institution and withdraw all financial support from the Ministry."
Well that certainly did the trick. Fudge blanched and shook his head hastily. "I understand completely Lucius," he blurted out. "I will, of course, relieve Delores of her teaching duties immediately. You will wait for me in my office," he added to Umbridge.
Umbridge nodded tersely and walked toward the door. She paused to spare a nasty smile for Harry and Draco and then left.
"If I hurry, I can still go bite her," Sirius muttered, turning toward the door. Snape snorted and Remus caught hold of Sirius' arm to keep him in place.
"I apologise for this inconvenience," Fudge said, looking very apologetic indeed. "I will send in a different professor immediately."
"See that you do," Lucius said sternly. He turned to his son. "Draco, a word."
"Yes Father," Draco said, following his parents out.
Fudge excused himself meekly and hurried away as well. The other parents, aside from the Weasleys, filed out as well.
Remus and Sirius rushed to Harry, hugging him before looking over his scarred hand. "I'm so sorry Pup," Remus said mournfully. "That must have hurt terribly."
"It was pretty bad," Harry admitted quietly.
"Thank you for stopping her," Remus said, looking over at Snape. "How did you know?"
"Mr. Zabini brought Draco to my office last night in significant pain," Snape explained.
"Draco could feel it?" Molly asked, looking horrified.
"The nature of their bond has made them rather attuned to one another," Dumbledore said. "The pain is a definite drawback."
"Poor dears," Molly mused. "It must be distressing to feel your partner's pain so acutely."
"I hate that he was hurting because of me," Harry murmured, his eyes focused on the ground with shame.
"It's alright," Sirius said softly, drawing Harry in for another hug. "Everything is okay Pup. Umbridge is gone and you two will continue looking out for each other."
Harry nodded, though he still felt pretty miserable. Draco hadn't complained at all. He'd obviously been in a lot of pain but he'd only sought to snuggle into Harry's side, but that was to comfort Harry as much as himself.
The office door opened again and Draco returned looking concerned. He gray eyes sought out Harry's gaze. He opened his arms and hastily wrapped Harry in a warm embrace. "You have to stop," Draco muttered, running a soothing hand down Harry's back. "I'm just fine. And I would always want to know if you're in danger or in pain. I'm sure you feel the same way."
"Of course," Harry nodded pulling back a bit to look at Draco's face. "But you were hurting because I was stupid and got another detention."
"You've got a bit of a temper," Draco admitted, smiling fondly. "I'm not angry with you. We'll work on that together like we do everything else. But please let go of this. Let's just move forward from here."
Harry nodded again relaxing slightly. He hummed when Draco kissed him softly. They both blushed when Snape cleared his throat, reminding them off their audience.
"You have a truly beautiful relationship," Molly said, dabbing at her eyes.
"Thank you," Harry responded, pulling out of the embrace but keeping one arm wrapped around Draco's waist.
"We don't know who the Minister will send to replace Umbridge," Dumbledore sighed. "But, at least we don't have to worry about her anymore. Your intervention was appreciated Mr. Malfoy."
"What do you mean?" Snape asked.
"I wrote letters to my parents, Harry's parents and a few other families," Draco said, looking smug. "I thought it would look good to have several outraged parents present. And then my Father would feel compelled to flaunt his influence. He's rather predictable sometimes," he added with a little shrug.
The adults chuckled. "Well, here's hoping that the next professor is an improvement," Sirius muttered. "I'd say the standard is pretty low at this point."
"How are you getting worse at this?" Snape asked in annoyance.
Harry groaned clutching at his head. "I've been a little preoccupied," he muttered.
"You're seeing a door that's in the Department Mysteries," Snape said. "It's almost certain to be due to the fact that the Dark Lord is fixating on getting to the prophecy."
"You've got to block it out Harry," Draco said anxiously.
"I don't know how," Harry said tiredly. "I'm seeing this stuff in my dreams."
Snape pursed his lips in thought. Draco was doing well, but Harry was struggling with Occlumency. Perhaps fatigue and stress was hindering his ability to protect his own mind.
"What if I help?" Draco suggested. He glanced at Snape and then Harry, holding his hands out.
Harry allowed Draco to take his hands. They closed their eyes and Draco focused his magic on Harry.
Snape watched closely, his eyes widening at the gentle hum of magic that filled the room. Harry gasped softly but, other than that neither teen made a sound.
After a few minutes, Draco's eyes fluttered opened. "Do you feel that?" he asked quietly.
"Yes," Harry breathed, his eyes opening to favor Draco with an affectionate look.
"Good," Draco responded. "Try again."
They turned and faced Snape resolutely. "Legilimens," Snape murmured, focusing on Harry.
For a moment, he was sure that Harry had failed again. And then he felt an odd sort of shove against his consciousness as he attempted to reach Harry's memories. He strengthened the spell only to be firmly repelled from Harry's mind. Snape blinked, feeling a little disoriented.
"What did you do?" Snape asked warily.
"I guided his mind to defend itself," Draco replied. "I showed him how to lift a barrier. Once he could do that, he understood how to repel an intruder." He frowned. "I think the horcrux was trying to prevent him from protecting himself."
Snape nodded slowly. "Then until it's fully under Mr. Potter's control, you will need to assist him in shielding his mind," he told Draco. "Just... be careful. That is all for today."
Draco and Harry left to meet with their friends in the library. They were planning for the next meeting with the Pack. No matter who the new Defense teacher was going to be, the Wolves would be ready.
Snape watched them go, thinking that if those two ever decided to go dark, the wizarding world would be in trouble. The fact that Draco was able to sense the horcrux at all was certainly interesting.
