AN: This chapter actually took me a bit because I kept getting hit with writer's block. But I finally got it out. My best friend helped me a lot with this one, especially on helping me get past the writer's block and finishing this chapter so I can post it.

Fair warning, the last scene is smut. So, if you don't want to read that, Skip it. This is rated M for a reason. But enjoy!

~NicoDiAngeloLover7

Touched by Death – Chapter 25 (You did WHAT?!")

Harry was immediately brought to Madam Pomfrey, despite the fact he wasn't injured.

"Harry," Pomfrey's voice was stern.

Harry rolled his eyes, "I wasn't even injured. You know I'd rather be healing than this."

The stern mediwitch's eyes softened, "I know. And since you're not injured. How about helping me."

Harry's eyes brightened slightly as he looked to where Madam Pomfrey was gesturing to.

"This is a burn-healing paste to treat dragon burns. You'll learn how to brew the potion later. Thankfully, none of the champions managed to get burned enough to need the paste." Madam Pomfrey's eyes glanced towards the two flaps near her.

Harry's eyes grew sharp, "did something happen to one of the champions?" his breath quickened slightly, he hoped nothing happened to Terence.

"Ms. Delacour. She was hit directly from the dragon's fire blast. She didn't survive," the mediwitch's voice was softened.

Harry had to physically take a step back, he was beyond shocked. A champion had died in the tournament. He was a bit thankful it wasn't Terence, he had gained a friend in the Slytherin.

"What about Terence or Viktor?" Harry asked.

Madam Pomfrey was silent for a moment, "they will be fine. Mr. Higgs got too close to the Vipertooth. He was nicked by it's talons. They're not poisonous, but it will scar. Mr. Krum managed to get hit by the Hebridean's spiked tail. There are some small scratches, but nothing to be worried about. He will heal."

Harry let out a sigh of relief, but he felt a strong amount of pity for the French witch. It was quickly dawning on Harry on how dangerous this tournament really was. After all, one of the champions had just died in the tournament.

"Their wounds are cleaned out, but if you can put some Dittany on Mr. Higgs' wounds. Then you may go back out to get your scores," Pomfrey ordered.

Harry nodded before grabbing the Dittany and making his way to Terence.

The Slytherin grinned when he saw Harry. His trousers were torn in three places, one by the knee cap, and two on the leg. Otherwise, he looked perfectly fine. "Told you my plan would work!"

Harry rolled his eyes, "and yet you're the one injured…"

Terence shrugged and watched as the Gryffindor applied the Dittany. "You're a pretty good Healer, you know that."

Harry smiled, "thanks. That doesn't mean you are to the pull the new skin. You don't want that to get infected. You'll still get a scar though."

Terence rolled his eyes, "Yes, Healer Potter…"

"Whatever… You'll still probably hear it from Marcus about being reckless. I would almost call it being a Gryffindor," Harry laughed at the thought of the lecture Marcus would give.

Terence grumbled under his breath.

A few days after the first task in the tournament, Harry invited his friends to Marcus' Headboy dorm. He knew they probably would be antsy since he spoke to the dragon in Parseltongue. That was something that the entire school had not expected. And if Terence hadn't suggested it, he probably would never have thought about it to begin with.

Harry was pretty sure his friends wanted to know about the egg that they had to retrieve. Harry hadn't tried opening it, not since Terence did in Marcus' dorm and got cursed by the Headboy for it. Last thing Marcus wanted to hear hours early in the morning was endless screeching. Terence hadn't tried to open it again in Marcus' dorm since then. No doubt afraid of the length of lethal curses that the 7th year knew.

Harry just watched them in amusement. Even Neville had to refrain from laughing. Seamus and Dean had no such restraint and were rolling around with tears in their eyes from laughing so hard. Though none of Harry's friends had any intentions of trying to piss off Marcus. Harry guessed Terence didn't learn from that despite knowing his boyfriend for years.

After it had calmed down slightly, Seamus finally asked. "You want to explain how the bloody hell a dragon can understand Parseltongue? Last I knew dragons weren't snakes…"

Harry grinned as Terence laughed.

"Terence actually gave me the idea for it. Certain dragon breeds are closer related to snakes than others. If you are close enough, you can see that glint in their eyes to tell that their stares are similar with snakes. Almost looks like cat eyes. I was just lucky enough to get the Horntail really."

Neville looked wide eyed and shared a stunned look with Dean.

"You'd be surprised. Most dragons are more closely related to the Basilisk," Terence commented as he stole one of Marcus' chairs.

Seamus did a double take and almost fell out of the chair he was sitting on.

"I thought they were just a myth!"

Marcus snorted, "definitely not. They are harder to find. Some kept in captivity or kept out of the human eye. Just like there are reserves for dragons, they have them for Basilisks as well. Basilisk eggs are rare, and some will sell them on the black market."

"That's horrible," Dean commented.

Marcus didn't look impressed, "it's a miracle nobody heard about the Basilisk under the school. It was a big thing two years ago." The Headboy shot a firm, accusing look at Harry.

Harry went meek under the look. He knew exactly what his boyfriend was getting to. Marcus had not been too impressed with him back then. Especially since he had almost died two years ago because of it.

Seamus' screech was a little loud, "what?! A basilisk!?"

Dean winced slightly since he was sitting near Seamus. Though he looked just as shocked.

"You're telling me that the Slytherin monster was a basilisk?"

Harry was a little sheepish when he answered, "pretty much…"

The three Gryffindors' eyes went even wider than that.

"Well, it does kind of make sense that the monster might be a snake… since I was made aware that Salazar was a Parselmouth too. And seeing that Slytherin's symbol is a serpent…" Harry's voice was nervous at the end.

Seamus looked a little guilty at that. They still felt bad that Harry had to go through all of that. And it wasn't like Ron and Hermione made it easy to befriend Harry. They hadn't really been able to be friends with Harry until this year.

Harry narrowed his eyes at them, forgetting about the topic temporarily. "Don't do that!"

Dean looked shocked and confused, what was Harry talking about.

"You're feeling guilty of not being there for me two years ago. Well, don't. We're friends now. Don't blame yourself when it was really two people's fault," Harry snapped.

Marcus snickered under his breath. He knew Harry could be vicious with his temper at times.

Harry didn't say another word, but he knew that his friends probably still felt guilty about it. It honestly didn't bother him that much, he had Marcus after all. So, it wasn't like he was alone.

"You could take the same advice…" Marcus teased.

Harry rolled his eyes, "whatever…"

"What did the dragon say?" Dean changed the subject.

"Well… she was angry that someone was trying to threaten her eggs. She calmed down when she realized that I could speak her tongue. She was a nesting mother, I think someone stole her from the wild. That she really wasn't from one of the dragon reserves. She said that home calls to her." It was clear that Harry was slightly confused.

Marcus was a little angry at that. It was against the law to take a nesting mother away from their home. There were safety precautions that warranted it, only if their home or species was in danger.

"Hang on, Dean. I want to know what happened to the Basilisk. Surely something happened otherwise there would have been more people petrified," Seamus cut in.

Neville, Seamus, and Terence looked curious on that answer. Marcus and Harry had never told the Slytherin exactly what happened. Terence didn't even know that they were involved in the first place.

Marcus raised an eyebrow at Harry, as if 'go ahead'.

Harry grumbled under his breath. The Gryffindor had four intense gazes centered on him.

"Seeing as most of you knew about my Parseltongue ability two years. It came as a shock to me to know I had this ability in second year. But I was confused, I kept hearing some voice in the walls. I got told by Ron and Hermione that I shouldn't say anything," Harry started to explain.

Marcus had a tense look on his face, it was clear he wasn't happy on what he was hearing. It was more reason for him to not like his boyfriend's ex-friends. Though, Terence didn't know Ron and Hermione, he wasn't becoming a fan of them either. Neville, Seamus, and Dean already didn't like Ron and Hermione to begin with and now they had even more of a reason to.

"Then the thing with all the students attacking me happened and the only ones that seemed to be protecting me was Marcus, Fred and George, Professor McGonagall, and Percy. The entire Quidditch team hated me since I decided to quit and take up healing. It eventually happened that Hermione found out who was attacking the students. It was a piece from a book about basilisks and she had written pipes on it. She had figured out how it was getting around. Marcus was with me at the time and stopped me from rushing to get into the Chamber of Secrets," Harry continued on.

The four had stayed quiet until then, not daring to interrupt.

"Harry, the chamber is a myth. Even professor Binns admitted that," Dean cut in.

"Would you really believe what Binns says though, he's a ghost," Seamus cut in.

Harry snorted. "Oh, its real. It's the same place where the last girl died when the chamber was opened."

Terence looked at Harry in disbelief, "you mean to say the Chamber of Secrets was in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom all along?"

Harry grinned, "yep!"

"That still doesn't explain why nobody else was petrified," Dean pointed out.

"Oh, that one is easy," Marcus cut in as he glared at Harry, "that idiotic Gryffindor decided to play hero and almost got killed by killing the basilisk."

Harry grinned sheepishly as his eyes met four gapping jaws.

Neville quickly closed his mouth when he realized he was gapping at his friend. That was when he realized something, "you killed it with the sword in Dumbledore's… ohhh sorry… McGonagall's office." Neville had to correct himself, it was still a little surreal that Dumbledore was no longer headmaster. He was kind of glad for it, though. He hadn't realized how manipulative the man really was. The Slytherins had been onto something the entire time with their hatred for the man.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment when he got awed looks from his friends in Gryffindor. Even Terence looked impressed.

"So, wait… how did you get out of the chamber? I doubt it had stairs." Seamus asked.

Marcus smirked and waited for Harry to respond.

"Okay… so, when we originally went into the chamber. It was a bit of a slide. I honestly just asked for stairs and they appeared…" Harry gave a hesitant smile.

"Stairs just appeared?" Dean repeated, disbelieving.

Terence looked amused, "you just used Parselmagic!"

Harry looked taken back, "what are you talking about?"

"Sirius has been trying to find books for you on Parselmagic, right?"

"Well… yeah… but I haven't been able to look at them yet…" Harry was a little unsure what Terence was getting at.

"It is very similar to the magic you know. But a little bit stronger and said to rely on intent. But you have to be able to speak Parseltongue. I would read them, may help you in the next task," Terence recommended.

Harry rolled his eyes, "it's not like you know what the next task is either."

Terence just shrugged his shoulders. "I'll figure it out. Which you need to do as well. I think the most important thing is to worry about what kind of backlash you'll have from this."

Harry looked at Terence, "what do you mean?"

"Harry, most people believe Parseltongue is a dark gift. Why do you think most houses were against you about the Chamber fiasco? Just be careful and I'd make sure you least have a Slytherin with you."

Harry was cuddled close to Marcus on the bed. Harry's room was next door, but there was a lot of times that Harry shared the bed with his boyfriend. The bed was big enough to have plenty of room for both of them. There was a lot of times where they would just kiss and make out. Not going as far as they did in Sirius' house.

Harry honestly wanted to explore more of their relationship. But he wasn't sure on how to breach the topic with Marcus. He wasn't sure how much Marcus wanted to explore, he knew the Slytherin liked it when they had been pressed together. And it had happened more than once. Just thinking about it made Harry's flush.

Marcus smirked when he saw Harry start to blush. He placed a gentle kiss to the side of Harry's head. "What are you thinking so hard about, my little lion?"

The term of endearment made the blush on Harry's face worsen. But he found he liked it.

"You should already know the answer to that one," Harry's voice was a little high pitched.

Marcus laughed at that one and pecked Harry's lips. "But maybe I need you to tell me…"

Harry would have faked being mad, but his look was already softened with the kiss. Harry wound up rolling his eyes. "No need to act like a Hufflepuff on me. And for your information, it was you. And don't let it all go to your head, either."

Marcus just grinned and hovered above Harry. "And what makes you think I'd let it go to my head?"

"You're a Slytherin. Reason enough," Harry quipped.

"True," Marcus said before sealing their lips in a short, breathy kiss. "And do I get to hear what thoughts these were?"

Harry thought Marcus was just teasing him as usual, but his boyfriend was serious. He really wanted to know. And it was his way of asking Harry about it.

"Have you ever thought about going further than just kissing?' Harry's question was shy and hesitant.

Marcus raised an eyebrow at the question but didn't dismiss. "Of course, I have. I may have Sirius' blessing, but that doesn't mean I want the man to kill me either."

Harry brightened at Marcus' first comment. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one that was frustrated at times. But he was slightly confused at the second.

"Think of it this way. You don't hit magical maturity until you're fifteen or sixteen. That's usually the age of magical adulthood. And unless you have a bonding ring that's blessed by Sirius' magic. He may try to kill me for doing anything inappropriate anyways. I would rather wait until I have a bonding ring on your finger before any of that," Marcus explained.

"So, basically no sex until I'm fifteen," Harry pouted at that. "I thought 17 was the age you became an adult in the wizarding world?" That was when Harry realized what Marcus said laugh, it made Harry blush even more than the thoughts had.

Marcus actually blushed at that one. The thought of having sex with Harry was very erotic. And was doing bad things in his mind, which would make a very noticeable problem appear.

Marcus winds up nodding to Harry's statement and reconfirmed, "no penetrative sex. Magic would recognize as an adult at 15 or 16. Wizarding law recognizes you as an adult at 17."

"You want to bond with me?"

Marcus had a soft smile aimed at Harry, "that I do. If you will have me?"

Harry moved his head in a fast nod.

"I'm still asking Sirius, even with his blessing to court you," Marcus stated firmly. It left no room for argument.

Harry smiled at that. "Since penetrative sex is out. Can I try something?" the Gryffindor's voice was hesitant.

Marcus looked at Harry warily, no doubt knowing his boyfriend was up to something. He slowly nodded, curious on what his boyfriend was thinking about.

Harry leaned back and hovered over Marcus, his gaze at the tent of Marcus' trousers.

Marcus met Harry's eyes and gave a reassuring smile. He had an idea what Harry was about to do, and he had no intention of trying to stop him.

Harry's placed his hands on the waistline of Marcus trousers. Seeing the reassuring look, he slowly lowered them. It was obvious that Marcus was hard from the tent that was pressing against his boxers. Harry steadied his hands to thread his fingers under the waistband and trailed them down Marcus' legs.

Harry gulped hard as he watched Marcus' erection spring from their confined prison.

Before Harry really hadn't paid much attention to what size any of his friends were. He knew he was a decent size for being 14. But it was like Marcus had several inches on him and maybe twice the girth. He couldn't stop staring and it seemed like Marcus had no issues with that. It was like his boyfriend welcomed it. He licked his lips in anticipation.

And he had heard guys in the Gryffindor dorms talking about blowjobs before. He had gotten the impression of what it was, they never really paid any attention if they had an audience while talking. And it was something he wanted to try with Marcus. He knew that grinding their cocks together was pleasurable. So, this was something he really wanted to try and bring Marcus pleasure.

Harry didn't immediately wrap his lips around Marcus' cock. He placed a light grip around Marcus and felt him for the first time. It was different than when Harry wrapped his own hand around himself. But it wasn't a bad different, especially when Marcus let a low moan at the pressure.

Harry gave a shy grin and applied a little more pressure, not enough to be constricting. And pumped his boyfriend's cock a few times. Harry could feel Marcus lean into Harry's touch and try to get more of the feeling he was providing.

No doubt Marcus would try to deny the whine that escaped his lips when Harry removed his hand. But that soon turned into a heavy groan. Marcus' legs were slightly spread as Harry ran his tongue from base to tip.

Harry's hand placements were encasing Marcus' body. Propping himself up slightly near Marcus' hips. His lower half was resting in the open space between Marcus' legs. Harry felt a small shiver travel up his spine.

When Harry finally did wrap his lips around Marcus' cock for the first time, his boyfriend let out a high drawn out, "Oh fuck…"

It was a little difficult to describe. It was like Harry was sucking in all the right places. Blood felt like it was quickly drifting to that certain area and definitely wet. Despite Harry's inexperience, it felt thrilling to Marcus.

Harry started at a gentle bob up and down, while trying to swirl his tongue around the heavy appendage. He could see at Marcus was slightly falling apart from his actions.

The Slytherin's mouth was gapped open as he let out moans and groans. It let Harry know that he was at least doing something right. If anything, it made Harry suck harder at the cock in his mouth.

Though, Harry had to slightly ease off when Marcus subconsciously bucked his hips up. It had almost made Harry gag, as it had hit his gag reflex. Harry hadn't realized that he had one to begin with. Marcus had tried to ease up and not buck his hips if he could help it.

Harry's ministrations were sloppy, but enthusiastic. He tried to go faster and get Marcus off quicker. There were a few times he gagged because he tried going too far down Marcus' cock. But Marcus apparently didn't care as his fingers were currently carded into Harry's hair. It wasn't a tight grip. Harry found that Marcus liked it a lot when he tried to hallow his cheeks and trail his tongue around.

Harry wasn't sure how long it had been since he started this. But soon he felt Marcus' hands leave his hair and grasp at his bed. All the Slytherin had managed to get was, "Gonna…Oh fuck…" That was the only warning that Harry got.

That was when Harry realized that he had made his boyfriend come in mouth. Not really thinking about it, he swallowed it. His eyes squinched slightly at the bitterness, but it wasn't too bad. And the cum that hadn't landed in Harry's mouth, the Gryffindor licked off his boyfriend's thighs. It was a bitter taste, but Harry found he didn't mind it much. No doubt if needed, Marcus could vanish the mess.

Marcus' eyes widened at Harry before he dove at him in a kiss. It wasn't one of their typical soft and gentle kisses. It was harsh, slightly biting Harry's lip intentionally. And tasting the inside of Harry's mouth as his hand cupped the back of Harry's head. No doubt Marcus could probably taste himself, but it seemed like the Slytherin didn't care.

Harry was out of breath when Marcus pulled out.

"I love you... how did I fucking deserve you?" Marcus eyes were bright with adoration.

"I ask myself the same question every day," Harry teased.

"Now it's your turn," Marcus smirked as he lowered Harry's own trousers.

Harry just gulped in anticipation.