Disclaimer: see prologue
Guide: "Speech", Thoughts, ~letters and other written things, "Parseltongue"
Warning: sexual themes and kinks
AN: I wanted to update sooner, but due to RL my beta hadn't had to the to take a look at it. But, as this is the extra long chapter for Altair's one year anniversary I'm posting the unbetaed version now, before March is over.
A big thank you goes to Sevfan from the hexfiles for proofreading this chapter.
I hope you like it anyway and maybe Altair could get its 200th review for the one year anniversary?
-~-~- Altair -~-~-
-~-~-by Still waters are deep-~-~-
-~-~- Chapter 25 –Finding a Halloween Ritual-~-~-
Saturday, 4th October 1997
Time flew by at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The weather got harsher in Scotland and the trees were about to lose their last leaves. But, this went mostly unnoticed by both Harry and Draco as they were too busy with their NEWTs classes and their Altair electives to take much notice of their changing environment.
So far, the two boys had kept any sexual interactions restricted to their Altair classes. It wasn't like Draco wouldn't like it if he and Harry would become more than only Altair partners―he would love it actually―but, Draco knew that for Harry he was currently nothing more than a good friend at best with whom Harry shared a bed and exchanged the daily good night or good morning kiss with, so that neither of them would feel like a whore as the brunet had put it a month ago.
For Draco it was just all so frustrating. He really wanted to take their relationship to the next level, but he knew that Harry wasn't ready for this yet. And while the blond, if he wanted, could use the excuse of practising for their Altair electives to become more intimate with his room mate, he would never do this. If he and Harry would be together one day, then he wanted it to be real with sincere feelings involved, not just a simple loveless arrangement built on Slytherin manipulation.
So, for now, he would have to bide his time, waiting for Harry to fall in love with him. At least he could be relatively sure that Harry would return his feelings someday―hopefully someday soon rather than in ten years. Though, Draco still wondered if this assurance had really been worth the embarrassment he had suffered when he had ask his godfather Severus about the Matrimonio* Potion.
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Flashback—Thursday, 11th September 1997
Two days after his second Ritual Magic class he finally received a package which not only contained four books on marriage bonds, but also some new sweets, as well as a letter from his parents.
~Dear Draco,
Here are the books on the different marriage bonds you wanted. We hope that they'll suffice, otherwise owl us again and we'll send you more. Though, we have to say that it surely is an unusual topic for Ritual Magic. As far as we know, one of the first assignments is usually about the bonding ritual the Altair pair will undergo and not about marriage bonds.
You made us even more curious when you also asked about ways to test if two people are married. We hope that when you come home for the Yule holidays and hopefully bring Mr Potter with you, you'll tell us why you're suddenly so interested in marriage bonds.
But, to answer your question, there is a potion which shows if two people are married. Just go to your godfather and ask for the Matrimonio Potion. Knowing him, he should have a bottle of it lying around. He can explain to you how it works.
Love,
your mother and father~
Draco, of course, hadn't gone straight to Severus for the Matrimonio Potion. He knew that it wouldn't go over well if he explained to the Potions master why he needed that particular potion. Because, irrespective of how it turned out, Severus wouldn't like that his godson was either married to the bane of his existence or was the supposed soul mate of the same nuisance. The blond couldn't even decide which outcome would be worse for his godfather.
So, Draco decided that he would go to the library instead and find the recipe for the Matrimonio Potion. His Potions skills should be good enough that he should be able to brew it on his own and no one, especially not Severus, would be the wiser. Useless to say, Draco's brilliant plan didn't work out in the end as a day later found the blond boy standing outside of his godfather's office door.
Why does the potion has to have Boomslang skin as an ingredient and also needs three ladybugs which were soaked in lavender oil for a year? Draco wondered about the Matrimonio Potion's ingredients, which forced him to go to his godfather after all. He took a final deep breath to brace himself before he raised his hand to knock at Severus' office door.
"Enter," Professor Snape called out from behind the closed door.
"Hello, Severus," Draco greeted his godfather, indicating with the use of the first name that it was a private visit and not one in his function as the Head Boy.
"What can I do for you, Draco?" the Potions master asked.
"My parents said that you would have a bottle of the Matrimonio Potion," Draco stated, hiding behind the Malfoy mask of superiority.
"And why, pray tell, would you need the Matrimonio Potion?" Snape asked. He was very curious why his godson would ask him about this special potion which was rarely used nowadays.
As far as he knew, the blond's parents hadn't signed any marriage contracts, therefore it couldn't be because of the well-tried case where someone wanted to marry someone else than the one their parents had selected for them and needed the potion to show that they were already married to the love of their life. Thus, they couldn't marry whoever their parents had picked out for them anymore.
And Severus didn't think that Draco would be one of those modern young man who where in love with someone older than them either and were too shy to ask their love-interest if they were married and thus had to find it out behind their infatuation's back. So, Severus was very curious indeed why Draco would have a need for that particular potion.
"Because I may have somehow gotten married to Harry?" the blond made his sentence into a question.
The Potions master needed a moment to comprehend what had just been said. Surely he couldn't have heard right. Draco thought that he was married to Potter? How the hell did he come up with such a thing? Severus asked himself.
"And why do you believe that you and Potter may have gotten married?" he asked in the voice he usually had reserved for all the dunderheads in his Potions classroom, especially Potter and Ronald Weasley.
"You know about the spell which shows you what bond you share with someone?" Draco asked, to which Severus nodded in agreement, so Draco continued. "The Ritual Magic teacher cast the spell on Tuesday and a violet thread formed between the two of us," the blond explained, not having to say any more as Severus knew perfectly fine what this colour meant.
The Potions master led out an annoyed groan. That is so typical for Potter, he thought. Even if we are finally rid of the Dark Lord, he still gets into all kind of trouble and I have to pay for it. Great, just great, Snape cursed in his head.
"Wait here, I'll go and get you the potion," Severus finally said. He really needed a moment alone and preferably also grab a glass of Firewhisky on his way to his private Potions store, not caring that it was only shortly after two in the afternoon.
Really, I don't even know what would be worse; Potter being married to Draco or them being soul mates? Professor Snape questioned himself. After he drowned his big helping of Firewhisky, he decided that them being soul mates would be worse.
If they really are soul mates, then they will most likely end up marrying someday soon anyway. So, they would be both married and soul mates instead of just being married, he argued. If they're only married, Lucius at least won't be able to brag about his son having a very rare fifth order bond with Potter of all people.
Let's hope that Potter with his luck somehow ended up doing an old marriage ritual, Severus thought when he re-entered his office.
"Here you go," he said harshly as he handed a small bottle with a yellow potion inside it to Draco. "Simply put one of yours and one of Potter's hairs in it. After a minute or two, the potion will turn brown if you're not married and a horrid pink if you are."
"Thank you, Severus," Draco said when he accepted the bottle. He was surprised that he hadn't even heard one insult from his godfather. He had expected that he would hear how Severus would curse Harry to hell and back.
"If that was all, I have essays to correct," the Potions master dismissed the blond, his previously good mood from before Draco's arrival was gone.
"No, that was all. Bye, Severus," Draco said happily, turning around to leave the office. He knew when he should just leave his godfather alone.
"Oh, and Draco?" Severus stopped the blond before he was out of the door. "If you find out that you are indeed married, inform me immediately. I'll surely enjoy the Howlers your mother and Mrs Weasley will send when they find out that they don't get to plan your wedding," the black-haired teacher said with a cruel smile on his face. The face the blond made was a small payback for what he made Severus live through.
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Draco waited until the evening to make use of the potion. As he for now didn't want Harry to know about it, he decided that he would just use a hair from the brunet's comb. After all, a hair was a hair, so it wouldn't matter where it was taken from.
With bated breath, the blond waited for seventy seconds for the yellow Matrimonio Potion to change colour after he added both hairs. He wondered if this was how Muggle women felt when they waited to find out if they were pregnant or not. Though, Draco wondered if being pregnant would resemble being married or being soul mates. Probably the former, he decided just as the potion finally changed its colour.
Brown...the potion turned brown, Draco thought unbelievingly. We're not married. Thank Merlin, I won't have to face my mother's and Mrs Weasley's wrath. Severus' last words had really scared me about telling them that they wouldn't get to plan a big fat wedding party, Draco thought in relief.
When he had calmed down from his shock, he belatedly realised, If we aren't married, then the violet thread must mean that we're soul mates? Draco thought. It all was still rather unrealistic to him.
After disposing the potion five minutes later, Draco slowly got up from his position on the toilet seat and entered the bedroom. It seems like I still have time to decide if I want to tell Harry that we're not married but have to be soul mates instead, the blond thought as he saw that Harry was already fast asleep on his side of the bed. Finishing most of his homework under Hermione's supervision must have exhausted him, he thought as he climbed into the bed. The Head Girl could be a real slave driver when it came to not let her two Quidditch playing best friends slack off with their homework because of their weekly practices, especially since it was their NEWTs year.
End Flashback
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Saturday, 4th October 1997
Even after nearly a month Draco still hadn't told Harry that they weren't married and thus had to be soul mates instead. The reason why he had decided to not tell Harry about the outcome of the Matrimonio Potion was that he knew the brunet too well.
While he would have liked to relieve Harry of his fear that they accidentally married, he was also sure that the fact that they consequently had to be soul mates would somehow pressure the brunet to act according to this prediction. And the blond really didn't want Harry to force himself to pretend that he had feelings for Draco that weren't there yet, just because it was expected for soul mates to be all lovey-dovey.
Merlin, they both knew that with the prophecy Harry already had had enough expectations to fulfil for a lifetime. So, the brunet really didn't need anything else dictating how he should behave, act or feel. Therefore, Draco decided to act according to the saying 'speech is silver, but silence is golden', and to wait until Harry fell in love with him on his own accord since the blond could do without any pretences, especially if it concerned his love life.
And while he didn't know if he was already in love with Harry, Draco at least could say for sure that he was already falling for the brunet. Not because he was Harry fucking Potter―Boy Who Lived, Saviour of the Wizarding World and Defeater of Voldemort.
No, he was falling for the brunet because Harry was a wonderful person. The blond liked that Harry was easy to be around with and made one feel safe in his company. Also, the brunet was not only a great friend―even if Draco still thought that Ronald Weasley didn't deserve Harry's friendship―but he also wanted to help everyone and was also very forgiving.
And because of his helpful nature, Harry had decided to become a Healer. At first the blond had been surprised when he was told that the hero of the Wizarding world didn't want to become an Auror. But now, two weeks later he could clearly see that a Healer would be the perfect job for him. While it would appease his saving-people-thing, it would also allow Harry to relax―as much as one could with having to attend to emergency room patients―but at least he wouldn't need to be on high alert all the time anymore, always looking over his back in case someone attacked him.
As an Auror he would have had to not only chase after criminals but would have to fear that the accomplices of the same criminals may attack him out of revenge when he was on vacation, as they didn't care if Harry happened to be on duty or not. And who wouldn't want to say that they had gotten one over the Boy Who Lived? Besides, as an Auror Harry and his cases would make the front page of the Prophet every other day, while as a Healer his achievements would stay private because of the medical confidentiality. So, after he thought about it, a Healer really was the perfect job for Harry in Draco's opinion.
The blond also admired that, to realise this dream, Harry worked really hard on his Potions skills as he would need at least an Exceeds Expectations in his Potions NEWTs to be admitted into the Healer training program. Draco had already promised Harry that if the brunet would have any problems with brewing a specific healing potion during his Healer training, that he would practise it together with him. As a prospective Potions master it wouldn't hurt him either to brew some off of the agenda healing potions, so both of them would gain from the deal.
Over the past weeks watching the Gryffindor Quidditch practice had become a habit for Draco. Not because he wanted to spy on the rival team, but simply because he loved to watch how carefree Harry was in the sky. Unlike him, the brunet seemed to be able to forget everything else when he was up in the air, enjoying the opportunity the limitless sky offered. Though, Draco had to admit that the fact that he could ogle Harry's fit and attractive body at the same time without the other knowing about it was a bonus.
And while he knew very well that Harry wasn't weak―he had defeated the Dark Lord after all―Harry still had a vulnerable side to him, which made Draco want to be the one to protect the brunet from everyone and everything that wanted to harm him, to be the shoulder Harry could cry on and the person he could share all of his worries and fears with.
But, as Harry didn't seem ready for a romantic relationship with him yet, Draco would have to be happy to be the friend the brunet could lean on instead of the lover he wanted to be. However, the blond was fairly sure that as supposed soul mates Harry would soon start feeling something more than only friendship for him. And any sexual acts he would love to do with Harry would for the moment have to stay to be restricted to their Altair homework.
Speaking about homework, they really needed to find a ritual for their Ritual Magic class. While they theoretically could decide when they wanted to perform the three obligatory rituals which would make up half of their grades, their teacher had advised them to make use of magical enchanting days, like the Autumnal Equinox, as they were still beginners and could only profit from the help these magical dates provided. Thus, he and Harry were spending this Saturday afternoon with searching for a ritual they could perform on Halloween.
The reason why they decided to do their first ritual on Halloween was that for one the Autumnal Equinox had fallen on the 22th September―a Monday, at 11:56 pm this year and neither of them wanted to be up until one in the morning or later on a school day. And secondly, their teacher had also suggested that it would be better for them to wait until a bit later in the year as they still needed to learn the basics of properly preparing each other for a ritual.
Thus, they had agreed to perform their mandatory rituals on Halloween―a Friday; on the Winter Solstice―which not only fell on a Sunday but was also in the time period of their Yule holidays; and next year's Vernal Equinox―which was also on a Friday.
And while their teacher had given them the hint to use magical enchanting days for their rituals, she hadn't even given them a hint of what ritual would be advantageous for them. They would have to find one on their own, which would not only suit their Typos Thesis and bond order―both allowing them to perform nearly any ritual imaginable, but also would agree with their limitation that only Draco was allowed to draw Runes, if they were needed. So, all rituals in which both of the participants drew Runes were out of the question for them.
Even with this restriction, there still were at least one hundred different rituals they could choose from and this were only the ones listed in the books "Rituals for magical days" and "Ritual Magic rituals for beginners". Draco didn't want to think about looking through the one-thousand page thick exemplar of "Rituals for soul mates" which decorated one of the shelves in their living room, if they didn't find an agreeable ritual in the books they were currently skimming through.
Why does every fifth Halloween ritual involve cutting one of the participants? Draco wondered as he dismissed another ritual from the Halloween section of Rituals for magical days he was looking through. He didn't need to ask Harry to know that the brunet didn't need any more scars as a Halloween remembrance―the lightening bolt on his forehead was enough.
Frustrated, he complained to no one in particular, "Why can't we just be in the possession of a still un-enchanted portrait? This would make things so much easier."
"What do you mean with un-enchanted portrait?" Harry asked him, not understanding what the blond was on about. He was as frustrated as Draco with how his research was progressing, therefore the distracting the blond's comment offered was very welcomed.
Really why are about three quarters of the rituals in Ritual Magic rituals for beginners designed for both persons to be able to draw Runes? Harry questioned, even if the introduction text had explained that Runes usually made the performance of Ritual Magic a lot easier and thus advised beginners to start with rituals which included a lot of Runes.
"Sorry, I sometimes forget that you didn't grew up in the Wizarding world and don't always know things which are common knowledge to me," the blond apologized. "Anyway, you already know about the Wizarding portraits, which can not only move but also have the memories of the persons they show," Draco began his explanation.
Harry nodded in agreement. He already knew this.
"The thing is that when the portraits are painted they're not magical. Or at least at the first glance they don't look any different from a Muggle portrait. The reason for this is that while magical artists use an enchanted canvas and also colours which are mixed with a special potion, the person in the picture only comes to life after a special ritual is performed after the person's death. This way they can ensure that the portrait will have all the memories the living person had, instead of only the memories the person had at the time when the portrait was made," the blond explained.
That made Harry think about the unmoving portrait of Sirius he had found in the Blacks' Gringotts vault. Could it be that the portrait only waited to be activated? Harry wondered, but not really wanting to hope in case that he would be disappointed.
Unaffected by Harry's thoughts of hope, Draco went on with his explanation. "Normally the artist who was commissioned to draw the portrait is also the one who will perform the activation ritual. Or if they aren't able to do it themselves, they engage a Ritual Magic pair to do the ritual for them after the person's death.
"So, you see that it is very difficult to get your hands on a still un-enchanted portrait as I don't think that an artist will offer us to use one of his pictures to try our hand on this ritual, even if Halloween is the perfect time to perform the Portrait Activation Ritual―the barrier between the living and the dead being the thinnest on that day and all that," the blond said wishfully. He really would have loved to perform this ritual as it was relatively easy to do and would go along quite well with their restrictions.
"Is there a way to find out if a portrait is magical but hasn't been activated yet instead of only being a Muggle made one?" Harry asked. He had to know now if there would be a chance that Sirius' portrait wasn't moving because it simply wasn't activated yet, opposed to the veil preventing it from working or it being made by a Muggle, which was unlikely considering that a pure-blood had commissioned it.
That unusual question took the blond by surprise, nevertheless he answered the other boy. "Actually, there is a relatively easy way to find out if a picture isn't activated," Draco said. "Because my mother is a born Black, who by the way are known to have an obsession with portraits, she told me all about them when I was still young. I remember that she said that before a magical portrait is activated the nameplate will be empty because engraving the name is part of the Portrait Activation Ritual. So, if you have an unmoving portrait with a still empty nameplate it probably is a magical one," the blond informed Harry.
The nameplate of Sirius' portrait was empty, Harry remembered, full of hope that he maybe would be able to get back his godfather in a way. Without another word to the blond, Harry suddenly got up from his armchair and ran towards their bedroom where his trunk with the shrunken portrait was located.
"Found it," the brunet exclaimed happily as he finally got a hold of the portrait which had been buried deep in his trunk.
Just as Harry finished re-enlarging the oval portrait of his godfather, a concerned Draco entered the room. Turning around to face the blond he said, smiling, "Do you think this one will suffice?"
Draco was shocked that Harry could so easily produce something as rare as a still unactivated portrait. But it seems like with Harry everything is possible, he thought with a smile on his face, falling even more for the unique brunet.
"Only you, Harry, would have an unactivated portrait of your godfather lying around in your trunk," the blond told Harry affectionately with a slight shake of his head.
"Yup, that's me," Harry answered happily, a very big smile on his face as he patted himself on the back. He couldn't wait for Halloween to come so that he could get his godfather back―even if it only would be in the form of a moving portrait.
~-~-~-~-~-~-Altair-a life changing event-~-~-~-~-~-~-
As they'd found a ritual sooner than Draco had expected, and because he already knew how the Portrait Activating Ritual was constructed, the blond had decided that he would make use of the rest of this sunny afternoon and join the Slytherin Quidditch team for their Saturday practice session which had already started ten minutes ago. Even if he was only the reserve Seeker and theoretically didn't need to go to the practices, he tried to at least show up twice a month to not get too rusty as you never knew when the current Seeker would get ill.
Just as the blond was about to put on his gloves, there was a knock on their door.
"Hello, Hermione," he heard Harry greet his friend.
"May I come in? I really need to look up something and I haven't been able to find the information in any books the library has," the brunette woman said.
"And what could be in our little book collection that you can't find in Hogwarts' enormous library?" the blond asked when he walked towards the door, his broom in hand.
"One of the kink colours which showed up in Ron's Lloj Potion," the Head Girl stated matter of factly.
"Then by all means, come on in and tell me later what kinks Ronald Weasley has," Draco said, inviting her in as the wards of Room Zero demanded, before he left the room to go to the Quidditch pitch.
"Thank you, Draco," Hermione said, before Harry also invited her in and they went to the living room.
Once there Harry asked her, "So, Hermione, is Ron's Typos Thesis compatible with yours?"
"Not really," she answered from her place near the bookshelves, where she was searching for an encyclopedia called "The complete list of all colours and their meanings of the Lloj Potion". The book had been mentioned as the perfect reference if you needed to find a rare colour in one of the books she had found in the Altair section of Hogwarts' library.
"Because?" Harry prompted her from his place on the window seat Draco loved.
"Because Ron is, as we both have correctly guessed, a top; while his role, on the other hand, is a switch. So, as you already know I'm a dominant," Hermione said in a voice that clearly said 'Thank you so much for respecting my privacy on that matter'. After she shot a glare in Harry's direction, she continued, "Ron's and my Typos Thesis roles don't match."
"That's good to know," Harry said, searching for the Portrait Activating Ritual in Rituals for magical days. He stopped himself just in time from further asking, "And is Ron also into bondage?" That certainly wouldn't have gone over well, at all.
"Found it," Hermione joyfully exclaimed a minute later as she took out The complete list of all colours and their meanings of the Lloj Potion from the shelf. With the thick encyclopedia in hand, she walked to the kitchen table in the right corner of the room to begin her search.
In the meantime Harry had found his page in his book and began reading the introduction about the Portrait Activating Ritual. Though, the brunet didn't come far, as soon his thoughts drifted away from the historical information written in the book in his lap to the blond boy who he saw flying on the Quidditch pitch from his position on the window seat.
Harry was surprised that after only a month, he would be able to truthfully call Draco Malfoy one of his best friends, especially after the previous six years of animosity. But a war―even if it had only been a short one―forced people to grow up. Besides, with Voldemort finally gone both of them were free to be themselves.
Harry found it amusing that Draco simply being himself also included that the blond always took a shower before he took a bath. The first time Draco had told him that he would be taking a nice relaxing bath after one of the Quidditch practices he had attended, Harry had been very surprised when he heard the shower running in the bathroom. When his Altair partner finally left the bathroom forty minutes later, the brunet―curious as he was―had asked the other boy why he had taken a shower when he said he would be taking a bath. And so, Draco had told him how he and his mother had accompanied his father to a business trip to Japan when he was five.
When the little, impressionable, blond boy had heard that it was customary in Japan to always shower before taking a bath, he had, in his five-year-old wisdom, decided that this was a very good idea. After all who liked to soak for half an hour in dirty water? No, first cleaning oneself in the shower and then entering the bathtub so that the warm water would stay clean was how one should always take a bath, the five-year-old had thought. And this opinion didn't change even after he came back to Britain or grew older. Thus, Draco still always showered first before he took a bath.
Harry had found that little story very amusing. He could clearly imagine a little pouting Draco reasoning with his parents about the wisdom behind the concept and complaining that they should have told him sooner about the Japanese bathing habit.
But this wasn't the only positive thing Harry had learned about the blond in the last weeks. He found out that Draco was very insightful―if he wanted to―and that he really enjoyed Draco's sense of humour. Especially when the blond used it to help Harry relax during their Altair electives related activities.
While after a month Harry had become comfortable about he and Draco sleeping in the nude and always waking up all cuddled up―regardless if either of them sported a morning wood or not, he still needed a bit more time to get truly at ease with the whole Sexual Magic aspect of their relationship.
Nevertheless, Harry was very confident that by the end of this month he would have enough experience to not feel so much like a blushing virgin anymore, as not only Draco's jokes but also his very caring nature greatly helped Harry to get more confident and at ease with his newly acquired sex life.
Though, at first it had really surprised him that the so called Slytherin Ice Prince had such a caring side. But, now where he had the chance to get to know the blond better, he came to realise that while Draco usually wore the cold and uncaring Malfoy mask in public, the blond would do everything in his power to help the people he cared for. And Harry was very glad that he now was one of those people as he couldn't have wished for a better Altair partner to help him to get over his inexperience, even if the blond himself wasn't any more experienced than him.
However, Harry couldn't deny that he currently started to doubt that his whole behaving a bit more like boyfriends idea was really this good. While the occasionally exchanged good night and good morning kisses had certainly helped Harry to get comfortable with kissing the blond, it had blurred the lines between friends, lovers and fuck-buddies.
One doesn't usually kiss one of his best friends, do they? Harry asked himself as he watched how Draco soared towards the ground, most likely having spotted the Snitch. Even if it may be customary in France to kiss your friends in greeting, I still wouldn't kiss Ron or Hermione, Harry thought with a slight shudder as he imagined kissing his red-headed friend.
But then, neither of them is my Altair partner. And it would be even more weird and uncomfortable if Draco and I had sex together for the sake of our Sexual Magic classes but never even exchange a simple kiss, he argued.
Which brings me back to the whole feeling like a whore issue against the fact that kissing is what boyfriends should be doing, not good friends. Argh, this whole thing is just so fucked up, he cursed in his mind, letting his head thump against the stone wall behind him in frustration.
Why can't my life for once not be complicated? Harry asked himself as he rubbed his throbbing head. At least, so far, we kept anything more than kissing strictly restricted to what is required for our Altair classes. Our relationship would be even more messed up if the two of us started to also have casual sex just because we both are hormonal teenagers and enjoyed the little bit of sexual interaction we had so far.
Though, I really would love to receive the occasional blow job from Draco's very talented month. It surely is way better than the hasty shower wanks I had in the last weeks, the brunet thought, uncaring that his friend Hermione was also in the room and could easily see the red hint on his cheeks or the small bulge in his pants if she would look up from her big encyclopedia.
He could clearly remember how good Draco made him feel; not only with the blow jobs and hand jobs he had received for the sake of Sexual Magic homework but also how good it felt when the blond had fucked him or he Draco, the five times they had had real sex so far that's it.
Harry was just happy that no one had asked him to put a label on what exactly his and Draco's relationship was. They were good, maybe even best, friends, that Harry could say for certain. But they also were Altair partners, so they had to be more than just friends. Right? the brunet questioned.
And while some would say that best friends who have sex could be called lovers, Harry wouldn't call them that as neither of them was in love with the other, even if they both were quickly developing a platonic love for each other. And neither would he really call them fuck-buddies or friends with benefits as their sexual interaction was restricted to their school assignments. So, maybe he would simply go with friends who happened to also be Altair partners.
But then, would someone wank off on images of his naked best friend? Harry asked himself. In his mind he tried to explain his changed wanking fantasies with the argument that Draco simply was not only a very attractive bloke, but also that the blond was the only one Harry had seen naked outside of the communal shower rooms and knew how it felt liked to be sexually active with. And what was better wanking material than your own memories?
Besides, I only started to replace the faceless bodies with Draco's after we became Altair partners, so it surely has only to do with him being my only real sex partner, the brunet reasoned. Though, before Draco the faceless persons had never had white-blond hair. Usually their hair colour had been honey blond or darker, Harry mused.
Thinking about his own changed preference of hair colour reminded Harry that he wasn't alone in the room as Hermione was currently trying to figure out what one of the colours of Ron's Lloj Potion stood for. Looking over at his friend, he saw that she was humming to herself while studying the page in front of her. She must have found what she had been looking for, he thought.
Seeing that he wouldn't get any of his own reading done with Draco still invading his thoughts, Harry got up to find out what kink Ron had. He really was very curious if Hermione's hypothesis was correct and that Ron not only hated the Altair electives because he believed that they would steal 'his' Hermione from him, but also because he couldn't accept one of his own kinks and tried to hid his embarrassment behind his aversion of everything involved with Sexual Magic.
That little hypothesis was the only reason why they had in the end decided to go through with getting the result of Ron's Lloj Potion, even if they both had agreed that Draco had made a very good point when he said that Ron wouldn't accept the outcome of the Sexual Magic potion as an indication that he and Hermione were just not meant to be.
I wonder if her having gotten a hold of Ron's blood also means that she already got Draco's and my result of the Lloj Potion? Harry mused as he walked over towards his friend.
Hermione was so absorbed in her own reading and thinking that she didn't notice when Harry read over her shoulder, interested what rare kink their red-headed friend possessed that Hermione hadn't found it in any of the books in the library.
~This very dark shade of violet is hard to discern from the black colour of the un-reacted Lloj potion. One will only notice the violet hint if the Lloj Potion is held into direct sunlight. Though, before one tries to talk themselves into seeing a hint of violet in their own black Lloj Potion because of its power in Sexual Magic, we would like to emphasise that to receive this dark violet colour is very, very rare. Only about one person/pairing in two hundred years will really have that particular shade of violet.
And even if one correctly identifies this colour, one still doesn't know which of the sexual inclinations apply as the colour has more than one meaning. While in most cases only one of the connected inclinations apply to the person, it is also possible that all or only some of the inclinations may be true.
This shade can have the following meanings:
-loving to be fed apples during sexual plays
-turned on by the partner wearing only their socks
-aroused by Parseltongue
-turned on by being restrained by snakes (most often found in combination with the above inclination)
-having to wear a headgear to get aroused
-a wide variety of sexual inclinations
The last inclinations is why so many people try to see the soft violet hint in their black Lloj Potion. While it is only a general statement and the person has to find out by themselves what specific sexual inclinations they like, it at least means that the person has four or more different major inclinations. The reason why it has to be at least four is that the Lloj Potion is limited to only show up to three specific major inclinations besides the preferred role and position. If the number goes over that magical three, then it will show the dark violet colour instead.
Of course, if one has a wide variety of sexual inclinations, their Typos Thesis will strengthen most Sexual Magic practices which involve any of the inclinations.~
Hmm, Harry thought after he finished reading the description of the colour Hermione had been searching for. While I can imagine Ron having a fetish that involves food, I don't think that apples would be his thing―sausages would be more to his liking.
Though, if Ron should actually have the Parseltongue kink instead of the apple one, it really would explain rather well why he detests Sexual Magic, Harry thought, knowing that Ron's family had told the red-head that kinks played a great part in Sexual Magic and thus, Harry could easily imagine Ron blaming Sexual Magic for him getting aroused by the sound of Parseltongue.
But if I really think about it, I can't imagine Ron being turned on by someone hissing to snakes, Harry contemplated. While Ron isn't afraid any longer if I speak Parseltongue, it still freaks him out as he can't get over the prejudice that Parseltongue is something that only dark wizards possess.
Really, the second and fourth meaning aside, I would connect these kinks more with Draco than with Ron, with him being a Slytherin and his love for apples, Harry thought as the blond once again found his way into his thoughts.
"Are you sure that Ron's potion showed a dark shade of violet?" Harry asked Hermione. Maybe his friend had made a mistake―as unlikely as it was for her to do such a thing.
"Eek, Harry!" Hermione shrieked out, nearly falling out of her chair. "Don't startle me like this."
After a moment of thinking, Hermione finally admitted with a small nod of her head, "Ron's Lloj Potion wasn't the one which had dark violet stripes."
"But...?" Harry prompted, having a feeling that his friend was withholding something from him.
"But..." she began gingerly, "yours and Draco's did."
Oh, so she really had been able to get a hold of our blood without us noticing a thing, Harry thought, nodding to himself. Wait, does this mean that the description of the kinks applies to me and Draco? he belatedly realised.
"Draco and me?" the brunet asked unbelievingly.
"Ehm...yes," Hermione stammered out in answer. "Considering that the two of you got assigned to Room Zero, I would guess that the last meaning of the colour applies to you. Though as you are a Parselmouth it could also be possible that either of you has a Parseltongue fetish, especially because the book says that one, more than one, or even all of the meanings can apply to the persons. Not that I believe that either of you has a sock or headgear kink," she babbled out due to her nervousness as she had no idea how Harry felt about it all.
Good to know that Hermione doesn't dismiss the being tied up by snakes kink, Harry thought sarcastically. Over the years he had learned to handle those unexpected situations with a pinch of sarcastic humour as it was better than lashing out.
"And you're sure that you didn't make a mistake? I mean even our professor didn't say that mine and Draco's potions were anything but black," Harry had to ask her as he couldn't believe that Draco and he were one of the once in two hundred years people who got that colour.
"Yes, I'm sure. I got both of your blood during Quidditch practices and as both times it was rather sunny outside, I noticed that neither of your potions had coloured dots on a black background, but instead the dots were on a black and dark violet striped one," she informed him about her discovery, confirming Harry and Draco's assumption that she would do something during the Quidditch practices.
"I, of course, searched in the library for the meaning of your colour, but I only found one of Ron's which hadn't been in our textbook. So, here I am," she told Harry with a sigh. She was glad to have finally gotten it off of her chest.
Trying to get some control back, Harry told Hermione, "Wait here, yeah," before he left the living room to grab their own bottles of the reacted Lloj Potion he and Draco had kept in their bedroom.
When he re-entered the living room Harry walked straight over to the window and held his bottle into the direct afternoon sun. And to Harry's surprise, he for the first time noticed that there really were dark violet stripes between the dots; Hermione had been right.
To make sure that it wasn't only his potion, he now held Draco's into the sun and indeed, just as Hermione had told him, its background too wasn't entirely black but rather a mix of black and dark violet.
Turning around to his friend, he said, "You're right. They do have violet stripes."
"Of course I am," she answered kindly from where she had settled down on the sofa.
Setting down the two vials on the coffee table, Harry joined his friend on the couch. The whole discovery that he and Draco after all did have kinks―maybe even enough that not every single one would show up in the Lloj Potion―had tired him out.
"So, if you only came here to look up the meaning of my and Draco's colour, you must already know what kinks Ron has," Harry said, trying to change the subject of their talk from him to Ron as he needed some time to come to terms with the new development.
Hermione, knowing Harry well enough to know that he didn't want to talk any more about him and his newly discovered kink―whatever form it may have―went along with the change of topic.
"Besides the light brown and dark green stripes for Ron's role and position, his potion also had apple green and pale red-violet stripes. As you know, the apple green colour means that one has a general food fetish, a not so surprising kink considering his love for food," she told her friend.
"Yep," Harry said with a small chuckle. He had already suspected as much.
"I also searched for the meaning of the pale red-violet colour but I couldn't find it in our textbook as it only lists the most common colours. So, I went to the library and after two hours of looking through some rather small encyclopedias I finally found the right colour," she informed him.
Glancing over his shoulder towards the kitchen table where the very thick copy of The complete list of all colours and their meanings of the Lloj Potion lied, Harry had the suspicion that each of those small encyclopedias had been at least two hundred pages thick.
Looking back at his friend he prompted, "Don't keep me on tenterhooks, what is this unusual kink Ron has?"
"I wouldn't call it unusual as it is a simple foot fetish," Hermione admitted.
"Oh, that's good. A food and a foot kink," Harry said, laughing about his friend's wordplay kinks.
Soon, his laughter also had infected Hermione and they were both laughing about it.
"Oh, I can't wait until Draco hears about it," the brunet said between fits of laughter.
"Hear what?" came the blond's voice from the doorway, stopping both of their laughters.
"Hear what Ron's kinks are," Hermione informed him as she got up from the couch. Over the last weeks she had gotten to know Draco well enough that she trusted him to not use the information about Ron's kinks against the red-head.
"See you two at dinner," she said in goodbye, pointedly looking from Harry to the potion vials on the coffee table and then towards the still opened book on the kitchen table, telling her friend with her eyes that he should also inform the blond about the dark violet stripes in their Lloj Potions.
"Bye, Hermione," Harry answered her, while Draco moved out of the doorway allowing her to leave the room, saying, "Till later."
"So, what funny fetish does Ronald Weasley have?" the blond asked after he heard Hermione closing the door after her.
"Ron apparently has a food and a foot kink," the brunet answered, not able to stop himself from chuckling.
"Really, Weasley has a foot fetish?" the blond asked Harry. He would never have guessed the red-head to be turned on by someone's feet.
"Yeah, he has," Harry confirmed.
After a pause where both were lost in their own thoughts, Harry finally broke the comfortable silence between them. "There's more I've to tell you," he admitted.
"I'm listening," Draco said, becoming all serious.
"Hermione also got a hold of our blood and thus knows our Typos Thesis," the brunet informed Draco.
"I guessed as much. After all, a month should have been more than enough time for her to figure out a way to get our blood," Draco told him; he wasn't bothered at all by the fact that Hermione, and probably Blaise too, knew about him being a mainly dominant and top.
"Ehm, yeah. But the thing is that she noticed something that we overlooked," Harry nervously told the blond. He didn't know how Draco would react to the news that apparently both of their Lloj Potions sported a rather rare kink colour which had more than one meaning, and not every single one of them was nice.
"You see, the backgrounds of our potions actually aren't black but rather a mix of black and dark violet stripes," Harry finally admitted, holding up one of the potion bottles from the coffee table to hold it against the direct sunlight.
"And what does the dark violet mean?" Draco asked after he saw for himself that Harry was right.
Not wanting to explain the meaning to his Altair partner, Harry said, "You can read it for yourself. The book is still opened on the page of the colour," he told Draco while pointing with his head towards the kitchen table.
Intrigued why Harry wouldn't just tell him what it meant, he walked towards the table and read the short description, while Harry watch him with nervous eyes.
When he finally finished reading, the blond joked, "With how nervous you were, I feared that it meant that we had a vomiting fetish or something just as disgusting. Though, I'm still not sure if you may have Autassassinophilia."
While he didn't know if Harry shared his Parseltongue kink, Draco had already come to accept his fetish for the snake language. So, he wasn't at all bothered by the meaning of the colour. And even if in Harry's case another of the possible meanings of the colour applied, he thought that he knew his Altair partner well enough to know that it could only be the last meaning and he doubted that Harry had any fetish he wouldn't enjoy as he wouldn't be surprised if in his case the last option was also true.
"Auta... what?" the brunet asked, not knowing what the blond was talking about now.
"Autassassinophilia, being sexually aroused by the risk of being killed. Considering how often you get into near death situations, on could easily assume that you get off on it," he explained the medical term to Harry.
While a year back this comment would have resulted in both of them throwing hexes at each other until at least one of them landed in the hospital wing, Harry now recognised Draco's joking voice and could laugh together with his former school rival about it, forgetting all about his previous nervousness at the discovery of the dark violet strip had brought.
"I'm surprised that Skeeter hadn't thought about it. She surely would love to write such an article," Harry said between laughs. "It would have fit together perfectly with the Ministry's 'Harry Potter is insane' campagne from fifth year," he joked. He was just relieved that Draco was so comfortable about their newly revealed kink, whichever ones they may have.
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Matrimonio: Spanish for marriage according to Google translator.
Ron's kinks: Part of the credit for the food fetish goes to my beta Makoto and picabone99, one of my reviewers. (If I happend to forget to give someone else credit for the idea, just leave a message.)
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AN2: Thank you all for following Altair for a year. I hope that you like this chapter and will stay with the story for another year or two before I can mark this story as completed.
While you all know that Draco definitely has a Parseltongue kink, I'll let your fantasy decide if any of the other inclinations may also apply to the boys or what fetishes they have.
And who of you still remembered about Sirius portrait? I already said before that it would make an important re-appearance. :)
Next: Propably the Halloween ritual, so eagerly await Sirius reappearence and what he has to say about his own time as an Altair student. It will be very insightful. ;)