Hello. My last chapter seemed to raise a few questions so I thought I'd answer them before we start this chapter.
Aestus Maris: Caelum is the chosen one still, even though the prophecy doesn't apply to him, because at the time of the attack at Godric's Hollow, Caelum was thought to be the son of Lily and James Potter, he was still chosen by Voldemort, even though the terms don't technically apply to him anymore. They apply however to the person Voldemort thinks he is.
julesa66: Thank you for the review, I'm sorry that you didn't like Pansy's involvement in the chapter, I wrote it like that because i envisaged that Draco and Caelum would just continue to have a go at each other until one of them got seriously hurt and Narcissa had to step in. I didn't want to take it that far.
Pureblood Mask: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, here is the new one.
mizzrazz72: I agree with you, but Draco is one to get caught up in his anger and forget about the consequences.
FireRuby: The reason Umbridge isn't in Azkaban or dead is because, she still has some political immunity. Fudge is wrapped around her little finger, believing that students need more than a few hours cleaning trophies (without magic), to be a decent disciplinary action.
Okay on to the chapter...
PureBloodSnake xxx
Spun-out Soothing
Draco couldn't understand it. It had been a month since the incident with Caelum and everything between them seemed fine, except the bond was still blocked. It frustrated him to no end, and without it he made so many mistakes while talking to Caelum. He started having to rely on his mother to get any news about how Caelum was truly feeling. He was devastated. Why did he have to be such a prat? And while he tried to make things better between them, Caelum had thrown himself into studying (much to Hermione's delight) just to ignore him. He couldn't get his brother alone for longer than two minutes at this point in time. One Saturday evening Draco crowded Caelum, who was hot, sweaty and muddy from quidditch practice, into an alcove near the Slytherin common room.
"Draco." Caelum greeted, his voice the epitome of PureBlood politeness.
"We need to talk." Draco ground out, pushing every ounce of his emotions at the blocked bond, hoping it would crack under the pressure. It didn't even move. "I can't stand it." He finally burst out, desperately watching Caelum's face to try and find some emotion. Nothing. "Please Caelum, I can't bare it, I need the bond. Please." He wasn't above begging for forgiveness. "Please forgive me. I know I was wrong, I knew from the moment I said it and I should've felt regret right then and there but I was running on anger. Please Caelum it's been a month and I miss you. I need you." Draco was close to tears, but he saw a faint flicker of pity cross Caelum's face, before he gathered Draco in a hug.
"I'm sorry Draco. I overreacted." But nothing changed the bond was still blocked. Draco looked at Caelum confused. "I refuse to take the block down yet. You still haven't really learnt that you can't use that word with me, not without serious implications. I won't let anyone treat me like crap again, emotionally or physically. And that includes my own family." Caelum turned on his heel and walked out of the alcove and towards a hot shower, feeling good about finally standing up to Draco. Draco stood in the alcove watching his brother walk away, the quidditch robes billowing behind him.
? ゚ミノ? ゚ミノ?
For the next few days Caelum ignored Draco in favour of studying for their last exam, defence against the dark arts, but a sense of guilt was clouding his thoughts. He had promised to help Draco with revising for this but he never had. Sighing he closed his book loudly, shocking Hermione out of her thoughts, placing the book back on the shelf.
"Where are you going?" She hissed, trying to keep her voice down.
"I forgot to do something." He was trying to keep himself calm. He was furious with himself. The problems with defence were the reason that they weren't talking much at the moment, and he could've possibly made it worse. He didn't know what would happen if Draco failed his exam because of this and then hated him forever. Caelum was overreacting. Reaching into his robe, he pulled out the Marauders' Map and searched for Draco's name. He was in Myrtle's bathroom. Why?
Draco bent over the sink, Myrtle was trying pitifully to reassure him, but all she was doing was sending cold up his spine. He couldn't do this. His brother hated him. His parents were expecting him to do perfectly in every subject. His classmates expected him to continue messing around even during the exams, whilst he still got enough sleep. And he despised himself, he couldn't hold his tongue when it really mattered. He was the worst twin. It was fine until Caelum came along and was just so much better at everything. He might be heir to the fortune, but Caelum would be an asset to the Malfoy name.
"Draco?" He heard softly from behind him. Talk of the devil.
"What?" He snapped back, his voice betraying his feelings.
"I'm sorry. I really am." Caelum was pitying him, how dare he!
"You're sorry?! It's been over a month Caelum! A month! I need that bond and you, the person who's supposed to know me better than anyone else, turned his back on me. Do you know how that feels?" His voice cracked and Caelum felt sorry for him, but then he realised how sheltered Draco's life had been.
"Yes Draco, I do. My whole life I have been let down by the people closest to me: the people who were supposed to look after me, neglected me; my first best friend turns against me when I complained about my unwanted fame. My brother, my twin, turned to my bad upbringing to insult me and expected me to apologise to him for reacting badly. So of course I know what it's like Draco." It was scarier when his voice was calm and cold, but Draco knew he wasn't angry. He felt ashamed, here he was acting like an entitled prat, whilst his brother was still suffering from his childhood.
"I'm sorry, please, Caelum." Without any warning Draco collapsed, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he let out thick, throaty sobs.
"Draco? Look at me." The stern voice cause Draco to look up at the blurred figure of his brother. He blinked trying to clear the tears. "You're upset, I shouldn't have said that, it only made you more upset." Caelum sank to his knees, pulling his jumper over his hands and wiping Draco's tears with it. "Now, we're going up to Mother's office, she has a lesson right now, so she went disturb us, and we're gonna get you calmed down." For the first time in a long time, Draco felt protected.
Caelum was at a lost, he didn't know what to do. What Draco wanted and needed at this moment were two different things. Draco wanted the bond to be fully functional, but at this point, he wouldn't be able to cope with any more emotions. Slowly Draco sat himself on the sofa and curled in on himself. Caelum busied himself with making tea, and finding the mini fruit pies, that their mother had stashed away. When he returned Draco was fast asleep on the sofa. Smiling lightly, he summoned a blanket and covered his brother, before settling down in the armchair opposite and picking up his book.
Draco woke startled. He could feel something in the back of his mind, a small feeling of contentment. The bond was back! He cracked open an eye and saw Caelum asleep on the armchair opposite him. It was then Draco noticed the blanket covering him, and an absence of one over his brother. Silently getting up, he pulled the blanket with him and placed it over Caelum, who mumbled in his sleep. Draco also took care of the book that had been abandoned on his lap, picking it up and opening it to the bookmarked page. Inside there was a piece of parchment, with Caelum's scrawl and many ink blotches covering it. Draco began to read the notes, realising halfway through, that these were points on the theory of the protego charm. He thought Caelum had forgotten. Reading over the textbook, and Caelum's notes, it began to become a little clearer. He still wanted Caelum to explain, but he was extremely grateful for the notes they still helped to clear things up a little. Caelum shifted in his sleep, and Draco felt the stirrings of him beginning to wake.
Have a nice snooze? Caelum's sleepy voice echoed through his mind.
Yes thanks. I'm glad to be able to hear you again, I've missed this generally open feeling between us. Now will you explain what you mean when you say 'positive' feeling. Caelum moved to sit beside his brother on the sofa and draped the blanket over the two of them.
"Okay, cast the charm, and tell me what you feel. Put as much power into the spell as you can. I'll tell you what I feel." Caelum was a brilliant teacher, he was the right mix of stern, encouraging and thoughtful. Taking a deep breath, Draco waved his wand and a pearlescent shield appeared in front of him. He focused on the feeling of his magic, feeling Caelum immerse himself in it also.
"It feels peaceful. Like my magic can be beautiful and good." Draco whispered, lost in the feeling.
"Right. Your magic has the capacity to be good. Remember that." Draco nodded shocked at the sincerity of the words. "Now the reason why the magic needs the positive feelings is because the magic is good and focuses on the feeling of wanting to protect you or others. Like dark magic takes your malicious intent and dark thoughts to create the spell, protective magic uses your positive thoughts." That made a lot of sense to Draco, not that he would ever tell her, but Narcissa's teaching was nowhere near as effective as Caelum's. The two brothers spent their free revising for the exam before heading to their defence lesson, feeling more enthused than they had for weeks.
? ゚ミノ? ゚ミノ?
The Defence Against the Arts exam approached too quickly in Draco's opinion. He felt ready for the exam, but that meant that Caelum wouldn't spend hours studying with him, just the two of them, no outside influences. Those sessions were helping to heal their bond. But here in the Great Hall, staring at the back of Caelum's head, he was glad that this was the last one. For most of their exams, their bond had been blocked, but now it was back, only for Caelum to block it again, 'because it could be considered cheating'! The clock was ticking down the last few minutes of the exam, and Draco felt the excitement of freedom approaching. One minute left and BOOM! A loud noise from outside the hall shook all the desks. Students' heads jolted upright, now fully awake. The invigilators looked at each other nervously. Last thirty seconds. BOOM! This one closer than the last. Fifteen. Ten. Five. Four. Three. Two. One! BOOM! This made the huge doors shift slightly. Fearing the worst, the invigilators, hurriedly summoned the papers to the front and proclaimed that the exam was over, as the doors flew open and a small firework entered, the bright colours leaving a sparkling tail. It fizzled out, and for a moment there was nothing. And then all at once the Weasley twins flew in, riding low against their broomstick as the lit firework after firework in the roof of the Great Hall. COlours lit the air, and the students oohed and aahed in the right places, before chasing the red-headed twins out of the hall
Isn't this amazing. Caelum's voice, full of mirth, danced around Draco's mind. They always wanted to go out with a bang. Draco didn't know where Caelum was, they had lost each other in the stampede out into the courtyard, as the Weasley twins put on a fantastical show for everyone, teachers and students alike. Although she was trying to show it, Draco could see that McGonagall was smiling proudly at the two of them.
The last firework exploded and the twins waved goodbye to their audience, loving the attention. The crowd began to disperse as the twins became blurred spots in the distance. Draco stayed rooted to his spot against one of the archways, waiting for Caelum to join him. Surprisingly, an excruciating pain filled his body, snatches of dark hallways and glowing orbs appeared down the bond. Trying to seem indifferent, Draco waited until a few more people left the courtyard, before dashing over to his brother, who was relying on Hermione's support, to stand up right, his breath harsh against his lips.
"I've got him, thanks Granger." Draco looped Caelum's arm over his shoulders and took the burden of his brother's weight, even though he was a lot lighter than he should have been."Caelum? What happened?"
"He's got Padfoot. Voldemort's got Padfoot, in the Department of Mysteries, we need to go save him. He's gonna torture him, because of me. He's Harry Potter's godfather, it's the only reason Voldemort took him…" Caelum's breaths were ragged and he struggled to get free of Draco's grip, no doubtedly to try and run off and jump into some heroics.
"He doesn't know you're a Malfoy?" Hermione gasped.
"No, and he won't know." Draco found himself snapping back, trying desperately to formulate a plan that would allow Harry Potter to go to Sirius' rescue and for himself to tag along without it being too obvious. "It's a trap, definitely. But he expects you to go, because…"
"Because that's what Harry Potter would do." Caelum finished weakly.
"And we'll give him Harry Potter and friends. Granger I'll need your help to get this plan operational." Draco felt powerful, he hadn't been the one to give orders like this before. He just hoped his plan was Slytherin enough to work, and Gryffindor enough to fool the Dark Lord.
