The Bodyguard

Chapter 23: Extra Punishments

Harry dreamed he was in the Hogwarts library, doing Potions homework with Hermione, Ron, and the Half-Blood Prince. The teenaged Snape sat at their table as if he'd always been their friend, chatting and joking, snidely suggesting spells of his own invention for them to try, and all but doing their Potions homework for them.

In the surreal way of dreams, no one questioned the presence of a teenager who should have been over forty and on the run from the law. Ron merely looked grateful when Snape virtually dictated his and Harry's essays, and though Hermione looked irritated at the way Ron and Harry were getting out of studying, Harry saw her surreptitiously writing down Snape's suggestions.

Harry knew he was dreaming about someone who would grow up to be a hated murderer. He wanted to scream at him, or strike him down with one of his own Dark spells. But how could he possibly do that to this clever, inventive boy, who was so much help?

They had finished their Potions homework and were playing a secretive and illegal game of Gobstones under the table (the teenaged Snape was very good) when Harry heard footsteps approaching. He turned and saw a swirl of black robes, and candlelight shining on greasy, black hair. Was it the adult Snape? The figure - it's shape and the way it moved - seemed so familiar, but it's face was veiled. Harry felt a rush of hatred and fear, nonetheless. The figure loomed over them threateningly, and then he woke with a start.

He was in bed, warm under the blankets, with Draco at his side. There were footsteps outside the door. As his mind detangled from the dregs of his dream, he thought it sounded like a couple of very heavy people walking up the stairs.

"That'll be Crabbe and Goyle, making sure I haven't run away," murmured Draco, looking very cute, with his hair mussed up from sleep. There was a heavy knock and he unlocked the door with a wave of his wand. "It's open!" he called out.

"Wait, Draco!" said Harry, waking up in a hurry. "I haven't got any clothes on!" But the door was already opening.

Crabbe and Goyle trooped in. Harry quickly pulled the blankets up to his neck as the two Slytherins lumbered towards the bed. They stared at Draco with dull, patient eyes.

"'Morning," drawled Draco. "Have you brushed your teeth yet?" Crabbe and Goyle shook their heads and Draco pointed at the bathroom. "Go ahead. I'll be in to help you in a minute." As the Slytherins walked away, he caught sight of Harry's shocked expression and laughed. "Why so shy? You got nothing to worry about, Harry. If I had a body like that, I'd be showing it to everyone." He started tickling Harry under the blankets.

Harry yelped and wrestled Draco until he'd caught both his hands, feeling equally turned on and embarrassed.

"I heard you DID show your body to everyone." Hermione's voice came cheekily through the open doorway and she walked in. She was already dressed, in jeans and a robe.

Draco sniggered, as Harry grabbed him possessively. "Have you been talking to Blaise, Hermione?"

"Might have been," said Hermione sweetly. She looked them up and down. "You two aren't out of bed yet? Hurry up! I want the four of us to pay a visit Hagrid today."

"We haven't seen Hagrid in ages, but we should be looking for ... those things," said Harry. He could still feel his cheeks burning in embarrassment. His private bedroom had become a thoroughfare.

"That's partly why I wanted to see Hagrid, Harry," Hermione answered. She didn't seem to be the slightest bit disturbed about talking to two boys, who were naked under the blankets. "You said that Hagrid overheard Dumbledore and Snape having an argument in the Forbidden Forest. I wanted ask Hagrid what they were arguing about."

"Why is that?" asked Harry.

"I want to find out if Draco's right: if Snape is working for the Order and picking up those ... things," said Hermione. She saw Harry's expression change and said, "I know, but we're at a dead end. And I think Draco may be right about Snape. He knew him much better than we did."

Draco looked thoughtful. "I'll send an owl to Irma Pince, the Librarian, just like Severus suggested, so she can get us past the wards."

Harry groaned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" he asked no one in particular.

oOoOoOo

The quartet Apparated to Hogsmeade and walked over to Hogwarts. Seeing the castle again brought a rush of feelings to Harry. It was one of the few places he'd ever felt at home. He looked at the dear old towers, silhouetted against the blue sky, the wide lake where the giant squid was waving its tentacles and basking in the sun, and felt a lump in his throat. All those days he'd spent there, under the watchful eye of Dumbledore, taking classes and doing homework. It had all seemed so difficult, but looking back, they were the easiest, and most enjoyable days of his life.

At his side, Draco seemed tense. He was staring at the ground, and looked more like a man going to his execution, than one returning to his beloved school. "Bad memories," he muttered, when Harry asked. "My last year there was hell and I can't forget that night up on the Astronomy Tower. I don't think I can look anyone at Hogwarts in the eye."

Harry took Draco's hand. "That year's over and done with now. Think of what you've done in the last few days."

"I don't fancy seeing Hagrid," said Draco, still looking at the ground. "Do you think he'll take revenge on me for destroying his shack?"

"No, Hagrid's not like that," said Harry, adding firmly. "And it was a house, Draco."

"He always terrified me. The big half-giant with his killer beasts," muttered Draco, as though the confession was drawn from him by force. His cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Hagrid's really sweet when you get to know him," said Harry loyally. "And I won't let him blame you. If he does, I'll tell him you did to Voldemort yesterday..."

Draco looked up, with a slight smile on his face.

"Hagrid will love that," said Harry, smiling back.

They reached the gates. The road continued through them, and on up to the castle's main doors, but the gates were firmly locked. Ron shook them. "Where's Madam Pince?" he grumbled, pushing his red hair back frustratedly.

Harry looked along the road...

...and froze.

There were two people walking down from Hogwarts. One was Argus Filch. But beside him was a figure wearing a black veil and moving in a way that sent shivers down Harry's spine and made him plunge his hand into his robes and wrap his fingers around the handle of his wand. The figure scuttled, like a spider, and wore billowing, black robes, and a veil. Underneath the veil, there was a suggestion of black, greasy hair. It's Snape, Harry thought, remembering his dream. But he didn't pull his wand out because, on second glance, the figure was too short, and definitely female. She was close enough for Harry to hear Filch wheezing before he was certain she was Madam Pince.

Harry had seen her last at Dumbledore's funeral. He remembered she'd worn a veil then too. Filch had been comforting her, and it had been obvious that they were a couple (horrible thought!) But he'd been distracted by his own grief for Dumbledore and hadn't paid them much attention. Harry silently activated his Occlumency. Something wasn't quite right here and he wanted to protect his mind. Why hadn't he noticed Pince's similarities to Snape before? It was as if he'd been magically unable to compare them. Harry knew of only one spell with that effect: the Fidelius Charm.

None of the others appeared to have noticed. Draco was politely greeting Pince and Filch, as they unbarred the gate.

"'Morning, Master Malfoy. Or Mr Malfoy, I should call you now," replied Filch. His manner towards Draco was familiar, sympathetic, and just a touch deferential. This struck Harry as strange. Filch was a squib and Draco an only recently ex-Death Eater. Shouldn't Filch fear him?

"We're terribly sorry to hear about your mother, Draco," said Madam Pince from under her veil, and it was only Occlumency that prevented Harry from crying out. That silky voice wasn't exactly the same as the one that haunted his nightmares, but it was far too close. Harry longed to say something, but Pince was an unknown quantity. Supposing she was a master of the Dark Arts, like the man she so closely resembled? He couldn't attack her, with his friends still unawares.

Filch and Pince opened the gate, and let the quartet in. Draco and Filch chatted about inconsequential things, but Pince, Harry was quick to notice, said nothing more after her first greeting. He couldn't see her eyes but was aware they were fixed upon him. She had noticed he was using Occlumency, even if no one else had.

Hermione and Ron trailed behind, as they walked up the road towards Hogwarts, clearly put out at being barely acknowledged by Filch and Pince.

"I need to retrieve my trunk from my dorm," said Draco.

"The password for the Slytherin common room is 'Sorrow'," Filch said. He scowled at the Gryffindors, as though daring them to gloat that they had overheard. Harry recalled that Filch had always treated the Slytherin students better, and had been deeply in cahoots with the then Slytherin Head of House - Snape. He remembered how he had seen Snape revealing his injuries from Hagrid's three-headed dog, Fluffy, to Filch in First Year.

The new main doors of Hogwarts loomed up and Harry felt a pang. The originals had been blasted to splinters years ago, when Snape, Draco and the rest of the Death Eaters had taken their leave, after Dumbledore's murder. Their replacements were pale, and unmarked; a far cry from the time-blackened originals, which had been eroded by a thousand years of use. It was strange to think that the events unfolding over the past few years had been the most destructive in Hogwarts's thousand-year history. Pince opened the new doors and they entered the Great Hall. Overhead, the ceiling was a brilliant blue, without a single cloud.

Hermione and Ron were bickering gently. "I'm sure this place is smaller than I remember," said Ron.

"That's only because you're bigger," said Hermione, amused. "Isn't that right, Harry?"

Harry said nothing. The moment he'd set foot over the threshold, a terrible, oppressive sense of dread had come over him. It even overwhelmed his sense of mistrust towards Filch and Pince. The Great Hall seemed airless and tense. Something terrible was about to happen. He looked at his friends and felt a rush of fear.

"Wait," he said. His voice was low, but the single word seemed to drop like a stone, and silence all the chatter around him.

Except Filch. "Yes, all the students are on their summer holidays. It's good to not have them cluttering up the place," he was saying to Draco. He stopped as he noticed everyone staring at Harry. "What's the matter?" he wheezed.

Harry had pulled out his wand and was staring at the ceiling of the Great Hall. All the dread was centred there. It wasn't aimed at him, he knew, but at someone close by. The ceiling seemed to stare back at him, all blue and innocent, but Harry wasn't fooled. He felt as though he were standing inside the body of a giant, and feeling a sleeping immune system waking up around him, ready to destroy the invaders.

"Start walking back towards the main doors," he said softly, not taking his eyes off the ceiling.

Hermione and Ron were far too used to Harry noticing things they hadn't, to question him. They headed for the doors at once. Draco took one look at Harry and followed them. But Filch and Pince stared suspiciously and didn't move.

A bolt of white lightning crackled across the ceiling, incongruous amid the blue sky.

Abruptly, Harry shouted, "Run!"

He saw that Pince had the snappy reflexes of someone who'd trained to fight. She grabbed Filch, who was staring open-mouthed at the ceiling, and dragged him towards the door.

Draco was passing Harry when a bolt of lightning speared out of the ceiling, aimed at the Slytherin's chest. Harry's arm lashed out and caught the brunt of the bolt on the tip of his wand. Dazzled by the flash and deafened by the thunderclap, Harry wrapped a protective arm around Draco and struggled through the doors. The fresh air told him he was outside. He was barely aware of Pince and Filch hurrying through the doors before he closed them and leaned against them, panting. The dread began to subside.

They all caught their breath. Harry's sight and hearing slowly returned. A Draco-shaped blur gasped, "What was THAT, Harry?"

"Hogwart's magical defences," panted Harry. The scent of ozone coming from under the doors, mixed with the smell of charred fabric, was overpowering. He blinked and Draco came into focus.

The Slytherin's borrowed t-shirt and jumper were smouldering and he was tearing them off, but it looked like his chest (his smooth, muscular chest - Harry noted - the days of good food were already making a difference) had escaped injury. Harry wrapped an arm around his shivering boyfriend. "Are you okay?"

Draco leaned against him. "Yes. Thanks, Harry. You saved me again!" He took a deep breath, noticed the way Harry was staring and smirked. "It's a bit chilly without my clothes. Not that you seem to mind."

"The defences were reacting to the presence of a Dark Mark, I think," Harry said, pulling off his jacket and draping it over his boyfriend's shoulders. He meant Draco's Dark Mark, which had faded again to the point of being invisible, but he didn't miss Filch glancing at Pince with concern. The Librarian was trembling all over and clutching her left arm.

"I don't understand," said Draco. He was trying to get into Harry's jacket but it was far too small for him, so he left it draped over his shoulders. "If Hogwarts does that to people with Dark Marks, why didn't it do that to Snape when he was teaching there? Why didn't it do that to ME in Sixth Year?"

"It can be told not to attack certain people," said Harry. He saw Filch and Pince glance at each other. "I had a talk with Headmaster McGonagall about it a few years ago. Also, any powerful wizard or witch can work out ways to get the defence system to ignore them. Barty Crouch Junior did for nearly a year."

"So that counts out luring Voldemort here and watching lightning zap him," said Draco, only half-jokingly.

Harry grinned. "'Fraid so." Hermione was looking at him strangely, as if she'd only just noticed his Occlumency.

Draco sighed, "I guess this means I'll have to wait out here, while all of you go and talk to Hagrid." He didn't look upset at this prospect. "Could you please get my trunk while you're in there?"

"Headmaster McGonagall will hear about this, Draco," Pince said, drawing herself up. She seemed to have recovered from her shock. "I will ask her to alter the defence system so you may enter. Come, Argus. We will send the Headmaster a letter." But Harry thought she looked a little too cautious as she re-entered Hogwarts, with Filch close behind. She stared at the ceiling and took a few hesitant steps inside. Then, when nothing happened, she hurried away, followed by Filch. Her spidery walk made Harry want to frown, but his Occlumency stopped him.

"Those two are hiding something," said Harry darkly, the moment Filch and Pince were out of earshot.

"I noticed you were using Occlumency," said Hermione.

"So did I," said Draco. "Your eyes went all twinkly, like Dumbledore's. I tried not to draw attention to it, but I think Madam Pince noticed."

"Pince sounds and moves just like a female version of Snape," said Harry. "I've seen her for years but I've only just noticed. And she doesn't want her face recognised."

"I thought it strange that she was still wearing a veil, though she wasn't at a funeral," said Hermione.

"She was under a Fidelius Charm, but it's gone now," Harry stated.

"Does Snape have a sister?" asked Ron curiously.

"No. The only female relative I know of was his mother: Eileen Prince," said Draco. Glimpses of his chest were still visible under the too-small jacket, and Harry found it hard to take his eyes off him.

"Didn't Dumbledore kill Prince?" asked Ron.

"Maybe Dumbledore told the Ministry he killed her, then protected her with the Fidelius Charm and employed her here, just like he employed her son?" said Harry, with the trace of a sneer. Thinking about Snape made him angry.

"Dumbledore was supposed to have killed the Dark wizard Grindelwald and I don't see HIM working here," Ron pointed out. "You can't be sure that Pince is Snape's mother. If you accuse her of being a Death Eater, there's no way she or Filch will let you back into Hogwarts."

"Couldn't Hagrid let you in?" asked Draco.

Harry thought of Hagrid's pink umbrella. "I doubt it," he said. "Wards are complicated things." Ron was right, Harry knew. He needed more proof...

"I don't think Draco shouldn't wait out here by himself," said Hermione suddenly. "Not if you're feeling uncomfortable about Madam Pince, Harry. We've doubted you before and you've turned out to be right. I'll wait with Draco, and you and Ron go in and get Draco's trunk, and ask Hagrid to come outside."

"That's a good idea, Hermione," said Harry. "Ron, do you feel up to going into the Slytherin common room?"

Ron brightened, "Yeah! Do you think the Slytherins would mind if I wrote the words, 'Gryffindor Rules', all over the walls?"

"Shut up, Ron!" muttered Draco. But he was smiling. Harry couldn't keep his hands off him any longer and - to Ron's horror - they gave each other a passionate goodbye kiss, running their hands all over each other's bodies.

"Stop snogging!" wailed Ron, and when Harry and Draco finally broke away from each other, he muttered, "It's like you two are saying goodbye forever, not for just a few minutes."

"Leave them alone, Ron," said Hermione, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend. "They look so cute together."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you got off on watching boys kiss, Hermione," muttered Ron waspishly.

"Oh really, Ron," sniffed his girlfriend, but Harry noticed that her cheeks had gone a bit pink.

oOoOoOo

Even though Harry knew the students and teachers were away on their summer holidays, it was unnerving to be wandering the labyrinthine passages of the Hogwarts dungeons, without seeing a single other human being apart from Ron.

"Quiet, isn't it?" said Ron.

"Like a library. I hope Pince doesn't leap out at us," muttered Harry, only half-jokingly.

They reached the bare, damp stone wall, which they remembered, from Second Year, was the door to the Slytherin common room. "Sorrow," Harry said, and watched it slide open.

"It's a better door than Gryffindor's," Ron admitted. "No painting to give you cheek and refuse to let you in. Don't tell Draco I said that, though," he added hastily.

In First Year, thanks to the usual Gryffindor prejudice against Slytherins, Harry had imagined nothing less than manacles hanging from the walls, and torture devices, in the Slytherin common room, but in fact, it was similar to the Gryffindor common room, except the tapestries depicted green and silver snakes instead of red and golden lions. There were no windows, because the Slytherin dungeon was underground, and there wasn't a soul around. Harry almost wished a few Slytherins had stayed over the summer holidays, because he had no idea which dorm had been Draco's.

"There are at least fifty dorms. It will take ages to search every one," Harry said, walking past the row of doors past the fireplace.

But Ron pointed at a length of glowing yellow tape sealing off one of the doors. "Look at that," he said. He walked closer and said. "Yes, I've found it. Listen to this sign: BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY! DO NOT ENTER! DANGEROUS DARK MAGIC!" Ron laughed. "I wish Draco were here," he said, with a grin and a snigger. "He could open this DANGEROUS DARK MAGIC DOOR for us!"

Harry grinned too, feeling happy that Ron clearly thought the idea Draco was truly evil to be ridiculous, and opened the door. He had his wand out, just in case Draco HAD put some magical protections up. But he doubted there were any. Surely Draco would have warned him if there were?

As it turned out, the only thing they had to worry about was the dust. The dorm hadn't been cleaned in years, the floor and furniture were grey, and every step kicked up choking clouds. "DANGEROUS DARK MAGIC DUST!" Ron laughed, and then sneezed loudly. Harry cast Bubble Head Charms around them both.

There were five beds, one for each of Draco's friends, except for Pansy, who'd slept in the girls' dorms. It was easy to tell which bed was Draco's. The trunk in front of it was richly carved, and inlaid with paler wood, forming the shape of the Malfoy coat of arms, a snake coiled around the neck of a winged, white horse. Clothes and books lay just where he'd left them years ago, when he'd been forced to flee Hogwarts in just the clothes he'd stood up in.

Harry looked at the neglected remains of Draco's amputated childhood and felt sad. He sent a Dusting Charm over the piles of books and clothes, but the dust was so thick, it barely made a difference. It made no difference at all to Draco's pillow and Harry pointed with his wand. "See that, Ron? There's some kind of protective spell there."

Staring at the pillow in curiosity, Ron said, "I wonder what Draco's got hidden?"

Harry was about to cast the spell again when suddenly, the dust in the whole room, even on the pillow, sparkled and vanished. Only a house elf was that good at Cleaning Charms, and Harry wasn't surprised to hear a familiar squeaky voice call out:

"Harry Potter, sir!"

Harry turned around, as the squealing house elf threw himself around his legs and squeezed so hard Harry was in danger of falling over. "Dobby!" Harry said, grasping one of Draco's bedposts to keep his balance.

"Dobby it is, sir!" squeaked the house elf, letting go of Harry and grinning all over his ugly face. "Dobby is very happy to see Harry Potter again and his friend Ron Wheezy, sir." The elf was wearing his usual odd mix of clothes, a tea cosy on his head, and many socks on his feet, but he had augmented his wardrobe with a t-shirt that was obviously designed to be worn by a human baby. There was a silly cartoon lamb printed on the front.

"I'm glad to see you too, Dobby," said Harry, wondering if his legs would ever work again. He took the Bubble Head Charms off himself and Ron.

"Hi," said Ron before looking down and prodding at the mysterious pillow with his wand.

"Dobby is surprised to see Harry Potter again, sir. Dobby thought Harry Potter had left Hogwarts for good, to fight He Who Must Not Be Named, sir," said the house elf, looking up with wide, green eyes.

"I did," said Harry. "I just came back to talk to Hagrid, and pick up Draco Malfoy's trunk."

"Harry Potter is helping bad Dark wizard, Draco Malfoy, sir?" said Dobby quizzically. A look of horror came over his face. "BAD Dobby!" he cried, and Harry grabbed him by the back of his t-shirt before he could bash his forehead against the bed as a punishment for insulting his previous master. Even as he saved the elf, Harry felt a bit annoyed on behalf of his boyfriend.

"Draco Malfoy isn't a Dark wizard anymore, Dobby. He's changed so much for the better, you wouldn't recognise him. I ... asked him out. He's actually my boyfriend now," Harry admitted, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Yes, Dobby sees, sir," squeaked the house elf. "Draco Malfoy is bound to Harry Potter, heart, body and soul, sir."

"That's a romantic way of putting it," said Harry. Morbid curiosity made him ask. "What did the Malfoys do to you, Dobby, that you call them bad Dark wizards in the first place?" He took a tighter hold of Dobby's t-shirt in case the house elf tried to hurt himself again.

"Ah, Harry Potter, sir," said Dobby, with mixed fear and delight. "Dobby shouldn't be speaking of such things, sir. But Dobby will, because Harry Potter has asked, sir." He screwed his face up with concentration. "Dobby lived in the Malfoy mansion all his life, before Harry Potter freed him, and he knows the Malfoy family well, sir. They were all bad Dark wizards, sir." He made a dart towards the bed again, and Harry held onto him tightly. "He Who Must Not Be Named went to school with Abraxas Malfoy, grandfather of Draco Malfoy, and made him one of the first Death Eaters, sir. Lucius Malfoy was made a Death Eater at sixteen, like Abraxas Malfoy, and Dobby hears Draco Malfoy was too, sir."

"Yes," said Harry. Ron was listening intently. "But Draco said he didn't want to be a Death Eater. Voldemort manipulated him."

Dobby shuddered at the name, and at his memories. "Yes, sir. That is the way of He Who Must Not Be Named, sir. He works with lies, trickery and fear, not true loyalty, sir. Dobby saw him many times at the Malfoy mansion, before Harry Potter stopped him the first time, sir. Dobby remembers when Draco Malfoy was one and was seen playing with Muggle children by He Who Must Not Be Named, sir. That bad Dark wizard cut him on the arm and told his parents he would kill him if he heard of him treating Muggles as equals again, sir."

"Oh..." Harry murmured. It explained a lot about Draco's obsessive put downs aimed Muggle-borns and Muggles. His parents wouldn't have dared raise him any other way.

"He Who Must Not Be Named made Lucius Malfoy look after his Dark magic objects: poisons, bad books, and weapons, sir," squeaked Dobby, struggling in Harry's grip. "Sometimes Lucius Malfoy would walk around Malfoy manor, after He Who Must Not Be Named had left, and remind Dobby to do extra punishments, sir."

"What sort of extra punishments?" Ron asked angrily.

"Dobby would be hitting his head, because Dobby had not dared to dust the room He Who Must Not Be Named was in, and Lucius Malfoy would be telling him to hit his head harder, sir," squeaked Dobby solemnly.

Harry frowned. "Did Draco Malfoy ever do anything bad to you?" he asked indignantly.

"Oh yes, sir!" said Dobby and Harry grimaced. "When Draco Malfoy was ten, he brought a Muggle newspaper home he had found in the street, and told Dobby to keep watch in case Lucius Malfoy or Narcissa Malfoy saw it, sir. Well, Draco Malfoy read the newspaper and burned it, and did not tell Dobby to stop watching, sir! Dobby stayed awake for a whole week before Draco Malfoy remembered and told Dobby he could sleep, sir!"

Harry was unpleasantly reminded of the time Dobby had stayed awake for days while following Harry's order to tail Draco Malfoy in Sixth Year. He was glad Hermione wasn't here. "Dobby, I'm sorry, I did almost the same thing to you. I gave you an order that meant you couldn't sleep for days."

Dobby beamed at Harry. "But that doesn't matter, sir. Harry Potter ordered Dobby, and Harry Potter is not a bad Dark wizard so Dobby was happy to serve him, sir."

Harry wasn't fooled for a second. "Keeping you awake like that was the act of a bad Dark wizard, even if I want Voldemort dead and I don't do any Muggle-baiting. I'm so sorry, Dobby. It was selfish and thoughtless of me. I shouldn't have asked that of you." He remembered something else, "And I order you not to punish yourself for telling me all this stuff about the Malfoys, Dobby."

Dobby's grin widened and he stopped struggling. "Thank you, sir! Oh, Harry Potter is a good wizard, sir. Draco Malfoy should be proud to have such a master, sir!"

Bursting out laughing, Harry said, "I'm not Draco's master, Dobby. He's my boyfriend. We're equals."

"But Draco Malfoy is bound to Harry Potter, heart, body and soul, sir," squeaked Dobby.

This time, it didn't sound so romantic. "What do you mean?" asked Harry warily, glancing at Ron, who looked as confused as he did. Then he saw realization dawn on Ron's face.

"I think it's pretty obvious, Harry," said Ron. His eyes were wide.

A chill as sharp as a knife went through Harry's heart. "The Unbreakable Vow?" he whispered.

"'Tis a mark of a house elf's enslavement, that he can see enslavement in others, sir," squeaked Dobby. "Draco Malfoy is bound to Harry Potter, and can love no other all his life, sir. Draco Malfoy can never marry a woman and have children, sir. In comparison, a house elf is free, sir. We clean and cook, but our private lives are our own, sir."

Harry was shaking his head, refusing to believe what he had just heard. Was he having a nightmare? Was he going to wake up, in the bed in the attic bedroom, with Draco stroking his scar, and he would be in love with Draco, and Draco would be in love with him, and the Unbreakable Vow would have nothing to do with it? He sank down on Draco's bed, suddenly feeling felt very sick. "But I thought the Vow had gone?" he whispered, more to himself than anyone else. "It hasn't given Draco trouble for a while."

Ron sat down next to him, looking concerned. "Maybe that's because Draco's stopped fighting it?" he wondered aloud. "Maybe the Vow's broken him?"

Harry wrapped his arms around himself. He felt sicker than ever.

oOoOoOo

Author's Notes: Now we're getting back into the angst again! Please review and I'll keep 'em alive! ;-)

Yes, Hermione's a slasher. All the smart girls are! ;-)

I'll be updating as fast as I can over the next few weeks, as I want to finish this story before Deathly Hallows comes out.

Replies To Reviews:

Thanks to the following people for reviewing: Fmh, HecateDeMort, mysoulmate, Lisa14, The Earth Mystic, Your Mom Is My Heart, Avalene, Jinxgirl71, thrnbrooke, foxtown, LunaSky, claire2007, Crowley Black, GreenEyedCatDragon, Esgalhothwen, NinjaoftheDarkness, Emu Alive and Kicking, and ProperT.

Die Kikyo Die: Thanks. When I read the books, I got the impression Draco was doing all the thinking for Crabbe and Goyle. It remains to be seen if it's canon. (Fingers crossed!)

A Raven's last song: Thank you! Do you want it to be an mpreg?

ThePotionsMiss: Yeah, and Crabbe and Goyle's condition is all Voldemort's fault too.

Lady Ichabod: Yes, Hermione knew about the Vow. She'd read and understood it. So why didn't she warn Harry or Ron? ;-)

Daedalus Plum: I think Harry's had a BIG reminder of the vow now. How genuine Draco's feelings are, we will find out.

Ripuku: I'm utterly amazed and grateful that you read eighty-four thousand words, in one sitting, with FF's burning-white background sizzling your eyes the whole time. (Offers a cold compress.) Thank you!

Kittendragon: There will be lots more about how the Unbreakable Vow works soon.

Riku-Rocks: I had to Google seme and uke, but now it makes sense. ;-) Yes, I can't see Harry as a bottom, can you? Thanks for liking how I've written Remus and Tonks.

Tempest in Blue: Ginny could definitely shake things up. Thanks! ;-)