A/N: Hey, all, sorry this chapter was a tad late, loooong weekend of misery and studying. So anyway here be a new chapter involving….action!
"Ron are you sure we should be going here?" Harry asked tenitavely. His red head friend was standing beside him, talking animatedly to Seamus and Dean. The four teens stood in front of the most notorious pub in Hogshead- the Hog's Head. "This place is sorta….dodgy."
"Oh come on, Harry! Don't be such a wuss!" Ron laughed, elbowing the smaller teen in the ribs.
Giving the redhead a small shove Harry growled, "Shut up! I'm not a wuss!" He petulantly flung open the heavy wooden door and stepped into the pub. It was a dirty room that bustled with harsh sounds of glass clinking and voices mumbling and no one seemed to notice the four teenagers standing by the door.
Ron brushed past him, pulling up Harry's hood as he passed. Harry shot a dirty look at the back of Ron's head and adjusted the hood himself before sullenly following his friends to a table at the back of the room.
"I can't believe we're in the Hog's Head!" Dean snickered.
"We're so kickass," Seamus agreed, playfully punching Harry in the shoulder, "Right Harry?"
"Y-yeah, right." Harry said, honestly not paying his friend much attention; his graze was fixed on a door in the back corner of the bar. It was open just a crack and a thin beam of pale moonlight spilled into the bar. It must lead to an alley or something, Harry thought. "I'm gonna go get a drink," the teen said quietly.
"Ew, Harry, here?" Ron muttered.
Dean took one look at the bar and proclaimed to the circle, "This place is filthy!"
"Whatever. I'm thirsty, be right back," Harry said distractedly. He walked softly through the pub, trying to be inconspicuous and avoid any attention. Eyes fixed on the crack of moonlight, Harry slipped onto a stool at the edge of the bar, closest to the door.
"Can I have a coke?" he asked the barman. The grey haired man scowled and walked off, leaving Harry unsure of whether he would actually get his coke or not. Either way, Harry was right next to the door.
The teen slipped a hand around the edge of the door frame and slid off his stool. Harry glanced over his shoulder, checking to see if anyone was watching. Nobody was. He pushed the door open an inch more when a voice made him jump.
"I wouldn't go opening up doors,"
Harry glanced over his shoulder to see the barman setting down a glass of coke at his place on the bar. "Why not?" The teen asked.
"You never know what you'll see in Hogshead, not these days. Might see something you were better off never seeing." The barman shrugged. "You there, son, you're looking for something, ain't ya?"
"Huh?" Harry asked.
"I can see it in your eyes. You're lookin' for something you've lost. You might find it there, back in the good old days they used to call this place a village o' miracles. Kids like you came here looking for things they wanted, things they need…things they lost."
"Well I didn't loose anything," The dark haired teen said defensively. "I'm just curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat, kiddo."
"Well I'm not a cat," Harry insisted.
"There're not miracles... not here, not these days. Hope you don't see any ghosts back there, kitty cat."
Harry rolled his eyes. Silly old man. He opened the door and closed it behind himself and suddenly Harry found himself standing in a dark alley, illuminated only by a heavy half moon hanging overhead. Above him the stars twinkled merrily and the world was washed over with a shade of blue.
"You shouldn't have come here," a voice snapped angrily. There was a bend in the alley, Harry quietly snuck towards it and the next voice came louder.
"I was assigned to Hogwarts, it's not as if I had a choice," said a cool, impassive second voice. Harry's ears prickled, he knew that voice…but from where? The teen pressed himself flat against the brick wall of the alley
"This is too dangerous for a kid," the angry voice snarled. "We're dealing with serious threats, here, not kiddy games."
"I'm aware of that, Sev. That is why they have two operatives here, you and I. We are to work together."
"You're just a child! You shouldn't be involved in this; those bastards shouldn't have brought you here!" The one called Sev ranted, then sighed.
"I know you're worried about me, Sev. I appreciate it, but I've been on my own for a while, now. Besides, I asked to come here."
Harry listened with interest, what were they talking about? Were they thugs? Criminal masterminds? Or was it some secret plot inside Hogshead…or Hogwarts? Suddenly it came to Harry- he recognized the first voice. Snape! Why the hell was Snape in an alley at Hogwarts, and just who, exactly, was he talking to!
"I saw him. He's here, Sev. The one who did this to me…he's here."
"Oh no, Dra- you….you came here just for him?" Snape gasped.
"He's the one stole everything from me. He stole my life, my childhood, my family! He took it all away!" the second voice snarled, the voice was intoxicating, rich with passion and energy. Harry was drawn to that voice like a bee to honey. "I want to hate him, I want to kill him. But I can't," the voice softened, "I couldn't hate him."
"They want him, don't they?" Snape acknowledged quietly.
"Yes, but I won't let them hurt him. Nobody but me will ever hurt him."
"We should leave," Snape sighed.
Suddenly it was silent.
Harry took a deep breath and slid down the wall. What the hell is going on? Who was Snape talking to? The teen ran a hand through his hair. Clearly there was a secret inside Hogwarts. Was Snape some sort of spy? Who was he spying on?
There was something weird going on at Hogwarts.
Who were 'they' Snape and the other man spoke of?
And who did 'they' want?
Suddenly a scream split the night air. Harry scrambled to his feet and glanced around the alley. Another scream cracked through the town. The teen ran back to the door and tried to open it, it was locked.
The screams of panicked people followed. There was nobody around; Harry was all alone in this long dark alley. The teen sprinted down the alley and rounded to bend to reveal another narrow stretch of alley.
A laugh echoed through the brick walls.
Harry glanced around desperate for some way back to the main street. Around him the shadows themselves seemed to be creeping around, stalking him.
Another scream echoed, blood curling and chilling. This wasn't a scream of fear; it was the screech a dying animal made. Harry took off running, not sure of his direction, just running as fast as his feet could carry him.
Wicked laughter echoed through the alleys, mocking him.
There was the dull thud and another scream.
Harry gasped and the world was spinning suddenly. There was no way out, where was home! He spun around and in the sky clouds moved to cover the moon. The light was going away.
"You should be careful in these alleys, kitty cat. You never know what you might find," a cloaked figure said. The moon vanished from the sky, completely covered by thick black clouds.
Harry's eyes widened violently as the hooded figure advanced on him.
"You might even see a ghost,"
Suddenly a pair of bright grey eyes peered out from the darkness of the hood. Pale pink lips pulled into a quick, easy smile. The hood fell back and lank, mousy blond hair framed the teens face. He had grown up, but it was the same boy.
"You!" Harry gasped, "You're the boy from the orphanage!"
"Don't you remember my name, Harry?" The teen asked. Blood started to drip from the edges of his smile.
"Get away from me!" Harry shrieked, he backed away from the other boy to quickly and fell onto his ass on the cold pavement.
"Scared?" The other teen asked. Blood oozed from his eyes, his nose, it started to drip from every pore on his skin.
"Say my name, Harry."
"I-I-I don't remember!" Harry gasped, scrambling away from the bleeding figure.
"Yes you do!" He snarled. "Tell me! Tell me!"
Harry screamed and kicked the figure back; suddenly his back hit the brick wall of the alley. He was trapped. "Stop it! I don't know!"
"Yes you do! You have to know! We need to know!"
There was blood... so much blood; it was pooling around the dark figure's feet. It dripped from those cold hands as they traced Harry's cheeks, streaking them with blood.
"Tell us, Harry; tell us who you did it too."
"I didn't do anything!" Harry screamed.
"You killed him! Tell us who you killed!"
Those hands closed around Harry's throat and then the boy kneeled in front of Harry. "We know what you did, Harry." And then the boy slumped atop Harry's body, pinning the smaller teen to the wall.
Harry took a shaky breath and tried to push away from the body.
Suddenly it started to writhe and twitch atop Harry, laughing manically and grinning at the dark haired teen. All the while the figure kept bleeding. Harry started to gasp and whimper at this time... he couldn't free himself from underneath the body!
Tears trickled down Harry's cheeks, but his voice was choked, he couldn't scream for help.
The world started to fade and Harry whimpered and trembled.
It was funny, but somewhere deep in his mind a quiet voice was screaming out for Draco.
The last sound he heard was, "You idiot."
"Harry come on!" Someone laughed.
Harry glanced around, where was he? The moors, how did he get to the moors? The grass was a pale dull green beneath his feet and the sky was a pale shade of gray. The sunshine shone through in long, glittering beams. From not to far away he could hear the low rumble of the sea. He was back.
"Coming!" Harry called to the boy running in front of him. He was a child again, he looked at his hands, they were small and pale…and weak, so weak. He ran after his friend with the mousy blonde hair
Suddenly something distracted Harry, the edge of a cliff, it must be the gorge, they were always careful to avoid the gorge, but today Harry couldn't help but walk towards it.
The child peered down the long deep hole to see a long steep drop between two hills. If he fell he'd probably get hurt real bad…real bad.
Suddenly the ground beneath Harry's feet started to shake and in a heartbeat the ledge he'd been standing on was just a pile of rocks and grass falling towards the bottom of the gorge.
Harry grabbed onto a protruding rock and looked down. It was such a long drop. The first fine tendrils of fear crept down his spine. He was going to die.
Harry wanted to call a name, he needed to call someone.
But who was that boy? What was his name again? Harry squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't remember.
A name emerged in Harry's mind, as bright as a star, "Draco!"
A smiling face peered over the edge of the gorge and Draco extended a hand, "Did you think I'd let you fall, cat?"
Harry smiled up at Draco and placed his hand in Draco's.
Harry wasn't afraid anymore.
Fuzzily Harry opened his eyes. It was still dark, but the moon was out now. Harry tried to get up and his head spun. He whimpered; his head ached like hell. Someone pressed a cool hand to his hot forehead.
"Fuck it, you dip shit, you're running a fever."
"Huh?" Harry murmured, a face slowly came into focus in front of his. Platinum hair, cold eyes, pale skin and a scowl playing on pink lips. "Draco?"
"You see a little bit of blood and you get all sick," The blonde snorted.
"What happened?"
"You found a dead goat."
"No!" Harry said, indignant, "No I saw a person! And then he started bleeding on me and-"
Draco covered Harry's mouth with one cupped hand. "Shut up. It was a prank by the 7th years. Okay? You saw a dead goat. That was all." There was a deep intensity to Draco's eyes and slowly he mouthed the words, 'later'.
Harry nodded and the blonde took his hand from Harry's mouth. "Just a goat…man I over reacted."
"Damn right, you're lucky I found you. What sort of idiot goes wondering around in a dark alley at night?" Draco growled. "You're too sick to make it all the way back to Hogwarts, aren't you?"
Harry nodded and whimpered pathetically.
"We'll have to stay here for the night, I'll phone Professor Snape and explain." Draco looped an arm around Harry's shoulders and half dragged, half carried Harry back in the direction of the Hogs head. "I need you to look as sick as possible; we have to make this look convincing."
Harry nodded determinedly, he looked down to find himself still covered in blood. The teen's head swam and he looked up at the blonde, "D-draco?" He whimpered softly.
"What's wrong?"
"I-I-" Harry gasped and then vomited all over himself and Draco. "I feel better." And then he passed out.
"Ewwwwwwww," Draco winced, dropping Harry to the floor of the alley. "Augh, shit, Harry! Did you have to hurl all over me!"
The blonde stripped off his coat and got the worst of the vomit off himself and Harry. The smaller teen was lying peacefully on the alley floor, pretty face illuminated by the moonlight.
Draco rolled his eyes and proceeded to drag Harry back inside the pub. The worst part of the whole thing was that Draco found Harry, even covered in vomit, disturbingly cute.
This time Draco was perfectly aware of the stranger in a black coat watching sullenly as Draco held Harry protectively to his chest.
A/N: Wow I'm a creep. Anywho, hope the chapter left you with even more questions! Hopefully they'll be answered soon…. Someday….eventually…or this could just turn into Lost, a slew of new questions and never any answers!
And in the next chapter we have……
Draco and Harry in a hotel room together!
An explanation of what the fuck is going on!
Okay a mysterious explanation, but hey, at least they're in a room together….alone….heheh.
Yeah see you next Monday folks.