In the morning, they gathered in the dining room for breakfast. Harry looked beaten, with a haggard face and bags under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept much that night. Draco looked only marginally better, but he managed to pull off a nonchalant front, and looked imperiously at the others.
As they were eating, he discreetly inspected his guests. Harry looked downtrodden, as was expected, Ron and the twins were eagerly devouring the eggs and bacon, Ginny seemed withdrawn and darted knowing glances to him and Harry. Interestingly, every now and then Hermione would gaze smugly at Harry, as if she knew a secret concerning him. This piqued his curiosity and he determined to find out why Hermione looked like the cat that ate the canary.
After breakfast, he proposed they all play a Quidditch game. The twins and Ron enthusiastically agreed, Harry reluctantly concurred, and Ginny, looking bored, also decided to go and play. As usual, Hermione said she had a lot to research and took off for the library.
They left for the pitch and Hermione found some books to further investigate the Dementors and possible ways to kill them. She quickly became engrossed in a German Medieval treatise on the dangers of magical creatures.
As she was getting to the interesting parts, Ron arrived, looking flushed. He sat down next to her and greeted her saying, "What's up Mione, found anything interesting?"
"No, Ron, it's all legends concerning those creatures, there's nothing we can use."
"Then why do you look so smug?"
"If you must know Ron, do you remember last term when I gave Harry the Suggestion potion and we agreed to pool our resources and convince Harry that gay liaisons were abhorred in the Wizarding World? You disagreed at first but soon came to share my views concerning Harry and his best future."
"I gave him the potion and soon he and Ginny were an item."
"Still he continued to be attracted to Malfoy. I've watched him intently and realized that he was about to engage in a tryst with him."
"To forestall that course of action I slipped him the potion again, and suggested that such a relationship would put Draco in mortal danger and destroy his position with the Wizarding World. I told him to break off any liaisons with Malfoy and continue with Ginny."
"It pains me to hurt Harry, but this is for the best. Judging according to what happened yesterday and today, any relationship with Draco is effectively over, and now there is no other way for Harry but to continue with Ginny. His future and ours is assured."
Hermione had been so intent on relating her successes that she had not noticed as Ron became incensed. His knuckles were white with the effort not to bitchslap Hermione.
He knew what the dangers of a Suggestion potion were. It was so much worse than Imperio. With the Imperio curse, even though you were a slave to the orders of others, you knew which were your thoughts and which were the caster's. You were conscious of the curse and your innermost thoughts remained yours.
With the potion, you never knew what it was that you desired and what the other person wanted. Your will became blurred and weak, and you hurried to obey the orders, never knowing they were another's. It was the worst form of mind rape, because you were never even aware that anything was wrong.
Repeated doses of the potion led to insanity; worse, if you became aware that you had been dosed with the potion, you began to doubt your every action and thought; you quickly became paranoid and went irretrievably mad.
Throughout history when the potion had been used the results were catastrophic for the persons involved. As a result it was banned and all instructions on how to brew it were destroyed. It was only by chance that he stumbled upon sketchy directions about the potion in his father's library. In Hogwarts he found the complete instructions under a tome that depicted medieval bullfighting stories in Spain. He should have destroyed the book after learning how to brew the potion, but in his eagerness to just do it he forgot, and now Hermione in one of her supposedly brilliant schemes had cruelly undermined Harry's will.
He was so angry with the know-it-all; he was hanging on his sanity by a dangerously thin thread.
Hermione continued blissfully unaware, "Don't you think this is awesome?"
With that his control snapped, his magic was released and all the windows in the library exploded, the slivers didn't fall to the floor, instead they remained in mid air, the cutting edges rotated until they faced the position where Hermione was, and finally the slivers sped towards her. He watched, seething, and did not lift a finger to protect her.
Hermione noticed the pieces of glass flying towards her, she hastily cast a Protego spell, but not without some of the splinters passing through and cutting her robes and face.
She cried out, "What happened? Ron, why didn't you help me?"
He answered, "It happened too fast, Mione. I expect it was a prank of George and Fred."
"Wait, I'll get something for you."
He called for a house elf. A diminutive one appeared, saying "What can I does for you, Master?"
He asked the elf for tea and crumpets. He turned away and concentrated on a vial of Suggestion potion, summoning it.
When she appeared with the tea tray, he slipped the potion in Hermione's cup without her noticing. He passed the cup to her and urged her to drink it to calm her nerves.
Once she drank it, she got a slightly hazed look in her eyes. Ron imperiously said, "I would appreciate it if you never slip a potion to Harry again."
"I would also suggest you never speak of giving him the potion to anyone. Never mention this incident to anyone, not even me."
"Also I would ask you to support Harry in everything he does, and always tell him the truth, no matter how painful for you."
"You will forget this conversation ever took place."
Then he got an evil glint in his eyes, and he intoned, "Of course, if anyone ever wants to fuck you, you will gladly let them, even in public."
He was about to suggest other nefarious deeds when the door opened and Tonks entered. She said, "Wotcher, Hermione and Ron!"
"Can I talk to you, Ron?"
He answered, "Is it really important, Tonks? I'm having a tête-à-tête with Mione here."
Tonks answered, "It concerns a certain aunt of mine."
"Ok, Hermione, you will go to your room and lay down. You will sleep for three hours."
Hermione stood up, ungracefully stalked to the door and walked out.
Once she had gone, Ron's features melted and he became Draco.
Tonks observed, "Why did you pose as Ron, cuz?"
"I noticed she looked too smug, and wanted to find out what got her so happy. So I supplanted the Weasley, and she told me she had slipped Suggestion potion to Harry twice, once to get him to go out with Ginny, and another time to convince him to break up with me."
"Unfortunately she succeeded. Harry and I fought, and I ordered him to leave the Manor. The fucking bitch was gloating about how she and Weasley convinced Harry that same sex relationships were abhorred in our world."
"After a little incident with the windows," here he took out his wand and muttered a Reparo charm to fix them, "I followed her example and gave her the potion, and suggested she leave Harry alone and tell him the truth always."
"I was about to punish her when you came in and stopped all my clean, good fun."
Tonks sternly said, "I have important news for you, cuz. I followed your suggestion and became Bellatrix's guardian, later I morphed into McNair. After she slapped me and I cast Crucio on her, she told me about You-know-who's plans. Apparently he has three horcruxes, whatever they are. By the way, you were right about McNair being a sadist, and the effects of Crucio on Bella."
"Moreover he is about to attack the Manor. From what Bellatrix told me, he's going to use Muggles and Muggle weapons to do it."
Draco answered, "Don't worry too much, cousin Nym, the wards will not let any Muggles in. They will only admit Malfoys and their guests, and with Lucius in St. Mungo's, there's no way they can get in."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, cuz. The Dark Lord is very devious; you would do well not to underestimate him."
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After he noticed the game was over, Draco looked for Harry. He was torn, inwardly fuming at the Beaver's intrusion. He was of a mind to slip Harry some potion himself. But he knew he would never do that. For starters, that would put Harry dangerously near insanity, and he yearned for Harry to want him for himself, not because of some mundane potion.
They had been so near to starting a relationship. Even with the potion's influence, Harry sought him and wanted to be near him.
If only they were the only ones in their world, if there was no Voldemort, no so-called friends of Harry's, no school and no Dumbledore.
He approached the door to Harry's room and knocked. After a while Harry opened the door. He had just taken a shower after the game and was clad only in a towel. Draco resolutely tried not to ogle his fine figure, his chiselled pecs and abs, and strong thighs.
However he noticed how weary Harry looked, how defeated. It pained him greatly to know he was the cause of such feelings.
Harry said softly, "What do you want, Draco? I will leave your home soon and you won't have to see me."
Draco gulped and replied, "First of all, I want to tell you how sorry I am. You hurt me deeply with your words, but I reacted very badly. I can only say that it was partly because of my Malfoy upbringing, you hurt my pride and I had to lash out and try to hurt you in return."
Harry gaped and said, "You are apologizing to me?"
"Yes, Harry. I was wrong to take my frustrations out on you. I want you to know that you hurt me with your words, but now I can see a little better where you're coming from, I can understand your fears better."
"It is not my place to tell you about how gays and bisexuals are perceived in the Wizarding World. Instead I ask you to listen to what your other friends have to say in that matter. Talk with Finnegan, Thomas, Longbottom, talk with Ginny and Remus. Don't base your opinions solely on what Ron and Hermione tell you."
"I want you to have an open mind while you truly learn how the Wizarding World views sexuality."
"Whatever you decide, I still want you to be my friend. Please forgive me and stay in the Manor. I promise I won't try to push you into anything; the next time, if there is a next time, you will have to be the one to act."
"I must warn you that I will not wait; however much I may want you, if something should come up and I have the chance of starting a relationship with someone else, I will take it. While I will not pressure you, I cannot and will not wait for you forever."
"If you decide you still want to leave the Manor, I will accept your decision and only ask you that you remain my friend. I'll leave you now so you can get dressed."
Draco turned and walked away, having given Harry a pleading look, urging him to look into his eyes and see how sincere he was, how much he wanted him to stay, how sorry he was that they had come to this.
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Before dinner, Narcissa sought her sister's room. It was decorated with things Tonks had rescued from their home. There was mismatched furniture, a Persian rug, an antique mahogany armoire, and diverse bric-a-brac.
Narcissa greeted Andromeda, "Hi, Andie. I hope you have time for me."
"Sure, Cissy, come and get comfortable."
"As you heard, I had a falling out with Draco and I'm leaving the Manor."
"Well, excuse me Cissy, but Nymphadora told me about the Bond. It surprised me to see you two fighting."
"Andie, don't let appearances deceive you. After all, I'm a Black and a Malfoy, deception is our trade. Not everything is as it seems."
"Nonetheless, I must leave. I beg you to look after Draco while I'm gone. I'm very sorry Lucius kept you from truly knowing your nephew. He is a wonderful boy, strong like his grandfathers, but without their stultifying prejudice. He will do great things, however he is very impulsive. I need you to help him reign in his temper, to provide him with a strong, unbiased opinion about the Wizarding and Muggle world. You are perfect for that role." "Watch him instead of me."
"Don't worry, Cissy, I will do it. Nymphadora and Draco have become good friends. It doesn't surprise me at all. When my daughter was growing up, she would always ask about her fair cousin, she always wanted to hear from him, and was very disappointed that she couldn't visit. It's been a pleasure to watch their interactions, they've become close."
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At dinner, the mood was sombre. Hermione still seemed to be out of it and perfunctorily took part in the conversation. Ginny continued to be withdrawn, answering questions with monosyllables. The twins kept to themselves, and Ron was too busy eating the delectable items to notice anything out of the ordinary.
Narcissa and Andromeda conversed in whispers. Tonks tried to slip a Canary Cream to Draco, clumsily failing at it. Draco sat at the head of the table trying to play the perfect host and failing miserably.
Ginny looked at Hermione's cut robes and her bloodied face and asked her, "Mione, what happened to you?"
Hermione replied, "I don't know, Ginny. I was reading a book about magical creatures and then when I woke up, I was in my room, and I don't know how I got these cuts."
It was all Draco could do not to snort derisively. But he had to keep a front and so remained perfectly impassive.
Harry looked pensively into the distance, and when he answered the questions put to him, it was always very succinctly.
When they were eating desserts, Draco took out a small box from his robes and gave it to Harry saying, "If you go, Harry, I want you to always wear this. It is a portkey that will take me to wherever you are if you say the word 'Covenant,' it will also let me know if you are in any danger."
Harry opened the box; in the velvet interior lay a dazzling necklace with an engraved dragon as a clasp, with emerald eyes and silver wings. The dragon stirred, stared at Harry and saucily winked.
Harry looked at Draco and for the first time in two days, smiled. It was a tentative, shy smile, but to Draco it brightened the day immensely. He wanted to drown in that smile, those eyes, and cursed anew Harry's friends for daring to tamper with his will.
"Thank you, Draco, but it won't be necessary. I will stay, if that is alright with you."
Draco beamed at Harry and answered, "Of course, Harry. I'm glad you decided to stay, please keep the necklace. Tomorrow we will ride and go to the nearby brook. It's a very beautiful and serene place to wander."
Draco turned to Narcissa, "I'm hoping you will stay too, Mother. This place is yours as much as it is mine."
Narcissa answered, "Thank you, Dragon, but I think we need some time apart. What you said was true, and we need to think about it. In my absence, I ask you that you listen to your Aunt Andie's advice as if it were mine."
"Yes, Mother, let me know where you stay, and take care."
After they finished eating, Narcissa had the house elves get her luggage, and they all walked with her to the Apparition point. She hugged her son and whispered something into his ear which made Draco blush and smile. Then she hugged Andromeda and Tonks, and to the great surprise of all she hugged Harry and whispered fiercely to him, "Take care, Harry, and please look after my Dragon."
Then she and a house elf called Proxy Apparated away.
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True to his word, Draco carefully included Harry in any conversation and tried not to intrude in his personal space.
Saturday morning they rode to the brook Draco had mentioned. Harry was wary of riding the enormous Palomino horse, but he resolutely climbed him and managed to direct his horse well enough.
Ron tried to get out of riding his mare, but after suffering the taunting of his brothers, he climbed, and after she had thrown him off aided by the troublesome twins, he had no further problems.
Hermione rode her Spanish Mustang proudly. Curiously after Harry asked her if she was Ok, instead of her customary bossy tone, she replied meekly, "I'm not ok, Harry. I'm deathly afraid of horses. When I was young I went riding with my parents, and a big pony I rode tried to throw me off. I wet my panties and refused to ride horses again. That is why I don't ride brooms; they remind me of that time. But later I managed to conquer my fears somewhat."
Everybody snickered, Draco the loudest, he thought smugly, "That serves you right, Granger, let's see how you try to be the know-it-all bossy bitch we all know, when you have to tell the truth to Harry at every point."
The twins rode similar Arabian horses with the demeanor of kings, Ginny rode a fiery Mustang; she resolutely took the lead and did not look back once.
Draco climbed his Palomino and pointed out the path that led to the brook.
Once there, they got down from their horses, walked around and bantered. Draco was relieved to note that Harry didn't look downtrodden anymore. While he was contemplative at times, he appeared to enjoy the outing and animatedly conversed with Ron.
Draco neared Ginny and asked her, "What's the matter, Ginevra? You are kind of withdrawn and not the fiery red-head that I know and love."
She answered, "I broke up with Harry, Draco. I saw him when he went to your room. He told me what happened and I answered that we could not go on and pretend like nothing had happened."
"I'm sorry you suffered for my indiscretion, Ginevra."
"Don't be sorry, my Prince. It was bound to happen. Harry needs to find out where his priorities are. In a way, this is for the best, because this leaves me free to try other options."
"I'm glad for that, Ginevra. You deserve the best. If there is anything I can do to help you, just tell me."
Ginny replied, "You'll be sure to know, Draco," and smiled secretively.
After they got back to the Manor, and as they were walking through the main entrance, Draco visibly faltered and stumbled. Harry and Ginny noticed and they worriedly asked, "What's the matter, Draco?"
"I fear something awful has happened, come with me!"
They ran to the Heir's Room, and upon entering, they noticed the computer screen was flashing red. Draco approached it, sat down and clicked on the screen. It cleared and showed the manicured landscape.
A dark shape could be seen looming and then entering above the gardens. Hermione gasped and said, "Oh no, this can't be true!"
Ron asked her, "What is it Mione?"
"It's a helicopter, and it is full of missiles!"
Draco urgently voiced, "Let's go to the front lawn and try to prepare."
George interjected, "Are you mad! You'll be mowed down by the guys in the helicopter!"
Draco replied, "You forget what I told you the first day, Weasley One. This won't happen for another ten minutes. I have time to prepare something."
They hurriedly left the room and the Manor and congregated upon the lawn, facing the West and their rapidly approaching doom.
tbc