A/N: I am evil, yes I am. I wanted to wait untill my beta's got it back to me to post it, but I just can't! Sorry!! I promise I will impliment all of the changes as soon as I get them! No, Really!
Chapter 18 Detention: Set
"Ah, Filius, do come in," Professor Dumbledore called, summoning a pot of Earl Grey as his Charms Professor knocked quietly on his office door. "What may I do for you this fine evening?"
"Well, Albus, as you are probably aware, the last of our two boys' detentions were tonight and, I must say, something rather odd has happened," Filius said, entering the room and taking a seat in the squashy chair provided, nodding his thanks at the full cup the Headmaster offered him.
"Indeed?"
"Yes," Flitwick cautiously took a sip of the steaming tea, "Madam Umbridge, it appears, has been utilizing a rather decidedly illegal item to administer her detention to Mr. Potter."
"Has she?" the Headmasters eyebrows drew down into a frown.
"She has. And not only that, but it appears that Mr. Malfoy found out about it due to their…" Filius rolled his eyes heavenward, then dropped them to Albus's face, "predicament, and has rather dramatically put a stop to it. It is my understanding that you will quite shortly find yourself in search of a new Defense Professor."
"In-ter-est-ing," Albus said, drawing out the syllables. "Any ideas as to when this might happen?"
"Well, Lord Malfoy intends on sending a missive to the Governors no later than tomorrow morning, and expects an immediate reply. If things go as he expects, I would imagine that you will very quickly have a large number of very angry Governors either banging down your door to get to her, banging down the door of the Ministry to get at our beloved Minister, or both."
"Hmm," Dumbledore said, pouring himself a second cup of tea and absently nibbling on a sweet, "what item was she using against Mr. Potter?"
"A blood quill."
Fury rose in Albus's breast, making his heart race and his pupils dilate, his magic rising in waves in response to his anger. Closing his eyes, he slowly counted to ten, forcing his breathing into a slow, steady rhythm. Then he did it, again. And again. By the fourth time, he'd given up on counting just to ten, and he made it all the way to fifty before admitting defeat. He opened his eyes.
"If you would excuse me…" he said, and stood to his feet at Flitwick's nod. Heading for the phoenix perch next to his desk, he waited a moment for his familiar to hop up on his proffered arm, before disappearing through the hidden door that lead to his personal chambers, shutting the door firmly behind him.
Across the room, Filius Flitwick, Charms Professor, did not feel any privacy wards being erected, nor did he notice any silence charms being activated. Nevertheless, he had no doubt that both were put into place, as well as numerous others of their kind. When Headmaster Dumbledore decided to throw a hissy fit, which was admittedly rare, it was always done behind strong magical shields. He'd made a practice of doing so after one rather amusing episode involving copious amounts of Muggle household cleaning products, an infertility spell, three socks, something a passer-by had called a tire-iron, and a dead fish. Filius would know, he'd been there.
Setting his tea down, he stretched languidly in his chair, then stood up to go chat up some paintings.
This could take a while.
ooOO00OOoo
"That's it! That's just fucking it! I've had it with you, Malfoy! Here I am, Mr. Nice Guy, trying to get along with you despite our history, and all you can do is fuck it up! Stop trying to control my life!" Harry screamed, his face flushed, and his hand gestures wild and cutting.
"I'm fucking your life up?" Draco drawled disdainfully, "Don't be stupid, Potter, we're both doing an admirable job of fucking each others life right now. We're soul bonded to each other in case you have forgotten, which is just a general kick in the ass for us both. Don't you dare try to say that I was the cause for what Umbridge did to you. You managed that quite well all on your own."
"That's exactly my point! I got myself into that mess, so I should be the one to get myself out! You had no right to storm in there like some little Lord and take the detention over. Why she listened to what you were saying instead of simply slapping you with a detention, I'll never know." Harry reached up with one hand and tugged at a strand of hair, completely ignorant of the advice that Serin had been hissing in his ear since the fight had started not three minutes after they had left Professor Flitwick's office.
Now the fight had escalated, and they'd stopped in the middle of the hallway to hash it out, not a hundred yards from the Infirmary door.
"That's because I am a 'little Lord', Potter. With my father's death, I became the Head of Household and inherited both his title as Lord, and his Governorship over the school. I went in there speaking as Lord Malfoy, Governor over Hogwarts, not as Draco Malfoy, student," Draco said smugly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"That's…" Harry sputtered, "That's just fucked up! How the hell can you be a Governor over a school that you are attending? Aren't there rules against that sort of thing?"
"Sure there are," Draco drawled with a shrug, "they just don't apply to me."
"Well, why not?" Harry demanded, outraged.
"Because," Draco said, standing to his full height and uncrossing his arms, hitting Harry with his piercing stare. "I am Draco Malfoy."
And Harry had nothing to say to that.
Pausing to think about the situation, Harry realized that Malfoy really had done him a favor, because while it was true that Draco had done it so that he wouldn't get hurt anymore, the fact remained that Harry would also come out on the better end of this situation that he would have, had he simply grinned and borne it. Malfoy had said that he was going to write a letter to the other Governors, and Harry was actually beginning to believe that he would. Maybe he could get the Toad sacked, wouldn't that be wonderful? And that look on her face really had been priceless, when Malfoy had demanded an explanation for why she was making Harry write with the blood quill.
"That was pretty cool," Harry admitted grudgingly, "When you asked her why she was using a blood quill, and all she could do was stand there, and wring her hands like an old dishrag. I thought for a second that she was going to fall on her knees, and beg you for forgiveness."
"It was, wasn't it?" Draco said, almost with a bit of wonder in his voice.
Suddenly, the two boys grinned at each other; past arguments, and future living arrangements aside, for this single moment in time, they were in accord, smiling at each other over the fate of a person they both hated.
The moment passed, however, as Harry remembered his irritation at Malfoy stepping into his business. "But if you ever do something like that again, Malfoy…"
oOO00OOoo
Serin thought frantically, trying to find a way to stop the fight from beginning again. He liked his Wizard's Mate, he protected his Wizard when he wouldn't protect himself, but for some reason his Wizard and his Wizard's Mate did not get along at all, even when they were protecting each other. He didn't want them to fight. Fighting meant getting hurt, and if his Wizard's Mate hurt his Wizard, then he might have to bite his Wizard's Mate, and Serin didn't want to do that. He thought that there was a chance that the two boys could actually get along; hadn't they been smiling at each other a few seconds ago?
Slithering quickly through the forest of his Wizard's hair, he poked his nose out by his Wizard's forehead, tasting the air currents, and the emotions that rode on them. His Wizard was getting irritated again, and was going to say something brash. What they needed was a distraction, something that would catch his Wizard's Mate's attention so that he wouldn't listen to what his Wizard was saying. A flash of inspiration struck, and Serin hissed an apology to his Wizard, even as he hastened to carry it out.
ooOO00OOoo
Draco grinned goofily for a second at Potter, appreciating the mental image he had received of the Toad on her chubby knees, begging Draco not to send out a letter to the Governors. The grin faded, however, when Potter began to talk again, saying something about never doing it again, when his attention was immediately diverted from Potter, to Potters' hair. Or, more specifically, the snake that was crawling out of Potters' hair.
What in the world…? Draco thought distractedly, as he witnessed the unusual visage of a snake rearing up from Potters hair, to wave his body about, almost as if he was sitting up and cheering, 'Hello!'
ooOO00OOoo
"…and another thing, don't you even think—Malfoy, are you even listening to me?" Harry demanded angrily at the dazed and confused look on the other boys face. "Malfoy? Malfoy?" Harry gritted his teeth, "Draco!"
Draco snapped to attention, "Huh? What? What'd you say, Potter?"
Harry sighed in irritation. "I was talking to you, numbskull. Apparently you're too stupid to even understand what I was saying; staring off into space like Crabbe or Goyle."
"Hardly staring off into space, I was simply looking at something far more interesting than your pathetic little speech." Draco's eyes cut back toward Harry's hair, where the snake was wiggling in what seemed excitement.
"Oh, and what's that?" Harry asked with scathing disinterest.
"This," Draco brought up his left hand and brought it towards Harry's head, his right hand clamped on the Gryffindor's shoulder when he'd have moved away.
Harry felt a slight tugging on his hair, and was unsure what the other boy was doing until Draco brought his hand back with Serin wrapped around it.
"Serin!" Harry cried, reaching for his familiar instinctively.
"Nuh, uh, huh!" Draco laughed, dancing backwards and out of Harry's reach. "How about you explain this lovely creature?" he addressed Harry, even though the tone was a coo intended for the snake curled about his hand.
Harry folded his arms around his chest with a huff of annoyance. How had Malfoy known about Serin? "That's Serin. He's a snake."
"No, really? Are you sure? Because I thought he looked a lot like a dragon." Draco rolled his eyes at Potter and continued to gently stroke the snakes' soft scales. "What species is he? An adder, right?"
"Uh, yeah." Harry uncrossed his arms slowly, unsure of the newer, softer tone that Draco was using, one full of wonder and interest.
"Neat," the word was filled with reverence. "He's your familiar, isn't he?"
Draco lifted his head from where he'd been inspecting Serin, and gave Harry a look that he'd never seen on the other boys face, and it wasn't until he compared it with Ron's facial expressions that he could identify it: jealousy. Lord Draco Malfoy, Governor over Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and all around rich bastard was jealous of poor, unwanted Harry Potter.
It was priceless.
Harry felt a grin spreading that would split his face in two if he let it, and he struggled to keep it suppressed. "Yeah…" he let out a cough, in an effort to win the battle, "uh, yeah, he's my familiar. Got him this summer."
"So late? I would have thought that you'd have gotten one earlier; last year, or even the one before," Draco said the words softly as he watched Serin twine around his fingers.
"Well, I probably wouldn't even have him now if my…if Petunia hadn't been trying to kill him." Harry said, eyeing his familiar with suspicion. Just what was Serin up to? Harry had already told him that he didn't want Draco to find out about him, and here he was, curled up around Draco's hand as if it was his own personal heater.
"Sounds like a story." Draco said, handing Serin back to Harry.
"It is." Harry gratefully accepted the snake back and he stroked him once from head to tail, eliciting a soft purr, before his eyebrows drew down and he demanded "Jusst what iss thiss all about? How did he know you were there?"
"Uh, well…" Serin began distractedly, "sshit."
"Yeah, sshit. You're in trouble," Harry shook his head in irritation, his mouth a thin line, "I told you I didn't want him to know about you, and then you went and reveled yoursself anyway! Why?"
"Well, you were fighting, and I don't think that you sshould fight with your Mate, esspecially ssince he wass only trying to protect you. In fact, he did protect you," Serin's voice was sheepish, and he bobbed his head back and forth in distress. "I jusst…don't want you to be unhappy."
Harry sighed again and scrubbed his eyelids with the pads of his fingers. How was he supposed to stay mad at Serin if he said stuff like that?
"I understand that, Sserin, and to a certain extent I appreciate what you were trying to do, but thiss could make my life more difficult, not eassier."
Serin curled up in a ball in Harry's hand, hiding his head beneath his coils, the picture of snake dejection. "I'm ssorry."
Harry's heart melted, "Don't be like that," he said softly, stroking the glimmering scales in an effort to get his familiar to uncurl, "you were only trying to help, and you did, honesstly. We aren't fighting anymore, and he knowss about you now. Much as I hate to admit it, he would have found out about you anyway. I mean, we're going to be roommatess for the resst of our livess, there'ss no way I could have kept you hidden forever. And there are worsse ways for him to find out." He wrapped two fingers around a loop in the ball and tugged gently "Sso come on, come out of there and let me introduce you properly."
Slowly, and with obvious reluctance, Serin did as he was asked, and uncurled his body from the ball, head coming up tentatively to taste the air.
Harry smiled. "There you go." He looked up to find Malfoy much closer than he had been earlier, his head cocked to the side as he avidly listened to the exchange between Wizard and Familiar.
"What are you saying?" Draco asked with curiosity, all previous animosity forgotten, for the moment.
"I just asked him why he revealed himself to you, since I'd expressly told him not to."
"And?"
Harry shrugged, "He says that he didn't want me to fight with you, and a distraction was the best thing he could come up with."
"Well, it was distracting." Draco said with a grin.
Harry felt a thread of amusement slide through him in reaction to Malfoy's grin, and he cut it ruthlessly. He was not amused by this, no matter how infectious Malfoys hither-to unseen smiles were.
"Yes, well," Harry looked down at his familiar for a moment before looking back up at Draco. "Serin, may I introduce you to Draco Malfoy; Malfoy, this is my familiar, Serin."
Draco smiled down at the little snake that had extended its head towards him in greeting. "Nice to meet you," he said with a little nod of welcome.
"Likewisse." Serin responded, almost shyly.
"What's he say?" Draco's eyes snapped up to Harry's.
"He said, 'likewise.'"
"Neat." Again, the word was filled with awe, and Harry decided that he was becoming distinctly uncomfortable with the way Draco's eyes always returned to Serin.
Harry raised his hand and with a soft hiss, encouraged Serin to resume his hiding spot in Harry's hair. Once he'd done so, Harry removed his hand, and brought it down to his side to tug ineffectually at the hem of his shirt, trying to make it look better than the over-sized baggy clothes they were.
"So." Draco said, as the two began to resume their walk to the Infirmary, this time on much more amicable terms. "How'd you acquire Serin?"
"Well, while I was living with my Aunt and Uncle last summer, I was weeding the grass when I heard a hissing…"
ooOO00OOoo
Sitting down at the little writing table in the corner of the Infirmary, Draco glanced over at the occupant sleeping in the bed ten feet away. Harry lay sprawled out on his back, mouth open in a silent snore, while Serin curled up in the hollow of his Wizard's throat, in what had to be a defensive maneuver. Nobody would dream of trying to hurt Harry physically while he had the one and only poisonous snake, magical or not, on the whole British Isles protecting him. Now, magically was another matter. Draco drew his wand and cast a silencing charm around Harry. Putting his wand away, he thought maybe now he'll sleep for a few hours before he drags me out for a run. At least I know my writing won't wake him up. If I'm lucky, his nightmares won't wake him up either, and I can sleep through the whole night for once.
Turning his attention to the parchment that lay out before him, Draco lifted up the quill and dipped it in the inkpot by his left elbow. Laying nib to paper, he began to write.
To: The members of the Hogwarts Governorship Board
From: Lord Draco Malfoy, Governor 26 of the Board
Dear Gentlemen,
I apologize for writing this missive so late at night, but something has happened that I feel must be brought to your attention as soon as possible. Madam Dolores Umbridge, the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor who was placed in that capacity by the Minister of Magic, has been using a Dark Arts item against her students in their detentions. I came across this information late this night, as I was going to tell her about two first years doing something against school regulations in the hallway. I entered her office to see her giving detention to one Harry Potter. Possessing only a passing interest in the Boy-who-lived, I glanced his way for only a second, but it was long enough for me to observe that the lines he was copying were not only being written on the paper, but being etched into the back of his hand as well. Madam Umbridge was making Mr. Potter use a blood quill for the process of lines.
After removing him from Madam Umbridge's presence, I brought him to Professor Flitwick's (Charms) office where he remained stubbornly silent and refused to show his hand. It wasn't until I was bringing him to the infirmary that I discovered why he was being so silent. Madam Umbridge has apparently threatened Mr. Potter with expulsion if he dares to speak up about what she is doing, and he has believed her.
Consider this, Gentlemen, Mr. Potter has made his way successfully through the Tri-Wizard tournament just last year, even when he was four years too young to even qualify, on sheer guts alone. He is the personification of Gryffindor Courage, and yet, he is too intimidated by Madam Umbridge to say anything in his defense. How many other students, not possessing Mr. Potter's admirable courage, have fallen victim to this woman, and have remained likewise silent?
I realize that this is a very serious matter, and that I am bringing a very grave accusation against a well-respected woman of authority in the Ministry, and yet I could not keep my peace, for every word I have said here is true. Madam Umbridge is torturing our students right under our noses, and with Ministry backing. We cannot allow this to continue. Under regulation 16 as defined in Chapter three of the Governor's agreement with the Headmaster; I am hereby calling for a vote of no confidence against one Doloris Jane Umbridge for crimes against her students. May your decision be swift and just.
Respectfully,
Lord Draco Malfoy
Lord Draco Malfoy
Folding the letter up very carefully, Draco creased the edges and slipped it into a prepared envelope. Taking out his wand again, he cast a duplicating charm so that there were now 30 envelopes sitting in front of him in neat piles of five. Taking the original and keeping it for himself, Draco went over to the window and whistled six times, one for each owl that he wished to come to him. Moving back to the desk, Draco heard the rustling of feathers and he looked up to see the six requested birds coming in through the window to land gracefully on the footboards of beds.
"Thank you." He said, stepping up to the first bird with a package of five letters in his hand. "These letters are all the same, but they go to different people. You will be delivering your five to…"
ooOO00OOoo
Flopping onto his bed on his back, Draco let out a gusty sigh. Well, the first part's over and done with, Draco thought tiredly, now I just have to wait. Casting a tempus charm, Draco saw that it was now ten o'clock at night, and he grunted a little as he rolled over onto his side, kicking the sheets down to the foot of the bed. He'd get a few hours of sleep before Potter woke him up, and perhaps a few more after that before the sun rose and the damn birds on the windowsill began to chirp. He didn't honestly expect an answer before tomorrow morning, but at least he wouldn't have to wait for the message to get to them in the first place, like he would have had he chosen to send the missive in the morning. Every little bit helps he thought drowsily. His last thought before he drifted off to sleep was that Potter had better be grateful for this, and if he wasn't, Draco would have to burn all of his clothes. Come to think of it, Draco thought snuggling deeper into his pillow, that might not be a bad idea after all, the things are atrocious.
ooOO00OOoo
At 8:36 the next morning, Draco was rudely awakened by the insistent hooting of a mail-delivery owl, who was perched on the foot of his bed. Grumbling, he flung an arm over his eyes and desperately wished for there to be more hours in the day. Just as expected, Potter had woken up about 3:20 in the morning and proceeded to drag Draco around the Quidditch pitch for an hour or so until he'd exhausted himself. Then they'd returned to the Infirmary where Draco could catch a few more hours of sleep. All total it had been about nine hours of sleep time, and while that was usually more then enough for him, the break in the middle to fly around in circles in the freezing cold, had made it much more difficult to fall back asleep, and the amount of time he'd actually spent unconscious was probably closer to five and a half hours, not nearly enough for a the pampered son of the House of Malfoy.
The bird hooted again, becoming more and more irritated with every repetition, and Draco finally sat up with another groan. "All right, all right, I'm awake."
With one last satisfied chirp, the owl finally silenced itself and shifted its weight around, spreading its wings a little bit to maintain balance as it extended one leg towards him, so that he could remove the rolled up parchment that had been securely attached to the jesses wrapped around the owls legs.
Removing the scroll, Draco barely managed a gruff "Thank you" before the owl had taken wing and departed out the nearby open window.
"Damn flying rat." Draco grumbled, sliding off the bed and padding tiredly towards the desk, sparing a glance at his bond-mate. Harry Potter was still sleeping, spread eagle on the bed, his mouth wide open, even though no sound emerged. Serin was nowhere to be found, and Draco assumed he'd hidden himself once again in Potter's hair.
Throwing himself into the chair, Draco untied the ribbon keeping the scroll contained and read the words within:
To: Lord Draco Malfoy, Head of Malfoy House
From: The members of the Hogwarts Governorship Board
Lord Malfoy,
We were most disturbed to receive your message late last night, and the information it contains. The possibility that our own Minister is supporting such actions is troubling, and we are very grateful that you have brought this to our attention. However, we feel that a member such as yourself, who might not even have the majority as of yet to join our ranks, does not have the authority to call for a vote of no confidence, and none of us are quite willing to do so solely on the things you have said.
Perhaps, if you had some solid proof that Madam Umbridge has done such a thing, we could act more effectively. At this point, however, we would be forced to hold an inquiry, and that would not be advantageous for Mr. Potter, or the other students who may have been serving detention with Professor Umbridge. Could you obtain some proof for us?
As for Mr. Potter, what are his wishes? Does he desire to call up charges against Madam Umbridge, or does he desire to let things lay fallow? We will be severely limited in what actions we can take against Madam Umbridge, unless he is willing to collaborate with us.
All of the Governors are in accord with you in that something must be done, but what happens now is in your hands. You must either acquire some proof against Madam Umbridge, convince Mr. Potter to place charges, or both.
Awaiting your response,
Lord Conrad Albrecht
Lord Conrad Albrecht, Head Governor
Nodding his head in understanding, Draco stood to his feet and walked over to the sleeping form of the Gryffindor who had started this mess. Everything was set and fine, Draco still had the Blood Quill he'd snatched from under the Toad's nose, and that was all the proof that he'd need, once he'd given his testimony. All that was left was to convince the boy-hero that going through the judicial system was what they needed to do to get rid of the Toad once, and for all.
"Potter," He called, standing next to the bed, "wake up."
All he got in response was a grunt and a snort, as the other boy reached down, and pulled the covers up higher over his body.
"Potter!" Draco tried again, "get up!"
"Ugh."
"Potter," Draco said, clearly getting aggravated, "If you don't wake up right now I'm going to do something very unpleasant to you."
"Ugh."
"Fine. You asked for it." Draco took his wand out an cast a well-practiced spell, making sure to stand far back as a liter of water appeared in the air above Harry's bed. Gravity took over and pulled the water down on the unsuspecting form below, dousing Harry, and one irritated snake.
"Agh! Damn, Malfoy, what the hell was that for?" Harry snarled, sitting up and shoving the wet bed linens off his legs with some difficulty.
"You wouldn't wake up."
"Of course I wouldn't wake up! I was sleeping, like you should have been! What the hell is your problem? Do you normally go around waking people up by soaking them in water?" Harry was clearly not a morning person.
"No, I don't. But, as I said previously, you wouldn't wake up. And I wasn't about to serenade you awake as you must be accustomed to." Draco sniped.
"'Serenade'?" Harry said incredulously, "Did you really just use serenade in a sentence? God, you're hopeless, Malfoy. Normal people don't go around saying shit like that."
"Yes, well. Normal people don't survive the killing cures either, now do they?"
At that, Harry simply snarled, eyebrows lowered and lips lifted to reveal the tips of his teeth. It wasn't his fault he was a freak of nature. He didn't know how he'd managed to survive any more than anybody else did.
Draco sighed, "That's not what I woke you up for. I need to show you something. Here," he thrust the letter that he'd written to the Governors at Harry, "read this."
"What is it?" Harry asked as he unfolded the parchment.
"I wrote to the Governors last night, like I said I would."
Harry's eyes scanned the letter quickly. "And?" He asked when he'd finished.
"I got this just now," Draco handed over the second letter, glancing up as a snowy owl flew in threw the open window and landed at the foot of the bed Harry was resting on.
Harry read that one as well, absently petting his familiar while she cooed contentedly at him, "ah, so they want me to press charges, eh?"
"Something like that," Draco confirmed. "It would be nice if we had some other students to back up our claims that she's been using the blood quill, but it isn't really necessary, seeing as how I still have the quill in question."
"Hmm, so this really just hinges on whether or not I agree to go along with this?"
Draco gritted his teeth and closed his eyes for the briefest of seconds. "Yes."
"Ok."
"Ok, what?" Draco asked, startled.
"Ok, I'll press charges."
"Just like that?" Draco blinked rapidly in disbelief, as if their opening and shutting could relieve him of the surprise.
"Just like that. I want her taken out of this school just like you do, I guess I was just too stubborn to admit that your way of going about it was better," Harry shrugged.
"Why the change of heart?" Draco asked, as he removed his letters from Harry's grasp and moved back towards the desk to write a response.
"Serin guilted me into it. Said something about poor Susan, who's a second year. She'd gotten curious about some of the contradictions in the book the Toad has us read and she'd asked a few too many questions, so Umbridge had given her detention. She came back late at night, crying and holding her hand." Harry scooted closer to Hedwig and began to work his fingers through the dense feathers on her head, "Hey, girl, how're you doing?
"Would she help us?" Draco asked, even as he lay quill to parchment.
Harry returned his attention to the other boy, "no. She wouldn't talk about it to anyone, and since it was her first night, it didn't leave a mark."
Draco turned and looked at Harry with a single eyebrow raised, and Harry was somehow able to interpret the gesture correctly.
"Well, it seems that Serin has taken to wandering around the dorms at night, and has been spying on what the other students do and say. Apparently it's important to him that he knows who my enemies, and who my allies are."
"Indeed," Draco turned back to his letter.
To: The Head Governor of the Hogwarts Governorship Board
From: Lord Draco Malfoy, Governor 26 of the Board
Dear Gentleman,
After receiving your letter, I managed to convince Mr. Potter that it would be in the best interests of the whole school if he would place charges. As for the proof, would the quill that she was using be proof enough? I had removed it from her possession that night, and it has not been used again. I'm sure that we could use a spell to determine the last person that it was used on, and that should be all the proof we need.
In case you are unaware, my mother passed away last night, having taken her own life. Before she did so, she emancipated me, making me the true Head of House in all senses of the word. I have the final say in all matters that concern the House of Malfoy, and I believe we have been bloodline members of the Board almost from its inception. Can you still deny me my full status? I am quite aware that it is an awkward situation for me to be on the Board of a school that I am still attending, but I have been well trained by my parents, and have no intention of using this power improperly. Most of my time here will be spent as a student, and the Professors here are of such excellent quality, that they do not treat me any different now than they did before I was a Governor.
I will keep the blood quill in my possession for the moment, for I do not wish to trust it to the sometimes-unreliable owl transport. Whenever you wish to relieve me of it, please, simply let me know. If there is anything I may do to help this endeavor on, please, feel free to ask. Many of my fathers' friends have passed their allegiances on to me, and I am not without resources.
Respectfully,
Lord Draco Malfoy
Lord Draco Malfoy
Folding the letter carefully, Draco rose from the desk and moved towards the window.
"Here, use Hedwig." Harry called out to him, gesturing at the snowy owl perched on the end of his bed. "She's more reliable then the school owls."
Draco had been intending to use his own personal owl, Hermes, to deliver the letter, but, since Potter's owl was already up here…
Draco altered course and approached the bird with the missive. "Here you go," he said softly. "This is to Conrad Albrecht. If you wouldn't mind sticking around for any answer that he has? It shouldn't take too long, I don't think." Hedwig hooted once before tenderly clasping the letter in her claws and flying out the window.
Watching her fly away, Draco couldn't help but comment, "Interesting bird you've got there, Potter. She seems more intelligent then the average owl."
Harry shifted about uncomfortably on the edge of the bed, "Yes, well, she's kinda also a familiar."
"Really?" there was a thread of disbelief running through Draco's voice, though the most of it contained interest.
"Yeah. I didn't know what I was doing when I bound the two of them to me, I thought I was just accepting companions." Harry looked down and fiddled with the ends of his shirtsleeves.
Draco shook his head disbelievingly, "Only you, Potter," he said, moving towards the desk, and beginning to riffle through the papers sprawled over its surface.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry's voice implied he could take offence.
"Just that." Draco replied, not turning around, "Only you, Potter, would accidentally bind not only your mail owl, but an adder as well, to you as familiars and have no idea that you'd done so."
Behind him, Harry bristled, his shoulders rising, hands clenching into fists, eyes flashing his fury. Just as quickly, though, he softened into a more relaxed position, as he accepted Draco's words at face value. What was the point of taking things as they could mean, instead of taking them as they were said? If they'd been having an encounter in the hallway, Harry's wouldn't have had any sort of problem taking them as the insult they could be, and the chances that they hadn't been meant as some sort of insult would have been slim. But here, now, with this…thing…between them, Harry had every reason to take Draco's words at face value, even as Draco had every reason to mean them as such.
Sighing, Harry began to fiddle with his shirtsleeves again, once again thinking about how hard it was to keep the peace. Five years of endless fighting, insults traded back and forth on a daily basis, had conditioned him to always be on the alert when in this boy's presence. But now, now things were different. And as each day passed, Harry was only beginning to see how very different they were.
Draco no longer insulted him with every breath, though there was a noticeable pause before he responded to something Harry would say, he was obviously refraining from saying whatever scathing cut-down Harry had opened himself for. And Harry, just as noticeably, refrained from goading Draco into saying it anyway, not allowing his natural curiosity to get them into trouble.
But it was so hard, Harry couldn't help but think, to keep from saying something short and pithy. Malfoy left himself open just as much as Harry did, and sometimes it was just so perfect that he would struggle for five minutes after the moment had passed, to avoid bringing it back up just so he could say the cut down to Malfoy. Not that he hadn't known that life with Malfoy would not be easy, but Harry was just beginning to see how much effort it would take, on both of their parts, simply to have a relatively peaceful coexistence. When he looked ahead of himself into the future, Harry only saw more of the same endless awareness of what he and the other boy were saying to each other, the careful choosing of words, and the equally careful ignoring of the possible double-meanings when they didn't choose their words carefully enough.
He wasn't sure he could do it. But what choice did he really have?
ooOO00OOoo
In southern Scotland, Conrad Albrecht looked up from his papers as his wife entered his office.
"Something just came in by owl for you, Dear," she said, kissing him on the cheek as she placed the folded parchment in front of him.
"Thanks," He said, opening the missive and reading its contents.
"Another something from Lord Malfoy?" she asked, moving away slightly to rearrange the books on his shelves, he was forever putting them back in the wrong places, and then he couldn't find them again when he needed them.
"Something like that," Conrad replied distractedly.
Smiling softly at her husband's response, Mrs. Albrecht simply kept her peace, waiting until he was finished to ask him her questions.
"Hmm…" Conrad's brow furrowed in thought before he got up and moved to a separate section of the wrap-around bookshelves from the ones his wife stood in front of. Lightly skimming the titles with a finger, he let out a small grunt of satisfaction when he found the one he wanted. Retrieving it, he returned to his desk and, glancing once more at the letter from Lord Malfoy, flipped to the books appendix before following the information there to page 682 where he found the spell he was looking for. "Well I'll be damned. Good show Lord Malfoy."
"What did the boy do now?" his wife asked him as she put the last of the books back in their rightful spots.
"Huh?" Conrad glanced up at his wife before focusing his attention on the book again. "Oh, he apparently managed to snatch the blood quill out from under Madam Umbridge's nose last night, and has kept it in his presence ever since. He suggested a spell to find out who the last person to use it was, and I'll be damned if he isn't right. There is a spell to find out, in reverse order, who has been using a blood quill."
Across the room, his wife shuddered. "What a horrible object. I do hope that those poor children haven't been using it for long."
"They can't have been. The school year is only a few weeks in," He reminded his wife.
"Yes, but how many days is that? Or, more specifically, how many nights? A particularly badly behaved child could wrack up quite a few detentions in that time. Or, perhaps, a child that refuses to be silent on what he believes is the truth?" she said the last slyly.
"Now Dierdre, don't start that again."
"What if he's right, Conrad? What if there is something more to the fact that the entire Tri-Wizard tournament seemed to be nothing but a farce fabricated to get him into a vulnerable position? You can't deny that something unexplained and unexpected happened at the end when the two of them touched the cup. Poor Cedric Diggory came back dead and there's nothing you can say or do to convince me that Harry Potter did that. He was quite obviously killed via the Unforgivable."
"Dierdre…" Conrad sighed, there was no stopping her when she got like this.
"I'm just saying Conrad, first that, and now this. We have a Ministry appointed woman torturing our students with an object that almost certainly came from the vaults of the Ministry itself."
"And the headmaster didn't make a poor choice himself? He allowed a known death eater to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts! How preposterous is that?" Conrad snapped.
"Very, and you know it. But how was he to know? He was impersonating Alastor Moody, one of the most suspicious men around. He has a known habit of only drinking and eating food that he prepares himself, and that is exactly what the imposter was doing. He even went so far as to polyjuice himself. Headmaster Dumbledore is only human."
"Is there a point to this?"
Mrs. Albrecht shifted her weight backwards, stung. "Yes, there is. It's that you need to make sure you listen to Lord Malfoy. Hear what he is saying, and what he is not saying. Children know much more than adults do, they simply keep their mouths shut most of the time because they are afraid of looking foolish. There is one here who is daring to speak out, don't silence his words before he has had a chance to speak. And most of all, listen to Harry Potter. That boy is special," her last words were spoken with a sense of finality, "we will need them both for our future to survive."
ooOO00OOoo
After his wife left, Conrad shook his head at the foolishness of her words and settled down to write a response to Lord Malfoy. Before they had sent a response to the school this morning, the members of the Board had gotten together and hashed out what their actions would be if Lord Malfoy did possess proof and if he didn't. That made this part of the correspondence much more expedient.
To: Lord Draco Malfoy, Head of Malfoy House
From: The members of the Hogwarts Governorship Board
Lord Malfoy,
We thank you for your swift response, as well as its contents. The fact that you've managed to secure the blood quill is a very good thing, and welcome information. There is indeed a spell to reveal, in reverse order, the ones who have used the quill, and we have every intention of bringing this information to the Ministry's attention this very afternoon. Madam Umbridge will not teach another class at Hogwarts, or any other school, for as long as she lives.
We are sending a second letter to the Headmaster, instructing him to remove Madam Umbridge from position and bring her, and the quill, to the Ministry.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, would that we had more students who were willing to look out for each other. Welcome, Lord Draco Malfoy, Governor 26 of the Hogwarts Governorship Board.
Gratefully,
Lord Conrad Albrecht
Lord Conrad Albrecht, Head Governor
Signing his name above the more neatly printed version, Albrecht folded the parchment and set it aside. Snagging another parchment from a nearby stack and bringing it closer, he dipped his quill in some fresh ink and began to write his missive to the Headmaster.
To: Lord Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts
From: The members of the Hogwarts Governorship Board
Headmaster Dumbledore,
It has recently come to our attention, and yours as well, we hope, that Madam Dolores Umbridge is severely lacking in moral fiber and has been having our students perform questionable acts during their detentions. Lord Malfoy, a member of the Board in his own right, has accused her of using a blood quill for the purposes of writing lines. Not only that, he claims to have seen it with his own eyes, and to have possession of the quill in question.
Given such serious allegations from such a trusted source, we cannot but demand that proper action is to be taken. We, the Governors of Hogwarts, hereby instruct you, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, to remove Doloris Umbridge from her position as Professor and bring her to the Ministry, along with the quill. We have been assured that Mr. Potter, the injured party in this, is willing to place charges.
Handle this, Headmaster. We do not want this to become a full-blown scandal, but do what you must to protect our students. They are our future, and our hope. We cannot simply sit by and watch while the Ministry does its best to crust them under its bureaucratic heel.
Sincerely,
Lord Conrad Albrecht
Lord Conrad Albrecht, Head Governor
One more to go, Conrad thought, laying flat the last of the parchment for the letters he had to write.
To: Mr. Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic
From: Lord Conrad Albrecht, Head Governor over Hogwarts
Minister,
It has come to our attention that your Madam Umbridge has been acting in a highly unacceptable manner, using blood quills on her students for detentions, and then threatening them with expulsion should they speak out against such treatment.
Such behavior will not be tolerated by our teaching staff, much less by a teacher put in place by you, Minister. You will, very shortly, have Headmaster Dumbledore bring Madam Umbridge with him to the public complaints office as well as a representative of the Board, and rest assured that we will be placing charges against her in the name of the school, and in the name of Mr. Harry Potter, who has been observed writing lines for Madam Umbridge with the aforementioned blood quill.
She is no longer a Professor, and we demand that you repeal the edict you passed that allows you to place teachers in the stead of the Headmaster. Should you disagree with our assessment, know that we will not hesitate to make this a public affair and call for a vote of no confidence in you.
Respectfully,
Lord Conrad Albrecht
Lord Conrad Albrecht, Head Governor
Folding this letter as well, Conrad brought a small wax melter closer before rummaging around in one of his desk drawers for a new stick of wax. Melting a small amount of wax onto the back of each letter, Albrecht quickly pressed his seal as Head Governor into each dollop of wax, marking each as formal correspondence.
Gathering up the letters, Conrad stepped out of his office and proceeded down the hall towards their owlry. He paused, however, when his wife stepped out of one of the side rooms, a beautiful snowy owl perched on her ungloved hand.
"Who is that gorgeous creature?" Conrad asked.
"I don't know whose it is, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that it belongs to Lord Malfoy. She did deliver his letter, after all." Deirdre brought her free hand up and gently stroked Hedwig's breast feathers, eliciting a soft coo.
"Stuck around to pick up any responses, did you?" Conrad asked.
Shaking her head quickly from left to right, as if to clear cobwebs, Hedwig hooted an affirmative, eyeing the letters in his hand lustfully.
"Ah, well then, here you go. The first is returned to Lord Malfoy, the second to Headmaster Dumbledore, and the third is for the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge." Conrad brought the letters up to her, and she grasped them firmly in her mouth.
Turning towards the front door a few steps away, Deirdre opened it, and stepped out into the early morning sunshine, lifting her arm as high as she could.
"Deirdre?" Conrad said cautiously. If the owl was to take off from a hand, she would have to push off, and that would require her to dig her talons in, at least momentarily. His fears were unfounded however, for instead of pushing off of his wife's hand, the owl instead, dropped off of it, wings closed. It wasn't until her talons were clear of his wife's hand, that the owl opened her wings and made, with powerful strokes, into the open air.
"A remarkable bird indeed."
ooOO00OOoo
Dumbledore looked up alertly when Fawkes cooed something at him. "A letter from the Board?" Fawkes cooed again. "Indeed. I've been waiting for this, you know." Moving towards the big stained glass window behind his desk, Dumbledore opened it up just in time for Hedwig to fly through it and land neatly on the back of one of his receiving chairs. Bowing deeply towards the phoenix occupying a place of honor on its perch, Hedwig acknowledged the superiority of the immortal bird to that of a mail owl. Fawkes nodded back gracefully, then both birds turned their attention to the human in the room. Albus waited patiently for the pleasantries to be concluded before stepping towards Hedwig and relieving her of one of her letters.
"Thank you, Hedwig. Would you like a treat before you head off to deliver your last letter? No? Well, then, at lest let me get you a drink of water." Albus drew his wand and made to conjure some when Fawkes hooted from his perch and then scooted over, making room for Hedwig next to him, right in front of the water carrier. "If you'd prefer…" he said, stepping aside so that Hedwig had a clear flight path to the perch.
Crouching slightly, Hedwig launched herself off of the chair and flew at the perch, banking herself to land expertly next to Fawkes without disturbing a paper on the Headmaster's desk. Once again, Albus stepped forward to relieve Hedwig of a letter before she hooted gratefully to both Fawkes and the Headmaster. Dipping her beak into the water, she drank deeply of its coolness before retrieving her last letter from Dumbledore and disappearing back through the open window.
"What a polite owl." The Headmaster commented thoughtfully. "Much like her Wizard, if I am not mistaken."
Fawkes cooed his agreement.
"Lets see what the Board has sent me this time, shall we?"
ooOO00OOoo
Knocking twice in warning, Headmaster Dumbledore stepped into the Professors lounge where his four heads of houses were hashing out their latest idea to keep the two boys together without revealing their true reason for doing so.
"How goes it?" he asked, offering up the pot of tea he brought with him.
"Not so good," Professor Sprout said, "yes, Earl Grey if you would, thank you."
"We keep running up against different problems with each scenario we come up with," Professor Flitwick put in, "English Breakfast if you don't mind, much obliged."
"So far, none of them have been adequate," Professor McGonagall added, "Oolong, Albus? I'm flattered that you remembered."
"Have no fear, Headmaster, we will continue to work until we come up with something, this is our last chance after all." Professor Snape concluded, "…is that coffee? Why on earth would I want to drink that? Give me a good Highlander Tea, or none at all."
The Headmasters eyes just twinkled, then from within the confines of the same tea pot that had poured the other three teas, the rich, oakey smell of the Highlander Tea began to rise. "My apologies, Severus, here you are." Albus said, pouring his Potions Master a new cup. "I have faith in you all, you'll come up with something."
"Not going to stay and have a cup?" Minerva called from where she was nursing her steaming cup of Oolong Tea.
"No, I'm afraid I can't. I just received word from the Governors, they want me to take Madam Umbridge to the Ministry and press charges, and I would rather get that woman out of my school sooner rather then later." Albus set the pot of tea in the center of the table. "Feel free to help yourselves to another in my absence, however."
"What about the boys, Albus?" Filius asked, quietly stirring the smallest amount of milk into his English Breakfast.
"I'm off to see them now, to explain my absence, as well as to relieve Mr. Malfoy of the blood quill that he has apparently confiscated from Madam Umbridge. They'll stay in the Infirmary finishing up the last of the potions Poppy needs, I imagine."
"Well, don't let us keep you." Minerva said.
"Yes, I'd best be off." The Headmaster moved towards the door, before pausing and turning back, as if he'd forgotten something. "Oh, and incidentally, you're in charge while I'm gone, Minerva."
"Yes, Albus, I had assumed that was what my 'Deputy Headmistress' badge was all about, but it is good to have confirmation." Minerva returned with a twist to her lips.
"Yes, yes, but you know it has to be said," Dumbledore looked around the room, at the four people who could very well be shaping the destiny of the rest of the world as they tried to work their way around the sticky problem that had become Misters Draco Malfoy, and Harry Potter. "Good luck to you all."
"Good luck to you as well, Albus."
OoOO00OOoo
"Poppy?" Dumbledore called as he rounded the corner into the Infermary.
"She's not here at the moment, Headmaster," Harry said, stepping up into the doorway of the potions nook, wiping his hands on an ingredients-stained towel. "I can tell her you called for her though, when she returns."
"That is not really necessary, my dear boy, I was really only looking for her because I was hoping she could help me locate you two." Albus stepped more fully into the Infermary and closed the door behind him. "If I might have a word with Mr. Malfoy?"
Harry merely shrugged, and stepped back, out of the way. "He's at the cauldron. Don't know how much you'll get out of him though, he kind of goes in a zone."
"That's perfectly fine."
Crossing the room, Dumbledore placed one hand on Harry's shoulder briefly as he passed by him, a brief gesture of comfort in support for a boy who's world had been torn apart once again and who was, once again, trying his damndest to put it all back together.
"Mr. Malfoy?" Albus said softly, moving towards the other adolescent who was trying to put his topsy-turvey world back together.
"Yes, Headmaster?"
"I need that quill you relieved from Madam Umbridge's possession."
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Why ever not?" Albus asked, puzzled. Surely the boy knew that the Governors had instructed him to retrieve it from him?
"I've decided that I want to be there when you place the charges against Umbridge. It is my right, and, much as I loath to admit it, it is Potter's right." Here he gestured towards Harry, who was standing, confused by the door. "Besides, you won't be able to place charges against her in his name, if he isn't there in person to do so. And no-one else has come forward as of yet, so you're stuck with bringing him along with you. And," he added bitterly, "where Potter goes, so goes my country." (1)
"How do you propose we explain your presence there?"
"Well, I have officially been accepted by the Head of the Governors as a member of the Board, I see no reason why I can't be there in that capacity. Besides," he added, stirring the potion simmering in front of him once more before extinguishing the flame and allowing it to cool, "I am the one that called for the vote of no confidence in the Toad."
Seating himself in the seat recently vacated by Harry, Professor Dumbledore retrieved a Muggle sweet called a 'taffy' and munched thoughtfully on it as he considered Draco's words.
"Very well, you have brought up some very good points, and I can see that you will not be dissuaded, even if you hadn't. You and Mr. Potter may accompany me to the Ministry of Magic so that we may get this detestable woman out of my school as soon as absolutely possible."
"You mean that we get to go to the Ministry and watch her get punished for what she's done to me?"
"Yes, Potter, that's what this conversation is about, get with the program already."
Ignoring Draco's jibe, Harry simply waited for the Headmaster to respond.
"Yes, my dear boy, that's what this means."
"Yes!" Harry cried, jumping up in the air and doing a strange twist so that he turned three hundread and sixty degrees before landing again. "I am so ready for this!"
Despite himself, the Headmaster chuckled. "Well then, we mustn't keep our dear Defense Professor waiting, must we?"
ooOO00OOoo
(1) Okay, so for those of you who looked at that line, and cocked your head to side saying, 'isn't that familiar?' chances are that you're right. Well, if you're American at least. (Are my roots showing? How embarrassing…) this line is very similar to one said by Ozz in 'Buffy the vampire slayer' in it, Ozz says, 'as Willow goes, so goes my country.' I just couldn't resist. Call me a geek, and we'll leave it at that.
So, once again I have vastly underated how long my chapters will be. Why don't I just give up now, and admit that they're going to be about as long as Dumbledore's beard? I was hoping to get to about twice as much information, but the chapter just kept growing, and I still hadn't covered it all. Eventually I had to cut it off at the knees, before it turned into a real monster and ate my computer. That would be a true tragedy, no? Ah well, I'm off! Tootles!