"What do you need, Gemini?" Karkaroff asked quietly. Gemini sighed, thinking that if it were someone that he hadn't claimed, he wouldn't even attempt such a task, no matter how much glory it's completion would bring him. But it was Harry, his boyfriend, and nothing was allowed to harm what was his.

"Well, I'd prefer to have Arani's expertise, but short of that, just silence while I'm working. I really don't want to destroy her, but if that's the only way to free him, I'll do it."

He turned to place his hands on Harry's forehead. "And a large brandy when I'm finished. We'll probably both need it," he muttered under his breath, not expecting anyone to hear him.

He turned and sat on the bed next to Harry. "Actually, can someone go get my cousin? His name's Draco Malfoy, and he's around here somewhere. He goes to Hogwarts. He knows how to assist, though he's never been taught how to work on his own."

"He's in Potions," Mitchell volunteered.

"How do you know that?" Karkaroff asked sharply. Mitch shrugged guiltily.

"Because I'm supposed to be there as well, but I guess it was the bond between us pulling me to Harry. I just had to come and find him." The highmaster nodded agreeably, relieving his anxiety. Then he spoke.

"You know where it is. Run and get him. If Snape has a problem with it, tell him that Karkaroff sent you for him." Eyes wide, Mitch nodded and left.

"Mr. Potter. Did your minuscule brain somehow come to the conclusion that it would be acceptable for you to come in halfway through class?"

"Professor, Karkaroff sent me for Malfoy. Something's wrong with Harry, and his cousin said he needed him to assist." Snape frowned, but waved a hand.

"If Igor Karkaroff requires Mr. Malfoy's aid, far be it from me to prevent it. Go. But you have a week of detention, Potter, for skipping class." Rolling his eyes, Mitchell nodded shortly before running back out. He could see Malfoy packing up behind him, and that was good enough for him.

"Potter," Malfoy called out. "Where does Gem need me?"

"The ship," he called back, unable, and unwilling to resist the call leading him back to his twin.

When he arrived, tracing his way back through the ship, Gemini grabbed his arm, yanking him to the end of the bed where five other people were sitting.

"I need you to feed him energy. The Five are all trying to keep him from draining them dry, but something's blocking him from taking any from you."

"I don't know how," Mitch protested, instinctively not arguing with him, the aura Gemini projected intimidating him. Gemini looked disgusted at how easy it was to subdue him, but briskly walked him through trancing and feeding energy through his bond to his twin. The final effect was ragged, and there was energy lost, but it was effective, and that was all Gemini cared about. What did it matter to him if the boy exhausted himself while saving his boyfriend? The boy was nothing to him, despite his status as the Boy Who Lived, and since he hadn't been working with it, he would instinctively limit how much energy Harry could take. Gemini snorted. For once, their extra training was a hindrance rather than a help.

Slowly, the channel between the twins constricted, and the transfer slowed until Mitchell could control the energy rushing to his brother. Then the block removed, and the channel to reopen, allowing Mitch to feed the energy at his own rate, rather than having it rushing from him. Gemini smiled slightly, knowing Harry had taken control to assist his twin despite the fact that he could ill afford the energy loss at the moment. The door opened, and Draco walked calmly through it. His eyes widened slightly when he saw how many people there was in the little room. The Highmaster had left, but Viktor, Mitch, and the Five were sitting around the bed, leaving one side open for Gemini and his cousin.

"What do you need me for?" he asked his cousin snidely. "There's more than enough people in here without me." He sneered at Mitchell, more from habit than anything else.

"They're all bound to Harry except for Viktor, who doesn't know how to assist. He works on his own, sometimes with someone helping him, and he isn't high enough in enchantments to be able to even attempt to disentangle bonds. Ironically, the only other person who is -besides our teacher, who's back at the school- is Harry." Draco nodded silently. "We must hurry, before she drains him past recovery." Draco nodded again, dropping to his knees and reaching into a bag he had been carrying, which Gemini hadn't even noticed. Glancing over him, he noticed he was wearing the traditional black pants and loose black shirt with the sleeves closely bound to his arms. Gemini smiled slightly as his cousin handed him a stick of eyeliner. He had always thought his cousin looked beautiful with the black around his eyes.

"You can tell whose traditions we were taught in," Draco said with a little laugh as Gemini traced the color around his eyes, then around his own. "What with all the bright colors and all." Gemini laughed freely, not allowing his hand or eye to shake. He tossed a black ribbon to Draco.

"Pull back my hair, would you?" Draco nodded and grabbed a brush, blithely disregarding the fact that it couldn't be Gemini's, and using it to pull Gemini's hair back, then quickly French braided it, tying it with the ribbon. Viktor raised an eyebrow.

"Vhy are you vaisting your time vith this, vhen Harry needs you?" he asked, his contemptuous belief that Gemini was simply stalling plain in his voice. Gemini interrupted him.

"I've done everything I can without an anchor. Draco needs to prepare, mentally. Doing this is part of our family's focus exercises. Family Black has always been a bit… unusual."

"Plus, the black around the eyes helps protect your eyes from glare, should you call up something that resonates in the physical plane. I've never figured out why you have to wear black though." He moved to kneel in front of Gemini, reaching up to lay his hands on his chest, while Gemini's went on Harry's chest and forehead.

"Don't let her grab a hold of me, Drake," Gemini murmured before he settled back into a trance deep enough to contact the entity draining his boyfriend.

Slowly, he wove his way through the tangled magics surrounding Harry, sorting them out. He had no idea what would happen if he accidentally severed one of the Five bonds, and he didn't really want to find out. He pushed the Five to the side, and frowned. There was a link, pulsing painfully, tying him to the cup, but there was was something else, burning harshly. He frowned at the bundle of magic attached to Harry like a limpet. It wasn't drawing anything at the moment, but he sensed that it could, and it was probably what gave Harry his fierce headaches that made his scar bleed. It definitely needed to go as well. Slowly, carefully, he unwound it's hold on Harry, reattaching the feelers it sent out to the maleficent pulsing link that was draining Harry. Once it had given up from trying to move back to Harry, he cut the tie, snapping the bond back to the cup, sending the parasite with it. The sudden lack of tension sent him reeling as he surfaced back into his body, hearing Harry's breathing even out as the drain ceased. Gemini physically fell onto forwards, and Draco shoved him sideways rather than trying to catch him, tumbling him onto the bed. He twisted to stare anxiously at Harry, envious of the bond the others had with him, since he had no way of knowing if Harry was going to wake up again, or if his intervention had been too late.

Harry's eyes fluttered open, and he stretched one hand to feel where people were. Gemini took his hand and kissed the knuckles, then turned around again and lifted Draco to his feet, noticing absently that the others were coming out of their trances now that Harry was alright. Taking Draco's hands into his, he kissed his cousin on each cheek, back and forth, and Draco was smiling with pleasure, a faint blush across his cheeks.

"Thank you, little cousin." Gemini jumped as their hands were pulled apart, to be wrapped around large mugs. He took a small sip and broke out into laughter at the taste of mulled brandy. Draco was also handed a mug, and Gemini glanced around to see that everyone in the room had one. Draining his in a few gulps, he conjured up a soft cloth and wetted it, using it to wipe off the eyeliner before turning to Draco.

"You look good like that, Drake. You should wear it more often."

"Father would kill me, Gemmy," Draco replied in a I've-told-you-this-way-too-many-times-before tone of voice, and Gemini sighed and shook his head, tossing the cloth to Draco as he sat on the edge of Harry's bed.

As soon as Draco finished clearing the makeup off, Gemini shoved him down on Viktor's bed, loosening the ties at the neck of his shirt, and unbinding his sleeves quickly.

"Sleep," he commanded, and Draco nodded tiredly, knowing it was futile to argue with his cousin when he was ordering you around for your own good. He curled up on the bed, and Gemini grabbed the blanket off the end and covered him up with it. Making his way back over to the other bed, he barely caught the mug as it slipped from Mitchell's hands. Sighing softly, he picked the boy up, laying him across the head of Viktor's bed. "Viktor, you can have my bed. I can't make it that far," he mumbled as he curled up next to Draco. Viktor snorted, as all of the Five were in various stages of falling asleep. He carried them all into the next room, which Luka and 'Lita were sharing, and tucked them into the beds there, then moved Mitchell back beside Harry before taking himself out again.

Harry woke at dawn with a presence beside him that was familiar and yet alien. Puzzled, he wondered who it could be, laughing lowly when he heard Mitch's voice muttering nonsense nearby. He sat up slowly, hearing Gemini's soft breathing from the bed across the room, as well as someone else, and after a minute, he recognized him as the shining boy, his drained senses struggling to pick up his signature.

However, he had a remedy for that. Closing his eyes to focus his mind, he reached out to the mothering presence that was Hogwarts, cajoling her into sharing the residual energy from having so many young witches and wizards roaming through her with him and his friends. He shared it out equally between everyone that had been drained, unknowingly rejuvenating two eighth years who had drained themselves dueling, so lost in the battle fever that they had not noticed the dangerous drop in their energy levels until they were collapsing. He heard Gemini sigh contentedly, but the none of his roommates seemed likely to wake any time soon. Closing his eyes, he took stock, smiling when he felt the energy floating free in the bonds again. He was glad he hadn't hurt any of them, though he really hadn't had a choice in pulling energy from them. He knew that the Five would probably beat him up if he tried to apologize -well not really but they certainly wouldn't listen- but he didn't know how Mitch would respond to being drained like that, without so much as a by-your-leave.

It really was a shame, he mused as he slipped from the bed and into the bathroom, that Hogwarts doesn't have any reservoirs to collect that energy, allowing it to fade into the landscape if it wasn't used. For that reason, if no other, the school would likely always allow him to siphon energy from her, to keep it from being wasted. Once the energy made it's way back to the natural world, it was completely unavailable to nearly all wizarding kind. Sure, there were a few who could tap it, if they tranced deep enough, but most of them never learned how. Harry'd never learned how, but James could. It was just easier to share power from sentient and semi-sentient beings and constructs. Even James had only learned how so that he'd have it in case of an emergency.

Harry showered quickly and slipped out of the room in just a loose pair of pants. He wasn't planning on being out long enough to even really break a sweat, but he knew it was important to keep up the routine of heading out in the morning. Being the highmaster's favorite didn't mean he'd go easy on you in physical defense. Quite the opposite actually, he pushed his favorites harder and further than any others. He grabbed his staff from beside the door on his way out, since he had a small amount of energy stored in it that he could use, unlike his wand, which he had pretty much drained creating his staff, and he hadn't replenished it yet.

Harry jogged to the open space out by the lake that they had taken over for their early morning calisthenics, standing at the back so he could fall out if he needed to. Gemini, Lita, and Luka joined him after about fifteen minutes, with the shining boy watching curiously from a short distance.

"Who is that?" Harry asked, collapsing to the ground as the rest of the Durmstrang students headed off for a morning run that none of them felt up to completing.

"Hmm? Oh, my cousin. Have I mentioned that you're an idiot lately?" Harry just snorted.

"You were proud of me when I did it." Gemini snorted.

"That was before I realized you'd allowed a nonanimate to latch onto you." Harry shrugged.

"I didn't even know they could." Gemini frowned and looked away.

"I should have remembered. Family Black is rather renowned for their malicious enchantments." He sounded rather embarrassed, which was slightly amusing coming from the brash young man.

"Well, can't do everything," Harry laughed. Gemini glared at him.

"So nice to see that you take your life so seriously," he growled. Harry frowned slightly and reached out to grab Gemini's arm before scooting close and hugging him.

"You push yourself too hard. You can't do everything Gem." Gemini just sighed and held him close, resting his cheek against Harry's hair.

"What was that?" Draco asked, finally approaching the group. Gemini looked up at him.

"First part of morning exercise."

"That's just the first part?!"

"Yep. When they get back from the run, they'll start a second session of exercise."

"So why aren't you runnin' then?" Gemini gave his cousin a look.

"Do you feel up to running anywhere?" Draco shook his head silently. "We're in better shape than you, but we're still worn out." The highmaster, who had been walking up behind him, snorted at this declaration.

"It is a surprise that you are fit to do anything today," he scoffed.

"Hogwarts is a fine lady," Harry said softly. "Much under-appreciated."

"You merged with another artifact! After the cup nearly killed you!" Gemini exclaimed angrily, arms tightening painfully around Harry, making him whimper.

"Remember, we spent two weeks here over the last break?" Gemini nodded reluctantly, relaxing his grip. "All six of us were pretty much constantly merged with her. It's the only way we could learn her in such a short time. She wouldn't harm any student within her domain."

"It doesn't matter! You take foolish risks!" Harry rolled his eyes.

"Where is Viktor?" Karkaroff asked suddenly, diverting the impending argument. Harry shrugged.

"Out running, I would assume." Sure enough, Victor came running up from the lake shore, breathing deeply, but not seeming bothered by the five-mile run. The highmaster motioned him over.

"Ah, Viktor. I was just looking for you." Glancing around, he suddenly seemed to notice Draco standing there with his students. He frowned, and opened his mouth again.

"Draco won't say anything, will you little cousin?" Gemini interrupted. Draco smiled.

"Say anything about what?" he said innocently, wandering off a few feet. Gemini smiled slightly. The highmaster nodded his satisfaction.

"The first task is to get a golden egg from a nesting dragon. There is a dragon of a different type for each champion. The dragon will be selected randomly on the morning of the task."

"Thank you, highmaster," Viktor said softly when it became obvious that Harry and the Five were too deep in discussion to remember. Karkaroff nodded.

"Win," he commanded, turning on his heel to stalk away. "And go get some more rest. You all still look wrung out." Viktor saluted ironically, while Harry rolled his eyes, but the whole group linked arms, and Gemini and Viktor guided them back into the ship, as the rest of them leaned against him. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around Harry and Lolita's waists.

"So, what're you planning on doing, Harry?" Gemini asked idly, turning his head to kiss Harry's ear.

"Yeah, Clicks, how're ya getting' past a dragon?" Harry shrugged.

"Don't know yet. Meeting at two?" A muffled chorus of agreement answered him.

"Why at two?" Lolita asked.

"Because I plan on sleeping and eating until then. Zippy!" He smiled at the elf as it appeared. "Could you bring some food that will stay good for a while to my room?"

Everyone piled into his room, tumbling into the two beds. Snorting, Viktor expanded the beds to fit all of them, laying across the edge of his bed while Gemini cuddled up to Harry, who faintly recognized the snap of Zippy popping back in to leave a huge tray of food on the small desk set into the wall as he drifted asleep again.

"Tell me, Igor, what has been done with my students?" Dumbledore's voice carried into the bedroom where Gemini and the Five were conversing softly, discussing how they could assist Harry with his first task. Though they wouldn't be allowed into the task arena with him, they could still funnel their magic through him without anybody besides Karkaroff and Viktor noticing, and there were other things they could do in preparation with as much warning as they had. Harry had gone to bring the highmaster into the conversation. He'd been gone for at least ten minutes already, though he was keeping a small portion of his attention on the discussion.

"We chopped them up and are using them for potions ingredients," Harry said ironically. There was a snort of laughter at the look on the Hogwarts headmaster's face. "They're asleep, or at least Mitch is. …Malfoy?- may be awake again by now." The blond had followed them back to the ship, quietly talking with Gemini for a few hours before the cousins fell asleep as well. Harry sighed heavily, and the Five suddenly realized he was purposely projecting the conversation to them. "Come with me, since you're obviously not going to take me at my word." He stood, walking quickly through the familiar passageways of the ship, ducking under various projectiles flying between the room with the ease of long practice. He pushed open the door of his room, moving to flop down on his bed. Gemini barely scooted out of the way in time to avoid being squished.

"Gem, where's your cousin?" Harry asked, noting that the bright silver glow wasn't present among the kaleidoscopic aruas in his room anymore.

"Chopped him up and used him for potions ingredients," Gemini said archly, and the room burst into laughter at the mimicry. "Nah, he said he was going back to the castle. I dunno where he is." Dumbledore looked affronted, and Karkaroff, who had followed him, sighed.

"Lukas, find the boy, please." Luka nodded, his eyes falling closed. He stood slowly, eyes still closed. Gemini, used to the trance state that Luka fell into trying to zone in on one set of emotions to find someone, shoved Dumbledore harshly back.

"Don't get in his way! He can't see you, you know!" Several of the Five chuckled at the sudden defense for any of them. Gemini usually ignored them at best, since he didn't like that they were against his relationship with Harry, and took that out on them when he felt the urge. He never actually did anything to them, since Harry would get mad at him, but he had a very sharp tongue at times. Mitch slowly sat up, blinking sleepily, and followed the group without speaking. Looking shocked, Dumbledore followed them, walking a short distance behind the small group, noticing that nobody else around -all Durmstrang students- seemed to find anything odd about the fact that Luka was walking with his eyes closed, followed by several students and two head teachers.

"'Nother job, Seeker?" someone yelled from the riggings.

"Nah, stupid idiot thinks we'd actually hurt my cousin. Now Seeker's gotta find him, and prove he's ok," Gemini yelled back. There was general laughter, and a few scornful looks in Dumbledore's direction, which made him uneasy. He was used to being universally revered, at least among the people he actually saw.

"Problem, Gem?" a soft voice asked as they stepped under the eaves of the forest. Gemini looked up with a small smile.

"Someone made one too many jokes about putting you in potions, and your headmaster insisted we find you. You'd think we have a bad reputation or something." He jumped up and caught the branch of the tree he was standing under, lifting himself to stand on it and step into the crotch of the tree just below where Draco was sitting. Draco smirked at him, restraining himself from laughing in the presence of his headmaster.

"Mr. Malfoy, you do know that the forest is in fact still forbidden," Dumbledore said ominously. Harry rolled his eyes. He didn't know what the man had against Gemini's cousin, but the dislike was obvious. Gemini rolled his eyes.

"Why?" he asked scornfully. "There's nothing life-threatening so long as you're careful, and it's hardly big enough to get lost in."

"There's acromantulas in there," Mitchell countered, his voice shaking slightly. Harry snorted.

"You're afraid of acromantulas, Mitch?" he asked derisively. "They're easy to take out." There was a sudden feeling of anticipation flowing through the bond; it was easy to tame acromantulas if you could get eggs, and tamed acromantulas sold for a lot of money outside Britain. And the venom and other body parts brought good money everywhere, which was good, since they all barely met tuition, books, and supplies if they couldn't supplement their income.

"How do you know there's acromantula there, anyway?" 'Lita asked Mitch sweetly. Tiny, blond, and doll-like, Mitch had barely been able to tear his eyes away from 'Lita, and they were all aware of his attention, even though most of the group were blind.

"I saw them!" he boasted.

"Really?" Gemini said pointedly. "Since acromantula live deep within their forests, it would be hard to see any without entering the forest."

"I did! I saw them!" Movement at the corner of his eye made him pale as he realized the headmaster had heard his declaration. Gemini smirked at Dumbledore, eyes promising trouble if he punished Draco without giving his Golden Boy the same punishment. Dumbledore sighed heavily, but said nothing. He excused himself from the group soon after, the bond between Harry and the Five dancing with laughter, though they kept their faces from showing their amusement.

"So, who's up for an acromantula hunt?" Gimini asked flippantly after Mitch, too, had left. Draco looked at them with incredulous eyes as they all agreed indifferently. "Dragon? You want to come?" Draco shrugged.

"I suppose," he said slowly, dropping down from the tree to join them. Gemini slung an arm over his shoulder.

"Don't worry so much, little cousin," he teased. "Learn to live a little!" Draco smiled despite himself.

"Gemini, you're insane. I hope you know this."

"I know."

"Just checking."