Please check out my Unicorn Prince website, I promise you'll love it!
http: www. starflowergem .com / the_unicorn_prince .html
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
Unicorn Prince
Chapter 15: Heart to Heart
Riddle manor was a lot bigger then Harry had thought it would be. He'd seen it looming in the distance the night of the third task in fourth year, but he hadn't caught more then a glimpse of it at the time. He'd been a bit preoccupied with the circling Death Eaters and dangerous spelling being hurled at him in the dark.
Now, though, Harry was becoming intimately acquainted with the interior of Lord Voldemort's headquarters and he was able to see just how large the place actually was.
It was like a maze of halls with lines of doorways and shadowy staircases. The gloom encasing the hallways was almost suffocatingly thick and was only broken by randomly placed torches or the occasional flood of light leaking from under a doorway.
Harry was pretty sure Voldemort had magically expanded the building and cast multiple spells over it in order to achieve this effect, but achieve it he had. This place was downright creepy.
Malfoy was leading the way, not surprising that, and he seemed to know where they were going. It made Harry very suspicious, but there wasn't much he could do at the moment, and the blond had saved him. They hadn't met up with any of the Death Eaters still residing in the building so Harry felt more inclined to trust the boy. Malfoy moved with a silent confidence that Harry was hard pressed not to admire.
Harry had had plenty of time to think as they moved through the manor; mainly because Malfoy was ignoring him again.
He'd come to the conclusion that he'd imagined the whole 'Draco' thing, he must have still been half asleep when Malfoy had woken him and he'd gotten his dream mixed up with reality.
What had made him mix up his Dream Phantom with Malfoy of all people he didn't know and wasn't too keen to find out but he suspected that it was still effecting him if the disappointment rising in him was anything to go by.
This didn't put Harry's mind at ease in the least though, only making him more confused.
If Malfoy had some twisted sort of crush on him it would have at least explained why he was there, 'rescuing' Harry. But he obviously still detested Harry as much as he always had so what could have possibly possessed him to play hero?
How had Harry even gotten to the manor in the first place? Last thing he remembered he'd been safely ensconced in Hogwarts castle with the rest of the students.
Where were Ron and Hermione? Were they alright? And if they were, why weren't they the ones sneaking through Riddle Manor with him?
Harry glanced at the blond in front of him again before shaking his head.
His whole world had been turned upside down…again. On a whim Harry reached out and snagged the back of Malfoy's robes, tugging lightly on them to get the blonds' attention.
At the unusual strain to his clothing Malfoy peered back at him from over his shoulder with an eyebrow arched in question.
"What's going on Malfoy?" He asked, releasing the other's robes. Malfoy turned and regarded him for a long moment. Harry was afraid he'd made a mistake, committed some strange wizarding social faux pas, but after a moment Malfoy's expression shifted and Harry was able to breathe again.
"Tell you what Potter, I'll make a deal with you. You can ask me any question you like, any one at all, and I'll answer it completely and truthfully-so long as you do the same for me." That sounded more then reasonable, and was (honestly) more then Harry had expected from the unapproachable Slytherin. He nodded hesitantly in reply, "Make it count Potter, you only get one question." The older boy warned.
One question. But there were so many scrambling around in his brain; how was he supposed to pick just one? He supposed he should ask a question that would encompass a variety of subjects rather then just one.
Before the other boy could bet impatient with him he decided to go with what was bothering him most, "Why are you here?" Okay so that didn't come out quite right, he hadn't meant to sound so rude. "I mean, why did you come to get me? Why not Ron and Hermione? You don't even like me." He pointed out helpfully.
Again with the long, considering look. Harry almost shivered, not at all used to having those silver eyes focused on him with anything less then complete loathing. "No, I don't like you." Malfoy agreed, "But you are mine nonetheless, and Malfoy's take care of what belongs to them."
Harry bristled at the comment; he had no clue what made Malfoy think he owned him, but he wasn't going to let it go uncontested. "I don't know what fantasy world you've been living in Malfoy, but I have never, nor will ever, belong to you in any way shape or form." Harry spat at the blond.
Malfoy seemed completely unaffected by the venom in Harry's voice as he took a step closer. Harry quickly back peddled, suddenly uncomfortable with being alone with the silver eyed Slytherin. His strange waking dream from earlier started replaying in his mind, "My turn Potter." Malfoy's voice had lowered and was now only a few octaves higher then it had been in his dream. He did shiver then.
Malfoy maneuvered Harry backwards until he was pressed against the rough stone of the walls, "Tell me Potter," His voice was like melted chocolate, and Harry wanted to close his eyes and savor the sweet rich decadence of it, "Tell me about your horn. Where did it come from, why do you have it, and what does it mean?"
The words slid over Harry's flesh, licked at his ears, and caressed his senses. It took a few moments for their meaning to sink in. When they did, Harry went ridged. His soul froze and his heart stopped.
Malfoy knew. Malfoy knew. How was this possible? No one knew, no one could see.
So why then was Malfoy trailing one long slender finger up and down his horn? It was impossible, yet it was happening. It was real. "How-you can-no." He stammered out, still completely in shock.
A slow, sensuous smile slid over the Slytherin's lips and the finger slipped down to glide over the milky markings on the brunettes face, "Yes, Potter, I can see it quite plainly. The first time I noticed, you were flickering. That's probably what drew my attention in the first place; you kept changing, moving from your normal boring 'Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, Gryffindor Golden boy', to this enchanting exotic creature. I'm sure you can imagine my curiosity. Now, are you going to tell me?"
Harry could hardly breath, his safe sane world was quickly spiraling out of control and he'd lost the reigns a long time ago. Malfoy was still speaking in that low, sinful voice, and he was standing uncomfortably close to Harry, who, though only a couple inches shorter then Malfoy, felt immeasurably small.
"No Malfoy." He breathed, trying to get some small semblance of control back. "It's a long story and you haven't finished answering my question yet."
Malfoy stared him down for a long while but Harry refused to back down; he was a Gryffindor the bloody boy-who-lived, he wasn't going to let Malfoy, of all people, control him.
Malfoy pulled back abruptly, his face a cold mask once more, "Oh, but I did answer you Potter, but I see you're in need of a little clarity. I'll explain," He said mock graciously, "I'm sure you of all people are aware of the term Seer." That went without saying, though why Malfoy felt the need to bring it up Harry had no idea. "But I'm positive you've never encountered a True Seer."
He didn't give Harry an opportunity to counter that claim, but kept speaking. "True Seers are very rare, sure you'll get some people cropping up here and there spouting off random Prophesies -such as our dear Professor, but their armatures." He sneered, "Their prophesies could be compared to a muggle card trick. A True Seer, Potter, is always in touch with the future. They see it every minute of every day.
'A True Seer, Potter, is intimately connected with the lines of magic that make up the future; it's so much more in depth then anything you could possibly imagine." Harry thought briefly back to his confrontation with Voldemort and the pulsing layers of magic he had felt surrounding him. He somehow didn't think Malfoy would believe him if he said he could-he still didn't see what this had to do with him though.
This was where Malfoy made his point, and everything began to click into place, "I'm a True Seer Potter." So this was why Malfoy had come after him then, he'd seen it.
Sure, it still wasn't very logical, and Malfoy would most likely have a hard time explaining why he'd helped him other then 'my vision told me to' but it was enough of an explanation for Harry.
Malfoy, apparently, didn't quite agree with Harry's quick assessment of the situation, for he continued talking, "I'm a True Seer Potter," He repeated, as if to emphasize the point, "And you are my Monimos."
Harry's mind went blank, "You're what?" He deadpanned.
And Malfoy was back again, hovering inches away from Harry's now quivering body. Why was he reacting like this? He didn't understand it at all.
"My Monimos Potter. My Stabilizer, my Grounder. You, essentially, keep me sane." He explained. The explanation only brought on more questions, and Malfoy apparently read that in his eyes because he patted Harry's cheek condescendingly, "Don't worry your pretty little head over it Potter, we'll speak more on this when we get back to Hogwarts." Had Malfoy just called him pretty? "Now why don't you tell me about your fascinating new look." He practically purred.
Harry was so confused, "Are you bipolar by chance?" He asked bluntly, eliciting another raised eyebrow from the blond, "No, seriously, one minute you're as cold as ice and ignoring me like there's no tomorrow, then your practically molesting me against the wall. What is wrong with you?"
Malfoy pulled away again, his back rim rod straight, and his eyes like shards of ice, "Just answer the question Potter."
It was Harry's turn to regard his unlikely companion for a long moment; if he really was a 'True Seer' like he said wouldn't he already know about Harry's horn? But Malfoy had answered him and it was only fair he return the favor. Maybe he could ask later when they had that more 'in depth' talk Malfoy had been hinting at.
"I'm not very clear on what happened, Malfoy." He admitted truthfully, running a hand through his already messy hair, "I thought I'd just dreamed it all at first. I still feel like it was some strange dream." That was said more to himself then Malfoy, and a quick glance at the blonds' impatient face had Harry realizing that he was rambling and not explaining well at all.
He took a deep breath and started again, "I don't know what woke me that night, or what brought me to the forest, but I felt it was right. I was greeted at the forests edge by a group of women who led me into the trees." As Harry spoke his mind replayed the experience and he marveled over the feeling of absolute peace the memory brought with it. "I've never had such a strong sense of belonging before. When we settled down they told me a story about one of their sisters who fell in love with a human and went away to live with him. Apparently they were my grandparents."
"You came into your inheritance then." Malfoy's voice broke into his little bubble of serenity and Harry's head shot up like he'd just been prodded in the posterior with a hot iron.
"Inheritance?" Hermione might have mentioned something about that once or twice in the past year but Harry hadn't really been paying that much attention since he hadn't thought it would really apply to him.
At Harry's confused expression Malfoy gave an exasperated sigh, "I knew you were brainless, but this is ridiculous." Harry huffed at the insult, but Malfoy ignored it, "Everyone is born with all the magic we will ever need in our life. Our magical core will never grow or change, but when we're children our magic is too powerful for our bodies and minds to cope with. A natural block is put on our magic when we're born so we don't cause any damage to ourselves but as we grow older and are able to control our magic that barrier breaks down. When it breaks down completely that is what is referred to as our Inheritance."
"That doesn't explain why I have a horn, though." Harry pointed out.
The blond nodded, "You're grandparents were Soul Mates, usually Soul Mates are from the same species, but occasionally a human will show up with a vampire or a veela mate. It's very rare, but it has been known to happen. When your Inheritance broke you not only gained access to the rest of your magical core, but to the magical core of the creature your grandmother was."
"Wait." Harry interrupted, "Humans and creatures have different magical cores? Does that mean I have two cores?"
"Human magic works differently from creature magic, I can't really explain it. The few humans who can use creature magic usually have an affinity to a certain element. Like say you were part siren, you'd be able to manipulate water almost as well as a full blooded siren. You wouldn't have received any features from the siren, like the Song or the scales, just the magic.
The intense look was back in his eyes, "That's why you fascinate me so, Potter. No human in history with creature blood has ever received the looks of their ancestor. A half elf doesn't have pointy ears and a half veela isn't unearthly beautiful, a half vampire doesn't have fangs…so why are you so different?" Malfoy's fingers brushed down Harry's horn, over the silver markings to the pointed tip of his ear.
An amused smirk curved Malfoy's lips when Harry shivered under his caress before he pulled away. Harry didn't have an answer for him, and even if he did he couldn't have answered him anyway. Not with his voice caught in his throat as it was.
He wasn't given much time to concentrate on Malfoy's words anyway; the blond had gone stiff moments after his confession, a strange film sliding over his eyes before all the color started to bleed away from the irises. Even the deep pits of his pupils faded away until Malfoy's eyes were pure undiluted pools of ivory.
The blank stare unnerved Harry and a chill rand down his spine, "Malfoy?" He questioned hesitantly, but he received no reaction.
Harry could feel that something was wrong; all the emotions that had been pouring off of the blond since Harry had woken had suddenly stopped.
Cautiously extending a hand, Harry laid it lightly on Malfoy's arm, only to feel a jolt go through him and he was practically pulled into the magic holding the blond in its grip. Something seemed to be pulling Malfoy's magical core, winding it down deep into the blonds' soul.
Concerned despite himself, Harry latched onto the Slytherin's source of magic. Feeling along the smooth flow of energy harry found an abnormality, something long and thin was wrapped around Malfoy's core and Harry was pretty sure it did not belong there.
Harry focused on his strange leech-like string of magic. Feeling along it like he had with Malfoy's core, Harry was able to discover just what the magic was: time. He could feel the forces of the past present and future surging beneath the surface, a siren's call to those who were unwary.
Unfortunately, this source of magic had a strong grip on Malfoy and it was slowly wrapping itself more firmly around the Seer's core with every passing moment. If Harry didn't take care of this soon, he didn't think he'd be able to get it off and Harry had no idea what that would do to the blond, though he suspected it wouldn't be good.
Keeping a firm hold on Malfoy's core, Harry began mapping out the thread of time, lightly brushing over the magic and influencing it here and there until it was no longer wrapped dangerously around the Slytherin. It still had a hold on the other boy, though, so Harry carefully maneuvered a small piece of his own magic in between Malfoy and the thread.
Then Harry painstakingly spread his magic into a thin film between the two sources of magic. Once his magic was as thin as he could get it without tearing holes into it Harry began to wrap it around the time magic like a net or a leash, then gently guided it away from the young Malfoy. Once he was sure that it was no longer touching Malfoy and was stable on its own, harry released it and returned to Malfoy's core to check for damage.
Luckily there was none that he could find and he was able to return to his own body safely, gasping sharply as he did so.
Malfoy was staring at him now, his look so intense that Harry retreated a couple steps, "What?" He snapped.
Malfoy shook his head, "We'll talk about this later, if we stay here any longer we'll be caught." He said that with such surety that Harry suspected he'd Seen it. Nodding uncertainly, Harry followed Malfoy through the halls, up stairs and through random doorways.
They paused as the path they were walking split in two, one staircase going down and one going up. Both choices were shrouded in thick shadows. Harry had a bad feeling about this and shivered, moving minutely closer to the taller boy.
"Come on." Malfoy murmured, and Harry noted that even he sounded unsure. He caught Harry's wrist and Harry let him, then headed for one of the staircases. They'd taken only three steps down before harry froze, his eyes wide and his breathing harsh.
Shaking his head frantically he started back peddling, causing Malfoy to turn to look at him. Malfoy raised an eyebrow at Harry's panicked expression, "What's wrong?" He asked, "We need to keep moving it's dangerous to stay here."
"I don't want to go down there Malfoy, let's go the other way."
Malfoy frowned now, "We need to be headed down Potter, we're still on the third floor and the exit is not going to be found upstairs."
"I don't care!" Harry snapped, "There's something down there, something evil, something hungry."
"I didn't See anything," Malfoy mused, but from Harry's expression alone he knew Harrya wasn't joking, "How can you be so sure?"
"I can feel it." Harry's voice had gone impossibly soft at this admission, then he started shaking his head emphatically again, "I'm not going down there Malfoy." He reiterated.
"Alright, we'll go the other way." Malfoy agreed, if Harry were afraid of this thing he wasn't about to go messing with it. But it did make him wonder just what was down there.
Please note that all my updates will go first to my website, and all my rewrites will be found there. This story will not be edited on this site, so if you want any new bits to this story that you may miss please visit my site.
http: www. starflowergem .com / the_unicorn_prince .html
Review!