The Elvin Consequence
Chapter nine
Draco was sitting before the fire reading some fictional novel when Harry returned from Severus' chambers. He greeted Harry when he entered but apart from the brief hello he didn't look up or acknowledge that Harry was there at all.
For this Harry was glad, he just went straight upstairs to his dormitory and began to pack up his belongings. Just before lunch Harry was ready to depart. Draco came upstairs and stood watching from the doorway.
"Leaving?" Draco asked with suspicion.
"Nope, just cleaning up before the start of the school year tomorrow, something to do, boredom I guess." Harry said with a smile. "You ready for lunch then?" He then asked changing the subject completely.
Draco nodded, still slightly suspicious about what Harry had been doing. "I've never known you to be one to clean up Harry, what's going on?"
"Nothing, Dumbledore is grating on my last nerve right now and I needed to vent my frustration on something, that's all." Harry lied and it certainly convinced Draco, he could believe that Albus Dumbledore was getting irritating with no problem what so ever.
"He does tend to be a bit of a busy body." He said as they came down the marble stairs. They entered the Great Hall and sat down with the other teachers, Harry struggled not to look over at Severus.
The Potions Master was a little shocked to see that Harry was at lunch, he assumed that he would have taken the opportunity and gone. He however hide his shock in a conversation with McGonagall and struggled, as the elf did, not to look over for fear of giving something away.
Lunch was soon over with no incident at all and they were all going their separate ways. Harry and Draco made their way back up the marble staircase, the elf trying to figure out a way that he could get Draco out of the way so he could leave.
"Want to do something this afternoon, you know, as friends?"
Harry smiled at Draco's suggestion, he was still fond of the blonde no matter what, after all it had been him to take his virginity, "it couldn't very well be a date, its unfortunate but you're not my mate."
"Imagine the fun we would have if I were and all that sex." Draco said with a grin, it was clear to Harry that he was missing the sex; however Draco was missing more than just that he just hid it well.
"Yes" Harry agreed with a chuckle. "We've had our fair share of fun together." Harry said as they reached the fat lady and spoke the password.
"it's a shame that your leaving." Draco said trying to catch Harry off guard, it was clear that he hadn't been fooled by what Harry had said and he very clearly was not as stupid as he looked.
"Draco, I'm not leaving, I don't know why you think that but I'm not going anywhere." Harry insisted, trying in vain to convince the blonde that his speculations, however true that they were, that they were in fact false.
Draco just looked at Harry as if to say 'so you think I'm an idiot' as they flopped down on the worn scarlet sofa together.
"Draco … no one can know, I want you to make an unbreakable vow that you will tell no one what I am about to tell you." Harry said completely forgetting the warning Severus had given him about the portraits and not realising exactly how many there were in the Gryffindor common room.
"Okay, if you want me to do that I will." Draco said as he gave Harry his hand. There was a part of him that wanted to have that contact with Harry whatever it took, even if it was to perform magic, he was missing Harry desperately. He now understood the muggle saying that you don't know what you've got until it's gone.
"We can't, not here" Harry said looking around and noticing that there were far too many wizards in a lot of the portraits and Severus' warning sprung into mind. "Come with me, I know exactly where we can go."
Harry took Draco directly to the room of requirement where he asked for a place to talk in complete privacy with no portraits on the walls and this was exactly what the room gave to him.
"Why did we need to come here?" Draco asked.
"Because if I had told you in Gryffindor tower then the portraits would have reported back to Dumbledore as they always seem to do."
"The portraits?"
"Yes but that isn't what I brought you here to discuss." Harry said, "Now give me your hand."
Draco made the unbreakable vow that he would never repeat anything about Harry's plans for the near future or anything involving Harry's relationship with a certain teacher to anyone else.
"As you have guessed I'm leaving Hogwarts, before dinner if I can but only because I must. Severus is my mate and rules here don't permit us to be together. I need to find out where I came from and why I was put in place of the real Harry Potter to live his life. I can't find out these things if I stay here."
"Is Severus going with you?" Draco asked.
"No, he's confused about his feelings for me and he loves his job despite how much he appears to despise it."
"What will you do Harry, I mean leaving Hogwarts is a big step to take."
"Yes but I have to do it, I was thinking about contacting Oliver Wood, I'll if he can get me in contact with someone who needs a seeker on their team."
"You're certainly good enough to join a professional team. I can't believe that you have it all planned out, no wonder you don't want anyone to know."
"If Dumbledore knew he'd stop me, its possible he might have guessed already …"
"Which would be my fault," Draco interrupted, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, you weren't to know."
"Promise me that you will stay in touch, you're pretty much the only friend I've got right now, the other Slytherin's are all following their parents and the Dark Lord. They think that I'm a traitor."
"I'll send you an owl as soon as it's safe to do so, I can't give away my location easily because of Voldemort but I'll find a way to contact you." Harry paused before continuing, "I had better make sure that everything is in order before I have to go."
"I'll come with you, if you shrink your trunk and put it in your pocket we'll take our brooms and say that we're going flying before dinner if you want."
"Okay, I was wondering how I was going to get out of here, come on then lets do this."
It was less than an hour later that they began to descend to the grounds, not an obstacle in their way until they found Albus Dumbledore waiting for them in the entrance hall.
They attempted to pass by him without a word but Dumbledore stood in their path preventing them from leaving the castle, for a second Harry thought that it hadn't worked, that Dumbledore knew and that he would force Harry to stay and there would be nothing that he could do about it.
"Where are you boys off to?" He demanded of them instantly.
"The Quidditch pitch," Harry said simply trying not to look the Headmaster in the eye for fear that the old man might get inside of his head, instead he focused on the grounds behind him. "Anything wrong with that?" Harry's heart beat had accelerated, his chances of freedom from the meddlesome headmaster was getting further away. Trying to calm himself Harry went on, "You said that I should spend more him with people my age and Draco nis my age and we're going to play Quidditch together before dinner, I'm only doing what you suggested, is that okay with you Headmaster?"
"I suppose that it is." Albus said still suspicious of what Harry was planning, he knew exactly what was going on but he had no proof and he couldn't refuse Harry his freedom and keep him in the castle. Besides he didn't see any harm if Draco was going with him.
"Great, come on Draco, let's go before it starts getting dark, bet I can catch the snitch before you."
Once that they were a good distance from the castle they breathed a sigh of relief, Harry had thought that he would never get free of the headmaster.
"I thought he was going to kick up more of a fuss than that, obviously he's suspicious but he can't prove anything."
"You'd better go before he comes running after you." Draco suggested sadly realising that this was possibly the last time that he was going to see Harry for a long time, it dawned on him how much he wanted to go with him, how much he would have liked to kiss him right then and there. Sleeping with him and having a laugh was one thing but once that he couldn't any more he had realised how much he had wanted it and craved more, Harry had made him want those things.
"It'll be okay, if things get bad here go to Severus, he knows where to find me and your welcome there whenever you like."
They hugged briefly before Harry made his way to the gates and Draco watched him go and as he swathe elf board the triple-decker Knight bus he said "I love you Harry Potter."