Disclaimer I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.
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Chapter Twenty Four
Damien didn't sleep all night. He kept thinking about what Ron had said. He didn't want to believe him. He didn't want to think that Draco was the one hurting Harry. It didn't make sense for him to be the one doing this. He thought about the other possible suspect. He didn't think Neville would be capable of hurting Harry like this either. He knew how much animosity he had towards Harry but to actually try and frame him for crimes he didn't do was, well, just evil. But then again, Neville still thought of Harry as evil. Damien shut his eyes and willed theses horrid thoughts away. The truth was that even though he had been through so much in the past year, Damien was still very much naïve when it came to how certain minds worked. He couldn't think of anyone in Hogwarts who could do such a thing.
While sitting at breakfast in the Great Hall, Damien couldn't help but notice how tired Ron, Hermione and Ginny looked. It seemed he wasn't the only who had trouble sleeping. Harry didn't seem to notice. He was having trouble keeping his own eyes open.
Damien felt his heart skip a few beats as the owls swooped in with the newspapers and mail clutched in their beaks. He shared a frantic look with Hermione. Ron and Ginny were looking at the owls with anticipation as well. They all knew an attack had happened even before reading the paper. Damien didn't know why that thought hadn't occurred to them last night? If Harry's drink was spiked last night, it must have been because the Dark Prince had planned to carry out an attack.
As expected the Hall fell silent as the news was read. Damien saw Harry's face turn pale as he glanced at the headline, before closing his eyes in tired defeat and shaking his head, as if denying the truth of the attacks. A great feeling of shame washed through Damien. What was he doing? He was letting his brother think he was perhaps responsible for the deaths. He saw a similar expression of shame on Ginny's face. She looked at Damien and looked away, eyes brimming with tears.
Damien felt his appetite wither away. He sat feeling the weight of guilt and shame settle in the pit of his stomach. He was an awful brother. He was being selfish and stupid. He had to tell Harry. He had to explain to him that he was in no way responsible for the Dark Prince attack.
Before he could force the words to come out from his mouth, a voice behind him interrupted.
"Harry, a quick word if you don't mind?"
He turned to see his dad standing behind him. A copy of the newspaper clutched in his hand. His stomach turned at the sight. His dad didn't think the attacker was Harry, did he?
Harry got up, resignation on his face. He followed James out of the Hall. Most of the students were making their way up to classes. Damien sprinted behind them. He was going to tell both of them what he had learned yesterday. He wasn't going to let Harry think he was guilty any longer.
Just as he reached the corridor he felt Ron and Hermione grab him from the behind.
"Damy! Where are you going?" Ron asked.
"Let go, Ron. I have to tell Harry. I have to tell him about the Sed-"
"Damien!" Hermione yelled cutting him off. She couldn't believe he was about to talk about the Sedare potion in the middle of the corridor, in front of the whole school!
They pulled Damien into an alcove, Ginny trailing them looking awkwardly at them. Once they were hidden inside the alcove, Ron let go of Damien, who instantly tried to get way.
"Let me go! This is wrong! We shouldn't keep this from Harry. He should know the truth! I have to tell my parents otherwise they'll keep on blaming Harry!" Damien tried to go around Ron and Hermione who were blocking him.
"Damien, calm down! You're not thinking clearly. We can't tell them, not yet." Hermione said trying to keep her voice low so no one could overhear her.
"No, Hermione, this isn't right! Harry will hate us when he finds out we kept the truth from him. Didn't you see his face right now? He thinks he might be responsible for the attacks! We can't lie to him! I can't lie to him." He finished desperately.
"He's right, Hermione. I was saying last night we should tell him everything." Ginny said, siding with Damien. "Please, let's tell him and Mr and Mrs Potter everything!"
"Both of you are being silly!" Ron hissed annoyed at them.
"Do you think we don't feel the same as you do? Do you think we enjoy keeping Harry in the dark? Of course we don't! But can't you see we have to keep this from him! Don't you know what Harry is like? How do you think he will react when he finds out he was being drugged? There is no way he will remain calm. He will explode and the person who is responsible will be warned and then we'll never be able to catch him." Hermione explained.
Damien and Ginny looked unconvinced so Hermione continued in a much calmer tone.
"I know you're feeling guilty, I feel like that too but we have to do what's best. Harry's not one to act responsibly. He's incredibly emotional and acts from the heart. You saw what he was like when Bella was arrested. He was the most wanted wizard and yet he walked boldly into the Ministry itself to rescue her. He doesn't have the patience to wait and work out who the traitor is. He'll make it known openly that he knows about the butterbeers. Then we'll never catch the person responsible. We have to be very careful. We have this one chance to catch the traitor. We can't mess it up."
Damien felt his energy leave him. He slumped his shoulders and looked away. He knew Hermione was right, Harry would co crazy but that still didn't make it right to hide the truth from it, did it?
"We'll tell Harry everything as soon as we work out who it is, I promise." Hermione said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"He's going to be so mad at us." Damien said in a quiet voice.
"I know." That was all Hermione could say.
xxx
"I need your invisibility cloak!" Hermione whispered to Damien.
"What? Why?" he asked.
"I'm going to sneak into Hogsmeade today. I just thought of the perfect thing to help us catch the…the traitor!" she whispered the last word.
"What is it?" Damien asked, excited at the idea. Hermione shook her head.
"Not yet. Let me get the thing first."
So, as planned, Hermione put on the invisibility cloak and sneaked out of the school during the period before lunch. She pretended to be sick in Charms class so that the Professor would let her leave. Instead of going to the Hospital wing, she left to visit Hogsmeade.
Harry was surprised to see Hermione looking rather flustered, running towards their table at lunch. She had missed most of the meal.
"Where were you? I thought you were supposed to be with Poppy?" he asked as she sat down.
"I was with her. She said I'm fine now. I can come back to class." Hermione said quickly.
Harry looked at her in surprise. That was perhaps the quickest anyone had escaped from Poppy.
"How did you get away? What did you tell her?" he asked.
"That I would have a heart attack if I missed anymore classes." Hermione told him with a crooked smile.
Harry laughed and picked up his spoon to finish his pudding. Hermione shared a significant look with the other three. Ginny, sitting nearest to Harry was looking positively sick. The strain of keeping something so big from her boyfriend was showing. She kept shooting pleading looks to Ron and Hermione, gesturing towards Harry. Both kept shaking their heads at her discreetly. They couldn't explain everything to Harry yet. Ginny sent them both a very dirty glare before picking up her bag and leaving. Harry was left looking at little bewildered with his girlfriend's unusual behaviour. He looked at Ron and Hermione who shrugged to show they didn't know what was wrong. Damien was keeping his head down and his gaze averted. He couldn't lie to Harry. If Harry saw him right now he would be able to read what was happening from his expression.
"I take it everything went okay with your dad?" Hermione asked, seeing that Harry was in a relatively happy mood.
Harry grinned again. "Yeah, he just wanted to get me out of the hall. Too many people staring and all that." He added.
"Does the Order have any idea who the Dark Prince is?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, me." Harry said it so calmly, it were as if he were talking about the weather. Damien choked on his mouthful and had to spit it out. He stared at Harry in utter shock.
Harry smirked at the reaction. Ron and Hermione were looking at Harry with the same expression as Damien.
"What?" Hermione whispered without really meaning to.
"Come on, guys. I'm not stupid. I know everyone thinks it's me. I can't really blame them, seeing as the Dark Prince was me in the past. It makes sense for them to suspect me." Harry explained.
"And you're okay with that." Damien asked, confused as to how anyone could possibly be okay with something like that.
Harry shrugged. "There's not much I can do about it. I know that I am going to be blamed for a lot of things in the future. I realised that this Christmas."
Ron suddenly turned red and diverted his gaze. He had found out what Charlie had said about Harry and still felt ashamed on his brother's behalf.
"You seem to be really composed about it all." Hermione said a note of pride in her voice.
"I think dad may have slipped me a calming draught when I went to see him." Harry said, grinning again.
"That explains a lot!" Ron said with a relieved look on his face. "I thought you had lost it completely."
Harry laughed and even Damien managed to chuckle quietly at Ron's comment. Hermione gave him a disapproving look but didn't say anything.
"So, is everything normal between you and dad?" Damien asked hopefully.
Harry's smile slipped of his face and he turned to look at the figure sitting at the staff table.
"Far from it." Harry whispered, a hint of sadness in his voice.
Damien didn't ask anything else. It was clear that Harry and his dad's relationship had a long way to go before it could ever be termed as normal.
That evening, after everyone, including Harry, had gone to bed, the four Gryffindors huddled in front of the cabinet holding the remaining Butterbeers. Ron and Ginny had cast the secrecy spells around them so no one would overhear them.
"Right, what was this thing you had left to get?" Ron asked Hermione.
The bushy haired girl looked around her to make sure they were not being watched. She pulled out a wrapped up package out of her robes. She unfurled the parcel and pulled out a small glass orb. She held it up for the others to see.
"What is it?" Ginny asked. It looked like the device they had planted in Grimmauld place, so that they could record the Order meetings.
"It's an image catcher. I'm going to place it above the cabinet here." Hermione reached over and placed it directly above the cabinet. Tapping it with her wand she cast a disillusion charm on it, making the glass orb blend into the background. That way, no one could spot it. "It can record up to twelve hours. I've got another one here so that we can swap them around. The plan is simple. This will record whoever comes to the cabinet. If anyone takes out a bottle and replaces it with another one or spikes it and places it back into the cabinet, we'll know about it. That way we can see who is spiking the drinks and catch them."
"That's brilliant Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, smiling broadly at her.
"It should work. We'll have to check the orbs every twelve hours. I think we should check it at midnight before going to bed and at midday, before lunch. That way we'll be well covered. We should be able to catch this traitor very soon!" Hermione added.
"It better be soon. I don't think I can look at Harry and keep the truth from him any longer." Ginny said, biting her lip in worry.
Damien couldn't help but agree.
xxx
A week passed by and they were no nearer to solving out who was drugging Harry. The four Gryffindors had agreed to keep the truth still hidden from Harry. A decision that they all recognised to be a dangerous one, but they hoped that once they caught whoever was responsible that person could take the brunt of Harry's rage.
Damien actually found it amusing how afraid they all were of Harry. He himself knew that Harry wouldn't do anything to them, probably just yell at them and give them the silent treatment for a few weeks. He could be quite hurtful if he wanted at times. Still the thought of Harry finding out that they were keeping such a big thing from him was scary.
The glass orbs were working but whoever the traitor was hadn't made a move yet. The four took it turns to sit and look through the twelve hours worth of footage. Luckily, Hermione had taught them a spell that speeded up the orb, letting them sift through the images. Most images were of Gryffindors approaching the cabinet to take out a few drinks. No foul play was detected.
"I can't believe we haven't caught him yet!" Ginny complained.
"I know it's very infuriating!" Hermione said tiredly. She had been up until three that morning, sifting through the orbs footage. Between checking the orb and attending classes Hermione hardly any rest.
"Why are we so sure it's a he? It could be anyone, even a girl!" Damien asked.
Hermione looked stunned. After a few moments Ginny replied.
"You're right. I don't know why I just assumed it was a male. Great, now literally everyone is a suspect!" she said tiredly.
After Damien's comment, the four kept a close eye on the Gryffindor girls as they were the only females that would have the opportunity to spike the butterbeers.
One evening as Ron, Hermione and Damien sat in their usual spot, waiting for Harry and Ginny to return from their 'alone time', they overheard Parvati and Lavender talking.
Both girls were sitting a few seats away and were talking about Harry and the rumours flying around about him taking up the role as the Dark Prince again.
"How can they be so sure it is him? I mean he's changed now. He killed You-Know-Who for Merlin's sake!" Lavender was saying.
"Well, apparently, Harry didn't actually mean to kill him. It was sort of a misunderstanding or something." At Lavender's puzzled look, the dark haired girl explained. "Look, how many different reports have you read about what happened that day in Hogsmeade? Out of all of them, which one actually details exactly what happened? None of them. It's all pretty vague. But one thing is for certain. Harry made it pretty obvious that he regrets killing him."
Damien was too busy eavesdropping on the conversation to see the other two turn red with suppressed anger.
"Why do you say that?" Lavender asked, oblivious to the extra attention they were getting.
"Think about it! He never gave any public statement explaining his actions in killing You-Know-Who, he never accepted the Merlin's First class honour, he openly hates the Ministry to this day and his reluctance to help them makes it obvious." Parvati replied smugly.
"But that doesn't mean he's gone back to the Dark side. For a start, Harry's always been in Hogwarts at the time of an attack. If he left Hogwarts someone would have known." Lavender said.
Hermione smiled despite herself.
"He's been missing at times. Remember our Minister's visit? I heard Justin say that the Minister only came because he was tipped off about Harry's disappearance. Michael said that he went to the Hospital wing to see if Harry was there and was chased out by Madame Pomfrey. Everyone knows how close Harry is to the school nurse. She could easily be covering for him, making it look like he's in the hospital wing, when he's actually out of Hogwarts."
"I don't think the school nurse would cover for him. I don't care what everyone says, I don't think it's him." Lavender said looking quite worried.
"Oh, I don't either. I was just pointing out all the things that may seem suspicious, to others not me." Parvati added the last part at seeing the look Lavender sent at her.
"I just wish they had some way of proving Harry's innocence. All these rumours are depressing!" Lavender said with a sigh. Damien agreed whole heartedly with her.
The two girls seemed to be thinking up ways to prove Harry was not the Dark Prince.
"The Ministry could put monitoring spells on him. That way there would be a way to track him at all times. If he did leave Hogwarts, they would know instantly." Parvati said.
Lavender was staring at her in shock.
"Are you kidding? That would be awful. That's so degrading. It's an insult to his dignity!" She said in disgust.
The other three exchanged a worried glance. The Ministry better not be thinking along those lines.
"You know, the attacks always happen at night time. They could just tie Harry to his bed at nights." Parvati said jokingly.
"Yeah, that'll help with his dignity." Lavender added sarcastically. Then, smiling slyly, she added, "Although, I wouldn't mind having him tied to my bed."
Both girls dissolved in fits of laughter. Damien gave a look of outrage and turned to glare at the two giggling girls. Hermione and Ron were both looking red in the face and were staring at them in shock. Damien was thankful that Ginny wasn't here. She would have hit the two girls with hexes so hard; they wouldn't leave the hospital wing for weeks.
Just as that thought came to mind, the portrait door swung open to reveal Harry walking in with Ginny, holding her hand. The two giggling girls stopped and gave Ginny an odd cold look, before turning to smile flirtingly at Harry.
Harry, as usual didn't notice them.
"Hey, guys. What's wrong?" Harry asked at seeing the flushed faces.
"Nothing." All three responded without looking at him.
Harry shrugged before sitting down with Ginny, oblivious to the stares he was getting by the two smirking girls sitting behind him.
xxx
"This isn't working! We have to come up with another plan." Damien said as he threw the glass orb away from himself in annoyance. It had now been ten days since they planted the glass orbs and they were yet to catch someone spiking the drinks.
"We just have to do this patiently. We'll catch the traitor, we will." Hermione consoled him.
Just at that point, Ron came rushing into Damien's dormitory. They had decided to check the orbs in there as it was the safest. If they checked it in Ron's dorm there was a good chance Harry might come in unexpectedly. Also, they still were suspicious of Neville. The girls couldn't check in their dorm since Damien and Ron wouldn't be able to go in there.
"Ron, what's the matter?" Hermione asked as he came belting through the door, his face as red as his hair.
"I told you! I told you it was that scum Malfoy! I was right. It is him! He's the one trying to hurt Harry!" he said in a fast scurry of words.
"What!?! How did you find out it's him?" Damien asked, his heart pounding at his insides at the thought.
"I heard him talking to those two goons he calls friends! Crabbe and Goyle! He was telling them that he's going to make Harry pay for what he did to Voldemort. I heard him with my own ears! It's him. Hermione, I told you it was him but you wanted proof! Well, there you have it!" Ron said dramatically.
Hermione was lost in thoughts for a moment. She looked at Ron and seemed to be examining his words.
"That doesn't prove anything, Ron. He could just be making the usual big talk. Malfoy has always made brave claims and don't forget, he's supposed to be Harry's enemy in front of the other Slytherins. Maybe he was just showing off."
"Hermione! Wake up! This is Malfoy we are talking about. Don't you remember what he was like? Always scheming a way to make trouble for us and the rest for the school. This wasn't just big talk. He's planning something. Something that will hurt Harry!"
"Then we'll be ready. We'll watch Harry all day and won't let him out of our sight for even a moment." She promised. At seeing Ron's disappointed face she added gently. "I know you think it's Malfoy but we don't have any proof yet. Until we catch him in the act, we can't talk to Harry about him. He's his friend and won't want to hear anything against him. So until we have concrete proof of Malfoy's betrayal, we can't say anything to Harry."
Ron nodded his head in forced agreement.
The rest of the day, Harry was constantly in company of the four. At first he didn't seem to notice, but when Ron and Damien followed him into the bathroom for the second time that day he finally yelled at them.
"What is up with you today? Lately, you guys disappear on me at random times in the day and today you're not even leaving me to go to the toilet in peace!"
Ron and Damien just looked at him sheepishly and backed out quickly. By the end of the day, the stress was getting to all of them. They were hoping Harry would retire to bed so that they could rest as well. Unfortunately, Harry was showing no signs of going to bed.
Soon it was only the five left in the common room. Ron was about to fall asleep still sitting up in his chair. He jerked awake and looked disgruntled at Harry.
"I'm going to bed." He announced getting up from his chair. The rest got up, hoping Harry would follow their lead. But Harry stayed seated in his chair, reading his book.
"Coming, Harry?"
Harry looked up from his book.
"You guys go. I'm waiting for Draco."
All the sleep vanished from Ron's eyes. He stared at Harry, trying to form intelligent words. Nothing was coming out. He was saved from saying anything as at that moment the portrait door swung open and Draco clambered inside.
The first few moments were tense as Ron glared at Draco and Draco in return glared at all of them, save for Harry.
"Where, where are you going?" Damien asked Harry, feeling panic engulf him.
"Just out." Harry said, getting out of his chair and heading towards the Slytherin, happily ignorant of the tension in the room.
The four shared panicked looks. They had spent the whole day not letting Harry out of their sight and now he was leaving with the person they suspected the most.
"We have to say something." Hermione whispered urgently to them, staring at the two boys, standing near the door. Harry and Draco seemed to be having a whispered conversation themselves.
"What do we say? We can't tell Harry not to go and it's not like we can ask to go with them." Damien said, shooting nervous glances at them.
"…here, take this before I forget."
The four turned their heads to look as they heard Draco speaking.
They saw the bottle Draco pulled out of his robes and hand over to Harry.
"Thanks." Harry said and took the bottle of firewhiskey. Before their eyes, Harry opened the bottle and brought it to his lips.
Panic erupted around the room as Hermione pulled out her wand and Ron tore his way across the room. He ran across the length of the room while Hermione's disarming spell knocked the bottle out of Harry's hand before he had a chance to drink from it. The bottle went flying out of his hands. Harry turned to yell at the others, startled at what had happened but his words were lost in mid sentence as Ron grabbed Draco and aimed a heavy punch straight at him, catching him in the jaw.
"Ron!"
Hermione yelled as Draco's head snapped back from the force of the punch. The Slytherin stumbled back a few steps, caught off by the sudden attack. Ron moved to punch him again, not satisfied with the one punch but stopped as Harry blocked him. There was a strange sort of fire in Harry's eyes. Everyone in the room froze at the spot. Damien, Ginny and Hermione were standing behind Ron who still had his fist raised in the air. Draco was standing behind Harry, glaring hatefully at Ron, his wand clutched his hand. He would have used it on Ron if Harry hadn't been standing between them.
"What the hell, Weasley!" Draco spat at him recovering from the assault.
Ron was breathing hard, his hands shaking with anger.
"You're the one who should be doing the explaining!" he spat right back at him.
"Ron, calm down!" Hermione pleaded from behind him.
"Calm down? How can you tell me to calm down after what he was about to do?" Ron asked turning to glare at Hermione.
"Do what? What did I do?" Draco asked angrily.
"What's going on, Ron?" Harry asked angrily.
Ron turned to him, his eyes burning fiercely. He could see that Harry was furious with him. He had attacked Draco. Harry had always protected Draco, similarly to how he protected Damien. That thought only made Ron angrier with the blond haired boy. How could he betray Harry like that?
"He's been drugging you." Ron said, pointing a shaky finger at Draco.
"What!?!" Draco yelled, looking both shocked and furious.
"Ron, please. We have to explain properly…" Hermione started but was cut off.
"Explain what? It's clear for everyone to see. He must have known that we found out about the butterbeers so he tried to give Harry the next dose in this firewhiskey!" Ron gestured to the upturned bottle.
Damien picked up the bottle and was thankful to see that there were still a few drops left in the bottle. They were going to need them.
"What are you talking about!?! Give the next dose of what? What about the butterbeers? I have no clue what you're talking about!" Draco yelled.
"Draco, we know about the butterbeers. We found them last week. You've been drugging Harry with Sedare Potion using the butterbeers haven't you? You've been helping the Dark Prince." Hermione asked quietly.
Draco looked from one to the other, his grey eyes darting from Harry to the rest.
"That's…that's rubbish! I would never…Harry, you know I wouldn't…!" he pleaded desperately, looking paler than usual.
"I didn't want to believe it was you. I thought you were Harry's friend. But you've been hurting him. You're the reason Harry got addicted! Why did you do it, Draco? Was it to get revenge?" Hermione asked again.
Draco looked at Harry, desperation in his voice.
"Harry! I have no idea what she's talking about. I swear!"
"Give it up, Draco. You've been caught!" Ron said acidly.
"Caught doing what?" Draco yelled. His pale face twisted in anger and frustration
"You somehow found out that we discovered the butterbeers so you decided to give Harry a different drink. To give him another dose of Sedare potion so he gets sick again!" Ron said, curling his fists in anger.
"Shut up, Weasley! You're talking crap!" Draco yelled, his wand still in his hand but forgotten about.
"Harry, he's been helping the Dark Prince plan out attacks. That's why you were having memory lapses. It was because of the Sedare potion you were unknowingly drinking. That was what was making you sick, it was weakening you. We wanted to tell you last week but we wanted to find out who was betraying you. We found out it was Draco after all." Hermione explained.
Harry didn't say anything. His emerald gaze swept around the four before him. He hadn't spoken a word. His jaw was clenched tight, fists curled into balls. His silent anger was perhaps more frightening than the sight of him hexing.
Damien could feel himself breaking into a cold sweat. He had never seen Harry look so angry. He suddenly wished he had not listened to Ron and Hermione and had sided with Ginny on this one. Not telling Harry about the Sedare Potion had been a mistake and Damien could just tell, they were going to pay just as much as Draco. He could tell that it was costing Harry everything he had not to reach for his wand and blast the whole lot of them.
"Harry? Harry, you don't believe them, do you? You know I wouldn't do something like that." Draco asked again, his voice breaking, either from fear or hurt. Damien wasn't sure which at this point.
Hermione noticed the bottle in Damien's hand and quickly took it from him.
"We'll just prove the facts once in for all, shall we?" she said.
She took the black book from Damien and opened it. She poured what remained of the firewhiskey onto the book. Everyone watched as the liquid swirled around the bowl and disappeared. Harry was watching the book as was a pale faced Draco. The writing started appearing and listing all the ingredients that were in the firewhiskey. Damien waited for 'Sedare potion' to appear.
It didn't.
The smirk slipped from Ron's face. He grabbed the book from Hermione and stared at the writing. It had to be there! Draco had to be the one drugging Harry. It had to be him. But no matter how hard he stared or how much he willed it, Sedare potion didn't appear on the page.
Slowly, he lowered the book and looked at Harry and Draco, an expression of guilt and fear on his face.
"I don't understand! The firewhiskey? Why did you bring the firewhiskey if you hadn't spiked it?" Ron asked.
The colour that had drained from Draco's face came back in a sudden rush.
"I brought Harry the firewhiskey because he asked me to! I sneaked to Hogsmeade yesterday and I bought this for Harry!" Draco told him through clenched teeth.
Ron looked absolutely mortified. He was staring at Draco with his mouth hanging open.
"But, I heard you saying to Goyle that you were planning on making Harry pay. What was that all about?" Ron asked, confused at what was happening.
"I was just making the usual Slytherin threats. Harry knows about them. I have to act like that. It's necessary for survival in Slytherin." Draco told him resentfully.
Ron looked at Harry with fear, horrified at his mistake. He had seen the firewhiskey being handed to Harry by Draco and just assumed it was spiked. He had blurted out everything about the butterbeers and the Sedare potion. Now Harry knew that such a big thing was being kept from him.
That was why Harry had not spoken a word. He knew the firewhiskey was fine since he asked Draco to bring it. He hadn't doubted Draco, not even for a second. That was why he was still standing before him, protecting him. His icy stare was fixed on the four before him. The four people that knew about the Sedare potion being mixed in his drinks but hadn't said anything to him about it. If looks could kill, the four would have been dead by now.
Draco wanted to give back what he got from Ron. He moved towards him, his confidence back now that it was proven he had nothing to do with spiking Harry's drinks.
"How could you blame me for such a thing? You think I could actually stoop so low as to do something like that!"
He raised his wand to hex the daylights out of Ron but stopped as a hand gripped his. He saw Harry holding onto him.
"Go, Draco." He instructed quietly.
"But…"
"Just go." Harry repeated.
Draco could see the effort it was costing Harry to speak. That was never a good sign. He threw a smirking look at the four Gryffindors. They were going to get it now. He wished he could stay behind to see what Harry was going to do to them but he wasn't going to get onto Harry's bad side. Not now in any case. He left, hoping Harry did most damage to Ronald Weasley.
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So, who do you think Harry's going to kill first? Kidding! Only kidding! (or am I?) LOL! Please review. Cheers!!