Chapter Thirty: The Return of Rayne
A small tap at his office door drew Severus' attention. "Enter," he set a graded pile of papers to the edge of his desk. He was not pleased with his most current crop of seventh year students.
A dark head peeked around the door. Green eyes blinked at him as Harry eased into the room. The first classes of the week were over – Severus had not expected Draco to let the boy out of his sight. Not after that little display of rage he put on this weekend.
"Ah, Professor Snape, um…Sir?"
"Yes?"
"I, uh," Harry closed the door behind him with a soft sound. "I – uh, was wondering – you know," there was a flush covering the boy's cheeks and nose.
"One word at a time please, Harry. What is it you need?"
That caused the boy to duck his head and go mute. Severus cursed Black to the lowest depths of hell for the hundredth time as he rose from behind his desk. He did not crowd the boy against the door – he walked to the crackling fire instead, taking a seat on the couch.
"Harry?"
Potter drifted closer to him, eyes and hands reaching for the warmth of the fire. The boy had a thick shirt on under his jumper and still looked chilled.
"Remember when you said you thought I needed to talk to someone?" Harry was at the hearth, arms wrapped tight around his middle.
"Yes, I do."
Harry ducked his head and canted a look at Severus. "I – is there any way to get Auror Rayne here to the castle?"
A small weight eased from Severus' chest. "Of course, Harry. I apologize for not having thought of it sooner."
"No…no, it's all right. We were all busy," the boy shook his head, his bangs falling into his eyes. "I don't – I don't think I could have dealt with both the studying and talking to Auror Rayne at the same time. It would have been…too much."
"But you would like to speak to him now."
"If he would still listen."
"He will," even if I have to make him.
"Thank you, sir." Severus was expecting the boy to hurry for the door. Harry stayed near the fire instead, shooting small glances at him from time to time.
"You are welcome to stay, if you wish," Severus had sounded the offer out in his head before speaking. "Young Mr. Malfoy, however, may become worried."
"Draco knows I came here," Harry caught his lower lip between his teeth. "He's got a pile of ancient runes homework this week. He and Blaise are neck deep in it."
"And you find yourself at loose ends?"
Harry said nothing, the sharp up and down motion of his shoulder his only answer.
Severus let out a long breath. "You may stay," he rose. "I fear I will be of little entertainment, however. I have grading to finish."
"That's all right."
Severus settled himself behind his desk, watching the boy out of the corner of his eye. Harry pulled up the ottoman and sat, knees curled to his chest, arms locked tight, watching the fire.
It wasn't long before Severus was forced to rise and scoop the boy off the cushion and settle him on the couch. It wouldn't do to let the boy fall to the floor, he spread an old throw over the thin teen.
After all, it is what any Head of House would do, is it not?
qpqpqpqp
Ginny threw her brush across the room. It hit the far wall with a resounding crack and slid down behind the chair near the hearth.
She wanted to scream. She wanted the wall to be Harry. She wanted to smack him as hard as she dared with her cane. She wanted to snarl at him. She wanted to cry.
Hot on the heels of her rage came the guilt and confusion. She sank down next to her bed, hands planted against the ground. Things weren't supposed to be this way! She slapped the ground, causing her hand to sting. It wasn't!
Sirius – her father was a mess. The problem with Harry had him all turned around. Remus had written to her, saying that he was taking Sirius away for a small vacation. It made her feel guilty, it made her mad. Fathers weren't supposed to take vacations from their children. He wasn't supposed to blow up at one of them and then hide away until he was better. He –
Shut up, Ginny, she closed her eyes for a moment, breathing hard through her nose. Just – think about it. Harry upset him so much. He's had so much to deal with. He – he still has problems from Azkaban. It'll be fine. It will be fine. You just have to figure out a way to fix this.
She opened her eyes. "Harry has to stop this," she told the silent room. Then she flinched and shook her head. "But if it is true…" She wasn't blind. She saw the upper years form a guard around Harry. She saw the signals appearing on the lentils of their dorm room doors. Everything she saw spoke to her of preparation – but against what, she didn't know and wasn't sure if the others would tell her now if she asked.
Of course they will, a part of her chided. They are loyal, more loyal than any others you have ever seen. They would tell you…if you asked.
That was part of the problem. A part of her didn't want to ask. A part of her wanted the fighting and the danger to be over. She'd had her adventures. Now she wanted to rebuild her family. I know this is how Father feels, why can't Harry understand this?
A darker, more cynical side of her muttered that Harry had no idea what family was, so how could he know how to rebuild it? The more childish side of her didn't care. She wanted the perfect image that had been held in front of her all summer. She wanted them all together, happy, healthy and whole.
She wanted it and by Merlin she was going to get it. Harry just has to understand, is all. I have to make him understand that he's family and you have to try your hardest for your family. He'll understand. He has to.
A tentative plan formed, she wrinkled her nose. She chose to crawl over to the chair instead of getting up. Her knee was already a fiery knot of pain. She had no wish of trying to get up at the moment.
Besides she needed to get down on her belly to find the brush anyhow.
qpqpqpqp
"Is Harry off to see Professor Snape?"
"Yes," Draco finished the last of his ancient runes homework with a satisfied sigh.
Blaise closed his textbook and set it aside. "Where do you want to do this?"
"Where's Neville?"
"With Professor Sprout. He'll be there until dinner."
"Good." Together they rose and picked up their work. They ambled off towards their rooms, their stride becoming brisk once their materials were tucked away.
"What now?"
"This," Draco took him down the long hall. It turned right, the candles in the scones flaring to a sputtering light as they passed. A few more twists and they were in the oldest sections of the dorms.
"I've never been down here before," Blaise peered around.
"We found it last year when we were bolstering the wards. It's from the founder's time."
Blaise let out a low whistle. "There are work rooms here?"
"The only ones left in the castle, as far as we can tell." Draco unlocked the heavily warded door. Runes were set into the ebony wood, both in sliver and in platinum. They stepped through the portal and into another time.
Draco had done much research during Harry's absence, both before and after. His books had led him to the old room his father had little use for, and no memory of anyone ever using it. Slate lined the entire room. A circle, inlaid into the stone, stood proud in the center of the room. The one in Malfoy Manor had been pure silver.
The one in the Slytherin dorms were made of platinum.
The workrooms were from a time when magic was more potent in the world. Even regular muggles had seen it, accepted it to some degree. It was everywhere in folk tales, myths of heroes and warrior wizards, gods and goddesses, creating miracles in front of ordinary eyes. Draco had a theory that somewhere along the line, magic had been drained from the world, or walled away, so that only their dwindling race, the witches and wizards left in the world were the only ones left who could touch that power that once lay everywhere.
Mystic symbols were carved into the walls of the Hogwarts workroom. Created to shield the practitioner from both the outside and shield the outside from what went on inside, it was an ideal place for Draco to start his experiments.
Ones he knew Harry would throw a fit about if he found out about them.
"What now?" Blaise understood his need to help Harry. Neither of them had wanted to tell Neville…yet. Both the ex-Gryffindors would be told of their explorations – after they had figured out which way worked best.
"Calling up a door the nameless Dark is easy," Draco set down a small leather bag. He'd accumulated a kit over the hours, days and weeks of research he'd done.
"The nameless Dark," Blaise repeated, one brow arched.
"It actually does have names," Draco ignored the other boy's tone. "Using names gets us to places. We want to find the chaotic Dark, not some village that's popped up out of antiquity."
"Right," Blaise crouched at his side. "What do you need me to do?"
"Set these at the cardinal points," Draco poured four marbles into the boy's hand.
"Marbles?"
"They were what I had a the time and I like how they feel."
"…Right."
Draco spared a moment to roll his eyes at Blaise before settling down to work. It was true that most of his things were not very…traditional. But in his experimenting, he had taken what he could find and used them to such an extent that the idea of changing them out made him frown. It was his procedure. He wasn't ashamed of it at all.
Even if he'd used some of his old childhood toys as anchors. It gave him character, damn it.
Between the cardinal points he set up the snapped off pieces of toys he'd collected. They would bind the gate between the points, drawing it to earthly focuses and not letting it warp. Warping was bad. The one time Draco had allowed it to happen, he had almost died.
He was rather proud of the fact that neither his father nor Severus knew of the fact. They would have never let him continue if they did.
Warping wasn't much of a factor anymore. Draco could build the base of a gate in his sleep – he was sure he had at times too. No, what he needed now was a way to allow things on the other side of the gate to pass through to this side – to go from the Otherworld to his world, without him on that side of the gate.
"Done, now what?" Blaise said.
"The chalk. Do you have the diagrams?"
"Yes."
"Good."
It was based on some of the more alchemical books he'd found in his great-great grandfather's private library. There had been a host of other texts on something called the Kabbalah, but Draco wasn't too keen on that system. Anything that had words greater than fifteen syllables in length was a bit much for him. He much preferred Latin.
It took a while, with some correcting on Blaise's section, but they got it done. Both were sweaty and stripped to bare shirtsleeves by the time they were done. Draco wiped the sweat from his chin with his shoulder.
"Are you sure about this?" Blaise was eyeing the elaborate circle.
"Almost positive," Draco wasn't going to lie. Not about this. "The inner circle, there? That's a protection spell for me. It will hold the Dark in that small space. We've left only a small pace for it to interact in. The rest of the circles bolster the gate and the protection circles. That last one," Draco pointed. "Specifically used incase the Dark breaks free of the first circle."
"What about you?"
Draco held up his hands. "That's what the ink job was for."
His father would surely be furious if he could see Draco now. Runes were painted onto his skin, marching up from the tips of his fingers to halfway past his wrists. It would take a lot of scrubbing to get off, but Draco was siding on the better side of caution and paranoia. Just in case.
"Right, but I reserve the right to call you a bloody fool if this goes poorly."
"You'll have to get in line, I'm afraid," Draco shook his head. "Right, let's do this."
He stepped into the circles, taking care not to smudge any of the careful lines. Activating the gate was simple.
The rest was the difficult part.
The gate roared to life around him. One of the more dangerous aspects was how close he was to the magic that created the gate. It raised the small hairs on his arms, causing him to shiver.
The dawning Dark spread out in the small space where the gate had sprang to life. It flooded into the circle. That part of the spell had worked. His jaw ached as he watched the circle fill, tension thrumming through him. If it broke – if the circle failed to hold –
It met the limit. It kept coming. Draco could feel it strain against the bonds of his magic. The circles around him flared to brilliant life, the vibrant colors of the chalks casting colored light on the dark gray walls.
The circle held. The Dark swirled in its trap, furious and mad, looking for a way out. Draco was about to give it one.
He touched the appropriate rune. A small jet of Dark came rushing at him He let it come.
The floor seemed to go out from under him. There was no light, no sound, nothing. There was something breathing in the Dark with him, something huge and hot, with moist foul breath that battered his skin on every exhale.
This was not part of the plan.
Rage pushed away the fear that had frozen him in place. His magic roared through his veins. The same odd, stretching feeling swept through his bones. He though the heard something whimper in the Dark.
Then the world came rushing back around him. He fell to the floor in a heap, knees unable to hold him up.
"Draco? Draco!"
The Dark fled through the gate, wiggling like a thousand angry serpents as it was sucked back to the world it belonged in.
"Draco Malfoy!"
He turned his head to find Blaise standing with Neville and Harry. He blinked – or at least he thought he blinked – and tried to smile.
"Busted, eh?" And then he fainted.
qpqp
Harry shifted his grip on the hand he held. Draco glanced at him and forced a smile.
"That was," Harry's throat felt tight. "You – you – that was so stupidly Gryffindor of you, Draco Malfoy!" To emphasize his displeasure he smacked his irritating boyfriend upside the head. The others were too busy gawking at him to flinch.
"Harry!" Draco rubbed at the offending spot. "I already apologized." A grin lit his face. "You sounded positively Slytherin right now. We're so proud."
"Draco!" He would have thrown his hands into the air – but that would have meant letting go of the hand he held and he wasn't about to do that. Not for a while.
He'd been dreaming about falling into the Dark. He hadn't been scared, because he'd heard the sound of leathery wings – how and why he'd known what the wings were made of he was not sure – but he had not been afraid.
Until the sound of wings had disappeared. Severus had let him go without a word, and Harry had met Neville in the hall. Both of them had made their way into the dorm – when Harry had seen the empty study tables he knew. Neville hadn't bothered to ask- he merely let Harry lead the way into the warren of dusty halls, until they'd found the workrooms and let themselves in.
Of all the damn foolish things, Harry gulped down a shout. The blond had come around quick enough – they hadn't dared call an adult. Harry knew what Professor Snape would have to say about their antics.
Harry had had enough of being shouted at for one month.
Draco ran his free hand over his face and turned to the others. "Could we have the room, please?"
"Sure," Blaise rose to his feet. Neville's fierce look did little to rattle his composure. Harry almost envied the two that had been brought up in Slytherin from their first year – there was no way Harry would have been able to hold it together under a glare like that.
Once they were gone, Draco turned to face Harry. They were in the middle of the now-ruined circle. The chalk lines were dark and faded in places. Two of the marbles Draco had used as anchors had cracked and shattered to dust.
Harry hoped Draco understood just how close he had come to losing everything.
Pale eyes studied Harry. "You're still angry."
He let out a breath. "Yes and no."
"Because I risked this."
"Because you could have died, idiot."
That got him a narrow-eyed look. "Harry," Draco's jaw flexed. "Will you let me explain this before you blow up?"
Harry gripped the hand he was holding tighter. "I'm not going to blow up," he shook his bangs out of his eyes. "You scared me, Draco." He lowered his eyes. "I can't – I couldn't – you…"
The world tilted and Harry found himself breathless on the floor. The blond's lunge had knocked them over, splayed out across the broken lines of power.
"Let me explain," Draco murmured into the soft skin of Harry's neck.
"All right."
"If you're going to be angry at anyone, then be angry at Homer."
"Who – Why him?"
"It was his idea."
"It was?"
"Well, not exactly, but he gave me the idea."
"And this absolves you of responsibility?"
"Of course not, but it's still not my fault."
"…That makes no sense."
"I'm still explaining here."
Harry could feel Draco's smile. "Sorry, sorry. Explain away."
Draco shifted them until they were as comfortable as they could hope to be on the rock surface. "You risk the Dark every time you go…elsewhere." Draco laced their fingers together. "Homer had a point when he told me that in order to keep you grounded, I would have to know the places that you go."
"But that's…"
"Hush, Harry. I know it probably seems foolish, but he's right. How am I supposed to find you in all of the Dark if I never go as well?'
"Then we'll go together. Idiot."
That earned him a poke in the ribs. "That was the plan."
"Then why…?"
"I wanted to test it first."
"You could have been killed, Draco."
"I was fine."
"Two of your anchors broke."
"I still had two circles of protection up."
"Merlin save me from paranoid Slytherins."
"You're one of us now, Harry. Don't forget."
Harry curled a hand into Draco's shirt. "How could I?"
"Harry…"
"We'll go together," he cut Draco off.
"What?"
"If you're so set about this – fine. But don't do this again, Draco." He poked the blond in the side, causing him to yelp and squirm. "Don't you ever do something like that again. We're in this together, damn it. I can't – I can't lose you, Draco. Not you too. If you di-,"
Hand curled around his cheeks. Draco's mouth covered his. Harry closed his eyes and held on tight, pulling them chest to chest, until it felt like there was no breath of space between them.
I will never let you go, he curled his arms around Draco's neck. Never in a million years.
qpqpqpqp
"Harry?"
He looked up at the sound of his name. Professor Snape stood at the end of their study table. Draco blinked up at their Head of House, quill hovering over his notes, a steady splat of ink mucking up his notes.
"Draco," Harry nudged his foot. The blond glanced down and swore, wand flicking over the mess.
"Sir?" He turned his attention back to the Potions Master.
"Auror Rayne is here to see you."
"He is?" Harry set down his quill. "I – is he going to come in here?"
"I thought it would be best if you were to utilize my office. I will, of course, be elsewhere."
"Thank you, sir." They had the Common Room to themselves – an oddity for that time of day, and something Harry knew would not last. He wanted to speak to John – just not in front of all of his Housemates. Even if they would never say a word to anyone about it.
Draco gave his foot an encouraging nudge. The blond thought it was a good thing for Harry to speak to the Auror, he'd been championing the subject for weeks when he thought he'd be able to get a word in on the topic.
Harry nudged the foot back and stood, leaving his books and notes on the table. "I – uh, don't know when I'll be back," he eyed his homework.
"Go," Draco flicked his fingers at him. "I've enough work to do in Ancient Runes as it is."
"I thought you finished that?"
"Yes, but I need to be ahead, Harry. Really, now."
He swatted at Draco's head, but the other boy laughed and ducked out of reach.
"This way, Harry," Professor Snape's voice cut in.
"Yes, sir." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and followed the older wizard to his office.
Severus stopped just shy of the door. Dark eyes stared down at him. "Should you need me, Mr. Potter, merely shout. I will not have you come to harm."
"Thank you, sir," he had to look away.
"Auror Rayne is inside," a billowing sleeve swept the way for him. He stepped forward, gripped the knob and walked through the door.
qpqp
Severus folded is hands inside of his sleeves, staring at the wide expanse of wood that barred him from his office.
I should have taken those quizzes from my desk, the small, responsible part of his mind chided. Now you'll be up half the night to finish them.
He ignored the voice. Potter…Harry had needed a secure place to speak to the Auror. Albus had offered his office, but Severus was leery of having Harry speak where Phineas Nigellus Black could listen. Portraits always were such gossipy things, even the old Headmasters, addled by their years, would take a wander off through the other paintings. He had often wondered how Albus kept them from spilling the Order's secrets for so many years.
"He'll be fine."
Draco had joined him at his silent contemplation of the door. He hadn't heard the boy's approach. Sloppy, Severus. You should know better.
"Of course he will be," he answered.
Draco tilted his head to one side. The pale eyes were narrowed with a look Severus knew far too well.
"What are you planning, Draco?"
Pale eyes shifted to him. "I'm not planning anything," a smile that would have done a shark proud beamed up at him.
"Draco."
"Though, wouldn't you say it would be better if Harry and that idiot Black patched things back up?"
He rounded on the boy. "What madness is this?"
"Hear me out," the smile never dimmed. "Harry won't think of it because he's still too Gryffindor in a lot of ways, but think – we know Black has that bloody Healer held over Harry's head. All Harry has to do to avoid that nasty issue is to lie to the man."
"Harry had to lie all summer, Draco."
The smile vanished. "I know," it came out on a sigh. "But it's the only way I can see Harry avoiding Black's idiocy with ay degree of sanity."
"He doesn't like to lie to his…family."
Draco's hand cut through the air. "We are his family," the proud chin tilted up. "I have no idea what's going through Lupin or Ginny's minds, but Harry has never lied to use. He trusts us," he canted a look at Severus. "Which means we have to trust him, Severus. And not lie to him, even when we would rather."
"Gryffindors," Severus felt the muscle in his jaw tighten.
"Yes."
They both studied the closed door. "Have you spoken to him of it?"
"I was going to wait until after the good Auror left. Harry would feel obligated to tell the man of his plans."
"Rayne has as little love for Black as we do."
"Yes, but the whole lying-to-his-godfather plan might impugn on his sense of moral decency."
"So?"
"I'll speak to Harry after and get him to write to Black before he speaks to Rayne again."
"Harry will see through you."
"Of course he will and then he'll agree to do it."
Severus stifled a sigh.
"It is the best plan we have."
"A sad, but true, fact."
Conversation died between them. They both waited in front of the door until the sound of returning students shook them from their posts.
Severus had been right. He was up late studying the papers that had set idle – and blank – on his desk.
qpqpqpqp
Harry studied the slanted script of the letter.
"Did it work?" Draco peered over his shoulder.
"It seems it has," he set it aside, letting Draco snatch it up.
"They went to Italy?"
"To the villa on Capri."
A pale eyebrow rose. "I can't believe they got all the lands back in the settlement."
"He is Sirius Black. There is nothing he do wrong in the public's eye." Even to his own ears it sounded bitter.
"Harry?"
Ginny stood just behind them. Both hands were clasped tight around her cane.
"Yes?"
"You – you really did it? You wrote to Father?"
He felt Draco's hand settle in the small of his back. "Yes, Ginny. I wrote to Sirius."
"Oh, Harry!" She threw herself forward, arms going around his neck, knocking the breath out of him. "You have no idea how happy this makes me! Father won't be mad anymore! You'll come home!"
"Yeah, Gin. It'll be fine, now." Harry worked his jaw, hoping she missed the tightness in his voice.
She drew back, her eyes bright. "Is he coming home? Are we going to spend Samhain together?"
"No, Remus is keeping him in Capri," his heart twisted at the way the hope dimmed in her eyes. "We'll – ah, we'll spend it together, eh?"
"Really?"
"Really."
"Harry!" She hugged him again with a squeal of joy. He met Draco's gaze over her shoulder. The blond's expression was wry, but resigned. They'd planned on spending Samhain together, but Harry knew Sirius wouldn't trust him right off the bat. They would need a witness to prove he was trying his hardest at being Sirius' perfected image of James Potter's son.
Even if the whole plan made him mad enough to spit nails.
Ginny drew back once more. "Oh, I can't wait to tell Pansy and Millicent!" She jiggled in place. "Maybe…" Her gaze darted between Harry and Draco. "Maybe we can all, ah, celebrate together?"
Harry felt some of the tightness leave his chest. "Sure, Gin. Pansy and Millicent, Blaise and Neville too. Everyone who wants to join in can come."
"A House party!" Her eyes lit up. "Pansy will go mad! We have so little time to prepare!" She spotted the two older girls as they entered the Great Hall. "Pansy!" She took off without a backwards glance.
"I didn't think she had it in her," Draco murmured.
"Maybe she'll come around."
"Perhaps." The hand at his back pressed tight. It was enough to know that Ginny wanted the whole House together. Perhaps he would not have to hide as much as he feared.
He turned back to his breakfast in a much better mood. The guarded letter from Sirius was gone, probably folded away into one of Draco's pockets. They had a lesson with Pythia that weekend. Auror Rayne would return the next week for another session with Harry. October was almost at an end, the month having flown by before Harry's eyes.
As a crack of thunder broke overhead, Harry had a moment of hope. Maybe things will get better from here on out.
End Chapter Thirty