DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter
Apparently some of my chapters have been causing some trouble, so if something's not working please let me know! I'll try to keep everything in tip-top shape. Oh and btw, with all the people who are supposedly reading this story, I should be averaging WAY more than two reviews a chapter…fix that please. I would love you forever. I really would.
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About an hour later a very happy, and very clean, Draco and Harry sauntered out of the steam flooded bathroom. They leaned against each other, arms wrapped around the other's waist, refusing to let go. There was no doubt in either wizard's mind. They were going to stay together and fight together no matter what. Whatever they were going to come up against in the future they would face as a pair, always.
As they came down the stairs, Harry was a little surprised to find the kitchen empty. He peered over the stair railing to see Dean and Neville hanging out on the couch watching TV. He squeezed Draco to him briefly before pulling himself away and heading toward the kitchen to scour for food, considering neither had eaten in quite some time. Draco watched Harry for a minute before joining the other boys in the living room.
"Where's everyone else?" he asked as he flopped down in an armchair next to Neville.
Dean motioned with his thumb to the door. "Outside brushing up on some wand-work."
Draco leaned his head back to look out the window next to the door. "You think that's going to be necessary?'
"Dunno" Dean answered with a shrug. "But it never hurts to be prepared."
Draco's lips pressed together in a thin line. He was worried. If proving his innocence to the Ministry had the potential to be this dangerous, did he really expect to walk away free? He shivered at the thought and tried to focus on the TV instead.
A few minutes later Harry appeared with a plate of muffins and a bowl of fruit. Draco draped his legs over one of the arms of the chair to make room for Harry to sit with him. Harry gave him the plate of muffins which smelled amazing and were perfectly made. Draco lifted an eyebrow at him.
"What?" Harry asked innocently. "Alright so I added way too much water trying to make them the Muggle way. Be happy I didn't make you eat those. I'm sure muffin slop would have been delicious."
Draco chuckled and broke off a piece. "You're cute when you mess up" he teased, feeding Harry the chunk of muffin and kissing him.
"Fank 'ou" Harry grinned with his mouth full. Draco just shook his head and laughed.
Harry swallowed before turning to the other two boys. "Did Percy leave? I didn't see him here."
Neville nodded. "Yeah. Left a little while ago. Said he was going to help his parents look for Ron."
"Good riddance" Draco growled before biting angrily into an apple. Harry put a soothing hand on his knee.
Suddenly, Susan burst through the door, her face white as a sheet.
"HARRY!" she shrieked, "The Min –"
Four loud pops made the boys jump and then scramble to stand up as four men clothed in dark navy blue robes suddenly appeared before them. They were tall and clearly muscular. They towered over everyone intimidatingly. Harry yanked Draco off the chair and pushed him up against the wall behind them, whipping out his wand and standing defensively in front of Draco. Neville and Dean quickly took their place next to Harry with their wands raised. Susan let out a squeal of fear and ran back out the door to get the others.
Behind one of the men Harry could see a rather large figure stepping through the doorway. His jaw dropped.
Cornelius Fudge.
He strolled past the line of blue robed men, obviously part of his crew, with an air of high class and authority about him. The smug look of satisfaction infuriated Harry to no end. He raised his wand to point menacingly at the approaching body. Draco took a step out from behind Harry and glared.
"What the hell are you doing here, Fudge?" he spat.
Fudge just smiled. It wasn't a kind smile though. It was the slimiest and most crooked smile a deceitful liar like Fudge could exhibit.
"Why, here to take you away, my young Mr. Malfoy!" he sneered. "The Ministry felt the need to place me back in my position of, ahem, correcting the wrongs of wizards such as yourself when poor Mr. Ronald Weasly took off."
Harry pushed Draco further behind him and tightened his grip on his wand. Draco would have protested to being treated like he couldn't defend himself, but this was not the time for his cocky attitude to get in the way. It could mean his life.
"Don't you fucking touch him" Harry threatened with a hiss. He would die before he let them take Draco away from him.
Fudge rolled his eyes, clearly bored with the situation. "Come, come now, Mr. Potter. We won't have any trouble from you. Wrongs must be righted! Wouldn't you agree?"
As if by command, the four cloaked men started to advance, grinning in obvious enjoyment of what they were summoned here to do.
Harry took a step back, wrapping a protective arm around Draco behind him. Dean and Neville took offensive stances. The four men slid their own wands out from their draped sleeves, stopping within a foot of their targets.
"Now, I'm going to ask you kindly, Mr. Malfoy" Fudge reasoned with a crooked grin. "Do come along and let's have this sorted out without a fuss, shall we?"
"Never" Draco said darkly. Fudge just shrugged.
"Very well then. Boys?"
Before any of them were able to take a step, Harry, Dean and Neville shouted Expelliarmus at three of the four approaching figures. The spells were deflected easily. The fourth that hadn't been fired on gave a quick command of Stupefy and flicked his wand at Harry. Draco pulled Harry to the ground just before the spell connected with the wall behind him. He fired back and missed, but it gave him enough time to see Dean fall to the ground with a grunt due to a leg-locking curse. Someone shouted Stupefy at Harry again which he countered with a strong Ennervate, sending his opponent crashing against the stairs. Neville had been hit with a jinx that hurled him against the wall and knocked him out cold. Dean was on the floor in a one-on-one battle with the wizard who had cursed him, frantically trying to avoid the spells he couldn't counter.
Harry tried to grab Draco and get him out of the house, but two of the men stepped in front of his path. One took a swift jab to Harry's ribs, causing him to double over. The other quickly disarmed Draco the second his eyes shifted to Harry's cry of pain. Draco lunged at the man who had hit Harry. The other man cracked his fist against Draco's jaw sending him stumbling over, drops of blood falling from his mouth. Harry was kicked over simultaneously, landing so he faced Draco on the ground. For a split second their eyes locked, sending a frenzy of emotions between them too quickly to process.
The other two men had joined the group, one having left Dean unconscious on the ground and the other recovering from being thrown against the stairs. Two of them hauled Draco up from the floor, slamming him up against the wall and securing his arms back as he fell to his knees. Harry struggled to get up only to be held fast by the remaining two men. Draco and Harry stared at each other from across the room, complete helplessness strewn across both their faces, terrified to look away in fear that it was the last time they would see each other. They tried to fight off the men who held them, but it was of no use. Fudge casually walked over to Draco and squatted in front of him with a smirk. Draco lifted his head, glaring at him in such a way that if looks could kill, Fudge would have been turned to dust. Fudge made a disapproving clicking noise with his tongue.
"Always have to do it the hard way, don't you Mr. Malfoy?"
"Fuck you" Draco shot back with a snarl. Fudge's grin disappeared and he stood up, kicking Draco in the stomach with all the power he had. Draco choked and gasped, blood dripping from his mouth.
"STOP IT!" Harry shouted trying desperately to pull free from the hands that held him firmly in his place. Fudge's smile returned as he made his way over to him.
"Well, well, well. Mr. Harry Potter. I can't but admit my surprise to find you so readily at the defense of Mr. Malfoy here. Who would have guessed you two would make such a lovely couple?"
The second he brought his hand back, Draco's fierce and unwavering voice cut off his actions.
"If you so much as lay a hand on him I swear to god I will find you and hurt you so terribly that between your cries of torment you'll wish you had never even heard of the name Malfoy."
Harry saw a flicker of pure fear cross Fudge's face, but he quickly composed himself to turn his head and grin at a steaming Draco.
"So much like your father" he said with mock sadness. He removed his wand from somewhere inside his robes and looked at it intently. "Except he didn't resist arrest, did he? No, he walked away with dignity. That's something you'll never have, I'm afraid. Oh well. I'm sure your time at Azkaban will be a fantastic bonding experience for the both of you."
Draco roared with fury and tried to lunge at Fudge. He raised his wand and waved it at Draco's struggling body. Harry let out a protesting cry as a flash of red burst out of Fudge's wand and hit Draco directly in the stomach. He crumpled to the ground unconscious.
"You son of a bitch!!" Harry screamed. The two men holding him forced him upright before hurling him into the couch. Harry flipped back against it, hitting his head sharply on the floor. He could feel the blood trickling down from his head. He heard the men head for the door to leave.
No!
He scrambled up and had to support himself with the couch, his vision doubled and shaky. With a few blinks he could see clearly enough to watch Draco being dragged out the door.
Stop! Please don't do this!
Harry stumbled after them as fast as he could. He reached the door just in time to see them throw Draco in the backseat of a beat up black coach being pulled by four mangy looking grey and white Hippogriffs. He stopped in his tracks when he saw who was already in the front seat waiting for them.
Percy.
Anger and hatred flamed through Harry as he saw Percy nod in acknowledgement to Fudge.
As they began to pull away, Harry shouted Accio broomstick! He didn't care which broom showed up first. He would not let them take Draco away!
Seamus' Firebolt flew in first. Harry mounted it quickly and exploded off the ground, trying to use all his energy to will the broom to go faster. The coach had lifted into the air and was making a steep climb upwards. Harry was in hot pursuit, his eyes fixed on the back of the coach. Then, with a sudden blast of air and a blinding light, they were gone.
Harry pulled the broom to a jerked halt and frantically searched the empty sky. Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled over uncontrollably. They blurred his vision and he tried to wipe them away indefinitely. He twisted his body around to check every possible inch of clear blue sky. It felt like his heart was being torn out of his body.
Oh god no! No, no please no!
The coach was no where to be seem.
"DRACO!!"