Chapter Seven: There's More than One Way to Skin a Dragon

Disclaimer: You should KNOW this by now... I own nothing.

HP-Lette-Fan: Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it! You know, I'm sure I read a Blaise/ Neville story a long time ago- I just loved the way it worked out and decided to stick with it.

Guest?: Thanks, there will be lots more, I've got a lot more saved just waiting to publish!

shmehh29: I know, right? I love it!

Belldandy55555: He's a scary, scary man- I think he scares himself a bit 0.o

Thanks all for the reviews!

Draco peered cautiously over the edge of the bed at the rather ruffled Harry Potter. His heart soared when they made eye contact.

"Harry," he said, reaching out his hand to help the raven haired teen, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine Malfoy- and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep- I was just trying to speed up the whole process I guess, and you were having nightmares. I *really* didn't mean to fall asleep..."

"Harry, slow down. What are you going on about?" Draco asked calmly. Harry did not miss the use of his first name.

"Zabini said that you had some sort of curse on you. He said that if someone you disliked or hated touched or felt the same toward you that it would heal you. You fainted out on the grounds, after his charms spell. Madame Pomphrey said you might not make it... I was just trying to help. I am so sorry."

"Wait. A spell that does what now?" Draco asked, eyes wide.

"He said it was really old. Like ancient dark magic. It has to be an enemy, or someone you dislike to touch you. Or vice versa- they can hate or dislike you. Since we used to fight a lot...I thought it would help."

"While that would be rather brilliant for a spell," Draco said, making a mental note, "it does not exist- to my knowledge- nor was I cursed with it. I apologize that you were misled." Harry blushed deeply, embarrassed and Draco did his best not to notice. "However, Harry, as much as I deeply appreciate the gesture- I really do- I don't hate you."

"You don't?" Harry asked, confused.

"No. I don't. Now, what else were you saying? Someone struck me with a charm?"

"Yes. It was Blaise, you were still awake do you remember that? It was a disillus-" Draco cut him off with a howl of rage.

"That fucking idiot! I'll kill him!" Draco shrieked, noticing that his scars were all visible, he was hideous. "Oh I swear to god, I'm going to fucking peel his skin off with my bare hands!" Draco was roaring, angry.

"Mal-Draco, it's okay. The charm can be replaced. It's just a charm. I have scars too. Not as bad as yours, but pretty bad. They're all down my back. I'm not judging you for them and I won't tell anyone."

"It's not okay," Draco said, falling back onto the bed, covering his face with a pillow, and moaned "it's not okay- the damage has been done."

Draco knew now that Harry would never see him as beautiful. Ever. He wanted to cry,

"Did anything else happen that you're aware of?"

"Um...no. That's it really. Oh, wait. Zabini did say he had done something. Said to tell you he had accomplished something. Didn't say what. Just said to let you know. Do you know what he's-" Draco cut Harry off again, this time with a loud whoop, pumping his fist in the air.

"Okayyyyy?" Harry said, confused.

"It's nothing- I'll tell you later if you'd like. Just... not right now. We've been trying to help someone- he finally did, he finished it."

"With Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"Yes- with Hagrid... No Death Eaters have been back have they? Nothing else happened?"

"No. Nothing. McGonagall is considering closing the school though," Harry sighed wistfully, "a lot of students are gone...The Death Eater attack was really bad- even though no one really got hurt, a lot of student's have been removed by their parents. Plus, those creatures? Merlin knows what those were."

"Creatures?" Draco ventured. Harry nodded,

"When school started- everyone was really down about Dumbledore being dead and Voldemort rising and family members being dead... McGonagall thought it would be a good idea to host a mock quidditch game a little early- to cheer everyone up. We were all playing when the Death Eaters burst onto the field. Bellatrix LeStrange was there," Harry thought back to the tapestry at Grimauld place, "aren't you related to her?"

Draco nodded and shrugged slightly,

"something like that... I'll explain another time. Go on."

"Okay- well the Death Eaters (they were actually mostly students, probably earning their marks) attacked and then, when I thought a lot of people were going to die, these two creatures swooped down out of the sky. I don't know what they were- or even where they went. They were pretty awesome though- once we figured out they were just helping. You didn't see them?"

"No, I didn't see anything."

"Okay well, one looked like a sort of bloody dragon. The other one was wild. It had huge black wings. I mean huge. It's skin was kinda gray and looked a little scaly- with long fingers and ridiculous talons. Huge talons- like Buckbeak-"

"Buckbeak?"

"The Hippogriff that Hagrid had... remember?"

"Oh yeah," Draco said, feeling uncomfortable.

"Yeah. It sort of appeared human though. It's legs were bent oddly, like a horse I guess? Or a werewolf? Well they swooped down and the dragon one's tail had these bright feather looking things flowing from it, but they were sharp. When it passed Hermione, it sliced the bottom of her robes up. It circled around us. We thought it was an attack and hit it pretty hard with some spells. Then, as the Death Eaters got close, the other one- with the big wings- fell on top of us, the two of them sorta made a barrel and we were protected. We tried to push the one on top of us off, the others got cut up pretty badly when they touched it's wings though. Bellatrix killed that one- I heard her say the Killing Curse." Harry seemed kind of sad at that and became quiet.

"Did... did you get cut? By it's wings?"

"No, for some reason it didn't effect me at all..."

"Shame it died. You seem really disappointed."

"Well yeah... it saved my life."

"So did the dragon."

"Yeah, it did. I've seen dragons though- the other one... it was just special I guess. I know it sounds weird. I always enjoyed learning about different creatures here though- it's completely different than the muggle world... I don't know... it was just awesome."

Draco felt himself swell with pride and he did his best to supress a grin. He decided to continue the conversation,

"where did they come from? No one knows what they were?"

"No one knows anything about them. Neville suggested they were stirred up out of the Forbidden Forrest by the Death Eaters. Ron thinks maybe they were put here by McGonagall, like guard dogs since the wards aren't as strong as they used to be. Luna thinks the school created them somehow... or something. Dean believes it was some kind of a spell someone cast. Hermione is convinced they're real and Seamus thinks we all imagined the whole thing."

"What do you think?"

"Oh they were definitely real. They could have come from the forrest I suppose, that would make sense. Hermione's got us all trying to figure it out now."

It was then that Harry and Draco heard someone open the infirmary doors, someone was coming quick- several voices. Snape and Narcissa were bickering back and forth... something about a sleeping potion. McGonagall was speaking with Madame Pomphrey. Draco looked panicked, he couldn't do a disillusionment charm as well as Blaise could. Shit. Harry noticed his panic and waved his wand, whispering a small spell to make sure the curtains stayed locked tight. Then, quickly, he removed his robes, stripping down to his tee shirt and jeans- tossing them to Draco. Yet, Draco didn't move. He seemed frozen.

"Malfoy! Hurry! Put them on, they're coming!"

Draco couldn't breathe. His mouth was dry, his body trembled sporattically. Harry was stripping. Part of his tanned, and very tone, abdomen showed as he pulled his robes off. When Harry urged him, he managed to snap out of it enough to slide the robes over his head, smiling.

"Thank you," he managed to whisper. Harry nodded, drawing his wand and whispering another disillusionment charm. This one wasn't nearly as good as what Blaise could accomplish- but would do the trick for now. He was only focusing on the face, afterall. Draco straightened his hair the best he could with his fingers.

"HARRY POTTER! YOU OPEN THIS CURTAIN RIGHT NOW!" Oh, Pomphrey was angry.

"Draco! Draco! Honestly, what the hell..." that was Narcissa.

"Alohomora!" That was Snape. Harry shoved his wand in his pocket, straightening his shirt. Everyone just stood there a moment- staring at each other.

"Sorry- um- I had to uhh-"

"I was concerned the Death Eaters may come back, had some pretty bad nightmares. H-Potter here was kind enough to stay with me and locked the curtains." Draco lied smoothly, managing to look frightened and grateful at the same time. Harry turned to look at him, shocked. "It's okay, they're adults, I'm sure they understand. I don't mind them knowing." Draco said, disguising Harry's shocked look.

Harry couldn't believe Draco had pulled that off quite that smoothly. Everyone seemed to believe it too, everyone but Narcissa and Snape. They all moved forward to run their tests and speak with Draco, making sure he was okay. Narcissa, however, didn't move. She just stood there, staring. She made Harry very uncomfortable and that was an understatement.

"I guess I'll be going. I'll- see you later Malfoy." Harry said, Narcissa's eyes narrowed at this- but she said nothing. Draco nodded to him in response. As Harry left, she maintained her stare, turning herself to watch him as he left. She gave Harry the chills. Draco watched in amusement- he knew now that she knew.

"It's amazing. You've made a complete recovery Mr. Malfoy, I dare say it's a miracle!" Pomphrey said, scanning Draco with her wand.

"Black," Narcissa corrected.

"It's okay Mother, I don't mind."

At the sound of her son's voice addressing her, Narcissa rushed forward- tears in her eyes. She flung her arms around her child, hugging him tightly,

"I'm so happy for you Drake- so so happy." Draco blushed.

"Motherrrrrr, please." He groaned. Quickly, Narcissa composed herself.

"Yes, well, I'll let them check you out- make sure you're okay. I want to talk to you later though, I want to talk about this Draco. I'm serious."

"Yes, Mother."

"I'm going now to go buy you some new robes, these seem a little... large. You really should eat more." When no one was looking, she winked. Draco blushed harder.

"Yes, Mother." With that she was gone, dragging Snape with her.

"Well, Mr. Mal-Black... Draco, you may leave whenever you're ready. Do try to be here tomorrow for a checkup please," Pomphrey said, beaming with pride and the medical miracle she had helped with.

"Yes, Madame Pomphrey, I will." Draco replied, and with that- she was gone.

The only two left were McGonagall and Draco. She hadn't moved the entire time, just stood there, her hands folded in front of her, waiting.

"Draco-" She started to say, and then paused for a moment, looking pensive, "Zabini told us what-" she paused again, unsure of what to say. Then she leaned forward- pulling Draco into a tight hug, tears in her eyes, "thank you, Draco, for everything you've done. You will have sanctuary here, as long as I live- I can promise you that." With that, she turned and left. Draco was grateful, *that* had been very uncomfortable.

Standing from the bed, Draco noticed Harry had left his books and school bag behind. Picking them up, Draco slung the pack over his shoulder and went in search for Blaise. He'd return the books later. First thing was to find Blaise, he had a few...words... he wanted to say to his fellow Slytherin. He'd also need his disillusionment charm strengthened. Draco could smell Harry all around him- thanks to the robes- and it made it easier for him to think clearly. The Veelan pull inside him was still calling but it was a numb pain- far in the back of his mind. He'd find Blaise, searching the castle room for room if he had to. It didn't take long to find him either, though Draco felt it had taken hours. All it had taken was waiting for lunch.

When Draco entered the Great Hall he had to pause. Everything had rearranged itself, all the house flags flying over one long table. That many students were gone. Draco paused, staring in shock a moment, before heading down to where Blaise was sitting... with the Gryffindors.

"Mind your fucking manners," he heard Harry hiss at some of his own housemates who had stopped to stare at Draco as he approached. If Draco hadn't been a Veela he wouldn't have heard them, so he pretended not to have. Blaise was sitting next to Longbottom, staring cautiously as Draco neared.

"Zabini- glad to see you're well. In one piece," he sneered so that only Blaise could hear him, a fake smile plastered onto his face.

"DRAY! Come, have a seat! The food's good- though the company is lacking."

Draco took a seat next to him, leaning in closely to snarl, "I'm going to fucking shred you."

"Ah! Well, good to know you made your recovery *mate*!" Blaise said, his eyes wide and letting Draco knew that he knew. Frustrated, and not willing to skin Zabini where he sat, not in front of everyone, Draco chose not to reply. Or kill him. Though it wasn't because he wasn't considering it.

"Nice robes." Blaise whispered sarcastically.

"Go fuck yourself." Draco snapped back. Then he realized he still had Harry's pack and books,

"oh, I almost forgot. Harry, you left these in the infirmary, thought I'd repay you a bit for helping Pomphrey and bring them to you," Draco said, passing the bag to Hermione to hand to Harry. He smiled genuinely back at Draco.

"Thank-"

"Harry?! We on a first name basis with the git now?!" Ron barked, trying to sound agitated through a mouth full of food.

"Ron!" Hermione and Harry chastised together. Ron just rolled his eyes back at them.

"whatever."

"So," Hermione said, still glaring at Ron but trying to change the subject, "where do you all think Prof- Headmaster McGonagall has been all day?"

"I saw her briefly in the infirmary before they released me." Draco offered, an attempt to be friendly.

"Yeah, she was there right before I left- why? Has she been missing?" Harry asked, interested.

"Well, last night at dinner, she rushed out when Hagrid came back. At a dead run mate," Seamus answered.

"We all know she doesn't run anywhere, and she was still gone this morning too," Ron added.

"Where did you two go Blaise?" Hermione asked.

"Er-" Blaise struggled for an explination that wouldn't be questioned.

"He was in the infirmary when we got there," Harry interjected, grabbing a roll and biting into it. Draco shot him a grateful smile.

"Guess I just panicked," with that, Blaise shrugged and tried to look sheepish- a look he wasn't good at, "Dray and I grew up together, I've never seen him like that." Then he also shot a smile at Harry.

"I suppose that makes sense, " Hermione said, her look thoughtful, "I've kind of freaked out over Harry and Ron before. Something is up though- she's acting too strange. Harry- did you find anything out about those creatures on the Pitch?" Harry shook his head. Draco and Blaise glanced at each other- slightly nervous. "Well, I think I've found a few books that might help. I'll have to get McGonagall or someone to sign a slip so that I can check them out of the restricted section. They're all about dark creatures and the ones with the most power. It took that one quite a bit longer to die from the killing curse than it should have- it was almost like it just passed out." Draco had thought a lot about that too, why hadn't he died? He'd have to find those books before Granger for sure. It was then he'd noticed that Longbottom had his hand on Blaise's thigh. Draco spit the pumpkin juice he was drinking back into his cup- choking. Everyone turned to look at him.

"You alright?" Blaise asked, patting Draco's back while he spluttered. Composing himself and looking indignant, Draco shot him a glare.

"I'm fine, thanks," he croaked, then, when no one was looking he hissed at Blaise, "that's gross."

"Sod off." Blaise hissed back.

"Anyone want to play a game of Quidditch after lunch?" Ron asked, bored. Hermione glared and muttered something about no one ever going to the library. Harry, however, beamed,

"I'm in- Seamus?"

"Definitely- nothing to do with no Dean to hang out with." Seamus said.

"Me too." Neville said, finally joining the conversation.

"Guess I'll go too," Blaise added. Harry looked down the table,

"Draco? You *are* the only other Seeker."

"I'd hate to embarrass you Harry." Draco wasn't sure if he should go to the pitch or the library.

"Two against four then? I assume we're playing houses," Ron said, grinning, "Malfoy- you're gonna get stomped."

"Oh? Weasley, I wouldn't be so confident," he was definitely going now- challenge accepted.

"Actually, you know what? I'm going to cancel, maybe next time. I think I'll go to the library with 'Mione. I have permission right now to be in the restricted section and can help her out a bit. Sorry guys." Neville said, smiling apologetically.

"Two against three? Still not bad." Ron quipped.