Disclaimer: Not mine, never been mine. I'm not making a single knut.
"The only option you have is to start scanning them before you touch them," Harry said after the initial shock wore off. They were still in Dumbledore's office, but only the Headmaster was sitting.
"No, I think that's too obvious," Dumbledore said quietly.
"What? Of course it's obvious but the only other way is to risk Hermione being portkeyed out of here!" Harry shot back at him. "Plus, Lucius knows she read the letter. He'll know it's just an act when she acts all cool and confident and doesn't do a scan!"
"I won't tolerate being yelled at by you, Harry," Dumbledore responded, still talking quietly.
"Then you'll have to tolerate it from me, because I actually agree with Potter," Snape shot at him.
"What do you think, Draco?" Dumbledore asked the blonde.
"Damn what Draco thinks! She's going to scan her letters! She can do it inconspicuously, I know she can," Snape said, voice going lower the angrier he got. Harry surreptitiously took a few steps away from him.
"Draco?" Dumbledore asked again, ignoring Snape.
Draco looked around the room at the occupants, his gaze lingering on Hermione with a pained expression, before looking back at Dumbledore.
"Draco?" he repeated.
"He had a reason for putting it in there. It could be part of some sinister plot, or it could just be to make us do what we're doing now. If she doesn't do a scan on them, he'll know she's trying to play it cool and may step up the game. If she does do a scan, she could be doing exactly what he wanted her to. If she doesn't, she runs the risk of getting whisked out of there, or worse; we're talking curses and poisons and the like. If she does, she may be in for something bad as well, if it is part of his plan," Draco finally said.
"So, I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't, then?" Hermione asked.
"Basically. With Lucius, everything has a reason. Unfortunately, it might only make sense to him. We're talking about an unhinged man, here. He's always been demented and now he's just gone off the deep end. There's really no answer here," Draco told everyone.
"Like hell there isn't! She's going to be safe, and damn to Lucius and his trickery!" Snape spat out.
"No, I believe we should continue on how we are," Dumbledore replied.
"And if she gets kidnapped?" Snape shot at him.
"We have wards in place so that doesn't happen, and she's constantly around people," Dumbledore tried to reassure him, but Harry cut in.
"Um, I hate to put a damper on your plan there, Headmaster, but I seem to recall an event taking place my 4th year where I was portkeyed away during the evening. Yes, I was in the middle of a maze, but that was surrounded by crowds of students, parents, and teachers alike, not including the professors circling the maze, you being one of them yourself," Harry said, and Dumbledore's cheeks tinted a faint pink. "And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember THAT turning out well either."
"Yes, I think I remember that. Didn't a student die, and a Dark Lord arise?" Snape asked Harry, cocking one eyebrow.
"Something like that, yes. The details are a bit blurry," Harry said, matching his tone. Snape looked faintly amused before he turned back to the Headmaster.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not budging. I believe this is the best way," Dumbledore said.
"How can you even justify that?" Snape said, striding to his desk.
"Easy. If Lucius gets upset as Draco said he might, he will make an attempt. If he does, we can get him sooner than we thought. We'll finally have Lucius Malfoy in custody!"
A ringing silence followed this statement, and Snape slowly bent to place his hands on Dumbledore's desk, leaning forward towards the old man.
"Are you telling me," Snape said low enough to be almost hard to hear, "that this is another one of your schemes for 'the greater good?' That you're using Hermione as BAIT. That Hermione's safety is of no CONSEQUENCE as long as we get LUCIUS?"
"Severus, you're overreacting-" Dumbledore started.
"DON'T TELL ME I'M OVERREACTING, OLD MAN!" Snape yelled, making the three students jumped. "SHE'S NOT GOING TO BE YOUR SCAPEGOAT THIS TIME! WHAT, YOU DIDN'T GET YOUR FIX WITH ME OR HARRY, SO NOW YOU'RE GOING AFTER HERMIONE?" Dumbledore paled slightly, and opened his mouth to respond, but Snape was on a role now. "THE STRINGS ARE CUT NOW, ALBUS! YOU'RE NO LONGER ANYONE'S MASTER! YOU MAY BE IN CHARGE OF THE SCHOOL, BUT THAT IS MY GIRLFRIEND, AND ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST MINDS OF THIS AGE AND I'LL BE DAMNED IF I SIT BACK AND LET YOU ENDANGER HER JUST TO GET ONE PIECE OF SHIT INTO YOUR CLAWS SOONER THAN EXPECTED! WE'RE GOING TO GET LUCIUS, BUT TO HELL WITH YOU IF YOU THINK FOR ONE SECOND I'M GOING TO LET YOU OFFER HER UP JUST SO IT CAN FIT INTO YOUR SCHEDULE!"
He swung on his heel and headed for the exit, grabbing Hermione by the arm as he did so. As they approached the door, Snape knew Albus had locked it but Snape was a powerful wizard and angry as hell. The door burst open in as they neared it and he walked right out, towing a wide-eyed Hermione, without breaking stride.
The Headmaster's office was silent for a few moments while all three occupants, and the portraits, stared at the open door in shock.
"Wow," Draco said quietly, breaking the silence.
"I know," Harry answered. "I don't think I've ever seen him go off like that, except for in my third year when he found out Sirius escaped."
"No, not that: he called Hermione his girlfriend. That's such a…un-Severus word!" Draco said, wide eyed. Harry looked at his boyfriend and they both started laughing.
The pair walked out of Dumbledore's office without a glance back, still chuckling, leaving a still shocked wizard seated behind a desk.
XXXX
Over three weeks passed and Hermione didn't receive anymore mail. It was now the beginning of February and the bitter cold wasn't letting up.
"You know, the media has really romanticized the idea of winter in an old castle," Draco said through his chattering teeth one morning as they walked through the dungeons towards the DADA classroom.
When Lupin had taken over the position, one of the first requests he made was to move the class to the bottom floor of the castle. He knew it was safer for the spells he would be teaching the older students and it kept other classes out of harm's way, seeing how the only other classroom in the dungeons was Potions and that was located on the other side of the castle.
"Yeah, you always picture horse drawn carriages and girls in pretty fur coats, laughing merrily away as children throw snowballs at one another," Hermione added, rolling her eyes as she cast another Warming Charm on herself. It barely stopped the shivering, but it was better than nothing.
"Don't forget when everyone walks around the castle, it's always toasty and they all look happy," Draco said. His gloved hand was cozy inside of Harry's, but the rest of him was shivering. "What's up, babe?" Hermione and Draco looked at Harry.
Harry had been quiet the last couple weeks and would never explain why.
"Just thinking," he said his usual response. Draco rolled his eyes.
"Yes, but about what? You've been unnaturally quiet lately. Seriously, what's going on?" Draco stopped and pulled his two friends into an alcove and cast a few charms to stop eavesdropping and mouth reading. "Spill it."
"It's kind of long…," Harry hedged.
"Give us the shortened version then, Harry," Draco said, not budging.
Sighing, Harry relented. "I've just been thinking about the prophecy. I feel like there's something I'm missing! But I have it written down, and don't worry Hermione, it's charmed so no one but I can read it. I've been pouring over it daily and nightly trying to trigger my memory or instincts or whatever but it's not working! But I know there's something I'm missing. Something about it is…almost…I don't know. Familiar, I guess, to me. But I can't explain why! All I know is that I SHOULD understand it."
Draco furrowed his eyebrows. "Harry, Dumbledore went over it, and so did Severus. If there was something familiar about it, then they would have noticed, wouldn't they?"
"I know! But I can't shake the feeling. I don't know."
"Come on you guys, let's get to class. We can talk about this more later. Thank you, Harry, for putting so much effort into this, though," Hermione leaned over and gave her best friend a kiss on his cheek.
They got to class and were unsurprised to see all the desks vanished, leaving the whole of the floor open. Lupin's desk was even moved to the corner, which is where their instructor was now leaning against it. They were used to random days when Lupin would push the desks away for a practical lesson. On days before holidays, like right before Christmas, he had even had a duel-off, giving the top three winners extra credit as their "Christmas present."
"Hey, Professor Lupin," the three friends chanted and waved, then went to stand near Dean, Seamus, and Neville.
When all the students were in the classroom and stood around waiting, Lupin stood up and smiled at them.
"Defense," he started, walking towards the center of the room, "can be found in many ways. Here in Hogwarts, we teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, and as I'm sure you all remember, those lessons came in handy during the battle. However, there is much we leave out. Do not misunderstand me; the Dark Arts need to be fought. But I believe that this class should be about defense in all areas, and not just Dark Arts. But first, how do you defeat something that you don't understand? How do you prepare yourself for the worst case scenario when your eyes are closed to the possibility of other attacks? You will fight, and You. Will. Lose."
The whole class looked around uncertainly at one another.
"However, what if you knew other defenses? What if you were opened to a new line of possibilities? And what if your opponent is not? You will fight, and you may win. Neville!" The boy in question jumped slightly, and looked at Lupin wide eyed. "What are Dark Arts? In your own words, please.
Neville thought for a moment before answering. "Evil. They are used to torture or kill or to do wrong in the world."
"Five points to Gryffindor. However…what makes a spell considered Dark? Seamus?"
"Well, look at the outcome. I mean, what else could the killing curse be described as? Or Crucio?"
"Three points for you, Seamus, for a partial answer. You didn't explain yourself very well, but I understood what you were saying. However, take this into account: you mention the killing curse, yes? Well, what if I bind you, and then levitate you off a cliff. You would die, correct? But I would be using two very basic spells that are taught at this very school. What if you're hit with a stunner and fall down the stairs, break your neck, and die? A stunner isn't illegal. See what I'm getting at? Yes, Harry?"
"The intent," he said. "It's the reason behind it. If I was having a fun little practice duel with Seamus and hit him with a rictumsepra, and he laughs so hard he falls and hits his head on the stone and dies, then it was an accident. I never intended for him to get hurt. But if I'm in an argument with him and we start to duel and I corner him in front of a window and disarm him, sending him flying backwards a bit and he falls five stories and dies, then it should be considered Dark."
"Oi! Why do I keep dying?" Seamus said, and the class started laughing.
"Fifteen points, Harry! Excellent! Now, the Ministry does not see it that way. They have very specific spells that are considered Dark or not. But I believe that it's the intent that makes a spell Dark and I want you all to really understand what's going on. Intent is very important, I think. In the muggle world, in America, if you are charged for killing someone, your sentence depends on your intent. If you take Harry's first scenario where it was an accident, then it could be considered Manslaughter, because it's the killing of another person but you didn't mean to. Harry never intended for Seamus to fall and die. But if it's the second scenario and he planned it, then the American muggles could charge with him with at least Murder one," He clapped his hands. "Now! What are some defenses? Yes, Dean?"
"Well, with the disarming spell, for one," Dean said.
"Ok, I'll give you a point for that, but try to think outside the box. Yes, Luna?"
"A bowtruckle's sharp claws."
"Excellent! Five points to Ravenclaw! Yes, many animals have defenses built in. What are some others? Jared?"
"Muggles have those exploding wand things…guns, I think," the Slytherin boy said. He was one of the few Slytherins to take Muggle Studies.
"Very good! Five points for Slytherin. Kaleb?"
"Does fist fighting count?" the muggleborn Hufflepuff asked. "Back in primary school, I got beat up a couple times and my older brother saw once and came over and kicked his arse."
"Yes! Five well deserved points to Hufflepuff! I was hoping we would get to this, because today our lesson is on hand-to-hand combat!" The class full of students murmured excitedly. "Hand-to-hand combat comes in different forms, from boxing to wrestling to martial arts. I don't have the time, or the skill, to teach you enough martial arts to make you all amazing at it. However, I have the time and the skill to teach you all basics on the straightforward techniques of most combat. This is a fairly large class, however, so I cannot do it alone. I want you all to welcome your assistant instructor for these few lessons, Professor Snape."
Hermione and her two friends rolled their eyes slightly at the dramatic entrance while the rest of the class jumped when the form of their Potion's Professor materialized in front of them, cutting off his invisibility spell.
"Yes, Professor Snape has kindly given up a free period of his day to assist me in teaching you all. In fact, he's more skilled at this than I am, so I suppose that I'll be assisting him. When you passed through that door, a charm washed over you, its purpose to keep you all from talking about this to the school. You will not be able to discuss this lesson or what goes on in this classroom with anyone who is not in here right now. You are all the oldest students and I had to get clearance from the Headmaster to do this lesson. No one else is to know about this. You will get bruised up during these lessons, but luckily we have a Potions Master as an instructor who has agreed to supply everyone with bruise salve. It should go without saying, but you will all be respectful to Professor Snape, especially since he doesn't have to be here. Professor?" Lupin waved him forward and inclined his head.
"Thank you, Professor Lupin. You will all need to remove your outer robes. In these bags," he said, and flicked his wand, making two huge duffel bags appear, "you will find a set of workout pants and a plain black t-shirt. You will all take one of each and go change into them. Be back here in no more than ten minutes. Go."
The students all scrambled forward trying to be the first to get the clothes and leave Snape's sight, except for Hermione, Draco, and Harry. They were calm and stayed where they were, all raising their wands and using silent summoning spells to get the correct size pants and shirt. Snape raised an amused eyebrow at them while Lupin winked and nodded to them to go out to the bathroom to change.
When all the students were back, they all stood around waiting for further instruction.
Harry had chosen a shirt size larger than he needed so he would have the ability to move and be comfortable as he worked out. The sleeves were semi-tight on his arms, but most of his shirts were after building up living on his own for last year. All of the pants were black with white stripes down the sides.
Draco was a little vainer, and purposefully got a tighter shirt to show off his body. He didn't have rippling muscles, but he had a flat stomach with the hint of abs muscles and he wanted people to look. He especially was fond of his arms and Hermione sometimes caught him making poses at himself in the reflection of the T.V.
Hermione was smart enough to summon her trainers from her dorm (which probably seemed strange to someone walking down the hallway) since she was wearing normal shoes that weren't very comfortable for working out, and also transfigured her bra into a sports bra. She had scooped her hair back into a ponytail and was excited to start.
Snape and Lupin waved their wands and stand up punching bags appeared all over the room, enough for everyone to have their own. In the center of the room, a large blue padded mat appeared.
"Mr. Potter, please join me on the mat," Snape said, smirking at Harry. Snape removed his robe and had on the same outfit as everyone else, except his pants had red stripes down them, marking him as instructor. Lupin removed his as well to reveal a matching outfit. A few girls giggled and batted their eyelashes in Snape's direction. Lupin looked good as well, but the Potion Master's body was a surprise for everyone in the room…other than Hermione. She glared at all the girls for staring at him, and when she glanced at Snape she caught his amused smirk he directed at her.
"Expelliarmus," Snape drawled lazily, and grabbed Harry's wand out of the air. "There will be no need for a wand during this lesson."
"You could have just asked, sir," Harry grumbled, upset at being caught off guard.
"It's more fun this way, Potter," was Snape's reply. "Now, how do you intend to get it back without using wandless magic, as some of you do? That is what we will be learning." He dangled Harry's wand above his own head to taunt Harry a little more. "It should also be noted that all the pants the males are wearing are equipped with protection in the genital region, so you can all breathe a sigh of relief. In a real life altercation, I see no reason not to go for the other man's genital region, if it comes to it. Your goal is your safety." The men around the room cringed.
"Well, Potter? Let's begin."
XXX
"Ugh, I need a shower," Hermione said as she walked down the hall with Draco. Luckily, they both had a free period before Muggle Studies, so she was looking forward to a soak in the bath. "What'd Harry need to talk to Remus about?"
"No idea. He just said he'd catch up with us later because he needed to ask a couple questions. He's been really weird lately," Draco answered, trying to be discreet as he sniffed his armpit.
"You know what it reminds me of? The months leading up to the battle. I'm not sure if you remember how he was, but he got kind of closed off and would spend a lot of time thinking about things. He was always trying to go over plans in his head," Hermione said as they reached their rooms. "I think it's all this waiting that has him on edge, not knowing when Lucius will strike."
"Oh, well, that's simple really. We just need to write my father and tell him to hurry up because Harry is getting antsy," Draco said dryly as he walked into his room.
"Prat," Hermione murmured, smiling at her friend's retreating back as she walked into her room.
XXX
The next morning at breakfast Hermione got another letter. When it landed in front of, she waved her hand over it casually, as if she was reaching for her goblet, when really she was scanning it wandlessly. She detected nothing harmful, so she grabbed it and stuffed it in her pocket and continued eating.
After about fifteen minutes, they all finished and casually made their way to the Headmaster's office like normal. When they arrived, Snape was just striding into the office with Dumbledore from a different door.
"What'd he say?" Harry asked before anyone could talk. He looked a little anxious and sallow as he watched her.
Hermione open the letter and began reading out loud:
Hermione,
I find it funny that you think a potion can save you from me. Keep attempting your little experiments, but honestly, you might as well give up. I think it's funny that the thought of me is keeping you awake at night. When I want you, I will have you.
Tell Severus to back off, or there will be problems. You will regret ignoring me.
L. M.
Hermione looked up with a puzzled expression and noticed almost everyone wore the same look. Harry swore loudly and hit his fist against the chair he was standing behind.
"What potion are you making, Hermione?" Dumbledore asked, looking from Snape to Hermione.
"She's not," Harry said, drawing all eyes to him. "I said that. I told his spy that. GOD DAMMIT!"
"Mr. Potter, what the hell are you talking about?" Snape snapped.
"You know who it is, Harry?" Draco asked, looking a little hurt and very confused.
"No, not specifically yet. But it's a bloody Gryffindor. FUCK!" Harry swore again and kicked the chair.
"Harry, you will control yourself and explain what you're talking about!" Dumbledore said firmly. Harry grabbed the back of the chair until his knuckles were white and took a few deep breaths.
"I planted a false trail. The last few weeks, I've been really bothered by the prophecy and about the letters. I still can't figure out my unease with the prophecy, but I decided I was going to try and find out the spy. I was going through plans and plans in my head and every time I came close to a good one to weasel them out, I would find a flaw. I could've really used Ron during those times," Harry said, and dragged his hand through his hair, a nervous gesture Hermione hadn't seen in a long time. Draco narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, but didn't say anything. Harry began to pace. "Then I had the Defense class with Remus and I finally knew what to do. So I stayed behind class and asked him about his charm he used on the room. He taught me how to do it once I explained I was going to use it to help Hermione. Then, once I got the hang of it, I went back to my dorm and modified it. And then I placed it on the entrance to the Gryffindor common room."
"How did you modify it?" Hermione asked, staring at Harry in shock.
"With Remus, it stopped everyone from discussing it with anyone outside the classroom. I'm assuming I'm only allowed to speak of that class now because the Headmaster doesn't apply to the rules of his charm. With mine, I made it so whatever I said in there couldn't leave the room. Literally. Everything I said to someone or was overheard saying could only be discussed with other Gryffindors and by owls leaving the school. It wasn't like your spell in fifth year, Hermione, where it would give someone pimples. Mine will literally NOT let you speak about it. So, I planted a false trail and staged a pretty convincing conversation with Ginny. She thought I was really opening up to her. I didn't mention Lucius at all or the prophecy or anything. Instead, I said that I was just stressed because of you, and that you were having some issues. I made it sound like you were suffering from PTSD from the battle. I told her that you didn't feel safe most the time and that you had taken to modifying potions to save you from being abducted and that you were having nightmares. She ate it up." Harry stopped behind the chair again and hung his head as he gripped the back of the chair and leaned against it.
Silence consumed the office for a few moments.
"That was actually…very clever…Mr. Potter," Snape said slowly. "Am I correct in assuming that you think it might be…Miss Weasley?"
Harry's head snapped up and his eyes were pained for a moment before going hard again. "I sincerely hope not, Professor. There were other Gryffindors milling about, some not very far from us. I won't lie when I say that I want to keep hope that Ginny has nothing to do with this."
"You couldn't be bothered to tell us, could you? Even though I believe I've proven myself to be a good strategist. You said you could've used Ron, but you didn't even think about using me? Or Hermione and her enormous brain?" Draco snapped at him suddenly.
Harry turned his eyes onto his boyfriend; they were still hard as steel. "Calm down, Draco. I was playing this one close to the chest. I wasn't sure how it would go over with you both."
"You could've tried!"
"Look what happened when I tried explaining my unease with the prophecy! You completely wrote it off just because Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape hadn't found anything wrong with it!"
"Draco, this is just how Harry is sometimes. There are some things he just likes to do alone. It kind of goes back to the years when he didn't want to involve Ron or I because he didn't want us to have to shoulder anything," Hermione explained calmly to the blonde. He just huffed and looked away.
"Harry, what do you mean that the prophecy made you uneasy?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'm not sure. I can't really explain it, but there's something about it that makes me feel like I'm missing something. Something crucial."
"We've gone over it many times, Harry," Dumbledore started calmly, and Draco widened his eyes and gestured with his hand at the Headmaster while looking at Harry as if to say "See?"
Harry took another deep breath. "I know, sir, but I still think we're missing something. I still think that we misinterpreted it. It's the last part that bothers me, I think: Only when heart is no longer hers, will the power settle scores. The magic within must be embraced, unbeknownst will surely raze, for the magic both know not of, will once again reign above."
"What troubles you about it?" Snape asked, his brows furrowed. Dumbledore was sitting back in his chair, thinking, with his hands in front of his mouth like he was praying.
"I don't know," Harry said in a defeated voice. "I only know that something IS bugging me about it. I know it's not like my prophecy was, but still…something seems off." Harry trailed off and looked like he had an idea, but then the light was gone from his eyes just as fast.
"I think," Dumbledore said, coming out of his reverie, "that we should pretend as if nothing is amiss. Let the spy think you are really trying to develop a potion. We will figure out what to do when we get more information. For the time being, restrict what you say around Gryffindors and, I'm sorry to say, around Miss Weasley." Harry nodded sadly at that. "Let's get back to our day. If anything new turns up, inform me immediately. Harry…I would like a word with you before you leave."
XXX
"What did Dumbledore want?" Draco asked as soon as Harry joined them on their trek to lunch. The whole morning he had avoided talking about his meeting with the Headmaster and it was hard for Draco to badger him in class.
"Nothing. He wanted me to explain more fully on my unease and then wanted to talk to me about what I did to the Gryffindor common room."
"Is he mad?" Hermione asked as they made their way through the halls.
"No, not so much, but he was concerned and told me I had to run my plans by him next time," Harry said and shrugged.
"Yeah, imagine someone wanting to know what's up," Draco muttered.
"Give it a rest, Draco," Harry said. When Draco ignored him, he grabbed him around his forearm and dragged him into an empty classroom. Hermione walked in, but seeing it was probably going to be personal, went to walk out again. Harry threw up wards before she could, though, so she opted to stare at the wall and pretend to blend into the stone.
"Listen to me, Draco, and listen well. I'm not going to run every little thing I do by you. I'm not sure how your past relationships went, but I'm different. I've been watched for far too long my life, and this time I'm going to do things my way. I would've thought that you of all people could understand that. Now, I'm crazy about you. I love being with you, and I love how you make me feel when I'm with you. When I'm not with you, I can still feel your presence and it helps me sleep. I don't get nightmares anymore because of you. I don't wake up screaming Ron's name anymore and telling him to run. If I ever have nightmares, they're about you or Hermione now," Harry said vehemently, then hesitated slightly. "They're about the people I love the most."
Draco stopped attempting to pull his arm out of Harry's grasp and stared at him. Harry seemed to realize that Draco wasn't struggling and let him go and stepped back.
"I want this to work…forever. I never want you to leave me, and I damn sure never want to leave you. I love you, Draco, but I refuse to be mollycoddled and tracked. Hermione was right, earlier: I left you two out of it because that's how I'm used to operating. If something had gone down or wrong, I wanted you two as far away from it as possible. I know you can protect yourself, but I'm not going to test that by putting you in potential danger, Draco, I just won't-," Harry was cut off by Draco's lips on his.
When they finally broke apart, they were both breathing hard. Draco leaned his forehead against Harry's. "Stupid man. I love you too. We both have to work on our issues, I guess." Harry grinned and kissed him again.
After another ten minutes, Hermione threw a book at them and they all resumed their trek to lunch.
XXXXX
A/N: Thank you, thank you, so much to everyone who is reviewing. Don't be shy about reviewing after every chapter…you don't need to wait until the last one. *hint hint, nudge nudge*. These reviews help me, since I'm still writing this and it's my first one. Let me know what you like…or didn't lol. You are all awesome. Seriously.