DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I also do not make any money from this.
WARNINGS: Yaoi (male x male), Yuri (female x female) adult topics, swearing, sexual scenes and violence
PAIRINGS I know of so far: (pairings will be added as they are mentioned in chapters)
Ron x Hermoine, Blaise x Cho, Neville x Cho, Saito x Draco
This has not been Beta'd.
'text' is thought
"text" is talking
Hidden Element
Chapter 32: Manor
Elementals:
Ice and Void – Draco Malfoy
Fire – Pansy Parkinson
Earth – Blaise Zabini
Nature – Cho Chang
Light – Cherrie Everdeen (OC)
The Forgotten:
Electricity – Saito Blackstar (OC)
Animal – Carsly Hendricks (OC)
Shadow – Alakai Petrovski (OC)
Water - Yasmin DiAngelo
Wind - Miya Hendricks (OC)
He apparated into the back garden with a soft pop, not at all sure if he really wanted to do what he was about to. He knew this house, more a manor, like the back of his hand.
Its massive grey stone walls that never cracked with age clashed with the thin vines of ivy that scaled the massive building. An ironic sign that it had, indeed, been there for quite some time. Its curved edge window frames still neatly in place, windows and curtains open to let in the fresh cool breeze and the warm rays of the midday sun. The arched heavy wood door with steel handle and bolt, two torches on either side of a small patio that lit whenever someone came near.
It was a handy device for house elves, being able to see when to open the door rather than wait for a knock that could most likely disturb the master or mistress.
He could never forget the massive expanse of land covered in dark and exotic plants. He never knew precisely what it was his mother had planted, but let's say she had Lucius ward them when he was younger so he didn't accidently lose an arm running into a bush.
Malfoy manor would always be considered home; no matter the fact he had lost his family in it, or had given refuge to a mad man that had threatened said family. It had his childhood memories, his first spells, breaking vases and blaming it on house elves. His first time in the air, at the back of his fathers broom and holding tightly to his waist lest he fall, in a midst of giggles at how good it felt.
Even the bad recollections which mainly stemmed from the dungeons came to the forefront of his mind, and unsurprisingly, more often than the good. However, they are memories which had helped shape him none the less.
He moved through sliding doors and up glistening stairs, the banister slightly dusty with a trail of finger marks from sliding it across. One could tell without a second glance that the manor had been unoccupied for quite some time. Five years, in fact.
He trailed past doors, some closed, some open, till he arrived at one door in particular which he gingerly touched the surface of with his now dusty fingertips (courtesy of the railing). A varnished cherry wood door, thick with silver curved handles. Engraved on its surface was a giant serpent, an animal he had been enamoured with at the time. Oh, what a young age that had been.
He smiled fondly, at least happy by the fact that his ancestral home still stood there for him to visit whenever it pleased him.
He breathed in deeply, trying to calm himself. He would need it, to both ask and receive. Draco opened the door resolutely, closing it quickly behind him before anyone could have seen him standing indecisively in the hallway, if at all.
Green and silver from the house he had wished to be settled in. Cream carpets, ceiling and curtains, opened wide to a view of his mothers expansive garden. Slytherin green walls with a silver lining of small serpents in the middle of the wall and just below the top crease where wall met ceiling. There was no fireplace, his father having taken it away in means of 'preparation' for the cold atmosphere of the Slytherin dungeon.
It had been a happy room, no evil, even Voldemort and death, had never touched this room. It was still pure in his eyes, still worthwhile to traverse the nightmares to stumble upon this one dream.
Yet, looking on it now, he could barely glint an aspect of the room that was not some form of preparation or slight nudge in a different direction of thought. He could see how he had clearly fallen for the 'grooming' trap.
He might have stood there for a moment longer than was intended as hands were instantly around his waist, instantly pulling him closer and gripping tight. It was a familiar feel, warm and strong, one he sighed in relief of. This was normal now; it didn't make his stomach jolt or his hands clammy with unease.
"I thought you'd never come back."
"I've been gone for longer, you know." Draco comfortably trailed his hands up Saitos chest to loop around his neck.
"Never with friends from before, never with them...with him.." Draco bit his bottom lip as he merely rested his forehead to his lovers chest.
"You spend time with your...friends...all the time."
"I just..." Draco smiled softly and gently touched his left palm to Saitos left cheek, cupping it gently.
"I thought I told you before. No matter what happens, no matter which side, you will always have a place in my heart, and I will never fight you because of it." Saito smiled in turn, nuzzling into that soft hand.
"And I will never harm you, will never let anyone harm you."
"I know. I trust you, I trusted you long before I knew who you really were."
"Are you back now, or is this just a temporary visit." At Dracos wince he hugged the blonde closer.
"You look different; I don't think life there is treating you well. You look tired, not eating enough or both."
"I probably am. I'll be back sooner than you know it, its just that we've been having problems that we've been needing to sort out.."
"Not panning to attack me in my sleep are you? You know I'm at my most vulnerable then." He fluttered his eyelashes mockingly, gaining a hit to the shoulder from a slightly smirking Draco.
"I wanted to ask you a question." Saito pulled back with a frown, Draco pulling him back into a hug when he noticed the look of disappointment on the others tan face.
"One of my friends is in trouble," he lied smoothly "and I need your help. You know how important this is to me." With a sigh, Saito led them to the bed, slowly down on its plush covers, allowing Draco to rest on his chest.
"If it were anyone else, I would be offended, but from countless stories, I know family and friends are very important to you, so I will listen and I will tell you what I know. I'm assuming your friends a..."
"Yes. Well, the thing is that one of my friends that isn't one touched his or her wand, and now the one who wasn't is and the one who was isn't. Can you explain it?" Draco was shocked when Saito gave a dazed nod, he had not really expected him to have that kind of knowledge.
What else did the forgotten know that they didn't?
"A normal human being should never touch an elemental wand. Our connection is not the same. The element is a part of us, not just our magic. It's our eyes, heart, core, soul, mind. We think and feel with our element. It's as much a part of us as surely we have the need to breathe.
When we use a wand, our magic channels through it, focus' and aims more sufficiently. It's the mediator between your body and the end result. With this magic, the element is transferred. Where traces of your magic linger, so does the element. It has formed an attachment. It stays long after you've left, a blue print and still very much attached. It is why you were probably able to create those towers and keep the place running with only the presence of your wands.
When touching a wand, the magical residue, or the signature that there was, intermingles or smudges against whoever holds it, like when disturbing a crime scene. When you lift up evidence without gloves, your own prints get added. However, instead of just the magic wiping off onto whoever took it, the element did too, and has attached itself firmly onto that person. You said they were friends?"
Draco nodded mutely.
"What kind of friends? Do they have a history, if you know what I mean?" Draco couldn't help but blush. This conversation was so wrong!
"Possibly..."
"As friends, when you touch and hug for period of time, it will recognise it, but when the residue wears off, so will the element, as it no longer senses you. If they've had a history, which it sounds like, the element will be prominent, and it can linger for months, years, I'm unsure. The fact is that it's confused. In essence, you are in two places at once and although your friend was not the direct source, he or she picked up the wand first, so the element probably assumed.
Say your element was a sniffer dog, your two friends have either been with each other for very long or had a seriously intense relationship, as they smell incredibly alike.
In essence, your friend has become part of your other friends soul. You have to go back straight away, don't you?" Draco bit his bottom lip once more. How do you go back to idle chit chat after a revelation like that?
"No. I can stay a while." He whispered softly, not wanting to think at this point, merely content with Saitos happy smile and the feel of the beating of his heart.