CHAPTER 67

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY :)

'Confringo' Draco cried out and watched as the shelf behind Harry burst into flames, to counter it Harry threw up a shield faster than Draco could see and doused the flames with a well-placed 'Aguamenti' charm turning to face his opponent once again.

Draco threw a 'Jelly-legs' jinx his way ascertaining that he could predict Harry's next move in his head with his seer powers when Harry surprised him once again by skillfully dodging the jinx instead of blocking it or using an offensive attack, and quietly stepping away from it.

They had been at it for hours, training Harry for the final task and Draco found himself getting more and more frustrated, 'Finite Incantatum' he shouted and watched as everything in the room fell to a standstill.

Harry looked at him surprised and asked him if he'd had enough for the day.

"Shut up Harry" Draco said panting from the fight "What the hell is wrong with you these days? You haven't put up a single decent fight against me! I've been throwing all the offensive spells and you've only been countering them with shields, wards and every other protective spell there is. Why aren't you fighting back? Scared you'll hurt me? Don't believe I can take it?"

"What! No Dray, I am fighting, I would never go easy on you I promise" Harry said looking evasive.

"You lying to me Potter?" Draco asked, his voice becoming cold "Bullshit you're giving it your all! You're totally holding back, it's so obvious that it makes your lie almost sound funny" he said and was about to leave the room in anger when he saw the stricken look on Harry's face.

"Crap! Your right I…I can't seem to fight, I'm afraid to" Harry said and slumped to the floor dejectedly.

"Why is that Harry?" Draco asked him gently, coming to kneel in front of him. "You're easily the better fighter between us, heck you're probably the best in the entire school so why aren't you showing me your skill, what's been bugging you lately?"

Harry stared past him at the burnt cupboard and shuddered, all his nightmares came hurtling before his eyes and he saw himself stabbing Toby ruthlessly, hexing Ron over and over again and pummeling Zacharias Smith. The images taunted him, burning into his mind until he broke into a sweat.

Draco heard him whimper and saw that he wasn't even aware of him at that moment, "Harry?" he called out softly, putting his hand on his shoulder and shaking him "Harry snap out of it, what are you thinking about? If you don't tell me I can't help you" he pleaded "Please don't shut me away" Draco said and laid his forehead on Harry's, uncaring of the sweat that had gathered there from their last fight.

Harry looked into Draco's eyes inches away from his own troubled green eyes and sighed, "I've been having nightmares this entire year" he confessed, and Draco moved away from him looking a little disappointed "Why didn't you tell me Harry?"

"What should I say Dray?" Harry asked grumpily, missing the contact "Should I tell you that I've been dreaming about murdering people while I've completely lost all my senses or should I tell you that I'm afraid of fighting coz I don't want to see you or anyone else hurt by me ever again?"

"Almost every night Dray, I'm spearing Toby the bully with his own sword or hexing Ron into oblivion or beating up Smith into a bloody pulp, I'm afraid of what I'm capable off, of how I could easily lose control. I'm not boasting Dray, but I know that if I had seriously gone up against these people they would have all been dead!" Harry said turning away sure that he would see shock or fear in Draco eyes.

But instead of that, he heard Draco say softly "Bastards deserved it! If you hadn't dreamt of killing them, I would have and Ron would have been my number one target!"

Harry looked at him and saw only understanding in his face and fought to keep his pain from bursting forth.

"Harry, you're an idiot, in all of these fights you have never, not once, actually killed them. With your power, the control that you display is frankly amazing! Honestly I don't see The Dark Lord struggling with emotions or Dumbledore not being the manipulative bloke that he is. If I was you, I would not have hidden my gifts, I would have soaked in all the admiration and made all the lesser mortals buy me nice stuff in exchange for protection" he said, smiling a bit.

Harry snorted "I actually believe that last bit" he said and stuck his tongue out.

"What you're really afraid of Harry, is your power. It's time you embraced it and stopped being all wussy about it. Honestly if you hadn't come that night to rescue me from Toby and his gang I would have died. They were openly discussing about it in front of me, and you know what? The Bastard would not have felt the slightest ounce of remorse at the end of it."

Harry clenched his fist when he thought about the four bullies and looked up to see only acceptance in Draco's face.

"If you ever lose control, then your family and friends will be there to protect you, I have already done it in the past and I'll keep doing it as long as you need me" Draco said seriously.

Harry saw his silver blond hair gleaming from the torchlight and he felt an irresistible urge to touch it. Slowly leaning forward, he raised his hand and gently tugged at a couple of loose strands of hair on Draco's head and saw him stiffen almost imperceptibly from his touch. He carefully tucked them behind Draco's ear and watched as the other boy licked his lips nervously.

"Ha…Harry?" Draco said, looking helplessly at him as if unable to move away, which brought Harry to his senses immediately and he let his hand fall away to his side "If you hadn't been there for me I would have become a murderer, just remember that I'm not as great or as good as you think I am Dray. I feel anger, hurt, and pain just like anybody else, what I'm afraid of most is giving into it and acting upon it."

"Well for the record" Draco said haughtily "I never said you were great and I'm glad you're normal, but never for one moment think you're alone!"

Harry felt all the pent up tension roll away from his shoulders, glad that someone finally knew about his dirty little secret and hadn't run screaming from him, 'I'm going to have to practice control' he thought to himself and smiled at Draco in gratitude.

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It was the afternoon of the final task and they had finally made it without anything weird happening to them. Smith had been forced to back down once even Fred and George had started sending flying kisses his way during dinner time to the amusement of everyone, while Ron had behaved normally and seemed to have completely overcome his jealousy. Even Moody had not yet revealed his true self as a probable death eater and had not caused anyone any trouble.

Harry was eating his lunch slowly, picking away at it when Draco came running into the Great hall clutching a sheaf of papers looking terribly worried, "Harry we need to talk" was all he said and walked away from him to stand in an empty corridor.

Harry who had followed behind him immediately put up a 'Muffliato' charm around them and turned to face Draco.

"Reynald's sent me the folder" he said and showed him the bunch of papers with slightly trembling hands, "I know whose ring it is Harry!" He said and pulled out a single paper from amongst the others.

"It's Augustus Rookwood! He was captured during the first battle and was put into Azkaban after he was found guilty. He was also one of the six who had managed to escape the prison last year!"

Harry looked at the Death eater in the picture who had on a very unpleasant, sullen look on his face and asked Draco "How does this bring in Moody?"

"Imperius? Polyjuice? I dunno Harry!"

"Polyjuice…" Harry repeated softly and then looked fearfully at him "Dray, the task starts in half an hour's time! What if he's set up some kind of trap for us in it? There's no time to stop him! I have to be at the grounds right now!"

Draco fell silent and then looked resolutely at Harry, "Listen, you go ahead and do what you have to do, I'll try and stop this guy."

"Alone? Dray, if it really is Moody then you'll be going up against the most powerful Ex-Auror ever" Harry said, looking worried.

"I'm not you Harry! I'll get help and then figure out what to do" Draco said exasperatedly, pushing him towards the door.

Harry turned around and asked, not feeling happy about leaving at all "Promise you'll get help?"

"Yes you dolt, now go before you're disqualified or something!"

Harry risked giving him a quick hug and could have sworn that Draco had nearly kissed him on his cheek when Draco pushed him away gently and called out "Best of luck!" before heading back into the castle to find the one person who would not laugh openly at their discovery.

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Standing in front of Snape's door he took a deep breath and knocked "What?" came the Professor's rude voice from within the room, devoid of the all pleasantries.

"It's me, Draco Malfoy Sir, can I come in?"

After a silence of about five minutes he heard the sound of a chair scraping on the floor and moved aside when the door opened suddenly to reveal the Professor, "And to what do I owe this pleasure?" Snape asked, standing in front of him, the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Sir, you're not going to believe me but I have something very important to tell you" Draco said, wishing for the nth time that the man was more approachable.

"Fine I'll give you ten minutes" Snape said, and let Draco inside the room, shutting the door behind him.

Draco continued standing since time was of the essence and told him everything that he and Harry had discovered about Moody, leaving out their source's name and Ron's being controlled by him out of it.

"So let me get this straight, you think that Alastor Moody, Ex-Auror and close friend of Albus Dumbledore himself, is now a death eater? That is the most ludricious thing I've ever heard of since I last read one of Longbottom's assignments on sleeping draughts! Don't talk drivel Draco and go watch the tournament or something with the other children."

"Sir I'm not lying. If you want, you can see the memory I have of the ring with Legilimency. I'll prove it to you that I'm not kidding."

Snape sighed and agreed very reluctantly knowing that his godson knew better than to play around with him.

After putting Draco under the Legilimency spell, he found the memory that Draco had wanted him to see right at the surface of his mind which Draco had purposefully pushed to front before putting up his barriers again. On seeing the ring, Snape recognized it immediately and gasped. His already sallow face turned even paler and he shuddered to think of its meaning.

He quickly exited Draco's mind and said snappily while grabbing a clear vial from his shelf, "He'll be in his room right now, said he had some work to complete before the tournament. Follow me Draco; let's see if your little theory is actually right."

Draco followed his billowing robes out of the room and was mentally rejoicing when Snape cleared his throat and started the most embarrassing conversation Draco would ever have for the rest of his life.

"So, there have been some rumors in school recently about you Draco" he said in a deadpan voice, avoiding looking at Draco's suddenly flushed face.

"I…I'm not sure I understand Sir" Draco said, dying a little inside, wondering why the heck his normally stoic Professor was trying so desperately to give him a coronary.

"Oh please boy! Grow up and talk to me. You very well know what I'm talking about so don't evade the topic. If you're feeling uncomfortable, put up with it for a minute. I don't really care what you do in your personal time so this is not some stupid heart-to-heart conversation or something. I am only trying to warn you about something. This is as painful for me as it is for you rest assured!" He said as he swept along the corridors not waiting to see if the stunned Draco was following him or not.

Draco tried to hide the shock from his voice and said as confidently as he could "Yes Sir, there have been some absurd rumors about me" while muttering curses at Smith under his breath, trying hard not to think about how Harry's warm breath felt in his ear or how he'd nearly kissed him just now.

"I just wanted to tell you Draco, that if they are true, then you must reconsider. Your father will kill you if he finds out about it without a second thought, make no mistake about it, and not just that he'll kill the Potter boy as well!"

Draco felt the despondency creep up on him again and he looked down unable to refute the statement. All the fear that he'd felt during that awful month when he had avoided Harry came back three fold almost overwhelming him.

"I do not mean to frighten you child, just be wary and protect yourselves. Trust me he will not be the only one who will oppose it."

"Sir, the rumors are untrue so you needn't worry" Draco said firmly, hiding all his misgivings behind an emotionless mask and effectively ending the surreal conversation he'd just had with scariest teacher in Hogwarts!

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Professor Snape knocked on the door and waited for Moody to open it, when no one came he pushed against it and was surprised to find it open. He slowly walked into the room and saw it was completely empty, the foe glasses revealed his and Draco's shadowy forms and one or two of the sneak-a-scopes came to life.

Looking around he was about to leave when he saw Moody's hip flask lying fallen on the table with its contents spilling out and walking over to it he smelt it and drew back looking furious.

"So that where all of my potion have been disappearing off to" he said and asked Draco to come and have a whiff of it as well "Can you tell me what it is?"

"It's Polyjuice Potion!" Draco said in a hushed voice, lifting his head up to look at his grim face godfather.

"Yes it is, very good" said Snape and now looked around even more closely at his surroundings when they heard a small but distinct noise come from the trunk at the corner of the room.

Crossing over to it quickly, Snape pointed his wand at it and said 'Revelio.' Seven secret drawers appeared from nowhere and Snape wasted no time opening all of them one by one when he came to the last one and opened it slowly. Peering inside it he saw a room within the opening and held a finger to his lips to silence Draco.

Expanding the entrance to the room which was a trapdoor of sorts the two of them quietly descended into the room with Draco hidden by a disillusionment charm which Snape insisted he put on and saw in a dark corner one man standing over the fallen figure of another.

"Rookwood, what the hell might I ask, are you doing here?" Snape growled in a low and threatening voice which brought out the man into the light.

He was quite a young man but his features bore a twisted, evil smirk on them that completely distorted his otherwise handsome face.

"Snape! How nice of you to drop in, I was just about to take my last drink of Polyjuice and was just collecting a couple of hair(S) he said moving away revealing an unconscious Moody behind him.

"You won't be needing it Rookwood" Snape said, and before the man could register his movements he cried out 'Stupefy' and watched him sink to the ground ungracefully. Quickly binding him up in ropes and taking away his wand, Snape revived him and knelt before him, his eyes as cold as glaciers.

Rookwood on opening his eyes looked outraged and spat at Snape "Traitor!" he hissed and tried to break free of the ropes, "I thought you were on our side!"

"You do not have the right to question me Rookwood, I will do the talking" Snape said calmly, wiping off the spit from his face.

"He will be resurrected tonight Snape, tonight our master will come back to us!" The death eater said his eyes gleaming with fanatic joy, "Nobody can stop it from happening any longer, not even that bastard Dumbledore! Be careful what you do to me Snape, or you he will kill you when he finds out."

Snape's hand shook a tiny bit when he heard the declaration but managed to straighten up his face almost immediately "I'll ask you once more Rookwood, will you answer my questions or should I tear them out of you?"

Rookwood fell silent and looked bored.

Snape drew out the clear vial from his pocket and said "You have made your decision then?"

He said 'Stupefy' once again and opened his mouth to pour the liquid in, "Veritaserum" he said shortly to Draco who had been watching quietly as the events unfolded before him.

When Rookwood had been enneverated, Snape lost no time in questioning the man and they found out that there was indeed an ingenious plan of bringing The Dark Lord back to life that day.

He, Rookwood, had assisted in the plan by impersonated Moody and entering Darren's name in the goblet. He had also put Barty Crouch under the Imperius curse so that he would bring in dangerous, untamed creatures for Hermione, Cedric and Harry alone to fight in the first task, and had made him put a spell on the usually calm squid in the lake to take them out in the second task when the first time had been a failure.

He grinned maliciously when he spoke of how he had put Ronald Weasley under the same curse and had forced him to attack Harry, Darren's own twin to out him from the competition and lastly he gave them the devastating news that Ron had been snuck into the maze, conditioned to kill the others while Darren made it safely to the trophy which was actually a portkey to You know who himself!

Snape stood up looking livid and put the man back to sleep. Then he and Draco quickly climbed out of the trunk and hurried to warn the others of the coming dangers.

They ran towards the grounds in complete silence hoping that they made it in time to call off the tournament when they saw with shock that the four doors to the gigantic stone maze had been sealed shut already with red flags waving above them! Dumbledore was standing beside the colossal structure and telling everyone that the champions had entered and had started the battle.

Snape ran up to the older man and said "Stop! Stop the competition Albus, the whole thing is a trap!"

Dumbledore turned to the panting man with a look of shock on his face and said softly "Severus, once the doors to the maze has been closed no one can enter or leave it, there is nothing I can do about it now!"

Draco and Snape exchanged horrified looks and felt helpless. Even after discovering the nefarious plot, there was nothing that they could do to stop it. The four champions would have to stick it out on their own and hopefully make it back safely without Voldemort rising again!

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