Title: The Boys Who Lived
Author: Shara Lunison
Beta: Batsutousai
Rating for this Chapter: K+
Pairings: Harry/Henry (OMC)
Warnings: SLASH, Eventual twincest!
Summary: The Potter twins are attacked by Voldemort and somehow defeat him. Now the Dark Lord has returned and they have to choose between light and dark. SLASH, Twincest, rated M for later chapters.
Disclaim Her: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: I still haven't had any luck finding a job. Le sigh. But I've decided not to stress out too much and just let things take their course. In the meantime, I have my writing. I'm concurrently working on an original novel that is in its second draft, so I'll work on updates of this fic in between revising. Count yourselves lucky that writing fan fiction is relaxing and keeps me in a creative mindset. ^_~ Onward!!
Chapter Eight: Halloween
After two months of sharing meals and dormitories, Henry had become good friends with many of the Gryffindors. He and Harry's friends had encountered a three headed dog in the forbidden corridor on the third floor the first weekend after classes. They figured something was being hidden in the school and the dog was guarding it. The encounter had strengthened his relationships with the others. He still had issues with Ron, but at least he could stand to be in the same room and even study with him.
When it came to Harry and the Slytherins, on the other hand, little progress had been made. Draco continued to slide subtle jinxes and hexes past his friend, despite Henry's discussions otherwise. And due to the extra studying time Henry imposed on his brother, Harry had been able to trade blows with Draco spell for spell. It came to the point where Henry decided to enlist some help when it came to ending the dispute. Being the Slytherin he was, of course, he had ulterior motives for getting Draco to like Gryffindors. First and foremost of which was Ronald Weasley.
The last Friday before Halloween, Henry approached Professor Snape after class. "Sir? I have… a favor to ask of you."
He received a raised eyebrow in response.
"You see… er… it's about Draco and my brother."
"I see. You wish me to punish Mr. Malfoy for the petty tricks he has been playing on your Gryffindor half?" There was a dangerous glint in the man's eyes.
"Not at all, sir. I've already tried to get him to stop. Getting you to punish him would just make him mad at me. Actually what I had in mind was a sort of… exchange program."
The second eyebrow joined the first. Henry took that to mean the Professor was listening.
"Here's what I think…"
Ten minutes later Henry was on his way to lunch with the Gryffindors, secure in the knowledge that the two feuds that were the most troubling to him would be well on their way to mended by Halloween.
"What did you need to talk to Snape about?" Ron asked as he joined them at the table. Lunch wasn't due to start for another forty minutes, so they were gathered around working on various assignments, chatting, and reading. Ron and Harry were playing wizard's chess, which Harry was still rather hopeless at. Henry had to hand it to the red head, he was a good strategist.
"Just a question about the essay for next week. I wasn't sure if he wanted the properties of mint or catnip for the Deflating Draught. They're interchangeable in that potion."
"Really?" Hermione asked, making a note of it in her book which was open to the potion. "I'll have to look that up."
"Yeah, they're from the same family of herbs." Henry proceeded to explain why either could be used.
"Checkmate!" Ron crowed just before lunch was due to be served.
Harry groaned. "I'm never going to beat you at this game, Ron. I don't know why you make me play. And these pieces hate me." He prodded one of the pawns with his finger. All of his pieces were brandishing their weapons or shaking their fists at him angrily.
"Don't worry about it mate. Everyone starts out somewhere. You're just worse than most."
Harry glared half-heartedly at him.
"It's almost time for lunch, let's clean up, eh?" Dean asked.
Everyone put away their parchment and books. Ron shoved the chess pieces back into the drawers on either side of the board, locking them shut with a quick spell. Both the twins had wondered at that the first time, but Ron had told them a hilarious story about the chess pieces escaping and attacking him in his sleep back when he was first learning the game and sucked just as much as Harry did.
Shortly the golden dishes appeared along with tray after tray of delicious food. Everyone dug in as the other classes poured into the room to join them. Up at the head table, only Snape and Dumbledore were conspicuously absent. Henry hoped that meant that his plan was being put into motion already.
Indeed, just before lunch ended when most people were still lingering and chatting, the missing professors appeared through the faculty door behind the head table. Snape took his seat, grabbing a chocolate biscuit to nibble on nonchalantly. Dumbledore moved to the podium just in front of the table and raised his hands. Those who paid attention to the comings and goings of the teachers shushed their friends and soon the hall was ensconced in silence.
"I have an exciting announcement!" Dumbledore cried. "Due to the success of Henry and Harry Potter matriculating into each other's houses, I have decided to implement a sort of exchange program. Each week one student from each house will be chosen to trade with a student from another. The goal of this is to end this dreadful house rivalry that results in spells being cast to cause harm to one another and also gives Madame Pomfrey too much work to do trying to fix everyone. The students for this week will be announced at dinner. Pass along the word to anyone who isn't here for lunch."
And with that the elderly Headmaster returned to his seat, grabbing a large slice of lemon meringue pie with the appearance of a five year old.
Ron was completely gob smacked. "But, that means…" He paled, looking towards the Slytherin table.
Henry laughed. "But you deal with me, Weasley. Surely it won't be that bad?"
"Yeah, but you're absolutely decent compared to Malfoy! What if I get switched with someone like Crabbe and then he tries to murder me in my sleep?"
Harry smiled. "Don't worry, Ron. Malfoy might try to hex me every other day, but my life has not been endangered while I was sleeping. He hasn't even tried to hex me during the nights I stay there." He looked thoughtful as he realized what he had said. Hen smiled. It was already working.
But the other Gryffindor continued to mope for the rest of the day. Finally dinner came around and he was so nervous waiting for the announcement that he barely ate anything. (If one could call the giant slice of steak and kidney pie "barely".)
Finally Dumbledore stood. Everyone was waiting expectantly for the announcement, so he let them know the first victims without preamble: "The two students who will trade dormitories this week are Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy! Starting tomorrow morning, you will eat, sleep, and study with your new house until Halloween night." And then he sat and finished his treacle tart.
A squeak of despair could be heard from the Gryffindor table while Draco had turned even paler than normal, a bite of custard slowly sliding off his spoon as he stared into space.
Henry just laughed. After a moment of stunned silence, the rest of the first year Gryffindors joined him. Harry was looking at him suspiciously, but otherwise remained silent.
As they made their way up to the Gryffindor tower, Harry pulled him aside. "Did you have anything to do with this?" He didn't seem angry, so Hen decided to tell the truth.
"I might have put a bee in Snape's bonnet, yes."
Harry smiled. "Thanks. I just hope it works out how you think it will."
Henry nodded fervently. "Me too."
The next day being Saturday, Ron was lucky enough to have Harry and Henry there when he was introduced to the Slytherins. Draco didn't have that advantage, but it hardly would have helped to have his best friend there to talk to instead of the Gryffindors. Henry made a mental note to congratulate Snape on his timing.
Once basic reintroductions were made, the trio sat with the green and silver table. It was the Slytherins who began talking first. Their starting policy seemed to be to ignore the redhead in their midst. But it served to relieve the tension. Ron expelled a long breath and relaxed enough to spoon some eggs onto his plate.
Henry and Harry had decided the night before that it was up to Ron to break the ice. For the first meal of the first day, things weren't going too badly yet. The real test would come when classes started on Monday, since the twins wouldn't be staying with him the whole day and they suspected the teachers would pair the exchanged students with someone from their new house for all lessons.
In the meantime, the Slytherins had pre-arranged plans for the weekend. It was too bad Draco would no longer be able to participate, but he wasn't essential to the preparations.
Henry and Draco had shared their knowledge of the room on the seventh floor, which they had dubbed the 'Room of Requirement', with their Slytherin friends. Henry had told his brother as well, but not the rest of the Gryffindors. He figured it was up to them to find it themselves. But the Slytherins had been planning a party and study session there to get ahead on their work before the Christmas holidays began. It was the kind of thing Henry thought Hermione would enjoy, but he had been forbidden to invite any Gryffs to the room.
Now, though, the presence of one Ronald Weasley was throwing a wrench in the plans. They were required to study and hang out with the weasel for an entire week, which meant that they would have to take him to the RoR if they continued as planned.
The Slytherins were discussing the problem in low whispers when Henry decided to butt in. "You could just invite all of them. Then Draco would be able to come to. He was looking forward to it."
Blaise frowned slightly, and then considered the Gryffindor table across the room. It appeared that the same silent treatment was being used on their housemate. "It would certainly help the supposed inter-house relations," he reasoned.
Theo crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "Better all of them than having this one rat on us."
Crabbe and Goyle nodded. Pansy flipped her hair indifferently and the rest of the girls just shrugged.
"Right then. Let's go over and invite them." Henry stood and the rest of the Slytherins plus Harry and Ron followed suit. The red head was quite confused by their discussion, but he followed silently (a true feat of strength for the normally short-fused boy).
The Gryffindors got quiet at the approach of all the first years from their rival house. Draco turned and looked at them in confusion as well.
Blaise took the lead. "We were planning to have a study party today. We'd like to invite all of you, since Draco was looking forward to it as well. If you want to come, meet us on the seventh floor next to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy."
And with that, they returned to the dungeons to get their books. Behind them Draco found himself under the scrutiny of a dozen pairs of eyes. "What?" he asked.
"Is it really a study party?" Dean asked hesitantly.
The blond's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Of course it's a party! Do you think they would have left me here with you lot if it was a trap? We've been planning this for weeks! We're going to get ahead a bit on the reading so that when Christmas comes we won't have as much homework."
Several pairs of eyes lit up at that. "Well I'm in," Hermione stated primly, grabbing her already full book bag from beside her seat and standing. "I was planning on studying in the library all day, but it would be more fun to do it in a group. I'll take you to your friends if no one else is coming," she offered to Draco.
He sneered. "Why would I let someone like you take me anywhere?" Hermione stiffened slightly at his tone and then left in a huff.
"And who said we weren't coming?" Seamus stood as well. "Come on, Malfoy. Let's go get our bags and then we can join the rest of the Slytherins for this study party thing."
The blond sighed but followed.
Ten minutes later, all the first years from both houses (many of the Gryffindors had joined them out of sheer curiosity instead of actually wanting to study) had gathered next to the tapestry.
"All right, where's this party taking place, exactly?" Parvati asked.
"Right here," Henry announced. He shooed a few people out of the way to give him room to walk and then paced back and forth in front of the wall three times, thinking of a room where both Gryffindors and Slytherins would be comfortable studying together. Moments later a solid brass eight paneled door appeared in the wall. Loud gasps were heard from the Gryffindors, and even some of the Slytherins who hadn't seen the room yet were impressed.
The door opened to reveal a large room with multiple levels with various seating arrangements scattered around. The colors were black and white, with a variegated sprinkling of green and red armchairs. The walls were lined with bookcases, each one labeled with a specific subject heading, such as "Charms", "Transfiguration", and "Potions".
"How did you find this place?" Hermione gushed, already touching the books in each case lovingly.
"It was an accident." Henry laughed. He turned to the rest of the students crowded around the entryway. "Welcome to the Room of Requirement!"
The study session had gone remarkably well. Everyone managed to either catch up or get ahead on all of their subjects, and Gryffindors and Slytherins had actually been working together! It was the start of a week of miracles. By the morning of Halloween, Draco was getting along with the Gryffindors enough to call most of them by their first name (including Harry finally), and Ron, while still nervous around Crabbe and Goyle, had begun to joke around with his new house, to great effect.
The last day of their enforced exchange began with breakfast followed by Potions as usual. Draco was working on the last few lines of his Potions essay during class that morning and Hermione, sitting next to him (Snape hadn't attempted to pair Ron with Draco again), couldn't help pointing out several spelling mistakes that he had made.
He scratched out several of them, but then she tried to tell him that his conclusion was completely wrong and he finally lost it.
"Would you shut up and mind your own bloody business!" he snapped. "It's no wonder no one can stand you, you bloody know-it-all!"
Her eyes filled with tears and she kept her head down for the rest of the period. When the bell finally mercifully rang, she disappeared out the door like a shot. When she didn't reappear for lunch, Harry and Henry grew worried and asked around to see if anyone had seen her. Parvati and Lavender revealed that she had been crying in the girl's bathroom all morning and wanted to be left alone. Draco had swallowed guiltily and picked at his food after that.
The twins awkwardly returned to the tower with Draco and took turns playing chess until dinner.
"It's not like her to hide away like this." Henry said softly when he noticed Hermione was missing again.
"Yeah, and she's been loads better since we started studying with her." Harry mumbled.
Malfoy looked up and grimaced as he caught what they were talking about. He set down his fork with a sigh. "I suppose we could eat quick and take her some food." He shifted nervously when they stared at him. "And I could come with you to apologize.
"Brilliant, Draco!" Harry smiled. The three enjoyed the feast quickly, bundling up some bread rolls and a few pumpkin pasties for their missing friend before leaving the Great Hall. Moments after they exited, Professor Quirrell ran into the room spouting some nonsense about a troll in the dungeons. Only Professor Snape had noticed the twins plus Draco leaving and he immediately moved to run out the door they had left through. But the Headmaster quickly stopped him and told him to go protect the third floor corridor before ordering everyone back to their dormitories.
The trio was by then knocking softly on the door to the girl's loo. When they received no answer, Harry hesitantly stuck his head inside and called out, "Hermione?"
A loud sniffle answered him from one of the stalls.
"Er… can we come in? I mean, there's no one actually using the loo… right?"
"Oh shut up, Harry!" she snapped, appearing from the middle stall with a tear-streaked face. She immediately noticed Draco with the twins. "What's he doing here?"
Draco moved forward sheepishly. "I came to apologize for what I said. I know you were just trying to help me and all…" He shifted from foot to foot. "It was just frustrating to have someone point out my mistakes like that. My father says that Malfoys should never feel inferior but, well, you're smarter than me and I couldn't stand it."
She sniffed again, but seemed to have calmed down some. "Thanks. I guess."
He grinned and held out his hand. "Apology accepted?"
Hermione smiled and shook his hand.
A loud crash echoed from the end of the corridor outside. Henry poked his head out and his eyes widened. A troll, an actual troll, was making its way towards the bathroom. Swiftly, he closed the door and locked it, but the motion had drawn the thing's attention.
"There's a troll!" he told them all quickly. "Hurry, hide!"
The four of them each picked a stall and closed and locked the door behind them. Outside, the troll began pounding on the closed door with frustration, each blow bending the hinges bit by bit until the whole door fell inward onto the floor with a crash.
The troll lumbered into the room and looked back and forth, seeing nothing but the bathroom stalls and sinks along the wall. Frustrated by the lack of prey, it swung its club through the stalls, reducing them to splinters and revealing four screaming young children inside.
Thinking quickly, Harry shot out a stupefy at the troll as it backed them into the corner opposite the door. It hit with a splash of red light, but didn't even make the beast pause. "Together!" he screamed. The others raised their wands and they simultaneously cast the spell. A huge wash of red struck the troll in the face and it wavered for a moment, looking somewhat sleepy, before toppling over backwards. Its own club struck it on the head, raising a large lump.
"Is it dead?" Hermione asked, too shaken to do more than slump against the wall.
"No, just stunned. I'm sure it will have a nasty headache when it wakes up, though." Harry grinned.
Soon they were laughing hysterically. Moments later, a small cavalry of teachers, including McGonagall, Snape, Quirrell, and Dumbledore rushed through the ruined doorway to stare at the first years in shock.
"What on earth are you doing here?" McGonagall snapped. "You should be in your dormitories with the other students!"
They stopped laughing at once. "Sorry, Professor," Harry spoke up. "We left the Great Hall early to find Hermione. And then we heard the troll and locked the door, but it broke it down and attacked us. I tried to stun it but it didn't work, so we all cast the spell at the same time and, well, now it's passed out on the floor, isn't it?"
Snape's lips twitched at the explanation. Henry noticed a tear on his head of house's pants and a bloody gash that looked suspiciously like claw marks. The man quickly hid the leg under his robes and gave his pupil a stern look that clearly said, "Tell no one."
"Be that as it may," McGonagall began.
Snape interrupted. "Please, Minerva. I myself witnessed them leaving the Great Hall before Quirrell came in to warn us about the troll. He speaks the truth."
Her lips pursed, but she refrained from commenting.
"Commendable, commendable!" Dumbledore twinkled at them. "Fifty points to both your houses for outstanding demonstration of friendship and courage! Go on back to your dormitories, now."
They turned to leave. "Mr. Malfoy," Snape hissed.
The blond paused to glance at his head. "Twenty points to Slytherin for a successful exchange week."
With a grin, Draco followed his friends back up to Gryffindor tower. "You know," he said, "I'm almost sad that this is my last night with you lot. I mean, if it weren't for the garish red and gold colors everywhere, I'd be quite willing to stay."
"I'll take that as a compliment, however back-handed," Harry said dryly.
"Did you notice Snape's leg?" Henry asked when they were almost all the way back.
Hermione frowned. "Yeah, but the troll couldn't have done that. Plus, he wouldn't have let it get away once he found it."
"I think it was the three-headed dog we found the first week of classes," Henry revealed.
"The one you found in the third floor corridor?" Draco asked with a frown.
Harry nodded. "That does make sense, but why would Snape have gone there when there was a troll loose in the school?"
Henry sighed, patting his brother on the head. "I think Dumbledore sent him there to help protect whatever the dog is guarding. Think about it. If someone let the troll in as a distraction…"
"Then whoever let it in would go straight to the third floor instead of looking for the troll," Hermione finished.
"But if you look at it that way, it's possible that Snape is the one who let it in, since he went to the third floor corridor first as well," Harry pointed out.
Draco snorted. "Despite how he treats some of the students, he would never do anything to endanger them. Trust me."
Harry and Hermione nodded reluctantly while Henry agreed completely. "Regardless, let's get some sleep. I'm beat after all that."
That night, the twins stayed up a little later than everyone else, quietly talking in Harry's bed about their parents. Now that they knew they had died on Halloween, it seemed wrong to let the holiday pass without paying their respects. A pair of black candles stayed lit on Harry's bedside table all night as they lay curled around one another in the same bed.