My Dear Volaticus
by kittenvks
Disclaimer: I own nothing
warnings: HPDM, slash, yaoi, homosexuality. Don't like it? Don't read it. Flamers to the left.
Chapter Five: Kobaloi
The days passed by, over the weekend to mid week, reasonably carefully. Draco was released on Sunday and begrudgingly showed the Golden Trio where his rooms were located, behind a portrait of a snarling Hungarian Horntail. He gave them all the password, swearing them to secrecy, and they agreed. Each night Harry, an argumentative Ron, or Hermione would pace around under the invisibility cloak, waiting for the Kobaloi to attack until Draco came out or found them nearby and rushed them off with a string of expletives about how he could defend himself. So, then, they would retreat back to their dorms where Harry would pull out the Marauders Map and watch, curtains drawn around his bed tightly. It only took two days for him to lose enough sleep to become agitated about the situation. The next morning, a Friday, Harry rose more determined than ever to go and find Draco's wand. He'd already asked Dumbledore who had told him that, while it may be alright, he didn't think it was safe enough and for Harry to stay inside. Ron agreed to join him, as always.
Draco was sitting at the Slytherin table that morning, chatting excitedly with Blaise so they had no problem slipping into his rooms and getting the invisibility cloak that he left under his pillow despite Harry's urgings to take it with him.
"It's all rather Slytherin, isn't it?" Ron asked, glancing around at the decor of the bedroom, done in black and silver with just hints of green.
"I suppose so, I've never been in this part, obviously," Harry said, lifting up the pillow and discovering the cloak. Rolling his eyes, he pulled it out, and they quickly left. Unfortunately, when she hadn't found them in the dorms, or at the breakfast table, Hermione had realized what they were doing and was waiting for them at the doors.
"I know you're there," she hissed, holding up the Marauders map, and tapping her foot impatiently, "come on out. Both of you."
Harry and Ron pushed back the invisibility cloak, at least having the grace to look a bit sheepish, like children being caught eating candy before dinner.
"Look, Hermione," Harry started.
"No. It's too dangerous and too risky, you're not going." Hermione cut him off, "I'll tell."
"Hermione!" Ron whined, looking every bit like a child.
"You said so yourself, 'Mione, they're not likely to attack us. Especially not in broad daylight- we'll be fine. Even Dumbledore said it was! Besides, it's Ron and Harry, you're talking to," Harry pleaded.
"No. I don't care if it's Crabbe and Goyle I'm talking to," Hermione said, stomping her foot, "I said no."
"We said yes, you can't stop us." Ron said defiantly, shrinking back behind Harry when she fixed him with her trademark glare.
"If they get in, they could kill him. We. Are. Going." Harry said, grabbing Ron's arm and pushing past her out the door. Hermione spun around, grabbing for them but they were too fast.
"Come back!" she cried from the door, looking torn between chasing after them and going to fetch a professor.
"I will! When I get the wand!" Harry yelled back over his shoulder, he and Ron disappearing underneath the invisibility cloak. Hermione let out a frustrated growl before turning tail and running into the Great Hall. She stopped as she entered, unsure of what to do. Dumbledore looked at her curiously before looking at Draco, still chatting with Blaise and eating eggs. Both boys would face expulsion if they were found out and Hermione got the hint. She rushed up to the Slytherin table, straight to Draco.
"Draco!" she said, a little out of breath.
"What do you want, mudblood?" Pansy snapped, turning to face her. Draco scowled,
"she didn't adress *you* Pansy, shut. up." he snapped.
"It's... it's important! I need to talk to you, privately." Hermione said, glaring at Pansy who was too busy sniffling at Draco to notice. Draco scowled again,
"how important?"
"Will you come on!?" Hermione said, grabbing his arm. Draco pulled away but got the point and excused himself, following her out of the Great Hall. "It's Harry and Ron, they've gone after your wand!" she said, before he could speak. Draco's jaw fell open in shock and his eyes widened. Quickly, the Malfoy mask and a bit of rage slipped on his face,
"they did WHAT?" he snapped, heading for the doors.
"Draco! You can't just go after them, what do we do?" she asked, frightened. Draco turned and stared at her, hand on the door.
"I'm going, Granger. Those idiots will be killed before we can get anyone else." he seethed. Hermione threw up her arms in a gesture of giving in.
"Fine, but I'm going with you!"
"No, Granger, stay."
"You may need the back up Draco, you know it. They're my friends too, I'm going." she said, rushing forward with him as they went out the door.
"Just stay behind me if it goes south," Draco called to her over his shoulder. Hermione nodded, realizing that he was a magical creature- they're theory had been right. Then, a bit of fear over took her as she realized they were about to find out what he was exactly.
"How are we going to find them?" she asked, trying to keep up beside him. He was very fast and she wondered if that was a part of the creature he was.
"I don't know, I'm just following my instinct," Draco called back, veering sharply to the right. Oh great, Hermione though, we could just be running around blindly. Then she realized she didn't have much choice, the boys had at least fifteen minutes on them and could be anywhere.
Sure enough, they found Ron and Harry on the Quidditch Pitch, stuck on the Gryffindor audience stands. Draco had seemed to run straight to them and Hermione took a moment to admire that quality before realizing the danger the boys were in. Three Kobaloi had them surrounded, pushed into a corner of the stands. They had taken the forms of Dementors, most likely to catch the boys off guard and were currently attacking the shield Ron was holding up while Harry was throwing hexes and even his Patronus at them. Since they'd taken the form of a Dementor though, Hermione knew the worst could happen because the Kobaloi often imitated their images powers. Draco stood still, eyeing the scene from below on the Pitch. A snarl escaped him and Hermione spun to make sure she wasn't also in danger, wand drawn. Huge dark silvery wings sprouted from his back and Hermione backed away.
"Can you catch one of them? Levitate them?" he asked in a gravelly, very angry hiss. Frightened, Hermione nodded and Draco spun back to stare at the scene before them, "make sure you do." he said, running off.
Before she could register what was happening, the entrance door to the stands flung open so hard it ripped from it's hinges, flying to land on the other side of the Pitch. Hermione gaped, readying herself. Draco pushed through a ward one of the boys had put up and rushed to them, diving into the frey. Hermione screamed in fear, she couldn't help it. Draco fought bravely, slinging one into a wall with a crack even she could hear from where she was and seriously injuring another, his wings seeming to embrace it. Then, turning to the boys who were silent and obviously shocked, he grabbed Ron.
"Sorry about this, Weasley," he said before turning to look at Hermione before she nodded and he tossed the fighting Ron from the stands. Hermione cast Levicorpus just as Draco let go, levitating Ron down safely. She never tore her eyes from Harry and Draco as the remaining two Kobaloi came for them. Ron yelled, waving his arms to try and distract them but it was no use, they only wanted Draco.
"Harry," Draco said, backing up and spreading his wings in a threatening gesture. The Kobaloi slowed, unsure of what to do at this, "trust me, grab my hand." Draco snarled, reaching his hand out and jumping slightly at the Kobaloi, like a snarling dog. They backed up a bit, letting out little cries before rushing forward again. Harry hadn't taken his hand and Draco growled. "There's no time to debate this, Potter!" he yelled, one of his wings rushing out to bat away a Kobaloi. He spun around and grabbed Harry up, racing back for the door. Gasping, Harry grabbed onto him and couldn't help but remember them being in just the opposite position a week ago, in the same place.
"Can you fly?!" Harry yelled, seeing the Kobaloi rushing forward. There was no time for the stairs or the enclosed space. Draco shook his head,
"no, but I'm about to try!" he yelled, jumping onto the banister much like a bird. The Kobaloi were almost on top of them, "hold on!" Draco yelled, barely registering that Ron and Hermione were yelling at him to jump now. Feeling Harry tighten around him, Draco registered roughly that something was different and he stared at the boy in his arms, right into frightened emerald eyes. With a snarl over his shoulder, Draco jumped.
On his thoughts his wings spread out, filling full of air and beating hard onto the current. They were still falling, though Draco barely managed to keep them aloft. Hermione and Ron were standing as one unit, flinging hexes behind them at the Kobaloi who were following, the third having gained consciousness and now slithering along as well. Draco briefly had enough time to realize that they were going to land hard before his wings wrapped tightly around them, cocooning them a bit and cushioning the fall. They rolled in the grass and Draco released Harry, pulling the now sharp wings back quickly before they cut him. Harry scrambled up, shaking off the jolt of the fall and rushed to him, pulling Draco up to standing as well. Draco shivered a bit, staring at Harry for just a moment before rushing forward, in front of the three of them- wings held out to cover them all.
"Leave or I'll kill you!" he threatened, his wings bristling to show that it wasn't an empty threat. The wounded one shrank back a bit, hissing something at him in Parseletongue. "have it your way," Draco hissed, rushing forward and wrapping the same Kobaloi in another embrace with his wings, this time leaving nothing but a shredded mess of oozing blood. Draco's wings bristled again, blood dripping from the tips as the remaining two cried out in loss and rushed him, fangs barred, tackling him.
Harry rushed forward, wand drawn, casting a shield and pulling in Ron and Hermione.
"Are you okay?" Harry yelled at Draco who had just been covered with Kobaloi. Draco snarled in response, an agreement of sorts. One of the Kobaloi rushed forward, now in the form of a giant spider, causing Ron to scream. Draco's wings flared, a burst of magic pushing the thing back a few feet, covering him in tiny cuts.
"We've got to- oh no." Draco said, glancing up. Frightened, the other three glanced up only to get a small glimpse of black wings before they were all thrown back, breaking Harry's shield, with a burst of magic. They watched, gaping, at the flurry of black feathers, pale skin and blood in front of them. Lucius Malfoy walked out of the frey, the sole survivor. Blood dripped down off his wings, much more than Draco's.
"Are you insane?! You could have been *killed*!" He roared, gesturing back to the three dead mushy piles of Kobaloi, their entrails still settling. Ron gagged.
"I did what I had to do!" Draco yelled, trying to remain calm, though it was obvious he was too anxious.
"Now *they* know," Lucius snarled, throwing his arm to gesture at the three Gryffindors, "there will be a price on your head and mine, Draco! What could you have possibly been thinking?!"
"I was following my instinct!" Draco snapped and Lucius turned to the three, sitting merely feet from him in shock, staring at the wings and dead Kobaloi. He rushed forward, only to be knocked back by a very angry Draco. Draco's wings spread over the three of them, protectively.
"Draco, move!" Lucius snapped, staring at his son, wings arched in a threat.
"You'll kill me first!" Draco retorted, stretching his wings further. A burst of magic came from him, tearing up the ground around Lucius, spraying dirt but not hitting him.
"Drac-"
"NO!" Draco snarled, crouching lower so that not one piece of the Gryffindors could be seen. "Come on, do it. Ne joue pas avec moi!, mon pere," he taunted, obviously enraged though only Lucius understood the French, looking affronted. Beneath him and behind him, Ron Harry, and Hermione could feel the magic pouring off of both of them. They sensed the message and remained still, glancing nervously at each other. Lucius faltered, staring. He took a step forward and Draco snarled, practically foaming at the mouth. Lowering his wings, pulling them back in and holding up his hands, he took another step. Draco was not fooled and snarled again, pushing around the dirt at Lucius' feet.
"Draco," Lucius said calmly, almost soothingly, "it's okay, I'm not going to do anything. Calm down, Draco, breathe."
"Get away," Draco ground out, looking confused now.
"Draco, this is your Father speaking to you- calm down. I swear on our name I'm not going to hurt them, it's okay. It's over Draco."
"Swear it?" Draco asked, relaxing a bit. Lucius looked over his shoulder and Draco realized he could hear people coming.
"I swear it, Draco. Hurry, before others come. Trust me, Draco." Lucius said, attempting to approach again. Draco faltered, sitting down hard as his wings pulled into his back and Lucius rushed forward. Draco snarled and he held up his hands, showing that he meant no threat. Draco appeared to be in shock, he didn't know what had happened, though he realized he'd tried to attack his father. Lucius had never had to ask for Draco's trust before, ever. He stared at the man in front of him. "It's okay, Draco, we'll discuss this later." Lucius said dismissively, waving a hand. "Are you three okay?" he asked, turning to the Golden Trio. They all three nodded, eyes wide. "It's very important that you don't tell anyone anything you saw, do you understand?" they all nodded again.
"They'll hunt me down and kill me if you do," Draco said, turning to stare at them as Lucius cast a small spell to fix their clothing.
"You- you're a Volaticus?" Hermione said, glancing back and forth between the nearly identical Slytherins. They both nodded, surprised that she knew.
"Thank Merlin," Ron gushed, falling back onto the grass with a woosh. Lucius and Draco both glanced at each other before scowling.
"Your wand..." Harry said, holding out his hand to Draco.
"I don't need it, Harry, not really. Thank you though." Draco said, taking it and glancing at his father as he put it in his pocket. Lucius nodded, giving him a look to keep quiet. Draco looked back at Harry, "are you okay?" Harry seemed to snap to reality for a minute and took stock of himself before nodding.
"Yeah... I'm fine. That's like a hundred foot drop Draco!" he said, glancing behind Draco at the stands.
"One hundred and twenty feet actually," Hermione said factually.
"You flew?" Lucius asked, shocked. Draco shrugged.
"Not really," he replied, glancing at the stands.
"More like gliding," Ron added, still staring up at the sky, "like a paper airplane, only faster." Lucius stared at Draco before nodding, looking prideful. Draco preened under that look.
"Are you okay?!" It was McGonagall yelling, rushing up to them with several students who had seen Draco and Hermione leave. Dumbledore and Snape were also there, wands drawn.
"They're fine," Lucius said, looking again like the no fail aristocrat, "they merely came to meet me."
"The Kobaloi!" Snape said, looking shocked. Lucius shrugged, the bodies had already dissolved into the ground,
"they're gone."
"Just ran off when you showed up did they?" Dumbeldore asked, a knowing look in his eye.
"Rather quickly," Lucius lied smoothly, glancing back toward the forrest, "they won't be back."
"Ah good, then we can safely resume classes," Dumbledore said, gesturing for everyone to go inside, "Monday that is. Lucius, I assume you'll want to be speaking to me in my office?" Lucius nodded and began approaching the school.
"What happened?" Blaise Zabini asked, falling in line with them as they followed. Draco glanced up at the sky before answering,
"Hermione here came to get me for my father, he wanted to discuss the next Slytherin Gryffindor Quidditch match. How we should all get along," he answered smoothly. Blaise looked doubtful for a moment but nodded anyway. As they neared the school, Pansy came rushing up to them, shrieking.
"Oh goodness! Drakky, are you okay?!" She practically fell into him though he didn't bother to support her and she stumbled a bit, "are you hurt, love?" she asked, pretending not to be hurt.
"You know what, Pansy? Why don't you just go on some where, no one wants to hear your annoying mouth right now!" Hermione snapped defensively.
"She's right, my head is pounding- scram!" Ron growled, groaning. Pansy sneered at them in response,
"I'm not here for you, I'm here to support my-"
"Honestly, Pansy, I'm not your anything! *Please* go away!" Draco said, stopping short as the others continued on. Harry stopped at the doors to watch, his eyes following their little argument. Everyone else, save for Hermione, continued in.
"Harry... are you jealous?" she asked, whispering. Harry snapped out of it, turning to stare at her.
"WHY-" he quickly quieted himself, "why would I be jealous?!" he hissed.
"Because she's fawning all over him," Hermione said, gesturing back toward Draco and Pansy where Draco was now looking miserable and she was sobbing. Hermione didn't miss it when Harry's lip curled a bit, "there, you see?" she said if that was all the proof she needed. Harry scowled at her, shaking his head.
"no way, 'Mione, no way."
"Look, Harry, this is all I'm going to say. He wasn't protecting me and Ron out there." she said before turning on her heel and walking off. She grabbed Ron just inside the entrance, dragging him with her. He didn't protest much, he never really did when it came to Hermione. Draco's eyes snapped up away from Pansy and met Harry's, a question in them. Harry shrugged before turning and running off as well.