Hi people. As usual, I don't own Harry Potter or Tangled.
Review guys, pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase. Or I'll stop writing. I swear. Not that I'll be missed much, but meh. Sorry for the really late update, but I'm too busy with upcoming exams and assessments. Guh.
The clearing was filled with sunlight and birds sang sweetly. Harry snored and curled up on the grassy ground lazily. A whoosh of hot breath washed over Harry's face and an angry snarl rumbled through the air, rendering the birds into silence. Harry stirred and opened one green eye to gaze at the formidable beast above him.
"Oh. It's you. What do you want now?" Harry yawned and rolled over onto his stomach, closing his eye again. Buckbeak stamped one of his front feet in frustration and bit into Harry's boot viciously. Then he proceeded to drag him across the ground rather painfully to God knows where.
"OW! Ow, let go you damn bird! Ow, fuck!" Harry groaned as his stomach was dragged across a pointy stone.
Draco yawned and sat up, wiping his eyes blearily. He had been woken to hear screams of pain and angry screeches. Salazar was up as well, hissing sullenly. The grumpy snake had picked up loud, angry vibrations and was not happy about being woken up early.
"What's going on?" Draco yawned. "Harry? Are we being attacked or something?"
"ARGH! Let go of my boot you stupid beast!"
Angry squawks resounded through the air and there was also the sound of snapping beaks. Draco stood up, bewildered and gazed at the scene in front of him. Harry was yelling and screaming bloody murder as a giant bird-like creature tried to drag him into the trees.
"Stop!" Draco cried, running towards the fighting pair. He grabbed Harry's arms and tried to pull him away from the beast. "Let him go!"
Buckbeak gave a strong tug and Harry was ripped out of Draco's grip. Harry yelped and waved his arms frantically.
"DRACO! HELP!"
Draco squeaked and ran over to the irate hippogriff and ran a hand soothingly over the feathery head. Buckbeak stopped pulling and gave Draco a curious look.
"Hush, boy." Draco cooed. "Let go of that big meanie now, he's not worth your time."
Buckbeak seemed to agree as he dropped Harry's foot compliantly. Draco crooned lovingly to him and rubbed his head affectionately.
"There's a good boy. Now, will you please behave with Harry? He's taking me to see the lanterns, you see. It means a lot to me so please make peace with each other?" Draco pleaded, shooting a withering glare at Harry. "You need to behave as well, Harry. Why can't you be sweet and gentle like Sal and this big fella here?"
"His name is Buckbeak." Harry grunted, standing. "And he's not sweet and gentle."
Draco rubbed Buckbeak's feathery head and sighed. "Really, Harry. At least he has more manners than you."
Harry's eye twitched but he didn't say anything else. Draco gave a quick smile at Harry and gave Buckbeak one last pat on the head.
"So, truce? Please?"
Buckbeak eyed Harry warily. He liked the blond. He was polite and sweet. The snake was okay but Potter was definitely not okay. The stupid thief had escaped from him far too many times and had also managed to piss him off every time they met.
"Have I mentioned it's also my birthday today?" Draco asked, smiling beseechingly. Buckbeak sighed and lifted one of his clawed front legs up for Potter to shake. Harry stared at it for a moment before he too gave a sigh and shook the offered claw.
"Great!" Draco squealed and tugged Harry's hand. "Let's go! Didn't you say the kingdom is only ten minutes' walk away?" The tiny blonde giggled in excitement. Harry groaned and started leading the group towards the kingdom.
"I need a vacation." He grumbled to himself.
"This is so exciting," Draco breathed as they started walking toward the city gates. "My goodness, I'm about to see the lanterns!"
Harry wasn't listening; he was busy glaring at the hippogriff who was currently sniggering at a wanted poster of him. The picture didn't even look like Harry. The nose was too big and squashed and his eyes were tiny. Harry scowled and ripped off the poster and promptly shoved it up Buckbeak's mouth. Buckbeak retaliated by butting him hard in the stomach.
"Ow! Stupid bird!" Harry growled and kicked the Hippogriff.
"Hisss…"
Both of them looked up to see Salazar glaring at them from Draco's head. The blonde, however, was busy chatting away to himself to notice the fighting pair. Buckbeak and Harry separated and glared at each other one more time before walking towards the kingdom again.
"Mother said that the kingdom was swarming with cannibals. I haven't seen any yet except maybe one or two of those thugs back at the pub…"
Harry winced.
"Anyway, what are we going to do until it's time to see the lanterns?" Draco asked, turning around and giving Harry an expectant look.
"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "Hang around the market, I suppose."
"Oh, how exciting!" Draco breathed. "A market! I've read about those before."
Salazar rolled his eyes. Draco had read a book about a market before. He had been there after all, listening to every word. Every. Word.
By the time they had reached the market, Draco was practically fainting with excitement. However, he snapped out of it when he saw Harry giving a pretty brunette girl a flirtatious wink. Not noticing Draco's crestfallen look, Harry grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him around stalls. Draco gave an unhappy sigh before forcing a smile onto his face. Out of the corner of his eye, Draco could see Salazar giving Harry a dirty look. He sighed again and gazed around the stalls.
"Oh, it is better than I ever imagined…" Draco murmured, dazed. That it, until something ran over his hair.
"OW!" He screamed and grabbed onto his long hair. Draco whipped his head around and saw a few people stumbling on his hair, pulling at his roots painfully. The blonde whimpered in pain and quickly gathered up his hair with Harry, who had also noticed his trouble.
"Great, what am I going to do?" Draco groaned. Harry glanced around before his eyes settled upon four young girls braiding each other's hair.
"I think I may have an idea." Harry smirked and whistled sharply to the girls, gesturing towards Draco's hair, which was piled in both of their arms. The girls squealed in delight and immediately rushed forward, ushering Draco near the fountain, where they began their work.
Harry sighed and sat down onto a bench. Salazar slid over and sat down onto his shoulder without any permission. Harry scowled but didn't do anything. Salazar just sat there with a smug look on his face. Buckbeak snorted and glanced around wearily, ready to catch any criminals that may be lurking around.
The sun had just risen to the middle of the sky, indicating noon. Harry glanced around impatiently, wondering what was taking so long. How long did it take to braid hair anyway? Admittedly, with hair as long as Draco's it would probably take some time.
"So… what do you think?" A timid voice asked behind him.
Harry turned around and his jaw promptly fell open. Draco stood there nervously, wringing his small hands together. One thick, long golden braid trailed over his back and narrowly brushing against the ground. His hair had been pushed out of his face, showing his delicate facial features and pretty grey eyes. Harry was pretty sure he was drooling.
"You look… great." He said in a rather high-pitched squeak. Draco smiled and brushed a stray lock of hair from his face.
"Thanks," he smiled shyly before glancing around the stalls. "Come on, let's go look around!"
Harry nodded absentmindedly and stared at the tiny, pretty, perfect blonde with glazed eyes. Salazar hid his smirk and Buckbeak nudged Harry roughly before raising an eyebrow, also complimented with a smirk.
"Shut up, you guys." Harry growled before getting up and storming off. Salazar and Buckbeak just sniggered.
Over the next few hours, Draco had brought them to just about every stall, and had had them try out every kind of food they had there. Salazar and Buckbeak had decided that they were too tired and stayed at the fountain to rest while Harry and Draco went to do some more exploring.
"Hey, look at that." Draco said, pointing at a small building to the left of them. "What's that?"
"It's an orphanage," Harry replied, looking uncomfortable. "Come on, nothing to see here." He tried to pull the blonde away but Draco refused.
"Didn't you say you grew up in an orphanage?" He asked, pulling Harry towards the building. "I want to see what it's like."
"It's nothing, really." Harry insisted, looking around nervously. "Come on, before-"
"Harry, is that you?" A soft voice whispered in awe. A plump, elderly woman stared at Harry in shock. "Why, I haven't seen you in a long time, my dear."
Harry fidgeted uncomfortably and shrugged.
"Yeah." He grunted.
The woman smiled and steeped towards him, peering at him quizzically. "You've grown. And you've filled out quite a bit. Not so skinny and lanky anymore."
"Yeah." Harry said again. "Er… how are you, Molly? And how's Ron?"
"I'm fine, dear." Molly replied, waving a hand dismissively. "Ron joined the guards," she smiled, "In Gryffindor, though. He's not comfortable here in Slytherin."
"Oh." Harry said. "That's good."
Molly smiled and then turned her gaze to Draco.
"Oh! Is this your girlfriend? She's quite a beauty." Molly smiled at the blonde. Harry choked and stammered while Draco turned bright red.
"I'm not a girl." Draco managed to stammer out. "And we're not a couple. Harry's just showing me around because I've never been here before."
Molly smiled. "I see."
"We'd best be going then, the show is about to start soon." Harry said, grabbing Draco by the shoulders and leading him away. "Bye Molly."
"Bye, dears. Have fun."
Molly's eyes glittered knowingly. She was not unaware of the looks shared between them. She had been like that when she was younger, after all.
The small boat drifted out onto the water with a blonde, brunette and a snake on it. Draco gazed around, his eyes wide with awe. Salazar was curled up on the bottom of the boat and Harry was fiddling with his thumbs awkwardly. They had left Buckbeak back at the docks because he was far too big and heavy to sit in the boat.
In the castle, Lucius and Narcissa shared a sad look as they stared at the picture of baby Draco, the sweetest little boy in the kingdom. No doubt they would've had to fight off suitors with a stick. If he was still with them, of course.
The royal couple sighed and walked out onto the balcony, where a single lantern was waiting. It was an ordinary paper lantern, with the Slytherin crest printed on it. Yet, it still gave them hope.
Narcissa grabbed one side and Lucius the other. Then together they lifted up the lantern and let it float away. Several more lanterns drifted up to join it, followed by hundreds more. The blondes stared up at them, feverishly hoping for their son to come back.
Down at the docks, Draco was staring at the lanterns with a delighted expression on his face. Salazar gazed up at them contently and Harry simply watched Draco. Only because he had seen the lanterns millions of times of course.
"Oh, look at that." Draco whispered. One lantern drifted down, brushing against the water and Draco leaned out of the boat and grabbed the lantern.
"Look at how pretty this is," Draco whispered. "What's this crest for?" He added, tracing the snake of Slytherin slowly.
"It's the Slytherin crest," Harry explained. "You know, to represent the kingdom of Slytherin." The blonde nodded and stared at it with a look of concentration on his face.
"I feel like I've seen it before…" he murmured. "Oh well, never mind." He let the lantern go again, letting it drift further and further away until it was out of sight.
Harry nodded and cleared his throat nervously.
"Er, Draco…"
The blonde stared at him with questioning eyes. "Hm?"
Harry grabbed Draco's small hand and placed a piece of cloth into it.
"Happy birthday, Draco."
Draco opened up the piece of cloth and smiled when he saw the Slytherin crest embroidered on it. He smiled in delight and giggled.
"Thanks, Harry. You really didn't need to give anything to me. Just showing me the lanterns was more than enough."
"It's your birthday," Harry insisted. "You should get at least one present."
Draco smiled again and whispered a quick "thanks". They watched the lanterns for a little while longer before Draco cleared his throat anxiously.
"Um… Harry?" He asked quietly.
"Yeah?" Harry replied, tearing his gaze off the lanterns to look at Draco.
"I've got something for you too." Draco murmured, reaching from behind his back to pull out Harry's satchel. "I think you should have this back."
"My satchel!" Harry beamed and grabbed it from Draco. "You brought it with you?"
"Yeah, something like that." He replied, fidgeting uncomfortably. Salazar perked his head up, his owner's nervous actions clearly stated that it was because of something else. Harry, however, didn't notice and instead gave a wide grin to Draco.
"Thanks."
Draco smiled back. "It's fine. A deal was a deal, right?"
Harry nodded, but then caught sight of two hulking figures on the tiny island behind Draco. Crabbe and Goyle. He could spot them from a mile away.
"Hey, uh, I need to do something on that island behind you, 'kay?" Harry said nervously. If he gave them the crown, then maybe they would leave Draco alone. After the stunt he pulled on them, they were probably going to get rid of everything that was close to him.
"Sure, what do you have to do?" Draco asked, looking at him with slightly worried eyes. Harry gave him a quick grin and squeezed Draco's hand reassuringly.
"It's nothing, okay? Don't worry, it will only take a moment." Harry said, rubbing small circles on Draco's hand.
"Okay," Draco sighed. "I trust you."
Harry felt a twist in his guts but he ignored it and started rowing towards the tiny island. As they reached the shore, the brunette turned to the blonde.
"Don't move. I'll be right back, okay? This will only take a moment." He said firmly. Draco nodded and shivered, wrapping his arms around himself as a chilly wind blew by.
"Please hurry. This place is kind of creepy and I'm getting really cold." Draco begged, staring into Harry's green eyes with his grey ones. Harry nodded and walked off quickly, where his figure was immediately enveloped by the mist.
Harry speed-walked to where Crabbe and Goyle were sharpening their knives. He threw down the satchel and gave them a friendly grin.
"Hey guys, sorry about what happened in the forest. I didn't mean it, really! Look, you guys can have the crown and I'll just get going. You guys deserve the money more than me, anyway." Harry tried to give them a charming smile, but it turned out to be more of a grimace.
"Not so fast, Potter." Crabbe grunted. "You meant everything that had happened so now we're going to take revenge. We saw your pretty little blonde."
Harry felt shivers up his spine. "Leave him alone, he's not part of this."
"Defensive are we?" Goyle piped up gleefully. "Has Harry the player finally fallen in love?"
"It doesn't matter anyway," Crabbe smirked. "We're sending you to the guards and we'll take the blonde. He'll fetch a hefty price at the market."
"No," Harry snarled. "Just leave him alone. I've given you the crown, I'm not going to turn you in or tell someone so you're going to leave both me and him alone."
"Nah, don't think so." Goyle said cheerfully. "You've already betrayed us once, how can we be so sure you won't do it again?"
Harry never saw the fist headed towards the back of his head.
Draco was getting worried. Harry had left ten minutes ago and there was still no sign of him.
"Oh, Sal. I hope he's alright." Draco murmured, clutching at himself from the cold. "It's awfully chilly. I hope he comes back soon. It would be nice to get into shelter right now."
A figure suddenly appeared through the mist, but it was more muscled and brutish looking than Harry's.
"H-Harry?" Draco whimpered. "I thought you had left."
The figure then split into two figures and Draco found himself looking into two pairs of cruel, beady eyes.
"He did." The grinned as they pointed to the distance, where a ship was floating away with a figure at the wheel.
"No…" Draco whispered. "He wouldn't."
"He would." The brutes grinned.
Harry woke to a throbbing head paired with dizziness.
"What happened?" He groaned and tried to feel the bump on his head when he realized he couldn't. His hands were tied to the wheel of a ship and his hands were also clutching the satchel.
"Oh God! Draco! Shit, I'm sorry, Draco!"
His voice attracted the attention of the guards patrolling the area and one them yelled in recognition.
"Hey! That's Potter!"
Harry, however, didn't care as he yelled and shouted, trying to get back to the tiny island. He didn't notice his hands being shackled together or when he was dragged off to the dungeons. All he could think about was Draco and his broken promise.
Buckbeak galloped towards the scene, attracted by the ruckus, but he stopped and stared at the struggle between Potter and the guards. He knew intervening would only cause suspicion towards him and it would do no good for Potter anyway. So he did the only thing he could think of and flew towards the Snuggly Duckling.
Draco was running through the small forest and screaming for help. Salazar was on his shoulder, hissing in alarm. The blonde screamed again and stumbled onto the beach, panting from exhaustion.
"Oh, mother, I should've listened to you!" Draco moaned as he sunk down into the sand. "I can't believe I trusted Harry! Mother was right, I never should've left the tower." Draco sniffed unhappily.
"Draco, dear?" A familiar voice cried out in front of him. Draco looked up and saw Bellatrix staring at him with a worried expression.
"Are you alright? Come on, the thugs could be coming soon, let's go!"
Draco did nothing but follow his mother, crying softly along the way.
"Oh, mother, you were right! I should've listened to you."
"It's fine, dear." Bellatrix murmured soothingly. "Let's go home now, should we? I'll make your favourite for dinner tonight. You're okay now, and that's all that matters."
Draco didn't complain, all he did was sob. He never even asked her how she had managed to find him. But Salazar did, and he eyed Bellatrix suspiciously.
Sorry for the really late update. There's just one more chapter to go and I'll update it as soon as I can. Maybe on Sunday if I can manage it. So I'll be finishing the Rapunzel series and moving onto the next. I'm thinking of doing Beauty and the Beast next but I don't know whether or not I should do it Brothers Grimm style or Disney style. What do you think?
Sorry again about the late update but this is the longest chapter I've done, so maybe that might count as something?