THE FRIENDSHIP OF RIVALRY

Notes:

Disclaimer - I do not own the setting of Harry Potter or any of the characters; those are the property of J.K. Rowling. I have however added a few new names, given that this story is centered on the time after Harry and Draco have graduated. The plot is entirely mine.

This story is a male x male slash so please don't read it if you don't like to read these types of fanfics.

Key:

"Thoughts"

"Speech"

Chapter 9: Night of the full moon (Harry)

Harry woke with the sound of a storm echoing through the corridors. You would think that being in a dungeon would lessen the sound, but instead, the thunder echoed through the empty hallways of the castle.

He fumbled to retrieve his wand from beneath his pillow and a quick Lumos spell lit up the room. It felt strange to hear the thunder when no lightning could be seen. He glanced towards Draco and saw that he was still sleeping.

A wave of excitement flowed over him as he opened his chest and extracted his invisibility cloak and the marauder's map. Draco will be both surprised and happy when he found out that they could utilize both to catch the culprits.

Harry placed the cloak and the map on his bed and then returned to his chest to gaze at its inventory once again. He was sure he wouldn't even need half the chest's contents, but he wanted to bring enough so he could surprise Draco.

He had been hunting and helping all kinds of creatures in the forest in the time that he had stayed in his cottage and this allowed him to gain numerous rare ingredients that were barely found anymore. He knew he could make money off the ingredients, but he felt that it was better to give the ingredients to the people he trusted.

People who wouldn't use the ingredients to perform dark magic that would harm people he cared about. Well, he was still figuring out whether he could trust Severus or not, but since Draco said he'd changed, Harry had no idea what to expect from the man.

True he wasn't picking on Harry anymore and he even helped them with their plans, but Harry wanted to make sure that Snape had really changed before he gave him anything.

Well, Voldemort wasn't around anymore and Harry had saved his life, but that doesn't give enough reason for a person to change. Harry saw his memories and his feelings, but sometimes when a person acts in a certain way for too long then they forget that the personality they made was only a cover.

Harry shook the thoughts from his head before grabbing a Wolfsbane potion and sliding it into his pocket just in case. He left the map and his cloak on the bed before heading over to wake up Draco.

It was surprisingly easy to wake him up, but that didn't mean that he appreciated it. Well not until he remembered their plans that were. "Come on Draco we need to get over to the Whomping Willow."

Draco froze for a second. "Are you mental? That thing will take our heads off as soon as we go near it!" He definitely didn't look happy at all. In fact, Harry knew that everyone kept away from the Whomping Willow for a reason, but that's only because very few people knew its secrets.

"Don't worry so much Draco. There is a trick to get past the Whomping Willow so just relax. Right now we have to focus on getting out of the dungeons and then out of the castle. Snape would probably help us but his hands would be tied if there are other students or teachers nearby."

Harry saw Draco nod before he got out of bed. They got dressed and Harry allowed himself to smirk slightly at the bewildered look on Draco's face as he held out the cloak and the parchment. The expression on Draco's face was hilarious and Harry really wanted to kiss him for it. But he reigned himself in and demonstrated how the map and cloak worked instead.

"How the hell did you find these Harry? Invisible cloaks are extremely rare and I've never heard of a map that portrayed all of Hogwart's secrets, along with who is in it." If they weren't on their way to what might potentially be a dangerous werewolf, then Harry would have been glad to tell him the entire story rather than just relaying the most important facts, but as it was, they really had to get a move on if they wanted to get Professor Lupin on their side before he went into his recovery room.

"No more time for questions Draco. The map says that Professor Lupin is in the Shrieking Shack and there are no dangers nearby so let's just go." He dragged Draco down along with him until they reached the common room. Everything was quiet as they snuck out until Harry sensed that they were being followed. He opened his map and surely enough, Jean and Theo were obviously trying to hide behind a pillar.

"We know you are there you two, so just come out." Harry tried to keep the stress out of his voice. He knew the two seventh years, but he didn't know them well enough, so he was unsure whether they were trying to oust them or whether they were just trying to get in on the action.

Both Jean and Theo stepped out with guilty looks on their faces. "Sorry, Hadrian we weren't trying to spy on you. We just heard someone moving about and we thought we'd have a bit of fun with them so we hid behind the pillar. Luckily we saw that it was the two of you before we cast the spell, otherwise, you'd have grown tails by now." Jean explained quickly and Theo nodded as if he wanted to emphasize each point.

Harry stared at them for a moment until he realized that they were really telling the truth. They were pranksters by nature and this made even the simplest situation irresistible to them.

So Harry decided to take a chance. "You know… we're playing a game with a few 'friends' of ours and they gave us two months to find them. It's kind of like playing the muggle game of hide and seek, except this time it's with wizards. Would you like to help us? You might have some fun along the way since you would be free to prank them in any way you like."

The two teens eagerly nodded and they were smiling excitedly as Draco dragged Harry in close to him. "What the hell are you thinking Harry? You just allowed civilians in on the case! A case that might get them killed, I may add. We also don't know if they are a part of the very group we are hunting down!"

Harry indicated to Draco that he would explain later before he turned back to the two eager teens. "The thing is, we are not allowed to ask for help because they kind of bullied us into it and if we can't find them by the end of two months, then some people we know might get hurt. So this means that if they find out that you are helping us, we might get into a lot of trouble."

Harry looked at them to gauge their reactions, but it seemed like they were becoming even more interested if that was even possible. "Would you still be willing to help? As far as we know, any of the teachers, with the exception of Professor Snape, of course, could be in on it as well. But I'm not asking you to put yourselves in danger. If you find that any of the staff or students isn't acting like themselves, please let us know. If you find that someone suspects that you are involved with us then make sure you lay low."

Theo looked thoughtful as he spoke up. "It won't be a problem for us Hadrian. We are planning to become Aurors after we graduate. We thought about opening a joke shop at first but the Weasley twins already have that covered. Solving cases would be the next best thing. I heard that Harry Potter doesn't take cases anymore though, which is a shame since we wanted to see him again, but Draco Malfoy still works there. He might not remember us though since we were only fourth years when he graduated."

Jean grinned and nodded before he spoke. "It seems that we have a rare chance to find out how a real mission would feel. This is going to be great! But don't worry; we'll work behind the scenes. No one will know that we're helping you. We won't be Auror material if we couldn't even achieve that much, now would we?"

Jean and Theo said their goodbyes and walked back to their rooms. Harry mentally grinned as he watched them go. 'They probably can't wait to get started. Won't they be in shock when we finally reveal ourselves?'

Harry decided that he would personally recommend them at the Ministry's Auror division if they proved that they could help with the mission. 'Now I have to deal with Draco. I don't usually pull people into a case but we'd be fooling ourselves if we thought we could do this alone without anyone to help us.'

Draco waited until the duo was out of earshot before he cornered Harry again. "What do you think you are doing Harry? We can't afford to trust anyone here and now you practically spilled the entire mission to them. Why didn't you just tell them who we really were while you were at it?" Harry could almost see steam coming out of Draco's ears in his anger, so he decided the best way to silence the fuming boy, would be to do something he'd wanted to do for a very long time.

Draco was so busy concentrating on his rant that he didn't see that Harry was moving closer to him until the last second, but by then it was too late. Harry quickly turned Draco's head towards him before he pressed his lips firmly against Draco's mouth.

Draco gasped in shock and Harry took advantage of this by running his tongue along his lips before exploring Draco's mouth. Draco relaxed into him and Harry felt his arms pull him closer. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's waist to keep him still, but Draco apparently had other ideas.

Draco stopped the kiss and dragged Harry into a hidden alcove behind a painting. Harry felt the glamour of the spell lift slightly as Draco concentrated on his real form and soon enough he could also see Draco's original form. The blonde pulled Harry back into an embrace and Harry had to angle his head slightly since Draco was a bit taller than him.

Something in Harry's mind told him that it was important to remember that both their transformations worked according to the thoughts between them but the newfound knowledge sank to the back of his mind as Draco's lips found his again.

Suddenly Draco took control and he was the one being kissed senseless. The kiss lasted a while before they both stepped back and Harry could hear that Draco's breathing was just as rugged as his own. His plan had been to silence Draco with a kiss before explaining why he'd done what he did, but what would happen from here on out? He didn't want Draco to be angry at him.

Draco seemed to be thinking along the same lines because he also stood frozen for several minutes. But he recovered quickly and Harry felt him grab his hand in order to lead him out of the common room while simultaneously pulling the spell back around them. "I'm not going to ask what that was just now, since I have a feeling I already know because I feel the same. But we will talk about this after the mission. Now is not the time to get distracted."

Harry could only nod as he followed Draco out of the common room. It felt strange to hold Draco's hand while they regressed back into their childlike bodies. He couldn't believe that Draco actually felt the same about him… well he hoped he felt the same and wasn't just talking about something different.

He realized that Draco didn't let go of his hand until they reached the point where they had to put on the invisibility cloak and even then Harry could feel Draco's arm wrapping around his waist as they made their way out of the castle.

He knew that Draco probably felt as shocked as he was, but he understood Draco's decision. The one reason for it was probably the fact that they didn't have their original bodies at the moment. It took a lot of concentration to see past the spell so they were still basically 11-years old. The other reason was definitely the fact that the entire situation was unexpected.

Harry tried to shake his head free of the thoughts as they neared Hagrid's hut. Strange noises could be heard coming from within and Harry felt dread pool in his stomach. He'd told Draco of Hagrid's obsession with strange and dangerous animals, but he knew that Draco didn't completely understand the weight of the statement.

They snuck in close to the windows and at first, Harry could see nothing, but when the fog of smoke lifted, Harry felt his stomach hit rock-bottom as he recognized the miniature version of a Hydra. Oh, it was cute and cuddly and all that, but Harry had read about the destruction a single grown-up Hydra could do and it was far from pretty.

Already his mind was racing about the penalty that the ministry would bestow on Hagrid for just handling the creature. Actually having the creature in his home could get him locked up. He didn't want to let Hagrid down so he would have to warn him somehow without revealing his current self.

Harry conjured a paper before grabbing a pen out of his pocket. His handwriting would be enough to convince Hagrid and he quickly wrote down his message. It warned Hagrid that he had to be careful and that the only way he would be able to take care of the Hydra would be to give it to someone who knew about them.

Hagrid might not be happy about it, but even Harry wouldn't be able to help him if the Ministry found out about the Hydra. Potentially endangering numerous students and teachers was not a good way to get back into the ministry's good graces. It would help even less since Hagrid's wand had already been taken once due to his obsession with dangerous creatures.

"I guess this means that he's busy being his old self… doesn't it?" Harry could only nod in at Draco's statement as he pushed his letter under the door. "You know, even if you warn him, we'll still have to report him if he doesn't listen."

Again Harry could only nod, but he closed his eyes in a sigh afterward. Hagrid had to learn that dangerous animals and creatures were dangerous for a reason. If he didn't heed his warning, then Hagrid might find himself back in Azkaban. Harry didn't want to ever see him there, but he didn't have a choice. He didn't want anyone to get hurt when he could prevent it from happening.

He told Draco about his plans for Jean and Theo as they walked up the hill. "I don't intend on placing them in any danger. We can't solve this alone so we need someone to monitor the situation in places that we can't." It took some convincing but Draco finally agreed to his plans.

Harry led Draco to a safe spot just beyond the reach of the Whomping Willow and then indicated that Draco should stay still before he whispered… "I'm going to jump in and press the knot, once the knot has been pressed, the tree will be subdued and we can make our way to the Shrieking Shack.

Draco nodded and Harry turned to run towards the stem of the Whomping Willow at the opportune moment. Once there, he pressed the knot and the Whomping Willow went silent, which allowed Draco to catch up with Harry.

A lonely howl could be heard coming from the inside and Harry hugged Draco close before pushing him behind him as he stepped towards the sound. They descended a few stairs and by the time they reached the door to the Shrieking Shack, Harry could hear that there was a very irritated werewolf inside. It bothered him that it sounded even worse than the previous times and he realized that Moony might have delayed the transformation for too long in the last few months.

Harry didn't want Draco to get hurt so he walked up to the door of the Shrieking Shack first while indicating to Draco that he had to stay back. Harry fully intended to close the door firmly behind him while he fought Moony off.

Draco grabbed his arm. "This isn't a very smart thing to do, Harry. We should wait until he transforms back."

Harry shook his head. "He knows me. I sometimes join him in one of my animagus forms and his wolf sees me as his cub. This also isn't the first time that I've done this. He won't hurt me."

He turned back to the door. He knew that Draco could take care of himself, but he didn't want him to get hurt in any way. He could transform into his animagus form first, but that would leave Draco to open the door and Harry knew that the werewolf would immediately attack him then. He opened the door and squeezed in, but a massive paw sideswiped him as tried to close the door.

Pain radiated throughout his 11-year old body as his back connected with a wall. He'd forgotten to take into account that even though his magic was strong, his strength in his current form was weak and he had to blink his eyes a few times to see through the haze of pain before he was able to force his body to stand up.

He forgot that Moony wouldn't recognize his current form and the wolf was too far gone to trust his sense of smell at the moment.

An angry roar drew his attention and he glanced up to see Draco's merged animagus form forcing the werewolf into a corner. The anger in his eyes was clear and Harry mentally winced. Oh, he was so in for it now. Draco of course had every right to be mad. Harry could admit his mistake, but he knew it wouldn't end there.

The growling from Moony ceased and Harry saw that Draco had cast a sleeping spell. Since it was nearly dawn, it worked on the werewolf immediately. He shivered as Draco ran towards him. He could feel his consciousness slipping away as he tried to register what Draco was saying, but his entire body was burning. He looked down at where the burning feeling had started and saw four long gashes across his chest where Moony's nails had raked across his body. His last thought before he completely lost consciousness was: "I hope this doesn't make me Moony the second."

Thank you to those who are following this fanfic…

Sorry this update took so long, my grandfather passed away two days ago.