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"

~Parseltongue~

Chapter 14: The Art of Fear (Blaine)

Blaine watched calmly as Harry's entire body went limp. It felt like he had been waiting forever for this, ever since the moment that Harry's blood had dropped onto his egg and the mind-link was established.

But as happy as he was to finally be with his wizard, the fact that their eggs hatched earlier than planned wasn't a good sign. Trouble was brewing and they needed to be prepared.

Leah flew down from her perch and placed a vial of what looked to be a phoenix feather in water, onto Harry's chest. The end of the feather was tinged with a slight amount of blood and Blaine nodded his understanding as he grabbed the vial between his jaws and disappeared from the world.

He knew that Leah would watch over them until the ritual was complete and he calmly made his way into Harry's mindscape where Harry himself was waiting for him. The journey didn't take long and soon Blaine found himself slithering on dark nothingness as he made his way to Harry.

~Sure took you long enough Blaine. Is Leah okay? I take it she is going to be keeping watch if that vial contains what I think it does.~ Blaine nodded before handing the vial and its contents over to Harry.

~You know how she is, she doesn't want us to be in any danger. That vial contains all three phoenix elements that are needed. Are you sure you want to go through with this Harry? No wizard has ever dared to perform the ritual with one legendary beast, let alone mention two. It could tear your body apart and even if we are able to bring you back, you might find yourself robbed of all your magic.~

Harry smiled and nodded in anticipation. ~How can I not want this if it will enable me to become an actual animagus? I didn't even know there was a difference between the animagus form a wizard creates by himself and the animagus form that a blood-bound familiar can offer.~

Blaine rose up so that he could look Harry straight into the eyes. If he had human eyes he'd roll them at Harry at this point, but he could understand the wizard's enthusiasm, mostly at least. ~That's because nobody knows about the benefits of a familiar that is blood-bound a wizard. It also rarely happens and must remain a secret.~

Blaine slithered closer to Harry. ~Before we do this, however, I want you to promise me that you won't reveal any of the powers you gain to anyone unless we approve. If everything goes according to plan, you will find that every time you choose to transform into either your phoenix form or your basilisk form, it will be as if you were born that creature. And yes that means that we are going to have to teach you the finer points of behavior as well. ~

Harry nodded seriously. ~I understand. So if it will be as if I was born a phoenix and a basilisk, does that mean my lifespan will increase as well?~

Blaine smirked slyly. ~Yes and when you find your mate, theirs can be increased as well.~ The blush that crept up Harry's neck was very telling. He really hoped the boy will achieve full form where many wizards have failed, most only gained a few traits at best.

~The few witches and wizards who had the honor of performing this ritual in the past, were unable to make it all the way to full form. Most of the time it was because their magic couldn't handle the entire transformation and they were left with only being able to change or substitute certain body parts. There is also the added risk that you won't be able to use the normal animagus forms you acquired if this ritual fails. But both Leah and I feel that you are ready and you have enough power to accommodate both our forms.~

Harry nodded and Blaine gave him a small squeeze around his wrist with one of his coils. The ritual was going to happen and it was going to work. Harry already had basilisk venom and phoenix tears in his veins and although it came from a different pair of creatures, its consistency in harmony showed them that his body had been built to withstand it.

Once Harry was fully converted into a wizard with legendary creature blood that transcended both the darkest of dark and the purest of light, they will be able to teach him the knowledge of the ancient magicks.

Blaine was glad he had warned Harry about all of this beforehand. But the boy had been worried that his boredom was the last excuse he wanted to use to start such changes. The basilisk grinned. Harry had certainly changed his mind fast enough when his mate was involved, even if Draco didn't know of his own status yet. It was one of Harry's personality quirks that sometimes had the ability to drive Blaine and Leah insane. Harry always put himself in danger to save others and he refused to do anything to protect himself unless it also involved protecting others. As eggs they had been unable to do anything about it, now they could.

He handed the vial containing the phoenix elements to Harry, then grimaced in pain as he reached back and pulled out one of his own scales. The scale, attached to a little bit of basilisk blood, was placed in a floating vial that Harry seemed to have created in his dreamscape and Blaine leaned forward to add his venom to the mixture as well.

Harry grabbed the second vial and closed it with a cork before he settled down into a meditative state as he held both vials. Blaine could feel his anticipation building as time seemed to slow down, but he waited patiently until Harry stirred again. By then the phoenix feather had dissolved inside the phoenix tears and Blaine's own scale had dissolved within his venom. The only thing Harry had to do now was to drink both vials at the same time and Blaine had to keep himself from pushing away the vials from Harry's mouth as he placed them to his lips.

Now that it was time, Blaine found that his excitement dimmed as the dangers of the ritual ran through his mind.

It was painful to allow Harry to do something that could potentially kill him and Blaine could sense that Leah was now also having a really hard time restraining herself.

Their instincts screamed that they shouldn't let Harry proceed with the ritual, that the pain wasn't worth it, but after a while, those instincts suddenly dulled. Blaine looked over at Harry, but he had to close his eyes in restraint as Harry seemed to emit a silent scream of pain.

He blindly moved to coil around his wizard as he both tried to restrain and comfort him.

They had known that it would hurt. But the waves of pain rolling over Harry showed them that it hurt much more than what they had predicted. Blaine tried to keep his head averted from the thrashing body in his hold, but the waves of pain rolled off of Harry in magical bursts and Blaine could feel his wizard's energy disappear from the world.

Fear and magic kept him rooted as his link to Harry were broken and Blaine could hear Leah's pained cry as their connection was cut off. Everything around them became silent and Blaine was horrified when he turned his head and realized that Harry had no magical power left in his entire body or mind.

Blaine tried to speak to him but he knew that Harry wouldn't be able to understand him anymore. He slowly yet lightly tightened his coils in comfort. Even if the boy didn't have his power anymore, Blaine made a vow to stay with him and in the back of his mind he could hear Leah promising the same thing.

Blaine barely registered the fact that Leah had followed them into the dreamscape as he laid his head on Harry's chest. Leah perched herself on Harry's lap before she threw her wings open and enveloped them both in her fiery feathers.

The wizard didn't move, though the rise and fall of his chest revealed that they had not lost him completely.

They sat that way for a while until a slight pulse of Harry's magic softly filled the room that the mindscape had created. Blaine looked around them and he was shocked to find that Harry's magic was returning to its rightful place inside him.

The magic waves became stronger and stronger until both Blaine and Leah started feeling a slight pull on their energy. They gladly gave up their energy to encourage his magic and Blaine heard Leah give an excited tjirp as she realized what had happened at the same time as he did.

Harry's magic had removed itself until he could correctly adapt to their magic and touching him seemed to have been the best decision they could have made. The connection helped their elements settle within Harry and his power returned to his body only moments later when it accepted the change.

Blaine could only stare in amazement as he realized that their combined elements had even healed Harry's past scars and his magic now seemed much more formidable than it had been in the past. He had hoped it would happen, but seeing and feeling it, was a lot different from just imagining and hoping for it.

He immediately wanted to inform Harry of the development, but he kept his mouth shut. As much as he wanted to be the one to reveal the change to Harry, he also knew that it would be better if he found out about the changes on his own. Only then would Harry realize that he had so much more worth than what he could fathom.

Blaine looked at Leah and he could see that his emotions of relief were reflected in her eyes. For a moment both of them had thought that they had condemned Harry to an existence without magic.

Harry surprised them by throwing his arms around them and holding them close. "I don't know if I have ever thanked either of you after the blood-bond was created, but thank you. You saved me and now you even trusted me enough to be able to take on your forms and live as one of your blood kin. I will never be able to thank you enough."

Harry's earnest face stared at Blaine and he felt himself becoming mush under that stare. ~ We do not wish for anything, other than being able to stay with you, Harry. We care about you and we would do anything to protect you. The only way you can repay us is to stay alive and safe. Yet we both know that that would be impossible for you to promise. ~

Blaine and Leah snickered at the exasperated look on Harry's face. ~Oh come on Harry, you are practically a danger magnet and everyone knows that. We are going to have to keep a sharp eye on you during this case and your enemies better beware.~ Leah nodded and rubbed her head against Harry's neck. Both Leah and Blaine were using Harry's lap as a chair while he sat cross-legged on the floor.

Harry smiled wryly. "Thank you for wanting to protect me, but I'm not that bad! Besides, Draco also has my back. I may not have understood him during our years at Hogwarts, but I find that I made a lot of misconceptions during that time and we already cleared them up."

Blaine hesitated for a moment before he slithered up Harry's arm and around his neck. ~I know that we are not supposed to interfere, but I also know that the two of you kissed.~ Harry's eyes grew wide as he tried to think of an excuse, but Blaine just shook his head.

~Draco cares for you, Harry. He is probably one of the only wizards we trust at this moment. He also has a blood-bonded familiar, but he doesn't seem to know about it. It will be up to you to tell him about it and to teach him as we taught you. His parents thought they were protecting him during his coming of age ceremony, but they didn't. His familiar already hatched but is stuck within a secret passage under Malfoy Manor and he doesn't even know about it since he's been muted to its call. We heard its pleas earlier, and his familiar said that it can't hold on much longer.~

Blaine could see the wheels turning inside Harry's mind, but he knew that he didn't have to hope. He trusted Harry to never leave anyone in trouble if he could help them and Blaine fully supported this belief. Unless it placed his wizard in danger.

Harry stood quickly, their weight barely troubling him because of the ritual. ~Come on, let's get out of here and inform Draco. Then we can get this little midnight rescue mission over and done with. I really can't wait to find out what Draco's familiar is. I can't think of anything that would suit him unless it's also part of the legendary creatures list like you two are. But most of the creatures on the list are already either dead or in hiding.~

They willed themselves out of the dreamscape. It felt strange to see the darkness fade out until they were in the dorms once more. Draco was still asleep and Blaine looked around as a shimmering dome of magic covered the bed and another the room. ~Thank you for shielding us, Leah. This room would have probably been a mess if you didn't.~

Leah just nodded and dissolved the shields before returning to her perch. Harry looked nervous as he moved to Draco's bed. He gently shook Draco's shoulder and Blaine had to stop himself from hissing in laughter. It's not like the boy was made of glass.

Harry shook his shoulder again. This time a little harder and managed to move away just in time as the undercover blonde shot up in his bed. He immediately looked around for danger, but when he found none, Blaine saw Draco's eyes come to rest on Harry who had abruptly stepped back, just in case Draco grabbed his wand and stunned him on reflex.

It was a strange reaction, but Harry had told them about Auror training and Blaine supposed that that was the reason Harry had been so careful about waking Draco up. It was really funny to see such a reaction, but it also made Blaine wonder how Harry had gotten rid of the habit. He never went directly into attack mode when they woke him through their bond.

Draco cast a tempus spell and groaned. "What the hell Harry? It's eleven-thirty. We have class tomorrow. What could be so important that you would wake me up at this hour? Couldn't it wait till morning?"

"Sorry for waking you up Draco, but there is something important that I must tell you. Blaine and Leah informed me earlier that they could hear your familiar when they are close to you but you don't seem to hear it at all. They think someone placed a block on the link."

Draco leaned back against the pillows and nodded. "I don't know if it's true, but it's possible. I knew there were some things that my parents were hiding from me. Tell me everything from the beginning and that includes the information on why your energy suddenly feels extremely scary."

Thank you for those who are reading this fanfic… And a special thank you to those who follow it.