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"/"Telepathy"

"Speech"

~Parseltongue~

-"flashback"-

Chapter 26: It all comes to a close (Harry)

Harry and Draco looked at Tonks as she left before turning their attention to their godfathers. Harry really wanted to make sure that Remus got back to the castle safely, but he knew that Severus would take care of it.

The potions master nodded in understanding before holding onto Remus more tightly and apparating back to Hogwarts. Harry turned to pick up Blaine before following Draco out of the house. They found Tonks waiting for them outside along with a few other Aurors.

Harry mentally sent a message to Leah to bring the book and she quickly flashed to him with it in her claws. Neither Harry nor Draco had expected Cyan to follow her though. Harry was about to tell Leah that she should go back to the castle, but Draco grabbed his arm and shook his head before speaking. "We could use them for support from the air and they can keep a lookout on whether things are safe or not."

Harry thought for a moment then nodded before he turned to Leah again. "Leah, can the two of you keep watch from the air? We don't know what kind of trap we could be walking into." Leah chirped as she landed on his shoulder and Cyan circled Draco.

They looked around as they noticed that the Aurors had become very quiet and Harry could see that their mouths were practically hanging open at the sight of the two flyers. Harry just shook his head and nudged Tonks to shake her loose from her shock. "Are we going to get going?" Tonks nodded and took out what seemed to be a pendant.

"This portkey will take us to a spot just outside the castle wards. We have curse-breakers waiting for us there already." They nodded and grabbed onto the chain. Tonks spoke the required words and Harry grimaced as he felt the usual tug behind his navel. He stumbled as he landed but Draco easily caught him. He glared at the blonde when he realized that he was trying not to laugh.

"Not a word, Draco." The other man just shrugged. They followed Tonks as she started walking. "We found out that these people were considered neutral during the war, but they were actually the ones who gave You-Know-Who the tools to entice people to try the darker side of magic. The grandfather wasn't very fond of his son, but when he saw Tom Riddle, he realized that the man was very ambitious." Tonks paused as she turned towards them.

"You can imagine what happened then, but long story short: this family is toxic and we need to take them by surprise if we are going to have the upper hand. From the information we have gathered, we've found that they are extremely supportive of Draco and that means that they think you did something to him, Harry. They plan to 'release' Draco from his spell and use you as a slave of some kind, but it was determined that it depended on what Draco wanted to do."

Harry and Draco both looked at her strangely and she rolled her eyes. "Ultimately it means that they won't do anything to Draco and they won't do anything to you either, Harry. But that is only if it seems like Draco has broken the spell he was under."

They nodded in understanding and Blaine hissed. Harry looked towards Draco. "Blaine says that Cyan would be able to place me under a type of mental trance. It would seem and read like I'm under a trance if they do detection spells, but in reality, I will have full control over my body." Draco looked at Harry in doubt before turning to Cyan who nodded. This caused Draco to sigh.

"So let me get this straight. You want Cyan to put you under a fake trance and then you want me to lead you into the castle full of potential…wait, scratch that…positively crazy people?" Harry nodded sheepishly and Draco shook his head in shock. "Trust you to always rush headlong into trouble." Draco then looked at Tonks. "Please tell me you have another way."

Tonks looked at the ground and shook her head in embarrassment before turning back to Draco. "There is no time to think of another plan. They won't kill you since they kind of worship the ground you walk on. Your father was You-Know-Who's second in command and he is in jail so that position now falls to you. They won't hurt Harry if you say that you want him as your slave or something. They think that you went to the light side to destroy it from the inside."

Harry had to admit that that was a very plausible reason for following the plan, but Draco still looked doubtful. "What keeps them from deciding that they shouldn't follow me? Are you even able to guarantee that we will both make it out alive?" Tonks sadly lowered her head and Draco shook his head. "I understand that this is important, but are you really willing to bet Harry's life on this idiotic plan?"

Harry decided that he had to quickly defuse the situation before it got out of hand. "Draco please calm down. She is only trying to do her job and as she said, they kind of worship the ground you walk on so we won't really be in any danger. I mean it's not like there is someone who can read your mind and determine whether you are lying or not."

Draco sighed and stepped back before looking at Harry. "I understand that, but I just found you. I don't want to lose you ever again." Harry looked at him in understanding. "I know. I also do not want to lose you. So we will just have to make sure that we are perfectly safe." Draco looked at him in confusion and Harry tilted his wrist to show him his bracelet.

"These bracelets have portkeys remember? They also have a shield function if you direct your magic into it and say the word 'shield'. If we keep this in mind, there will be no danger." Draco tilted his wrist and looked at his own bracelet. "Are you sure about this?" Harry nodded, but Draco looked back at the bracelets in doubt. "What if something goes wrong."

Harry looked down at his feet. "Well I am kind of a danger magnet, but I'm hoping that the term doesn't also apply to anyone close to me." Draco shook his head before he turned and looked at Harry. "Something tells me that you will do this whether I like it or not." Harry shrugged sheepishly. "Well, that kind of sums up my character."

Draco looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Harry blushed. "Okay, okay, they pissed me off because they took Remy." Tonks couldn't help but laugh at Harry's reasoning, but one look from Draco silenced her before he turned his attention back to Harry.

"If we do this, then you have to promise me that you won't do anything stupid without consulting with me first." Harry sighed but nodded. "I will try to tell you if it seems like I'm going to do something crazy. So are we doing this?" Draco reluctantly nodded as he turned to look at Tonks again.

"I take it that you are probably going to have the curse-breakers wait until we give you some kind of signal to let you know that it is time to attack?" Tonks nodded and Harry looked at Leah and Cyan. "Leah and Cyan could swoop in low over your heads if we give them the signal telepathically or they could produce a burst of fire to alert you."

Draco and Tonks seemed to think for a moment before they nodded in unison. "That would be a good idea. They will have to use fire though to avoid any confusion." Leah and Cyan nodded before Cyan turned to Harry expectantly. Harry had barely given his permission before he felt the dragon's magic all around him. His brain and body functions felt a little fuzzy, but he would be able to easily shake it off when needed. He then looked up at Draco as Leah and Cyan took to the skies.

"Well? Are we doing this or not? We still have classes to prepare for." His words prompted the Aurors and curse-breakers into position and he squeezed Draco's hand when the man looked a little angry at the fact that they were being placed in dangerous positions yet again. Draco looked at him. "I think that resigning was the best thing we ever did. After this is over I'm going to kidnap you for an entire week...no…rather make that a month."

Harry laughed at this. "We may have our vacation once school's out. Sev and Remy deserve a break first." Draco nodded before glancing worriedly towards the castle. "How are we going to do this? Are you just going to act like my bodyguard or would it be better if you just followed me in a daze?"

Harry surveyed the area as he thought about it before he looked back at Draco. "I think it would be better if I acted like an entranced bodyguard. Any other way and they would inquire why I still have my wand." Draco nodded and looked at Harry's neck where the basilisk was curled up. "You are going to have to ask Blaine to follow my orders as if I also control him now and it might work better if I were to carry him."

Blaine seemed to understand already because he easily moved from Harry's body to Draco by using their joined hands. Harry blushed as he realized that they still haven't released their hands and Draco smirked before quickly pulling the other man into his arms and giving him a heart-stopping kiss. They were both breathing unevenly as they parted and Draco smiled. "Let's get this over and done with so that I can drag you to bed."

Harry blushed even harder before nodding and then composing himself, Cyan's spell felt like it was seeping deep into his limbs now, but he could feel that it was only on the surface. Draco led the way into the castle and they were barely past the wards when a whole group of people surrounded them.

It didn't take long for them to notice Draco though and they bowed deeply which left Harry to wonder whether he should be laughing or worrying. Luckily the 'spell' was able to help him to keep up the charade.

"Master Draco, please forgive our actions. We were not informed that you would be here." Draco plastered on his aristocratic mask and looked at them in disdain. "Am I to assume that you are under the impression that I need to alert someone when I am about to grace them with my presence?" The man who had spoken paled as he registered Draco's words.

"N-nn-ooo master forgive me for my words. Please allow me to inform the family of your visit." Draco nodded with a disgusted grimace (which Harry could tell, wasn't faked at all) before looking around at the others. His look gave the impression that he was looking for an excuse to hex someone and they subtly tried to stand as still as possible. Harry couldn't help being impressed by the way that Draco was able to manipulate his masks.

The servant hurried back and bowed deeply once again before speaking. "Please allow me to lead you to the study, my Lord." Draco nodded and to Harry, he looked extremely bored even though he knew that the man was probably itching to apparate them both out of danger.

They pause before the study door as the servant bowed and disappeared. Harry worked hard to keep up his dazed impression as they entered a giant study where several of the family members were gathered. They also bowed deeply and the older lord motioned for Draco to sit down while he eyed Harry in curiosity. Draco let out a bored sigh.

"After our Lord's defeat, I put a plan for revenge into motion and this is the end result. The man actually thought that I was in love with him and so it was easier to deal with him than I had expected it to be. Now his power and abilities are under my control."

The room's occupants looked at him in awe until one of the younger children, whose name he didn't know, pointed out that Harry still has his wand. It made Draco inwardly cringe, but he smirked at them. "You do know that he is brilliant in defense, as much as I loathe admitting it. What better use would there be for him than acting as my personal bodyguard? Especially since I worked so hard to break him and mold him into how I want him."

He looked at the family and saw that they were all very devoted to him. The older lord suddenly paled and bowed once more. "Forgive me, my lord, your arrival was quite a shock. May I introduce my family…" His words were cut-off when an even older man entered the room while speaking.

"Have I taught you nothing, my son?" He then turned to Draco with a slight bow before becoming very serious. "I am sorry my lord, but it has come to my attention that you might have been placed under some kind of spell or potion. Please permit me to do an analysis to make sure that you are yourself." Harry cringed. He was sure that it was the old man who had given Tom Riddle the tools to rise as Voldemort, who stood before him now.

Draco tilted his head and Harry could see fury dancing in his eyes as his voice turned cold. "I would have gladly allowed you to scan me for spells if I knew you, but I do not. Your family came to my attention when you kidnapped Remus Lupin and you have angered me since I was working on a plan to get the Alpha on my side."

His words caused the room's occupants to cringe as he continued speaking. "I will, however, permit the scan if it is done by my newly acquired guard." The old man's eyes narrowed, but he nodded. Draco turned to face Harry while making sure that there wasn't anyone behind him. "As your master, I order you to perform a full scan." Harry bowed deeply while carefully keeping his face blank. "Yes master, I obey."

He then started to speak in a clear yet dead voice as he cast any and all detection spells that he could remember from his days at the Auror academy. It naturally showed that Draco was clear of all spells or potions and he turned to face the old man once again. "Before you even ask, I will do the same scan on Potter to show you that he is indeed under my control.

Harry stood still as if waiting for his next order as Draco cast the same detection spells on him. The results showed that he was clear except for a familiar bond that was connected to Draco. Harry had to work hard to school his features as he realized that Cyan had actually given them an easy way to explain their connection.

The old man seemed pleased and he looked towards his son. Draco and Harry followed suit and this caused them to miss the fact that the man had just cast a spell on himself that would allow him to know whether they are speaking the truth or not. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as his son asked Draco about how he got Harry to willingly perform the bond and the old man subtly alerted his grandchildren that their lord was lying.

Draco started mentioning the book and the son looked suspiciously happy that he might get a chance to read it.

The old man was about to let loose a spell when a girl came running into the office. "Did our new Lord say that we could have Harry? Please tell me he did. There are so many things I want to…" The girl couldn't even finish her sentence as her presence alerted Harry and Draco that the old man had his wand out.

Spells started flying as Harry tried to shield them both while Draco shot offensive spells at their attackers. They both sent a telepathic message to the flyers and they could feel that the curse-breakers were working on the wards. Harry mentally swore to himself. They hadn't factored in that there might be stronger or ancient wards around the castle.

The girl was the first to go down and two of the youngest siblings fell shortly after. Harry ducked and pulled Draco down with him as the other lackeys of the group appeared and started firing spells. He knew that they couldn't hold on for much longer as a spell singed his shoulder. Draco looked like he had realized the same thing and Harry hated the look of panic on the blonde's face.

Harry started retaliating with wilder spells and he was glad that the rest of the servants were probably trying to fight off the Aurors outside. The Hufflepuff's two lackeys fell but Harry couldn't allow himself to hope that they would be able to defeat everyone in time. He threw up a ground shield as multiple green streaks came towards them and cringed as a severing spell nipped him on the leg.

Draco's hiss of pain caught his attention and he felt his anger boil up inside him as he saw that a cutting spell had gotten the blonde on the side of his neck. Luckily most of the spell seemed to have missed; otherwise, he wouldn't have still been alive.

A long hiss caught his attention and his eyes widened as he realized that they still had Blaine with them, but he knew that they couldn't use the basilisk's stare or Blaine's venom. A glint caught his eye and Harry's eyes widened as he remembered their bracelets. "Draco, the shields!" The blonde nodded and he quickly cast a blinding spell to give them time to activate the shields so that they could use the portkeys.

But the old man seemed to have anticipated it because he shielded his eyes while the other people in the room were blinded. Harry was about to activate his shield when Draco pushed him out of the way as he noticed a spell heading straight for them.

The blonde didn't have enough time to get himself out of the way though and Harry watched horrified as the spell struck the blonde directly in the chest. The spell looked familiar and the brunet felt dread fill him as he realized that it was the same heart-stopping curse that had wrenched them apart in their past life as he registered the words that the old man used.

Denial surfaced its ugly head and Harry simply lost it. It was as though rational thought ceased to exist within his mind and black flames engulfed him as he stared down at Draco's limp body. He felt his heart splitting in two as a spell confirmed that Draco wasn't alive anymore.

He knew that Leah had warned him not to lose control of his flames and a splitting pain raveled throughout his entire body. At first he thought that he had been cursed but he suddenly found that he wasn't completely human anymore. His mind screamed that he didn't want to live without Draco and he would take down the bastard that took his love from him even if it killed him in the process.

He glanced at a huge half-broken mirror to the side of the room and he was shocked to see that he kind of resembled a demon from the deeper parts of hell. He had two colossal black feathery wings on his back with black flames dancing through them. His eyes were reptilian-shaped emeralds and he seemed to have an extra eyelid like a reptile. He opened his mouth as an idea took root and he saw that he had two fangs that dropped down from the roof of his mouth. His skin also had random patches of scales under his eyes, on his neck, and even on his wrists. He was pretty sure that he had scales in other places too.

The black flames completed the picture and he turned back to look at the group who were now pressed against the corner of the room in fear. Black flames surrounded them and blocked them from going anywhere, but he still didn't feel satisfied. He knew that he had somehow become merged with his phoenix and basilisk forms and he planned on using the boost in his powers to the fullest before he joined wherever Draco was.

He heard Leah and Blaine cry out to him, but he was too far gone to care. His flames erupted even further and spread throughout the castle. A loud cry tore from his throat and the castle startled crumbling down around them as he lost control of his power. An explosion sounded off and the castle collapsed completely. Harry fell down on his knees next to Draco who had been protected by a shield that Harry had instinctively thrown up around the blonde.

He picked Draco up and cradled him on his lap. He knew instinctively that Leah had carried everyone out before the castle collapsed and a part of him wished that the family had died from his flames.

Drops fell onto his hands and he realized that he was crying. He could hear the voices of the Aurors as they searched for them, but Harry felt compelled to take Draco away from everyone so that he could mourn in peace and maybe find a way to join the blonde.

He secured his arms around the Draco and stood up, but a thud caught his attention. He immediately recognized the ritual book and a flash of hope passed through him. He would use the spell that he had created to counter the heart-stopping curse! Even if the spell hadn't been tested yet, it was the only option he had left.

He wandlessly conjured a mattress and placed Draco upon it. He then took the book and opened it to a page that contained his own notes. He then set the book down and concentrated his magic on the blond before calling on the spell. His hope dimmed as nothing happened and he tried again. His movements became more frantic as he tried the spell for the fifth time without any results.

The heat was starting to leave Draco's body and Harry placed his forehead to the blonde's. He didn't realize that in his grief he was actually whispering the spell over and over again as he wished that he had the power to share his heartbeat with Draco. What's the use of being the master of death if he couldn't even keep the person he loved with him?

He climbed onto the mattress to lie next to the blonde before curling up around him and placing his head on Draco's chest. He wished that the fluttering of the heartbeat he heard was real and he closed his eyes. A thump sounded up from the chest of the man under him and Harry's eyes snapped open. Another thump sounded up from beneath him and he quickly sat up to check the blonde's pulse.

He was truly convinced that he was losing his mind as the light fluttering thump became stronger and stronger but as he looked at Draco's face for a sign of life, the man's eyes opened and he found two bright silver pools looking up at him. He grabbed the other man into a tight hug. And a deep feeling of relief had him losing most of the strength in his body.

A thought occurred to him and he sent a Patronus to Tonks before picking Draco up into his arms. He sent Blaine and Leah a telepathic message to get Cyan and to meet them in their quarters. The basilisk and the phoenix quickly agreed, but they warned Harry that they were going to have a long talk about his rash actions.

Draco's eyes went wide as he took in the changed form of Harry. "Uhm how long was I out?" Harry gave him a look and the blonde fell silent. "What were you saying earlier? Something about telling you before I did something stupid? I think we might have to apply that rule to you as well. I'm sorry I didn't listen when you doubted that the plan would work…I should have just set up an anti-apparition shield before drowning the castle in Fiend-Fyre."

The blonde paled as he realized what had happened, but Harry didn't leave him much time to contemplate anything because he spread his newly acquired appendages and shot into the sky with one powerful downbeat of his wings. He laughed as Draco gripped onto him extremely tightly. "I won't drop you, you know."

A thought allowed him to use his phoenix abilities and he ported them directly into the infirmary. Poppy rushed to check them both over as they described what had happened. She then pointed them to Minerva's office since the headmistress would be better at finding out whether Harry would be able to transform back into his human form or not.

The good news was that after she lectured them for an hour on staying away from any possible danger in the future, she told Harry that he would be able to regain his human form by concentrating on correcting the changes, but he would not be able to take his individual basilisk and phoenix forms anymore. He didn't really mind his new form and the fact that Draco kept giving him heated looks made him think of some interesting things they could do.

They were then advised to seek out Severus and Remus who had been staying awake to ensure that they made it home safely. It was only after another long explanation that they finally made it to their place and Harry grabbed Draco and dragged him into the bathroom for a quick shower. They were so exhausted that they immediately fell asleep in each other's arms.

Thank you for reading. We are almost at the end of this story. The next chapter will be the epilogue. Thank you to everyone who followed this story.