Disclaimer: As always, nothing that you recognize belongs to me.
A/N: Well thank you so much to everyone who continues to review and add this story to their favorites and alerts. It really truly makes my day! I do so hope you like this chapter, it pushes along the plot a bit and has a good comedic relief in the form of a very gay Draco Malfoy. Do enjoy.
And of course a gigantic thank you to my lovely beta Poison-Quills who truly makes this story so, so much better, going far and beyond my bad grammar.
*curtsies*
On with the story.
fresh new lily
Verity was fuming as she paced around their hotel room whipping her wand above her head sending all their belongings zooming into her chocolate brown and gold designer suitcase she purchased in one of the shops in the hotel. Several of the items belonged to the hotel, various toiletries, towels, a very plush bath robe, and vases that she found pretty. Ron was sitting in a chair at the vanity trying to heal a few minor burns and cuts Draco had managed to hit him with but he was shaking so badly that he couldn't hold his wand steady enough to perform the simple charms.
"What in the bloody hell happened back there Ronald? This was supposed to be my vacation. I was supposed to have a week of pampering and spas and relaxation, or have you managed to forget that these are your babies I am carrying?" she screeched laying into him. "What was he doing here Ronald? Did you tell him where to find us? Tell me!"
Ron, who still hadn't managed to do anything much with his wounds, couldn't help but trip over his words, Verity had just possibly killed Harry who no matter what he said had always been his best friend, and the dark power was still radiating off of her crackling in the air. "N-n-no. I sw-swear. I d-don't know h-how he f-ff-found us. I j-just saw h-him playing C-c-craps. He…he said he was g-going to t-take me in," he finally managed to tell her.
Verity suddenly calmed and quickly made her way to Ron's side. "Shhh, darling. Calm down, it's going to be fine. We will just get out of here and start over. He won't find us again, no one will," she assured him as she cupped his face in her hands. "You're shaking terribly darling. You need to take your potion, you will feel so much better," she said sweetly as she silently 'Accioed' a vial to her outstretched hand.
Ron simply closed his eyes and tilted his head back as she brought the cool glass vial to his lips and slowly tipped its contents down his throat. "Yes, thank you," he muttered dejectedly. Ron knew there was something wrong with him, and that there had been for some time. It had been wrong long before he stared seeing Verity. Long before she started helping him to self-medicate with potions he honestly knew little about. In all honestly something had always been wrong.
Ron had never truly been happy. He was the youngest of six boys and never the best at anything. Then he had met Harry and felt special to be chosen as the best friend of The-Boy-Who-Lived. But that friendship left him in the shadows like he had been with his family. When Harry had pushed him into a reluctant friendship with Hermione he once again found himself to be a little less important, no longer the sole best friend of Harry Potter. He had really liked Hermione and as time went on came to really enjoy being a part of the so called 'Golden Trio'. Hermione was always so much smarter than he was and always so bloody perfect. In the end he saw marrying Hermione as a way to make everyone happy, it was what he was supposed to do. He had never really loved her. He didn't honestly think he knew how to love anyone anymore. There was too much darkness in his life. Sometimes he felt like that locket was still around his neck poisoning him. He knew that the darkness was just a part of him and that was the real reason the locket had affected him so much. It was why Dumbledore had given him the damned Deluminator. He had hoped that Ron would find a way to defeat the darkness within himself. He never did.
Ron was selfish and miserable. Fred's death had just pushed him over the edge. There was just something in everyone's eyes that seemed to say they wished Fred was there instead of him. Fred had never stopped fighting but Ron had left his friends time and again, more than even they realized. He still remembered the first time he had truly abandoned them. He had just seen the way to defeat the giant chess set that was guarding the Philosopher's Stone and knew he could get Harry through the door, but he was scared of what was beyond it. He saw a perfect opportunity in sacrificing himself, he knew that he could have won in another three moves without the need to sacrifice anyone, but he was done. Then when the blow was dealt to his piece he flew back and landed on his arse which had hurt but had hardly knocked him unconscious. He simply flung himself at the ground dramatically, a trick he had used a few times to get attention at home while simultaneously getting his brothers in trouble. In the end they hadn't really needed him anyways, Hermione was enough to get Harry through and the Stone had been safe.
It had gone on like that for years. His injury in the Chamber of Secrets would have hardly been enough to keep any of his brothers from helping to rescue their only sister but Ron sure as shite didn't want to face a bloody Basilisk. Then there had been the tournament in fourth year, he knew Harry didn't want the fame and glory, but it didn't change that he had it. Ron had been so jealous he had pushed away his friends and started sinking further into his depression.
With fifth year he had tried to be a better friend but once the rescue mission Harry sent them on became a full-fledged battle Ron began to look for a way out. The Department of Mysteries was just that, a place of mysteries. When the brain tank had burst he saw an opportunity much like he had done years before with the chess set. The brains stung as they had 'attacked' if you could really call it that but it was more like he saw every thought he had ever had as they accessed his mind. It was odd more than debilitating but it was a way to avoid the Death Eaters. Hermione almost died and he hadn't been there to help.
With sixth year he had worked to make up for it at first but then he had made the Quidditch team and was finally someone. he was a King as the song went. It took little more than the advances of Lavender to make him all but forget his friends. He was a teenage boy after all and Lavender was offering him all kinds of pleasures he had only really dreamed about before. She ended up leaving him using Hermione as an excuse but he found out later that she had been seeing Pavarati for over a year and used Ron to figure out what it all really meant, who she really was. When it became all too apparent that Ron couldn't please her like her dorm mate could Ron was toast.
Without Lavender to give him constant attention he turned back to Harry and Hermione knowing they would forgive him like they always did. Then Dumbledore had died and Hermione managed to convince him to help Harry. Ron had seen a chance at glory, but the reality of life on the run was far from what he had expected. It had been all too easy in the end to blame the Horcrux for his leaving. Oh sure, he went back after George had railed on him and told him that he was in no way welcome to stay with them in hiding. He managed to destroy the Locket and they took him back but almost immediately they were captured and all he could think was that he wished he never went back.
When they finally made it through the war Ron had tried to play Quidditch, but his fame wasn't enough to make up for his lackluster talent. He may have had a better chance if he hadn't been hung over all the time. He started drinking at the Victory party and had never really stopped. So he became an Auror, having to do less than the typical three year training program because of his efforts in the war alongside Harry; who incidentally became his partner.
Then there was Hermione. After the war he could have had any witch he wanted, the girls threw themselves at the so called war hero, but everyone was pushing them together. His mom especially wanted Hermione in her family. He had lost the will to fight and thought he could frankly do worse. But she was always punishing him for everything, making everything into his fault. She never let him touch her even.
When he had overheard Verity talking to Percy in hushed tones about potions and muggle drugs he had been shocked and confused. At first he wanted to burst in there and put a stop to it all, to call Percy on it and best his brother in a way. Then as he listened more he heard Percy talk about 'Oblivion' and his first thought was that falling into oblivion sounded a hell of a lot better than dealing with his life. He later realized that was the street name of one of the Potion and muggle drug cocktails that Percy was helping to manufacture and distribute.
Slowly he started spending more time at the shop with Verity, trying to find out more about the Potions. One night when he had worked up enough courage to ask her about 'Oblivion' she invited him to a hotel she let him take his first taste of the Potion. That had been years ago, before he was even married yet. It wasn't long before he was using 'Oblivion' to help him forget everything that was wrong with this life but he could feel how it slowed him down during his training and so he decided to ask Verity what she had that would give him a little boost during the day.
Verity had smirked at him with an all to happy glint in her eye and introduced him to 'Resurrection'. Which was a cross between an 'Invigoration Draught' and muggle uppers and though he knew little about them he felt like he could take on anything when he took it. Soon he was taking 'Resurrection' in the mornings to help him get through the day and 'Oblivion' at night to help him relax and sleep. The toll on his mind and body was becoming obvious and at times he wished he could quit. Without the 'Oblivion' he found he would be shaky and jittery and anxious as the day wore on and without the 'Resurrection' and he was dead on his feet and his mind was fuzzy and muddled as if he were quite drunk; that was a feeling he knew well.
As it was, he welcomed the relief that flooded him as his mistress poured a cool vial of 'Oblivion' down his throat. It effectively calmed the tremors in his hands and the anxiety that was coursing through his veins. "Mmmm. Thank you sweets. I needed it I know. What're we gonna do now?" he asked her quietly and reveled in the feeling of calm surging through him.
Verity moved behind Ron and began to massage his neck and shoulders further lulling him into a state of utter relaxation. Her positioning behind him further served to hide her exaggerated eye roll in his direction as she thought of how useless he really was. He made the very best type of man; one that was completely reliant on her, and stupid enough not to notice. "We need to get out of here. All of this stress isn't good for the babies Ronnie. We should just go to California and find a cute little house on the beach somewhere. Doesn't that sound nice? Forget all about San Francisco. It's too big of a city and the wizarding community is too large, we would risk being recognized. Maybe that's how Potter managed to find us. Someone could have seen us. I could have sworn it was that pompous arse Malfoy traipsing about. We'll leave in the morning and figure it out when we get there," she told him, lacing her voice with as much concern and timid hope as she could muster.
'Sound good Vy, We have plenty of money anyhow. I can't believe the exchange rate from Galleons into dollars. We'll be good sweets. You and the babies can play in the sand and drink lemonade. I can be a small town cop, maybe run the force someday, and you can raise kids and garden or something. And we can…" Ron started to tell her when he was cut off by her mouth on his neck. Ron moaned at the contact. "Feels good sweets," he told her causing her to smirk triumphantly at her ability to shut him up.
Verity moved back around to position herself in front of Ron. "You like that baby? Why don't you show me how much?" she said wantonly as her hand rubbed over the bulge in his pants. She knew she would have to do most of the work because of the Potion, but it was her preference anyways. He was always easier to control when he was sufficiently drugged. She had also made sure not to bring any of the special batches of 'Resurrection" that she brewed with added Anabolic Steroids to increase his testosterone and rage. She didn't need him raging at her. That was something she had specifically thought of with Hermione in mind. Now that Ron wasn't with his 'wife' anymore there was no real need to heighten his aggression. Verity preferred to be the one in control; between her Potions and her body she had Ron right where she wanted him.
Verity pulled Ron out of the chair he was in and backed him towards the bed where she proceeded to remove both of their clothing. Ron lay there quite passively, the combination of 'Calming Draught' and benzodiazepine, in the form of a muggle drug called 'Valium', working quite effectively to relax him and make him incredibly open to her control. "That's it Ronnie baby. Let me make it all better. You know that bitch you married was such a cow. She never could have made you feel so good. Could she baby?" she asked as she leaned her naked body over his. While running her hands up the insides of his thighs firmly before moving to stoke his length with one hand, she used her other hand to cup his sack in her palm and rub at the tender skin just beneath it with the tips of her fingers eliciting a drawn out moan from him. "No, she wouldn't know how you like to be touched. I do though baby, I know every little touch that makes you crazy," she proved her point by rubbing him just the way he liked.
Slowly she worked him like putty in her hands until she had had enough of manipulating his body and crawled up his body positioning herself where she could easily slide down onto his length. She always loved being on top where she could control her own pleasure and easily use her own hands to take care of what he couldn't accomplish on his own.
Later that night as Ron lay passed out on the bed beside her Verity found herself thinking over all her plans. Hopefully she had been dealt a lucky stroke with the untimely arrival of Harry Potter. She had been surprised to see just how much the two babies in her had managed to increase her power. She knew that expectant mothers often got a power surge from their unborn children as a way to ensure their protection, she just hadn't anticipated just how much. If she was lucky Harry hadn't been able to make it out of there in time to treat his wound and had bled out.
SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS HG SS
Harry's head was pounding as he opened his eyes to take in his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was facing off against Verity who was far more powerful than he had been prepared for. His vision was blurry when he opened his eyes; he wasn't wearing his glasses though he doubted things would have been any clearer the way his head was feeling.
Before he was even awake enough to register the other person in the room with him he felt someone press a pair of glasses into his hand. Harry muttered his thanks groggily and put the glasses on. Relief flooding him as he realized he was in a hospital room. As his vision adjusted he looked around to see an impeccably, if not flamboyantly, dressed Draco Malfoy smiling brightly at him.
"What the bloody hell are you so happy about Malfoy?" Harry asked rather grumpily.
Draco tried to control his glee as he pulled out a mirror and handed it over to the man on the bed, after a brief glance at himself in it of course. "They suit you so much better. I could never understand why with gobs of Galleons in that vault of yours you insisted on wearing those horrible things you called glasses," Draco gushed.
Harry took the mirror from Draco and examined his face. Gone were his trademark thin circular wire frames and in their place was a chunkier frame that was more of a rounded off rectangular shape in deep bronze color that perfectly accented the gold flecks in his green eyes. He hated to admit it, but Draco really was good at what he did. He just didn't appreciate him doing it without his knowledge or permission.
"Where are my glasses Draco?" Harry asked, his voice carrying a hint of anger he didn't really feel.
Draco put his hands up in a defensive manner though it was done more in mocking than anything. "Calm down Potter. Don't get your knickers in a kink. They broke when you were dueling George's little shop tart. You are going to tell me what that was all about by the way," Draco informed him. "I took the one lens that wasn't completely destroyed and had the guy at the store get me a matching prescription. I thought that those would look good on you. I was right of course. You can thank me later," he said flashing Harry a big smile again as he saw Harry's dramatic eye roll that only served to confirm that Harry did indeed like the new frames.
"So, do you want to tell me why you're best mate and that horrid ice-queen-cunt from Georgie's place were trying to kill you? Not that I found myself terribly upset to finally have an excuse to hex the ickle weasel boy in the arse after all these years, but I would really like to know what the dancing daffodils that was all about," Draco asked. He set to work transfiguring the chair beside the bed into a poufy periwinkle chaise where he proceeded to lounge about like he owned the place. He wrinkled his nose at the rest of the room as he worked to make himself comfortable in his seat beside the bed.
Harry couldn't manage to contain his laughter. "What the dancing daffodils. Merlin you couldn't be any gayer. You do know that don't you Malfoy. I can see you now in your bejeweled blue heels to match your little lounge bed thing," Harry said, gesturing towards Draco's chaise. "I'm surprised that George didn't tell you. Well I suppose you could just be pretending not to know. I mean… I'm not really supposed to know about the two of you, but when you think about it all seems so obvious. Don't worry though, I won't tell anyone else. I know that George would want to be the one to tell his family who he's been shagging all this time. Or who he's 'in love with' as he tells it. Secrets safe though mate, so you don't have to pretend that this is all some huge mystery to you. Thanks by the way, I would have been bloody fucked without your help, as it is I didn't manage to do any good. Oh well. At least now there is no denying the truth right," Harry spouted not noticing the look of bewilderment that quickly crossed Draco's face before he could school his features.
Draco listened to Harry rant and ramble without bothering to let Draco get a word in edge wise, which was typical of Wonder Boy as far as Draco was concerned. It was rather amusing in any case. He had been quite confused at first but once he caught on to what Harry was blabbering about he had to fight to hold in his laughter.
Oh! I always knew Georgie was gay! The Wizard can pair a satin stripe with a plaid poplin and still make it look freaking fabulous. I wonder who his stallion is. I'm not all together certain why Potter would think that I am seeing George though. Oh well, this could be fun. Draco thought as Harry finished talking.
"Thanks Potter. That means a lot to me that you would let us tell his friends and family in our own time. But, just so you know I haven't been able to speak with darling Georgie boy much since I have been traipsing about out of town doing these little fashion shows this last month. So I unfortunately still have no idea what the deal was last night. So maybe you could fill me in," Draco had to bite the insides of his cheeks to keep from laughing as played along with Harry's completely off base assumption.
Harry smiled at the confirmation he was hearing from Draco about George. I knew it! He thought to himself triumphantly. "Well, sorry you haven't spoken to George lately. I'm sure he misses you the way he talks about you. But, ah… about what happened at the casino… Where do I start?" Harry closed his eyes and thought about what a mess everything had become. "I came out here tracking down Ron and Verity after he almost killed 'Mione. She would have died if Snape hadn't found her. It was terrible. He's been beating her since… I don't really know, but it's been going on for a while and she's been hiding it. I should have known though. Verity is another monster all together. In the end it all comes back to her. She has been pumping him full of all sorts of Potions and drugs. She's got something planned, and has a vendetta against 'Mione. She's a bloody psychopath, and now she's pregnant and I don't know how I am supposed to tell 'Mione that Ron's having twins when she just buried their daughter. There's a lot more really, but I just don't feel like talking about it all just now. Frankly I need to get back to Ginny and Teddy and regroup. I don't know what to do but now that they know I'm after them they are going to go into hiding. Ron was trained to track people and he's pretty good at it, even with Verity pulling the strings; it shouldn't be too hard for them to disappear. After all, Verity seems to be a pro at keeping secrets," Harry explained without going into too much detail. "I just need to get home, I feel like hell. I screwed this all up so bad Draco."
Draco listened to what Harry had to say without interrupting. He knew there were missing pieces, like what his godfather was doing in a position to rescue Hermione. Draco was probably the closest to family that Severus Snape had and with his own father still serving a sentence in Azkaban for his role in the war and his mother slightly less than sane Severus Snape was about the only real family Draco had left these days as well. He doubted that very many people knew they saw each other as often as they did, or that they spoke as openly as they did with one another. When Draco had decided to stop hiding who he was from the world and wanted to open his fashion line instead of following in his father's footsteps it had been his godfather that had been his biggest supporter. He could still remember what Severus had told him almost three years prior not long after the war had ended.
'Draco. Why you would think I care where you want to stick your wand is beyond me. So long as you do not expect me to natter on with you about your lovers like some daft gossipy witch then I am pleased for you. As for your business venture I think you can be quite successful, between the Malfoy charm and your impeccable eye for the gaudy I am certain you will be a success."
It had been quintessential Severus Snape. He had gotten surprisingly better at showing his true feelings over the years since the war and had on one occasion confessed to Draco that he loved him like a son. Draco had been speechless. In all his life he had never heard his godfather say the word love, and to hear it from his mouth directed at him had Draco in tears. It was not an appreciated reaction as far as Severus had been concerned.
He still didn't know what his godfather was doing rescuing know-it-all Gryffindor's though he knew they shared some odd friendship.
Draco decided to wait and ask Severus about it when he got back. "You know Potter. I already have an International Floo registered and set up for a week from now if you wished to accompany me back to London I am certain we can get your name attached to the register," Draco informed Harry, shining his perfectly manicured nails on the lapel of his perfectly tailored robes, obviously pleased with himself for being such a big shot that he had the floo set up. "Why don't I go and you work on your beauty sleep. You can absolutely use it Harry dear. You lost quite a bit of blood you know. You were lucky I can swish a stitch so brilliantly or you may not have made it," he proclaimed, swishing his wand arm in the air in a facsimile of the stitching charm he had worked. "That is what the healers said anyhow. Don't worry you can thank me later love." Draco stood and dusted invisible dust particles from his robes. Draco transfigured his chaise back into the boring chair it had been and made a face of disgust. "I do have a lunch engagement I have to make, so if you don't mind I think I will be out. I really don't want to spend the last week of my American trip sitting at your bedside Potter. The healer that was in here earlier said they would have to keep you here for a week at least, but I am sure you can be back on your feet in time to catch the floo with me," he offered, patting the back of Harry's hand sympathetically. "I would suggest having that leg looked at again when you get back to London though. The healers here aren't nearly as good with these types of wounds, nasty business. That was a very dark curse that she-devil ho-bag hit you with."
"Thank you Draco. I would appreciate that. I do appreciate your help. I wish I could get back soon but I know that I'm stuck here. You do know Molly is going to have a fit when she finds out about you. I really can't wait actually," Harry told him.
Draco laughed. Harry really was easy to mess with sometimes. "I know. It's why we have been keeping it a secret for so long, but I am ready to shout it from the rooftops. I love George Weasley. I am rather terrified of his mum though. Just, keep this between us. I won't get to speak with him until I get home and we had agreed to keep it a secret," Draco said, trying to stay as serious as was possible when he was dying of laughter on the inside.
"Of course Draco, I wouldn't tell a soul. You better get going I need to get some rest anyhow. And… thanks again. You really saved my arse there," Harry said as he lie back on the pillow and shut his eyes trying not to think of what he was going to have to tell everyone when he came back empty handed.
A/N: Well there we have it. Hope you all enjoyed. The next chapter is done, and back from the lovely beta goddess and is now in its final edit. Oh did I mention that it was all Severus and Hermione goodness. (maybe more reviews will move that editing along…just sayin') Love you all. Thanks for reading. You rock!