A/N:
Merry Christmas!
We are very excited to be releasing multiple chapters of both this story, And You're Dead and the start of a new fic: Back In Time today!
EbonyWonder has said that this new fic, about Harry Potter, features… a very different version of Harry… We'll leave you guys to read and find out ;)
And yes, that was intentionally annoying.
Alsooooo. We officially have an account over on ao3 under the name EbonyWonder! All of our collective fics will be posted over there too! (not including Davido).
Now! REVIEWS!
crank and a half: ABSOLUTELY! One of my favourite ships. (Ebony)
BriSha01: We're so glad you like it. It was definitely a spur of the moment decision but we think it will work out quite nicely. (Ebony)
DavidoDaVinci: No kidding (Ebony)
Nice to see my own review lol (Davido)
amadmanwithabox: We do in fact have plans, by which we mean a basic outline, for the sequel to this. The name will be disclosed when we finish this fic :) (Ebony)
maxsiandi: that was DavidoDaVinci's idea. Glad to see you found it funny though! (Ebony)
It may or may not be a reference to Doctor Who… points to whoever identifies which episode! (Davido)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
xXxDoubleKxXx
DavidoDaVinci
Chapter 16: Halloween
On the dawn of Halloween, Harry sat up, rubbed his eyes, and yawned. He was startled when he noticed that Draco Malfoy was standing at the end of his bed.
"Ahh!" Harry shouted. "Have you ever considered NOT DOING THAT?"
Draco feigned anger. "How very dare you suggest such a thing?"
Harry grinned at him, noticing, as he did so, that Draco was not yet dressed.
"I didn't realise you had pink and green stripy pyjamas."
"I didn't realise you slept with your hands over your eyes." Draco shot back, easily.
"I didn't realise you watched me sleeping." Harry concluded, grinning again.
"Well, details, details." Draco laughed. "I suggest you get up. Breakfast will be ready soon."
Harry groaned. "I don't want Herbology first thing in the morning."
"Well, lucky for you, it's Halloween, and someone must have convinced Dumbledore to give us a break."
Harry grinned. "Oh goodie."
…
However, despite the smiles that morning, Harry's mood soon plummeted.
Firstly, during breakfast, he noticed that Draco was glaring at someone on the other side of the great hall. Following his gaze, Harry noticed the face of Ron Weasley.
"What have you done this time?" Harry whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Nothing."
"Yes you have, nitwit."
"No, actually," Draco whispered back, when no-one was looking. "He just stared at me when I got in and won't stop."
"Which probably means…" Harry muttered, looking at Ron, "...that he's not very happy… with you…"
He walked over to where Ron was sitting, and leant against the table.
"What's wrong?"
Ron looked away from him, to face Harry. "Dunno. Just in a bad mood."
As Harry walked away, he breathed out of the corner of his mouth, "Well, that makes two of us."
…
The day was, in all honesty, a bit boring. He couldn't find Hermione, Ron, or Draco anywhere, despite the fact that he had looked in the library, where he found Fred and George, the secret room, every common room… he didn't know where else they might be.
As he slumped down onto his bed at around midday, a thought struck him. Something he hadn't done since, what, day two?
He pulled out some parchment and a quill and stopped. Damn it! He had completely forgotten that Dumbledore was keeping tabs on all the mail that came in and out. Hmm… What else? What else? He couldn't disapparate inside the walls of Hogwarts. He had no way to get floo powder…
He decided, on balance, that the only way of him getting a message to Voldemort was to send a letter outside of the Hogwarts grounds… which would mean,
"Hogsmeade," he whispered to himself. Harry knew exactly what to do.
He ran out of bed, and rushed off to the library.
…
"Hi," Harry said, out of breath, "Can we talk… outside?"
Fred looked at George. "Alright, Harry."
On just about the third week there, Harry had met Fred and George, Ron's older brothers. Instantly, they got on really well, which was good for Harry, he needed as many 'friends' as possible to keep up the act.
As they stepped into a deserted Charms classroom, Harry rounded on the twins.
"So. Can you tell me every secret passage around the school and where it goes?"
"Well," George began, "First, there's… hang on…"
He turned to George, who was grinning, and they said, at the same time,
"You know what? How about we show you?"
Out of Fred's pocket, they pulled a used looking piece of parchment, and laid it out on the table.
They pulled out their wands, and said, in perfect harmony, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Well, Harry thought (nevermind him being the son of the Dark lord), what was creepy was how they seemed, almost, to be the same person. He internally shivered. They would make a wonderful addition to the dark side… if only their family wasn't so well known for being incredibly loyal to Dumbledore.
The voices of the Weasley twins brought him out of his musing.
Harry leaned over to get a look at the parchment they were holding out to him. Where it had previously been blank, it was now covered in a finished map of the Hogwarts grounds, complete with tiny, labelled dots and footprints which he could only assume were the people walking around. He looked up at them, unimpressed.
"So I get a bird's eye view of the school I go to?"
Fred looked at him. "You're right, Harry. How useful would a map that shows you all the hidden tunnels to Hogsmeade and where everyone in the school is ever be useful to you?"
Harry shrugged in defeat. "Fair."
After a couple of minutes of looking at it, George tapped it with his wand, uttering "Mischief managed," under his breath, and handing it to him.
"But… what is it?"
"The Marauder's Map."
…
The great hall had been decorated for Halloween. There were pumpkins everywhere, there were fake cobwebs in the corners, on top of all the usual floating candles and so on.
Personally, Harry thought it looked utterly atrocious.
As he glanced around the room, however, he discovered that Draco did not see eye to eye with him on the matter, and neither did Hermione… or… she did? It was hard to tell if she was thinking anything at all. Just keeping that expression firmly blank… Ron, meanwhile, was utterly giddy at the idea of a second feast this early on, given the look on his face. It occurred to Harry that he had never considered if Ron ever hid his emotions. Nah, Hermione maybe, but not Ron. He just… didn't… wouldn't… probably couldn't, knowing him. There was something about the eyes. Ron's eyes were not lying eyes. God. He'd gone all thoughtful. Unbelievable.
As Harry looked up at Dumbledore, he saw the utter joy in his face.
He grimaced, not entirely sympathetic to such emotions.
He just… wasn't meant to be… so he wasn't…
He was interrupted by Draco.
"When they said feast, I was under the impression that we were going to be fed at some point, you know."
…
It seemed that Dumbledore had either forgotten or not planned a speech, as he gave none during the feast. This gave Harry plenty of time to bond with the other Slytherins at the table. Draco, however, still purposefully ignored him.
Pansy Parkinson seemed to have a powerful crush on half of the Slytherin boys in the year, which led to Harry tactfully avoiding eye contact with her. He'd much rather Draco and Hermione hook up.
Theodore Nott, or Theo as he requested, was a quiet boy. He had light brown hair and hazel eyes. He was one of the smarter students in their year and often helped the others with homework. Harry had made sure to make friends with him quickly as he knew that when it came down to revealing who he was, Theo would be a good asset to his cause. Voldemort had explained to Harry who of the Slytherins had Death Eater parents and asked him to get their children on board, as well as any others he could convert.
Blaise Zabini was outgoing and friendly from the moment the Slytherins were separated from the other students. He was dark skinned and a bit rude to Theo for no apparent reason. He had the look in his eyes of someone who had been through basically nothing. Must be nice, Harry thought, remembering the man on the end of his killing curse…
These thoughts were more or less kicked out of his head as he sat down to eat. The food was not noticeably different to how it was at the start of year feast. The same chicken, sprouts, eggs, potatoes, carrots, gravy, pies, all done in dozens of different ways sat on the dishes at the table. Clearly the elves were working double time.
Draco, clearly, had forgotten about all the cover at the arrival of food.
"How you doin'?" he asked, through a mouthful of food.
Harry sent him an unimpressed look; clearly the blond boy had forgotten that they were supposed to hate each other. However, Draco just raised an eyebrow. Harry sighed and mouthed: 'cover' to him. Draco's eyes widened and he nodded discreetly.
Fortunately, none of the other Slytherins had noticed anything.
After that short exchange, Draco became too engrossed in the food to notice Harry, which was something he could imagine Ron doing all too easily. When pudding was served, Draco ate no less than eight mince pies, three ice cream sorbets, nine apple pies, and a pack of muggle sweets which were, for some reason, inside of a plastic bag, covered in marketing.
…
Half an hour later, Harry rubbed his eyes and took off his glasses.
It turned out that Dumbledore did have a speech ready, in which he rambled on about kindness, teamwork, and the usual slop.
He yawned widely, nodding at Draco, who was still trying to unbutton his shirt, and lied back, ready to sleep. Not five minutes later, just as he was starting to doze off, his eyes opened with a start.
How could he have been so very thick?
Time for a lesson in stealth.
