A/N: Hey guys! Welcome back to the sixth installment of Until the Very End. In this chapter, the boys start to settle in and work out some stuff. There is a bit of drama, but nothing serious. I hope everyone enjoys this! Please review! I love to hear from you guys!
Harry's eyes snapped open, and he sat up quickly, gasping as though this was the first time he had breathed. It took him a moment to remember what had happened.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. His chest no longer hurt, but it still prickled slightly as he breathed. He suspected that the shadows had just finished seeping out of his chest, which would explain why he was breathing as though he had just run a race. He took a few more breaths before he opened his eyes again.
They had left him lying on the floor of Ron's room, probably nervous to move him. Ron was still in his bed, asleep, no longer unconscious. Harry used the palm of his hand to massage his chest, getting rid of the last of the discomfort.
He then got slowly to his feet, stretching gently. His eyes scanned the room, and he noticed something he hadn't seen before.
Draco was sitting in the corner, asleep on the floor. Harry smirked and glanced out of the window. It was clear he had been out for longer than an hour. The sun was now setting, far in the distance. Harry sighed and walked to the window.
He knew he should probably go downstairs, but how could he face everybody after that? He had acted so childishly. He had let the pain get the best of him. He knew he was better than that, but he had just shown them how weak he really was.
But he knew he would have to see all of them eventually. Lupin had said that he was not allowed to stay solely in his room, not that he even had a room yet.
Harry sighed again and walked over to the door before he could talk himself out of it. He opened it as quietly as he could and slipped out of the room. He walked down the many flights of steps and paused by the front door. He could hear voices coming from the kitchen.
Harry took a moment to fix his face with a slight smile before pulling open the door. Inside were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, Lupin, Fred, George, Hermione, and the other girl. They all went completely silent as he entered, every eye fixed on him. No one did anything for a minute, and he was thinking about exiting the room again.
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked and tackled him with a hug. Harry flinched hard at her sudden touch but quickly gathered himself and held her gently, not quite sure what else to do.
"Nice to see you too," Harry chuckled.
"Are you okay?" she asked, pulling away to look at him.
"Yes," Harry sighed, "I overreacted, I'm sorry." The room burst into protest at once.
"What are you talking about?" Mr. Weasley said, "Overreacted, don't be stupid."
"They told us what happened, Harry," Lupin said, "It didn't sound like you overreacted; in fact, you probably didn't react nearly as badly as you should have."
"Harry," Hermione said, "You saved Ron from a life of pain."
"Don't let that fool you." Harry said rather harshly, "Remember, I was the reason he was in pain in the first place."
"That's true," Hermione said, "But you still saved him." The others around him nodded their agreement.
"Regardless of what it was for." Harry said, "I still overreacted, whether you believe so or not, and I apologize for scaring you." Just then, his stomach growled.
"Are you hungry?" Mrs. Weasley said at once. "You must be starving. You haven't had anything to eat all day, have you?"
"No," Harry said, "I can't eat today, but thank you—"
"What do you mean you can't eat?" Lupin asked sharply.
"Today isn't a food day," Harry said.
"Aren't all days?" Hermione asked softly.
"Oh, you all do it like that?" Harry said, realization dawning on his face. "Okay, that's fine."
"What are you talking about?" Mr. Weasley asked quickly.
"You all eat three times a day, every day, correct?" Harry asked, glancing around the room. "At the Manor, the men follow a schedule: a week with no food and three days with food. Then, every third day of the week, we get one meal. The women eat more often, but that is because they get short-tempered if they don't."
Harry looked at all of their faces. They looked almost angry. Harry was not sure what he was supposed to have said wrong.
"Does Draco do that too?" Lupin asked quietly.
"Yes." Harry said, "He said that at school, they did something different, just like you guys, but he kept the Manor schedule, so I guess we can just do that here."
"No," The whole room said at once. All of their voices were sharp, and they looked angry. Harry's face hardened at once.
"I will not allow myself to be spoken to in that tone." Harry said, his tongue like a snake. "Do it again, and I will be forced to do something about it." They all looked taken aback for a moment.
"You are staying in our house." Lupin reminded him softly. "You have no wand. What could you possibly do?"
"I have a feeling that you don't want to know." Harry's eyes flashed dangerously.
"No, please, enlighten me." Lupin was pushing him too far. Harry crossed the room in two strides and looked Lupin in the eye.
"You're going to regret that. Last chance. Do you want to see what I'll do to you?" The dishes on the table started to rattle, magic charging the air with a hardly contained ferocity.
Perhaps Lupin could see the murder in Harry's eyes because he took a step back. Before he could answer, a voice said, "Harry." Harry looked behind him and saw Draco framed in the doorway.
"What's going on?" Draco quickly looked around the room and then back at Harry. "You really shouldn't be walking yet," Draco said quickly.
"I'm fine," Harry said, mentally shaking himself. What had he done? What was he thinking? He quickly reined in his magic, taking control of it again.
"No, you should rest. The spell is still wearing off. You know it affects your emotions if it's not all gone." Harry did not know this. He knew everything about this spell and its effects. Draco was making up symptoms.
"Do you have a place for us to sleep, or is it the couch?" Draco asked the room.
"Of course," The red-head girl said quickly. "I'll show you." Draco held the door open for her as she hurried out of the room. Harry flashed a warning look at Lupin before following her. The boys remained quiet as they climbed the stairs, following the girl.
"Oh, my name is Ginny, by the way." She said, pausing before a door.
"Pleasure to meet you, Ginny," Harry said quietly.
"This is your room." She said, gesturing to the door beside her.
"Thank you," Draco said.
"Of course." Ginny smiled, "If you need anything, just let me know."
"Okay, we will." Draco smiled at her and opened the door.
There were two beds crammed into a narrow room, along with two small night tables, a lamp, and a tiny desk. There was no bookshelf here, and the closet was empty.
"Harry," Ginny said, catching him before he entered the small room.
"Yes?" Harry asked, looking back at her.
"Thank you for saving my brother." Harry gave her a weak smile,
"Anytime." He walked into the room and closed the door behind him.
"What the heck was going on down there?" Draco hissed at him as soon as they heard her walk away.
"See for yourself," Harry said, and he opened his mind to Draco.
Draco was one of the only people who could get into his mind, and even that was only if Harry permitted him to. Harry watched as Draco saw what had just happened.
"So they do it like school?" Draco said after a moment.
"Yes," Harry said. "I'm not sure why they were so angry, but I was not going to be talked to in such a manner."
"Oh, Harry," Draco sighed, sinking down onto one of the beds. "Just because they have allowed us to stay doesn't mean they can't kick us out. They don't trust us yet. Think of this like a test. You have to pass the test in order to stay here. Passing the test means that you have to stay in control of your temper." Harry sighed and sat on the other bed.
"I know," he said. "I'm sorry, Draco. That was stupid of me. I'll do better."
"Yes," Draco said, "You will." They sat in silence for a moment.
"Thanks for bailing me out." Harry said, "That was smart about the spell affecting emotions."
"I thought so," Draco smiled, "I should probably go downstairs and smooth out everything."
"I'm really sorry, Draco," Harry said earnestly.
"I know, just don't do it again."
"I won't." Draco nodded his approval.
"How is your chest?"
"Still twinges a little bit, but it's not bad."
"Good," Draco said, "You stay here and rest, and I'll go downstairs and talk to them."
Harry nodded and laid back against the mattress.
SPACE BREAK
Draco closed the bedroom door behind him and hurried back downstairs. He was going to have to lie about the spell's effects on Harry if he was going to make everything okay again.
He opened the door to the kitchen and entered the crowded room. Everyone fell silent, looking at him. This seemed to be an annoying habit of theirs.
"Harry told me what happened," Draco said carefully. "He's sorry and wanted to come down to apologize, but I made him stay upstairs."
"What does that spell do, Draco?" Hermione asked quietly. "Was it true that it affects your emotions?"
"Yes," Draco sighed, "It intensifies everything, makes everything seem much worse than it is."
"That explains a lot," Lupin said. "He blew up at me."
"I know, but why?" Draco asked, playing stupid. "What started it?"
"How often do you eat, Draco?" Lupin asked.
"It depends, but I don't see—"
"Apparently, Harry and you both follow this eating regimen."
"Oh," Draco said, fake comprehension dawning on his face. "Yeah, I know it's probably different than yours, but—"
"No buts." Lupin said, standing, "They were starving you."
"No, they weren't." Draco said, "They were making us stronger." Lupin looked stunned for a moment, unable to speak.
"I understand why you might find this odd, but I don't get why you were mad at Harry."
"What do you mean?" Mr. Weasley asked from the corner.
"Harry said that you all were mad at him, and he told you that he wouldn't be spoken to like that. Then Lupin challenged him, and Harry almost killed him."
Lupin sighed heavily, "We weren't mad at him; we were mad at Vol— You-Know-Who for staving the two of you."
"That explains a lot." Draco nodded.
"How would he have been able to kill me?" Lupin asked after a moment.
"What are you talking about?" Draco asked.
"Just now," Lupin said, "You said that Harry almost killed me. How would he have been able to kill me without a wand?"
"How do mud—muggles kill each other?" Draco said, eyeing Lupin.
"With guns," Hermione piped up.
"Are you telling me that Harry has a gun on him?" Lupin asked with raised eyebrows.
"Of course not," Draco said, "I was just showing you that there are other ways of killing someone besides with a wand." Draco looked around at them all.
"You can do anything you would like to us." He said, "But the one thing you should never do is underestimate us. We have explored realms of magic that you could not even begin to imagine and mastered them.
"We are much more powerful than you could possibly think. I know you believe I am just saying this for show, but you saw only a fraction of our power in the battle. We were holding back, so consider yourselves warned." Draco turned and started to leave.
"Wait, Draco," Lupin said quickly.
"Yes?" Draco asked, turning back to face him.
"Starting tomorrow, you and Harry are required to join us at every meal and eat something. I don't care how much, but you must eat something."
"Fine," Draco said, seeing there was no point in arguing. "We'll see you tomorrow at breakfast then." And Draco left without another word.
Harry was asleep when Draco entered the room, so he quietly closed the door and lay down on the opposite bed. Though it was still relatively early, Draco was tired from the long day.
He closed his eyes and sank into a much-needed sleep. His last thought was that this would not be such a bad place to stay if only both boys could keep their tempers.