Life Agendas
by Windseeker2305
Category: Harry Potter
Genre: Adventure, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-25
Updated: 2010-01-07
Packaged: 2012-04-13 22:26:59
Rating: M
Chapters: 39
Words: 726,397
Publisher: www.fanfiction.net
Story URL: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4350137/1/
Author URL:
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1271215/Windseeker2
305
Summary: SEQUEL to Life Renovations.I'm not good
with summaries,so..Just read
Life Renovations first or you will be completely lost.
DM/HP,along with other
pleted but Sequel on the way.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Moving Forward
2. A Train and a Hat
3. Cap of Death
4. Field Trip
5. Of Things To Come
6. Full Load
7. The Pain of Success
8. Is This Progress?
9. Dark Marks Galore
10. Broken Bonds
11. Excitement, Good or Bad?
12. Allies
13. Acceptance
14. Check
15. Aquisitions
16. Consequences
17. Seeking Souls
18. A Trial and A Seduction
19. Open Windows
20. Mar'raeh
21. Weddings and Worth
22. Release
23. Daggers, Papers, and Snatchers
24. Leaps and Bounds
25. Issues
26. Creeping Insanity
27. Royal Portraits
28. Now's The Time
29. Winter's Break
30. Tis The Season
31. Lilacs and Lavender
32. Caellum
33. Preparations
34. Heading Out
35. Faces Of Hope
36. To Battle!
37. Borsteria
38. Onward
39. Sequel
1. Moving Forward
**Life Agendas**
**Chapter One**
**Moving Forward**
Tall dark doors, cloaked in shadows, loomed over
Harry and Draco like giant
black guardians, marking the entrance to Tom
Riddle's quarters. The doors
always made Harry nervous, and now was no
exception. One would only need to
look at Harry to know he was agitated. Every other
second his hands would go
up and he'd start pulling at his black hair.
" Calm down, will you." Draco finally hissed and
slapped away the hand that
had been reaching for hair for the tenth time. "
We're not walking in to our
deaths." Harry took a deep breath before nodding.
Draco raised his arm to
knock.
" Wait." Harry quickly pulled Draco's hand back
between them. " Maybe this is
a mistake."
" You're having second thoughts?"
" No, that's not it. You know I want this. I do. But…
this is Tom Riddle. What
if by asking this of him, he gets insulted? This could
push him away from us.
That's the last thing I want. This is so surreal. I mean
it's Tom Riddle,
after all. I'd hate it if I found out he only puts up
with us because of our
power."
Suddenly the door opened and two very startled
_Ukatae_ stared wide-eyed at a
scowling Dark Lord. " Harry," he began in a
sickeningly sweet tone. " Do you
honestly think I'm only around for your power?"
Harry was afraid to move or say anything, and
instead strove for the cute and
innocent look he could create by staring at Tom
with wide sparkling emerald
eyes. Tom could see right through his ploy,
however, and began to shake his
head in disbelief. Really, Harry ought to know better
by now. It wasn't the
power that kept Tom close; it was the unconditional
support and a little
something he liked to call dependence of said
support. Maybe it was also
because he felt a little bit of the sappy emotions
Hupplepuffs are constantly
spewing. But Tom would not spew this
sentimentality out loud. He had a
reputation to uphold after all.
" I assure you, that is not why I tolerate you. No
amount of power in the
world could make me stick around after everything
you two have pulled me
through."
Harry blushed and looked adorably sheepish. " Hhow did you know what we were
saying? The door was shut!"
" I have wards and spells on and around the door. I
hear everything that goes
on outside of my rooms. It's a little thing I like to call
caution."
" You mean paranoia." Draco murmured from the
corner of his mouth.
" Oh ha. Ha. Very amusing, baby Malfoy. You can
call it whatever you want, but
at least I'll be prepared for anything." Tom ignored
Draco's annoyed growl and
focused on Harry. Though wariness was clear in his
eyes, Tom allowed his
facial expressions to soften. " I'm not sure how
much of your conversation I
heard, and I hope I'm misinterpreting, but if you are
here to ask for a
threesome then yes I'll be insulted. Severely
disturbed as well. And if that's
why you two are here then the answer is a
resounding no way in hell!"
" Oh, eww! Tom!" Draco put the heel of his palms
over his closed eyes and
began to rub rapidly as if he were seeing disturbing
pictures in his mind.
Harry looked horror struck. " Okay, I'll admit I've
flirted with you a couple
of times, but that was just to piss you off. I never
thought you would take me
seriously. You totally misconstrued what we were
talking about."
" Well how was I supposed to know?" Tom
defended as he crossed his arms over
his chest. " That's just what it sounded like."
" It's definitely not that."
" Please enlighten me then, Draco."
Harry went back to looking sheepish, and he
suddenly tried thinking of several
things to say that could get them out of this without
making Tom think he and
Draco were fools. He was sure Tom would not be up
for what they were about to
ask. Harry quickly thought of a solution, but before
he could turn tail and
run, Draco grabbed his hand.
" May we come in and speak with you?"
" Of course." Tom stepped aside and allowed them
entrance, wondering why Harry
was suddenly looking disheartened. " Harry, please
calm down. You're starting
to look like a little lost puppy. I hate puppies."
Tom said this so matter-of-factly that Harry snorted
in amusement. He suddenly
had a vision of Tom sitting on a plush rug with a
look of absolute loathing on
his face while being overrun by cute puppies. With
that picture in mind, Harry
was able to relax a little as the three of them sat
down. He was going to make
Draco explain why they were there, but decided to
do it in the end because it
had been his idea in the first place.
" I'll get right to the point. We want to make you
our brother. By evoking the
Rite of Familial Bonding. If you don't want to and
this makes you very
uncomfortable, please say so and we'll all forget we
ever had this
conversation."
It took a moment for the words to sink in. Tom
looked less then pleased when
he finally understood what they were asking. " Is
this Hermione's idea? Did
she put you up to this? She swore she wouldn't say
anything!"
" We haven't talked to Hermione. She doesn't know
about this." Harry answered
sullenly. " It's how we think of you and we wanted
to make it physically real,
not just emotionally." Tom didn't know how to
react to this, so he chose what
was easy and scowled angrily at them. Harry knew
this would be Tom's reaction
and he felt immense disappointment well up inside
him.
" I'm being attacked by Gryffindor sentimentality!"
Tom whispered harshly
before looking at Draco with wide eyes. The blonde
nodded while putting a
comforting arm around his mate.
" It's true though. This alliance started out for pure
ambition, didn't it? We
all wanted to achieve something… And now we've
become stronger together,
relying on each other. Watching and supporting. It's
no longer just an
alliance. Harry and I would protect and die for you if
necessary-"
Tom sat heavily in his seat. " Draco-"
" And not in the same way the Death Eaters would
lay down their lives for you.
Even if you sit there and deny it, I suspect you'd do
the same for us. Having
a real family doesn't change the fact that you are
Lord Voldemort. Having
brothers and a sister doesn't make you any less of a
Dark Lord. Believe me
when I say it makes you stronger." Draco looked at
Harry. " You have someone
you want to protect with your life… It makes you
want to be stronger." He
turned back to Tom. " You do become stronger. It
doesn't make you weak. We
aren't the type of people who become weak. Don't
deny us because you think
it'll make you so."
" I can't believe I'm hearing this." Tom replied in a
choked voice. " You're
being serious?"
" Yes." Draco answered. Surprisingly, Tom's barriers
were down and they were
being assaulted by his turbulent emotions.
" You feel the same way, don't you?" Harry asked in
awe and grinned stupidly
when Tom looked at him with watery eyes. _We're
making the Dark Lord get teary
eyed. _Tom spun around and grabbed the nearest
breakable thing, which happened
to be an empty vase, and threw it across the room
shattering it into a hundred
pieces. The _Ukatae_ were unconcerned. They
knew it was Tom's way of relieving
himself of emotions he didn't want to show. When
he looked back to them, his
eyes were dry once more and a smirk graced his
face.
" You mentioned a sister?"
Severus was just putting the finishing touches on a
potion when the door to
his potions lab burst open. The interruption caused
him to start and he
dropped the jar of powdered moonstone where it
crashed to the floor. Severus
looked towards the door, his mouth opening,
intending to blast whoever dared
disturb him. It was his last chance at making a
potion for pleasure before he
needed to return to Hogwarts that night. But when
he saw who was there, he
shut his mouth and satisfied himself with a scowl.
How could he yell at
Hermione when she was looking so breathless and
radiantly happy?
" Severus! You're never going to believe what those
boys have asked."
" Have I not asked that you knock, or at least enter
in a quiet manner?" His
silky voice reprimanded her as she came near. He
was not so affected that he
would let her get away with it. He mournfully gazed
at the potion. " It's
ruined now."
" I'm sorry, Severus… But just listen!" She didn't
sound sorry at all, and his
scowl deepened. He then sighed and waved his
wand, vanishing the ruined potion
before turning to give the witch his undivided
attention.
" I'm going to have brothers!" She gushed and
happily clapped her hands before
pressing them against her chest just over her
bursting heart.
" Your mother is pregnant? Aren't they a little too
old?"
" No!" She looked at him as if he were a silly child. "
Harry, Draco, and Tom!
They want me as sister. Can you believe it? Do you
know how happy this makes
me?"
Severus smiled softly. " It's written plain as day on
your face, Hermione." He
moved forward and enveloped her in a hug. " I'm
very pleased for you." And
relieved as well. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't
been a little worried
about Hermione and Tom's budding relationship
and where that might go, but
now, if they were to become bonded siblings there
was no chance of the Dark
Lord taking his witch away from him. That's when a
disturbing thought occurred
to him.
" Hermione?" The witch pulled back upon hearing
the worry in his voice and
peered at him curiously. " What exactly are you
going to do in order to bond
yourself to Harry as his sister?"
" The Familial Bond Ritual." Severus let out a sigh of
relief. " Why?"
Hermione went on to ask, seeing his unusual
reaction.
Severus rolled his eyes. " I'm surprised you haven't
thought of this before.
I'm Harry's uncle and by bonding yourself in certain
ways, because there are
several rituals to choose from, you would become
my niece."
Hermione gasped and began shaking her head
furiously. " Oh no! I never thought
about that! I was just so excited! I can't do it now!"
Severus restrained himself from rolling his eyes this
time and instead grasped
her chin firmly and made her look at him. " You can
still do it. The Familial
Bond Ritual only bonds you to the persons who are
performing the ritual with
you. You will end up on the Potter family tree, but
not mine. You are only
bonding yourself to a Potter, as well as Malfoy and
Riddle. There are no
worries for us."
" Oh thank Merlin!" Hermione shifted and began to
blush. " I want to become
their sister, but not if it meant I had to stop seeing
you."
" My sentiments exactly." Severus said with a smile,
incredibly pleased that
she would chose him over Harry, Draco, and Tom
I'm-The-Bloody-Dark-Lord
Riddle.
" When is the Ritual?" he finally asked as he leaned
against a table and
pulled her along with him against his chest.
" The day we leave for Hogwarts."
Severus was not pleased with this. " Couldn't you do
it sooner? I know what
takes place during the Ritual… You should have
supervision in case something
goes wrong."
Hermione frowned. " We aren't children, Severus.
Besides, Amortia will be
there in case we need medical treatment. And if we
do it on the first, we have
time to research the Ritual."
Severus continued to be displeased but there was
nothing he could do. They'd
already made up their minds and all four of them
were very stubborn. They were
Gryffindors and Slytherins, after all.
The evening of August thirty-first found five nervous
Death Eaters sitting at
the end of a long table awaiting their new leaders,
the council of seven,
minus one. The seventh, Severus Snape, was
naturally not present due to his
obligation as a Hogwarts professor, and therefore
could not attend the
meeting. The Death Eaters were made to wait and
during this time, very little
was said, and any movements made were nearly
imperceptible. Though there was
occasional eye contact, questioning looks, and a few
wary glances at the door.
Frederick Parkinson visibly jerked in surprise,
earning him sneers and looks
of scorn from the others, when the heavy oak doors
flew open and in strode a
scowling Harry Potter. The Death Eaters- Walden
McNair, Rabastan and Rodolphus
Lestrange, Augustus Rookwood, and Parkinson were
shocked when the doors closed
leaving the Boy-Who-Lived alone with them. They
were aware of the new
hierarchy within their organization and Harry
Potter's top position within it.
But it was still surprising that Potter would come in
alone, and look
completely unconcerned about being alone in a
room with people who had
previously sought to kill him. In fact, as he passed
the curious Death Eaters,
though his tone was less then welcoming, Harry
nodded his head and greeted
each one of them by name. Except for Parkinson.
He received the darkest look
Harry could manage, which was pretty damn dark
considering what kind of being
he was now.
Guardedly, the Death Eaters watched as Harry took
a seat at the opposite end
of the table, to the right of the high backed chair at
the head. A scowl
continued to sit on his face as if permanently stuck
there, his fingers tapped
angrily against the dark wooden table, while he
stared unwaveringly at each
Death Eater in the room. His eyes finally rested for a
long time on the
Lestrange brothers and his scowl dropped to a
smirk.
" It's been, what? A year or so since you've both
been out of Azkaban?" Harry
chuckled when they both flinched, their tormented
eyes expressing their fear
of the Wizarding prison. " How long were you
there? Fifteen years?" He looked
them both over again and sneered at their ragged
appearances. " You look a
disgrace. We'll have to do something about that
since I want to keep you two
around."
" What can you do, boy?" Rodolphus spat, unable to
keep it in any longer.
Harry's eyes widened in vicious surprise. Rodolphus
could not have imagined
how much pain that one word induced, and was not
prepared when the former
Savior of the Wizarding World stood and pointed his
wand at him.
" _Crucio_." He said softly, then turned hard eyes to
Rabastan, who was
succeeding very well at hiding how he felt about his
brother writhing in pain
beside him. " How long should I keep the curse on
him? Do you think he's angry
at me because I brought up Azkaban, or do you
think he's pissed because I keep
his psycho bitch wife locked in the dungeon where I
can torture her whenever I
please."
" I know better then to ask you to release the curse
on my brother." Rabastan
answered, inwardly impressed with the little
emotion Potter had used to curse
his brother with and the fact that Potter could keep
up the curse while his
attentions were somewhere else. Not many people
could do that. Most times, to
keep the curse going, you had to give the victim
your undivided attention.
" Don't you care for your brother?"
" Of course. He's all I have left."
That simple statement hit a chord within Harry and
he lifted the curse. "
Answer my other questions."
" It's Azkaban." Rabastan answered after looking
sideways to his panting
brother, making sure there were no lasting side
effects of the curse. But of
course there wasn't. Potter hadn't kept him under
for that long. " He doesn't
really care about Bellatrix. We do wonder why you
keep her locked up instead
of turning her over to the Ministry or simply killing
her."
" It's simple." Harry began as he twirled is wand
between his fingers. " As
I've said, I like playing with her. And I loathe the
Ministry. Until it is
under our control, the Ministry will not receive any
more help from us. Unless
it is to our advantage." Harry turned back to
Rodolphus. " Never call me boy
again. Is this understood? Call me Potter, Mr.
Potter… hell, even Harry is
okay with me. But the next time I hear anyone call
me boy, I will kill before
another second has passed. Does everyone
understand this?" he hissed.
" Understood." The Death Eaters replied in
astonishment. They'd seen him
before this when the Dark Lord announced he was
working with six others, but
they hadn't realized just how much Potter had
changed, despite the fact that
his appearance screamed Dark elf. It was obvious
why the Dark Lord had decided
to partner with him. Potter wouldn't bring the Dark
Lord, and in association,
the rest of them down with him.
" Good." Harry returned to his seat and began to
tap his fingers on the table
impatiently once again. " Where the hell are they?"
he growled. Rabastan
watched intently as Potter turned his head to the
side as if listening for
something, and stranger still, Potter twisted in his
chair to look at the wall
behind him before nodding firmly. Rabastan didn't
want to be caught staring so
he quickly averted his eyes when Potter turned back
around. He wondered what
that had been about? Was it true? Was Harry Potter
really going insane?
Another five minutes passed before the doors
opened once again. _What the hell
took you so long?_ Harry snapped at his mate.
Draco's reaction was only to
raise an eyebrow as he walked in alongside his
father. Tom and Hermione walked
in front of the Malfoys, heads bent together, talking
quietly. Hermione looked
up and pinned Parkinson and McNair with a hard
glare as she passed them.
" Well McNair, I hope your disposition is in better
shape this evening." She
said sweetly as she sat down in the chair Tom pulled
out for her. She gave
Harry a smile after sitting down next to him." I
would hate to have to shed
more of your blood, and on such a lovely expensive
rug."
" I've learned my lesson, Miss Granger." McNair
said, though it was obvious to
everyone how hard it was for him to do it. Tom
pinned him with a cold stare as
he sat down at the head of the table. Draco sat
down on his left, across from
Harry, and Lucius sat next to his son.
Amortia ran in a moment later. " I was with Mr.
Lovegood." Was her only
explanation, and knew there was no need for an
apology for that. She shook her
head as she sat next to Hermione when the other
five looked at her
questioningly. Mr. Lovegood was getting worse.
" So can we start?" Harry stood up and pointed his
wand at Parkinson whose
eyes widened in fear.
" Wait!" Draco jumped to his feet and also pointed
his wand at Parkinson. " We
discussed this! I was going to do it! Harry, you
promised he was mine."
Harry sneered at Parkinson's fear encrusted face. "
Yeah, well… that was
before I stepped in here and saw his fucking face!
Now I want the pleasure."
The other Death Eaters had no idea what was going
on, but it was clear that
Parkinson was in enormous trouble. They watched
Parkinson with eager
expressions. No one really liked him that much. If
Parkinson was smart, he
would have gotten a clue and tried to run, but as it
was he sat there and
watched the two _Ukatae_ bickering about who got
to do whatever they planned
to do to him.
Hermione surprised everyone when she slowly
stood. In a flash she had her wand
out and pointed at Parkinson, and with a face and
voice void of any emotion,
she uttered the cursed words, " _Avada Kedavra_."
She watched intently as the
green light left her wand and hit Parkinson square
in the chest. He slumped in
his chair and landed with a dead thud against the
table, his unseeing eyes
staring blankly at the wall.
" Hermione!" Harry yelled and turned to glare at the
woman next to him.
" What the fuck?" cried Draco at the same time.
" I didn't want to waste time listening to you two
fighting about it. This
meeting needs to get underway and we couldn't do
that until Parkinson was
taken care of. And Draco, if you killed him, what do
you think Pansy's
reaction would be, hmm?"
" Yeah, but now she's going to hate you." Draco
sulked and slumped back down
into the chair.
" Maybe, maybe not. She's your best friend though
and I'd rather take the fall
instead of you. Regardless, Parkinson needed to be
out of the way. He was
untrustworthy." She pinned cold eyes on the only
person who seemed to react
negatively to Parkinson's death. " Isn't that right,
McNair?"
Walden McNair visibly gulped and could only nod.
Augustus Rookwood was
watching Hermione in speechless shock, while the
Lestranges' were openly
grinning at the witch.
A pouting Harry returned to his seat, staring
mournfully at Parkinson's body
for a moment, before he turned to Tom. He couldn't
stop snicker from escaping
his mouth at seeing the shock in his eyes. Harry was
sure Tom had never had a
shock such as that before, and he had to kick Tom
from under the table before
the Dark Lord snapped out of it. Harry could feel
how pleased Tom was. That
pleasure was probably from the fact that he was
about to gain a sister who
could kill without a moments thought. Lucius, of
course, looked pleased as
well, but Amortia was silent and giving Hermione a
very level look. Harry
wondered what the Healer was thinking.
Finally the meeting could begin and Tom nodded to
Hermione, who cleared her
throat and looked down at the parchments she'd
brought along with her." We
have decided to have this meeting now due to the
fact that for the next couple
of weeks we will be very busy, and lengthy
correspondences will be low while
we get back into the swing of things at school.
We're here now because we need
to get started on our plans right away."
Hermione looked around at the Death Eaters and
then she focused on the
Lestranges. " You two will get your act together."
She ordered just as Harry
had done. " You're not in Azkaban anymore, your
skills are needed, and we need
you both in top form." Rabastan and Rodolphus
nodded without hesitation, any
insecurity they had of the muggle born had burned
to ash the moment she killed
Parkinson. They had no problem taking orders from
her now that they saw how
serious she was about the organization.
" For the project we're giving you, you'll both be
working with Sirius Black
and we'll need you out and around. I realize you
can't go out in public as you
are still very much wanted right now, but that shall
be rectified very soon."
" How will you do that?" Rabastan asked. Because
he asked with sincere
curiosity, Hermione didn't react negatively to being
interrupted. She smiled
mysteriously at him.
" That's our little secret, Rabastan." Lucius replied.
" And what would we be doing?" Rodolphus asked,
eager to get back in action.
He and his brother had been forced to sequester
themselves away for too long.
Tom answered. " You two along with Black will be
the Heads for the Department
of Magical Environmental Management."
Rabastan frowned. " Sorry, my lord, but I've never
heard of that department."
" You wouldn't. It's new. We are tired of having
miniscule amounts of land for
ourselves- witches and wizards. Your jobs would
include searching and mapping
out large areas in Britain that are not used or
sparsely populated, and
creating barriers around these areas to keep
muggles out. I want these areas
to disappear off the face of the earth. The muggles
will start to realize that
lands on their maps no longer exist, but that can be
the problem of the
current Ministry. This should have been done
centuries ago. I find it highly
offensive that the Ministry of Magic is in the middle
of London and has to be
hidden underground. It's undignified to have
muggles walking all over usliterally and figuratively. Don't you agree?"
" Yes, my lord." The Death Eaters answered.
" It will not be easy and will take some time, but it's
perfectly within our
grasps." Lucius intoned.
" Hold on." Draco said, looking at the brothers
curiously. " I hate to
interrupt and this is sort of random, but weren't
they put away for torturing
the Longbottoms? And didn't we find out the
Longbottoms were disposed of by
Dumbledore. Do you remember torturing Frank and
Alice Longbottom?" Draco asked
the two.
" Yes. We were there." Upon such an answer, the
Lestrange brothers found
themselves faced with two glares from Harry and
Hermione that could easily
have burned them alive had the glare had any
actual power.
" The Longbottoms were missing for a week before
they were found. The
Lestranges' only went looking for them two days
before they were found by the
Order, and I only sent them to the Longbottoms for
information and to see if
maybe they had changed their minds about joining
me." Tom explained.
Hermione's frown lessened into a thoughtful look. "
What happened when you
were finally apprehended by the Ministry? Was
Dumbledore there when you were
arrested?"
" I can't remember." Rabastan said.
" My memory of that time is fuzzy." Rodolphus
answered.
" Then its clear." Hermione piped cheerfully. "
Dumbledore was there and he
did the same to you as he did to Lord Voldemort. He
fixed your memories. You
didn't torture the Longbottoms at all. Tom, Draco,
Harry? Can any of you look
into their minds and remove the fabricated
memories?"
" I can do it." The Dark Lord assured her with a small
smile.
" I hate to be the pessimistic one here," Lucius
drawled and ignored Amortia's
unladylike snort, " But I fear I must negate your
theory, Hermione. Rabastan
and Rodolphus were sent after the Longbottoms
and they were found near where
the Longbottoms were being kept. Dumbledore was
never anywhere near me at that
time, nor any other Death Eaters. He could not have
made fabricated memories
for all of us."
" He didn't need to. The Lestranges' confessed
under Veritaserum. Why would
anyone, including the Death Eaters, believe
something else had happened?
Especially since going after the Longbottoms was
what they were after. You
didn't know exactly what Lord Voldemort had sent
them off to do to the
Longbottoms, did you?" Hermione asked and
smirked cheekily at Lucius.
The six at the head of the table began to discuss it,
ignoring the Death
Eaters completely for half an hour until finally Tom
pushed his chair back
from the table and ordered the Lestrange brothers
to kneel in front of him.
They did so without hesitation, but sent each other
a short glance when the
Dark Lord pulled his wand out. Tom pointed it at
Rabastan first and ordered
him to look him in the eyes.
" _Legilimens_."
While Tom took his time searching through
Rabastan's head, Harry began to
think of other things, though it was all about what
they had been talking
about.
_Draco? Do you think with our powers, we could
heal Neville's parents?_
Draco moved his silver eyes off the Lestrange
brothers and gazed across the
table at his mate's earnest face and sighed._ I'm not
sure we can cure humans,
lover. I didn't have any effect on Mr. Lovegood at
all. And I'm not sure
_Ukatae_ are allowed to use their powers to cure
humans either._
_Never hurts to try. _Harry thought with a frown.
_Falde and Talyn didn't stop
you from trying to cure Luna's father._
_That's true. And I suppose the Longbottoms could
be different…It's their
minds, not their bodies. I just don't want you to get
your hopes up. _Harry's
slow sappy smile had Draco smiling in return
despite the fact that he was
still a little annoyed at Harry for being so irritable
the last couple of
days.
Harry was about to pop off to St. Mungo's right
then, but Draco reminded him
the Longbottoms could wait, as they still had issues
to discuss right now, and
they needed to keep their use of magic down to a
minimum until after they'd
completed the Familial Bond Ritual. But he did
promise they would go to St.
Mungo's soon after arriving at Hogwarts.
_And unlike some people, I will keep my promise.
_Draco glared at his mate,
still pissed that Harry had retracted his promise of
letting Draco take care
of Parkinson.
_I'm sorry, but he annoys me._
_Yes, well… _Draco looked at Hermione who was
discussing their new
Environmental Management department with his
father. _We should have a talk
with Hermione. _
_I was thinking the same thing. _Harry responded,
watching Hermione carefully
from the corner of his eye. She didn't seem any
different and was speaking to
Lucius in a business like manner that Harry knew
the older Malfoy appreciated
and respected. There was nothing about Hermione
that said she was bothered by
what she had just done. But Harry knew his best
friend. He knew a battle was
raging on inside her.
_Great minds think alike. _Draco said to him and
smirked. Harry laughed and
nodded his head in agreement.
" I've found the memories." Tom said, bringing
them out of their thoughts. "
But it's going to take some time and great effort to
undo what Dumbledore has
done. I don't want to be too quick; otherwise I
might damage their minds." Tom
looked down at the heads bowed to him and placed
a hand on each of their
heads. " We don't want to lose such valuable
resources, now do we?" he smiled
when the men in shivered from his touch.
" Then do it another time. If Draco and I can
Apparate out of Hogwarts, we can
all come and go as we please. Having those
memories for a little bit longer
will not hurt them."
" What's next on the agenda, Hermione?" Tom
asked after he'd sent the
Lestranges' back to their seats.
The witch consulted her parchment and produced a
quill to make a check mark
next to the items they'd already discussed. She
glared at Harry when he rolled
his eyes, making the _Ukatae_ wonder how she
knew he'd rolled his eyes when
she'd been looking down at the parchment.
" Muggleborns." She stated and then looked at
McNair when he made a small
disdainful cough. Hermione threw the quill down
and stood." I've had quite
enough from you, McNair. Do you want to duel
me?"
" Hermione-"
" No, Tom!" She threw her arm out towards him; a
sign that she didn't want
anyone to interfere. " If this bastard still thinks I
shouldn't be here, and
hasn't learned his lesson, I'm happy to prove my
point and teach him another."
" We'll be happy to take care of him for you, Miss.
Granger." Rabastan said
with a smirk sent McNair's way. He spoke in such a
respecting tone that
Hermione couldn't hide the surprise from her face.
Tom chuckled inwardly.
Seems Hermione had two more supporters from
Rabastan and Rodolphus now.
" I do not have a problem with you, Granger. But I
don't like muggleborns, and
unless you plan on killing them, I don't want
anything to do with them."
Tom certainly didn't like the way McNair was talking
so informally to
Hermione, and he would have retaliated in a violent
way had Hermione not
started talking immediately. She spoke as if talking
to a brainless, annoying
twit.
" We are not planning on killing them." She said in
clipped tones. " We plan
on taking them early on, educating them, placing
them in loving magical homes
where they can learn our ways without being
infected by muggle ways of life
and muggle abuse. Without worrying about being
different. Just because they
are muggle born doesn't mean they are useless. I
plan to see that all magical
children, regardless of blood, have the chance to
prove themselves. Yes, I
agree muggleborns usually come to this world
tainted, not knowing the ways,
not caring about tradition… But how do you expect
them to act when they are
simply thrown into the Magical world without
instruction? They don't know any
better, and no one has taken the time to teach
them differently. This will
change."
" Well when you put it like that…" McNair
grudgingly admitted.
" Glad you think so, because you are in charge of
acquiring the listing from
the Ministry." Harry instructed with a happy smile.
Everyone was pleased at
McNair's gob smacked expression.
" You will have three months to acquire the list and
anything else the
Ministry might have on all muggleborns and deliver
the information to us. And
I want that list spelled to be always current. We
want to know when and where
a new muggleborn baby is born." Draco said.
" I will do as you ask."
" We didn't ask, McNair." Harry growled. " You'll do
well to remember that.
You still have the Dark Mark on your arm, after all."
" Now, Mr. Rookwood… I've been told you have
shares in all of the wizarding
media, including the _Daily_ _Prophet_, _Witch
Weekly, Challenges in Charming,
The Practical Potioneer, Transfiguration Today_,
and a couple of other
magazines. You are also the financial backing for
several publishing firms and
the Wizarding Wireless Network. Is this correct?"
" Yes." Rookwood replied, while wondering what
they had planned for him. He
hoped he wouldn't have to lose any money,
whatever it was.
" But not _The Quibbler_. Why is that?"
" That magazine is rubbish." Augustus replied with a
disdainful air. " I did
not want to invest in something that gains no
prophet."
" Have you never looked up _The_ _Quibbler's_
numbers?" Harry went on. " That
paper makes more money then you think. And from
tomorrow on, you will be an
investor in that paper, and any proceeds you make
from that will go to the
organization's fund and half of what you profit from
your other businesses
will come to us as well."
" If that is your wish."
" It is." Draco answered. " And we also want, since
you have the means, is to
throw out messages in every type of media our
world has."
" What kind of messages?"
" Subliminal messaging. Some subtle. Others we
want blatantly obvious."
Hermione answered this time. " The general public
is very susceptible to what
the media produces."
" Bunch of mindless sheep." Harry grumbled,
remembering all the bad things
said about him in the _Prophet_ and how half of
Britain believed every lie.
" Here is a list of things we want put in the media
repeatedly, starting next
week." Tom nodded for Hermione to pass down the
list to Rookwood. " I want to
open the _Prophet_ at breakfast and see no less
then three articles pertaining
to the topics on that list every other day. Is this
clear?" Tom asked.
" Yes, my lord."
" Very good. If there are no questions, this meeting
is finished."
**September 1****st**
Draco was the first to wake, which wasn't unusual
especially since Harry never
woke before him. Harry was lying on his stomach;
his wings were semi stretched
out with one covering Draco's chest like a blanket.
Lovingly, Draco caressed
the feathers, delighting in the tremors produced
from his mate even in sleep,
before slipping out from under the wing and rising.
Lovely, who had taken to
sleeping at the top of Harry's pillow, raised her head
as Draco left the bed
and hissed lazily at him. Draco didn't need to be a
Parselmouth to know she
was pissed for being disturbed.
" Give me a break. Not you as well!" Lovely hissed
back. " I'm going to ignore
whatever insult you think you're throwing my way."
Draco turned away from the bed, prepared to delay
the inevitable moody storm
his mate would cast when he had to finally be
woken up. He went into the
wardrobe to retrieve the ritual robes he'd had
commissioned a few days ago on
the trip to Paris he and his father had taken. Harry
had managed to get out of
that trip by pure manipulation, a little bit of
begging, and straight out
threatening. Lucius had a hard time keeping his
laughter to himself when Draco
finally gave in with a fearful look on his face. He
really had no choice but
to listen to Harry. The brunet had been in a foul
mood ever since the day they
found out Dumbledore was talking with a mystery
_Ukatae_.
The morning after Neville gave his report, Draco
and Harry sought out Falde
and demanded an explanation about the ominous
ring and Harry's markings.
Instead of answering, Falde demanded to see the
markings on their arms. Harry
and Draco learned there were two ways to make
those markings glow. The first
way happened when a _Ukatae_ uses magic that
takes an enormous amount of
power, and the second was by concentrating very
hard on the marks, which was
the easiest way. Harry and Draco tried for twenty
minutes to work up the
proper concentration before their marks began to
glow. Upon seeing the marks,
both Falde and Ozemir looked startled.
" They both have the marks. How is that possible?"
The Scholar whispered.
Ozemir's reaction wasn't nearly as dramatic as the
night before, but disbelief
and panic flashed alternatively across his face for a
few seconds before he
locked those feelings away for another time.
" Do you mind explaining why you're making such a
big deal about these marks?"
Draco finally snapped. He was ignored, and so was
Harry when he began
demanding explanations. The two _Ukatae_ who
recognized the marks and could
explain what was going on instantly left to the
_Ukatae_ capital city, leaving
Brumek and Talyn to guard the incensed young
ones. And since they didn't know
what was going on they weren't able to shed some
light on the subject.
Thus Harry's mood had been less then stellar ever
since then. He hated when
people kept information from him, especially when
it pertained specifically to
him. After Falde and Ozemir made their hasty
retreat, Harry grabbed Tom and
they disappeared down into the dungeons and
worked out some of Harry's
frustrations with the Order members locked away
down there. They were in the
dungeon for quite a long time.
Now it was the first day of September, the first day
of school, and the day he
and Harry would gain a brother and sister. Draco
pulled out the pure white
silk robes and hung them up on a stand near the
bathroom before rounding the
bed to stand next to Harry's sleeping form. Every
one knows Draco is a Malfoy,
which means he is calm, cool, and collected and is
expected to act as such at
all times. Draco was still a Malfoy, but lately he's
been loosing that Malfoy
edge and it was due to the sleeping beauty he was
now looking at. Draco
really, really, _really_ did _not _want to wake Harry
up right now.
" Oi, snake! You wake Harry up." Lovely opened her
eyes and her long forked
tongue poked out at him from between her fangs. "
Please." He asked a little
nicer. Lovely made a hissing noise that sounded
suspiciously like laughter
before burying her head beneath the black strands
spread across the pillow.
Draco wasn't going to get help in that direction. He
sighed and crawled over
Harry until he was straddling him and began to
lightly brush his fingertips
across the black wings in appreciation. Maybe if
Harry woke up fully aroused
then the Gryffindor wouldn't be so moody and they
could both enjoy a shower
together. He was just leaning over prepared to kiss
Harry's neck when he was
suddenly thrown off his lover's back by the irritated
flick of a wing.
" Ge'roff, Draco! I'm bloody awake!" Harry hissed
against the pillow.
" Get up then." Draco snapped as he gracefully
pulled himself off the floor. "
We need to get ready. We have a lot to do before
we go to King's Cross
Station. And try not to bite my head off today."
Harry lifted his head to glare balefully at his mate
before dropping it back
down against the pillow. The Gryffindor flinched
when Draco entered the
bathroom and slammed the door shut with such
force that it was sure to have
left the wood cracked in some places. He pulled
himself out of bed just as
Draco was finished showering and they passed
without a word, though Harry
looked slightly guilty when their eyes met. Draco
said nothing, thinking Harry
deserved to stew in his guilt if it was about his
snappish behavior toward
him.
When Harry returned from showering, Draco
already had his robes on and was in
front of the mirror, making sure his hair was in
perfect order. Harry took a
moment to study his mate's profile, a soft smile
playing around his mouth when
he heard Draco grumbling about how the white of
the robes contrasted
dreadfully with his hair. They decided not to wear
glamours until they had to
stand on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, so now
Draco was trying to fix his
hair around the pointy ears, but either the ears
weren't cooperating, or the
hair wasn't. Harry sighed before walking to Draco
and turned his mate to face
him. He reached up, pushed the blonde strands
behind Draco's ears before
nodding.
" It looks fantastic like this." Harry turned to his own
robes before Draco
could make the expected comment about how
anything and everything looked
fantastic on him. That thought made him smile also,
as well as the fact that
when Draco had ordered these robes, he specifically
had Harry's made with
tailored slits in the back so that his wings could slip
through and would not
be covered by cloth. Of course, when he went to
Hogwarts, he'd have to make
sure his wings were covered most of the time,
unless he was in a secure area
with those who already knew he had them. But it
wouldn't be too hard to
conceal that fact that he had wings, as Draco knew
a strong concealment spell
he planned to use so that no one would see an
outline under Harry's clothes.
When he was finished dressing and Draco was
satisfied Harry's hair was as
tamed as it would ever be, they both left for the
room where they would meet
Tom and Hermione. The room was designed
specifically for rituals that were
conducted with high levels of magic. It was circular
and completely stone
without windows. The only type of furniture within
was a round stone table
dead center of the room. This was where the ritual
items were kept until
needed.
They stepped into the room and immediately
cleansed it of any residual magic
that may have been left from the last ritual
performed. Just as they were
finished with that, Hermione and Tom joined the
young _Ukatae, _each of them
wearing identical white robes to match Harry and
Draco. Amortia came with them
and wished them luck before she shut the door,
which immediately sealed itself
and turned back to stone. It would not turn back to
a door until the ritual
was completed.
Hermione approached the stone table and studied
the instruments upon it. There
were four athames of identical make as well as two
silver bowls, all of which
were also cleansed of residual magic.
" This will be slightly complicated because Harry and
I can't share blood in
this way." Draco started off by saying.
Hermione made a face." That would be vulgar if you
happened to bond yourselves
as brothers. And doing it this way makes it all right
for Severus and I to
keep seeing each other."
" Hermione." Draco gave her a level look. " We
don't want to hear about you
and Severus in any way, shape, or form."
" Exactly. So we'll need to do this carefully." Harry
hurried on, seeing
Hermione's eyes light up, ready for an argument. "
It's why this particular
ritual makes me slightly nervous. We all need to cut
our wrists. One bowl
belongs to Draco and the other belongs to me. You
two will need to volunteer
enough blood for both bowls. Luckily, we don't have
to repeat everything four
ways." Harry paused and took a breath, " Tom, are
you sure you don't mind
doing the asking?"
" Harry, we've been through this before." Hermione
began.
" I don't mind at all. If I ask, you'll have no doubts."
" But the ritual can't be completed if any one of us
is unsure that we want
this. It was a very specific paragraph I made you
three look at!"
" We know, Hermione." All three wizards intoned.
" I just wanted to say it. It was only reassurance."
Tom finished in
exasperation. Really, the witch had made them
study chapters on the ritual
they would be doing for bloody hours. The ritual
only took up three chapters!
He, Draco, and Harry had memorized it within the
first two hours.
" There, you see. Already acting like siblings." Draco
said with a grin. "
Now, let us begin."
Four wands rose in sync to touch the other wand
tips directly over the center
of the stone table, and four voices began an ancient
Latin chant that would
rise in volume while their magic built up inside
them, awakening, preparing to
interact with the magic from each of the
participants. The chanting became
softer as the magic reached its peak and burst forth
from their bodies as
light of different colors. Hermione's magic was
released first. A bold darkgreen light shot up from the tip of her wand
towards the ceiling and began to
circle in a clockwise motion around the room. Tom's
magic joined Hermione's as
thick bloodied mist. Harry and Draco's magic
followed, wrapping Tom and
Hermione's magic in sparkling silver waves.
Once the magic was pushed out above them, they
were able to drop their wands
and put them away. Harry continued the next
portion of the ritual by picking
up the athames and passing them around. Everyone
took a moment to prepare
themselves for what they had to do and then on the
count of three they cut
their wrists deep enough to pierce to the artery.
Quickly moving forward, the
four held their cuts over the bowls and watched as
their life poured in.
" We evoke the Rite of Familial Bond. To bond as
siblings. Forever and
eternity." Draco began, with the other three
repeating the same words in turn.
Once the evocation was complete they felt the
magic circling above pulsate,
and indication that their magic and purpose was
accepted, and that they could
proceed.
" I, Hermione Granger, ask thee Harry Potter, Draco
Malfoy, and Tom Riddle to
accept me- heart, blood, soul, and mind as your
bonded sister forever and
eternity."
" I accept thee, Hermione Granger, as my bonded
sister, forever and eternity."
Harry, Draco, and Tom replied in clear firm voices.
" I, Tom Riddle, ask thee Hermione Granger, Draco
Malfoy, and Harry Potter to
accept me- heart, blood, soul, and mind as your
bonded brother forever and
eternity."
" I accept thee, Tom Riddle, as my bonded brother,
forever and eternity."
They were trembling by this time from blood loss
and all had grown very pale,
but the pain and disorientation they felt was
nothing compared to the magic,
excitement, and adrenaline flowing through them.
" So shall we be. Bonded, forever and eternity. So
shall it be!" They cried
collectively.
As soon as the last word was spoken, more light
exploded from every pore of
their bodies and bathed the room in golden hues.
The light quickly diminished
and concentrated into two areas, coming together
to hover over each silver
bowl. The four reached out and grasped hands to
physically connect a circle
around the stone table. They concentrated on the
magic, and watched as it
dipped into the bowls of blood and swirled around
to mix.
Only seconds passed before the magic infused
blood from Harry's bowl rose up,
separated into three, and circled him, Tom, and
Hermione. Draco's bowl
repeated the action, excluding Harry. Then the
infused blood shot back like
arrows into their bodies through their cut wrists
with such a force that they
were all pushed backwards a bit. The backlash
would have been worse had they
not kept their hands clasped together.
When the light disappeared they looked down at
their wrists, noticing the pain
was gone, and found the wounds had been cleanly
healed. A moment later the
door reappeared, signaling the Ritual had ended.
" That went perfectly!" Hermione squealed and
rushed around to
enthusiastically hug her new brothers. " It was
amazing. I can't wait to tell
Severus."
Tom chuckled around Hermione's hair, " yes it was
very well done…" Tom broke
off as Hermione slowly pulled away from him and
they both sagged slightly.
" I…Ooh, I feel weird…." Hermione's words came
out sluggishly, and she tipped
her head back to look at Tom inquiringly, but Tom
seemed to have trouble
keeping his eyes opened.
" Hey, are you guys okay?" Harry and Draco moved
over to them quickly. Harry
gasped when they looked at him with glowing eyes,
and then watched in shock as
they dropped to the ground. Draco rushed over and
began to check to make sure
they were still breathing, that their hearts were still
pumping. Apparently
Harry thought freaking out would be helpful in
some way.
" Oh Merlin, what have we done? What did we do?"
he cried out as he stared at
their still forms.
" Calm down, love. Open the door for Amortia."
Draco pushed him towards the door. He threw it
open and yelled for Amortia
before quickly returning to stand over Tom and
Hermione. Amortia came in and
immediately began to run tests over their bodies
with her wand. She began to
mutter darkly as she slapped her wand repeatedly
against her palm, " What's
wrong with this thing? I'm not getting any
readings!"
" We killed them!" Harry's hands flew to his hair in
panic.
" Harry, they are still breathing." Draco said in a
calm manner he did not
feel.
Talyn stepped into the room upon hearing Harry's
exclamation. " You performed
a wizard ritual, correct?"
She and Brumek were aware the young ones were
doing a ritual with their
friends, but they had not been told what the ritual
was for. Nor were they
told if it was a _Ukatae_ ritual or a wizard ritual.
Talyn guessed it was
wizard because she doubted Harry and Draco knew
any _Ukatae_ rituals. Again,
she was unaware that it had been a mixture of
_Ukatae_ and wizarding magic
that had given Tom his body back.
" Yes." Draco answered her. She nodded and
stepped further into the room. At
once her nostrils flared and she pinned the young
ones with a quelling stare.
" What exactly went on in here? I can smell your
blood and human blood."
" We've bonded ourselves as siblings. Tom and
Hermione are now our brother and
sister." Talyn continued to stare for a moment
before a slow smile spread
across her face. Then she started to laugh and shake
her head.
" What the hell is so funny?" Harry demanded. "
They've passed out and
probably from something we did wrong!"
" You've no idea what you've done, do you?" she
asked in a cheery voice that
made Harry want to slap her. " Not to worry, young
one. They will wake in an
hour or so. Could be sooner, depending on the
strength of their magic. I
assure you, they are perfectly fine. " Talyn said after
she turned and walked
out of the room.
" But what were you laughing at?"
" Oh you'll see. Just move them somewhere more
comfortable. I promise they
will wake soon."
They did as Talyn suggested but Amortia was going
to treat this like an
emergency and brought the unconscious seventh
years to the makeshift
infirmary. Lucius had allowed her to keep it up and
running for emergencies
such as this. Harry and Draco sat in between the
two beds and stared at the
floor in guilt for a long time.
" What do you think happened? If we didn't kill
them…" Harry finally wondered.
" Their eyes were glowing before they went
unconscious. I wonder what that
means…"
" Why did nothing happen to us?"
" Do you think they'll wake up before we have to
catch the Hogwarts Express?"
was Draco's question, not having an answer for
Harry.
" Should we even go to school today?"
Draco looked at him like he was crazy. " Hermione
would be pissed off if we
decided not to go today, even if she is unconscious.
And she'd definitely give
me the scolding of a lifetime. ' Draco, you're Head
Boy! There is no excuse to
miss the first day of school!' I guarantee that's what
she would say."
Harry couldn't help but laugh. " You sounded just
like her. Amazing."
" Amazing is my middle name."
" And cocky, along with snobby, git, ponce-"
" You want to duel, Potter?"
Harry was grinning and prepared to answer when
Lucius and Sirius walked in.
Both faces looked grim.
" Care to explain what happened?" Lucius drawled
as he and his husband took a
moment to study Tom and Hermione. " I allowed
this because I was under the
impression that you four were perfectly capable of
conducting such a ritual
without adult supervision. Obviously I was
mistaken."
" The ritual went perfectly." Draco defended and
stood to look down his nose
at his father.
" It worked, if that's what you mean." Lucius
replied, not the least bit
intimidated by his son. " Tom and Hermione are
now on the Malfoy family
tapestry and if you check, they'll be on the Potter
tapestry as well. But why
are they in here? What happened?"
Draco let out a breath and sank back into his chair."
We don't know. They
suddenly looked tired, eyes were glowing, and then
they feinted. Talyn said
everything's fine and they should wake up soon. An
hour or so…"
Sirius cast the tempus charm to check the time. "
It's eight-thirty now. If
what she said is true, they should be awake in time
to make the Hogwarts
Express."
" We'll see after they are awake." Amortia said
firmly. " They must be in
perfect health or I will not allow them to leave." No
one had a problem with
that.
" Are you all packed then?" Sirius asked.
" Yes. I had the house elves pack everything since
Draco went overboard in
Paris." Harry said. " I was not about to deal with all
that myself."
" You'll be happy to have _all that_ once we're at
Hogwarts."
" Doubt it."
" You two can Apparate from anywhere, correct?"
Lucius asked.
" Yes." His son answered.
" Even Hogwarts?"
" We haven't been there to try it. Why?" Harry
asked, wondering what Lucius
was getting at.
" I want you here every Saturday morning, Harry.
We never began your Wizarding
World studies. We'll do that starting this first
Saturday."
Harry started grumbling, but stopped when Draco
gave him a pointed glare. "
Make it Sunday mornings. Our Saturdays are going
to be busy."
" Sunday afternoons." Lucius bargained. " My
Sunday mornings are busy."
Sirius' brows burrowed in obvious discontent at
this.
" Done." Harry agreed quickly before standing to
pull Sirius out into the
hall. " You aren't still worked up about the I Never
game are you?"
Sirius shrugged. " Wouldn't you be?"
" Maybe at first, but… it wouldn't last this long. So
you've been fighting
over that since then?"
" Not really. We've been fighting over something
else mostly. I've been trying
to get him to change his mind about his decision,
but he keeps going on about
his figure, the responsibilities, about how old we
are… just making stupid
excuses."
" Err…" Harry didn't know what Sirius was talking
about and he didn't know
whether he should ask or not.
" Hey, pup. Don't worry about us." Sirius threw an
arm around his godson's
shoulders as he was always inclined to do and
hugged him. " We're fine. But
I'm allowed to get mad at him from time to time."
" That's true. It is Lucius Malfoy. Sometimes all I
have to do is look at him
and I get mad." He joked then he returned the hug
with both arms, surprising
Sirius, but then the animagus tightened his hold and
dropped his chin against
Harry's forehead. Harry frowned up feeling the
sadness and disappointment
emanating from his godfather. He wondered where
it was coming from.
Lucius' head appeared from the infirmary,
unnoticed. He was about to inform
Harry and Sirius that Tom and Hermione were
waking, but stopped when he saw
them talking.
" Sirius, what's wrong with you? You're twisted up
inside." Harry was asking.
Sirius didn't physically react, except for a small
flicker of surprise in his
eyes.
" You just take care of yourself, hear me?" he
whispered. " I'm going to miss
you, pup. Snape may be your uncle, but you're mine
as well… I hate to see you
leave." He spoke so forcefully that Harry knew he
would be missed. He also
realized he wasn't going to get any more
information just yet about what was
bothering the animagus.
" Sirius, if we can Apparate or do the circle from
Hogwarts, then I'll see you
every Sunday. And besides, we're not leaving just
yet. You're coming to King's
Cross, right?"
Sirius only had time to nod before Lucius finally
spoke up. " They are awake."
The blonde ignored Harry and only had eyes for his
husband. Sensing Lucius'
need to talk to Sirius, Harry left to go back into the
infirmary, leaving them
privacy out in the hall.
Tom woke rather quickly, and bit back the need to
groan. Every single bloodchanneling vein was screaming at him as if on fire.
_Well this was
unexpected._ His eyes remained closed until he was
sure he could open them and
keep the pain from showing in his brown eyes. He
opened his hand and flexed
his fingers before curling them back into a fist as the
last of the pain
slowly left him. It was the thought that Hermione
was going through the same
pain that had him opening his eyes and sitting up,
finding Draco sitting in a
chair in between the beds. When Draco turned and
saw he was awake, he smirked.
" It wasn't very polite of you to feint dead away like
that." Draco drawled. "
It doesn't exactly exclaim Dark Lord to anyone."
" I did not feint." Tom ground out, then relaxed
when he realized Draco was
trying to bait him. Still, he felt the need to defend
himself. " My body
simply took over and pushed me into
unconsciousness." He ended flatly. Draco
rolled his eyes as he looked over at Hermione for a
moment but she was still
asleep.
" Can you explain what happened?" the blonde
asked.
" I thought I we had done all the research needed,
but apparently I forgot a
few things. It's nothing to worry about, Draco."
Draco wasn't so sure of that, and thought he might
say so, but Amortia caught
Tom awake and appeared beside his bed and began
to wave her wand up and down
the length of his body.
" I'm fine." Tom finally ground out as she began a
second scan. Amortia
ignored him and continued with her tests.
Hermione began to wake then and
Draco reached over to take her hand and they both
watched as Tom quickly lost
his patience. He was sitting straight up, but his head
was tilted back in a
scowl as she began to do the tests a third time. "
Leave me alone, woman! What
good do you think you would be doing by blinding
me?" He pushed the wand away
from his eyes and glared at Amortia. " You've
already checked me and I feel
perfectly fine. Go and pester Hermione. Don't make
me regret burning the Mark
off your arm!" He hissed.
" Right as rain." Amortia replied sarcastically, then
moved over to perform
tests on Hermione, who'd had a hard time keeping
her laughter in check at
Tom's irritableness.
Hermione's tests were almost done when Harry
walked back in. Since Hermione
was indisposed at the moment, he went to talk to
Tom.
" Do you really feel fine?" Harry whispered when he
moved to stand next to
Tom's bed.
" It was the mixed blood and magic catching up to
us. That is all. I should
have anticipated it."
" You scared the hell out of Harry. He thought we'd
killed you."
" Don't act like you weren't scared."
" Of course, but I know how to conceal my
emotions." Draco answered before
bending over to peer into Tom's eyes.
" Just what do you think you're doing, little
brother?" Tom hissed. " Did you
not hear me tell Amortia to get the hell away? What
makes you think I want you
eyeing me like some sort of experiment?"
" I just want to know why your eyes were glowing."
Tom pushed the stupidly grinning Draco aside and
stood from the bed. " If you
will excuse me, I need to finish packing."
" You mean you're not finished?" Hermione asked
with a gasp.
" No, I'm not. There are a few things I realized at the
last minute that I
will be needing. Don't bother trying to lecture me.
" Oh well, that's okay then. Especially if its books."
She gave him a smile
and waved him off.
Tom grinned as he looked around the room at
Harry, Draco, and Hermione. His
grin broadened before he turned and left the
infirmary.
" Wow. Did you see his face?" Harry asked a
moment later. He sat down on the
edge of a bed between Draco's legs where the
blonde had backed up and made
room and smiled when Draco wrapped his arms
around his chest possessively. " I
don't think Tom Riddle has ever smiled like that
before."
Arriving at Kings Cross Station and then onto
Platform Nine and Three Quarters
had never been so easy and stress free before for
Harry. It probably had a lot
to do with the fact that they had all been ready to
leave hours before they
arrived. He and his group wanted to make an
entrance, a sort of obvious
fantastic point for the students of Hogwarts to
obtain from their arrival.
They timed it so that they arrived at the Platform
with ten minutes to spare,
guaranteeing the platform would be crawling with
students by then. Everyone
always seemed to rush in at the last minute.
The Gryffindors passed through the barrier first
with their luggage. This
included Harry and Hermione, with Sirius escorting
them. It took a while
before anyone realized the tall black haired boy in
fine wizarding robes was
Harry Potter, and the woman in equally fine
wizarding robes was Hermione
Granger.
" Have we changed so much?" Hermione whispered
after they loaded the luggage
and stood back to watch people. It wasn't until then
they realized they were
being stared at because no one recognized them.
Sirius stood back and studied them. " Yes. You've
changed, in a lot of ways."
Silence slashed across the platform as recognition
began to dawn. Harry
smirked as the noise started to escalate, and his
pupils dilated as the rush
of the emotions from everyone around hit him. He
opened his mouth a little and
breathed the emotions in like air.
" I'll never get tired of this."
The Slytherins arrived soon after in the same
manner, and loaded their
luggage. Draco, Pansy, and Tom stood at opposite
ends of the train from the
Gryffindors." Look at him, soaking the emotions up
like a sponge. He has no
control, idiot Gryffindor." Draco said when his eyes
landed on his mate.
" A controlled Harry isn't any fun, darling. You know
you love it when he
loses control." Pansy said. Tom and Lucius, who had
also come to see them off,
smirked. Draco shrugged and went back to
watching Harry.
Those who were watching Harry, which was most of
the platform, stood and
stared in disbelief at their changed Hero as he
turned and shot a sultry grin
at one of the Slytherins standing at the other end of
the train. More loud
whispers erupted as Harry moved, leading
Hermione and Sirius Black towards the
Slytherins, who were also moving down the train.
They met in the middle.
" How do you think they are taking it?" Hermione
asked Tom, who was wearing a
specialized glamour that showed his true face only
to those who were aged
seventeen and below. The glamour had been done
using _Ukatae_ magic, and
therefore would be undetected by Dumbledore and
impervious to any revealing
spells cast on him. Hermione instantly swept her
arm through his and smiled at
him.
" They are eating it up." Draco said as he reached
out to cup Harry's wrist in
what every one around them thought was a simple
friendly gesture. Even though
nothing spectacularly significant had happened, the
excitement rose just the
same. " I think we should keep them wondering
about the extent of our
relationship." Draco lightly caressed the pulse point
at Harry's wrist and
grinned when he felt the pulse quicken and the heat
coming off Harry tripled.
" It will keep their attentions on us for more
information and it'll be fun
for us to mess with their heads." Draco gently
dropped his mate's hand, nodded
at his father and Sirius before hopping onto the
train, closely followed by
Pansy.
" We only have a few minutes left." Harry said and
began looking around. "
Where's Blaise and Ginny?"
" Probably on the train waiting for you." Lucius said
to Harry, then he turned
to Tom. " You should not worry. We will have
everything under control and well
under way by the time you return for Christmas."
" I expect that you will, Lucius. And make sure your
husband at least tries to
help Rabastan and Rodolphus out of their cocoons
of death they picked up from
Azkaban." Tom turned to Sirius, " I know you don't
like being around Death
Eaters, which is beyond hypocritical by the way
since you're married to one,
but you and the Lestrange brothers are the best
suited for the job we need
done."
" No problem, Tommy. I get along with everyone."
Sirius grinned.
Tom's face flushed from either embarrassment or
anger at being called Tommy.
He was already moving to react when Hermione
and Harry moved as one. Hermione
quickly pulled Tom onto the train with her, and
Harry moved forward to embrace
Sirius.
" Thanks for teaching Dudley."
" I'm only doing it because you asked… and partly
because I feel slightly
guilty about what happened with Petunny and her
man years ago."
" Right! We never did talk about that!" Harry pinned
him with accusatory
glare. Sirius was so glad to hear the train whistle go
off just then that he
laughed in relief.
" We'll have to talk about it some other time, pup.
Up you get!" Sirius
practically threw Harry up the steps, and Harry
yelled out obscenities to
Sirius as the train pulled out of the station, leaving
behind a platform full
of parents and guardians waving their children
away.
***
A/N: Yay! Chapter one of the sequel! I told you i
would have it out very soon.
I hope you enjoyed reading it. And if you did, you'll
be happy to know the
second chap will be out soon. I bet you're all
wanting to see what happens at
the welcoming feast... You'll just have to wait and
see. Have a great day!
2. A Train and a Hat
**Life Agendas**
**Chapter Two**
**A Train and a Hat**
Once on the train, Hermione and Draco took over,
flashing their new shiny Head
badges to anyone who asked. Hermione was
persistent in her argument with Draco
about what they would do when on the train. Draco
was all for relaxing before
and after the prefects' meeting, relaxing and
nothing more. He didn't want to
have to deal with the first years until they were at
Hogwarts. But Hermione
wouldn't let it go. She remembered what it was to
be a scared first year on
her way to Hogwarts. In the end she brought Harry
in on it and asked for his
opinion.
" You had friends waiting on the train for you,
Draco. Friends you've known
for years. You had nothing to worry about _and_
you already knew what to
expect. But for us, there really wasn't any sort of
guarantee about what was
going to happen to us. Hogwarts wasn't just a new
school, it was a new world
and we didn't know any one to ask."
In the end, Draco decided to help Hermione only
because it would please Harry.
Now here he was herding first years down the aisle
of the train. The sound of
Hermione's voice had Draco looking over his
shoulder and he glared halfheartedly at the witch as she helped some first
years into a compartment
further down. She returned his glare with a smug
grin. Draco was not about to
deny Harry anything, unless the scenario entailed
Harry risking his life.
Pleasing his mate made Draco happy, and Hermione
knew this! She used Harry to
gain what she wanted! And what she wanted was
his cooperation.
Draco's glare went up a notch as he slid a door open
and shoved three first
years into the half-filled compartment. The
occupants looked up in surprise as
more passengers were shoved in. " You're all first
years! You should all stick
together!" he snapped at the slightly shaking
students. " Well? Don't just sit
there! Start talk-" Draco was yanked out of the
compartment and Hermione shut
the door with a snap.
" Malfoy! You can't go around talking to the first
years like that?" she
snapped at him. " You were scaring them!"
Draco crossed his arms and looked down his nose at
her. " It's not my fault,
Granger." He sneered at the door. " They were
already scared." Around them,
the older students in surrounding compartments
began to poke their heads out
to watch the Head Boy and Head Girl interact.
" We're supposed to help them make friends, and
remain friends even if sorted
into different Houses." She hissed quietly, aware
they had an audience.
Draco arched an eyebrow as he studied her for a
moment. When he spoke, his
voice was toneless. " Granger, has anyone ever told
you to fuck off?" Suddenly
he was yanked down to Hermione's eye level, their
noses touching. Apparently
she didn't want to play for this audience.
" _Behave_, Draco. Or else." She whispered.
When Draco spoke his tone was sheepish and little
more then a whisper for only
her to hear. " Alright, Hermione. Merlin, calm
down." He pulled back and
smacked away her clutching hand from the front of
his robes. " I'm telling
Harry you put your hands on me." He hissed, and
then sneered at her for the
sake of their captive audience before turning down
the train to find more
impressionable first years.
Harry mentally sighed in annoyance. The cramped
quarters of the train
literally crawled with students. Many of them were
keeping their distance from
him. As he walked past the crowds looking for seats,
Harry wondered how many
believed he was a Death Eater, or if he'd actually
sold his soul to Voldemort.
How many of his classmates believed the _Prophet_
when they reported the
Gryffindor Golden Boy and Slytherin Sex God had
bonded. Did anyone know he and
Draco were soul mates? How many people knew for
certain they were _Ukatae_?
How much factual information on Harry did
Dumbledore have now? Those were the
questions jumping around in his head as he walked
to the compartment Tom had
secured.
_Harry? _Draco called him.
_Hmm?_ He walked passed a group of seventh year
Ravenclaws. All had their wary
eyes plastered on him. They were giving him looks
that suggested they believed
some of the _Daily Prophet's _more ridiculous
stories and were inclined to
think he was trying to take over the world with Lord
Voldemort and murder
every human being in sight. In return of their
obvious distrust of him, Harry
plastered the patented Golden Boy smile on as he
passed and greeted them
cheerfully.
_Hermione and I need to go to the front of the train
for a prefects' meeting._
Draco went on.
_All right. You'll come find me when you're done?_
_Of course. I'm not about to leave you alone with
Tom for long. You'll drive
him mad._
Harry chuckled to himself. _That's probably true.
_He found Tom sitting with
Ginny and Blaise in a compartment near the center
of the train. Tom was
glaring at the window as Harry walked in.
Harry smiled as he sat next to his brother. "
Luther?"
Tom turned at his voice and scowled. " Have they
forgotten who I am?" Tom
said, gesturing to snogging couple. " Must they do
that in front of me?" Tom
made a sort of growl in the back of his throat and
slid to the edge of the
seat. " I can Crucio you two without even lifting a
bloody finger!" He hissed
into their surprised faces.
" Luther, seriously. You're way too tense." Harry
began with a straight face.
" Believe me when I say getting laid helps loads with
that. You should go find
a nice young witch," Harry winked at Blaise just
before Tom pinned him with
startled eyes. " Or a wizard. I don't care which, just
as long as you relax.
Okay, big brother?" Harry then proceeded to flash '
the smile'. Tom stared
dumbly at him until Harry turned away.
Draco started laughing suddenly with unconcealed
glee. _This is perfect!
Weasel's a prefect! You should see his face, Harry.
The moment he noticed our
Head badges- oh! Here he goes… spewing on about
how we can't be Heads. We're
evil… yada yada yada… Seriously Harry, what did
you ever see in this moron.
Hermione too! Oh, Merlin, he's still going on…. I
think I'll kill him. That
particular shade of red on his face is giving me a
headache._
_Draco no! Don't you dare! _
_Okay, okay. No killing. But it was a close thing.
Good thing Hermione has a
good controlled head on her shoulders. I wonder
what Weasel would do if I told
him his ex-girlfriend killed a man not twenty-four
hours ago using the Killing
Curse. What do you think he'd do? _
_Draco…_ Harry warned.
_Fine! You always spoil my fun. Ah, need to go.
Hermione's giving me a pointed
look. Time to start the meeting… and then
afterwards we return to shepherding
all the ugly innocent baby lambs running about us._
Draco sighed dramatically,
his next words dripped with Malfoy sarcasm, _Oh,
joy_.
With a grin, Harry dropped his head back against
the seat and lifted his shoes
to rest them on the opposite bench. Tom gave
Harry a pointed stare, which was
ignored, then reached over and knocked Harry's
feet to the floor.
" We're trying to make a statement. And it has
nothing to do with being a
slouch. Sit up straight."
" We're in a train compartment with friends. It's not
like I'm sitting in
front of the entire Wizarding World right at this
moment. I'm tired. I hate
getting up super early, and I want a bloody nap!
Stop nagging me or I'll sic
Lovely on you." Harry ended by caressing his neck,
where everyone assumed
Lovely was coiled up invisible and his feet went back
on the bench.
" Don't threaten me with your snake, Potter. Mine's
bigger." Tom used his wand
this time to remove Harry's feet.
" Yeah, but she's not here, is she? You can't have a
huge snake slithering
around. She'd give you away." Harry returned his
feet to the bench.
Tom knocked them right back down. Blaise and
Ginny sat quietly, watching all
this with amusement, heads moving back and forth
from one boy to the other as
they took turns speaking. " You'll be seeing her soon
enough, Harry."
Harry grinned as he lifted his feet onto the bench
and slowly crossed them at
the ankles. He could practically see Tom grinding his
teeth. Harry started
laughing. " This bothers you so much, doesn't it? Is
this a Pet Peeve, Luther?
Are you thinking about cutting my legs off at the
knees? I bet you are."
" It would serve you right if I did. If you don't keep
your boots on the
floor, I will be forced to tell Draco about it." Tom
smiled coldly. " And we
all know Draco is as bad a lecturer as Hermione is,
especially when it comes
to lecturing about posture, grace, and perfection."
His smile widened as
Harry's face paled. " I believe Draco has had the
pleasure of giving you the
same long lecture a number of times already.
Would you like to hear it again?"
Harry's boots dropped heavily to the floor, " No I
would not like to hear that
particular lecture again, thank you very much." He
snapped before turning
incredulous eyes to Ginny and Blaise. " Its hours
long!"
" I know, mate." Blaise gravely replied. " I've heard
it before. Personally, I
think Draco just likes the sound of his own voice."
" He does." Harry and Tom answered.
" Can I say something?" Ginny leaned forward with
a big grin. " I have to say
that if I had just met the two of you, I would swear
you're brothers born from
the same mother instead of just blood bonded
siblings. You two being who you
are... I would never have imagined you'd end up
brothers!"
" Fate takes us all by surprise." Tom replied.
" Another question?" Ginny inquired. " We haven't
told anyone about you
becoming siblings yet. I'm just wondering if you
want to keep it a secret?"
Tom and Harry looked at each other and grinned. "
By all means, please tell
people." Tom said.
" Yeah, but he's still Luther until he decides it's time
to drop the glamour
completely. Even still, it will give Dumbledore a
nasty shock to learn Draco
and I have taken Hermione and Luther as siblings."
" Why? Does it make a difference?" Blaise asked.
" Oh loads." Harry leant forward and spoke softly. "
Dumbledore never wanted
Tom to love, to know what that emotion was,
because out of everything he said
to me, one thing was true. Love is a very powerful
form of magic, no matter
how you look at it. Dumbledore knew what Tom
could create if surrounded by
those who love him, with all that supportive power
at his fingertips. I
suspect that was one of the reasons why he pushed
Tom down the path of hate.
Isn't that right?" Harry looked over and grinned.
Tom was staring steadily out
of the window, and Harry could see a blush
creeping out from below his collar.
" You are embarrassing me, Harry." Tom's voice was
barely audible, and only
Harry heard what he said.
Suddenly the former Savior of the Wizarding World
was bouncing up and down on
his seat like an over excited child. He pulled out a
folded sheet of parchment
and summoned a pen from his bag, ignored
everyone as he scanned the contents
of the parchment." Ah ha! Here it is." Harry quickly
scratched something onto
the parchment, before quickly refolding it and
storing it away once again.
" What was that, and why are you carrying it around
like you're Hermione?"
wondered Ginny.
" Draco and I have a bet going… It concerns Tom.
That's all I'm going to say."
Tom studied Harry's profile before scowling. " I
would like that list. Now."
He commanded softly.
" No. I'm not done with it." Harry turned back to
Blaise and Ginny and hurried
on before Tom could cling to the subject of the
parchment. " So yeah, our
being siblings doesn't need to be a secret. Only,
don't tell Ron unless I'm
there. I want to see his face when he hears."
In the prefects' car, Hermione was quickly losing her
patients. She was
_trying_ to read off the numerous responsibilities
the prefects were expected
to take on. But no one was really listening. Instead
they were watching the
tension build between herself, Ron, and Lavender.
He refused to shut up.
Wouldn't stop going on about Dark witches and
wizards, and how could the
school allow Death Eaters to attend? And Lavender
was hanging off his every
word, throwing out affirmative support whenever
Ron would pipe up.
" This is important!" She finally snapped. " If you
can't take this
seriously-"
" This is serious!" Ron spat. " There is no way I'm
going to stand for our
Heads being Death Eaters!"
" For the last time, we are not Death Eaters!"
Hermione shoved her bare wrists
in front of his face." Stop making ridiculous
accusations!" It did not pass
her notice that almost everyone in the
compartment looked at her wrists before
moving onto Draco, who looked back steadily and
remained still. He didn't feel
the need to show his wrists unless they asked him
directly, which they
wouldn't.
" Now, as I was saying… If you can't take this
seriously, _Ronald_, I'm afraid
I'll have no choice but to report you and insist
Gryffindor find a more
dedicated seventh year prefect. You don't see the
other prefects making a
fuss, now do you? Unless you have something to
say pertaining to this list of
duties," she waved a piece of parchment in the air. "
I suggest you stay quiet
and let me continue."
" You little bitch!" Ron surged to his feet and took a
step forward. " You
spend a few short months with Potter and the
Malfoys and suddenly you're too
high and mighty for us."
" You should return to your seat, Weasley.
Otherwise you might have an
accident." Draco said slowly, moving to put himself
between his sister and the
Weasel. " You might have to spend your first night
back with Madam Pomfrey."
Hermione rolled her eyes when Lavender gasped
and grabbed at Ron's sleeve. Ron
frowned at her for a moment before pulling his
sleeve free." Your threats
don't scare me, Malfoy. " Ron proved his worth by
taking a step back directly
after such a statement.
Draco's face relaxed as he smiled. " I don't make
threats. I'm simply
foretelling the future." Draco met his gaze and held.
There was no way he was
going to look away from the Weasel first. But…
every fucking second passing
made Draco want to tear Weasley's face off.
" Go on, Hermione. Let's hear the rest of our
duties." Susan Bones said
suddenly, not liking the look on either Malfoy or
Ron's face. Malfoy was
smiling, but Susan thought something was off with
it. Whatever it was, she
didn't think it was good for anyone.
Hermione gave Susan a smile, thankful for the
interruption. She was sure Draco
was hovering on the edge of his patience, and it
wouldn't do any one any
favors if he attacked Ronald. Looking over, she
caught Pansy's eye for a
moment. They hadn't spoken yet of her father.
Everyone had to swear not to say
anything to Pansy about it because Hermione
planned to do that on her own as
she'd been the one to kill him. It was her
responsibility to tell Pansy. She
knew her responsibility, and dreaded it completely.
Having no idea what to
expect from Pansy she had no way to prepare for
how Pansy reacted to the news.
It would have helped Hermione knowing Pansy
already knew something happened to
her father. But no one bothered to inform
Hermione that her brothers had been
dropping hints to Pansy all week about her father
being in a delicate
situation, so the Slytherin had already prepared
herself for the worst. She
hated her father and losing him wouldn't be such a
terrible thing. Hermione,
however, didn't know any of this, and she was
dreading having to tell Pansy
she'd taken the life of her father.
Returning to the present, Hermione took a deep
breath and continued over the
rest of the list, glad that at least Ron was keeping
his mouth shut. But she
could tell he was complaining in his head.
" One more thing." She added at the end of the
meeting. " This year we are
going to achieve something Dumbledore has been
preaching at us for years to
do. We are going to unite the Houses and we'll
accomplish that by setting
examples for the other students."
" And how do you expect us to help with that?"
Theodore Nott asked nastily
from his seat beside Pansy.
" I've just said. By setting examples. Help out
students from all Houses. Form
clubs and study groups with students from all
houses, that sort of thing. And
above all else encourage the students to make
friends from the other houses.
That's a good start at least. We'll talk more about
this at the next meeting,
but until then we should all try and come up with
more ideas to promote House
unity."
Draco watched the prefects' reactions to
Hermione's announcement. By the time
she was finished speaking, most of them looked
happy enough to go along with
her idea. Only Theo, the Weasel, and Brown
seemed to have a problem with it.
Draco barely able to contain the disgust he felt. He
hated having to deal with
people like them. They were only against the idea
because Hermione had brought
it up. They were nothing but idiots who think
laughing at good ideas make them
smart. Brown and Weasley for sure. Draco wasn't
certain why Theodore was
acting like an arse, but he would find out.
An annoyed hiss escaped Hermione's lips and she
gave him a look... to his
shock that look came with a loud thought. _These
buggers are making me angry!
_ Shocked speechless, Draco could only nod a
fraction and hoped she understood
that they would deal with those three individually
and at a later time.
Hermione's eyes widened into saucers, and Draco
assumed she'd received his
message loud and clear. _Interesting._
Hermione cleared her throat and smiled around the
prefect car. " All right,
then. You can all go and find your friends. Let's
enjoy the rest of our trip
to school. But I do expect you to keep the peace
between all the students, and
should you have any problems or questions, please
come find us." Hermione
glanced at Ron as she turned to leave. " Let's go,
Draco."
They really shouldn't have expected Weasley to
keep his trap shut. Honestly,
it was like the boy didn't value a healthy long life. "
What? Potter's not
good enough for you now, Malfoy? Tired of him
already? I suppose you've
finally realized how worthless he is and decided to
move on to someone else."
Weasley chuckled snidely, " I mean, it's you, Malfoy.
Everyone knows how you
like to jump from one fuck buddy to another. It was
only a matter of time
before you screwed around on Potter, yeah?"
Weasley gave Hermione a disgusted
look as he came to his main point. " But do you
really think fucking this
traitorous bitch is any better?"
The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw prefects gasped and
sat back in their seats while
the Slytherins and Gryffindors leaned in to watch
with interest.
Pansy snorted and edged to her seat, eagerly
awaiting the blood she was about
to see. For a short moment, a pout overtook her
face. Charlie would probably
never forgive her if she stood by and allowed Draco
to kill his Weasley was
such a damn fool! He just sprinted across the line
multiple times over! First,
you never in any way accuse Draco of being
unfaithful to Harry. Never.
Secondly, you never suggest Harry is anything less
then the best. Third and
fourth, calling Hermione a traitor and a bitch was
just stupid, and stupidity
was not tolerated by the Malfoy line… as stated in
the Malfoy rulebook Pansy
found in the Malfoy library. And the final line
Weasley had the gall to cross…
Draco cherished his relationship with Hermione and
it's considered a suicidal
move to try and tarnish that friendship by slander.
Putting Charlie and the Weasel aside, Pansy focused
on her best friend.
Watching Draco lose control was fascinating. His
eyes were set on Weasley, the
pupils narrowing into molten slits, and his chest
began to rise and fall in a
rapid pace as his anger built. Draco's glamour began
to shimmer and Pansy
could just make out the sharp points of his fangs
pressing into his bottom
lip.
" Pansy!"
Pansy immediately bolted out of her seat and
moved swiftly to assist Hermione.
The two young women crowded Draco out of the
compartment with a considerable
amount of effort. Pushing Draco somewhere he
didn't want to go was like
pushing a life sized stone statue.
" Stop. Control yourself." Hermione panted, moving
to block the door when
Draco tried to dart back in. " Don't you even dare
think about doing it. Not
here, not now."
" Hermione! Some things I cannot ignore!"
" Harry's probably wondering when you'll find him.
You don't want to keep him
waiting, do you? Go with Pansy now and find
Harry."
Draco's glare bounced back and forth from the door
to Hermione several times.
" Are you even listening to me?" he hissed. " That
cursed red weasel with the
verbal diarrhea has gone too far! I won't do Harry,
you, or myself the
injustice of ignoring his words."
Hermione moved until they were toe-to-toe, stared
straight into his eyes and
hissed, " Yes. You. Will."
Moments later she smiled and waved at a fuming
Draco who was being led away by
an impressed Pansy, before she quickly re-entered
the prefects' compartment.
" You're really stupid, Ron. Did you know?" her
voice was the perfection of
innocence.
" I'm not the one hanging around with Potter and
Malfoy. So whose the stupid?"
Hermione's head cocked to the side, and she stared,
studying him like he was
an experiment gone horribly wrong. " I just can't
understand…" She thought
aloud. She shook her head sadly. " You really
shouldn't say stuff like that to
Draco. Otherwise…" she shrugged. " It's your life I
guess." Hermione turned
and stepped out into the hall.
Harry was very bored. He hated being bored. He
also hated waiting. Most times,
waiting led to boredom. Boredom was unhealthy.
Surprisingly, it had been
Lucius Malfoy who'd told him that and Harry was
inclined to agree. Because
right now he was risking his life trying to time
himself to see how fast he
could make Tom go crazy by annoying him.
Harry had just finished sighing in boredom for the
hundredth time, earning yet
another incensed glare from Tom, when Pansy
rushed in pulling Draco in with
her. Harry quickly took over for Pansy and pulled
Draco down to the empty
bench across from Tom where he sat down and
Draco used his lap as a pillow.
Pansy tried to smile at Tom as she sat beside him,
but failed miserably when
he turned his burning angry eyes to her. Harry had
been doing a fantastic job
at pissing Tom off.
Draco twisted onto his side and burrowed his face
into Harry's stomach. " I
want to kill Weasley with every fiber of my being."
He mumbled at last.
" What did he say now?" Harry asked with an
irritated sigh. It was guaranteed
Ron had said something. He couldn't keep his
bloody mouth shut.
Draco regurgitated Weasley's vile words before
returning his face to the
warmth of his mate's stomach. Inhaling deeply, a
calm smile fell over Draco's
hidden face as Harry's scent soothed away his
headache.
" Anyone with good sense would know better by
now then to say such things to
you." Tom spoke softly after the silence threatened
to stretch on for
eternity. " He knows you are no longer human and
that you are…" He paused a
moment to watch Draco purr contentedly against
Harry's stomach and smiled with
amused irony. " He knows you are violent and very
dangerous. I'm sure must
have warned him about what you are. I don't
understand why he continues to
bait you."
" He's stupid." Harry said, waving his hand around. "
Weasley is very stupid.
His brain only has the capacity to focus on one thing
at a time and right now
he's focused on hating me and anyone close to me."
He said more softly as he
bent to kiss Draco's ear.
" We'll just have to ignore him."
" It's so hard." Draco whined against the fabric of
Harry's shirt.
" It's not like you to ignore something like this,
Harry. Not now when you are
completely _Ukatae_. Do you regret losing his
friendship?" Tom asked in
curiosity.
" No. It's nothing like that." Harry replied easily." It's
just that I'm very
fond of Mrs. Weasley." That was the only reason
why Ron Weasley was still
alive. No one wanted to hurt Molly Weasley, and
more importantly, no one
wanted to make her violent. " And as for our past
friendship…" Harry's shrug
was indifferent. Draco sat up and looked at Harry,
the question in his eyes.
He never asked him about it, but he was also
curious to know how Harry was
affected by Weasley's betrayal. Harry never spoke
about it and Draco didn't
press because he didn't want to make Harry think
about Weasley.
Harry looked at him. " You want to know?" Draco
nodded and threw an arm around
Harry's shoulders. " Weasley had his chances, far
more then he ever deserved."
Harry began, leaning into Draco's side and crossing
his legs. " He was always
one of the first to turn his back on me when things
got rough, and only come
crawling back after the attention was of the positive
side. I can't stand
people like that. You don't turn your back on your
friends when things get
tough. I don't want him as a friend and I don't miss
him either. How could I
miss him when I have all of you!" Harry turned into
his mate's arms and Draco
shifted so he could lie stretched out on the bench
with Harry held close
against him.
" This is more like it." Draco's husky voice whispered
while running a hand
into Harry's hair. " Come closer." Draco pulled
Harry's head down so Draco
could taste the lips constantly driving him to
distraction. Just… a little bit
closer… and….
" Don't even think about snogging in front of me."
Tom hissed.
" But he's lying on top of me. How do you expect
me to control myself?" Draco
asked as he bucked his hips, grinning at his mate
with bright eyes. Pansy
turned away from Tom to hide her smile having
realized the soul mates were
annoying Tom on purpose.
" Control is overrated." Harry stated just before
Draco greedily consumed his
mouth, softly licking at his mate's lips and moaned
when Draco's mouth
shifted, opened, and entwined their tongues
together.
" Ozemir and Falde return yet?" Tom hastily asked.
Draco found himself kissing
a cheek when Harry sharply turned to Tom, face
twisting into a scowl as he did
so. He slid off Draco and climbed to his feet before
hissing and storming out
of the car.
Pansy blinked at the wide opened door. " That was
quite a hissy fit."
" Yes, and he said nothing at all." Tom replied lazily
and turned to watch the
scenery fly past.
A frustrated groan vibrated from Draco's chest as he
sat up. " What is wrong
with you, Luther? Out of anything you could have
said you chose to say their
names. I was hoping to get through the entire day,
this morning excluded,
without Harry being in a foul mood. You had to go
and mention those two. Their
names are an instant angry potion. Why did you
mention them?"
" Mainly to stop you from snogging in front of me,
and partly I was curious."
Tom continued to stare out the window, smirking
when he heard Draco utter
obscenities under his breath.
" Brumek says the others will meet us at Hogwarts."
Draco finally said. " I've
also learned Falde and Ozemir did not leave to visit
the Council…" Draco
nodded when Tom turned sharply to look at him.
" But then why did they leave?"
" That's exactly why Harry transfigures into a
wrathful storm every time
they're mentioned. Instead of staying and
answering our questions- very
important questions I might add- Falde took Ozemir
and escaped so they
wouldn't have to tell us anything. That's how Harry
sees it." Draco sat back
and pointed to himself, " I think Falde and Ozemir
left because they needed
more information. A good enough excuse, but I also
think they should have
stayed to answer whatever they could before
making their hasty retreat."
" You are right, of course. Harry's always been too
hasty, and very stubborn."
Tom sat back and closed his eyes. " I will try to
refrain from mentioning them
again."
" That does me no good now! He's already pissed
off."
" He'll calm down in a minute, darling." Pansy said
when Draco stood after
deciding to go find Harry.
" Still, we shouldn't let him wander around in that
mood. He's liable to bite
some poor first years head off. We don't want-"
Draco was interrupted when
they heard the voice of an irritated Hermione.
" Harry, honestly! How old are you? You've been
acting like a two-year old all
week!" Hermione's voice drowned out whatever
Draco was going to say as the
Gryffindor witch entered the train car, pulling a
frowning Harry in with her.
" Sit down, Draco." She pushed the surprised blonde
back into his seat, Harry
down next to him, then took a seat beside Tom,
leaving the door wide open.
" Stop being so impatient. You'll get answers soon
enough." Hermione went on,
staring steadily at Harry.
Harry finally sighed and crossed his legs. " I will try
to control my anger."
Harry sulked.
Pansy, who'd been watching her best friend, could
see the predatory light
ignite within Draco's eyes. " I'll control you." He said
to Harry and threw
his arm over the back of the seat and leaning into
his mate. " You'd like
that, wouldn't you, lover?"
A group of fourth year witches passed the open
door and nearly stumbled at the
sight of Draco Malfoy lying on top of a grinning
Harry Potter. They hurried
past and stopped a few feet down from the car.
" Did you see that?"
" I don't believe it! I thought the _Prophet_ was
making it up! There's no way
Potter and Malfoy would ever go out together."
" How could you not believe it? Potter and Malfoy
have been seen several times
together in Diagon Alley- I cut out the pictures and
put them in a scrapbook!
And they were definitely looking more then friendly
just now."
" Let's go back and see."
The fourth-years turned around and passed the
compartment and froze upon
seeing the inside. Hermione turned away from the
book she had in her lap,
raising an eyebrow in question at them. Beside her
sat Draco Malfoy and Pansy
Parkinson, both of who were busy having a
discussion about something and Harry
sat on the opposite bench talking to a boy none of
the fourth-years
recognized. The two wizards in question weren't
anywhere near each other. One
of the fourth years scratched her head in confusion
drawing Harry's attention.
" Hi, guys. Something we can do for you?"
The girls looked glued to the floor and very
confused. " Ah, no."
" We were just looking for our friends."
The occupants of the compartment watched as the
three girls remembered how to
use their legs and quickly scampered off.
" Only you could pull a book out from nowhere."
Harry said to Hermione when
they were gone.
She grinned at him. " It worked, didn't it? They're
confused, but not stupid.
They saw something… but not exactly sure what.
They'll spread the word, and
will keep watching you to find out the truth. It's a
perfect way for you to
lead by example."
" That was my idea." Draco drawled.
" Well you weren't pulling it off very well." Tom
snapped. " You were all over
Harry with the door wide opened. People are going
to see you and quickly come
to the right conclusions the way you two carry on. I
thought you wanted to
hook the students first, and then confirm your
relationship."
Harry sighed and tuned out. His thoughts began to
drift and found himself
thinking about Luna. She wasn't even on the train,
having decided to stay with
her father until he died, which would be in four
days, according to her
prediction. Her last words to Harry before he left for
Kings Cross was
slightly creepy. " Good bye, Harry. I'll see you in four
days!" Luna's
decisive voice had Harry pausing at the door of Mr.
Lovegood's room to look
back over his shoulder at her. He watched as Luna
then bent over the bed and
whispered into her father's ear, a gentle smile on
her face. With his hearing
Harry heard exactly what she whispered. " Just two
more days, Daddy. Just
two!" After that Harry quickly vacated the room.
And he wasn't really worried about the situation
with her father. Luna wasn't
stupid and she was usually right about things
happening as they should. If
Luna wasn't worried, then he wouldn't worry either.
Harry must have fallen asleep because when he
next opened his eyes and scanned
the compartment, Pansy and Draco were gone. Tom
sat looking out of the window
with a contemplative look upon his face and Harry
was willing to bet he'd been
sitting that way for quite some time. Hermione sat
beside him, reading the
book from nowhere. A good quarter of the pages
had been read since he closed
his eyes. He sat up quickly, rubbing his arms as he
did so.
" Harry, you're awake." Hermione frowned upon
seeing his actions. " Are you
cold?"
" A little." He looked at the closed door, then back
to Hermione. " Where's
Draco?"
" He left a little while ago. It was his turn to do a
round." Hermione studied
Harry, frowning when she saw he was shivering. "
Harry, you're really cold. I
can see you shivering!"
" It's a draft, don't worry about it." Harry said, and
looked at Tom when he
snorted.
Hermione sighed. " We're almost to Hogwarts,
which means its time to change
into our school robes." Harry nodded, but he didn't
move. This cold was
filling him with unease.
After a few minutes he stood and ignored
Hermione's concerned, " Harry?" as he
went out into the hall, quickly striding down the
train.
Passing several compartments, he looked inside as
he did so until he found
someone he knew. " Have you seen Malfoy?" He
ignored the stares and insane
little twitters coming from the other sixth year
Ravenclaw witches sitting
around Pansy. What was she doing with a bunch of
Ravenclaws in the first
place? Harry wondered if Pansy had just made it an
effort to talk to them, or
if she had been friends with them before this year.
It was something to ask
later.
" I haven't seen him, Potter." Pansy replied and
smiled apologetically.
" It's no big deal. I was just wondering…"
" I saw Malfoy a few minutes ago." Padma Patil
spoke up, and then flinched
when Harry focused his intense green eyes on her,
bright and unblinking. "
Yeah, he- he was at the end of the train, by the
baggage car with Crabbe and
Goyle."
" Thanks Padma. See you later, Parkinson." He
flashed the other girls a grin
and it must have been the right thing to do. He
hadn't flashed ' the smile',
just an honest grin, and now all those girls were
blushing and smiling
dreamily at him.
" Bye, Potter." Pansy answered through gritted
teeth as he left her alone to
deal with the questions his presence and his
mentioning Draco would produce.
" Pansy, you have to tell us! Are Harry and Draco
really a couple?" He heard
Padma ask as he walked away.
_Draco? Where are you?_
_Around. _
Harry picked up the pace. _Where? I want to see
you. _
_If you really want to see me, come and find me._
_Stop wasting time! We're almost to Hogwarts._
_Then you should make haste, don't you think?_
Harry searched every compartment on his way to
the back; not bothering to
apologize as he slid the doors open and closed each
time. By the time he got
to the back of the train, Draco's scent was very
strong, wonderfully arousing.
Skipping the last few compartments, Harry grasped
the handle of the baggage
compartment door. Suddenly all the warmth from
his body was snatched away, and
for a split second, he was frozen in place. Then he
felt an unknown presence
behind him. His pulse quickened and the edge of
panic started to creep in on
him and he used the panic and the adrenaline from
his rapidly beating heart to
move and overcome the freezing fear clutching him.
When he spun around, only Talyn was there,
standing a few feet away with her
back to the wall. Her eyes continuously scanned the
aisle but she didn't look
as if she sensed danger. Talyn glanced at him when
his stare was finally
noticed.
" Talyn? Did you feel that?"
Talyn's Shadow shimmered for a second, and Harry
stood still as her eyes
scanned over him, making sure he was unharmed,
before looking around the
corridor. " No, young one. What did you feel?"
Harry did not doubt her skills. If someone visible
had been there, she would
have seen it and acted. Harry had to assume
whatever or whomever he sensed
could not be seen or felt by his _Ukatae_ guards.
Wasn't that a happy
reassuring thought?
Harry waved her question away. " Never mind. I'm
looking for Draco."
" You were going the right way."
Harry asked Talyn to wait in the hall before he
opened the door. As he opened
it, Brumek Shadowed through with a scowl and a
glare for Harry.
Brumek was someone else who had been in a foul
mood since Falde and Ozemir
left. Harry wasn't sure why Brumek was so grouchy,
but he found it great fun
to pluck at the warrior's strings. " Why don't you
walk through an open door
like the rest of us? You aren't a ghost." Brumek
clenched his jaw shut in
answer as he moved to stand invisible beside Talyn,
who gave him a knowing
smirk.
" Stop looking at me like that!" Brumek snapped at
her. " I know what you're
thinking and you're wrong." Harry watched the big
warrior's Adam apple bob as
he swallowed nervously. " It's not!" Harry's
eyebrows rose in surprise hearing
the desperation in Brumek's voice. He noticed
Brumek was also clutching the
hilt of his sword tightly.
" You know it's him." Talyn replied soothingly. "
Who else could it be?
Falde?" she snorted. " Not likely. And I am certainly
not the candidate."
" How do you know?" Brumek sounded
uncomfortable. " It could be you. I've
spent as much time with you as I have with him."
Harry looked back and forth between the two,
wondering what was going on. He
had no idea what they were talking about. The only
thing he knew was Brumek
was upset by something, something he was having
trouble handling, and Talyn
knew what that something was.
" But I'm here now and my presence isn't helping
you." Talyn smiled gently and
touched his chest. Brumek's eyes widened a
fraction before he quickly backed
away from her touch, a pitiful whine escaping the
back of his throat as he did
so. " It's not me, Brumek." She said softly. The look
of desperation on
Brumek's face instantly transformed into anger.
" It's not him." He said forcibly. The last thing Harry
saw was Talyn's amused
smile. He had been prepared to stand there and
listen to what they were
talking about. If they didn't want him to hear, they
wouldn't speak about it
in front of him. Surely they knew he was still there,
or at least Talyn did.
Maybe not Brumek, he looked distracted beyond
measure and probably had no clue
Harry had lingered to listen. Unfortunately, Harry
didn't get to hear anymore.
Draco had enough with waiting, and pulled Harry's
slow arse inside just as
Brumek opened his mouth to snap something at
Talyn.
Draco shut the door once Harry was inside,
drowning the compartment in pitchblackness, and walked away into the darkness,
knowing Harry would follow.
" It was just getting good, Draco. What bug crawled
up Brumek's arse?" Harry
asked as he scanned the dark compartment while
slowly following him, eyes
wandering over the numerous stacked trunks and
pet cages lying about.
" No, I haven't a clue. And stop thinking about his
arse, Potter." Draco
stopped near the back and waited for Harry to catch
up. The Gryffindor began
to make a circuit of the compartment, looking over
every inch of it. It was
larger then a usual train compartment, having an
enlargement spell placed on
it in order to carry all the students' luggage.
Because of the spell there was
more then enough room, and the stacks of luggage
were spread around like
square islands, leaving large areas open. Harry's
brow furrowed in
concentrated thought as he cased these areas out.
Draco leaned back against a stack of trunks and
watched Harry lower his chin
and hiss in Parselmouth. Lovely appeared around
his neck and began to uncoil
herself as he walked back to the door to open it.
Lovely hissed something back
as he lowered her to the floor and she happily took
herself off, turning
invisible once more, to scare some poor first year.
Draco looked at Harry in amusement. " What did
you do that for?"
" I didn't want her to get in your way." Harry replied
as he came to stop in
front of him.
Draco studied his mate, noting the way Harry was
staring back expectantly, a
small shy smile playing on his lips. Weasley's earlier
words suddenly came
back to him. _Potter not good enough for you
now… you've finally realized how
worthless he is… only a matter of time before you
screwed around on Potter,
yeah?_ Draco's hands curled into tight fists. That
bastard dared… Draco shut
his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened
them, Harry had a look of
concern on his face.
" Draco? What is it?"
Draco shook his head, moving closer, and reached
out to touch Harry's face. "
Drop your glamour." He said, his fingers softly
curving over Harry's chin.
Weasley had hit the nail down, for once. He had
dared to accuse him of
infidelity. Dared to question Harry's worth. Draco
had been hit hard with
those blows. How long did he have to watch Harry
from afar, angry and bitter
each time Harry would laugh or smile at something
the Weasel said? Howling
inside because the world was against him and there
was no possibility of his
love for the beautiful temperamental Gryffindor
ever being returned. It had
been so painful, to be alone with those feelings. It
was torture when he had
to push thoughts of Harry away because those
thoughts always carried too much
pain along. Draco understood his father's actions
regarding Sirius after being
forced into an engagement with Narcissa. Just like
his father had done, Draco
had pushed Harry out of his mind because it was
the only way he could survive
without him, by not thinking about him. By
pretending he was not in love with
him, pretending they didn't know each other at all.
And then Fate sang for
him, Harry was finally his and nothing in the world
could make him want
someone else. He needed Harry to survive, in more
ways then one. And because
of that freckled bastard, Draco doubted his own
worth and a driving need to
prove himself to his mate was overtaking him.
When Harry's glamour faded, a
soft unconscious purr of appreciation vibrated
through his chest. Harry
instantly grinned.
" You don't like me to look human?" Harry asked
and ran a finger down the pale
column of Draco's neck.
Draco pulled Harry against him and whispered
against his neck. " I don't want
to look at an illusion." His breath ghosted over the
Gryffindor's jaw. "
You're beautiful." Their lips touched in almost a shy
manner, and Draco kept
his eyes open. His eyes locked onto Harry's,
everything he felt for his mate
was clearly visible.
Harry gasped against his mouth upon seeing the
emotion swimming in his eyes.
The gasp allowed him to plunder Harry's mouth,
moaning as Harry's taste
flooded his senses; the sweet spice that was all
Harry sent thrilling trembles
through his body. Harry quickly recovered from his
slight shock and returned
the heated kiss, pouring all of his need into the
strokes of his tongue and
the jerk of his hips, leaving Draco wanting more. He
slowly slid his hand over
Harry's thigh, fingers brushing against both their
throbbing erections, before
suddenly jerking Harry's leg up to wrap around his
waist. Harry moaned into
the blonde's mouth and chose to quit thinking
about why Draco was acting the
way he was. It was difficult to think about anything
when Draco was kissing
his breath away and thrusting against him.
Draco pulled away from Harry's mouth to ravish his
throat, his tongue drawing
erotic patterns into his skin. One pale hand began
to tease his nipples as the
other slid down Harry's pants. Harry tilted head
back and moaned when that
hand grasped him firmly. The hand teasing his
nipples moved slowly across
Harry's chest, barely touching, memorizing Harry's
body with touch alone.
Draco's eyes shifted to focus on Harry's face. His
mate's head was thrown
back, eyes closed, while his red swollen lips were
open and panting. Hot
silver eyes smoldered when a pink tongue slid out
to wet flush lips. Harry's
mouth was exquisite and an addiction Draco hoped
never to get rid of. He
pulled Harry's mouth to his, both tongues sliding
together before their lips
connected.
Draco's movements turned desperate. He clawed at
Harry's clothes, quickly
removing his robe, followed shortly by his shirt. As
Draco turned his lips to
his lover's naked chest, Harry closed his eyes, trying
to draw in well-needed
air. He clung on tightly as Draco worshiped his body
with soft touches and
scorching licks, tasting and caressing Harry's skin
inch by inch as it was
exposed. Harry's wings came free to stretch out,
compelling Draco to stop and
watch as they settled back until Harry grew tired of
waiting and wrapped an
arm around his neck. An impatient whimper
escaped his mouth a breath before
connecting their lips roughly together again.
Draco walked Harry backwards until he could push
him flat on his back over a
stack of trunks near by. Harry propped himself up
with his elbows, but lowered
his head back down when Draco dropped to his
knees. Harry's eyes rolled to the
back of his head and he moaned Draco's name
when his hardened cock was freed
and instantly enveloped by the wet silkiness of his
mate's mouth.
" Oh, Merlin…Oh, God…Draco!" The Slytherin
grinned and purred, while his
tongue erotically slid over every inch of his hard and
leaking member, Harry's
hips jerking every so often as Draco's inventive
tongue drove him mindless.
Draco removed the rest of Harry's clothes and his
own slacks before focusing
completely on the task of making Harry come
quickly and as many times as
possible. Harry gripped his head like a vice, burying
his hands into soft
blonde hair as he came, his body jerking into full
body tremors as he
released.
Draco was suddenly standing and Harry didn't even
have time to catch his
breath before hands were lifting his hips and Draco
buried himself deep inside
him. " Fuck me!" Harry's cry of pain ended in lusty
laughter as the burn was
instantly soothed." That hurt, you bastard!" He tried
to look stern, but his
facial features weren't cooperating. " A warning
would be nice." His voice
hitched when Draco pulled back a little and smirked
at him.
" What hurt? _This_?" Harry's vision blurred as his
mate roughly drove into
him. " Or was it _this_?" Draco tried different
angles, all of which were fine
but he was only satisfied when Harry's mouth
dropped open in a silent cry and
arched his back until Draco worried Harry would
snap his spine. _There it is.
That's what I'm looking for_, he though while
roughly brushing against Harry's
hot tight core. Draco closed his eyes and buried his
face against Harry's neck
as he held the smaller _Ukatae_ tightly, trembling in
his own pleasure and
basking in the echoes of Harry's passionate cries.
Harry abruptly pulled his
head away and pinned him with such a lusty
wanton look that Draco moaned as if
felt his control slip a little further away.
" Fuck, Draco! MORE!" Harry cried out when he felt
his world tilting on its
axis. In the span of a blink, he felt himself spun
around and pushed on his
hands and knees. Draco's warm hands caressed the
curve of his arse before
quickly spreading his cheeks. Harry choked on a
moaned curse as Draco pierced
him to deliver what was ordered. Quivering wings
spread away as Draco molded
himself against Harry's back, wrapping one arm
around his chest, as he quickly
continued to stimulate Harry's prostate.
" You're cheeky, you know that, Harry?" Draco
whispered hotly into his ear
just before biting it.
Harry was incapable of forming a coherent thought,
let alone connecting such
thoughts to vocal chords that may not work now
due to all his screaming. So he
answered the only way he could, by meeting
Draco's thrusts and clenching his
muscles tight around the blonde's pulsing cock. His
message was received with
great pleasure.
" Harr- Fuck!" Draco's hips gyrated in a blur; fucking
so fast Harry was sure
the friction inside would start a fire. Draco had a
death grip on Harry's
hips; no doubt he would have bruises by the time
he went to bed. Draco threw
his head back, prompting beads of sweat to drip
down his neck, biting his
bottom lip in a way that suggested he was losing
control quickly. And when
Draco grabbed Harry's stiffened cock to pump in
sync with the rest of their
bodies, all Harry could do was drop his head, see
bright white spots flash
behind his closed eyelids with each trust, and lose
himself to his mate.
Draco felt Harry tense just before he would release
and clutched him around
the shoulders as his own body suddenly stiffened
when the orgasm seized him.
Harry's hands were jerked off the floor as Draco
straightened his back with
his mate pressed firmly to his chest and they
drowned in each other's cries as
Harry ejaculated onto the floor and Draco emptied
his seed within his mate.
Harry sagged boneless against Draco, who brought
his other arm up across
Harry's chest to hold him up. When Harry was able
to get his panting under
control and some feeling back into his body, he
lifted his head and grinned, "
You like my cheek."
" I do like your cheek, I like both of them actually."
Draco purred softly as
he stood with his mate.
They cleaned up and re-dressed, and spent a few
more moments alone sitting on
the floor tucked away in a dark corner of the
baggage compartment. Draco had
his back to the wall, bent over slightly to rest his
chin on Harry's shoulder.
Harry lifted a hand to toy with the strands of hair
falling over Draco's left
eye. " I still say you're an idiot if you think Kane
Smithington is going to
leadtheWimbourne Wasps to the Quidditch World
Cup." Harry said
" Pardon?" Draco wrapped an arm around Harry's
waist and sought out Harry's
free hand to lace with his. " You're the idiot
Gryffindor here, love. Kane
clearly has the skill and drive to push the Wasps to
the Cup."
Harry looked at head on his shoulder in disbelief. "
He has no imagination!"
Draco snorted and looked at Harry from the corner
of his eye. " Imagination is
not needed." He drawled.
" And that's why you never could catch the Snitch
before me." Harry was only
joking, but Draco regarded him seriously and Harry
worried he might really
have insulted him.
" Is that why you think you can catch the Snitch so
fast, because of your
imagination?" Draco asked flatly.
Harry blushed and turned away; certain he had
irritated his mate. " Some
imagination, sure. But it's mainly luck. I'm not that-"
" It has nothing to do with luck." Draco firmly
stated.
" What?"
Draco didn't speak again until Harry gave up and
stopped avoiding his gaze."
Your victories have nothing to do with luck. You're a
flyer, Harry. Your
Quidditch skills are something to be modeled after,
but…" Draco grinned at the
shock clouding Harry's face. " I've seen you free-fly.
No one can fly like
you, lover. I stopped being jealous of your skills
some time ago when I
realized it was more fun to watch you fly."
How does someone reply to a compliment like that?
Harry was definitely not the
person to answer that question. He sat there staring
at Draco. He took a
breath and opened his mouth to say something but
only managed to exhale
instead of speaking words. Harry tried it once more,
ending with the same
results. Giving up and avoiding Draco's earnest face
seemed the best thing to
do.
" You really don't take compliments very well, do
you Harry?" Draco asked with
an amused smile.
" I can't. I don't know what to say." Harry mumbled
back.
Draco laughed and tugged on Harry's hair as he
scooted back to lean against
the wall. He sighed after noticing Harry still looked
uncomfortable. " Don't
say anything. It was a simple statement of fact. Let's
talk about something
else, and do try to relax. Who knows when we'll
next have a chance to
ourselves like this when we get to Hogwarts."
" Draco? Not that I'm complaining… What got in to
you?" Harry finally asked.
Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. Leave it to Harry
to pick a stressful topic.
The whole point of changing the subject was so they
could relax. " I don't
want you to ever have to question my loyalty to
you."
Understanding hardened Harry's face as he twisted
around to face his mate.
Draco had been reacting to Weasley's words. He
leaned towards Draco, his eyes
were angry green jewels pinning Draco in place. "
You've never listened to him
before. Don't you dare start listening to him now,
Draco Malfoy." Harry
hissed. " And as for your loyalty… I've never
doubted you before, and I never
will. Do you want to know why?" Harry whispered
close to Draco's mouth.
Draco's addiction called and his gaze slid to Harry's
mouth." Enlighten me
then, Potter."
" It's because you're mine." Harry said simply. Draco
licked his lips as Harry
moved closer still. " Mine and no one else's."
He dragged his eyes away from Harry's mouth. "
Trying for a second round,
lover?"
Harry smirked before suddenly standing up. " No
time. We'll be there soon."
" We're not there yet." He followed Harry as he
backed away. " We have time."
In the dark, he could see Harry making his way to
the door and grinning over
his shoulder. Draco answered with his own grin as
he jumped into the air and
delighted in the wide-eyed expression crossing
Harry's face when he found
himself pinned to the compartment door. " We can
make time."
Harry was tempted, very tempted, but he knew
they had been in there for some
time already, and he was sure Hermione would
start to look for them, just to
make sure they had changed into their school
robes. Knowing his sister,
Hermione knew exactly where to look for them. So
getting Draco's mind off his
arse was imperative. Harry prepared himself for the
worst reaction possible
and opened his mouth to ruin Draco's mood.
" You being a Hufflepuff at heart is also a guarantee
you won't stray from
me." Draco's reaction was less then what was
expected and exactly what was
needed.
He roughly pushed Harry out of the baggage
compartment and closed the door
until it was only cracked open. " That was very
mean, Harry." He mock pouted
at him. " I don't know if I can forgive you for that."
Harry shot him a grin over his shoulder as he walked
away and because his
attention was completely on his mate, Harry failed
to notice the direction his
feet were taking him and ended up walking into the
wall beside Talyn and
Brumek. He quickly recovered himself while quietly
cursing Talyn's inability
to warn a person of incoming walls and walked on,
completely ignoring Draco's
snort. He paused a moment to study Brumek as he
passed. The _Ukatae_ was as
still as a statue and had grown very pale in the time
Harry had seen him last.
" Brumek?"
" He's fine, young one. He is only going through
something we all have to go
through sometimes." Talyn immediately answered.
Harry looked at Brumek in concern and the warrior
finally moved, turning his
head to give him a reassuring nod. Harry nodded
and continued on his way. As
he walked back to the compartment he'd left
Hermione and Tom in, who should he
come upon but none other then Ronald Weasley.
Weasley looked him up and down,
and Harry could see it slowly clicking into place. It
was obvious how Harry
passed the recent time and only an idiot lacking
hormones would have trouble
catching on. Weasley may lack many things, but
hormones he had and he could
easily imagine why Harry's hair was in disarray, his
shirt only half tucked,
and why his pants were wrinkled. Harry hadn't even
bothered to wear his robe.
That particular garment was hooked on his finger
and flung casually over his
shoulder. But his state of dress was not the only tipoff. The satisfactory
smirk on his bruised and swollen lips was a
shameless announcement, as was the
cocky swagger every man adopts after having a
great shag.
Ron stopped walking and eyed Harry's approach,
preparing to vent his disgust;
only Harry spoke first and robbed him of speech.
" Thanks for that!" Harry exclaimed happily as their
distance closed. He
paused beside Ron and whispered, " Draco's an
animal when you get him riled
up. You should do it more often." He then walked
off as if nothing had been
said and began to whistle, leaving Ron to stare after
him.
Hogsmeade station was where Harry and Draco split
and secluded themselves into
their respective Houses. Not once did the curious
classmates see any
interaction between the Slytherins and Gryffindors
of any kind. And when the
carriages arrived and a sea of students flocked to
the great doors of the
castle, Harry, Tom, and Hermione arrived at the
doors at the same time as
Draco and his Slytherins. Everyone expected them
to say something to each
other, maybe throw some curses, or band together
in some great manner as if
they were best friends, like they had on Platform
Nine And Three Quarters.
Instead the Slytherins and Gryffindors ignored each
other completely and
walked into the castle without a word or glance.
Harry and Hermione shared an
amused glance as they went through the doors.
" That was hilarious! Did you see their faces?" Harry
whispered to Hermione
and Ginny after they took their seats at the
Gryffindor table. He laughed
quietly with Ginny about it, making sure not to be
overheard, and studied the
room around him. The Hall looked as it always did,
Houses split to different
tables, singled out by the House tapestry hanging
above. The professors were
seated at the usual table on a raised dais and in
front of the table was the
Sorting Hat perched on a stool. Harry noted
Dumbledore and the new Defense
professor were absent.
He sat at the end of the Gryffindor table with Ginny
and Hermione, leaving
room for the new students, prepared to greet the
first years as they sat down.
Draco mirrored Harry's position at the Slytherin
table, making sure to seat
himself facing the Gryffindor table insuring he and
Harry were in clear view
of each other. Harry wondered how many people
had caught on to that. Draco
wasn't very subtle about his actions. Crabbe and
Goyle were on either side of
him, though one of them would be moving when
Tom was sorted into Slytherin.
Looking down his own table, Harry heard a hissed
whisper and glanced over in
time to see Ron shooting him a nasty sneer from
where he sat with Finnegan,
Dean, and Neville. Dean nodded at whatever Ron
said before rolling his eyes
with Harry when Ron turned away.
Harry turned to speak to Hermione, but she was
looking at the professors'
table. One professor in particular. Severus frigidly
sat in his chair,
scowling down at all the newly arrived students…
nothing new to Hogwarts.
Everyone knew Snape hated teaching the students
almost as much as he hated
them. But those who were close to Severus knew
his scowl was in place to hide
how anxious he was about the Feast.
Harry leaned over to Hermione. " He's very
worried."
Hermione turned incredulous wide eyes on him. "
Of course he is!" She hissed
back, " I'm a little worried as well. I mean, anything
can happen."
" Don't worry about that. We'll all have our wands
out under the table… and
then Luther is off to the side, and of course," Harry
leered at her. " Your
knight in rusted armor has your back. Dumbledore
will be covered from all
sides. Don't worry, this will be fun!"
Hermione turned and gave her brother a serious
look. " Sometimes I worry about
you, Harry, I really do. This will not be fun."
" Sure it will." Harry sat back and scanned the room
and found Tom waiting in
the shadowed doorway to the side of the raised
table. Harry inwardly chuckled.
Tom looked bored. Beyond bored actually, standing
to the side with his legs
spread and arms crossed over his chest. His eyes
were closed with his chin
dropped down to his chest.
Tom must have felt someone staring at him because
he lifted his chin slightly
and brown eyes quickly zeroed in on Harry. He then
scowled when Harry wagged
his eyebrows at him. Harry watched Tom give him
one last glare before turning
and leaning against the doorway, quirking his head
to the side to stare at the
enchanted ceiling. Harry continued to watch his
brother, and after a minute,
Tom's calm face morphed into another scowl and
Harry could have sworn he heard
Tom's voice cursing Dumbledore to the ninth moon
and complaining about being
made to wait. _They dare make Lord Voldemort
wait!_ Harry's mouth dropped
open. What the hell? He had heard it, plain as day,
yet Tom's mouth hadn't
moved at all.
The Great Hall doors opened, admitting
Dumbledore and a finely dressed young
man whom Harry assumed was the new Defense
professor. Harry took one more odd
look at Tom, before turning back to watch the new
duo walk through the Hall.
_This can't be our Defense professor! He's too
young and- What kind of monster
would do that to one's own hair? That blonde color
is so obviously fake! And
the curls? What the fuck? Is he going for the twoyear old look? Really!
_Draco ranted as he watched the two new arrivals
move through the Great Hall.
Harry snickered and continued to watch. As the new
professor with the horrible
monstrous blonde hair and cherub face passed
between the tables, he turned his
head and looked right at Harry. His eyes were big
and round, and entirely too
blue for Harry's liking, and instead of seeing any
kind of censure or dislike,
Harry was surprised to see the wizard's eyes were
fairly twinkling with
delight, much like Dumbledore's. Which made Harry
immediately suspicious. And
then the new suspicious twinkler sent a friendly
wink his way.
Hermione's mouth dropped open, and she turned
to Harry with surprised eyes."
Did he just wink at you?" she demanded in a furious
whisper.
" He did. I saw it." Ginny joined in.
" Why would he do that? " Harry wondered aloud.
Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes. Honestly, he
could be totally oblivious
in the most obvious times.
" You're not exactly hard on the eyes, Harry." Ginny
said matter-of-factly.
" At least Draco didn't see that." Hermione
whispered.
Dumbledore stood up in front of everyone and
raised his hands for silence. The
eyes behind his half-moon spectacles were bright
and twinkling and he looked
as if he hadn't a care in the world; like he was going
to ignore all his
problems to make them go away. Harry's face was
expressionless as he stared
back at Dumbledore. Fine… that's the way
Dumbledore wants to play, Harry would
go along with it… for a time. He sat back and smiled.
This really was going to
be fun.
" Welcome, welcome, beloved students of
Hogwarts…." Dumbledore began clearly,
smiling so wide not even his beard could hide it.
Ginny snorted and leaned over to Harry. " He's
laying it on a little thick
don't you think?"
" Yeah," Harry whispered back. Then he looked at
Hermione. " Is it possible to
actually drown in sugar?"
" Shhh!" Hermione glared at him before turned
back to Dumbledore.
" We start yet another year at Hogwarts. Another
year of learning and
guidance…."
Draco's voice was a welcome distraction from
another boring Dumbledorian
speech. As if he would ever believe anything the old
wizard said again. He was
happy to let Draco's horrified voice fill his head.
_It's horrible! I can't stand to look at it, yet I…
can't… look… away… _
_It's only hair, Draco! _
_I'll pretend I didn't hear that, especially since it's
coming from someone
who doesn't mind going out in public with a crow's
nest for hair._
_Hey! My hair hasn't looked like a crow's nest in
over a year!_
Draco faced him fully looking extremely amused.
_Why so touchy about the hair,
Harry? Its just hair._
Harry eyes narrowed. _You were the one going on
about hair. You started it!_
_Oh right! The hair from hell! _Draco's gaze
snapped back to the head of hair
in question, a look of disgusted loathing appearing
on his face. Harry didn't
really see what was so horrid about the new
professor's hair. Just like Draco
said, it was blonde… actually it was an awful
mustard color, leading Harry to
believe it likely was fake. His head was covered with
insanely curly curls,
coiled tight and bouncy, and looking like they were
springing out from his
scalp.
On second thought… _You're right. It really is
horrible._
Hermione jabbed him roughly in the ribs. " Pay
attention!" she hissed. Harry
glared at her for two seconds before caving under
her threatening stare. He
didn't think it was fair Hermione could still
intimidate him. He was a Dark
elf, for Merlin's sake! A _Ukatae_. She shouldn't be
able to make him fear for
his safety with just one look anymore. But he did
fear… and he loved her even
more for it. Harry smiled fondly at her before
turning away.
He focused on Dumbledore just in time to hear a
personal note to the seventh
years. " Your seventh and final year of Hogwarts is
precious…" Dumbledore
looked at the Gryffindor table, at Harry in particular
and smiled gently. " I
suggest you cherish it."
_Ooh, was that a threat?_ Harry asked Draco in
amusement.
_Why yes, lover. I do believe it was._
Dumbledore looked away from Harry to scan over
the Hall. " Before we begin the
Sorting, I would like to introduce you to the wizard
who has graciously
accepted the Defense Against the Dark Arts
position." Dumbledore turned and
waved his arm to the young wizard, who to Severus'
disgust was sitting right
next to him. The wizard stood and bowed when
Dumbledore announced his name. "
Professor Ellias Klyne. I'm sure you'll be kind to
him."
_What can this miscreant teach? Dumbledore
refused to allow me to teach, but
he'll let a boy teach Defense Against the Dark Arts!
_
Harry's eyes widened on Tom in surprise. The jawclenching anger on Tom's face
was enough to make Harry start to worry about the
safety of those in close
proximity to the fuming Dark Lord. And that had
definitely been Tom's voice in
his head. Why could he hear Tom in his head?
Harry tugged on Hermione's sleeve until she turned
and moved close enough for
him to whisper in her ear. " Wasn't Tom the one to
start the curse on the
Defense position? He's still seriously pissed about
that." He whispered as
Dumbledore gave the floor to McGonagall to begin
the Sorting.
" How do you know that?" Hermione asked as the
first Sort of the year sat next
to Ginny, who gave the awed first year a hug.
" First of all," Harry began clapping for the newly
Sorted Hufflepuff. " All
you'd need to do is look at his face."
Hermione turned to find Tom. " Oh yeah. He's
furious."
" Right. And secondly, he's screaming it in my
head."
" What?" Hermione's attention snapped back to
him. Her hands dropped to her
lap mid clap. " But… Actually, I think that happened
with me and Draco."
Harry began to nod his head. " Something had to
have happened after you two
fainted. I think this is a side effect."
" But you and Draco can do _that_ thing because
you're soul mates." She
whispered. " It doesn't make sense that we can all
do it now because of the
blood shared… We really shouldn't talk about this
right now. That's what the
gatherings are for." She rationalized before turning
back to the Sorting.
Harry nodded and returned to his thoughts.
The gatherings. A term used for the sole purpose of
decorating the word
meetings. Everyone had been too lazy to come up
with anything good and the
word gathering was as far as they wanted to
venture into that brainstorming
session. Harry supposed gathering worked well
enough for their purposes. Even
though they would use the time to conduct
meetings, they would also use the
time to visit with each other. So technically it was
both a gathering and a
meeting.
A gathering would be held tomorrow and Harry was
thankful for that. He wanted
to discuss the eerie cold sensation he'd felt on the
train. That was something
that took priority. Tom and Hermione's reactions to
the ritual were something
else he wanted to talk about. Last but still
important, Harry wanted to
discuss the markings and ring with Falde, who at
this very moment was standing
in the corner to the right of the huge doors. Ozemir
was in the left far
corner eagerly watching the proceedings. Brumek
stood guard directly behind
Harry at the wall, and Talyn took a position behind
Draco. Harry twisted in
his seat to study Brumek. The warrior didn't look
pale anymore, nor did he
seem restless, but he most certainly was angry if
the glare in his eyes was
anything to go by.
Finally the Sorting was over and Hermione tapped
Harry to get his attention.
They looked at each other when Dumbledore stood
to take McGonagall's place
beside the stool. " Do you remember what you're
going to say?" Harry asked
her.
" Yes. I just hope it listens."
" Don't worry. Ozemir twiddled with it when no one
was looking and overrode
Dumbledore's command. It can still do what
Dumbledore wants, but now it can
make a choice whether it wants to listen." Harry
took her hand and squeezed it
gently. " The hat knows _Ukatae_ are here. All we
have to do is persuade it to
do what we want. Threaten it with destruction."
" It should work." Hermione nodded in resolve, then
she straightened her back
and shoulders. " Yes, it will work." Her nod was firm
as was the line of
determination on creasing her forehead. He and
Hermione turned back to
Dumbledore just as he announced the re-sorting.
" Before I introduce you to our new transfer
student, we are going to have a
re-sorting for a few students. As I call-" The Hall
boiled over with the
surprised gasps, and excited whispers. Harry
grinned and soaked in the
emotions with a deep breath. Dumbledore raised
his hands." As I call your name
please come forth and place the Sorting Hat on your
head."
Hermione was one of the few not surprised to hear
her name called. She
immediately stood and smirked at her fellow
Gryffindors, Ginny and Harry in
particular, both of who gave her imperceptible
nods. She ignored the surprised
murmuring sweeping through the Hall as she made
her way to the front where the
hat lay on the stool.
Severus just barely managed to keep the scowl on
his face and the delight from
shining in his eyes when Hermione further shocked
the rest of the teaching
staff when she looked directly at Dumbledore and
openly scowled at him. He
caught movement from the corner of his eye when
Tom stood in attention as
Hermione neared Dumbledore. Severus noted he
had one hand hidden behind his
back and knew Tom's wand was at the ready.
Dumbledore ignored Hermione's open hostility and
smiled gently at her.
" You are going to regret this." Hermione muttered
darkly as the headmaster
lowered the hat upon her head.
" I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Miss
Granger. Everything I do is for
the best." He answered kindly.
Hermione was so on edge she gripped the edge of
the stool with white knuckles
and bit her tongue. She could throw hundreds of
retorts at him for that. As he
stepped closer, Hermione steadied herself but was
wishing he would move back.
There was comfort in knowing Severus, her
brothers, and her friends were ready
with their wands out under the tables. They were all
watching Dumbledore with
eyes of a hawk.
_Hermione Granger! Nice to see you back. _The
Sorting Hat began, drawing her
away from her thoughts, reminding her she had a
job to do. _I see you want
different things! Your ambitions have climbed. Your
knowledge has soared._ _It
is no wonder you called a re-sort._
Hermione closed her eyes. _I did no such thing. I
want to stay in Gryffindor
and if you want to remain whole I suggest you
disregard anything that old
wizard wants you to do. You will keep Harry Potter
and myself in Gryffindor.
Or the _Ukatae_ that I'm sure you can sense will
destroy you. Do you
understand?_
Long moments passed without the Sorting Hat
replying and Hermione began to
fear it would disregard her words. To chase away
the panic and distract
herself from the silence of the hat, she turned to
look at Tom. One perfectly
sculpted brown eyebrow rose. Hermione answered
with a stretched smile that was
obviously fake. Tom's eyes flicked to the hat,
watched it for a second, then
shrugged lazily when his eyes conntected with hers
again.
_Thanks Tom. Real helpful. _Hermione thought, and
then her eyes widened when
she realized the Hat could hear her thoughts.
Ukatae_, eh?_ The Hat suddenly spoke, nearly
causing Hermione to shriek in
surprise. _I do sense them. I spoke to one earlier.
This is all very
unprecedented._
_You would do well to heed my warnings then. You
will be eradicated should you
do what Dumbledore has intended._ Hermione
looked at the headmaster and was
pleased to see his lips formed into a thin displeased
line. No doubt he
realized it was taking too long. The Hat should have
done what he asked
immediately.
_Very well. _" Gryffindor!"
Hermione smirked at Dumbledore's wide-eyed
expression. " Nice try." She
whispered and hopped off the stool. Dumbledore's
jaw clenched and she knew he
was trying to hold his temper. Those who had no
idea what was going on looked
at their friends in confusion as she returned to her
seat beside Harry. If she
was being re-sorted, didn't that mean re-sorted into
another House? That would
be the only point of having a re-sort. The confusion
spread through the Hall
in low hushed whispers, as everyone waited for
what would happen next.
" Harry Potter."
Harry stood up in dead silence. The shock and
disbelief nearly floored him.
Every eye followed him as he left the Gryffindor
table. Harry kept his face
blank as he approached, his gaze fixed firmly on
Dumbledore.
_It's not fair! _Draco mock pouted. _You always get
to make the grand dramatic
scenes. Just look at them! Eyes firmly attached to
you, waiting with bated
breath to see what happens next... I suppose I will
have to consolidate myself
with being in the crowd and watching their faces. I
have to admit, their
reactions are amusing. Really, when have you ever
seen this many people
looking as if they were suddenly stupid-slapped in
the face? Brilliant!_
" Leaving Gryffindor is probably for the best." Harry
said quietly to
Dumbledore before sitting on the stool and told
Draco to be quiet for a
minute. The old bastard actually grinned at him. He
actually thought Harry was
simply rolling over for him. Harry inwardly laughed
at this.
The Hat spoke before Harry had a chance to. _Mr.
Potter… You are one of the
_Ukatae_? This is splendid!_
_Yes, well… Remember Hermione's warning? That
goes for me as well. You
wouldn't want to end up as a cast off piece of cloth
only good for wiping
arses with, would you?_
The Sorting Hat was silent for a few seconds.
_You've evolved in character but
still you are meant for Slytherin. Salazar's House is
where you belong!_
_I'm aware of that. However, you will do as I say
and keep me in Gryffindor._
_Very well. _" Gryffindor!"
" That was unexpected." Harry grinned as he slipped
off the stool.
Dumbledore's disbelief and anger clung to Harry,
leaving him to savor those
emotions as he returned to his seat. He was barely
settled in when Dumbledore
spoke next.
" Ginerva Weasley."
Harry and Hermione snapped their attentions to the
youngest Weasley and
watched her stand. Ginny gave them an
unconcerned shrug before moving away.
" I never thought about Ginny!" Harry hissed to
Hermione.
" Maybe the hat will keep her in Gryffindor. It might
assume our threats go
for Ginny too."
_This is bad, Draco. _
Draco met his mate's concerned eyes. _I don't think
so._
_Of course it is! _Harry's eyes narrowed on the
blonde when Draco smirked in
answer and returned to watching Ginny. "
Insufferable gitty Slytherin!" He
hissed. Hermione kicked his shin and her eyes
widened in a silent demand of
his attention to what was going on. The Sorting Hat
was already on Ginny's
head. She sat a few moments, a thoughtful look on
her face, then suddenly her
eyebrows shot up past her hairline in surprise.
Moments later, a look of
interest crossed her face and she fixed Dumbledore
with a look Harry thought
was filled with mock pity.
" Slytherin!" The Hat shouted. Murmurs of disbelief
and shocked whispers
filled the Hall as Ginny stood. Dumbledore looked
both pleased and wary as he
watched the youngest Weasley take a seat next to a
pleased looking Blaise
Zabini.
_Excellent._ Draco thought. Harry met Draco's gaze.
_How is this excellent?_
_Ginny is well liked by all the Houses. Having
someone with that support going
into Slytherin is a good thing. Better Ginny and not
you or Hermione. You two
are intimidating and our classmates would have
used your re-sort into
Slytherin as an excuse to keep away from the
intimidation. It would be very
easy for people to dislike you only because you've
become snakes._
Harry's face broke out into a wide grin. Now he
understood Draco's lack of
concern, and Ginny's pitying look to Dumbledore.
Ginny must have seen the
advantages of being placed in the snake pit. Harry
wondered if the hat had
simply followed Dumbledore's orders, or had it put
Ginny in Slytherin because
she really did belong there now.
_What did the hat say to her?_ He asked his mate.
He watched as Draco quietly
spoke with Ginny.
_The hat said Slytherin was her place, despite
Dumbledore's tampering._
_That figures. _
Dumbledore cleared his throat as his eyes flickered
from place to place across
the Hall. " Now please welcome our transfer
student from Durmstrang, come to
complete his seventh year." He waved his hand to
the side, and Tom walked
stiffly into view. " Luther Bailey. I'm sure you will
make him feel welcomed."
This was the first time many of the students were
seeing a close up view of
the new transfer student. His presence was
dominating as his leisurely stride
led him across the dais to Dumbledore and the
stool. There were several
narrowed eyes following his every move but most
of the students looked on with
spellbound curiosity. They didn't know whether
they should turn away in fear,
or allow themselves to be drawn in by the power
and mystery surrounding the
new boy.
Tom ignored the crowd below, walking with his
gaze fixed on Dumbledore. The
old man smiled and motioned for him to be seated.
He stood very close to the
stool and Tom made sure not to let Dumbledore
touch him as he sat down. A
moment later, the Sorting Hat was placed on his
head. _You will not tell
Dumbledore my real name. You will keep me in the
house I'm meant to be in._
The Sorting Hat spat out the word as if in a hurry to
leave Tom's head. "
Slytherin!"
Tom removed the Hat and placed it back on the
stool. He ignored Dumbledore
completely and walked away to the Slytherins,
where Crabbe moved down to give
Tom a seat next to Draco.
Dumbledore made a few pointless words and let
the Feast begin. Draco heard an
exclaimed, " Thank Merlin!" come from the
Gryffindor table when the food
appeared.
" Weasley really has no manners." He said to Tom
as they all began to fill
their plates.
" Please, let us not talk about him." Tom replied in
the same soft voice Draco
was using.
" I'm with Luther on that." Ginny said tightly.
" Aren't you the least bit sorry you were re-sorted?"
Pansy asked her.
" Just a little, but only because Harry and Hermione
are still in Gryffindor.
If this is where I'm supposed to be, then this is
where I'm supposed to be."
Draco turned away from their conversation and
looked at his brother. Tom was
looking a little pale, but his eyes were alert,
energized when he looked back
at him. Draco leaned to whisper in his ear, " Are you
alright?"
" Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
" You look a little pale."
" There is nothing wrong with me. Stop looking at
me as if you expect I will
suddenly break into seven pieces." Draco looked
amused when he returned to his
dinner, feeling very good about the outcome of the
re-sort. He noticed he and
Harry, as well as Tom was inviting still quite a lot of
attention, pulling a
lot of people's eyes away from their dinner
throughout the evening. The resort was also a frequent topic among the
conversations.
Severus was tense. Stretched tight and ready to
snap. The new Defense
professor was talking his ear off. Severus refused to
give the imbecile next
to him the time of day and pretended to watch the
students as he tried to eat
his meal. Severus tried to ignore the Gryffindor
table as much as possible,
worried Dumbledore might catch him staring at
Hermione. He tried to focus on
his own Slytherins, but his eyes would always steal
back to Gryffindor.
Professor Klyne's irritating voice drifted away as
Hermione filled Severus'
vision. He silently cursed his heart as it began to
beat rapidly, and so
loudly that he was sure everyone could hear it. Was
it normal for a man to
miss a witch as much as he did? He'd missed her
with an intensity that
frightened him, and it had only been a couple of
days. He was relieved to see
she looked completely fine, aside from the paleness
of her face. He thought
that was probably from the stress of the day.
Frowning, he realized they
wouldn't have time to be alone tonight. They had to
be careful and their
meetings would be few and far between. That was
all Hermione's idea. Making
him wait a few days before he could get his hands
back on her. He didn't want
Dumbledore to find out about his relationship with
the brilliant witch, that
was true, but he didn't think they had to stop seeing
each other every night.
Glancing back to the Gryffindor table, Severus
watched Harry talking
animatedly with Hermione, raising the tone of his
voice to draw in curious
classmates sitting around him. Severus knew Harry
and Hermione wanted everyone
to think they had not changed over the summer and
were the same two people
they were before they left. After a few minutes of
debate, the students began
to relax around them and actively joined the
conversation. At one point when
Hermione had everyone's attention, Harry looked at
Severus with a smug smirk.
_Insolent brat!_ Severus thought fondly before
turned to study his Slytherins.
He was happy with the number of newly sorted.
And he was pleased to see Draco,
Pansy, Blaise, and Ginny were engaging the first
years in conversation. The
first years mainly stayed silent, being very
intimidated by the older
Slytherins, but they obviously felt welcomed by
being spoken to, if their shy
smiles and eager nods were anything to go by. Tom
remained stiff backed and
seemingly only focused on eating his meal.
Occasional he would look about,
mainly to check on Harry and Hermione, and barely
spoke a word to anyone but
Draco.
Severus' gaze moved on to the youngest Weasley
who was now a member of his
House. He really shouldn't have been surprised.
Severus suspected she and her
twin brothers were suited as Slytherins rather then
Gryffindors. He too could
see the advantages of having Miss Weasley as a
Slytherin. It balanced things
out very nicely.
Chuckling inwardly he stole a glance at Dumbledore.
There was nothing about
the headmaster that seemed different. He looked
around him serenely as if he
knew all the answers. Like there was no such thing
as a problem in his little
world. Severus wondered if that was merely a
disguise of the manipulating old
wizard, or if he really was half off his rocker and
really believed he was all
knowing and on top of the world.
At the end of the Welcoming Feast, a folded white
card appeared beside Harry's
hand just as the students were beginning to stand
to leave for the dorms.
Harry noticed the note a split second before it
disappeared as if never there.
Harry and Hermione remained seated as everyone
stood to leave. Harry slipped
his hand beneath the table and turned back to
Hermione as if nothing happened.
Behind him, Brumek checked the note over and
then placed it in Harry's waiting
hand after all the first years had passed between
them. " It will not harm
you." Brumek whispered in his ear.
Harry slipped the note into his robes. " Wow. The
security here is good." He
said as he stood and rounded the table to collect
Hermione on his way to the
Great Hall doors.
" You and Draco are the only one's who benefit
from it. The rest of us are
potential threats." Hermione whispered back.
" That's not true, Hermione. They helped us find
you." Harry cried. Jumping to
the defense so fast it had Hermione's eyebrows
shooting up in surprise. Harry
continued on in hissed whispers. " Talyn even
bullied Falde into helping
before we even talked to them. Ozemir volunteered
to go rescue you before he
was commanded to do it."
" Okay! Shhh… Remember where you are. There is
no need to yell." Hermione
sighed, looking exasperated as if she'd had to say
that a hundred times
before.
" I wasn't yelling." Harry muttered as they left the
Hall. Their Slytherins
waited for them just outside of the doors. They
remained silent upon hearing
Harry's mutter.
" You're right." Hermione placated. " They have
helped all of us a number of
times. I should be more grateful. Now, what was
that note?"
Harry looked startled. " You saw the note."
" Well of course! I saw the note appear and then
Brumek snatched it right off
the table-"
" Hermione! Exactly how long have you been able to
see them in Shadow?" Harry
looked floored and totally uncaring that he stood
there yelling in the
Entrance Hall where anyone could see and hear. "
You two," he pointed to Tom
and Hermione, " are doing strange things. I think we
might have-"
Draco smiled softly while sliding his hand over his
lover's mouth. " Now is
not the time. Hermione, Pansy, and I will need to be
off to see the students
get settled since that is our _responsibility_." Draco
stressed the last word
and looked where Hermione had been standing
only moments before.
" Oh, Merlin! I can't believe I forgot!" Hermione was
already halfway across
the Entrance Hall. Everyone watched as she ran up
the staircase in an attempt
to catch the Gryffindors before they got to the
tower. " See all of you
tomorrow!"
" Harry, we'll talk about it tomorrow." Draco
whispered as his hand slipped
away and he took a step back. " I must assist
Professor Snape." Draco smirked
as he turned away, with Pansy quickly following. "
See you around, Potter."
Blaise and Ginny said their goodbyes to Harry and
quickly followed, leaving
Harry alone in the Great Hall with Tom.
" Don't forget to disable any surveillance spells
Dumbledore may have placed
around your dorm room and bed." Tom said
seriously.
" I'll miss you too, Luther." Harry grinned and
ducked away before Tom could
grab him.
" Just go up and keep an eye on Hermione." Tom
said as he left to follow
Draco's path.
Harry continued to grin at Tom's back for a few
moments, before he turned and
chased after Hermione.
***
A/N: Whoa! That was a very long chapter! Hope you
don't mind it.
So, yeah... Wow! This story already has over sixty
reviews! I couldn't believe
it. Thanks to all of you for your support. Special
thanks to CompanyOfOneyour critiques were very helpful!
Sorry it took so long for this chapter. I don't know if
any of you have
noticed but when theres a smut scene in a chap, it
usually takes longer to get
that chap posted. I had this chap done last week,
but the editing took me
FOREVER! and i'm sure i've missed some things
needed to be corrected... ah
well, i hope you enjoyed this chap. Reviews are
always appreciated! Have a
great day!
3. Cap of Death
**Life Agendas**
**Chapter Three**
**Cap of Death**
Harry sat in a plush red chair at the back of the
meeting swallowed up by the
lovely shadows and scanned the common room as
everyone settled down for the
House meeting. He watched for a while as Professor
McGonagall explained things
to the first years and warned the older years about
new restrictions put on
the list of things not allowed. She introduced
Hermione as Head Girl, pride of
Gryffindor. Harry's eyebrows went up at the
declaration. Hermione blushed with
embarrassment even as she smiled in pleasure to
hear such a thing from
McGonagall. Harry wondered if the Head of
Gryffindor was being sincere with
her praise, or if it was another chess move devised
by the Greater Good. Harry
barely managed to keep the snarl off his face at the
thought of the Greater
Good. What bloody rubbish!
Thinking of chess moves, Harry looked around to
make sure he wasn't being
watched like a hawk before pulling out the note. He
was pretty certain he knew
who sent it. Opening the note Harry scanned the
contents.
_Harry, my boy! I hope this note finds you well this
wonderful evening. _
_I request your presence in my office directly after
breakfast tomorrow
morning._
_Yours Sincerely,_
_Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry_
Harry bared his glamoured fangs in a silent snarl
upon reading the first line.
His eyes widened in surprise at the third line, and
he nearly laughed aloud at
the closing. Harry read the note again just to make
sure he hadn't misread.
Memorizing the small message, he crumpled the
note into a little ball, tossed
it, and with a wave of his hand, vanished the note in
thin air. He sank
further into his seat and watched the small flames
weaving small patterns in
the fireplace across the room. Hermione would get
on to him later for not
paying attention, but he didn't want to be an
example to the others. At least
not until he'd had some rest.
Exhaustion helped his mind to wander and allowed
his eyelids to slide closed.
After it was all over, Harry realized he must have
fallen asleep from one
second to the next, because suddenly he had a
strange feeling and his eyes
popped open just in time to find Ron standing over
him with his leg raised,
foot only an inch away from connecting with Harry's
stomach. Before he had
time to think about how to react, Ozemir blurred
forward and wrapped a hand
around Ron's calf halting his motion instantly. Ron
only had time to be
surprised when an invisible force picked him up and
tossed him away from Harry
with more force then necessary. He cried out as he
was lifted, catching the
gathered Gryffindors' attention. They group turned
just in time to see Ron
Weasley thrown away from Harry Potter as if
blasted by a spell.
" What did you do that for, Potter?" Seamus yelled
somewhere close by.
" I was just sitting here, Seamus. I didn't do
anything." Harry barely managed
to restrain the sneer wanting to form on his face.
Instead he stood up and
faced Professor McGonagall when she parted the
crowd and reached him. Hermione
came up behind McGonagall, surveyed the scene
with a critical eye, and quickly
came to her own conclusion about what had
happened.
Ron was quickly helped up and relatively unharmed,
though his ego had taken a
bitter hit. Now all he wanted to do was leave.
" Mr. Potter, what happened here?" McGonagall
asked, giving him a severe look,
though he appreciated that she didn't look like
she'd already made up her mind
and assumed, like the rest of the students standing
around, that he'd done
something wrong.
" Err…" Harry looked sheepish as he scratched the
back of his head. " I think
I fell asleep, Professor. One second everything's
fine, and then I open my
eyes to see Ron flying across the room." Harry
turned to Ron, his face the
picture of confused innocence. Hermione had to
bite her cheek to keep from
laughing. Ron stood staring back at him, but kept his
mouth shut for once.
Only because he didn't want anyone to find out
what he tried to do.
McGonagall studied Ron with the same look she'd
given Harry. " Mr. Weasley? Do
you have something to add?"
" I'm not sure what happened, Professor." He
mumbled as he stared at his
shoes.
Professor McGonagall looked from one boy to the
other before sighing as she
turned away, knowing full well the animosity
residing between those boys.
Instead of Potter and Malfoy being enemies, it was
Potter and Weasley this
year. If they were going to be silent about what
happened, there wasn't
anything she could do about it. She hadn't seen
anything until after the fact.
" Miss Granger, you will watch those two." Minerva
instructed as she and
Hermione made their way to the portrait hole.
" Don't worry, Professor McGonagall. I'll keep them
from fighting." Hermione
answered as they stepped out of the common
room. " I'll also get to the bottom
of whatever just happened."
McGonagall gave her a stiff nod before walking
away. Hermione frowned after
the Deputy Headmistress. Minerva handled the
situation differently then she
would have in the past. It was not like her to drop
disputes like that so
fast.
She shook her head as she reentered the common
room and waded through the
tension to stand between Harry and Ron, both of
who continued to stand and
stare at each other. Many students were looking at
Harry with narrowed
accusatory glances, and Seamus was hissing out lies
to anyone who would hear.
" That's enough, Seamus! Ten points from
Gryffindor for spreading false
accusations against a fellow Gryffindor. Now
everyone up to the dorms. You'll
have plenty of time to reunite with friends
tomorrow."
Harry plopped back down into his chair and
watched as Hermione cleared the
common room with quick practiced precision. Her
job was made easy when Ron and
Seamus were two of the first to leave. " They may
not trust you, or like you,
but they follow your orders without thought.
Impressive." Harry said as he
watched the last of the Gryffindors disappear up to
the dorms.
" I'm Head Girl." Hermione sat next to him in her
own plush chair. " It must
eat at them to know I have the last say."
Harry nodded and closed his eyes. Settling down
into the comfortable couch and
inhaling the sent of the common room. After
everything that happened during
the summer, he was surprised that he could still feel
comfortable here.
Surprised and pleased. It would have been
disappointing if he had changed so
much that Gryffindor tower was a place he no
longer felt comfortable in. " I
suppose you want to know what happened?" he
asked.
" Ron tried to curse or attack you in some way…
Ozemir or Brumek interjected
and sent the idiot flying." Hermione guessed
correctly.
" Exactly right. And it was Ozemir." Harry sat up and
twisted around to send a
smile at the Scholar standing at attention behind
him. " Thanks, by the way."
" My duty to you." Ozemir replied with a small nod.
Ozemir had been acting way
out of character since returning to them. Harry
frowned and stood up. He
studied Ozemir as he approached, noticing the
blank mask over the _Ukatae's_
face. Even the violet eyes were reserved when he
looked at Harry.
" Why are you acting like that?" he asked once he
was standing in front of
him.
" Harry, now is not the time. Anyone can come
down and hear you talking to
yourself and they really will think you're mental. I
know you want to know
whats going on, but you'll only have a wait a little
bit longer. It's Friday
night. Which means we have two more days until
classes start. We'll all get
together tomorrow at the gathering, after we've
had a nice rest. That way
we'll be in top form." Hermione smiled when Harry
plopped down beside her and
nodded. " What was that note?"
" Oh, right!" Harry said. " Dumbledore wants to see
me in his office tomorrow
after breakfast."
" And of course you aren't going to go."
" Course I'm going."
" But Harry-"
" Look. He asked to see me. I'm going. I want to
know what he wants and then I
want to make it plain there will be no reconciliation.
There's no reason to
worry, Hermione." He continued when she frowned
in concern. " It's not like
I'm going to be alone. Brumek and Ozemir will be
with me."
Hermione chewed on her bottom lip and didn't look
convinced. " Have you told
Draco about the note? Have you told him you plan
to go to this meeting?"
Harry began to squirm in his seat, his attention
raptly on the fire across the
room. Hermione narrowed her eyes as he continued
to stay silent. " Harry?"
" It'll just get him worked up. There's no reason to
tell him until after."
Hermione rolled her eyes. " Oh right, like that won't
get him worked up."
" I'll tell him after."
" You'll tell him right now. I do not want to have to
deal with an angry
_Ukatae_ tomorrow."
" Hermione, I love you, but maybe you should butt
out." Harry said softly,
hoping she would not hear. But she did and her
eyes widened, before narrowing
to slits a second later.
" You tell him, Harry." She said, standing. " Or I'll tell
Draco tomorrow at
breakfast." Without waiting for an answer,
Hermione walked away to a large
portrait across the room. Harry glared after her and
watched as she leaned
towards the portrait and whispered, " Severus is
sexy." The portrait swung
open.
Harry couldn't help it. A large bubble of laughter
exploded from his mouth. "
Mione, you didn't!" Without turning around,
Hermione lifted her chin and
disappeared down the narrow passage leading to
the Gryffindor Head Girl dorm
room. Harry stared at the large portrait long after it
closed behind his
sister.
Dropping his head back, Harry closed his eyes. He
really didn't want to go to
bed- No that wasn't it. He really didn't want to go to
bed without Draco, and
he didn't feel like dealing with Ron and Seamus at
the moment either. Not to
mention the fact that once he was up there, he'd
have to disable all the
spells Dumbledore placed around the room and his
bed, and he'd also have to
disable any hexes Ron and Seamus undoubtedly put
on his stuff.
" You should go to bed, young one." Ozemir said as
he dropped down beside him
where Hermione had been sitting. Harry looked at
Ozemir suspiciously. The
Scholar was smiling at him, and his eyes were bright
and open. The total
opposite of how he looked a few minutes ago. Harry
looked around for Brumek
and found him missing.
" Where did Brumek go?"
" Clearing your dorm room of any harmful spells."
" Really? Awesome!" Harry planted his feet on the
table and studied Ozemir. "
Going to tell me why you were acting strange?" he
asked quietly.
" I wasn't acting strange."
Harry snorted. " Give me a break… My duty to you?
What was that about?"
" You were not alone. I must act accordingly."
" What the hell are you talking about?" Harry
hissed. " Please tell me what's
going on." Harry caught movement in his peripheral
vision. Brumek was
returning from his dorm room.
" Falde says it starts tomorrow." Ozemir replied,
watching Brumek descend the
stairs, uncertainty clouding his violet eyes. " We will
tell you then." He
finished softly before turning his gaze to the table
as Brumek came up to
them.
" Your room is safe." Brumek said. The large warrior
kept his eyes on Harry
and acted as if Ozemir wasn't even present. In fact,
Harry couldn't recall
seeing his two guardians say one word to each
other the entire night. Which
was strange because Ozemir always seemed to
want to talk to Brumek. But when
the Warrior came to stand near by, Ozemir refused
to look at him.
" Yeah…" Harry said slowly to Brumek. " Thanks for
doing that. I really wasn't
up for it."
" It was nothing." Brumek said. " You might like to
know the red-head and his
friend are sleeping."
" Already?"
Brumek smirked. " They might have had help and
they will not wake till
morning. I found them trying to tamper with your
belongings."
" Thanks Brumek!"
" No need for thanks. We're here to protect you."
" Still… I appreciate it."
Ozemir suddenly stood as if his arse had been set
aflame, and he rushed to
stand at the other side of the room. Harry watched
him go in confusion before
arching an eyebrow at Brumek, who had finally
turned to look at his long-time
admirer. Desperation seemed to drip from Brumek's
every pore as he looked
after Ozemir with an ocean of longing. While
Ozemir was currently unaware and
watching the ceiling with rapt fascination.
_Come on, Ozemir. Look at him. Look at his eyes!
_Harry silently willed the
Scholar to look, to see what he was seeing. He
wanted Ozemir to know Brumek
was drowning for him. But Ozemir was steadfast in
his inspection of the
ceiling and Brumek had already looked away,
pulling his emotions in, locking
them away. The warrior looked angry once again,
and Harry realized Brumek was
very conflicted, trying to fight some internal battle.
The look on his face a
moment ago told Harry the warrior was well on his
way to losing that battle.
Early the next morning, Harry made his way down
to the Great Hall for
breakfast and was surprised to find Hermione
already at the table, a book open
beside her plate. The rest of the Hall was fairly
empty, just a smattering of
students from every House at each table. And even
though it was still early,
it surprised him to see most of the Professors were
already there also. Only
Hagrid, Professor Klyne, and Dumbledore were
missing.
Harry ignored the rest of the staff as they watched
him make his way over to
his table. He sent a quick pained smile to Severus
when the Potion Master
caught his eye, but Severus only managed to look
slightly amused at Harry's
pained mood.
" Good morning, Harry!" Hermione said happily as
he sat down. " How did you
sleep?"
" I slept like shite, thanks. You?" He grumbled.
" Perfectly well, thank you." The lie was convincing
and Harry turned to his
breakfast with a jealous growl. Hermione was going
to return to her breakfast,
but she knew her brother well, knew his body
language, and it was screaming
distress at her. She studied Harry's face for a
moment before her features
suddenly softened in concern. " Was it hard?" she
whispered.
Harry immediately nodded. " Harder then I thought
it would be." He turned to
her and gave Hermione a pleading look. " I really
don't want to do it again."
He whined. " Please don't make me."
Hermione narrowed her eyes and shook her head
no. If she could do it so could
he. " Are you still planning to go see Dumbledore?"
she finally asked.
" Yes. And no I haven't told Draco. I'll do that before
I go." Harry glared at
the Great Hall's doors. " If he ever gets here!"
" Can't you just ask him where he is?"
" The last time we spoke was after the Feast. Draco
thought it would be better
to be completely separated, other wise we might be
tempted to pop in on each
other. That means no telepathy. Even still… I almost
went to him a hundred
times before I finally managed to fall asleep."
Hermione nodded in understanding and rubbed his
arm. " It will get easier."
" I don't want it to get easier." Harry spat. " I want
to be able to sleep
with Draco!"
" Why don't you say that a little louder, Harry? I
don't think they heard you
in Russia." Hermione said flatly as she buttered a
roll.
Harry rolled his eyes. " I didn't say it that loud.
Nobody heard me."
The Great Hall doors opened to Tom being followed
closely by an irate blonde
whose gaze immediately snapped over to the
Gryffindors in surprise, and then
his irritation vanished from one moment to the next
and a beautiful smile
bloomed on his face, practically brightening the
entire Hall all on its own.
Poor Professor Flitwick choked on his pumpkin juice
in shock at seeing a
Malfoy smile like that and Professor Vector's cheeks
turned pink and she had
to remind herself she was staring at a student. A
student who was clearly
infatuated with someone sitting at the Gryffindor
table.
Draco grabbed Tom's sleeve and changed
directions, cutting straight for the
Gryffindor table. When he reached it, he sat
between Harry and Hermione and
threw an arm around Hermione's shoulders,
squeezing her in a friendly manner.
Severus couldn't help but snort when Professor
Flitwick squeaked and fell off
his chair. Harry's hand flew to his mouth, trying to
keep from laughing at all
the shocked faces he was seeing. He could imagine
very well what everyone was
thinking. They never expected it could be Hermione
the young Malfoy heir might
be seeing.
" Well hello." Hermione smiled at the blonde and
caught the quick movement as
Draco slipped his hand under the table beside
Harry, their hands reaching for
each other instantly as if magnetized. Harry
immediately sagged in relief at
the contact.
" I assume we are being nice to each other today?"
she asked Tom as he sat
with a pain next to her. Clearly Tom was not at all
impressed with having to
sit at the Gryffindor table. In fact he was disgusted.
" It does look that way, doesn't it." Tom said flatly,
not wanting Hermione to
guess his thoughts about her House. He nodded his
thanks when she passed him
the fruit bowl.
" Draco looked so relieved to see Harry…" She
commented softly.
Tom looked around her at his two brothers and a
small smile flitted across his
face, before he once again remembered where he
was sitting. " Harry is known
to skip early mornings as much as possible. He
assumed Harry would still be in
bed for some time. I gather Harry did not sleep well
either. "
Hermione nodded before smiling at a group of first
year Gryffindors who were
eager to learn all they could about their new lives at
Hogwarts and had
decided to eat an early breakfast before starting off
their explorations.
Hermione mentally cheered when the younger
students sat close to her and her
boys. Tom started to scowl at a boy who sat across
from him, until Hermione
kicked the Dark Lord under the table." Harry has a
meeting with Dumbledore
this morning."
" Oh?" Tom's eyes narrowed. " This is news."
" Yes. That note he received after dinner was from
Dumbledore." She said
quietly.
" Harry's intent on going."
" As he should be." Tom answered with a firm nod. "
We show no fear."
" Isn't it fear that's keeping Harry from telling Draco
about it?" she asked a
bit too loudly. One perfectly sculpted blonde
eyebrow rose slowly as Draco
turned to face Harry.
" Hermione, I was about to tell him." Harry
mumbled.
Draco narrowed his eyes. " Tell me what?"
" Dumbledore's invited me to his office this
morning."
" And?"
" And I'm going to go."
" That's fine. But I'm coming with you."
Harry was just grateful Draco hadn't forbid it
immediately that he smiled and
nodded. And he was more then happy to have
Draco with him during the meeting.
They were only a truly solid unit when together. "
What are you doing over
here anyway?" Harry asked.
" I am merely working on our House unity
campaign, Potter." Draco flashed a
smile at the little first years, though Harry could tell
it was a completely
fabricated smile. Thankfully the first years didn't
know that. " I thought
that was surely obvious." Draco said haughtily while
refusing to look at Harry
whose grin only broadened.
" Whatever." Harry leaned in closer to whisper in
his mate's ear, surprising
the first years watching them. " Just admit you
missed me." Draco dropped
Harry's hand to caress the Gryffindor's thigh.
_I made a mistake. _Draco said in all seriousness. _I
will rectify that
immediately._
_What are you talking about?_
_Keeping our relationship a secret. That's just not
working for me. _
_Thank Merlin! So we don't have to keep
pretending like we're only friends or
something, right?_
_Just for a little bit longer._
_But you just said…_
_I promise, lover. Only for a short time longer.
There is something I've been
meaning to do. After I've done that no one will have
any doubts about where my
heart lies._
_That was… uncharacteristically sweet of you,
Draco. And we're not even in
bed._
Draco glared at him before stealing a sweet roll off
his plate. _Make more
comments like that and I'll be dissuaded from being
completely honest with you
in the future._
Harry picked up his goblet of juice and grinned
behind the rim. _And what is
this thing you need to do?_
It was Draco's turn to grin. _All in good time, Potter.
_
Harry pouted. _I hate you right now._
Ozemir shifted lazily as he peered around the room.
The Great Hall was slowly
filling, and the young ones were still at their table,
talking quietly with
friends. He was only beginning to become bored
when he felt a burning gaze
upon him. He gladly tracked it, any kind of
distraction was a welcomed one.
And then he froze, his breath catching in his throat,
and it felt like an
invisible hand was squeezing his lungs and heart.
His world came to a
screeching halt as he took in Brumek's appearance
and finally understood why
the warrior was acting so strangely, and in turn
making him feel strange. His
adoration for Brumek was only a half secret, as
everyone but Brumek had
puzzled out the truth long ago. It hadn't even taken
the young ones very long
to realize, but then again, the young ones were
extremely perceptive to
others' feelings, so it was no surprise thet had
quickly discovered the truth
of his feelings.
The warrior, however, was always oblivious and
Ozemir preferred it that way,
had hoped it would always be that way. He never
imagined they could ever end
up as lovers and certainly not mates. He shouldn't
be allowed such happiness.
He didn't deserve it. And he didn't want Brumek to
get any closer to him, to
discover the secret Ozemir had been hiding for five
hundred years. He only
allowed himself to flirt with Brumek because there
shouldn't have been any
reciprocation. Brumek should have remained
unaffected.
Hirsha seemed to think he deserved to suffer more,
Ozemir thought dazedly as
he met Brumek's anguished gaze from across the
room. Because Brumek was
clearly being made to feel something for him and
Ozemir realized what it was.
The Mates' Call. This happened only when an
intended mate ignored the pulsing
and pull of their magic after coming in contact with
the magic of their mate,
which was exactly what Brumek had been doing.
But Ozemir rather believed the
warrior had simply been oblivious to the pull, which
is why he was looking
angry, desperate, and scared. The Mates' Call
comes into affect when the pull
has been ignored for too long. And when the mates
are separated for a period
of time, the Call attacks the senses; every cell starts
begging for the touch
of the mate. No other touch will do. It had to be
from the mate.
Brumek was affected far more then Ozemir because
he'd been completely ignorant
of his fate. Ozemir sensed the pull and ignored it
because he thought it had
only been an attraction, but he hadn't ignored it the
same way as Brumek had
done. Ozemir made it a point since teaming up with
the others to push the
warrior's buttons for fun, which meant he was
always putting himself in
contact with his destined mate, always flirting.
Brumek had tried to put as
much distance as possible between himself and the
Scholar for the most part.
Which was why the warrior was now standing
incredibly pale and trembling. Half
glaring, half begging Ozemir to relive him of his
pain.
This was not supposed to happen, Ozemir thought
as he moved, slowly making his
way around the Great Hall, following the wall over
to where the young ones
were sitting, with Brumek standing against the wall
at their backs. He had no
idea how to proceed. He only knew that he didn't
want to go further, this
couldn't happen. But it was happening and there
was nothing he could do about
it. Brumek was stuck with him. Brumek had no
choice…
Brumek watched Ozemir approach and already his
body was relaxing. That was
until a look of sadness appeared on Ozemir's face
and his violet eyes filmed
over with unshed tears. By the time Ozemir stood in
front of him, Brumek was
fighting with his slipping control, trying to keep
himself from touching the
Scholar to soothe away whatever sadness had
invaded him.
When Ozemir placed a hand on Brumek's chest and
gave a watery smile, the
warrior sighed in relief. The painful tension caused
by the Mates' Call
unwound, chased away for another few hours.
" I'm sorry." Ozemir whispered. " I know you do not
want this, could never be
happy with me and I would never have wished this
upon you. I- I want so much
more for you. You deserve more…" Ozemir broke
their gaze suddenly and was half
way back to his position before Brumek realized he
had moved away.
Brumek closed his eyes a second to chase away the
headache forming behind
them. When he opened them again, it was to see
Harry giving him a flat look,
and if he wasn't mistaken, Brumek thought he saw a
warning in those green eyes
as well. The same feeling came when Draco turned
to face Harry but glared at
Brumek from the corner of his narrowed eyes. He
scowled at the young ones
before looking away to scan the hall for any sign of
trouble. His mind was a
whirlwind as he did so.
They were mates. There was no denying it now. On
the train, he had denied it
every second until the moment Falde and Ozemir
appeared at the young ones
school, and Ozemir had immediately sought him out
to brush a hand down his
bare arm. Ozemir had looked at him strangely and
at the hand that seemed to
have unconsciously moved on its own to relieve
Brumek of the pain. That was
the moment Brumek could no longer deny. When
his desperation disappeared the
moment Ozemir's warm hand had touched him, the
truth of the matter was
blinding and undeniable. He'd been angry, was still
angry. He didn't want a
mate. Wasn't built for a mate. And it didn't matter
that it was Ozemir or the
fact Ozemir was a male. For the past week, Brumek
had countless dreams focused
solely on the very enticing Scholar, and he'd never
had dreams better. It was
bizarre to know Ozemir assumed Brumek could
never want him. And Brumek wasn't
completely against the idea, but he mostly was.
Brumek decided long ago, he
would always be mate less and he'd come to accept
and then prefer it that way.
He wasn't mate material.
Resurfacing from his thoughts, Brumek was startled
to find he'd been staring
at Ozemir the entire time. The Scholar was
studiously ignoring him, his eyes
holding an ocean of guilt, and for the first time since
Brumek had known him,
Ozemir looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.
Complete opposite of his
character. Ozemir never complained about where
he was. He enjoyed becoming
familiar with his surroundings, using his curiosity as
an excuse to snoop
around wherever he was. It was one of many
annoying quirks that constantly
drove Brumek crazy.
He narrowed his eyes when Talyn approached the
Scholar, gritting his teeth
when she placed a hand on Ozemir's arm to get his
attention. Talyn whispered
something into his ear and Ozemir looked sharply at
Falde, who nodded back.
Ozemir Shadowed out a moment later. Brumek was
still frowning when he caught
Falde's eyes. He blinked in shock when Falde's face
clouded in disappointment
as he looked back, and Talyn glared at him as she
moved back to her position.
Brumek was at a loss for what to do or what to
think. And it seemed everyone
was against him on this and concerned about
Ozemir. He couldn't really blame
them. For some strange reason, he was extremely
concerned about the Scholar as
well.
Harry turned away from Brumek and caught sight of
Talyn and Falde's faces. " I
feel sorry for Brumek now."
Draco turned and caught the confusion in Brumek's
eyes and snorted. " Yeah,
maybe." The doors opened again and the rest of the
seventh year Gryffindor
boys entered. Draco nudged Harry's arm. " Let's get
this meeting over with."
Harry nodded and climbed to his feet. " We'll see
you two later." He said to
Hermione and Tom. " Watch out for Ron."
Tom nodded and watched the mates leave, then
grinned maliciously as Harry
roughly brushed past Weasley, leaving the redhead
to gawk disbelievingly after
him. Finally Weasley contained himself and turned
back to his disgusting
Gryffindor table to freeze upon seeing Tom sitting
there beside Hermione.
" They'll be alright." Tom quietly said to his sister
and made it a point to
make it obvious he was ignoring the freckled
annoyance. He and Hermione
discreetly nodded to Dean and Neville as they
approached. Neville looked
startled that Tom would even acknowledge
him…ever. Dean, being a half blood,
looked back warily, but he did nod back in respect
when Ron and Seamus weren't
looking. " They have enough protection from the
old wizard."
Hermione nodded, but still looked worried. Tom
inwardly sighed in frustrated
resignation when he felt compelled to relieve her in
any way that he could. "
Have you finished breakfast? I want to show you a
book. A very special book I
haven't seen in years. I want to share it with you."
Hermione looked at him with bright eyes. " Really?
This must be good if it's
coming from you! How is it special?" She popped
out of her seat. " What's in
it?" Hermione waved goodbye to the first years who
couldn't help but be
bemused at her antics as they'd been watching her
carefully.
Tom chuckled as he stood and held his arm out for
her to take. She instantly
wrapped her arm around his, sent one last look
towards the Professors table,
and left the Great Hall, continuing on with her
Spanish inquisition of this
new secret book of Tom's.
Draco and Harry stood in front of the gargoyle
guarding the entrance to the
headmaster's office and spit out candy names for
two minutes before they hit
it.
Draco growled in annoyance as the entrance finally
opened to them. " He better
be there after all that."
Harry had no reply as they ascended the stairs to
Dumbledore's office. Harry
stopped outside the door and looked at Draco
before knocking. The blonde
rolled his eyes and nudged him in the shoulder to
get a move on.
Dumbledore called out in a strange strangled tone
for Harry to enter directly
after his first knock, and the mates didn't hesitate
to go in. Harry's steps
into the office faltered when he caught sight of
Ozemir quickly moving back
from the headmaster and fading away.
Dumbledore's eyes followed Ozemir and
flickered with uncertainty when the Scholar
disappeared with a malicious grin.
Brumek and Talyn glanced at Ozemir curiously,
more with annoyance on Brumek's
part, while Falde stood aside to watch all this with a
blank face. Harry
didn't really care about all of that. What he really
cared about was the look
of fear that crossed Dumbledore's face right before
Ozemir had backed away
from him, then disappeared. Harry briefly
wondered why Ozemir had gone
completely. But Falde seemed to think Ozemir
leaving was all right because he
did nothing accept watch Dumbledore with a hawk
eye.
Dumbledore recovered and stood as they came
forward, raising his hands in a
welcoming manner, a smile on his lips. An eyebrow
rose on Harry's face as took
this in, but he said nothing as he and Draco took the
seats in front of the
desk without waiting to be told to sit. This, Harry
knew, would piss old
Dumbledore off good. It was blatant disrespect.
Dumbledore studied the two mates as he sat down;
they both peered back at him,
faces smooth and without any lines of worry. They
wore glamours, he knew, but
only to cover their ears and fangs. Otherwise they
kept their features as they
were after the transformations. Flawless features
adorned on faces that seemed
to be carved from stone to be frozen in agelessness
for all time. It was his
reminder that Potter and Malfoy were _Ukatae_,
and they would have those faces
for more decades then anyone knew.
Before he spoke, Dumbledore glanced at the spot
Ozemir had disappeared in and
frowned before turning to speak directly to Draco.
" Mr. Malfoy." He greeted cordially. Draco remained
motionless, but Harry
began to tap his fingers against his knee with
impatience. " You are looking
well. I must say it is a surprise to see you here this
morning."
" Dumbledore." Harry sat forward. " Let's not
pretend. You know he's my mate.
You know what we are."
" Did you honestly think I would leave my mate
alone with you?" Draco drawled
as he shifted in his chair so that he could throw an
arm over the back of it.
" I assumed Harry would have thought having his
guards with him would be
enough."
" And you assumed wrong." Harry leaned back
while lifting a foot to rest his
ankle on his knee. " You've already met one. You
might as well meet them all.
Especially considering they have free reign over the
school."
Harry continued to watch Dumbledore as Draco
waved for their guardians to
present themselves. As one the three guards came
forward, their Shadows
dissolving around them. Harry was pleased to feel
Dumbledore's shock, and
delighted in the old man's frustration when he
realized Harry and Draco really
were protected wherever they went.
Draco grinned when Talyn perched on the edge of
Dumbledore's desk and leaned
in close to the wizard. She grinned at Dumbledore's
wide-eyed expression when
she leaned passed his protective wards without
resistance.
" I hope you took Ozemir serious, whatever he said.
And I'm sure he warned you
in his own terrifying way," all the _Ukatae _grinned
when Brumek let a soft
snort escape him. " But now it's my turn, old man.
Should you harm our young
ones, your blood will belong to us. We are quite
fond of Harry and Draco. I
would hate to see something bad happen to them.
And I'm sure you would hate
for something bad to happen to you." She leaned a
little closer, her long
braid swinging over to tap Dumbledore's shoulder. "
There are far worse things
then death." Talyn finished then winked at Harry
before flouncing back to
stand beside Falde.
" What do you want?" Harry asked Dumbledore in a
bored manner when he failed
to speak after a short time.
" Harry, I understand we've had some sort of
misunderstanding and I've asked
you here this morning so that we may discuss what
has happened and lay this to
rest." Dumbledore looked expectant as he waited
for Harry's reply, but the
Gryffindor was frowning and he made no move to
speak.
" You say you want to lay the misunderstanding to
rest?" Draco asked softly as
he sat forward. " Is that what you said?"
" That is what I said, Mr. Malfoy."
Draco looked over as his mate's hollowed laughter
filled the office. Harry
stood and moved forward until the edge of the desk
bit into his thighs and he
was pleased to feel protective magic surrounding
Dumbledore and his desk. It
meant Dumbledore feared them. And even if just a
little bit, it was still
fear, and it could still be fed off of.
" This is no laughing matter, Harry. We must get
passed this before we can
move on and destroy Voldemort."
Harry stopped laughing and stared darkly at his
parents' murderer. " Did it
sound like I was amused, old man? I don't believe
that was laughter of an
amused soul."
" Harry, please. We must discuss-" Dumbledore
tried to go on, but Harry raised
a hand, cutting off anything the headmaster
planned to say.
" Does it look like I want to put this so called
misunderstanding behind us,
you fucking bastard?"
Behind them, Draco could hear the gasped and
outraged cries of the former
headmasters and headmistresses in their portraits.
He grinned. They were about
to get an earful, and just maybe they would start to
spread harmful rumors
around Wizarding Britain, which would start the ball
rolling in dethroning
Dumbledore as the greatest Wizard alive. Complete
rubbish, Draco had always
thought. He was happy to be right about that for a
change.
Dumbledore slowly moved, gathering himself and
standing to his full height. He
glared at his former puppet, though now his puppet
was taller and completely
assured of himself. " I am still your elder, Mr.
Potter. You will show me the
proper respect."
" And you will sit down." Falde instructed
Dumbledore darkly as Draco rose to
his feet and growled in warning at the old man.
Falde approached until he was
standing next to Draco. " You will not raise your
voice to either of them. I'm
sure you've been made aware of their importance.
They will have all of your
respect, even if they don't want it. Is this
understood?" Falde said and
stared Dumbledore down. And while Dumbledore
didn't answer him, the immediate
return to his seat pleased the _Ukatae _well
enough. But there was one more
point Falde wanted the old human to understand.
" According to _Ukatae_ law, which always takes
preference to any law when a
_Ukatae_ lives among humans for whatever reason,
our kind may take action
against any person or thing that threatens his or her
mate in any way. And
they cannot be held responsible. "
" Which means I can kill you for raising your voice to
my lover." Draco
growled softly. " I can gut you for simply lifting a
finger towards Harry.
Understand?" He grinned wickedly when Harry
reached over in plain sight of
Dumbledore to caress Draco's hand in a clearly
loving manner. " You should
understand I would do that and more with the
greatest of pleasures and not you
or the Ministry of Magic can touch me for it."
Before Dumbledore could manage to pull in his
anger and form well chosen
words, Harry turned his complete attention back to
him and snarled. " You will
soon lose all the ill-obtained respect you ever had
from any one. Start
getting used to it." Harry stopped and took a
breath. Draco reached over to
rub his neck. " You killed my parents. You will never
have my respect again."
Harry said flatly and Dumbledore's eyes widened.
Draco smirked when the
portraits created quite a ruckus yelling out
questions and demands for proof.
Dumbledore's eyes flickered around helplessly for a
moment and the portraits
began murmuring when Dumbledore took too long
to deny.
" You had Hermione, Luna, Neville, and Dean
kidnapped and ordered to be
killed…" Louder murmuring from the portraits, and
Dumbledore stood back up.
Draco raised a hand, his eyes riveted on his mate,
when their guardians
started to react to the old man's sudden movement.
Harry would need no help
from them.
" Harry, where did you hear such ridiculous things?
How could you even think
any of it to be true?"
" Spare me your lies, Dumbledore and any denials
you think might work." Harry
placed a hand on the desk, his hand going past the
protective barrier
effortlessly. Dumbledore's eyes widened when the
spells of protection
instantly crumbled. " We both know these
accusations are facts. I saw you do
it with my own eyes. I saw you Imperio my father
and order him to kill Mum
before you made him turn his wand on himself."
Harry murmured as he leaned
forward.
The portraits had gone completely quiet as they all
listened with held
breaths. " And because of that, I really never want
to be in the same room
with you again. I came up here to tell you that. We
can play your game of
All's Well in the public light for the time being if you
want, but beyond
that, you don't exist to me. You'll only exist when
it's time for you to pay
for the crimes you've committed against myself and
the rest of the Wizarding
World. Tom Riddle included. So don't go inviting me
for more tea, or whatever
the hell this meeting was supposed to be for.
Because I won't come when you
call anymore. I will never answer to you. I hope you
understand. And if you
don't, that's your problem not mine."
Draco smiled coldly at the speechless old wizard. "
I've been thinking… Maybe
you should spend the next few months putting your
affairs in order,
Dumbledore."
" That's very sound advice, Draco." With his bright
green eyes still intent on
Dumbledore, Harry grinned and nodded. " But don't
worry…" he turned as Draco
took hold of his hand, their fingers interlacing
effortlessly as if done for
years instead of a few months. " We're still going to
have a lot of fun this
year, you and I. I can feel it!" Without looking back,
Draco led his laughing
mate out of the office.
" Glad that's out of the way." Harry said as they
made their way down from the
office. " We got all that off our chests and he didn't
get to say anything at
all. Must be pissed off right now."
_He's pathetic. Dumbledore doesn't seem to be as
strong as before. _Draco said
and looked at Harry from the corner of his eyes as
they reluctantly let go of
each other and began to walk side by side a foot
apart. They passed through
the school with blank faces, walking through the
entrance Hall where small
groups had formed of students wanting to socialize.
Heads turned as the
Gryffindor and Slytherin walked past in sync
without a word or glance to
anyone. Low murmuring followed the two as they
descended the stairs that would
lead them to the dungeons.
_Yeah… It really did seem as if he had lost some
power. Is something like that
even possible? I mean… wizards don't lose their
power as they get older do
they? Is that something I was never taught? _Harry
asked.
_No. Age doesn't matter when it comes to wizardry.
_
_He could be losing power some other way. _Harry
thought as they arrived
outside of the Potion Masters office.
_If that were true, I wouldn't know how._
_Let's ask Uncle Sev, shall we?_ Harry grinned at
him before knocking on the
door. Twenty seconds passed before the door was
wrenched open with nearly
enough force to make it come off its hinges. Severus
took one look at who was
outside his door and sneered.
" Oh. It's you." Severus made a mild sound of
disgust and turned away, leaving
the door opened for them.
Harry snickered as he and Draco entered. " You did
that wrong." Draco
announced after shutting the door and locking it. "
You should always be
_happy_ to see us."
" Where's Hermione?" the sour wizard asked after
returning to his desk.
" You saw her last, Uncle Sev. She was at breakfast
with Tom." Harry answered.
He grabbed a chair and swung it around, before
straddling it. He took a moment
to study his uncle's bent head as Draco came
forward to lean against the side
of the desk.
" Must you two crowd me?"
Draco grinned. " We want to ask you something."
" Hmm?"
Harry crossed his arms over the back of the chair to
rest his chin there. " Is
your office protected?"
Severus slapped his quill on the desk and glared at
Harry with one incredulous
eyebrow raised. " And I thought you were
intelligent."
Harry grinned. He didn't know why, but Severus in a
bad mood always amused
him. " That's a yes, then."
" We've just come from a meeting with
Dumbledore." The blonde _Ukatae_
announced as he pushed away from Severus' desk
to roam about the office. He
peered over his shoulder when he felt the Potions
Master's eyes on his back.
Severus' gaze swept back and forth between Harry
and Draco, until his eyes
were dark glittering jewels of burning rage.
" Obviously everything went well and we're okay."
Harry ventured on when
Severus looked like he would sit there and fume
silently for eternity.
" I was not aware you were seeing Dumbledore this
morning. Alone." Severus
intoned darkly.
" We weren't alone." Harry pointed out. " Draco and
I were together." From his
position in front of Severus' bookcase, Draco
nodded along with his mate. "
Falde, Brumek, and Talyn were also with us."
" And I'm not sure," Draco went on and looked at
Harry for confirmation as he
spoke. " But I think Ozemir may have threatened
Dumbledore just as we were
walking into the office."
Harry nodded. " Dumbledore certainly looked
fearful every time he looked at
the spot where Ozemir disappeared."
" What did you want to ask me?" Severus finally
said with a sigh of
resignation though Harry knew he and Draco had
not heard the last of Severus'
displeasure at being kept in the dark about the
impromptu meeting with
Dumbledore.
" It felt like Dumbledore has lost some power."
Harry said with a smile.
Severus raised an eyebrow, and waited for Harry to
continue. That certainly
hadn't been a question.
" Well?" Severus snapped when Harry failed to
continue on.
Harry lifted his chin off his arms and cooed. " Oh.
Does poor Uncle Sevvy miss
his little Hermy?"
Draco chuckled as he returned to the desk and
gently lowered the arm of his
godfather. Severus had his wand in hand and was
fully prepared to teach his
nephew a lesson. As Harry's flesh and blood,
Severus thought he had the right
to it, and he made sure Draco understood this as he
glared at his godson for
stopping him from throwing a stinging hex at Harry.
" Is that your bloody question?" Severus growled.
" No, actually." Draco glanced at Harry in warning to
leave Severus alone for
the moment. " I thought you might be interested to
know the protection spells
Dumbledore had constructed around himself
crumbled the moment Harry touched
them. There wasn't even a delay. He was left
completely defenseless."
" Dumbledore is never completely defenseless,
even if he is losing his mind.
He can still use his wand, and with practiced and
deadly precision when he
wants to. You two should never forget that."
" And we won't forget it." Draco drawled. " But
don't you find it interesting
those wards fell as soon as Harry passed through
them?" Draco tapped Harry's
shoulder and the smaller _Ukatae_ stood. Draco
turned the chair around and sat
in it properly.
" I'm not sure what to think about that." Severus
replied as Draco tugged the
Gryffindor down to his lap where Harry settled
himself happily. Severus sighed
before going on. " You two have grown in strength.
You are _Ukatae_ now and
easily more powerful then the old man."
Harry nodded." Here's our question… Do you
suppose there's a way for a witch
or wizard to lose their power? I mean is there some
way to drain someone's
magic away?"
Severus sat back and studied them thoughtfully. "
You think that's what's
happening with Dumbledore?"
" It's just a thought we had. His magic feels
different."
" How so, Draco?"
" He feels weaker, I suppose. His magic feels
weaker."
Severus looked at his desk and tapped his fingers as
he thought. Finally he
stood and crossed over to the bookshelf. " There
are potions that can be the
cause of energy loss, both the physical and magical
energies." He began in
thought as he pulled a thick leather-bound book
from the top shelf. " But none
of these potions are ever long term. More
importantly, I don't think these
potions would have any effect on Dumbledore and
he would never take these
potions on purpose, nor would he allow himself to
be poisoned by someone.
There is reason why he's known as the greatest
wizard alive. He's spent years
perfecting his precautions against things like that.
Which is why the Dark
Lord has not been able to kill him before now."
Severus returned to his seat and pushed the book
across the desk where Harry
picked it up and began paging through it, smiling
softly when Draco dropped
his chin on his shoulder.
" What about a magical object?" Harry suddenly
asked.
Severus' smile indicated how pleased he was with
his nephew for such a
question. " It seems you have redeemed yourself.
You are not an idiot."
" Gee, thanks." Harry half glared at him before
turning back to the book,
which was filled with descriptions and recipes of
highly illegal potions like
the ones Severus had just mentioned.
" Yes. It might be the work of a magical object, if
that is indeed what is
happening. But I wouldn't know what to look for
and I can't see Dumbledore
allowing himself to come into contact with such an
object without realizing
what it was doing. Did he seem as if he knew his
magic was weaker?"
Draco shook his head. " No. He just seemed afraid
of Ozemir."
" And he denied killing my parents. Only because
the portraits were all awake
and listening. Some even ran off when I accused
him of murdering my parents
and the kidnapping and attempted murder of our
friends."
" He was greatly agitated then."
" As he should be." Severus said with a nod. " Did
you mention the Pensieve
memory?"
" No. But I told him I saw him murder my parents.
He must know we have that
memory. If he doesn't already realize it, I will take
great pleasure in
telling him when I feel he's already down in the
dumps." Harry grinned along
with his uncle, and then couldn't help but wiggle in
his lover's lap when
Draco began to kiss his neck slowly and thoroughly
in show of his agreement.
Severus took one look at them and his grin
disappeared.
" OUT!"
Draco and Harry were still laughing when Severus
slammed the office door shut
in their faces.
Draco looked at Harry in innocence. " Was it
something we did?"
Ozemir stood at the edge of the lake, trying to fight
back the bitterness and
self-loathing that he knew would eventually
overtake him. It wasn't his fault
things had turned out this way. One couldn't pick
and choose who their mate
was going to be. That decision was always in
Hirsha's hands. It had always
been a possibility that he may find a mate, but after
five hundred years, he'd
given up believing it would ever happen. Soon after
the Royal line had been
slaughtered, the _Ukatae_ stopped finding their
mates. It was yet another
punishment the _Ukatae_ thought had come to
them from Hirsha for slaughtering
the Royal line. That's why Talyn and Falde did not
have mates as well. For
five hundred years, finding a mate was almost
impossible, as he'd told Draco
before. Ozemir was still standing there staring at his
reflection in the water
when Draco came upon him.
" I believe you were not thorough in your
explanation of destined mates."
Draco said as he came to stand beside Ozemir. "
And because of that, I am left
wondering. Bad form on your part, don't you
think?"
Ozemir continued to look out over the lake as he
responded to Draco. " My
apologies. I shall be sure to leave nothing out next
time."
" Maybe you could explain why finding out you're
mated to the one person you
happen to be in love with is something to mourn
over."
Ozemir looked at Draco from the corner of his eye. "
Sometimes your mate ends
up being the last person expected or wanted. What
I did not say when we last
spoke of this is that not all matches are wanted.
Brumek has no choice with
me. Surely he doesn't want to be mated with me.
You know he can barely
tolerate my presence. So yes, sometimes _Ukatae_
are stuck in matches
without-"
" It's not Brumek." Draco interrupted as he turned,
scanning the area to make
sure there were no other students around to hear
him. Falde left Draco alone
once he found Ozemir, and before he left he
instructed Draco to listen closely
to whatever the Scholar had to say to him. But
Draco wasn't going to stand
there and do nothing but listen. Not when he had
his own opinions to share.
Ozemir shook his head slightly. " What do you
mean?"
" You say Brumek has no choice. You assume he
doesn't want you… You're using
him as an excuse to fight or be unhappy about it for
another reason." Draco
turned and faced the Scholar fully. " You have no
reason to assume Brumek
doesn't want you. All the evidence points in the
opposite direction." He
turned back to stare over the lake, the corner of his
lip quirked up in
amusement. " You need to come up with a better
excuse."
Ozemir blinked in surprise at the blonde standing
beside him. And then he
smiled and nudged Draco in the shoulder. " You are
very bright for a young
one. I appreciate your honesty as well." He looked
down at the pebbled rocks
they stood among and frowned.
" There are things about me, Draco. Things I've
done. Things I love to dothere are things that have to happen and-" Ozemir
growled in frustration when
he couldn't decide what he truly wanted to say. He
took a deep breath and
started again with something simple. " I only wish
Brumek had ended up with
someone worthy of him."
" And what makes you think you're unworthy of
Brumek?" Draco drawled.
" Young one." Ozemir spoke softly and allowed his
past to glow red in his
eyes.
Draco met Ozemir's gaze and curled his hands into
fists in a defensive reflex
at the dark look in the Scholar's eyes. Draco had to
grit his teeth to keep
the fear from showing on his face. A troubled soul
with a dark dangerous edge
was looking back at him.
" There is something you should know about me."
Ozemir continued in firm
determination though his eyes returned to the
unusual violet color.
" I suppose this is the deep dark past hidden behind
your goofy smiles. A past
you want forgotten by all." Draco commented lazily,
as if the conversation was
anything but serious. " Why would you tell me
now?"
Ozemir's face brightened and he grabbed Draco to
pull him against his side. "
Hold on, young one." Before Draco had a chance to
take a breath, the Shadow
surrounded him, vanishing the pebbles under his
feet and the lake beyond. In
the next breath his feet connected with grass and
he looked around only to
find planks of constructed wood towering over him.
" We're under the stands of the Quidditch Pitch."
He murmured to himself, and
then he faced Ozemir who was smiling at him. " It
would be in your best
interest to never Shadow me like that again without
notifying me before hand.
I would also appreciate it if you would stick with
one emotion for the length
of a conversation. One moment you're looking a bit
psycho and the next you're
serene and content with life. Stop it!"
" I apologize. I will warn you next time. And I prefer
to be happy, so I'm
constantly fighting with myself. I think it's rather
selfish of me."
" That makes no sense!"
Ozemir sighed and leaned against the stand. " I wish
to tell you something.
Will you hear?"
Draco nodded and conjured a chair. Once he was
suitably comfortable he waved
for Ozemir to go on. The Scholar took a moment to
chuckle at Draco's actions
before he started. Ozemir prayed Draco would
understand him in the end. He
hoped to continue to guard Draco and his mate,
despite what he was about to
reveal. Ozemir could only pray Draco would
understand why he couldn't
celebrate his mate bond with Brumek. And he
wished Draco would understand and
accept the little part of him that was evil, would
always be evil for as long
as he lived. Ozemir wasn't really worried about
Harry. He was too caring for
his own good and Ozemir knew how Harry was
going to react when he heard what
Ozemir was about to tell Draco. It was the dominant
mate whohad to be
convinced that despite Ozemir's past profession, he
was sincerely loyal to
Harry and Draco and would do anything to protect
them.
" When I was born, I was given away to a clan."
Ozemir began and he quickly
waved away the outrage appearing in Draco's silver
gaze. " For any family and
depending on the clan, this was always an honor,
especially if the baby was
commissioned by a clan associated with the Royal
clan. Which I was. Also,
giving babies away at birth was not a rare
occurrence. With certain families,
when a newborn is encased by a certain aura, some
occupational clans will
claim the baby to train directly after birth. As
apposed to waiting until the
young ones are old enough to work as normal
citizens, as most of the
occupational clans are prone to do." Ozemir paused
and gathered his thoughts.
Thoughts that clouded his mind in darkness.
" I was given to the _Kibosh_ clan." He finally
stated. " Otherwise known as
the Cap of Death."
Draco arched an eyebrow. "You were given away as
a baby to the Cap of Death?
Pardon if I sound rude but that doesn't sound
promising and I think your
parents should be whipped."
Ozemir nodded and smiled without humor. " You
are right. It was not promising.
But was your father not once called a Death Eater?"
" I see your point. Go on."
" The _Kibosh _is a clan never spoken of, at least
not out in the open. Normal
_Ukatae_ citizens scatter away should the clan ever
be mentioned out of
passing. Now days, people believe the _Kibosh_
clan was destroyed long ago
after the slaughter of our Royal clan. It's not true.
We're still here and
we're still responsible for the lost blood of our
rulers."
Draco conjured another chair when Ozemir paused,
and waved him to it before
leaning forward, placing his elbows on his knees to
hold his chin in his
hands. " What happened when the _Kibosh_ took
you at birth?"
" When the _Kibosh_ take you, you are put through
a ritual soon after. I will
not go into detail, but there is pain for the baby,
blood loss… and a web of
dark magic spun around you, bonding to you... The
baby is marked forever as
well. Inside and out. Right here." Ozemir placed his
hand against the center
of his chest. " Marked and bonded into servitude for
that clan. You belong
forever to the _Kibosh_ and will do whatever the
clan master wishes at any
time without question. I was trained to follow the
master's orders without
thought, and I did."
" You still haven't' told me what you are."
" From the day I could walk I was trained to
eliminate lives, sightless and
soundlessly. Without remorse and without
question. And I did so with
pleasure."
" You're an assassin." Draco whispered, half
unbelieving that this generally
goofy natured Scholar in front of him was trained to
kill.
Ozemir nodded. " There's more."
" Oh goody." Draco intoned dryly.
Ozemir flashed a grin at Draco's sarcasm. " What
you need to know is that the
_Kibosh_ clan master received his orders directly
from the throne. The
_Kibosh_ were the Empire's Royal Assassins."
Ozemir studied Draco's face and
smiled wickedly. " You look surprised. Is it about me
being an assassin? Or
perhaps you are surprised the royals would train
and use these assassins for
their own use?"
" A little of both I think." Draco murmured.
" Do not be mistaken. There was a reason that
particular bloodline ruled for
thousands of years. They ruled with grace and
concern for their subjects. And
above all, they ruled with the power the gods gave
them. They did not concern
themselves with others opinions about they way
they ruled. Our rulers did
whatever needed to be done to protect their
people. To see us flourish. And it
didn't matter if they had to use less then desirable
means to see us thriving
and protected. I, myself, think they may have gone
too far by creating the
_Kibosh_, but that's only my opinion."
While Draco sat still in his chair, still going over
what had been said,
Ozemir smiled and shrugged unconcerned. " At
least the _Kibosh_ did not strip
away our complete free will or damper our natural
personalities as we matured
in the clan."
" That's… very strange." Draco said at last. " You
were trained to kill from
almost birth. How do you interact happily with
people the way you do?"
" Do not forget that I am a Scholar as well as an
assassin. I grew up having
the finest education available. I enjoy learning,
exploring, and teaching just
as much as I loved taking lives. And we led double
lives as we trained. When I
wasn't a Scholar, I was an instrument of death.
During that time it was very
easy to let the mind become overrun by the part of
your soul the ritual had
poisoned. After a mission was complete I returned
to how I normally am and
pushed that poison back down until I was sent on
another mission. It was quite
easy to do so. Sometimes though, the assassin in
me will come out for no
particular reason..."
" No wonder you're so twisted up inside about the
bond with Brumek. You're
still affected by the way you were trained as an
assassin, even if you don't
think you are!"
" You are taking my former occupation extremely
well, young one."
Draco pinned him with a shrewd stare. " You
haven't explained everything. You
said the _Kibosh_ were responsible for the deaths
of the royals. You also said
you _were_ the Royal assassins."
" In the end our clan master betrayed the throne
and those that served him."
Ozemir's tone dropped to a low growl. " He
summoned his best assassins," he
raised his hand into the air, " and on the blackest
night of the year we were
instructed to kill anyone protecting the Royal clan
thereby leaving our rulers
easy targets for the revolting clans. We had no
choice. Even those of us who
would rather have died then betray our rulers could
not stop ourselves from
completing the missions given to us. Many assassins
tried to take their own
lives after being ordered to kill that night. Myself
included. But we could
not go through with it. Not after the clan master
had already ordered the
killings. I would not be here if we'd found out about
the clan master's
treachery before he ordered us out.
" After the mission was completed, a few assassins
went on to take their own
lives."
" I don't understand. Why did they do it if they'd
already committed the
murders?"
" Because we had become traitors against our will
and many thought we
destroyed the future of our race that night. There
was no point in living any
more. Our clan master betrayed us and we betrayed
the Empire."
" Why didn't you kill yourself after?" Draco asked
curiously. " If you tried
to do it before you carried out the assassinations,
why not do what the others
did."
" That was not the way I wished to pay for my crime
against the Empire. It was
the easy way out. And frankly, I enjoy life far too
much. I told you, I'm
rather selfish."
" Despite everything you've just told me, I'm glad
you weren't able to kill
yourself. I'm kind of fond of you, Ozemir." Draco
said softly and then before
Ozemir could gush over that, Draco waved him on
to continue with his story.
" After that night, the _Kibosh_ was supposed to
have been destroyed, the clan
master killed for his betrayal. Some little birdie let it
slip that he was
behind the murders. Unfortunately, many of the
assassins were killed as well
for their parts in the royal murders."
" How did you escape?"
Ozemir grinned. " I'm not ashamed to say that I am
the best assassin they've
ever had. I can be invisible even without Shadow. I
was trained to blend in
anywhere. In those times the only person who
knew me as an assassin was the
clan master. I could walk out in the crowded street
and no one would know I
was a trained killer. They only knew the Scholar
Ozemir. Unfortunately for
others of my occupation, they did not keep their
identities well enough
guarded. They were found out and hunted down."
Ozemir frowned then. " Only the clan master could
ever find me when I had
hidden myself away, but he was dead. Five hundred
years past, he was dead and
I was free of that life. I didn't have to worry about
being called back to do
a service like some kind of pet, to betray the Empire
against my will again
and have to watch another river of blood flow past
my feet.
" And then your gawky friend discovered that ring…
With that insignia. The
ring of the _Kibosh_ clan master. Given to the first
clan master by the
reigning Empress thousands of years ago."
Draco suddenly understood. There was good reason
for Ozemir to fear. To fear
for everyone around him.
Ozemir nodded when understanding lit Draco's
eyes." You are being told this
because the clan master betrayed the throne in
order to gain it for himself.
He was ready for new royal blood. His blood. No
doubt he still holds that
ambition close and dear. He also continues to hold
the power to call upon his
remaining assassins. I am not the only one to have
escaped justice. You need
to know this because you are our future. You and
Harry. You both bare the
markings of the next blood." Ozemir said and
pressed a finger against Draco's
arm, where the light of his markings began to shine
brightly through his
sleeve at Ozemir's touch. " It's not the markings of
the original royal line,
but the markings drawn in prediction thousands of
years ago, proclaiming a
coming of a second bloodline. Most _Ukatae_
thought the last royal line had
been the second coming, and I believe the last
royals tried to hide the truth
of the matter. Tried to keep our race from realizing
they were not the new and
last line. That's why there has been no hope among
our race for many years. I
myself never imagined we'd gotten it wrong. But
the moment I saw the marks on
Harry's wings, I knew we'd made a mistake about
that prophecy. And my sin
against the first Royal bloodline came crashing back
to me.
" My never-ending fear is that I will see this new
bloodline, your blood,
spill to the ground as well." Ozemir looked into
Draco's eyes. " I don't want
to see you and Harry fall, but that is a fear I think I
shall never be rid
of."
" I'm having trouble believing all of this." Draco said
in a shaky voice.
" I fear because I can still be called to commit crimes
of treachery against
the new blood, despite my honest allegiance to you
and Harry." The Scholar
continued. " The clan master is consorting with that
Dumbledore fellow. He
knows about you and your mate. And he most
certainly knows I am one of your
guards. He will call me. There is no doubt."
" So… as long as the clan master lives, you are a
danger to us." Draco said
hollowly.
Ozemir nodded sadly." He wants the Empire. You
stand in the way. You will have
to fight the _Kibosh_ clan master to save our race
from him before you can
take what has been written as yours by the gods."
After a lengthy silence, Draco leaned back and
rubbed his eyes tiredly. " This
is all sounding so ironically familiar. Harry isn't going
to find the irony at
all amusing. And familiar in this instance is not a
good thing." Draco
muttered. " Another prophecy, another Savior job,
another evil powerful
villain to fight." He pierced Ozemir with a blank
stare. " And you."
Ozemir jumped to his feet and peered at Draco
earnestly, no trace of the
assassin anywhere. " I can still protect you!" He
defended enthusiastically. "
The clan master may be able to call on me, but
when that time comes I will be
able to warn you and…" Ozemir smiled softly at
Draco. " And you can do with me
as you will. But until then, please allow me to teach
you. I am your man,
young one. I will prepare you for the clan master."
" What do you mean we can do with you what we
will?" Draco asked with a
feeling of dread.
" As I've said, once I am called to do a service for the
clan master, I will
not stop until the deed is done." Ozemir explained
as if that was common
knowledge. " You will need to kill me after the clan
master orders me to try
and destroy you." He said in a reasonable tone.
Draco stood and backed away as the Scholar spoke
and began shaking his head.
Ozemir raised a hand to calm the young one. " It
must be done, Draco. Do you
see? That is why I never wanted Brumek to be my
mate. Why I… mourn the match,
as you earlier described it. Brumek will be exposed
to my past life. Imagine
what he will have to go through. Brumek is a
warrior of the realm. He stands
for justice, while I laugh and flee from it." Ozemir
stopped and smiled, his
fangs flashing in the sunlight. " Oh yes, I enjoy being
bad, Draco. I enjoy it
very much. It thrills me, and I've taken pleasure
from every assassination
I've ever done. Being an assassin is part of who I am.
And you should never
forget that." Ozemir sighed when Draco remained
quiet, though it was clear he
was still interested in hearing more.
" Brumek." The Scholar took a deep breath, " I
never imagined my interest in
him was due to our being mates. I've trapped him…
even when I die and he is
mate less once more, Brumek will continue to be
trapped. There is only ever
one destined mate for someone. He will never have
that again. I've doomed him
to be alone."
" No need to get dramatic." Draco murmured,
though he understood well enough.
He stared at the ground a few moments, trying to
decide how he should proceed
next while Ozemir stood silent and prepared himself
to accept whatever
decision the young one made.
" Right." Draco looked at Ozemir. " Alright. Repeat
that story to Harry. I
don't want to do it in case he tries to kill the
messenger. Tell him at the
gathering and we'll decide where to go from there."
Ozemir sighed in relief, and then smiled hesitantly. "
That is more then I
could hope for."
Draco couldn't smile back. It didn't seem like an
appropriate time to smile at
someone who would eventually try to do his mate
harm. Nor could he smile at
someone he was going to have to kill in order to
survive to live another day.
Falde secured the sight for their gatherings, and all
who could attend at the
time were brought to the location by a _Ukatae_
circle. Harry and Draco
celebrated the discovered knowledge of _Ukatae_
circles being immune to
Hogwarts anti-apparition wards by taking
themselves off behind a tree and
snogging immediately after the traveling was
complete. They were so busy
reacquainting themselves with the other's body
that they never stopped to
wonder why they could still use the circles.
Dumbledore probably knew they had
the ability. Information probably gained from the
_Kibosh _clan master whom he
had been meeting in the Hog's Head. Their
_Ukatae_ circles were a big fat
fucking advantage, and strategy wise Dumbledore
should be making it harder on
them by cutting off their easy traveling abilities, and
it couldn't be a hard
thing to do to block the circles if he had the help of
the _Kibosh_ clan
master.
When Tom and Severus realized where they had
been brought, both grumbled in
displeasure at having been whisked away deep
within the Forbidden Forest.
Severus quickly gave up his protest when Hermione
caught his attention and
realized he didn't give a damn where they were. All
he cared about was making
sure he didn't waste away his alone time with the
witch.
Unaware of being abandoned, Tom looked around
and sneered at the useless
beauty he thought only nature could create. " It's
not enough that I had to
sit at the Gryffindor table today, but now you want
me to loiter in the
forest? Surely there were better places. We could
have done this in the
Chamber. Hermione and I were down there earlier
and it's quite suitable for
our gatherings." He looked around for Harry and
Draco to demand they change
the location, and hissed in annoyance when he saw
they were behind a tree
snogging as if they'd been separated for years. " Oh
have some restraint!" he
snapped at them even though he knew they
weren't listening.
He looked around for Severus, who would surely
agree with him, only to find
Severus and Hermione had quickly taken off behind
a nearby tree as well. At
least, he thought darkly, they weren't snogging.
Severus had his arms around
Hermione and held her tightly, but instead of
snogging, Hermione had her chin
lifted and the two were talking quietly to each
other.
For the first time in his life, Tom felt like a bloody
third wheel. How the
hell did it come to this when the Dark Lord was
made to feel like a third
wheel! He seethed inwardly as he took in the
surroundings. He sneered at Talyn
when he found her smiling quite cheerfully at him
and he was happy enough to
be completely ignored by Brumek. Falde and
Ozemir were talking privately, and
their conversation looked intense. Suddenly, Falde
adopted an accepting look
on his face and he gripped Ozemir's shoulder in
friendly understanding.
Tom's gaze returned to Brumek when the warrior
bit off a sudden growl. The
next growl escaped being swallowed and he barked
out, his voice rushing birds
out of the tops of trees around them. " Do not
touch him, Falde!" His shout
echoed around the clearing, drawing the attentions
of the previously occupied
couples.
Falde immediately removed his hand and looked
amused as Ozemir turned to look
disbelievingly at Brumek. Tom swallowed a chuckle
as Brumek took on a look of
surprise, as if he thought someone had possessed
him to use his voice.
Hermione cleared her throat to gain everyone's
attention as she stepped back
into the clearing with Severus. Brumek looked like
he wanted to be swallowed
up by the ground and she was very sympathetic
with him. Someone had to be.
" Now that we're all here who will be here tonight, I
suggest we do our
business before we can relax." She began to conjure
comfy chairs and lounges
for everyone, and only paused when Brumek, Falde,
and Severus looked at her
with disbelief.
" What?" she questioned them.
" What are you doing, young one?" Brumek asked.
" What it looks like. I'm making comfortable seating
arrangements. You didn't
expect us to sit in the dirt, did you? My brother
would have a fit." She
grinned cheekily at Tom, who simply nodded in
agreement with her. He would
_not_ be sitting in filth. " Here. For you." Hermione
conjured a tall high
backed chair for the surly warrior and smiled when
Ozemir began to laugh at
Brumek as the warrior peered back at Hermione
with something like disbelieving
horror.
" I don't want it." He growled and crossed his arms
over his chest.
" I'll take it." Tom said and summoned the chair to
sit it next to Hermione
and Severus' small love seat. Tom pushed a slack
jawed Severus down next to
his girlfriend before sitting himself. Harry and Draco
took a lounge seat
across from them. Draco reclined on it first before
Harry climbed on and
draping himself comfortably over his mate.
" Hermione did say business before pleasure."
Severus snapped at them.
" Let's start with you two then." Draco said and
gestured to Hermione and Tom,
completely ignoring Severus' implication that he
and Harry were sitting in an
inappropriate manner for a simple business
discussion. The _Ukatae_ guardians
stood a little back from them to keep watch around
them. Ozemir seemed more
agitated then normal with the way he was scanning
the area, and after what
he'd told Draco, the Slytherin could understand
why.
" I'd say it's fairly obvious." Tom drawled and turned
to Hermione. " We were
injected with blood from not one _Ukatae_, but
from two. We should have
expected this. _Ukatae_ are powerful and so is their
blood… We're _Ukatae_
now, correct?" he asked Falde.
" You've acquired enough _Ukatae_ blood to be
considered one and you can now
enter our cities." Talyn answered Tom before
turning to Harry and Draco. " I
thought it funny because it was the perfect first
move on your part, yet it
was unintentional."
" First move?" Harry asked curiously. Draco shot
Ozemir a look that was
returned with a nod.
" I believe you should go and have a talk with
Ozemir." He suggested and was
relieved when Harry did exactly that with no
question. As he turned back to
listen to Talyn's explanations of blood mixing, Draco
wondered how the
Gryffindor would react to everything Ozemir was
about to explain to him. There
really was no telling… Except for the part about
destroying the Scholar. Draco
knew how Harry was going to react to that. He
would be absolutely against it,
whereas Draco felt just the opposite. Unless there
was some way they could
stop the clan master from calling on Ozemir he
would have to be killed before
he killed them, even if killing Ozemir was the last
thing Draco ever wanted to
do. He was quite fond of the Scholar/Assassin. He
was certain he and Harry
would come to blows over that issue quite a lot.
" Open your mouth." Talyn instructed Hermione as
she knelt in front of the
Gryffindor witch. Draco looked over just as
Hermione gave the _Ukatae_ warrior
an irritated look.
" Sorry?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, and her
nose had risen in the air
as if she'd been asked to do something way beneath
her. Tom couldn't help but
smile. The more time he spent around his sister, the
more he loved her. Of
course any thought of love made him frown
ferociously. Draco looked over at
him as if sensing his thoughts and shot the Dark
Lord a grin, which was
returned with a silent narrow-eyed warning.
" Open your mouth." Talyn repeated.
It was only now Draco and Tom noticed how tense
their sister looked. She sat
on the edge of her seat, her back straight as a pole,
and her eyes were
troubled. Severus sat next to her but Hermione had
scooted away from him and
they were not touching in any way. And Hermione
had refused to meet his gaze
since she'd been deemed a _Ukatae_. Draco
frowned when he noticed the
concerned, evaluating look his godfather was giving
her. Hermione continued to
frown at Talyn, and didn't look like she was going to
open her mouth for
anyone. Severus suddenly sighed and reached out,
his fingers caressing the
back of her neck.
" Open your mouth for her, witch." He said softy in
her ear after pulling her
to his side. Draco realized the problem when
Hermione looked at Severus with
relieved eyes. She must have feared Severus would
be displeased in some way
about her becoming part _Ukatae_. Draco shook his
head. Honestly, Hermione
should know better by now.
She finally opened her mouth and went cross-eyed
as Talyn moved forward to
peer in. Draco, Severus, and Tom all moving
forward to see as well. Hermione
started to fidget in embarrassment when she
realized _everyone_ was staring
into her mouth.
" You see?" Talyn pointed to the elongated teeth in
Hermione's mouth. " You
never noticed your teeth?" she asked both Tom and
Hermione.
Hermione snapped her mouth closed and glared at
everyone as she backed away
from them, while Tom stepped back from the group
and ran the tip of his tongue
along the underside of his top teeth. The
exploration with his tongue stopped
when he felt the fangs. They were shorter then
Harry and Draco's, which is
probably why he hadn't noticed they were now
fangs. He looked back to his
sister and smiled softly upon seeing her sitting back
with a hand in front of
her mouth while she touched and prodded the new
fangs with a finger.
Tom turned back to Talyn. " You said perfect first
move? Explain that to me."
Draco jumped in before Talyn could answer. " We'll
have more support for when
we finally go to the _Ukatae_ realm. We are the…."
Draco turned to look at
Falde. " New blood line, are we not?"
" That is what we have come to discover." Falde
replied. He briefly glanced at
Brumek before he spoke again. " Ozemir recognized
the markings right away, his
previous training allowed him to gain a substantial
amount of knowledge, some
things only known by him and his clan. He also
recognized the ring as I did,
and now we know whom we're dealing with. We
are all in great danger."
Brumek stepped forward but did not speak. He
looked as if he wanted to say
something, or more likely he wanted to ask about
Ozemir's past, Draco thought
as he watched Brumek. But the warrior clench his
jaw shut and waited.
" Draco?" Hermione questioned. " He's not
suggesting what I think he's
suggesting… is he?"
" Depends on what you think he's suggesting. But if
you're thinking what I
think you're thinking, then yes."
" I bet Harry takes this head on." Tom said, having
been given enough clues
and effortlessly putting those clues together to
form the right conclusion.
" It's a lot to take in." Hermione said to him. " His
world has been flipped
upside down multiple times in a short while. He's
gone from being hated by
you, to being sought after by Dumbledore. And…"
" And now there is a _Ukatae_ villain to fight before
he and Draco can claim
their kingdom." Severus surmised.
" Empire." Draco corrected.
" The point is… If I were Harry I'd run in the opposite
direction screaming my
head off." Hermione finished.
" Not to mention we'll have to deal with Ozemir."
Draco twisted around to face
Falde. " You knew about Ozemir's past, Falde. How
was he chosen as one of our
guardians if he's a traitor?"
Brumek finally had enough of being silent and
stepped up to his leader. " What
does he mean, Falde?"
" Which part? The part about Draco and Harry
being-"
" No. I understood that well enough. Ozemir a
traitor? What nonsense is this?"
" Perhaps you should question Ozemir about it."
Draco said thoughtfully. " But
only after he's spoken with Harry."
" And what do you think about all this? This is about
you too, Draco. You have
the same markings." Hermione questioned.
" I can't be sure if I'm pleased with this, but…" He
grinned at Tom. " Who
wouldn't want world domination?"
" Oh please…" Severus sighed, and then raised an
eyebrow when Draco turned to
him with a completely serious look. " Really? World
domination, Draco?" The
blonde shrugged as if he were only joking, but he
and Tom did share a look of
sorts that made the Potion Master slightly nervous.
" Well if you do plan to take over the world, you'll
need to start making
lists, preparing your allies, things like that. I'll have
to make a list
listing all the lists you should begin to draw up-"
Hermione started in a
business like manner only to be silenced by Severus
who slapped a hand over
her mouth.
" Stop encouraging him, crazy witch!" He hissed in
her ear. " And pray he is
only joking."
" I'm ready to take this head on." Draco said at last
to Falde.
" You are nowhere near ready." Falde said firmly. "
But that is why we're
here. It is why I allowed Ozemir on our team. I have
known what he is and knew
what he could teach you if it turned out that you
and your mate had the
marks."
Draco took a moment to note Falde had just
confessed to knowing all this would
be happening. Falde seemed to already know the
_Kibosh_ clan master had in
fact survived and was still seeking his glorified
destiny. Falde somehow knew
Ozemir came from the _Kibosh_ and had placed the
Scholar on their team just
for that reason. They were going to need the skills
and secrets the assassin
could give them if they had any chance of defeating
this new enemy.
" NO WAY IN HELL!"
Hermione stood up in surprise as the yelled
statement echoed throughout the
forest around him. " What on earth was that?"
" That was Harry." Draco looked down to study his
nails. " Reacting to the-"
" There is no way in hell we're going to do that to
you! I can't believe you
would even suggest it!" Harry's voice had lowered
slightly, but they could
still hear him loud and clear as he charged back into
the clearing, with
Ozemir following slowly behind him. " We'll just
have to think of something
else." Harry marched back to them with firm
determination plastered all over
his face. Tom turned to Hermione and grinned.
" I told you. Head on." He said to her. She wrinkled
her nose at him before
turning back to Harry.
Harry spun around to look curiously at Ozemir who
was still a distance behind
him, due to Harry having charged off in outrage at
the suggestion he would
have to kill Ozemir in the end. " So does this clan
master have a name?" Harry
asked.
Ozemir stopped suddenly. His gaze sought out
Brumek before anyone else. As
soon as Brumek heard the name he would
understand everything and Ozemir would
cease being a barely tolerated annoyance. No, he
would be disdained and
loathed beyond measure by his intended mate.
Such a thought brought the
Scholar so much pain and it must have shown on his
face because Brumek took
one unconscious step towards him, his arm
stretched out to touch and soothe.
Ozemir halted that action by turning away to face
Harry again.
" His name is Demai'Tah. Clan master of the
_Kibosh_." From the corner of his
eye, Ozemir saw Brumek's grip tighten on the hilt of
his sword. He took a
breath. " And I am one of Demai's bonded disciples.
An assassin of the Cap of
Death."
Harry didn't think now was the time or place for
Brumek and Ozemir to come to
terms with their problems. He wanted more
information on this clan master guy.
" Ozemir?" he waited until he had the Scholars
complete attention. " What sort
of person is this Demai'Tah?" Ozemir opened his
mouth to respond, only to
widen his eyes in surprise before suddenly sprinting
towards the startled
Gryffindor.
" Move!" Ozemir yelled as he ran, but it was too
late. Harry was already
wrapped up in a web of freezing cold.
There was a roaring in Harry's ears as he was
suddenly enveloped by a numbing
chill and he vaguely heard the whispers of shouts
from his mate before a
smooth silky voice spoke against his ear.
" My name called three times. Surely I'm wanted
here."
Harry only had time to curse for being so stupid to
leave himself wide open,
before movement from Ozemir distracted him from
his panicked thoughts and from
the _Ukatae_ now standing behind him with a
wicked blade pressed into his
throat. Ozemir froze upon seeing the blade held
against Harry's pale skin.
" That's right, Ozemir. You know I will not hesitate."
The _Kibosh_ clan
master shifted his position, moving Harry along with
him in order to see
everyone within the clearing, and as he did his
blade bit further into Harry's
skin, nicking him. Harry hissed at the sting and
heard Draco growling his
rage. Falde leaped forward to grab Draco before he
could jump in to save his
mate.
" Everyone stay where you are." Falde called out.
Brumek and Draco voiced
their opposition to that order quite loudly. " We are
no match for him at this
moment! He's prepared and we are not." Falde
whispered to them. " And if we
provoke him he will use his magic against us. After
all this time, breaking
the Sacred Law must feel natural to him." Brumek
stilled and looked startled.
" I'd forgotten he would use his magic against us."
" What is the Sacred Law? And will it help remove
my mate from the clutches of
that arsehole?"
Ozemir slowly moved forward towards Harry and
Demai'Tah, speaking softly,
cutting off any reply Draco might have received.
" Why have you come here, Demai?"
" To meet the two young _Ukatae_ so much talked
about." Demai'Tah looked down
and softly cupped Harry's cheek with his free hand.
Harry felt his face being
tilted up, and he held his breath as his eyes met
cold cobalt eyes.
" You are quite lovely." He lowered his head until
his cheek rubbed against
Harry's and leered at Draco while the blonde
struggled to get away from his
guardians. "It is no wonder your mate wishes he
could shred me to pieces this
very moment."
" Eventually he will." Harry replied calmly.
" I do hope he tries." Demai'Tah softly laughed. "
What fun that will be."
Harry remained still and silent, recognizing a very
dangerous _Ukatae_ was
holding him hostage, and no amount of luck would
save Harry if he did
something stupid. Harry locked eyes with his mate.
_I'm okay, Draco. Calm
down. _
_You're asking the impossible. He's touching you...
He made you bleed, Harry!
_
Harry inwardly sighed as Draco doubled his efforts
to try to get free. Harry
glanced at his uncle and gave him a pleading look.
Severus understood and
moved forward, wrapping an arm around Draco's
neck and pulling the furious
blonde against his chest.
" You need to think smart if you want Harry to get
out of this unharmed."
Severus hissed in Draco's ear. " Now is not the time
nor the place for you to
lose control."
Demai'Tah smiled at his audience while running a
finger under the blade to
wipe up the drops of blood dripping from the cut on
Harry's neck. His eyes,
which were still connected with Draco's, brightened
in delight when he placed
the finger in his mouth to sample the blood.
" Oh yes. Lovely indeed."
" Please. Don't do this." Ozemir begged, his eyes
downcast as he continued to
inch forward some more. " Don't hurt the young
one."
Harry frowned and focused on Ozemir and watched
as the assassin came closer
still and was surprised and disappointed that
begging was all Ozemir could
think to do to help. Begging wasn't going to get
them anywhere with this guy,
even Harry understood that. But when Draco let out
a particularly loud snarl
and captured the _Kibosh_ clan master's entire
attention, Harry caught
Ozemir's eyes and they weren't begging at all. They
were hard, cold, and
determined. Harry found he was relieved by that
look.
" Ozemir." Demai's voice was firm and almost
warm, a tone a parent might use
on their child if they had broken a rule and he
returned his attention to his
bonded servant. Ozemir dropped his gaze back to
the floor, but his shoulders
tensed and squared as if he was preparing for
something. " Perhaps you have
been far too long from home. I shall have to remind
you of the ways of the
_Kibosh_."
Demai'Tah threw Harry away from him and
appeared instantly in front of Ozemir,
thrusting up and across with his sword. A trail of
crimson appeared following
the torn path of fabric and flesh left by the quick
swipe of the blade.
" Ozemir!" Harry yelled out before Draco wrenched
away from Severus and darted
forward. He quickly dragged Harry back to where
the others stood behind Falde,
Talyn, and Brumek.
During this the Scholar staggered back and
surprised everyone when he snarled
in annoyance before dropping to his knees to glare
petulantly at his clan
master. Ozemir's pale hands clutched at his torn
chest and stomach, while his
blood poured past his long elegant fingers. His
annoying hisses made Demai'Tah
laugh in delight. " I know you like the pain, Ozemir.
You always like the
pain."
" Don't move." Falde hissed to Brumek and
wrapped a hand around his arm to
keep him in place. " He won't kill Ozemir. He is not
here for that. But he
will react if provoked. Above all else, he needs
Ozemir to stay alive."
Demai'Tah walked towards Ozemir, both their faces
gone blank, each assassin
assessing the other, as they had not seen each
other in hundreds of years.
While this went on, everyone else studied the
_Kibosh_ clan master. Demai'Tah
was dressed similarly to Ozemir with the long tunic
and tight pants, though
the clan master's tunic was a bold blue, matching
the color of his eyes, and
he wore a heavy embroidered coat with gold lining
on over the tunic. His face
was like any _Ukatae_, pale and beautiful.
Misleading. The edge of his smile,
just like his sword, was sharp and deadly, and more
then a little twisted.
Unlike the others, Demai'Tah had grown a small
dark goatee, which was unusual
for a _Ukatae_. They generally disliked having facial
hair.
Similar to Brumek and Falde, the clan master also
had a scar running along the
side of his face and down his neck, though it wasn't
as pronounced as Brumek's
or Falde's. It looked like it might have been healed
and the faint line of the
scar was left there purposely as some sort of trophy
from a won battle. That's
what Harry was thinking anyway. He hissed in
annoyance when the cut on his
neck stung as he turned his head slightly. Draco
pulled him against his chest
and covered the wound with a trembling hand. He
wasn't sure if Draco was
trembling because of his fear about what could
have happened to Harry, or if
he was trembling in his fury. It was probably both.
When his cut was healed, he and Draco went back
to studying their new super
villain nemesis. Demai'Tah had adorned himself
with a large amount of gold as
well. Around his neck was a choker of gold that held
one dark stone at the
center, and a gold hairpiece kept his dark hair up in
a high ponytail. The
hilt of his curved sword was also gold, and several
more dark jewels adorned
that as well. Despite his rage, Draco was himself
enough to notice all this
and sneer at the gaudiness the entire ensemble
presented.
" That was foolish on your part." The clan master
finally spoke as he knelt
beside his disciple. Ozemir huffed out in irritation
before falling onto his
back, his breath beginning to become shallow and
rapid while his face was
becoming slick with perspiration.
Ozemir grumbled and glared at the tree canopy
above. " I don't know what
you're talking about." He responded faintly.
" I knew what you were doing, my prized pupil."
Draco's eyebrows rose in surprise. Ozemir had
boasted he was the best, but at
the time that's all Draco thought it was, a boast. But
if Demai'Tah was
calling the Scholar his prized pupil, then it hadn't
been a boast at all.
Ozemir had been stating a fact.
" Have you forgotten it was I who taught you
everything you know, young one?"
Demai caressed the white hair off Ozemir's pale
glistening face and began to
shake his head. " I always intended to let him go in
the end. You did nothing
but cause yourself unnecessary pain."
" How was I supposed to know you planned to let
the young one go?" Ozemir
snapped.
The clan master stood and his face suddenly
contorted as he sneered down at
his servant. " Perform the spells and heal yourself. I
will have use for you."
" What do you want then?" Harry asked.
Demai'Tah lifted his hands in an uncaring manner. "
To finally meet you, of
course. After everything told to me by the old
human, I was too curious to
stay away. I am also here to let Ozemir know he still
has a master he _must
_bow to. And I've come to measure up my enemy.
Now that I've seen you two, I
have come to a decision."
He began to walk towards Draco and Harry until the
blonde growled lowly. " I
don't care what kind of power you have. You take
one more step towards my mate
and I will have your blood drained, bottled, then
served to me for dinner."
Demai'Tah threw back his head and laughed with
incredulous humor, though Harry
was proud to note he did stop advancing upon
them. His mate may be young
compared to this wizened _Ukatae_, but Draco
could still pull a face of death
to make any being pause for thought of their safety.
And Demai'Tah had no way
of knowing exactly how powerful he and Draco
were. And neither did he now that
Harry thought about it. He and Draco wouldn't find
out the extent of their
power until their guardians began to train them.
" My decision is this!" Demai'Tah exclaimed in good
humor as he spun back
around towards Ozemir, who had propped himself
up on his trembling elbows to
watch the goings on. " I have decided this will be
the battle of all battles!
For such a battle I must have an enemy worthy of
my skill. I will leave you to
teach them. I will leave you alone until they have
progressed as far as they
can. And then we will have our fun."
Demai'Tah turned to study everyone once more.
Severus received a raised
eyebrow, but other then that he was of no interest
to the clan master.
Hermione and Tom were studied with as much
interest as Harry and Draco had
been. Falde received only a sneer and he eyed Talyn
curiously for only a
moment. But Brumek… Oh, Brumek was graced
with a sickeningly sweet smile.
" By the end of it all, for your treachery Ozemir, I
will wipe out everything
and everyone you hold dear." He laughed when
Brumek bared his fangs at him."
That was always your weakness, Ozemir." He turned
to stare down at his
prodigy. " You always allowed yourself to become
close to others… You enjoy
the presence of others. I could never beat that out
of you. And now I will use
it against you. In the end, your weakness will drive
you mad." Ozemir's eyes
darkened into red slits, and a growl followed the
baring of his fangs. The
clan master laughed yet again. " It's only a pity you
can't use that anger
against me as you wish. What a fight we could
have."
Demai'Tah drew in a deep breath, his face softening
as if the air was pleasing
to him, and then he vanished and was gone.
Ozemir sighed in relief before his elbows gave way
and his back hit the forest
floor. A whimper escaped him as he drew in a deep
breath, causing pain to
lance through his body. Brumek shook off Falde's
restraining hand and rushed
over as Ozemir placed his hands over the wound
and began to whisper words of
healing.
" What happened to your so-called brilliance?"
Brumek asked roughly as he
pressed his hands over Ozemir's to provide more
pressure for the long deep
gash. His gray eyes were fixed on Ozemir's pain
filled face. He was surprised
to find his hands were shaking just as much as
Ozemir's. " You should never
have let that demon get so close to you."
Ozemir managed a small laugh at this. " He took me
off guard, Brumek. He only
cut me to annoy me." His look turned serious as the
others approached them. "
Brumek. What you've learned about me… I'm sorry"
" I don't want to hear about that now." The warrior
quickly snapped. " For
once be still and quiet while you are healed."
A small pleased smile floated across his lips. He may
not be pleased that they
were mates, but Ozemir couldn't deny that he liked
it when Brumek ordered him
around, and even more, when the warrior
expressed his concern for him.
Talyn knelt down beside them and passed her hand
over Ozemir's eyes. " Sleep
now." The Scholar's body relaxed and went limp as
sleep instantly took him. "
I'm taking him to the school. You know where." She
said to Brumek and Falde. "
He stopped the bleeding himself, but the wound
still needs to be closed." She
finished just before she disappeared with Ozemir,
leaving a pale shaking
Brumek on his knees in the middle of the forest
staring blankly at the hands
that had just been touching Ozemir's.
Tom finally shook himself out of his stupor and
turned on Falde. " You!" He
pointed at the warrior as he marched over to him. "
I thought you said this
site was secure! That is your job, isn't it? To protect.
You said we would be
safe here, and yet you allowed that person to walk
in and grab Harry with the
greatest of ease." He fumed.
" That is why Demai'Tah is feared." Brumek
explained. " The _Kibosh_ can
travel through any barrier and they do it nearly
invisible. Ozemir was able to
sense him, but unfortunately it was too late to do
anything about it. When
dealing with Demai'Tah it is always too late."
" Wait." Said Tom and he pressed a finger to his
tight drawn smile that held
as much malice as possible and glared at Falde until
he could control his
temper. Finally he nodded and removed his finger,
but his eyes were still
blazing. " Let me get this straight. My brothers are
stuck with guards who are
helpless against their first real threat. Is that right?
Then what are you
here for if you can't protect them? Care to divulge
any other dangers you are
useless against? At least give us a warning so we
may try and help ourselves
the next time something like this happens!" Tom
looked like he could go on,
but Hermione quickly pulled him away from Falde,
who looked like he was easily
ignoring the Dark Lord's rant. Which did nothing to
calm Tom down.
" We should all get back to the castle. I want to
make sure Ozemir's okay."
Hermione said as she pulled him over to Harry and
Draco, along with Severus.
" Ozemir is the enemy now." Severus softly told her.
" Did you not understand
that part?"
" He's not my enemy yet." Harry put in. " And when
he is the enemy, I
understand he will not have a choice."
" And we will have no choice but to do what we
must do." Draco said to him in
the softest tone he could manage without it losing
the firmness of his
standing on the matter.
" We can find another way, Draco."
" What are you talking about?" Hermione asked. "
What is it you have to do?"
" Demai'Tah is the clan master of the _Kibosh_."
Falde said as he turned to
face her. " The _Kibosh_ are a clan known as the
Cap of Death, and they were
employed by the Royal clan as their assassins.
Ozemir was bonded to the
_Kibosh_ as a baby, to be raised as a member."
" Ozemir is an assassin?" Hermione turned to Harry
and Draco with wide eyes
and they both nodded.
" _Was_ an assassin. It's been five hundred years
since he put that occupation
to use. Five hundred years since anyone has seen
Demai'Tah alive."
" Care to explain how you know all of this?" Draco
asked. " You seem to know
more then Ozemir, and considering his past and
present, that is quite a thing
to achieve."
" Yeah. You talk like you knew this Demai'Tah guy
had been alive the entire
time." Harry said as he studied Falde.
" I am not the one up for discussion, young one."
Falde then turned back to
Hermione, shooting a quick glance at Brumek as he
did so. Brumek stood a few
feet away from the group and had his back to them,
but Falde knew he was
hearing every word. " We were discussing Ozemir."
He said to Hermione, who was
listening with rapt attention. " He is bonded into
servitude to the clan
master of the _Kibosh_. When the clan master
instructs his bonded disciples to
do something, they must obey.
" A ritual is performed at infancy, bonding the
young one to the clan master.
The spells used in this ritual are… barbaric," Falde
spat the word, " and
should have been outlawed. But they were used
because the Bloodline wanted it.
Though it's a well guarded secret."
Brumek turned around to face all of them and his
eyes looked tired, his voice
strained. " When Demai'Tah orders one of his slaves
to do something, the
assassin must do it, will do it and only death will
stop them from completing
that mission." Brumek stared off into the forest. "
Only death." His whispered
hoarsely.
Hermione gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes
wide with horror. Severus
looked pointedly at Harry, Tom, and Draco before
putting an arm around
Hermione's shoulders. " I think that's enough
excitement for one day. You will
all return to the school or I will have to take points."
" No need to threaten points, Severus. We will go."
Tom nodded for Harry to
make up the circle and everyone gathered around
him. Harry gave Brumek another
clear look of warning before he and his friends
disappeared. Falde and Brumek
followed closely after. Both lost in their own
thoughts.
***
A/N: So yeah, that was exciting, wasn't it? For all my
Brumek/Ozemir lovers, i
hope you liked this chapter. And don't worry, more
will follow. I realize its
been longer then normal between my postings, but
that's because i've been
popping out longer chaps, and i'm down in Texas
visiting, so socializing with
the friends i miss is also a priority of mine now
before i have to return to
Washington.
I've begun making plans to write an original story
using my _Ukatae
_characters, so as this story progresses and we dive
deeper into the _Ukatae
_world, it would be cool to get some feedback on
what you like and don't like
about the _Ukatae _characters and their world.
In a recent review, someone asked me how to
pronounce _Ukatae_. I completely
forgot to inform you of the proper pronunciation.
So here goes:
**_Ukatae_- **you-ka-tay. Pretty simple, right?
**Demai'****Tah- **dim-I-tah
Want to know anything else, please let me know. I
hope you enjoyed this chap.
Have a great day!
4. Field Trip
**Life Agendas**
**Chapter Four**
**Field Trip**
Everyone returned to Draco's dorm after leaving the
forest. Conveniently the
head dorm in Slytherin contained its own little
common room. The gatherings
could have been held here, but no one wanted to
take the chance in case they
missed a spell Dumbledore might have placed and it
really wasn't suitable for
some of the things they planned to do during the
gatherings.
Falde motioned for silence as he checked for
surveillance spells. There were
two, and everyone was able to relax once those
spells were easily disabled, as
much as they could under the new light of things.
Hermione sat on the couch
and stared off into nothingness, tonguing her fangs
absently now and then as
she pondered their new situations.
Harry let out a frustrated growl, " I can't believe
this!" and he kicked the
coffee table and sent it crashing into the wall.
" We'll figure this out." Hermione said and she
pulled him down next to her.
Severus scowled at Harry's behavior while he
repaired the damaged inflicted
upon the table and the part of the wall it hit while
Tom lounged in his own
chair with his head tipped back and eyes closed. He
looked like he couldn't
care about anything that was going on at the
moment.
Draco watched Harry for a moment, and frowned
when Harry ran a shaking hand
through his hair. He imagined his lover was finally
coming to terms with
everything they had just learned and now the shock
was beginning to set in. He
was prepared to go and pull the Gryffindor out of
that useless state right
quick, but first he wanted a word with Falde.
" What's the Sacred Law?" he asked.
" Oh yes!" Hermione said as she perked up. " I
wanted to ask that as well."
Harry turned his attention to Falde, as did Tom. The
Dark Lord opened his eyes
and glared at Falde with interest. It seemed he was
still angry with the
_Ukatae_ for the fact that at present the guardians
could not protect them
from Demai'Tah. Severus remained quiet though he
did turn interested eyes on
the _Ukatae_.
" In simplest terms, the Sacred Law decrees
_Ukatae_ will never use their
magic against any person when in any type of
battle."
" That doesn't seem fair." Harry said.
" It doesn't seem particularly smart either." Came
Tom's opinion. " Surely you
fight other beings who will use magic against you in
a battle?"
" In battle we can use magic to protect ourselves
and for those skilled enough
weapons with magical properties can also be used."
Explained Falde. " But to
use magic in any other way against someone in
battle usually has serious
repercussions for the _Ukatae_ who is casting. And
if _Ukatae_ use their magic
against other _Ukatae_… You could not imagine the
destruction it would cause.
The destruction it has caused. The force of our
magic is so great… It isn't
the same as wizarding magic. I'm sure Ozemir will
explain it later in much
more detail."
" So… No magic." Draco repeated. Falde and
Brumek nodded. He stared blankly
back at them.
" You have another question?" Brumek finally
snapped when Draco continued to
stare without blinking.
" I'm just wondering how in hell do you expect us to
win against that
buggering psycho if not with magic."
" Magic isn't the only way he fights, young one."
Falde's answer was vague and
Draco lifted an eyebrow. He didn't like when people
gave you an answer that
really wasn't one.
" He was so fast and he used that sword like it was
another arm." Harry
answered. " We'll have to learn how to fight with
weapons."
" Combat training?" Hermione questioned with a
raised eyebrow.
Everyone turned wary when Brumek suddenly
broke out into a malicious grin. "
That's when my fun starts."
Harry groaned. " Oh my gods, we're going to die.
He's going to kill us. Forget
about the clan master. Brumek's got our asses
first!"
Draco turned around with a laugh just as Harry
pinched the bridge of his nose.
He noticed Harry's hand was still shaking. Without
saying anything else Draco
went to him and tugged on his hand until Harry
stood and followed into the
bedroom.
" You're shaking." Draco said after shutting the door
behind them.
" Yeah. Can't help it." Harry said with a shrug. "
There's a lot to be afraid
about. I'm not ashamed to admit it."
" I am in perfect agreement." Draco spoke as he
crossed the room to his
wardrobe while Harry shrugged out of his outer
robe and went to the bathroom.
When he came out Draco was sitting at his desk,
writing a letter.
" A letter to Lucius?"
" Yes." Answered the blonde, and then he looked at
his mate. " I've said hello
to Sirius for you. And that's yours on the bed."
" Thanks for Sirius." Harry turned to the bed, and
bounced softly on his toes
when he saw what was on it. " Merlin Draco, you
are my one and only savior!"
Draco hid his blush by returning to his letter. "
Sweet talker."
Harry grinned as he grabbed the garment off the
bed to hold it out in front of
him. " This is exactly what I wanted right now."
Draco turned back and watched his mate quickly
remove his shirt before
stretching his wings out with a happy purr as he
snatched the large black silk
shirt off the bed. The top was one of the articles of
clothing bought in Paris
modified with slits in the back to accommodate
Harry's wings. Draco went
overboard as usual and bought more then enough
shirts like this in the large
size because Harry was partial to his shirts being
baggy now that he had
wings. Draco bought an assortment of colors, as
well as large sizes and a few
that would fit Harry perfectly. Half were with
Harry's other belongings in the
Gryffindor tower, but Draco had been sure to pack
the other half for his room,
knowing Harry would be spending most of his free
time there because it
afforded them the privacy they wouldn't find
anywhere else.
" I never imagined how stifling it would be. Keeping
my wings under. Even with
the spell it starts getting on my nerves." Harry
buttoned the last button and
then flopped down on his stomach to stare at
Draco's straight back. The git's
posture was always perfect.
" I had guessed."
There were a few moments of silence that passed in
which the only noise in the
room was their soft breathing and the continuous
scratching of Draco's quill
as he completed his letter.
" I think I'm going to the manor tomorrow." Harry
sat up to sit on the edge of
the bed. " Something is going to happen to Luna's
father tomorrow… I gather
that's when he's going to die. And I have this
strange feeling something's
going to happen to Luna as well. Even if I'm wrong
about something happening
to her, I still want to be there for her if her dad does
die."
Draco did not respond until his letter was complete,
which wasn't all that
long after Harry spoke. " I think that's a good idea.
She'll need the
support." He replied while tucking the letter into an
envelope
And that's all he said. Harry looked at him with
suspicion. " That's it? That
can't be it." He said when Draco nodded. " You're
never this civil when
speaking about Luna. Where are your insults,
Draco?"
" I don't have any. Tom said something that made
sense, and he convinced me
she can't be," Draco grimaced, but at least it was a
small one, " all bad."
" It only took Tom saying something for you to
realize that?" Harry looking
insulted. " You'll listen to Tom about her, but you
wont listen to me?" Harry
sounded hurt and angry, and his glamour dropped
as his anger grew.
Draco sighed and rubbed his forehead. Harry was
looking for a fight; he was
looking deliciously hot and looking for a fight. Draco
also let his glamour
drop as he stood to face his mate.
" You're making too much out of this." He began. "
You want to argue because
you're scared and you want to vent."
" No, I'm angry because you seem to listen to
everyone but me. You're
listening to Ozemir instead of me."
" What are you talking about?"
Harry's eyes flashed in anger when Draco sighed as
if he couldn't care in the
least what Harry was talking about. " Ozemir says to
kill him and you ask
when. I bet you didn't even wait until he finished
speaking before you
agreed!"
" And you would be wrong, as usual."
A growl filled the room as Harry's eyes widened.
Draco turned away to hide his
grin and began to empty his pockets of anything
that might cause harm if a
body part was suddenly slammed against it. He then
began to unbutton the top
of his shirt while his grin grew as the sound of
Harry's growling escalated.
" Are you seriously going to start acting like a
bastard right now?"
" I'm going to ignore your childish behavior because
I know you're
distraught." Draco said as he turned around, the
grin slipping off as he
turned.
" Distraught!"
Draco's eyes widened in pleasure when Harry's
wings rose off his back suddenly
and stiffly in irritation, and then the Slytherin
braced himself with sweet
anticipation as his mate launched at him, intent on
having a bloody brawl.
The small common room fell silent in surprise and
all eyes turned to stare at
the closed bedroom door when someone shouted
within followed quickly by the
sound of something hitting the ground with a loud
thump. Followed by more
shouts and blows.
" Oh lord, they're at it again." Tom moaned.
" You are wrong." Brumek stated in amusement. "
Fighting is what they are
doing."
Severus snorted. " That was a record. Knew it was
coming soon."
Hermione giggled. " Yeah, they haven't fought in a
while."
Everyone turned away from the bedroom, intent on
leaving the mates alone to
hash it out on their own. They were happy to be
distracted from the sound of
fists hitting flesh when the entrance opened to
Talyn. She smiled softly as
she entered.
" Is he well?" Brumek demanded once she'd
stepped inside.
" Well enough." Talyn responded with a small smirk.
" His sleep is natural
now."
" I don't care about that. What about his wound?"
" He's well and perfectly healed."
" Fine." Brumek seemed satisfied enough with that
and stepped back.
Falde eyed the warrior a moment before looking at
Talyn. " You post here.
We'll return in a few moments."
Talyn nodded before plopping down on the armrest
of Tom's chair. He took one
look at her and pushed her off with a scowl just as
Falde and Brumek moved
into the deserted hallway.
Once the door was shut behind them, Falde pierced
Brumek with a searching
look. " You understand he had no choice." He began
slowly.
Brumek scowled back. " I wish you would all stop
thinking I'm a complete fool!
I know how the _Kibosh_ and other clans operate. I
know Ozemir went through
that ritual before he was old enough to make a
choice."
Brumek spun away from him and stared at the
closed door of the common room. "
I never wanted to have a mate. I am content with
my life without one." He
murmured. " I have yet to recover from the shock of
finding I actually have a
mate in this world, and now I find my mate must
die." The warrior turned back
to his leader with a sharp look. " Who decided he
would die?"
Falde sighed and raised a calming hand. " Brume-"
" Who decided?" Brumek crowded into Falde's face.
" Was it you?" he fairly
growled.
" Ozemir decided!" Falde barked. He backed up and
rubbed his forehead before
sighing in resignation. " He knows his duty to the
new blood!"
Brumek couldn't help it. He sneered. " He's an
assassin, Falde. What does he
know of duty to any blood?"
Falde frowned, but the blazing of his teal eyes told
Brumek he was more then
angry at Brumek's comment. The amount of passion
Falde was showing for Ozemir
was setting Brumek on edge. He was starting to feel
threatened, and when
threatened he became violent. But Brumek knew
becoming violent at the moment
would not solve anything and he had too much to
worry about already without
getting into it with his commanding officer.
" It doesn't matter to him that his first master is
Demai'Tah. The new blood
is what matters now and he knows it!" Falde tilted
his head to the side and
peered at the younger warrior." You don't know
what he tried to do that night
before he was made to commit treason, do you?"
" How should I know?"
" He and many other assassins tried to take their
own lives in order to stop
their parts in the Revolt."
Brumek stepped back in surprise. Falde nodded and
went on. " They tried to
take their lives instead of having to betray the
Empire. Tried and failed.
Failed because their bond to the clan forbade them
from doing anything that
would keep them from completing the mission."
" I didn't know that." Brumek said in the softest
tone Falde had ever heard
the warrior use.
" His bond to the clan and to Demai'Tah is sealed,
there is no changing it.
And for Ozemir there is no going against it. He
knows this, and he knows the
only way to stop himself from killing the new blood
is to be killed before he
can do it." Falde ended.
" I can't accept that now."
The corner of Falde's mouth lifted smugly. " So you
have accepted your match
then?"
" I never said that. Don't put words into my mouth!"
Brumek glared at Falde's
smile. " But I will not allow Ozemir to die and so the
solution is simple."
Falde's smile widened while he crossed his arms
over his chest. " The solution
is?"
" I will kill Demai'Tah and Ozemir will never have to
worry about him again."
Falde's smile flattened. " Demai'Tah would
slaughter you. Ozemir could
slaughter you…and don't misunderstand." Falde
quickly said when Brumek's eyes
narrowed into slits. " At this time, it would almost
be impossible to defeat
either of them in combat. Nor could any of us stand
a chance against
Demai'Tah's magic."
Brumek's eyes grew dark with determination. "
Then we train."
" Yes. We will train and prepare ourselves. And we
begin as soon as Ozemir is
well enough."
" Ozemir is well enough now." Brumek growled in
response. " Talyn said he's
healed. There is no reason for you to treat him like
a baby."
" Brumek… I know you're mind is heavy-"
" I'm in perfect control of my emotions. And since
you are not his mate you
have no say in this matter." Brumek scowled when
the corner of Falde's mouth
rose again.
" But we'll need weapons for the young ones. All
the young ones."
In the darkened hallway, Brumek grinned, his eyes
brightened by the prospect
of combat training and new weapons to acquire. " I
know just where to go."
Brumek Shadowed his way into the quarters he and
the others secured for their
stay within the castle. He paced the living area
before hovering in the open
doorway of Ozemir's room where the slighter elf lay
sleeping on his back.
" Ozemir! Get up!" He yelled as soon as his eyes
rested on the pale naked
torso. He did not need to be distracted right now. "
Open your eyes now!"
The Scholar's head shot up from his pillow and he
squinted blearily at the
figure filling the doorway. He slowly raised himself
onto his elbows. " I
assume you have good reason for waking me."
Brumek frowned at the Scholar's flat tone, but
decided not to address that
issue at the moment." You are the demon Dagon.
The Assassin never seen
before." It was a statement, and the fact that
Brumek said it without a doubt
had Ozemir staring at him in shocked
speechlessness before he suddenly
frowned.
" I think you are mistaken. Dagon does not exist."
" He does." Brumek strode over to the bed, and as
he did he prayed Ozemir had
clothes on from the waist below. He locked eyes
with Ozemir as he wrenched the
sheet off him. When the temptation to look was too
great, he sighed in relief
to find Ozemir in black pants of some material that
draped over his legs like
silk. Ozemir huffed his displeasure.
" You were so afraid to see something. I had no idea
I was so disgusting to
you."
Brumek studied the Scholar's face, wondering if he
should tell the truth and
erase the Scholar's ridiculous assumption.
" Brumek?"
" Do not take it as an insult." He said thickly before
yanking Ozemir out of
the bed and steadying the swaying Scholar on his
feet. " The truth is I was
afraid to see something that might make me lose
control."
Ozemir's pout instantly faded and he watched
Brumek curiously. " Do you wish
to see more?"
" Now is not the time for this. Ozemir, I know you
are Dagon."
Ozemir sighed. " Why do you think so?"
" Everyone knows the demon Dagon was the
_Kibosh_ clan master's greatest
student. And now I know you are his greatest
student."
" Look there, he can add." Ozemir laughed when a
scowl was returned for that.
He turned away to find another tunic among the
belongings he'd brought,
silently cursing Demai for ruining his last one. " And
why are you inquiring
about the demon?"
Brumek ginned, having been reminded why he was
there in the first place. " The
young ones need weapons. Good weapons. And
Falde says we'll be teaching the
siblings as well."
" More young ones. This will be fun." Ozemir
bounced joyfully on the balls of
his feet after he found his shirt.
Brumek rolled his eyes. " Talyn thinks they have
exchanged enough blood with
Harry and Draco and eventually the _Ukatae_ blood
will take over completely."
Ozemir slipped on the white tunic and turned to
face Brumek. " And again, what
does this have to do with Dagon?"
Brumek stepped closer. " As I've said, they are going
to need good weapons to
learn with, and eventually wield. It is rumored the
demon Dagon has a
collection of treasures and a horde of rare weapons
he's procured from his
vast amount of victims. But no one knows who this
demon is or where such a
treasure could be found, if it even exists."
" It exists." Ozemir whispered as Brumek took
another step closer.
" And will you show me?"
" I think…" Ozemir began slowly, " you are being
nice only because you want to
get your hands on Dagon's special weapons?"
" Of course." Brumek smiled when Ozemir began
laughing.
" Fine then." Ozemir playfully pushed against
Brumek's chest. " You've
convinced me. I'll take you. But only because I like
you." He stepped around
Brumek to locate his boots and felt the warrior's
gaze on his back as he moved
around.
Finally locating his boots he bent to pick them up
and smiled slightly when he
heard Brumek's quick intake of breath. It was a
small comforting thought to
know should they complete the bond by mating, it
wouldn't be a displeasure for
the warrior. A shame it didn't really matter now.
Ozemir did not plan to carry
the bond along any further by mating, not when his
time in this world was
almost complete. Keeping Brumek at arms length
was the best course of action,
even if it pained him to do so.
Once his boots were on he headed for the door. "
We need to get the young ones
now and be on our way. We must get to my trove
by sunset."
Falde returned to the common room after Brumek
went off… somewhere. Talyn was
talking with the girl and her brother about what
they could expect in the next
few days.
" This is really unprecedented so expect anything."
" That is not helpful." Tom replied to her. He winced
when there was a
particularly loud bang against the door, but the
following moan was of a
completely different tone then before.
Severus was quickly able to make his escape after
that, thanking all the gods
in the universe for sending the house elf with a
letter informing him the
headmaster was calling for a staff meeting. He
managed to send a regretful
look at Hermione before practically skipping away.
" Oh for the love of…" Hermione muttered when
Draco yelled out in obvious
pleasure, followed by Harry's low husky laugh. She
whipped her wand out and
pointed at the door and cast a strong silencing spell
along the entire length
of the wall.
" I'm going to meet some prefects, see if we can
come up with more house unity
ideas." She said as she stood.
Tom dropped his head back and nodded. He would
be comfortable here alone in
the common room, as long as that silencing spell
held for eternity. He had no
intention of returning to the dorm he had to share
and socialize with the
simpletons that were his classmates. In fact the only
time he planned to
return to that room was to sleep.
" What else is expected of my brothers?" he asked
Falde as the warrior moved
across the room. Falde stopped and faced him. " I'm
sure they have more to do
then kill the clan master. Even after they kill him,"
Tom went on with all
confidence in his siblings, which brought a smile to
Falde's lips, " they'll
have to fight for what is there's. They will have to
prove themselves,
correct?"
" Yes. But it must be done before Demai'Tah is
confronted." Falde said as he
moved around to sit opposite Tom. " Our nation
must be brought together or
Demai'Tah will use our nation divided against us
and them."
Tom's fingers began to tap on the edge of the
armrests as he quietly studied
Falde, while the warrior did the same. Finally
leaning forward, Falde said, "
You are a young one, and yet you are not. We know
who you were and are. I
think you have lived long enough to realize why
they must face the Empire
first."
Tom nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Falde. "
Yes I see."
" Do you plan to stand with them?"
" Yes. When they need me."
Falde nodded, very pleased with this. Despite being
a human, Lord Voldemort
was a force to be reckoned with. The young ones
would not suffer from his
support.
The bedroom door finally opened and Harry walked
out grinning from ear to ear.
Tom thought he looked like an idiot, what with the
black eye he was sporting.
" Harry, why do you have a black eye?"
" Oh." Harry tenderly touched the bruised area. "
Draco refused to heal it for
me."
" Why don't you heal it?" Falde asked as the young
one took a seat beside him.
" Because I like it when he does it."
" And why won't he do it again?" Tom asked.
" Says I deserve it for-"
" Pulling my bloody hair out!" Draco snapped as he
left the room and sent a
half glare Harry's way.
" It was only one little strand." Harry lied as Draco
moved to stand in the
corner with his arms crossed over his chest content
to glare at everyone.
" It was more then one, Harry…" Draco glared as his
mate approached.
Falde turned and arched an eyebrow at Tom. "
Draco is in love with his hair."
" You do realize you lose more hair then that from
standing in the wind, or
every time you and your mate do what you were
just doing…." Falde said in
amusement. Tom started to chuckle when Draco's
eyes went wide in horror and
Harry spun around and hissed, " shut up!" before
turning back and waving in
Draco's pale face to get his attention.
Harry embraced Draco and pressed his face against
the blonde's neck, whose
pulse jumped in a delicious frenzy." That's not true.
He doesn't know what
he's talking about! Look at his hair. He obviously
doesn't take care of it…"
He murmured against Draco's throat, hoping Draco
couldn't hear the grin in his
voice. He wasn't sure Draco heard him and was
extremely grateful when Ozemir
and Brumek entered the dorm.
" Let's go." Brumek said at once, his brusque tone
for once being ignored.
Ozemir hurried over to Harry and Draco and stood
beside them.
" What happened to your eye, young one?" Ozemir
pinned Draco with a stare. "
And why is it not healed?"
" I pulled his hair. I knew better."
Draco sighed and placed two fingers on the bruised
area. " You were being
particularly vicious in there." He said while applying
gentle pressure to heal
Harry's eye.
" Good. He's healed. Let's go." Brumek said again.
Everyone turned as he
looked at Ozemir pointedly. The Scholar turned and
smiled excitedly at Harry
and Draco.
" Yes, I'm taking you to Dagon's Treasure! We must
leave now to find your
sister."
" Dagon's Treasure… Ozemir, I don't think-" Falde
began.
" They'll be fine with me. I swear."
" Talyn and I-" Falde began, only to be interrupted
by Ozemir again, this time
in a hard voice.
" No." Every one looked to see Ozemir's face hard
as stone as he stared back.
" Brumek and the four I am to train will be going. No
one else gets near."
" Ozemir…"
" This isn't negotiable." He went on in a low voice. "
And if you try and
track me, I will know it."
Harry looked back and forth between Falde and
Ozemir, both looking locked in
determination. " What's Dagon's Treasure? Who's
Dagon?"
" Just let them go." Talyn finally said. " Ozemir and
Brumek will keep them
safe. And if they're going to Dagon's Treasure,
there's sure to be no one
there but the six of them. It's said not even
Demai'Tah knows the location of
Dagon's Treasure."
" That's a fact." Ozemir said. " And it's going to stay
that way."
In the end Falde reluctantly agreed and Tom, Harry,
and Draco were ushered
into Shadow and Tom informed them Hermione
was off meeting prefects somewhere.
" Right. So we should stay in Shadow." Draco said.
Ozemir nodded and they
faded out of the common room.
Hermione sat in the library with the seventh year
Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw
prefects. She was impressed with the way the
prefects embraced the idea of
finally uniting the houses and by their
determination to see it work. All had
come up with good ideas to bring the houses
together and she couldn't wait to
start some of them.
" Even though we don't have much time in advance
to plan it out perfectly, I
think your idea is brilliant, Ian." She told the
Ravenclaw and everyone made
sounds of agreement. " And it really doesn't have to
be perfect since it's
going to be very casual."
" Yeah, it's more fun if it seems spur of the
moment." Susan agreed. " I think
it will work out and the students will have fun."
Hermione looked around and smiled back at all the
smiles aimed her way. " So
it's settled. Tomorrow we'll have a Welcome Back
picnic around the lake."
" What about the other prefects from Gryffindor
and Slytherin?" someone asked.
" The Slytherins are invested in seeing the Houses
united just as much as we
are. I promise. And my House is the same."
Hermione caught movement from the corner of her
eye and was surprised to see
her brothers along with Brumek and Ozemir within
a Shadow a few feet away
waving her over.
She turned back to her prefects. " All right. I'll make
a trip to the kitchens
and alert the house elves to which foods we'll need
plenty of. I might come
and find you later on, should I think of anything else
we would need." Without
waiting for a reply, Hermione left the prefects and
walked away to the back,
where the Shadow had disappeared. She saw them
waiting in a darkened corner.
" What's going on?" she asked when she was inside
the Shadow
Harry grinned. " We're going on a field trip."
Ozemir nodded. " We're going by Shadow and not
the circle. Our travel time
will be longer in Shadow then what you two are
used to. So prepare for that."
He said to Harry and Draco before turning to
Hermione and Tom. " The Shadow is
like the circle in that it will surround you like mist.
But the similarities
end there. When traveling by Shadow you'll feel
suffocated and your first
reaction will be to hold your breath. This is what
you should not do. Take a
deep breath even if it feels your body is frozen. And
keep breathing. It
becomes easier, I assure you. Understand?" He
grinned when everyone nodded. He
brought his hands together and began rubbing
them.
" Oh, and you must keep hold of your magic." He
said seriously, pinning each
one of them with a stare. They all nodded. But
Brumek was frowning down at the
four students.
" This is important and it is harder then it sounds.
The Shadow works by
pulling your magic and feeding off it. Keep a strong
hold and don't let any
get passed the Shadow as it feeds."
" That does sound hard, especially if the Shadow is
already pulling at it."
Harry murmured.
" This will probably make it worse, but why do we
need to do this?" Hermione
asked timidly. " I take it this is not a normal thing
you have to worry about
when using a Shadow for travel."
" We're going somewhere only Ozemir knows the
location. We must take care to
shake off all Demai'Tah's tracking spells that will
immediately activate when
we leave the school grounds. Your magic, should
you not contain it, will
interfere with our magic as we fight off the tracking.
Should it take longer
then necessary and we're in Shadow for too long,
we'll be trapped and the
Shadow will slowly devour all of our magic until we
perish."
" So no pressure." Draco said blandly as Harry
reached out to grip his hand.
" I warned you the question would probably make it
worse." Hermione said with
an apologetic look on her pale face. She really
shouldn't have asked. Everyone
was much better off not knowing they could die if in
Shadow for too long.
" Ready?" Ozemir looked around, his eyes wide in
excitement.
" I can do it." Tom said in a bored tone, before
looking at Harry.
" I've never really been good at multi tasking, but
I'm going to try." Harry
said in determination
" Multitasking?" Hermione asked.
" We have to remember to keep breathing and be
sure to keep a tight leash on
our magic. That's a multi-task."
Hermione's mouth formed a silent but long
pronounced ooh. Before anyone could
speak again, Ozemir rubbed his hands together
once again, and cheerfully
cried, " Here we go!" There was no time for anyone
but Ozemir to brace
themselves before he activated the Shadow to
travel.
At first the transfer was very difficult for the
Hogwarts students, especially
for Hermione, who had never used the Shadow.
Tom had never been in Shadow
either, but he had been through many things in his
life that Hermione had not,
and it never took him long to adapt to any situation.
Somehow he felt her
panicked fear and quickly sought out her hand in
the dark, reaching in the
direction he last saw her standing in. It was easier
to keep breathing when he
found her hand, easier to concentrate on
restraining his magic, and he felt it
was the same for Hermione as well. Along with the
roaring winds passing by
there was also a low-pitched whine that pealed in
their ears. The whine was at
such a frequency that it was very painful to hear for
the four full-blooded
_Ukatae_.
A shrill cry pierced the roar of the winds around
them, a cry like a wounded
hawk that seemed to come from a great distance
away to reach their ears and
Brumek started chanting words, his voice low, the
words rumbling deep,
sweeping out and away like thunder. He chanted for
what seemed like forever to
Harry, until suddenly the horrible whine in his ears
cut off and he welcomed
the lonely roar of the wind whipping past him.
Suddenly they were all jarred off their feet and the
Shadow disappeared around
them, leaving every one to rub their eyes, letting
their visions get used to
the surrounding scenery.
Brumek growled as he stood up. " A warning next
time!" He snapped as he bent
down to help the Scholar up. Ozemir's eyes
widened when he realized what
Brumek was doing and he quickly slapped the hand
away before getting up
without help.
" I have asked you!" Draco yelled. " That was bloody
fucking hard! You could
have counted to three or something to prepare us.
How many times do I have to
ask?"
" I do apologize." Ozemir stepped away from
Brumek and turned away from the
students, hiding his movement from everyone as he
held out his arm to study
the damage inflicted by Demai'Tah's retaliation. " Is
every one well and
accounted for?" He only wanted a glance at the
wound to assess the damage, and
then he would ignore it until he could tend to it
privately. No need to get
anyone more riled up then they already were.
" We're good."
" Where are we?" Hermione asked as they all
turned in circles, looking at the
jungle surrounding them.
" India." Ozemir replied.
He pulled the scorched sleeve down over the burn
running from the wrist to his
elbow on the underside of his arm. He wondered
how he could mask the scorch
mark on his tunic. That would surely draw attention
and he knew it was a
blessing Brumek had not seen it. That was the only
reason he hadn't wanted
Brumek's help. Otherwise he would have been
flattered at Brumek's
thoughtfulness.
At least for a few minutes no one was paying him
any mind, as the deserted
area around was a well enough distraction. Quickly
and with hardly any motion,
he weaved a small glamoured web and watched it
lower and fix itself over the
burn marks, leaving a perfectly clean white sleeve.
He had just finished when
Brumek marched up to him.
" Where is it then? We're in the middle of India,
Ozemir. In the middle of the
gods forsaken jungle. I hate this place! Do you
realize how many battles I've
fought here?" He hissed.
Ozemir turned concerned eyes on him." I- I
apologize, Brumek. I was not aware
you fought in the Attal Resistance. I would not have
brought you here had I
known." Ozemir clasped his hands behind his back
and walked forward, his soft
quick footsteps echoing on what was left of the
broken demolished stone floor
of the temple long ago destroyed. " Follow."
And he continued to walk briskly onward, moving
off the stone to a narrow dirt
path barely used to the edge of the trees. Moving
through a small section of
the jungle they climbed up a fairly short but steep
hill, and stopped at the
top where the path brought them out on a rising
where they could turn around
and look down to have a clear view of where'd they
arrived.
" The last light of the day." Ozemir whispered as he
produced a bronzed
double-sided mirror.
" Where the bloody hell did that come from?" Harry
asked when he turned and
noticed Ozemir close his eyes while grasping the
mirror with each hand.
Everyone turned and gathered around the Scholar
and watched the mirror as it
began to enlarge while Ozemir whispered a chant.
The mirror grew to three
times its length and width, and Hermione wondered
how Ozemir was still able to
hold it over his head. The mirror looked terribly
heavy.
" Not exactly aesthetically pleasing, is it?" Draco
said to Harry, indicating
the carved demon heads and horns making up the
bronzed frame, as well as the
skulls with mouths open in silent screams. All the
eyes of every demon and
skull were filled in with blood red rubies.
" I'm inclined to disagree." Tom said as he eyed the
mirror, wondering if
there were any chance he would ever be able to
procure that mirror or one like
it for his own collection. He could feel the power
pulsing from it. A power
Tom had never felt before.
" Stand back, please." Ozemir said as he glanced
over his shoulder at the
setting sun. They all obeyed and watched as he
faced the destroyed temple site
and whispered, just as the tip of the sun was all that
was left above the
horizon, " the last light of the day."
Hermione gasped as she looked back at the sun as
the last light in the sky
gathered together in one blast of light and speared
forwards towards the
center of Ozemir's raised mirror. She actually
jumped when the light hit the
mirror and blazed out of the other side in lines of
burning green. She wasn't
sure what she was seeing, but something was being
made by the ray of green
sunlight streaming through the front of the mirror,
and as she continued to
watch, an incredible sight unfolded before them.
The spitting green fire continued to pour forth from
the mirror flying down to
the site of the ruins, and as they watched, a temple
began to appear. A temple
that was on a far grander scale then what the ruins
suggested. The temple
stretched on in the sky like a beautiful sparkling
green castle, complete with
balconies and courtyard, and if he wasn't mistaken,
Harry spied a steaming
pool of some sort close to one of the open
balconies on the lower level.
" The Jade temple." Brumek whispered. " But that's
a myth."
" My myth." Ozemir said proudly when the entire
temple had appeared and he was
able to lower his arms. " Let's go. We only have a
few minutes before the
temple will disappear again and we need to be
inside before that happens."
As they entered the temple, Tom ran a hand over a
jade stone column as he
passed. It was very real. " It's incredible that you are
able to harness the
power of the sun." He said to Ozemir as the Scholar
led them inside. " Greater
still, you command the sun's light to you. I imagine
not many are skillful
enough to hold such power. The sun's power would
burn up most people."
" I'm sure you would like to learn." Ozemir said with
a grin as he watched Tom
from the corner of his bright twinkling eyes.
Somehow Tom thought it strange
there was no resemblance to Dumbledore when the
Scholar's eyes twinkled and
that was a great relief. " Your love of knowledge has
always been your
greatest advantage. It's how you rose to such great
power so quickly, is it
not, Lord Voldemort?"
Tom sharply looked at him. Ozemir knew more
about him then he ever thought.
Then again, Falde had made it clear they already
knew whom he was. He must
have been followed in the _Ukatae_ world as well.
This also pleased him a
great deal.
" Will you teach me? How to harness the sun's
power?"
Ozemir's smile turned into a small frown. " I was
taught by someone very
special. I would need to ask permission to teach you
that. Considering what
you might do with the knowledge once you do
learn. But I will ask."
Tom was very pleased with this answer, and for the
first time he truly smiled
at Ozemir, who was happy enough to smile back.
"And what about that mirror…"
he ventured eagerly, eyeing the object with bright
eyes.
" Oh, do you like it?" Ozemir grinned and held it out
for Tom to take. " I
crafted it myself."
" Impossible." Tom murmured as he ran his hands
over the bronze.
" I did. About six hundred years ago. I went through
five mirrors before I
finally got it right with this one."
" Amazing." Tom whispered, eyes still riveted on the
shrunken mirror. Ozemir
chuckled and gripped Tom's arm in a friendly
manner, though Brumek's growl
suggested the warrior didn't see it as such. Ozemir's
smile grew just a bit
brighter.
" You may study it if you wish. Until we leave." He
said to the eldest
sibling. Tom nodded and immediately sat on a
bench in the hall they were
passing and ignored everything except for the
mirror.
" Well he's happy." Hermione said. " Ooh, look!" she
separated from the group,
pointing to a room off to the side with the door
wide open. Scrolls upon
scrolls lined the walls and tables and chairs within.
" Wherever you go, do not step outside of the
temple." Ozemir began. " You
will not find your way in again. Explore this place to
your hearts' content.
I've never had visitors before. And be warned.
There are certain artifacts and
possessions here which are fiercely protected. Be
aware and open your senses.
This will be a good learning assignment. Mind you
don't get burned from any of
my tricks." He waved at Hermione who nodded and
dashed into the scroll room.
Ozemir walked on, intent on showing Brumek his
armory. Harry and Draco were
more inclined to join them, rather then study scrolls
or stare at a mirror in
fascination. And frankly the place was so big that
Harry wanted to stay with a
group otherwise he knew he would end up getting
lost.
" Is this your house?" Harry asked Ozemir as they
descended to the lower
regions of the temple, this part under the ground,
making the air cooler
around them. " I mean do you live here?"
" I have a bedchamber here should I need to stay
longer then a day. But that
rarely happens. I visit frequently, but only for an
hour or two at a time."
" Why are you letting us see this place? Isn't it
supposed to be a secret?"
Draco asked.
" I assumed I would not have to worry about any of
you telling anyone what you
are seeing here, and where you are. I've brought
Brumek because…" Ozemir eyed
the tall warrior beside him, taking in his spectacular
physique and the bright
light of excitement in Brumek's eyes. He really liked
weapons. Harry hid his
grin behind his hand when Ozemir's eyes filled with
lust " Well because
we're…"
" We're mates!" Brumek snapped. " You can say
it..." The warrior looked down
to glare and finally caught the look in Ozemir's eyes.
Ozemir's look
effectively trapping him, making it impossible for
him to turn away. Had
Ozemir's eyes always been so big and bright? In the
next instance, the sound
of bone crunching filled the air as Ozemir turned,
releasing Brumek's gaze
just in time for the warrior to look forward as he
quickly walked straight
into a pillar. Successfully breaking his nose. Harry's
laughter quickly
followed.
" Oh thanks for the warning!" Brumek snarled at a
snickering Ozemir. " That's
two hundred times now it's been broken!" Draco
wisely kept his mouth shut and
pulled his laughing mate further away from the
fuming warrior.
Ozemir tried to wipe the smile off his face as he
quickly healed Brumek's nose
and said, " I thought you might try and kill me if I
did mention it. You're so
fond of violence, you know."
" That's rich, coming from you!" Brumek replied
when Ozemir stepped away from
him and stood before two giant doors that easily
surpassed the height of the
Great Hall doors at Hogwarts. Great doors carved
from stone. Engraved snakes,
exotic flowers and large leafs adorned the edges of
the doors and there were
no door handles.
" He has a point." Harry remarked to the Scholar as
he came to stand beside
him and stare up at the large doors. " What in
Merlin's name do you have in
here? Please tell me you don't keep some insane
large dangerous animal locked
up down here."
" I will return for you in a moment." Ozemir said to
them as he placed his
palms against the door, followed by his cheek, and
then he was pressing the
entire length of his body against the door.
" He didn't answer me." Harry looked at the Scholar
oddly when he closed his
eyes and began to take deep breaths." Oze-" He
looked at the hand sliding off
his shoulder and then followed it to Brumek, whose
eyes were still on Ozemir.
" Wait. Let him finish."
Harry and Draco stood back and watched Ozemir
continue his breathing as if
preparing for sleep, deep long inhales, longer
relaxed exhales, until finally
Ozemir's eyes snapped open and the large doors
pulsed. It sounded like a heart
beat to Harry. And a moment later, with his body
still pressed against the
door, Ozemir seemed to be absorbed into the door
until he was gone.
Harry and Draco approached the door, wondering if
something else was supposed
to happen. But then the doors began to open,
pushed out from the inside by
Ozemir. Harry thought there must be an
enchantment on the door that allowed
Ozemir to barely push on the doors to make them
open. Because they were solid
stone. Without an enchantment it would have been
impossible. _Ukatae_ strength
or not.
Brumek watched Ozemir leave the door open for
the other two who were not with
them at the moment and then turn to lead them
down a narrow passage with a
steep decline. A few paces later they entered upon
a large cavernous cave, a
cave that looked completely natural, walls made the
time of nature, and not
the impatience of men.
" This is exactly what I imagined a rumored treasure
trove to look like."
Draco said in awe as his eyes swept across the
cavernous space, spread off in
sections. Piles and piles of gold and jewels took up
one section of the cave,
while another section was dedicated purely to the
fine arts; statues and
paintings… tapestries of battle scenes Draco had
never read of in his history
text books. And in the back of the cave was where
Brumek was headed, his eyes
wide upon recognizing some of the weapons stored.
One weapon in particular, a
sword mounted on the cave wall, a sword he
instantly knew had been crafted by
an elf long dead now. The legendary sword smith,
Elachai. Brumek reached out,
intent on grasping the sword, only to pull back at
the last moment. Ozemir did
warn them some of his treasures were protected,
and knowing the quality of
this sword, Brumek was willing to bet this was one
of those. Passing his hand
close to the sword once more, he felt the
unmistakable vibrations of a strong
protection spell. He looked around for Ozemir
prepared to beg to be able to
work with this weapon, only to catch the tail end of
Ozemir's hair as he
disappeared down a shadowed passage off to the
side at the very back of the
cave.
Brumek located Harry and Draco, amusement
washing over him as he noticed their
separate expressions. Draco looked appalled and
horrified at the thought of
having to touch and wield these rough weapons.
But Harry had a determined look
on his face, and Brumek was sure he saw a spark of
excitement appear in his
bright green eyes. Seeing as they looked all right,
Brumek followed after
Ozemir. The small passage the Scholar had taken
immediately opened into a
smaller side room and Brumek stopped at the edge
of the passage, afraid to go
in once he saw what was inside and what Ozemir
was doing.
The room was oval in shape, more like an egg. An
egg with an onyx lining,
reflecting a low glow from the single lit torch fixed
upon the wall. The soft
orange glow should have made the room look
warmer, more approachable, but for
some reason, it did just the opposite, and Brumek
shivered as he continued to
look. The torch hung just behind a life size statue of
Hirsha, Mother of them
all, where Ozemir knelt at her feet. Hirsha's hands
were extended out in front
of her, palms up and flat, and in her palms Brumek
saw clearly a bloodied
sword. He watched Ozemir press one arm tight
against his chest while he
lowered his gaze to the floor. A shaking hand rose
to touch the sword. Brumek
suddenly felt Ozemir's fear as his fingers inched
towards the weapon. His fear
and his guilt. It was so much, too much.
" Ozemir stop." He pleaded as he pressed his back
against the curved wall and
pressed at his chest as if it were his poisoned bond
that was giving him so
much grief.
" I have to." Ozemir whispered.
" How can you do this to yourself?" Brumek asked in
bewilderment. " Why would
you?"
" I have to pay!"
" No." Brumek stumbled forward and pulled
Ozemir's hand away from the sword
and the statue. Away from the curse Ozemir had
cast to torture himself every
time he visited this place.
" No." He said again and forcibly pulled Ozemir out
into the large cavern. "
You were betrayed. All your life." Brumek
whispered against Ozemir's ear
before roughly pushing the Scholar away from him
and away from the door
leading back to the statue. " You'll stay away from
that thing as long as I'm
around. No need to make me go through that as
well." He growled before
disappearing behind a large rack holding a large
variety of axes.
Harry and Draco couldn't help but be drawn by their
strained voices, and
looked on in worry as Ozemir watched Brumek walk
away, before quickly turning
back to stare at the small passageway they had just
come from.
_What do you think happened?_ Draco asked as he
made his way to Harry, who
watched Ozemir worriedly.
_Haven't a clue. _Harry opened his mouth to say
something to Ozemir when the
Scholar began to head back to wherever Brumek
dragged him from, but the
warrior was a breath ahead of him.
" Ozemir, I swear on Hirsha I will kill you if you go
back in there!"
The Scholar stopped and his shoulders slumped
forward. A moment passed before
he shook his head in amusement and started
smiling. " He's so demanding."
Ozemir said to Harry as he passed. " Just makes me
want to eat him."
" So how exactly did you come by all this?" Draco
asked in astonishment when
it seemed the drama had been put on hold for the
time being. He turned in a
circle taking in the vast amount of treasure around
him. Some treasure
thousands of years old. Some that shouldn't even
exist. It was enough to make
Draco's mouth go dry. " Do you realize how much all
this is worth?"
" Yes. I realize it's worth. Though the greatest of its
worth is not monetary
value. Many things I've taken only to preserve parts
of history that some have
tried to erase. Somewhere someone must know, to
never forget, to pass the
truth of history on." Ozemir shrugged and smiled at
his collections. " That's
what I'm doing."
" So eventually you intend to _give_ these things
away?" Draco asked in a
voice that trembled from the absurdity of the
thought.
Ozemir nodded. " Some of it. But not all. I've grown
attached to some of the
things I've stolen."
" Ozemir. Come here." The warrior called out in soft
awed voice. Ozemir
immediately turned at the command and followed.
Draco and Harry were curious
and they followed. They found Brumek standing
completely still in front of a
large stone table. Upon the table were several
swords and sheaths displayed.
But Brumek only had eyes for one. The one directly
in front of him.
" Is this what I think it is? You have two? Is this the
real Gandjan sword?
What about the one on the wall?"
" Yes, they are both Elachai's work." Ozemir said as
he came to stand beside
the impressed warrior.
" Can I touch it?" Brumek asked even as his hand
was already reaching out to
touch. But Ozemir quickly grasped his wrist and
pulled his arm back.
" You can't wield the Gandjan. You know only the
owner can wield that weapon."
Brumek frowned and studied Ozemir. " The owner?
But you stole it, didn't you?"
Ozemir matched him frown for frown. " Not
everything you see here is stolen,
Brumek! Many of these things are gifts and
trophies, things I've found in my
travels. The Gandjan was a present from Elachai, I'll
have you know." Ozemir
ended with a pout and folded his arms across his
chest. Brumek's eyes widened
upon him at this.
Draco rolled his eyes as they began to walk away
from the pair, only to be
stopped by Ozemir. " We're here to pick out
weapons for you and your siblings
to train with. Do you have a preference?"
Draco gave the Scholar a disbelieving look. " Right.
Like I've had experience
with any of these things before."
" The only weapons we've used are our wands."
Harry said as he looked around
at the various swords with varying degree of use,
battle axes and cross bows.
Most looked really arcane and heavy enough that
he was sure he was bound to
cause himself a lot of pain when trying to use any of
them.
" Thanks for not telling us about the no magic rule
sooner, Ozemir. I
appreciate that." Draco said dryly as he prodded a
wooden staff with a finger.
" No magic?" Ozemir passed Draco, and Brumek
watched as he went straight for
the sword on the wall and quickly disabled the
protection before picking it up
and waving with it for Draco to explain.
" Falde and Brumek told us about the Sacred Law."
Draco started, and inched
away as Ozemir started moving both arms in
practiced precision. " We were told
Demai'Tah will be using magic against us, but due to
a law we cannot retaliate
with magic."
Draco took another step back as the blade looked
very sharp, and Ozemir was
clearly skilled with it.
" You will be using magic." Ozemir responded and
grinned wickedly.
" Oh thank Merlin!" Harry immediately murmured
after Ozemir's statement.
Brumek stepped forward as Ozemir's moves began
to speed up, his eyes tracing
the graceful arcs and smooth twists, before he
moved on to the sword bearer's
face. " Of course. They can only use it to protect
themselves… Or if they have
a weapon fused with a certain level of magic, such
as that one."
As Ozemir's movements sped up, and his arms
whipped around him, his face was
wiped clear of any expression. But his eyes were
very animated. They glittered
with deadly confidence. Harry was amazed when
Ozemir's movements started to
blur, and when Draco began blinking rapidly, Harry
knew he wasn't the only one
who saw it. Then the blade began to glow and
suddenly Ozemir's form was
surrounded by arcs of fire the blade was creating,
and Harry realized that was
what Brumek meant when he said a weapon fused
with magic.
Ozemir's movements suddenly stopped, leaving
ribbons of fire twisting around
him for a couple of seconds on their own before
finally disappearing. He was
staring at the sword strangely. Then to Harry's
astonishment, he just shrugged
and grinned as he went to Brumek, who watched
the Scholar with a glazed look.
" You did all that and you're not even breathing
hard…"
" No." Ozemir said to Brumek as he handed the
warrior the sword. Brumek stared
at the sword in his hands with awe for a few
seconds before Ozemir's word
registered. He looked up half dazed.
" What? No?"
Ozemir smiled fondly at him. Give the warrior a
unique weapon and suddenly he
has no thoughts. Typical. "They will defeat the clan
master. To do that they
must use magic. He'll challenge them physically and
magically."
" You can not go against the Sacred Law, Ozemir!"
Brumek cried out as Ozemir
moved away. He turned back to glare at Harry and
Draco. " Look around and pick
something you think you might be comfortable
with. Get over your fear and pick
a weapon!" He snapped, and then raced after
Ozemir.
" Get over our fear?" Harry repeated incredulously.
" He's one to talk!"
" It's disgusting." Draco said as he watched the
warrior following Ozemir
around, arguing. " He's been reduced to a panting
dog." He shook his head
mournfully for Brumek, and then turned to smile at
Harry. " Glad our bond
hasn't turned me into an idiot."
Harry grinned back. " Nope. Only a lovesick puppy.
That's much better then
idiot. For me anyway."
" Very amusing, Potter. I suppose you want a prize
for having such wit."
Harry grinned and nodded as he stepped back to
lean against a table. " We know
the clan master uses a sword, so we should
probably learn that first." Harry
said and rubbed his neck.
" You're right." Draco said darkly as he watched his
lover's hand caress the
area Demai'Tah's blade had invaded. " I owe him a
cut."
Suddenly, the end of a high-pitched scream reached
their ears and all eyes
zeroed in on the caves door. " That was Hermione!"
Harry said as they began
running out of the cave, Ozemir taking a miraculous
lead.
There was another scream as they made their way
onto the ground level, but
this time they could make out words. " OH MY
GODS!" And her screaming wasn't
actually laced with any fear or anger, so everyone
had slowed down to a jog by
the time they reached the scroll room, where Tom
was already standing in the
doorway scowling inside the room with the mirror
tucked protectively under one
arm.
"…the bloody hell is wrong with you? You can't go
around screaming like that
if nothing is wrong!" Tom shouted in.
" What's going on?" Harry panted as he and the
others came to stop at the
door. He put his hands on his knees to bend over
and catch his breath, looking
in to see Hermione sitting by a pile of scrolls, one
scroll opened in her lap.
She stared down at the scroll, her mouth moved as
if she was speaking, but no
sound moved passed her lips.
" I don't know." Tom snapped. " She started
screaming like a banshee! I ran
and found her like this. She has yet to provide an
explanation."
" She hasn't been hexed has she?" Draco wondered
as he eyed her carefully.
Hermione made no move to look away from the
letters.
Ozemir studied the pile of scrolls before Hermione
and suddenly understood.
She was only now a _Ukatae_. She had no idea the
type of knowledge their kind
had. The type of connections…. With a chuckle he
separated from the wary line
of males watching and went in to join her, taking
the scroll from Hermione's
lap and quickly scanning the contents. Hermione
watched him in a sort of
shocked awe. And when he laughed and said, " Ah
yes! I remember this time.
That was great fun." Hermione's eyes began to
water.
" You- you actually… you were friends with…." She
looked back at the pile of
scrolls. " Do you realize how much you know?" she
whispered.
" What are they talking about?" Brumek asked
impatiently.
" I was still a young one… very young, when I first
met Alexander and
Hephaestion… They were extraordinary humans."
Ozemir said softly to her. " I
was sad to see them die."
" Whom are you talking about? What's going on,
Hermione?" Harry finally
snapped, his impatience running along the same
short line as Brumek's.
Hermione looked sharply at him with a mighty
frown. " Alexander the Great!
Ozemir knew Alexander the Great, was friends with
him and his life-long
second-in-command."
" Alexander…" Harry frowned and chewed the
inside of his cheek. " He was that
conqueror guy right."
Brumek and Ozemir snorted. " Much more then
that." They said in unison.
Tom stared at the scrolls with his mouth and eyes
wide open. He took a moment
to get over the shock before speaking. " But… That
was over two thousand years
ago, when they were alive… You can't be that old."
Draco and Harry turned to Tom and grinned. "
Welcome." Draco said. " You've
finally become a member of the immortality club."
" Took you long enough, Tom." Harry said with a
laugh. " And just think. All
you had to do to defeat death was to become a
_Ukatae_. Who would have thought
it could be that easy."
" Ozemir!" Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled
him forward until their noses
were almost touching. " Please tell me… because
I've always wanted to know and
no one has any proof… Were they lovers? They
were lovers weren't they? They
were soul mates."
Ozemir smiled softly. " Yes."
Hermione jumped to her feet and did a little dance.
" Oh, their story is so
romantic. They were so loyal to each other. Equals
in every way…" She burst
out crying. " The most romantic couple in history.
They died within a year of
each other. Some say Alexander was poisoned, or
died from an old disease that
flared up. But I always thought it was from
heartbreak. Hephaestion died so
suddenly and then Alexander followed nine months
after… Mere months apart."
" Oi, what are you on about, Hermione!"
" Alexander the Great and Hephaestion were lovers,
Harry. They were life long
friends, soldiers, and conquerors together." She
pointed to the pile of
scrolls Ozemir continued to look through,
occasionally stopping to read one
here and there with a smile for the past. " They
wrote to Ozemir as if he'd
been a large part of his life. Do you know what kind
of history we can learn
from these letters and from what Ozemir knows
about the greatest conqueror
this world has ever known?"
" A lot?" Harry shrugged not really caring. Hermione
growled in frustration at
him before suddenly tugging Ozemir up from the
ground and pulling him over to
a table at the far side of the room.
" Is this a joke?" she asked pointing inside a large
wooden box. Ozemir looked
at what she pointed to.
" It's real."
Hermione backed up until the back of her knees hit
a chair and she promptly
sat down.
" So she was screaming because two ancient
muggles turned out to be lovers?"
Draco finally asked.
Tom looked at his brothers. " Even I must confess
my respect for those two and
what they achieved. You two should read more."
" I beg your pardon! I'll have you know I read all the
time. I enjoy reading…"
Draco began.
Brumek sighed beside them and began to rub his
head. " We are wasting time.
Ozemir." The Scholar looked away from the excited
babbling girl and arched an
eyebrow. " They will learn the sword first. Pick out
four you think this lot
can handle." With that he turned and headed away
from them all, disappearing
quickly in the dark shadows of the temple.
" Tom! Atlantis was real! Real!" Hermione shrieked
suddenly. The Dark Lord
sighed and drew his wand to cast Silencio on her. A
few seconds passed before
Hermione's lips stopped moving after realizing what
he'd done and she grew
very still. And then her brows furrowed together as
her anger grew, until she
finally took a huge breath, and opened her mouth
to scream at him for all she
was worth. And the way her eyes were pinned on
Tom, narrowed to deadly slits,
Harry knew if yelling were lethal and she wasn't
speechless, Tom would be
dead.
Harry quickly left with Ozemir back to the cave,
leaving Draco and Tom to deal
with a very emotional Hermione.
" It's like she found her heaven." Harry said to
Ozemir.
" If I had known how much she would find pleasure
from that room, I would have
shared it with her sooner." Ozemir replied, good
humor shining in his eyes.
Harry smiled. Ozemir meant it to. Whatever they
may have discovered about the
Scholar, it didn't take away the fact that Ozemir was
still the good-natured
person he'd first met. Still the same person who
volunteered to go rescue
Hermione when she'd been captured, still the same
person who helped Dudley
with his weight because it would eventually turn
lethal. Ozemir was always
saying he was selfish, but really, Harry thought he
was the most unselfish
person he'd ever met.
" And she opened my eyes to something." Ozemir
went on and smiled when Harry
looked at him. " You and Draco remind me of
Alexander and Hephaestion."
" How so?"
Ozemir winked at him. " Maybe one day you'll
discover that on your own. Or I
might tell you. Just like one day I'll tell you about
the sword I plan to give
you for your training."
Brumek spent time exploring the entire temple. It
took him the better part of
an hour, but only because some things found were
more interesting then others
and he spent some time having a closer look. The
top of the temple for
example. One single room filled out the domed top.
He assumed Ozemir used it
as his bedchamber whenever he did stay for longer
then a day. The room
immediately made the warrior frown in disgust. It
was like walking into a
genies lamp. Ozemir had silk fabrics of various dark
colors strewn about the
lavish bedchamber. Deep blues and rich purples,
dark velvet greens and blood
reds. Silk ribbons and ropes of different colors
everywhere he looked.
Even though he had ill thoughts towards Ozemir's
decorating habits, he was
drawn into the room anyway, stepping over large
silk covered cushions, and
around low tables with unlit lamps on them, and
towards the low-grounded bed
drenched in black silk. Brumek's breath sped up as
the frown disappeared from
his face. This… This room was ridiculously female, in
that it was decorated
extravagantly and unnecessarily. And it screamed of
Ozemir's strangeness.
Being made to think about it, Brumek was amazed
to find he liked some of
Ozemir's oddities. And strangely this was one of
them.
Silk everywhere around him, and the big bed lying
low to the ground in the
middle of the room…. As he bent down to pick up a
piece of blue twisted silk
rope, Brumek's pulse quickened and his blood
began to burn when he had a
sudden vision of Ozemir spread out on the bed. He
imagined lying over Ozemir,
worshiping his body with his tongue, while Ozemir
half-heartedly pulled on the
silk rope binding his wrists together…
Brumek opened his eyes with a gasp and stepped
back, trying to regain his
breath and keep himself from collapsing under the
weight of the Mates' Call,
which had chosen that particular moment to show
itself with a vengeance. As he
tried to back away from the bed and the temptation
it provided as quickly as
possible, he managed to catch his ankle on one of
the low tables and lost his
balance, falling back and crashing into something
hidden behind one of the
silk curtains hanging on the wall. As his luck would
have it, something broke
and he scowled when that something crashed onto
the floor. He most certainly
did not need Ozemir with his charming smiles,
deadly eyes, and sexy lips
coming anywhere near him in his present state, and
he hoped Ozemir was too
busy to have heard that crash because Brumek was
pretty sure the Scholar could
hear anything anywhere, curse him.
Quickly rolling over and onto his knees, Brumek
pushed away the bronzed gold
colored cloth and revealed a small antique table
with a silver treasure box
sitting on top. The box had no lock and the top was
open, revealing an empty
treasure chest with a crushed velvet red lining. All
was good here. Looking
down by his hands he found a picture with the glass
and frame broken. With the
tips of his fingers, he pulled out the picture, a small
painting rather, and
stared at it.
He knew this place, knew it well. The massive
waterfall falling down the side
of a mountain. And next to it was the old _Ukatae_
citadel, carved out of the
mountainside. The citadel was still there, still being
used. Brumek remembered
the first time he'd seen it. After his first real battle
against a revolting
clan, he had been injured, along with half his
company, and they were taken to
the hidden compound, deep within the Qylacae
Mountains for recovery. And for
many that night, burial rites.
The silvery image in his hands was a broad picture,
showing the waterfall,
most of the mountain, and the entire citadel. It was
in perfect condition, and
written at the bottom, in Ozemir's annoyingly loopy
handwriting were the
words, _First Meeting_. For a moment he pondered
what that could mean.
Obviously the citadel meant a great deal to Ozemir
as it did for Brumek, and
the warrior wondered how. He wondered what this
first meeting was about…
The Mates' Call had him gasping from lack of air and
retreating from the room,
picture still in hand. The picture was still forgotten
when he strode into
Ozemir's treasure room, his jaw clenched tight
against the screaming pain in
his chest.
" Ozemir!" His yell echoed across the cavern as he
made his way to the back.
Hermione, who had been eyeing the curved sword
Ozemir chose for her, took one
look at Brumek and snorted. Then she fell into
uncontrollable giggles at the
rest of his words.
" Get over here and touch me, dammit!"
" He looks ready for a shag." Harry said to Draco as
they watched Brumek march
towards them, his eyes pinned on the frozen
Scholar. Harry nudged Ozemir, and
when their eyes met, he grinned. " Didn't you hear
him? He wants you to
_touch_ him. Maybe you should do more then
touch." He whispered.
Draco made a sound of disapproval. " He didn't ask
to be molested, Harry."
" For the last time. It's not molestation if you like it.
And I'm pretty sure,
despite his outward appearance, Brumek enjoys
every touch Ozemir gives him."
" I'm still getting you back for that." Draco muttered
as he scanned the cave.
Tom was at the center, walking around a group of
objects Ozemir said were very
high in magic and kept under a tight protective
bubble. Tom was challenged to
see if he could get past the protection, and if he
could, Ozemir would grant
him a prize out of any of those treasures. So Tom
was understandably busy and
severely focused.
" How long will this go on?" Brumek asked when he
was standing in front of
Ozemir, and because Ozemir wasn't moving fast
enough for his relief, Brumek
grasped the Scholar's hand and pulled him close
pressing Ozemir's hand against
his chest.
" It will call until we mate." Ozemir whispered, his
eyes on the hand touching
the warrior's chest. " Until our bond has been
completed. You should know
this."
In his anger, Brumek forgot about the picture in his
hand and crushed it when
he made a fist. " This… All of this has become a
bloody nuisance! What did I
ever do for Hirsha to repay me with this!" he hissed
to no one in particular,
but everyone heard him, and everyone saw
Ozemir's flinch before he seemed to
wilt in on himself.
" You found my room?" Ozemir flatly whispered as
he pulled the picture out of
his fist.
" What does first meeting mean?"
Ozemir's eyes narrowed and he pushed Brumek
away from him. " I'm not going to
tell you. If you can't see… If you don't remember."
Ozemir looked hurt as he
moved away. " You don't care."
" Remember what?" he asked as he turned and
watched Ozemir put as much
distance between them as possible, which meant
Ozemir left them all in the
treasure room and disappeared like Brumek had
done earlier.
Brumek turned back to find Harry glaring at him. "
Oh leave off! How am I
supposed to know what it means? Not my fault he
got upset!"
Harry's wings quivered in agitation, instantly
drawing Draco's attention. "
That's not why he's upset. What's wrong with
Ozemir?" he demanded. " Is it
necessary for you to treat him like that?"
" Treat him like what?" Brumek snapped.
" Like Ozemir is the cause of all your problems."
Hermione stood up from where
she'd been sitting and glared fiercely at the warrior
as she approached him. "
Just because he's an assassin, that doesn't mean he
hasn't any feelings! As
strange as that may sound. You're not the only one
this bond has messed with.
Ozemir cares for you, cares about your future…
Don't you see that's why he
isn't happy with the bond you two have?"
" Leave him alone, you two." Tom said, finally
leaving the pile of treasures
for a moment to stand beside Draco who was
inspecting a dull looking sword on
the table. " He can't help it."
" Yes." Draco said, turning to give Tom a grin that
was returned. " It's not
Brumek's fault he's acting this way. He's just
scared."
" Whose scared?" he growled. " You couldn't
possibly be talking about me. I am
certainly not scared."
" Ozemir is." Hermione said softly, nodding when
Brumek looked at her. " He's
terrified for you."
Harry lifted himself onto the table, ignoring
Brumek's scowl when he
carelessly pushed weapons aside to make room for
his arse." That's all he
thinks about… Brumek's happiness. Brumek's
future. He's all about how you
feel." Harry turned level eyes on the warrior. " You
don't even know how much
power you wield over him, do you? Even before the
bond made itself known."
" Personally, I think you're being selfish." Tom said
and gained a look of
surprise from his siblings. Tom had never before
deigned to join any
conversations to do with relationships. Harry was
happy to think this was very
good progress for Tom." You may not have wanted
a mate but you have one now.
It's time to step up and be a man and take care of
what is yours." Tom glanced
at the frozen warrior. " Before it's too late."
" We're not human." Brumek growled, incensed he
was getting a talk down by the
young ones.
" Man, grown _Ukatae_, whatever. You caught his
meaning." Harry waved his
measly complaint away. " I don't even know why
you continue to act this way. I
mean, you're mates. There is no getting around it.
You might as well get over
it already and move on." Harry hopped off the table
and moved closer to
Brumek, quickly glancing at the others. Draco and
Tom were turned away from
them, in conversation about the weapons they
were given and looked like they
had moved on from the Ozemir conversation.
Hermione glared at Brumek one last
time before moving off to find more great
connections to the past.
" It's not so bad, having a mate." He said quietly. " I
recommend it to
anyone. It's not as if it will change you."
Draco snorted and Tom said, " He could use some
happy time though. His
surliness can be a bit overbearing."
" Look whose talking!" Harry shot back with a grin.
Apparently they had been
listening. When Harry turned back, Brumek was
halfway across the cave from
them.
" Oops."
" Hopefully we've given him something to think
about." Tom said as he watched
the warrior leave. Harry watched Brumek go with a
worried face, leaving Tom
once again left with the feeling that he should do
something to alleviate the
worry. He bumped shoulders with Harry as he
passed him, intent on going back
to break through the protection of Ozemir's
treasure. " He's thinking about it
right now I'm sure. Ozemir has a good mate, Harry."
Brumek left the four of them in the chamber in a
cloud of furious dust, having
no intention of staying around to be told things he
already knew. Except… he
hadn't really thought Ozemir was scared of having a
mate. He knew the Scholar
was sorry for the bond. He thought it was his fault
Brumek was now stuck. He
understood that, but he never imagined Ozemir
feared for him.
" Idiot." He grumbled as he walked on. He would
rather not have thought about
Ozemir, but his mind was set on coming to grips
with their new situation. And
if he was honest with himself, he was ready to come
to grips with it too. It
wasn't as if he and Ozemir were strangers to each
other.
In fact, their first meeting had been long ago, not
long after he had passed
the time of young one into adult hood. At that first
meeting, amidst cries of
pain from his comrades, and his own dizziness from
blood loss, Brumek believed
the young boy who approached him to be a work
purely of Hirsha.
_First Meeting._ Brumek halted his steps and stared
unseeing at the floor. He
remembered now. He knew what Ozemir had
spoken of. _…If you don't remember…
You don't care. _
Brumek slumped backwards and slid down against
the smooth stone wall. He
dropped his arms to his bent knees and drew up the
memory. Watching it play in
his mind as if it had happened just yesterday
instead of several hundred years
ago.
He spent two straight months in battle before his
company lost too many and
were made to retreat. He was still young then,
that's true, but was also
already experienced in the ways of battle. This time
he was wounded badly and
there hadn't been enough healers on the battlefield
to see to all the
injuries, which was due to the enemy having
targeted any healers seen there.
Therefore Brumek, along with the rest of the
injured were then transported to
the massive citadel. He awoke at the last stretch of
the journey, laid out on
a stretcher in a long line of stretchers inching their
way to the citadel by
foot and beasts, along the narrow path carved out
of the mountain. Walking was
the only way to reach the citadel. You could not use
a circle or Shadow, and
should someone try, they would immediately be
killed by the protections and
enchantments surrounding the fortress.
Brumek awoke at the last stretch of the journey and
was glad to smell the
fresh clean air of the mountains and see the clear
night sky above him where
every star shone so brightly. The battle had been
one of the worst imaginable,
devastating for a young warrior his age, and he was
glad to be away from the
hills of bodies, the smell of death, the lakes of
blood, and the pointlessness
of the entire war.
His stretcher was jostled and his hiss of pain alerted
the warrior walking
beside him that he was conscious. " Easy, Brumek."
A familiar voice told him.
" We're in the Qylacae."
Brumek turned his head to study the warrior next to
him. " Falde?"
The warrior nodded. " Glad you are awake. I was
beginning to worry." Falde
looked ahead of the mile long line of injured, and
sighed with relief when the
lights of the citadel became visible through the
enchanted mist surrounding
it.
To say Brumek was mortified was an
understatement. He felt like a failure.
There he was, laid out on a stretcher, and his
teacher and commander walked on
beside him, watching over him as if he were a baby.
He failed Falde, failed
his training…
" Everyone falls at some point in their battle career,
Brumek. It is nothing
to be ashamed of." Falde said, seeing the selfdisappointment on his young
student's face. " You fought bravely and with more
skill then I could have
imagined. You've done very well and lasted longer
then most. I'm never one for
retreating, but it's fortunate we were instructed to.
We may all have perished
otherwise."
Brumek didn't respond to that, especially since
Falde seemed to have walked
away from the battle without a scratch. His words
were just food for the
pitifully poor, as far as Brumek was concerned.
Instead of falling into more
guilt and self-pity, he began to catalogue his
wounds while trying to ignore
the ringing in his ear. Lifting his head, he pulled
back the covering over his
legs and grimaced upon seeing the state his right
leg was in. It was no wonder
he was being taken to the citadel. No battleground
healer could fix his leg
there. There was need for more then one healer to
fix the damage. His leg had
been cleanly cut just above the knee and his
breathing became erratic when he
realized the damage was so extensive that he might
actually lose his leg. And
that would be the end of him. He could no longer
be a warrior, and despite
losing his leg in battle, many people would consider
him an outcast. He
wouldn't be able to show his face anywhere without
feeling a mountain of shame
and guilt. He would rather die in battle then have to
go through that. The
ringing in his ear intensified and he raised a weak
arm to press against it.
Only Falde quickly blocked his actions and looked at
him sadly.
" We may yet save your leg, but I'm afraid your ear
is lost."
Brumek touched his right ear, only to find it and his
head was bandaged
tightly. " I will be a disgrace." He whispered as he
closed his eyes.
" Only to those who don't matter. Only to the
socialites who have no interest
in knowing we place our immortal lives on the line
every second of every day
just so they can continue to live safely within their
homes. It will only
matter to those who should not matter to you,
Brumek. Do not let them take
anything from you, especially your pride."
When Brumek next opened his eyes, the citadel
loomed over him as he and many
more were brought into the stone courtyard. It
seemed chaos reigned here also.
Soldiers and healers running about in and out of the
citadel, everyone in a
hurry and in a panic as well, he thought as he
watched one tired healer
approach Falde with apologetic eyes.
" Commander."
" Why are my men made to wait out here? I was
told there were beds and plenty
of healers!" Falde grabbed the stuttering healer's
tunic and jerked him
forward. " I was told you were prepared. If even one
of my warriors die…"
" I'm sorry, Commander! We were prepared, but
the troops from Calmine have
also been sent here. You've both arrived at the
same time and there is simply
no room for you all!"
" Make room!" Falde growled.
Brumek ignored the rest of their conversation and
turned his sight around him.
Healers and citadel guards ushered soldiers with
horses and other beasts to
the stables, so there was quite a lot of movement
around the pathway leading
into the mountain where the stables were. Then he
caught sight of more healers
pouring out of the citadel, helping to bring the
injured inside, or work on
the injured who could not wait to be moved. More
healers were also arriving as
more injured arrived. Brumek was thankful at least
most of his pain had been
taken from him, and he would rather wait and see
the soldiers who needed
immediate attention to go before him. He wasn't
dead yet. He could wait.
He continued to look around and was inexorably
drawn to a figure standing high
above the courtyard atop one of the highest towers,
looking down upon the
frenzied movements of the people below. The
figure was easy to spot,
considering they wore all white. And the figure's
hair was stark white and let
down, sweeping around the trim body as the wind
passed around him. Brumek
lifted himself up by his elbows, despite Falde's hand
on his shoulder trying
to push him down while he continued to speak with
the healer. Brumek ignored
him and continued to stare, watching half numb as
the figure jumped from the
tower down to a shorter one, before jumping again
to land gracefully against
the far wall of the courtyard.
The young one, a boy, scanned the courtyard with
wide excited eyes before
turning back to grin at Brumek, who gasped upon
seeing the smile. The grin was
both shy and silly, and Brumek wondered what in
hell was so great about the
situation that would have this young one smiling at
him like that. Of course
that question was overtaken by the feeling of
discovering something new and
incredible, which in itself frightened the young
warrior, as the creature
approached him without fear until he stood directly
beside Brumek's stretcher.
" What's your name?" the young one asked him, his
dark purple eyes fixed
intently on Brumek's pale face. Brumek stared at
him dumbly. He wanted to turn
away. He wanted to push this boy away, to keep
him from looking upon his
imperfect bloodied body. Because this boy looked
so perfect, so beautiful… he
didn't want to taint the boy in any way. He had
never seen beauty as flawless
as this boy. Instead he could only stare back with a
scowl on his face. The
boy laughed and pushed a few white strands away
from his sparkling eyes as the
wind continued to play with it.
" You have no name then?" then he bent close to
Brumek's face, his breath
tickling Brumek's chin. " Perhaps you've lost your
tongue and cannot speak?"
he asked curiously and tried to peer into Brumek's
mouth. The warrior growled
and pushed him away.
" I can speak!" he snapped, drawing Falde's
attention.
Falde smiled at the boy and dropped a hand fondly
on the boy's white head. "
Ozemir. Why am I not surprised to find you here?"
The boy pouted. " Zynfrae said I was too wild for
normal society, whatever
that means…" he rolled his eyes and sighed. " He
says a few months here will
help to settle me down."
Falde snorted. " That will never happen."
" I know! I tried to tell him that but he will not
listen."
" The old Scholar will learn." Falde grinned. " We all
do." Then he looked at
Brumek. " I see you've met my student."
" Yes." Ozemir said, turning his bright eyes back to
Brumek, and that stupid
grin. " Will he be alright?"
" If I can get him inside and properly seen to." Falde
growled. Brumek was
about to demand they stop talking about him as if
he were not there, but was
delayed with Falde continued to speak. " Can you
stay here with him for a
moment? I need to help inside to find more room."
" Of course! I would be honored."
Falde smiled before quickly departing, leaving his
scowling student behind
with the grinning stranger.
" Will you tell me your name now?" he asked as his
eyes raked Brumek's body,
noticing the damage inflicted. Brumek saw him
frown when his eyes landed on
the bloody blanket covering his legs.
" Brumek." He muttered before turning his
attention away.
" And my name is Ozemir. A pleasure to meet you!"
Brumek looked back when it
sounded like the white haired youth really was
pleased to meet him.
" What is there to smile about?" he snapped back,
suddenly embarrassed that
that smile had begun to make him feel... lighter?
Dizzy? Uncomfortable?
Whatever, he wanted the boy to go. Now.
" I like to meet people." Ozemir replied with a
shrug. " I'm very happy to
meet you."
Brumek let his head fall back and grumbled. " You
do not know me."
" I like the look of you." Ozemir said softly as he
lifted the blanket, before
grimacing. " I can tell things about a person from
one glance." The boy pulled
his hair away from his face before leaning over to
take a better look at the
damaged appendage.
Brumek pushed away the pale hand prodding his
leg. " You're not a healer!" he
barked. " Get away from me." The boy seemed
unaffected by his severity, which
only made him angrier.
" You will lose that leg, Brumek the Warrior, if
something is not done soon."
He said quietly. Brumek had every intention of
telling him where he could take
his stupid opinions, but his body was suddenly
racked with fits of coughing,
so bad that he was having trouble breathing. In
between the tears the coughing
had produced, he saw the boy's eyes widen in fright
before pressing a pale
hand against Brumek's forehead. Ozemir gasped
and quickly pulled his hand away
only to place it and the other hand against Brumek's
cheeks before bending
down so their noses were touching.
" Please. Please, do not sleep yet. You must stay
awake. Promise?"
" Leave me be." Brumek moaned and was
unsuccessful in pushing the beautiful
annoyance away from him.
" I'll try to leave you alone, but promise not to
sleep!" The boy pleaded. "
Please promise."
" I promise only if you go away. You're eyes are too
bright, idiot! My head
hurts!"
The boy, Ozemir, smiled so brightly that Brumek
moaned and gathered all his
energy to turn away from it. This did not seem to
bother Ozemir, as he was
back to smiling softly. "I promise to return quickly!"
And then he was gone.
Disappearing into the midst of loud bustling crowds
of injured soldiers and
angry commanders and frantic healers.
Disappearing in a blink of an eye. And
Brumek managed to keep awake though he couldn't
remember much of what happened
after that. And he always convinced himself it
wasn't because of Ozemir's eyes
or the pleading that made the warrior listen and
keep himself conscious.
Brumek opened his eyes, finding himself back in the
present, back in the Jade
temple. He lowered his head to a hand. That was
the first time they met. At
the citadel. The first meeting. After Ozemir ran off
that day hundreds of
years ago, Brumek had fallen into a fever-induced
delirium and wasn't able to
remember much after that. What he did remember
was suddenly a room had been
made for him and when he was brought in healers
were waiting for him. And now,
as he sat on the floor of the temple with his back
against the wall, he
realized it had probably been Ozemir's room.
Ozemir had saved his life by
giving him that room and making sure there had
been healers ready to work on
him. Brumek had no idea how the stupid Scholar
had managed that, but he had.
And now Brumek remembered.
It wasn't as if he'd ever really forgotten that time,
he thought as he finally
stood. Ozemir's image standing on the top of the
highest tower with the wind
whipping through his hair… how could Brumek ever
forget that?
But of course Hirsha thought it would be funny to
make him forget when he
really needed to remember. Because now Ozemir
was someplace thinking Brumek
had no recollection of that time… and that he didn't
care. And he was probably
sulking… Brumek sighed and resumed his walk,
intent on finding his stupid
mate. At least Ozemir had not gone back to that
black room with the curse
placed around it.
Ozemir wandered into his room and crossed over to
the table where the picture
had been. He quickly repaired the damage done to
the frame, hissing out his
displeasure while doing so before returning the
picture to sit inside the
small treasure chest. He stood there for long
minutes, hands clutching the
edge of the table, staring at the picture, staring at
the words written on the
bottom. Words that seemed ridiculous now. Words
he had written down long ago
when he still had hope for a future that wasn't
entirely poisoned by the
_Kibosh_. But there was no hope anymore. Brumek
may be his destined mate now,
but that didn't matter because the warrior hated
him. And Ozemir was giving up
on having his feelings returned, because that would
be pointless. He would be
dead soon.
A despairing cry escaped him as his arm flashed out
to swipe the treasure
chest and its treasure off with it. The sound of
breaking glass was oddly
soothing and he continued with his outburst by
picking up the small table and
throwing it across the room, grinning madly when it
broke and showered the
floor with broken pieces of wood. The following
minutes were spent in
destructive stress relief as Ozemir turned into a
scorned demon and a cyclone
of despair. Anything and everything he could get his
claws into was destroyed
with great pleasure. By the end of it, Ozemir sank to
his knees amidst the
ripped throw pillows and splintered tables, among
the shredded silk drapes and
stared at his clawed hands, still trembling from the
rage and from the crying
pain of his soul. He felt so alone right now.
Loneliness was something he'd
never really felt before, not like this. As an assassin
he was always alone,
but as the Scholar, as himself, never.
" I remember, Ozemir." A soft voice spoke behind
him before he felt a warm
hand drop onto his shoulder. " You saved my life.
You chose me out of all
those people that night. You gave me your room
and somehow you had healers in
the room waiting for me."
" You were more important then anyone else."
Ozemir replied without turning to
face Brumek. " I told you. I can see things about
someone from one glance. I
see so much when I look at you."
Brumek's heavy sigh finally had Ozemir turning his
head to stare at the hand
still on his shoulder. " Sometimes you drive me
insane." Brumek said as he
cupped his mate's elbow and helped him stand.
When Ozemir finally turned to
face him, the warrior grinned. " But really, most
times I enjoy it when you
start acting like an idiot."
" I am not an idiot!" Ozemir complained. " That's so
insulting." He pouted as
he turned away, gripping his injured arm close to his
chest. It became
agitated during his violent outburst and the pain
was more then annoying now.
" You must be an idiot to ruin this perfectly hideous
room with your tantrum."
He stated flatly, emotionlessly. No reason for
Ozemir to know how nervous he
was.
" It's my room and I can do with it what I wish. And
don't call my room
hideous. It was very beautiful. " Ozemir walked
away and disappeared behind a
blue drape hanging on the wall near the bed.
Amazingly, it had not been
touched. " Also, I think you should return the young
ones to the school. They
have their weapons now. No need to stay any
longer. I shouldn't be long after
you." He called out.
Brumek approached the blue curtain. Something
was wrong here. " Ozemir?" He
drew back the curtain to find a lavish washroom
behind it, where Ozemir stood
leaning against the sink, his arm held under the
running water. When he saw
the condition of Ozemir's arm, he was beside the
Scholar in a second. " What
happened?"
Ozemir blew out a frustrated breath then glanced at
him sideways. " What do
you think happened?"
" But… I thought I chanted the blocking spell before
he could get you." Brumek
said, eyeing the burn, red and scorched, as Ozemir
tried to cool it with
water.
" You didn't start that spell until after I cried out in
pain." Ozemir pulled
away from the sink and Brumek. " Not very helpful,
were you?"
Brumek frowned at Ozemir's cold tone. " Let me
heal it."
" No." Ozemir returned his sleeve down and left the
washroom. " No need to
trouble yourself." The Scholar left the room without
a backward glance.
" I see. So this is how it's going to be…" It was clear
Ozemir didn't plan to
make this easy. Brumek followed after at a slow
pace, and as he walked a slow
grin stretched across his face. Ozemir thought he
would give up and leave
things as they were… obviously he didn't know him
that well.
Brumek's grin then stretched from ear to ear. " Let
the hunt begin."
***
A/N: Hmm, maybe Brumek has finally come to
appreciate what he now has, huh?
Anyway, i hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was
great fun to write. I know
all my Ozemir/Brumek fans probably enjoyed it. I
want you guys to know that
even though i'm digging deep into the ukatae's
characters, i'm not ignoring
the whole HP story. The next chapter begins the
start of classes, so that
should be fun. Enjoy your weekend!
5. Of Things To Come
**Life Agendas**
**Chapter Five**
**Of Things To Come**
Tom made it down to breakfast rather late the next
morning due to being up all
night reading the book he'd procured from Ozemir's
temple and was aware his
siblings were already in the Great Hall for their
breakfast. When he walked
in, he was surprised to see Draco sitting at the
Slytherin table with his
Slytherin friends instead of at the Gryffindor table
with Harry. Upon further
inspection he noticed every one of them looked
pissed off, including Harry and
Hermione.
" What's gone on?" he asked in greeting and took a
seat next to Draco. He
smiled at Ginny when she murmured a good
morning. Draco growled low in his
chest, but refused to say anything and continued to
glare at the staff table.
Blaise shook his head and answered. " Dumblefuck
has announced students are
only allowed to sit at their respective house tables."
" Really?" Tom asked as an eyebrow rose.
" Yes, and that's not all." Ginny hissed. " He also
announced fifth year
through seventh year classes will no longer be
shared by the houses. There
will be no Gryffindor/Slytherin classes, no
Ravenclaws/Hufflepuffs, nothing!"
" You must be joking." Tom looked around at his
friends and they all nodded. "
Fuck!"
Everyone froze and stared at him. Even Draco had
lost his scowl to stare at
his brother in shock.
" What?" he snapped.
" It's just… Luther, you never speak obscenities."
Draco said.
" I'm eighteen now, right? Aren't I allowed?"
" Yeah, course mate." Blaise said with a small grin. "
Just weird coming from
you. The almighty wizard… our Lord."
" Watch it, Zabini. Now is not the time to make me
angry."
Blaise coughed. " Sorry sir." He mumbled, which did
well to please Tom.
" Besides, I'm not a wizard anymore, am I?" he
quietly asked Draco.
" Not really." Draco said while glaring at
Dumbledore who looked quite pleased
with himself up at the staff table.
" So… does that mean… you are no longer the Dark
Lord?" Pansy whispered. Tom
shot her a dirty look.
" I am still the Dark Lord and the Wizarding World
will still be mine." He
hissed. " Harry and Draco will have the _Ukatae_
world."
" He needs to be knocked off his high horse!" Draco
seethed suddenly.
Tom looked at Dumbledore and frowned at the old
man's smile. " He must have
figured out what we were trying to do with the
houses and now he's making it
harder on us."
" He can't do anything else really." Ginny said. " He
knows he can't touch
Harry or Draco anymore. So he's trying to keep the
Wizarding World against us
as much as he can. And he's going to start here."
" That mission will be unsuccessful." Tom said in all
assurance. " If nothing
else, Hermione will see to it personally. She's
driven, that one." He smiled
across the hall at her. The others around him
nodded in agreement. " And stop
looking so forlorn about the whole thing. You're
only letting him win by
showing how upset you are."
" And on a brighter note, Hermione had McGonagall
announce the picnic.
Dumbledore didn't look too pleased with his Deputy
Headmistress, but she
didn't seem to notice." Pansy said. " I think
McGonagall may be on our side."
" She should be after what happened to Harry this
summer." Draco said quietly.
Just remembering it made his skin crawl. Pansy
looked at him curiously.
" Draco, what did happen this summer to start all
this? You never did say."
" I don't want to talk about it right now, Pans.
Maybe later."
Pansy nodded; somewhat disappointed she would
have to wait. But then Ginny
whispered she would fill the older witch in on what
had happened. Pansy gave
her a grateful smile and they all proceeded to eat
their breakfast in silence.
Dumbledore had succeeded, for once, to bring their
good moods down. Tom was
certain it wouldn't last for long, though. Let the old
wizard think he had
them… It didn't matter. Eventually the houses
would be united.
" Um, Tom? I must ask a favor." Draco asked when
he and Tom returned to his
common room.
Tom raised an eyebrow as he sat across from Draco.
The blonde looked very
nervous. " What is it?"
" Something is happening with Lovegood and her
father today…. Haven't a clue
what, but Harry is certain something will happen so
he's going to the manor
today. Would you mind going with him?"
Tom studied Draco for a moment. " Wouldn't you
like to go with him?"
Draco nodded. " But I have to do something and I
don't want Harry to catch
on."
" Draco…" Tom was frowning at him, and his tone of
warning had Draco's brows
rising.
" Please don't insult me by thinking like the
Weasel."
Tom's wand was out and pointed at Draco's chest
before the blonde could even
blink. " Don't insult me by comparing me to that
cretin. And you know damn
well I would never think you to be unfaithful to
Harry. There's too many
people in this world who would kill you should you
do such a thing."
" Going to keep that wand pointed at me?" Draco
asked, his tone lightened by
the absurdity of this conversation, especially
considering why he wanted to
leave in the first place. It really was funny, but also
heartening to see Tom
so worried.
" Are you going to have your bodyguards take care
of me if I don't?"
Draco opened his mouth to respond, but Talyn
answered from beside him. " We're
watching over you and your sister now as well."
Tom looked at her and she
winked.
" Demai'Tah will count you two as a threat as well.
You are _Ukatae_ and
siblings to Harry and Draco which makes you very
much a threat." Falde
explained.
" Swell."
Talyn laughed and sat on Tom's armrest, again. She
ignored Tom's growl of
warning. " And we wouldn't do anything if he
continued to threaten you with
his wand." She said. " All Tom could do is injure you,
not kill. We will not
waste our energy to protect you from him because
we know you have an Oath, and
we know your bonds are too great to actually do
each other too much harm. You
are siblings. Siblings fight." Talyn finished with
another wink at the Dark
Lord.
Tom dropped his wand and moved away from her
to sit next to Draco. " Stop
flirting with me."
" I can't help it. You're so pretty."
" Not interested." Tom replied flatly.
" Don't give yourself airs." Talyn said with a grin. "
Just because I flirt
with you that doesn't mean I'm interested."
" She flirts with everyone." Falde supplied and
chuckled when Tom's scowl
deepened.
" You are pretty though." Draco agreed. " Will you
go with him or not?"
" Tell me why."
" Well, you see…" Draco looked away and tugged at
his collar. " Harry- He…
It's a surprise."
Tom took a moment to study his suddenly
embarrassed brother, and realization
dawned. His eyes went wide.
" Yeah, so will you go with him?"
Tom crossed his arms over his chest. " I don't
know… Hermione's got her heart
set on my attending this stupid picnic today."
Draco glared. " You know damn well you don't want
to go to that. And besides,
I don't think Harry plans on going to the manor until
later. The late
afternoon at the earliest."
" Then yes, I will be more then happy to accompany
Harry. I don't think
Hermione would take it well if all three of us
skipped out on this thing."
Draco nodded. Yeah, Hermione was liable to kill
them should they not show up.
" I want a word with Lucius anyway."
" Great. And uh…."
Tom waved Draco's unspoken words away with a
flick of his wrist. " Do I look
stupid to you? I'm not going to spoil the surprise."
**Malfoy Manor**
Lucius strolled down the hallway without haste, and
wondered why he was doing
this. It wasn't as if he really cared what happened to
the girl and her
father, but everyone else seemed to care, and Sirius
had asked. He was unable
to do so himself as he had Harry's cousin to see
today for his first lesson.
Lucius hoped that brat knew how lucky he was to
have been forgiven so easily
by Harry. If it had been him, Lucius would have sent
an AK at the boy long
ago.
With a sigh, Lucius stopped in front of the door and
knocked. " Knocking in my
own bloody home." He grumbled. He raised his
hand again to knock louder, only
to stop when the Lovegood girl's voice floated out
to him.
" Come in, Mr. Malfoy."
Lucius' hand fell down to his side like a dead weight.
How in Merlin's name
did she know he was at the door? Before another
moment passed the door opened
and Amortia was there, looking grave.
" Amortia."
" Lucius." She stepped out and shut the door so
they could talk in private.
Somehow, Lucius thought Lovegood would still hear
what they were saying.
" He's not much longer to this world I'm afraid. A
few hours, I'd say."
Lucius frowned. " Are you sure?"
She nodded. " Poor man. Poor girl. She'll have no
one left."
" That's not true. Harry counts her as family. She
won't be alone."
" I suppose. And you'll look after her, won't you
Lucius?" she asked, giving
him an amused smile.
" Oh right. It has been my dream to take in and
watch over a psycho girl.
Sure."
Amortia looked amused. " Your sarcasm is starting
to reflect Sirius."
Instead of becoming offended, as she expected,
Lucius smirked. " Yes. He has
so many bad habits, doesn't he?"
Amortia studied Lucius, noticing the bright eyes and
for once there was color
in his cheeks. " You feeling well, Lucius? You look
wonderful, if you don't
mind my saying so."
" Of course I don't mind." Lucius took a moment to
preen. Amortia quickly left
after with a smile and a wave and promised to
return soon.
Lucius erected his mask and walked into the
Lovegood room and found Luna
sitting beside the bed, reading from what looked
like a journal. She put it
away as soon as he entered and gave him a big
smile. " Mr. Malfoy."
" Miss. Lovegood. How are you today?"
" Fine, thank you." She turned to her father, who
had grown so pale, he almost
looked dead already. She reached over to brush her
fingers over his cheek. "
It will be soon. Will you stay with me?"
Lucius wasn't sure she was talking to him because
her eyes were directed
somewhere over his left shoulder. He had a sudden
urge to shiver and just
barely managed to suppress it. " Miss Lovegood, I
don't want to sound obtuse
but why should you want me here?"
She didn't answer, but she did look him in the eye
for once, and then he
really did shiver when she smiled brightly. "
Congratulations, Mr. Malfoy.
Would you like to know the sex of the babies?"
Lucius froze. What else was there for him to do? "
Pardon?" he finally
managed.
" The babies, Mr. Malfoy. The sex of your babies?"
Luna giggled when Lucius
approached her in a daze.
" But-" Lucius coughed, realizing he wasn't acting
like a Malfoy at all, but
under the circumstances he really didn't care. " I
only took the potion… Did
you say babies? As in more then one?" he croaked.
Luna giggled again in answer and Lucius Malfoy
promptly fainted.
" All right, kiddo. You ready for your first lesson?"
Sirius asked Dudley.
They were in the library sitting at a table, and he
was glad to see Dudley
looking at the books spread over the table with
excitement and he nodded. "
Good! Let's get started, shall we?"
Dudley nodded, eager to start learning. But their
attention was caught when
Luna skipped into the library. " Luna!" Sirius stood
up to meet her. She was
smiling, but that didn't take away his worry about
her. " Everything all
right?"
She smiled brightly at him. " Your husband has
fainted." She said as she
passed him to sit beside Dudley, looking over at the
book open before him.
" What do you mean he fainted? Where is he?"
Sirius began to make his way for
the door.
" I levitated him to a bed and he's fine. Amortia will
be back any moment
now." She looked over her shoulder at the
Animagus. " The news must have been
too much of a shock."
" What news?"
" You're having babies! Isn't it wonderful?" She
turned to Dudley. " I don't
think they expected more then one at a time. And
now Lucius is carrying
triplets." Dudley's mouth dropped open just as
Sirius hit the floor with a
thud. The teenagers looked over to find him
sprawled on the floor, also
knocked out cold.
Luna sighed. " Must be something in the air."
" Wait." Dudley raised a hand to get her attention. "
Are you saying in the
Wizarding World men can get pregnant?"
" Well of course!" She patted his head in an absent
manner as she stood. " I
must get back to my father now. I'll see you later,
Dudley."
" Wait! What about Mr. Black? We can't just leave
him here."
" Oh right. Why don't I teach you how to levitate
him, then we can move him to
the bed Lucius is sleeping in." Luna began to move
back to him, but then she
froze and sadness filled her eyes.
" Luna?" Dudley moved over to her.
" My father is gone." She said softly and then
looked heavenward. " It's my
time now." Then she too promptly fainted.
" Buggering hell!" Dudley looked all around the
empty library for some sort of
help. " What do I do? I have no idea what to do?"
Dudley ran out of the library, looking down the
corridor looking for any sign
of someone to help. Finally he remembered what
Sirius had told him when he
picked him up that morning. Should anything
happen at the manor, if they were
attacked in someway, Dudley was to go to the
fireplace and travel to some
place called the Burrow and seek out Mrs. Weasley
for help. They weren't being
attacked, but he certainly needed help. People were
dropping like flies all
around him. He hoped this wasn't a daily
occurrence. That might get a little
stressful.
Dudley ran down the corridor to the fireplace Sirius
had shown him and
tentatively picked up the jar with the powder in it.
He sniffed it before
reaching in and taking a hand full. He took a deep
breath then threw the
powder in the fire. He jumped back in surprise
when the flames flared and
turned green. " Here goes nothing."
Closing his eyes, he jumped into the flames. He
released a breath when he
didn't feel himself burning up. Nothing was
happening. He opened his eyes and
frowned. What else was he supposed to do? He
couldn't remember._ I'm supposed
to say something, I think… Oh right! _
" The Burrow!"
He gasped and inhaled a bunch of soot as he was
whisked away, praying he would
end up at the Burrow, praying Mrs. Weasley would
be there and not inclined to
curse him the moment she saw him.
Molly was in the kitchen when the Floo activated.
Not expecting any visitors
at the time, she drew her wand and approached the
fireplace and waited. A
moment later a boy tumbled out to land face down
on the floor, coughing up a
storm. Recognizing him from the brief encounter at
Grimmauld Place earlier in
the summer and being warned by Sirius that he
instructed his student to go to
the Burrow should he need help, Molly immediately
put her wand away and helped
him up.
" Is this the right place?" he wheezed as the plump
woman helped him up and
dusted off his clothes. " Is this the Burrow?"
" Yes, Mr. Dursley." She replied, her smile just a
little bit frigid.
" You're Mrs. Weasley?"
" I am."
" You have to come back with me. Mr. Malfoy
fainted, Mr. Black fainted, and
Luna fainted. I have no idea what to do! Nobody
was around-"
" All right now, you just calm down. We'll go at
once." Mrs. Weasley pulled
the Floo powder out and threw some back in the
fire. " Back you go. I'll be
right behind you."
" Thank you."
They traveled back to the manor and quickly made
it to the library where Luna
and Sirius were still out cold. " What happened?"
Mrs. Weasley asked.
" Luna says Mr. Malfoy fainted after being told he's
going to have babies.
Sirius fainted after Luna said it would be triplets.
Luna fainted because…
well I'm not sure. She said her father's gone and
now it's her time."
" Good Merlin!" Molly rushed over to Sirius and
pointed her wand at him. "
_Aguamenti_." She didn't even wait to see if that
worked before she moved over
to Luna.
As Sirius' body was soaked in cold water he barked
out as he shot straight up.
" Lucius!"
" Sirius, some help please. And we'll go and find
Lucius."
They worked on Luna for a few minutes, trying
everything from the water spell
to enervate but nothing would work. In the end
they decided to bring her to
bed. Dudley thought it said a lot about his concern
for the girl when instead
of using his wand to transport her Sirius
immediately scooped Luna up and
cradled her close to his chest.
" At least she's breathing normally, her color is
good. Amortia should be able
to tell us. Let's find Lucius now." Mrs. Weasley said.
" Molly? She said Lucius is having triplets." Sirius
whispered thickly as they
moved through the manor.
" I know, dear." Molly patted his arm and smiled
brightly. She had tears in
her eyes, happy with the prospect of having new
babies around to spoil. "
We'll get Lucius checked to make sure. But
somehow I think Luna is right."
" She does seem to know things." Sirius swallowed
thickly. " But… Triplets.
Triplets, Molly."
" Congratulations, Sirius." Her arm reached out to
grab hold of him when he
started to sway, and Dudley rushed over to stand
on the other side of him.
" He's going to kill me." Sirius whispered.
They went to Luna's room first, having no idea
where the young witch had
placed Lucius. When they entered they were
surprised to find Lucius lying on a
conjured bed, while Xenophilius Lovegood's bed
was empty and he was nowhere to
be seen.
" Where's poor Xeno?" Molly asked Dudley.
" I don't know. Luna said he was gone now." Dudley
said. " I assumed she meant
he had died. Do people in the Wizarding World
disappear when they die?"
" Not unless the Dark Lord has ordered it." Sirius
said in an attempt at humor
but he dropped his grin when Molly gave him a
stern look.
Lucius shifted on the bed, and Sirius shoved Luna
into Dudley's arms and then
he was beside his waking husband in an instant,
looking worried and more then
a little terrified. " Luce?"
" Hmm?" Lucius rolled over and seeing Sirius he
smiled. Sirius only managed to
sigh in relief, thinking maybe Lucius wouldn't be too
upset, only to freeze
again when Lucius sat up and a cold vindictiveness
filled his gray eyes.
Before Sirius could back away, Lucius' hand swung
out and caught Sirius
perfectly in the eye, sending the Animagus
stumbling backwards.
" Babies!" he yelled. " I'm having babies! Not one,
but two! I only agreed to
one, you bastard!"
" Actually… Luna said triplets." Dudley put in after
depositing Luna on one of
the beds. Lucius gasped and stared at his abdomen
in terror.
" Dursley, I was just beginning to like you…" Sirius
growled. " Baby?" he
reached out to his pale, trembling husband only to
have his hand slapped away.
" Don't you dare touch me. Stay away from me."
Lucius sneered. " You and your
super sperm!"
Dudley choked on a laugh as Lucius stormed from
the room, and Molly tisked as
she fretted over Luna. " That could have gone
worse." She said.
" Oh yeah. Like that wasn't bad enough." Sirius ran a
hand through his hair
and blew out a breath. Triplets. He sank down
heavily onto the bed. Lucius may
yet kill him.
Hermione and Tom leisurely strolled around the
lake, their arms entwined as
they talked quietly. The picnic had a large turn out
of all houses and every
year, and they were happy enough to see the
students were mingling all right.
A large part of that had to do with most of the
Slytherins having come and
immediately made an effort to mix in with the other
houses. Of course they did
this on Draco's orders, and everyone in that house
was too afraid of him to go
against his word. Once the other houses saw the
Slytherins making an effort,
things progressed phenomenally well after that. It
also helped that Ginny went
bouncing around from one group to another,
pulling other students along with
her. And because of this new order from
Dumbledore, they thought it would be
best for Dean and Neville to stop pretending to
dislike Harry. They could use
all the house cooperation they could get. Dean and
Neville spent most of their
time answering questions the students had about
Harry, trying to put the other
students at ease, convincing them Harry was not
evil and was the same as he
always was. They were largely successful, much to
Ron and Seamus' disgust.
" I should be mad at Draco for skipping out."
Hermione was saying to Tom. "
But after you told me what he's about today, I can't
really be mad. I'm
actually rather excited."
" I'm looking forward to seeing the look on Harry's
face." Tom said with a
small smile. " He always has the best expressions."
Harry came running up then, a pensive look on his
face. " I have to go!
Something's wrong with Sirius and Draco says
Lucius is in a right state."
" Did they send you an owl?" Hermione asked.
Harry quickly shook his head. " Empathic,
remember?"
" But they aren't any where near you two." Tom
said.
" Maybe it's because Lucius is close to Draco and I'm
close to Sirius. I don't
know. All I do know is that we can feel something's
not exactly right."
" Okay, Harry. You go see what's wrong." Hermione
said with a hug.
" I'm going with you." Tom said.
Harry nodded at Tom. " Hey, Mione. Uncle Sev is
out here somewhere… I don't
know, but I think he's looking for someone…"
Hermione gasped excitedly and left them in search
of her man, with Talyn
following at a reasonable distance.
Tom and Harry arrived at Malfoy Manor not long
after and were immediately
ushered to Luna's room by a house elf sent from
Lucius. Said Lord of the Manor
sequestered himself off in his room, refusing to see
or speak to anyone.
Sirius was found pacing in front of Luna's room and
the moment he spotted
Harry, he ran and threw his arms around him in a
bone-crushing hug.
" Thank Merlin you're here! I don't know what to
do. I convinced him and now
I've fucked it up! He's going to want to divorce me!
No! He's going to kill
me. As soon as the sixth month mark comes
around, I'm dead! Tommy, get another
guy to work with the Lestranges'. I won't be long on
this earth. I guarantee
it. I'm going to die!"
" Perhaps Black, you can start over. Release Harry,
because I'm pretty sure
he's turning blue from lack of oxygen. Then explain
the situation like a
reasonable person. And if you know what's good for
you, you will refrain from
referring to me as Tommy."
" Like a reasonable person?" Sirius repeated slowly,
then he looked at Harry.
" This guy serious?"
" What's going on, Padfoot?"
Sirius took a deep breath to calm down. When that
didn't work, he worked on
his hair, dragging his fingers through it more then
once until Tom hissed in
annoyance. " I convinced Luce to take the
pregnancy potion and now he's
pregnant with triplets!" After that was out, he blew
out a breath and slumped
back against the wall.
Tom was able to get over the shock first. " Triplets?
The first time? I'm
impressed, Black. Very impressed. How do you
know?"
" Luna told him. Lucius only took the potion the day
you left for school. I
didn't know it would work so quickly…"
" Or so efficiently." Harry said with a snort. " You're
going to be a dad,
Sirius."
" No. Weren't you listening to me? I'm dead!"
" Surely you're making too much out of this." Tom
said in amusement. Sirius
gave him a look.
" I think we should talk about other things right
now. I'm feeling slightly
sick to my stomach." He moaned.
" How's Luna then?" Harry asked.
Sirius frowned. " I don't know. She scared the shite
out of Dudley. Fainted on
him right after she said her father was gone. And
she meant that literally.
His body is no where to be found."
Harry pushed passed him into the room, finding
Luna in bed with Amortia
leaning over her. Dudley sat in the corner watching,
while Mrs. Weasley was
standing opposite Amortia also watching with a
worried expression. Sirius
remained out in the hall, still in shock over how his
life had just been
turned upside down… again. Triplets!
" Harry! Tom!" Mrs. Weasley crossed to them and
gave each boy a hug. Harry
grinned when it was Tom's turn and the young Dark
Lord looked like he didn't
know how to react. Harry motioned for him to hug
the woman back. Which he did,
even if it was a bit stiff.
" How is she?" they moved over to the bed.
" Sleeping, as far as I can tell." Amortia said as she
stood up straight and
put away her wand.
" As far as you can tell?" Tom asked lowly. That was
not an acceptable answer.
" She is sleeping, but it's not a normal sleep. Her
mind is still very active.
The readings are off the scale actually."
" A nightmare? Is it a curse or something?" Harry
asked as he took one of
Luna's hands. He was relieved to find it soft and
warm.
" No, nothing like that." Amortia said. " Should it be
something like a
nightmare the readings would be different. Her
heart rate and blood pressure
wouldn't be normal as it is now."
" I'm glad to hear that. I don't think we need to
worry." When everyone looked
at him, Harry shrugged. " She said something would
be happening today. And
then she said she would see me at school two days
later. I'm pretty sure
she'll be awake in two days."
Luna was lying on her back, her long blonde hair
spread out over the pillow.
Her breathing was normal, deep and slow, and she
had a small smile on her
lips. Harry didn't say anything, but he watched as
Tom moved his hand slightly
and let his fingers barely touch the ends of Luna's
hair. When he caught Harry
watching he quickly dropped his hand and averted
his attention. It wasn't his
fault the Lovegood girl's hair attracted him like
melted gold. Or the fact he
was irritated because her large eyes weren't
opened and slightly dazed as
normal. Tom found himself getting angry at his own
thoughts and scowled at the
room at large as he went to stand in an empty
corner and crossed his arms over
his chest. Harry wanted to laugh. There was a pout
on the Dark Lord's lips. A
pout! When Tom caught the amused light in his
brother's eyes, he bared his
fangs and then fled the room, just barely keeping
himself from slamming the
door behind him.
Amortia and Molly didn't seem to have noticed
Tom's actions, as they were too
busy talking about what might be wrong with Luna.
Harry turned away from them
with one last look at Luna and then went over to
Dudley who seemed to be
watching the goings on with interest. Harry was
glad to see Dudley had lost
more weight during the few days they had seen
each other last. He looked fit
and well. And Harry was surprised to note his cousin
was actually turning out
to be a decent looking guy. And there was hardly
any resemblance to his
bastard of a father. Which was also very relieving to
Harry.
" Hell of a first day, huh?" he asked.
Dudley snorted. " That's an understatement. Is it
like this all the time?"
" People aren't always passing out if that's what you
mean. But Lucius' and
Sirius' news is a pretty big shock. I can see why
they're acting more scared
then anything."
" I think Mr. Malfoy really will kill him. He looked
mad enough."
" Triplets aren't normal for male pregnancies. I
imagine he's scared."
_Draco?_
_Lover? _
_You should come to the manor?_
_Why? What's wrong? _
_I really don't want to tell you this way. You should
come home and talk to
your father. He's locked himself up and refuses to
see anyone. And he needs to
let Amortia see him. _
_Amortia? But you said nothing was wrong. _
_Come home and find out. _
A crack filled the air and Draco was there, looking
worried and flushed. "
Well?" he demanded. He started to fidget slightly
and Harry looked at him
oddly.
" I believe Luna's father has died." Harry said and
raised an eyebrow when
Draco quickly looked away from him and ran a hand
through his perfect hair,
causing his long bangs to stand out in disarray.
Something was definitely
wrong with his mate.
" Is that all? Not to sound rude but you could have
told me that without
having me come here."
Harry chuckled and shook his head. " C'mon. Let's
go see your father." Harry
grabbed Draco's hand and paused a moment when
he felt the blonde's hand was
slick with sweat. " Maybe you can persuade him to
come out." _Draco, what's
wrong with you?_
_Nothing! I mean... I'm perfectly fine, love. Let's go
see my father._
Dudley remained with Mrs. Weasley. She seemed
like a solid woman and he was
sure he was safe from being fainted on with her
around. He waved back at Harry
before turning back to listen in on the Healer and
Mrs. Weasley's interesting
discussion.
" What's going on?" Draco was wary when his lover
turned and gave him an
amused smile.
" Sirius, why don't you tell Draco what's going on."
Harry said once they were
out in the hall. Draco raised an eyebrow as Sirius
slid down the wall and
buried his head in his hands.
" Triplets." He muttered. " Not one, not two, but
three!"
" Triplets?"
" As in babies." Harry said, and watched as it clicked
in Draco's mind. His
lover's jaw slackened as he stared down at the
Animagus.
" My father is pregnant with triplets? Oh Merlin.
You are so dead."
Sirius nodded and whimpered.
Draco and Harry found Tom outside of Lucius' room
trying to coax the elder
blonde out. He wasn't being nice about it either.
Harry thought it rather
funny Tom was using threats even though he knew
his brother was only mildly
concerned for Lucius' health.
" You should open this door before I blow it open!
Sulking and hiding away
does not become you, Lucius!" There was no
answer, but there hadn't been one
since he'd started. " Lucius! Open this bloody
fucking door now or i swear-"
" I guess you should never have burned the mark off
his arm. He doesn't have
to listen to you anymore." Harry said as walked up.
Draco began pounding on the door. " Father, you
will open this door and allow
Amortia to check you over!"
" Oh, go to Hell, Draco! You're not the one having
triplets!" Lucius hissed
loudly. " Triplets! I'm going to murder that bastard
who touched me."
" At least he answered you." Tom muttered darkly. "
He must be glad you're
here."
Draco smiled at that. It was good to know. " Father,
it's not really Sirius'
fault. He didn't know…"
The door was finally pulled open to reveal a very
pale wizard whose eyes
looked permanently thunder struck. " He didn't
know? He bloody well should
have known his sperm was going to attack with a
vengeance."
" Please let Amortia look at you." Harry asked after
a chuckle. " Maybe Luna
is wrong."
" You know she isn't wrong. Loony Lovegood seems
to know everything!" Lucius
hissed.
Sirius came running down the hall. " Lucius!" He
skidded to a stop in front of
the door. Before anything could be said and before
Lucius could slam the door
in his face, Sirius lunged forward and wrapped his
arms around his husband.
" We're going to have babies." He whispered
against his lover's ear. " You're
going to have my babies." Sirius ignored everyone
and kicked the door shut in
their faces. His shock was fading and now all he
wanted to do was worship the
body carrying his children. " Do you know how long
I've waited for this? How
much I've wanted this since the moment I realized I
was in love with you?"
Lucius gritted his teeth in annoyance when his
resolve to keep the jackass
away from him started to crumble and he slowly
returned the embrace. He
supposed it really wasn't Siri's fault, though it also
really was because
Sirius had been so sad when he first said no to the
idea and he couldn't bear
to see his husband without everything he wanted.
Sirius' happiness meant more
to him then almost anything…
" You're not going to want me in a few months
time." He replied in an odd
tone. For some reason it felt like there was
something lodged in his throat
that was making his voice tremble and his eyes
stung as if he were about to
cry. But that was ridiculous. Malfoys do not cry.
" Stupid Slytherin. Of course I will. Besides, you can
use this to your full
advantage. No one is going to want you to lift a
finger after this day. You're
going to be so pampered, Luce."
Sirius smiled when Lucius relaxed in his arms. He
reached around and pulled
his lover's hair free of its restraint and buried his
hands in the hair as he
bent forward to leave a trail of searing kisses down
Lucius' neck.
" Gods! I love you." He backed Lucius up until his
husband fell onto the bed.
Lucius smirked up at him. " You're only saying that
because I'm probably
carrying your heir."
" I'd be just as happy knowing you were carrying
three girls, Luce. Merlin, we
could have three daughters!"
Lucius' eyes widened for a moment before they
suddenly softened and a tender
smile crossed his face. " I would like that. I think…
having daughters would
be lovely."
Sirius sighed in relief as he lay over his husband and
cupped the man's face.
" I'll take care of you."
" I know."
Tom, Draco, and Harry returned to Hogwarts soon
after that, having seen Sirius
and Lucius were over their shock and Lucius had
finally allowed Amortia to
check him. Luna's prediction had been correct.
Lucius was pregnant with
triplets. The three young _Ukatae_ were still
shaking their heads over that
when they returned to school just in time for
dinner. During all of this Harry
could tell something was going on with his lover,
but Draco continued to
insist everything was as it should be.
" I can't believe it! Triplets." Hermione whispered
excitedly to Harry during
dinner.
" Dudley told me Lucius said for Sirius to stay away
from him. Him and his
super sperm." Dean snorted and he nodded. " Yeah,
I thought that was funny
too. But poor Dudley. Everyone was fainting on him.
He had to Floo himself to
the Burrow and fetch Molly."
" At least he knows things will never get boring."
Hermione said as she sent a
quick look over Harry's shoulder at the Slytherin
table. Draco was there,
sitting quietly and staring at his plate. He hardly
touched his food. And she
noticed he kept licking his lips in a nervous fashion.
Finally he lifted his
gaze and stared at Harry's back for a moment
before pulling up his courage and
standing. Hermione focused back on Harry and was
glad to see he was still
occupied with his dinner and did not notice the
Slytherin table had grown
quiet as Draco continued to stand where he was.
The Slytherins were all
looking at their leader curiously, wondering what he
was about. In a moment,
the Ravenclaws started to quiet down when they
noticed how quiet the Slytherin
table was and then they too were quiet and
watching. It was obvious Draco
Malfoy planned to do something. Severus watched
his godson curiously and
raised an eyebrow at Tom when the Dark Lord
flashed him a quick grin.
Dumbledore looked slightly pensive and leaned
forward in his chair. The other
teachers were watching as well, but they all seemed
to be curious.
Draco finally moved and began to make his way
around his table before passing
the Ravenclaw table. The Hufflepuffs grew quiet
when they caught sight of his
cold eyes and the nasty sneer as he passed them.
The entire Hall fell silent
when Draco came to stand directly behind Harry,
who began looking down his own
table curiously as they had suddenly gone quiet.
" Potter, I want a word with you."
Harry stiffened from hearing Draco speak in such a
cold tone and glared when
he heard Ron snickering behind his hand. Hermione
locked eyes with him as he
stood and she smiled encouragingly.
_What are you doing?_ He asked as he stood and
turned to face his mate.
Draco's face was blank and he didn't verbally
answer. Just quirked an eyebrow
at him as his hand disappeared into a pocket. A
moment later his shaking hand
reappeared with a black box clutched within his
fingers. Harry gasped upon
seeing the box and then as his wide green eyes met
warming silver he backed up
in surprise and would have fallen backwards across
the table if Dean hadn't
steadied him with a hand to his back.
" Harry." Draco said softly and took his hand. In the
next moment everyone
watched as Draco Malfoy bent down on one knee in
front of the entire school
and smiled up at his speechless mate. Professor
Flitwick squeaked and once
again fell off his chair as gasps of disbelief filled the
hall. Professor
Trelawney actually passed out in her chair in her
shock, eliciting a dramatic
sigh as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Not
one of the other
Professors made to revive her as they were too
busy watching.
Hermione leaned over to whisper in Neville's ear, " I
bet Trelawney never saw
this coming." Neville snorted and nodded.
Severus' eyes went wide and he sat on the edge of
his seat watching the scene
unfold, feeling strangely warm and excited himself.
McGonagall sat back in her
chair, her eyes wide and mouth covered with both
hands, while Dumbledore's
eyes flashed wildly for a moment before he could
control himself.
And as for the students…The Slytherins all stood so
they could see what was
going on, some even going so far as to stand on the
benches. Ginny and Pansy
were two of those people, both hopping on their
toes while Blaise and Tom
stood to their sides and kept a hand on the girl's
backs so they wouldn't fall
off in their excitement. The other houses quickly
followed suit, standing
beside the tables, climbing onto the benches,
moving around so they could see
everything. No one wanted to miss a word or
action, and they all waited for
what they knew was coming next.
" Harry." He said again, and he tightened his hold on
his lover's hand. " This
shouldn't really come as a surprise to you. You
know you have my heart for all
of time. You've been in my head every day since we
were eleven. Every day
since I met you at Madam Malkin's…"
Draco took a deep breath, trying to push away the
huge amount of nerves
running through him and during that time
Dumbledore began to rise from his
chair, intent on putting a stop to this. Severus stood
as well and prepared to
stop Dumbledore's impending interruption. No one
was going to ruin this moment
for his boys. He took one step before he felt a firm
hand on his shoulder
stopping him. Brumek was suddenly beside him,
staring coldly at the headmaster
as Ozemir appeared beside the old wizard. Severus
returned to his seat, happy
to let the Scholar deal with the crack pot old wizard.
No one was paying any
attention to the two _Ukatae_ who had suddenly
appeared.
Ozemir began hissing in the old wizard's ear. " I'll rip
your heart out with
my bare hand if you so much as utter one word,
human." Ozemir's eyes darkened
until they were sparkling blood red jewels and his
claws sunk into
Dumbledore's arm as he pushed the wizard back
into his seat. " You will let
them have their moment. Understand?"
Dumbledore had no choice but to let Draco
go on, and he watched as Draco continued to speak
words that made Harry's eyes
water.
" Harry, there was always something there with us.
At first we thought it was
hate and we were content with that. But as we
grew older I started to
understand…I'm so happy to have finally discovered
it wasn't hate at all. I'm
so happy to know you love me as much as I love you
and I want to spend the
rest of eternity with you." Draco opened the box
and Harry's surprised gasp
filled the hall, while the students scrambled to the
sides to try and get a
better look.
" Will you, Harry James Potter, do me the honor of
being my mate, my lover,
and my husband for all eternity?"
Harry could only stare into his mate's shining eyes
and watched in a numbing
silence as Draco slid the white gold ring onto his
finger without waiting for
the obvious answer. The moment it was on, the hall
erupted in sound. Most of
the Gryffindors began to cheer, loudly led by a
crying Hermione, Neville, Dean
and the first years, followed shortly by the
Slytherins once Tom looked down
the table and glared at everyone who looked like
they weren't certain what to
do. One look from Tom and they were all cheering.
The professors were even cheering. All except
Hagrid and Dumbledore. Professor
Klyne politely clapped but his smile was certainly
not sincere and he had a
bored expression on his face. Hermione looked over
to see Professor McGonagall
smiling such a smile, and her hands were pressed
against her chest, a tear
traveling down her cheek as she watched. Hagrid
only looked confused and he
kept looking at Dumbledore and frowning. With the
smile on Harry's face, it
was hard for anyone to believe he was some evil
creature now, and it seemed
now Hagrid was mentally questioning whether
Dumbledore had told him the truth.
Finally he gave up being confused and stood, and
began clapping his large
hands and calling out encouragement. Hermione
smiled. Even though Harry wasn't
paying any attention to anyone other then the man
kneeling in front of him, he
would be happy to know Hagrid was happy for him.
Harry pulled on Draco's hand until the tall blonde
was standing again. Draco
moved and wrapped his arms around his trembling
mate. " Do you love me?"
" Yes. I love you, Draco."
" You _are _going to marry me, Potter." It wasn't a
question and Harry laughed
as he threw his arms around Draco's neck.
" Yes."
Draco's hands slid into Harry's hair and he tilted his
mate's face up before
closing his mouth over his lover's in a slow toe
curling kiss that had the
entire hall shaking the rafters with their cheering,
cat calls and whistles.
Most clapped in shock and disbelief that something
like this could ever
happen. No one ever imagined they would be
witness to Draco Malfoy proposing
to Harry Potter.
Hermione wiped at her eyes as she watched her
brothers. Draco pulled back only
slightly and slid his arm around Harry's waist and
began to lead the blushing
Gryffindor out of the Hall. When they were gone,
Neville leaned over close to
whisper in Hermione's ear.
" That was genius. Besides the fact that that was
one of the most romantic
proposals I've ever heard of, it was a blatant slap in
the face to Dumbledore
especially after the Headmaster's announcements
this morning. Draco single
handedly showed the entire school houses didn't
matter anymore. It's the
person. Every single house was clapping for them."
Hermione nodded. " Well done, Draco." She sighed
and dabbed at her eyes with
her napkin.
Dean chuckled. " Did you see the look of shock on
Harry's face? Brilliant!"
" Oh come on!" Ron suddenly shouted, tired of
hearing everyone around him
talking about Potter and Malfoy. " You don't
honestly think it will last, do
you? It's a Slytherin and Gryffindor… It's Potter and
Malfoy, for Merlin's
sake! Why the hell are all of you cheering-"
" Pipe down, Ron! That was so romantic!" Parvati
cooed, and Lavender nodded
her head in agreement.
" Yeah, and did you see the ring? That emerald was
huge!" she exclaimed
excitedly. " Wonder if Harry will let me get a better
look at it?"
_Not bloody likely! _Hermione thought with a snort.
" Don't you get it, Weasley?" Pansy called across the
hall. " It doesn't
matter what house they are from! Did it look like it
mattered to them? So stay
quiet and keep your jealous comments to yourself!"
Hermione sat in her seat, shocked and very pleased
when others from every
house called out their agreements with the
Slytherin witch. She was pretty
sure Draco hadn't proposed like this just for house
unity. In fact, she was
willing to bet he hadn't done it for that reason at all,
but in one fell swoop
he joined the houses. Because how could anyone
think anything bad about Harry
and Draco after a scene like that? How could
something that was so beautiful
and heart moving not make people see the truth of
the matter? Draco might not
have meant to but he'd just closed the gap between
the houses without even
trying.
" Twenty points to Slytherin for your show of house
unity." Severus suddenly
called out, and inwardly laughed when every eye
turned on him incredulously.
Then McGonagall stood and smiled at her students.
" Twenty points to Gryffindor for your show of
house unity!" Severus turned
and scowled at her. She sent him a smirk and sat
down, ignoring the
Headmaster's stare of disbelief.
" Also twenty points to Ravenclaw for your show of
house unity!" Professor
Flitwick added with a bounce and a happy clap.
" And twenty points to Hufflepuff for your show of
house unity." Professor
Sprout called out in a shaking watery voice.
McGonagall leaned back and handed
the crying woman a handkerchief before dabbing at
her own eyes with another
one.
Harry snuggled closer into the warmth of his
sleeping mate and sighed happily
as he stared at his hand, at his finger where the
white gold band shined
brightly along with the single emerald stone. Draco
murmured something in his
sleep and he shifted, his arm tightening around
Harry's waist and pulling him
closer until he was practically on top of the blonde.
Harry laughed softly and
kissed Draco's chin before letting his head drop
back onto Draco's chest. He
stared wide-eyed into the darkness, allowing one
tear to escape him and run
down his cheek to splash onto Draco's chest. A
moment later he felt fingers
carding through his hair, soothing his rapidly
beating heart.
" You should sleep, lover."
" How do you expect me to sleep? After what you
did… All I can do is feel
right now." He replied softly before moving to lick
up the salty tear he let
fall, his tongue happily continuing on with its travels
over every inch of
Draco's chest until the blonde was wide awake and
panting for more. Harry
gripped his hips and dipped his tongue lower until
Draco was constantly trying
to buck his hips, gasping out Harry's name, begging
for more.
" Harry?" Draco was having trouble getting his
breathing under control, but he
was desperate to know. " Harry, when are you
going to marry me?"
" Halloween." Harry replied instantly. " We'll get
married on Halloween.
Alright?"
Draco sighed and hugged his mate close to him. "
That's perfect."
Harry grinned at his mate as he shifted over Draco,
lowering himself over his
lover's twitching, leaking cock. " It is, isn't it?" he
gasped as he took
Draco inside him, prepared to keep his lover up all
night to show how great he
thought it was.
As usual, Tom was up exceedingly early the next
morning. He quickly showered
and dressed before leaving the dorm room and
then the Slytherin common room,
intent on having a talk with his favorite Potions
Master.
He knocked on the door and waited, then smirked
when he heard an annoyed hiss
from inside. He knew exactly what was going
through Severus' mind. It was only
the first day of school, hours before breakfast, and
already the students were
annoying him. His smirk was still in place when
Severus finally pulled open
the door to his office. Tom entered without so
much as a hello and chuckled
when a scowl was aimed his way.
" I was unable to talk with Lucius last night." He
immediately began. " So
much happened and he was a bit dazed…
Completely understandable considering
the news he was given. Have you been told what
happened at the manor?" he
asked as he took a seat in front of the Potion
Master's desk. " I assume you
haven't been made aware because Harry and Draco
were too busy together after
last night's exciting show to have told you." Tom
said as he watched Severus
return to his seat behind his desk.
" I haven't been told. Coffee?" Severus offered.
" I'll have tea, thank you." Severus summoned a
house elf and once Tom's tea
was in his hand, the Dark Lord continued on. He
leaned back and crossed his
legs.
" Lovegood's body has disappeared and his
daughter is now unconscious. We have
no idea why that is. Perhaps she'll be able to tell us
when she wakes up,
which Harry is certain will be tomorrow."
" Miss Lovegood might not tell us. She has been
very vague in regards to
answers about her father's illness." Severus said
before picking up his coffee
for a long drink. He was certain he would need all
the caffeine and pepper-up
potions in store by the time this day ended. Blasted
Dumbledore had tripled
every ones' workload by separating the houses for
each lesson. He thought it
was a small miracle that it was only the fifth, sixth,
and seventh years
classes that were split.
" There is probably good reason." Tom went on
about Lovegood. " But I think we
should continue to keep an eye on her. Dumbledore
wanted Lovegood out of the
way for a reason and she seems to have some
strange powers…" Tom ended softly
and Severus nodded in agreement. " Next, let's
see…" Tom's eyes crinkled as a
grin erupted on his face. " And our dear friend
Lucius is pregnant with
triplets."
Severus' mouth dropped open and the coffee he
was in the process of drinking
dribbled out of his mouth and down his chin.
Tom tisked. " Severus, really." He waved his wand
to clean up the mess.
Severus managed to close his mouth, but a soft
snort escaped him as he and Tom
stared in amusement at each other. And then a
chuckle escaped him. And in the
next moment, Severus Snape's head was on his
desk and his shoulders were
shaking with uncontrollable laughter.
" Oh gods! Oh gods!" Severus tried to contain his
laughter but it was a
failing effort. " Lucius is- Triplets! Ha!"
" It's a shame Lucius didn't think it was so funny."
Tom remarked.
" Tell me. Did he kill Black? Please tell me he killed
him…" Severus said
after regaining his composure.
" No, Black still lives."
" I keep telling everyone… Black causes chaos
wherever he goes!"
" But you have to admit it is very impressive Black
was able to impregnate
Lucius so quickly after the potion was taken. And for
him to beget three at
once is incredible."
" I will not admit anything of the sort." Severus said
with a sniff.
" Come now, Severus. You said you would try to get
along with him. I find
myself liking the wizard more everyday."
" Fine." Severus said grudgingly. " I will admit. It is
impressive. I suppose
we should all be grateful he is only now having
children. Otherwise, if they
had been able to start a family years ago, we would
be overrun with thier
offspring." Severus shuddered at the thought.
" Hmm."
They sat in silence for a short time, drinking their
coffee and tea in a
comfortable silence, before Tom suddenly
remembered something. " Severus, I'm
not sure you are aware of this… I don't know if
Draco or Harry have told you,
but Parkinson was disposed of at the meeting you
were unable to attend a few
days ago."
" I was not told but I did expect it. I knew you
wouldn't allow him to live
after his impudence."
Tom nodded. " I mention this because I thought you
might like to know who shot
the Killing Curse."
Severus studied him as he drank his coffee. " Why
would I care about who did
it?" he finally asked. " He's gone. That's all that
matters, isn't it?"
" It was Hermione."
Severus' fingers tightened around his coffee cup. "
Did you make her do it?"
he finally asked.
Tom arched an eyebrow. " You know I would never
make her do something like
that. She did it on her own. I thought either Harry or
Draco would do it but
they began arguing, both wanting to be the one to
take Parkinson's life.
Hermione became impatient and did it before we
knew what was happening." Tom
leaned forward. " Severus, she didn't even need to
concentrate, and she did it
all with a straight face. And her voice… no emotion
whatsoever. It was quite a
sight.
" We were worried about her state of mind after
that, but she went on as if
she'd never done it."
" Just because she acts like everything is normal
doesn't mean its true."
Severus replied softly.
" I realize this. That's why I'm telling you. I think if
Draco, Harry, or
myself tried to talk to her about it, she would not
tell the truth if she were
in emotional pain over it. She would lie to keep us
from worrying about her.
But I know you would pull the truth out of her."
Severus nodded. " Thank you for telling me. I will
see to her well being."
Harry woke bright eyed and early and he was happy
for once to be the one to
wake his very tired mate. " Draco, get up. Classes
are starting earlier then
normal. Remember?"
" Fucking Dumbledore…" Draco muttered, before
rolling over onto his stomach. "
This is your fault, Harry. You didn't let me go to
sleep for hours."
Harry grinned and rolled Draco onto his back before
straddling the blonde and
nuzzling his neck. " Maybe you should have
proposed in the morning instead of
the evening, hmm?"
" I wanted to do it at night. Better atmosphere at
night." Draco mumbled.
" Everything's a show with you, isn't it?" Harry
asked fondly as Draco ran his
hands through Harry's hair. He loved Harry's hair. It
was black like midnight
and so soft...
" Of course. I always enjoy putting on a show,
except I wasn't doing it for
the purpose of uniting the houses. I was doing it to
show everyone-"
Harry smiled and shook his head. " You do want to
get to class in a timely
fashion, don't you? If you go on with that statement
I'll keep you here all
day."
" Right. Like that's going to get me up."
Harry pulled himself off and away from his mate,
and went to the bathroom.
Draco lifted his head and watched Harry saunter
away. He licked his lips and
watched his mate's naked form disappear into the
bathroom. A moment later, the
shower turned on.
_Come in with me and I'll give you my neck. That
should wake you up… All of
you._
_You don't have to worry about that, lover. That
part of me is wide awake._
Draco replied as he twisted out of the sheets and
hurried into the bathroom.
He vanished his boxers as he entered the shower
and immediately slammed Harry
up against the slick wall before sinking his teeth into
Harry's soft flesh. He
happily wrapped the Gryffindor's legs around his
waist when Harry's body went
lax as he sucked and licked his gorgeous fiancées
blood. He didn't stop there
and spread Harry's cheeks, easily entering the tight
hole, and moaned when
Harry pushed down hard against him while he cried
out his pleasure.
Draco took him hard and fast, leaving Harry's body
feeling boneless and
shuddering uncontrollably from the onslaught of
passion swirling in the
blonde's eyes when he pulled back to stare into
Harry's emerald orbs.
" Draco…" he whispered weakly as his head slipped
back against the shower
wall, his body still moving up and down against the
wall as the Slytherin
continued to pump into him.
Draco wrapped both arms around Harry, pressing
their chests tight together. "
Here, love." One hand buried into Harry's hair and
lifted his head from wall,
guiding the Gryffindor's mouth to his pale neck.
Outside in Draco's common room, Brumek rolled his
eyes. " Is there nothing
else they do?"
Ozemir snorted. " You are just jealous. When was
the last time you were able
to lose yourself the way they do?" he realized he
should have kept his mouth
shut. After all, he was trying to keep himself from
giving in to the Mates'
Call and mentioning something like that, bringing it
to Brumek's attention was
not the best way to go about it. And now he had
Brumek's burning gray eyes
staring intensely at him. His breath caught when the
warrior began to prowl
towards him with a look of determination upon his
face.
" And when was the last time you were able to lose
yourself in that way,
Ozemir? I'm willing to bet it's been just as long for
you as it has for me."
Brumek finished as he crowded Ozemir back against
a wall.
" What are you doing?" Ozemir growled in
confusion when the warrior put a hand
against the wall beside the white haired _Ukatae's_
head and leaned into him.
Brumek grinned wickedly as he dipped his head, his
mouth and nose trailing too
close over Ozemir's neck, against his hot skin. The
Scholar trembled when he
heard Brumek inhale deeply.
" Stop." Ozemir's voice sounded so weak as Brumek
raised a hand to caress the
other side of his neck. Ozemir gasped when he felt
the warrior's mouth against
his neck, tasting and probing for the blood running
just beneath. " Don't do
this." He begged. He almost lost himself when
Brumek's deep chuckle
reverberated against his chest.
" Why?" Brumek asked after running his tongue
lightly over Ozemir's jumping
pulse. " You must know I want you. Ozemir, I know
you want me."
" Stop it!" Ozemir hissed and roughly pushed
Brumek away from him. The warrior
frowned when he saw the pain within his mate's
eyes. " Why can't you leave
this as it is? You don't want me! You can't want me.
And I can't give in! I'm
going to die. And when that happens I don't want
you to suffer more because
mating will have sealed our bond. Just leave it,
Brumek!"
Ozemir quickly moved, circled around the room
away from Brumek and escaped out
into the hallway. Brumek watched as the door
closed behind his mate and
scowled at the stupidity of the Scholar. He was not
going to die! That was all
there was to it.
When Harry and Draco finally came out of the
bedroom, it was to find Brumek
still staring at the closed door.
" Brumek?" Harry asked in worry. The warrior gave
him a tight-lipped smile.
" May I have a word with you, Draco? In private?"
Brumek asked. Draco was
surprised. It was rare for Brumek to call him by
name.
" Of course. Harry, do you mind?" he asked with
apology. Harry smiled and
waved his concern away.
" I'll wait for you out in the hallway."
When Harry was gone and the door shut, Draco
turned to the warrior and noticed
how uncertain Brumek was looking. " What is it?"
" I was wondering…" Brumek stopped, his lips
pressing together as if he were
trying to keep himself from talking. Finally he
seemed to give up with a sigh.
" Did you have to court Harry?"
Draco grinned. " What do you mean court?"
The warrior growled in annoyance. " You know
damn well what I mean! Did you
have to woo your mate? And if so, how did you do
it?"
Draco wisely refrained from laughing, especially as
Brumek was looking
completely serious. " I really didn't have to woo
Harry." He couldn't help but
snort at the thought. " I had to chase after him one
time and get rid of his
ridiculous fears, but that's all." Draco shrugged
before smirking smugly. " My
idiot Gryffindor already loved me by that point. I am
irresistible after all."
" Thanks so much!" Brumek snapped. " You've been
no help at all!"
" I'm sorry, Brumek. But I shouldn't think you need
to court Ozemir."
" You think wrong. Ozemir doesn't want me to get
close to him. He's convinced
he's going to die."
Draco's amusement died. He did not want to
discuss that particular topic with
Brumek and he told the warrior exactly that.
Brumek nodded. " I understand.
You have a right to protect your mate, but I have a
right to protect mine. He
will not die and he will not have to go after you two.
I swear."
" I hope you're right. I don't want Ozemir to die
either. If Harry and I are
to be the new _Ukatae_ rulers, we want all of you
to be with us." Draco smiled
slightly at the surprised look on Brumek's face. "
Listen, if you want Ozemir
you have to show him. Prove it to him anyway you
can. Do things he's not
expecting…" Draco stopped and studied his guard. "
You want him? You really
want Ozemir as your mate."
Brumek looked away towards the door once again
and a small smile flitted
across his face. " Yes." He said softly.
" Then show him you want him at every possible
moment until he gives in.
That's all I can think to say. And if none of that
works," Draco grinned
evilly, " then chain him to a damn bed and take him.
Give him no choice."
Brumek rather liked that idea, and his dark grin
matched Draco's. " That would
be… enjoyable."
No one said one word when Harry Potter walked
out of the Slytherin Head dorm
with Draco hand in hand. There were quite a lot of
raised eyebrows but other
then that the Slytherins assumed this would be a
common occurrence now and
that they'd better get used to it. Besides, it was
obvious by the stupid
besotted look on his face that Draco Malfoy was in
love and this was not a
joke. Draco really intended to marry Harry Potter
which made Potter as good as
a Slytherin.
" Hey!" Ginny came bounding up and pushed
herself in between Harry and Draco.
" I wasn't expecting to see you down here, Harry."
" And why not?" Draco asked as he pushed her
away and into Blaise as he joined
them. " We're official now. Everyone in the
Wizarding World will know Harry
wears my ring by the end of the morning."
Harry raised an eyebrow and studied his smug
mate. " And how will the entire
Wizarding World know?"
Draco refused to answer and simply grinned,
regained Harry's hand and once
again started to leave the Snake pit. Only to be
stopped by Harry.
" Wait! I forgot. Hold on a moment." Harry turned
around and disappeared back
into Draco's quarters.
" At this rate we'll miss breakfast completely."
Draco complained. Blaise
looked at him curiously.
" What did you do? Why are you so eager to get to
breakfast?"
" I just want to read _The Prophet_ before we go to
class. That's all."
" Yeah right." Blaise said and threw an arm around
Ginny's shoulders as Pansy
came up to join them. Draco raised an eyebrow
when he realized she'd come in
from the common room entrance instead of the girl
dorms.
" Where's Luther?" Draco asked in response. Blaise
shrugged.
" He wasn't in the dorm when I woke up. He may
already be in the Great Hall."
" Got her! We can go now." Harry said as he
caressed a spot on his neck and
then laughed when there was a soft hiss in reply.
" Just keep her around your neck, lover. I don't want
Lovely trying to crawl
up my leg."
" Yes, we wouldn't want you fainting like your
father." Pansy said.
" Where did you just come from?" Draco snapped at
her.
" The Owlery. Care for breakfast now?" Pansy
breezed out of the common room
before any one could say anything more.
The Great Hall wasn't as loud as usual during the
morning when they arrived.
Seeing all the tired faces Harry assumed it was
because they were all down
earlier then normal, thanks to Dumbledore. The
Professors had more classes
during the day now and in order for every student
to have all the classes
required, the class day was now longer. Some
perked up when Harry and the
Slytherins arrived, but most were too busy trying to
keep their heads from
dropping into their breakfasts.
" I'll see you later." Harry said to Draco.
The blonde pressed his lips against Harry's. " I'll
come find you during a
break."
Harry nodded, then blushed when Draco ran a hand
over his arse and gave him a
small push towards the Gryffindor table.
" Geez, Draco. Right in front of everybody." Pansy
muttered as Harry
practically skipped over to his table and seated
himself next to Hermione,
Dean, and across from Neville.
" Sleep well, Harry?" Hermione asked with a small
smile. He grinned and shook
his head.
" Not much sleep." He replied before digging into
his breakfast with gusto.
Hermione shared an amused look with Dean and
Neville before they returned to
thier breakfasts. Professor McGonagall came by a
few minutes later handing out
class schedules.
When she came upon Harry she hesitated before
moving on and pressed a gentle
hand onto his shoulder. " Congratulations, Harry. I
hope the best for you and
Mr. Malfoy. I really do."
Harry met her eyes and smiled. " Thanks,
Professor." He replied softly.
McGonagall smiled, pat his shoulder and moved on.
" Yeah. She's on our side." Hermione said as she
looked over their schedules.
She grinned when she saw she and the other
seventh year Gryffindors had double
potions first thing in the morning. She quickly
gathered her things only
stopping when the owls arrived with the post.
" Harry, you'll be alright here with Dean and
Neville? I have to do something
before class starts."
" Sure, Hermione." He looked at her oddly, but she
didn't go on to explain.
" Okay. I'll see you in Potions. Oh! And bring _the
Prophet_ with you." She
said, nodding to the owl approaching with the
paper. Harry nodded and she
left. He caught Ron watching her go with narrowed
eyes before he turned to
Harry.
" Too bad, isn't it Potter?"
" What?" Harry asked as he reached for the paper,
too interested in reading it
to care about whatever stupid thing Ron was about
to spout.
" You won't be able to see Malfoy in class
anymore." He looked over at Seamus
who smirked at him. " But I guess we should all be
grateful. We won't be in
danger of catching whatever you and Malfoy have."
" Very amusing, Weasley. You can say whatever you
want," Harry stared at the
front page, at the large bold letters of the headline
and then grinned across
the hall at his mate, who was smirking smugly. " But
nothing you say to me
will ruin my good mood today. Please try, though.
I'm sure our classmates will
get a laugh watching you make a fool out of
yourself. Especially since you and
Finnegan fuck like bunnies every chance you get. Bit
hypocritical of you,
don't you think?"
Neville started to chuckle, and Dean shot a smirk at
Ron who had paled
dramatically. Harry grinned to himself and began to
read the paper.
**_DRACO MALFOY TO MARRY HARRY POTTER_**
_In a surprising visit yesterday evening, the Malfoy
heir has told yours truly
he and Harry Potter will be married as soon as
possible. To some this may come
as a fabulous surprise, but to others who have kept
a close watch over the
summer, this was expected as it has been rumored
the two are soul mates. I did
ask if there was any truth to that matter and Draco
Malfoy has reported he and
Potter are indeed soul mates. Malfoy has also said
there is no reason to wait
to make their bond and union permanent and
public. _
_As everyone knows, the Ministry of Magic keeps
records of things such as
this. After doing some research, I was able to
inspect this document, and Mr.
Malfoy and Mr. Potter's names have been located
on the historic soul mate
records which makes his claim that they are soul
mates not simply a claim, but
it is in fact the truth. Mr. Malfoy has not yet
reported when or where the
wedding will take place, but he did promise to let all
our loyal readers know
as soon as he and Mr. Potter decide upon the
details. This is one reporter who
will wait with bated breath for more information on
the upcoming wedding of
the century. __**Rita Skeeter**_
Harry mentally sighed in happiness as he raised his
head and smiled at Draco.
_Let's skip first class._
_Right. And have Uncle Sev mad as hell at you?_
" The wedding of the century?" he heard Ron say. "
Give me a break!" He
snorted and threw his copy of _the Prophet_ back
onto the table.
Harry looked at him with a grin. " I'd be happy to
break your neck." Behind
him he heard Brumek snort.
Harry then stood and motioned for Dean and
Neville to follow. " Let's get to
Potions. I'm sure Professor Snape is in a horrible
mood. Let's not make it
worse by being late."
Neville groaned, but did get up and grabbed his
stuff along with Dean. As
Neville passed, Seamus stuck out his foot and
tripped him. Neville fell and
the contents of his bag spilt across the floor.
Seamus sneered down at the boy
as he began to pick up his stuff.
" Traitor. Following after him like a dog."
Harry and Dean hurried round the table, and were
helped by some Hufflepuffs
from the neighboring table as they helped Neville
gather his things and repair
his broken ink bottles. _Don't worry about it, Draco.
We've got it. _Harry
said after Draco had stood when he noticed what
was going on.
Harry was pleasantly surprised when Neville looked
up at Seamus with a dark
look. " You two are the traitors. And you'll regret it
in the end." He replied
in a strong voice as he stood. Harry clapped him on
the shoulder and thanked
the Hufflepuffs for their help.
" At least we're not blindfolded dogs who follow
Dumbledore anymore." Dean
said as they began to walk away.
When they were halfway down to Professor Snape's
classroom, Harry turned to
his friends. " You guys don't really think that do
you? I mean… you don't
actually compare yourselves to dogs that follow me,
do you? Because that's not
true. And I would be really disgusted to find out you
do feel that way."
" No." Dean said. " With you we have a choice.
Dumbledore tried to kill us
because we're your friends. He compares us to
dogs, not you. And he doesn't
really give people choices, does he?"
As usual, the door to Severus' classroom was
locked, so they loitered in the
hall until he showed up.
" Can't believe Dumbledore split up the houses for
lessons." Neville
complained as he rubbed his tired eyes.
" You know why he did it right? He thinks it'll keep
us all apart. Keep the
houses full of animosity towards each other." Dean
said and then playfully
nudged Harry in the ribs. " Draco took care of that
last night though, didn't
he?"
Harry could only grin widely. He was still kind of in
shock about the
proposal. He knew he shouldn't be. They were soul
mates and they'd basically
been engaged since the night of his birthday, when
Draco gave him that
necklace. But… it felt more real now, after the
words, and the ring fitting
perfectly around his finger. He suddenly wondered
how the _Ukatae_ go about
such things when they finally found their mates. Do
they get engaged? Do they
have weddings? Or do they just mate to complete
the bond and that's that? It
was something he would ask Ozemir when he saw
the Scholar next.
Down the corridor a door opened and he heard the
voices of his uncle and Tom.
He looked to see them both exiting Severus' office.
" Here is your schedule, Mr. Bailey." Harry heard his
uncle say and handed Tom
the piece of parchment. " I suggest you get to class
now before you lose
points for our house." Harry snickered when Tom
threw Severus a nasty scowl
before turning and heading away with Falde
following him. Harry was happy his
brother and sister were now being protected as
well. It took a great load off,
even if at the moment they really weren't prepared
to go against Demai'Tah.
But at least the clan master would never catch any
of them alone.
Neville pressed himself against the wall as Severus
came striding down the
hall. He gulped when the Potion Master turned cold
dark eyes on him. " Do not
make me regret allowing you into this class, Mr.
Longbottom."
" N-No, sir! I'll work hard, I promise."
" See that you do. And do not, I repeat, do not blow
up my classroom, Mr.
Longbottom. Or you will be sent out. Is this
understood?" Severus went on with
a growl.
" No sir! I- I mean, yes sir!" Neville squeaked. Harry
chuckled under his
breath as he and the others already waiting entered
the classroom behind
Severus.
He would have taken a seat at the front but at the
last moment decided to take
a table near the back next to Dean and Neville's
table. Everyone already knew
Severus was his uncle. He didn't think it would be
good if people thought he
was trying to suck up to Severus because of that
fact. He wouldn't earn a lot
of respect by doing that, even if that were not his
intention.
In the following moments the rest of the
Gryffindors came in and situated
around the class and as Severus went to the back to
shut the door, Harry
wondered where Hermione was. She was going to
be late! That never happened. He
saw Severus was thinking the same thing when he
shot Harry a discreet
inquiring look. Harry could only shrug his shoulders.
He had no idea what
Hermione was up to.
Severus stared at his closed classroom door in
displeasure. In a few seconds
he would have to lock the door, or the students
would see something was wrong.
If he left it unlocked for Hermione that would lead
to questions as he always
locked the door once class time had begun.
Questions he didn't ever want
coming up, not while Hermione was still a student.
Where the hell was she? He
looked over at Harry again. He should know where
his sister was. Harry cocked
his head to the side as if thinking, and then his eyes
brightened with an
idea. Severus kept one eye on his nephew just as he
lifted his wand to lock
the door. He barely managed to contain his surprise
when Harry dropped his
hand under the table; his wand gripped within his
fingers and pointed it at
the Patil girl where she sat at the front of class.
Suddenly Parvati sat up
straight and raised her hand and began shaking it
excitedly, not unlike
Hermione would do.
" Professor Snape! Professor Snape! PROFESSOR!"
She shrieked. The entire class
turned their attention on Patil.
Severus silently thanked Harry and promised to get
the boy all the cookies he
could eat as he swept to the front of the classroom
with a mighty scowl, the
door left unlocked.
Severus reached the girls desk and slammed his
hand down upon it. " Cease your
screaming! Twenty points from Gryffindor for
causing such a ruckus!"
" I'm…" Parvati shook her head, and Severus
watched as her eyes cleared from
the Imperius curse Harry had put her under. " I'm
sorry sir…" She whispered.
Her voice laced with confusion. Severus glared
down his nose at her.
" Well? Do you have a problem? Is there a reason
why you were creating such a
noise?"
" I'm sorry… I've forgotten…" Parvati looked at
Lavender for help but the
blonde girl looked away, in no way wanting to
attract Professor Snape's
attention. Parvati looked up at Severus with wide
scared eyes, afraid because
she had no idea why she'd just been screaming.
The door suddenly opened and Hermione ran in out
of breath. Severus sucked in
a breath as he took in her appearance. What the
bloody fuck!
Ozemir Shadowed in behind her and smirked at
Severus even though he knew the
wizard couldn't see him. Harry assumed Ozemir was
here instead of Talyn in
order to keep Brumek from feeling the negative
effects of the Mates' Call.
Ozemir was ignoring Brumek, but the warrior was
staring intently at his mate.
Harry looked his sister up and down and snorted as
she approached his table.
Well damn. It was clear why she'd left in such a
hurry after finding out
Potions was the first class they had. She'd gone to
dress up, or rather down,
for Uncle Sev. She hiked up her skirt, left her robe
open, the first three
buttons of her blouse were undone. And she'd let
her hair down, leaving it
with gentle waves framing her flushed face. And if
he wasn't mistaken, Harry
thought she must have been chewing on her lips to
leave them pink and very
plump.
" Ten points from Gryffindor for your tardiness,
Miss Granger!" Severus said
in a shaking voice. The rest of the class thought his
voice shook from anger,
but Harry and Hermione knew his voice was shaking
because she succeeded in
doing what she planned. Getting Severus Snape hot
and wanting.
" I'm so sorry, Professor Snape. I was-"
" Does it look like I want your excuses, Miss
Granger?" Severus snapped, then
turned his back on the class to walk to the chalk
board. Hermione ducked her
head to hide her smile as she slid in her seat beside
Harry.
" Jesus, Hermione! Why don't you go and suck his
dick right here in front of
everyone." Harry said under his breath.
" You think he'd like that?" she answered back with
her own smirk.
Harry snorted. " I think he would like to AK
everyone in this room except
you."
" You will all pay attention." Severus began. " I'm
not going to waste words
just because it's the first day back. You know what I
expect in this class and
if you don't that's too bad for you. You'll soon find
yourself kicked out.
Now, open your texts to the first page and begin the
first stage of that
potion. Mistakes will not be tolerated."
" Ooh! A memory potion." Hermione exclaimed
happily as they began to clear
their desk of everything but the cauldrons.
" I'll get your ingredients as well." Harry said with a
shake of his head. As
he crossed over to the store room, he noticed
Severus continued to stand with
his back to the class as his wand instructed the
chalk to write down points of
interest on the board. Harry noticed his hand was
trembling slightly, as if he
was going through withdrawal symptoms.
Harry didn't know it, but that was exactly what was
happening. Severus hadn't
touched Hermione since he'd come back to
Hogwarts. He made himself stay away
because that's what she wanted. Hermione said it
would be best… But how was he
supposed to keep his control with the witch looking
that way? He wondered if
he'd get sent to Azkaban if he vanished every
student in his class so that he
could bend the witch over her desk and do with her
as he pleased. He looked
over his shoulder to scan the class, making sure
everyone was doing what they
were supposed to do, and caught a glimpse of
Hermione's bare legs.
" Merlin save me." He muttered under his breath.
He turned back around to
finish the notes and prayed for control.
Halfway through class Severus was making his
rounds around the cauldrons and
as he neared Longbottom's table, the boy's book
dropped to the floor. Hermione
hurried over and while she stared at Severus from
under her thick eyelashes
she bent over to pick up the book, giving him a good
view of her chest, thanks
to the buttons of her blouse being undone. He
nearly choked when he caught a
peek of black lace. As she turned her eyes to the
book on the floor and picked
it up, Severus caught sight of her smirk. Suddenly
his anger flared.
" Detention tomorrow night, Miss Granger!"
Hermione narrowed her eyes on her lover. " But I
didn't do anything,
Professor." She had to bite her tongue to keep from
hissing at Ron, who was
beside himself with silent laughter.
" I've told you repeatedly over the years not to help
Longbottom-"
" But I only picked up a book!"
" Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek! Want
to go higher? I'm sure your
classmates would love it should you lose any more
points."
Hermione glared death and Severus' hands
clenched into fists. Hermione
returned the book to Neville and he gave her an
apologetic smile. She returned
to her cauldron beside Harry and continued on with
her potion.
" Don't look so mad. You know you'll enjoy
detention." Harry whispered.
" He didn't have to take more points!" she hissed.
" And you didn't have to come to class dressed like
that to drive him crazy."
Hermione huffed in answer. Harry put the next
ingredient in his cauldron then
looked over at Dean and Neville to see how they
were doing. He noticed with
alarm that Neville was about to drop in the wrong
ingredient, an ingredient
that would make his cauldron explode. Before he
could move, Brumek was beside
Neville and moved his hand away.
" Not this one. It will explode." Brumek whispered.
Neville looked startled
for a moment before recognizing the voice. " It's
this one." Brumek gently
pushed the correct ingredient over to the hand
Neville had rested on the
table.
" Thanks." Neville mumbled.
" What?" Dean asked absently as he stirred.
" Oh, nothing."
Hermione leaned closer to Harry. " That was really
nice of Brumek. Not like
him."
" Yeah, you're right." Harry looked around and
noticed Ozemir had seen
Brumek's intervention and was smiling softly at the
warrior. Brumek looked
like he didn't notice this, but Harry would bet all his
Galleons he was fully
aware of Ozemir's pleasure of his good deed.
Especially since Draco had told
him about the conversation he'd had with the
warrior earlier. Harry smiled and
shook his head. He wished the warrior the best of
luck.
At the end of class, Harry told Hermione he would
catch up and he went to
stand in front of Severus' desk and waited until the
room was empty before
speaking.
" Uncle Sev?"
" Your sister is trying to kill me!" he snapped.
Harry snorted, but wiped the smile of his face when
Severus glared at him. " I
was wondering… could you maybe replace the
points you took from Parvati?"
Severus studied his nephew, before nodding once. "
I'm very pleased you asked,
Harry." He said softly.
Harry gave him a blinding smile. " Hey, I'm not all
evil!"
Draco sighed and slumped forward in his chair. His
first class sadly was
Defense Against the Dark Arts with the cretin who
seemed to hate his hair so
much that he would treat it in such a hideous
fashion.
" I think we should kill him just for his hair." Draco
whispered to Tom who
sat directly beside him. Tom nodded instantly and
continued to glare at
Professor Klyne, who had been speaking non-stop
about everything to do with
his life and nothing to do with the subject matter of
the class. Finally Tom
had enough and stood. Professor Klyne stopped at
once and looked at Tom
warily.
" Yes, Mr. Bailey? Is there something you wish to
say?"
" I was just wondering when you were going to start
to teach. I'm sure I speak
for everyone when I say we do not wish to hear
your life's story."
" Too true." Pansy muttered and continued to
doodle on a piece of parchment. "
I'm bored to tears here."
" I was merely letting you get to know me…"
" We do not wish to get to know you." Tom hissed
in impatience. " These
students wish to learn Defense Against the Dark
Arts. Perhaps you haven't
started because you haven't the first clue how to
teach this class."
Klyne's eyes widened. " Mr. Bailey. You will sit down
now and-"
" I am not interested in learning from a man who
loves the sound of his own
voice more then my brother Draco."
Gasps of surprise filled the room and eyes zoomed
in on Draco. " What? It's
the truth. I love the sound of my voice. Don't act
like you didn't know that."
" No, they already knew that." Blaise said with a
chuckle. " It seems no one
knew you and Luther are brothers. We've forgotten
to spread the word around."
Draco raised an eyebrow. " Really?" He looked
around at everyone and grinned.
" So you'd also be shocked to learn that Hermione
Granger is now my sister and
that Luther and Hermione are also Harry's siblings?"
" Mr. Malfoy, you will be quiet. You are here to
learn. This is not the time
for gossip."
Draco's eyes narrowed and he began to rise from
his seat. But Tom pressed a
firm hand onto his shoulder to keep him seated.
" You will watch your tone when speaking to my
brother. And you were the one
going on and on about your life. Like we give a
damn about you. I don't think
you are qualified to teach this class, _Professor_.
Perhaps the School Board
of Governors would like to hear how you've been
wasting our time."
" Mr. Bailey, if you think you can do better…"
Tom adopted a cocky smile. " I don't think. I know."
The Professor looked startled for a moment, but
then he waved Tom forward. "
Then by all means, please…" he sneered.
" What an idiot." Pansy whispered and grinned at
Tom.
Blaise snorted and nodded as Tom immediately
made his way to the front. Tom's
glare was so intense that Klyne backed away slowly
until he was standing
against the wall close to the door.
Draco put his elbow on the desk so he could rest his
chin in his hand and
looked at Pansy. " He's going to have fun. Luther's
where he's always wanted
to be."
Pansy nodded and then the small class of seventh
year Slytherins gave their
full attention to Luther Bailey as he began.
" In order to defend against the Dark Arts, one must
first understand how Dark
magic works…"
" You should have seen him! Luther stood up front
the entire class time and
taught Defense." Draco said as he, Harry, Tom, and
Hermione walked out into
the courtyard during the lunch period. Draco turned
to smile at Tom. " You
were very good too."
" Well he ought to be." Harry laughed and nudged
his brother's shoulder. Tom
was grinning and looking very pleased. In fact he
was very pleased. Tom was
very pleased, indeed.
" But what about Professor Klyne?" Hermione asked
as they moved out onto the
grounds, heading towards the lake.
" That idiot stood back and let him. I think he was
too afraid to make Luther
stop teaching. If he could, I'm sure Klyne would
have taken notes. I guarantee
you he used what Luther taught us when teaching
the other classes." Draco
replied. " You can tell us tomorrow after you have
his class." He said to
Harry and Hermione.
" Mione got detention from Severus for tomorrow
after dinner." Harry said. He
hissed in pain when Hermione jabbed him in the
side. " What? I think it's
funny."
" Were you trying to help Longbottom again?
Honestly Hermione, you know
better…"
" I did no such thing, Draco! That's what he said I
was doing, but I only
picked up Neville's book which had dropped on the
floor."
" Look how she's dressed, lover." Harry said before
quickly moving away. Draco
and Tom looked, and both raised eyebrows.
" Trying to seduce him in class now?" Draco laughed
when she blushed.
" I was just so proud of him for starting the whole
points thing last night
for House unity."
Tom snorted. " And he was so frustrated that he
gave you detention."
The four were grateful the weather was nice and
accommodating to allow them to
take their lunch outside. They preferred to eat
together and Tom preferred not
to eat in the packed Great Hall. They chose a tree
near the shore and situated
themselves comfortably under the shade and on a
blanket Hermione conjured.
Harry clapped his hands." Dobby!"
" Harry Potter sir!" the elf exclaimed happily upon
seeing who had called him.
" I is so happy to be seeing you! Happy you is back
at school. Dobby was
afraid Harry Potter not come back this year."
" It's good to see you as well, Dobby." Harry replied
honestly. " Would you
mind bringing lunch out here for all of us?" he was
surprised when Dobby
frowned.
" Dumbledore told Dobby not to help his Harry
Potter. I is not supposed to be
doing anything you ask."
Draco growled in annoyance. " Listen here you-" he
was interrupted when Harry
lay a hand over his.
" It's okay, Dobby. I wouldn't want you to get into
trouble for helping me."
Dobby's frown grew as he straightened to his full
height. " Dobby will do
anything for Harry Potter! Dobby is knowing who
deserves loyalty. I come right
back!" And then he popped out.
The four remained silent until Dobby returned with
their lunch, still steaming
and packed into a large basket. " Dobby hopes you
enjoys!"
" Thanks, Dobby." Harry said.
" Yes. Thanks so much." Hermione added. Dobby
smiled and then popped away.
Draco sighed and leaned against the tree trunk. " I
love it when Dumbledore
doesn't get his way."
Harry grinned and nodded as he grabbed the
sandwich Hermione held out for him.
***
A/N: All I have to say is I apologize for the abrupt
end of this chapter. Well
I think it's kind of abrupt... But if i went on, the chap
may end up going on
forever :D NEwayz, more fun to come soon!
Promise.
Also... GO DALLAS COWBOYS! lol.. sorry, big
Cowboys fan and preseason just
started. Yay! Have a great day!
6. Full Load
**Life Agendas
**
**Chapter Six**
**Full Load**
After lunch, Harry headed down to Care of Magical
Creatures, while Hermione's
next class was Ancient Runes. Tom and Draco were
on their way to Potions.
Harry slowly made his way down to his class,
scratching his head, wondering
why he had decided to take Hagrid's class. It wasn't
a requirement this year.
He paused at the hill top and looked down,
frowning. He picked this class at
the end of his sixth year, before his life had been
drastically altered.
Before Dumbledore told Hagrid he was evil. And he
actually liked to learn
about Magical Creatures, even if most of Hagrid's
lessons were a bit lacking.
Some had been fun.
Harry grinned darkly when he thought of the
Hippogriff lesson. Draco acted
like an idiot and Harry thought the blonde git
deserved what happened to him.
He still felt that way. Draco refused to listen and he
paid for it. Harry
snorted and started walking again. He was going to
tease Draco about that
later on. Harry liked to watch the indignant look
appear on Draco's face…
" Er… Harry?"
He would have walked right into him if Hagrid
hadn't spoken. Harry's face
became emotionless and Hagrid stopped whatever
else he wanted to say. He
looked back with uncertainty, guilt and Harry's
anger and bitterness tried to
reach out to control him. But he clenched his fists
and he pushed it away,
pushed it completely out of him. He didn't want to
feel that way about Hagrid,
especially when most of it wasn't his fault. Hagrid
loved Dumbledore. The
headmaster had been the one to allow Hagrid to
come back the place he loved
after being expelled. And let's not forget
Dumbledore allowed Hagrid to teach
the subject he was most fond of. Hagrid has reason
to be very loyal to
Dumbledore and there has been no occasion to
distrust the old wizard's word
before. Harry wasn't sure, but if he were Hagrid
he'd probably act the same.
" Hello Hagrid. Have a good summer?"
Hagrid looked startled for a moment, and then a
grin stretched across his
face. " Yeah, Harry. Bit busy. You're looking fit, I
must say!"
" Thanks. I feel well."
Hagrid nodded, his grin slipping a little. " So you and
err… Malfoy? That's a
surprise."
Harry shrugged. " Not really." He smiled and gave
Hagrid's arm a small nudge.
" We should get down there, don't you think? Get
class started."
" Oh, right! Right ya are, 'arry!" He and Harry began
walking down. " I've got
a great first lesson for ya! Best lesson yet!"
Harry smiled a little bit more. He wouldn't discuss
anything with Hagrid when
it could lead to questions, and it seemed Hagrid
agreed. Or at least it seemed
that way, because he went on as if the summer had
never happened. Harry was
happy to act like things had never changed between
them. He was even more
amused when he realized he was the only seventh
year Gryffindor to take the
class this year.
Severus' bad mood continued on through the day
and was still present when his
Slytherins came in for class. " Sit down, keep quiet,
and begin the potion on
the first page!" he snapped.
Draco and Tom shared a look as they made their
way to the front. They dropped
their bags next to a desk before approaching
Severus' desk where the Potion
Master was firmly planted behind.
" That means you two, too!" Severus quietly snarled
at them.
" Whatever potion that is, I can do it in my sleep. I
don't want to waste my
time." Tom said softly, making sure his voice did not
carry.
" Draco, you will go." Severus finally said after he
and Tom had a glaring
competition. Draco glared at them both before
huffing and moving away. " And
what do you suggest I let you do, my lord?" Severus
hissed.
Tom's brow rose. " You are being petulant,
Professor Snape."
Severus folded his hands over the desk and leaned
forward. " You did promise…"
Severus began, but Tom raised his hand and smiled.
" I do apologize, Professor. I did promise. I am
enrolled as a student after
all. But… There is something I want to do and you
know I can brew any potion
with my eyes closed." Tom explained quietly.
Severus nodded. " Fine." Tom grinned then turned
to grab his bag. " Mr.
Bailey, you will be my assistant in this class, since
your prior education at
Durmstrang was efficient to carry you through
N.E.W.T.s."
" Thank you, Professor Snape." Tom answered with
a smirk at Draco as he
passed.
" Oi, where are you going?"
" Doing something enjoyable. Research." He
snorted when Draco reared back with
a disgusted look on his face. " We have free period
after this, correct?"
" Yes." Draco answered slowly, wondering what
Tom was up to. It was obvious he
was up to something.
" See you at dinner."
Tom went to the library and sneered at the librarian
when she had the nerve to
scowl at him for entering in a less then quiet
manner. He wanted to kill her
and this wasn't the first time. As well as Klyne. He
might have gone through
with Klyne already if he weren't worried about the
consequences. The worst of
which would be the onslaught of anger and possible
disappointment from his
siblings. He wasn't exactly sure how Harry and
Draco would take him killing
Ellias Klyne. He was sure if he did it just because he
felt like it, Hermione
would be very displeased. Draco would think it was
funny, and then he would
become irritated when an investigation to Klyne's
disappearance took place.
Harry, he wasn't so certain. The whole thing would
probably amuse him though.
Harry's way of coping with many things recently
was by being amused. Tom
certainly didn't mind that. Harry was a lot happier
when he headed into
situations with that attitude.
Tom snorted as he perused the books while passing
aisle after aisle. Harry
wasn't always cheerful. He also liked to lose his
control, liked being angry
and lashing out, showing off his dangerous nature
when he knew it would help
him best… even if it wasn't the wisest thing to do at
the time. Stopping in
front of a large blue book, Tom studied the old
faded gold lettering on the
spine as he continued to think about his brother.
Harry utilized his different
tempers to get through situations. Tom supposed
everyone did this, but Harry…
he did it so passionately, so openly. It was one of
the things Tom loved most
about his brother. Yes, sometimes Harry's obvious
expressions in certain
circumstances irritated him, but that's only because
Harry gave things away.
Spoiled surprises.
Tom took the old book off the shelf and tucked it
under his arm before having
Talyn Shadow them into the Restricted Section. He
immediately located the
books he wanted and spent little time there before
leaving again. Once out of
the Shadow he strolled around trying to remember
if there were any more books
within this library that might be useful. Along his
perusal Tom spotted
Neville hauling a large amount of books to a
shadowed corner.
Tom was curious, always had been. Eager to know
all he could about everything
and everyone around him- usually so that he would
have the means to take
control of everything and everyone. He loved to
wield power over people. It
was his nature to do so… But the Longbottom boy
intrigued him to a different
degree. Always been loyal to Harry, standing up
with Harry when it really
mattered, standing up even when everyone thought
he was a dud. And if nothing
else, Longbottom was amusing. Tom especially
enjoyed the way Longbottom's face
paled upon seeing him suddenly standing next to
his table.
" Longbottom. Your assistance is required." He said
immediately.
Neville, seeing he had no choice, stood and nodded.
" Sure. What do you need?"
" Is this a free period?"
" This and the period after." Neville blushed when
Tom raised an eyebrow. "
I'm not taking too many N.E.W.T.s. Not many things
I'm good at, I suppose. I
don't even know why I'm taking potions. I just
thought if Professor Snape
would allow it, then I should take advantage…"
Neville trailed off when he
realized he was mumbling, and the Dark Lord was
staring at him with an intense
scrutiny. It was a little chilling, especially since the
older youth's eyes
gleamed and held his gaze while he seemed to be
examining his soul. Neville
barely managed to contain a shiver. Finally Tom
looked away and nodded.
" Come with me." Tom watched Neville grab his bag
and then led him over to the
corner Talyn had posted in. She raised an eyebrow
when Tom grabbed Neville's
arm and pulled him into her standing Shadow.
" Take us to Malfoy Manor." He ordered before
turning his back on her. Neville
gaped at the _Ukatae_ warrior as she pouted at
Tom's back.
" A please would be nice."
" And now would be better." A moment later,
Shadow was lifted and Tom found
himself in the very room he wanted to be in. The
Malfoy library.
" How did you know this is where I wanted to be?"
" Common sense." She was still pouting, and Tom
realized he was being terse
with her because she was only doing her job. He
didn't want or need
protection, but she couldn't refuse her orders.
" Thank you, I guess."
Talyn perked up and smiled as she moved away to
post. Tom made his way through
the library with Neville and they soon came upon
Sirius and Dursley, the
latter of which was looking remarkably healthy.
Dursley was immersed in
reading his Charms book while Sirius was leaning
back in his chair and staring
into space with a sappy smile on his face. It wasn't
hard to figure out what
Sirius was thinking about.
Tom nodded to Sirius when the Animagus spotted
and waved them over.
" What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to
be in class right now?"
Sirius asked while his eyes scanned over Neville as if
he expected the boy
were hiding a wound.
" Potions now, and I'm not going to learn anything
new there. No disrespect to
Severus, of course. He's allowed me to take my own
time during his class." Tom
replied as he came to stop at their table.
" Sure was nice of Sevvy."
" Yes."
" I've got two free periods." Tom looked at Neville,
saw him inching his way
to the seat next to Dursley as he spoke. Dudley
watched him with amusement and
pulled out the seat for the Gryffindor.
" Neville, go and gather all the books you can find
on this subject." Tom
handed the startled Gryffindor a slip of parchment.
Neville nodded, glanced at
Dursley, and then headed away. Tom's face relaxed
as he sat across from
Sirius. " And your husband?"
" Back to being mad at me." Sirius grinned. "
Suppose it will be like this, on
and off, until the babies are born and Lucius is
certain he'll regain the
beautiful body he has now."
" So superficial." Tom muttered. Sirius readily
agreed with him and snorted
when he saw the blush appearing on Dudley's face.
" I want to discuss the
Lestrange brothers." Tom went on. Sirius
immediately waved Dudley away.
" Have a break, Dudley. We've been at it all day
anyway." Dudley nodded and
took off for a walk.
" And how is this…" Tom waved his hands over
Dudley's studies, " going?"
" He's brighter then I gave him credit for. I think
brighter then Harry gave
him for."
" Harry owes him nothing." Tom hissed. Sirius raised
his hands in a calming
gesture.
" I'm right there with you. I just think Harry would
be interested to know.
But you didn't want to talk about my tutoring, you
wanted to talk about Rudo
and Rab."
" Please tell me that's not how you address them to
their faces." Tom intoned.
" Why wouldn't I, Tommy Boy?"
Tom's eyes narrowed. " You expect far too much
patience."
Sirius grinned. " Lucius says the same thing every
day."
" Have you talked with them yet?"
" Just once. We need to know how they are going to
get outside without being
detected or recognized." Sirius leaned forward. "
Lucius refuses to give up
that information."
" Must make you angry." Tom said with a soft
chuckle.
" Hell yes it does! I don't care about being on the
council. But I'll be
damned if I'm going to work with you and not get
proper information!" Sirius
slumped back in his chair. " Besides… those two
can't get well trapped inside
like this. Being locked up twenty-four/seven will
only make them remember
Azkaban. At least when I escaped that place, I
wasn't inside all the bloody
time. I discarded the rules, went out on my own….
Those two will do nothing
but follow your orders. They need out! We need to
get out there away from the
manor and the grounds and survey the lands you
want to disappear."
Tom chuckled. " You want to be filled in on
everything?"
" Yes." Sirius blew out a breath. " If you don't mind."
" Very well. Have Lucius inform you of everything. I
suppose it is only right.
You do have a rather large part in all of this in the
end."
Sirius sighed in relief. " That's good. I'm pretty sure
Lucius was planning to
AK me the next time I asked. I annoy the hell out of
him, you know."
" I imagine you do." Tom smiled slightly as he stood.
" Has Amortia been in to
check Lovegood?"
Sirius nodded as he moved to join Tom on his walk.
" She'll be back in a few
hours. Luna's condition hasn't changed the
slightest. I hope Harry's right and
she wakes tomorrow." Tom made a noncommittal
sound as they left the library.
Neville watched them depart before pulling his
head back around the corner
with a loud relieved breath. " Bloody hell…" he
muttered as he scanned the
aisles for the books Tom Riddle wanted. Neville was
certain a large number of
titles on the list were Dark Art books, and the other
half of the list had to
do with mythical beings. Why would he need books
about that? Neville shrugged
a shoulder. At least this was all Riddle had asked
him to do so far.
" Need help?" Neville dropped the piece of
parchment and backed up in surprise
then blew out a relieved breath. It was only Dudley.
" Please don't sneak up on people in this house!
Never know who could be
coming up behind you…" Neville mumbled as he
turned away to hide his
embarrassed blush.
Dudley stepped into the aisle and studied the books
Neville had been looking
at. " So? Do you need any help?"
" Not unless you know where I can find books for
these subjects." Dudley took
the parchment Neville held out to him. " I'm not
exactly familiar with this
library. It'll take me ages."
" I can help." Dudley turned and walked away.
Neville followed after him in
slightly better spirits. Dudley wasn't scary, after all.
Dudley probably
wouldn't ever think about AK'ing someone just for
punishment… hopefully.
" I haven't been around all that much, but from the
short time I have been
here I've learned a lot." Dudley explained as they
sat down at a table. " For
instance. Tripe!" A house elf popped in and
twitched an ear at Dudley in
question. " Can you please find all the books in the
library covering these
subjects?"
" Of course, Mr. Dursley."
Neville met hazel eyes across the table and was
startled when Dudley smirked
at him. He was concerned with his reaction to that
smirk. It wasn't like the
Malfoy smirk that only made him want to grind his
teeth into oblivion, and it
wasn't like Riddle's smirk, which scared the hell out
of him. But Dudley's
smirk made him strangely uncomfortable in a way
that made him start notice how
fit Dudley looked and how well he suited Wizarding
attire.
A moment later, their table was covered in short
stacks of books; all covering
the subject Tom was after. " Anything else?" the
house elf squeaked.
Dudley glanced at Neville who shook his head. " Oh
wait. Draco proposed to
Harry last night in front of everyone. Want to see?"
Dudley frowned. " Harry told me they were already
engaged."
" Well they were, technically. But Draco didn't
proposed in the normal fashion
until last night. I was told he kind of made Harry his
fiancée without Harry's
knowledge until way after the fact."
" Well, sure. I guess."
" Could you bring a Pensieve?" Neville asked. The
house elf nodded and popped
out.
" You don't really look the same." Dudley said and
then shrugged when Neville
looked at him in confusion. " In your school
uniform, I mean. Without a robe
on."
Neville lifted a hand and pulled at his tie. Suddenly
it felt too tight. He
was uncertain whether the look Dudley was giving
him was a good one or not,
but it was doing strange things to his heart rate.
And Dudley was staring at
Neville's hand, watching him loosen his red and gold
tie.
" Yeah, I know. I almost always look like an idiot."
Dudley's gaze lifted. " What makes you say that?"
Neville shrugged, and wished the house elf would
hurry back. " It's just what
everyone thinks. I'm the idiot."
" Harry doesn't think that."
" How would you know that? Just because he didn't
kill you doesn't mean you
know him now." Neville replied in a tone carrying a
hard edge, suddenly tired
of this conversation. More like he was tired of
feeling this uncomfortable.
When the house elf returned with a Pensieve he
lifted his wand and looked away
from Dudley to concentrate on the memory. Dudley
watched in interest as
Neville drew out the silvery strands of the memory
and deposit it into the
Pensieve bowl.
Sirius came back then and Neville was happy to let
him show Dudley how the
Pensieve worked. And of course Sirius had no
problem with that and was
delighted when Neville told him what the Pensieve
contained. He then took the
cowards way out and excused himself from the
table only after Dudley and
Sirius had gone in to view the memory.
Tom migrated through the manor to Lovegood's
room. Shortly before going in he
dismissed Sirius. The Animagus scowled and barked
his displeasure at being
dismissed as he walked away. Though he made Tom
promise not to hurt the
Lovegood girl before he actually went.
" Idiot." Tom said as he reached for the doorknob.
There was no reason for him
to hurt Lovegood. Once inside he locked the door
behind him and backed up
against it in surprise when he noticed there had
been a change in Luna's
condition after all. The witch was now pulsing with
energy and every few
seconds her body became encircled by a golden
light. He could feel the power
from where he stood against the door. This was
something he hadn't
anticipated. And he was sure it must have begun
only recently or Amortia would
have reported it and Sirius would have told him.
Why was she glowing? Tom reviewed all he knew
about her, about her family.
Something told him she was not all human, but
there was nothing in his
remembered Lovegood genealogy that indicated
they were anything but human.
Obviously he'd missed something Dumbledore had
not. A dark look crossed his
face. Dumbledore wanted to murder this girl
because of this little oversight
of Tom's. He was more then angry with himself for
not seeing this before that
old bastard had. Then again, he had been
completely focused on Harry for the
last seventeen years. Dumbledore had controlled
him even when he wasn't
physically doing so. Tom had missed a lot of things
to Dumbledore during those
years. Now though, he had his mind back, and he
had all of what Dumbledore
used to have. Dumbledore was scared and alone
now and Tom was basking in that
knowledge.
And right now he was prepared to learn all he could
about the Lovegood girl
before Dumbledore could think of another way to
use her. Tom wanted to know
what it was about Lovegood that would make
Dumbledore so desperate as to have
her kidnapped, and eventually have her killed. He
suddenly smirked. And he was
Lord Voldemort. He wanted to know what Luna
was, why she fainted, and why her
father's body disappeared following his death. He
wanted that knowledge now
and no one was going to stop him from satisfying
his curiosity.
He approached the bed, studying Luna and the
glowing carefully. As he reached
out to touch her he hoped she was not in pain, and
would not feel pain when he
invaded her mind.
" You might not want to do that." Talyn cautioned
just as his fingers were
about to brush Luna's temples.
He looked up in curiosity. " Why? Do you know
what she is? Can you explain why
this is happening?"
" No. We can't sense what she is. Even Ozemir with
his knowledge… and he has
tried. We know nothing about this," she waved over
Luna. " And because of
that, I'm not sure you should interfere. You may
inadvertently cause her
harm."
" I know what I'm doing." Tom returned to what he
was doing, and pressed
fingers against her temples. The moment his fingers
touched her skin, a shock
gripped his body and his eyes widened before they
flickered and began to glow
the same color as Luna.
Talyn realized Tom had been sucked into the girl's
mind before he could make
his own move to probe hers. " This is a bad idea."
She moved closer in case he
needed to be pulled away quickly.
Tom felt a strange coldness- and did not like it in
the least- as he was
sucked into Luna's mind. Flashes of what he sought
blinked before his vision,
which quickly led him to discard any thoughts about
his discomfort. Tom
mentally reached out at once to make sure she was
not in pain, and when
reassured she wasn't he opened his mind to the
snatches of mystery getting
through her mental barriers. Very strong barriers. It
would take him some time
to get through those. This wasn't worrying. He was
the Dark Lord, after all
and the best Legilimens there was. Eventually he
would get through.
Low murmuring caught his attention next. Many
voices, thousands… All
murmuring, all whispering softly and gently like
mothers cooing to awakening
babies. Tom felt himself lulled by sound and his
mind started to drift away
from his purpose. He was… relaxed. It was a feeling
he rarely felt. He was
content to float around in the warm cocoon the
voices wrapped him in. He might
have stayed for who knows how long, but suddenly
he was jarred back to his
mind when a vision of the ocean flashed brightly in
front of his eyes.
The voices drifted away as he concentrated on that
one vision, willing it to
come back. This was what he was looking for. After
putting together the few
clue's Luna had already given… The vision appeared
again, this time brighter
and more vivid, surrounding him like he was floating
above the water. He was
moving in one direction, towards something miles
away and just when a dark
point developed on the horizon a delighted laugh
snapped his concentration
like a twig and the vision instantly disappeared,
leaving him in blackness
with only one voice piercing through it.
" Tom!" Luna's airy tone floated around and Tom
wondered at the amusement he
heard in it. " No, no, no. No peeking, you silly
_Ukatae_."
_Silly Ukatae? How dare she call me silly! _" Now
see here! You can't talk to
me like that! I'm Lord- Wait!" he cried out when
Luna began to force him out
of her mind, his irritation with her instantly gone. "
Are you well?"
" Of course." Suddenly her mental barriers
appeared manifesting as an actual
stonewall, its length impossibly high. At the top ten
slender fingers gripped
the edge, and then he was looking at Luna's face
peeking at him over the edge,
her wide bright eyes fixed on him as she raised up
until her arms could rest
on the wall. For all Tom knew, the rest of her body
was dangling there on the
other side.
" This is supposed to happen, you know. Daddy
said."
Tom floated towards the wall until his head was
tipped back all the way in
order to look at her. From here it seemed like she
was miles above him. He
tried moving to her level, but he felt her blocking
him. She would not let him
any closer. " Why won't you tell anyone what's
happening with you?"
Luna sighed and looked off behind him. She was
quiet for so long Tom thought
she would not speak at all. " You like mysteries,
don't you?" she laughed when
she found him frowning at her. " Time reveals all in
the end, doesn't it?"
" Not always. Time runs out for most people."
" But we're not talking about most people right
now. You and I… Harry, Draco,
and Hermione… we have the time now, don't we?
Yes," she went on before he
could reply, " we have the time now. Plenty of it.
For us, time is no longer
important." Luna sent him a shy smile before she
pushed off the wall and
disappeared behind it.
Tom couldn't help himself. He pressed both hands
against the wall. His heart
was beating triple time, and now that she was gone
his entire being was filled
with worry. " Swear you are well!" he yelled, not
sure if she would hear, nor
could he understand why he needed this
reassurance.
" Mr. Dark Lord worried about someone other then
himself?"
Even though he could no longer see her, he thought
the following laughter was
from the stricken look on his face at her question.
He raised his nose into the air. " Don't be ridiculous,
Lovegood. I ask only
for the sake of Harry, of course. He's very worried
about you."
" Of course." Her giggles began to fade. " I'll see you
at school. And
remember, no more peeking." The fondness in her
tone surprised him enough that
Luna was able to push him out of her mind with
ease before he realized. He
stood still for a moment, hovering over Luna's body,
letting his mind
reconnect with his body, fighting off the dizziness
he hadn't expected to take
over him when he came back.
" That was strange. She didn't want me to see.
Why?" he spoke out loud once he
moved.
" Oh, I don't know." Talyn said while she studied her
nails. " Perhaps she
values her privacy."
Tom had nothing to say to that. Though he
narrowed his eyes as he passed her
and left the room. There was more to think on now.
Being _Ukatae_, he and his
siblings were immortal and time really had no
meaning for them in the long
run. And Luna referred to time as if it had no
meaning for her either. That
could only mean whatever type of being she is…
Well, he supposed it meant Luna
was immortal now as well. But how could she be
immortal when her father
obviously wasn't?
Neville finally returned to the library after being lost
for nearly half an
hour, but he found the doors locked. He bit back a
curse. Here he was stuck in
Malfoy Manor without Harry, wandering the halls
getting lost, and now he was
locked out of the only place he was slightly familiar
with.
And then he clearly heard Lucius Malfoy and Sirius
Black through the door. His
eyes widened as the noises from within the library
reached his ears. He backed
away, praying Dudley wasn't in there as well, and
knocked into someone behind
him.
" And who are you to run into my brother?"
someone asked in amusement.
Neville spun around and inhaled sharply upon
recognizing the two men before
him. Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange. Neville's
face darkened as he grabbed
for his wand.
" Bastards!" he spat and aimed his wand at the
nearest brother, who happened
to be Rabastan and the one who had spoken.
Rodolphus' hand dove within his robes and a
moment later they were at a stand
off. Rodolphus pointing his wand at Neville, while
he pointed his wand at
Rabastan. The latter of which stared back at Neville
curiously and he didn't
make any move to grab his wand.
Tom came upon them like this." Lower your
wands," he called from down the
hall. His eyes darkened when he was ignored. "
_Accio _wands." Rodolphus and
Neville's wands flew into his hand. " Explain." He
ordered as soon as he
stopped in front of them.
" What the hell am I doing here?" Neville asked in a
trembling voice. " Why
did you bring me here? To see the people who
destroyed my parents' minds?"
Neville's voice was a hoarse whisper by the end.
" You're the Longbottom boy?" Rabastan asked.
" Yes." Neville clenched his fists, and after seeing
how the boy performed
during his and Hermione's escape, Tom was willing
to bet the Gryffindor wished
he had enough courage to start using them on all
three of them.
" They were not the ones to do your parents harm."
" Oh right. I'm going to believe that coming from-"
" Ask Harry if you don't believe me. You know he
wont lie to you." Tom said.
Neville locked gazes with him for a moment, and
then turned and fled down the
hall. Tom turned and glared at Rodolphus. " You
raise your wand to no one
while you're here, especially if that someone is a
student." Tom moved forward
until his nose was almost touching Rodolphus'. " Is
this understood?" he
hissed.
" He threatened Rab-"
" _Crucio_." Exactly one minute passed before Tom
lifted the curse. " Do you
have anything else to say, Lestrange?"
" No, my lord." Rodolphus answered and then
clenched his jaw shut against the
lingering pain of the curse.
" Wonderful." Tom replied flatly. " I don't care what
happens, you are never
to raise your wand against a student unless I say
otherwise." Tom said slowly
and Rodolphus backed up when the light of the
hallway's chandelier glinted off
of Tom's fangs. " We wouldn't want to hurt the new
recruits just yet, would
we? Now…" Tom cocked his head when Sirius' voice
carried, and at once knew the
library was off limits. " Since I have been detained
from doing what I came
here to do, I will now take the opportunity to unlock
your memories and get
rid of the ones Dumbledore has left."
Tom later found Neville aimlessly walking around
the manor with Dursley. When
he came upon them, they were having a discussion
about a muggle sport, boxing.
" Sirius is ready for your return, Dursley." Tom
noticed the wariness in
Neville's eyes when he faced him.
Tom didn't comment. He simply turned around and
led both boys back to the
library. When they got there, Dursley didn't look
like he was going to leave.
He kept sending Neville worried glances. " Say
goodbye now!" Tom snapped
impatiently. " Neville isn't in any danger from me."
" Well then… bye." Dudley didn't sound too
convinced, but the half smile
Neville sent him seemed like enough
encouragement. Dudley took one last look
before he disappeared into the library.
Tom gave Neville another searching look, until the
Gryffindor began to get
annoyed by it and he balled his hands into fists. "
What?"
" Nothing." Tom smiled and turned. " We're going
to go check on Luna before we
leave."
" But what about your research?" Neville asked as
he quickened his pace to
catch up with the Dark Lord who was already gliding
down the hall.
" That can wait for the moment."
" What am I doing here with you?" Neville finally
asked when they got to
Luna's room.
" Obviously you are here to check on Lovegood with
me."
" No. I- I mean… Uh, why did you bring me here, to
Malfoy Manor with you?"
" Because I needed your assistance."
" Right. The books." Neville murmured as Tom
opened the door and entered
without so much as a knock. " But, you could have
done what Dudley did and
summoned a house elf to gather all those books.
You didn't need me…" Neville
trailed off when he noticed Healer Bluemoon was in
the room. " Oh, hello
Healer."
" Neville." Amortia rose from her chair beside
Luna's bed and pinned Tom with
a look. " What did you do to her?"
Tom stopped short in surprise at the venom laced
under Amortia's words and he
watched her warily as she approached him with a
dark look. " Luna is my
patient. I know when someone has tampered with
her? We are, after all, in
Malfoy Manor. I set protective measures around
the girl. I know you've been in
her head. What were you thinking? You could have
hurt her!"
" I did try to warn him." Talyn said from her position
against the wall. " But
he would not listen."
" You only warned that I might hurt her." He
snapped back at the grinning
_Ukatae_ warrior, and then turned his attention
back to Amortia. " I would not
have entered if I thought I'd cause her harm,
Amortia. No need to get angry.
And I did not _tamper_ with her, as you so
delicately put it."
" You should have waited for my return before
doing whatever it was you did!"
Tom hissed in annoyance. " I didn't do anything. I
wasn't the one to make her
start glowing."
" Yes, I know that as well. Really, do you think I'm
incompetent?"
" Course not! I would never have invited you into
my inner circle otherwise."
Tom said, and then he waved his hands in front of
him as if to ward off
anything else she may complain about. Really, she
was starting to remind him
of Mrs. Weasley. " Have you time to go to St.
Mungo's with us? We'll need your
help."
Neville was surprised when Tom had turned to
wave at him to include him in the
conversation. What the hell was going on now?
Amortia's brows drew together in suspicion. " What
for?"
Tom huffed and moved until he and the Healer
were standing chest to chest.
Neville watched as the Dark Lord moved to whisper
in Amortia's ear. After a
moment, the Healer drew back in surprise and sent
a quick look in Neville's
direction before looking back at Tom.
" Are you sure?" she asked quietly. " Don't try it and
bring him, if you are
not sure. That's more cruel then anything you have
ever done."
Tom drew back with an incredulous look on his face.
" More cruel then anything
I've ever done before? Really, woman, don't insult
me! I assure I've done far
worse things."
By this time Neville's stomach was starting to clench
with uneasiness and he
began backing away. Seemed the wisest thing to do.
He had no idea what they
were talking about. But if Amortia was talking about
the Dark Lord doing
something cruel, Neville was sure he didn't want to
hang around.
Tom glanced at Talyn and she nodded
encouragingly. " Talyn says it's more then
possible."
" Just don't decide to brag anywhere near Falde,
alright. He'll have my braid
if he finds out I instructed you."
" I've already promised." Tom said then looked at
Amortia.
The Healer blew out a breath, but her eyes were
suddenly shining with
excitement and hope. " Fine then. I'll go ahead.
Meet me in Reception." She
took one last look at Luna before breezing out of
the room.
" I feel her shock." Talyn said. " I take it you don't
usually do things like
this… for other people."
" Quiet." Tom hissed, and his face darkened when
Talyn merely laughed at the
uncomfortable state he had recklessly put himself
in.
Neville soon found himself standing in the reception
area of St. Mungo's and
he was eyeing the exit carefully and hopefully.
There was a good chance he
could run and escape before Tom realized he
bolted. He was also hoping someone
would come and save him. Maybe Harry or
Hermione… He did not want to be here,
didn't want to think about who was here.
Sometimes it was too hard.
His parents weren't dead, yet they might as well be.
The last visit he had
with them was a few weeks ago. Of course there
had been no change. There would
never be any change. " Do I really need to be here?"
he asked thickly.
" Yes." Tom's voice and his look were completely
unyielding as he stared back
at the younger teenager whom he noticed looked
ready to cave in on himself. "
Sit down and stop thinking."
" Oh right." Neville whispered petulantly, but he did
sit, happy to let his
legs relax as he stretched them out. " Stop
thinking… Like that's easy." He
mumbled, and then flinched when Tom sat next to
him. " You're not going to
tell me why we're here, are you?"
" No." Tom's fingers began to tap impatiently on his
knee when Amortia finally
came out to meet them.
" Everything is ready for you." Amortia said as they
left the reception area.
She ushered them into the same quarters Luna and
her father occupied before
being moved to the manor and Neville was told to
wait out in the small waiting
room. Which he did gratefully and sank down onto
a white leather couch.
There was no telling how long he sat there in the
quiet with only his
breathing and slight nervous movements making
any noise. He was certain the
room Healer Bluemoon and Tom had gone into was
surrounded by a strong
silencing spell. But that was fine, he didn't need to
know what was going on
inside. Neville did not want to know.
He was drifting off to sleep when Healer Bluemoon
suddenly rushed out of the
room, sending Neville a blinding smile as she passed
him. Neville immediately
stood, but she waved him back down. " I'll be right
back, Neville. You wait
here!" Then she was gone.
Neville threw himself back onto the sofa with an
angry scowl. " What the hell
am I here for?" He felt utterly useless! Was that the
point? To drive home
what he always knew.
The door to the patient's room slowly opened and
Tom staggered out before
shutting the door as quickly as he could behind him.
Then he slid to the
floor, his face lined and tired. Neville rushed over
without thinking and
helped the heavily panting Slytherin over to the
couch. He received an
irritated hiss for his trouble.
" Where's Talyn?" the Gryffindor asked. " You seem
to need a Healer."
" You're an idiot, Longbottom." Tom finally
muttered after he seemed to get
regain his breath.
" What did I do now?" he asked in perplexity. " I was
just sitting here-"
" And thinking about how worthless you think you
are!" Tom snapped. " That
does no one any good."
Neville's lips pressed into a thin line… there was
only so much he could take
and he was starting to forget whom he was talking
with. But before he could
snap back, Amortia rushed back in, followed by two
other Healers. Tom raised
an eyebrow at her.
" They are aware it will be their deaths should they
utter a word." Amortia
said plainly without breaking step or looking back at
the two Healers who
followed as she returned into the room. Tom was
reassured when the two Healers
nodded at her words as they followed closely
behind.
Neville stared at the closed door for a few seconds
before finally he snapped.
" What the fuck is going on?"
Tom ignored him and looked at the door when
Talyn Shadowed through. " How are
they?"
" Understandably confused. But they are well on
the way to understanding. They
were not completely locked away as most of you
thought."
" I want to know why I'm here. Now!" Neville
shouted again.
Tom finally turned to him with a vacant expression.
" We need your help with
some of Amortia's long term patients. They have
recovered and I want you to
see that they are situated comfortably within the
manor before we return to
school." Tom went on smoothly as if Neville had not
shouted at him. Talyn
sniggered at the gobsmacked expression on the
boy's face as she approached and
gave Tom a look over. " We should return to school
now. That took quite a lot
from you."
" I'm fine." Tom ground out, but Neville could see
he did in fact look like he
needed a good lie down, and maybe a potion or two
from Snape.
" She's right." Neville said and fixed Tom with a firm
look. " We should go
back now. We can return to the manor tomorrow to
collect those books and to
see about Healer Bluemoon's patients."
" No." Tom growled, and wished this wasn't the
time Neville had decided to
show _him_ a backbone. " We'll finish what needs
to be finished today."
" Or we can alert Draco, Harry, or Hermione on your
condition." Neville went
on quietly.
Tom surged to his feet, though he did sway
dangerously, and glared at Neville.
" Don't threaten me, Longbottom!" he hissed.
" It- It's not a threat." Neville stuttered. No one
could remain unaffected
under the death glare Tom was giving off. " I just
thought they would like to
be informed…"
" You will remain silent!" Tom ordered. The door
opened and Amortia stepped
out, staying any further argument Neville and Tom
might have had.
Amortia smiled gently at Neville. " They are ready to
see you."
" Who?" Neville looked at Tom, because that's
whom he expected the Healer to
be talking to.
Amortia stepped forward and gently grasped
Neville's hand. " Your parents,
Neville. They want to see you now. They are asking
for you and are demanding
to see you before they do anything else."
Neville jerked his hand away and backed up, his
face contorted into disgust as
reached behind him for the door handle that would
lead him out of this sick
nightmare. " They've asked for me? What kind of
nut are you? All of you!"
Neville's wide angry eyes flicked back and forth
between Amortia, Tom, and
Talyn. " They don't know me! They never ask for
me! My parents never expect to
see me or anyone else." He ended in a strangled
whisper.
Tom grumbled under his breath as he attached a
firm hand on the stupid
Gryffindor's arm and pulled him over to the door
leading to the Longbottoms.
By now, Neville was too numb to pull away and
found himself suddenly shoved
into the room. He barely heard Amortia's hiss of
displeasure at Tom's rough
handling.
" He's allowed to be in shock!"
" Not allowed to waste time! He doesn't want to
believe so I will give him no
choice!" Tom hissed back and promptly shoved
Neville through door just opened.
At Hogwarts, classes were over for the day and
everyone was gathering in the
Great Hall for dinner. Harry whistled as he made his
way down to dinner. He
was whistling and he didn't give a damn that people
gave him strange glances
as they passed him in the halls. He mostly didn't
care because most of those
looks were amused glances and knowing smiles and
he recieved congratulatory
pats on the back at the same time. Harry walked
alone because unfortunately
Draco and Mione were both caught up with extra
Head duties and wouldn't be
free until after dinner.
The faint odor of singed hair tickled his nose and his
whistling died away. He
wrinkled his nose in disgust and then pulled on a
stony mask when he heard
footsteps quickly approaching from behind.
" Professor Klyne." Harry greeted tonelessly before
the wizard had caught up
fully. He was happy to feel the idiot's shock. Klyne
couldn't imagine how
Harry had known it was when he hadn't looked
back.
" Hello Mr. Potter." Klyne practically purred Harry's
name, immediately
setting the _Ukatae_ on edge. Both _Ukatae_.
Brumek moved closer and kept a
wary eye on the wizard.
" Professor Klyne." Harry returned again still in the
flat tone, though that
unfortunately didn't seem to faze Klyne much. He
simply grinned at Harry. " Is
there something you need, Professor?"
" I believe congratulations on your engagement are
in order."
" Perhaps." Harry finally stopped and faced the
grinning idiot. " It may have
been in order if we were acquainted with each
other, which we are not, and if
you actually cared about such a thing, which you do
not. So what do you really
want?"
" Perhaps in the future…" Klyne moved closer until
his chest nearly brushed
Harry's, and the Gryffindor just barely managed to
keep from growling. " You
may need someone to talk to. I understand bonds
such as the one you and Mr.
Malfoy have can sometimes be difficult, very
stressful… I feel it is my duty
as one of your professors to offer sanctuary should
you feel the need to… get
away."
There was a glint in Professor Klyne's eyes that had
Harry's hands balling
into fists. The wizard's bright blue eyes were roving
all over his face, as if
he were savoring Harry's flawless features and
Klyne's unsaid message was
crystal clear, especially when his eyes moved to
take in the rest of his tall
form. " You are… very beautiful. I'm sure I'm not the
first to say." Klyne
said softly.
Harry's eyes hardened into green ice. " You are
aware soliciting students will
get you sacked. Soliciting me will get you killed. You
should be careful,
Professor Klyne."
Harry felt threatened in a way that left him feeling
very vulnerable. He could
take physical threats- threats of death and
destruction, etc.- but this kind
of threat made him feel over exposed and had his
soul screaming for his mate's
protection. Harry didn't feel the least bit a coward
for thinking of calling
Draco. In fact the urge won out when Klyne started
to stare at his mouth
instead of taking Harry's threat seriously. And
besides, he was in the mood to
see whatever Draco might do to Klyne. Especially
since the Slytherin hated
Klyne's guts and was already in the mood to kill the
bastard.
_Professor Klyne is making me very
uncomfortable._
_Uncomfortable how?_
_Flirting. Making it obvious I have somewhere else
to turn should I have
enough of your presence. _
Harry grinned, realizing he had just probably burned
up Draco's patience, and
Professor Klyne's eyes snapped back to stare into
amused green eyes when he
noticed the grin. The look on Klyne's face suggested
he was taking Harry's
amusement the wrong way and he moved closer
until there was hardly any air
between them. Harry stepped back with a sneer
just as Klyne was jerked away
from him. Only Ozemir's quick reflexes saved
Klyne's head from being bashed in
by the wall.
Ozemir laughed when he caught the disappointed
look in Harry's eyes. Seems
Harry wanted the guy's head bashed in. Ozemir
shoved the shocked Professor
down the hall, effectively scaring the bloody hell
out of him. It's not
everyday someone gets pushed away by some
invisible force. Harry was
distracted from his pout when Draco stepped into
his line of vision and gently
grasped his chin, his thumb running over Harry's
bottom lip tenderly.
" Had enough of my presence?" he asked softly,
though his eyes were blazing.
From the twitch of his blonde eyebrow Harry knew
Draco was restraining himself
until he had seen to his mate. Harry smiled and
dipped his chin so he could
draw Draco's thumb slowly into his mouth. The
twitching instantly stopped, and
Draco's eyes burned with a different kind of light.
" He seems to think our bond could be stressful."
Harry said once he allowed
Draco his thumb back. Draco grinned and walked
Harry back until he was pressed
against the wall. One quick look over his shoulder
showed them both Klyne had
quickly departed and was nowhere to be seen.
" Are you stressed right now?" Draco growled,
pressing himself fully against
Harry, who trembled from the pleasure of it.
" Erm… yeah. But definitely in a good way." This was
much better. Having his
mate this close, pressing heavily against him... his
mate's warmth surrounding
and protecting him. Having Draco being assertive
and honest and simply Draco.
The blonde's presence could never be stifling.
Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's neck and
buried his face against the
warm pale column. Harry was content to stay there
and purr his contentment. He
felt a hand in his hair and a chuckle vibrating
through Draco's chest.
" Oi, Potter! I've been looking everywhere for you!"
The two looked down the corridor to see Crabbe
and Goyle running at them at
full speed. Harry sincerely hoped they planned to
stop because he didn't fancy
getting squashed into a pancake at the moment.
But then Brumek stepped in
front of them to prevent such a thing from
happening. Seems he was thinking
the same thing as Harry. Fortunately for the quickly
approaching Slytherins,
they stopped just a foot short of the big warrior,
and Brumek quickly moved
away when he saw the young ones were not in
danger of being trampled. Harry
smiled when he heard Ozemir softly laughing in
amusement.
" You really thought they were going to run into
them." Ozemir snorted when he
tried to stop laughing and failed. Brumek was
scowling so deeply the vein in
his neck was throbbing.
" Shut up, you!" Brumek growled. " I was only doing
my job!"
" Guys," Harry ventured. " You do realize your
speaking rather loudly and
people can hear you." Brumek and Ozemir quieted
and noticed not only Draco's
Slytherins were staring at the empty spot where
they stood in Shadow, but
other students passing stopped to stare at the wall,
wondering if the school
had acquired new ghosts.
" Move along. Nothing to see here." Draco told the
confused students in a lazy
drawl. " I said move along." He repeated with a dark
look when no one listened
the first time. That dark look was all it took to get
the students to continue
on their way to the Great Hall for dinner.
" So… what's up?" Harry asked Crabbe and Goyle,
who stood back and waited for
an explanation. They finally shrugged at each other
when it seemed neither
Harry nor Draco would explain the disembodied
voices.
" Do you know where Longbottom is?" Goyle asked.
" I had a study session with
him but he never showed up."
" A study session with Longbottom?" Draco asked,
bemused.
" For Herbology. We were supposed to meet in the
library, but all I found were
the books we were going to use... The books were
spread out on a table."
" A study session?" Harry asked. Goyle looked
annoyed that Harry hadn't
already moved on from that point. So Harry thought
he should elaborate. " But
it's only the first day of lessons. You already have a
study session?"
" Wait." Draco raised a hand, looking shocked. " You
were in the library? But
you never go there."
Goyle rolled his eyes. " Figured I better this year. It
being our last and
everything."
" You did say we didn't have to pretend so much
this year." Crabbe added.
" That's true." Draco murmured.
" No I haven't seen him." Harry said because he
didn't think Goyle would stand
for waiting any longer for a damn answer. " So you
found Neville's books but
not Neville?" when Goyle nodded Harry looked at
Draco in worry.
" Don't worry about it. He probably forgot." Draco
answered. " You have to
admit he forgets things."
" But he had the books out on the table…" Goyle
reminded him.
" Ozemir, you watch them. I'll go check for the boy. I
know his signature."
Ozemir blinked at Brumek in surprise, but before he
could say anything he was
already gone.
" I'll walk with you to dinner. I'm sure that's where
Longbottom is." Draco
said.
When they arrived outside of the Great Hall, Crabbe
and Goyle immediately went
in, but Ozemir told Harry to wait with him until
Brumek returned.
" Not taking any chances with us, are you?" Draco
said as they moved into a
shadowed corner where they all felt more
comfortable.
" Of course not!" Ozemir exclaimed indignantly. "
What kind of a bodyguard do
you take me for?"
" Not a very good one." Brumek breathed into his
ear from behind. " You let me
walk right up behind you."
Harry sniggered at the shocked look on the
Assassin's face. He would bet no
one had ever been able to sneak up on him before.
" How did you do that?" Ozemir hissed, and Harry
was surprised to hear the
pissed off venom in his voice. Brumek seemed only
amused and remained directly
behind Ozemir, barely able to keep himself from
pressing against his mate's
back. He grinned wickedly and bent down to
whisper in the Scholar's ear. " I
need your touch, Ozemir."
Ozemir's eyes slid closed as a full body shudder
passed through him. " Don't
stand so close."
" Touch me." Brumek whispered in his ear. " The
Call demands it."
Draco pulled Harry out of the corner towards the
Great Hall with his hand
planted firmly over his mouth to keep from
laughing. Brumek was doing very
well in his quest. Better then Draco thought he
would manage anyway because
right now Ozemir looked ready to break from his
ridiculous promise to keep his
warrior mate at arms length.
Ozemir closed his eyes as the heat built up quickly
into a burning ball in the
pit of his stomach as his spine tingled from
Brumek's warmth at his back. He
took a deep breath before turning around to lay a
hand on Brumek's arm. His
eyes were planted firmly on his hand as he trailed it
down slowly, almost
reverently until his fingers passed over the
warrior's. He would have pulled
away then, but found his hand caught in Brumek's
strong grip. Violet eyes
widened as his open palm was pulled to Brumek's
lips.
Ozemir yanked his hand back when he thought his
hand might burst into flames.
" Stop this." He managed to say.
" I'm never going to stop!" Brumek yelled as Ozemir
retreated, his voice
filling the Entrance Hall. " Get used to it, you
dimwit!"
Ozemir turned in place to stare at Brumek in
resentment and made a sharp sound
of disgust. " My intelligence is not something to be
insulted!" He hissed back
before grabbing Draco to drag the younger
_Ukatae_ down the hall, away from
Harry and Brumek. " Your sister is waiting." He said
to Draco. The Slytherin
had one last look at Harry over his shoulder before
they disappeared down the
hall.
Brumek was grinning when he came to stand beside
Harry. It wasn't really
funny, Harry thought as a frown appeared on his
face. He thought Brumek had
probably unraveled most of the good done by trying
to be nice. He didn't think
Ozemir would change his mind if Brumek continued
to act like a jerk. Harry was
prepared to mention this when the truth of the
matter hit him. Ozemir loved
Brumek long before being aware they were mates.
Ozemir loved him when he was
never nice. His surliness was probably a trait Ozemir
loved best.
Harry's frown disappeared and he nodded to
himself. Brumek being himself while
at the same time showing more sensitivity would
have far better results.
" Did you find Neville?" he finally asked.
" Your brother grabbed him and they went on an
outing."
" An outing?"
" They are well and whole… partly. Your brother has
exhausted himself and your
friend is not emotionally sound."
Harry's eyes narrowed but he waited to speak until
after a group of students
passed him to enter the Great Hall. " What does
that mean? What's Luther been
doing?"
Brumek scowled. " Healing humans."
Harry hid his surprise. " And Neville?"
" He is at the wizards' hospital visiting his family."
Harry's worries doubled as he entered the Great
Hall. He already guessed what
Tom had planned and wondered if he would
succeed. And above all else, he
wondered why the Dark Lord suddenly had an
impulse to start healing people.
Neville's parents in particular. Harry had a few
harsh words for his brother
when he saw him again. Tom should not have
brought Neville along. What if
_Ukatae_ healing magic could not heal his parents?
What emotional damage will
Tom inflict on Neville if it doesn't work? Especially if
Tom had Neville's
hopes up before trying.
After dinner Falde called all the _Ukatae_ together.
All with the exception of
Tom, who had yet to return to the school with
Neville. And Hermione was in a
hissy fit about this especially since Brumek already
reported their brother
was overtaxing himself. Finally, Harry and Draco
were able to way lay her
worry for a short time. They reminded her that Tom
knew what he was doing and
if he really needed help he would seek them out.
" So why have we gathered now?" Draco finally
asked.
Falde stepped forward. " I want a look at your
complete schedules so that I
can plan your training schedule around that."
" What are we going to do exactly?" Hermione
questioned.
Falde nodded. " You will physically train for a few
weeks before the weapons
training begins. Every morning you will run before
your school lessons…."
Draco made a sound of horror, but Falde continued
before anyone else could
comment. " You will have lessons throughout the
day… Academics, _Ukatae_
history, our political systems, and of course you will
discover and learn to
harness your magic. Also a run in the evenings after
dinner. From tomorrow onlarge lunches and light dinners. After the evening
runs you will have lessons
and each lesson will be something of a different
nature- but all will be to
condition your bodies in some way. We start
tomorrow morning. May I have your
school schedules now?"
" You're going to run us into the ground!" Harry
exclaimed, his horror now
matching Draco's, who sat beside him completely
still with the same horrified
look on his face.
Hermione chewed on her bottom lip in worry. " We
aren't used to doing that
much physical activity. Our bodies may not be able
to handle so much so
quickly."
" And more academic lessons?" Harry mumbled. " I
don't see how we can juggle
both our Hogwarts lessons with our _Ukatae_
lessons. All that information is
just going to get mixed up in my head and leak out
of my ears."
The Scholar could see they really believed coping
with this large work load
thrown at them would be impossible. And that was
understandable. They already
had so much to do with school, their plans to take
over the Wizarding World,
dethroning weak leaders and planning to bring back
greatness to the
undeserving Wizarding World. This thought made
him smile fondly at his young
ones. Such young leaders… They were driven and
determined to see their plans
fulfilled and it just made his heart swell with hope
and promise for the
future of their kind. It saddened him to know he
wouldn't be around to see
what greatness they returned to the _Ukatae_
Empire. But he knew… was certain
the new blood and siblings would succeed and save
their race. He had no doubt.
Just as he had no doubt he must die to make sure
Harry and Draco can succeed.
He moved forward, prepared to soothe the anxiety
ridden young ones, but Brumek
was never one for his patience and glared at them
all in irritation. " You are
_Ukatae_! Your bodies and minds will quickly
adjust. All you need is more then
enough will behind the purpose."
Hermione sighed, knowing arguing about it would
get them no where. She grabbed
up her bag to rifle through it for her schedule. Harry
groaned his reluctant
acceptance and dropped a hand into a robe pocket
where his schedule was tucked
away. After withdrawing it, he then leaned over and
passed a hand into Draco's
robe, looking for his schedule as well. Draco was
still staring at Falde in
horror and hadn't moved one hair the entire time.
Harry found Draco's schedule
then passed both pieces of parchment over to
Falde.
Hermione found and handed her schedule over. "
Now when you say in the
morning…"
" Before breakfast equals too bloody early." Harry
mourned.
" And we'll be up all night as well." Hermione
surmised. " I'm all for
learning, but how do you expect us to go from one
day to the next when we push
ourselves over the limit from sun up past sun
down? How do you expect us to
learn that way? We still have to complete our
Hogwarts classes and Draco and I
are Heads. That takes up extra time. Not to mention
other plans we've already
made."
Ozemir sat beside Hermione. " We will not push
passed your limits until you've
been at this a few months." He said with a sharp
look at Brumek. The warrior
frowned, but otherwise remained silent. " It will not
be easy, that is true.
And you will work very hard, that's for certain. But
please believe me when I
say you four can do this and more. I have every
confidence in you."
" And complaining about it will only waste time."
Brumek grunted. " Did you
think we were joking when we said you had to be
physically powerful to take
command of the _Ukatae_? You have to prove your
worth in every way."
" I don't think I should have to prove anything."
Draco suddenly said, his
voice the sound of compressed fury. " Malfoys
never have to prove anything.
And we were picked for this, not the other way
round. I don't see why we have
to put on a bloody show to convince a dying race."
Brumek sneered and stepped forward. Harry didn't
particular like the look on
the big warrior's face." You could give up if you like.
I don't want some
sniveling little baby ruling our world. Just give up,
you coward."
Draco sprang to his feet. " What did you call me?"
he growled. " I am not a
coward. And I'm certainly not a bloody baby!"
" Why don't you prove it? " Brumek quickly glanced
at Falde. His commander
gave a slight nod and backed away. " Prove it,
_young one_." His tone dripped
with contempt, his eyes daring Draco to make a
move.
Ozemir's eyes narrowed, " Brumek…" he hissed.
But the warrior ignored the Scholar's hiss and
continued glare, watching the
silent anger building up within the young one, all his
rage bared inside
swirling silver eyes. Harry thought Draco probably
needed to vent in order to
see reason. Harry didn't like what he was expected
to do; in fact he really
believed he might not make it out of training. But
realized it must be done if
he and Draco wanted to take their rightful places as
leaders of an ancient and
powerful race of people. Draco needed to rant and
rage before he could calm
down enough to see it. Harry was surprised how
their roles were reversed this
time. Usually it was Draco who remained calm and
could see reason first with
Harry being unreasonable and going off the handle.
So he sat back, prepared to watch a fascinating
show. Hermione looked at him
and gave him a disapproving frown when she
realized why he was grinning. But
then suddenly Draco straightened up from the semi
defensive stance he had
taken and brushed the invisible wrinkles from his
robe.
" Fine." He proclaimed in a calm manner. " We start
tomorrow then." Brumek
blinked in surprise at a battle easily won and then
glared at Falde when he
made a small sound of amusement.
Harry's disappointed moan caught Ozemir's
attention. " Is it wrong to hope for
a fight?"
Ozemir raised an eyebrow as his attention returned
to their mates, who
continued to stand and stare at each other, hard
feelings not quite gone yet.
Only a second passed before his eyes grew huge
and bright. " Perhaps not. That
would have been…" Ozemir trailed off as his eyes
roamed Brumek's tall broad
form.
" Delicious?" Harry supplied. " Hot? Sexy? Fucking
fantastic?"
Ozemir nodded along with every word. Seeing
Draco and Brumek solve their
little argument by having a brawl would have been
a sight to see. And for a
moment Draco had shifted and tightened his
stance, his muscles bunching
together, tensing in anticipation of an attack. And
then, to Harry's regret,
he'd gone and ruined everything by realizing he was
being an idiot. Draco
backed down more gracefully then Harry had ever
seen him do before.
" We should head to bed then." Hermione said as
she grabbed her bag and headed
for the door. " I'll see you at the butt crack of dawn.
Oh, and I leave you to
tell Tom all this when he returns. Good night!" Then
she glared at Brumek and
slammed the door shut behind her.
" Hundred Galleons says she bitches at Falde all the
way to the tower." Harry
said and laughed when the vision of it popped into
his mind.
Draco sat and allowed Harry to draw his head down
to his lap. " No bet," he
replied as he stretched out for comfort and then
waved their _Ukatae_ guards
away to give them privacy.
Once Ozemir pushed a fuming Brumek out of the
room, Harry dropped his head
back with a chuckle, " I don't think Brumek
appreciated the high and mighty
send off you gave him just now."
" Does it look like I care?" apparently Draco was still
a little pissed off.
Harry dropped a hand onto Draco's chest, and
tapped out a drum cadence. He was
nodding in agreement. " We've never even seen the
empire we're supposed to put
our lives on the line for. What if- what happens if
we don't like it there,
Draco?"
Draco trapped Harry's drumming fingers under his.
He didn't like it when
Harry's voice grew small like that. " You know damn
well I'm not going to
stand for you having to stay somewhere you don't
want to. C'mon, Harry! Don't
be stupid!"
" But I want to like it there. I really do."
" Why do you want it so much? We've never seen it.
We don't even know much
about the Empire except for what Ozemir's told
us…"
Harry shrugged his shoulders. " Because it's ours,
Draco… Maybe we should go
ahead and take care of Dumbledore right away.
That would free up a lot of
time."
" Don't you want to see his reaction when he
realizes we've stolen the
Wizarding World from right under his nose?"
It was a long time before Harry answered." Yeah, I
suppose."
" And it would be pointless to kill him off right away.
We do that and nothing
really changes will it? We have to shatter his
reputation completely while at
the same time doing the same with the Ministry."
Draco closed his eyes in
pleasure when he felt fingers in his hair. " Once the
Wizarding World knows
the truth about Dumbledore and realizes the
Ministry does more harm then good,
the masses will panic and the doors will be wide
open for Tom and ourselves.
They'll be desperate for someone to look up to, to
tell them how things should
be run, to take responsibility."
Harry grinned." It sounds so easy when you say it,
love. Okay, we'll wait. But
let's step up time frames at least. Thanks to
Demai'Tah, we really don't have
any time to spare."
Draco nodded and began to remove his tie. "
Agreed. We're going to wait here
until Tom gets back. Alright?" Harry nodded and
then laughed when Draco hissed
petulantly because the damn knot wouldn't come
out.
" Of course. He better be alright or I might kill him."
He slapped Draco's
hands away to work the tie out himself. Draco was
happy to let his lover take
over and allowed his hands dropped lazily onto his
belly while Harry leisurely
drew the tie from around his collar and threw it
onto the coffee table. Draco
eyed the Slytherin tie thrown carelessly about for a
moment, before shrugging
and letting it go this time. They were comfortable in
the silence, comfortable
to simply relax with each other and Harry would
definitely not be happy to
receive another ' your clothes are precious…'
speech at the moment.
_That's for damn sure._
One tired silver orb opened when the top buttons
of his shirt began to pop
open. He dropped his chin to his chest and watched
Harry slide his palm in to
rest against his pale skin. His hand remained in the
same place and his head
was tipped back with eyes closed, and he appeared
to be sleeping, though Draco
knew he was awake. He realized Harry simply
wanted some kind of skin on skin
contact, and a sigh escaped the blonde as his eye
slid closed again. He melted
with comfort as Harry's thumb caressed him
repeatedly over the same spot.
Seems he needed the contact as well.
Harry spoke quietly after a time, " I want to ask
Ozemir something."
" Me as well." Draco stretched out a hand as if
reaching for the doorknob and
twisted his wrist before drawing back his arm. The
door opened as his arm came
back.
" Lazy showoff."
" Ozemir!" Draco called, and then raised his eyes to
Harry. " You go first."
He said while relieving his tense muscles by
stretching his arms and legs out
as far as they could go. A grin bloomed on his face
when Harry stiffened- in
all the right places.
" You shouldn't do that while your head's in my
lap." Harry whispered just as
Ozemir entered the room.
" You like it." Draco dropped his arms, letting one
fall behind Harry to wrap
around his waist. Tipping his head to the side he
brushed his face against
Harry's stomach and nuzzled the coarse fabric of his
shirt before letting his
tongue slide in past the buttons. A moan only Harry
could hear passed Draco's
lips once he tasted his mate's skin. The only visible
reaction Harry had to
this was his hand- still planted against Draco's
chest- flexed and his fingers
pressed into his skin.
Ozemir sat down opposite them and Harry smiled at
him in a normal fashion,
thinking it was a bloody miracle he didn't moan out
loud when his lips moved.
Draco's tongue was _not_ being lazy. The rest of the
blonde was, but his
tongue definitely was not!
" Brumek!" Harry said with a grin. Ozemir pinned
him with a glare. No doubt
Ozemir wanted to stay far away from his mate and
as frequently as possible but
Harry was in no way going to make it easy for him.
Harry's hips bucked just as Ozemir looked over his
shoulder when Brumek strode
in. Draco's tongue found lower buttons to slide
passed and journeyed down past
his naval. He couldn't help but tremble as his
erection grew under Draco's
head and dug his claws into his mate's skin to make
him stop. He didn't think
he could keep the pleasure from showing on his
face. Draco's tongue was
merciless.
" We had some questions." Harry managed slowly.
Brumek took a position behind
Ozemir's chair and crossed his arms over his chest.
He eyed the back of
Draco's head with an odd look, and Harry fought
hard to keep the blush off his
face. He was sure the warrior knew exactly what
Draco was doing.
" Well of course!" Ozemir shifted to the edge of his
seat and smiled brightly.
" Ask away!"
Harry almost cried out in disappointment when that
very talented tongue
suddenly vanished from his heated skin and Draco
turned over to face Ozemir
and Brumek.
" What happens in the _Ukatae_ world when mates
find each other?" Harry asked
after taking a deep breath. " Do you have weddings
or a ceremony of some sort?
Or do you simply go on as always once you've
complete the bond?"
Draco watched the Scholar intently for his reaction.
Ozemir's face flushed and
he half glared at Harry for bringing another aspect
of the mate bond to light
when Brumek was so near him. Draco grinned when
he saw all this rolling
through Ozemir's eyes.
" When mates find each other it is cause for grand
celebrations. Extravagant
ceremonies take place to bind the mates together
with Hirsha's Blessing."
Ozemir explained stiffly and studiously ignored the
warm presence behind him.
" You two will need to do this when you finally
enter the realm."
" Elaborate on the… extravagant part." Draco said
as he tried to sit up.
Harry's eyes widened and he grabbed the back of
Draco's head to keep it in
place over his erection.
_You will stay put, you bloody bastard. It's your
fault I'm in this state!
_Draco snorted, but did remain still.
" Extravagant," Brumek began to explain with a
sneer, " as in ridiculously
expensive, hideously gaudy. They are mostly for
socialites and their politics,
and in my opinion these parties are completely
pointless all around."
Draco's smile was slow and calculating." Oh I like
the sound of that."
" I don't," Harry replied with a groan.
" They are not pointless, Brumek. It's necessary-"
" Necessary for a headache the size of Asia." The
warrior interrupted.
" And it's a celebration," Ozemir went on, glaring at
Brumek over his
shoulder. " Of course it's going to be extravagant!"
Seeing Brumek and Ozemir rev up for another
argument, Draco raised a hand,
eager to get on to his questions. " Why exactly do
we have to put ourselves
through hell in order to gain an empire that has
already been written down as
ours?"
Brumek narrowed his eyes. " I thought we were
passed this."
" Not quite." Draco replied in a hard tone. His eyes
flashed dangerously and
Brumek thought it best he let the young one finish
without interruption. "
Harry and I are in agreement that we will do
whatever you say, because you
know more… but you can't expect us to go into this
completely blind. We need
more information."
" What's our motivation?" Harry put in. " Explain
why we must go to such
lengths to secure the thrown, when it's written our
blood must rule now."
" Ah. I see." Ozemir nodded and sat back. He tapped
and finger on his knee,
before sighing. " Come sit down, Brumek. You
standing there is making me
nervous."
" Then I'll stand here some more."
" Must I threaten you with lack of touch?" Ozemir
asked sweetly and ignored
the snickering from the young ones.
Draco arched a brow as Brumek grudgingly moved
around to take a seat next to
his grinning mate. Brumek scowled back at him.
" Now then…" Ozemir extended his hands out,
palms facing the ground. " Imagine
you are artists… Painters. You stand in front of a
blank canvas with every
color of paint imaginable. When you are accepted,
the blank canvas becomes
yours to paint whatever you want; however you
like. That blank canvas is our
world and the paintbrush represents your ruling
power. Understand? The world,
once you are accepted, will literally be yours. You
have all the power, you
see. You have the power to change any law,
reconstruct the social structure,
divide and destroy lands and clans. Your word is
law.
" You must prove you are capable of being strong
leaders. No _Ukatae_ alive
will swear fealty of that all-encompassing
magnitude without a show of worth.
Does that help you? Do you understand now?"
Harry narrowed his eyes and spoke softly, " I
understand that if we prove our
worth and inherit the Empire you and the rest of
our race will become slaves
to us. That's what I understand."
" With a governing power of that extent things
aren't quite that simple,
Harry. We must keep the race relatively happy, and
to do that they must be
allowed a certain amount of freedom and power
themselves." Draco said, finally
being allowed to sit up.
Ozemir nodded. " Very good, Draco."
" But what about the politics?" the Slytherin asked.
" Politics never allow
things to run smoothly for rulers. It's been
documented from the beginnings of
history."
" You will most certainly have to deal with our
political circles when you
begin your campaign and you will start at your
bonding ceremony which we've
just discussed. But once you are blessed with the
Royal mark, all politics is
beneath you. You can over see all that goes on in
the Empire, you may allow
those political factions to remain, but in the end
they will do as you bid."
" I don't see how a race of people can live like that.
It's almost like we're
gods. If we're a race of beings that are individually
gifted in magical power,
how can individual _Ukatae_ ever be okay with
being ruled completely by
another of power. I'm seeing rebellions in the near
future… do you get me?"
" He does have a point." Draco conceded.
" There will be rebellions. There will be many at
first." Brumek answered, his
tone light and unconcerned as if rebellions were an
everyday occurrence. " But
rebellions are generally put down very quickly and
quietly. And remember, when
you claim the Empire, you claim an army of two
clans. Legions will be loyal to
you."
" But that's after we are accepted." Draco pointed
out. " What about before?"
" You already have an army." Brumek replied with a
grin.
Harry and Draco sat forward." We do?"
Brumek nodded. " Falde not only commands
Ozemir, Talyn, and myself. He's been
a commander for hundreds of years. He commands
his own legions and we follow
him to the ends of the earth. I suspect this is why
the Council has sent him
on this mission." Brumek and Ozemir shared a
smirk. " Too bad for them we
found you before they did. The Council thought
sending Falde away would make
it easier for them to find you without his
interference."
" And do what?"
" The Council likes the power they wield. They will
not want to share." Ozemir
explained.
" Wonderful." Harry muttered.
" So Falde's forces will join us without question?"
Draco asked.
" Without question." Brumek assured.
" Wait, wait, wait…" Harry raised a hand. " But
Tu'ral said there were only a
few hundred _Ukatae_ left… How can we have
legions of soldiers?"
" This Tu'ral person is wrong." Brumek replied.
" Who is Tu'ral?" was Ozemir's question.
" Oh! She's this really cool young unicorn we met in
the forest. She helped us
get Tom a younger body."
Ozemir's eyes widened and that goofy grin spread
across his face." A unicorn?
Really?"
Brumek rolled his eyes and sat back. Now they were
going to discuss unicorns.
and Ozemir started talking about the unicorn, very
enthusiastically in fact.
After a moment, Draco drowned them out and
focused on the scowling warrior. "
How many then?"
Ozemir turned away from Harry, having caught
Draco's question and the light in
his eyes faded. " Not enough."
" But how many _Ukatae_ are left?" Draco asked
again.
Brumek shook his head. " You'll find out soon
enough."
" So… our motivation is?" Harry asked, bringing the
conversation back to the
beginning point.
" We can build our own world as we want it." Draco
answered simply then smiled
at Harry. " It's our Empire, our lives to rebuild. To
make our future as we
want it."
Harry studied Draco's face. There was an earnest
look in his silver eyes, a
cocky smile on his lips, and once again Harry saw
the promise of a better
world in his gaze. And he thought he might like to
give it a chance, no matter
what they had to do to achieve it.
Tom finally returned near midnight with a shaken
but grinning Neville, only to
be confronted by two irate young _Ukatae_ who
immediately moved to block Tom's
way when he tried to get to the couch.
" Where the bloody hell have you been?" Draco
demanded. " Do you know what
time we have to get up in the morning?"
" And why the hell did you take Neville out of
school?" Harry asked.
" He healed my parents." Neville mumbled. "
Somehow- I don't know how- but
somehow my parents have their minds back."
" Let's not spread the word." Tom said as he
stepped around his brothers.
" That's great, Neville!" Harry said and slapped his
friend on the back.
" Why did he do it?" He asked Harry quietly. " He's
the Dark Lord… why did he
heal my parents?"
" Not sure, Nev. But… you know… he wasn't the one
to put your parents in that
state in the first place. Neither was it the
Lestranges'."
" I was going to ask you if that was true."
" It is."
Neville seemed to sag in relief and he looked at
Tom. " I don't really care
why you healed my parents, just that you did. But
I'll do whatever you want
without question from now on."
" Oh wonderful. Another minion to control." Neville
would have been insulted
if Tom hadn't sent him a small tired smile. Which
was just creepy considering
whom Tom was.
Ozemir sent a questioning look at Talyn before he
crossed to Tom and peered at
him closely. Tom tried to shove the Scholar's face
away from his, but he could
hardly move at the moment. Ozemir's brows
furrowed with displeasure. " You've
done too much. He has done too much, Talyn!"
" I'm fine." Tom let his head slip back with an
exhausted yawn.
" You don't look fine, you idiot!" Harry said.
" You're two shades from death…" Draco said after
taking a good look himself.
Tom's eyes slid closed and he frowned." I'm tired.
That is all."
" Bull. Shit."
Tom's made a soft barely audible tisking sound. "
Language, Harry."
Draco turned to Talyn. " Bloody hell! What did he
do?"
" He healed my parents." Neville whispered again,
clearly still in shock.
" And what else?" Ozemir hissed at Talyn. She
flinched slightly at his tone.
He was surely pissed.
" Fixed the memories of two wizards and went into
the consciousness of the
witch in coma at the manor."
" Did he use _Ukatae_ magic?" The Scholar asked.
Talyn nodded and her eyes
widened when she realized. " Too much." Ozemir
ground out. He bent and placed
a hand upon Tom's forehead. " Sleep."
Brumek, feeling the rising anger of his mate, told
Talyn to take Tom to his
bed, and then switch posts with Falde. " And Falde
should know he has
overtaxed himself today."
When Talyn had gone with Tom, Harry looked at
Ozemir. " It's not Talyn's
fault. Tom does whatever he wants. He doesn't care
whether he's supposed to or
not."
Draco nodded." There are no rules as far as Lord
Voldemort is concerned."
" Tomorrow is a new day then." Ozemir said. "
There will be rules and he will
follow."
" You're still going to make him run, even though
he's obviously not in the
best shape?" Draco asked in surprise.
Ozemir looked him in the eye and flashed his goofy
grin. " Of course. He will
be taught a lesson."
Harry snorted. " Fine then. You can wake him."
" Oh no. That pleasure belongs to Falde." Ozemir's
grin left Harry feeling
sorry for his brother. He shivered a bit as he turned
to Neville, who looked
like most of the shock had finally worn off. "
Neville? Can you tell me what
happened today?"
Neville lifted his gaze from the floor. " Can we talk
about it tomorrow,
Harry? I need to go to bed."
" Excellent idea, Longbottom." Draco took Harry's
hand and began pulling his
concerned mate towards the bedroom.
" Wait, Draco. I want to walk Neville back to the
tower."
" I can make it on my own, Harry. No need to
bother."
Harry pulled his hand from Draco's and shook his
head. " Dumbledore's still a
threat to you. And it's after curfew. You shouldn't
walk back all that way
alone."
" I will take him."
Neville's eyes widened as Brumek's large hand
reached out and grabbed him
around the neck. He was next yanked into a Shadow
and whisked away. Harry was
sure he heard Neville squeak in discomfort as the
Shadow disappeared.
" Off to bed then." Ozemir gave Harry and Draco
that goofy grin as he shooed
them away to bed.
***
A/N: First of all, i have to express my displeasure.
The Harry Potter Lexicon
is no longer up and running. I used that site so much
that when i couldn't get
on it when writing this chapter, i felt almost
completely lost without it. I
like to go in and check my facts, but i couldn't do
that this time.. So yeah,
i'm pissed... :X okay, so that was my little rant...
I've actually already written the next chap and a half
so hopefully the next
updates wont take as long as this one. I just really
HATE proof reading and
editing. Oh well. So i hope you guys are still
enjoying the story and that i'm
not boring you... that's a little concern of mine.. So
if you start becoming
bored with the story, please let me know. I don't
think it's boring, but you
are the ones reading it after all. SO let me know!
Reviews are always well
received :D Have a great day!
7. The Pain of Success
**Life Agendas**
**Chapter Seven**
**The Pain of Success**
Before dawn. A time when everyone should be
tucked away and warm, sleeping in
their beds. As green eyes tried to blink the sleep
away, Harry wondered why he
wasn't one of those lucky bastards. Looking up into
the dark sky, all he could
see was stars, and he wondered just how early it
actually was. Harry wanted to
ask Draco the time but when he looked he was met
with the dead tired glare of
his mate.
" Don' glare at me." He said after a yawn. " This was
not my idea."
Draco moaned in distress from being pulled out of
his sleep at whatever gods'
forsaken hour it was. He sank down to sit on the
stone steps in front of the
great oak doors while Harry continued to stand, his
brain already heading back
to dream land as Draco surmised from Harry's
vacant expression. Any second now
he was sure Harry would collapse and start to
snore.
" Get up and move around!" Ozemir clapped
enthusiastically along with every
word. " Walk the sleep away."
" Fuck." Draco's sharp exclamation expressed his
disgust at being faced with
Ozemir's early morning cheerfulness. He exhaled
harshly, his breath coming out
in a puffy white cloud due to the chilliness.
" Ozemir. What's the time?" Harry mumbled
groggily.
Ozemir answered with a wicked grin.
" My hate for you is without bounds right now,
Ozemir." Draco spat again.
Harry rubbed his face and ran a hand through his
hair. That didn't seem to to
make the sleep go away any faster. So he started
mumbling incoherent curses
under his breath and hopped from foot to foot as
his teeth chattered from the
sharp chill of the morning air. He looked over his
shoulder and noticed Ozemir
was still looking happy and wide-awake. His smile
gleamed in the darkness.
" Stop smiling like that. I see no reason for such a
smile." Draco did not
want to be subjected to any more cheer.
Two more Shadows arrived bringing Hermione and
Tom. Hermione smiled at
everyone as she stepped out of Talyn's Shadow, but
Tom's face was
expressionless as he pulled away from Falde. And
though he didn't look it, Tom
was certainly pissed off.
" He wants to murder someone." Harry said after
being pulled down beside Draco
to provide more warmth for his tired mate.
" When does he not?"
" I want to make this clear," Tom began as he
stopped in front of them. " I
did not sign up for this when I agreed to become
your brother!" He spat.
Hermione stepped down and studied her brothers
with a raised eyebrow. " What
in Merlin's name are you wearing?" she asked Tom
and Draco. " You can't go
running in your everyday robes! That's just… that's
just-"
" Stupid." Harry supplied before looking at Draco. " I
tried to tell you, but
you went on and ignored me."
" Excuse me, but I don't have anything resembling
those… rags." Draco waved a
hand at Harry, indicating the old gray sweat pants
and faded black t-shirt the
Gryffindor was sporting. " I thought I told you to
burn that stuff anyway."
" If it's comfortable I'm going to keep it." Harry said
stubbornly, and
Hermione nodded in agreement with him. She was
dressed in black sports pants,
white t-shirt and trainers. Talyn helped her to braid
her hair and pin it up
out of her face. She was ready to go.
Falde studied Tom and Draco with a raised brow. "
You need to change."
" We don't have anything else." Tom said in
persistence. He raised his chin in
the air as if that was all there was to it.
Falde turned to Ozemir. " You are the clothing
expert. Do something about
this."
Ozemir immediately snapped his fingers and
grinned when Harry made a small
gasp of pleasure. " That's much better, isn't it?"
Harry nodded mutely and continued to stare at his
lover. Draco was now dressed
in Slytherin green sports pants with a black stripe
running down the outside
of each leg and some pretty nice trainers. But the
best part, as far as Harry
was concerned, was the black wife beater covering
Draco's pale toned torso. "
Maybe too good," he breathed after licking his lips.
Draco raised an eyebrow at his lover before looking
down at himself. He looked
back up with a smirk. " Eat your heart out, Potter."
Tom, who was dressed exactly like Draco, frowned
down at himself. " I'll be
ruined if anyone sees me in this."
" That's not fair!" Harry said, coming out of his daze.
" Mione and I look
like ragamuffins compared to them."
Falde sighed and dropped his forehead into his
hand. " They really are
children." Talyn laughed at his muttering. Ozemir
snapped again, changing
Harry and Hermione's clothes to match the
Slytherins. Hermione squeaked and
quickly crossed her arms over her chest.
" Give me my shirt back! And everything that was
under it!" She hissed. It
took a moment before Ozemir realized why she was
upset, and then he looked
horrified.
" I'm sorry!" His fingers snapped once more, and
Hermione had her t-shirt back
with the correct undergarments.
" That reminds me… Has anyone told Uncle Sev
about this? Because I'm pretty
sure he's going to get mad that we're out without
him being aware… Again."
" How did that remind you?" Hermione asked with a
blush she was thankful was
hidden by the darkness of the hour outside.
Tom had an amused glint in his eyes. " That's sick,
Harry."
" What? No!"
Draco slid an arm around Harry's waist. " It's okay,
Harry. It's fine if you
like to think about Uncle Sev and Hermione in that
way. It's okay. Just never
mention it to or around me ever again."
" But no!"
Draco placed a kiss on Harry's forehead before
moving away.
" C'mon, Harry. Let's go stretch." Hermione pulled
him down the steps to the
grassy lawn, smiling a little when Harry continued to
sputter.
" Why is everything I say taken wrong?" Harry asked
as they sat and stretched
their legs out. " First Tom thinks my flirting means I
want a threesome and
now this!"
" You're easy to play with." Hermione whispered as
they bent forward to touch
their toes. " We don't really believe you think about
me and Severus."
" Well I don't think it's bloody funny!" Harry
seethed, his irritation causing
his ears to grow more to a point.
Hermione snickered and moved to touch the toes of
her other foot, deciding to
ignore Harry's frustration for the moment. Draco
came to sit beside Harry and
flashed ' the smile' at his irritated mate. This was
the first time Hermione
had ever seen Draco use that smile and she couldn't
help smile at Harry's
response. He simply gazed at his lover with
unyielding devotion in hazy lust
filled eyes. Draco looked so smug at his
accomplishment. She couldn't help but
predict Draco would use that smile on Harry quite a
lot from now on.
Tom approach Falde with a hard set to his jaw. " I'm
not the one having to
prove my strength. Why should I be here?"
Falde turned and leveled him a look. " Not true. Not
only will you have to
prove yourself because you three are siblings, but
you'll also have to prove
yourself as the humans' Dark Lord. There are plenty
of _Ukatae_ who wish to…"
Falde paused to find the correct word. " They will
try to dispute your power.
They may even wish to take it now that you have
_Ukatae_ blood."
Tom's eyes flashed gold and his fingernails dug deep
wounds into the palms of
his hands. Falde watched as the young one's ears
lengthened and became
prominent points, as well as his teeth, which were
now full-length fangs. Ah,
passionate anger triggered the complete change
over with this one. " If you
want to keep your power, I suggest you stop
complaining about this and join."
" I'll do it." Tom growled.
Falde shared a look with Ozemir and Talyn as Tom
went to join his siblings. "
I don't think he appreciated my words."
" You made him angry." Ozemir said.
" Very angry."
Harry, Draco, and Hermione gawked when Tom sat
down. " What?" the tone of his
voice made them all get back to their stretching.
They decided to wait and see
if he noticed the change. When he was a little less
angry.
Brumek appeared wearing a smug grin. " The path is
finished. Let's go."
" Before we go I will have your wands." Falde
announced. " You will not need
them."
Talyn and Brumek bet on who would give them
more trouble. Talyn smiled smugly
when Harry and Draco immediately stepped
forward to hand over their wands and
Tom and Hermione stood together staring at Falde's
outstretched hand as if it
were a bottomless pit.
Brumek threw his hands in the air in annoyance. "
Oh sure. Cooperate when I'm
counting on the opposite."
Ozemir was watching Tom the entire time. He knew
who would give them the most
trouble. This was Voldemort's pride, after all. And
his fear. Tom would not
admit it, even to himself, but he was full of fear.
Ozemir was ready to do
whatever it took to help the young one overcome
that and more. Hermione was
uncertain only because she never used _Ukatae_
magic before and could not
trust it to help her should she need it. Her wand has
carried her through
battle before. She knew what it could do and it was
a reasonable reaction to
be wary of giving that up. But she would be swayed
with the explanation of why
the wands were to be given over. Tom Riddle could
not. Drastic measures were
in need to get the Dark Lord to do what they
wanted. Unfortunately time was of
the essence and Ozemir was prepared to use any
means necessary to teach Tom.
And to do that he knew Tom needed to fear
something, someone other then
himself. To see something worse then a Dark Lord.
Just as Ozemir predicted, Tom tensed and narrowed
his eyes. " Out of the
question. Don't ask again, my mind is firm on this."
Ozemir sighed and half closed his eyes as he walked
the few steps over to Tom.
" I'm sure it is." There was something strange about
the way Ozemir spoke that
had all eyes drawn to him.
" Draco look! He's changing…" Harry whispered.
By the time Ozemir stood toe to toe with Tom, he
no longer looked like
himself. His white hair had gone black, as well as his
tunic. Long black nails
adorned long pale fingers and his beautiful violet
eyes were now a gleaming
crimson. " I am not one for patience, you pathetic
whelp." He spoke lowly and
punctuated every word with a flash of his fangs.
Tom hissed in reaction and drew up to his full
intimidating height.
Intimidation that was almost laughable compared
to the dark menace standing in
front of him. And when Tom began to move his lips
to speak, a look flashed
into the gleaming red eyes. It was only a look, a
dilation of the pupils with
crazed emotion passing over. Tom's lips sealed shut
on their own in some
survival instinct. Still and silent he stood, from only
one look- an
expression that held no magic behind it- and Tom
Riddle feared another being
like never before. Here was someone crazier and
more sadistic then he was.
" Who do you think you are to call yourself a Dark
Lord?" the black haired
demon began. " All I've see from you is an utter
failure. You may have our
blood but you are no _Ukatae_. I've seen you work.
I was there when you took
that boy," Dagon pointed to a surprised Harry, " in
the graveyard and used him
to bring your hideous body back. I was there when
you dueled him and lost.
Yes, I was there. Drawn by the Dark magic..." Dagon
said when Tom's eyes
widened. And then he began laughing. It was a low
perverse sound, made more
terrifying by the fact he was genuinely amused. "
You dueled a child and lost!
I wanted to kill you, a disgrace to all things Dark!
Maybe I would have, but
fortunately for you, the idiot regained himself and
dragged me away."
" Who is that?" Harry asked as he watched a
trembling Tom who clenched his jaw
shut in furious anger, ignoring that his fangs were
piercing his lip and
drawing blood.
" It's still Ozemir. See? That's still his face." Draco
replied as he watched
Falde quickly approached Tom and Ozemir with his
sword drawn.
" Stay back, Falde." The black haired _Ukatae_
hissed without taking his eyes
away from Tom. " I have every right to be here."
" You're the assassin." Hermione whispered in a
trembling voice.
" Did I ask you to speak?" he asked in soft coldness
without looking at her.
Tom was reminded of Lucius and Draco when they
were was being particularly
malicious to those beneath them. Hermione's eyes
widened and she quickly shook
her head.
_Demai'Tah didn't scare me like this. _Draco
nodded even as he stepped in
front of him. Harry scowled at his back. _That
wasn't a plea for protection.
_Draco shrugged and didn't move.
Falde stood beside the assassin and gripped his arm
in a firm grasp." Dagon.
We will talk now or prepare for my attack."
" But Falde…" Dagon turned and roughly pulled his
arm away with a sneer. " You
wouldn't attack me. You like me. And I'm not
finished here." He waved at Tom,
who pushed Hermione over to Harry and Draco the
moment Dagon turned away from
them.
" Ozemir is my friend. Not you." Falde replied and
raised his sword. " I have
no problem attacking you."
" Ozemir and I are the same."
" He will understand should the attack become
necessary."
Dagon flashed a grin, a triumphant smile. " I was
willfully released this
time."
" Willfully?" Falde's sword dropped to his side after
a moment's hesitation
when Dagon nodded.
" What the hell is going on?" Harry asked after
shoving Draco aside with an
annoyed hiss.
" Dagon the demon." Talyn answered.
" He here for us?" Draco asked. Brumek only
shrugged and continued to stare at
the dark creature that poisoned his mate.
" This the first time you've seen this side of him,
Brumek?" Hermione asked.
The warrior nodded and swallowed.
" He's a very beautiful demon." Talyn remarked and
then shrugged when several
pairs of eyes turned to her. " Oh come on. How
many of you could actually
picture Ozemir as an assassin? Not me."
Brumek nodded. He heard so many tales about
Dagon the demon that he had a
completely different picture of the assassin in his
head. And then he found
out Ozemir was Dagon, and the fear of the demon
diminished, because really,
have you seen the Scholar? He's a bushel of
sunshine most times. But now the
fear had returned. And it was worse. Because now
he saw the change with his
own eyes, and like Talyn said, Ozemir gave him the
chills now. And nothing
much had changed. Only the color of his hair and
eyes. Brumek could still _see
_Ozemir, could see him as the demon who looked
dark and delicious... and still
a turn on. Brumek wanted that body wrapped all
over him. He would have the
pleasure of having new, decidedly dark nightly
fantasies after this...
" He's Dark perfection." Harry whispered. Tom had
never, ever scared him as
much as Dagon did with just one look. His eyes
were freaky.
" He's bloody frightening." Draco concurred with
Harry's unspoken thoughts.
Dagon turned and sneered at them." Stop your
incessant chatter," he said
before giving Falde a look. " Here," and handed over
Hermione and Tom's wands.
" I dare you to take it back," he said to Tom when
the young one made a move
towards Falde with his hand outstretched.
" I'm going to kill you." Tom remarked in a calm
voice. Hermione rushed over,
knowing that voice wasn't good.
" Tom, he's _the_ assassin, remember." She
whispered. " You can't kill him."
" But it would be fun to watch you try." Dagon said
as he moved until he was
chest to chest with Tom. A black eyebrow rose,
daring the Dark Lord to do
something.
Tom stretched his arm out once more and his wand
flew from Falde's hand back
to his. Before he could raise it, Dagon was already
moving and grabbed Tom's
hand in an almost bone crushing grip, while his
other hand flashed out to
clamp over Tom's esophagus, squeezing ever so
slightly. Tom dropped his wand
and clawed at Dagon's hand to keep him from
squeezing harder.
Harry, Draco, and Hermione were suddenly filled
with a very strong instinct to
protect their brother. Draco withdrew Talyn's sword
from the sheath before he
knew what he was doing. And fast enough that
Talyn failed to notice until he
was already moving away. Harry tore Brumek's
sword out of his hand and hurried
over as well. Hermione was seized with intense
emotion and felt an almighty
rush of anger at seeing that son of a bitch
threatening her brother. Her blood
boiled as her heart pumped faster, sending her eyes
blazing, her ears, teeth,
and nails lengthening. Turning her into a fullblooded _Ukatae_.
Talyn and Brumek looked shocked for a moment
before remembering themselves and
taking chase, but were stopped from going to
retrieve their weapons, and their
stupid brash young ones when Falde raised a hand
to them. He was watching the
young ones with a mixture of anticipation, shock,
and trepidation.
Harry rushed over and raised the weapon with mild
difficulty, quickly pressing
the blade to the back of Dagon's neck. " Release my
brother. Now!"
Draco took a position beside Tom and pressed the
tip of his sword against
Dagon's chest, over his heart. " Make a move, other
then letting our brother
go, and this goes straight through. You may be fast,
but the three of us have
you and you will not get away without a scratch."
" Three?" Dagon sounded amused and he continued
to hold Tom as he had. " There
are only two weapons on me."
" Wrong," Hermione growled from a few feet away,
" there are three."
Dagon moved his head a fraction, the amused smile
still on his face, and
caught sight of Hermione a few feet away. " Well,
well, well. Perhaps my
earlier perceptions were wrong- a first I'll have you
know." He remarked upon
seeing she had him in her sights. A bow stretched
tight with an arrow aimed at
his head. " Maybe you aren't a timid vessel of waste
after all."
Hermione didn't move an inch. She reacted in no
way to his words. Her eyes
continued to glow an eerie rust color that was in no
way dull. They glittered
beautifully against her pale skin and red lips. Her
brothers briefly wondered
where the hell she pulled the bow and arrow from,
but since this was a very
dangerous situation, speculating would wait till
later.
Tom's voice was weak but he still managed to
growl, " Don't call her-" Dagon
squeezed harder, this time drawing blood. Because
he drew blood, Draco pressed
forward and took his own blood with a forceful
growl.
Falde, Talyn, and Brumek came together and moved
closer to the young ones and
the demon. " We should intervene." Talyn
whispered to Falde.
" You do and someone will walk away without a
limb. I promise it will not be
me." Dagon hissed, his breath ghosting over Tom's
lips. He inhaled lustily.
loving the feel of the sword tips against his flesh,
loving the smell of his
own blood where Draco's sword pressed in.
" Dagon. Release him now." Brumek ordered. He
didn't expect that would work,
but since they were mates, sort of, he thought he
might as well give it a try.
Otherwise this conflict wasn't going to end anytime
soon. The young ones were
stubborn, and if the demon was even a little bit like
Ozemir, then so was he.
Then to everyone's surprise, the assassin visibly
relaxed at the sound of
Brumek's voice. Tom shoved the assassin's hand
away from his neck and was
relieved when Dagon did nothing except turn and
pin Brumek with a stare. The
warrior was so startled by Dagon's undivided
attention that he took an
unconscious step back.
" I've been kept away from you for over a thousand
years." Dagon spoke as he
approached, " When we first met you in the
Qylacae, Ozemir swore to keep me
away... Quite unfair of the idiot but I suppose he
had his reasons. He thought
I would kill you. Thought I would see you as some
sort of weakness…"
" Thank Merlin!" Draco whispered and lowered the
sword that had begun to
tremble. " Seems Ozemir's psycho alter ego loves
Brumek as well."
Falde breathed a sigh of relief as he moved the
young ones away, certain
Brumek would not take kindly to their nosy gazes.
Dagon, Falde was sure, would
not care a whit if people were watching. Falde
thought about the young ones
and thier reactions to Tom being in immediate
danger. Thier reactions were
very interesting. Quick and foolhardy. But at least
they were loyal and
clearly unified. And Hermione changed completely
in order to protect her
brother the best she could.
Not the reaction Falde assumed Dagon would have
to Brumek. Assassin's were
known to have mates too, no occupation stops a
bond from forming, but he
assumed Dagon would be against it. But just now,
that look Dagon gave
Brumek... it was a look Falde was sure the warrior
wished to see more from
Ozemir.
Brumek raised a hand when Dagon came within
reaching distance. He did not
forget what Dagon was. " I want to speak with
Ozemir."
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Dagon
jumped on him in an instant
with a face contorted in rage. The warrior was
certainly taken by surprise as
he was toppled to the ground in one swift move.
Dagon's figure was slight
compared to his and his weight felt like that of a
feather on top of him, but
he was still able to keep Brumek on his back.
Brumek gasped when the assassin's hands circled
his neck, but his gasp was not
made from this attack. It was from the
disappointment hidden underneath the
rage he felt coming from Dagon. That was not a
feeling expected here.
" Ozemir? You'd rather speak with him?" Dagon
spat. " The idiot Scholar who
shows no spine against our treacherous master! The
moronic dog who sees
nothing but an illusion of light encompassing the
world, instead of all the
darkness surrounding every insignificant life form
on this earth!"
" You are the same!" Brumek croaked as he slid his
hands over Dagon's, though
he did not try and pry the hands away from his
bruising neck. He could feel
Dagon's indignation. It was almost… funny to
Brumek, which such a person like
Dagon was reacting this way. He would have
laughed if his mate weren't caving
his throat in.
Suddenly Dagon's hands jerked and lessoned their
hold and his eyes flashed
violet. With a hiss, Dagon drew back and stood and
when his eyes met Brumek's
they were back to red. " He's still trying to protect
you."
Brumek climbed to his feet. " Made the infallible
assassin mad, did I? What an
achievement."
" Do not mock me," Dagon replied sullenly.
" If it's easier to do with you then with Ozemir then
perhaps I would prefer
to speak with you."
Dagon crossed his arms. " You have a horrible sense
of humor. And do not
assume I want you to live. I might kill you where you
stand." Dagon sniffed,
but his anger seemed to have dissipated by this.
" You would have tried already if that were your
wish."
Dagon raised his hand to study his black claws and
remained silent, though his
brows were furrowed in thought. Past him, Brumek
spied the young ones and the
other guards entering the forest. Falde raised a
hand, calling him forward.
Dagon was watching him when he turned back. " Do
you think I scared him
enough?"
" You surprised him if nothing else and Falde has his
wand." Brumek shifted
uneasily. " We need to go."
" What? Afraid of daddy?" Dagon laughed when
Brumek's eyes narrowed to slits
before he turned to march off. Dagon caught his
arm to make him stop. " There
is… something I wish to say before that blasted fool
drags me down again."
Dagon murmured. His look was less threatening and
lit was a hungry gleam. When
he raised a hand he was pleased Brumek did not
flinch away.
" I have not been touched."
Brumek unconsciously gripped the assassin's hips as
his eyes darkened, "
perhaps you should clarify," Brumek said slowly. " I
don't understand."
" I think you do but I might as well spell it out for
you." Dagon brushed
fingers over the forming bruises on Brumek's
throat. Only a touch to feel his
skin, not to heal the bruising. Dagon liked the look
of them there and planned
to leave them. " Ozemir has kept our body pure.
The joy of discovering the
delights of my body," Dagon leaned forward until
their lips were touching, "
has been saved all for you."
Brumek's eyes slid closed. His body tensed when
Dagon touched his chest,
sending a shock barreling through him. " Hirsha...
You are trying to kill me!"
he gripped Dagon's arms, and couldn't decide
whether to draw the demon closer
or push him away.
" I do like to kill... in any way. But perhaps I'm telling
you because I want
you to take me already. Now."
Brumek's hands flexed around Dagon's arms and
jerked back, pulling the
assassin against his chest, his mouth already
descending with every intention
of doing what the assassin wanted. Now. And be
damned with Falde!
Dagon only cared about himself and what he
wanted. And right now that was
Brumek. But again he was wrenched away, and this
time thrown onto his back.
Brumek froze with a half pant and stared. There was
nothing else he could do.
After all that he felt if he moved he would shatter
into a thousand pieces,
his want was so great.
Dagon lay on the ground fuming and cursing as he
struggled for control. But
Ozemir was stronger over the control of their mind
and body.
Dagon's angry growl might have shaken the walls of
the castle, the intensity
was so great, but Brumek noticed none of this as he
watched black hair return
to white and red eyes return and remain violet. And
then Ozemir stood and
briskly walked away towards the forest. " We have
young ones to train now,
Brumek." He called without looking back. Brumek
needed a few minutes to push
what just occurred away until he could think upon it
later on, and in the
privacy of his own room. Dammit, but he was not
prepared to wait any longer on
his headstrong mate! Not after Dagon's cock
saluting admission.
Harry's lungs were on fire. His legs were burning
and melting into jelly and
Harry was sure his heart was about to explode right
out of his chest. He tried
to keep his mind off the pain by staring at Draco's
arse as they went along,
but that didn't work out too well when he found
himself constantly tripping
over roots, bushes, and being hit in the face by low
hanging tree branches.
Only fifteen minutes into the run and already he
harbored suicidal thoughts.
" You said you made a path!" He gasped out to
Brumek. Bastard wasn't even
breathing hard as he ran along. " This doesn't seem
like a very good path."
" Keep your breath. You're going to need it."
Harry scowled but kept pumping his legs. Behind
him he heard Hermione's heavy
breathing and the occasional curse. And except for
their panting, Draco and
Tom ran on surprisingly without complaint. Tom
calmed down from the time they
started out, and was back to looking normal, and
every once in a while he
would raise his palms to his lips to lick off the blood
his claws had drawn.
He didn't even seem to care anymore that Ozemir
had set the assassin on him.
_Seem _was the appropriate word, Harry was sure.
" It's time to slow down and walk!" Brumek's voice
penetrated his thoughts. "
But do not stop!" Harry looked up only to find all
their guards had
disappeared. Then Ozemir's laugh echoed around
them as the four students
slowed to a walking pace.
" Wonderful!" Ozemir laughed as he appeared
above them in a tree. " You made a
rhyme! How long did it take you to come up with
that? One… Two hundred years?"
" Death, Ozemir! I swear it, death!"
Draco snorted and pushed damp hair away from his
eyes. " Glad to hear they're
back in order. Ozemir back to normal too." A round
of agreements followed,
only slight sounds since no one wanted to waste
energy on talking until the
effort of breathing was no longer extraordinarily
difficult.
They continued to walk on, looking closely around
for any sign of the older
_Ukatae_, who could be heard but not seen. Harry
soon wondered when the point
of all this walking with invisible guards was going to
make itself known.
That's what he said to Draco and immediately
regretted speaking up when the
ground started shaking under foot and their ears
were filled with the roaring
wind.
" Potter!"
" It's not my fault, Draco!"
Hermione looked around with wide eyes. The
ground shook horribly, the trees
seemed to groan and bend away from one
direction. She didn't think most of the
roaring sound was from the wind and thought it
might be a good idea to follow
the example of the trees.
" I think we should RUN!" She broke out into a
sprint with Tom following right
behind. Harry remained still and stared off towards
the disturbance with a
small curious frown on his face.
Draco rolled his eyes and grabbed the Gryffindor's
arm. " C'mon. You can
figure out what it is while we run from it." He didn't
let go until he was
sure Harry was running beside him. No telling what
was coming after them… he
was only certain something _was_ headed towards
them, and at a rapid pace.
" We should stop." Harry panted beside him. Draco
looked at him like he was
insane, but the stupid Gryffindor missed this
because he was looking over his
shoulder and slowing down. " Might be a test,
yeah?" Harry stopped completely.
" I don't think running would be the answer,
especially since we don't know
what's there."
Draco cursed under his breath and turned back. "
Now is not the time!"
Harry flashed a grin and then to Draco's horror, he
ran back the way they
came- towards the rampaging Giants… At least that
was Draco's vision of what
could match the disturbance approaching.
" Falde and the others aren't too far away. You
know they aren't. We won't get
hurt. This is just a test." Harry went on with an
absurd amount of confidence
when Draco caught up.
Draco groaned and looked over his shoulder. Tom
and Hermione were long gone.
He wondered how long it would take them to notice
he and his stupid mate were
no longer following.
" Fine! But let's stop and think first. I refuse to
charge straight for it."
Harry sighed, but did stop. " You notice anything
odd?" He pointed in the
direction of the thing Draco was sure was coming to
kill them. Draco had a
sharp remark to that but held back when he noticed
how composed Harry was, how
the forest was trembling around them but Harry
was not.
" By the tremors of the ground and the level of
noise around us, whatever that
is should have been on top of us already."
" I think you may be right for once." He turned and
matched Harry's grin, "
let's go check it out." In the next moment, a white
tiger shot off into the
forest. Harry laughed as he changed into his
panther form and bounded after
his mate.
High up in a tree Ozemir turned to Brumek with a
smug grin. " I told you they
wouldn't fall for it."
" Harry is too curious for his own good." Brumek
replied.
" But the point was to teach them not to run away
from things they can't see."
" Yes they passed. And then failed by running
straight into danger without a
plan." Brumek shifted on his branch and leaped
down. Ozemir watched him fall
with a held breath. Of course he knew Brumek
would land on both feet, but it
was the way he jumped, the way Brumek liked to
drop down like a dead weight
only to right himself at the last moment to land on
his feet. Ozemir gave a
sigh of appreciation before he too jumped down to
land next to the warrior.
" Now we'll need more than an illusion." Brumek
studied the trees around them.
" Let's see how they work out with something real."
Ozemir raised a brow. " You want me to summon?"
" Yes. Something they can handle."
The Scholar bounced on his toes as he rubbed his
hands together while a goofy
grin spread across his face. " This will be fun!"
" Ozemir."
The Scholar stopped rubbing his hands and peered
at Brumek warily. Now days it
was never good when Brumek spoke to him in such
a soft tone. It usually meant
Brumek was trying to seduce him again. It was not a
tone Ozemir expected from
the warrior, not now, right after meeting Dagon. He
was yet again surprised
when glanced over. Brumek's toothy grin told him
he knew exactly what going on
inside his mind.
" Don't make it too easy. This is a training exercise
after all." Brumek went
on to follow after Harry and Draco, leaving it up to
Ozemir to summon another
obstacle. Ozemir sighed in relief even as his eyes
dimmed in disappointment.
He pushed that away right quick, reminding himself
that's what he wanted. He
wanted Brumek to stop trying…
He quickly shook his head, reminding himself he
had a job to do now. Brumek
wanted him to summon a challenge for the young
ones. Once again he grinned and
rubbed his hands together, while his eyes swirled
and darkened. It was time to
challenge them, see what they could do. He only
hoped this challenge wouldn't
be too much.
Hermione ran almost blindly. She was trying not to
panic, but they were deep
in the Forbidden Forest after all and the sounds
behind her had her running in
terror. She cried out suddenly when she tripped and
fell roughly onto her
knees, skinning them. Tom rushed up and hauled
her to her feet.
" You all right?" Tom panted.
Hermione nodded as they continued to run, not
having enough breath to speak.
Tom let go of her arm to hold onto her hand as they
ran. He worried about the
pain she must be in from that fall and knew she was
very winded as well. He
concentrated on that and felt a tingling through his
fingers. Hermione gasped
suddenly, then looked at him in surprise. Without
looking at her, he grinned
at his accomplishment. Her pain had ebbed and she
had more breath. She gave a
shaky laugh and squeezed his fingers.
Tom smiled when he suddenly discovered he had
his second wind as well. "
That's handy."
" Yeah!"
Both looked pleased over the discovery of new
abilities, grinning at each
other as they ran forward. The ground dropped
beneath them so suddenly they
never had a chance to jump over or away from the
deep dark pit. Hermione's
shriek pierced the suddenly quiet forest as she and
Tom fell into darkness.
Tom landed on his back with a hiss of pain, followed
closely by Hermione. She
fell on her side and her cry of pain followed the
sound of a breaking bone.
Tom sat up with a groan, gritted his teeth when his
back popped with a
horrible crack as he crawled over to Hermione. She
flipped over onto her back
and cradled her broken wrist against her chest.
" What just happened?" she asked in a daze as Tom
helped her to sit.
Falde called down to them, " you were not paying
attention and you paid for
it."
Tom scowled and wrapped his fingers around
Hermione's injured wrist. " Hold
still a minute."
Hermione nodded before squeezing her eyes shut
when he started applying
pressure to the broken bone. Tom felt where the
fractures were and applied a
little more pressure before exhaling and sent a jolt
of magic through his
fingers and around the injury. In his mind he could
see her injury being
healed, and when her wrist was perfect once more,
he released her hand and
scowled up at Talyn and Falde's faces.
" We failed, fine. Now get us out of here."
Falde spread his legs and crossed his arms over his
chest and looked down at
them as if he were prepared to stay that way all
day. " The fault is yours for
falling. This is the next test. Find your own way out.
Both of you will
achieve this a different way. Start now and make it
quick." Talyn sent the
young one's a quick grin as she and Falde moved
back out of sight.
Tom made a sound of disgust as he and Hermione
stood and started taking stalk
of the depth and makeup of the pit. " We can jump.
It's only a few stories.
Harry and Draco were able to jump before their
transformations."
Hermione prodded the wall of the pit, pushing her
fingers as far into the dirt
as they could go and shook her head. " Only Draco
tried before the
transformations. But that's a good idea. And it was
yours so you jump out.
I've got my own idea."
" You sure?"
" Yes, just as long as you jump straight out without
touching the walls."
" You're going to climb out?"
Hermione raised her hands for him to see and
grinned as her nails grew into
strong sharp talons.
Talyn took a position against the tree to wait, while
Falde stood only a few
feet back from the pit.
" Ozemir put a stop to the illusion. Wonder what
happened."
" The young ones either failed or passed the test
and are about to face
another."
" Do you think it's fair we're already starting the
tests?" she asked softly.
" They were only prepared to run this morning."
" The point is," Falde began in loud voice that was
sure to carry, " always be
prepared. For anything. It is possible-" he paused
when Tom shot out with a
whoosh and landed in front of him with a burning
gaze. Falde ignored him and
stepped aside. " It is possible to stay in tune with
everything around you
even in times of great stress. You should have
sensed the trap long before
reaching it. You should feel lucky the bottom was
not filled with something. I
assure you the next will be."
Hermione's voice cut off any retort Tom surely had
on the tip of his tongue. "
He's right. We were careless." A moment later
Hermione pulled herself out of
the trap. Other then the heavy breathing, dirtied
skin and clothes, she looked
fine and even tempered. But Tom was seething as
they stood facing their
mentors. Hermione was sure Falde and Talyn were
not aware of how enraged her
brother had become. He remained perfectly relaxed
on the outside except for
the hardened glint in his eyes, and Hermione only
knew the true depth of his
anger because she could feel it. His rage burned
into her.
By the time he took up her hand to cool his temper,
Hermione wondered from
exactly where did all that anger come from. Tom
certainly did not like the
fact they had to do this and more every day, but he
got over that quickly. The
rage was from something else. She could only feel
the degree of the fire in
him, but not the reason. She was only glad they had
such a strong connection
and could help each other even though they were
siblings and not mates. She
knew they had some kind of connection, told him
once too. And it was surely
useful if Tom started to inhibit that strong of a
negative emotion frequently.
Talyn waved her finger between Hermione and
Tom. " Connection. You share blood
and magic. Useful gift."
" In some instances," Falde nodded in a pleased
manner, " a great advantage.
Especially if you have mates with magic that works
with your siblings. The
spell's power doubles by number of casters
involved. You could perform spells
single _Ukatae_ can't even attempt… Spells not
even Demai'Tah can accomplish
alone."
" How is it we have this connection?" Tom asked,
pleased by this discovery.
Talyn cocked her head to the side and grinned. " Do
you wish for it to go
away?"
Hermione tried not to, but she ended up looking
over in question. Tom squeezed
her hand and answered," no."
" Are you happy with the connection?"
" I just said- Yes!" Tom rolled his eyes, recognizing
Talyn was simply teasing
him and getting angry and frustrated was stupid at
the moment. He glanced at
Hermione and she quickly looked away. He was
pretty sure she was messing with
his temper, sending calm waves into him without
asking permission.
" Then do not ask how." Talyn grinned and gave him
a little bow. " Appreciate
your gift and leave it at that."
Tom snorted before he could stop himself. " Pretty
way of saying you don't
know."
" It's gone!" Draco said in exasperation after
returning to his _Ukatae_ form.
He turned on his heels and glared around the
forest. " There's nothing here."
Harry laughed after transforming back. " I told you it
was a test."
" And now we've lost Tom and Hermione…"
" Shouldn't be too hard to find them." Harry ran a
hand along an old gnarled
tree as he circled it. " It's quiet now."
" Agreed. Too quiet."
" Something else is coming."
Draco nodded as Harry returned to his side. " Let's
go find the others."
They only managed to move a few feet before they
heard the growling. " Please
tell me that's you." Harry whispered.
" Does that sound like me?" Draco snapped back.
Instinctively he reached for
his wand only to find it wasn't there. Stupid Falde. "
You're telling me we
have to wing this?" he murmured as his hand
dropped back down to his side. "
Could be a scared puppy or something. A tiny
puppy."
" It's not puppies." Harry said lowly after spotting a
pair of dark eyes
several feet away, blinking in and out of view. Harry
realized with a sense of
panic that the creature didn't simply prowl from
behind one tree to another,
it was fading into mist, passing through the trees.
" They can turn into fog to move wherever the fuck
they want?" Draco asked in
annoyance.
" Of course." Harry replied dryly. " Stupid test can't
be easy." The creature
began to move closer, it's fanged mouth open and
dripping saliva. Jaws open
wide displaying rows of razor sharp teeth, all of
which were stained with
something Harry feared was dried blood. The
creature looked like a wolf,
except it was over four feet tall with black fur,
matted and caked with blood.
It was crouched low, with it's head down and ears
back and a long tail tipped
with a wicked sharp point trailed behind, dragging
on the ground. Staring at
the wolf creature's massive claws, Harry
unsheathed his own, knowing full well
he and Draco were about to have a time of it.
Brumek's harsh voice, which only whispered into
the mates' ears, nearly made
Harry jump out of his skin. " Focus. Expand your
senses. You must feel
everything around you."
Harry tried to relax and follow Brumek's
instructions. They were there to
learn, after all. And this was obviously a training
exercise. It was time to
see what kind of _Ukatae_ he could be.
Then the creature raised a leg to take another step
with its eyes fixed firmly
on them, and dissipated into black mist mid stride.
When a disembodied growl
brushed at the back of their necks, Harry had to
fight hard not to immediately
Apparate away.
When Harry focused, the smell hit him immediately.
He smelt it all around, the
putrid stench of decay and filth. And it was right on
top of them. He grabbed
Draco's arm and dragged him down just as a claw
materialized above their
heads. They ducked in time to keep from having
deep gashes embedded into their
skulls.
Unfortunately this was their first time coming
across a creature like this and
they knew nothing about it. So when the creature's
tail solidified over them
and separated into three, it came as a complete
surprise.
" Roll!" Draco yelled just as the razor sharp tails
swiped down. Harry's side
was grazed by one and Draco earned a long gash
down his back.
" If this is how you concentrate, you will be dead in
five minutes!" Brumek
barked from his position high above them. Harry
gritted his teeth against the
pain as he hurried over to Draco.
" The wounds are not fatal," Ozemir began. " You do
not heal until after the
battle has been won."
There was more growling in which to distract the
young ones from taking care
of each other. The creature was back to being solid,
its three tails now
waving and flicking haphazardly around its flank.
" Knives for tails too..." Draco moaned as he picked
himself up and craned his
neck to try and see his back." This better not scar."
The Slytherin tried his
best to ignore the pain, which was easier then he
thought it would be. And he
had to try and ignore Harry's pain and that was
almost impossible…
The wolf creature began to move again, padding
back and forth, circling the
two _Ukatae_… Its eyes continued to gleam and the
nostrils flared from the
smell of their blood. As it moved, they turned with
it, keeping their backs
away from it. It did a full circle before stopping and
the young _Ukatae_ were
startled to find two more had snuck up on them and
all three were snarling and
crouching to prepare for an immediate attack.
When they sprang with vicious
barks and huge claws stretched out, Harry reacted
without thinking. Thick
vines burst through the ground beneath the
creatures when he clapped his hands
together. Only one was caught, as the two on the
sides sprang away in time.
Harry gave the vines with a mind of their own as he
and Draco separated and
dashed away, quickly springing into the nearest
trees. The vines quickly
crushed the creature to death and it's remains burst
into ash, falling between
the quickly departing vines and into a pile on the
ground.
There wasn't any time for Harry to celebrate his
accomplishment as the two
remaining creatures suddenly sprouted a pair of
black leathery wings and began
to take flight after them.
" Bloody fucking Merlin!" Draco panted in
exasperation. " They have wings too.
What? Fading into mist isn't enough advantage for
you smelly carnivorous
BASTARDS?" he exploded at the end, his control
finally fucking snapping.
Brumek grinned. " He's a bit irate, isn't he?"
Harry continued to climb higher and concentrated
on communicating with the
tree, connecting with the numerous braches around
him. Relief washed through
him when many of the branches began to reach out
for the creature, slicing
through the air at it. Most missed hitting the target
directly, but they did
block the creature from reaching Harry at the
center where he was plastered
against the tree trunk, breathing heavily and looking
around, trying to think
up another way to get out of the situation.
Draco suddenly yelled out in fury. The air charged
all around him as he jumped
down over the creature. It dove after him, but the
moment Draco's feet hit the
ground, lightening speared down to strike the
creature and a second pile of
ash lay smoking behind him. After that was done,
Draco moved towards Harry's
tree watching the branches continue to swing in all
directions. " Hurry up,
Potter! I don't like it here!" he ground out.
Harry gawked for two seconds before the wolf thing
was snarling in his face.
Once it realized the prey was out of reach as long as
the branches continued
to get in its way, the creature used the mist ability
and passed through
quickly. Harry cried out when claws embedded into
his knee and he fell out of
the tree when he tried to scramble to the side. As
he fell, one of the
branches swung forward and he only had time to
widen his eyes before being
struck in the stomach with a force that sent him
flying backwards into a tree
a few feet away. He hit the trunk with a sickening
thud before sliding to a
ground, curled in a ball.
Draco ran. He kept one eye on his immobile mate
and the other on the wolf
quickly approaching him. " Harry!"
_Stay back_.
Draco skid to a halt when Harry's head rose from
the ground, his eyes narrowed
and glowing so brightly that the animal approaching
looked as if the light of
the Killing Curse had encompassed it. And if it
weren't for the wound on his
back, he would have trembled from the dark look
Harry spared the creature
before uncurling and springing to his feet.
Harry ran and somersaulted right over the
nightmarish wolf. As he passed over
it, he grasped the bat-like wings firmly and pulled
them off with a furious
shout. The moment he landed, the creature howled
and disintegrated, adding a
third pile onto the forest floor.
Harry spat out the blood and saliva gathered after
biting his tongue after
being struck by his own swinging branch. Like that
wasn't fucking
embarrassing. He remained stony faced as he
approached the blonde to heal his
back. The cut was more of a long scratch then
anything, but Draco's skin was
enflamed and Harry was sure it hurt like Hell.
" What happened to your Quidditch skills? Where
did the superb reflexes of The
Great Harry Potter go, huh?" Draco wanted to know
after he was healed and
began to work on Harry's wound. " Those moves
everyone always gushes like
simpletons over?"
" Shut up…" he murmured and winced when Draco
touched his side.
" You're an idiot, falling out of a tree…" Draco
laughed and prodded the gash,
his relief that they were safe visible in his eyes, "
…getting hit by your own
defense."
Harry ground his teeth. " Shut it." Draco smirked
and knelt to take care of
the Gryffindor's knee.
Ozemir and Brumek finally decided to make an
appearance and landed gracefully
a few feet away. Ozemir looked smug but Brumek
was scowling. Harry rolled his
eyes. What else was new?
" Splendidly done." Ozemir congratulated.
Brumek looked at him in disgust. " That was the
best you could summon? A baby
could have defeated those hounds." And then his
disgust was thrown Harry and
Draco's way. " And still it took you far too long to
overcome them. This is
counted as a failure."
" What?" Harry cried. " But that was hard!"
" Not enough focus!" Brumek barked. " Decisions
should be made quicker. You
should have known what to do long before you
received those wounds."
" But that was seconds after it appeared!" Draco
shouted. "We've never seen
creatures like those. They turn into mist and have
bloody wings… Oh, and let's
not forget the three tails made to impale its victims!
How were we supposed to
know what to do without our wands? Your fucking
instinct doesn't work that way
with us!"
" But it did." Brumek reminded him. " After you
became so angry that nothing
but the creature was on your mind. And then you
knew exactly what you could do
to kill it. And you did. You chose lightening, and
after Harry was finished
playing games…" Brumek turned with a hard stare
to glare at said _Ukatae_.
" Oi!"
" ... his concentration led him to the answer. Pulling
the wings off a Shadow
hound instantly kills it." He turned back to Ozemir
who frowned back, " which
makes them easy kills and not a suitable training
exercise."
" You think it should have been harder?" Harry
asked incredulously. " It's the
first day for Merlin's sake!"
Ozemir nodded at the young ones. " You did well,"
he said firmly.
" Did you forget there were three?" Harry reminded
Brumek.
" Bringing us to another point. You should have
sensed all of them instead of
just the one at first. Had you focused more you
could have done something
before you were attacked first."
Draco growled. " You're one of those people who
are never pleased with
anything!"
Ozemir touched the warrior's arm and pulled him
away a few feet. " Brumek…
They did well. They did not grow up in the _Ukatae_
world where Shadow hounds
are common. They have not grown up knowing
about them."
" Yeah, what he said." Harry called out, not
ashamed in the slight for
listening in. He was tired and sore and wanted to
get the rest of the jog
under way. Standing here arguing was just pissing
him off more. Brumek's scowl
deepened as Ozemir spoke and Harry knew he
wasn't pleased and wanted to say
more, but at least he remained silent on the issue
after that. Harry figured
Ozemir had sacrificed himself and would be taking
the lecture instead of Draco
and himself. Which made Ozemir Harry's new hero.
And though Brumek was silent on that issue, he was
harsher in his commands as
he drove Harry and Draco, making them run as they
looked for the others.
Sprinting through an unfamiliar place, especially a
place such as the
Forbidden Forest was a dangerous activity. They
were forever having to
suddenly jump over pits, dodge large pissed off
plants Harry was certain did
not usual inhabit the forest, and even leap from
tree to tree when the ground
was suddenly covered in a poisonous mist. Ozemir
laughed delightedly when they
noticed the black mist and instantly jumped high
into the trees, and Brumek
later said he was impressed with their quick
reactions. Most of all he was
impressed with the way the two young ones
continued to advance through the
forest by jumping from tree to tree without
hesitation. Draco's ire at the
warrior seemed to disappear after this hard won
compliment.
By the time they reached the others all four young
ones were moaning with
distressed bones and mutinying muscles.
" Can we go back now?" Hermione panted. " I've
fallen into one too many holes
and it smells like rain."
" And showers are needed before classes." Harry
reminded their guards and
hoped it was time to head back. He wasn't sure
what the actual time was or if
school would be starting soon, but he sure as hell
hoped it would.
And then the sky opened up and laughed in their
faces by beating rain down
upon them. The four young ones stood there,
drenched, tired, and angry, while
their teachers stood across smirking at them as if all
this was all fun and
games. They, of course, were perfectly dry.
" You should really get yourself dried off, young
ones. This will bring you
sickness."
" We don't have our wands." Hermione ground out.
" So far you've done a remarkable job without
them." Ozemir pointed out.
_We can do wandless magic. _Harry told his mate.
Draco looked at him in surprise and then looked
sheepish. _Oh yeah. Forgot.
_He and Harry took moments to dry themselves and
create a shield, while Tom
must have remembered as well for he did the same
for himself and Hermione.
" Let's head back." Falde said and turned.
" Yes!" Harry's fist pumped into the air and the
students crowded around their
guards.
" Problem?" Brumek snapped when they stood
there looking as if they expected
something to happen.
" Aren't you going to Shadow us back?" Hermione
asked and felt a sinking
feeling when Brumek's eyes gleamed with cruel and
unusual amusement.
Falde started to jog and called back to them, " We'll
run." And then he broke
out into a run.
Brumek pushed Draco and Tom after Falde, a wide
smile on his face. " I suggest
you four get a move on if you want to make it back
in time for classes."
Knowing they had no choice, the young ones
groaned and began to follow at a
slow pace. That quickly changed when Brumek
barked at them to go faster. Draco
and Tom shot him a withering glare over their
shoulders, but they did follow
his order and broke out into a run. Harry and
Hermione did the same and soon
they were out of view leaving Ozemir and Brumek
behind for the moment.
Brumek faced Ozemir and crossed his arms over his
chest. " Are you going to do
that every time? Oppose everything I say?"
" Will you continue to expect too much too soon?"
" It's the way I work, Ozemir. These aren't the first
I've trained."
" They are the first you will train who were not born
_Ukatae_. Instinct does
not come so easily to them. Draco told me once he
and Harry learned some
things upon first awakening, but I don't think it
works as it does with us."
Brumek dropped his head and rubbed the middle of
his forehead. " This will
hinder the training."
Ozemir nodded and began to pace in a leisurely
manner. Brumek watched him
walked around with a thoughtful look on his face.
He stretched his arms in the
air before dropping them behind his head. " I
believe Zynfrae can help with
this."
" Consult with Falde first, Ozemir." The warrior said
firmly, knowing Ozemir
loved to disobey the simplest of orders. " You can't
simply take them to the
realm, and you can't bring him here without
consent either."
Ozemir dropped his arms and returned to his side. "
Of course. Besides, it
will take a couple of weeks perhaps… I must find
Zynfrae first and he may not
be in the realm."
Brumek studied Ozemir's eyes, bright eyes that
refused to meet his. A rush of
tenderness swelled up in him and he reached over
to brush Ozemir's pale cheek
with the back of his fingers. He moved to stand in
front of the Scholar and
took his chin in hand with a gentle but firm grip.
" Ozemir…" Brumek paused and looked away,
determined to say this right. He
wanted to be clear. " Do not fear that I will not want
you because of the
demon." He told him in a firm low voice. " Don't let
that keep you from me."
His grip tightened when Ozemir's lips began to form
words. " And don't tell me
it's because you're going to die or because you want
to save me from torment
and pain. I've already decided. I didn't want a mate,
but now I have one and
it's you. It's you and I'm happy it's you. Do you
understand? Another bond
already exists and… I'm already in pain with the idea
of you dying."
Ozemir's eyes wavered and then focused on
Brumek's earnest face and a weak
smile formed. " You should never have been
informed of my virginal status."
" This isn't about that!" Brumek yelled, angry to
have his words thrown back
in his face and angry that Ozemir continued to
refuse him. It was so
frustrating to want Ozemir and not have him.
Worse still, he knew Ozemir
wanted him and yet refused to give in.
Ozemir pulled the fingers away from his chin and
moved back. " This is for the
best-"
" You're a fool!" Brumek interrupted, having no
intention of standing there to
hear what has been heard before.
Ozemir squawked indignantly, " I am not!"
" You are!" Brumek growled and then sped off after
the others leaving Ozemir
alone to worry over his thoughts.
Hermione dropped to her knees once they landed
back on Hogwarts grounds. Harry
fell down beside her with a groan and Draco
stopped at his lover's feet,
bending over with his hands on his knees, trying to
catch a breath. Tom in all
his Dark Lord brooding glory glared at them as he
passed, snatched his wand
from Falde's outstretched hand, and quickly
entered the castle without one
word, once again brushing Talyn off when she tried
to heal the ankle he
damaged on the way back. Hermione tried to heal
him as well, but after the
first time when Tom snapped at her to leave him
alone, she didn't try again.
Tom was pissed and he wanted to be left alone. She
understood and let it go.
She thought it funny Tom was so moody, so much
like a teenager. Half his
surliness surely had to do with him realizing how he
was acting and having
only half control over it.
Draco continued to stay hunched over and grip his
calf where there was a
cramp, he prayed for more air because surely he
was about to die. There didn't
seem to be enough air around to fill his burning
lungs.
" I don't think I can-" Draco's words and train of
thought flew away with the
wind as his gaze traveled the length of Harry's tired
and trembling body,
starting from his scuffed up shoes, on up past the
knees to Harry's toned
thighs that actually stood out quite well against the
fit of his pants. But
the best part... Draco groaned, the best part was
Harry's shirt which had
shifted while he tried to make himself more
comfortable and was now riding
high and showing off more sweat slicked skin then
Draco could manage to see
right now. He didn't have enough energy left to
breathe, but seeing his mate
laying at his feet sprawled out like that and his shirt
offering up a nice
view of flushed skin… And his wild hair! Half of
which spread wildly around
his head, while the other half was plastered against
his cheeks and neck. All
this led Draco to discover he had energy left over
after all.
" How about that?" he asked himself in
bewilderment as he continued to savor
the sight before him. Lusting after his mate was far
better then doing what he
had previously been thinking. He fully planned to
kill each and every one of
their bodyguards, painfully and very slowly- slow
enough to last twelve bloody
lifetimes. But staring at Harry right now when he
couldn't move yet was much
better. " I'm amazed."
" What?" Harry spoke as he tilted his face up to
peer at him in question.
" Harry, I don't know how it's possible, but I want to
fuck you right now."
Hermione rolled her eyes and stood, grabbing
Harry's elbow as she went. " We
should never stop cold like that. Our bodies need to
cool down slowly or we'll
end up getting sick. And Draco… My God! We've
probably run the marathon of
terror just now. You're insane if you want to do
anything other then lay down
and die."
" I know! I can't help it." He continued to eye Harry
up without shame and
Harry returned his gaze with a cocky smirk, happy
with the attention.
" Marathon of terror seems a little dramatic, young
one." Brumek commented as
he passed Hermione her wand.
" Did you have to run it like we had to? Did you
have to hop, skip, and roll
over at Falde's every word?" she demanded. " No?
Then shut the hell up!" She
snapped before passing him. Brumek's face was full
of shock and he stared
after her with wide eyes. Harry started laughing so
hard he ended up chocking
for breath.
When everything was said and done, they arrived
back in their quarters on time
and were able to get showered and dressed and still
have enough time to make
breakfast. What seemed like an entire day of
training only amounted to three
hours and the time they were woken was earlier
then first thought. Finally
they met outside of the Great Hall. Tom was still
pissed and continued to
remain silent. Harry and Draco followed Hermione
and decided to leave him
alone, certain that if pushed Tom would start to hex
people for ruining his
brooding silence.
" I feel like shit." Draco murmured just inside the
doors.
" Yeah," Harry agreed with a cheeky grin. " You look
like it too." Harry tried
to move away quickly but Draco was faster and
grabbed Harry in a headlock.
" Take that back, Potter." He growled softly as his
other hands wrapped
tightly around his mate's waist to pull him back.
Harry dropped his head against Draco's shoulder
and shook his head. " Umm…
no."
" Harry, you can't expect Draco to walk around all
day thinking he looks like
shit." Hermione said in exasperation. " He'll go nutty
worrying about it."
" Yeah. I know. But making me feel bad because I
got hit with my own personal
Whomping Willow wasn't very nice."
Draco dug his fingers into Harry's waist, prepared to
demand Harry take back
the obvious lie about his looks right away. But then
Neville was suddenly in
front of Tom catching their attention. He looked
incredibly worried and like
he hadn't slept all night.
" Can we go back?" Neville whispered excitedly. " I
have to make sure it
wasn't a dream."
" It wasn't a dream. They're awake. Excuse me."
Tom left them and headed to
the Slytherin table.
" But I have to see!" Neville cried. Draco huffed and
playfully pushed Harry
away.
" Since you think I look so bad, I'll leave you to take
care of Longbottom."
He hissed before following Tom's route. _You're still
the hottest bloke on the
planet,_ Harry whispered, but since he sounded so
amused, Draco was not
prepared to take his lover's white flag promptly
flipped Harry the bird before
gracefully taking a seat.
The moment he was seated the smells of breakfast
hit him all at once, making
his mouth water. Merlin, he was hungry. Ravenous
even. He quickly grabbed two
pieces of toast and heaped a big pile of scrambled
eggs on top. Forked bacon
onto his plate and pulled an entire bowl of fruit next
to it. Gods, the fruit
never smelt so good.
" What the hell are you doing?" Blaise's voice cut in,
sounding strangely
irritated and perplexed. Draco pulled his eyes from
his plate to find Blaise
and Pansy watching him with mild shock. It was
mostly disgust in Pansy's case.
" What?" The way they were looking at him made
him think he suddenly sprouted
two more heads. He wasn't answered right away
because now they were watching
Tom and when his brother reached over to steal his
bowl of fruit, Draco
finally noticed how much food he and Tom were
trying to consume. " Oh."
Draco's hand flashed out and took the bowl of fruit
back, ignoring the warning
hiss from Tom.
" What's wrong?" Ginny asked. " Why are you guys
looking at Draco and Luther
like that?"
" I have never seen Draco eat bacon. Ever." Blaise
answered and raised an
eyebrow when Tom pushed Draco back, almost
causing the blonde to fall off the
bench. When Draco quickly grasped the table with
both hands to keep from
falling, Tom reclaimed the bowl of fruit. Apparently
it was very special fruit
with very special powers.
" Draco, you can't honestly tell me your going to eat
that mountain of eggs on
your plate." Pansy remarked. " And stop trying to
steal the fruit from each
other. We are not children." She summoned
another bowl of fruit and pushed it
over, ignoring the objections from those down the
table from where she
summoned it. Draco instantly stopped drawing his
wand and claimed the one
Pansy found.
" Are you going to explain?" Blaise asked again. "
Something is obviously
wrong if you're eating like this."
Draco shrugged away his friends' questions, more
concerned about finishing his
breakfast.
Pansy suddenly gasped, " oh Merlin! You're not
pregnant are you?"
Draco's eyes widened and he started choking on his
pumpkin juice. Tom leaned
away and began laughing, doing nothing to try and
stop Draco from spitting out
a lung.
" What the hell is wrong with _you_, Pansy?" Draco
managed.
Blaise looked at her sideways. " You do have a
tendency to blurt out the first
thing that comes to mind."
" Nonsense, Blaise. I'd never do anything so…
Gryffindorish." Pansy defended,
and then gasped when Ginny snorted and shook her
head.
" Remember when you told Harry you hoped his
wings would turn out to be pink?"
Ginny said. " Which also made him freak out, sort
of."
" And if anything, Harry would be the pregnant one
here." Draco hissed. " This
is all really pointless because he hasn't taken the
potion." He glared at
Pansy as he took another drink to soothe his
scratchy throat.
Tom smirked and was smug in his knowledge that
he knew more about this then
Draco did. He was not surprised when Ozemir's face
appeared between them. And
in a quiet voice only Draco and his friends could
hear, the Scholar announced
quite cheerfully, " oh, didn't you know, young one?
Submissive males get
pregnant just like females. It happens naturally. No
need for potions."
Pumpkin juice flew out of Draco's mouth and his
eyes nearly bugged out of his
head. The table went quiet for a moment. The other
students not privy to the
conversation went quiet because it's not everyday
you see Draco Malfoy giving
Blaise Zabini a pumpkin juice shower. But after a
few moments of nothing else
happening, they went back to their own
conversations with an odd glance back
every now and then. Draco and the others were
staring at each other in silent
shock, with Tom snickering to himself on the side.
As one the small group of
Slytherins turned eyes to stare at the Gryffindor
table, where Hermione was
greedily consuming her food and Harry was eating
at a slower rate, but looked
intent on finishing what was on his plate. The
Gryffindors must have sensed
eyes on them because in the next moment their
food was being ignored and they
were looking around. Harry caught Draco's eye first
and raised a brow at the
gob smacked expression on his mate's face.
_You look like Mrs. Weasley hit the back of your
head with a pan._
Draco dropped his eyes and began to eat, _very
funny. _" Stop looking." he
said lowly to those around him.
" You're not going to tell him?"
He shook his head at Ginny and was relieved when
the owl post came in to
distract everyone. Draco looked at Ozemir over his
shoulder. " That's not
something I wanted announced to the world." His
words hissed passed his barely
moving lips. " Especially since Harry and I were not
aware of that fact."
" At least now you are aware." Tom said as he
snatched his copy of _The Daily
Prophet_ out of Goyle's hands. " This conversation
is done, and you will all
keep quiet about it. Is that understood?" Everyone
nodded and returned to
breakfast.
Pansy narrowed her eyes on Draco. " You haven't
told me why you're acting like
your last meal was three days ago."
Tom spoke without turning away from the paper. "
We've been up before dawn and
spent a lot of energy. We're hungry."
" Why would anyone want to wake up before
dawn?" Ginny asked with disgust.
" Exactly my question." Draco remarked with a glare
for the Scholar. Ozemir
grinned and held up his hands like it wasn't his fault.
Tom nudged Draco to get his attention and shook
the opened _Prophet_. " Look
at this." Draco bent in and held the other half of the
paper. " Our media
wizard has begun. And he's done a fine job this time
around."
He pointed out an article on the front page about
certain department heads of
the Ministry being investigated by Aurors, an
internal investigation over
corrupt officials. The Aurors are also up in arms over
the fact the
investigation was now public knowledge and they
were also investigating the
source of the leak. And except for Kingsley and
several Public Affairs
officials, no names are mentioned in the articles
and neither is the manner of
the crimes described. Draco thought that didn't
matter at the moment. The
material was enough to get the general population
curious and thinking,
questioning what else could be going on within the
Ministry.
On page three another article was printed about
the Aurors investigating a
well-known wizard- name unreported. After having
several serious rumors pop
into existence around Wizarding Britain the last
couple of days, Kingsley
could not dismiss the seriousness of the
accusations. An investigation had to
be started. Draco almost felt sorry for the Head
Auror… almost. And he
definitely didn't feel sorry for Dumbledore. Those
rumors came from the
portraits in the Headmaster's office. Kingsley must
have found out that way,
giving more then enough evidence to make the
intelligent Auror rightly
suspicious. Draco wondered which portrait ratted
Dumbledore out.
Defense Against the Dark Arts happened to be the
Gryffindors first class and
Draco insisted on walking with them. Harry thought
this was unnecessary and
spent a few minutes arguing with the blonde over
the issue. " But your class
is at the other end of the castle. It makes no sense
to walk all that way and
then have to go back."
" You can say whatever you like, but I'm still walking
you to class." Draco
repeated for the last time.
Harry sighed, " Fine."
" You guys feeling okay? I mean, after that run…"
Hermione asked to fill in
the silence as they walked.
" I don't feel as bad as I thought I would." Harry
confessed. " Muscles are
sore, but that's normal, right?" Hermione nodded,
absently rubbing her wrist.
It no longer was injured, but it tingled as if the body
thought it should be.
" Anything else?" Draco asked Harry as they came
to stop in front of the
classroom door. He was suddenly thinking about
Harry getting whacked in the
stomach with that thick tree branch. Over Harry's
shoulder he caught sight of
that bastard Klyne, who was smart enough to look
away once he noticed Draco's
eyes on him.
" Not really. My stomach ached for a little bit- It's
gone now..." Harry went
on quickly when Draco's eyes widened in distress. "
Probably a delayed
reaction from being hit in the stomach with my own
tree branch."
Draco snorted. " So careless, Harry." He would be
watching his mate for any
sign of pain. He knew how much Harry loved to hide
it.
Harry brushed shoulders with him and walked into
the class with Hermione. When
Brumek made to follow, Draco blocked his way. "
Watch that bastard," he
whispered darkly, staring into the room at Klyne
who continued to do his best
at ignoring the angry _Ukatae_ fiancée.
" He will not bother your mate." Brumek replied just
as firmly.
" Thank you." He stepped away from the open
doorway and leaned against the
wall, tapping his foot impatiently. Tom was going to
be angry with him for
being late for their class, but Draco was curious as
to how the Gryffindor
class would begin. After a few minutes the rest of
the small Gryffindor
seventh years arrived and the door closed, signaling
the start of class. Draco
moved to stand in front of the door. He didn't have
to press his ear against
it to hear inside.
He sneered as Professor Klyne began his lecture. "
In order to defend against
the Dark Arts, one must first understand how Dark
magic works."
Draco shook his head as he walked down the empty
corridor with Falde. "
Bastard did it. Didn't even try to change the
words…"
" You called it." Falde replied quietly.
Draco grinned. " Yes. Yes I did! Should have called
money on it."
Transfiguration class was where he found the rest
of his year, sitting up
straight and attentive for Professor McGonagall
while she watched Draco find a
seat with a stern disapproving look.
" Five points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy. Try not to
be late again."
He hid his surprise as he sat down. Only five points?
From Slytherin? This was
a first. " Sorry, Professor. It wont happen again."
McGonagall nodded before turning to the day's
instructions written on the
board and began to explain what they would be
doing for their first class. He
turned and found Tom giving him a look that nearly
matched the disapproving
look McGonagall had when he first walked in. Draco
rolled his eyes and faced
the front. He would have liked to tell Tom about
Klyne using his words, but
since McGonagall was notorious for hearing every
word whispered in her class
and because Draco didn't want her disapproval
again, he thought it was best to
wait until after class, or when they started the
practical part of class.
Harry and Hermione had a free period after DADA,
which was now Talyn's time.
" So," Harry began. " Here we are again. In the
bloody forest…"
Talyn placed her spear against a tree and then faced
them as she unclasped her
cloak and lay it on the leafy ground next to her
spear.
" This lesson you will be learning about your wings."
As her voice faded, dark
wings like a fallen angel's rose off her back and
spread wide for display. The
dark blue feathers matched the color of her hair
and her markings were a
metallic, glittering in a pale purple color.
" You have very beautiful wings." Hermione began
and smiled slightly when
Talyn's wings fluttered, pleased with the young
one's compliment. " But I
don't have wings. I've mated," she glared again at
Harry when he made a
gagging noise, " and I don't have any itches or pain
that indicates I will get
wings. Shouldn't I use this time to study something
relevant to me?"
Talyn's wings tucked back in to lie against her back
as she approached. " But
wings will come. You are truly a _Ukatae_."
" I don't think so." Hermione replied with a
stubborn set of her jaw.
Harry knew by the wariness in Hermione's eyes that
something was troubling
her." What's wrong?" he asked. She remained silent
and dropped her gaze to the
ground.
Talyn moved closer and placed a hand on
Hermione's shoulder. " If something
bothers you we'll talk about it after this lesson. It's
short. But right now,
please follow along with my teachings." When
Hermione reluctantly nodded,
Talyn turned to Harry, " now release your wings,
young one. I will teach you
how to glide."
" Glide?" Hermione asked. It was a lesson after all
and she might as well
learn everything she could about the _Ukatae_. "
Why not fly?" she already had
parchment and a quill out. Harry hoped she'd take
notes for him if he had to
participate in any demonstrations.
" We do fly, but for the most part we glide. Our
wings aren't usually used for
travel. Not when we have two perfectly good legs
and other ways of
transportation. Using a circle and the Shadow take
less physical energy, and
of course Shadowing is much faster then any other
type of travel. So when we
do use our wings, it's usually in place of jumping or
moving from one high
place to another close by. For gliding, all we need to
do is let our wings
catch the wind and ride it out."
Once Harry happily discarded his robe and school
shirt, his wings immediately
sprang from his back and pumped with force until
Harry was lifted off the
ground with only his toes barely touching.
" Someone's eager." Talyn commented with a small
laugh.
" It's like they have a mind of their own. I hate
having to keep them hidden."
Harry took a moment to control his feathered
appendages before continuing. "
The _Ukatae_ aren't strict about that are they? I
wont have to hide them in
the _Ukatae_ realm will I?"
" No. Those with wings bare them proudly and are
looked upon with respect.
It's a child baring thing."
" This world of women haters should take notes
then." Hermione muttered.
Brumek settled against a tree to watch the lesson.
He wasn't very disturbed by
being here, not now that he had a mate. Otherwise
he would have fought Falde
tooth and nail on this and refused to guard either
young one during the
lesson. It would have been pointless. But now he
had a mate and Ozemir,
regardless of his idiotic denial, would end up having
wings sooner rather then
later. Falde did ask Ozemir to attend first but he
refused flat out. It was
clear he meant business when the Assassin's eyes
flashed red with promises of
murder if he were pressed any further. Brumek had
a painful hard on by the
time Falde dismissed Ozemir and the Scholar fled
with a stupid laugh.
" I bet Ozemir's wings will be pearly white, just like
his hair." Harry said.
" He has to mate first. Otherwise nothing will
happen." Talyn reminded him
before looking at Hermione. " You're female. Wings
will come in regardless if
you are mated or not."
Hermione shot to her feet and glared. " For the last
time I'm not going to
have wings!" She looked like she wanted to say
more, but after a moment she
turned and walked out of the clearing.
" I'll talk to her." Brumek said with a groan to Harry
when the young one had
taken a few steps after his sister. " You continue
with your lesson."
" What's wrong with her?" Harry wondered aloud
while he turned back to Talyn
who was… Nowhere to be found. " Huh?" he spun
around but this wasn't a case
where she had only moved a few feet away.
Suddenly he was pelted with several
pinecones, all of which hit the same spot at the top
of his head. " Bloody
hell!"
" Do not let yourself become distracted." Talyn
called from above him. Green
eyes looked to the sky to find Talyn hovering high
above grinning down at him.
Her wings were spread out and pumping slowly. "
The tiniest bit of distraction
can prove to be deadly more times then not."
Harry glared up at Talyn, " oh man, this is going to
suck." She sent him a
grin in return.
Hermione wandered only a short distance away.
She was upset, but not stupid.
It wasn't safe to wander alone. She had no idea
what was going to happen.
Becoming a full _Ukatae_ had been a possibility, but
she hadn't believed it
would actually happen. And even before today,
Ozemir remarked upon her
immortality… There were so many things about this
that made her want to break
down and cry.
Brumek found her sitting on a log. Hermione sighed,
" you don't have to stay
with me. I'm fine."
He shrugged. " What do I want to stay for the lesson
for? Unlike you, I'm not
going to grow wings."
Hermione glanced at him sideways with a small
frown. " Ozemir's going to have
wings. You should stay and pay attention."
" You more then me. Do we really need two
_Ukatae_ here who are in denial?"
Hermione's hands began to tremble as she gripped
the sides of her robes. " I
can't." She whispered. " I can't."
" But you will."
Hermione covered her face with her hands and
burst into tears. Brumek backed
away from her in surprise, and then looked around
for some help. What did he
know about helping crying women?
But then she was suddenly babbling and he didn't
need to ask what was wrong. "
I can't! My parents- what will they say? And
Severus! He'll never want to
touch me again! He's not going to want me and I
need him. I need him and he's
going to leave me and grow old while I stay young
forever without him…" Her
crying intensified and Brumek looked heavenward.
" Have you tried talking with that… abdominally
rude human?"
She sniffed." No. There hasn't been any time, not
really." She avoided his
gaze when he pierced her with a look. " And I- I may
be trying to avoid the
subject."
" He's only a human. Don't worry about what he
thinks."
" I used to be human! My parents are human! We
were all human before this
summer! Don't talk about him like that!"
Brumek raised his hands wishing with all his heart
Ozemir would show up and
take over. He was definitely not experienced for this
and Ozemir knew how to
talk with emotional females. He acted like one more
times than not.
" I only say it because he doesn't seem to care
about anything…"
Hermione pulled her wand and stuck it under his
nose. " Not one more word or
I'll hex your nose off." She hissed. They stood in
silence for a moment and
then Brumek started laughing, deep chuckles rising
from his chest to blast out
with sharp laughs.
His laugh startled Hermione so much that she
dropped her wand. Hermione
growled in frustration as she picked it back up. "
Severus cares about me very
much." Though her voice was firm, Brumek
witnessed the fear and doubt swimming
in her eyes.
" Yes, I've seen that he does." Brumek said this to
reassure her and also
because it was true. " Talking to him would be the
best course of action.
Hiding these fears from him isn't very fair. Especially
since they concern
him."
Hermione sighed and then laughed. " You get a
mate and now your suddenly full
of sense."
Brumek looked affronted. " You don't know me that
well. I've always been this
way."
" Somehow I don't believe you ever had a sensitive
bone in your body before
you knew you had a mate."
" I was proud of that fact."
They began to walk back to Harry and Talyn and
Hermione hoped the subject was
firmly dropped.
The rest of the lesson passed quickly. Harry
managed to get up into the air,
but was unable to stay up for longer then half a
minute. Nor was he as
graceful with wings as he was with a broom.
Hermione had a great time making
herself feel better by laughing and watching Harry
become angry and frustrated
with himself. He was all over the place. Darting here
and there, cursing when
only one wing at a time would work on his
command once he was in the air. He
was only thankful Draco wasn't around to witness
this embarrassment. He never
would have let Harry live it down.
After the worst flying lesson Harry ever had, Talyn
then listed off other uses
of the wings.
" Wing size is an indicator of stature." She gave
Harry an amused look. " Your
wings are… an impressive size."
Harry answer with a smirk, " Yes, I know."
" Let me tell you what that means, young one." She
went on seriously. " It
means you walk around with pride wherever you
go. Stand tall and proud, with
your chin raised and eyes set for the sky. And when
it is necessary, you show
your enemies as much as possible how little they
are compared to you. This is
important in the _Ukatae_ realm."
" Act like a Malfoy." Harry nodded. " Got it. What
else? I already know about
the pheromones."
" Yes. That's fun, isn't it?"
" Yeah. Kind of drives Draco insane."
Talyn nodded with a chuckle and turned to
Hermione to make sure she was still
following.
" And lastly, your wing markings indicate
procreation when the color slightly
changes."
Harry stopped listening at that point. He didn't think
this was for the winged
male population. Never occurred to him that things
were different with
_Ukatae, _especially since Talyn seemed to be
speaking to Hermione only. So
ended the first flying lesson with a promise to pick
up again the next day.
Harry was late to his next class but there were no
dire consequences to be had
so he wasn't worried. It was only History of Magic
after all and Professor
Binns never noticed anything. This was common
knowledge, which was why he
wasn't the only one late for class. Weasley and
Finnigan came in shortly after
he did.
They really were fucking. That wasn't a guess. Harry
knew and it pissed him
off. And not because he was jealous, but because
Weasley was the worst sort of
fucking hypocrite in the bloody world. He flew off
the handle because Harry
turned out to be gay, but then goes and fucks that
Irish bastard. Harry
wondered if he and Seamus had been fucking
before Harry announced he was gay…
but whatever. He wished them the worst of luck.
And just to get back at the
bastards, Harry wouldn't react to any of their
taunts. He would try to remain
amused through all of it and piss Weasley off good.
" If you wanted to keep it a secret you shouldn't be
so obvious. Idiots." He
said as the two boys passed him at the door. He
received a glare for his
pleasure.
Hermione waved him over to her two-person desk
at the front, but he snorted
and shook his head. No way was he sitting in the
front in this class. Not when
he could sit at the back at his own table and catch
up on some light slumber.
As his head lay on the table he wondered what
Draco was doing then. He wasn't
sure if the Slytherin had another class at that time.
_What class do you have now? _
_Arithmancy. Quiet Harry, I'm trying to pay
attention. _
Harry smiled and closed his eyes. Arithmancy was a
hard class and he was
thrilled not to be taking it.
Draco's grin stretched from ear to ear outside of the
History of Magic
classroom. The vindictive light shone brightly from
his eyes as he stared back
at Falde. The hallway was clear and he didn't expect
anyone to disturb him
outside the door.
" What exactly are you doing, young one?" Falde
asked when Draco started to
fish something out of his bag.
Draco smirked. " Just have Ozemir and Brumek
come out here, okay."
" No. We're here for your protection."
" Come on." Draco begged with his eyes. " Please."
" No. There are too many people in there to leave
you alone."
Draco huffed, but knew he wasn't going to win this
one. " So much for being
the Emperor." He muttered and glared when Falde
flashed him a grin. Draco
pulled on Harry's Invisibility Cloak he ' borrowed '
from Harry's trunk
earlier. " Can you see me?"
Falde looked surprised. " No."
" Good. Could you at least stay out here, or my plan
is ruined."
Falde nodded after a moment. " You still haven't
said what you're doing."
" Just payback. You know, it's what us children do…
Okay, now Shadow us in,
and then hurry up and leave before he sees you."
Falde sighed, " fine."
Harry was already dozing, but his sleep was strange.
He knew he was sleeping
and yet he could sense everything around him as if
he were wide-awake. And
then Draco's scent was suddenly all around him and
his head was up, looking
around eagerly for the blonde. But Draco was
nowhere to be seen. Harry was
just beginning to think maybe Draco's scent had
been a dream that lingered
into consciousness, but then something touched his
leg and he jerked. His foot
connected with something solid that should not
have been there.
When he looked under the desk nothing was there
except for his legs. He
narrowed his eyes and kicked out again, this time
only coming into contact
with air. Several classmates caught his movement
and looked at him strangely.
He ignored them and looked at Brumek and Ozemir
to see if they noticed
anything weird. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary
with them. They stood on
opposite sides of the room ignoring each other.
Ozemir was staring at Binns
while the ghost went on and on in his droning
grating voice. The Scholar's
mouth was slightly open with an appalled look on
his face.
Some invisible force suddenly spread Harry's legs
wide. " Fuck!" he gasped.
The movement of his legs paused as everyone in the
room stopped what they were
doing to look at him.
After a moment, Harry slouched in his seat as
something brushed against his
crotch, and slowly, so slowly, began to unzip his fly.
_Draco!_
Said blonde smirked under the table and continued
on with his mission. The
quick beating of Harry's heart urged him on, as well
as the heat building
inside his mate and pumping out, surrounding him
as he freed Harry's growing
erection.
_Draco! You bastard! _Harry's hands were under
the desk and gripping at his
Draco's head over the cloak, bloody grateful the
table had panels on the sides
and front.
_Well of course it's covered! Do you think I'm an
idiot and simply manifested
this plan in minutes. Shhh… _Draco thought when
Harry softly whimpered as
Draco caressed his twitching cock. _Careful Potter.
You don't want people to
hear and get suspicious._
Harry literally had to bite his tongue to keep from
crying out when Draco's
velvety mouth surrounded him._ We're in the
middle of class!_
_Hmmm… I promised payback. For St. Mungo's and
this morning… _
Harry's head fell back, eyes closed tightly when he
was swallowed whole and
hummed around. A second later he whipped out his
wand and cast Silencio on
himself, knowing he would not be able to stop
himself from crying out.
" Just what was going on with you in class?"
Hermione demanded the moment they
were out in the hall.
Harry leaned against the wall and rushed a hand
through his hair as he watched
the rest of the small class walk out. " Nothing. Same
as always. I was bored
to tears."
" But you were red in the face… and at one point I
thought you were choking-"
" I think you were seeing things." Harry hefted his
bag onto his shoulder and
they began walking down the hall.
" … and then your head was in your arms for the
rest of class!" Hermione went
on without pause. She was rudely interrupted when
Ron and Seamus stepped in
the way.
" Merlin, not again." Harry sighed when he was
grabbed by the front of his
robes and quickly raised his hand before Ozemir
and Brumek could interfere. "
Weasley let it go. You. Are. Pathetic." He gripped
Weasley's wrist and
embedded his nails in the freckled bastards skin.
Hermione shifted and he
looked over to find she had her wand pointed in
Finnegan's face. When he
turned back, Wesley was staring at his claws in
surprise.
" What?" Harry cocked his head and smirked. " You
know I'm no longer human.
Don't look so surprised."
" Claimed you're better then human didn't you?"
Finnegan spat, still looking
at the tip of Hermione's wand. " If that's true then
why do you hide it?"
" I think you're ashamed." Weasley shot.
Harry's laughter carried down the hall. "Ashamed?"
he grinned at Hermione.
When she chuckled, Weasley's attention turned to
her. Only then did her lips
part to show off her shiny new fangs.
" My brother and I aren't ashamed, Finnegan." She
answered and ignored the
slight sound Brumek made behind her. " We don't
want the little babies running
around here to get scared. So we don't advertise it."
She pressed her wand
roughly under Finnegan's chin. " And when I say
babies, I'm not talking about
first years."
" What do you want this time, Ronnikins?" Harry
finally asked and threw the
git's arm away from him.
" We're on to you." Weasley answered him. " We
know what you're planning. Your
not going to get away with anything."
" The Order's going to report you to the Ministry."
Finnigan added.
Harry and Hermione laughed in their faces before
stepping around and walking
away. " What is wrong with him?" Hermione asked.
" He's turned into an idiot."
Harry gave her sidelong glance.
" Right." She giggled. " He's always been an idiot."
" You don't know anything!" Harry called back. " I
bet you wish you did.
You're entire family knows more then you do."
Hermione waited until they turned a corner and
were out of hearing range
before asking, " do you think you should have said
that, about all the
Weasleys knowing?"
Harry shrugged. " It's the truth. And now he'll ask
them and they probably
wont say anything. Mrs. Weasley won't say because
it's the best way to protect
him and us at the same time. And it's going to _burn
_him, Hermione..." he
ended with a wicked grin. " It will get him good and
mad."
" I think your vindictiveness is blooming."
" We all have to mature sometime."
The setting sun cast glowing shadows across the
grounds of Hogwarts. The
students were inside at dinner leaving the outside
relatively quiet. Quiet
enough that when the front gates opened, the
scrapes and creaking noises
traveled far across the property. Out from the
gates' shadows skipped a lone
girl heading up the path with a trunk floating behind
her. The wind picked up
in a gentle breeze and her blonde hair danced oddly
around, skimming over the
wand tucked gently behind her ear, streaming
behind her as she skipped along.
" Miss Lovegood. How are you this evening?"
Luna's smile did not fall when she looked up to see
Dumbledore blocking the
path a few feet away. She studied the old wizard
with her own dancing eyes
after she stopped in front of him. " I'm fine,
Headmaster."
" I'm very sorry for the loss of your father." He said.
" Daddy isn't lost."
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed when he noticed her
hair continued to stream behind
her even as she stood still. He was further annoyed
when no longer could he
sense the girl's magic. It was as if she were Muggle,
and yet he knew she was
not.
" Of course, not lost." He replied in understanding,
his smooth voice
consoling. " He's in a different place... Yes, I
understand. But still it must
be hard."
Luna giggled as her eyes wandered from him and to
the castle, moving over it
and focusing at the top of the Astronomy tower
where Tom and Talyn looked down
upon them. " Not too much…" she replied faintly to
Dumbledore.
Tom came to the Astronomy Tower because it was
a place he frequently visited
the last time he attended Hogwarts. He enjoyed
staring out into the dark,
pondering and planning his eventual conquest of
the Wizarding World. He was
still the same in this respect. Thankfully nothing
new had changed his goals.
Pondering and planning was something he
continued to enjoy. And that was why
he was in the tower at the time of Luna's return.
Though not a lot of
pondering had been going on. Always the irritant,
Talyn could not hold her
mouth shut for more then a few minutes at a time.
He was about to demand she
remove herself from his presence, when he looked
down and witnessed the odd
meeting. Unexplainably his hands clenched into
white knuckled fists upon
realizing who was down there.
" Wait and see what happens." Talyn suggested
when he gripped the rampart,
clearly intending to jump down.
" No. He will find some way of binding her to him
within the time she lingers
alone with him." A hard look entered his eyes. "
Dumbledore will not have
another tool to use against me."
When he jumped, Talyn did not look to see if he
made it. _Ukatae_ were natural
jumpers. If he could stand without problems, he
could land without problems.
Laughing softly she continued to watch the young
witch and old wizard. Poor
Tom. He was about to go through worlds of
discovery. Some of which would be
difficult for him considering his past history and
some he would probably
start off hating. It would be interesting to see which
paths he chose this
time, she thought as she jumped down after him.
Tom didn't jump straight down. Instead he jumped
over onto a shorter tower and
a shorter one still, until he was certain he could land
without problems.
Jumping straight down was within Ukatae limits, but
his body was still sore
from the morning's exercises and to be perfectly
honest here, he wasn't sure
what his limits were any more. It was disconcerting
and frustrating to have to
wade through uncharted territory.
After landing, Tom kept close to the castle walls as
he approached and was
just about to step out of the shadows when Talyn
was beside him once again. "
Wait." She said again. " The old wizard has not used
any magic."
" Dumbledore is a danger at all times no matter
what he's doing."
" This girl can take care of herself. She's done so
before. You remember she
killed two men."
Tom's eyes glittered in the darkness. " I remember,"
he said softly.
" Let's watch." Talyn grinned. " If he should try
anything, we'll be on him
before he can blink."
Tom was curious about how Lovegood would react
to this situation so he gave in
and backed up to watch with Talyn, silently daring
Dumbledore to try anything.
Luna must be different now, surely, but not by
outward appearance. Would the
changes be obvious in short time or would she
continue to hide her talents? He
certainly couldn't tell anything from the way the
smiled all the time.
Luna smiled now and continued to study the castle
behind the Headmaster. " I
have missed Hogwarts."
" About this summer, Miss Lovegood." Dumbledore
started firmly. " Certain
matters must be seen to, you understand..."
Luna's smile grew for a mile and it was slightly
insane, causing Tom's brows
to lift past his hairline. " Do you mean when you
kidnapped me and my friends
and planned to have us killed?" she asked in a
singsong voice. She started
skipping again, but this time it was around the wary
Headmaster. " Or are you
referring to the time you tried to interrupt Harry's
Inheritance? Or when you
purposely stepped on a _horn plucking toadsnake_?
Bad form, Headmaster!"
" She's so much fun!" Talyn remarked. Tom had to
bite his lip to keep from
laughing from the look of absolute confusion on
Dumbledore's face as he moved
in a circle along with the Ravenclaw so that she
wouldn't be at his back.
Smart of Dumbledore to realize turning his back on
her might be a bad idea.
The strangeness around her made people wary all
the time, even though she was
completely harmless most of the time and happily
skipping off in her own
little world… like now.
" Now, now, Luna…" Dumbledore tried to reason
like a kind old relative might.
" No one was kidnapped under my orders. I don't
know where you and the other
children could have come up with such ludicrous
accusations. Nor can I fathom
why you-"
" Or do you mean when we killed Alastor Moody
this summer?" Luna went on in
the same light flowing tone. Dumbledore stopped
and remained very still.
" Who do you mean _we_?"
" Well not me personally... certain members of the
new order, I guess you
could say." her laughter floated across the lawns
and into Tom's ear. Her
laughter was full of delight, but the undercurrent
carried a definite edge. "
I've been told many things… A new world is coming,
Dumbledore and your thread
has been drawn..."
She continued to skip around him and broke out
into song. A terribly made-up
song that was only bearable because of the pretty
flighty tones of her voice.
" A tale of three ladies I do declare/ who work on
your thread now bared/ He
will rise when thread is cut/ In the morning when
you are gone/He will ascend
and join my song/ A Wizards' earth this will
become…" Luna faced Dumbledore
and sighed, " His for eternity and then some!"
Luna's singing turned into soft
laughter. " For eternity and then some... that's quite
clever!"
Tom blinked from the sudden stupid funk his mind
seemed to have fallen in.
Dumbledore started to sag halfway through that
ridiculous song and by the time
her voice drifted away, the old wizard was on his
knees, gasping for breath.
Luna's wand was still tucked behind her ear and
remained there the entire
time. Whatever she did, a wand had not been used.
" A better world?" Dumbledore asked in a trembling
voice. " Who is this other
person you speak of? Who?" the volume of his
voice rose as his control slipped
away. " Harry? Don't be ridiculous girl! The only one
who can lead us all into
greatness is me!"
Talyn gripped the young one's arm when he tried to
dart forward in anger. "
Calm down. No need to blow our cover just because
you don't like what he
says?"
Luna's response covered anything Tom might have
hissed back. " No more time
for you, headmaster." She bent towards him and
waved a finger, chastising as
if speaking to a disobedient puppy. " He will
succeed brilliantly where you
failed, and he will be revered as you never have."
Dumbledore's fingers curled into the pebbles of the
pathway," why can't I
move?" he muttered after he tried and failed to
pick himself up.
" He is not who you think." Luna answered. And
then she began skipping back up
the path, leaving not a word or glance over her
shoulder.
Talyn chuckled darkly as she watched Dumbledore
continue and try to break out
of whatever spell Luna put him under. " She is quite
able."
" Very."
Tom's eyes widened when Luna looked over directly
into the Shadow he and Talyn
hid in. She smiled and waved at them
enthusiastically. Tom quickly looked away
and cursed himself when he felt his cheeks start to
feel warm. He was having
ridiculous reactions to a bloody girl!
Talyn waved back, " Such a sweet girl…" She jabbed
Tom in the arm when he
continued to ignore Luna. " Don't be rude, wave
back," she hissed.
" Bloody hell…" with a furious glare, Tom Apparated
away.
Ozemir lounged back on the couch in Draco's
common room and watched the young
one pace the room." You seem to be overreacting,"
he mused.
Draco pinned him with a hard stare and tried to
keep his frustration in check.
" Is there anything else you'd like to explain to me?
Right now while we're
alone before you do it in public. Anything else you
want to kill me with?"
" You also seem very angry…" Ozemir went on
ignoring Draco's sarcastic
questions.
" You told me my mate could be...you know! In
front of everyone!"
" When was the last time you saw Harry's wings?"
Draco stopped pacing and ran a hand through his
hair. " This morning. Why?"
" And the color of the markings?"
Draco looked confused as to what the point of all
this was. " Green, of
course."
Ozemir clapped. " There, you see! He is not with
child. Nothing to worry
about."
" That's not what I'm bothered about." Draco sat
down and stared at his hands.
" What do the markings have to do with anything?
They change color if he's…
pregnant?"
" Yes, they change color." The Scholar watched as
the young one nodded and
then drop his gaze to his hands clasped between his
knees. Ozemir would have
spoken but he knew Draco wanted the silence at
the moment and so he remained
quiet. Too bad for Draco his silence would not last.
" You have a visitor." Ozemir stood and crossed to
the door. He waited for the
knock before opening it. Severus swept into the
room without a look or word to
Ozemir, which had been expected. " Young one?
Should I wait outside?"
Draco looked up and questioned Severus with a
look and received a shrug in
answer. " Stay." He told Ozemir.
Severus sat down, an irritated sneer on his face."
Word from Malfoy Manor.
Lovegood is gone. She left a note. Decided to travel
here on her bloody own."
Draco groaned." Shit."
Severus looked on Draco with contemplation, "
Lucius thought we should let her
fend for herself."
" If that's the truth then obviously he's lost his
mind."
" Perhaps." Severus looked as if he agreed with
Lucius' words.
" We'll have to find her somehow." Draco went on.
Ozemir cleared his throat and approached. " You
seem certain this girl will
have trouble making it here on her own. I did not
find her so incapable."
" That's not going to keep some people from doing
insane things because
they're worried about her."
" Hermione will do nothing." Severus informed in a
voice too warm for Draco's
liking. " She will serve her detention with me after
dinner."
" And you and the others will be back in the forest.
No time for worrying
then." Ozemir said.
" Hermione doesn't have to go tonight?"
" No your Hogwarts schedules come first.
Detentions will be taken."
" Not cool."
Severus stood slowly then and Draco knew the look
on his face. It meant he was
about to receive a verbal beating. " Back to the
forest?" Severus asked
softly.
Draco shot to his feet." Oh, well… You know…" he
checked the non existent
watch on his wrist. " Would you look at the time?
It's dinner!" He tried to
make a run for it but Severus had the back of his
collar firmly in his grasp
and yanked him back.
After Severus' lengthy and certainly unneeded
lecture, Draco was happily
surprised when he walked into the Great Hall. He
spotted Luna Lovegood almost
immediately. In fact, Harry and Hermione were
sitting at the Ravenclaw table
talking with her. He sighed in relief. Nothing had to
be done; no one would do
stupid things in panic…
Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen which
explained why none of the present
professors made any effort to make Harry and
Hermione return to the Gryffindor
table. Draco would have like to see the old wizard's
face when Loony came in.
The moment he sat down at the Slytherin table,
Tom turned in so that their
conversation would only be between the two of
them. " Notice Dumbledore's not
here?"
" Yeah."
" He may be out on the lawn still, somewhat
incapacitated." Draco's brow rose
in question and hoped Tom didn't do what he was
thinking. " No. Lovegood did
it. She skipped in a little circle around him and
started to sing. Then
Dumbledore is on his hands unable to rise."
" Really…" Draco's attention returned to Looney. " I
bet you liked that.
Seeing her bring that bastard to his knees." Tom
turned away and pretended
like he hadn't heard, but Draco knew he did.
" Did Hermione ever say where she got that bow
and arrow?"
Tom nodded. " Brumek brought more then our
weapons from the temple. There's a
room somewhere turned into an armory. Ozemir
showed it to her. Since she was
desperate and knew exactly what was in that room
and where it was, it was easy
for her to summon it when the time came."
" That quickly?"
Tom rolled his eyes," _Ukatae_ magic, Draco. Please
use your head."
Draco ignored the jibe at his intelligence and rose. "
Let's go. I don't want
to eat anything if we're going to be run into the
ground again. I may throw up
an empty stomach as it is."
Tom grimaced as he stood. " Disgusting. You will
control yourself. I don't
want to see any of that."
The run that night was easy, but long and when
they were deep in the forest,
Ozemir called a stop and smiled at Tom. The
Slytherin backed up a step in case
he decided to release the Assassin again.
" Tonight you will find the spirit of your animal."
Harry snickered. " Let's hope it's not something cute
and fluffy."
Half an hour later, Harry was hiding behind Draco,
desperately trying to keep
the laughter in while Tom stood directly in front of
Draco, glaring daggers at
Harry over the blonde's shoulder.
" You backstabbing bastard..." Tom growled.
" I was only joking!"
" Some how you did this, Harry. I demand you fix
it!"
Harry gripped Draco's shoulders and drew himself
up until his chin was rested
on his mate's shoulder." At least you're not fluffy."
" JUST CUTE THEN!" Tom bellowed.
_Harry, shut up already. _Draco stood still, his eyes
darting everywhere the
angry Dark Lord was not. Very hard considering
Tom was standing toe to toe
with him. But Harry had pissed Tom off good by
saying what he did. Of course
Tom was going to flip when he finally turned
himself into a miniature black
Chinese dragon, six feet long and two feet high with
six little legs and a
pair of long thin wings. And his snout had several
long red whiskers. Tom was
a cute little dragon. And even though Draco thought
this, he wasn't stupid
enough to say it. But of course, the first thing out of
Harry's mouth had
been, " ah look. You're adorable. So small too."
Which brings us back to
present where Harry continued to hide behind him
to keep from getting burned
alive.
" Joke's over." Tom sternly pointed a finger
between Harry's eyes. " Fix it."
" I swear I didn't do anything!"
" Tampering with your inner animal is impossible."
Ozemir finally interrupted,
drawing their attentions. Falde and Brumek stood
off to the side in the
shadows. Draco knew for a fact they hid because
they couldn't keep the
amusement from showing on their faces.
Tom's eyes slid closed as he turned to face the
Scholar. " You mean I'm stuck
with being that… insignificant little… thing?"
" But Tom," Harry said carefully as Draco finally
pulled him to his side. "
You're still a dragon, even if you're a little bit small.
It's wicked!"
" And," Draco went on, ever the strategist, " you
have several advantages with
that form."
Tom supposed this was true, but it didn't mean he
had to like it. And it
didn't mean he forgave Harry for jinxing him in the
first place… Cute and
cuddly? What the hell!
By the time her detention came around, Hermione
was back to being the
reassured Gryffindor she usually was. Before going
into the classroom, she ran
a hand through her freshly straightened hair,
making sure the ends brushed
over her shoulders. She realized after their little talk
that Brumek was
right. Severus did treasure her, and there was no
way he would turn away from
her just because she was a full blood _Ukatae _now.
She was still a little
fearful about telling him, but that was normal,
right? Severus had the ability
to make everyone nervous when under pressure.
As for Severus, he was sitting at his desk, counting
down the seconds until he
would have Hermione alone again. The moment the
door closed behind her, she
would be his. The room would be locked and
silenced and had already been
checked for any surveillance spells Dumbledore
thought would get passed him.
Severus snorted at the thought. Nothing would get
passed him.
And then the door was opened and Hermione
stepped in. " About time you
arrived." His snapped words had been on the tip of
his tongue for the past ten
minutes.
" I'm sorry, Professor." She replied softly as she
moved to take a desk at the
front. She set her bag down and reached for the
buttons of her robe. Severus
rounded his desk to stand in front of her. Their eyes
met and locked, but
Hermione knew half his attention was on her
fingers and on the skin slowly
being revealed by every passing button.
She slid her robe off and threw it over the back of
the seat, saying as she
did so, " I realize this is detention, Professor, but I
need to speak to you
about something first?"
Severus' eyes trailed down the body he had come to
worship like a randy
teenager. Warm, suptle, and soft. Currently covered
by the school uniform,
inappropriately worn. This time, however, he would
not complain. Oh no! Not
when he prayed she would show up like this again
and when they were very much
alone. Which they were. But first, he reminded
himself, they did have things
to talk about, and that would have to come first.
" Sit down then and speak. Let's not waste time."
Hermione smirked as she sat. " So impatient,
Severus."
Severus crossed his arms and looked down his nose
at her, waiting. He noticed
immediately when she turned from playful into a
bloody mess. She started to
wring her hands on the desk, and her leg started to
jump in agitation. And
then she began to avoid his gaze, which was
intolerable. " Are you going to
explain or do I have to waste time trying to figure it
out?"
Hermione steeled herself and looked up into his
eyes. " Today we started the
_Ukatae_ training, and…"
Severus' eyes narrowed," and?"
" Tom and I turned into full _Ukatae_." She blew
out a breath and looked away
again. Determined to get it all out in one quick go. It
would be harder to do
if she looked him in the eye. " We're full-blooded
_Ukatae_ and I've been told
to expect wings and immortality and…"
Severus groaned and rolled his eyes. Gryffindor's
were full of courage, but
their self-confidence left much to be desired. "
Hermione, you will cease this
idiotic worrying. Far more important things need to
be discussed."
Hermione's head shot up in shock. " But-"
" We will not waste time having a pointless
discussion in which you state your
fears and I reiterate with I couldn't care less what
that blood does to you!"
Severus splayed his fingers across the desk and
leaned in close to her face. "
Is this understood?" She nodded and he backed
away. " Would you like to tell
me about this morning?" after Draco's rant, he was
sure she wanted to talk
about it.
Hermione's eyes brightened. " It was horrible,
Severus! They had us running
through the forest, doing a manner of crazy things!
There were plants trying
to eat us and Tom hurt his ankle when a tree fell
right on top of him… And
apparently Falde has a thing for people falling into
deep dark pits." She
began in her usual chatter that had Severus smiling.
" The best thing about
all this is… We get to do it everyday." She began
waving an invisible flag, "
yay!" The sarcasm was clear in her voice.
Severus snorted and moved away from her desk. "
Better you then me."
" And what is it you wanted to discuss?" she
snapped back, obviously not
impressed with his lack of compassion and support
in the daily horrors to
come.
" Tom told me about the meeting… with Parkinson."
Severus thought coming right
out with it would be best. Especially since he felt
she didn't give a rat's
ass about that carcass now.
Hermione left her desk to stand beside his. " What
about it? The meeting was
very productive." She walked around his desk and
gingerly picked up a small
vial left from his last class. The label said Shrinking
Solution, but the
color was clearly wrong. The color was brown
instead of an acid green as it
should be.
Severus vanished the vial from her fingers. " And
how did you feel when it was
over?"
" Relieved things were set in motion. We'll need the
brothers out soon. Harry
wants things moving faster." Hermione trailed her
fingers over the surface of
the desk as she rounded it, watching Severus the
entire time.
Severus wondered if she were avoiding the issue on
purpose. There wasn't any
kind of indication she was trouble when he
mentioned Parkinson's name. " I
assume that was your first time using the Killing
Curse."
Hermione paused in her almost cat like approach. "
It was."
Severus gritted his teeth. " Your lack of emotion in
using the curse led your
brothers to believe you might have had a second
life all this time. As if you
were used to it. You didn't hesitate, took no time
for concentration."
Hermione hopped onto his desk and shrugged. " He
needed to die. I killed him.
Honestly Severus, it's not too great a deal. Except
I've yet to tell Pansy
about it." She leaned back and a coy smile appeared
on her face when Severus
followed her legs as she crossed them.
" I'm almost positive she knows."
Hermione's face was suddenly stone like and her
eyes narrowed dangerously.
Severus trembled as he moved forward until her
knee brushed his crotch. His
lover looked ready to curse the world and he
wanted a piece.
" Who," she began in a sweet voice, " told Pansy?"
Hermione uncrossed her legs
and prepared to jump down so that she may hunt
down whoever opened their big
mouth, but Severus grasped her thighs and eagerly
placed himself between her
legs to keep her spread over his desk.
" Pansy is intelligent, most of the time. And she had
no love for her father.
She knew her father disobeyed Voldemort, and
usually that means death..."
Hermione gasped when his hands slid over her
thighs and up under the rolled up
skirt. " I don't need to worry about you having any
nasty emotional side
effects from killing that whiny bastard, do I?"
Hermione tipped her head back, " that's not a very
nice way of asking,
Severus. What if I was bothered?"
" So, no then… Good." He bent over, pressing his
chest against hers, and
smiled at the way her body trembled from his
touch.
" But you could have made it worse asking me that
way!" Her words sounded loud
in her hears. Probably because she had to yell over
the beating of her heart.
Severus didn't seem to mind her raised voice. In fact
she felt his smile
against her burning throat as he kissed it.
" Hermione," he purred and brushed fingers over
the warm wetness between her
thighs. Her hips hitched forward on the tail of a
wanton moan. " The only
thing I intend to make worse is this desk and its
wobbling leg." Hermione
moaned and hissed out his name when he breeched
her with his long experienced
fingers. " By the time we're finished here, I will need
a new desk and you…"
he pulled back and ripped open her blouse, " you
will need new clothes."
***
A/N: Alright i'm a coward. I admit it. Slash smut is all
i'm good for these
days i'm afraid... but i will keep trying.
So... Dagon? Any thoughts. Slightly nervous about
your reactions to him.
This chapter was really fun to write. The reactions
the characters have to
some stuff in here is funny i think.. anyway i hope
you had fun reading it.
Have a good day!
8. Is This Progress?
**Life Agendas**
**Chapter Eight**
**Is This Progress?**
Hermione cleared her throat, effectively cutting off
all conversation within
the small common room, and all eyes turned to her.
" I need to speak with you
alone." She told her brothers and then sent Pansy,
Blaise, and Ginny
apologetic smiles. She didn't bother looking at Luna,
as the girl was
ensconced in reading the most recent edition of
_the Quibbler_. Upside down,
of course. Pansy waved her away and went back to
talking with Ginny, while
Blaise was surprisingly really into playing Wizards'
Chess against himself.
Once alone in Draco's bedroom, Harry hopped onto
the bed where Lovely uncurled
from her sleepy ball and slithered onto his
outstretched hand. He immediately
plopped down on his back, laying the snake on his
chest and waiting for
Hermione to start. Draco took up his desk seat and
watched Tom pace around
before the older teen finally stopped to prop a hip
against the vanity with a
bored expression on his face.
" So…Okay-" Hermione stopped to clear her throat
again. " What I'm about to
ask may be very hard for two of you…" Draco and
Tom received a quick smile, "
so I'll understand if you don't want to go."
" Go where, Hermione?"
She smiled at Tom shyly. " Summer has been
nothing short of busy, and I wasn't
able to see my parents all that much. My birthday is
coming up and I thought
it would be wonderful if I visited them for dinner."
" That's a good idea." Harry offered. " I'm sure
they'll be thrilled to see
you. They must be worried."
Hermione nodded. " Yes."
" What exactly do you need from us?" Tom asked in
a lazy drawl.
" My parents don't know about you three. Being my
brothers, I mean… and the
_Ukatae _business… Would you three please come
with me?" she burst out.
Draco's vanity rattled against the wall and Harry
propped up on his elbows to
see Tom pressed against the thing, looking quite
distressed.
Hermione tisked, " yes Tom. I realize the thought of
having dinner with
muggles is absolutely frightening… but they are my
parents, and I want them to
meet you. You're all important to me."
Tom groaned in misery. Curse Gryffindors!
Harry dropped back onto his back, stroking Lovely
when she hissed after being
jostled. " Course I'll go, Hermione."
" I suppose I'll go." Draco finally said. " Did you ever
tell them about me,
you know…"
" Being a git?" Harry asked for him.
" Better then being a nitwit." He shot back, before
looking at Hermione. " And
yes, did you happen to forget to mention my
tormenting you in the past?"
" Forget to mention?" Harry scooped up Lovely as
he sat up and wrapped her
around his neck. " Every year the first thing out of
her mouth when on the
platform was ' Malfoy did this! Malfoy did that!
Malfoy scorched my hair!
Malfoy's a bugger!' On and on it goes, love."
" Stop trying to make Draco nervous, Harry. And
yes, they know about our
former animosity. They usually know everything.
But my parents don't judge
people. They'll see you're different, and that's that."
" But he's really not that different now. Draco's still
a buggering git
obsessed about his hair."
" One too many, Potter!" Draco launched across the
room and pinned Harry back
against the mattress.
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, " so you'll go
then?"
The boys on the bed nodded, while Tom pushed
away from the vanity and headed
for the door. " Very well," he said on his way out. "
You may expect my
attendance."
Hermione stared at the shut door with wide eyes. "
I just- I never thought he
would accept."
" Easily, at that." Harry said.
" But… he doesn't even want to go and yet he will."
" Of course he's going, Hermione. You need our
support." Draco said as he
jabbed Harry in the ribs before sliding off him.
" I wish he'd stop being the almighty Dark Lord all
the time now," Harry
wheezed while rubbing his aching side. " Moody
teenage Tom is so much more
fun."
" He only needs time for himself. He feels more
secure this way, being the
Dark Lord, and it gives him plenty of time to think
without people bothering
him." Hermione then went back to discussing
dinner at her parents. " Since our
birthdays are days apart Draco, mine being on
Thursday and yours in on
Sunday…I thought this Friday we could go for
dinner. That way we can all go to
the manor after and spend the weekend there."
" That's fine with me." Draco said.
" Me too. We should bring Neville to the manor
with us." Harry suggested. "
It'd be nice for him to spend the weekend with his
parents."
" Right then." Hermione smiled happily. " It's a
plan."
The Owlery was silent at this time of the morning.
Before the sun was up. Most
of the owls were still out hunting. Hermione jogged
up the steps, a letter
clutched in her hands. She didn't think anyone
would be up at this time. No
one usually was when she and her brothers had to
get up and prepare for their
morning exercises, but this morning she wasn't the
only one in need of an owl
so early.
" Pansy? What are you doing up so early?" she
asked seeing the Slytherin girl
attaching her letter to a brown barn owl. Pansy's
eyes widened, and Hermione
caught her blush before the girl turned her face
away.
" I'm… uh…"
Hermione smiled. " Not usually so inarticulate,
Pansy."
Pansy scowled. " I'm sending a letter to Charlie,
alright!"
" Sorry." Hermione placated as she passed Pansy to
where the only other owl
available. " Didn't mean to be nosy. I think it's great
you two correspond."
" Yes, well…" Pansy walked to the window and sent
her owl off with a private
whisper.
" Could you wait a moment, Pansy? I need to talk to
you."
" Alright."
Pansy stood back and waited for Hermione to send
her owl off. The owl gave a
soft hoot once the letter was attached and nibbled
on Hermione's fingers
gently before taking off. " What do you want to talk
about?"
Hermione pulled her wand out and secured them in
a bubble of silence. Pansy's
eyebrows rose, but she said nothing and waited for
the Gryffindor to get on
with it.
" I wanted to tell you sooner but there hasn't been
any time, and truthfully,
I've been scared to talk with you."
" Hermione, get on with it."
" Sorry. It's about your father…."
" He's dead, isn't he?"
Hermione nodded.
" Well I knew that. Our master isn't exactly the
forgiving type, is he?" Pansy
crossed her arms over her chest. " Father deserved
it after what he tried to
do."
" Okay… but there is something else."
" And?"
" It was me, I killed him." Pansy remained silent and
simply stared at her. "
I'm not going to apologize for taking his life, but I
will apologize for not
telling you sooner, and the fact I took your father
away-"
" Weren't you listening?" Pansy interrupted with an
air of annoyance. " I
hated my father! He was a traitor to our cause and
deserved what he got."
Pansy then struck Hermione speechless when she
crossed the small space between
them and embraced the shocked Gryffindor. " I
have to say I'm shocked you were
the one to do it." Pansy said, still hugging her friend.
" But I'm glad you
told me. I can see you were worried about my
reaction. This means a lot to me,
Hermione."
" Pansy…"
" We're all playing a dangerous game." Pansy went
on. " It's good to know
we're on the same team. Father was not on our
team, was he?" She released
Hermione and smirked. " It's also good to know you
are not playing games,
Gryffindor. That you don't care whether your hands
get dirty."
" I'm a _Ukatae_ now, Pansy. I like getting my hands
dirty." Hermione replied
as they descended from the Owlery.
" And Severus…" Pansy shot her a grin. " I bet he
likes to see you get your
hands dirty."
Pansy laughed all the way down the stairs after
Hermione's red turned tomato
red.
Dudley rolled over with a groan on Friday morning
and cursed whatever faded
dream had woken him before his alarm went off.
When he realized it was an owl
tapping on his window, he quickly got out of bed
and hurried to let it in
before it could draw attention from the muggles out
on the street. He was only
half surprised to see it was Harry's owl.
" Hello, Hedwig. Nice flight I hope."
Hedwig lifted her beak into the air and ignored him.
She didn't even extend
her leg to give him the missive.
" Still pissed at me, huh? Suppose it'll take some
time. Don't blame you
though. All those times I picked on you…"
Hedwig turned her head the other way. Dudley
shrugged and reached out to take
the large envelope, wondering what Harry sent him.
The moment his hand was
within striking distance, Hedwig pecked at his
fingers brutally.
" OUCH! Goddammit bird! I said I was sorry!"
Dudley hurried and grabbed the
package, then went to his desk where he kept the
owl treats he purchased not
long ago.
Outside of his room he heard his mother moving
around and then she knocked on
his door. " Dudley? Are you all right? I heard you cry
out."
Sighing, Dudley tossed the bird treats in front of
Hedwig, who began to gobble
them up without a hoot in response, and went to
open the door. " Fine, Mum.
Harry's owl bit me."
" My poor baby! You're bleeding."
" Mum, I'm not a baby. And it's only a little cut."
Dudley sat on his bed and
opened the letter, while his mother hovered over
him, sending furtive glances
Hedwig's way. The owl stood on the windowsill
happily munching the owl treats
and otherwise ignored them.
" Why doesn't she go?"
Dudley shrugged and scanned the contents of the
first page, a letter. The rest
of the parchments looked official. " Harry probably
wants a reply."
" What is all that?" Petunia asked as Dudley read
the letter. Her son didn't
answer, but his eyes widened as he read, and by the
end his jaw was on the
floor. " What is it?"
" Harry's given us a house in Wiltshire. Near the
Malfoys…" He handed her the
letter and quickly scanned the rest of them, which
included the ownership
papers needing to be signed and a list of everything
accompanying the house
and land. " He wants us to move right away."
" This is incredible." Petunia whispered. " Why
would he do this?"
" The letter explains-"
" Yes, I know. He wants to keep us safe, but… why
all this? We don't deserve
it. Seems extreme."
" You're right." Dudley stood from the bed and went
to the window. " And we're
not accepting either. Go on Hedwig. I'll send Harry a
reply later in the day."
Hedwig hooted her disapproval and didn't move.
Dudley rolled his eyes. He
still wasn't used to the owls having personalities
almost like humans. " I
promise to return a message later. Go on." He
pushed her out of the window and
ignored her incensed shriek. He quickly shut the
window before she could fly
back in and peck his eyes out.
" Mum, I'm leaving early today," he informed and
went to his closet.
" But you said Black gave you the day off. He has
business to see to." She
crinkled her nose in disgust at the thought of her
son's tutor.
" I know. But I need to talk to him. Insulting Harry
when I refuse this gift
is the last thing I want to do so I'm going to ask Mr.
Black's advice on what
I should say when I do reply."
" All right, then. I'll go make breakfast."
" No, that's okay, Mum. Not very hungry. Taking
care of this is a priority.
I'll try to return for lunch though."
Petunia was happy enough with that and left her
son to get dressed, still in
shock over Harry's generosity. He may call it
keeping them safe, but people
generally don't give their relatives, by adoption no
less, the deed to a house
on a huge amount of land only for the sake of
safety.
Dudley left his flat and took off down the road
towards the Leaky Cauldron,
wishing Mr. Black would teach him how to Apparate
already. Usually he was
picked up in the mornings when he had lessons, but
now because he wasn't
expected, Dudley had to walk and find some other
way of getting to the had a
walk ahead of him as the Leaky Cauldron wasn't
exactly close to his flat but
he didn't really mind. Exercising was still a part of
his daily routine and
would remain so for the rest of his life, and he could
walk a far distance
already before becoming too tired.
Once he was arrived, Dudley headed straight for the
Floo and traveled to the
Burrow, hoping Mrs. Weasley would forgive his
intrusion. But that was the only
way he could Floo straight to Malfoy Manor.
Mrs. Weasley was waiting beside the fireplace when
he tumbled out and once
again she helped him up. " Dudley. Whatever are
you doing here?"
" Sorry for intruding but I need to get to Malfoy
Manor."
Molly's hands were on her hips and she frowned. "
Did Sirius forget to fetch
you? I swear that boy's head would be in the clouds
all the time if it weren't
attached to his head."
" Actually I have a free day today. But I need to see
him about something else
and couldn't think of another way to get to the
manor." Dudley turned
sheepish. " Suppose I ought to have sent you an owl
first before barging my
way here."
" Nonsense!" Molly pulled the Floo powder off the
mantle and held the jar out
to him. " You're welcome any time!"
Dudley stared at her in bewilderment. He couldn't
understand how these people
could be so nice to him after everything he did to
Harry. As if sensing his
thoughts, Mrs. Weasley gave him a smile and a
small shove towards the
fireplace.
" If you have business, you should go. No need to
hang about here."
" Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."
" You just take care of yourself- Oh! And remind
Lucius I'll be around later
tonight… Whether he wants me to come by or not."
Dudley grinned, knowing how annoyed Mr. Malfoy
would be to hear that. " 'K,
Mrs. Weasley."
When he Flooed into the manor, Dudley
immediately went looking for Mr. Malfoy
and prayed the almighty Lord of the Manor was in
good spirits today. Morning
sickness had kicked in with a bloody vengeance a
few days ago and no one in
the manor had been safe from him. Dudley winced
and shuddered, remembering the
pain of the Crucio curse quite vividly even now. He
made the mistake of
speaking out of turn one evening and had finally
been cursed like he'd
expected from the very beginning of stepping into
the Wizarding World. He told
no one about it. Only because he could see how sick
Mr. Malfoy was, how
frightened he was of his own body, and the fact that
Mr. Malfoy had only had
him under that curse for a few seconds, and then
astonishingly apologized for
it afterwards. After hearing so many stories about
the former Death Eater,
Dudley knew having Mr. Malfoy apologize for
anything was a rare occurrence.
And there was no reason to tell on him. He thought
if he kept his mouth shut,
Mr. Malfoy might respect him for it. Might even
take him more seriously as
well. Because Dudley wanted to be taken seriously.
He wanted to fit into this
world, to gain acceptance. And most importantly,
he wanted to help his cousin
and their organization achieve the goals they were
working for. And
truthfully, Dudley liked Mr. Malfoy. He was a stuck
up, self-righteous prick
who knew he was better then most, and let people
know it all the time. Dudley
couldn't help but like him a bit, and he could
definitely see why Mr. Black
was so enamored with the blonde. Malfoy had
brains, money, control, and was
fucking sexy to boot.
Dudley approached the drawing room first, hoping
he was there instead of in
his private study. Luck was his this time, because
the door was opened and he
heard raised voices coming from inside. He
recognized the voices of Mr.
Malfoy, Black, and Rodolphus Lestrange. It was easy
to tell the difference
between the two Lestrange brothers' voices.
Rabastan's voice was smoother,
less tense then his brother's hollow, raspy tones.
" I tell you, we can't go searching for lands to
procure by Apparating all
over the place!" Sirius was saying.
" Then what about flying?" Rodolphus asked.
" Flying holds too much danger…" Lucius began to
answer.
Dudley was just about to peek in when he was
startled from behind when a wand
was pressed into his back.
" _Stupefy_," Rabastan whispered into his ear.
Dudley fell gracelessly into a
heap outside the office. Rabastan smirked at the
still body at his feet for a
second and then dragged him, by the ankle, into the
office. The three wizards
inside stopped talking at once to stare at Rabastan
and Dudley in surprise.
" It's about time you arrived, " Lucius said as if
seeing Rabastan dragging
bodies into rooms was a natural occurrence.
" Never mind that!" Sirius jumped to his feet, " what
the hell happened here?"
" I caught him eavesdropping." Rabastan sounded
far too cheerful.
" You killed him, didn't you?" Lucius watched his
husband roll Dudley onto his
back. " The Dark Lord will kill you for this."
Rabastan rolled his eyes, " stop jumping to
conclusions. I'm not a bloody
idiot, Lucius. I happen to know whom this boy is
related to. I simply
stupefied him. To teach him a lesson that should
you plan to eavesdrop it's
better not to get caught."
Sirius nodded, " good lesson. _Ennervate_."
Dudley's eyes immediately popped open and he
groaned when he found four grown
wizards staring at him with straight faces. _Oh shit.
I'm dead._
" Um… I can explain…"
" Do you think we want your excuses?" Rodolphus
spat. " The only reason why
you're still alive is because-"
" Because of Harry. Yes, I know. Thanks." Dudley
stood and held out his hands.
" Look, I didn't mean to eavesdrop… okay, that's a
lie. But I didn't come here
for that. I was actually looking for you, Mr. Black."
Sirius sighed and gripped Dudley's shoulder and
began to steer him out of the
office. " Call me Sirius, for Merlin's sake. Reminds
me of my bastard father
when you call me Mr. Black."
" Oh Siri…" Lucius called in a sweet voice that had
every one cringing away
from the blonde. " You come right back here and sit
the boy down. He'll face
the consequences of being caught eavesdropping
like a man."
" At least you know you wont be killed." Sirius and
Dudley returned to the
table.
" And what exactly did you hear?" Lucius went on.
Dudley looked him straight
in the eye and told him the truth.
Lucius narrowed his eyes at the boy, " and do you
understand what we're
talking about?"
" Yeah. The Dark Lord wants you to take land for the
Wizarding World so we
don't have to live and work among muggles."
" We? Listen to him, will you!" Rodolphus spat.
" I am a wizard." Dudley grumbled back.
" You are, yes." Lucius said thoughtfully and began
tapping his fingers on the
table as he continued to study the boy.
" What are you thinking, Luce?"
Lucius didn't answer right away. Instead he
continued with his study. Dursley
kept the Crucio incident all to himself, Lucius knew.
The boy could have told
Sirius. Could have told Harry. That would have
caused a lot of trouble if he
had, but Dursley stayed silent. Lucius didn't think
fear played a large part
in his silence and he couldn't help being impressed
with that. Nor could he
help being impressed with the way Dursley had
taken the curse, even if it had
only been a few seconds. It was clear the boy was
eager to gain acceptance
here in the Wizarding World and if he was as smart
as Siri claimed, maybe they
could give him a chance. Or more specifically, they
could use him.
Lucius summoned some parchment, quill, and ink
and immediately began to pen a
short note to the Dark Lord. " Do you have any
ideas on how we can go about
this without Apparating or flying?" he asked after
folding the note up.
" Lucius," Rodolphus started, " you're not seriously
thinking of including
this little annoyance. Look at him. Boy looks as if his
mother dropped him on
his head one too many times! He's more muggle
then wizard."
" Shut up, Rudo. Remember whose house you're
in."
Rodolphus narrowed his eyes on Sirius, but
otherwise remained quiet.
Dudley was so startled to have been asked his
opinion that it took his brain a
few seconds to catch up. " Umm…"
Lucius eyes narrowed into deadly slits, " do not, I
repeat, do not make me
regret asking?"
" I think you should do it the non magic way."
Dudley hastened to say.
Rodolphus slapped a hand on the table. " There!
You see? Ask an idiot and
receive an idiotic response."
" Just a minute," Rabastan said, " I want to hear this
in detail. Explain
further, Dursley."
" You need to keep off the radar, right? Do it the
muggle way. Get a car and
drive across Britain. I think that would be an
excellent way to scope out the
lands. Apparating causes you to miss quite a bit of
area in between, right?"
" That's exactly why Apparating isn't the best way to
search." Sirius said,
nodding.
" What's a radar?" asked Rabastan, leaning forward
with interest.
" In simplest terms it is a way muggles track the
movement of other muggles,
mostly by air and water. Not sure exactly how
though." Lucius supplied as he
added a small postscript on the back of the letter.
Sirius whispered into his ear, " learned that from
Arthur Weasley, didn't
you?"
Lucius ignored that and sat back. " Truthfully, doing
anything the muggle way
makes my skin crawl, but I see the intelligence in
doing it that way. And
since I'm not going with you, I don't have to worry
about being tainted."
Lucius snapped his fingers and gave the note to the
house elf that appeared. "
Take this to Hogwarts and give it to that damnable
creature Dobby. Make sure
it is Dobby who gets this. Have him pass the letter
along to Luther Bailey
without delay. I want this done now and I want an
immediate reply.
Understand?"
" Yes sir!"
" No one but Dobby can see you."
" Yes sir!"
" You may go." The house elf bowed then popped
off. Lucius turned back to
Dudley, " we'll try your idea. I have to admit it is
much simpler then what
was planned. This way you two don't even need to
change your appearances, not
yet anyway."
Rodolphus rose from his chair with a look of pure
disgust upon his face as he
looked down at Lucius, " the pregnancy has
dissolved your mind, Malfoy. The
Dark Lord said nothing about this boy being in on
anything."
Sirius rose and gripped Lucius' shoulder to keep him
seated, and spoke in a
low dangerous tone. " Tom will see the sense in
this. He wants things done
right. And this way we miss nothing… And if you so
much as mention my
husband's pregnancy in such a way again I'll kill you
without another word.
This I promise." His barely restrained fury was given
up by the tremor of his
voice, and Lucius smirked delightedly back at
Rodolphus.
Rarely did Lucius like to be defended when he could
do it perfectly well
himself, but this was one of the occasions where he
would gladly sit back at
let Siri do it for him. He was sure none of the Death
Eaters had been graced
with seeing his husband's fiery temper yet. But they
should be wary. Sirius
was a Black after all. " We'll see what Tom has to
say in a moment."
Dudley sat back and released a breath he hadn't
realized he was holding.
Rabastan pulled Rodolphus back to his seat and
leaned back, putting his hands
behind his head. He looked amused by the whole
thing.
" Mr. Malfoy?" he spoke quietly, knowing Malfoy
would not approve of the
message being told to the room at large. Lucius
turned to him and raised a
pale eyebrow. " I Flooed here from the Burrow.
wanted to remind you she would
be here later to see you… Err… She said whether
you wanted to see her or not.
Just thought you would like to be warned."
Sirius snickered, but otherwise didn't say anything
about that. Instead he
asked Dudley the purpose of his visit. Dudley didn't
want to say in front of
everyone so he asked if they could go outside for a
moment. Once they were out
in the hallway he explained the circumstances that
brought him to the manor.
Sirius stood silent a moment after he was finished
speaking and stared at
Dudley oddly.
" What?" Dudley finally asked.
Sirius held up a finger, " let me get this straight…
Harry is giving you and
your mum the Potter Estate in Wiltshire and you
want to decline."
" Yeah, that's right." Dudley said firmly, seeing the
disbelief in Sirius'
eyes. " We can't accept something like that, even if
we wanted to. We don't
deserve it, and we definitely don't need it. We're
good on our own."
" I understand what you're saying, Dudley. I do. You
don't want hand outs of
any kind, but… Harry is not going to give a shite
about what you want. He's
already made up his mind, if he sent you the deed."
" I don't care. I just wanted your help with the
decline letter I'm going to
send him. I don't want to insult him…"
Sirius agreed to help, but he was certain nothing
Dudley wrote would make a
difference. In fact, because he was going to decline,
Sirius was sure that
would further make Harry resolved in giving them
the Estate. Sirius was
curious as to why his godson would do this, but he
supposed he'd find out soon
enough.
They heard a pop, and then rustling within the
room. Sirius poked his head in
and was surprised to see Tom standing there,
holding the small note Lucius
sent off. Quickly, he pulled Dudley back into the
room and they bowed their
heads to him. Standing beside him was a being
Dudley recognized as a _Ukatae_,
but he had never seen this one before… or he didn't
think he'd ever seen him,
but something about his face looked familiar. The
_Ukatae_ was very dark.
Black hair, black clothes, blood red eyes… Dudley
was willing to bet he was
that way inside as well. The _Ukatae_ sneered
around at all of them, showing
off his fangs as much as possible. Dudley raised an
eyebrow when he finally
noticed Tom was wearing exercise clothes and he
looked as if he'd been in the
middle of doing a work out when he popped in.
" Explain, and this better be good." Tom said at
once looking at Lucius,
impatience clearly written across his face.
" My lord," Rodolphus began from where he knelt
at the Dark Lord's feet, "
Lucius wants-"
" Silence." Tom hissed at him. " Well, Lucius? What
is the meaning of this?"
" Perhaps you will allow Dursley to explain…"
Tom nodded and turned cold eyes to Dudley.
Knowing the Dark Lord had little to
no patience, Dudley quickly recounted everything
they talked about and the
idea he came up with. Rodolphus started to look
smug when he explained doing
the land search by muggle means and the Dark Lord
started to frown, but when
Dudley was finished, Tom nodded his head.
" You're in." Tom rounded the table and Dudley
held his breath when the Dark
Lord grabbed his arm and pulled his shirt down to
reveal a muscled shoulder.
The Dark Lord placed the tip of his wand there and
looked into Dudley's eyes,
effectively trapping him in place.
Sirius tried to jump forward before Tom could do
what he planned, but Lucius
grabbed him in a surprisingly hard grip and pulled
him back.
" _Morsmordre_."
Dudley's flinch was less then it should have been,
but only because Tom still
had his arm in a tight hold. His arm felt like it was
literally on fire the
pain was so intense. It was unlike anything he'd
ever felt before. Even the
Cruciatus Curse felt nothing like this.
" Pain is weakness leaving the body, Dursley." Tom
spoke softly, " remember
this and you can take much more. You'll want to
take much more."
Dagon's brow rose high above his hairline. "
Perhaps we can be friends after
all, young one," he said as he crossed his arms. Tom
glanced sideways at him,
the slight lift of his upper lip the only indication he
was annoyed with his
self-appointed guard for this quick trip.
Dudley's eyes began to water, but he refused to
close his eyes. He refused to
show any other sign that he was in pain, except for
the flickering of his eyes
and the clenching of his jaw. Tom finally let go and
backed away, studying his
work. When Dudley looked, he saw he was now the
owner of Tom's tattoo, the
Dark Mark. He was officially owned.
Tom turned away from Dudley to study the others
in the room. " I want no
mistakes if you are going to do it the way you've
explained. Start at once.
Today."
" There will be no mistakes." Sirius said darkly,
glaring daggers at him.
" You didn't think I was going to do away with the
Mark, did you? Just because
I haven't given it to you… Everyone who starts out
in this organization will
have one, including the students at Hogwarts. You
best get used to that fact,
Sirius." And with that Tom and his scary friend
departed.
" Fuck, Dudley… I'm sorry. I didn't know he was
going to do that."
" What are you apologizing for?" Lucius wanted to
know, and then turned to
Dudley. " You did want to be a part of what's going
on here, did you not?"
" Yeah." Dudley was clutching his arm, just under
the Dark Mark, his fingers
white and shaking. The pain receded only slightly
once the Dark Lord withdrew
his wand and he hoped it would go away soon. "
Yes, I do."
" Fine then. Not one more word of complaint about
that mark." Lucius turned to
his husband. " From either of you."
Dudley sat back down without another word,
ignoring the concerned look shot
his way from Sirius. He understood why Sirius was
worried, but honestly, he
was fine. So he was a Death Eater now. He didn't
see anything wrong with it.
Not after all the changes Harry explained had gone
through. For instance,
Dudley didn't have to worry about having to go on
muggle killing raids. Which
was pretty much the only thing he was worried
about. He didn't want to have to
kill anyone. Other then that, he thought he was
prepared to do anything else
asked of him.
" Lucius?" Amortia's voice floated into the office. "
Lucius Malfoy, you were
supposed to meet me fifteen minutes ago!"
Said wizard groaned and closed his eyes. " Sirius, I
order you to kill me
now."
Amortia stepped into the office with her fists
planted firmly on her hips. "
I'm going to be late for my shift now."
" I had to tolerate a check up yesterday! Leave off,
woman!"
Amortia moved further into the room and smiled
sweetly. " You had better stand
up and follow me now, Lucius. I need to check the
Longbottoms as well before I
go."
Rabastan studied the Healer while tapping his finger
on the table. " Better do
as she says, Lucius. She's using her voice powers
again." He grinned when
Amortia quirked an eyebrow at him.
" Mind your own business!" the blonde snapped
and remained firmly in his seat.
Rabastan, however, stood and went over to
Amortia. His brother eyed him with
amusement. It was the first time Dudley had seen
him look anything but pissed
off.
Rabastan took Amortia's hand. She watched him
with a blank look as he raised
her hand to his lips. " You're looking exceptionally
lovely today, Amortia."
Amortia snorted and drew her hand back. " Stop
messing around, Rabastan. I
don't have time for games right now. Lucius!" And
then she swept out of the
room.
Rodolphus dissolved into laughter as Rabastan
stared after the Healer with a
look of disbelief on his face.
" I take it he's not used to being cut down like that."
Dudley whispered to
Sirius.
" Well, sure. Look at him." Sirius indicated the
Lestrange good looks. " A
regular Casanova that one. Always was, I
remember."
" As were you." Rabastan returned with a
melancholy air about him as he
continued to stare at the empty doorway.
" She had no idea you were being serious, Rabastan.
No need to fall into gloom
about it." Lucius stated as he moved towards the
door, finally nudged out of
his seat by Sirius. " You four have your orders now. I
suggest you get a move
on."
When Lucius had gone, the four sat and made their
plans. Rodolphus was in no
way impressed when Dudley said they would all
have to travel to his flat in
the middle of London to fetch his mother's car.
Sirius also reminded them
dressing like muggles was a must. Rodolphus didn't
like it, but since he was
the only one who complained he would have to get
used to the fact they would
be going around as muggles.
As they left the drawing room, Rabastan turned to
Sirius, " Amortia's not
seeing anyone, is she?"
" From what I've seen she's all work, no play. I'm
not sure though. Lucius
would know."
" Rabastan, she's not usually the type you go for."
Rodolphus said.
" The type I usually went for resembled Narcissa
and Bellatrix, and look how
well that turned out for you and Lucius. And
Amortia has a loveliness about
her."
" Point taken." His brother answered with a sneer.
" Don't mention those names in my presence again,
Rabastan."
" What are you complaining about?" Rodolphus
asked. " You're married to Lucius
now. You'll have three children in less then a year…
If I were you, I'd hunt
Narcissa down, wherever she's gone and rub it in
her face."
Sirius immediately brightened. " That's not such a
bad idea…" Sirius studied
the brothers for a moment and grinned at them. "
Why weren't we friends in
school again?"
" Because we're all stubborn prideful bastards
better then everyone else, and
we were playing on opposite sides." Rabastan
answered. " And mutual hatred had
a large part to play, as well as different houses."
" It was a rhetorical question, Rab."
Rabastan shrugged in a careless manner before
looking at Dudley, who remained
quiet beside them the entire time. It was then Sirius
was again reminded of
why he had come to the manor today in the first
place.
" We'll meet you two here in an hour. And for
Merlin's sake, dress down."
Rabastan nodded, but his brother grumbled the
entire way down the hallway.
Sirius wasn't much help to Dudley with the letter he
wrote, but he did
reassure him there wasn't anything insulting about
the refusal to Harry's
generous and unwarranted gift.
Sirius grinned knowingly when Dudley set aside
Harry's letter and begged
patience while he penned a second one. He was
trying to keep the receiver's
name private, but Sirius kept sending him knowing
smirks from across the table
the entire time.
Dudley finally snapped, " you have no idea what I'm
writing!"
" True. But I can guess…"
" And you're guess would be wrong."
Sirius waved that away, " yeah, sure."
Dudley frowned, but continued to write. In truth
the letter he was writing was
only a friendly letter, something he would send to a
pen pal, though with
every word written, his nervousness seemed to
climb higher and it felt weird
writing it to someone he barely knew. But then
again, he knew he'd be very
happy to receive a reply and hoped to get one.
He put down his quill when he was finished and
rolled up both letters. He sent
the letters off with a house elf who would send
them out using one of the
Malfoy owls immediately.
" Feel better now?"
" Yes."
" You shouldn't. Harry will not accept no for an
answer."
Sirius Apparated the Lestranges' to the alley next to
Dudley's apartment
building before Apparating Dudley there as well.
Once inside Dudley tried to
get them to his flat as quickly as possible. Sirius
knew what it meant to
dress down, but obviously the other two didn't.
They were decked out from head
to foot in Wizarding attire and were so flashy
Dudley thought they had dressed
that way on purpose.
Standing in the hallway outside of his flat door,
Dudley waved at a passing
neighbor before covering his eyes in
embarrassment. Everyone who passed
glanced at them as if they were crazy circus people
with diseases of some
sort.
" You had to dress like that…"
" I see no need to be ashamed just because muggles
are around." Rodolphus
growled.
" It has nothing to do with being ashamed. We're
trying to keep on the low
down. Low key is important for what we're doing."
Sirius replied. " Duds, you
think your mum's gotten over the whole prank thing
yet?" he asked hopefully.
" Mum was still angry about it after not seeing you
for how many years? Do you
think she's going to be over it after only a couple of
weeks?"
" Suppose not. Maybe I'll wait here."
Rabastan snorted. " Afraid of a woman, Black? A
muggle no less?"
" She's a squib." Sirius replied. " And no, I'm not
afraid. I just don't want
a confrontation."
" Whatever. Let's go in already." Rodolphus said.
Dudley unlocked the door and
they filed in.
Dudley expected the disdainful looks the
Lestranges' gave the small flat, so
he easily ignored that and left them standing in the
living room to go find
his mother. He thought he should warn her they
had visitors before she came
out to find them. Warning her Sirius was present
was a good idea as well.
He found her in his room, cleaning up, and once
again he was dismayed to find
she'd found his stash of dirty magazines again. He
thought he'd hidden them
away well enough this time.
" You shouldn't store them where there is a mess to
be cleaned up, dear." She
said in all calmness.
" I suppose I should be thankful you've been
exposed to Harry and Malfoy's
relationship. Imagine the kind of reaction you would
have had otherwise...
Mum, we have visitors." He went on before she
could reply. His mother seemed
cool with the whole bisexual thing, but that didn't
mean he wanted to discuss
it any further, and because his magazines were
stacked neatly on his bed, he
wanted his mum out of his room as quickly as
possible. She was still his
mother and this situation was still embarrassing as
hell.
" Oh?" She moved passed him out into the hall,
stopping in front of the mirror
on the wall to check and make sure her hair and
makeup were presentable for
company, " and whom have you brought? Harry?"
" No, he's at school. Sirius is here with two others.
I'm working with them
now."
Petunia's eyes narrowed and she swept passed him
and into the living room. "
Black. Out of my home. Now." She growled,
completely ignoring the other two.
Sirius raised his hands and began backing towards
the door. He knew he
probably deserved any kind of resentment she had
on him.
" Mum…" Dudley sighed. " We'll be gone in a bit.
Can I borrow the car?"
His out of the blue question had her blinking blankly
at him. " What?"
" The car, Mum? We need to borrow it."
" What for?"
" That is none of your concern, woman!" Rodolphus
spoke harshly, causing the
woman to flinch when he stepped towards her. "
Give us the car and we'll be on
our way."
Dudley realized Lestrange sounded strangely like his
father just then, and his
mother noticed the familiarity as well because she
paled and left the room
without a word.
Dudley drew his wand and pointed it in Rodolphus'
surprised face. " Don't ever
speak to her like that again! You're in my house, you
bastard. You will show
her respect while you're here." Dudley sneered at
him and then went after his
mother, not caring that it was probably a bad idea
to turn his back on the
wizard.
It only took a moment for Rodolphus to respond
and he turned to his brother
with fire in his eyes. " You just stood there and let
him talk to me like
that!"
Rabastan shrugged. " Rodolphus, I am not your
bloody bodyguard and he was
right. You're in his house and you disrespected his
mother. I'm not going to
do anything. He was being a man and protecting his
mother, whom I'm sure hates
your guts now more then Sirius." He then turned to
Sirius. " What was that
about anyway? Why did she get so scared?"
" The man she was married to ruled with his fists
and a harsh tongue," was all
Sirius thought he had a right to say.
" You've done well then, brother." Rabastan
smirked.
" How was I supposed to know?"
" What happened to her husband?"
Sirius sat on the couch and stared at the ceiling. "
The Dark Lord took great
pleasure in torturing and killing the fat bastard.
Petunia wasn't the only one
to have suffered from Dursley's abuse. Harry was…"
The pain that flashed
across his face conveyed more then enough
information about Harry's life
within that household when he lived with Vernon
Dursley.
Dudley rushed after his mother only to run into her
as she returned. " Mum?
You okay?"
" Here." She pushed the car keys and her credit card
into his hand. " Be safe
Dudley. I don't know what I'd do without you."
" Mum, please. Nothing bad is going to happen to
me."
Petunia's smile was strained. They both knew that
wasn't exactly true. Harry
warned things would be dangerous for him now
that he'd come out as a wizard.
And now that he was a Death Eater, it was twice as
likely something might
happen.
Down in the parking garage the four stood next to
the mid size hatch back, the
three older wizards peering at it with mixed
expressions. Sirius looked
excited, Rabastan looked skeptical, and Rodolphus
stared at it blankly.
When Sirius grasped the door handle of the driver's
door, Dudley rushed over
and blocked him. " What are you doing? You can't
drive. Mum would kill me."
Sirius grinned and pushed him aside, " She doesn't
have to know. Now get in.
We have to make a stop before driving out into the
country."
Once everyone was inside, Rodolphus' leaned
forward from the back seat. " Why
can't we fly again?"
" Kingsley's getting mighty paranoid, having no
Death Eater raids happening,
no news from muggles being bothered…" Sirius
explained. " He's started
patrolling the skies all over England, patrolling the
ground as well. So many
Aurors are under cover. It really isn't funny."
Rabastan nodded. " He's smart that one."
" Unfortunately for us. No matter how we do this,
we'll need to keep a good
look out."
Dudley looked at him as he stuck the key in the
ignition. " Do you even know
how to drive a car?" he asked, suddenly worried
about all the pedestrians
walking about in the heart of London where they
would have to drive through.
" Course! I have a motorcycle. Not much difference
in the operation."
Dudley's eyes widened into saucers, " there's a big
difference!"
Rabastan was suddenly looking more nervous and
he tapped the Animagus on the
shoulder. " Perhaps you should let the boy operate
this contraption. I've seen
horrid pictures of these things after crashes. We're
in a metal coffin,
Sirius."
" Nonsense!" Sirius cried and turned the engine on.
Rodolphus moaned and sat as far back into the seat
as he could go and clutched
the seatbelt Dudley showed them how to put on.
They hadn't needed to, but
Dudley said the seat belts did more good then harm
and frequently saved lives.
And since Sirius was driving, the brothers instantly
put the belts on. It took
Sirius three tries before he finally put the car in the
right gear and was
able to reverse out of the parking spot.
Dudley closed his eyes as his tutor zoomed through
the garage and out onto the
street where he immediately had to swerve from
hitting four people who were
walking down the sidewalk at the garage exit.
Rodolphus turned to his brother
and softly told him they were probably going to die.
" Black, I want to live in order to seduce that witch.
You'll pay if you maim
me in any way!" Rabastan gasped as he and his
brother were thrown to one side
of the car and then the other as Sirius made his way
down the road, happily
changing lanes without purpose and while building
up speed, completely
ignoring the rules of the road. Dudley was glad to
have skipped breakfast. He
was sure it would already be lost.
Finally they were given a short respite and their
stomachs were able to settle
back down when Sirius had to stop behind a long
line of cars in what appeared
to be a traffic jam. Dudley had never been so happy
to be in traffic before.
" Sirius? Who was it my mother dated? The wizard
you chased off?"
The Animagus frowned. " I didn't chase him away. It
was only a small prank. If
he really cared about your mother, he would have
stayed… Please don't say to
your mother, but I think he only wanted Lily. That's
really the main reason
why James and I did what we did…"
" Well… Who is he? What happened to him? And if
what you say is true, where
can I find the arse?"
" Don't really know what happened to him after
that. Never saw him again."
" What's his name then?"
" Caradoc Dearborn." Sirius replied as he messed
with the gearshift, seeing
the cars in front starting to move.
Rabastan tapped Dudley on the shoulder, purposely
poking the new Dark Mark and
grinned when the boy hissed in pain. " I'm afraid
you cannot seek vengeance
for his unfair treatment of your mother. He's dead."
Sirius pressed on the gas and nearly rammed right
into the car in front of
them, " oh yeah? What happened to him?"
" He was notorious for cheating in unofficial
Gobstone tournaments. Apparently
he cheated one too many times and was murdered
for it. Happened years back."
" Sirius, brake!" Dudley shouted when the car in
front suddenly stopped. He
started pounding his foot down on the floorboard
as if he had his own brake
there. Sirius just laughed and laughed.
Finally after what seemed like an eternity they
arrived at their first
destination and Sirius mournfully parked the car in
the garage under the
shopping center. " You two stay here. We'll be back
in a few minutes."
" And where are you going? I don't appreciate being
told to wait like some
sort of pet." Rodolphus complained.
" Just wait here." Sirius said as he opened the door.
" Merlin, Rudo. You may
be more annoying the Snape."
Before Rodolphus could reply with a scathing
comment of his own, Sirius and
Dudley jumped out of the car, leaving Rabastan to
laugh at the incredulous
look on his brother's face.
Harry was just settling down to lunch with the rest
of the Gryffindors when a
regal owl flew into the Great Hall and soared
towards the table. The beautiful
bird captured a great deal of attention. Harry lifted
an eyebrow when it
landed in front of him, dropped a letter, and then
hopped over to Neville and
dropped another letter before flying away. Neville
looked surprised to receive
a letter from such a fine looking owl, and then when
Hermione commented that
it was a Malfoy owl, his look turned worried and he
frantically opened it, no
doubt thinking something had happened to his
parents. Harry waited with bated
breath while Neville began to read, hoping it wasn't
about his friend's
parents, and then wondered when Neville started
blushing half way through the
parchment.
Opening his own letter, he immediately recognized
Dudley's handwriting and
sent a smirk Neville's way realizing his cousin had
written to Neville as
well.
Ron looked across at Neville, noticed the blush and
sneered, " who would be
lonely enough to write to you, Longbottom? Must
be someone completely
desperate…" He stood, reached over the table and
snatched the letter right out
of Neville's hands. " Let me see who it is. I'll write to
her and tell her
she'd be better off writing to me."
Neville's feelings about receiving a letter from
Dudley were so mixed up and
on the surface that he stood and launched himself
over the table before he
could stop himself. That was his letter, and he was
not about to let some
worthless prick read it!
Harry's jaw dropped as Neville flew over the table.
He watched in awe as his
friend grabbed his letter back and pushed Ron off
the bench. When the letter
was safely stuffed in his back pocket, Neville then
let his fists fly, intent
on teaching the freckled bastard a lesson and not
giving a shite he was in the
middle of the Great Hall.
_What the bloody hell is going on over there,
lover?_ Draco wondered when
students from the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables
ignored their food to make
a circle around the fighting duo, screaming out
encouragements and taking
bets.
_Neville is beating the shit out of Ron! _
" Neville, stop!" Hermione cried as she rushed
around the table, but she was
utterly ignored and blocked from reaching the two
fighting by other students
who did not want to see this fight end too soon.
The entire Hall rushed over to surround them,
Draco and his Slytherins came to
stand beside Harry and watched with amusement,
and some looked on with shock
once they realized who was fighting.
" Don't ever touch my stuff again!" Neville
punctuated each word with a fist
to Ron's face. Seamus tried to jump in to help Ron,
but Tom's arm shot out
across heads, grabbed his collar, and yanked the
boy back. He gave Finnegan to
Crabbe, who happily held him still in a strong
headlock.
" Who started this?" Tom asked. He was impressed
with the ferocity of
Neville's fighting and the fact he didn't back down
even when Weasley got in a
few good punches of his own.
" Neville did." Harry replied in awe. " Jumped right
over the table too!"
" Seriously?" Draco asked.
" What is the meaning of this?" Professor
McGonagall shrieked as she and the
other Head of Houses rushed over and pushed their
way through. Dumbledore was
once again missing.
Once McGonagall saw what was going on, her eyes
widened and she cast the
Sonorous spell. " EVERYONE BACK TO YOUR SEATS
THIS INSTANT OR POINTS WILL BE
TAKEN AWAY FROM EACH AND EVERY ONE OF
YOU!"
Immediately students scattered back to their tables.
Harry and Hermione pulled
Neville off of Ron, though for a moment it looked
like he wanted to fight them
too for pulling him away. Ron lay on the floor,
breathing heavily, staring at
Neville as if he'd never seen him before.
" Weasley, Longbottom. To my office at once!"
McGonagall demanded, " you as
well, Mr. Potter."
Harry was about to mention that for once he had
nothing to do with anything,
but Severus gave him a look and he kept his mouth
shut.
" Mr. Malfoy, you will come with me." Severus said
gravely to his godson.
_I don't like this. We didn't do anything. _
_This is about something else_, Draco thought after
studying his godfather's
retreating back. _Meet you later. _
Harry was relieved when they arrived outside of
McGonagall's office and she
told him to wait out in the hall while she took care
of Neville and Weasley.
He gave Neville's arm a supportive squeeze as he
passed by into the office.
Once the door was shut, Harry pulled out Dudley's
letter and began to read it.
It was, of course, about the property Harry had
decided to hand over to his
relatives. He gaped when he realized Dudley was
turning everything down with a
polite, " thanks, but no thanks."
" Wow." He wondered if Dudley would ever cease
to surprise him. It was clear,
by his cousin's wording, that he did not want to
insult, but that he was very
firm in his refusal. Harry folded the letter up and
stored it away with a
smirk. He'd already begun to like his cousin, but
now he liked him even more.
It was just too bad for Dudley that his refusal would
not be accepted.
Minutes ticked by before the door opened again.
Weasley came out first and
completely ignored Harry as he passed and walked
away towards the Infirmary.
Harry laughed when Neville came out with a spring
in his step.
" How much?" Harry asked.
" Fifty points for starting the fight and a week of
detention." He smirked,
ignoring the pain from the split lip. " Weasley lost
sixty points for fighting
and taking my letter without permission."
" Mr. Potter." McGonagall called out.
" That was brill, Neville. You have to teach me how
to box like that. Where
were you hiding that inner animal, anyway?"
Neville blushed and muttered incoherently as he
walked off with a wave. Harry
was chuckling as he entered the office, but his
humor died upon seeing the
grave look on her face.
" Shut the door, Mr. Potter and have a seat."
" Umm… I'm not sure why I'm here. But I have a
feeling I'm not going to like
what you're about to tell me." Harry said after he
was seated.
Minerva watched her student for a moment and
sighed, " Harry, I wish I didn't
have to tell you what I'm about to say…"
" You sound like someone's died, Professor."
A faint smile appeared on her lips, " nothing so bad,
I promise… I wonder,
before we go further, if you would mind dropping
all the glamours you have on.
I've been very curious to see all the changes you
and Draco have undergone…"
Harry was startled with her request at first, but he
didn't see the harm in
it, even if Brumek was whispering, " show no
humans" in his ear. So he stood
and dropped his glamours. He even went so far as
to remove his robe and outer
shirt to let his wings free. Seeing the wings,
McGonagall pressed a hand to
her chest and stood up.
" Oh, Harry…" she breathed in awe.
" Will you never listen to me?" Brumek hissed in
frustration.
" The professor's not going to say anything, will
you?"
" Certainly not." Harry nearly laughed at the
affronted look that appeared on
her face. " The safety of my students is my first
priority in life. Which is
why I must apologize for all these years of turning a
blind eye to what went
on in your life outside of these walls, as well as
within…"
" Professor… You don't have-"
" Yes, I do." She interrupted forcefully. " I should
have put a stop to Albus'
manipulations long ago, but I honestly didn't think
he could- No," she shook
her head, " I will not make excuses for myself,
Harry. You should have been
protected. Your life should have turned out
differently…"
" Professor, you may be right, but I'm happy with
how my life is right now."
Harry said honestly, not quite comfortable with how
this conversation was
turning out. He didn't want McGonagall berating
herself.
" Right." Minerva straightened and turned business
like once more. " Right
then. The reason why I've called you in is because
we need to discuss this
year's Quidditch season."
Harry perked up. " Oh right. Tryouts should be
soon."
" Harry. I'm afraid you cannot be allowed back on
the team."
" WHAT? But why?"
" It's because you are a _Ukatae_ now. Both you
and Draco have an unfair
advantage, being able to work with the
elementals… And no, I don't believe for
an instant either of you would use that advantage
during a game- not on
purpose at least, but the rules cannot be changed.
Should someone find out
about your abilities, that would cause far too many
arguments and complaints
and the Gryffindor team would have to forfeit the
rest of the season. I'm
sorry, Harry. I really am. I know how much you love
to fly, to play the game…"
" It's alright, Professor." Harry whispered hoarsely.
He understood her love
for the game as well, and if it were up to her, she
would let him stay on as
Seeker and captain. But it wasn't up to her and she
did have the other
students to think about.
" You had a brilliant run, Harry. The best Seeker I've
ever seen here. I will
miss seeing you in the sky."
Harry nodded as he slowly stood. In silence he put
his shirt and robe back on
while Minerva watched him. " It's all right,
Professor. I can still fly, just
not in real games…"
Minerva's smile was soft as she stood and walked
him to the door. " That's the
spirit, Harry."
Harry sat on his bed in Gryffindor tower with his
legs drawn up and pressed
against his chest. The curtains were closed around
his bed and he let his chin
drop onto his knees and sighed. No more
Quidditch… It would have been great if
he could blame this on Dumbledore, but he couldn't
because McGonagall had been
telling the truth. The rules clearly stated any
student who had any magical
advantage over the other students could not play.
And it wasn't just for
Quidditch either. Harry had gone to the library
directly after leaving
McGonagall's office and found a copy of _Hogwarts:
A History_. The same rules
apply to any club or organization within the school
where magical competition
is expected to take place, like the Dueling club, for
instance.
_Harry. Uncle Sev wants to see you._
_Tell him I don't want to. _
Draco had taken the news slightly better. He told
Harry he become so obsessed
with Quidditch only after Harry started to play, and
anything Harry did
brilliantly, Draco had to do just as well. It was a
pride thing. And he
repeated the words Harry said to McGonagall. Just
because they weren't on
school teams any more didn't mean they had to
stop playing completely.
But still, Harry wanted to sulk a bit, and alone,
which is why he was in the
tower instead of down below in Draco's room. And
Draco, knowing Harry needed
alone time and was not prepared to sit and watch
his mate sulk, agreed to let
Harry go off alone until they had to leave for
Hermione's parents house.
_He doesn't care what you want. Sev says get down
here now._
_Tell him to fuck off! _Harry growled.
_I will do no such thing!_
" Harry?"
He groaned and closed his eyes, " I'd really like to be
left alone right now,
Hermione."
For a moment he thought she listened and left him
alone, but after a moment,
he heard her moving around and the creak of a
nearby bed told him his sister
was sitting on Dean's bed, which was now next to
his.
" I just found out about Quidditch. I'm really sorry,
Harry. I know how much
you love the game."
" I'm fine, Hermione. Really. The rules are clear and
I can see the sense in
it all. Draco and I wouldn't purposely use our
powers during a game, but
something might happen and we might do it
unconsciously."
" I brought you something," Hermione said in a
brighter tone.
Harry debated with himself before giving in to his
curiosity. Hermione smiled
when his head poked out from between the
curtains. She held up a large bar of
chocolate and grinned when he immediately
snatched it out of her hand before
sliding his curtains open.
" First week of lessons is officially over." She said,
grasping for a topic of
conversation.
" Yeah. We did all right, considering everything we
had to do." He replied
around a mouth full of chocolate. " I really enjoyed
Ozemir's _Ukatae_ history
lessons. Can't wait for the next one."
Hermione nodded vigorously. " _Ukatae_ society is
also very fascinating."
" And chaotic. Imagine, the social structures always
changing. Must keep
everyone on their toes. Don't think I'm going to do
very good on those tests."
" I'm sure you'll do fine. On Monday we're going to
start study sessions in
the library."
" Mione…" Harry gave her an incredulous look. "
When do we have time?"
" We'll make time." Then she jumped from the bed
and walked to the door. " Now
get up, stop sulking, and get ready. We'll be leaving
soon." Harry's dramatic
sigh had Hermione smiling as she shut the door
behind her.
Sirius dropped a bag each onto the laps of Rabastan
and Rodolphus, who looked
at him in question as he and Dudley climbed into
the car.
" Go put that stuff on."
" There's a restroom just over there." Dudley
pointed towards the opposite
side of the parking garage.
" If you have to come back and ask for help with
putting that stuff on, I'm
going to sit here and laugh my arse off." Sirius
smirked, " and still not
help."
Rabastan grabbed the bag and his brother and
pulled him out of the car,
knowing it was useless to argue. They couldn't
waste any more time arguing
about it anyway.
After a few minutes Dudley opened the door and
climbed out. He promised to
return quickly then rushed off. Sirius occupied
himself with watching the
bathroom door, hoping the brothers would come
out asking for help so that he
could have a good laugh while refusing to help
them. He was amazed how well he
liked them despite everything… He supposed that
was lucky. It would have been
awkward to be co-heads of a newly formed
Department if they still hated each
other. And they did have many things in common…
Ten minutes passed before the Lestranges' left the
bathroom, donning the new
business suites Dudley had picked out and paid for.
Rodolphus' face was
unusually calm looking as he climbed back in.
Sirius quirked an eyebrow at them, " well?"
" Well what?" Rabastan was already putting the
seat belt on again, pulling it
as tight against his chest as possible
" Like the suits?"
" Surprisingly, I find this comfortable and
acceptable." Rodolphus answered.
Sirius' hand flattened against his chest. " Be still my
beating heart!"
" Do you think Amortia would like this?"
Rodolphus looked at him incredulously, " you really
are serious about that."
" We're not getting any younger, brother, and we're
certainly not in Azkaban
anymore." All three in the car shivered at the
thought of that hellish place.
" You ought to think about moving on as well."
" But I still have a wife, unfortunately. I've been put
off for life."
" I always imagined she would turn any man she
touches gay." Sirius said in
all honesty.
" I'm straight, I assure you."
" Only because you've never touched her."
" Rabastan, I will seal your mouth shut…" Rodolphus
growled. His brother
raised his hands in apology. " So where is the boy?"
" Don't know. He'll be back soon…"
" There he is."
Dudley came running back with another bag with a
bookseller's logo on the side
of it. Once he was in, Sirius started the car with less
trouble and they were
off. Dudley pulled a book and two maps out of the
bag and began flipping
through the book.
As they drove out of London, Dudley was happy to
distract the others by
explaining why he had the book and maps. " I had a
friend whose father works
for a large construction firm. He was always going
on about the jobs his
father did, and what they did to prepare the land
before starting to build,"
he explained. He passed the book back to the
brothers, who began to look
through it with only mild interest.
" Not sure how things are done in the Wizarding
World when places are built,
but in the muggle world, a lot of research has to be
done first. Deciding
where to build, knowing what the population is in
the surrounding areas,
deciding which materials would work best with the
different types of land, and
so on… I imagine with magic it's not so difficult and
will take less time." He
gestured to the book in Rabastan's hands, " that
details all the counties of
Great Britain. Each chapter covers one county and
gives detailed information
on populations, cities, small villages, and
waterways…"
Now the brothers were looking through it with
more then just mild interest,
and Sirius glanced at Dudley, " good thinking." He
said with a hint of
admiration. " For once there is a Death Eater who
knows how to use their
brain."
Dudley shrugged. " The Dark Lord wants no
mistakes. I thought it couldn't hurt
to cover all bases, even if none of this will be
helpful. You know… cause
we're going to be doing this the magical way,
right?"
" Yes, it will be done with magic," Rodolphus
agreed, " but this information
may be very useful to us."
Dudley nodded and was pleased he had done
something right and was already
proving he could be helpful in this endeavor.
That night, the Grangers were impatiently waiting
for their daughter to arrive
with her friends. Friends they assumed would be
Harry and Ron Weasley, whom
they knew was Hermione's boyfriend. When the
doorbell rang, Mrs. Granger
rushed to answer. The bright smile in her eyes
shifted into surprise when she
opened the door to find her daughter on the porch
with three wizards standing
behind her. Hermione beamed a pretty smile at her
and Harry as well, though
his smile was more sheepish then anything.
Standing beside him, Jean was sure
was Harry's boyfriend Draco Malfoy, but his smile
didn't resemble anything
Hermione had described before. He looked quite
charming and there wasn't a
sneer anywhere on his handsome face, or any
disdain in his eyes. She supposed
Harry had spoken the truth and the blonde must
have changed. Otherwise
Hermione would not have brought him, which
automatically implied Draco was a
good friend. And Jean noticed the way the blonde's
fingers sought out and
continuously brushed the tips of Harry's fingers...
He certainly didn't
resemble the uncaring spoilt boy she imagined in
past years when her daughter
complained about him.
And then there was the wizard beside Draco who
stared back at her with a blank
face. The complete lack of emotion on his face
immediately made her uneasy.
" Mum?" Hermione asked when her mother
continued to stand there silently,
staring at Tom uncertainly. " May we come in?"
" Oh yes! I'm so sorry." Jean moved aside to allow
her daughter and visitors
into their house. " You only surprised me dear. You
didn't say who would be
coming with you." All three young men paused and
sent a glare Hermione's way.
" I… We were expecting Harry and Ron."
" Jeez, Hermione. You haven't told them anything!"
Harry hissed into her ear.
Hermione ignored him to hug her mother. " I'm
sorry. It's been so busy."
" Thank you for having us." Draco said as he handed
Hermione's mum a bouquet
of flowers and a charming smile that had the older
woman blushing.
Draco swore to be on his best behavior, not giving
the Grangers any reason to
dislike him any more. He was pleased when Mrs.
Granger obviously fell for his
charming smile and shot a quick smirk Harry's
direction.
" Not at all… I assume you are Draco Malfoy. My
daughter has told us so much
about you."
Draco's smile fell slightly, and Mrs. Granger was
sorry she said anything. "
But don't worry. You've all grown… haven't you?
Children are supposed to
fight."
" Yes," Hermione agreed as she dragged Tom over
and away from the closed door
where he looked like he was prepared to stand the
entire night. " Mum, this is
Luther Bailey… well, okay. That's not his real name,
but I'll get to that
later. Where's Daddy?"
" He'll be down shortly." Jean replied, " you go on
and have a seat in the
living room while I check on dinner."
Hermione nodded and led her brothers out of the
hall. Draco sat down in the
plush crème colored couch, surprised by its
comfort, and smirked, " well she
obviously loves me now. I have nothing to worry
about."
Harry rolled his eyes and sat beside him. " Tom, are
you going to scowl like
that the entire night? You're only going to make this
harder on them."
" I will not conform just to make muggles feel better
about themselves."
Hermione sighed and sat next to him. " You can
leave if you want," she said,
taking his hand and was very happy when he didn't
pull away. " I won't be
disappointed. It was a lot to ask you to come."
" Quiet, Hermione. I'm here for you. I'll stay till the
end."
Edward Granger stepped into the room then,
scanning it and immediately
recognized Harry. He assumed the blonde next to
him was Draco Malfoy. And he
was quick to notice with some trepidation that his
daughter was holding the
hand of the dark haired boy next to her who was
not Ronald Weasley. This was a
surprise and Mr. Granger generally did not like
surprises. His face hardened
and was not unlike Tom's… completely blank of
emotion. Except for the narrowed
eyes darting between Draco and Tom.
_He's the epitome of a protective father. _Draco's
relaxed state immediately
disappeared. _Don't think my smile is going to work
on him._
_Course not. He's straight. But don't worry, lover.
Mr. Granger's nice too._
" Daddy!" Hermione rushed to embrace him, and
though Mr. Granger happily
returned her hug, he continued to watch Tom and
Draco warily.
" This is only the third time in so many months that
we've been able to spend
time with you." He said as he pulled back to study
her. He noticed the soft
glow about her face, the beauty she grew in to…
looking at the others he was
surprised to find they all looked very similar. He
wondered if it had to do
with being witches and wizards. Hermione had
never said anything about magic
affecting their looks, unless they directly used a
spell to change their
appearance. But he knew his daughter wasn't that
type of woman.
" Um… Daddy, there's something I need to tell you
and mum." She turned around
and asked her friends, " should I do it now, or wait
until after dinner?"
" You've already said something." Tom intoned
snidely, " might as well do it
now and get it over with before your father jumps
to anymore conclusions." Tom
had seen Mr. Granger's study of their held hands
before.
Edward stood behind the love seat, with his arms
crossed watching everyone. He
was going for casual, but by the way his arms were
crossed, it was clear he
was waiting for the bomb to drop. " And who are
you?" he asked Tom.
" One of the reasons we're here is so I can introduce
you properly to a new
part of my family." Hermione began, her eyes
pleading her father to drop the
intimidation act. He would eventually embarrass
her or worse, severely piss
Tom off. Harry very nearly laughed when Mr.
Granger pinned Hermione's ring
finger with a quick stare, then audibly sighed when
no ring was there.
Mrs. Granger soon returned and stood next to her
father, waiting patiently for
their daughter to tell them what she'd obviously
come here to say.
" You don't know this, but I'm not seeing Ronald
Weasley anymore. We've had a
falling out of sorts." Hermione went on when her
parents said nothing. Harry
snorted at that little understatement.
" What sort of falling out?" Jean asked.
" The sort where Weasley turned out to be a foul
spineless chicken with shite
for brains."
" Tom!" hissed Harry.
" It's the truth." Draco murmured.
" Yes, but still…"
Hermione glared at her brothers. All three sat back
and pressed their lips
together in response to her silent warning. This of
course impressed Mr.
Granger and he smiled proudly at his daughter. "
You haven't changed a bit,
Honey Bunny."
" Oh?" Harry asked, leaning forward. " Does her
look of death work on you
too?"
Edward nodded, relaxing. " Unfortunately. Her
mother's as well."
" Moving on… Mum, Dad, I would like you to meet
my brothers. Harry, Draco, and
Tom, uh… I mean Luther."
Tom sighed, " don't you think you should just tell
them everything?"
" Is that safe?"
" It's not like I'm going to come after them
anymore." Tom stood and surprised
everyone by crossing the room. He stopped in front
of Mr. Granger, and after a
moment's hesitation extended his hand. " Tom
Riddle." Jean Granger paled and
Tom turned to give Hermione a look. " You told
them who I am?"
" Well of course! Knowledge is power. And you
were targeting anyone close to
Harry. I had to keep them prepared."
Edward studied his daughter, and then the three
wizards. " Are you saying you
are this Voldemort character Hermione's gone on
about? The one whose been
trying to kill Harry all these years. The one who
killed his parents, the one
whose been going around intent on killing every
non-magical person around?
You're that person?"
Tom nodded and dropped his hand, seeing as Mr.
Granger didn't look like he was
inclined to shake hands. Tom shrugged. No skin off
his back. He didn't want to
touch the muggle anyway.
" Jean, leave."
" Hermione-"
Edward's eyes narrowed on the woman who was
impersonating his daughter. "
That's not our daughter. Go now!" He pushed her
and she finally hurried out of
the room.
Hermione looked stricken, " but Daddy!"
" I don't want to hear it. You can't possibly be my
daughter." He then turned
to Harry, his eyes narrowing. " You're not Harry
Potter, are you? No, your
not." He said before Harry could argue, " you
wouldn't be here with these
two." He pointed to Tom and Draco.
Hermione took a deep breath and watched as her
father backed away towards the
hallway closet. " Okay… so that was not the reaction
I thought he would have.
Daddy!" she ran after him.
Harry stood and ran a hand through his hair. " This
is a bloody mess. How do
we convince them we're the real us?"
" Dad! No!" Hermione shrieked in shocked horror.
Her brothers ran after her
and skidded to a halt.
" Whoa! Wait!" Harry quickly held up his hands
upon seeing Mr. Granger
standing in front of the opened closet door, holding
a cocked shotgun aimed at
his daughter's chest. " Guys, put your hands up.
Now!" he hissed to Tom and
Draco. Seeing the serious expression on Harry's
face, the others followed and
slowly raised their hands as well.
" Mr. Granger, calm down. I am Harry Potter and
this really is Hermione. Tom
isn't the same as he was, and Draco and I are
getting married in October. And
we're Hermione's brothers now. There is a lot to
explain. Please let us
explain." Harry saw Falde and Talyn were prepared
to jump Mr. Granger, but
Harry shook a finger. He didn't want anyone to
move or do anything until that
shotgun was no longer aimed at Hermione's chest.
It could accidentally fire if
Mr. Granger was jostled even the slightest since his
finger was on the
trigger, and no amount of healing power would be
able to save Hermione in
time. That gun would put a hole the size of England
through her chest. Harry
mentally explained this to Draco, who still had no
idea why they were afraid
of a muggle holding a wooden thing...
The blonde's eyes widened dramatically, " I assure
you, Mr. Granger. We mean
you no harm."
" Unless you keep pointing that gun at my sister."
Tom intoned darkly.
" Daddy…" Hermione voice trembled, her eyes
going from the gun back to her
father. " I swear it's me. Remember when I was five
and I fell from the monkey
bars? I chipped my tooth, remember? Or when we
went to Brazil when I was nine,
remember that? We had so much fun there and we
took enough pictures to fill
three photo albums. Remember after my first year
at Hogwarts I stayed in my
room for the first week back, reading all of next
year's books, and you and
mum had to physically pull me out and made me go
visit friends. You locked me
out of the house for five hours so I couldn't sneak
back in to read."
" How can I believe you would join him?" Edward
nodded towards Tom.
" Because. Dumbledore betrayed us all. We have
irrevocable proof. Dumbledore
killed Harry's parents and was the cause of Tom's
insanity. He's been the real
enemy this entire time. Please listen to me! I'm not
lying!"
" Edward, I believe her." Jean said softly as she
came out of the kitchen
where she had hidden and listened. " You know
Hermione never lies… Please stop
pointing that horrible thing at our daughter before
you kill her."
" I'm still not entirely convinced she's our
daughter." Edward replied, but to
everyone's relief he dropped the gun to his side.
" Daddy." Hermione's voice took on a tone of
exasperation. " It's me. Tom,
Draco, Harry, and I did a ritual and we bonded as
siblings. Tom's no longer
going around killing innocent muggles. Because if he
does he knows there will
be hell to pay."
" Don't threaten me in front of your parents,
Hermione."
" Can I put my hands down now?" Draco asked. " I'll
have you know this is very
undignified behavior for a Malfoy."
Edward cocked his head to the side and considered
the blonde. " That's exactly
the sort of pompous remark I expected to come
from you after everything
Hermione's told us."
" He's still the same. He just loves us now."
Hermione said. Draco opened his
mouth to object, but then shut it with a snap and
nodded.
" All right," Jean gathered their attentions. " Dinner
is ready."
Edward looked pensive. " Dear, I'm not-"
" You can stop now, Edward. You've gone and
scared me half to death for no
reason. If they really meant us harm, we would
have been killed the second
they stepped foot inside and they haven't even
drawn their wands the entire
time here." Hermione nodded emphatically and
followed her mother back into the
kitchen. Edward sighed, then turned and put the
gun back up on the shelf in
the closet. He was sure he had far more gray hairs
now then he did fifteen
minutes ago.
After all that, Hermione decided she would wait for
another time before
telling her parents about changing into a _Ukatae_
and she was definitely
going to wait a while before telling them about her
relationship with a
certain snarky Potions Master.
Brumek finished his rounds shortly after sunset and
was shaking his head in
bewilderment as he entered his room. Human
children were amusing and very
inventive with the way they entertained one
another. The things he'd seen…
Once he was sure the rooms had not been
tampered with, he finally relaxed and
slumped down into the old dusty couch in the main
meeting room and stared at
the door. Brumek was grateful to Falde for giving
him time off while the young
ones went to dinner. He and Ozemir were only
expected to make a few rounds
around the school before taking off to the manor
where they could do as they
pleased until the young ones returned. Ozemir took
the outside rounds an hour
ago, so the Scholar should have finished already and
now that Brumek's rounds
were finished he was going to make the best of his
free time by finding his
mate and…
Ozemir came in then, opening the door and
dragging his feet as he walked
inside. His tired face had Brumek standing quickly
and crossing to him. His
shaking hands had the warrior pushing him over
and shoving him down onto the
couch. Brumek stared down at him with a concern
look that came out as a scowl.
" Did you finish your rounds?" he asked. A soft yes
was the answer he
received. " Find anything?"
Ozemir relaxed a little bit with a shuddering breath.
" No one has breached
our perimeters." He sat back and closed his eyes,
and by seconds he seemed to
regain the strength that had left him. Brumek
watched him until finally he
understood why Ozemir looked tired and shaken.
" The temple! You went back to that room!"
" It's my room to return to." Ozemir replied in all
patience. " I have many
duties and returning to that room is one of them."
Brumek stared in disbelief. How could anyone call
self-torture a duty? "
Explain it to me. There is no wisdom in going back."
Ozemir rolled his eyes behind his closed lids when
Brumek growled his anger
and then yipped in surprise when he was dragged
into a Shadow and whisked away
to Malfoy Manor.
" You can't do to me whatever you will just
because!" He yelled the moment
Shadow was lifted. " Being mates does not entitle
you supreme rights over me-
Ouch!"
So ignoring Ozemir, Brumek shoved him back onto a
bed then quickly crawled
over the Scholar. He straddled Ozemir's thighs and
quickly grabbed his hands,
pulling them over his head. Once that was done, he
gave the heavily panting
Scholar a wicked grin as the magic left his fingers.
Ropes formed around
Ozemir's wrists and bound them tightly against the
headboard. Brumek did not
let go, however, until he'd turned those ropes into
fortified shackles.
" What exactly do you imagine this sort of action
will accomplish?" Ozemir
hissed, his head coming off the bed a fraction. "
Rough handling is not going
to change my mind." Ozemir frantically pulled at the
shackles, eyes widening
after realizing the chains were fortified against his
strength. Not even
Dagon's berserk strength could break through- _Oh,
I would never think to do
that, Scholar. Why should I want to get away? _
Ozemir's eyes flashed wildly
as he shouted out and pulled at the chains in
annoyance.
Brumek's eyes lit up with amusement as he trailed
feather light caresses over
the inside of Ozemir's wrists. " I'm no longer waiting
for you to change your
mind or finally accept what's already been
accepted."
Ozemir's eyes widened. " But I haven't accepted
anything!"
" I have." Brumek said, bending low until their lips
barely touched. He made
sure Ozemir was listening to every word by keeping
their eyes locked by the
intense heat from his. " I've accepted and it doesn't
matter what you think
right now. It was automatic acceptance because you
already want me. I know it
for a fact." His voice lowered to an angry hiss while
his eyes sharpened and
narrowed, " did you seriously think I would stand
back, close myself from all
of this and allow you to keep me from having my
mate, from starting another
part of my life? Do you think I'm some sort of
coward to be washed away?" his
intense gray eyes crystallized with his anger. "
You're mine, Ozemir!" he
yelled. " Best get used to that fact."
Ozemir doubled his efforts to get away, but
somehow Brumek's grip could not be
undone, and he could do nothing but feel when
Brumek roughly discarded his
tunic and splayed rough callused hands across his
bare chest, watching the
warrior's eyes move along with his hands.
" I've never wanted to touch anyone as much as I
want to touch you." Brumek
confessed breathlessly as his hands moved,
exploring every contour of his
mate's flat chest. He had never touched another
male like this before, had
never thought he would want to until he started
having those dreams about
Ozemir. And now that he was, he couldn't
understand how he'd never known he
preferred this strong, flat chest to some soft fragile
female flower.
" Noticed you haven't come out and told me to
stop." Brumek lifted his eyes to
find Ozemir staring wide eyed at him, barely
breathing and looking deathly
pale. Instead of being angry, now he seemed
fearful." Are you scared of me,
Ozemir?" he asked softly.
If he was, Brumek didn't think he could go through
with this. Ozemir not
wanting this to happen because he was scared of
the warrior himself would have
certainly put Brumek off. Hurting Ozemir, scaring
him was something Brumek
never wanted to do. " Say you're scared of me and I
will release you."
For a moment Ozemir looked relieved and Brumek
feared he would use that as a
way to escape. But then he shook his head. It wasn't
Brumek who scared him. In
fact Brumek's arms felt like the safest place in the
world right then.
" Please let me go." Ozemir begged instead. " You
don't know what you're
doing."
" That's neither saying I scare you, nor was it an
order for me to stop."
Brumek dropped a heated kiss against Ozemir's hot
skin at the base of his
neck. His fingers roughly dug into the silky white
hair, thrilled by the
tremors from his mate's body and the low moans
escaping the Scholar.
Brumek lifted up until his lips hovered over
Ozemir's, " I will not lie,
Ozemir. I want you. I want you just like this, chained
to the bed. But not the
first time. The first time, I want you to come to me."
Brumek hissed after
lowering his hips, rubbing against Ozemir's
throbbing erection. " You better
make it fast, Ozemir. You can feel my need for
you…No more running from me,
you stupid Scholar."
" Call me stupid one more time!" Ozemir snapped
out and bucked his hips in
retaliation.
Brumek groaned and wrapped a quick arm around
Ozemir's waist before sliding
his hand down to grab his arse to keep those hips
lifted against his.
Then he was kissing him before another second
could pass. Nipping at Ozemir's
lips in his frustration. Showing his almighty need for
him by plundering his
mouth, letting his tongue capture Ozemir up in a
passionate claim of
ownership. He expressed his anger at every damn
thing by biting the Scholar's
sweet lips and drinking the blood down along with
the other extraordinary
tastes that was Ozemir.
Ozemir felt warm and like silk in his arms, trembling
and digging his nails
into the warrior's back, giving himself over
immediately to his mate's
demanding mouth. He couldn't help himself,
despite wanting to be set free. He
never imagined Brumek's mouth could drive him
this far into fantastic
delirium. But then Brumek's lips were on his neck,
tasting his skin and Ozemir
started to struggle, the haze of lust quickly clearing.
Unfortunately, Brumek
was very good at ignoring the struggles of others,
and went on with his
tasting.
Brumek chuckled darkly against Ozemir's smooth
neck. " You're only half
struggling."
Ozemir's struggles died. He wanted this of course.
Always had. Even when a
hundred years had passed without seeing Brumek,
Ozemir had always dreamed of
this. He tilted his head to the side to give Brumek
better access and prayed
to Hirsha to forgive his selfishness. His lack of
control will cause Brumek
suffering in the end.
A helpless whimper escaped the Scholar as he
surrendered to his mate. Hearing
the small sound of submission, Brumek waited no
longer and sank his fangs into
pale flesh. When the blood poured into his mouth
Ozemir went limp in his arms.
He gathered his mate close, cradling his head with a
hand and drank to his
heart's content.
Ozemir gasped as his eyes rolled back while Brumek
was held him so tight he
might actually break his ribs. Did this concern him?
Stars, no! Not with the
lusty sounds coming from Brumek as he greedily
drank. Nor was he concerned
about the pressure building south of his waistband.
Brumek was doing a very
good job of keeping the Scholar aroused beyond
measure by rubbing his hard
cock against his.
Ozemir tried to swallow the dryness in his throat,
but he didn't even have the
energy for that. He didn't have the energy for
anything. It seemed all too
soon Brumek pulled back and grinned at the state
he was in. Ozemir opened
heavy lidded eyes just in time to see Brumek licking
the remaining blood from
his teeth and lips.
" Your turn."
Ozemir began to frantically shake his head, " no!
You're not going to force me
into this. I drink your blood and I'll have no choice
but to give in to you."
He had no more strength left to fight, so he sank
against the mattress,
ignoring the shackles biting into his wrists.
" You just gave in." Brumek pointed out before
running his tongue over the
closed bite marks once more, thrilled when Ozemir
trembled from what he knew
was restrained pleasure.
" I'm not drinking your blood!"
Brumek sat back on Ozemir's thighs and studied
him. Of course Ozemir was
scared. Once he drank Brumek's blood that would
be it. He could maybe keep
away for a few more days, but in the end, his body
would be begging to be
mated. He wouldn't be able to deny it. Brumek only
had to find some way of
getting Ozemir to drink…
Suddenly a wicked grin spread across his face, "
Dagon. I want to talk to
Dagon."
" No…" Ozemir denied sluggishly, his eyelids already
drooping.
Brumek leaned forward to whisper into the
Scholar's ear, " Dagon, come out."
" Stop it!" Ozemir closed his eyes against the harsh
laughter in his head. _Oh
this is a pleasant surprise, indeed! Our mate
requests my presence and you no
longer have control over me. Oh yes, indeed! I'm
liking this more and more…_
Brumek watched with a smug smirk as Ozemir
transformed into Dagon.
The demon's mouth curled into a sultry smile. " You
called?" he moved his head
slightly to look at the chains, pulling on them and
testing their strength,
loving the feel of the strong steel restraining him. "
Very nice…"
" You want my blood, demon?"
Dagon's eyes flashed with delight as he bared his
fangs in hunger, " I want
much more then that."
Brumek waved his hands and the chains
disappeared. " Drink now, demon." He
hadn't even finished speaking before Dagon was on
him, his fangs sunk deeply
into his neck, drinking heavily as if he intended to
suck the warrior dry.
Brumek relaxed as he felt Dagon's full weight
pressed against him, sliding
over him with delicious friction. Brumek was
tempted to forget about waiting
until Ozemir came to him. Dagon was warm and
wanting and fully prepared to
give Brumek his body to use for a number of
extremely erotic, and in some
places, illegal things. But he wanted Ozemir first
and he _needed_ the Scholar
to come to him.
Brumek steeled his resolve to wait, holding himself
rigid, trying to ignore
Dagon's hand, which had begun to travel along his
body… Perhaps his control
wasn't as strong as he thought it was, because if
Dagon hadn't pulled back
just then, finished with his drinking, Brumek knew
he would have taken the
demon anyway.
When Dagon looked into Brumek's eyes he snarled
with displeasure. " You're
going to wait for him!"
" Yes. And I don't care if that's a problem for you. I
wanted him before I
wanted you, demon."
Dagon hissed as he pulled away. " I should tear your
throat out!"
Brumek smiled and climbed off the bed. " Ozemir."
The demon hissed again as
Ozemir was given back control and his appearance
changed, though the blood red
eyes remained. Ozemir was furious. He bared his
fangs as he stood, his claws
fully extended as he prowled towards his suddenly
nervous mate.
" How could you do that?" he whispered hoarsely. "
How could you betray me
like that? Do my feelings count for nothing with
you, Brumek?"
" I'm tired of playing games." The warrior replied
and made himself stand
still and take the severely disappointed look in
Ozemir's eyes. He expected to
be beaten to death, but he wasn't expecting the
dark cloud of anguish that
washed over his mate.
" This isn't a game, warrior. This was never a game."
" Ozemir, I only want to see you happy…"
The scholar laughed without humor. " And you think
conspiring with the demon
will bring me happiness? You have destroyed me,
Brumek. You've trapped me. And
Demai'Tah… You've just insured that his words will
come true. This," he
motioned between the two of them, " this will
destroy me, even before my death
comes."
Ozemir left soundlessly, disappearing from the
manor, leaving Brumek to stare
at the empty spot where his mate stood only
moment's before.
" Hirsha… What have I done?"
***
A/N: I know a lot of you are probably ready to kill
me for drawing the
Ozemir/Brumek ship out. But to tell you the truth,
it's so much fun to torture
them with thier unfullfilled desires... not to say i'll
keep it up though...
they both deserve a good shag ;)
So i hope you enjoyed this chap and the next one
will be out soon. Have a good
day!
9. Dark Marks Galore
**Life Agendas**
**Chapter Nine**
**Dark Marks Galore**
Tom returned to Hogwarts with Talyn, with the
intent of talking with Severus
before returning to Malfoy Manor. He was still
reeling over dinner, still not
believing Mr. Granger had pulled a shotgun on his
daughter. Though truth be
told, Tom was impressed. Usually muggles simply
tried to run for their lives
once they knew who he was and what he was
about. But Mr. Granger took a stand,
prepared to protect his wife and home from would
be killers. It was a good
thing Hermione and her mother convinced the man
to put the gun away. Tom had
seriously begun to loose patience when the man
continued to threaten Hermione
like that. He was also aware of the damage a gun
like that would inflict on
Hermione had it accidentally gone off.
" Your future wife's father nearly killed her tonight."
Severus blinked many times. There were several
things wrong with that
statement. " Come again?"
Tom grinned, but did not repeat his words, instead
he went on, " other then
that, I find myself surprised that I did not want to
kill them." Severus
simply glared at Tom. " On to what I really want to
discuss with you…"
" Yes, that would be best." Severus' softly spoken
words were laced with a
warning that did nothing to deter Tom's grin.
" I want all my new recruits Marked. Tomorrow. You
will bring them to the
Manor."
Severus sat back in surprise. He expected this, but
not for some time. " Is
that wise?"
" Are you questioning me?" Tom's grin finally
withdrew, leaving Severus facing
a darkly scowling Dark Lord.
" Yes. I remember specifically when you gave me
permission to do just that."
Tom sighed, " oh yes. I must have forgotten." Tom
waved that away. " And why
ask if it's wise? Does it matter? Do you think
Dumbledore is going to find
out? And if he does, what could that old man
possibly do?"
Knowing Tom was never going to change his mind
on this, Severus simply nodded.
" Very well." At least he had already had help with
finding recruits. He was
sure Tom would be pleasantly surprised tomorrow.
Draco was having a hard time sorting through his
thoughts. Maybe part of that
had to do with the fact that right now he was
straddling the back of Harry's
thighs, happily trailing his fingers over the beautiful
green marks of his
mate's wings. Harry was deep asleep, having had his
arse kicked by Brumek
during an impromptu late night training session.
Draco was lucky enough to
have missed it, but Harry had unfortunately been in
the wrong place at the
wrong time and was dragged off down to the
dungeons for hand to hand combat
training.
Draco was actually kind of stunned with the
thoughts rolling through his head
at the moment. A year ago he never would have
had these thoughts, but now…
This was all Ozemir's fault. If he hadn't told Draco
about Harry's ability to
get pregnant. But that really wasn't what worried
the blonde right now. He
worried because he had no idea how Harry would
react. Did he even want
children? Surprisingly that was something that had
never come up.
He pulled himself away from his mate, kissing the
back of his neck before
doing so. " Watch over him. Will you, Lovely?"
The small snake hissed an affirmative before
burying her head back under
Harry's hair. Draco left the room shaking his head.
He was actually becoming
very fond of that snippy snake. At least he knew
without a doubt that any
would be attacker who tried to get near his mate
would end up with several
poisonous snake bites for their stupidity.
Unsurprisingly Draco found himself outside of
Hermione's room and immediately
knocked on the door. When she called him to enter,
he found her lounging in a
settee reading one of the very heavy _Ukatae_
tombs Ozemir had given them for
their studies. She looked up at him as he took the
lounge chair across from
her and gave him a bright smile. Draco sat back and
returned her smile with a
half assed one.
" Draco? What is it?"
" I just wanted to come and spend time with you is
all, Hermione."
Hermione set aside her book and studied him.
Draco's brows were furrowed in
worried thought and he was trying to relax, but
every other moment he would
tense up as if his thoughts were on a mission to
keep him from being able to
enjoy being back at home.
Hermione wondered when Draco was going to get
to the point of this little
visit. Not that she minded spending time with him
but she wanted to know what
was bothering him so they could get passed it and
he could relax a bit more.
Since she had no idea what could be bothering him,
she thought she might as
well try and fish around.
" Harry alright? I heard Brumek grabbed him for
more training. Talyn said it
was tough and very physical."
Draco snorted, " That's an understatement. You
should have seen Harry when he
came into our room." Draco's eyes flashed with
promises of revenge. " Brumek
was pissed and took it out on the first person he
saw. Which happened to be my
bloody mate!"
" He and Ozemir must have fought." Hermione
surmised with a frown. " When are
they going to save us all a lot of grief and mate
already?"
Draco made a sound of agreement and glared at the
floor. After several minutes
of silence, during which he could feel his sister's
questioning eyes on him,
he finally decided he might as well try to get some
answers from her. He knew
Hermione was aware he was worrying about
something.
" Harry told me about the flying lessons." Draco
began in an uncertain manner.
" Oh? That's a surprise."
" Why is that?"
Hermione giggled, " well, considering how bad he is
at flying with wings, I
didn't think he would bring it up with you…" her
eyes widened when Draco began
to grin maliciously, " oh, bugger. He didn't tell you
that part, did he?"
" He most certainly did not. Oh, this is fantastic!"
Draco sat forward and
began rubbing his hands together. " So, tell me
more."
She snorted and swept a strand of hair away from
her eyes, " no, I don't think
I will, Draco. Especially since I know you're going to
use it against him."
" Oh come on. You can tell me."
" No, Draco."
The blonde huffed his displeasure, but after a
moment a wicked gleam entered
his eyes, " So… feeling any itching in the general
vicinity of your back yet?"
Hermione's blush was very telling but she answered
anyway, " yes."
" At least you're more prepared then Harry was."
" Something I suppose I should be grateful for…"
Hermione paused, and then
frowned. She'd had enough of Draco's round about
conversation. " And what
exactly is on your mind, darling? You're making me
tense."
Draco sighed. Figures she'd get right to the point.
No skirting the issue with
her. " Have you and Harry every talked about
family? I mean… Do you want a
large family, Hermione?"
Hermione smiled, reached over and patted his
hand. " I already have a large
family, Draco. Thanks to you and the others…"
Draco smiled but at the same time shook his head. "
Not exactly what I meant."
" You'll have to elaborate then."
" Big family. Children with Severus?" he, Harry, and
Tom already knew Hermione
wanted to marry the snarky Potions Master, so the
question wasn't really out
of the ordinary. It was only Severus who didn't
realize she was already
planning their future. Though Draco was sure his
godfather had no intention of
letting Hermione go, ever.
" Oh yes!" Hermione nodded. " Of course."
" And Harry? We've never really talked about it
before…"
" That's probably because it makes him sad to think
about that. When he
realized he was gay, he thought there was no
chance to have children, even
with the conception potion. He didn't think he
would live long enough for
that. And now…" she shrugged and looked rather
sad. " I'm sure the thought
still makes him sad."
Draco frowned, " Why?"
" Well Draco, we're not human. He can't have
children. The potion probably
won't work now that he's a _Ukatae_."
" But Talyn explained, didn't she? About the wings
and the markings…"
" Of course, but she was talking to me about it."
Draco smirked, " so he would be happy to have
children."
" He would be ecstatic. What's this about?"
" Males get pregnant the same as females,
Hermione. You didn't think males
have wings just for show did you?"
For once Hermione looked completely shocked and
then she smiled brightly,
leaving Draco to blink at her in a stupid manner. "
Really? Harry will be over
the moon…" she paused and sat forward. " Why
aren't you talking to him about
it?"
" I'm nervous about it, in case you can't tell…" But
Draco felt loads better
now that he knew what Harry's reaction would be. "
How could he not know,
though? Talyn explained it."
Hermione thought back to that first lesson, back to
when Talyn was explaining
about the marks, then she started giggling. " Talyn
was looking at me as she
started to explain, probably to make sure I was
paying attention. Getting
wings was not something I was thrilled about at
that point… Anyway, Harry must
have thought she was only speaking to me. He
tuned out I think, and since I
didn't think Talyn was speaking to him, I didn't tell
him to pay attention."
Draco sat back and his grin spread from ear to ear
and was so lost in thought
he nearly missed Hermione's next surprising words.
" … Draco? Did you hear
me?"
" What?" he shook his head, " sorry."
" I said I was reading through this book and found
something earlier that
pertains to this conversation."
" Yes?"
" Did you know it's considered taboo for _Ukatae_
to use contraceptives once
mated?"
" That's news to me." Draco drawled, managing to
keep the elation out of his
voice, but from the smug smirk Hermione sent him,
he was sure she was reading
the underplayed emotions really well.
" Yes, Ozemir gave me a heads up for our next
society lesson. Which will be on
taboos, among other things. There is a list of taboos
in here," she picked up
the book, " a long list. I've only gotten through
about a quarter of it."
Now that the worrisome questions had been
answered, Draco really didn't care
about any of that. " Hermione. It's the weekend,
and our birthdays. Why don't
you stop studying and relax. Or better yet, go to
sleep."
Hermione snorted, " not tired." She did however
put down the book. " Let's go
for a walk. You haven't seen your father yet, have
you?"
" No. I imagine he's sleeping." Draco returned as he
held a hand out to help
her up.
Hermione shook her head as they left her room. "
No. Sirius and the others
have yet to return from their land search. Lucius is
staying up to wait for
him."
This did surprise Draco. It just didn't seem like
something his father would
do. Then again, he was finding it strange to think of
his father as a wizard
in love and pregnant with triplets.
" Draco? Don't you think we should find out what it
was Dumbledore gave to
Demai'Tah at the Hog's Head and what it was for?"
Draco rubbed the bridge of his nose, " I completely
forgot about that, but I
have a feeling it's going to hurt Dumbledore more
then us."
" All the same, we should find out what it was."
Draco nodded in agreement, though he had no idea
how they would find that out.
" Shouldn't the two of you be sleeping? Wouldn't
want the babies to be cranky
come morning," a voice hissed around them, and
they paused, eyes searching the
empty hall.
Draco grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her close
to his side. And then the
words caught up to him and his eyes narrowed into
slits, " I'm not a damn baby
you stupid assassin!" he bellowed.
The blonde suddenly found himself slammed
against the wall, staring into
Dagon's incensed face. " Be careful who you fling
insults at, young one."
" Then don't call me a baby." Draco snapped back
and wished he and his
siblings hadn't told the other guards they could take
a break from their
guarding duties while at the manor. " Are you here
to kill us then?" he asked
in a firm voice he wasn't sure was his.
Dagon growled and pushed Draco roughly against
the wall once more before
letting him go.
" No."
" Then leave us alone. We asked for no bodyguards
while we're here."
" Draco," his sister hissed in worry. You just don't go
around talking that
way to a demon such as this one.
" I'm bored." Dagon said with a shrug and
surprisingly he fell in step with
the siblings as they returned on their walk.
Draco nor Hermione was particularly pleased to
have the demon tagging along,
but they both figured since they would probably be
seeing him around quite
often, they might as well try and get used to his
dominating and frightening
presence.
Hermione thought the walk was going well, all three
keeping their silence,
until Draco couldn't hold it in anymore. " Isn't there
some poor unsuspecting
fool out there you could go and kill?" Hermione
groaned and covered her face.
" Doesn't work that way." Dagon replied with a
smirk. " Besides, do you really
want me to do that? The only unsuspecting fools I
see right now are you two.
If you really insist, I could-"
" No!" Hermione quickly reassured. " Draco, please
control yourself."
" Yes, _Draco_. Behave."
Draco clenched his jaw shut as they approached the
French doors that would
lead them out into the darkened gardens.
" Um…" Hermione was curious and she just couldn't
help herself. " Can I ask
you a question, Dagon? Without you becoming
insulted?"
" Probably not. But since I'm feeling so generous
right now, you may ask your
stupid question and I'll try to refrain from having a
violent reaction."
It was better then nothing. " I was just wondering
why you're here and not
Ozemir." She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting
to see the demon come at her
if he chose to. But Dagon's cruel laughter traveled
across the garden as they
stepped out into it.
" He's given me control. Our mate has displeased
him in a very serious way.
He's hiding like a petulant young one."
" Oh."
" And where," Dagon continued, looking at Draco
from the corner of his eye, "
is your beautiful, tempting mate?"
Draco stopped and very stiffly turned to Dagon. "
That's none of your fucking
business, demon. But since we're talking about
mates, where the fuck is your
surly ill-mannered mate? The next time he feels like
venting his anger, tell
him to leave my mate out of it!"
Hermione threw her hands up in the air and tuned
in a different direction to
walk off on her own. If Draco wanted to tempt
death then he could do it alone.
She wasn't about to get caught up in anything
having to do with Dagon.
Besides, her brother had been asking for it. Just
couldn't keep his bloody
mouth shut!
" Mrs. Weasley," Lucius took a breath to hold on to
his temper as he looked
into the fire where Molly's head hovered, " I have
no need for your
assistance."
" Lucius, I only want to help. You can't tell me you're
not the least bit
excited about your babies."
" Of course I'm excited." He snapped back. He was
excited, until the next bout
of vomiting snuck up on him. " But that doesn't
mean-"
" Good!" she beamed at him. " Expect me in the
morning. You should find out
the sex of the babies from Luna before then. Bye
now!"
" Hold on!" But Molly's face had disappeared, and
the fire returned to normal.
Lucius barely stopped himself from throwing the
calming elixir Amortia had
given him into the flames. But since Mrs. Weasley
was no longer there, he
decided drinking it would be better. " Blasted,
interfering Weasleys!"
A soft snort had him looking over and he sneered at
Hermione as she quickly
covered her mouth to hold back the laughter.
" Think it's funny, do you?"
" I think it's cute." She said truthfully, and then
burst out laughing at the
horrified look that crossed Lucius' face.
" I would appreciate it if you dissuaded her." Lucius
sank down into the chair
next to her.
" This will be good for you, Lucius. And besides, you
need to get out. Have a
bit of fresh air."
" I'll pay you a large amount of money to keep Mrs.
Weasley away from me." He
tried again.
" No. Besides this is perfect. Seeing you and Mrs.
Weasley together in Diagon
Alley, shopping for baby things; it'll be in the news
and shed a very bright
light on all of us, don't you think?"
" I'll hide away." Lucius said with a firm nod, then
looked at the old
grandfather clock in the corner of the lounge. He
scowled when he saw it was
nearing one in the morning. Where the hell was his
husband? He didn't like
feeling this uneasiness, worrying if something
happened to Sirius.
" You can try to hide, but we'll find you and force
you out. Amortia and Molly
for sure. I know you see the sense and advantage of
letting the Wizarding
World see how you've changed, how you don't
mind the Weasleys."
" Who ever gave you that idea? I haven't changed in
the slightest-" Hermione
smirked at him. " You're evil, Hermione."
" Thank you. I learn from the best, Malfoy."
She meant it as a compliment and it worked. He
forgot about his displeasure
with Mrs. Weasley and grinned back at her.
Draco came in then, limping. Hermione nearly had a
heart attack when she saw
Dagon, who was also limping, supporting him. The
demon was grinning from ear
to ear.
" That was invigorating." Dagon announced and let
Draco fall onto the couch
beside Hermione. " You obviously are worthy of the
throne. You have no real
fighting skill, but from will alone you managed to do
what no one else has
been able to. And you're extraordinarily fast, young
one."
" I feel like my insides have been pulverized." Draco
moaned and leant against
Hermione's shoulder.
" I can't wait until you all have mastered your
fighting skills."
Draco opened his mouth, intent on refusing any
future farce fights, when Luna
skipped into the room with a bright smile. Dagon
stilled when she entered and
stared at her with such an intense look, Hermione
couldn't help wonder what he
was thinking.
" Can't I be left in peace?" Lucius mourned. " Why
aren't you all at school?
Surely your absence will be noted."
" Father? What's wrong with you?"
" Are you blind, Draconis? I'm being invaded!"
" Lucius, he'll be back soon."
The elder blonde scowled at Hermione, pissed she'd
figured out what was really
bothering him. " Whose this then?" he snapped and
pointed at Dagon. " This is
the second time you've been in my home, and I
don't like persons whom I am
unfamiliar with walking around."
Dagon, still in an uncharacteristically good mood,
let the human's snide tone
slide, though he didn't deign himself to answer and
continued to watch Luna
oddly.
Draco sighed, " This is Ozemir's alter ego. The
assassin. Be nice, Father. He
hates humans and he will rip your throat out
without the least bit of
warning."
" My name," the assassin said with a glare, " is
Dagon. Must you mention the
stupid Scholar when introducing me?"
Draco smirked.
Hermione was having trouble believing what she
was seeing. Had Draco actually
made friends with the terribly frightening demon?
Unbelievable!
" I know you." Dagon said to Luna. He began to
circle her, who was nodding and
smiling back at him. " I've met you before, long
before… centuries ago. You
don't look the same. You've become a child."
" Nice to see you again, demon."
" You tried to kill me!" Dagon seethed. " You nearly
succeeded. Stupid
goddess..."
Luna giggled," you asked for it. You were being very
bad."
" That is my nature, Muse."
Luna giggled again as she sat down, snuggling rather
comfortably against
Draco's side, ignoring the blonde's hiss of pain when
she pressed into a
particularly tender bruise. She looked at Lucius and
smiled, ignoring the
gobsmacked expression on his face. " Lucius, you
will be having one boy and
two girls."
Hermione and Draco looked at each other. " Did he
just call her Muse?" was the
blonde's question.
" Yeah. And he called her a goddess as well."
" No." Dagon said with a sneer at the oblivious and
sleepy looking Ravenclaw.
" I called her a stupid goddess. If you're going to
repeat my words, make sure
you repeat them correctly."
" He's so snappish," Luna mumbled as her eyes
closed, " just like his mate."
When she snuggled further against Draco, the
blonde sighed and wrapped an arm
around her shoulders.
Tom came in soon after Hermione and Lucius finally
departed, too tired to stay
up any longer. And Dagon, seeing as nothing
exciting was going on, took
himself off to go bother Brumek, with one last
death glare at the sleeping
Ravenclaw. Draco remained because he had a
feeling Tom would be around.
Neville had been with him, but only stayed long
enough to say hello before
rushing off to see his parents, even though they
were probably already asleep.
Tom gave Draco a flat look when he saw Luna
curled up against his brother's
side. But he said nothing because he didn't know
why seeing them like that
made him so angry.
" He called her a Muse." The blonde Slytherin
whispered in soft tones as Luna
was still curled up at his side, fast asleep.
" What was her response?" Tom asked just as
quietly.
" There was no response. To that or to him calling
her a goddess."
" Draco, the Muses are goddesses." Tom shook his
head, obviously distressed at
the lack of his brother's education.
" I know that!" Draco snapped. Tom glared at him
when Luna stirred and slowly
sat up, rubbing her eyes.
She shifted a bit away from Draco and withdrew her
wand from behind her ear,
and began to wave it in a lazy pattern. A moment
later she was holding her
sketchpad and a pencil. The Ukatae watched as she
flipped the pad opened to an
unfinished drawing and set pencil to paper.
" Hello, Tom. You had a nice evening, I hope?" She
asked without looking at
him.
" Suppose." Tom mumbled.
She frowned a little, " you'll be giving out Dark
Marks tomorrow, correct?"
" Today actually." He replied after glancing at the
clock, ignoring Draco's
surprised look that quickly turned into a glare. "
Why?"
" Well of course I'll want to be there." She looked at
him, her eyes wide and
staring intently at him, " unless you don't want me
to belong. If that's the
case I will completely understand."
Tom barely managed to keep from saying what he
was thinking. That he did not
want to Mark her skin, did not want to see the pain
on her face should she get
the Mark. But he was able to keep from saying it
and instead said, " I think
it's time you talk straight with us, Lovegood. What
are you?"
" Is what the demon said true? Are you a Muse?"
Draco asked with less of a
bite.
Luna cocked her head, her eyes glazing over as she
thought, and then she
smiled brightly, " how strange... I'm something,
aren't I? Hmmm…" she returned
to her drawing, her face once again in complete
concentration as she drew.
Tom and Draco gaped at her. Tom recovered first
and motioned for Draco to
follow him out of the room. He felt like screaming in
frustration at Luna and
decided a hasty retreat would be best.
" Oh Draco…" Luna called as Draco limped after his
irate brother. The blonde
paused before stepping out and turned back. Luna
was still looking at her pad
as she spoke, " Harry's going to be upset when he
finds out you kept it a
secret. When he finds his markings have changed."
" Then he should have paid attention during
lessons. Um…how upset?"
Luna giggled. " You'll get a beating. But after that
he'll calm down."
" And when-" Draco cleared his throat, finding
himself suddenly very nervous.
Luna's grin was his only answer. Which wasn't really
an answer at all. He
scowled at her before limping away.
Once he joined Tom out in the hall, his brother
smirked at him. " Not going to
tell Harry? I hope he gives you more then just a
beating."
" Like I told Luna. It's his own fault for not paying
attention during
lessons."
The next day Lucius woke up to find Sirius sprawled
next to him still
completely clothed. Lucius was never quiet when he
woke and disturbed his
husband as he got out of bed. Once his wand was in
hand, Lucius pointed it at
Sirius arse, intent on serving his husband a
reprimand for staying out so late
without so much as a word.
" Luce," Sirius groaned, " I'm sorry. But it was harder
then we thought.
Please don't curse me. I'm so tired right now. You
can curse me when I get up
later."
" Promise you'll let me curse you?"
" I swear it as a Black."
" Fine then." Lucius returned his wand to the
bedside table and stalked off to
the bathroom, and slammed the door shut, smirking
when Sirius groaned loudly.
Apparently somewhere along the way, Sirius and
the others had gotten drunk
during their mission. Bastards! They better have
made some progress or he was
going to delight in helping Tom Crucio them, Sirius
included.
Soon after, Lucius entered the breakfast room and
stopped short with a groan.
" Over run again by Gryffindors…."
" Hey Lucius." Harry gave him a small salute before
turning back to Neville
and his parents. Lucius was quite surprised to find
the Longbottoms had
ventured out of their room. He could understand
their reluctance to leave the
room, especially considering where they were, but
they seemed to be enjoying
themselves now, with Neville and Harry sitting
beside them, as well as Remus
Lupin, whom Lucius most definitely had not known
would be gracing them with
his werewolf presence. Also the present bane of his
existence was at the
table, Molly Weasley. And then there was Luna who
was happily and quietly
eating her breakfast.
" Longbottoms." He greeted as he took his seat at
the head of the table. Frank
and Alice looked startled at his cordial greeting and
then looked suspicious,
but that was expected. They wouldn't have been
very good Aurors if they took
all this in stride. It didn't surprise him however, that
they were more
relaxed now then others probably expected them to
be, but that probably had a
lot to do with being cocooned by well-intentioned
Gryffindors. Lupin and
Molly's presence, he noticed, was especially
comforting to them.
" Mr. Malfoy." Alice Longbottom returned in the
same tone. " Or is it Black
now?" she inquired with a slight quirk of her mouth.
" It will remain Malfoy."
" This is still surreal," Frank muttered. " We'd really
like a detailed
explanation sometime soon. Our son has been very
tight lipped."
" I'm really sorry, Dad. But I don't know how much
I'm allowed to say. I
haven't had time to ask the Dark Lord yet."
" You see! That right there!"
Neville sighed, " I've explained that part a hundred
times. Tom Riddle was not
the one to put you into St. Mungo's-"
" Yes, dear. We understand that part. We
remember that part. There were no
Death Eaters and no Voldemort around when we
lost track of time." Alice said.
" What we don't understand is why we're here, why
you're here, and why Harry
Potter is here at Malfoy Manor, apparently happily
living with Voldemort."
" We should probably just show them the Pensieve
memory." Harry turned to
Lucius, " what do you think?"
" By all means. The less I have to explain the
better."
Molly turned and pinned the blonde with a stern
glare. " Eat up, Lucius. You
have four bellies to feed now."
Lucius responded by narrowing his eyes on her, "
I'm not adverse to hexing
you, Mrs. Weasley."
Molly's smile was so sweet it hurt. " I'd like to see
you try. And if you
don't start eating I'll Imperio you. How would you
like that?"
The room went quiet as all stared at the Weasley
matriarch with shock. After a
few moments, everyone assumed she was only
joking and went back to their
breakfasts, but Harry knew just by the
determination in her eyes as she stared
back at the speechless Malfoy that she was ready to
carry out her threat. And
Lucius knew her threat was genuine as well, which
explained the sudden smirk
gracing his face. She'd just gained two steps of
respect from him.
Next to appear was Dudley and he stumbled his way
to the table and sank down
into the chair next to Harry before putting his arms
on the table and dropping
his head down with a groan.
" What the bloody hell happened to you?" Harry
asked. Dudley grunted in
answer.
" Tell me, Dursley. Did you four get anything done
or was the entire day and
night spent at the pub?" Lucius wanted to know.
" Mapped out a few areas. Going back later to pick
up where we left off. We'll
have to use brooms too. There's no way around
that despite the Auror patrols."
" You should probably go back to bed then, at least
until you have to leave
again." Neville suggested quietly.
" Nah. Just need coffee. And then, when I can move,
I need to go to the Pitch
and practice flying."
Harry smirked at Neville when his friend quickly
pushed the coffee container
across the table. When Dudley's head remained
down, Harry filled a cup and put
it in front of his cousin.
" Coffee's in front of you, Duds. Hey Neville, why
don't you tell Dudley about
the fight you got into with Ron."
" You got into a fight?" Neville's mom immediately
asked, looking
disapproving. Dudley shifted slightly so he was
looking at Neville over the
top of his arms.
Neville glared at his friend, who looked suitably
apologetic, having forgotten
his parents were sitting right there. " It's not that
big of a deal. Not
important."
" A fight with my son?" Molly asked.
" Sorry, Mrs. Weasley. But he stole my letter." Upon
mentioning the letter,
his cheeks and Dudley's turned bright red and
Dudley's head dropped back down
to hide against his muscled arms.
" Ron should know better. Is he still giving you lot
problems?"
" Nothing we can't handle, Mrs. Weasley. You know,
just adolescent stuff. And
I suppose we egg each other on." Harry replied
truthfully.
" I'll have to have another talk with him."
" I'd rather you didn't please." Harry said. " That will
only make things
worse between us."
Molly sighed, but did not her understanding, and
then she turned back to
Lucius, who had barely touched his breakfast, " I
said eat, Lucius!"
With a growl, Lucius whipped out his wand, " Listen
here, woman! Just because
I'm going to have babies…"
" We only want to see you healthy, Lucius. Calm
down. And I forbid you to hex
Mrs. Weasley." Tom drawled as he made his
entrance. Everyone watched as
crossed to Molly and kissed her cheek before taking
the seat next to Luna. The
Ravenclaw was now busy folding her cloth napkin
into animal shapes. How she
got the cloth to stay folded in the right positions
was any ones guess. It
didn't look like she was using magic. Molly looked
suitably surprised to have
been given a kiss by Tom in a way that seemed as if
he did it all the time.
She looked surprised but also extremely pleased.
The Longbottoms, knowing who
he was, was also surprised to see this exchange, but
it seemed to have relaxed
them even more. If Lord Voldemort was kissing
Molly Weasley's cheek and
smiling fondly at her then perhaps everything had
changed. Perhaps the Dark
Lord really wasn't the way he used to be. And they
couldn't forget that it was
Tom who finally freed them from their mental
prisons.
" Someone please tell me I'm not going to Diagon
Alley alone with Mrs.
Weasley." Lucius murmured in a begging voice that
was unusual for a Malfoy.
" Really, Lucius… It's a shopping trip. I'm sure you'll
have loads of fun."
Tom said and then grinned when the table around
snickered. He felt especially
pleased when Luna looked at him and smiled
brightly.
In the end Harry took pity on his future father in law
and decided to go to
with him and . Partly to make sure the two of them
would be safe out on their
own. Sirius couldn't make it as he'd been asleep
when they left and because
the Animagus was expected to go to work as soon
as he woke up and then be back
again in time to witness the Dark Marks being given.
So Harry decided he'd go.
There was no telling how some people might react
to seeing those two shopping
together. Harry didn't put anything past anyone.
And he did have a birthday
present to buy as well.
But what does one get for a mate who lacks
nothing? Draco was so spoilt he
already had everything. Before leaving Harry asked
the blonde what he might
like for his birthday. Of course Draco had been no
help at all. He'd answered
with a predatory grin that left Harry's body
trembling and then leaned into
the Gryffindor and whispered with a low heady
voice that was entirely too
sexy, " the only thing I want tomorrow is you, all of
you, all day and night,
lover."
Harry sighed and for the hundredth time ran his
hand through his hair. This
shouldn't be too hard. They were soul mates after
all. Perhaps if he looked
around he'd find something that just screamed
Draco, and if he were lucky,
that something would not already be in the
blonde's possession.
Lucius' voice brought him back to his present
surroundings. " Mrs. Weasley,
I'm surprised to find myself saying this, but you look
as if you no longer
shop at the second hand robe shop."
Harry hissed a warning. No way was Lucius going to
start that crap. But Molly
didn't seem to mind and giggled like a school girl
before running her hands
down her lovely new burgundy robes trimmed with
silver.
" Do you like it? I received a few garments from
Ginny for my birthday… And
yes, Harry. I know what you did." She said after
Harry looked away to keep
from meeting her eyes.
" Yes, Mrs. Weasley very nice." Lucius went on. " I
cannot express the extent
of my relief at finding you dressed in such a way this
morning. I can't be
seen in public with anyone dressed like the
homeless."
" Lucius!" _Draco, your father is being a prick to
Mrs. Weasley. _
_It's funny you sound surprised. _
" It's alright, dear." Molly assured with a smile. " He
speaks the truth, I'm
afraid. If we're going to help Tom, the Weasleys
can't go around being an
embarrassment to him, now can we?" Lucius,
surprised by this statement,
stopped to reassess the mother of seven currently
standing in front of him.
Molly smirked at the surprise shining in his eyes.
" We are pure-bloods, Lucius. Just because we don't
have the wealth you have
doesn't mean we don't know how to act like proper
pure-bloods. I assure you,
that tradition has not been lost to us."
It was then Lucius decided he would now start
calling the Weasley matriarch by
her first name.
" Harry! Harry, darling! Oh and Lucius too! Yoohoo!"
Harry groaned, " let's make a run for it." He gave
the elder blonde a pleading
look as they heard Rita Skeeter's heels clicking
against the cobblestone road
as she rushed over to them.
" Nonsense, Harry. Malfoys do not run from the
press." Lucius turned to face
Skeeter, putting on a charming smile as she came to
stop before them. Harry
scowled. He hated this woman.
" Why, this is my lucky day! Now that I have you
here, you two must give me an
interview. It will be short I promise."
When Harry's lips parted to allow a growl to roll
past when she blatantly
ignored Mrs. Weasley. Sensing his action, Lucius
placed a hand to the back of
his neck and squeezed in a silent message to keep
quiet and let him handle
everything. For her part, Molly sneered at the
reporter and did her best to
ignore the beetle Animagus right back. Rita Skeeter
did not miss Lucius'
action, and her eyes lingered for a moment on the
hand that remained fixed on
Harry's neck.
" And where is dear Draco today?" Skeeter asked as
she pulled her notebook and
Quick-Quotes Quill out of her crocodile-skin
handbag. She sucked on the tip of
the quill for a moment before placing it on a blank
page where it immediately
began to scratch across the page, and then it
paused. " Wait a minute …" she
quirked a horribly drawn eyebrow at the Gryffindor,
" why aren't you at
school?"
Before Harry could open his mouth, the quill began
writing on its own. Harry
felt his anger stripping away his control. He wanted
to reach out and grab
that quill and promptly shove the stupid thing into
one of her gleaming eyes.
And then he would delight in gutting her
afterwards. Only the painful pressure
at the back of his neck kept him from doing that and
more.
" My son's Inheritance is tomorrow. I felt it best
they stay at the manor over
the weekend for it." Lucius drawled. " I have no
intention of allowing
Dumbledore near my son during such a time.
Especially after what he tried
during Harry's Inheritance."
The quill scratched faster and began to write in a
blur as Skeeter's eyes
widened at the implications. " Oh? Care to explain?"
Lucius pressed Harry forward and they began their
walk once again. He didn't
seem to care whether or not Skeeter followed. But
of course she was. " I'm
surprised you don't know. I was certain you had
sources within the Department
of Magical Law Enforcement. Dumbledore was, in
fact, brought in for
questioning that night."
Harry could feel Skeeter's jubilation. He had to give
it to Lucius. Throwing
more fuel onto the fire already slow roasting
Dumbledore. The public was going
to eat it up.
Lucius sent both Harry and Molly a smug smirk
before turning back to the
salivating reporter, " so you can see why I want my
son home for his
Inheritance."
" Yes, of course. And Harry? Why are you not at
school?"
" Where one soul mate goes, so will the other."
Lucius replied evenly before
Harry could answer. " And Harry is already part of
the family. The wedding is
really only for the public's sake, isn't it? Soul mates
are considered wed
locked once they've mated. It is only natural he
attend Draco's Inheritance."
" So you have had a sexual union already?
Interesting."
Harry internally groaned. What was Lucius thinking
saying things like that to
this bitch? The fact that he and Draco were sexually
active was no one's
business but their own. Never mind that he and
Draco were not shy about
showing their affection in public. He just didn't see
the need for it to be
printed for the world to see. He thought he would
just mention that. " That's
none of your bloody-"
" Come along, Harry." Molly pulled him away from
the smugly smirking reporter.
" Lucius. We'll meet you at my sons' establishment."
Lucius sent her a curt nod as they left, and Harry
heard Skeeter ask about the
wedding and whether or not a date had been set.
" I hate her. She'll have him standing there all
bloody day if he doesn't shut
up."
" Not in his condition. I'll chase her away myself if I
have to." Harry
grinned. He was looking forward to seeing that.
Both Fred and George were at the store and were
delighted to see they had
visitors who were not customers. There was a lull in
business that time a day,
so they were instantly by Harry's side, striking up a
conversation before
Harry could open his mouth to greet them.
" Harry! You're looking fabulous as usual. Really, I
think you should share
the wealth and pass over some of that blood.
George could use a makeover."
" Oi! Everyone always says I'm the better looking
out of the two of us. You
could use the _Ukatae_ blood more then me!"
" Excuse me!" Molly interrupted with an amused
laugh. " No greeting for the
woman who gave birth to you fiends, hmm?"
The twins' grins were impish as they looked at their
mother. " Mum! Is that
you?" Fred took her hand and twirled her around. "
We didn't recognize you,
did we George?"
" We assumed you were one of Harry's fabulous
ladies he likes to show off."
Both boys kissed their mom's cheeks with a great
big smack.
" I'm immune to your charms boys."
" What brings you two here then?" George asked
and hopped onto the counter for
a seat.
" Shopping with Lucius for the babies." Molly
answered. She found a dirty spot
on the counter and was frowning at it. Her sons
looked understandably shocked
at her casual statement.
" With?" Fred craned his neck, expecting to see the
snobbish blonde waiting
outside of the door with his nose stuck in the air.
" We were with him, but Rita Skeeter attacked us.
He's out there with her
now." Harry replied, and then scowled. " I hope he
watches his mouth. He's
already said more then I would have liked."
" Say Harry? Isn't it darling Draco's birthday
tomorrow?" Harry nodded. "
Wha'cha gonna get him?"
" Haven't decided. I'm having trouble figuring out
what he would like that he
doesn't already have." Harry missed the twin smirks
grow as he spoke, and he
was suddenly trapped between the twins and
dragged towards the door.
" We know exactly where to go."
" Hey, I can't leave your mum!" He twisted around
to send a pleading look to
Molly. Unfortunately she looked amused.
" It's aright, Harry." She replied and followed behind
them. " You come find
us when you're finished. Besides, I have a feeling
I'm not going to like where
they're bringing you." Once outside, Molly waved as
she walked away.
" That's our Mum." George said fondly as he locked
the shop up. " Never misses
a tick, that one. She would most definitely not like
where we're bringing
you."
Harry was suddenly feeling very nervous. "
Err…where are you taking me?"
Their twin grins did nothing to reassure him.
" So, Lucius," Skeeter leaned forward and Lucius
had the urge to scrunch up
his nose when he caught a waft of her horrid
perfume. Really, where did she
get such a fragrance? From the trash? " It was hard
not to notice how close
you've become to Harry. Care to tell me about your
relationship with the
Savior of the Wizarding World? I'm sure all of my
readers would love to know.
Considering the past animosity between the two of
you."
" I have always had high standards when it comes to
Draco's future spouse.
Harry Potter far exceeds those standards in every
way. It was easy to put the
animosity aside and welcome Harry into the Malfoy
family with open arms. I
consider him a son. The past is well and truly behind
us…" he paused when he
caught sight of a line the quill had just scribbled. "
Do take a moment to
consider what you intend to publish, Skeeter.
Should you think about twisting
my words and turning the relationship I have with
Harry into something
disturbing and perverted, you will soon find yourself
out of a job. And then
you'll find yourself without a home and without any
money. I know how you
work, Skeeter. You'll do well to listen to my
warning. I can and will make all
of that happen."
Immediately the Quick-Quotes Quill began
scratching out entire lines of notes
and Lucius smiled nastily, " write what I want you to
write and you'll have no
problems."
She sneered at him, " I see you haven't changed."
" No, and I don't intend to."
" Can you tell me why there have been no Death
Eater attacks in the last few
months?"
Lucius' eyes narrowed as he stepped closer to her. "
Why would I have such
information?" he hissed lowly.
" Come now, Lucius…" Rita began, but Lucius waved
a hand in dismissal and
turned away from her. " I believe the public has a
right to know," she went on
quickly. " Perhaps there's something you would like
to say. Both of us could
profit from this. I'll get my story, you'll get to say
what you want, and the
people will be informed. I swear to keep the source
anonymous."
Lucius paused and thought about this. There was a
lot to be said. About Tom
especially. If he wanted to lead the Wizarding
World, people would have to
stop thinking about him as a cold-blooded killer.
Only thing was, Lucius
wasn't exactly sure how to word what he wanted to
say. That might explain why
he was grateful to see Molly returning. Despite
everything, he knew the woman
wasn't ignorant. Tom liked her, which meant she
had more going for her then
she let on.
" You'll take an oath about keeping your source
anonymous."
Skeeter immediately agreed, knowing she wouldn't
get her story otherwise. She
huffed in annoyance when Mrs. Weasley insisted on
dragging Malfoy away to a
nearby café to dine. Apparently Weasley was not
satisfied with the amount of
food Malfoy consumed during breakfast. Rita made
a side note about Lucius'
relationship with Weasley as well, but then
immediately had it scratched out
when Lucius sent her another glare that conveyed
his message quite clearly.
Lucius scowled as he was made to sit down and
order a large brunch, but his
mood lightened when he realized he was hungry. "
Where's Harry?"
" Gone to look for a birthday gift for Draco. My boys
took him off somewhere."
The Skeeter woman cleared her throat to remind
the two they were not alone. "
Lucius, you did promise me a story."
" I did and since you want it so badly you can wait
until I'm ready to speak.
In the mean time you can move away while I talk
with Molly. In private." He
replied coldly and delighted in the offended look
crossing the reporter's
face. Skeeter huffed as she stood and moved away.
Lucius cast a silencing
bubble around the table and smirked at Molly.
" What are you up to, Lucius?"
" She wants to know why there hasn't been any
Death Eater activity in the past
few months. I've decided we should do something
about Tom's reputation. After
all, he can't simply step up to become the leader of
the Wizarding World. Just
as Harry and Draco have to, Tom will need to win
over the people. How do we do
that when he's feared and has done such heinous
crimes?"
" He's changed. He doesn't do… most of that
anymore. "
" I know that, you know that, but no one else does.
Somehow we need to get
that across to people. Do you have any
suggestions?"
Lucius expected Molly would need to think about it,
but suggestions started
spilling out of her mouth immediately. And they
were all very good
suggestions. In the end Molly was left snickering at
the slack jawed
expression on his face.
Ozemir opened his eyes to a bright-lit blue sky and
hissed at the sun that was
shining down in his eyes with a vengeance. Next to
him he heard a similar hiss
he recognized belonged to Dagon as he too woke
faced with the sun's bright
glare. Both _Ukatae_ sat up straight and stared at
each other in shock for a
moment before their faces contorted in rage and
hatred for the other.
" You!" they shouted and instantly were on each
other. Assassin and Scholar
battling each other with hand-to-hand combat like
it was a death match, which
in their minds it was. Their dislike for each other
was so great; both of them
would have loved to see the other dead and gone
forever.
After minutes where they were already bloodied
and nearly broken and in no way
nearing the end, a stern, but lovely voice floated
around them. " That is
quite enough."
Ozemir stopped fighting. The voice wasn't familiar
but a resonating power
underlined the words and his curiosity overtook
everything else. When he let
his guard down to turn and look. Dagon grinned
maliciously and threw a steel
fist, connecting with Ozemir's jaw and dislocating it.
Only then did the demon
stop, but only because he wanted to know who had
the audacity to command he
stop battling the infuriatingly stupid Scholar.
It was easy for Ozemir to forget about the world of
pain his face was in, and
it was easy for him to forget about his bastard
demon alter ego standing
beside him when he noticed, standing just in front
of them in an old ruined
courtyard was the statue of Hirsha he had in his
black oval room. The statue
was exactly the same, hands stretched out, palms
up. Except the bloody sword
was missing and her facial expression was different.
Her eyes were open and
looking down at them from the pedestal, smiling
softly like a lady might smile
at her undisciplined and mischievous children.
The statue shimmered and Ozemir backed up when
the stone was suddenly replaced
by flesh to reveal a living, breathing deity in all her
glory. Hirsha moved
and stepped off the pedestal, her long blood red
hair streamed behind her as
her soft green toga flowed like silk around her bare
feet as she moved.
" Yes, you are dreaming." Hirsha answered Ozemir's
unspoken question. " But
dreams are real, my darklings."
" What's he doing here?" Dagon hissed, jerking his
thumb in Ozemir's
direction. Hirsha raised a dark red eyebrow as if it
were obvious.
" I have need to speak with both of you. It is simply
easier when you are
separated as you are now. Come, sit with me."
Hirsha motioned that they sit in
front of her. Ozemir immediately went to kneel
where she gestured, but Dagon
huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, clearly
intent on remaining where
he was.
Once again he sneered at Ozemir, " such a dog you
are, Scholar. Always aiming
to please." And then he smirked, " I don't see how
Brumek could ever want you.
You would make a terrible mate. I, on the other
hand-"
Ozemir snarled and jumped to his feet. In moments,
he and Dagon were at it
again, fighting viciously, happily ripping each other
to shreds. Hirsha sighed
and watched them a moment, her eyes, completely
pearly white without pupils,
stared unblinkingly at them. It was clear her
children had no intention of
stopping until one or both of them were dead. She
thought she might as well
help with that. A slow smile appeared on the
Mother's face and as it bloomed,
lightening shot down from the sky, striking the two
and blasting them apart.
She stood and slowly moved over to the quiet and
scorched bodies. The putrid
stench of burned flesh and smoke rose from their
lifeless bodies had her nose
wrinkling in disgust. Kneeling down, she placed a
hand on each of their
chests, channeling life back into them.
" You will behave. I have not come to you to waste
precious time." She intoned
darkly when they sat up. The flash of her fangs was
enough to cow both of
them.
Her young ones rose to their feet slowly, completely
healed of injuries
inflicted by each other and by the lightening.
Ozemir returned to his previous
position, kneeling in front of her while Dagon
continued to stand.
" Demon. Your bitterness stems from your jealousy.
You dislike sharing a body,
and now a mate." She held up a hand when Dagon
opened his mouth. " Soon, this
will not be a concern. Soon it will not matter that
you share a body, it will
no longer matter that you must share a mate."
" Why?" he sneered, " because we'll be dead,
correct? We are going to die to
protect the new blood. Tell me something I don't
know, Mother."
Hirsha's soft smile only unnerved him, " stop
feeding guilt inside the
Scholar's mind, demon."
" You didn't answer the death question." But he
nodded anyway. The Mother had
given him an order, and even he must obey her.
" Ozemir." Eyes of pearl captured the Scholar's
complete attention and he was
dismayed to find her face creased in sadness. "
Ozemir, you have brought me so
much pain. You bring me pain everyday. Why do
you continue?"
Ozemir felt tears prick his eyes as he quickly threw
his arms out in front of
him and bent his head low to the ground. He was
not fit to look upon Hirsha in
his shame. " I'm sorry, Mother. I know I can never
be forgiven for my
treachery."
Dagon hissed, " we did nothing but what we were
supposed to do. We should not
be judged for it."
Ozemir did not agree, but he kept quiet and his
head remained bowed.
" Your demon is correct." Hirsha replied softly and
bent to grasp Ozemir's
chin, lifting his face until he was looking at her.
Grasped in her hand was
the bloodied sword he kept in the cursed room. "
Watch closely, my Scholar."
In seconds the sword dissolved into ash and was
blown away with the wind. "
The one who should suffer is Demai'Tah, young
one."
Ozemir was shaking his head, hardly believing, "
But, Mother-"
" No, Ozemir. My pain does not come from the
absence of the old blood, not
anymore."
" What Mother? What else have I done to cause you
pain? Please tell me so that
I may fix it."
Dagon's mouth immediately opened, no doubt
about to spew more insults at the
trembling Scholar. But Hirsha speared him with a
glance that shook the ground
beneath his feet and his mouth snapped shut right
quick.
" Ozemir, I have given you a gift."
" A gift?"
" Yes. A gift you continuously refuse. This is what
brings me pain. All across
the realm, others are happily receiving their gifts,
but not you."
" I don't understand. What gift, Mother?"
" Brumek, you brainless twit! Our Mother speaks of
Brumek. Of mates. _Ukatae_
are finding their mates again. Hirsha, how stupid
can you be!"
Hirsha nodded when Ozemir looked for
confirmation. " I don't deserve him. Not
after what I've done."
" Finally something we can agree on. You are weak
and you do not deserve him."
Dagon happily remarked.
Hirsha smiled softly and grasped Ozemir's arms, and
he allowed the Mother to
pull him up. He soon found himself wrapped in Her
embrace.
" I've been following you since your birth, my
darkling. Oh how you brought me
joy. There are few of my children who have been
able to keep my attention so
closely. But you do. I am overwhelmed by pain
when I see how much you suffer.
How much you allow yourself to suffer. You've
changed because of it, young
one. Do you wish to see me in pain?" She asked
after pulling away.
" No, Mother. Never."
" Then stop the pain, Ozemir." She smiled and ran a
pale hand down the side of
his face, " Stop blaming yourself and my pain will
cease to be. I cannot
forgive you…" Ozemir's eyes dropped to the floor
and he felt himself wilting,
until her next words, " for there is nothing to
forgive. You did your duty to
the clan. I say once again, Ozemir. Stop our pain. I
want to see the old
Ozemir. I want to see you with your impatiently
waiting mate. And… I want to
see you help the new blood take their rightful
places as rulers of our realm.
No more sadness for what is in the past."
Ozemir sank down to his knees and started to cry,
his sobs were quieted by
hands pressing against his face. He heard Dagon
growl in fury but Ozemir
couldn't care. It felt like worlds had been lifted from
his shoulders. He
finally felt free and a powerful floodgate had
opened up upon hearing the
Mother's words.
He felt Hirsha place a hand on his head, then trail it
down his ponytail. "
Now, will you go to your mate?"
Ozemir began to nod, then stopped and frowned, "
but he betrayed me with that
demon! He made me drink his blood! He forced
me!" the Scholar turned to shoot
a glare at his demon.
" Ozemir, had you really not wanted it, Dagon
would not have wanted it."
Hirsha replied with a laugh and stepped away.
" Why am I here again?" Dagon demanded. " I
would have been better off
sleeping!"
" You'll be better off dead if you don't watch the
way you speak to the
Mother!" Ozemir said thickly as he finally stood.
When he looked back, he was
disappointed to find Hirsha had returned to the
pedestal and reverted back to
the stone statue. The only difference was that in her
open palms rested a very
old looking scroll. She stared across the courtyard at
nothing in particular,
but a small smile graced her stone lips, a smile that
brought to mind one who
was keeping an amusing secret.
Ozemir went forward to take the scroll, rolling his
eyes as the demon went on
to rant, " I hate deities! She never explained why I
was made to stand here
and listen to all that. Don't be jealous blah, blah,
blah…"
Ozemir turned to his demon with a huge grin
stretched across his face. One he
felt this time. He truly felt more alive and vibrant.
He hadn't felt this good
in over five hundred years… Well, besides when
Brumek had him in his arms, but
that was different.
" Perhaps she wanted us to speak face to face, to
get through our unresolved
issues." Ozemir replied with a bright gleam in his
eyes.
" Breaking your neck is the only thing that will
resolve my issues."
" Round three, then?" The Scholar asked happily
and placed the scroll on the
ground before approaching the demon.
Surprise lit Dagon's face for a moment, before his
own grin spread across his
face and he nodded. " Round three."
Ozemir awoke with a gasp, clutching his burning
chest as he tried to pull in
much needed air. Breathing was made harder by
the blood rushing up from his
stomach and into his throat. He coughed to help
clear it and turned onto his
side to spit out the large amount of blood. When his
mouth was empty and he
could finally pull air in, he rolled back over and
stared at the high ceiling
while running his hands over the wounds he could
reach and heal on his own.
That could have possibly been the best fight he'd
ever had. He waited a moment
after that thought, waiting for Dagon's insult he was
sure would come.
Surprisingly there was no reply of that nature. Only
a comment that could have
been taken as a grudging compliment.
_You haven't fought like that since before our last
assassination assignment.
Now get up and get us healed before we die! _
It took him several minutes to gather enough
strength to get out of the bed.
When he looked at the sheets, he grimaced. Blood
everywhere. He was not about
to go and search out a mirror. He had no wish to
see what sort of look he
presented to the world at the moment. Something
caught his eye. Underneath the
pillow he found the scroll Hirsha left for him. He left
it there, intending to
have a look at it later after he was healed.
Ozemir stumbled out of the room and down the
corridor, wondering where Brumek
could be. After five minutes, he slid down the wall
to rest himself on the
floor. He couldn't believe how great he felt, despite
the physical injuries.
There was still grief and a small amount of guilt and
that would always be
with him. It would be impossible to completely
forget. But he could enjoy life
now until he had to leave it behind.
These thoughts led him to think of the dream. How
had he gotten there? He had
not gone down for a nap, he hadn't even been in his
bedroom the last he could
remember. He supposed none of that mattered.
What mattered was the Mother had
returned. She had not abandoned her children, they
had been forgiven, and she
sought a future for their kind. With Harry and
Draco. Her forgiveness was
apparent. Life mates were being united once again.
She wanted the Ukatae race
to live on. Ozemir could only feel joy with this
newfound knowledge and
Dagon's pitiful wounds could not diminish his good
mood.
_Pitiful? Ha! I almost killed you._
_Almost doesn't equal success, demon. _
A few more minutes passed and Ozemir was on the
verge of passing out when he
heard footsteps approaching. He cracked open an
eye and tried to grin at the
four young ones approaching, but he could only
manage a grimace.
" Ozemir?" Harry was the first to spot him, " what's
wrong with-" it was then
Harry noticed his condition just as he slumped over
in exhaustion," Ozemir!"
The Scholar closed his eyes as the young ones ran to
him," need Brumek and
Talyn."
" I'll go get them. You three help him up and keep
him awake." Hermione said
before running off.
" What happened to you? Were you attacked? "
Draco asked as he slipped an arm
around the Scholar's waist to help him stand.
Ozemir began to giggle like a little girl, " no. Just
beat myself up."
" He's finally lost it," Tom murmured.
" Is it still Saturday? Have I missed the Marks?
Please say I didn't."
" No, we were going there now." Harry replied. How
could Ozemir think about
htat when he looked as if he'd gotten into a fight
with a bunch of giants? "
But Ozemir, you shouldn't worry about that now.
Tom will reschedule for you."
Tom gave him a sharp look, but Harry's glare far
surpassed his. After a
moment, Tom reluctantly nodded, " I suppose if you
really want to be there, we
could cancel until another time."
" No need. I'll be fine once Brumek and Talyn help
with my healing."
" Ozemir, seriously..." Draco shook his head in
bafflement, " how did you get
so beat up?" The Scholar may be a little ditzy, but
he was still strong and
Draco knew no one had the power or skill to do that
much damage to Ozemir
unless it was Demai'Tah. And if it was him they
needed to know if the clan
master was still around.
" I told you. I beat myself up."
" Okay," Harry said slowly, " the only way that
makes sense is if Dagon made
you run into walls or something."
" No," Ozemir laughed at the thought," happened in
a dream. The Mother was
there and separated the demon from my body.
Dagon and I were two separate
bodies."
" Ah, so you aren't crazy. You fought each other."
Ozemir grinned again, reopening the split lip.
" Just so you know… You look bloody awful." Draco
said, and then grunted when
Harry slammed an elbow into his stomach.
No one saw Brumek approach. Harry was sure the
hallway had been empty except
the four of them, but then suddenly Brumek was
there and swept Ozemir off his
feet. He sat down and cradled the broken Scholar
against his chest.
" Who did this?" he demanded harshly, and then
shook Ozemir when the Scholar
didn't answer. " Answer me stupid! Talyn!" Brumek
narrowed his eyes at the
figure who was walking towards them at a more
leisurely pace, " I can't heal
this quickly by myself!"
Talyn blurred forward and was kneeling in front of
him before the others could
blink and they quickly began to heal the internal
wounds, which amounted to
many.
" How did this happen?" she asked.
" He did it to himself." Harry offered and laughed
outright at the look Brumek
threw him. " I swear. He said in a dream he and
Dagon were separated and
battled it out."
The moment Ozemir felt he was healed enough and
could move without flinching,
he grabbed Brumek's face and pulled him down for
a rough kiss that left the
warrior shaken, confused, and terribly horny.
Tom turned away from the disgusting display and
cleared his throat to get his
brothers attentions. He had to do it twice and
roughly jabbed Draco in the
side to get him to pull his eyes away from the
obviously lost warrior and his
Scholar. " Let's go. I have new recruits to attend to."
Harry blushed and shifted his robes around him. As
they walked away, he
glanced a quick look back.
" Draco."
Molten silver eyes turned to his mate, " after the
Marks are given, lover."
Brumek cursed loudly when Ozemir jerked and
knocked their foreheads together.
" I nearly forgot." Ozemir jumped up and tore down
the hallway yelling about
having to change out his bloody clothes, leaving
Brumek sitting on the marble
floor, breathing heavily, completely addle minded,
and finally glaring after
him.
" Payback is a bitch!" Harry yelled back at him, and
then he took off down the
hallway when Brumek stood and glared at him. He
had no intention of getting
stuck doing another one on one with Brumek while
the warrior was angry and
frustrated.
Severus and Hermione called out to them just as
they were about to enter the
small meeting room they had previously discussed
would be the room where the
Dark Marks would be given.
" Not this one. We've had to change locations."
Tom narrowed his eyes, " and why?"
Hermione snorted, " you'll see."
" Have those to be given the Marks been brought?"
he asked once they were
standing outside of the ballroom. His glare
suggested that better be an
affirmative.
Severus smirked, " they continue to arrive."
Without another word he entered
the room before Tom could question him further.
When Tom and the others entered, they
immediately crossed the large
beautifully crafted ballroom and took up positions
on the dais where was one
high backed chair had been placed. Tom eyed it
before looking at his brothers.
Harry shrugged, " you're the Dark Lord. You have
the last say in the end
here."
" There are seven of us." Tom reminded him.
" And we will stand." Severus moved to where
Hermione stood next to the chair
and slid his arm comfortably around her waist.
Seeing as the room was largely empty, and Harry
was getting impatient to get
his hands on his mate, he pressed back against
Draco and ruffled his wings
against the blonde's chest. The winged Gryffindor
smiled smugly when Draco
groaned and dropped his head to Harry's neck and
inhaled deeply. Just as
Amortia entered the ballroom, along with Lucius,
Sirius, and both Mr. and Mrs.
Weasley, Draco wrapped an arm around Harry's
waist and was quietly backing
them up towards the door leading to the
antechamber. He didn't even wait to
get to the door opened before his teeth sank into
Harry's supple neck. On his
unspoken command, the door opened and he drew
Harry in with him. Hermione
looked just in time to notice what her brothers
were doing and where they were
going and her eyes widened. She didn't get a chance
to warn her irresponsible
siblings before the door shut again. Sighing, she
turned back to greet the
newcomers and then smirked. She would love to
see their reactions when they
realized they weren't alone.
Harry sighed. He was in his heaven. Draco's arm
tightened around him once his
body started to sag as his energy drained. He
moaned and pressed back against
his mate's erection just before a round of gasps
issued from behind them.
Draco spun around, dropping Harry as he did so,
and stared wide eyed at the
people gathered around, staring at him and a barely
moving Harry on the floor.
Some stared at Harry's wings; others were staring at
Draco's fangs, still
gleaming with warm red blood. Most of the looks
were shocked, but a few were
looking slightly disgusted or slightly turned on.
Two of Tom's new recruits were smirking and
walked up to their shocked still
friend. Blaise nudged Draco's arm. " You realize you
let Harry drop to the
ground in your… err... fright?"
Draco spun around with a curse then bent down to
help his mate up, though
Harry was almost a dead weight.
" You killed him! You killed Harry Potter! I knew this
couldn't be real!"
Draco looked over his shoulder and scowled at
whom he recognized as Susan
Bones. She along with Hannah Abbot and another
boy- all Hufflepuffs as
indicated by the horrid colors they wore- were now
inching to the far door;
their expressions saying they thought they had
made a mistake in coming here.
" Blaise, take care of them. Don't let anyone leave.
We'll be right back."
" You better." Ginny said.
" And why does Potter have wings?" Tracey Davies,
a Slytherin boy asked. He
looked curious and had no intention of leaving. In
fact, he sat back and
watched the goings on with amusement. The Patil
twins were there as well,
sitting on each side of him, nodding along to his
question. Draco was having
trouble believing he was seeing the right people.
" Oi! No shagging, Draco!" Blaise shouted.
Draco tried to keep from snarling at his friend, and
at the twitters and sighs
coming from the Patil twins. " I know that! I just
have to revive him. He
needs blood."
Before Blaise and Ginny could advance on the
Hufflepuffs, Ozemir appeared and
clapped in their faces. All three students' eyes rolled
to the back of their
head and they slumped to the floor.
" As if we would let you walk away now that you're
here."
" They were told they have a choice." Ginny told the
extremely happy _Ukatae_.
Ozemir shrugged and returned to the ballroom.
A few minutes later, Harry and Draco returned and
by then the second group of
recruits arrived by port key, surprisingly having
been accompanied by Bill
Weasley. The eldest Weasley sibling brought with
him four Slytherins- Pansy,
Greg, Vincent, and Millicent Bulstrode. Dean
Thomas was among that group as
well, he and Bill being the only Gryffindors, and
then Terry Boot from
Ravenclaw.
Draco and Harry stood shocked, staring at their
classmates. These were not the
recruits they were expecting. " Excuse us a minute."
Draco said then pulled
Harry out into the ballroom.
Harry stormed up to Hermione and Severus, " What
the fuck is going on?"
" Harry you will watch your language." The Potions
Master scolded before he
pulled out a piece of parchment from his robes and
handed it to him. He and
Draco studied the parchment containing a list of
names. Besides the recruits
they had expected, the list also included others
Harry would never have
believed would come willingly for a Dark Mark. And
there were so many.
Draco had to read the list out loud just to make sure
he was reading
correctly, while Lucius and Amortia came up to read
the list over his
shoulder. " Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, Fred
Weasley, George Weasley,
Ginny Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Bill Weasley,
Angelina Johnson, Lee Jordan,
Alicia Spinnet, Pansy Parkinson, Greg Goyle, Vincent
Crabbe, Blaise Zabini,
Terry Boot, Padma Patil, Parvati Patil, Susan Bones,
Hannah Abbot, Owen
Cauldwell (who the hell is that?), Michael Corner, Su
Li, Morag McDougal,
Millicent Bulstrode, and Theodore Nott… Are you
serious? This can't be real."
" Add my name!" Molly called out with
determination.
" What? Molly!" Arthur stared at his wife in shock.
" He's getting my children. He'll get me to!" Molly
said with a firm nod.
Tom's mouth was understandably hanging wide
open.
" Us as well." Frank Longbottom called out and was
seconded by his wife. " We
stand by our boy. We've been apart from him for
too long."
Tom stood and congratulated himself on sounding
in perfect control of his
emotions and managed to sound only bored. " Mrs.
Weasley. I will have a word
with you."
" Of course, dear."
Tom slightly bristled at her caring motherly tone,
but then shrugged it off.
He preferred her sounding like that. She met him
away from the others in an
alcove at the side of the room. " Mrs. Weasley. You
don't have to take the
Mark."
Molly took her time answering and studied him
closely. " You've not used to
people wanting to join you willingly, are you love?
No, you're not." She
finally said. " But I am determined to earn your
respect and my place in this
organization the same as everyone else."
" I assure you, Mrs. Weasley. My respect for you
soared the night of Harry's
Inheritance." Remembering that tirade brought a
grimace to his face.
" Then I will earn my place." She gripped his arm
tightly. " I believe in you
and what you are now trying to bring for our world.
Will you have me?"
" Mrs. Weasley…" he whined, " I don't want to give
you pain. The Dark Mark is
meant to be painful. I'm not sure you can handle it."
Molly looked properly insulted." I can take it!" she
snapped." Try having
seven children and then talk to me about handling
pain."
Tom sighed and ran a hand through his hair in
frustration, " I really don't
like Gryffindors."
Molly smiled. " That's because we bring out the best
in you."
Draco and Harry were still staring at the list, hardly
believing all the names
they were seeing. " Who wrote this, Uncle Sev?"
Harry asked. " This isn't your
handwriting."
" And what makes you think we can trust these
people?"
" Lovegood gave me the list when she arrived at
school, assuring all the names
written were of people who would understand and
want to join with us. And they
would be completely loyal."
" And you believed her? Severus…"
" I'm inclined to believe anything she says
nowadays, Draco. Do you really
think she would put all this, all of us in danger?"
" No, she wouldn't." Harry replied immediately. "
But how did you get the word
out so quickly? How did you persuade them to
come and get the Mark?"
Draco groaned, " please tell me they know they are
here to receive the Dark
Mark. Please, please tell me they know. I do _not_
want to have to deal with
emotional and terrified Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws,
and Gryffindors…"
" They know. It ties in to how they were contacted
and persuaded to attend."
" I would like to know how the names were picked
in the first place." Tom said
darkly as he returned to them.
" Miss Lovegood has taken care of it all. Apparently
she's been working on
this list for some time. Seems she's as driven and
organized as you, Hermione.
It almost seems like she wants you on top more
then anything, Tom."
There was a smirk hidden underneath Severus' light
tone that had the Dark Lord
scowling furiously for no apparent reason. " Where
is she then?"
Severus shrugged.
" Hello, hello!"
" We have arrived! Let the party begin." The
Weasley twins called out as they
entered bringing with them Lee, Angelina, and
Alicia.
Tom sank down into his chair. What was going on
here? He'd never had a turn
out like this before. It almost did seem like it was a
party… How could this
be? It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was the
Dark Lord. He was supposed
to be feared, and yet, he couldn't help feeling a bit
humbled by all the
unconditional support surrounding him. And…
having nearly the entire Weasley
family pledging themselves to him, and the
Longbottoms… who wouldn't feel smug
about that? And Luna did this all? Again he
wondered where she was. He never
answered her request on getting the Dark Mark.
Was she insulted? Could that be
why she wasn't here now?
" Fred, George." He called to them, deciding his
questions about Luna would
have to wait, again. The twins hurried up onto the
platform and made a show of
bowing at his feet, snickering the entire time. He
had an urge to kick their
heads in, because he thought it would be funny. "
No pranks while you're here.
Is this understood?"
The twins lifted their eyes and pouted. " How could
you demand something like
that from us?" Fred asked.
" That's like ordering us to stop breathing."
Tom leaned forward, " I will not repeat myself."
When the twins finally nodded
with a mumbled, " Yes, Lord," Tom sent them away
to the antechamber to stay
with the rest of the recruits. He then sent the
Longbottoms, Molly and Arthur,
who decided he might as well be Marked, into the
room as well.
Harry about had a heart attack when Remus arrived
with Tonks. She waved
enthusiastically at them as she approached.
Hermione rushed over and gave her
a hug, and immediately they started whispering and
giggling like schoolgirls,
shooting glances at both a straight face Severus and
a blushing Remus.
" Hold on! Tonks is on our side? She's not on the
list." Harry said, feeling
sort of lost with all these people coming in for a
Dark Mark. Really, what was
the world coming to? He was afraid to see else was
coming. McGonagall? Hagrid?
That thought left him snickering into his hand,
leaving Draco to look at him
oddly. Harry shrugged and continued to laugh
quietly to himself.
Sirius and Remus pulled Hermione and Tonks apart
and Sirius began to lead the
Auror and werewolf to the antechamber.
The Animagus did not return, leaving Lucius to
glance at the door suspiciously
as he replied to Harry's question, " She was made to
take Veritaserum before
coming. She is not spying for Dumbledore."
" I suppose it's a good thing all this was done sort of
the spur of the moment
thing. Doesn't really give Dumbledore time to figure
any thing out." Harry
mentioned as he watched the Lestrange brothers
enter the ballroom with Dudley.
Rodolphus sighed as they entered and spoke his
thoughts aloud, " why are we
here? They already have enough witnesses."
" Brother, it's to show support. At least we don't
have to worry about getting
tortured this time around."
" Who says?" Rodolphus sighed when he saw his
brother was no longer listening.
He'd caught sight of his current love interest and
was making his way over to
her.
Sirius poked his head out, " everyone is here who is
expected."
" Bring them out and line them up." Tom
announced as he stood.
" Just a minute, Siri." Lucius said quickly when his
husband made to go back
in the room. " You owe me something, don't you?"
Sirius grinned sheepishly. He hoped Lucius had
forgotten, or at least forgiven
his late return. Apparently not. Squaring his
shoulders, he nodded and
approached Lucius who had his wand out. Harry
nudged Draco and motioned to his
father and Sirius. The talking quieted as everyone
watched, wondering what was
going on. Sirius and Lucius were standing face to
face, unmoving. Lucius had a
smirk on his face, while Sirius looked resigned to his
fate.
" What's going on?" Dudley asked Harry.
" Don't know."
Lucius raised his wand and Sirius squeezed his eyes
shut, knowing full well
Lucius was going to make it hurt, whatever he
chose. Otherwise cursing him
would have been pointless.
After a moment, Lucius sighed and dropped his
wand, shaking his head. " It's
not any fun when you know it's coming."
Sirius opened his eyes, " a reprieve? Thank Merlin!"
He rushed forward to kiss
his husband, and then turned away prepared to
scurry back to the room before
Lucius changed his mind. Once his back was turned,
Lucius' pout turned into a
vicious grin and he raised his wand once more.
" _Velliatus_."
" Ooh, ouch." Draco and Tom winced in sympathy
as Sirius went down, falling
head over heals before landing on his back, gasping
as he was attacked by very
painful full body twitches.
While everyone was distracted by watching Sirius
rolling on the ground and
twitching uncontrollably, Rabastan used this time to
sidle up next to Amortia
and try to strike up a conversation. He usually knew
what he was doing, but
since the Healer wasn't anything like the witches he
usually went for, this
was kind of new for him.
" Amortia." He took up her hand to kiss it, and once
again she looked at him
blankly. " It's lovely to see you again." He shifted
until they were nearly
touching, until he could feel the heat coming from
her. Now she was looking at
him suspiciously and pulled her hand away. " What
are you up to, Rabastan?"
" Why do I have to be up to something?" before she
could answer, he pulled a
white rose out from behind his back and held it out
to her.
She took the rose and smiled at him, " Thank you."
Her smile was sincere but
it lacked what Rabastan was looking for.
Understanding of his motives. To his
immense frustration, Rabastan realized she still had
no idea he was trying to
flirt with her. Obviously she had no experience with
this, as if she'd never
been pursued before. What was wrong with the
world, he wondered. She was a
beautiful woman, intelligent and powerful. He was
surprised she didn't already
have a wedding ring on her finger.
Amortia turned from him to look at Lucius, " I
realize that spell has no
permanent harmful side effects but you need to
release him before he ends up
breaking a bone."
" Yes, please!" Sirius gasped out, then howled when
he bit his tongue.
Rabastan moved away and went back to his
brother, planning to lick his wounds.
Damn, this was going to be harder then he thought.
Lucius sighed and cut the spell off and then went to
help his husband off the
floor. Sirius groaned and shuddered.
" That was a good one!" he grinned, " feel better
now?"
" Much." Lucius replied.
" Good." He swept the blonde into a powerful kiss,
surprised when Lucius
didn't pull away and instead kissed him back in front
of everyone. The
animagus was so surprised that he went stiff, until
Lucius began to rub
against him.
" Sirius, the recruits!" Tom snapped.
The Dark Lord's pleasure was evident to all who
stood beside him when the
thirty-three willing wizards and witches made their
way from the side room and
stood below him ready to receive the Dark Mark.
Most of the students came out
of the room looking terrified, not knowing what to
expect of the Dark Lord.
But the moment they laid eyes on him, their fear
instantly changed to shock
when they finally understood fellow classmate
Luther Bailey was actually Lord
Voldemort.
Just as Tom stood ready to call the first intended,
the doors to the ballroom
opened and Luna skipped in, smiling brightly at all
those who turned to see
who dared come late to a meeting such as this.
Many of the students sneered at
her. She was still believed to be flighty and quite
useless and they were
surprised when she waved to those standing on the
dais. Surprised further when
the seven upon it acknowledged her in some way,
and in a respectful manner.
They watched as she skipped up the steps to stand
in front of Tom and pulled
the sleeve of her purple robes down to bare her
shoulder to him.
Tom didn't think he'd been this angry in a long time.
Though his anger was not
directed at Luna; more like he was angry at the
situation. How, if she were
actually a Muse, was he supposed to brand her with
his Mark? Would he get
struck down by lightening? Surely something
ominous would happen if he marred
her beautiful and practically glowing skin.
The indecisiveness he felt was also pissing him off. It
was a weak trait. But
at least none of his inner turmoil showed on his
face. Tom glanced at his
siblings from the corner of his eye. Draco raised an
eyebrow and he could
practically hear the blonde asking why the fuck he
was hesitating. Finally, he
nodded Lucius.
" Luna Lovegood. Do you swear fealty to our Dark
Lord?" the blonde asked
loudly.
" Mmm hmm," she replied with a giggle, " my
devotion is for always, Lord
Voldemort." Tom's eyes narrowed. He was
absolutely certain she'd tacked on a
silent _silly! _at the end of that statement. Tom's
siblings were the only
people who could see how perturbed he was by all
this and only because they
knew him so well.
Draco glanced at Harry, _That's not what she was
supposed to say. And she's
supposed to kneel before answering._
_Since when has Luna done anything the normal
way. Look how flustered Tom
looks. It's great! This is so going on my list. _
Finally Tom raised his wand and pressed it lightly
against her shoulder. He
would not make her kneel. Those who were his
favorites would remain standing
while gaining the Dark mark. The implications of
letting Luna stand was not
lost on the six others standing on the dais and
Hermione shared a knowing
smile with Severus.
Tom looked into Luna's face, into her wide eyes.
They looked more silvery then
gray now. Tom searched for any sign of reluctance,
but there was none. She was
staring steadily back, like the innocent girl she
seemed to be and smiling
softly. He desperately wished to convey how painful
this was going to be for
her. But doing so would also be a sign of weakness,
in his opinion.
" _Morsmordre_."
The oddest thing happened. The Dark Mark formed
on her shoulder and yet she
remained perfectly still, her smile still in place, eyes
unblinking. No sign
of pain whatsoever. Either she was very, very good
at hiding pain, or she
didn't feel it at all. He sincerely hoped it was the
latter. It didn't pass
anyone's notice that Luna stood there perfectly still
the entire time, and
when she stepped down from the dais, all eyes
were on her.
" Neville Longbottom."
Out of everyone, only Luna, Neville, Dean, Fred,
George, Ginny, Pansy, Blaise,
Remus, Sirius, and Molly were kept from kneeling at
his feet. Molly and Sirius
were the last two to be Marked with Molly going
before the Animagus. When
Molly stood in front of the Dark Lord, she
immediately started to kneel, but
Tom reached out quickly to pull her upright.
" Do not kneel."
This made the Weasley matriarch blush. And then
she steeled herself when he
raised his wand after Lucius asked her to announce
her loyalty to the Dark
Lord. She noticed Tom's slight hesitation, though he
was sure no one else did.
Instead of saying anything, she merely shifted so his
wand was pressed more
firmly into her flesh. When her eyes narrowed, just
like they did when she was
about to scold her undisciplined children, Tom
quickly said the word. Since
Lucius was standing beside her, Tom shifted and
grasped her hand in his,
thankful the blonde had made it to where this
action would be blocked to all
the newly Marked below. This action seemed to
help with her pain. Molly's eyes
watered, and a small whimper escaped her lips, but
other then that, she took
it remarkably well.
Sirius was the last and he smirked at his husband as
he climbed up the dais.
He didn't even bother to kneel. Lucius looked less
then pleased to see his
husband prepared to get himself a mark.
" It's only fair, Luce," he whispered before cursing
lowly under his breath
when Tom gave him the Mark without warning.
Tom was smirking at him, enjoying
the expressions crossing the Animagus' face. Once
again he was pleased when
Sirius stood and took the pain without making a
sound.
Finally, when everyone had the Dark Mark, Tom
gracefully lowered himself into
his chair and scanned the mixture of faces. "
Students of Hogwarts. I'm sure
you understand no one at the school knows that I
am Tom Riddle. It will remain
that way until I have said otherwise. Is this
understood?"
" Yes, my Lord."
" Should you mention this meeting to anyone
without a Mark, you will be
severely punished. Is this also understood?"
" Yes, my Lord."
Tom nodded, stood, and then promptly left the
room. Harry smiled, feeling more
excited about seeing so many followers then he
thought he would have been. He
jumped down from the dais, his dark green robes
flowing out around him as he
did so, and paced the line of people. " You see I
have wings, right? That will
also be kept quiet. Most of you already knew Draco
and I weren't wizards
anymore, but are now magical beings of an ancient
race. You are not allowed to
speak of that unless in present company. Is that
understood?"
There were nods all around, and it was obvious by
the nervous look on some of
the faces on his classmates that they weren't sure
how to address him. He
wasn't exactly sure how he wanted every one to act
either, so he looked for
Draco to help. The blonde was far more
experienced in being a leader.
" You'll all go home now, or back to school. When
we want something done, or
need your help, we'll tell you. And you will be
called." Draco said as he
walked down the steps. " Now I don't feel like
explaining myself and neither
does Tom, so if you have questions you feel
absolutely must be answered,
please go to Hermione or Harry, because I'll just tell
you to bugger off. You
should already know what's expected and why
you're here."
" Draco…" his mate groaned with exasperation.
" What?" Draco moved until he was standing chest
to chest with his mate. "
It's my birthday. I can say what I want."
Harry grinned. He couldn't help it. " Birthday's not
until tomorrow, love."
" Don't care," he pouted. " I want my present.
Now." The gleam in his eyes
told Harry the present he was referring to wasn't
anything inanimate.
Fred, George, and Lee started to snicker, while the
adults all looked at each
other in amusement.
" Those of you who haven't been given permission
to stay here over the night
will return to the antechamber where I'll return you
to school via a port key.
And for Merlin sake, keep your Marks hidden."
Severus left a tender caress on
Hermione's cheek as he passed her to lead the
students away. Hermione nearly
hissed at him. They were still being watched.
Draco scanned the room and noticed the burning
look in Ozemir's eyes as he
studied his mate from across the room where
Brumek stood trying to ignore the
world. Draco pulled out a small red book with a
smirk as he walked to the
warrior.
" What's this?" Brumek asked when Draco handed
the book over.
" Open it."
Brumek eyed Draco for a moment before opening
the book and skimming through
the pages. His eyes widened page after page until
he snapped the book closed
and took a deep shuddering breath.
Draco was chuckling darkly. Seeing Brumek all
flustered was something he hoped
to see often. " It's obvious you've never had sex
with a male before. Ozemir
may have been into males already but he's a virgin,
so I doubt he'll know what
he's doing… You don't want your first time to suck
do you?"
" Interesting choice of words." Brumek replied. He
couldn't meet the young
one's eyes so he continued to stare at the red
cover.
Draco thought he would have to convince the
warrior to take the book, but
surprisingly the warrior kept it gripped in his hand
and nodded curtly to
Draco.
" You should try the one on page twenty-six. It's-"
" Stop right there. I have no need for images of you
and your mate doing the
things in this book popping into my head." With
another nod, Brumek quickly
left the room. When Draco turned around, it was to
see Ozemir grinning like a
fool at Brumek's back, and Draco wondered if the
Scholar had heard any of
their conversation.
Brumek and Falde sequestered themselves off to
study maps, going over the
territories their forces currently controlled. Brumek
sat with his elbows on
the table, staring blankly at the large detailed map,
while Falde stood and
pointed out specific sections to be discussed. It was
obvious Brumek wasn't
paying the least bit of attention to what his
commander was saying. In fact,
all he could really think about was the book he had
tucked into the back of
his pants, feeling the cover pressing against his skin.
" Am I boring you?" Falde asked flatly. His tone
snapped Brumek to attention
and he quickly shook his head.
" My apologies."
Falde sighed, " I understand the stress you're under,
but this must be done."
" I apologized. I'm fine. Let's go on." It was a lie. He
wasn't really fine.
He felt like he'd been spinning in circles for hours,
left disorientated and
completely confused and cursing Ozemir for leaving
him in this condition to
begin with. He didn't understand why Ozemir kissed
him… the stubborn bastard
was supposed to be angry with him.
" Is it the Mates' Call? Are you in pain?" Falde asked
with more concern then
Brumek wanted to hear. It only pissed him off more.
" I've already said I'm fine, Commander!" Brumek
squeezed his eyes closed,
feeling the headache he'd been battling all day
coming back with a vengeance.
" I just- He's so strange! I don't get him…" The
young warrior slumped in his
chair and mumbled, " I have no idea why I'm
bringing this up with you."
Falde snorted, " It's not the first time we've talked.
I've known you since
you were a baby, Brumek. You are one of my finest
soldiers, but you're also my
friend and a confidant. I believe we know each
other well enough to talk about
personal matters."
" What is Ozemir to you?"
Falde looked startled by the question. " Hmmm…"
Brumek perked up a bit. He'd caught Falde by
surprise and it was obvious the
older _Ukatae_ had no idea what to say or even if
he knew what the question
meant. " You were with me the first time I met
Ozemir at the Citadel." He
explained further, " you both acted as if you knew
each other very well… So
what is he to you?"
Falde nodded that he understood, " Ozemir is the
son of my mother's sister's
son. I thought you knew that."
Brumek stared. That was definitely not the answer
he expected. " How would I
come to know that?" Brumek snapped. " It's not as
if Ozemir and I have lengthy
conversations. He was always happy enough to
annoy the hell out of me and once
that was done, he would leave me be…."
Falde snorted. " That's the truth."
" …and then the minute I realize I want to talk to
him, to get to know him,
the stupid Scholar decides it's time to stay away and
hide from me!" Brumek
ended by slamming his fist on the table.
Falde chucked as he began to roll the map up, " I
haven't heard you whine like
this since you were a young one." There was no
point in continuing to try to
work. Not now that he'd started Brumek on this
tirade. And he suspected Brumek
needed to talk.
Brumek ran a hand over his tired face. " I want my
mate, Falde. I want
Ozemir."
Falde paused in his actions, and watched his friend
sympathetically, " I know.
Give it some time. Ozemir… he needs to come to
the realization that he was not
at fault for his actions against the realm before he
can allow himself to be
happy with you like he wants."
" It will take a miracle for him to realize he's not at
fault. I can't really
blame him, what with that demon inside him. And
he's so stubborn. I don't want
to wait forever. Even if he comes to me, because he
will very soon, I won't
have all of him."
" How do you know he'll come to you soon? How
can you be certain?"
Brumek allowed himself a smug grin, " because I
made him drink my blood." And
then he was looking defeated once more, " that's
why when he comes to me, it
wont be because he wants to."
Falde looked thunderstruck. " You made- Brumek,
you idiot! No wonder he was
acting like the demon when I finally cornered him
yesterday. He almost took my
head off. And he was not Dagon at the time."
" I didn't know what else to do. I was desperate."
Falde finally sat down across from Brumek and
neither of them noticed when the
door opened. " I guess we all make mistakes." The
older warrior concluded.
" Mistakes in life are essential for growth and
learning," Ozemir chirped as
he shut the door. He flashed a grin when both
warriors turned to him in
surprise.
Brumek watched in silence as the Scholar sauntered
over and took the seat
directly beside his and ran a hand down his arm to
chase away tension created
from the Mates' Call. But now there was a whole
different kind of tension
overtaking him. He had no idea what was going on.
In all rights, Ozemir should
be trying to kill him, or doing some sort of bodily
harm. Instead he was
sitting there, looking back and forth between him
and Falde, and sporting that
stupid goofy grin! What in Hirsha's name was he to
do?
Thankfully Falde thought the silence stretched on
long enough, " Brumek didn't
know we're cousins."
Ozemir looked surprised for a moment, but then
that bright smile was directed
solely on Brumek, whose headache instantly
vanished at seeing that smile. "
Well of course he didn't know. Never pays
attention. Do you Brumek? You miss
so much when all you think about is fighting. It's a
wonder you made it
through your studies… You did leave the Academy
with a completed education,
didn't you?" his tone suggested he didn't think so.
" Excuse me? You insufferable Scholar! I'm not an
idiot! Of course I finished
Academy."
" Could have fooled me."
Brumek, not having any idea about what was going
on, and being thoroughly
angered by it, shot out of his chair and headed for
the door. " You are one
gigantic pain in the ass!"
Ozemir's laughter filled the room as the door was
slammed behind the fuming
warrior.
" You're just being mean," Falde stated with a
chuckle. " Playing with him
while he's so torn up about you. I thought you were
more sensitive then that."
Ozemir replied with a wicked grin, " he deserves it.
Making me drink his
blood…."
Falde studied the Scholar for long moments before
he replied, " something
happened to you."
" I dreamed of the Mother. Essentially she told me
to stop being an idiot and
to be happy with Brumek. It wasn't just a dream…"
" Then go already. I'm tired of being out of it and
I'm not sure how much more
Brumek can take. He's suffering."
Ozemir stood and bowed a little, " Good, he
deserves a little suffering."
" You know damn well he's suffered more then just
a little."
" We'll be going to the temple. Is that alright with
you, Falde?"
Falde nodded, " but I want you two back before
midnight. They expect something
to happen with Draco's Inheritance."
Ozemir shook his head. " They've forgotten he's no
longer human. It won't be
the same for him as it was for Harry."
" Fine then. Take the time you need, but return
sometime tomorrow." Ozemir
smiled and waved as he practically skipped out of
the room, leaving Falde to
sigh with relief. " Thank Hirsha!"
" Brumek!"
The warrior ignored his mate and continued down
the hall, intent on finding
one of the young ones to spar with. Ozemir and his
ceaselessly changing
emotions could go to hell for all he cared!
Ozemir called out again, this time in a singsong
voice, " oh, Brumek…" he
laughed when he heard the warrior growl
underneath his breath. Ozemir caught
up when Brumek suddenly stopped walking, though
he did not turn to face him. "
Falde says you should accompany me to my
temple." He whispered the lie close
to Brumek's ear.
" Go away."
" No, I don't think I will. Besides, didn't you hear?
You have to come with
me."
" Take Talyn."
" Brumek," the Scholar slowly rounded the stiff
warrior and smiled softly. "
One would think you don't want me around."
" And they would be right!" he snapped.
Ozemir grinned and wrapped an arm around his
mate's waste and immediately
Shadowed them away to India, hoping they would
arrive before the sunset. Once
they landed, Brumek pulled away and looked at him
warily, as if expecting him
to attack. But Ozemir continued to smile and
conjured his mirror and at the
same time wondering what that object was he felt
under Brumek's tunic at his
back. When the temple was set free from the
mirror, Ozemir turned to face his
mate. He wondered why Brumek was so angry.
Wasn't it obvious he was no longer
angry with him? He didn't realize Brumek was
completely oblivious. He didn't
catch on to the clues that Ozemir was ready to
become his mate in all ways.
The warrior was convinced he'd been brought to
the Jade temple to get his butt
kicked by the Scholar/assassin.
They stood facing each other, both thinking
different things, and Brumek
couldn't understand why Ozemir was suddenly
looking nervous. Why would a
seasoned assassin look nervous about inflicting
painful revenge upon someone?
The only reason why he was standing there waiting
for it was because he knew
he deserved the beating. But that didn't mean he
was going to wait for the
beating patiently.
" Let's hurry up and get this over with!" he finally
snapped. " I don't want
to be here all day!"
Ozemir reeled back as if he'd been physically hit, his
smile falling away to
break into a million pieces at Brumek's feet. " But
you said… I thought you
wanted- " the Scholar cut himself off. He wasn't
going wilt like a delicate
flower just because Brumek apparently lied! Now
he knew. Brumek thought mating
with him was a nuisance. A job that had to be done.
Oh typical. Just when he
seemed to gain his feet, the warrior was going to
pound him down again. Ozemir
lifted his chin and left the scowling warrior alone
and quickly walked down
the hill to his temple, his sanctuary. He didn't care if
Brumek returned to
England, nor did he care if the temple disappeared
again leaving the warrior
unable to enter.
Brumek felt like pulling his hair out. No, he thought
as a loud growl
reverberated deep within his chest, what he really
wanted to do was set the
whole bloody world on fire! His anger bubbled up
and he released a long
frustrated yell into the air. Was he doomed to this
emotional torture for the
rest of eternity? The warrior spit out curses as he
walked down the hill after
his mate, and then began to jog when he
remembered the temple would soon fade
away again if he didn't enter in time.
Ozemir was nowhere in sight when he entered.
After calling out several times
and receiving no answer, he looked around in
confusion. Why were they here
again?
" What is going on here?" he muttered as he strode
down towards Ozemir's
treasure trove, certain Ozemir had gone straight to
that cursed room, as he
always did when he was there. And if he had gone
there Brumek was going to be
the one dishing out a beating… The large doors
leading to the treasure cave
were open when he arrived outside of it. Brumek
hurried to the back, intent on
dragging Ozemir away, only to find the oval room
was empty. And changed.
The curse was gone as well as the sword, and the
orange glow of the torches
made the room seem warmer instead of feeling
cold and empty…. The scowl
slipped off his face as soon as he realized what was
happening. Brumek groaned
at his stupidity and for the first time ever wished to
crawl under a rock
somewhere to hide from his shamefully slowwittedness. He now understood why
Ozemir was acting the way he was and why Brumek
had been brought to the one
place Ozemir treasured most of all, next to the
citadel.
Brumek left in a daze to search out his mate, who
was no doubt once again
sulking because he couldn't comprehend the
simplest things in a timely manner.
But as he made his way up towards the
bedchamber, the anger at himself slipped
away to make room for the delicious anticipation
coursing through his veins
and when he stepped into the room he was happy
to see his mate sitting at one
of the low tables in the center of the room tapping
his nails on it as if
thinking out a problem.
" I thought you would have gone back." Ozemir said
without turning to look at
him. " But then again, I should have realized you
wouldn't. After all, you
want to get this over with, correct? So the Mates'
Call will leave you alone."
A silent groan passed through the warrior as he
remembered his earlier words,
" dammit, Ozemir. I thought you brought me here
to fight me for making you
drink my blood. I had no idea we came here for the
purpose of sealing the mate
bond."
Ozemir huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "
then you're stupid."
" This time, yes." Brumek crossed over to the bed,
pulling off his tunic as he
moved, quickly hiding the young one's book within
the material before tossing
it down amongst the cushions. Ozemir stood slowly
as he watched this and
gulped back a moan of pleasure at seeing his mate's
naked torso. Brumek was
clearly making himself comfortable. He was sitting
on the bed now and began to
remove his boots.
" So does this mean you want-"
The warrior's eyes were wide with excitement when
he pinned them back on
Ozemir, " Hirsha, yes! Right now. This very
moment!"
Ozemir would have laughed if he wasn't so terribly
nervous. At the moment
Brumek looked as if someone had just handed him
the deed to a sweets shop. No
one else probably knew, but Ozemir was aware of
Brumek's secret sweet tooth.
He was almost as fond of candy as he was of
weapons.
The Scholar took a deep breath and let it out before
speaking. No amount of
training had prepared him for this, and his lack of
knowledge made this moment
twice as terrifying. " I don't know what I'm doing?"
he admitted softly. " I
have no idea how to proceed. I've never been with"
" So you don't know everything… I knew you
weren't as smart as you tell
people." Brumek grinned at the affronted look
crossing Ozemir's face.
" Bastard! I'll have you know I'm brilliant. And
besides, you don't know what
you're doing either. You've never been with a
male!"
" That's true." Brumek licked his lips as his gaze
traveled over the Scholar's
clothed body, " but I know what I want. And I know
what I want to do to you.
All you need to do is come here and I'll take care of
everything."
Ozemir shook his head and remained fixed in the
center of the room. Brumek
rolled his eyes, but when he spoke his voice was so
gentle that Ozemir
trembled from the vocal caress, " come here,
Ozemir. I'll take care of you.
Let me take care of you like I've been wishing to."
Brumek was pleased to see the tone of his voice
worked to release Ozemir of
some of his fear and the Scholar slowly approached
the bed, eyes firmly on the
warrior's chest. And then the Scholar was standing
in front of him, staring
down into his gray eyes, looking hungry and scared
at the same time. But the
lust he saw far outweighed the fear.
The warrior took his hand, caressing his palm with a
calloused thumb. At first
he thought the Scholar was too soft, but of course
his opinion had changed
drastically since. Now Ozemir was nothing but
perfection and that including
his annoying quirks.
Brumek pulled Ozemir down until he had the
Scholar straddling his lap. The
warmth that seeped into his skin had Brumek
groaning and he buried his head
against the Scholar's chest. His arms tightened
around his mate almost
painfully when Ozemir whimpered his name.
" You are here, aren't you?" Brumek asked, his voice
low and soft, " on your
own free will?"
Ozemir's laughter bordered on the hysterical, and
Brumek hid his grin against
the Scholar's white tunic. " Yes. I had a dream and
the Mother freed me…"
Brumek pulled back to stare into the face of his
mate, knowing Ozemir intended
to babble on until he'd sucked in all the oxygen
from the room. " Please shut
up." He begged. " Yes was a good enough answer.
The rest can wait until after
I've had you." With that said, he pulled Ozemir's
tunic off and threw it away
somewhere to get lost with his. Next he swiftly
pulled the ribbon out of
Ozemir's hair and watched in appreciation as white
hair cascaded down, flowing
down the Scholar's back and over his shoulders. He
was reminded of the first
time he'd seen the Scholar standing high up on the
tower at the citadel.
Ozemir gripped his shoulders and smiled as he
raked his fingers through that
fine hair. He was overcome by such tenderness for
his mate, seeing Ozemir
staring at him with complete trust and love, that he
trembled from that look.
He hadn't known how he would react to that, being
loved by Ozemir, being shown
and told by his mate, but he found it wasn't nearly
as terrifying as he
thought it would be.
He twisted around and lay Ozemir on his back
before crawling over him. When
his mouth descended, Ozemir lifted his head to
meet him half way. Brumek
started off meaning to drive away both of their
nerves by making it brutal and
hot, with teeth and tongues and the passion that
always seemed to reside
between them. Later, he realized that was a
mistake. He should have been slow,
careful from the very beginning, but unfortunately
he couldn't seem to help
himself. Something was stripping his senses and
control away and driving him
forward.
But Ozemir didn't seem to mind the quickened pace
and responded in kind,
wrapping his arms around Brumek's back, bringing
the warrior down so he was
stretched out and pressed against him. Moving into
the mating at this pace
insured he wouldn't have time to think and
therefore start doubting his
attractiveness or his ability to please Brumek.
And besides, the pressure of his mate above him
was glorious. Leaving him
wanting more, and quickly. He nipped at Brumek's
lips and hummed in pleasure
when the skin broke and blood filled his mouth… He
grinned and let the blood
slide down his chin when Brumek pulled back with a
growl. The Scholar gasped
at the hot dangerous passion swirling in his mate's
eyes.
" You made me wait so long!" The warrior's eyes
were starting to glow, his
nails lengthening. The bond was controlling
Brumek's actions, his instincts.
The bond would not allow their first mating to be
gentle and slow. It was
going to rough, fast, and animalistic. Despite that,
Ozemir felt himself
tremble with anticipation instead of fear. He could
take the pain the first
time would undoubtedly cause, he was going to
love the pain…
And just to make sure, he batted long white
eyelashes at his mate, his violet
eyes nearly black from the heat of his desire, "
perhaps I should make you
wait long-" he yelped in surprise when he suddenly
found himself on his
stomach.
Brumek's hot breath hissed against his ear, " try it,"
he challenged. Ozemir
didn't have time for a reply of any kind before the
rest of his clothing
disappeared and Brumek's rough hands were all
over, his nails scratching and
marking his property. And then he grabbed
Ozemir's long hair and jerked him
onto his hands and knees. He may not have had any
experience with this but now
it seemed that didn't matter. Brumek was driven
and seemed to know exactly
what he was doing.
Morning dawned and a soft sigh issued from
Ozemir's lips as he turned onto his
side, snuggling into the firm warmth next to him.
His eyes popped open when
something warm tightened around his waist. That
something was Brumek's arm and
the firm warmth next to him was his mate, sleeping
with the most peaceful
expression that Ozemir had ever seen on the
warrior's face. He couldn't stop
the urge and trailed fingers across Brumek's face,
caressing the contours, his
lips, nose, high chiseled cheekbones… and feeling
extraordinarily pleased that
he was probably the only person in the world to see
Brumek's face so peaceful.
Brumek murmured something in his sleep that
sounded suspiciously like " sleep,
stupid." His grip around Ozemir lightened as he
rolled over onto his stomach.
Ozemir sat up, having no intention of going back to
sleep. His body ached, but
not painfully so. He felt deliciously used actually.
And now he wanted a hot
bath to soak in. He would let his mate sleep in for a
while.
He quietly left the bed and grabbed one of his silk
wrappings as he made his
way to the door, only stopping when he came
across Brumek's tan tunic.
Something red captured his attention and he bent
down, hissing from the pain
in his backside, to pick it up and was surprised to
find it was a book. The
books covering was dark red and velvet and it had
no writing or title to
indicate what it was exactly, which made the
Scholar assume it was a journal
or something like that. He was tempted to peek
inside, but decided against
that. Unlike Brumek, he wasn't about to betray the
trust of his mate.
He descended the levels of the temple in a happy
haze, thinking of only Brumek
with his trademark grin plastered on his face, and
finally made his way to the
hot springs. Once he was immersed in one of the
natural hot springs, his eyes
shut and he sighed in bliss as the heat took care of
the aches. Brumek had
been unable to help himself with the way he took
Ozemir. The Scholar knew that
and did not hold his pains against his mate. But he
knew Brumek would. The
warrior was far more sensitive than anyone knew
and once awake, he would be
bursting with guilt. However, Ozemir had no
intention of letting the warrior
stew in remorse. Not only was it pointless, but also,
despite the roughness of
the act, Ozemir thoroughly enjoyed their mating.
Ozemir grabbed one of the jars along the edge of
the pool and scooped out a
handful of sandsoap. He dipped it into the water
and immediately the sand
began to bubble and emit a light unobtrusive
fragrance. As he washed, Ozemir
thought about the actual mating. After he'd been
pulled to his hands and
knees, Brumek had erected mirrors around the bed,
explaining in a hoarse voice
that he wanted Ozemir to see himself being taken
from behind, see the strength
with which he was taken.
The look on Brumek's face the moment they finally
joined would forever be
burned into his mind. The warrior's pleasure and
astonishment had mirrored his
own. And then Brumek had bit down on his lip and
groaned loudly, trying
desperately to find some control. Ozemir might
have been able to help then,
but all he did was smirk at Brumek's reflection and
push back against the
warrior, clenching his tight muscles around the hard
throbbing cock inside
him. Brumek cursed Ozemir loudly and then wildly
thrust into him over and over
again. Ozemir blushed with embarrassment,
remembering the cries of passion
that had left his own lips… And he remembered
quite clearly passing out at
least twice. Brumek was an animal when left
without control. Of course he'd
already known that, as he'd seen the warrior fight
on the battlefield on
numerous occasions. The warrior liked to go berserk
when fighting his
enemies….
" I told you to go back to sleep."
Ozemir nearly slipped beneath the water, he was so
surprised. How could the
warrior do that? No one was supposed to be able to
sneak up on him. Apparently
he needed to start training again. When he twisted
around, he felt his body
react pleasantly to the sight of Brumek standing
there without any clothes on.
Well… just wow!
" You called me stupid." Ozemir finally managed. He
returned to his washing
and smiled, " I don't listen to you when you call me
stupid."
" You don't listen at all." Brumek looked around and
grimaced. The area was
nearly as disgraceful as Ozemir's room. Large
cushions thrown about with silk
wrappings everywhere. He needed to remind the
Scholar there was such a thing
as too much silk. " What do you need all these
pillows for?"
Ozemir snorted at the disgust in Brumek's voice
before slipping under the
water to wet his hair entirely so that he could wash
it. When he resurfaced,
Ozemir nearly screamed like a little girl when he
found Brumek sitting beside
him. Again, how did he not notice the big warrior
entering the pool?
Without a word the warrior pulled the shocked
Scholar over to sit in front of
him. Ozemir sat there stiffly, in every way, though
he felt ridiculously happy
and pleased, especially when he felt the warrior's
arousal against his
backside as Brumek shifted to reach over and grab
one of the numerous jars of
soap.
" Stop." Ozemir said as soon as he realized Brumek
intended to wash his hair
for him. It wasn't the fact Brumek wanted to do it, it
was the fact he was
about to use soap that wasn't made for his hair. "
You're going to ruin my
hair should you put that in it."
Brumek rolled his eyes, " where's the blasted
shampoo then?"
" On the other side. You don't have to wash my hair.
I'm perfectly capable of
doing it myself."
" I want to do it."
Not another word was spoken until Ozemir's hair
had been soaped and rinsed.
Brumek swore to Ozemir he'd never do it again
because the Scholar insisted his
hair be washed three times. Three! He said he
would never do it again, but he
was already looking forward to when he could.
There was just something so
erotic about running his fingers through the hair of
his mate. Especially when
it was wet, slightly curling, and plastered against
Ozemir's fine porcelain
skin… He itched to touch Ozemir again, all over. To
make love to him for as
long as he could… Of course he couldn't do that, not
after last night, not
after he'd practically raped his mate.
Brumek turned Ozemir around so they were face to
face, but kept the Scholar a
distance away. " There is no excuse for what I did to
you, Ozemir. I promised
to take care of you." Brumek dropped his gaze to
the water. He didn't think he
deserved to lay eyes on his softly smiling mate. " I
failed miserably. And I
don't deserve to ask for your forgiveness. All I can
do is say that I'm
sorry…"
Ozemir scooted forward, " One has no choice once
control has been taken from
you. That's all there is to it. There is no need to
apologize. It was the
bond, Brumek. You know that."
Brumek hissed, his guilt vanishing to be replaced by
annoyance brought on by
the hypocrisy, and the truth, of Ozemir's words. " I
should hit you for saying
something like that. Especially after all the grief
you've given me over our
bond."
Ozemir adopted a pout while his questing fingers
traveled down beneath the
water. " I want you to hit me." Fingers found the
destination and wrapped
around his mate's hard cock, " but not with your
hands."
" Don't do that." Brumek gasped, though he made
no move to pull those graceful
fingers off of him. In fact he couldn't help but twitch
his hips, turning
Ozemir's pout into a coy smile. " It's too soon. I'm
not about to hurt you
again."
" But you obviously want me." Brumek's brow
furrowed and he was going to keep
protesting, despite the twitching of his traitorous
body, but Ozemir hadn't
finished what he wanted to say. " Must I remind you
that we do have the
ability to heal each other. Try and use the mind I
know you have hidden far
away in there. Use your imagination… and heal me."
Brumek smirked and swept him out of the pool and
soon had him trembling and
moaning on those pillows. Hands touched him
gently, caressed him in maddening
slowness, and mapped out his form with a
tenderness that was driving him crazy
with desire. Ozemir was sure he was blushing under
the intense study of eyes
so dark and ravenous.
And then his lips were being tasted and savored.
Thoroughly. Everything the
warrior did was thorough. He took his time learning
his mate's body, and
Ozemir didn't think there was one spot the warrior
had not focused his lavish
attentions on. Brumek cradled his head as returned
to his lips, kissing him
softly, their lips and tongues brushing together as
soft caresses. The kiss
was so gentle that Ozemir couldn't help but look at
his lover in delighted
surprise.
Ozemir's eyes closed in heavy bliss… and then
immediately popped open again
when he felt Brumek's large fingers stroking him,
both his cock and the
puckered hole and he arched off the floor with a
small keening cry of
pleasure.
He couldn't stop shaking, his nerves were stretched
so tight and he was
feeling things he never felt before. Certainly he
never had someone's fingers
up his bum before, or had fingers around his cock
pumping up and down in time
with the thrust of fingers. He closed his eyes tightly,
unsure whether he
could take all he was feeling. It almost seemed like
too much…
" Relax, Ozemir… stars, you're so tight!" Ozemir
tried to speak but the words
eluded him. When Brumek noticed this he chuckled
and bent down to nuzzle his
mate's neck, " finally a way to get you to shut up."
Ozemir's hiss turned into a strangled cry when
Brumek set the Scholar's skin
on fire with his tongue, devouring his body like a
feast. Gods! His mouth was
_everywhere_! Tongue licking, teeth nibbling…
Ozemir thought he'd be able to
gain a breath when Brumek's lips pulled away from
his hardened nipples, until
he felt that sexy mouth wrap around his weeping
cock. Ozemir's yell echoed
around them and he decided then and there to stop
being surprised by anything
Brumek did. It was just… he never expected the
warrior to do certain things
this soon into their newly formed physical
relationship.
And then Brumek added another finger, watching
intently for his reaction, and
sucked quite hard, leaving him gasping for breath,
clutching the warrior's
head in his hands while his thoughts instantly
disappeared.
Brumek made a small sound mixed between a moan
and a grunt. He was completely
enthralled by the sounds of pleasure, the gasps of
surprise, and wanton moans
of his mate. This was how he wanted to take Ozemir
the first time. Delirious
and writhing beneath him. He wondered how he
could have ever thought that he
mightn't feel comfortable with the way he was
touching Ozemir now, because he
had had some doubt in the recent past. But the
moment he slipped a finger
inside the Scholar, when he took his cock into his
mouth, he almost lost it.
It felt so familiar and right, but at the same time
totally wrong. He loved
it. The taste of Ozemir, the feel of him would never
leave the warrior, and he
knew he would never get enough. And Ozemir
seemed to like when he used his
fingers to spread and prepare his body because he
was begging for more. Brumek
had no problem with listening to the demands of
the Scholar this time.
Mouth firmly around his lover's cock, Brumek
shifted his gaze to Ozemir's
face, finding the Scholar had his head thrown back,
exposing the smooth column
of his neck. Brumek's fingers brushed against
something significant and Ozemir
stiffened and screamed in obvious pleasure. He
realized he should do it over
and over again as Ozemir began to thrust against his
fingers, calling out for
more, and when Brumek felt the Scholar's muscles
tightening around his
fingers, all he could do was keep sucking, twisting
his tongue around his
love's wonderful cock and watched, savoring every
sight and sound as Ozemir
came violently into his mouth.
Ozemir came loudly, spilling his seed down the
warrior's throat and Brumek
swallowed it all, without complaint and without any
indication that he was
disgusted with the act. Such a sight had the Scholar
hardening again and at a
rate that surprised him. It was obvious by his look
that he thought Brumek
would not have liked that, but it was the exact
opposite actually. The warrior
couldn't wait to do it again.
Brumek shifted over his lover with a smug smirk
gracing his heated face, and
before the Scholar could gain his breath and senses,
he lifted his hips and
thrust in. A surprised gasp left him as his cock was
surrounded by wet muscled
warmth. The feeling that he never wanted to leave
this moment, leave this
blissful feeling overwhelmed him. Why the hell had
he stayed away from the
Scholar for so long before they knew about the
bond? Had he known the kind of
bliss Ozemir could give, the peace brought to his
mind and body, Brumek would
have held on tightly to the Scholar after their first
meeting. He would have
staked his claim at the citadel, not caring that they
weren't considered mates
at the time.
" Brumek?"
Ozemir's concerned whisper brought him back to
find his mate watching with
uncertainty. He realized he was buried deep within
his mate and had stopped
moving. He couldn't help it. He wanted to savor
every feeling and emotion this
mating produced in him.
" Something wrong? Have I done something you
don't like? If you don't want-"
Brumek barked out a trembling laugh and then
smiled softly at him. " Idiot."
He pulled out slowly, pleased when Ozemir whined
his displeasure at the move.
Then the warrior noticed his Scholar's eyes as they
turned into expressions of
saddened acceptance and Brumek discovered anger
only added to his desire.
Which was a very good thing. He knew Ozemir
could bring out his anger at the
best and worst of times.
He rammed into Ozemir's unsuspecting body and
hissed, " do I not always inform
you of when you've done something to agitate me?
Stop thinking so much!"
Brumek grabbed Ozemir's hips, ignoring the
trembling of his strong arms, and
lifted higher to allow his slow maddening strokes to
hit a deeper depth, and
Ozemir's relieved laugh turned into a wanton moan
for his effort.
The warrior was shaking more then he ever had
before as he continued to
thrust, and he bent down to capture Ozemir in a
kiss of liquid fire that
engulfed both of them in white hot flames. The
Scholar's tongue joined his in
a slow sensuous dance and he felt arms clinging to
him, seeking everything.
" You're so beautiful," Brumek whispered against
red swollen lips that now
belonged to him. " Everything- I feel everything
when I'm with you."
Ozemir began to cry. He cried and clung to Brumek
and it wasn't exactly a
reaction the warrior expected during their
lovemaking, but he understood and
felt Ozemir's relief at being able to let go, give over
completely without
worry or fear. Brumek kissed away the running
tears and fed off the turbulent
emotions, using it to bring them both over the edge
that quite literally snuck
up on both of them.
When it was over, all he could do was roll over,
keeping Ozemir tight in his
embrace- with no plans of letting his mate go in the
near future- and closed
his eyes against the onslaught of his own emotions.
His climax had been
explosive and he was still shaking from the
aftermath. No one ever mentioned
how life altering it was to make love to ones mate.
Usually he didn't like
surprises, but this one time he was grateful for it.
Turning his head, his lips brushed against the
trembling Scholar's ear, " are
you dead?" was that his voice? All low and hoarse…
well, the completely sated
tone seemed right. When he received no answer,
Brumek lifted his head to peer
at Ozemir, to find the Scholar looking dead to the
world, with a very pleased
smile stretched across his face. He thought Ozemir
was asleep, and once his
strength returned, Brumek scooped him up, bridal
style and prepared to Shadow
back to the bedchamber.
" I found your red book." Ozemir said softly, his eyes
still shut. Brumek
nearly dropped him in surprise, and then blushed
crimson. " I didn't look in
it. Journals are supposed to be private after all."
_Thank Hirsha! He thinks it's a journal. _ That would
have been humiliating
had Ozemir opened it and discovered what it
actually was.
Ozemir opened one eye and grinned at him, " I was
surprised to find it. Didn't
think you could read or write."
The Scholar's laughter was followed by the sound of
splashing water after the
warrior unceremoniously dropped his mate into
one of the hot springs before
stalking off with a furious scowl on his face.
***
A/N: Just so you know, i almost cracked under
pressure with this chapter... I
know most of you feel since its my story i shouldn't
worry about what my
readers reactions are to what i write, but the fact is
i do care. Can't help
it. And the whole Ozemir/Brumek smut scene
almost killed me. Since i've been
leading up to it for so long, i wanted to make sure it
was worth the long
wait. I hope i didn't fail with that. It was just so
hard... anyway, so on
word this chap was forty pages.. and i planned to
have more in it, but forty
pages is as far as i wanted to go.
And i've been getting comments about the lack of
H/D fluff... Sorry! I've just
been concentrating on building other ships... but
our two main characters have
not been forgotten and the fluff will return,
promise!
So please review for me! Please! I'm sweating
bullets here! Ha... umm...
anyway, have a great day!
10. Broken Bonds
**Life Agendas**
**Chapter Ten**
**Broken Bonds**
Tom drummed his fingers on the armrest of his
chair and stared at the Potion
Master. " I still don't see how she could have come
up with that list in such
a short time, Severus. And how could she know they
would be trustworthy."
" You did check their minds before burning the
mark onto their arms." Severus
replied. " So you already know they will be loyal."
Tom's only reply was a frustrated growl that had
Severus' eyes warming in
amusement.
" I think Tom's more concerned with how Luna was
able to come up with those
names." Sirius put in. " She's either being very tight
lipped about her
abilities, or she doesn't know what she can do. She
is a bit, err… flighty
sometimes. I think it's the latter. According to
Harry, she isn't the type of
person to deliberately deceive those around her.
And," Sirius paused to leer
at Tom, " I'm thinking you're the last person on
earth that she would want to
deceive. And I'm not saying that just because you're
the Dark Lord."
" What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Lucius smirked, " I hesitate to say, but you seem to
be rather oblivious in
this type of situation, Tom."
" Oblivious how?" he growled.
Severus rolled his eyes. " It's quite obvious the girl
has a cru-"
" I think it would be better to let Tom figure this out
on his own." Sirius
interrupted with a toothy grin. " You wouldn't want
to spoil all of Luna's
fun, now would you?"
" What the fuck are you all talking about? If you
don't tell me I'll just look
into your minds anyway. And it will not be
painless!"
Severus and Lucius smirked. Tom wouldn't get any
information from them that
way, as they were quite skilled in blocking him from
their minds. Sirius,
however, was a Gryffindor. Which meant he was a
bloody open book most of the
time.
Fortunately, just when Tom narrowed his eyes on
them, and was in fact
preparing to invade their minds, Hermione and
Harry burst through the door,
effectively breaking the Dark Lord's concentration.
" Knocking is usually the polite thing to do before
you barge in!"
Hermione looked properly cowed at her older
brother's berating, but Harry
looked at him oddly as if to say, " Are you kidding?
It's me."
" Sorry." Harry said with a shrug, though he didn't
sound it at all. " Come
on, Tom. The party has already started."
" And? What does that have to do with me?"
" Draco wants you to join us." Harry replied. Tom
opened his mouth to give his
refusal and Harry narrowed his eyes. His smile
faded and when he next spoke,
his tone dripped with warning, " and of course
anything my mate wants, he
gets. You will join us."
The transition between the happy Gryffindor to a
powerful, taking no nonsense
_Ukatae_ was clearly visible and all in the room
were surprised at how quickly
Harry had transformed. The level of magic leaking
from him increased until all
felt its heaviness. It was then Severus truly
understood how his nephew could
actually become the ruler of an ancient magical
race, and seeing Harry like
this, with burning eyes that brooked for no
arguments, his worries about that
were somewhat put at ease. You would have to be
crazy to purposely disobey
Harry when he was like this. Severus felt horrible
things would happen if
Harry weren't obeyed and he wondered how Tom
would react to this.
Tom slowly stood, his face completely blank, and
nodded once to Harry. He was
the Dark Lord, but he was also a _Ukatae_ now,
which meant Harry was still his
monarch, and he'd been given a specific order by
the new blood. Oh, Tom was
angry of course, but he was also impressed. Seems
the new blood had a certain
power over the rest of the race, and since he was
rarely impressed, he would
let this little thing slide for the time being. Anyway,
it mightn't be so bad
to hang out with Draco and the others for a bit. It
was his brother's birthday
after all. And maybe Luna was there, and he might
finally be able to get some
answers from her.
The larger lounge was where Neville, Dudley, Pansy,
Charlie, Blaise, Ginny and
the twins were keeping Draco company and
celebrating the blonde's birthday
with a few bottles of Firewhiskey, and his
impatience for the return of his
mate was waylaid by the copious amounts of
alcohol being shoved into his hands
at every turn.
Draco sat back and studied his friends. He had to
admit having so many people
around, people that he could truly call friends, was
a little surreal. Before,
he'd only really had Pansy and Blaise, but he found
he completely trusted
everyone in the room with him, with the exception
of Dursley- but that was
because he hated the bastard on principle- and he
considered them all friends.
Even Neville. Now there was a wizard he would
once never imagined he would
call friend. But he actually liked the loyal Gryffindor.
Once the bloke had
found his backbone, Draco had found it easy to
accept him into his fold. And
Neville really wasn't as stupid as the blonde
previously thought.
He supposed he had Harry to thank for his
newfound friendships, and it amused
him because he remembered thinking that he
would be the one to bring more
support and true friendship to the Golden Boy.
Stupid Gryffindor… always
ruining his plans.
The blonde studied Neville who was sitting quite
comfortably beside Dursley.
Draco could practically smell the sexual tension
from across the room. And yet
both boys seemed to be doing their best to ignore
it. And that was just
annoying.
" So Dursley? Are you going to tell us what was in
that letter to make Neville
turn into a rabid beast when Weasel took it from
him?" he asked, mentally
laughing at the shocked look on Neville's face. Of
course this was the first
time he'd used the Gryffindors first name, and he
could see the confusion
swimming in his eyes.
" Yeah, Neville. That was awesome." Ginny saluted
him with her shot glass. "
You should kick his ass more often. He's my brother,
but Merlin knows he
deserves it."
" We're just sorry we missed it." Fred mourned.
" Hanging out with Slytherins has obviously had a
good influence on you,
Neville." George put in. All the Slytherins in the
room answered back with a,
" here, here!"
" I thought jumping into fights without thought was
a Gryffindor trait."
Charlie said.
Pansy patted his arm, " yes, but we've brought out
his violent and ruthless
side, haven't we Neville?"
" Well?" Draco went on, staring between Dudley
and Neville. " What was in the
letter? Inquiring minds want to know."
Dudley took a drink and pretended he hadn't heard
the blonde bastard's
question. He glanced a look at Neville and was
surprised to find him scowling
at the blonde. In turn, Malfoy wagged his eyebrows
at Neville before downing
his current shot.
Neville was shocked to say the least. Draco Malfoy
had just been teasing him.
As in teasing like a friend would do to another
friend. Neville hadn't
realized their relationship had grown that far but
apparently it had. That, or
Malfoy was already plastered. Though he highly
doubted that were the case. And
when had they begun to be on first name basis?
" Did you see that?" he murmured to Pansy, who
sat beside him along with
Charlie. " Is he trying to lure me into a false sense of
security, and then
will he attack when I least expect it?"
Pansy giggled, " You're funny, Neville. I never
noticed before."
" No, but seriously. Did you see?" he asked in all
seriousness.
" Calm down, Gryffindor. Yes, he is trying to lure
you into a false sense of
security, and then yes, he will kill you when you
least expect it."
Across from them, Blaise snorted when Neville's
face paled. " Pans, you're
mean."
Pansy grinned and threw an around Neville, " he's
just so easy to play with."
" Yeah, whatever." He was still pissed because no
one had answered his
question. Was Malfoy being serious or not?
" You are funny." Dudley commented from his other
side. When Neville frowned,
Dudley hastened to explain. " In a good way."
Draco sneered." Oh real smooth, Dursley. You're
worse then Brumek, and that's
saying a lot."
Ginny, who always had a good head on her
shoulders, even when inebriated, knew
when a change of topic was required. " So where is
Harry? He's been gone a
long time."
" I don't know." Draco snapped.
Charlie cleared his throat, slightly nervous and
wondering if his presence was
welcome. He knew Pansy didn't mind him there, but
the others he wasn't so sure
about. " Your Inheritance is tonight, right Draco?
Are you worried about that?
Harry's wasn't exactly a normal one. I expect yours
wont be any better."
Surprisingly Draco grinned, " I've been told my
Inheritance took place the
moment I touched Harry during his. I'm inclined to
believe that. The pain was
worse then anything I had felt before and we both
received an exponential
amount of power."
" But how can you be sure?" Ginny asked.
Draco shrugged. " It makes sense. I'm not human
anymore, so wizards' rules
don't really apply to us anymore. And besides,
Ozemir was the one who told me
not to expect anything. And I trust him."
Pansy frowned, " you still trust him even after
finding out what he'll try and
do to you and Harry?"
Draco sat forward and pinned her with a fierce
expression, " I don't want to
talk about that, Pansy. And neither should you. That
is between Harry, Ozemir,
and myself. It has nothing to do with anything right
now."
" Alright, Draco. I'm sorry. I just worry, you know?"
" You'll worry more once you've met Dagon…"
Draco trailed off and stared at
the door.
" Whose Dagon?" she asked.
Draco simply waved her question away as the door
opened to a giggling
Hermione. It became clear why she was amused
when Tom and Harry entered behind
her.
" You little squirt…" Tom was saying with
amusement to Harry, whom he had in a
loose headlock, " try that again in front of my
minions and so help me…"
Neville was still watching Draco wearily, and it was
really a sight to see
when Harry entered the room. The troubled look on
the blonde's face instantly
disappeared to be replaced by a bright smile and
warming eyes the moment Harry
was spotted.
Tom let his brother go and pinned him with a farce
glare, " really, Harry. How
do you expect me to keep people in fear when you
make me do things without
question?"
" What?" Draco asked, " did he use the smile on
you?"
Hermione giggled again as she went to sit down. "
No. Harry went into _Ukatae_
ruler mode. It was very effective."
" Ah, so that's why I felt your magic aura spike."
Draco said as Harry moved
to sit beside his lover.
" Yep." Harry leant into Draco's side so that he could
speak without the
others hearing, " you should try releasing all your
power slowly. It feels so
much better when it's done while you're in control."
" Hmm, I'll be sure to try that tonight, when we're
all alone." Draco slung an
arm around Harry to keep him pressed against his
side, and then both their
attentions went back to their brother who
continued to stand near the door,
scanning the room with a frown on his face.
" Where is Luna?" he demanded. Ginny snickered
and stretched her hand out to
Pansy. The older Slytherin girl huffed and pulled
some Galleons out from the
folds of her robes and reluctantly passed them over.
" Luna wasn't feeling too well." Ginny replied once
she'd safely stowed her
winnings in her pocket. " She went for a lie down.
Mum was checking on her a
bit ago."
" Perhaps you should go check on Luna now." Draco
said cheekily, and then
grinned when Tom scowled and immediately sat
down. And for their impertinence,
Tom made Ginny and Pansy's marks burn for a few
seconds. He didn't appreciate
being bet on.
" Next time it will burn for much longer," he hissed
at them.
Harry and Draco found this particularly funny, but
didn't let it show on their
faces. Tom was the Dark Lord after all and he had to
save face. So they
wouldn't intervene and undermine him in any way.
Besides, it was stupid for
Ginny and Pansy to pass over money like that right
under Tom's nose. The two
girls in question rubbed at their stinging marks and
pouted, while the rest,
except for Hermione, seemed to have drawn back
from Tom, even if it was only
mentally.
Tom could feel the coldness creeping into the room,
and his spirits rose
dramatically. He was tired of those around him
thinking they could let their
guard down while he was near, think that he was
nothing but a friend. He was
the Dark Lord, and he would begin to remind them
of that fact at every turn…
well, perhaps after tonight. He was there to
celebrate his siblings'
birthdays, so he thought relaxing would be okay for
the time being. But once
they returned to school, Tom was going to show
them he hadn't lost his Dark
Lord persona. Not one bit.
" Pass me the Firewhiskey." He said, and Neville
hurried to comply. "
Hermione, you will join me, yes?"
" Of course. I love drinking with you!" Hermione
scooted over until they were
sitting without any air between them. Harry's
eyebrows rose when Tom and
Hermione took their shots from glasses that were
three times the size of
regular shot glasses.
_Sweet! Tom's going to get plastered again._
_Just don't go mentioning his snake fetish. _" Do
you mind sharing with the
rest of us?" Draco acerbically drawled and
wandlessly summoned the bottle to
his hand.
Later, when Hermione was in her drunken giggly
state, and Draco was having a
grand time saying things to set his sister's giggles
off, Harry had the sudden
urge to change and surprised everyone when he
transformed into his panther
form and stretched out at his lover's feet, the
liquors effects making him
slightly drowsy.
" Harry, that's wicked!" Neville cried. The panther
lifted his head and
blinked lazily at him.
" Show them yours." Hermione said to Draco,
ignoring Tom's soft warning growl.
He could see where this was going to lead, and he
was having none of it.
Draco nodded and set his glass down. In the next
moment, a white tiger sat on
the couch, his head regally raised, prepared to take
compliments he knew he
deserved. Of course he received the desired
compliments, though the way he sat
there, so straight and still, everyone else felt the
panther was the more
approachable.
" Oh wow." Pansy whispered and she inched
forward to touch the beautiful
jungle cats. Harry purred and flipped onto his back.
" Guess you want me to
rub your tummy, huh? Yeah, that feels good doesn't
it? Oh you are a cutie…
who's a cutie? Harry's a cutie-" Pansy's baby
babbling was cut off when
Draco's tail swung out to slap her face. " Damn
Draco, that hurt!"
Draco returned to his normal form and glared at
her, " Harry is not a baby.
Stop talking to him like one."
" Draco, relax. Harry's so cute sprawled out like
that. He was enjoying it."
Hermione said. The panther rolled over and climbed
to his feet. His ears were
flattened and he snarled at his mate.
" It was undignified behavior, lover." Draco said,
unconcerned that the
panther was growling lowly at him. The panther
backed up a few feet, then
lowered into a crouch, his head close to the floor,
while his hind legs were
straightened and the muscles bunched as if
preparing to pounce. Draco's brow
rose as he watched this. " Don't even think about
it." A low aggravated meow
was the response Harry had to that. The meow
lengthened into a nasty hiss. "
Harry, I swear… Don't!" Draco yelped and half rose
from his seat as the
panther leaped. Harry's outstretched paws
connected with Draco's shoulders and
the two went tumbling over the back of the couch.
Tom summoned the Firewhiskey bottle back and he
and Hermione went on to pour
more shots, unconcerned about the vicious snarls
eliciting from behind the
couch. It was apparent Draco had transformed
rather quickly back into a tiger.
" Holy hell! What the fuck?" Dudley was entertained
more then he thought he
should be, though there was a little fear that those
jungle cats were suddenly
going to turn on all the soft flesh sitting around the
room. However, as
Hermione looked unconcerned, and he knew she
had the straightest head on her
shoulders, he sat back and watched. " This is
awesome!"
They all cringed when the tiger let out a particularly
loud roar of
indignation. Then the panther came into view,
slowly backing out from behind
the couch with a white tail clutched firmly between
his teeth. Dudley was sure
the panther was grinning around that white
twitching tail. And then a massive
white hind leg emerged and kicked the panther's
grinning maw, hard enough to
stun the panther and allowing the tiger time to pull
his tail free. The tiger
then pounced on his lover, his jaws clamping onto
the panther's throat with a
ferocious growl, though everyone could see he
wasn't applying enough pressure
to wound Harry.
" Bets!" Ginny yelled. " I bet Draco gets the best of
Harry! Twenty Galleons!"
The panther vicious growl at that had Ginny
giggling, but she did not retract
her wager.
Blaise studied the two cats for a moment and shook
his head. " I've got twenty
says Harry will pull through."
" Twenty says it will be a draw." Hermione said.
Tom nodded. " I'm with Hermione." He was sure
this would end with him being
disgusted.
" I bet the same." Charlie put in.
" Dudley, Neville?" Hermione asked.
Both shook their heads, as they didn't have enough
to throw in with such high
wagers. It was easy to know what they were
thinking and Hermione waved that
away. " I'll spot you both. Now what are your bets?"
" Ten on Harry." Dudley said.
" Bet ten on Draco." Neville surprised everyone by
saying. " Hey, it's not
that I'm afraid of him, but I think he's stronger
physically then Harry."
Fred and George who'd been watching intently,
solemnly bet twenty Galleons on
their friend Harry.
Tom and Charlie stood at the same time and moved
the large coffee table out of
the way to make room and every one looked at the
felines expectedly. Both had
stopped their playful fighting to see how the betting
would go.
_Come on then, Malfoy. _
_No way! You nearly tore my tail off!_
Harry stood and started to circle his pissed off mate,
_don't be a pussy,
lover. Surely you're not scared of me. _
_You are so dead, Potter. No one calls me a pussy! _
Charlie ran out of the room just as both cats flew at
each other. He ran down
the hall and threw open the door to the smaller
lounge. " Cat fight, Sirius!
Come on!" and then he ran back, leaving Sirius and
the others staring after
him in confusion. And then they heard the snarls
and roars, and Sirius was
instantly out of his seat and running after Charlie.
" Good Merlin, you meant that literally." Sirius
huffed after racing into the
room to find Harry and Draco in their animagus
forms battling it out with
tooth and nail. Sirius watched them a moment,
noticing there wasn't really any
anger behind the hits, and grinned." Thirty Galleons
says this'll turn into a
full blown snogging session and they'll both be the
winner!" He quickly passed
the money to Charlie who had been picked to hold
it all.
" Are they really fighting?" Severus asked once he
took the fight in. " Did
they get angry with each other?"
" Sevvy!" Hermione bounded over to him and
grabbed his hand. " No, they were
just playing around. Being cute kitties."
Severus groaned, " you're drunk."
" Yes." She pressed against him, " but don't worry.
I'll not be useless in
bed."
Severus glared at Lucius, who began chuckling
under his breath, and pressed
Hermione's giggling mouth against his chest while
he withdrew his pouch of
Galleons. " Thirty on my nephew."
" And of course Draco will come out the winner."
Lucius replied as he too
handed over his money.
At one point the panther and tiger wrenched apart
and started to circle one
another, growling and hissing, throwing out
threatening claws, both panting
heavily and both in very good spirits.
_I demand you take back that pussy remark! _
_Of course I didn't mean it, lover… _Harry launched
into the air, catching
Draco off guard and knocked him onto his back. But
he was quickly pushed away
with a howl when Draco lifted his back paws and
dug them into Harry's soft
underbelly.
Pansy gasped when she saw blood begin to drop
from Harry's scratched stomach.
As the panther tried to scramble away, the white
tiger took flight and
attacked the panther's backside, digging his claws
into the panther's haunches
and sinking his sharp teeth into his arse. The
panther twisted around and
swiped at the tiger's face with a vicious growl, but
the tiger held on and
managed to keep from getting his face shredded.
" Look at that!" Blaise cried in amusement. " We
knew Draco liked Harry's
arse, but damn!"
" Draco's grinning!" Hermione squealed. " Oh my
god. Tigers can grin!"
Tom started to laugh. Really, how was he supposed
to keep it in when Hermione
sounded like that? And she was right. That was the
biggest grin he'd ever seen
on anyone, and it was on a jungle cat. His
amusement only grew when Harry
started wiggling his arse trying to dislodge his
overzealous mate. It was the
funniest thing he had seen in…. well, forever.
" WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?"
Suddenly there was Molly Weasley, standing in the
doorway looking harassed
with hands on her hips. Lucius, Sirius, and Severus
inched away from the
doorway and moved further into the room, away
from the pissed off mother of
seven. Charlie's eyes bugged out of his head, and he
quickly pushed all the
money he held off into Ginny's lap. His sister quickly
dumped the money on the
couch and started to shove the mound of Galleons
away under the cushions,
trying to look inconspicuous as she did so. It didn't
help that the large
coins constantly clinked together and made so
much noise Ginny was sure the
continent of France could hear. Pansy, Neville,
Dudley, and the twins inched
their way in front of the fighting cats and tried
smiling at Molly as if
nothing were going on.
The only ones who weren't disturbed by Molly's
presence were the two cats.
Harry had finally gotten his mate's jaws off his arse
and was chasing the
tiger around the room, leaving scratches along his
backside, his growls no
longer playful. The bite marks Draco left on his arse
pissed him the fuck off.
_Oh come on, lover! It's not so bad! _
_You idiot! What were you thinking?_
_I was thinking I wanted to bite your sweet arse! _
" Now Molly, they're just playing…" Sirius ventured
before Molly could put a
stop to the show, though it looked to be ending on
its own as both cats seemed
to be slowing down.
" Was that money I heard?" she glared at her
second oldest. " Are you all
gambling on an animal fight?"
" Certainly not, Molly!" Lucius sounded
appropriately scandalized. " What kind
of home to you think I have here?"
" And they're not just animals…" Sirius went on, "
it's Harry and Dra-"
Lucius' elbow slammed into his side, effectively
shutting the Animagus up.
Severus groaned once again and covered his face
with his hands.
Draco's roar regained everyone's attention and they
all turned around to see
what was happening. The tiger was now pinned to
the floor while the panther
was on his back, his claws firmly dug into the tigers
shoulder blades while
his teeth were deeply embedded and twisting the
fleshy part at the back of the
tiger's neck.
Tom rushed over to Molly and got in her face,
obscuring her view from
everything and the continuously fighting animals. " I
was told Luna's sick. Is
that true?"
Molly visibly relaxed and smiled softly at him. "
She's fine, Tom. Just a bad
headache is all. Sleeping it off now."
" Are you sure she's okay? Could you check to make
sure?" Tom was only asking
so that Molly would leave again. He in no way cared
if the girl had a headache
or not. Cared not in the slightest. " Maybe she woke
up and still has the
headache. Maybe I should go-" He made to move
passed her to the door, but
Molly quickly grabbed his arm and stopped him.
" Nonsense, dear." Molly rubbed his arm. " Of
course I'll go check for you.
You should stay here and have fun." With that Molly
turned on her heel and
left the room.
" Clever, Tom. Very slick." Sirius said.
" Yeah, thanks." Charlie said. " Mum would have
killed me…"
Attentions returned to the cats, only to find they
had stopped fighting and
were staring steadily at each other. Then the
panther meowed at his mate
pitifully before going to sulk behind the couch. The
tiger quickly followed,
leaping over the couch to land over his mate. Draco
pushed against his mate's
side until he fell over onto his back and then he
slowly moved over Harry
before lowering his head to gently lick at the
wounds on his stomach.
By some unspoken signal both Harry and Draco
transformed back to their
_Ukatae_ forms, and Draco pushed Harry's shirt
aside to continue to lick at
the wounds until they closed, smirking when his
mate started to tremble and
moan softly. Draco continued to lick his way up
Harry's toned torso, stopping
to pay acute attention to Harry's hardening nipples.
" Ahhh, I guess it's over." Ginny sighed when there
were no more snarls and
hissing. Everyone rushed over to peer behind the
couch, and almost immediately
backed away again.
" Alright!" Sirius cried happily and stretched his
hand out for his winnings.
" Who has my money? Pay up!" Charlie summoned
the money from the couch and
started to distribute the Galleons out between
himself, Sirius, Hermione, and
Tom.
" Now wait just a moment." Lucius interrupted. " It
looked to me like Harry
withdrew first. That makes Draco the winner."
" No way, Luce! They're both scratched up pretty
bad and if you would be so
kind as to recall… I said it would end with a snog,
which is clearly what
they're doing right now!"
Tom voiced his agreement with Sirius and that
started off another argument.
Ginny and Pansy looked at each other a moment
before they adopted identical
grins and crept back to the couch, where they then
softly climbed onto it,
placed their elbows on the back, and peered down
to watch their friends snog
heatedly. They could sell the Pensieve memories for
Galleons!
Harry had enough of Draco teasing his nipples and
gripped the blonde's hair,
roughly pulling him up so he could attach his lips
firmly onto Draco's.
Instead of being annoyed with the hair pulling,
Draco immediately opened his
mouth to allow his mate entrance, hitching his hips
in pleasure when Harry
wrapped his legs around him. Harry then wandlessly
vanished Draco's shirt and
let his fingers trail over the blonde's muscled back,
and down further until
his fingers disappeared below Draco's waistband to
grab the blonde's arse
where he knew there were several scratches
needing to be healed.
Ginny had to push a finger in her mouth and chew
on her knuckle so that she
wouldn't make a sound. Pansy's mouth was wide
opened, and she looked frozen,
though Ginny could hear the girls breathing as it
came out in short pants.
Ginny nearly screamed when an arm wrapped
around her waist.
" You two are the biggest perverts here." Blaise
whispered into her ear as he
tugged her away from the couch.
Pansy's eyes widened when Draco started to unzip
Harry's pants, and as his
hand dipped under the Gryffindor's boxers, Pansy
thought she was going to make
a killing off this memory. Unfortunately for her,
Blaise, the arse, motioned
for Charlie to get his girlfriend under control, and
the red head chuckled to
himself as he pulled Pansy away and started to
laugh outright when Pansy
demanded he put her back and that he was messing
with her big gain profits.
" Charlie, let me go!" she shrieked. " It was just
getting good. I'll make a
fortune!"
" Somehow I don't think Harry or Draco would be
very pleased if you were to
watch anymore."
" I don't care what they want! It's what I want. And
they should pay more
attention to where they are!"
Once it became obvious that the young _Ukatae_
had no intention of moving
themselves off to their room, it was decided the
party was over and Harry and
Draco were quickly left alone.
All of this went unnoticed by Harry. He was burning
up, every cell calling for
his mate's touch, purring into Draco's mouth, hands
molding against the
blonde's arse. With a gasp, Harry pulled away from
Draco's mouth when his cock
was freed and caressed adoringly.
" Can I have my present now?" a husky voice
breathed in his ear. When Harry
nodded, Draco's mouth descended on his leaking
cock.
" But I'm- I'm supposed to be _giving_ the
present…"
Draco chuckled after licking away the pre-cum, " oh
you'll have your chance
soon enough."
What began and what he had thought had ended as
a fun evening, ending up being
a nightmare. Harry wasn't sure how he got there.
He wasn't sure where he was
or for how long he stood there. All he did know was
that this wasn't a dream.
This was very real.
Self bitterness and a numbing panic filled him as he
stood frozen in place on
top of a hill looking down into the valley where his
lover valiantly fought
off his attackers, of which there were many. He
heard Draco's calls for help,
clear as if the Slytherin were right beside him, and
yet he did nothing. Only
stood there and watched.
Draco died. Right in front of his eyes. And he had
done nothing. Draco was
dead and the feeling of loss squeezed his insides,
made it impossible to
breath. Harry closed his eyes against the pain of
loosing half of himself and
finally dropped to his knees, welcoming the pain
brought on as his mind
crumbled along with the world around him.
Draco was in his arms now, his silver eyes staring
blankly up into the dark
sky. Just as the blonde's eyes were empty, so was
Harry's mind. It was a black
chasm and his movements were simply echoes… he
did not realize he was wiping
the blood off of Draco's face nor did he realize his
soul wrenching sobs
echoed around the empty valley, drowning out all
other noise. None of this
registered. He was as empty as his dead mate now…
" Do you see what you've done, Harry? You
destroyed me. I believed in you, I
loved you and you destroyed me…"
Slowly Harry lifted his head to find the ghost of his
mate standing there,
sneering at him and his dead body. Harry did not
react to the nasty look on
Draco's face. He could react to nothing now. He was
simply sitting there,
waiting for his own death.
" You brought me into all this, and now I'm dead.
You stood there and did
nothing!"
Harry's chin dropped to his chest, which the ghost
took as an affirmative. "
You won't be joining me in death, Harry. You'll live
on in eternity without
me, to suffer for your disloyalty. You'll go on like
this, a half empty shell,
forever. Enjoy the pain, lover. It will only grow as
time passes."
" I can't feel you." Harry hoarsely whispered before
he dragged Draco's heavy
body up to crush against his chest. He started to cry
into the blood drenched
blonde hair. " Draco, I can't feel you." The ghost
said nothing else and
disappeared. The moment it was gone, Harry was
struck with a piercing urgency
as shadowed thoughts came back to his fractured
mind.
Horrid thoughts filled with ghastly visions of a
future without Draco. He
could not live an eternity without his soul mate.
Even if he deserved the
pain… because what the ghost said was true. He'd
been responsible for his
lover's death by standing aside and doing nothing.
But he couldn't go on
without Draco and if the bond would not do what it
was supposed to and join
them once again by death, then Harry would take
matters into his own hands.
Dull green eyes opened, and without looking
around, Harry climbed out of bed.
His movements were rigid and automatic. There
were no thoughts in his mind and
he was still cut off from his mate. He still could not
feel Draco. He was
still dead…. Harry could see nothing around him and
could only think of what
must be done.
Lovely uncurled from her position on the pillow,
immediately noticing
something was off with her master. She watched
him cross the bedroom and
disappear into the closet. When she heard Harry
searching for something,
Lovely shifted and started to hiss into the mate's
ear, trying to wake him, to
let him know something was happening. But the
mate remained deep asleep, and
that seemed wrong as well.
Her master reappeared holding a small black
wooden box, clutching it tightly
against his chest. Lovely saw his eyes and hissed in
fear. There was nothing
there. It looked as if her master were dead. And yet
he walked on towards the
door, opened it and left. Her fear increased when
he left because Master was
not dressed and she knew he would never leave the
room without dressing first.
She tried waking the mate again, and when nothing
happened, Lovely gave up and
quickly followed after her master. Someone needed
to help her master and his
mate. Something was terribly wrong.
Though the manor was full of visitors, the hour was
very late, and Lovely was
sure everyone was sleeping. Spending time looking
for someone awake would be
disastrous she was sure, so Lovely turned down the
corner and headed for the
room of her mother's master, hoping Nagini was
there. The door was shut of
course, but she started hissing as loudly as she
could. She grew to twice her
size and started to butt the door with her enlarged
head. Finally movement
from within was heard and she was relieved to hear
Nagini waking her master.
Seconds later, an enraged Dark Lord threw the door
open and stared coldly down
at her.
**You had better have a good reason for this
intrusion!** he hissed as he tied
his robe closed.
**Master is not well! Help my master! **
Tom's anger dissipated and he knelt down to scoop
the small snake up.
**Explain! Hurry! **
Lovely told of all she saw when Harry had woken
and left the bed, explaining
the way her master looked and acted and how
Harry's mate was in a very deep
sleep. **I sense his sleep is unnatural…**
By the time she was finished, Tom had her crushed
against his chest as he ran
down the halls towards Harry and Draco's
bedchamber, his heart drumming
against her head in a fast cadence. Once inside he
was only mildly relieved to
find his brother was still alive, but the snake was
right, his sleep wasn't
natural. But since Draco didn't seem to be in any
other distress, Tom thought
finding Harry was what should be done first. He
didn't like to think of what
was in that black box Lovely had spoken of.
" Falde! Talyn!" His bellows could be heard all over
the manor as he ran to
his sister's room. He burst in and didn't even blink
twice to find Severus and
Hermione wrapped together sleeping. " Wake up!
Both of you!"
Both of them sat up and blinked. Tom spun around
and rubbed his eyes. Why the
hell couldn't Hermione wear clothes to bed? " We
have to find Harry.
Something's wrong with him and Draco. Hurry up!"
And then he bolted from the
room, " Falde!"
Talyn and Falde appeared and Tom immediately
sent Talyn to Draco and then
explained the situation to Falde as he continued on
his search for his
brother, the elder _Ukatae_ running along beside
him.
" Can't you sense him somehow?" Tom asked with a
trembling voice. He wasn't
clairvoyant, but he knew his brother's life was in
terrible danger.
" No." Falde answered, his voice of surprised did
much to increase Tom's fear.
" He's been cut off."
" What does that mean?" Tom yelled. Lovely
wiggled her way out from between
his chest and hand where he'd been unconsciously
crushing her and curled
around his neck.
" What the hell is going on?" Sirius yelled as he and
Lucius ran up.
" Harry's disappeared and Draco has been put into a
deep sleep."
" He should be found immediately," Falde said in
urgency.
" What does Draco keep in the black box in his
closet?" Tom asked Lucius.
" A silver dagger. I gave it to him for his twelfth
birthday. It's one of his
favorite possessions. Why?"
" Harry took it and now he's gone."
Lucius' eyes widened in horror," Tripe!"
The elf popped in, " yes, Master Malfoy?"
" Find Harry Potter at once!"
The house elf went without hesitation. Severus and
Hermione joined them, both
dressed in house robes. Tom suggested they all split
up to look through the
manor, recruiting the other sleeping guests along
the way. The others nodded
and hurried away, but Lucius and Tom stayed put
waiting for the house elf.
The house elf returned before anything else could
be said, its eyes were wide
and practically bulging. " Master Harry be outsides
on the grounds, Master
Malfoy. Yous better hurries. He's going to harm
himself!"
" Where?" Tom shouted. " Where is he?"
" The lake."
Tom took one step and then paled when a scream
echoed down the hall and
wrapped around his heart. " Draco!"
" Get Harry! I'll go to Draco." Lucius said.
Falde Shadowed out with Tom while Lucius ran to
his son's room, feeling
nauseas by the horrific screams issuing from his
son.
He ran in to find Talyn straddling his son, trying to
restrain him. He didn't
have to ask why. Draco's screams said everything.
" Gods kill me! Kill me, please! Harry! He's gone!"
Draco was thrashing
around, his eyes pale and lifeless. " I can't feel him!
Harry!"
The burning torment in Draco's eyes and the aching
grief in his voice brought
Lucius Malfoy to tears as he rushed to help Talyn
keep his son pinned to the
bed before he could harm himself.
" Have you found Harry?" she asked, panic lacing
her words. " He must be found
before he takes his life."
" He's outside. Merlin… Can't you wake them up?"
Lucius pleaded. But Talyn
couldn't answer. She had no idea how this could
have happened. All they could
do for the moment was hold Draco down. The tears
left her eyes unchecked as
Draco continued to cry out in anguish.
" I need Harry! I need to die! LET ME DIE!"
Harry knelt down in the cold damp grass and placed
the black box in front of
him. His trembling body was wracked with grief as
he opened it. He was so
intent on finding death and his lost mate that he did
not hear the screams of
his mate coming from the manor nor did he hear
Tom's yells as he and Falde
raced towards him. All Harry could see was the
dagger as he lifted it into the
air, the deadly point aimed for his heart. He smiled
in relief as he plunged
the dagger down towards his heart. He would soon
be with Draco again.
Tom watched in horror as Harry smiled and brought
the dagger down without
hesitation, only to cry out in relief when Falde
tackled his brother to the
ground, grabbing onto Harry's hand before the
dagger could reach its mark.
Harry immediately began to fight, keeping the
dagger firmly in hand,
continuing to try and drive it into his chest. Fear
took Tom again when he
noticed Harry's strength was almost too much for
the seasoned warrior and he
jumped in to help. Fear for his brother was so great
that he started to beat
Harry, throwing punches to the Gryffindor's face,
torso, anywhere he could,
anything to get Harry to come to his senses. Harry
started to fight Tom and
ignored Falde, who immediately worked on getting
the dagger out of Harry's
stone grip.
Reluctantly the warrior ended up breaking Harry's
hand. The Gryffindor didn't
so much as bat an eye at the pain, but his grip
slackened and Falde was able
to pull the dagger away. Tom immediately vanished
the thing and wrapped his
arms around Harry, restraining his brother, and fell
onto his back, trying to
regain his breath. Tears pricked his eyes when Harry
went limp in his arms and
started screaming for death, screaming for Draco,
begging to be killed so he
could rejoin his mate.
" Please do something." Tom begged Falde and
pushed Harry's face down against
his neck to muffle the crying. He couldn't bare this.
Hearing Harry in so much
pain… " Make it stop… Fucking help him!"
" I- I can't." Falde's voice broke and he had to look
away from them. " This
shouldn't be happening. No one should have the
power to do this. They're still
alive. This shouldn't be happening…" He repeated.
" Bring him inside."
Tom and Falde looked to find Luna standing in the
pale light provided by her
namesake. She looked different standing there in a
long white robe, her long
hair waving softly in the wind. What was more, she
stood tall and straight and
there was no smile on her face. Her gray eyes were
as hard and cold as ice,
and her lips were pressed together severely.
Tom shivered. Both from the aura of cold fury
billowing around her and from
the coldness of Harry's ever running tears falling
against his skin. Falde
helped him up, but the Dark Lord refused to let go
of his brother. He shrugged
out of his robe and covered his brother's naked
shaking body with it as Luna
came forward and joined him inside Falde's
Shadow.
They arrived in the hallway outside of Draco and
Harry's room. The hall was
lined with people, all of who were being affected by
Draco's screams and
pleads for death. Blaise sat on the floor, back
pressed against the wall with
his eyes tightly shut while he held Ginny against
him, the sound of her cries
muffled by his shirt gone soggy with her tears. The
Slytherin boy had to keep
his eyes shut because every time he opened them
the tears would start to fall.
And Pansy was worse off then he was. She clung to
Mrs. Weasley, both weeping
while Charlie had his arms around them. His face
was pale as he stared at the
closed door.
Hermione was being cocooned by Fred and George,
both whispering to her, trying
to comfort themselves and her at the same time.
She had been unable to stand
it in there, looking on without any notion of what to
do, or how to comfort
her brother. Draco's grief was hers and she had
cracked under the waves of
agony coming from him. She stood in there numb
until Severus had gently pushed
her out of the room and promised not to leave
Draco's side. And Neville and
Dudley were out in the hall as well, standing
together, both staring at the
door in horror. Neville didn't feel the slightest bit of
embarrassment when he
moved over until their shoulders were pressed
firmly together. The screams
issuing from the room were so cold and bleak, and
Dudley's arm was warm, and
honestly he felt he would break down if he didn't do
something to try and ease
the grief Draco's screams were producing in all of
them. Not to mention the
overwhelming worry for Harry and whether they
had found him in time.
The others in the manor were either in Draco's
room, or like the Longbottoms
and the Lestrange brothers, couldn't stand to be
anywhere near that room.
Frank Longbottom had to drag his hysterical wife
away, and the Lestranges' had
taken Draco's cries as a vivid reminder of their years
in Azkaban. It wasn't
that they didn't care… it was just that the pain
coming from Draco's room was
tangible and everyone could feel it, whether they
were connected to the two
mates or not.
When Falde, Tom and Luna appeared with Harry,
everyone immediately moved to
surround them, all asking questions, begging for
assurances that Harry and
Draco would be okay. Harry stopped his crying, and
was completely still in
Tom's arms. His only movement was the shallow
rise and fall of his chest as he
breathed. When Tom looked, his breath caught in
his throat when Harry looked
straight through him, his eyes blank and hollow. He
was void of any
expressions, and Tom knew it was that way inside
his mind as well.
" Move away!" Luna demanded to everyone. She
was immediately obeyed. Luna led
Falde and Tom into the room, where Tom lay Harry
down on the bed, wincing from
the screams Draco continued to cry even as Harry
was pressed against his side.
Severus, Talyn, Lucius, and Sirius were restraining
the blonde, and Talyn
immediately looked to Falde for some answers.
Draco was calling for his mate
even though Harry was now beside him, still looking
like death, still praying
for it in his mind.
" We should put them out." Lucius said. " Make
them sleep."
" I've already tried that." Talyn replied in clipped
tones. " Nothing works."
" What the fuck is going on?" Sirius barked at Falde.
" Why's this happening?"
" I don't know why it's happening."
" Shouldn't they be better now?" Lucius asked, and
sagged with half relief
when his son went still and quiet. " Why are they
lying here like the dead?
They're back together again."
" But they aren't," Luna whispered and crawled
onto the bed and caressed her
friends' faces. " They are trapped in an
hallucination. We must free them as
soon as possible. They won't be able to do it
themselves." She looked at
Falde. " I will need Ozemir."
The warrior groaned, " he's gone to Dagon's
Treasure. I have no idea where
that is."
Luna sighed, kissed Draco's cheek and then Harry's
before climbing off the
bed. " I need a silver basin please."
Lucius called a house elf to retrieve one while Luna
headed towards the
bathroom. Tom followed and just as she was about
to pass into it, he blocked
her path by placing an arm on each side of her and
leaned in, pushing her back
against the doorway. He failed to notice the sudden
blush of her cheeks when
her eyes came face to face with his toned bare
chest.
" You're not Lovegood. Who are you and how do
you know all this?"
" I am Luna, silly. See?" she pulled her robe down to
reveal the Dark Mark on
her shoulder.
Tom growled and pressed further, leaning down
until their noses were almost
touching, " answer straight for once! I order you to
tell me who and what you
are!"
Luna placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him
back an inch, the blush on
her face had intensified. " I am Luna Lovegood. As
for what I am- you should
have figured that out by now, Tom. The demon
did… Well, he only had half of it
right." She shrugged and pushed past him into the
bathroom, leaving Tom
dumbfounded again.
" Does this have anything to do with Draco's
Inheritance?" Sirius asked, and
then shrugged when Severus glanced at him. " I
know it probably doesn't, but
I'm having trouble believing this is happening."
" Draco received his Inheritance the same night as
Harry." Talyn remarked. "
Ozemir said nothing was supposed to happen
tonight. Except perhaps a
conception."
Hermione came in and shut the door behind her
just as the house elf popped in
with the silver basin. Hermione eyed it curiously as
she crossed over to Tom.
He immediately reached out to take her hand and
together they looked upon
their brothers.
" It's almost like the Dementor's Kiss." Luna went on
to everyone as she
reappeared, her wand in her hand. " They are dead
without the other half of
their soul. Which is why soul mates always, quickly,
and without fail follow
each other into death. They live with an all
consuming emptiness without the
other until they go. Some, like these two, will take
their own lives, not
being able to live another second without the rest
of their soul. In that
instance it's different from the Kiss. They can still
think and act, but only
a minimal amount. The world around them ceases
to be, you see? That's why
Harry and Draco won't react to us." Luna went up to
the basin that sat on the
bedside table on Draco's side and pointed her
wand. " _Aguamenti_."
" But…" Hermione thought out loud. " When they've
fought before. They block
each other from their minds to piss the other off.
This never happened when
they do that."
" This isn't the same." Luna answered. " They can
block out the other's
thoughts, but soul mates always reside in the mind,
no matter what. They can
always be felt and are always present. But now,
some how it's as if the other
half of their soul has been erased."
" Please tell us this can be fixed." Lucius said to her.
He no longer wondered
how she knew all this. At the moment he didn't
care.
" This can be fixed. But we must hurry so that it
leaves no permanent damage."
" I want to know whose done this." Hermione said
in a gravelly voice. " I want
to kill them myself. And I don't care if it's
Demai'Tah. I'll kill him." She
hissed vehemently. Tom agreed whole-heartedly.
" This wasn't Demai'Tah." Falde said. " At least I'm
certain this was not him
working alone."
Talyn nodded, " Demai'Tah doesn't have the kind of
power to do this- to block
soul mates from each other. And his help certainly
didn't come from that old
wizard either."
" Luna, do you know?" Severus asked.
" Let us get Ozemir and Brumek back first." Once
the basin was half full, Luna
twisted her hair up in a bun and slid the wand in to
keep her hair in place. "
I need someone to cut me. Talyn."
Luna held her arm over the basin and Talyn took out
her dagger. " No, a nail.
It will work better."
" But the cut won't be as clean."
" Use your nails."
Talyn nodded and extended her claws. She pierced
Luna's flesh and everyone
watched as Luna allowed drops of her blood to mix
with the water. No one was
surprised this time when she displayed no sign of
pain. She kept her arm
extended, but moved it away from the basin and
allowed Talyn to heal it, while
she dipped a finger into the mixture of blood and
water and slowly mixed it.
During this everyone in the room moved closer to
get a better look. A soft
smile played around the Ravenclaw's lips and she
started to hum a soft tune, a
familiar lullaby. Immediately all in the room, besides
the two on the bed,
relaxed despite the situation. Luna bent down, her
face hovering over the
basin and blew into it, sending ripples across the
surface.
" Ozemir," she called gently. " Ozemir. I have need
of you and your mate.
Ozemir." The water began vibrating in different
levels and Luna bent closer,
almost until her nose touched the surface. And then
suddenly she jerked back,
quickly covering her eyes and started to blush like
never before. The water
rippled again. " Yes, Brumek. I see what you're
doing." She cleared her throat
and leaned forward again, though her hand was still
over her eyes. " The young
ones need help. Come quickly." Luna then turned
her back on the basin and
dropped her hand, embarrassment all over her face.
Everyone knew exactly what
she had seen, even though they couldn't
understand how she had seen it.
Everyone except Falde and Talyn, but they were just
as confused about her as
the rest. How could she do _Ukatae_ magic?
" Luna, love." Sirius came forward and threw an arm
around her shoulders.
Before he spoke again he looked into the basin, but
there was only water and
blood. " Someday you're going to have to explain
where you learned all this
stuff."
Draco started to whimper, head turning from side
to side as if he were trying
to shake something off. And then the sound cut off
suddenly. Just as everyone
took a relieved breath, because anything was better
then hearing his
despairing cries again, Draco bolted out of the bed,
and his yells once again
fill the silence. He wasn't crying, but yelling, and
then when every man in
the room tackled him to the ground, his yells turned
furious. He was able to
kick Sirius and Severus off of him, and twisted
around. His hand flew out, and
to everyone's horror he wandlessly summoned
Lucius' wand to his hand and
instantly brought it up to his temple.
" _Avada_-"
Hermione screamed, " DRACO!"
Tom lunged and wrestled the wand away just as
Draco whispered the second part
that would have killed him, sending the curse up to
the ceiling.
" Get rid of the weapons and wands. Get rid of
them all!" Falde shouted.
Sirius made Lucius gather all the wands and
_Ukatae_ weapons, as he was afraid
Draco would accidentally end up hurting his father,
and Lucius rushed out of
the room. He slammed the door shut, and clutching
the weapons tightly in his
arms, he slid down to the floor where he dropped
his head back and tightly
closed his eyes.
Molly pulled away from Charlie and Pansy and knelt
down beside the shaking
blonde. " Lucius?"
He opened his eyes and pinned her with a horrified
look, " Draco… he tried
killing himself with my wand… with the Killing curse.
He- he nearly succeeded.
He wants to die so badly… I can't go back in there,
Molly. I can't."
Molly had never seen Lucius show so much
emotion, and because it was pain, her
heart warmed up to him even more. This was what
made her able to get a hold of
her own emotions and straightened up. " You
children, gather these weapons and
take them away now." She told Pansy, Blaise,
Neville, and Dudley. They quickly
did as she asked, happy for a reason to escape.
Then she and Charlie helped
Lucius to his feet.
" Come Lucius. There is nothing you can do that the
others in there can't.
Let's go wait in a quiet room."
" But I can't leave-"
Molly shook her head and took his arm in a firm
grasp, pulling him away from
the room that had become his hell.
Back in the room, Draco was still struggling with his
restrainers…" Get off
me! Get off!" His reactions to being restrained rose
everyone's spirits
slightly. It meant he knew there were people
around him. " He's gone! I have
to go too! I want to!"
" Draco? Draco, look at me." Hermione knelt beside
him. When she reached out
to touch his arm, he flinched back and turned dead
eyes onto her. Hermione
sagged in defeat. His eyes were still hollow. She
doubted he knew where he
was, or who was around him. He was only reacting
to being kept from committing
suicide. " He's still not here." She whispered and
backed away.
His yells for Harry continued on, and things only got
worse. Harry soon
imitated Draco's actions, but at least he didn't make
it out of the bed. But
Luna, Talyn, and Hermione had to help keep him
restrained.
Luckily Ozemir and Brumek arrived, both looking
frantic. Before they could ask
questions, Luna grabbed Ozemir's hand and
dragged him towards the door. "
Bring them to the ritual room. We must reconnect
them as soon as possible."
Luna explained the situation in hard clipped tones
that had the Scholar
raising an eyebrow at her. This didn't seem like the
same girl. But as she
went on to explain he realized not even this easy
going, fun girl could be
herself at a time like this. He suspected she was
adapting to the situation.
No one would react well to her if she acted like her
normal self right now.
Truth be told he was having difficulties believing
what she was telling him.
Something had come between the young ones soul
mate bond. Only a higher power
had the ability to do that.
" I see you understand." Luna said as they entered
the Ritual room. She went
to the table and tapped her chin. Six candles
appeared before her, three black
and three red. She turned and grinned at Ozemir. "
Thanks." she chirped,
before picking the candles up and arranging them
on the ground in a circle. "
Have you ever done this sort of spell casting
before?" she asked him.
He watched her skip around the circle, lighting the
candles, " not quite like
this, and definitely never for this reason. I'm- I may
not be powerful enough
to remove the block."
" Yes you will!" she laughed as if his doubt was
ridiculous. " Do not worry.
We'll all help."
There was a moment of silence, where Ozemir
spent the entire time studying the
girl. Finally he coughed, and looked away. " I
accepted Brumek… Oh, but you-"
Ozemir blushed, " you saw that already."
Luna's returning smile was very bright. " I'm very
happy for the two of you.
Make lots and lots of babies. Okay? The population
must grow."
Ozemir didn't want to think about that at this point
and so remained quiet on
that topic. He heard people approaching, heard the
worry in their voices,
heard the young ones crying out for their mates… " I
failed them. I was away
and I let this happen to them," he whispered.
" Falde and Talyn were here. They sensed nothing. I
was here, and I sensed
nothing. You couldn't have done anything because
it shouldn't have been
possible to block their bond." Luna said softly as she
came to stand beside
him and took his hand. " Once we undo what's been
done, then we can make sure
it never happens again." She whispered as Harry
and Draco were brought in.
Ozemir nodded half-heartedly.
" Lay them in the center." He pointed to the circle
of candles, " then take
positions around the circle." Ozemir looked at
Severs and Sirius in sympathy
and apology. " Only _Ukatae_ can remain. You must
wait outside."
" If we simply set them down, they'll only try to do
harm to themselves."
Severus reminded.
" We can restrain them." Falde said as he, Sirius,
and Tom dragged a broken
Draco into the center. Ozemir clapped as soon as
they let go of the blonde and
steel chains swung over his torso and legs, binding
him to the floor. The same
thing happened to Harry when Brumek, Severus,
and Talyn placed him beside
Draco.
Severus and Sirius hovered by the door and didn't
look like they wanted to
leave, which was understandable. Luna went to
them and smiled softly. " It
will be okay. I promise."
" How can you promise something like that?" Sirius
demanded. " Those are our
kids."
" And my friends." Luna reiterated with a slightly
harder tone. " Sirius, all
this stress has not been good for Lucius. Go take
care of him."
Sirius sighed in defeat, knowing they would not be
able to stay, and Luna was
right about the stress… but how was he supposed to
just leave? The fierce
glare on the Potions Master revealed his thoughts
were similar.
Fortunately Tom had lost patience. " GO! You're
wasting our time standing
there. We'll be able to start as soon as you're gone."
Once the door was sealed shut Ozemir stepped
forward to stand between Brumek
and Tom, and held his hands out towards the young
ones, focusing his complete
attention upon them. It would be an ancient spell
he was sure. Ancient and
forbidden and very hard to break. The first thing to
do was to bring it forth
so they could physically see the block. He closed his
eyes and focused solely
on the young ones minds. It was difficult. Harry and
Draco's minds were not
only cut off from each other, but they were also cut
off from everyone. Ozemir
could not sense them at all. As he continued to
search, Luna went around and
touched each person lightly on the back before
coming to stand between Ozemir
and Tom. She took up Tom's hand and placed a
hand on Ozemir's outstretched
arm. Understanding, the others went about doing
the same and connected the
circle.
" We should hurry. They're still and quiet." Falde
said quietly, finally
realizing Harry and Draco weren't trying to get free
of their restraints. They
lay quietly, with their eyes open and unblinking.
" But isn't that better then having them screaming
for death?" Hermione
questioned.
Talyn answered, " no. We're loosing them."
Ozemir's breathing slowed down and his eyes
opened when he finally made some
leeway, found an opening. He almost pulled back
when he felt the despair the
young ones were in. His eyes darkened and
narrowed into slits. Someone had
purposely done this. Immediate death would have
been better, but this- this
was merciless. The cruelest thing he'd ever come
across. The pain and the
darkness fueled his anger and he used that, built it
up until his body was
burning with it and finally he was able to hiss out a
few words.
The air sizzled around them and the magic used to
torture Harry and Draco's
souls suddenly became visible. Black gleaming lines
represented the power of
the spell. It writhed and coiled around like
poisonous vines. Wrapping and
binding the mates' tortured minds, restraining their
magic and aura's inside,
preventing anything from breaking free. And the
main block, one black pulsing
vine, thicker then the others, ran in between the
soul mates' bodies. Not only
could they see the black magic, but they could also
see golden tendrils
erratically floating around the bodies, and it was
assumed this was the soul
mate bond. The bright wisps of light constantly
moved around the bodies and in
the air with nowhere to go, and continuously
charged the strong black block.
But always the golden trails were stopped and
pushed away.
Ozemir approached the young ones slowly, eyeing
the black magic pulsing around
their bodies, hoping his nearness would not do
them further harm. He was only
two feet away when the tendrils tightened around
their bodies and the
blackness seemed to spread. But he had to push it.
He had to get a closer look
to see and feel what they were dealing with.
As he took another step forward, Brumek became
appropriately apprehensive. "
Ozemir, don't get too close." His mate glanced at
him over his shoulder as he
completed the step and Brumek shook his head, "
you don't know what will-"
The magic sparked and crackled, then flared out,
sending out a dark wave. Not
only was Ozemir sent flying, but the rest were also
thrown off their feet, hit
and briefly attacked with a painful shock.
Luna started to giggle as she picked herself off the
floor. " Oooh. Someone's
being a bitch."
" Bloody hell but that hurt!" Hermione grumbled as
Falde helped her to her
feet.
Ozemir tisked at himself as Brumek helped him up,
wincing at the sharp pain
the shock had pounded into his chest. " My
apologies, everyone. I should have
known that would happen."
Luna inclined her head to glance at Tom, " can't you
erect some sort of
shield? This is obviously still being controlled from
someone outside. If we
could make a shield and disconnect the tether, we'll
have a better chance of
breaking the curse."
Tom's brows narrowed and he chewed on his
bottom lip, mentally thinking about
all the spells and enchantments he knew. Finally, he
remembered a spell he
knew would get the job done and nodded. " Oh, but
I need my wand."
Luna flashed a smile at him, " nonsense." She
reached up and placed a finger
against his forehead, pushing ever so slightly. " The
_Ukatae_ knowledge is
there. Entwine it with your wizards' knowledge, and
nothing can crack it."
" I- I'm not sure…"
" You can do it, Tom." His sister encouraged. " If
anyone can, it's you."
" That's true." Ozemir said with a nod. " You are
very powerful. Perhaps more
then me when you've learned all you can."
Of course he couldn't back down now, and his
pleasure at such praise was
visible when he raised his hands, and recalled the
words of the spell he had
made long ago, adding the last part at the last
minute. He spoke slowly, and
briefly wondered if adding more dark magic was the
wise thing to do. But as he
was already speaking, he thought it didn't really
matter, as long as his spell
worked as it was supposed to. " _Ciniectum
defendo_ _saeptum_."
Nothing happened at first, and Luna's shoulders
dropped slightly with
disappointment. Of course that was not to be
tolerated, and Tom said the words
again, loudly and with a firm tone, throwing as
much energy behind the spell
as he could muster. Immediately a grayish mist flew
from his palms and
surrounded the ritual room and all its inhabitants.
When the mist vanished,
Tom was relieved to see the walls glowing a
shimmering silver, indicating his
spell had worked, and no outside force could break
through to add any more
power to the dark hold over Harry and Draco, and it
would allow them to be
able to approach his brothers without being
attacked from the dark spell.
" Very well done." Ozemir praised.
Falde remarked quietly. " What do we need to do to
break it?"
" The block must be weakened before I can do
anything. Like this, completely
whole, we have no chance of destroying it." Ozemir
sighed. " I'm not sure how
we can weaken the thing."
" What _do_ you know?" Brumek asked softly. He
wasn't criticizing. He knew
Ozemir was brilliant and also knew if the Scholar
started throwing out
suggestions, eventually he would come up with an
idea that would work. Ozemir,
of course, knew this was Brumek's intention and
gently squeezed his hand.
" Strengthening their minds would help. If we could
find some way to remind
their bodies of each other, some outside influence
telling the body the mate
is near, that might do it."
" I know!" Hermione exclaimed. Her immediate
response surprised the older
_Ukatae_. " Blood! Those two can't get enough of
their blood. Sometimes I
think they need it more then food and water."
Luna beamed at the Gryffindor," that's a lovely
idea."
" Yes," Ozemir said slowly, turning the possibilities
over, " and blood has
very strong magical abilities. Wonderful suggestion,
young one!"
" They do suck a lot of blood." Tom murmured with
a shudder.
" Don't knock it until you try it." Brumek retorted as
Talyn immediately went
about collecting blood samples from Harry and
Draco.
" Brumek and Ozemir, you give it to them." Luna
suggested, though it sounded
like a soft command as well. Tom looked at her
sideways, and found the girl
was grinning off at nothing in particular. He sighed
and bit down the
irritation. He was never going to understand her.
" Even if it doesn't strengthen their minds, it will
definitely strengthen
their bodies. The blackness of the spell is wrapped
around their bodies, but
the spell is focused solely on their minds." Ozemir
spoke as he poured Draco's
blood down Harry's throat, having to take it slow as
Harry tried spitting it
out more then once. " If their bodies regain some
energy, that could help as
well."
" You hope."
" Tom," hissed Hermione, " let's try to be a little
more positive, okay.
You're attitude isn't helping!"
" I'm sorry. I just- I don't ever want to hear or see
them like this again."
" You love your brothers, Tom?"
" Yes, Luna. Very much."
She squeezed his hand. " Thank you."
He blinked at her in surprise, " for what?"
" Your honesty with such things has a great power
all on its own." Then she
gestured to Harry and Draco with their clasped
hands. " And look. The spell is
weakening."
The golden tendrils began to grow brighter and
much more persistent as they
bombarded the block, which had faded but only
slightly. Ozemir and Brumek were
still pouring blood into the young ones' mouths, and
every one was pleased
when both turned their heads towards the cups and
whimpered desperately when
the cups were pulled away for the last time.
" Merlin, it's working!" Hermione cried. The golden
tendrils weren't being
pushed away from the block any longer, and she
thought she saw a sliver of
gold get past the black line. Ozemir and Brumek
returned to their places
around the circle and clasped hands. Ozemir closed
his eyes once again to
focus on destroying the darkness surrounding his
young ones.
" It's time to blast it away, Ozemir." Luna
whispered.
Blast it apart is exactly what the white haired
_Ukatae_ did. He fed off of
Brumek's stoic reserve, Tom's frustration,
Hermione's pain, Luna's love,
Falde's self-disappointment, and Talyn's worry,
binding all those emotions
together with his black anger and demolished the
black restraints surrounding
Harry and Draco's body. Once the smaller black
mental chains were gone, the
light from the soul mate bond intensified until
everyone had to squint against
the bright glare. Together, Harry's tendrils and
Draco's tendrils attacked the
block between them at the same time, in the same
place and rammed right
through it. As soon as soul mate bond reconnected,
the dark spell dissipated
with a loud hiss.
Harry and Draco inhaled large breaths as if they had
been holding it in for
hours, and then their bodies started shaking, the
return of their minds and
the reconnection of the bond all at once causing a
major shock to their
systems.
" They should be put to sleep." Talyn said as hurried
to check them over.
" Let them go to sleep on their own." Luna said as
she leant against Tom. He
was surprised by the tiredness in her voice and by
the way her body was
shaking. " First we need to protect their bond so
this can never happen
again."
" And how," Brumek began, his tone dripping
sarcasm, " do you suppose we do
that?"
Ozemir looked scandalized at the tone his mate was
using with Luna. " Brumek,
you can't talk to her like that! Don't you realize who
she-"
" You don't have to do anything, silly." Luna
interrupted much to everyone's
disappointment. Clearly Ozemir knew more about
Luna then they thought. " I'll
do it. Now go out and tell everyone Harry and Draco
will be fine… Oh and
Ozemir, don't forget to look at the scroll."
Luna sat down crossed legged at Harry and Draco's
feet and touched a hand to
their legs after Ozemir quickly cleared the room.
The Ravenclaw allowed the
tears she'd been keeping away to come forth and
flow down her face. Seeing
Harry and Draco like that had been more painful for
her then for anyone. She
started to hum a sad tune, and as the volume grew
a watery smile appeared when
she saw the golden ribbons of their bond was being
surrounded by bright
glowing silver.
" There." She gave a nod and grinned when their
eyes opened. Happy to see
those eyes were no longer empty and dead. "
Should someone try to do that
again, we'll know and can stop it."
Harry's lips started to tremble and silent tears fell
from his eyes. He could
feel Draco now, his presence was a burning beacon
at the front of his mind,
but he was still convinced this wasn't real. Afraid
that if he turned to look,
the heat he felt from the body lying next to him
would simply be another
illusion.
Luna scooted forward and entwined Harry's hand
with Draco's. " Don't be afraid
you two. I swear this isn't a dream. You are both
alive and well." Her tone
flowed out and around them like silk. She
understood why they weren't reaching
for each other. The pain was still sharp, still
throbbing inside them, and
they were very afraid that this was the real
nightmare.
The moment Draco had Harry's hand in his, the
blonde broke down too, crying
Harry's name, face contorted with the pain he felt.
Luna wiped her own tears
away and wrapped an arm around both their necks
and drew them up to embrace
them and was happy when they immediately buried
their heads against her neck
and hugged her back. Draco didn't know why her
presence was so comforting, but
it was and he felt she was dulling the pain. For once
Draco thought her
presence was very welcome.
" Shhh… Don't be afraid." She drew back slightly and
used her thumb to wipe
away tears from their cheeks. " Now. Look at each
other. Go on."
They turned to look at each other. Green eyes and
silver eyes staring… Draco
reached out to cup Harry's cheek. He felt his mate's
warmth, heard Harry's
shuddering breath and his fear began to diminish.
Draco gathered Harry into
his arms, cradled the smaller _Ukatae_ against his
chest and practically
squeezed the life out of him.
_Harry..._
_I stood there and let you die. _Harry cried. _I didn't
even move to help. I
couldn't move, Draco. I didn't do anything! _
_Shut up, idiot! It was just a dream. Someone
fucking with our heads. I
watched you die. I watched you drown in a pool of
blood, over and over again.
I watched myself stand there and fucking laugh!
Gods... _
_It wasn't real,_ Harry murmured, the need to
comfort his mate pushing his own
guilt away. _We're still alive. _
Luna smiled and stood. " Now listen. I know this is
going to be hard. The pain
will not instantly vanish, but you two are very
strong. Don't let whomever did
this win by succumbing to the pain. It's not real
because neither of you died.
You go on like this never happened. You're the
_Ukatae_ rulers. You go out
there and flip off the world for causing you pain,
and then you go on. You
must be strong."
Draco's eyes were wide as he stared at her, and
Harry shifted so that he could
see her, but still kept his cheek pressed firmly
against Draco's chest. " Um…
Luna? You're acting uncharacteristically right
minded."
Luna giggled and twirled a strand of hair around her
finger. " I know. I hate
when that happens." She gave a little wave and
skipped out the room.
_Harry, I'm sorry…. but she is loony._ Draco said
before Apparating back to
their room.
" We almost lost them," Tom said softly. Hermione,
who sat beside him and was
curled up next to Severus, squeezed her eyes shut
against the thought. " If
Lovely hadn't come to get me, Harry would be dead
now. I ran across the yard
as fast as I could and that dagger was coming down.
He was going to stab
himself in the heart." He leaned forward and
pressed the heels of his palms
against his closed eyes. " He tried so hard… and
then-" his voice cracked, and
he took a shuddering breath, " and then Draco got
that wand-"
" Please stop." Hermione whispered.
Molly stood up and crossed the room. She reached
out to touch Tom's arm, only
wanting to comfort him. It was apparent to
everyone Tom's emotions were
roiling, and he didn't quite know what to do with
them. But when she reached
out he flinched away from her.
" Don't touch me," he hissed and stood. Seeing the
stricken look on her face,
he sighed, " I'm sorry… but I- I really shouldn't be
feeling these things… I
don't want to."
Tom left everyone staring after him as he left. No
one was really surprised he
was having this sort of reaction. Even Molly wasn't
really offended. Stopping
before he got to the door, Tom turned around and
glared at everyone. " I don't
ever want Draco to know just how close Harry came
to plunging that dagger into
his heart. And Harry will never know about what
Draco almost did. I never want
them to know that. Is that clear?" He left before he
was answered, knowing
that he would be obeyed no matter what.
Severus sat very still, eyes glued to the wall
opposite the sofa he occupied,
one hand absently running through Hermione's wild
hair. He could honestly say
the screams issuing from Draco had been the most
chilling thing he had ever
heard. Some one had committed a very heinous
crime against his boys, forcing
Harry and Draco to think the other was dead and
gone forever. He could also
silently confess he was grateful he would never
have to bear such pain as they
had and was almost thankful he and Hermione were
not soul mates. It was a
callous thing to think, but after being witness to
tonight's events …
Honestly, who would want to have a soul mate,
knowing that eventually one day
you would have to go through something like that?
Lovegood arrived a bit after Tom had taken his
leave and informed those
waiting that Harry and Draco were as fine as they
could be under the
circumstances and announced there would be no
lasting side effects. She then
proceeded to smile all around, and once again
Severus was left wondering whom
she was. How did she know the things she knew?
How did she do the things she
did? And why did she act like she was acting now,
skipping in, smiling and
looking around with bright dazed eyes as if the
world was one giant sphere
full of happy hallucinogenic fog? Why did she refuse
to give Tom a straight
answer about her origins? Because it was clear her
origins had nothing to do
with Xenophilius Lovegood or England for that
matter. She was not simply a
human.
Hermione shivered and he tightened his arm
around her. He thought about taking
her back to bed, but when he looked at her, saw the
worry in her eyes, he knew
sleep would not come for her. Looking around at
everyone else, he realized
that was true for everyone. Unless he distributed
Dreamless Sleep Potion
around, no one would be returning to bed. He did
offer, but everyone turned
him down. Severus understood the lack of takers.
Even if they did take the
dreamless potion, many were still afraid to be
haunted in sleep by Harry and
Draco's begs for death.
After a while, Charlie finally managed to get his
mother and Pansy to seek
their beds; Blaise and Ginny disappeared as soon as
it was told the spell had
been removed from Harry and Draco, promising to
return the next day. Ginny had
not stopped crying the entire time. The twins went
off on their own, murmuring
about getting drunk, inviting Dudley and Neville
along because it looked they
needed it as well. Both agreed quickly and left with
them, both still wearing
blank pale masks. Sirius looked like he wished to
follow, and Severus had to
agree. A stiff drink would have done wonders right
then. Sirius, however, did
not go and instead bullied Lucius off his arse and
back to their room.
Severus hoped to Merlin Harry would survive this
mentally. There was no doubt
Draco would, but the blonde was strong. Not to say
Harry wasn't. Severus knew
the strength his nephew possessed. But Harry had
been attacked mentally his
entire life, and having someone strip away the one
solid anchor for his sanity
was detrimental to his mental health. And even
though the bond was
reconnected, Severus knew it would take some time
before Harry could forget
about what happened here tonight.
The Malfoy heir sat silently on the lounge chair,
staring into the fire with
silver eyes that blazed just as fiercely as the large
flames. The blonde sat
perfectly still, one hand deeply embedded into
Harry's hair whose head was in
his lap, his other hand gripping the arm rest tightly,
claws fully extended
and piercing the elaborately carved antique wood.
Draco clutched the post so
hard that his knuckles had turned white and his
hand would be stiff by the
time he allowed his anger to go down to only a
simmer and pry his hand away.
But right now Draco Malfoy was seething and
anyone in the near vicinity could
feel the pressure of his magic as he boiled with
anger. It was no wonder
everyone except the _Ukatae_ guards had moved to
the opposite side of the
manor. The power he emanated was simply too
stifling for humans to bear.
" Falde." He spoke lowly, a soft dangerous whisper
with a hardened edge. A
voice that would cause fear to rise up within
anyone.
Falde briskly walked forward, still in wonder that
Draco and Harry allowed he
and the other guards to remain in the room with
them. But by the tone coming
from the new blood, he imagined he and his
comrades were about to be
reprimanded, and in a vicious way. Not that Falde
didn't think they deserved
it. Because they certainly did. They had failed
miserably in their jobs to
protect the new blood, and had come very close to
letting the new blood become
victims of… someone.
He stopped at the side of the lounge so as not to
break Draco's view of the
fire, and honestly Falde did not want to be in the
direct line of those
glowing silver eyes. But then he found himself
under the intense stare and
trembled slightly, something that had never
happened to him, even under the
gaze of the former Rulers. Draco was displaying
fully, and his lips partly
slightly; His fangs gleamed dangerously in the
firelight, and a soft growl
escaped the blonde's mouth as he studied the
seasoned warrior.
Falde dropped to one knee and pressed a fist over
his heart. " We beg your
forgiveness."
Draco's eyes narrowed, " Fuck your apologies! Do
you think that's important?
Do you think an apology will change anything? Will
it take back what's been
done-" the blonde paused when Harry clutched at
his knee and murmured
something too quiet for Falde to hear. Whatever
the brunette said seemed to
calm Draco down slightly. " We don't care about
that," he went on more
quietly, " and we most certainly do not want you
begging for forgiveness." He
flicked a finger and Falde immediately rose.
" We were told a soul mate bond could not be
broken." Harry went on without
opening his eyes. His voice was much more gentle
and did much to ease Falde's
nerves, " so someone with extraordinary power did
this. Ozemir? Did you know
it was possible to block a bond like ours?"
Ozemir immediately came forward, " no, young
one. I never thought it could be
possible. Bonds like yours are made by Fate. In all
my years I've never heard
of something like this happening."
Draco took a deep breath before speaking again, "
then you could never have
predicted this would happen. Therefore you never
could have protected us.
Let's not waste time by trying to apologize, and
instead focus on who the fuck
did this. Demai'Tah?"
" He could not have done this without help. And
now that this has happened,
I've come to realize so much more."
Draco cocked his head, " please, do go on."
" Our war. The endless battles, Demai'Tah's return…
He should have died. But
he lives. He's being protected and helped. He has
forces, I know that… and the
continuing civil war seems to make sense now." The
Scholar spoke as if he were
still working out his thoughts. Draco's soft growl
seemed to bring him back to
the present and he withdrew a scroll and handed it
to the blonde. " Mother
gave me the scroll… I haven't deciphered most of it,
but what I can understand
does not bode well for us."
" Explain what you do know," Draco passed the
scroll back after glancing over
it. He couldn't understand one thing written on it.
" The Mother is not the only deity to have been
worshipped by our kind, young
one. There are many. Some not real. Others are.
One in particular. A goddess
who appeared the same time as the Mother, the
same time as our race was born.
" History dictates the Mother destroyed this
goddess, for she only sought
destruction and the annihilation of any race not
_Ukatae_. But the world is
meant to inhabit more then one race. It is the
natural balance of things. And
eventually it was feared should this goddess get her
wish, she would destroy
the _Ukatae_ as well…"
Harry sat up and leaned forward, pinning the
Scholar with intense green eyes,
" so by giving you this scroll, the Mother has warned
that we are now fighting
Demai'Tah who is being aided by a goddess bent on
destruction. Have I got this
right?"
Ozemir had the grace to look sheepish as he
answered, " well yes. That's
certainly the conclusion I've come up with."
" So will the Mother help us?"
" Technically she's not supposed to. The deities are
not supposed to interfere
with the lives of lesser beings. Which is another
reason why rogue deities,
who can be caught, are locked away forever.
However," Ozemir hurried on when
Draco opened his mouth, knowing full well Draco
did not take kindly to this
being thrown at them as well, " the Mother has
already helped. And will
continue to help. I assure you, she is closer then you
think. The rules have
changed in regards to what she can and can not do
now."
" That's a blessing then." Harry said quietly as Draco
pulled him into his
side.
" You can all get out now." Draco commanded, and
when they were gone, he
finally relaxed a bit and threw an arm around his
lover. _We should probably
talk about what happened tonight. Please tell me
you're all right, lover.
_Draco's thoughts ran quite similar to Severus'
earlier thoughts. Harry's
mental stability was nothing to be messed with.
Though unlike Severus, Draco
knew the Gryffindor's mind had strengthened since
they'd become _Ukatae_,
since they had completed their bond, but still…
Draco couldn't help but worry
just the slightest bit. Draco felt pain himself, felt the
terror clawing at
his mind, but he could push it away because Harry
was in his arms, alive and
well. That's all Draco needed in order to get passed
this.
Harry remained silent, staring at the fire, and tried
to put his scattered and
unstable emotions into words. Finally he sat
forward, enjoying the heat on his
face from the blazing fire. _I never imagined what it
would be like to lose
you. I never wanted to think about it. Before we
knew about the bond, you were
always there, lurking in my mind. Know what I
mean? I just didn't understand
it at the time. You know that saying 'out of sight,
out of mind?' Well, you
were out of sight sometimes, but never out of mind.
Never. Sometimes it
freaked me out. Hermione said I was obsessed…
_He shot a grin over his
shoulder then laughed when he caught the blonde's
smug smirk. _I just thought
it was because you were so annoying. Most times I
wanted to hurt you for it.
Pissed me the fuck off all the time! _
Draco tugged the ends of Harry's hair to get him to
sit back again, _enjoyed
every minute of it, I assure you. When we began our
education at Hogwarts and
you refused my friendship that first year, from then
on I spent a large amount
of time trying to come up with ways to get you back
and make your life a
living hell while at school. So much time that Blaise
and Pansy said I was
obsessed… _
It felt good to converse telepathically, to not only
hear thoughts, but to
feel the thoughts, and it did a lot of good in chasing
away the aftermath of
what happened. Without telling the other, they
sent out soothing vibes, small
mental touches, loud mental raspberries (in Harry's
case), and mental eye
rolls (Draco's case).
But Draco's humor died as he watched the mirth in
Harry's eyes fade as he
tussled his hair with shaking hands. _I don't like
people messing with your
mind_, Draco thought.
Harry had to laugh at that. _They messed with yours
to. _
Draco's hand caressed the back of Harry's neck. He
grinned and easily shifted
to slide one leg across the Gryffindor's lap. Half
straddling the surprised
brunette, Draco pressed his mouth against Harry's
and chuckled against his
lover's lips, _yes, but you're so much more delicate
then me._
_Prat._ Harry smiled against Draco's lips and
twisted around so they weren't
kissing in such an awkward position, then audibly
moaned when Draco angled his
head to take the kiss deeper, sending white-hot
flames spreading through his
veins.
Draco shifted again and pushed Harry onto his back.
_You love me, _he stated
smugly. Harry pulled back to simply gaze at his
mate. Merlin, his soul was
still crying, but at least with relief now. Only… his
mind felt ready to
shatter again into a million pieces, and knew it
would if he pulled away from
Draco even the slightest bit more. But Draco didn't
look ready to pull back
anytime in the future, his half cocky smile said as
much, and his silver eyes,
which were partly veiled by long platinum blonde
bangs the Slytherin had begun
to grow long, gazed back, burning and mirroring his
own thoughts.
_Draco, could you- _Harry stopped himself, feeling
slightly nervous, and
turned to the flames once more, cursing the blush
he felt blooming on his
face. He felt gentle fingers under his chin, and a
moment later was made to
look at his mate again.
Draco's smile was soft as he lowered to nuzzle
Harry's neck. _Could I what?_
_Make love to me? Right now. _Harry frowned
when Draco's laughter echoed in
his mind.
_You're adorable when you blush like a virginal
schoolgirl, Harry. Really._
_Hey! I am not a bloody blushing virgin you
arsehole, and I'm certainly not a
gir- Mmm… _
Draco easily put a stop to all of Harry's thoughts by
spreading out over his
indignant lover, and kissing all of his ire away. By
the time he had Harry
undressed and writhing beneath him, Draco felt
both their apprehension fade
away to leave nothing but their equal passions. His
devotion to loving Harry's
body was ardent and tender, and he lost himself in
Harry's equally fervent
responses.
Draco burned with hunger as he felt the lean but
powerful muscles trembling
beneath his caresses. His own body trembled as he
tasted the pale slick skin
of his lover and felt no small sense of pride as Harry
cried out his pleasure
received from his licking tongue.
Gasps and moans filled the room, accompanying
the crackling of the flames in
the fireplace, chasing away the coldness that had
settled around the room
during the night. Surrounding themselves in heat
and sweat, an internal fire
consumed them and burned up the fears and
memory of loss they had suffered.
Every sound, every movement was a glorious
reminder that they were alive,
together, and forever connected.
Draco shifted back and rested his hands on his
lover's parted thighs, "
Harry."
Green eyes opened and met determined silver
ones. And then a smirk grew on the
blonde's face that had Harry feeling slightly nervous
and the pounding of his
heart seemed to be the only thing he could hear.
And then suddenly half his
body was lifted off the couch, legs spread and firmly
planted over his lover's
shoulders, and he gasped when Draco's face
disappeared between his legs.
A greedy moan escaped the blonde as he began to
tongue Harry in the most
exquisite of ways while grasping Harry's cock in
hand leaving the Gryffindor
gasping and hissing in pleasure. Harry nearly went
blind. There was no way he
could speak or even think and he couldn't keep his
body from quivering nonstop. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as
Draco went on with his
wonderful torture… and then Draco's mouth shifted
over to his cock and he
inserted two fingers up his arse.
" Fuck! Draco, I can't-" he cut off with a strangled
cry and tried to pull air
into his burning lungs. " I'm going to come! Let me
come!"
Draco pulled back with a fierce growl, gathering his
mate in his arms. " No!
Together. We do that together."
Harry wasn't sure how Draco did it or even when it
happened, because his mind
was literally nothing but mush at this point, but
what he did know was one
moment he was spread across the lounge with
Draco's mouth on him, the next
moment he was on the bed, spread eagle with
Draco buried full tilt inside. The
blonde grabbed his wrists and pulled them up,
keeping them locked above his
head, smirking when Harry moaned wantonly
beneath his still form. He wanted to
see how far he could go with this type of torture.
" Are you going to move?" Harry growled and
bucked his hips, drawing Draco
further in.
Draco's gasp of pleasure and subsequent moan had
Harry smirking at him and he
lifted his hips again. The blonde hissed, let go of
Harry's hands then locked
his arms tightly around Harry's thighs to keep the
prat in place. " I don't
intend for this to end too soon." He ground out.
Though he wasn't too sure how
he was going to manage to keep in control.
" But Draco…" the Gryffindor whined. **Please…**
" Don't you dare rush me." The blonde quickly
covered his lover's mouth,
engaging Harry's tongue in a kiss that spread goose
bumps all over the
Gryffindor's body in order to keep Harry from
hissing out anything else that
would surely do him in.
_You want to drive me mad!_ Harry whimpered into
Draco's mouth as his lover
began to thrust into him. Slowly and with more
control then Harry had seen
from Draco before, pushing Harry beyond his limit,
and still somehow keeping
the brunette from exploding.
Draco pulled his mouth away and wrapped an arm
around Harry's neck, tugging
him up until he and the Gryffindor were in a sitting
position. " Hold on to
me, lover." Harry bit his lip as he wrapped his arms
tightly around Draco
strong back and pressed his face into the blonde's
neck. The Slytherin
quickened the maddening pace, and soon Harry was
matching his movements,
pushing when Draco thrust into him, drawing the
blonde's cock deep inside
until he was screaming out in ecstasy with his head
thrown back.
He felt Draco's control slipping as the blonde's
muscles quivered beneath his
fingers and he released his mate to fall onto his
back, his orgasm building
low in his belly past ready to explode, and all he
could do was reach back to
hold onto the headboard as Draco swiftly pushed
pillows under him and then
gripped his hips and began to drill into him.
Draco watched his green-eyed lover intently in the
next moments. Watched
Harry's bright dazed eyes widen and his beautiful
face slacken in surrender at
the force of his toe curling orgasm. The blonde
reveled in the harsh cries
passing his mate's red swollen slips as the
crescendo seared through his body
and only then, after seeing his mate's release did
Draco happily shut his eyes
as he cried out his own pleasure, coming with such
a force that had him
gasping in surprise from the shockwaves crashing
through him.
Draco just barely managed to keep from suddenly
dropping his full weight onto
Harry and lowered himself slowly with shaking
arms. Harry immediately embraced
him, rapid gasps blowing tuffs of damp blonde hair
away from his ear.
Draco's arms tightened around the trembling
Gryffindor. " You're mine. I still
have you. I'm never letting go, Harry."
It took a few moments before Harry could reply. "
How can you still talk?"
Draco smirked against his lover's pale neck. " I told
you I was stronger then
you." The blonde yelped when Harry pinched his
fine arse for such a remark.
" Tomorrow I'll show you who's stronger you cocky
bastard."
" Hmmm…" Draco held onto Harry as he rolled over
onto his back, wandlessly
cleaning the bedclothes and their bodies as he did
so. The Gryffindor grabbed
the covers and pulled them up before returning to
his usual place over Draco's
chest. Draco felt relieved when Harry drifted off to
sleep as he usually did
when his feathers were caressed for a lengthy
period of time. As he continued
to run his hands over the soft feathers, the blonde
hoped he would see a
change in the color of the markings in the very near
future. That would
definitely help them get over the horror they'd gone
through this night.
***
A/N: So ends Chap Ten. Next chap we'll get into
exactly what was in the
Prophet about Tom, we'll learn more about Luna...
how many of you have figured
out who she is yet? I'm sure many of you realize
what I'm doing with her...
She got serious there for a bit, but under the
circumstances, that was needed.
But don't worry, she'll still be as loony and fun as
ever...
So anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Sorry its taken so
long between updates, but i
was sick for a few days and didn't feel like doing
ANYTHING... hopefully next
chap will be out much faster. As always, reviews are
very welcome... they help
me out, really!
Have a nice day :D
11. Excitement, Good or Bad?
**Life Agendas**
**Chapter Eleven**
** Excitement, Good or Bad?**
The few hours of sleep they managed to catch were
very fitful and not as
restful as Draco would have liked for his mate. He
had been awoken several
times by Harry's arms squeezing the life out of him,
making sure he was still
there with him. And when they were both awake up
for the last time and decided
they would get no more sleep that morning, they
couldn't pull themselves out
of bed or away from each other. Draco was still
pissed off at the world, while
Harry burrowed beneath the covers, snuggling
against his lover's side,
prepared to hide from it. He didn't want to get up
and go out. He was afraid
something else might happen. What if they were
attacked? What if something
happened to Draco when he wasn't there to protect
the blonde? What if this was
all just a dream, and Draco was still dead? What if…
_Stop thinking so much._ Draco's thoughts caressed
his troubled mind as arms
encircled and pulled him tighter against the
blonde's warm body. _Nothing is
going to happen to you._
_I'm not worried about me. _
Draco turned on his side to look down at him,
holding his head up with his
arm, and smiled warmly down at Harry. " Listen,
stupid Gryffindor. There's
something I've been meaning to talk to you about.
One of the many, many, many
perks of being your mate is that I get to be
responsible for protecting youhold on, I'm not finished." He hurried on when
Harry's eyes narrowed on him. "
I love that I can protect you. It's something I've
always wished to be able to
do since I fell in love with you. You were busy trying
to protect everyone
else… but I just wanted to keep you safe. I'm going
to keep you safe.
Protecting you is my Fate given right, Harry. And I
would really appreciate it
if you didn't get angry with me for doing it."
Harry's green eyes were still slightly narrowed and
he continued to frown as
he looked up into Draco's earnest face, but Draco
knew the brunette was
thinking it over.
" Besides," Draco went on as he brushed Harry's
hair away from his eyes, " you
know you like it when I go into full protective
_Ukatae_ mode. You love it…"
Harry smiled a little. " That is true." He turned in
until his head rested in
the crook of Draco's arm. " But I don't want you
fighting my battles for me."
" I'm not going to. But when it's necessary I want
you to listen to me and let
me protect you. When I ask, let me step up and
protect you. Harry, since we've
become _Ukatae_ that is one instinct I have to
constantly suppress. But you're
my mate…"
" Draco, I'm sorry. I hadn't realized…" He sat up and
turned to glare at the
blonde. " Why didn't you say something before?" he
demanded.
Draco grinned, " because I knew it would lead to a
vicious argument. You are
so stubborn sometimes. But after last night- though
I suppose I didn't protect
you very well…"
" That has nothing to do with anything. We were
both attacked. In our sleep."
" Yeah, I guess…" But Draco still thought he should
have sensed something when
someone had the audacity to mess with his lover's
mind. He should have known
something was happening to Harry, and should
have been able to fight off the
enchanted sleep they'd been put under in order to
allow the black spell to
take hold.
His thoughts were put off when warm gently fingers
caressed his cheek. "
Please don't." Harry begged.
Draco cleared his throat. " Anyway, I'm going to
protect whether you like it
or not." He said haughtily, and was happy when
Harry grinned.
" Is that so?"
" Yes."
" Fine. But if I tell you to back off, you better listen."
" Harry-"
" We'll have to compromise, lover. I promise not to
tell you to back off all
the time. Maybe I'll never tell you that. I just want
the option."
Draco's responding smile seemed to chase all the
gloom away from Harry's
heart, and he felt he spent enough time hiding in
bed.
" Let's go fly." Harry said as grabbed Draco's hand
and dragged the blonde
across the mattress and out of bed.
A knock at the door had Draco veering off course
from the bathroom. Harry
stopped at the threshold and watched his half
naked lover approach the door.
" Ozemir?"
The Scholar grinned and held out his hand. Lovely
was curled around his wrist,
hissing slowly at Draco. " I thought you might like to
know… Lovely saved your
lives. She went straight to your brother after
realizing your sleep was not
natural and we were able to find Harry in time…" he
trailed off and lifted his
arm for Draco to take the snake.
Draco didn't hesitate. He reached out for Lovely,
whom quickly slithered onto
his hand. " Thanks, Ozemir. We'll be out shortly."
For a moment the Scholar looked surprised. But
then his goofy grin was back in
place and he looked exceedingly pleased with the
young one. He nodded once
before backing away from the door.
Harry watched in awe as Draco shut the door and
murmured praises to Lovely the
entire time. " Lovely, you're a treasure. I take back
any mean thing I ever
said to you. You'll forgive me, wont you? Of course
you will. You'll be set up
for life after this, snake. I'll make sure of it."
Draco continued to announce his admiration of
Lovely as he passed his shocked
lover and walked into the bathroom with Lovely still
wrapped around his wrist.
Lovely preened and hissed with delight from Draco's
abrupt change of attitude.
Apparently he was no longer afraid of snakes.
Lucius was relieved to find his breakfast room
blessedly empty when he arrived
for his brunch. He really had no wish to socialize
with anyone at the moment.
He hadn't wanted to get out of bed either, but his
hunger and his continued
worry over his son made it impossible to try and
regain sleep and had finally
pulled him away from the warmth of his soundly
sleeping husband.
He tried not to think about what happened last
night, because Harry and Draco
were fine now, but it was hard to push away the
memories of their tortured
screams… If Molly hadn't taken control last night,
Lucius was sure he might
have lost it. Draco had nearly killed himself with his
wand…
" Blast!" he hissed when he realized he was doing it
again. It took him a
great deal to focus solely on his breakfast and keep
from thinking about
anything else but the food in front of him.
Lucius raised a brow when a copy of the Daily
Prophet was slapped down in
front of him, narrowly missing his plate. He hadn't
heard anyone enter the
room, but now he was actually glad for this
interruption. It kept him from
thinking too much on last night.
Lucius looked to find Tom standing beside the table,
fury raging in his dark
eyes.
" What is the meaning of this?" Tom hissed. " I don't
believe I've given
anyone permission to reveal anything of this sort!"
Lucius pushed his plate away and picked up the
paper, brows rising as he read
the bold headline.
**You-Know-Who Rumored Dead… Vanquished by
Boy-Who-Lived and Malfoy Heir?**
Skeeter had written the rest of the article as an
answer to the question in
the headline. She wrote as if she firmly believed
Lord Voldemort had finally
been defeated and the Wizarding World was saved
once again by Harry, this time
assisted by his son. She also wrote a small piece on
the revival of the
Longbottoms. Not only did Skeeter write about the
Longbottoms, but she threw
out the name Tom Riddle throughout that small
paragraph and Lucius had the
feeling she was indicating Tom Riddle had a great
deal to do with their
recovery.
Lucius wondered if Rookwood had managed to put
an enchantment upon the
article. Skeeter didn't come right out and say Tom
Riddle did it, but while he
read the article, Lucius has this overwhelming
feeling that Tom Riddle was in
some way responsible for bringing the Longbottoms
back to their right minds.
Lucius couldn't help but wonder what the public
would think after reading this
remarkable article.
Skeeter also stated there would be no more Death
Eater raids upon muggles.
Tying this in with the death of You-Know-Who.
However she didn't say there
were no more Death Eaters. She also mentioned
Harry and Draco, among others,
and their intentions of getting involved with
bettering the Wizarding World in
the near future.
Lucius wisely kept from showing his elation. With
Tom being there and looking
like a sleep deprived and enraged _Ukatae_ demon,
Lucius knew to erase all
visible emotions from his face in order to keep his
arse from burning.
" Who thought they had authorization to have such
lies printed?" Tom seethed.
" Molly." Lucius lied instantly. He realized having
Tom intrude on his quiet
time was very healing. Lucius felt much better and
had to hold away a smile
when Tom's mouth dropped open and his eyes
widened with surprise. " Did you
read the entire article? There's more. It's not all lies,
I assure you."
Tom seemed to regain himself and his eyes spit fire,
" I repeat, I never gave
authorization! I am certainly not dead, and
definitely have _not_ been
vanquished by Harry and Draco!"
Lucius couldn't help the smirk appearing on his face,
" technically you died
that night you went into the cauldron and were
reborn as the new you. No one
need know the specifics."
" Lucius!" The Dark Lord slapped a hand on the
table.
" It's for the best," the blonde went on in a lazy
drawl as if talking with
his own son. " You didn't think you could announce
yourself to the Wizarding
World as Voldemort, New Ruler, did you? Not while
people fear and hate you."
" Tom Riddle will get the same reactions."
" No, I don't think so."
Tom sank into a seat and glared at the table, "
you've gone insane."
" I told you Molly did it."
" She had help, I'm sure," Tom hissed as he
snatched the paper back. Lucius
only allowed a smile after Tom had disappeared
behind the paper. " Drop the
smile, Malfoy. If I finish reading this and remain to
be less then pleased, I
will curse you."
The smile dissolved, " and Molly?"
Tom's voice was muffled by the paper in front of his
face, " she was not the
one to give the interview, was she?"
" She threw in her two knuts."
" And whose idea was it to begin with?"
" Molly's."
Tom shook his head in annoyance and dropped
_The Prophet_ back on the table, "
really, Lucius. You need to stop lying. It ruins the
image."
Lucius didn't think that deserved a response and
went back to his breakfast.
He thought Tom would have continued to read the
paper, but the young Dark Lord
set it aside and was once again staring at the table.
Tom finally broke the silence and glanced at the
blonde from the corner of his
eye, " I'm not returning to Hogwarts."
" If that is your wish. May I ask why?"
" I feel I can get more done here."
Lucius knew that was only partly the truth and the
less important. " When are
you going to tell them? And before you say it, they
will return once they
realize you have no intention of rejoining them
there and drag you back if you
wait until after they've gone to tell them."
Tom scowled at Lucius and wondered if he'd always
been this predictable. "
They will have no choice but to accept this."
Lucius returned to his breakfast, " You should
rethink your decision."
" I spent all night thinking about it, Lucius. My mind
is made up on this."
Lucius sighed and pushed his breakfast away once
again and stood. " Then I
suppose I'll have to respect your decision. Of course
you will be welcome
here. As always."
Tom watched Lucius walk out, noticing the blonde's
stiff posture. He wondered
why Lucius was bothered that he wasn't returning
to school. He knew it had
nothing to do with him staying at Malfoy Manor.
Lucius didn't mind having him;
he knew that without a doubt…
" I had hoped you would stay at school and
continue to look after your
siblings. Less worry for me." Molly spoke softly as
she moved into the room. A
half smile adorned her face when Tom groaned and
covered his face with his
hands.
" I thought you went back home, Mrs. Weasley."
" I was heading that way…" Molly sat right next to
him and turned her seat in
to face him, " tell me why you don't want to go
back, and don't give me that
excuse you gave to Lucius."
" Mrs. Weasley," Tom growled out, in no mood to
bare his soul to anyone.
Molly's eyes narrowed on him.
" Now you listen to me," she said lowly, " stop this
sulking at once and tell
me what is going on! Sulking does not befit a
_Ukatae_ Dark Lord!"
" And neither does spilling my soul to the likes of
you!" he hissed back. Tom
began to stand, only to howl in surprise and pain as
Molly had his ear firmly
in hand and twisted without mercy.
" The likes of me? Is that what you said, Tom?"
" Um…" Tom had realized he made a mistake the
moment he said it, but he
couldn't very well apologize for it. " Well… Oww!"
Molly continued to twist
his pointed ear, " Merlin, woman. Let go!"
" Start talking or I'll pull your ear right off!"
Tom had no choice but to sit down again, as he was
quite fond of his
appearance. She let his ear go, and his hand flashed
out to rub it gently,
scowling at her as he did so. " I don't want to talk
about it."
" Yes you do."
" No, I really don't."
" You're so stubborn! You need to talk about it!
Keeping whatever bothers you
inside will only make it worse."
" If you're so smart then why don't you figure it
out!" he snapped. " I don't
see why you care so much anyway. You shouldn't
care! I'm not Harry or Draco.
I'm not one of your children. I don't need this. I'm
perfectly fine by myself.
Why can't you people leave me alone? I don't want
any of these… these
feelings. I hate it!" He ended with a strangled cry,
and then covered his face
with his hands once again.
Molly sat shocked for a minute, watching the boy's
shoulders shaking. She
quickly regained herself and sealed the room shut,
casting Silencing spells
all around. When she returned to Tom, who now
had his head plastered on the
table, arms around his head, she pulled him up and
into her arms. She ignored
his annoyed hiss, which really only came out as
quivering sound of
disapproval, and pressed his face against her
shoulder. After a moment, he
relaxed and threw his arms around her, squeezing
her tightly.
Molly remained quiet while Tom tried to get a hold
of his emotions. She ran
her fingers through his hair and rocked back and
forth. It was easy to forget
Tom was only a boy now. A boy who was
experiencing certain emotions for the
first time. Seeing his brothers like that must have
cracked him somehow and
she was not about to let him slink off to the dark
and try and force himself
back to the way he was before he became an
eighteen year old.
" There now, that's better, isn't it?" she murmured
softly when she felt the
tears stop falling and his breathing return to
normal. " It's okay to cry, you
know."
" Don't you get it? It's not acceptable. It's rather
unbearable. I can't last
like this…" he whispered. Instead of pulling away,
Tom clung onto Molly even
more.
" Tom…" She began and pulled away.
" Please don't." he whispered. " Please don't
validate my feelings."
" Someone should, dear." Molly touched his arm. "
It did feel good though,
didn't it? Letting all that out." Tom reluctantly
nodded. " Now listen. It's
not a weakness to care about those around you, to
love those who are close to
you, and to feel what you're feeling when those
people are threatened or
harmed as Draco and Harry were. It is acceptable
for you to feel lost and
useless when you have to sit back and watch people
you love go through hell.
Honestly, I'd be worried if you weren't having this
problem. Tom, we all had
to stand back and let it happen. None of us could
stop it. And you know every
one of us would have stopped it if we could."
Tom nodded and sank back down into his seat,
allowing Molly to keep her arm
around his back as she sat beside him, " It's not just
about last night." He
finally mumbled.
" Please, Tom…"
But this time the head shaking was firm, " no. I- I
haven't figured it out
yet. I don't want to talk about it until I've figured it
out." Tom paused and
ran a hand through uncharacteristically disheveled
hair. Molly had a hard time
not gushing over him. He was so darn adorable
looking like a lost puppy. He
must have been reading her mind or something
because his attention snapped
back to her and he scowled. " I hate puppies."
Molly chuckled softly for a moment, hoping Tom
would eventually go on and talk
with her, but it became very apparent how
stubborn he was when his mouth
remained firmly shut. Sighing, she realized she
would have to coax it out of
him. " Tom, I want you listen to me. Will you do
that?"
Tom grabbed the paper and began messing with the
edges of it in a nervous
habit. Finally he nodded and waited for her to go
on.
" Do you remember what you were like before you
reverted back to eighteen?"
" Some things I remember. But that life seems so
long ago. The knowledge I
gained throughout my life has stayed, but other
things are being drowned out,
slipping and draining away…"
" And that scares you, doesn't it?"
Tom narrowed his eyes when she said the word
scared, but since it was the
truth, and Molly was smiling in understanding, he
merely nodded.
" Tom, if you could go back and stop your alliance
with Harry and Draco, would
you? Would you want to revert back to the… ah…"
" The thing that I was?"
" Yes. Would you do that?"
" No."
" And if you could go back, would you refuse to
become their brother?"
Tom took his time answering. It wasn't as if he
regretted becoming their
sibling, it was the fact that he was completely
ensconced in their lives.
Sharing a connection he had never dreamed
possible of having. Loving Harry,
Draco, and Hermione came without thought now….
" No I wouldn't refuse. But I
feel ridiculous having these emotions."
Molly nodded her understanding, " you're afraid to
lose yourself. Your
essence."
" I don't want to lose myself. I like being dark, Mrs.
Weasley. I don't like
holding back my temper. I don't want to become
something that I hate."
" We don't want that either. Because we know if
you become something you hate,
you'll only revert back to your former self and
become something much worse."
Molly grasped his hand and made him look at her. "
I want you to do what you
want, Tom. Because I want you to grow properly
and be happy."
" Some won't like it if I do what I want, Mrs.
Weasley. You would definitely
not approve."
" Don't let that bother you, dear. You can't please
everyone. And that's the
thing. You shouldn't try to please anyone unless you
want to. You think we all
expect things from you… that's the pressure getting
to you, isn't it?" Tom
nodded. " But what you don't seem to understand is
we understand who you are,
Tom. We expect you to lead us into a new future.
That's the only expectation
that should have you worrying… And I know that's
not what has you worried
right now. You know you will not fail in that. And
now with the new you, you
think you have to change the way you are inside,
that that's what we're all
expecting, but that's not true. We want you to be
who _you_ want to be…
" I'm saying this, realizing that I won't like some
things that you do. But I
can't push your character away. I wouldn't want to
do that. It would only push
you back to what you were. Push you away from us.
We can only give and take.
Give and take. I think you just need to figure it out
what you can give and
what you want to take from us. We'll accommodate
you because we want to
support you in every way.
" Just remember that these new emotions and
experiences are good for you,
dear. Don't run away from it. In the long run, it's an
advantage. It's what
being human is all about."
" But, Mrs. Weasley… I'm no longer human." He told
her quietly, and then
cringed when she gave him an annoyed look.
" You know what I mean. You've been given a
wonderful chance at experiencing
life for a second time. Don't run from it. Embrace
it."
" I'm not sure how to do that."
" Brooding is fine, Tom. Taking time to examine
yourself, talking to someone
you feel comfortable with is also fine. What you
shouldn't do is try to push
those feelings away or push those people inspiring
those feelings away."
" I'll try."
Molly nodded and stood. " Now, I'm going to say
something to you, and I say
this with love. By refusing to return to school, you
are being a coward."
" Excuse me?"
" Coward." Molly surprised him when she sneered
at him, which effectively made
him forget his anger at being called a coward.
Where had she picked up that
sneer? " The term used for a fraidy-cat, shirker,
slacker, chicken, quitter,
deserter…"
" Yes, thanks! I got that!" Tom growled.
" You're running away. Plain and simple. That's a
coward's way out." She
smiled as she headed for the door. " And you're not
a coward, are you Tom?"
" Well I feel like one right now!" he snapped.
Molly chuckled as she opened the door. " Go back
to school, Tom. That's a good
boy."
She left him sitting there and scowling at the table
once again. " That's a
good boy…" he imitated her voice and then
sneered. " I'm not a good boy!" But
she had changed his mind. He would return to
Hogwarts. He would go to protect
his family. Harry and Draco needed more support
then he did. After last night
it was going to be hard for them to separate for
classes and meals. It was
going to be hard for the mates to do anything
without the other. At least
Harry would have Hermione during meals and
classes and Draco would have him.
Outside of those times, Tom planned to keep to
himself for a while. Until he
could sort himself out.
" Talyn!"
The female _Ukatae_ quickly appeared beside him
and smiled. " You called?"
" Take me back to Hogwarts now."
Dudley seriously thought about running home to his
mother and locking himself
away in his room forever. What the fuck was wrong
with people to make them
torture someone the way Draco and Harry had been
tortured last night? That had
been the worst thing he'd ever seen. That was what
happened to soul mates when
one dies? Fucking crazy! No way did he ever want to
find a soul mate. No way!
He could live happily without his soul mate, thank
you very much!
He didn't run away though. In the end he got drunk
with Fred, George, and
Neville and let the alcohol dull away his senses and
the worry for his cousin.
And seriously, he had needed to get away from all
the pained expressions
crossing the faces of everyone he saw.
But now he was sober, thanks to a nasty tasting
potion Snape had given him, it
was nearing the evening and he was laying on his
back on the Quidditch pitch,
holding his new broom tightly against his chest. He
was supposed to be
practicing, but he hadn't been doing a very good job
on his own. His thoughts
kept scattering and he was having trouble
concentrating and staying in the
air.
A sudden shadow fell over him, causing him to jerk
in surprise. His eyes
widened when he saw it was Draco who stood over
him with Harry perched
securely on his back, both staring down at him with
intense eyes. Well this
was a surprise. No one had expected to see them
for some time. He thought it
should be strange to see Harry perched on the
blonde's back like a child like
that, but it wasn't. Harry looked quite comfortable
with his arms thrown over
Draco's shoulders, hands clasped loosely together
over the blonde's chest. And
the most surprising thing about the entire image
was Malfoy. He stood there
looking stoic as ever, but with his arms back,
holding Harry up under his
legs.
" Um… Hello?" he ventured as he scrambled to his
feet. He really had no idea
what else to say. For a second he thought about
inquiring after how they were
feeling, but that sounded stupid in his mind. And
then Harry gave him a half
grin that did not reach his eyes while Draco
continued to sneer at him, his
eyes cold unwavering steel.
" Tell me, Dursley… Is this the way you plan to help
us? By laying on your
arse all day?"
Dudley only barely managed to keep from voicing
the thought that Draco sounded
exactly like his father just then. " Ah… well I was
practicing, but I spaced
out and wasn't doing so good."
" Were you trying to fly by yourself?" Harry asked
softly. " Dudley you should
have someone with you to teach until you get the
basics down."
Dudley shrugged, " I didn't want to bother any one
and there was no one around
when I decided to come out. Besides, I can do it
alone. I'm not incapable of
teaching myself."
Draco opened his mouth and by the malicious look
in his eyes Dudley knew he
wasn't about to say anything nice. Only he stopped
when Harry turned his face
and brushed his lips against the blonde's neck.
Dudley couldn't hear what they
were saying but it was obvious by the expressions
crossing his cousin's face
that they were talking telepathically. Finally, it
looked like Malfoy relaxed.
" How far have you gotten then? Probably haven't
left the ground yet." Draco
snatched the broom out of Dudley's hand to study
it. " Where did you get this?
I don't recall giving you permission to use any of my
good brooms."
" It's not yours." Dudley snatched it back. " It's
mine."
Draco snatched it back, " Like hell! You can't afford
a broom like this."
Harry rolled his eyes and slid off his lover's back. He
grabbed the broom from
Draco and handed it back to its owner. " It's his,
Draco. I bought it for
him."
The blonde scowled at his mate, " of course you did.
Couldn't help yourself,
could you? Typical Gryffindor."
Harry smirked, not at all insulted, " I've also given
him the Potter estate
here in Wiltshire."
This was the first time Dudley had ever seen Draco
truly surprised. The
blonde's mouth was hanging wide-open, eyes wide
with incredulity. But before
he could say anything, Harry went on before Draco
could berate him for that as
well.
" I'm going to teach Dudley the basics." Harry
announced.
" Suppose someone should teach him. At least
you're better on a broom then you
are with your wings…" Draco leered at his mate as
he caressed the black and
green feathers.
" Who told you that?" Harry demanded and
smacked the blonde's hand away. "
It's not true anyway…"
" Yeah, right." Draco chuckled darkly when Harry
blushed a furious red.
Dudley stood back, watching all this in amusement
and some shock. They were
acting as they usually did. As if nothing had
happened the night before. But
then Draco started to walk away, waving over his
shoulder and muttering, " …
couldn't care less if that bastard falls off his new
broom…" Harry's eyes
widened in panic, and Dudley realized they were
only pretending for the world.
Clearly Harry did not want Draco out of his sight or
even out of touching
range.
" Hey, Malfoy! Aren't you going to stay?" he called
out to the blonde. Draco
turned and glared at him, but Dudley cut a glance at
Harry who looked frozen
stiff.
Draco returned to his mate's side. " I'll be just over
there, love." Draco
pointed to the stands. " I'm not going anywhere,
promise. And Brumek and
Ozemir are over there." Harry nodded. " Besides. I
wouldn't want to miss this
fool falling off the broom from twenty feet up."
" Draco!" Harry hissed, " can't you be nice?"
The Slytherin passed Dudley and sneered at him. "
Never going to happen."
Harry and Dudley watched Draco move to the
stands and sit down to watch.
Dudley turned to Harry. " He hates me."
" Afraid so. But hey, you don't have to worry about
it. As long as you don't
do something to really piss him off then you'll be
fine."
Harry quickly summoned another broom from the
many Draco had stored in the
large equipment shed, and soon had Dudley in the
air without problem. Harry
shot Draco a smug look. " Thirty Galleons you owe
me!"
Draco scowled and shot Dudley a withering look.
Damn arse cost him money! Why
couldn't he fall off his broom already? He was
taking up too much of Harry's
time and attention. But at least his lover was
occupied by flying and had
relaxed. He was enjoying being on his broom
again… and yeah, Draco was more
then a little jealous. Damn Dursley! And what the
hell was Harry thinking to
give that insignificant little twerp the deed to the
Potter estate? Had his
mate lost his mind? Draco was just wondering if he
should cause a sudden
windstorm when Neville interrupted his thoughts.
" Draco, hey!" Neville called cheerfully as he jogged
over.
" What is it?" the blonde drawled when Neville sunk
down next to him.
" Saw Harry and Dudley were flying. Thought I'd
come and watch for a bit."
Draco looked at him with a blank face, " what
exactly did you come out here to
see? Or more specifically, whom did you come to
see?"
" Well… err… you know, everyone loves watching
Harry…"
" Yeah, I'm sure it was Harry." Neville blushed and
Draco rolled his eyes. "
Why don't you two just go shag already. Your
constant blushing is very
annoying."
Neville's mouth began to open and close like a fish,
" what… what are you
saying? It's not like that!"
" Riiight," Draco turned his attention back to Harry.
" So what was in that
letter to make you go berserk on Weasel when he
took it from you?"
" No- Nothing! It was just a letter."
" Just a letter? Don't believe you."
" I swear. It was only a letter. He wanted to know if
we could be friends and
asked if we could correspond and get to know each
other through letters. It
was completely platonic."
Draco's gaze traveled back to Dursley in surprise.
Platonic? Yeah right. That
was a smooth move, Draco thought. " Do you want
to learn to fly? Properly? We
can teach you as well."
Again he was faced with the fish look. He reached
out and smacked the
Gryffindor upside the head. " Stop making that face.
Yes or no."
" No, I don't think so. You know I'm no good on a
broom." _And I don't trust
you not to push me off it._
The blonde stood and glared down at him, " the
thing is… I don't care if you
don't want to. Everyone who has that mark will be
successful in everything
they do. And you will be able to do everything. Get
me?" Before Neville had a
chance to say anything else, Draco walked away,
sauntering towards the broom
shed.
Harry noticed his lover walking away and stopped
flying. He hovered in the air
and watched Draco lead Neville towards the shed,
wondering what his lover was
up to. Dudley came by to hover next to him, and
Harry was impressed that
Dudley was only having mild trouble keeping his
broom steady.
" What are they doing?" Dudley asked.
" Don't know." But Harry wasn't going to do
anything else until Draco had
reappeared from the shed. He could still feel his
lover sending reassuring
thoughts and vibes, but still… he wouldn't relax until
Draco had reappeared.
When Draco reappeared he visibly relaxed. And
then when Draco shoved a broom
into Neville's hands, he started to chuckle. _What
are you doing with Neville?
You plan on pushing him off a broom?_
_No. I'm going to teach this ingrate how to fly. Can't
have anyone making us
look bad. Besides, Neville told me what Dursley
wrote to him about. _
Harry glanced at Dudley, whose eyes were fixed on
the obviously nervous
Gryffindor below. _What? You're a matchmaker
now? That's totally not in your
character. You don't even like Neville, and you hate
Dudley._
_You are assuming far too much, lover. Who says I
want to set them up?_
Harry snorted, _mentioning that letter was a big
give away. _
_Fine then. Besides, someone really should teach
Neville to fly- and I never
said I didn't like him._
_What? You've always said it and when did you
start calling him Neville?_
_Well I changed my mind about him after he started
that fight with the
Weasel._
Harry furrowed his brows in thought, wondering
why exactly Draco was doing
this. In the end he decided it didn't really matter.
_But you know if Neville
really does fancy Dudley, making him practice now
with Dudley watching is only
going to be catastrophic. He's going to get so
nervous he won't even get off
the ground. _
_Nonsense. Watch and learn, lover._
Harry continued to chuckle lowly and draped
himself over his hovering broom
like a stretched out cat to watch the couple on the
ground. " This should be
fun."
Neville stared at the broom in his hand for a
moment, before looking up at
Draco. " I've never seen so many nice brooms in one
place before… Are you sure
you want to do this? I'm useless at this."
" All it takes is practice."
" Yeah… um… why are you trying to help me?"
Draco stopped walking and huffed in annoyance. " I
believe I've already
explained that part. Besides, don't you think your
parents would like to see
you handle a broom properly? You didn't even try
to master flying after first
year lessons were finished, did you?"
" Well no. But only because I knew I couldn't get
any better."
" That's stupid thinking." _Harry, take your bastard
cousin to the other side
of the Pitch. _
_I wish you'd stop calling him names._
_And I wish you would stop thinking I'm going to
warm up to him. _" Okay,
mount your broom and let's go. We don't have all
day."
Neville nodded, and did what the tall Slytherin
demanded. He really didn't
think he had a choice anyway. Draco looked
determined to teach him how to fly
properly.
After an hour Neville could make it back and forth
across the Pitch without
wobbling like an idiot, and Harry thought it was a
good thing he finally did
catch on because Draco looked like he'd reached
the end of his patience by
that time. Harry was sure the blonde was going to
push Neville off just so
they could finish and he wouldn't have to say it was
his failed teachings that
did it.
Draco and Neville zoomed over and Draco produced
a Snitch from his robes. "
How about it, lover?"
" Yes!"
Draco released the Golden Snitch and they eagerly
watched it zoom away.
Neville and Dudley soon lost sight of it and looked
back to the _Ukatae_,
waiting for them to go looking for it. But Draco and
Harry remained immobile,
hovering on their brooms, eyes zigzagging back and
forth… After a minute,
Harry's shoulders slumped.
" This isn't going to work." He pouted.
" Why? What's wrong?" inquired Neville.
Draco growled in frustration. " We haven't played a
Seeker's game since before
we transformed into _Ukatae_ and now we can see
the Snitch wherever it goes.
Even if we try looking away to allow it to move
around without us following
its position, once we focus back it's easy to spot."
" It's too slow." Harry mourned. " Just as well we
can't play Quidditch this
year. The games would be over in seconds…"
There was a moment of silence in which both
Seekers were pouting in their
displeasure and Neville shared an amused glance
with Dudley. Both were nearly
startled off their brooms when Draco exclaimed
suddenly, " Fuck this! We're
going to play!" He zoomed off after the Snitch,
caught it, and then flew to
the ground where Ozemir and Brumek stood watch.
" Can you fix this?" Draco asked and held the
hovering Golden Snitch in his
palm.
Ozemir's eyes widened excitedly, " ooh! What's
this?" he snatched the Snitch
and brought it up to his nose, turning it over and
around studying it.
" It's a Golden Snitch. We use it in the game of
Quidditch. It's supposed to
fly around, be incredibly hard to find and see…
Harry and I are Seekers. The
players whose job it is to find and catch the Snitch
in order to bring the
game to an end. However now that we're
_Ukatae_…"
" It gives you no challenge." Ozemir ended for him
and Draco nodded.
" Can you enhance it? Make it faster and harder to
see?"
" Hmm…" Ozemir fingered the Snitch, his brow
furrowing in thought as he
contemplated. " Yes, I can do that. But since I
gather you want it quickly…"
Draco nodded. " Then the advancements would
only be temporary. Should you want
something done specifically and permanent, I
suggest you design a new one
yourself when you have the time."
Draco nodded again. Ozemir cradled the Snitch in
his hands and murmured a few
words in _Ukatae_. The only words Draco caught
were speed and sight. Ozemir
extended his arms and placed the Snitch in Draco's
hands. " Hold tight until
you are ready to release it."
" Thanks, Ozemir."
Draco flew off and Brumek stepped closer to his
mate. " Did you make it very
hard?"
Ozemir grinned. " Yep! They'll have to use more
then just their eyes to find
it. This will be a good exercise for them." Brumek
made a small sound of
approval and Ozemir's grin grew. " They seem
alright, don't you think?"
Brumek nodded and shifted so their arms brushed
together, " They are strong
and they are together. They'll be fine."
" I'm glad. I was so worried, Brumek. And we were
gone…"
" Don't think too much on it. It's over and it wont
happen again."
The two guards remained silent as they watched
Harry and Draco start their
game. Almost immediately the two young _Ukatae_
lost sight of the Snitch as it
was now almost completely invisible and it took
quite some time before one of
them spotted it.
" Ozemir, I've been thinking…"
" Hirsha save me! I'm dying from shock!"
Brumek sighed and shook his head. " One day you
will have reached my limit."
The Scholar grinned cheekily. " Nonsense! Your
limits are beyond the skies,
dear lover."
" I was just wondering…" Brumek went on quickly as
he looked away from his
mate, wondering how Ozemir could say such a thing
with such ease and leave him
feeling strangely content. " What happens when the
young one becomes pregnant?
How will he train?"
" Brumek, please… There are spells we can use to
insure the babe is not harmed
inside the womb while Harry trains. What we need
to worry about is his mate.
Draco will not allow him to fight too hard and his
protectiveness will get in
the way of our training."
" You leave Draco to Falde and myself. No need to
call Dagon out on him. And I
suppose we can start weapons training tomorrow if
what you said is true. About
the spells to protect the future heir."
Ozemir smiled and nodded. " Harry will get angry if
restrictions are put on
his training."
Brumek smirked, " oh yes. Very angry. He's
stubborn, isn't he? He'll fight his
mate tooth and nail on that." The two guards
returned their attentions to the
sky when they heard Draco yelling at Harry's cousin
to get out of the way or
he'd knock the bloke down.
Ozemir laughed. " He's so mean."
Dudley scowled at Draco's retreating back for a
moment, and then dropped down
to go watch in the stands where Neville had already
taken himself.
" Dangerous to be up there with them. They usually
end up doing crazy moves."
Neville explained. " They really are good. Especially
when they're flying
against each other. Too bad they can't be on the
Quidditch teams anymore."
" At least they can still have fun like this. After what
happened last night…"
" Umm… yeah, about last night…" Neville cleared
his throat and looked away. "
How much of it, exactly, do you remember? You
know… after we started to drink
with Fred and George."
Dudley blinked at him, several times, and tried to
think about what Neville
could be talking about. Unfortunately he was
drawing a blank.
Seeing that blank look on Dudley's face, Neville
elaborated. " I only ask
because I think I passed out kind of early on and I
didn't wake up where I
thought I had passed out." _Not to mention the
crazy drunken dream I had that
didn't seem like a dream at all…_
" Those two, Fred and George…" Dudley rested his
hands on the bench behind him
and reclined back. " They're crazy. They were mixing
all sorts of alcohol
together. It's no wonder we passed out after a short
time. Maybe they moved
you."
" So you don't remember anything either?" Dudley
shook his head and Neville
didn't know why, but he was sort of disappointed.
He was sure that dream had
actually been real. " About your letter… it's okay,
you know. To keep
writing."
" Yeah?"
The Gryffindor nodded and mirrored Dudley by
leaning back to have a better
view of Draco and Harry. " Sure."
Harry and Draco zoomed around, looking all over
the pitch, but it was clear
they could not find the Snitch. Harry stopped flying
and hovered and looked
around that way and after a time Draco pulled up
beside him, looking somewhat
pissed off.
" Ozemir," he yelled down, " I didn't tell you to
make it impossible!"
" You'll have to use more then your eyes to see and
catch it."
Draco then went on a rant about how this game
was supposed to be for fun only,
while Harry remained still and quiet while his eyes
darted all over the pitch.
Neville couldn't help but laugh, " these last few
months have been really
enlightening."
" How's that?"
" Draco. Usually he kept his emotions in check. He
was always a cold bastard
on the outside, well except when he was fighting
Harry. He's opened up a lot
more. I guess Harry had a hand in that…" Neville
shifted closer so he could
talk more quietly, knowing how well the _Ukatae_
could hear. " Last night
outside of Draco's room… That was terrifying."
Dudley nodded, but Neville was
shaking his head knowing Dudley wasn't catching on
to what he was thinking, "
besides the fact about what was happening, it was
they way Draco was reacting.
No one had ever heard him like that before. Harry,
he's prone to lose his
temper, lose the grip on his emotions on occasion,
but not Draco. That's why
at school he's known as the Ice Prince of Slytherin.
Seriously, before this
year, I swear no one ever thought he cared about
anything or anyone-" Neville
cut off when he realized he was just babbling. " Ah,
sorry…"
" Hey, don't be sorry." Dudley was always interested
in anything Neville had
to say, even if the boy was babbling. " And I get it. It
was scary seeing both
of them like that. And you know them better then I
do."
Neville shrugged. " It's not like I know Draco all that
well. He tormented me
every year until he and Harry got together. I guess
it's just weird seeing
another side of him…" Neville grinned then, " but
I'm happy to be on his side
now. I heard over the summer he beat Ron and
Seamus nearly to death for
insulting Harry and Hermione."
" Spreading rumors, Longbottom? Surely you have
better things to do." A silky
voice laced with acid spoke a few feet over from
them. Neville closed his eyes
in mortification. Professor Snape was the last
person he wanted to see at the
moment. And then to his horror, the snarky bastard
climbed the stands and sat
right next to him. Peeking over, Neville saw Dudley
was trying very hard not
to laugh at him.
" It- it's not a rumor, Professor. It really happened."
" And do you think it's anyone's business but
Draco's?"
Neville hung his head, " sorry Professor."
" Severus, stop being so snarky." Hermione
chastised as she joined them, her
eyes glued to the skies where Harry had finally
spotted the elusive Snitch and
was diving for it.
Harry glanced over shoulder to see if Draco had
spotted it as well, and when
he saw his lover was still preoccupied with yelling at
their guards, Harry
pulled up with a sigh.
" Draco, the game! Come on!"
The blonde stopped mid rant to see what his lover
was yelling about and Harry
was pointing to something at the far end of the
pitch.
" Did you see it?" he asked once he pulled up along
side Harry.
" I sensed it. Once I did that, then I could hear it.
And then it was easy to
see. But now I have to start over because you were
too busy bitching at
Ozemir."
Draco looked affronted. " I do not bitch, Potter. I
was simply expressing my
displeasure in having to work so hard when this is
only supposed to be a
game."
" It's more fun this way. We have to work harder at
it. Now, are you ready to
play? I had to let it go once already. I'm not going to
do it again." Sensing
the snitch once again, Harry shot a grin at his lover,
and then took off, his
broom climbing high into the sky straight at the sun.
" I don't sense anything." Draco growled, but he
took off after Harry anyway.
But it didn't take long for him to catch sight of the
translucent Snitch as it
veered off course in a head dive towards the
ground.
And then Harry and Draco lost sight of the rest of
the world and took to
playing the game as they always did. With nothing
but fierce competition
between them.
" And the game begins." Hermione laughed, happy
to see things would be as
normal as ever when Harry was nearly knocked off
his broom as Draco sped by
him with a sneer on his face.
" You arse!" Harry yelled.
" What are you complaining about? You fall off and
you have your wings to save
you… Oh that's right. Your bollocks at flying with
your wings!"
Dudley's mouth hung wide open the entire time he
watched Draco and Harry
flying. They were ruthless with their flying, trying to
knock each other off
at every turn, flinging really nasty insults at each
other. The game was so
intense that all talking had stopped and everyone
was watching intently.
Draco was ahead of Harry, his hand stretched out.
He could feel the Snitch's
wings flutter against the tips of his fingers. " Just a
bit more…"
Harry surprised everyone when he put on a burst of
speed and swung his broom
around to do a 360, knocking the back of Draco's
broom. The blonde spun out of
control and the Snitch slipped out of his reach. And
while Draco was bringing
his broom under control, Harry took that time to
capture the Snitch with a
smirk.
The moment they were on the ground, Draco
rushed over to Harry, "you bloody
cheated. That was an illegal move!"
Harry grinned and buffed his nails on his shirt, " oh
please. I've seen you do
the exact same thing before."
" That was my Snitch, Potter. You're not supposed
to cheat! You're a bloody
Gryffindor…"
" You're a sore loser. Get over it already. We'll have
another game later, and
maybe I'll let you win it." Harry wagged a finger at
his irate lover then
began to walk to the stands where their friends
were waiting.
Draco most certainly didn't like that. Having Harry
say he couldn't win on his
own… that was unacceptable!
Harry came to stand in front of Neville and Dudley,
joking with them, when
Neville caught sight of Draco who was rapidly
approaching his mate's back. "
Um… Harry, mate, you might want to turn around."
Before Harry could turn, he suddenly found himself
in the air and was twisted
around until perched firmly over his mate's
shoulder. His chin bumped against
Draco's back while his legs were flailing about and
Draco wrapped an arm
around his legs to keep him from kicking his chest.
" Be still, lover."
" Draco," he hissed in a trembling voice, " put me
down. Right now." He would
never let on, but Draco picking him up as if he
weighed nothing was a really
big turn on. But of course Draco could read his mind
just fine, and the blonde
bastard started to laugh.
Severus rolled his eyes. A semblance of normalcy
had been restored at least.
It was a relief, of course. But sometimes they acted
like children. _Really
horny children,_ he thought with a sneer when
Draco's hand moved from Harry's
legs up to his bum, and there it stayed as he turned
and began to walk away
from them towards the broom shed where Draco
planned to do who knows what.
Severus was sure he did not want to know.
The Potion Master's thoughts were interrupted
when an owl dropped a letter
into his lap. He recognized the Hogwarts emblem
right away and wondered what
the old man wanted now. As he was part of the
Draco's family, it gave him the
right to take a short leave of absence for the
Inheritance that never
happened. So the letter couldn't be a reprimand of
some sort for being away.
But the letter wasn't from Dumbledore. It was from
Minerva. He read the letter
and scowled at the contents. " Damn it all to bloody
hell…" He murmured
furiously under his breath.
" Severus? What's wrong?"
He handed the letter over to Hermione and stood, "
Draco! Stop messing around.
We must return to Hogwarts!"
Draco spun on his heel with a pout on his face, " but
Uncle Sev… I was about
to teach Potter here a lesson."
" I'll teach you a lesson when I get down, you idiot!
Why do you have to be so
tall, huh?" Harry yelled, then snickered when one of
his wings smacked Draco
across the face.
" Now, Draco!" Severus bellowed.
Harry went still at the harshness of Severus' voice
and shared a concerned
look with Draco. Something was definitely amiss.
The Entrance Hall of Malfoy Manor was crowded
with people as the hand full of
students and Severus prepared to return to school.
Lucius looked more then
pleased the see their backs. As they all gathered, it
was the first time he'd
seen his son since the night before. Since Draco
tried to kill himself.
" Draco, your father would like a word." Sirius said
and motioned behind them.
Draco turned and found his father lurking in one of
the many shadows
surrounded the Hall. " Of course."
To Lucius it was obvious Draco was reluctant to
drop the arm he had securely
around his mate's waist, and Lucius was sorry he
had asked for a private word,
especially after seeing the fright appearing on
Harry's face when the arm did
drop. His son pointed over, showing Harry exactly
where he would be, which
eased the tension from the Gryffindor's shoulders.
Sirius ruffled Harry's
hair, then squeezed his shoulders reassuringly while
Dursley came over and
they both engaged Harry in conversation as soon as
Draco left.
Draco came to stand in front of him and they simply
stared at each other for a
moment; Draco wondering what was going on with
the odd looks on his father's
face, and Lucius not sure how to say what he
wanted to say. Lucius was feeling
very unlike a Malfoy. Incredibly emotional.
" Father?" Draco asked in worry after seeing a world
of emotion crossing
Lucius face. " What's wrong? You look pale. I'm
going to get Amortia."
That seemed to open up a floodgate of more
emotions, and Draco suddenly found
himself in a tight embrace. " Draco, please do us all
a large favor and take
care of yourself and Harry. I don't want you two
dropping off the face of the
earth. I don't want- Nothing can happen to you. Is
this understood?"
Draco returned the embrace in slight shock and
could only nod. His father's
show of emotions swamped him with his own.
While Draco was speaking with his father, Harry
studied Dudley until his
cousin was fidgeting nervously. Finally his green
eyes softened the slightest
bit. " You're looking better than ever, Dudley.
Nothing but muscle now."
" Yeah, well… I guess I have you to thank for that."
" No. You have Ozemir and yourself to thank for
that. I didn't do anything."
" Going to be okay, Harry?"
" Oh sure." Harry waved his concern away. " Time
heals all, right?" He shook
his head, hoping that were true. " Anyway, I wanted
to talk to you about the
Potter estate. Move in as soon as possible, Dudley."
" Harry, I said in the reply letter-"
The Gryffindor raised his hand and Dudley found his
tongue stuck to the top of
his mouth. " I don't care what you want. It's what I
want. I want you two
protected. The less time I have to worry about you
gives me more time to worry
about bigger issues. And there are some seriously
big issues needing to be
taken care of. You and Aunt Petunia are not safe in
that flat. Move at once."
" If you think about it," Sirius put in, " you'll be
closer to Malfoy Manor
then. You could fly here or Floo directly and you'll
be here more then not.
Having your mother close will ease your mind.
Right?"
They were both right and Dudley knew it. " I don't
know," he grinned. " I was
having fun popping in on Mrs. Weasley every time I
needed to Floo."
" This matter is closed then."
" But… we can't accept the property from you,
Harry. It's a big thing to give
away."
Harry adopted a grin that sent chills down Dudley's
spine. " Who said I was
giving it away for free?"
Neville came along around then. He cleared his
throat as he arrived in the
hall, having come straight from his parents' room
after a lengthy goodbye. The
strangeness of having his parents well and coherent
had not left yet and he
always left them feeling dazed, but genuinely
blessed. Now he was ready to
return to school. There was one more person he
wanted to say goodbye to, only
he was terribly nervous and had no idea what to
say.
Was it wrong to wish Dudley were attending
Hogwarts as well? Was it weird that
he wished it more then he ought to? Luckily his
nervousness was not under
scrutiny as the object of his thoughts stood a few
feet away talking with
Harry about something.
" Hello, Neville."
The Gryffindor turned around and smiled. " 'Lo,
Luna. Ready to go back to
school."
" Oh, yes." She twirled her wand between her
fingers and giggled. " Excitement
awaits."
Neville's smile faded. " Err… what sort of
excitement?"
Luna laughed and twirled around, " we shall see!"
" Oh bother." Luna was back to being as strange as
ever, laughing and viewing
the world through glazed eyes, taking in nothing
and everything at once.
" Neville! Luna!" Harry waved them over. " Let's
go."
" Coming!" Luna skipped over to the Gryffindor and
wrapped her arm around
Harry's, and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.
" You better?"
" Yeah, I'm okay."
" Luna says we're going to have excitement."
" There's always excitement." Harry replied in
amusement as his sight shifted
to the shadows where Draco continued to stand
with his father. Poor Lucius
looked about ready to cry.
" Sirius? Is the pregnancy playing with Lucius'
hormones yet?" he asked
quietly.
The Animagus nodded then looked at Lucius. " Ah, I
better go save him before
he starts to cry in public. He'll never forgive me if I
let that happen." He
turned and gave Harry a huge bear hug.
" Mind the wings!" Harry gasped.
" DAMAGE ONE FEATHER AND I'LL KILL YOU!" Draco
suddenly bellowed as he stormed
over and ripped Harry away. The blonde glared
murder at the Animagus, who
watched Draco in silent horror. Every word the
blonde spoke was accompanied
with low threatening growls, " I swear on all that's
holy I'll rip you to
shreds-"
" DRACO MALFOY!"
Everyone except Sirius turned as Hermione stormed
over. Sirius thought it
would be in his best interest to keep his eyes on the
furious _Ukatae_ and
make no sudden movements.
Hermione walked up and shook her brother, " what
the hell has gotten into you?
You were threatening Sirius, for Merlin's sake! Harry
is in no danger from
him."
" Instincts, instincts, instincts…" Luna sang. "
_Ukatae_ instincts are hard
to suppress, you know? Harder still as time runs
along. Draco will explode if
he doesn't do as he wishes."
Draco recovered himself by that time and looked
appalled. " Sirius, I- I'm
sorry. I don't know what came over me… I truly am
sorry. I can't believe I
threatened you like that."
The following silence was drowned out by sudden
laughter. All eyes turned to
Harry where he was bent over clutching his
stomach while the laughter bubbled
out from every pore. " Merlin! That was great! I
needed that. I feel loads
better now."
Sirius looked put out as he moved away. " Glad
someone found it amusing." He
grabbed Lucius' hand and tugged him away from
the hall, muttering all the
while, " I for one really thought I was about to die.
Only for hugging my
godson..."
" That came out unexpectedly." Draco whispered as
he watched Sirius and his
father leave. " I lost grip…"
Harry was able to get a hold of his laughter and
thought about it for a
moment. " It's probably because I gave you
permission and promised not to get
mad. I told you not to suppress your urges like that
anymore if it was going
to drive you crazy."
" You've been suppressing instincts?" Ozemir yelled,
suddenly beside them. "
No! No, you can't do that! The only thing you can
push down is your magical
powers. But never your instincts! Hirsha!" The
Scholar spun around and gave
Falde an incredulous look.
" Calm down, Ozemir!" Brumek barked. " We can
talk about it at the school."
" But they've been suppressing their instincts!" he
rounded on the young ones.
" Why? Why would you do that?"
Draco smiled without humor, " are you raising your
voice to us?"
" Um… no?"
" Good." Draco looked around the hall while Ozemir
pouted and walked back to
his amused mate, muttering about the stupidity of
young ones. " Where's Tom?"
the blonde asked.
" He's already back at school." Hermione answered
and she didn't quite meet
his gaze. " Blaise, Pansy, and Ginny were taken back
by Ozemir earlier today
as well."
" Let's go then." Severus said. " We're all here who
needs to go."
Falde whisked Draco and Harry off to Hogwarts,
while Severus and Hermione went
along with Brumek. Neville hurried into Ozemir's
Shadow along with Luna before
anything else could be said. He didn't miss the
disappointed look on Dudley's
face when the blonde realized he wasn't going to
say goodbye. But he couldn't
say anything. He was back to feeling like a bumbling
idiot, and he had no wish
for Dudley to see him like that. Ever.
Severus instructed the _Ukatae_ guards to Shadow
the students back to Draco's
room, and once they were all there, he explained
why they had to return early.
" Aurors? Here to see us? Why?" Harry asked.
" Apparently you haven't seen today's copy of
_The_ _Prophet_. Lucius and
Molly gave Skeeter a mountain of material to write
on." Severus replied as he
moved towards the door. " You two stay here. I'll go
and see what the
situation is first. I suggest you find the paper and
read the article. You
wouldn't want to be surprised by their questioning."
" I knew speaking to that witch was going to get us
into trouble!" Harry
hissed as the door shut behind his uncle.
Neville cleared his throat, " can I be Shadowed to
my dorm?"
" Oh sure," Brumek drawled, " because we're your
own personal transportation
service. That's why we're here. To transport brats
like you all around..."
" Ok, fine. I'll walk."
Draco approached Brumek in a leisurely manner
and sized the warrior up. "
First, drop the attitude," he demanded. " Then take
Neville to Gryffindor
tower. And then when you get back, go take Ozemir
off somewhere and spend some
_quality_ time with him because I sense that's why
you're so pissed off."
Brumek started to scowl when Draco made his first
two demands, but by the
third, his scowl disappeared to replaced by a grin. " I
live to serve." He
pulled Neville into Shadow and quickly disappeared.
Draco turned around and
shot Ozemir a grin, then snorted to find the Scholar
blushing furiously.
Brumek returned in seconds. He Shadowed behind
his mate and pulled Ozemir
against his chest before disappearing once again.
Falde looked very displeased when he addressed
Draco. " We must follow your
commands, young one. But don't be rash. You need
to be protected and you can't
send us off whenever you like it. I cannot protect
you two and your sister at
the same time when you separate."
" I'll protect Harry." The blonde replied in a cold
voice. " You can go with
Hermione."
" That is senseless."
" Protecting my mate is senseless?" Draco asked
lowly and stepped towards the
warrior. " Are you implying I am unable to protect
Harry?"
Hermione crept over and sat beside Harry. " What is
wrong with Draco? I
understand, after what happened, that he would be
slightly more protective.
But this seems out of control."
Harry grinned, sat back, and folded his arms behind
his head. " Don't know.
But I like it. Wasn't sure if I would. But I feel all
warm and fuzzy inside.
You know, like he was when the bond first made
itself known." He snorted when
he caught the disbelieving look she threw him.
" Did you just say warm and fuzzy?"
" It's very comforting."
Falde sighed, " of course that is not what I'm
implying."
Luna's loud happy sigh drew everyone's attention to
her. Harry was surprised.
She'd been so quiet he forgot she Shadowed back
with them. " Everyone has a
job to do, Draco. It would be horribly unfair of you
to take Falde's job
away."
" What's it to you, Loony?" Draco ignored Falde and
spun around the face the
giggling Ravenclaw.
" I'm just saying. You can protect Harry, but having a
Guard is sensible. No
one is asking you to step aside, but we must be
cautious. Shouldn't we?"
Draco frowned but did not dispute her. " I just
thought Brumek and Ozemir
needed time together. After all they went through
to get to this stage…"
" Once again he shows his true character." Luna
laughed softly. " You're such
a sweetie, Draco. How could we have missed it all
these years?"
" Shut it." Draco turned back to Falde. " I'm sorry. I
will not send you or
the others away again without asking first."
" That's fine."
" And to solve this little problem," Harry put in, "
Falde can bring Hermione
in Shadow when we go have this little interview
with the Aurors. It shouldn't
take long."
" That is also acceptable."
" Brumek! What are you doing?" Ozemir cried
breathlessly. He moaned a moment
later when a hot tongue circled a hardened nipple.
" I think that's rather obvious." Brumek replied
between the scorching kisses.
Ozemir's head fell back against the wall he was
being held up by while
Brumek's mouth descended onto his throat. One
rough hand plunged into his
loose hair while the other worked Ozemir's slacks
off his narrow hips.
Brumek laughed lowly when he noticed Ozemir
tried and failed to speak. " Yes,
this is quality time. I want so badly to be inside
you…" Once again Ozemir
tried to talk but Brumek covered his mouth with his
lips. " I want to take you
here against the wall, Scholar. We will not move to
the bed." As he spoke
Brumek's fingers encircled Ozemir's leaking erection
and applied just enough
pressure to have the Scholar whimpering and
bucking his hips against the
warrior's hand.
" Please. Brumek, please…" Ozemir cried after long
torturous minutes of Brumek
driving him crazy with only his hand.
" Please what?" Brumek growled. " Tell me what
you want."
" Can't…."
" I want to hear you say it, Ozemir. Tell me."
Ozemir couldn't say it. The embarrassment was too
much and he was a little bit
afraid to say what he really wanted. Brumek could
see these emotions swimming
in his violet eyes and determined to rid his mate of
any insecurity in the
near future. But now he would do what he knew
Ozemir wanted. He pulled back
and prepared to kneel. Only to be stopped when
Ozemir hissed. Brumek's eyes
narrowed when he saw the Scholar's eyes were no
longer violet, but now a
gleaming red.
" I want you to get on your knees and suck me to
oblivion." Ozemir growled in
a manner not his own.
Brumek slammed his fists into the wall beside
Ozemir's head and snarled in his
face. " Push the demon away, Ozemir! I don't want
him! I want you. Do you hear
me? Push him back!"
The rest of Ozemir's appearance disappeared to
replaced by the demon and Dagon
quickly wrapped his strong arms around Brumek's
neck before the warrior could
back away. " No," he growled. " Ozemir has had his
fun. I want mine."
" I want Ozemir." Brumek insisted and steeled
himself against the demon
wriggling against him.
Dagon kicked away his pants and then pushed the
warrior onto his back. He
quickly straddled him and glared. " That's too bad,
isn't it? Too bad I don't
care." Dagon's hand trailed down Brumek's toned
chest. Lips soon following his
fingers. " You can't say you don't want me. The
evidence points in the
opposite direction." His hand dipped under the
warrior's pants to grip the
bulging erection, moaning in pleasure from the
wetness and heat he held in his
hand.
" My body may want you…"
Dagon snarled, " but you love Ozemir, is that it?"
" You are nothing but poison. I'll help Ozemir rid
himself of you before the
end, I swear." Brumek hadn't realized he felt this
way until this exact
moment. He realized he may be hurting Ozemir by
pushing the demon away from
his heart, but their was only room for Ozemir.
His body was betraying him, responding to every
touch from the demon,
quivering beneath fingers that should not have
been so skillful for one who
was so inexperienced. It was all a lie. That was the
only thing running
through his mind as he allowed Dagon to straddle
his hips and guide his
pulsing cock into the tight heat of the demon's
body. It was as if the demon
had a hold of his every move. Brumek couldn't stop
from wrapping his arms
around the demon's slick back to hold him against
his chest while he pumped up
inside him, while he felt the fire burning out of
control in the pit of his
belly.
Dagon took great pleasure in causing such inner
turmoil within the warrior.
Brumek could see it within the demon's eyes as he
shouted out his climax and
sprayed the effects of their actions all over
Brumek's abdomen. The demon's
joy in causing him such pain was evident in the way
he continued to move,
continued to drive Brumek over his own edge,
laughing delightedly when Brumek
came with a cry of denial.
" It's pointless." Dagon remarked when they had
finished and he climbed off
the heavily breathing warrior. " You cannot deny me
my pleasure, Brumek. What
do I care of your heart? I do not need it. Once upon
a time I thought I could
want it. But I am a demon and I don't need it. But
here," Dagon smiled nastily
at him. " You may have your heart back."
Ozemir returned. Silent tears ran down his face as
he looked upon Brumek's
used body. " You told me- you said it didn't matter!"
he cried.
Brumek looked away from him, " it does." The next
thing he heard was a door
slamming shut, and felt a heavy shield blocking
anyone from entering the room.
The warrior cleaned himself with whispered words
and then dressed. He would
have liked to go after the Scholar, but knew not
even an army could get
through the shield Ozemir had erected around that
room.
Harry and Draco entered the empty classroom
following Severus and immediately
took the seats Kingsley waved them to. Falde and
Hermione entered and stood
back against the wall and kept quiet. Both keeping
their eyes on Dumbledore
who was also present.
Draco nudged Harry's shoulder. _Try not to give
anything away that we don't
want to. _
_Draco, don't insult me. _
_I'm only saying… sometimes your face is entirely
too expressive and you don't
even realize… _As Harry sat, Draco reached over
and pulled back Harry's collar
to glance down at his back to look through the
glamour covering the wings. His
disappointed sigh was drowned out by Harry's
annoyed hiss.
" What are you doing? You've been doing it all day.
Cut it out."
" Nothing. Your tag keeps poking out." Draco
muttered as he sat. Harry's
sidelong glance told him the Gryffindor didn't
believe a word.
Kingsley waited until they were seated and
completely still before taking the
seat in front of them. " Snape. You can leave now."
" I'd rather not." Severus replied with a pointed look
at Dumbledore, who sat
off in a corner, looking on with a slight frown. " In
regards to being
questioned, I have a right as the guardians of these
two boys, to be present
during this."
" Severus, you are not Mr. Malfoy's guardian."
" Point of fact, Dumbledore, I am. In Lucius'
absence, I am his guardian."
" It doesn't make any difference." Kingsley said. "
Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy
are no longer under age. Should I want to question
them alone, I may do so."
Severus' face tightened when he realized the truth
of the matter and nodded. "
If that is the case… However, I must ask why the
Headmaster is here. Does this
concern him?"
" No. And I was about to ask him to leave as well."
Dumbledore looked up in surprise a moment,
before smiling gently at Kingsley.
" Surely this concerns me as well. I have spent
many, many years trying to rid
the world of Voldemort…."
Severus sneered at him. " I don't recall seeing your
name anywhere mentioned
in _The_ _Prophet_ this morning. This does not
concern you either."
Harry's hand slid into Draco's and laughed mentally.
_Uncle Sev isn't keeping
his cool, love. _
_Hmmm. _" Can we get on with this? I'd rather
enjoy the rest of my birthday."
Kingsley nodded and motioned for the two older
wizards to leave. " I'll speak
to Harry and Draco alone."
Once Severus and Dumbledore left, and after
Kinsley had sent out the two other
Aurors to wait, Kingsley pinned them with a frown.
" Do you have something to say before I start asking
questions?"
I
n which Draco answered immediately, " Yes. I'm not
at all pleased to have been
brought here for questioning. Skeeter wrote the
article and we all know she
hardly prints the truth. And she says she received
the information from an
anonymous source. I assure you we are not the
source."
" Be that as it may…."
" Ask us questions, Kingsley." Harry went on. " We
can't have anything to say
if we don't know the questions."
" Is _The Prophet_ reporting truth? Have you
defeated Voldemort?"
" No comment."
" No comment."
If this annoyed Kingsley, he made no outward sign
of it. Harry thought the
Auror had expected a reply like this. " And the
Longbottoms? Have they made a
full recovery?"
Harry's face remained blank. " We have heard
rumors."
Kingsley nodded, " and who healed them?" he went
on as if Harry had said it
were true. " It wasn't the Healers at St. Mungo's. I
know that for a fact. And
why is Tom Riddle's name cast all over the section
on the Longbottoms?"
One blonde sculpted eyebrow rose, " perhaps it was
Tom Riddle who healed them.
Perhaps it was Tom Riddle who actually defeated
the Dark Lord. Perhaps it is
Tom Riddle who has somehow managed to get the
Death Eaters under control and
has stopped the muggle attacks. Perhaps."
" You expect me to believe that?"
" Believe whatever you want, Kingsley. The fact
remains that Lord Voldemort
has not been seen in months. The Death Eater's
have stopped killing muggles,
the Longbottoms may have been revived… Have
you tried talking with the
Longbottoms?" Draco asked.
" I would talk with them, but first we have to find
them. They seem to have
disappeared from St. Mungo's."
Harry smirked. " Good luck with that then."
Kingsley sat back and dropped the hardened Auror
look to pin them both with a
grin. " You two aren't going to give me anything
concrete, are you? Didn't
think you would," he went on when they remained
quiet. " But this had to be
followed, you understand. You do realize I only
want what is best for the
Wizarding World? I want to keep it protected…"
Harry felt his lip curl to bare his teeth. " That's
funny. You sound just like
Dumbledore."
" But I'm not him and you know it."
" Are you trying another Auror tactic? By being
friendly with us." Draco asked
as his hand attached to the back of Harry's neck,
massaging the sudden tension
away. " Do you think that will get you different
results?"
" I realize our world is changing. I realize you and
yours have a lot to do
with the changes, even though its all been relatively
invisible… But I need to
know, and I think you owe it to the world, to let us
know if we're in danger
of you and You-Know-Who."
Harry laughed outright. " You really are bold,
Kingsley."
" Because, Harry. I know being straight with you is
the only way to go about
anything."
" Being bent would probably get you better
results…" Draco said with a snort.
Then grunted when Harry elbowed him.
" Be serious!" Harry hissed.
" I wish to discuss something with you, Kingsley,"
the blonde went on. " Since
we're being so friendly..."
" Fine then. What?"
" Harry and I are getting married next month."
Kingsley watched Harry glow as a smile bloomed on
his face. " Yes, I am
aware." He answered with a chuckle.
" I wondered if I might call on the Aurors for
protection?"
" Of course."
Draco frowned in his surprise. " What? Just like
that?"
" Yes. And I'll surprise you further by saying we will
not investigate any of
the guests, unless it's obvious who they are."
" You're joking!"
" We're still not telling you anything." Draco
drawled. " If this is some sort
of-"
" Yes. It is a ploy. This wedding is very important to
the two of you,
obviously. But do you not realize what it could
mean for Wizarding Britain?
The message you two are sending. It is in everyone's
best interest to see the
wedding go on without a problem."
The fact that Kingsley had his own motive put Draco
more at ease. He wouldn't
have trusted the black Auror had he said he was
simply doing it as a favor.
_Let's give him something. _Draco thought.
_What? Give him too much more and Tom will flip._
_Tom's not here, is he? I want to give him more.
The more we get out the
faster things can move along._
Harry looked at the ground for a minute, chewing
on his bottom lip. Finally he
decided and nodded. _What do you want to give
him?_
" You do realize our brother will want to murder
you the moment he finds out
what you told Kingsley!" Hermione hissed the
moment they were away from prying
eyes and ears and in the safety of Severus' office.
" All we said was You-Know-Who was dead."
" But he isn't!" she shrieked. " He isn't dead! You
didn't kill him!"
" Tom was born again, right?" Harry interjected. "
He was kind of born again
that night. So doesn't that mean he died first? And
it's not like we said the
Dark Lord is dead. We only said You-Know-Who.
And Kingsley knows I never say
it like that. I've never been afraid of saying
Voldemort. He'll realize he's
only been given a half truth, and maybe he'll figure
it out himself."
Severus laughed outright. " Why don't you just go
and tell Kingsley everything
then? You're keeping no secrets!"
Draco peered at his godfather from under heavy
blonde lashes. " Even if
everything did get out, do you think we care? It's
not going to hurt us. It
will only hurt Dumbledore. And that's what we
want. To pull him down from the
high horse everyone has helped him onto."
" I still think you're being careless." Severus replied.
" I agree," Hermione said with a nod.
" What do you think Kingsley is going to do with the
information?" Harry
asked. " he's not about to report it to anyone
because he isn't sure we're
telling the truth. Unfortunately for him, we haven't
done anything wrong,
therefore he couldn't use Veritaserum on us."
" The entire interview was a complete waste of
time," drawled Draco. "
Honestly. Doesn't the Auror division have better
things to do then come to the
school harassing innocent students?"
" There's nothing innocent about you." His
godfather replied with a snort.
" Sure, but Kingsley doesn't need to know that."
" Oh, Harry. I'm sure he knows." Hermione laughed
and slid onto Severus' lap,
ignoring his small glare. " We've already decided he
isn't stupid."
" You two can go now." Severus finally told the
_Ukatae_ mates. " Curfew is
soon."
" Right. Curfew." Draco shook his head as he pulled
Harry towards the door. "
Why doesn't he tell the truth? He wants to shag
Hermione into the table."
They weren't sure who had thrown it. It could have
been either Hermione or
Severus. But one of them chunked a paperweight as
the mate's left and narrowly
missed Draco's head.
Monday started off as usual, with the four young
ones being led into the
forest before sunrise for their morning exercises.
But as morning training
went on, it was clear that Tom had closed off from
everyone. He didn't speak
unless asked a direct question from one of their
trainers, he stood a little
off to the side away from everyone else, and his
face remained blank the
entire time. Hermione was the first to realize what
was going on and
instructed her brothers to leave him alone if they
didn't want Tom to close
off further.
And it wasn't until after the training that Harry
finally realized there was
something off with Ozemir and Brumek. The Scholar
seemed both sad and angry
and he kept himself as far away from Brumek as
possible, and when he did look
at his mate- and it wasn't often- it was always with
furious disappointment.
IT was so unlike the Scholar's character that it had
Harry worried. And
Brumek… he had never been so irritable. Harry
couldn't understand what was
going on.
" You notice Ozemir and Brumek?" he asked Draco
that morning when the blonde
came out of the bathroom.
" Yes. You know, when I said quality time, I did not
mean to fight."
" Did you see the looks Ozemir was throwing
Brumek? Its obvious Brumek hurt
him somehow."
Draco's sharp gaze snapped to his mate, " I missed
those particular looks."
Harry moved in front of the mirror so he could put
his Gryffindor tie on. "
Should we do something?"
Draco came up and wrapped him in an embrace
from behind. " Even if I say no,
you're still going to stick your nose in it."
The Gryffindor glared at his mate's reflection. " I
just don't like to see
Ozemir looking like that. It's not normal and it
makes me edgy."
Sighing, Draco dropped his chin onto Harry's
shoulders. " At least wait a day
and see what happens."
" Okay."
Draco remained quiet and still until his lover had
finished with his tie. "
Harry."
" Hmm?"
" I don't want to separate from you."
Harry turned in Draco's arms and planted a light kiss
on the blonde's lips. "
I feel the same. But we have to."
Draco was growing tired of all the rules around
Hogwarts keeping him away from
his mate. None of the rules suited him at all. If it
weren't for Hermione and
their need for a unified student body, Draco would
have left school already.
It wasn't as if he planned to get a job in the
Wizarding World once they
graduated. They weren't going to be living in the
Wizarding World.
_Quit those thoughts right now. If we don't finish
school, Hermione would kill
us. _Harry laughed softly when Draco scowled and
kissed him again. This time
letting it linger and deepen, sliding his tongue
leisurely around the blonde's
mouth, dancing with Draco's tongue until he felt the
hunger grow and spread
throughout his body.
Reluctantly he pulled away and laughed again when
Draco tried to follow with
an annoyed growl.
" Don't get worked up now, Draco. We have class."
" Then don't kiss me like that before we have to go
somewhere! Honestly,
Harry. You ask the impossible sometimes."
It was only a half surprise when they left the
bedroom to find Brumek and
Falde waiting for them. And now it was confirmed
that Ozemir didn't want to be
anywhere near his mate. And it remained so the
rest of the day, and the
following days. Brumek and Ozemir didn't need to
be together during classes
anymore because the Mates' Call was no longer in
effect.
It was during his last class on Monday when Harry
noticed Brumek had grown
considerably paler then normal and his eyes looked
tormented. Harry wasn't the
only one to notice.
" What do you think happened?" Hermione
whispered once the class was over and
they were packing their bags. " I thought they
solved their problems."
" Looks like another came up. Something bad."
" We should do something."
Harry shook his head. " Draco says we should keep
our noses out of this for a
while. I'm inclined to agree with him. And I'm not
sure I want to get mixed in
with this at all."
It was Wednesday evening, nearly time for dinner,
and the first time Tom had
made an appearance outside of classes and training
since returning from Malfoy
manor. He had taken to retreating to the Chamber
whenever he had no classes or
wasn't made to train; still annoyed he had changed
his mind about returning,
still pondering these… feelings. It was all Molly's
fault. Calling him a
coward. Amazing that she still lived. He felt bad for
ignoring his siblings,
but they seemed to understand, or at least
Hermione did, and left him alone
for the most part.
Tom had no specific destination in mind; instead he
simply wandered the halls.
Walking close to the dank walls, brushing fingers
against the stone of the
place he'd always thought of as home. He passed
deeper into the school and
eventually found himself in unfamiliar territory.
Strange. He'd always
believed he had seen every part of Hogwarts years
before when he first became
a student there. Tom made it a goal to learn and
memorize every nook and
cranny of Hogwarts. He thought he had. But here he
was, standing in a dimly
lit hallway that looked like it hadn't seen people in
years.
Continuing on, fingers still caressing the stone, he
turned a corner and
stopped. This hallway was almost completely dark
but there was enough light to
see a shadow of something standing half way down.
He pointed his wand at the
shadow, " _lumos_."
It was a girl. Her back was too him, but it was
obvious she was female. She
was leaning against the wall with her ear pressed
against the stone and
nodding as if the castle was talking to her. Tom
cleared his throat and the
girl pulled away to look at him with misty eyes.
" Luna!"
As he approached her, she smiled. " Oh, hello Tom. I
did not expect to see
anyone down here."
" What were you doing?"
" Talking with the castle. She has so much to say. No
one ever talks to her
anymore." Luna turned and lovingly caressed the
wall. Tom didn't know whether
he should scoff at her or smile indulgently. " She's
glad you've come back
with a better purpose. I agree." She looked around
as if making sure they were
really alone. Which they were. There weren't even
any nosey portraits along
the walls down there.
" Is that so?" Tom's eyes softened a bit in
amusement and he leaned against
the wall before crossing his arms over his chest. She
hummed in answer. "
Luna? Can I ask you something?"
" Of course."
" You have never been afraid of me. In the slightest.
Why?"
Luna laughed. Why did it sound like the tinkling of
soft bells to him? " Why
should I be afraid? You are not here to hurt me. And
you are not the same as
you were as Lord Voldemort."
" But I am the same. You shouldn't forget that."
Tom's voice had gone cold. He
didn't like that she did not fear him. But Luna only
laughed again and in a
surprising move, touched her fingers to his cheek.
" You still command respect. But you haven't gained
that from inflicting fear
as you once did." She paused and cocked her head
to the side as if listening
for something. " It was very nice talking to you. But I
must go. Dinner is
soon and I want to find the _Bulbous Dust Demon_
before everyone fills the
halls and it attacks another student." She gave him
an airy wave and started
to walk away back into the darkness. Tom watched
until he could see her no
longer.
On his way to the Great Hall, Tom met up with
Hermione. He could feel how
happy she was to see him, and he felt remorse from
keeping away from her. She
was, after all, the first he allowed into his heart
once he began tutoring her
on the Dark Arts. It still surprised him how well they
had gotten along. How
she had been completely open with him before his
transformation, how she had
devoted herself to learning all he could teach and
she had quickly been able
to get him to discuss things that had nothing to do
with the Dark Arts.
Tom felt relief seeing her down the hall, smiling and
waving at him. He made
his way to Hermione quickly, but not seemingly so.
He pondered the affection
for him he saw in her eyes. He understood his own
affections but he still did
not understand hers. How could she so easily
forgive him his past sins.
" And where are our brothers?" he asked easily as if
his mind wasn't laden
with heavy thoughts. She gave him a look as if to
say, " Must you ask?"
Tom smirked, " Draco's intent on an heir." He said
quietly as they walked.
" Yes. Though it's not for the purpose of having an
heir to continue his line.
Which is strange since this is a Malfoy we're
speaking of." They spoke quietly
as they were not the only ones walking down the
corridor.
" His ideals have changed the last few years. He
wants to make the most of
what he has with Harry. He sees having a child will
be yet another bond they
share." A shadow of disgust crossed his face. "
Entirely too sentimental."
Hermione sighed dreamily. " I know you really don't
care to hear this, but
Draco is so romantic. Who would ever have
thought?"
" He's also very dominating."
" True. Harry likes being taken care of. He deserves
it. Which is why he let
Draco go insane on Sirius the other day." They came
to the doors of the Great
Hall and paused outside. He sensed Hermione's
reluctance to enter.
" I'm actually sorry to have missed that." Tom took
Hermione's arm and led her
in.
" Such a gentleman, Tom. It's a wonder you don't
have a girlfriend yet." She
said cheekily.
Tom snorted. " Don't be ridiculous." But his eyes did
scan the hall for a
certain Ravenclaw. He felt an unfamiliar feeling
when he saw Luna was not
there. Was this regret he felt?
Easily ignoring the curious looks pointed at them, he
dropped Hermione off at
the Gryffindor table and earned a kiss on the cheek
from his sister. He hissed
at her when he felt his face flush. " Stop doing stuff
like that in front of
everyone."
" But why? I like to. Now go eat." Hermione sat
down and was immediately
flanked by Neville and Dean once Tom had given
them a pointed look. Weasley
wasn't too far down and he was sending piercing
glares full of loathing at his
former girlfriend.
Once at his table, Tom found he wasn't very hungry
and he only picked at his
food. He supposed that was good, as the training
after dinner promised to be
vigorous. More combat training. Tom was beginning
to hate their _Ukatae_
protectors. Mostly Ozemir. He was the worst during
weapons training. Actually
he was the worst during any of their training these
days. He didn't change
into Dagon, but he didn't have to either. Ozemir the
Scholar knew more about
wielding a weapon then the warriors did. And he
was ruthless when teaching
them correct forms, moves and other things. What
was funny was the fact that
more then once Tom had caught the pitying looks
from the warriors when they
stood back and watched Ozemir criticize them on
form. Tom wondered what had
transpired to cause such a drastic change in the
usually docile Scholar.
Harry and Draco did not show until half way
through dinner and as usual set
the room buzzing at their mere presence. It didn't
help any that they always
made it a point to solidify their union in front of
everyone by kissing
goodbye before separating to their prospective
tables. It was clear to those
who knew them well that the couple was reluctant
to separate. It was also
expected after the happenings of the past weekend.
Draco had a scowl on his face as he took his seat
next to Tom. After his plate
was filled, Draco began to stab at the food with his
fork. " Surprised you're
here." He said sullenly. " Decide we're good enough
company again?"
Tom snorted and ignored his brother's attitude. He
knew exactly what bug
crawled up his arse. " Still no change with the
markings?" Tom asked. Draco
turned slowly with a surprised look. " Just because
I've been absent from
socializing doesn't mean I don't care about what's
going on with you. Idiot."
Draco sighed. " Yeah, you're right. Sorry. And no
they haven't. I don't
understand…" he turned so that only Tom could
hear. " Do you think there is
something wrong with me?"
" How the hell would I know that?" Tom thought it
said a lot about how much
Draco had changed to assume something was
wrong himself and not Harry. The
disappointed look on the blonde's face was starting
to piss Tom off. " Look.
Maybe it takes some time for the markings to
change. That's something I don't
know. Perhaps you should ask Ozemir. It may take
days before the markings
change color."
" I don't want to talk to that sadist!" Draco hissed,
then turned to glare
over his shoulder at the Scholar. His glare
disappeared shortly after when he
noticed how pale Ozemir had grown as well and
how dark the circles around his
eyes were now. Damn. They might have to
intervene after all. This had gone on
long enough in his opinion.
Dessert was nearly over, many students had already
left the Hall, and Tom
noticed Luna had yet to show up. " I ran into Luna a
while ago. She claims she
was talking to the castle."
Draco snorted. " Loony." Unlike other times, he said
this clearly as a term of
endearment.
" Why do you call her that?"
" Honestly, Luther. We've been over this. It's
because she is. Goes around
chasing after imaginary creatures, always off in her
own little world. Does
things no one else can do. Knows things she
shouldn't possible know…"
" Some people say that we, the _Ukatae_, are
imaginary creatures…" Tom trailed
off when he caught sight of Finnegan, who raced
into the Hall, heading
straight for Weasley. He whispered something into
the red head's ear and
Weasley was clearly pleased to hear whatever it
was that was said because he
ignored the rest of his meal and followed the Irish
wizard back out of the
Hall.
" Did you manage to get any information out of her
this time?" Draco asked.
" No." He surprised Draco by smiling. " I think I've
given up trying to
understand her. Maybe I don't want to."
" But you made her a favorite."
Tom hissed in warning. " Voice your thoughts in an
appropriate level, Draco.
Especially concerning such things. And I didn't mean
it like that. I just
meant that maybe she's better off not being
understood. Perhaps I like not
being able fathom what goes on in that mind of
hers."
" Like?" Draco's eyes widened. Was Tom actually
admitting… " As in fancy?"
Tom's eyes widened dramatically. " No. I never said
anything of the sort."
" You just did."
" No. I didn't."
" You did, Luther. Just now."
Tom growled. " I did not, Draco. Stop putting words
into my mouth. I might be
forced to-"
The Great Hall doors slammed open and a group of
first years came running in
and headed straight for the Gryffindor table. Tom
and Draco were pleased to
note the group consisted of students from all the
houses. Tom was wary though
to see them run to the Gryff table in the same
manner as Finnegan, and then
both he and Draco worried when the group stopped
at Harry and it was clear by
their faces the first years were telling him
something troubling.
Harry, Hermione, Dean, and Neville jumped up and
quickly followed the first
years out. On his way, Harry shot Draco a look.
_Trouble._
" Let's go." Draco told Tom and they soon caught up
with their Gryffindors and
hurried after the first years.
They were led outside towards the lake. One first
year pointed to a small
group of students gathered together near the tree
where the _Ukatae_
frequently took meals and were yelling at someone
he couldn't see.
" Thanks for telling me." Harry said. His voice was
calm, but those who knew
him and could feel and recognize the different
resonance of his magic knew he
was furious. " Go back inside now." The first years
nodded and immediately did
as he said.
" What's going on?" Neville asked.
" Luna."
Ron Weasley was at the front of the crowd, holding
onto a tattered art book,
ripping out pages and letting the wind scatter the
paper across the grounds.
Tom bent down and picked up a piece he had
accidentally stepped on as he
approached. He took the time to do this in order to
get a hold of himself.
Something inside him was bellowing out in fury,
trying to beat down the walls
of his control and knew letting those walls fall
would be a disaster. He
studied the picture in his hands with surprise. It was
a sketch of him. His
youthful face etched with precise detail, though the
expression he wore didn't
seem like him at all. He held the drawing tightly as
he continued on to the
commotion.
Luna watched dispassionately as Weasley continued
to rip up her drawings.
" I'll stop, you know, if you tell us what Potter is up
to." Weasley was
saying.
" Ronald," she replied calmly, " what makes you
think I'll tell you? You are
not his friend anymore. It's not your business to
know."
" I bet Loony doesn't even know." Finnegan sneered
down at her, " why would
anyone tell her anything?"
Draco growled and pushed Weasley away, " might
have known you were behind
this, Weasel."
Neville and Dean rushed to help Luna up, where
she'd been sitting on the
ground with her knees pulled up to her chest.
" What did you do to her?" Hermione cried after
noticing the Ravenclaw's nose
was bleeding and she had a large bump on her
head.
Weasley smirked. " We didn't do anything to her.
She ran into the tree. Didn't
you, Loony?" the small group of students began to
laugh, only to stop when Tom
ran forward and slammed into the red head.
Those walls had come crashing down and now he
was out for blood. Everyone
stood frozen in shock as they watched Tom slash at
Weasley's front with his
claws to gut the bastard. He bent down so that his
nose nearly touched
Weasley's, ignoring the Gryffindor's strangled painfilled cries, and hissed,
" if it weren't for your mum, I would have ripped
your head off." He reached
over and picked up the art book where it had been
dropped, stood, and handed
it back to its owner. Luna gave him a watery smile
and he fished a
handkerchief to dab away the blood from her nose.
Tom suddenly froze and his
nose flared when he smelt something incredibly
pleasing. His eyes widened when
he realized it was Luna's blood.
" Are you all going to stand there and do nothing?"
Draco asked the other
idiot students who stood stunned at seeing such
gore. " I suggest you get him
to the infirmary before he dies."
Someone had the presence of mind to levitate the
unconscious Weasley onto a
conjured stretcher, and they hurried away. But not
before Draco sent a
powerful Obliviate at them all. They wouldn't be
able to say who had hurt the
Weasel when asked.
Harry lifted a hand into the air and flicked his wrist.
The wind picked up
around them, swirling around like a small tornado
and picking up the loose
sketches scattered across the grounds. Once every
piece of paper was found,
Harry directed the wind to drop the sketches at
Luna's feet.
" I'm sorry you were hurt because of me, Luna."
" It wasn't your fault."
" Let's go to the hospital wing," Hermione
suggested. " That's a pretty big
bump."
" No that's okay." Luna smiled and tucked her
sketchbook under her arm. "
Thanks for helping me." She skipped off without
another word, leaving the
others to stare at her in confusion. Tom continued
to stand still, staring at
the bloodied handkerchief. This scent was
intoxicating, and yet it had come
from her _nose_! He should be disgusted, right?
Revolted beyond measure.
Except that he wasn't. Tom finally lifted his eyes
from the handkerchief to
follow Luna's departure.
" Why did she just leave?" Harry wondered.
" Maybe she felt like being alone."
" Weasley must be dealt with." Tom hissed.
Hermione looked at him straight in the eye. " Do
you fancy Luna?"
" What are you people talking about? Of course not!
I'm three times her age!"
" That excuse will not work. You are eighteen. So
there's only two years
difference now. Your reaction to seeing her in such
a state was phenomenal.
And you gutted Weasley. Slit his stomach wide
open…"
Tom scowled. He knew she was right. But he didn't
know how to answer. He
wasn't sure he wanted to answer. And the whole
blood business was very
frightening.
" I'm going to the library." And then he turned on
his heels and headed back
to the castle, passing Severus on the way.
" What happened here?" Severus asked when he
arrived. Harry opened his mouth
to spill, but Draco cut him off.
" Nothing."
Severus sneered his disbelief and turned to Harry.
The Gryffindor smiled
innocently and the _Ukatae's_ power caused
everyone to drown in that smile,
and for a moment, everyone forgot what had
happened. Which was what Harry
wanted. No one could resist ' the smile'.
" You can go now, Uncle Sev." The Gryffindor told
him. Severus blinked a few
times, before nodding and heading back to the
castle. Everyone watched the
Potion Master's retreat with amusement.
Draco grabbed Harry by his hair and pulled the
Gryffindor's mouth to his. "
You're so beautiful," he whispered against the
curving lips. Harry seemed very
receptive to Draco's soft words and caresses, and
allowed Draco to pull him
down into the soft grass.
" What in Hirsha's name do you think you're doing?"
Brumek growled at the
lovers. " We train now!"
Draco growled against Harry's warm throat. " I
fucking hate them!"
Tom returned to his dorm that night, tired and
weak from training and still
furious about what happened after dinner with
Luna and Weasley. When he
entered the dorm he ordered everyone out of it
before locking the door.
Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott were the only ones who
were there, so they didn't
complain when kicked out.
The Dark Lord sat on his bed and pulled out a folded
piece of paper and
carefully unfolded it.
It was Luna's drawing. The detail with which she
sketched surprised him. His
face lacked the usual cold mask and she had
somehow captured a peaceful look
instead. A look he was sure he never wore, a look
he realized he would maybe
like see on himself. Tom was sure he'd never felt
peace like the way she
portrayed him in this drawing. He was positive he
never looked like this, but
if that were so…
" How in Merlin's name did she see me like this?
When did she see me like
this?"
More things he noticed about the drawing.
Important details. The picture was
drawn with great care and he had the feeling it had
been done with affection
as well. Not for the first time, Tom was at a loss of
what to do or think.
Everything happening to him the last couple of
months was completely new. He
figured he might as well take Mrs. Weasley's advice
and finally talk to
someone. He'd spent enough time locked away
thinking about it. And now was as
good a time as any to go talk. Otherwise he
probably wouldn't get a minute of
sleep and he was sure this thing with Luna would
drive him crazy.
Tom made his way from the Slytherin Common
room and down the hall to Severus'
office, where he knew the Potion Master was still
awake and grading papers.
" How can I be of assistance, Mr. Bailey?" Severus
hissed in annoyance after
opening the door.
" You can move aside and let me enter. I will only
take a few seconds of your
time."
Severus let him in and immediately returned to his
desk. " What is it?"
Tom crossed over to the fireplace, " I need to use
the Floo. Is it connected
to the Burrow?"
" You can only call through. No traveling."
" That's fine. I can travel by Shadow if I need to. I
assume the call will not
be monitored." Tom said as he crossed to the
fireplace. Severus replied that
it was not being tracked. Tom grabbed some Floo
powder and threw it in,
watched the flames erupt and turn green. He
kneeled and put his head into the
flames.
On the other end of the Floo, Molly spun around
upon hearing her name called
from the living room. She hadn't expected any calls
this late at night.
" My goodness, Tom! You startled me."
" I apologize, Mrs. Weasley. There is something I
would like to talk to you
about. May I come visit for a short while?"
" Of course!"
" Thanks."
Tom removed his head from the flames and turned
around to find Severus
studying him. " What?"
" Nothing at all. But try not to be there all night."
Severus smirked when Tom
growled lowly.
By the time he Shadowed in, Molly had an
assortment of sandwiches and meat
pastries on the table, along with a jug of pumpkin.
She at once told him to
sit and dig in.
" Mrs. Weasley, I've already had dinner." He said
after kissing her cheek.
" Nonsense. You're a growing boy. Sit down, eat,
and tell me what's so
important that you would need to break school
rules. Again."
Tom decided to continue to stand until after she'd
heard the first of what he
had to say. " Your youngest son was involved in an
acccident today. I don't
know if you've been informed yet."
Molly frowned fiercly. " Yes. I am aware. Ron is
recovering nicely at St.
Mungo's. Can you tell me what he did?"
" He attacked Luna. I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley. I lost
control when I saw he made
her bleed. I was the one to hurt him. I tried to
control myself, I swear I
did."
Molly's face looked less severe and she waved the
rest of what he would have
said away. " It's enough that you came to tell me
this and that you
apologized. There's nothing else I can do for Ronald.
He's been warned not to
mess with you all..." Molly waved in the air in
exasperation. " Perhaps this
has taught him a lasting lesson. I can only hope... So
was this all you came
to say?" Tom shook his head. " Well then sit. I'm not
about to kick you out of
my home."
Tom sat and sighed in exasperated resolve when
Molly shoved a full plate under
his nose. " I've decided you are right and that I
should speak to someone
about what's happening to me. I'm not quite sure
how to deal with everything.
I may go crazy…"
Molly's eyes went wide after hearing this statement
and she pressed a hand
against her chest. " Oh! And you came to me?" her
voice trembled. Tom in his
rising insecurity, misread her expression.
" I'm sorry. It's really late. I shouldn't have come…"
He began to rise,
berating himself for being so stupid.
" Sit. Down. Right. Now!" Tom immediately sat and
followed the action by
scowling.
Understanding what worried Tom at the moment,
Molly smiled reassuringly at
him. " I would never turn a child away seeking
advice and comfort. The door is
open for you any time."
" I'm not a child."
Tom's petulant reply made her smile. " Yes you are.
You never had a parent's
loving guidance. Though I dare say you'll have it
now. So speak."
Tom nodded after a moment and took a deep
breath. She'd just answered part of
his questions about why she seemed to have
forgiven him, and he thought he
might as well get to what had been bothering him
most recently. " Well first…
Um… I- err…" Tom ran a hand through his hair and
looked away in embarrassment.
" A girl! This is about a girl!"
" How could you possibly have guessed that? It
could have been anything!"
" I've raised six boys, seven if you count Harry. I
know when a boy has a
crush."
Tom's eyes narrowed. " I do not have a crush. That's
ridiculous. I'm the Dark
Lord, for Merlin's sake."
" So who is it?"
Tom sighed. " Luna. No one's pulled my attention
the way she has in such a
short period of time."
Molly grinned smugly. " I knew it! It's no wonder
you attacked Ronald. And
Luna is a lovely girl, if a little strange. Do you know
how she feels about
you?"
" Not exactly. She knows who I really am and it
doesn't bother her to be
around me. I get the feeling she considers me a
friend."
" And you?"
" Yes. I would like to continue associating with her."
His easy and quick
answer surprised Molly. " I like that she's strange.
And despite what most
think, she's intelligent and she can be powerful."
" Ah yes. No matter what happens, you will always
be attracted to power. You
will need it."
Tom nodded. Pleased she understood that. " And
then there's this." He passed
over Luna's drawing.
Molly took it and gently unfolded it. She studied it
for a moment. Both red
eyebrows arching towards the sky. " Oh yes, she
likes you."
" How do you know that?"
" It's the way she draws. With her emotions. She's
given me several of her
drawings of the family over the last two years. All
wonderful. Whether
consciously or unconsciously, her magic goes into
whatever she draws. Even
though her pictures do not magically move, they
move the heart, don't they?"
" Yes." Tom replied softly once she'd passed the
picture back to him.
" Tom, when it comes to things like this and you find
yourself in a current
you've never been in, I suggest you go with the
flow, as the kids say these
days." Tom sat back and stared at the scarred table.
" Can I make another
suggestion?" She asked carefully.
" Please do."
" As it being who you were a few months ago and
who you are now, I also
suggest you take a good amount of time to search
that reacquired soul and
conscious of yours."
" For what exactly?"
" You may not be ready for the type of emotions
and socialization that comes
with courting a love interest."
Tom's eyes widened in shock. " But I never said I
wanted to court her!"
Molly quirked an eyebrow at him and smiled
knowingly, " mother of seven,
remember?"
Tom shook his head and stood, " ah… thanks for
listening to me. I think that's
all I can stand for now. I should go." Tom practically
ran to Talyn who had
stood away to give them some privacy. The
moment Tom vanished, Molly broke
into giggles.
" That was strange. " Arthur said as he came out
from eavesdropping.
" Yes dear. Strange in a good way. And the fact that
he apologized for hurting
our stubborn son..."
" Hmmm. I suppose so. If he is experiencing these
types of normal teenage
emotions, then I guess he really has changed for the
better. I have heard that
Tom Riddle never socialized with anyone the first
time he was at school. Never
any friends, never any girlfriends… Never wanted
any… Luna Lovegood of all
people! Amazing!"
It was nearing sundown two days later when more
of the excitement Luna spoke
about came upon them. The young _Ukatae_ and
their guards were down in the
Chamber of Secrets where they had taken to having
their weapons lessons, and
this time Luna had somehow managed to
accompany them. She was welcomed to stay
and she sat quietly with her sketchpad and pencil,
watching with a happy
little smile on her face as Draco and Brumek
snapped at each other over
something small and insignificant. At least that's
what Harry and Hermione
were thinking as they rolled their eyes when yet
another argument started. But
Tom knew Draco's continued foul mood had
everything to do with the markings on
Harry's wings, and Brumek's temper stemmed from
the problems he and his mate
were having, whatever those problems were.
" STOP!"
Everyone turned surprised eyes onto Ozemir. He
stood near the entrance of the
large cavern. His chin planted to his chest and his
eyes were closed.
" Ozemir?" his mate moved to him.
" There are _Ukatae_ coming." The Scholar replied
flatly and shrugged off the
hand that had landed on his shoulder. " They near
the school boundaries."
" Are they dangerous?" Hermione asked.
" It doesn't matter. No other _Ukatae_ should be
allowed anywhere near here."
Falde replied.
" Let them come." Luna said without looking up
from her sketchbook. " Should
they want to harm any of us, you six can easily kill
them and they will not
harm the students. That is not why they have
come."
Tom walked over to her and then crouched down.
He placed a finger over the
Dark Mark covered by her sleeve. " After this, you
and I are going to have a
serious talk, Luna. Do you understand?"
" Of course, silly. I suppose it's time…Though I can't
promise understanding.
I don't really understand it myself."
" Must you call me silly?" He ground out. " It's very
undignified."
" Of course. You are silly sometimes."
Tom sighed and stood. " I give up."
Luna chuckled under her breath as he returned to
his siblings. " He is silly…"
" We can't trust what she says." Brumek said to
Falde. " She's only a girl. I
don't care what other predictions she's made."
" Brumek-"
" He's right, Ozemir. We cannot take the chance…"
" You are all idiots!" Ozemir shouted. " Have you
not figured out who she is?"
he said pointing a trembling finger at the
Ravenclaw. A moment later his hand
dropped and he whispered, " never mind. I don't
care."
" If Luna says let them come, then you will let them
come." Draco announced
haughtily. " We trust her."
Upon hearing this, Luna smiled blindingly at the
blonde. " Oh, Draco! You're
such a nice Slytherin."
" Quiet. Don't let the world know…" Draco replied.
Harry laughed seeing the
blonde's cheeks blush. It was such an odd and
foreign look on his lover. Being
bashful was rare for Draco.
" You deserve a nice treat for saying something so
nice." Luna went on with
twinkling eyes.
" Yes well…" Draco turned back to Harry. " The only
thing I want is-"
Tom looked over when everyone went quiet. He
saw Draco was rooted to the spot,
staring wide-eyed at Harry's wings. The markings,
which were usually a vivid
dark green, were now a pale milky green.
" Thank the heavens." Tom sighed. " No more
sulking Draco."
" Huh?" Harry was uncertain as to what was going
on. He was especially
confused as to why his mate's face was drowning in
contented joy. Draco looked
as if he wanted to start jumping around in
excitement, yet his feet were glued
to the floor.
Hermione squealed. She rushed over and embraced
her brother tightly. " I can't
believe it! I'm going to be an aunt! I'm so happy!
Tom! We're going to have a
niece or nephew!"
" Huh?" Harry pulled back a little, blinking in
confusion.
" Hermione!" Draco hissed. " I haven't explained
anything to him yet… He has
no idea-"
" What the hell are you guys talking about?"
Falde sighed and rubbed his forehead while he
motioned for the other guards.
Talyn, Ozemir, and Brumek moved to stand in front
of him. " Ozemir. Erect a
shield around the chamber. Let's not let our visitors
in until we're prepared
to deal with them."
The Scholar nodded and went to stand in the
middle of the room and started at
once to make the shield. After a moment, he called
Tom over for assistance.
" This is a bad idea." Brumek said.
" At least we're prepared." Talyn reasoned. " And
we can always have Ozemir
sneak out to see how many exactly will be dropping
in on us."
Falde nodded, " this is true."
Brumek's eyes narrowed. " We're not going to put
this on his shoulders!"
" He can do it, Brumek. Ozemir has been a very
successful assassin for far
longer then he's been your mate. He's been trained
to do things like this."
While their guards discussed their incoming visitors,
Draco cleared his
throat, " Harry, come here." When the Gryffindor
arrived at his side, the
blonde threw an arm around his shoulders and
drew him to a far corner where
they could speak privately.
" This is when Draco gets his beating." Hermione
said aloud as she sat beside
Luna. Looking over she saw the Ravenclaw had
started to sketch Harry and Draco
the way they stood, the looks on their faces. Draco
looked prideful while
Harry simply looked impatient.
Harry was starting to get annoyed. Draco was
grinning at him like a fool and
his eyes were suspiciously wet. The entire week he
had been aware of Draco's
mood swings, and wondered at them. Draco
insisted he was fine and would not
give up a reasonable answer as to why he was so
surly. And the blonde had
frequently used 'the smile' on Harry at every chance
to get him to change the
subject. And now everyone was talking nonsense,
and he'd had enough.
" What the fuck is going on, Draco? You're keeping
something from me." Harry
started to look hurt that his mate would keep
secrets. " I think you've been
doing it since your birthday. I want to know what's
going on!"
Draco hesitated to speak, now realizing how selfish
he had been to keep his
hopes to himself. " Talyn explained it during your
first flying lesson, love.
You understand what it means when markings
change right?"
" Well yeah. It's supposed to indicate pregnancy.
What's that got to do with
anything?"
" You're markings have changed color."
" WHAT?" Harry whipped his head to the side,
trying to look over his shoulder
at his wings. He couldn't see at all so he started
spinning around in circles
in panic. " What are you saying?"
" Harry, stop!" Draco grabbed a hold of his
shoulders to keep him still. "
Spread your wings."
Harry calmed down a small bit and did as his mate
said. His wings spread out
to the side, and Draco's look turned smug as they
looked upon the pale green
markings. But Harry wasn't looking pleased. Quite
the opposite actually.
Especially when he caught sight of Draco's smug
look.
" You knew this was going to happen?" he hissed.
He dropped the wing he was
holding and they rose off his back in agitation. " You
were expecting it."
Once Tom had helped Ozemir with the shield, he
escaped over to Hermione and
Luna. He had no wish for Harry to discover they all
knew Harry could get
pregnant. If Draco knew what was good for him, he
wouldn't go spilling that
fact either.
" It's not my fault you didn't pay attention in
lessons." Draco murmured
thoughtlessly, then gulped at the black look taking
over mate's features.
Harry's trembling clawed hands came up in
between them and curled like he
wanted nothing more then to strangle his blonde
mate.
Tom shook his head as he leaned against the wall
next to Luna. " Not the right
thing to say."
" Draco's just excited." Hermione murmured. " He's
not thinking about what's
leaving his mouth."
The next thing they knew, Harry's fist flew out and
Draco went flying
backwards. Before the blonde hit the ground, Harry
flew over him and started
to beat him to hell and back. "…kept it secret…
bloody bastard…Wanker!"
" Perhaps we should intervene…" Falde thought as
they watched Harry and Draco
rolling around on the floor with Harry's vicious
growls filling the large
cavern. " Since now there appears to be an heir
needing protection as well."
" Draco will make sure not to hurt Harry." Ozemir
bounced on his toes and for
the first time in days, a bright smile split his face. "
And the new baby! A
baby!" he cooed.
" Calm down," Brumek growled.
The smile disappeared and the Scholar planted his
fists on hips. " First… You
get excited! An heir, Brumek… In olden days this
would be cause for realm wide
celebrations lasting months!" Then his eyes
narrowed into slits, " and
secondly… do not speak to me, you lying bastard!"
" Now is not the time for internal quarells, you
two." Falde announced. " We
focus on the problem at hand. Ozemir, slip out and
find out how many there
are." Ozemir nodded and was gone in an instant.
By that time Harry had Draco pinned beneath him.
His knee was pressed hard
against Draco's crotch, meant to cause pain. And
the blonde knew if he tried
to move, that knee would come down and maybe
there would be no more children.
" So I'm… pregnant?" Draco nodded. " We're having
a baby?" Draco nodded again
and fought desperately to keep the wide grin off his
face. Partly to keep his
lip from splitting further and to keep Harry's anger
at bay. He thought Harry
was beginning to calm down now and he didn't
want to do anything to make him
angry again. And then Harry's look turned troubled.
_And… And you're happy about this? You- you want
a baby with me? _
Draco pulled his wrists free from where they were
being pinned to the floor
beside his head and wrapped his arms tightly
around his mate's tense back.
_Stupid insecure Gryffindor! Of course I'm happy!
I've been- I've been eagerly
anticipating it actually. Please don't get mad! _
_Is this what prompted all that protectiveness
talk?_
_No. Not really. You're mine and I have a right to
protect you. I have a want
to protect you above all else. _Draco sighed when
Harry eased the knee away
from his groin.
" I can't believe you kept this a secret!" he hissed.
Draco prepared to
respond, but sealed his mouth shut at the silent
warning his mate's eyes
flashed. " You and I will need to have a talk. But
after we've dealt with the
intruders."
And with that Harry climbed off Draco. He pushed
the knowledge that he was
carrying a child to the back of his mind. If they were
about to be faced with
enemies, he couldn't allow his mind to be filled with
anything except focus.
He grabbed his sword from where he dropped it
and walked over to their guards.
" You can let them in now."
" We'll wait until Ozemir returns." Falde told him.
Draco stood and brushed the dust off his clothes,
though it was a futile
effort to look immaculate as they were all sweaty
and dirty from training
already. He gingerly touched his eye and lip and
wondered how horrible he
looked. But at least that was the extent of the
damage. Harry could have done
more. He probably deserved more.
Hermione moved away from Luna and picked up
her sword as well, while Tom
lingered beside the Ravenclaw. " You stay here
against the wall, Luna. Should
something happen, that far corner opens up into a
tunnel."
" I wouldn't dream of leaving, Tom. Then I would
miss all the fun. Unless you
were giving me a direct order."
" Do as you please." Tom sighed as he walked away.
Fun? Not likely.
Ozemir returned and said there were fifteen armed
_Ukatae_ seeking entrance.
He had not stayed out long enough to find out who
they were exactly.
There wasn't any time to speculate about who
would be coming to see them and
why once the barrier was pulled down. Only
seconds passed before the fifteen
heavily armed _Ukatae_ surrounded them, all
pointing spears and silently
baring fangs. Falde and the other guards
surrounded the young ones and were
prepared to stay that way. But all four young ones
gave their guards a glare
and a stern push to get them out of the way.
" You all are very lucky I've received very good news
just now, otherwise I
would kill you for dropping in without an
invitation." Draco drawled as he
turned in a slow circle to look every one of the
newly arrived _Ukatae_ in the
eye. Not one of the _Ukatae_ made any movement
or indication that they had
heard him. Draco didn't like to be ignored.
_Hold on. Let's see what they want. _Harry said
when he noticed Draco's anger.
For a minute no one spoke. Each group scrutinizing
the other. Harry took in
the uniformed appearance of these new _Ukatae_.
Each of the fifteen wore
identical heavy plated helmets to cover everything
but their jaws and ears.
There were spears in hand and long curved swords
attached to their hips. They
wore thick dark green hide for armor over their
torso, back, and arms. The
armor looked like skin the way it was contoured to
resemble strong muscles.
And then on their hands they wore tanned hide
gloves as well as boots made
from the same material. On their backs long black
capes fell to the ground and
were fastened to each shoulder by metal studs that
had _Ukatae_ markings
etched upon them. These _Ukatae_ were obviously
soldiers of some kind, the way
they stood and by the clothes they wore. But Harry
knew without guessing they
weren't the same as warriors.
" They are the _Saen_." Ozemir softly answered his
unspoken question. " Royal
guards. If they could even be called that now."
" Hold your tongue, Ozemir." Falde growled lowly.
One of the _Saen_ separated and moved forward.
The soldier released his grip
from the sword at his hip and reached up to remove
his helmet. " Falde," the
_Saen_ greeted with little emotion while tucking
the helmet under his arm.
Only Harry heard Ozemir's surprised gasp when the
soldier removed his helmet.
Falde's eyes narrowed. " Vendyl," he replied flatly.
Harry and Draco shared a brief look. A special sort
of tension was being
shared between Falde and this Vendyl person. It
was very passionate, familiar,
and bordered on hatred. Harry felt the explosion of
emotions coming from Falde
the moment Vendyl had revealed his face, and the
Gryffindor was surprised at
how well Falde had kept that emotion from
betraying his toneless voice when he
spoke the other's name.
" What right do you have to be here?" Falde went
on in the same tone. "
Threatening these young ones in such a way…"
" You have been relieved of your command, Falde.
All of you are under arrest
and will be held in Borsteria until the Council has
decided what to do with
you."
" You can't arrest us!" Ozemir cried. " We have done
nothing wrong!"
" On the contrary. You have been told to bring the
young ones to Council and
yet you do not. You have begun to teach themagainst the order of the
Council. You have also shown yourself to humans…
Many more accounts of your
betrayal to the realm will go into account upon your
sentencing."
" This is ridiculous!" Harry hissed as he pushed to
the front to stand beside
Falde. " You can turn around right now and leave.
The only orders Falde and
the others take are from us. They have not betrayed
the realm. We are the
realm."
" Bold words from a young one."
" I am your ruler. You will do as I say."
Vendyl barked out a laugh that had Falde clenching
his teeth. " What good is
it to put non