Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Never Fall too Far	By : CelticKitsune Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 5065 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, story or characters, and make no money from my writing.

Chapter List
- 1-Never Fall too Far
- 2-Chapter 2
- 1
- 2
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Harry Potter.
I do however own the Original Characters in this story! As well as the Creature race I have introduced!
Thanks to BickyMonster for beta reading this for me!
Never Fall too Far
Chapter one
Blaise Zabini prided himself on being a very observant person. He was generally content to just sit back and watch things unfold before deciding if he needed to take action, though it was very rare that he would actually get involved in anything. So it was, with his ever watchful gaze, that he found his attention once again being drawn to a certain black-haired Gryffindor as the small sixteen year old came walking into the Great Hall a few paces behind his two friends. It was one thing that Blaise had noticed; though most of Hogwarts had noticed the distance between the golden trio by now. They were still always together but Harry always seemed to be trailing behind his two best friends.
Blaise was sure that is what had first drawn his attention to the Gryffindor because there was no other reason why he should be watching the other boy, and no reason why he should feel so irritated that no one else had noticed what he thought were painfully obvious changes, such as how tired and thin Harry looked. Even now the boy looked like he was nearly wasting away. Blaise really did have to wonder why no one else saw it, the pale skin, the dark circles under the green eyes that seemed dull and lifeless. It made Blaise curious as to what would cause such a drastic change; he would have thought that killing Voldemort at the ministry last year would have given Harry a new freedom on life that he hadn't had before but that didn’t seem to be the case.
Blaise narrowed his eyes slightly as he continued watching Harry, the smaller boy all but falling into his seat at the Gryffindor table. No, something had happened to Harry Potter and Blaise was determined to find out what it was. Since no one else seemed to care what was happening, he was going to have to take action on his own.
"You're doing it again, Blaise." A voice cut into his thoughts and Blaise turned his attention to Theodore Nott, who was sitting across from him at the table.
"What am I doing again?" Blaise asked, not willing to admit to himself how much effort it was taking not to return his attention back to the Gryffindor table.
Theodore chuckled and turned his head around to look in the direction that Blaise had been staring. "Someone over there has caught your attention," Theo stated, turning again to look back at Blaise with a small smirk "Care to give me a hint as to who it is?"
"It's none of your business," Blaise said, taking a few bites of his food that he had stopped eating when Harry had entered the Great Hall.
"I bet if Draco were here he'd be able to guess." Theo laughed at the glare that Blaise gave him.
"Draco doesn't know me as well as he thinks he does, and neither do you," Blaise snapped and he stood up; ignoring the confused look he was getting from Theodore, he gathered up his things, leaving the table without saying a word.
Blaise paused by the door to the Great Hall; he couldn't stop himself from looking at the Gryffindor table again, his eyes immediately landing on Harry. Something in his stomach clenched when Harry lifted his head and stared right at him; violet eyes locked with green and Blaise felt a small pull towards the boy who looked so tired and frail. Blaise felt the sudden urge to protect Harry, from what he didn't know, but he knew this feeling, and what had happened last time he had felt this need to protect someone.
Harry opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but his attention was stolen by one of his friends and that small moment of connection was gone. Blaise turned and continued on his way out of the Great Hall, quickening his pace before he could do something foolish like listen to what his instincts were telling him.
-----x
Harry frowned as he stared at the doors to the Great Hall; he had caught that Slytherin staring at him again, not that Harry wasn't used to people staring at him, however, there was something different about that tan boy. Letting out a long sigh, he tried to turn his attention back to Ron; he knew that the red-head had been talking, however, Harry was just far too tired to really pay attention to anything that his friend was saying.
"Oi, Harry. Are you even listening, mate?" Ron asked, frowning when he finally realised that Harry hadn't actually been joining in the conversation at all.
"Sorry, Ron, I'm just really tired," Harry admitted, that was nothing new for him though, as he didn't seem to have the energy to do anything lately, even eating seemed to be too much effort at the moment. Harry looked back down at his plate and frowned before pushing it away; the thought of eating right now was making him feel sick.
"Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione suggested in concern for her friend. She had noticed how tired Harry was all the time, however, she had been willing to let that slide until recently when Harry had started skipping meals completely, and she could think of at least three days in the last month that Harry hadn't eaten at all.
Ron nodded his agreement. "Yeah, mate, you really don't look so well, and you've been tired since you came to The Burrow this past summer. I know that we promised to stay off your back this year but I'm starting to get worried that something might actually be wrong," Ron said and Harry blinked at the two of them before nodding.
"Alright, I'll go to the Hospital Wing." Harry didn't have the energy to argue really, he didn't have the energy for anything anymore, and no matter how much he slept he always woke up feeling more tired than he had before sleeping; even Harry knew that wasn't normal.
Shifting out of his seat slowly, Harry stood up; however, he kept his hand on the table when he felt a wave of tiredness wash over him. He leaned heavily on the table, waiting until he was sure he could stand on his own. Ron and Hermione looked at each other, before the both of them stood up, moving to stand on either side of their friend. Harry blinked at them and tried to wave them off.
"I'm fine," Harry said, sounding even more tired than he had a few moments ago.
"You look like you're about to fall over, we want to make sure you actually make it to the Hospital Wing," Ron said and Harry snorted in amusement.
"You mean you want to make sure I really go?" Harry shot back, giving Ron a tired smile, and the redhead looked a little guilty at that. "Honestly, I am too tired to argue about anything right now," Harry told him, and allowed Ron and Hermione to help him out of the Great Hall, chuckling as people didn't even wait for him to leave before the whispers and staring started.
"Great, I'll be dying of some unknown cause by morning," Harry joked, though Ron and Hermione didn't seem to find it funny. Shaking his head with a sigh, Harry fell silent as he was lead in the direction of the Hospital Wing.
Harry looked around when they arrived at the Hospital Wing, frowning when he didn't see the school nurse anywhere. Leaning more heavily on Ron, Harry let out a tired sigh. The redhead gave his friend a worried look. “You doin' okay?” Ron asked. Harry blinked slowly at Ron and his frown deepened as his vision started to blur slightly. He was only vaguely aware of Hermione leaving his side and hurrying across the room to Pomfrey's office to locate where the nurse went.
“'m fine,” Harry finally answered Ron's question, that seemed to have only just registered to him. “...maybe should sit down...” Harry said and Ron nodded his agreement, helping Harry over to one of the beds; Harry practically fell onto the mattress
Harry looked around the room; he had spent so much time in there since his first year. This was the first school year that Harry hadn't been in there for anything, with it being the middle of March, Harry figured he could consider this a personal record. Though, thinking about it now, with how tired he was feeling and the fact that he hadn't been able to sleep or eat properly for months, Harry had to wonder if he shouldn't have come up here to see Pomfrey sooner than this; being so tired for so long really couldn't be normal.
As he let his eyes close, Harry wasn't quite sure how he had managed to survive the summer being this tired, though he suspected it had to do with the fact that he had managed to sneak in short naps here and there throughout the day. He had brought it up to Ron once as well and, while the red-head had been concerned, they had both decided that it was probably just fatigue; after all, it had taken a lot out of him to kill Voldemort during the fight at the Ministry at the end of school the previous year. Surely someone couldn't use that much magic all at once and not suffer for it afterwards.
Harry had figured that his body had just shut down and was trying to get some much needed rest; however, now that he was back at school, it didn't seem to matter how much he slept, or how much he ate, it was never enough. He was always tired and lately had even been falling asleep in classes, and over the previous weekend he had managed to sleep all day Saturday, waking up Sunday afternoon feeling famished. That burst of energy had only lasted until his second class on Monday, when he had fallen asleep at his desk.
"Mr. Potter?" Pomfrey's voice sounded far away and Harry had to struggle to open his eyes. The black-haired boy blinked slowly up at the school nurse, who frowned at him. He was slightly confused when he found himself lying down on the bed; he didn't remember lying down at all.
"He's been really tired lately, and I don't think he's really eaten anything today," Hermione explained as she pulled Ron's arm so that the two of them were out of Pomfrey's way.
"'m just tired," Harry said, letting his eyes fall shut again, unable to keep them open when he felt another wave of tiredness wash over him.
"I do not think you should sleep just yet, Mr. Potter," Pomfrey said as she pulled her wand out. "Can you sit up for me?" she asked. The only response she got, however, was bright green eyes opening to blink up at her his brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to process the request.
Pomfrey looked more concerned with the lack of response. "Perhaps if you can you roll onto your back?" she asked. Again it took a moment before Harry responded, though still not verbally. The small boy rolled onto his back with a slight gasp; the small movement seemed to have taken a lot out of him and Harry was looking really pale as he lay there struggling to stay awake. However, he was obviously fighting a losing battle.
Pomfrey looked to Ron and Hermione. "How long has he been like this?" she questioned and Hermione frowned, looking to Ron.
“We're not sure. He spent the last half of the summer with me,” Ron informed her, “and he seemed pretty tired then, but not like this. We thought it was because of the fight at the ministry last year," Ron explained, exchanging a look with Hermione; he couldn't help but think that they really should have known something was wrong.
Pomfrey nodded, looking back at Harry, who had lost the struggle of staying awake, as his eyes were closed and he was breathing was deep. "I would like to check a few things, however, I think I may need to speak with the Headmaster.” Pomfrey gave Ron and Hermione a pointed look. “If you two could fetch him for me?” she requested.
Hermione nodded, grabbing Ron's arm and pulling him out of the hospital wing with her. The door closing the door behind them as they left. Ron glared back at the door as Hermione dragged him down the hallway. "She just wanted us out of there," Ron complained, though he followed Hermione willingly enough.
"I know, but if us not being in there helps her find out what's wrong with Harry then I don't care," Hermione said, hurrying in the direction of the Great Hall.
-----x
Pomfrey stood next to Harry's bed looking at the exhausted boy who had fallen asleep. She would have preferred that Harry remain awake while she tried to find what it was making the boy so tired. She also would have liked the chance to reprimand him for waiting so long before seeking help, though she wasn't surprised in the slightest, as Harry had been this way since his first year. She had never met an eleven year old that was so independent, and over the past five years nothing had changed.
Waving her wand over Harry's sleeping form, Pomfrey started casting all the basic diagnostic spells she knew, one after another. Her frown deepened with each result she saw; the readings she was getting were far from normal. Harry had lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time, though that was easy enough to tell just by looking at him, and that was particularly concerning because Harry had already been so underweight to start with.
However, what caught her attention the most was the diagnostics on his magical core; it was so dangerously low that Pomfrey had to wonder why the only sign that would indicate damages core was the fact that Harry was exhausted. With how low his core was, there should have been more signs, and most of all there should have been no way for Harry to even be conscious.
The doors to the hospital wing opened again and Dumbledore came in, being followed closely by Ron and Hermione. "What has happened?" he questioned, coming to stand next to Pomfrey.
The medi-witch didn't look up from Harry, waving her wand over the sleeping boy again; she wanted to find the cause of what had damaged Harry's magical core, though she was now reluctant to use anything to strong, knowing it would potentially cause further harm to his magical core. However, she needed to know if there was anything else wrong before she could administer any potions.
"I am unsure, Headmaster,” she answered, keeping her attention on Harry as she cast another diagnostic spell. "Something is making him very weak; his magical core is almost depleted and I cannot find the cause of it. Though I have only done a few weaker spells at the moment, I am reluctant to use anything stronger.” She looked at Dumbledore, before her attention drifted toward Ron and Hermione. The two of them were standing slightly behind the Headmaster and both of them were looking worriedly at Harry.
Dumbledore also turned to look at the two students and sighed; he really didn't want to kick them out but he knew that Pomfrey would need the space to work with as few people around as possible. “I think it might be for the best if you two returned to your dinner in the Great Hall,” he suggested. “You will be kept updated on Harry but for right now I think it would be best if you allow Madam Pomfrey to work without distractions.”
Ron wanted to protest but Hermione grabbed his arm, speaking before he could. "Can we come back later to check on him?" Hermione requested ignoring the glare that Ron sent her way. He thankfully remained quiet.
"I don't see why not," Dumbledore answered.
Taking a deep breath Hermione nodded, pulling Ron along with her; the two of them left the room. Hermione was able to give one more worried glance towards Harry's bed before the door was closed. Sighing she moved to stand next to the opposite wall, Ron copied her, neither of them had any intentions of heading back to finish their dinner.
Inside the hospital wing, Dumbledore turned his attention back to Pomfrey; the witch was in the process of making a list. He watched her patiently for a moment and once she was done, she turned and handed the list to Dumbledore; the Headmaster glanced at the small piece of parchment, which had a list of potions Pomfrey was going to need.
“Severus has these potions. I will need his help to administer them as well,” the nurse told him and she turned her full attention back to Harry.
Dumbledore nodded his understanding. “I will bring him here immediately," he said, taking a moment to look at Harry. The boy had been through so much; Dumbledore had hoped that, with Voldemort gone, things would have started to look better for the teen. He turned quickly and went straight to Pomfrey's office to use the floo. He knew that Snape would be in his own rooms at the moment; it was where the potions master spent most of his meals lately, due to the fact that there had been some trouble with one of the Slytherin students
-----x
After leaving the Great Hall, Blaise had gone straight down to his Head of House's rooms. It was more than a little annoying having to come down here every night when he felt perfectly fine, however, other times it was such a help that Blaise never complained too much. Blaise had taken his usual seat on the settee, while Snape sat comfortably in his high back chair closer to the fire where there was better light for reading. Though this evening was turning out to be much like any other, where they both sat in silence, Snape was watching Blaise a little more closely than usual.
Blaise tried to ignore the fact that he was being watched, trying to focus on the school book he was currently reading. This was proving to be difficult as his mind kept flashing back to Harry Potter, and the question of what could have caused the other boy's health to deteriorate so rapidly. And every time he thought of Harry, his back would twinge in pain causing him to shift restlessly.
Snape allowed this to go on for nearly half an hour before speaking. “If your back is bothering you, you are free to stretch out in here,” Snape said, though Blaise already knew what he was allowed to do.
“I'm fine,” the tan boy insisted with a shrug, wincing as he felt something pull painfully in his shoulder.
“I thought you would have learned your lesson last time. If you get a cramp I do not have anything that will help you,” Snape reminded his student.
Blaise let out a loud sigh, leaning further back against the settee. “I know, I know,” he said staring up at the ceiling for a moment. “I just don't know what's wrong today. I've been fine recently but I just can't shake this feeling that something is going to happen,” Blaise admitted glancing at his Potions teacher.
Snape frowned, setting the book he had been reading aside. “The last time you mentioned feeling like this, you attacked a fellow student," Snape said seriously.
Blaise sighed again, running a hand through his shoulder length black hair. “That was only once. I've been taking precautions to make sure that it doesn't happen again,” Blaise said. “And that is why I came here earlier than usual tonight. I just wish I knew why I was feeling like this, I was fine through most of dinner,” Blaise explained, unsure if he should mention that he started feeling uneasy after he had been watching Harry Potter.
Blaise knew that he had been lucky not to have gotten in more trouble the last time something like this had come up. It had been proven that it wasn't entirely his fault after he had been forced to tell not only his Head of House, but the Headmaster as well, about what he was, and why he had attacked that Ravenclaw. Though his actions had been mostly excused, and he was allowed to remain in school, Blaise had still gotten detention for it, and he had to come down to Snape's quarters each night until he had his creature inheritance under control.
Blaise couldn't help but sneer at the thought of being called a 'creature', mostly because being called a creature implied that he was some sort of animal, and that was most definitely not true. The tan boy ignored the tiny voice in the back of his head that told him that he had attacked someone without reason because he had definitely had a reason for attacking that Ravenclaw; they had had no right to corner his friend like that. The only other person Blaise knew to have the same creature inheritance as himself had been cornered and needed his protection. Just the thought of it still made Blaise hiss with anger, rotating his shoulder's painfully.
Blaise was pulled abruptly from his thoughts when the fireplace lit up suddenly, Dumbledore's head appearing in the flames. The Headmaster took a moment to look from Snape to Blaise and back again. "I am sorry to interrupt, Severus, there is an urgent matter and Poppy requires your assistance in the hospital wing,” Dumbledore said and Snape frowned.
“There is an urgent matter here as well,” Snape said, glancing in the direction of Blaise.
“Yes, I do understand, however, there is a student whose magical core is dangerously low, and Poppy needs quite a few potions to stop whatever has caused the boy's core to be damaged so drastically without anyone noticing until now," Dumbledore said, clearly unwilling to mention the students name.
“Surely there she knows enough spells to stabilise the boy until I am able to get up there,” Snape said, not all that comfortable with leaving Blaise when the tan boy was in such a state.
“She has used a few minor spells but she is reluctant to use anything stronger. She has requested that you bring these potions with you.” Dumbledore handed the paper through the fire and Snape stood so he could take it. Looking over the list of potions, Snape frowned, his expression turning more serious.
"Very well, I will be up as quickly as I can," Snape said. Dumbledore nodded and his head vanished from the fire, leaving it empty again. Blaise frowned as well, looking at the fireplace before turning attention towards his Head of House, as Snape went to his personal stores to gather the potions from the list that he had been given.
"Should I go back to my room?" Blaise asked; the situation sounded serious and if Snape wasn't going to be here, then it was pointless for Blaise to remain in his teacher’s rooms.
Snape paused and looked out of the store room at Blaise. He was reluctant to leave the boy there alone since Blaise was clearly uneasy about something. However, this room was supposed to be a safe place for the teenager and so kicking him out now wasn't much of an option either. "If you wish to remain here to clear your mind, away from other students, you may," Snape told him. "Though I am unsure how long this is going to take."
Blaise nodded his head in understanding as he stood. "Alright." The tan boy stretched his arms over his head trying to loosen the tight muscles in his back. "I should be fine if I leave. I'm a bit uneasy but I should be fine if I clear my mind, that's something that's been helping a lot," Blaise said. Even though he would have liked to stay in here a bit longer, it felt awkward to be in his Professor's rooms when the man was there, the tan boy thought it might feel even more strange when Snape wasn't.
Snape nodded his head once, trusting Blaise in this. The boy was smart and if he thought it would be fine then Snape had no reason not to believed him. "I will leave the door unlocked. If you need to, come back here," Snape informed him. Blaise just nodded and left the room.
The Potions master grabbed the last few potions he needed before he too left the room, quickly heading up toward the Hospital wing. Though it would have been a lot faster to just take the floo, it wasn't a smart thing to do when holding so many potions, so Snape simply took the hidden staircase that had been put in for times such as these.
He managed to make it up to the Hospital wing in a few short minutes, pausing for only a moment when he saw Ron and Hermione waiting outside the room, letting out a slightly annoyed sigh as he knew immediately who it was Pomfrey needed help with. Snape walked past Ron and Hermione, not saying anything to them as he went into the Hospital Wing to see what it was that Harry Potter had managed to do to himself this time.
---------------x
Harry wanted to move, had been trying to for what felt like hours, however, his whole body felt as if it was being weighed down by something, it wasn't a very comfortable feeling. Giving up on moving for now, Harry tried to call out for help, for someone to come and help him move again, only to find that his voice wasn't working either. He didn't know what was going on; he couldn't use his voice, or move on his own.
He was resigned to just lie there until whatever spell or curse was on him was lifted, that was until he felt his arm move, and he was fairly sure he wasn't the one who had moved it. One of his legs moved next and it was with a small pang of fear that Harry recognised the feeling; it felt very close to how he had felt when Voldemort had possessed him. Trying to hold onto his sudden panic, Harry tried to struggle against whatever it was that was possessing him; he refused to lie there and do nothing and allow some unknown entity control his body. Struggling harder when he felt something grab hold of him, his panic stared to rise. ‘Not again,’ Harry thought desperately, he didn't want to go through this again.
Harry could hear far away voices, they sounded familiar but he ignored them. He needed to concentrate on getting free, he needed to find out what was possessing him and destroy it before it was too late. A very familiar annoyed sounding voice broke through Harry's panic.
“Idiot child, stop moving around!” Snape snapped. Harry's struggles stopped and he frowned in confusion; he may not like his Potions Professor, but in some weird way Harry did trust the man.
“...Snape...?” Harry said, more than a little surprised to find that he could in fact speak. Inspecting further, he discovered that he could also move on his own. The weight that had been holding him down was gone, though Harry discovered that his arms still felt heavier than usual. His frown deepened as he slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at the dark outline of who he assumed to be Snape.
“Mr. Potter, it is good to see you awake,” Pomfrey said from the other side of the bed and Harry turned his attention toward her, trying to figure out what had happened to land him in the Hospital Wing, as Harry could only assume that's where he was, if Pomfrey was here. However, Harry couldn't think of anything that would have led to him being here, he hadn't been injured or hurt, just really tired.
“What happened?” Harry asked as he started to wake up a bit more, watching Pomfrey when she started waving her wand over him.
“Your magical core was so depleted that you lost consciousness,” Snape informed him as Pomfrey continued running her diagnostic spells. “I am curious to know what it is you could have been doing that would get your magical core down that low in such a short amount of time,” Snape said because, to his knowledge, Harry had been perfectly fine during classes on Friday. The Potions teacher watched Harry as the teenager sat up to reach out to the bedside table for his glasses.
“I don't know, sir, I've just been really tired lately. I just thought I hadn't been sleeping well,” Harry admitted.
“And how long exactly have you been this tired?” Snape questioned taking a moment to glance at Pomfrey, who was still looking worriedly at the readings she was getting.
Harry's cheeks turned slightly pink and he looked away from Snape. “Since last summer?” Harry said, though he didn't sound too sure about it himself. “I don't really know; I first noticed it when I went to stay with Ron at The Burrow but it was never that bad; it got worse when I got to school though... I thought...” Harry clenched his hands into fists to stop himself from fidgeting with anything. “I thought I was still recovering from the fight at the ministry,” Harry admitted.
Snape raised an eyebrow at the boy. “While that is a logical conclusion to come to, a summer of rest, and perhaps even the first month of school should have been more than enough time for you to recover from that,” Snape pointed out. “You should have sought out help long before now, and as a result your magical core is damaged,” Snape informed him and Harry looked up sharply, eyes wide, before looking quickly over at Pomfrey.
“What... what does that mean?” he asked, trying not to sound afraid of what the answer may be. Harry might not have read as many books as Hermione, however, he knew enough about magical cores to know that if it was damaged, a witch or wizard could be in danger of losing their magic. And though it was rare, in some serious cases people had also died from it because a magical core wasn't just the source of a person's magic, it was a part of their life.
Pomfrey lowered her wand. “As of right now it doesn't mean anything, Mr. Potter; I do not know what caused your magical core to drop so low, but it appears to have stopped,” Pomfrey said.
Harry sighed and lay back down on the bed, closing his eyes in relief. His magical core was fine and whatever had been draining it had stopped. Surely that was a good thing.
“I would like to keep you here overnight,” Pomfrey told him and Harry just nodded, he had no intention of arguing with her this time. “I want you to get some more rest though; your magical core is still low, though it seems to slowly be getting better,” Pomfrey informed him and Harry could only nod his head again, already falling asleep; despite the fact that he had just woken up, he still felt very drained and tired.
Snape stood by and watched as the boy fell asleep, before turning his attention to Pomfrey. There was something more going on, he could tell by the look on the witch’s face.
“Thank you for your help, Severus,” she said, pulling the blanket back up over Harry. “I still wasn't able to find the cause of what drained his magic. It worries me that it has been going on for so long, and the fact that he wasn't showing any normal signs of having a damaged core,” Pomfrey said, still looking worriedly at the boy.
“If there is nothing more you need of me, I will return to my rooms,” Snape said and Pomfrey nodded. “I will leave the potions with you, as I get the feeling that this was not a one-time occurrence and you may need them again,” Snape said, handing the last few potions over to the medi-witch. “If you require my assistance again you know where to find me.”
With that, Snape turned and left the hospital wing; he didn't understand how anyone could not have noticed their own magic being drained away. Thinking back to the classes that he had had Harry in that year, both Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, the boy had shown no signs that his magic was nearly non-existent. He had performed spells almost perfectly in DADA, and while his performance in Potions hadn't gotten all that much better, it hadn't gotten any worse either. It truly was a puzzling situation.
-------------x
Draco Malfoy was angry, though he felt that 'angry' wasn't a strong enough word to describe how he felt at the moment. He stood, pacing the full length of the room he had been given, unable to stop himself from comparing it to his rooms at Malfoy Manor, which in his mind were a lot bigger and grander then this tiny room he had been shoved in.
“I was informed that you were attempting to wear a hole in the floor again.” A voice from the doorway had Draco pausing mid step to glare at the person standing there. Chestnut, shoulder-length hair was neatly pulled back into a loose ponytail to reveal a freshly shaven face, the man's mouth pulled into a frown. Piercing amber eyes watching the younger blond before him.
Draco felt his chest flutter like it did nearly every time he saw this man. Draco had felt drawn to this man since the first time he met him. There was just something appealing about him, though Draco couldn't quite figure out what it was, perhaps it was his gentleness, or the way he treated him like a person and not some creature, not some ’son of a death eater’. To Darius Stanberg, he was just Draco. But despite that, Darius was the last person that Draco wanted to see right now.
“Leave me alone,” Draco snapped and he continued his pacing. He really did like this man's company, he liked the feeling of being safe, of being wanted, but Darius was part of the reason he was angry at the moment.
Darius sighed and stepped further into the room. “Something has upset you,” he said, stepping closer to the younger blond. “Are you going to tell me what it is, or do I have to guess?” He sounded amused, like this was nothing more than a game for him, and that just fueled Draco's anger. Draco spun quickly and lunged at him.
Darius had expected this though, as Draco had done this more than once, and so caught Draco, easily pinning the smaller boy's arms to his sides.
“Let me go!” Draco yelled, trying to pull away from this man now and black wings, that had a blue shimmer to them when the light hit them just right, sprang from Draco's back. The blond bit his lip against the pain of it, though it wasn't close to being as painful as the first time it had happened.
Larger black wings quickly wrapped around Draco, making it near impossible for the blond to move as Darius pulled him closer. “Tell me what has got you so angry this time,” Darius requested, his voice gentle but still demanding. Draco rested his head against the broad chest.
“I hate you,” Draco mumbled. “I hate all of this.”
Darius sighed slowly, letting go of Draco's arms, though he kept his wings wrapped snugly around him. “I have told you before, I will not apologise for any of this. You are what you are and there is nothing that can be done about that. Of course, I could have just left you with Rodric,” Darius said and felt horrible when he felt the shudder run through Draco, the smaller body pressing closer to him. Darius ran his hand soothingly through Draco's blond hair. “I should not have said that.”
He never would have left Draco with that man; Rodric had a reputation in the city due to the fact that the man had had three submissive mates already, and all three of them had died from apparently 'natural causes'. But Darius, among many others, thought it very strange that three seemingly healthy people had been mated to the same person, only to end up dead within three years. The problem was that no one had any proof that the man had been involved with their deaths at all. But when Rodric had shown up with a new submissive that wasn't his mate, the court acted quickly.
“No, you shouldn't have said that,” Draco agreed, but didn't pull away. “And I have every right to be angry right now,” the blond boy insisted.
Darius sighed in frustration yet again, calming himself. “You can be angry but I have warned you that I will not tolerate you attacking me for no reason, Draco. It is not my fault that your parents hid your creature inheritance from you, nor is it my fault that the counsel elders practically forced you to choose a mate so quickly. I am only trying to help you. Now, will you tell me what has you so angry?”
Draco let out a long sigh and moved to pull away from the warmth and comfort, but Darius held him tighter. “I can't talk like this,” Draco said, still trying to pull away. Darius reluctantly let him go, watching the blond carefully, waiting for any signs that Draco was going to try attacking again.
Draco, however, just pulled away and took a few steps back stretching his arms and wings out, wincing at the pain in his back. Darius shook his head going over to the desk nearby and pulling out the chair for Draco. “Sit down, Draco, and tell me what is bothering you,” Darius ordered.
Draco glared at him; one thing that he could do to live without was being ordered around by Darius. However, Draco sat down anyway; it wasn't a good idea to continue arguing right now, there would be plenty of time for that later. He was tense, and trying to keep an eye on where Darius was standing behind him, and jumped slightly when he felt a hand touch his shoulder; however, Darius just started rubbing his shoulders, moving slowly down his back, easing away the tension and pain away.
Draco closed his eyes, letting out a content sigh without really meaning to. Darius really was very gentle with him and Draco wondered if that was why he was so cautious with the man. No one in his life had ever been gentle with him, except perhaps his mother. But even then, hugs from her had stopped when he was eleven.
“Draco,” Darius prompted and Draco sighed again as he remembered he was supposed to be angry with the man rubbing his back.
“You took a job at Hogwarts,” Draco finally said. “I told you that I didn't want to go back but you went ahead and took the job.”
Darius continued rubbing Draco's shoulders. “I was offered the job and I took it. I know you didn't want to go back to school, though you never did give me any reason why; but whatever the reason, I will be there with you. You can continue your schooling and become a healer like you said you wanted to.” Darius leaned down kissing Draco's cheek, smiling when the blond swatted him away, wiping his cheek. “I promise I won't let anything happen to you.” Darius grinned when he felt Draco lean back into his hands.
“I'm still not happy about it,” Draco grumbled and Darius chuckled.
“I know.” The older man continued rubbing Draco's shoulders, easing the rest of the tension from them. He only stopped when Draco started sagging in the chair, indicating that he was starting to fall asleep. Darius shifted Draco and lifted him out of the chair, ignoring the soft noise of protest from the blond as he carried him to bed. He laid him down and watched as Draco curled up, wrapping those wings around himself as though trying to hide from the world, even in his sleep.
It made his chest hurt sometimes when he watched Draco. The boy was nearly seventeen and was so guarded and tried to hide himself away. Darius knew that if he ever truly wanted to be with Draco it was going to take a lot of work. But there had been a few moments in the last three months that had shown Darius that the blond would be worth fighting for.
---------x
It had been two weeks since Harry's trip to the Hospital Wing, and he looked better than he had in months. That was the first thing that Blaise noticed about Harry when he caught sight of the smaller boy one morning during breakfast. The tan boy was relieved; whatever had been wrong with Harry seemed to have been fixed, which meant that he didn't have to get involved. However, Blaise's relief had only lasted for a few moments when he had realised that he still couldn't keep his eyes off the green eyed boy. Even though he kept telling himself that there was nothing wrong, there was still a sense of needing to help.
Blaise growled in frustration as he forced himself to focus on his breakfast, telling himself that Harry was fine, he looked like his normal lively self again, not someone who looked like they were going to drop over dead at any second. So there was no reason for Blaise to get involved, no reason for him to want to help the small Gryffindor.
“Did you hear?” someone further down the table hissed quietly, though Blaise knew that they meant for as many people to hear this as possible, otherwise they would have been talking quieter. “Apparently Potter is dying; he's been up to the Hospital Wing every day for the last few weeks because no one can figure out what's wrong,” the younger Slytherin said.
“And how do you know this?” one of the older years asked before Blaise could speak up, something he was grateful for mostly because he didn't want anyone to know how interested he was in Potter's health.
“I was in there the past few days visiting one of my friends and each day Potter came in, Pomfrey gave him a quick check before making him drink at least two or three different potions, he complained about having to take the same nasty potion every day for two weeks,” the younger year said, trying to put on an act like they knew exactly what they were talking about. Blaise shook his head tuning out the rest of the conversation; their information meant nothing.
Though, if there was even the slightest bit of truth to what the younger Slytherin had said, it almost made sense to Blaise that he was still watching Harry; the other boy seemed to be doing fine now but every time they were in the same room together, Blaise still found himself staring at the black-haired boy. And on more than one occasion those green eyes had locked with his, and there had been a pull towards the boy, the sense of someone needing his help.
Lifting his eyes towards the Gryffindor table again Blaise was surprised to find the green eyes already staring at him. There was such a strong urge to go over to the other boy that Blaise had been half way out of his seat when the connection had been broken. Harry was focused once again on his friends, ignoring the intense look that Blaise was giving him at the moment.
Blaise tensed when he felt his wings moving restlessly under his skin. Standing the rest of the way and ignoring the questions from Theodore and Pansy, he left the Great Hall as quickly as he could. He was thankful to find the doors to Snape's rooms had been left open as promised, bursting through the door and slamming it shut, Blaise cried out as his wings burst from his back, ripping the shirt and robes he had been wearing. There hadn't even been time to try and clear his mind and calm down; his back now throbbing in pain, Blaise curled up on the floor, trying to calm himself down now.
This was how Snape had found him, crumpled on the floor, still unable to move from the pain. The Potions Professor hadn't said anything as he went and got a pain potion for Blaise to drink before easing him off the floor and onto the settee.
Blaise sighed in frustration as he wasn't able to lean back fully because his wings were still out, but he was at least thankful that his back didn't hurt any more. Closing his eyes, Blaise waited for the questioning to start.
“What caused you to lose control?” Snape asked and Blaise sighed; he had hoped that Snape would have waited a few more moments before starting.
“I honestly don't know, sir, one moment I was fine, the next I couldn't stop it,” Blaise said, looking at his potions teacher. It probably wasn't the answer that this teacher wanted to hear but Blaise honestly didn't know why he had lost control so suddenly like that; even as he ignored the fact that he had once again been staring at Harry when it happened.
“It is a good thing then that we have finally found a Fallen that has agreed to come here and teach you,” Snape informed the tan boy. “They will be arriving at the school this evening and will be taking over as my assistant in Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and on occasion they will oversee a Potions class or two,” Snape said.
Blaise stared at him in surprise. “You really found someone?” Blaise asked and his wings seemed to sag in relief at that news, as the tension drained out of his shoulders. Snape had been doing his best and what he had suggested had helped a lot, however, Blaise still felt as if he was missing a lot of information.
“Dumbledore has been looking for an assistant for me and, after discovering your inheritance, the Headmaster has been in contact with the other Fallen. Most of them were not willing to travel out here to teach one child, but another situation was brought to our attention that will work in our favor.” Snape looked at Blaise, wondering how much information to tell this boy, but decided that it would be best to inform him of everything, due to the fact that Draco would also be returning to the school. “You are aware that Draco was pulled from school abruptly a few months ago,” Snape said, watching Blaise's shoulders tense up again, the black and purple wings twitching.
“Yes, I remember,” Blaise said; it was a hard thing to forget since Draco had been pulled from the school right after Blaise had attacked that Ravenclaw, though Blaise was fairly sure those two instances weren't entirely connected.
“It would appear that Draco is a Fallen,” Snape informed him and Blaise stared at his teacher for a moment, mostly because he had been under the impression that Draco hadn't told anyone about his own creature inheritance. The only reason Blaise had found out was because he had walked in on Draco when the other boy had had his wings out, examining them in the bathroom one morning. “We have also been informed that he is a submissive Fallen,” Snape continued, “and though I was not given the full reason as to why he was pulled from school, he will be arriving with the new assistant teacher,” Snape said, watching Blaise carefully for his reactions to all of this.
“Draco is a submissive?” Blaise asked, looking surprised but thoughtful. “So I suppose if you don't know why he was pulled from school, you don't know why he's suddenly coming back?”
“I do not, you will have to ask Draco that when he returns this evening. The assistant will be introduced to the school in the morning but I wish for you to have dinner down here tonight so that you may meet Mr. Stanberg,” Snape told him and Blaise nodded.
“That shouldn't be a problem,” Blaise said, standing up and stretching his wings out to relieve the rest of the tension in his shoulders. He wasn't in the habit of taking them out too often, however, every time he did he was still amazed at the look and feel of them; the feathers were always so soft and the coloring was mostly black until the light hit them just right and you could see that there were shades of purple mixed in.
“Will you be alright for classes today?” Snape questioned, worried that if Blaise had already lost control this morning for an unknown reason that there would be a repeat incident.
“I think I should be fine. I feel better, and just knowing that someone else is going to be in the school that can teach me more helps a lot,” Blaise said, stretching his wings out again.
He remained with Snape in his rooms until it was time to get ready for classes, wanting to make the most of the time with his wings out and to make sure that he had full control of himself.
“I'll be back down here before dinner,” Blaise said as he went to leave Snape's rooms, the Potions Master just nodding in understanding as he prepared to leave for his own classes as well.
---------------x
Later that evening Snape was called up to Dumbledore's office to greet Darius. As the younger man would be his assistant, Dumbledore had decided that it was only fair that Snape be the one to show the man around the school. When the Potions Master walked into the Headmaster's office, it was to see Draco standing rather close to a man who Snape could only assume was Darius Stanberg. The man had a stern look to him as he discreetly wrapped an arm around Draco's waist, pulling the teen closer. Snape found it a little surprising that Draco actually leaned into the small embrace.
“Ah, Severus, right on time,” Dumbledore greeted with a smile, a twinkle in those blue eyes as he stood up behind his desk. “Darius, this is our Potions professor, and for this year our temporary Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the sixth and seventh years,” the elder wizard introduced.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. Draco has told me a little bit about you,” Darius said, smiling politely and holding out his hand, which Snape ignored, though Darius didn't seem to be put off by the fact that Snape didn't return the gesture. The potions master did nod once in Darius' direction before his attention turned to Draco. Grey eyes locked with Snape's for a moment before looking away quickly.
Snape turned his attention back to Dumbledore, who was still smiling at him, that annoying twinkle ever present in his eyes. “If you excuse us, Headmaster, Mr. Zabini is currently waiting for us,” Snape informed him. He had not informed Dumbledore about Blaise's near slip earlier that day; as the tan boy hadn't attacked anyone he didn't think it was something the Headmaster needed to be told about at the moment. And things would hopefully get easier for Blaise now that there was another Fallen in the school who was willing to teach the boy.
“Of course, Severus,” Dumbledore said, with a nod of his head, trusting that Severus had everything in hand.
The Potion Master turned to Darius once more. “Follow me,” he instructed, before turning and heading out the door without another word, not evening bothering to see if the assistant and Draco were indeed following him.
Darius chuckled and, taking Draco's hand, the two of them followed Snape out of Dumbledore's office. “Your Potions Professor seems like a very charming person,” Darius said, looking at Draco, who raised a blond eyebrow at him.
“You have a strange idea of what counts for 'charming’,” Draco said in a near whisper, looking worriedly in front of him to where Snape was, as if afraid that his teacher would hear him.
“He's as charming as you are,” Darius said, grinning at the wide-eyed almost hurtful look that Draco gave him. “I'm teasing.” He laughed when the hurtful look changed to annoyance and Draco pulled away from him, walking a little faster so that he was now walking next to Snape.
“Sir, would it be alright if I just went to my rooms? Or I could just go eat dinner in the Great Hall,” Draco said; he was not very comfortable about the idea of seeing Blaise so soon after returning to the school. Snape glanced at him, though kept walking in the direction of his rooms.
“Dumbledore has set up private rooms for you and your... friend,” he said, unsure of how he should refer to Draco's relationship with a man that was obviously older then the teen.
Draco looked surprised by this and looked back at Darius, wondering if the man knew that Draco would be staying in the same rooms as him, but with how Darius was grinning at him, the blond was sure he already knew. Huffing, Draco turned his head back around to watch where they were walking; he was conflicted, he knew that it would be impossible to avoid Blaise completely, he just hadn't been prepared to see him so soon. The tan boy had been a very good friend to him, however, at the same time, Draco also didn't know how much things had changed since his absence. The last he had seen Blaise was when he had attacked that Ravenclaw, who had cornered Draco in a deserted hallway.
At the time Draco hadn't realised that he had been sending out a silent distress call, Blaise had just suddenly shown up and pulled the other student away from him and started punching him. Draco hadn't stayed to find out what the outcome of that had been. By the time the mess had been settled and Blaise was allowed to stay in the school, Draco had already been on his way home.
All too soon for Draco's liking, they reached Snape's rooms and Draco moved back to stand closer to Darius. He wasn't afraid to see Blaise but he was worried how his friend was going to react to all of this, it had been three months and the only thing Blaise would know is that Draco had vanished for three months after the attack.
Darius glanced down at Draco, frowning slightly when he felt the blond teen press against him; it was painfully obvious how much Draco didn't want to be here, though the blond was still reluctant to tell him anything about why he was so worried. It had Darius on edge already, feeling the smaller boy press back against him; if it hadn't been for his years of practice, Darius knew that his wings would have come out to wrap around Draco for extra protection.
“I'm right here, Draco,” Darius whispered to him and gently led him into the room after Snape.
Amber eyes scanned the room, settling on the other boy that was standing next to the settee. Darius had been told about him already but, feeling Draco stiffen in his arms at the sight of this tan-skinned boy, had Darius glaring at him, coming to the assumption that perhaps this boy was the reason that Draco didn't want to be here.
“Blaise, this is Darius Stanberg,” Snape said, watching Blaise carefully as the tan boy rotated his shoulders in the same way he did when he was fighting against his wings.
Draco took half a step forward towards Blaise, giving the tan boy a small smile. However, he was stopped by strong arms wrapping around him and pulling him back against a solid chest. This one movement set off a chain of effects that shocked even Draco.
Blaise lost his fight with his wings, the large appendages springing free from his back in a way that must have been painful for the tan boy, though he didn't show it as he glared at Darius. Larger wings unfolded gracefully from Darius' back, proving that he had much more experience with them than Blaise did. Draco lifted his head slightly to look at Darius, before turning his attention towards Blaise, who had started hissing softly. It took a moment for Draco to realise what was going on, because he had only seen something like this once before. Both Blaise and Darius were seeing each other as a threat.
“Darius, Blaise isn't going to hurt me.” Draco turned as best he could in the strong embrace so that he could look at the older man, amber eyes slowly looking from Blaise to him, though Draco knew that if Blaise moved at all Darius would see it and react accordingly. “Blaise is one of my friends; he's not going to hurt me,” Draco said again, making sure that the older man understood before looking over at Blaise, who was still tense. Draco eased himself away from Darius, who reluctantly let him go. Draco only took two steps towards Blaise, remaining closer to Darius hoping that it would make the man less tense.
“Blaise,” Draco said softly.
“You didn't tell me you were a submissive,” Blaise said, looking at Draco, who lowered his head.
“I didn't want you to know.” Draco kept his head lowered. Blaise frowned; this wasn't like the Draco he knew, his Draco would have proudly stated that Blaise hadn't been worthy of such information, or something like that. This near frightened, timid Draco was such a contrast to how he had been before, all Blaise could think was that something serious must have happened in the three months that his blond friend was gone. “Besides,” Draco continued, “if you knew, it would have just made things a lot more complicated.”
“How so?” Blaise questioned frowning at Draco.
“You were already trying to form a bond with me, I didn't want to be anything other than friends. And from what little I was ever able to find out about our kind in books... I was afraid that you would try and force me to be your mate...” Draco said trying not to make a face.
“I've read the same books you have Draco, that wouldn't have happened unless...”
“Unless I had sent out a distress call.” Draco gave Blaise a pointed look and the tan boy suddenly understood all too well what had happened.
“That Ravenclaw...” Blaise sighed shaking his head. “I couldn't figure out why I had lost control like that, I knew you had been in trouble, though I still hadn't put it together that you were a submissive. I suppose if you had stayed around after that I would have figured it out easily enough.”
Draco nodded. “You would have, I would have seen you as a protector, someone who would be able to keep me safe. The bond we had was already messed up and you would have tried to be my mate. I didn't want that to happen, I didn't want a mate. I didn't want to be.... this,” Draco gestured to himself, and Blaise couldn't help but look the blond boy over; he truly didn't see anything wrong with him but he understood where his friend was coming from.
"And so you just left?" Blaise asked. As much as he understood that Draco had wanted to keep them from becoming mates, he wasn't any clearer on why Draco had basically vanished for three months.
“I told my parents about what happened, when I went home for Christmas,” Draco explained, well aware of the fact that both Snape and Darius were listening. “They contacted a friend of theirs, who claimed he knew a way to stop all this. Though that didn't really turn out the way I had planned,” Draco added with a bitter laugh.
Darius moved forwards then, wrapping his arms around Draco again. The blond boy allowed it resting back against the strong chest.
Blaise raised an eyebrow at Draco. “Then why are you mated to him,” Blaise asked as he nodded his head at Darius, “if this person was supposed to 'make it all stop'?”
Draco shook his head. “First I'm not fully mated to him. The rest is a really long story, but let's just say that there is no way to take away an inheritance once you've gotten it.” He sighed, finally looking fully at Blaise again. “I'd rather not talk about it right now. There are other things we need to talk about,” Draco said with a small smile. Blaise gave him a curious look. “I've missed three months of school, I'm a little behind.”
Blaise rolled his eyes but smirked at Draco's sudden change of topic, he didn't question it and nodded. “I've kept notes for you; I'll give them to you tomorrow.”
Draco looked extremely happy about this, which in turn made Blaise happy. Draco had always been a good friend; the thought that he had been subconsciously trying to bond to Draco was actually a little frightening to Blaise. He would definitely have to ask Darius about that. Blaise turned his attention toward the man that had come in with Draco. “Sorry about over reacting,” Blaise said, even as he pulled his wings in close to his back, though they didn't slide back in just yet.
Darius shook his head. “I should have expected you to react in such a way, you obviously feel very protective of Draco. And with Draco being on edge all day it had me on guard, which is what your instincts reacted to,” Darius explained. Letting Draco go, he stepped around the blond boy, moving towards Blaise. The tan boy noticed that Darius was careful with how he moved, showing that he wasn't a threat. This eased the rest of the tension from Blaise and his wings finally folded into his back once again, vanishing from sight.
Darius flashed him a smile and held his hand out. “Shall we try this again? I am Darius Stanberg, you can just call me Darius though. Being called Mr. Stanberg makes me feel old.”
“You are old,” Draco pointed out, smirking.
“Thirty two is not old,” Darius shot back, his hand still held out to Blaise; the tan boy studied him for a moment before finally taking the offered hand.
“Blaise Zabini,” he said.
After that the hostility between Blaise and Darius seemed to vanish as if it was never there to begin with. The house elves brought dinner for the four of them. Blaise caught Draco up on all the gossip that had been happening over the last three months that the blond boy had been gone. Snape and Darius, in the meantime, discussed how managing the classes was going to work, while working in how Darius was going to set time aside to give Blaise some one-on-one lessons, so as to teach him how to better control himself.
“I think it's really going to help having another Fallen around to help,” Blaise said.
“Don't call us that,” Draco snapped, catching Blaise by surprise. Darius put a hand on Draco's shoulder to calm him, and then turned his attention back to Blaise.
“You are not a Fallen, we are called Celraith. The term 'Fallen' was adapted to our kind because of the fact that our wings are mostly black; the theory is that we once descended from fallen angels. As that was a very, very long time ago, if we were ever descended from angels at all, the blood has long since been diluted and so that is a difficult theory to prove or disprove,” Darius explained and Blaise nodded his understanding.
“Celraith, well it sounds better then 'Fallen' anyway,” Blaise said with a grin.
-----------x.
Harry felt so much better. He still didn't know what had caused his tiredness but given the fact that he was able to get out of bed in the morning and have the energy to not only get dressed but make it down in time for breakfast, he found he didn't care what the cause had been. So long as it didn't happen again.
He had been going back to see Pomfrey every day for two weeks so that she was able to keep an eye on his magical core and, though it was still weak, it was getting stronger thanks to the potions that he had been taking. His understanding was that the potions put a protective barrier around his magical core stopping any magic from being drained until his core was fully healed. It was far too complicated and Harry hadn't fully understood everything that he had been told, but that was the gist of it.
That morning Harry felt better than he had all week. It was the first time being awake before Ron in months. Harry got ready for the day before waking Ron up and informing the red-head that he was going down ahead of him. Ron made a noise and waved his hand before burying his face back into his pillow. Harry laughed, shaking his head at his best friend before he left to go get something to eat.
Normally Harry would have waited for Ron, however, he felt so hungry today that he didn't think he would be able to wait while Ron slowly went through his morning routine. It was a little unfair, since Ron had waited around for him when Harry had been too tired to really stand on his own but Harry was sure that his friend would just be pleased he was eating normally again.
Harry hurried down the stairs, taking two at a time in some places, until he reached the Entrance Hall. Jumping down the last five steps, Harry landed on his feet though didn't stay there long as he lost his balance and fell over.
“Graceful, Potter.” Harry's head snapped in the direction of that all too familiar drawl, to see Draco Malfoy standing to the side of the staircase. Harry blinked, and then blinked again.
“Malfoy? Why are you here?” Harry asked, clearly surprised to see the blond boy.
“Last I checked, I've been going to school here as long as you have,” Draco said, taking a step towards Harry, who was apparently too surprised by seeing the blond boy back in school to actually get up.
Harry rolled his eyes. “I know that, but you haven't been here since right before Christmas.” Harry frowned, looking up at Draco when the other boy held a hand out to him. Giving it a distrustful look, Harry pulled himself off the floor; he and Draco had mostly ignored each other this school year but it still felt too weird to accept help from his long time school rival. “Everyone was talking about where you had vanished to. I could give you the list of rumors but some of them are so stupid I don't even want to repeat them,” Harry said and was surprised to hear Draco laugh at that.
Draco couldn't stop from smiling at the slightly smaller boy. “I've heard a fair few of them already, and I've only been back in school since last night.”
“I almost can't wait to hear what rumors are going to spring up now.” Harry grinned at the thought.
Draco laughed again. “I could start a few of my own, though I think it's more fun to see what other people come up with,” he said and smiled again when Harry laughed at that. The smile faded quickly though as Draco looked at the other boy. It was strange, standing there talking and even laughing with someone who he was sure he hated at one point, though Draco couldn't really pinpoint the exact moment he had decided that he hated Harry, just like he couldn't pinpoint the moment when he had stopped hating him. Though Draco was sure he had stopped hating him some time soon after the other boy had killed Voldemort.
Harry tilted his head curiously at Draco when he noticed the other boy frowning at him. “What?”
Draco shook his head; of course Potter was to slow to realise the oddity of the situation. “Are we actually having something that could be classified as a 'normal' conversation?” Draco asked, sounding a bit confused. Where were the insults, the shouting, trying to throw spells, punches at each other, or just ignoring the others existence as they had over the past year?
A frown slowly formed on Harry's face now as well. The thought of arguing with Draco hadn't even crossed his mind. He had been surprised to see the other boy but, instead of the normal dislike he felt towards Draco, or the indifference he had towards the other boy,, Harry could only say he felt relieved to know that none of the rumors had been true. “I think we are,” Harry finally replied and could only shrug it off. “Is that a problem?”
Draco had to actually think about that question before answering. Did he have a problem talking to Harry? After the crazy happenings at the beginning of December, and then what had happened the months following Christmas, he came to the conclusion that he did like talking to the other boy. There was something almost calming about being around him. “No, not a problem at all. Just maybe a bit...”
“Weird?” Harry offered and Draco nodded. “Yeah, it is a bit I guess,” Harry said with a shrug, clearly not all that bothered by it. “Though, if you want more rumors started about you, all we have to do is stand here talking a bit longer. I'm sure a few people have already seen us.”
Draco smirked at that, glancing over at a younger student that was walking into the Great Hall, but their head kept turning around to look at the two of them standing by the stairs. “I would think that you have had enough rumors spread about you to last a life time,” Draco pointed out and Harry just shrugged again.
“That's true, but what else can they make up about me? The must have run out of ideas by now.” Harry grinned.
“I could think of a few.” Draco's mood seemed to darken. “The Savior talking to the son of a Death Eater; use your imagination and see where they could possibly take that,” Draco said, and before Harry could respond in anyway the blond had turned and walked up the stairs that Harry had jumped down before.
Harry stared after Draco, really confused by the friendly conversation they had just had, and then the abrupt mood swing on Draco's part. For what was really a fairly normal year at Hogwarts, it was definitely turning out to be one of the strangest ones Harry had had so far.
TBC
And here is Chapter one! I hope you all enjoyed it, I do have chapter two mostly done, but it will be a little while before that is posted as I want to go through and add some more stuff and fix it up as I have been sitting on this story for MONTHS and have worked out a few more things.
For those of you reading Unwanted Bonds, the last chapter to that is finished, and I hope to have that up soon as well!
For anyone reading Contract Under Love, I am sorry for the long wait in an update. I hope to get back to that one in the new year, and I also hope to be able to post some of my other works as well!
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Never Fall too Far