Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Survival of the fittest	By : Sasunarufan13 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 18501 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 9
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor profit from it. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Author's note: All right, first of all, I want to apologize for keeping you waiting so long. That wasn't my intention at all. I had assumed I would be able to work on this story during the evenings of my exam period, but as it turns out, by the time I stopped studying every day, I was so tired that only gibberish appeared on the page. After my exams were done, I still hadn't caught up on my sleep, so it was a slow start of getting back into the story.
I know this doesn't fully excuse my absence, but yeah, this is why it took me so long to update this fic.
Secondly, this will have a third part: just like with Gryffindor, the actual search for the portrait will take place in the third chapter. This one mainly deals with the attacker of the bond and the leading up to the quest.
Thirdly, I've tried my best for this chapter, but I'm not completely happy with it. It's not too bad, I think, but something about it bothers me. But I didn't want to keep you waiting even longer, so I tried my best and finished it. I promise to make the next one better.
Warnings for this chapter: a bit of drama; a slightly Dark Harry (as in he'll take some personal revenge); lime. I think that's it for this chapter
I hope you'll like it!

Chapter 18: Helpful Hufflepuff and Precarious Potions Part 2
14 th of January
"It was Parkinson," Harry announced a few hours later.
Draco had been urged to eat a decent meal – adjusted so that he wouldn't become sick and throw it up again after not eating anything decent for a few days – while Garin let Ruby and Mara know what had transpired during the time they were absent.
Lucius had ordered a house elf to prepare a meal for his son, while Narcissa had fussed both over Draco and Harry with Snape checking Draco's vitals.
Remus and Sirius had arrived together with Mara and Ruby and they were quickly informed about what Harry had done.
Now that Draco had eaten, it was time for Harry to divulge more information.
"Parkinson?" Snape frowned. "Why are you certain about that?"
"The bond showed me what happened in some sort of mirror," Harry explained and shifted his leg. He was seated next to Draco on the bed; initially he had wanted to sit on a chair, but the blond had refused to let him go. "I recognized her face and voice."
"You mentioned a potion was shown in the mirror," Lucius murmured, his eyes darkening a bit. "Did you perhaps recognize the potion?"
He nodded. "It was a love potion – she clearly intended Draco to fall in love with her by using a love potion, but it backfired obviously. That's probably why the bond was acting up."
"But she didn't have a potion when I talked to her," Draco objected. His voice was still a bit rough, but Snape was confident his health would restore soon.
"When did you talk to her?" Narcissa looked at him sharply, her lips pinched together.
"Last week after I went to the library," Draco replied. "She said she wanted to talk privately, so we went to a classroom. She wanted to apologize for trying to create a rift between Harry and I last year and asked whether we could still be friends."
"And you believed her apology?" Sirius snorted and shook his head warily.
Grey eyes narrowed. "Of course not, but she told me she was being courted by a German wizard, so I didn't think she would present a threat. She even offered to show me the letters and she may be a lot of things, but she knows a Courting Process is not something to be taken lightly. I figured she had to be genuine if she offered to show the letters." Draco looked thoughtful. "But she didn't have any potion on her – I made sure to pay attention to her wand and she didn't come close enough to touch me."
"The mirror showed one of the doors, here in the dungeon," Harry spoke up, remembering the brief image of a door opening. "I don't know what that has to do with the love potion or Parkinson, though."
Draco inhaled sharply. "I think I know how I got dosed with the love potion."
"Care to enlighten us?" Snape asked and raised an eyebrow.
"That Gryffindor girl last week during your class – she had a vial in her hand and we walked into each other when she left the room. I got hit by the potion on my clothes, but I thought it was just a botched attempt of one of the assigned potions."
"Goodman," Snape murmured and his eyes flashed up briefly. "I'll be having a word with her."
The ominous tone in his voice made Harry repress a shiver. He really didn't want to be in the girl's shoes now.
"So, Parkinson apparently worked together with Goodman to dose you with a love potion, but the bond acted up instead and rebelled against the effects," Remus summed up and his eyes glowed golden for a few seconds.
"Those two girls need to be punished," Narcissa spoke coldly. "Thanks to that idiot girl's disillusioned mind, Draco could have died."
"We'll bring them to McGonagall and explain everything. They'll wish they had never done it by the time she's finished with them," Sirius said grimly.
"Can Parkinson be put on a trial?" Harry's question made a sudden silence fall in the room.
"A trial, Harry?" Lucius broke the silence and stepped forwards, his eyes conveying his interest in the strange question.
Harry clenched his hands in the fabric of his trousers, wrinkling them. His eyes flared up dangerously when he replied, "Yeah, she tried to screw around with a bond and used an illegal potion. Isn't that grounds for a trial?"
"Not to mention," Snape murmured. "Parkinson also committed fraud by betraying the Courting Process. I imagine the German wizard won't be pleased if he knows that his Courting Partner was trying to seduce another man."
"So isn't there a law that defends bonds?" Harry asked and tried to contain his anger. He wanted Parkinson to suffer for what she had done. Draco had almost died thanks to her interference and he didn't want to give her another chance to try something. She had gone far enough. "I mean, bonds are taking pretty seriously, aren't they?"
"Yes, they are," Narcissa replied and cocked her head a bit, studying him. "But not many people are aware of the bond between you two. If she is put on trial, the people in the court room will know about the bond. Are you ready to deal with that?"
Harry lifted his head to look her straight in her eyes. "Of course I am. I'd rather not spread around that we have a bond, but if this means she will be trialled, I don't care. She can be put on a private trial, right? That way, the people in the court room will be forced to keep quiet about it and the press won't know about it either."
"And what about Goodman?" Remus asked curiously. "Do you want her to be put on trial as well?"
Harry hesitated for a bit, but shook his head. "No, McGonagall can deal with her. I just want to be certain Parkinson can't try anything else."
"Draco, do you agree with putting Parkinson on trial?" Lucius inquired and twirled his cane in his hand.
"I agree; she went too far this time," Draco murmured darkly.
"That's settled then. You two will have to talk to an Auror to give your testimony, but that can be done tomorrow," Narcissa said firmly.
"I'll bring Parkinson to Minerva," Snape muttered and left the room.
Remus sighed and pinched his nose. "I'll bring Miss Goodman to Minerva as well – we'll discuss her punishment then."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Sirius muttered darkly and together with Remus he left the room, so that they could guide the girl to the Headmistress.
"We'll contact our lawyer and an Auror as soon as we're home," Narcissa murmured and approached the bed to give them each a kiss on their forehead. "Take care of yourselves, my boys."
"I'll notify you as soon as your testimony is needed," Lucius said calmly and after giving them a squeeze on their shoulder, he departed together with his ex-wife.
"I'm surprised you want to put her on trial," Draco murmured and turned his head around to look at Harry.
Harry shrugged half-heartedly. "I'm tired of people targeting us. She could have caused you to die, Draco. This is not something I can forgive her for. I want her to be punished for what she did."
"And she will be. The judge won't punish her lightly with the offenses she has," Draco replied and reached out with his arm to tug Harry against his chest.
"Is it really considered fraud to mess with a – what did you call it? A Courting Process?" Harry asked curiously and twisted around so that he could face Draco. One hand was tucked underneath his chin and the other was trailing circles around Draco's hipbone.
"Yes, it's probably one of the worst offenses a Pureblood can commit," Draco replied and his eyes narrowed a bit. "It's basically a breach in trust and a blow to the pride of the other party. As soon as that wizard hears what she was planning to do, he'll probably want to prosecute her as well in Germany. She can call herself lucky if she can get out of prison before she turns fifty."
Harry hummed, but didn't comment. He honestly couldn't care that she would be locked up for a long time. Call him vindictive, but he thought she deserved a long imprisonment for what she did to Draco.
"How are you feeling?" Draco asked softly and dropped a kiss on Harry's forehead.
"A bit tired." Harry shrugged. "I was mostly worried about you, though."
Draco sighed and smiled a little self-depreciatively. "It seems as if this year you've been doing nothing but saving me."
"Don't make a habit of it," Harry smiled faintly.
"Do you think they'll finally stop attacking us?" Draco sounded forlorn.
"We can only hope," Harry murmured after a brief silence.
Still feeling fatigued from the bond rampaging around in his mind, it didn't take long for the blond to fall asleep again. His hand that had been rubbing circles on Harry's back slowed down and eventually fell limply on his back while his breathing evened out.
Wanting to find out the hour, Harry used a nonverbal Tempus spell and was surprised to notice that it was already half past seven. No wonder he was feeling hungry.
Carefully he extracted himself from Draco's hold, making sure that he didn't wake up the other one. Slipping out of bed, he fussed a bit with his clothes and then pulled the sheets back over Draco, so that he wouldn't become chilled.
When he walked into the part serving as a living room, he noticed to his surprise that a warm meal, consisting out of mashed potatoes, grilled salmon and cooked cauliflower, was waiting for him on the table.
"One of the house elves just brought it up for you," Salazar spoke up and Harry looked at him startled. "I assume someone of your family told them you still needed to eat."
"Yeah, I didn't know it was this late already," Harry muttered and sank down on the couch, dragging the plate towards him.
"How is young Draco faring?"
"He's doing a bit better. Snape said it should take a few days before he's completely healthy again," Harry replied and took a sip of his water.
Salazar nodded thoughtfully. "That is good news." Then he cocked his head slightly, as if he was listening to something. "If you'll excuse me, it seems Godric needs to talk to me."
Harry nodded absentmindedly and was soon left alone with his dinner. Not being a fan of salmon in generally, he just ate a few bites before he pushed it to the side of the plate.
"Shouldn't you eat everything on the plate?" Ruby slinked into the room and threw a meaningful glance at Harry's midsection.
"I don't like salmon," Harry grumbled and mixed some cooked cauliflower together with the mashed potatoes.
"Do you want me to hunt a deer so you can have meat?" Ruby offered innocently, his red eyes glittering.
Harry almost choked on his piece of cauliflower. "No, thanks," he rasped out after coughing. "I'll just keep to the potatoes and the cauliflower."
Harry suddenly noticed the absence of Mara and Garin. "Where are Mara and Garin?" he asked confused.
Ruby's tail thumped softly against the floor and his claws shone sharply in the fire when he extracted them for a few seconds. "They are searching."
"Searching for what?" he asked slowly, not certain whether he really wanted to know the answer.
"Where they keep the attacker of the bond."
He placed his knife and fork back on the plate and looked at the lion perplexed. "Why are they searching her?"
The lion padded closer, looking like the predator he was. "So that you can take revenge on her," he purred.
He knew he would regret continuing this particular turn of the conversation, but he couldn't hold himself back and pointed out, "I'm already taking revenge on her: she'll be placed on trial for trying to dose Draco with a love potion."
"That's the official revenge," Ruby replied dryly, as if that couldn't be considered as real revenge. "You are allowed to extract your personal revenge on her. She tried to hurt your mate, Master. The bond won't tolerate such a serious transgression."
"Cursing her would be illegal," Harry replied flatly. "I'm not going to prison for cursing her. She's not worth that."
"Some curses are not illegal," Ruby pointed out almost gleefully.
"Curses are by definition illegal," Harry retorted in a deadpan manner.
"There are some curses that aren't considered illegal, because the effects only take place if a certain condition is met," Ruby stated and made a low purring sound. "You can give the attacker a fair warning and then she can decide whether she wants to risk it or not." His eyes shone impishly; it was as clear as crystal that the lion was looking forward to punishing Parkinson even more.
Harry knew he should just stop this conversation; tell Ruby he wasn't interested and leave it at that. The lion wouldn't keep talking about it if Harry made it clear he had no interest in it. But the problem was that he was interested in extracting more revenge. Realising that it had been Parkinson who had brought Draco to that state – even though it had not been her intention – had made him furious and seeing almost red from rage. Draco had almost lost his life, because a girl couldn't accept the fact that he didn't want her. Out of pure jealousy, she had tried to manipulate Draco into loving her by forcing a love potion on him. For someone claiming to love Draco, she clearly had no regard for his feelings.
He supposed that being put on trial would be enough punishment for her, but the question was whether that would keep her from pursuing Draco. Even stuck in prison, she could find ways to try and trick Draco into falling in love with her. She had already enlisted the help of an innocent bystander – who knew whether she could do that again?
Would it be awful of him if he took one last revenge? Just to make sure she wouldn't try to come between them again. Ruby said there were curses that weren't considered illegal and that would only start to effect the victim if certain conditions were met. He could use a curse like that as revenge and if he warned her about the consequences, well then, it wouldn't be his fault if she went through with her plans, right?
He knew he shouldn't agree to getting revenge; he wasn't a vindictive person, but remembering how sickly pale Draco had looked, how close he had come to losing him completely … Remembering how the bond had rampaged around in Draco's mind, convinced it had to punish him …
Harry swallowed and turned to look at Ruby, who regarded him with knowing eyes.
"Do you have a curse in mind?"
If lions could grin, Ruby would surely have done so. "I think the Intentus curse is perfect, master."

Four hours later, in the pitch dark, a portrait was opened, yet nobody could be seen leaving the room. Only the slight rustle of light fabric swishing against the wall was heard and if one concentrated deeply, one could decipher the sound of light breathing and soft footsteps.
None of the three ghosts roaming on the first three floors seemed to notice something was amiss; they continued drifting through the corridors, occasionally stopping to chat with one of the portraits while the invisible entity passed them.
The sixth floor was completely empty; all the portraits were deeply asleep and not even Peeves was setting up one of his numerous mischievous plans.
One door – the last room in the corridor – shimmered softly thanks to the presence of a ward placed on it. The ward kept everyone in the room inside and kept out unwanted guests; a specific type of ward that only the Headmistress could place.
The air in front of the closed door shimmered for a few seconds and then a body seemingly appeared out of thin air.
"She's here?" Harry hissed softly and folded up his Invisibility Cloak; stuffing it in his pocket.
Garin rose up until his head was at the level of Harry's shoulder. "Yes, I can smell her."
Harry furrowed his eyebrows and bit his lip while he studied the ward. He shook his head once. "I don't know how to break through this ward without alerting anyone. Besides, the ward still needs to be in place to keep her locked inside." Frustration shone clearly through his voice.
The snake made a strange clicking sound and a hiss rattled deep inside his throat. The ward started to tremble and shiver until it sunk down and ended up like a small puddle of water.
"What did you do?" Harry asked warily and strained his ears to hear whether somebody was alerted by the ward collapsing. If McGonagall had been warned about the ward, she would have been brought to the room immediately, thanks to the various secret corridors.
"I asked the castle to bring the ward down for a moment," Garin replied flatly.
"Of course you asked Hogwarts," Harry muttered bemused. He hadn't known his pets could communicate with the castle. But really, should he still be surprised after everything his pets had done so far? Communicating with a centuries old castle probably wasn't a big matter to them.
The door gave away easily when he turned the door knob and he entered a small room – big enough to contain a trunk and a bed. As soon as the door fell shut, the girl on the bed turned around and glared once she caught sight of him.
Parkinson had her hands bound by a thin iron string – not too tight that it would cut off her circulation or cut in her skin and not too loose that she would manage to slip her hands out of it. Even if she had been able to do that, it wouldn't have done much. At most she could have attacked someone by punching or scratching them; her wand had been confiscated as soon as Snape had picked her up.
"What are you doing here, Potter?" she sneered, though her eyes showed her wariness about his presence.
Instead of replying immediately, he studied her in silence. Her hair was tangled from sleeping on it and her skin seemed to be paler than he could remember. Her eyes were narrowed in distrust and apprehension; her hands were clenched together and it was obvious she felt frustrated that she couldn't curse him.
"You know, I honestly couldn't care that you tried to break my relationship with Draco last year," he started light heartedly, as if he was talking about their classes. "You didn't succeed, so I didn't pay much attention to you later on. Guess that was a big mistake of mine, huh?"
She sniffed and curled her lip. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Of course not," Harry sighed. He looked at her coldly and at the way she tensed suddenly, she seemed to have realised that she was in trouble. "I was even willing to forget the fact that you tried to steal him again – although it's pretty pathetic that you would only be able to steal him by using a potion. What I can't forgive, however, is anyone hurting people I love." He took a step closer to her. Parkinson looked too transfixed by the look in his eyes to do anything but staring wide eyed at him.
"So, I'm going to make sure you're never going to be able to do something to Draco again. Have you heard of the Intentus curse?"
"You wouldn't," she whispered, as realisation dawned. "That's a curse and you wouldn't curse anyone who can't fight back!"
"You really should take note that people don't always follow the characteristics of their House," Harry pointed out mildly. "I'm unwilling to attack an opponent who can't fight back – but I consider this curse merely as a warning. You know how it works, right? As soon as you even think about trying to steal Draco, your body will rebel against you and will start attacking your own body. But as long as you give up on trying to get him, you'll be able to live a normal life. It's fair in my opinion."
"I'm already being put on trial!" she hissed and rose up on her knees. "That's punishment enough!"
"But I consider this a warning," he replied coolly. "Obviously you aren't able to accept the fact that Draco will never choose you – this curse will make sure you think twice before attempting to do something again."
Parkinson opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted by a soft whisper "Veto Intentionem."
A dark red light focused around her head and sunk into her skin, making her whimper when the light heated up her skin.
"That ought to do it," Harry muttered and turned around.
"You won't get away with this!" Parkinson hissed furiously. "McGonagall will hear about this."
"That's what you think," Harry answered flatly. "A side effect of this curse is that you can't reveal who the caster is – no matter what you try."
He left the room and the ward sprung back in place – but not before an agonized and furious shriek tore through the closed room.
Feeling tiredness creeping up, Harry hid himself underneath his Invisibility Cloak and returned back to his room, Garin trailing behind him.
As quietly as possible, he slipped into his bedroom and changed into his pyjamas. Earlier on in the evening, he had showered and brushed his teeth, so all he had to do was change clothes so that he could go to sleep.
Right when he was settling in bed, a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist and he nearly shrieked in surprise.
"What the hell, Draco! Don't scare me like that!" he hissed and turned to face Draco, who blinked at him drowsily.
"Where were you?"
Harry huffed and laid down, bringing the sheets up to this shoulder. "I went to the bathroom."
"For nearly an hour?" Draco asked, managing to sound sceptical despite the late hour.
Harry kept quiet, feeling uncertain whether it would be a smart idea to tell the blond what he really had been up to before he returned. After all, while Draco had agreed to put Parkinson on trial, that didn't mean he would agree with putting a curse on her.
His decision was taken away by Mara, who was curled up on the floor in front of the bed.
"He took his own revenge," she replied idly; her tail flicking softly back and forth.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked slowly. "Harry, what did you do?"
Harry sighed and threw Mara a foul look. She, in response, just gazed back, as if she was bored.
"I … I used the Intentus curse on her," he muttered and bit his lip.
"Oh." Draco blinked and seemed a bit lost.
"I just wanted to make sure she couldn't hurt you again," Harry explained, feeling guilt creeping up again. But he couldn't take it back; as soon as the curse was placed, it stayed there for a long time.
"I … understand it," Draco murmured and glanced at him. "I'm just surprised that you used that particular curse."
"I didn't want to use a real dark curse; this way, it won't hurt her as long as she gives up on you," Harry muttered, absentmindedly scratching his wrist.
"Hey, I'm not angry; just surprised," Draco replied and intertwined their fingers.
Harry peered at him through his fringe. "You're not angry?"
A hand stroked his hair back. "No; I understand why you did that. I'm just surprised you went through with it, I guess."
"That's not surprising at all," Mara piped up.
Both young men stared at her puzzled.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked and reached out with his arm to tug Harry against his body.
Mara scoffed and gave them a look that clearly stated she thought they were stupid. "The bond between you makes sure that the protective feelings you have for each other are amplified tenfold every time something bad happens. It's a way to make certain that you will always defend each other. Expecting a cub makes the feelings even worse." She snorted and shook her head. "Actually I'm surprised that the attacker wasn't killed; you would have been in your right to do that." She threw Harry a scathing look, as if he had done a bad thing by not attacking Parkinson worse than he did.
"Well, excuse me for having a conscience," Harry muttered defensively.
Mara yawned, showing off her huge, sharp fangs. "At least you did something," she replied reluctantly. "Either way, you were completely in your right to do that. Otherwise the bond would have taken over and that would have made things interesting."
Harry and Draco looked at each other and soundlessly agreed that asking what the bond would have done wasn't worth it.
"Next time – though let's hope there won't be a next time – just tell me what you're planning to do, all right?" Draco whispered and brushed a kiss against his forehead. "I was worried when I woke up and didn't see you here. Mara just told me to wait until you came back."
"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you up," Harry replied. "I figured I would be back before you woke up."
With a flick of his wand Draco put out the candle, cloaking them in darkness. "What's done is done now," he muttered. "Good night."
Lips touched each other softly.
"Good night."

16 th of January
On Thursday, Draco felt well enough to attend the Defence against the Dark Arts class in the afternoon.
When he walked with Harry to the classroom, people stirred and started to whisper, staring at them warily. On Wednesday morning, everybody in the Great Hall had witnessed two Aurors arriving and taking a struggling Parkinson with them. All McGonagall had been willing to say as explanation when the students became rowdy, was that Parkinson had attacked another student and that the offense had been severe enough to warrant an arrest.
Most students had taken notice of the fact that Draco had been absent for the first half of the week and it didn't take long for them to make the connection between Draco's absence and Parkinson's arrest. Rumours started up and students who hadn't been in the Great Hall during that time were informed by others.
"How long, do you think, will it take for someone to open his mouth?" Draco asked dryly. He was still a bit fatigued, but luckily he didn't have that many classes today, so he could rest up a bit after dinner, before he had to attend Astronomy.
Harry snorted and shook his head. "Depends on how horrible the rumours are," he commented offhandedly.
As soon as everyone was seated – Harry and Draco had taken the last two seats in the back – Lupin continued their lesson on forming a defence against the Succubus curse. This was a particular curse that Lupin couldn't allow to be demonstrated – for obvious reasons – so the class was busy taking notes the entire lesson, leaving only Lupin's voice and the scratching of their pens on paper to disturb the silence.
When the bell announced the end of the lesson, Draco stretched his hand with a wince, hearing a few bones crack. Stifling a yawn, he stuffed his notes and quill back into his bag.
Before he and Harry could leave the room, they were halted by Lupin, who was patiently waiting for the rest of the students to leave the room.
As soon as the last student had shuffled out of the classroom, Lupin spelled the door shut and looked at them solemnly.
"How are you feeling, Draco?"
Draco shrugged and leant against a desk. "Still a bit tired, but that's it."
"You have Astronomy after dinner, right?"
Harry raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. "Yeah, starting at eleven. Why?"
"You have permission to skip that lesson," Lupin informed them while he started to clean his desk. "The Headmistress wants to talk to you two about Parkinson and your statements."
"When does she expect us?" Draco asked curiously. His father hadn't contacted them yet, but maybe all information would be given by McGonagall.
"At nine," Lupin replied and then looked slightly troubled. "Do you have time tomorrow evening to come to my quarters?"
Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "I guess. Is there a reason?"
"Slytherin and Gryffindor have been talking about finding the other two, apparently, and they want to talk to us," Lupin clarified. "Severus will be there as well and your father said he should be there too if he managed to leave the Ministry on time."
"Oh, eh, how late should we be there?" Harry asked, pushing his bag behind his back.
"Around nine thirty."
They agreed and left Lupin behind to finish tidying up his desk.
"Do you think they have figured out where to find the other two?" Harry asked softly when they made their way to his quarters. They still had a few hours before dinner started, so they would be working on their homework until then.
Draco rolled his shoulder and released a soft sigh. "It would be great if they did, but something tells me that won't be the case."
The dragon snorted when Harry told him the password and with a loud yawn, it opened the portrait, revealing the entrance. They dumped their bags on the floor and took out their homework, nestling together on the couch.
When Harry was still staring at the same page after half an hour, Draco closed his book of Healing with a loud 'thump', startling the other one.
"All right, what's on your mind?" Draco asked, leaning back against the arm of the couch.
Ruby and Mara were lying in front of the fire, their eyes trained on the flickering flames while Garin was hiding in Harry's bedroom. Sapphire was curled up next to Harry, enjoying the soft caresses he was giving her.
Troubled, green eyes stared at him. "Nothing really … Just wondering whether we'll really be able to find all the portraits."
Draco blinked. "Why wouldn't we? We managed to find Gryffindor. We'll manage to find the other two as well."
"But what if we don't find them?" Harry persisted. He stopped caressing Sapphire, making her give a sleep growl in protest, and leant forwards. "What if we don't find the other two, what are we going to do then?"
"Then we'll find another way to defeat Dumbledore," Draco replied firmly. "He won't win, Harry."
Harry bit his lip and one of his hands came to rest on his stomach.
The particular place of his hand was not lost on the blond and he placed his book on the table, before leaning towards Harry, grabbing him by his waist and urging him wordlessly to sit on his lap.
Harry's arms came to rest on Draco's shoulders and he bent his head, looking straight into clear grey eyes.
"Aren't Gryffindors supposed to be the optimistic ones?" Draco chided softly.
A wry smile was his reply. "I'm not a Gryffindor anymore, so I'm not obligated to be optimistic."
"We handled Voldemort," Draco told him softly and one of his hands caressed Harry's stomach over his clothes, before the hand dipped underneath the sweater and touched bare skin. "We handled the guy attacking you and we handled Pansy. We can handle the old coot as well. We're not alone in this, Harry. We'll be ready by the time we meet him again."
He placed a kiss on Harry's forehead. "And I promise you we'll be the ones walking away from that fight; not him."
Harry's smile was weak, but he seemed slightly more confident. "I'll hold you to that promise," he murmured and their eyes closed when their lips met in a deep kiss.

"Your father contacted your family lawyer and he's willing to represent you as well, Mister Potter," McGonagall informed them later that evening.
They were seated in front of her, each one having a cup with steaming tea between their hands.
"That's, eh, nice," Harry replied awkwardly and Draco concealed a chuckle.
"That said, he'll need both your testimonies," she continued and gestured towards the pile of paper and two quills on her desk. "With regards to your state, the Court has agreed that they will judge Miss Parkinson without you two present during the hearing. All they need are your testimonies about her misdeeds."
Misdeeds was a nice way of stating what she had done, Draco thought idly. He asked, "Does the Court know that Harry is pregnant?"
She raised an eyebrow. "No, they do not. It would have caused too much of a ruckus if the Court knew of the pregnancy. As far as they know, you two can't attend the trial, because it would attract too much attention. The jury of that Court are not fond of being ambushed by journalists, so they agreed to hold the trial without your presence."
"Why would the Court care that I'm pregnant?" Harry asked confused, placing his half empty cup carefully on the desk.
"Aside from your fame, you are still in school. Your guardians could lose their custody over you if the Court heard of your pregnancy, because you're still attending classes," she answered stiffly and sighed, adjusting her glasses. "In this society, guardians are deemed unfit if the child in their care ends up pregnant while still attending school. It does not matter whether the child achieved the age of maturity or not. It's a rule that has been in place for a long time. Your pregnancy is not that obvious yet, but it's better if we don't take any risks."
"Oh," Harry muttered. "That's a rather stupid rule."
"Regardless, it's still a rule." She nodded to the parchment. "The trial will start next Thursday. Unless you have further questions, you may now write down your testimony and then you can go back to your dormitories."
They nodded and grabbed a piece of paper, writing down everything that had happened – excluding some details like how exactly Draco had been healed. That would raise too many questions.
After rereading it a couple of times and signing it, they handed over the papers. McGonagall accepted them and her eyes quickly scanned both papers. She nodded and put them in front of her.
"You may leave now."
"Good night, professor," Harry murmured and after slightly adjusting Garin around his waist, they exited the office and let the staircase bring them down.
Harry looked pensively. "Would Sirius and Remus really lose custody over me if the Ministry heard about the baby?" he asked softly after a minute.
"Yes, they would," Draco sighed. When they had informed their family about the baby, Draco hadn't been thinking about that old rule. He had only been worried about his parents' reaction and hadn't thought about other rules that could make their lives difficult. "That rule was written down several centuries ago, because they believed that the guardians must have failed in the upbringing of their children if those children ended up pregnant before they finished their school. It was considered a loss of respect."
He grabbed Harry's slightly cold hand. "That's one of the reasons why it's better to hide the pregnancy from the public. As soon as we have graduated, they can't do anything, but until then we're better off being careful."
"I wasn't planning to announce it to the whole world," Harry replied dryly. "Unlike what some seem to think, I do not thrive on attention."
Draco smiled faintly.
The gargoyle jumped sideways to let them through and they leisurely walked towards Harry's quarters. On their way they encountered some students who were hurrying towards their own dormitories – curfew was nearing and none of the students wanted to encounter either a teacher or a ghost that could rat them out to the teachers.
"Wouldn't it be easier if you just dumped all your stuff here instead of going back and forth?" Harry asked amused when Draco followed him into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
"Have to keep up the pretence," Draco mumbled and shrugged.
Harry shook his head, but didn't say anything.
While Draco was brushing his teeth, Harry had started the shower and started to undress himself. Emerald green eyes caught silver grey ones in the mirror.
"What?"
Draco's gaze was fixated on the very small bump that showed when Harry removed his sweater.
"You need another check-up soon," he muttered and rinsed his mouth.
Harry casted a glance at his stomach and shrugged. "I guess so." He stepped into the shower and glanced at the blond still standing in front of the sink. "You coming?"
Draco smirked. "Don't mind if I do." He quickly chucked off his sweater and trousers and pulled down his boxers.
The shower door closed with a soft click sound and Draco sighed in pleasure when the warm water spray hit his back. A washcloth covered with soap suds suddenly started washing his shoulders and Draco blinked the water out of his eyes, looking right in glittering emerald green ones.
"Why don't you let me take care of you, hm?" Harry whispered, bringing the soft cloth to Draco's chest.
He placed his hands on Harry's hips, caressing the hipbones with two fingers. "Shouldn't I be the one taking care of you?" he murmured and hummed pleased when Harry stepped closer so that their hips pressed together. The washcloth was now making slow circles on his stomach, covering it with dark purple suds.
"You're the one who looks more tired," Harry pointed out and placed a kiss on his shoulder, while he slipped his arm around Draco, so that he could wash his back.
Draco arched his back when the soft cloth made contact with his skin, which brought him even closer to Harry. He relished in the soft gasp that escaped pink lips and slid his hands to Harry's lower back. He kneaded the muscles slowly, before his hands dipped down and came to rest on Harry's buttocks.
An impish smile graced Harry's mouth and he suddenly pushed Draco backwards, until his back hit the wet, cold tiles of the shower. He hissed softly at the feeling of cold stone against his warm skin, but the slight annoyance was quickly forgotten when he felt hands gliding over his chest, brushing against his lower stomach, before settling on his hips.
"Harry?" His voice was barely audible above the noise of the running water.
Harry was kneeling in front of him, his wet hair plastered against his forehead and the pupils in his eyes had grown bigger. The water spray hit his back with the way he was slightly leaning forwards, but it didn't hit his face, so he could look up at the blond without having to blink water out of his eyes.
"Like I said," he hummed and slowly started to rub the washcloth over Draco's right thigh. "I'll take care of you now."
While his one hand lowered the washcloth to his knee and the rest of his leg, the other hand started to caress his thigh almost lazily.
Once the right leg was completely washed, Harry quickly switched over to the other leg, while Draco leant against the wall, shivering lightly whenever the cloth touched a sensitive part of his skin.
The wet 'smack' sound of the cloth being dropped on the wet shower bottom made him look down again. Harry was using his hands to form a makeshift bowel so that he could transfer the water over to Draco's legs, rinsing off all the soap suds.
Draco expected him to get up again after doing that, but instead hands were placed on his hips again and Harry leant forwards until his lips were just an inch away from Draco's stomach.
"What are you doing?" he asked, feeling a shiver running down his spine when warm breath hit his skin.
Green eyes looked up at him half lidded, making him bite his lip and pale red lips curled up in a mischievous smile.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Harry retorted playfully and the tip of his tongue peeked out from between his lips, licking a long stripe that started from Draco's left hip to his right. The tongue was exchanged for a mouth that left fleeting kisses behind on his hips and thighs, getting dangerously close to his groin that had started to stir in interest.
His breathing quickened in response and warmth started to pool in his stomach. It would be easy to give in and let Harry do what he wanted – because there was no way he was protesting against this – but the nagging thought that Harry couldn't be comfortable on his knees in the shower didn't leave him.
"Are you sure you want to do it here? Wouldn't it be more comfortable for you to do this in bed?"
A loud yelp tore through his throat when teeth nipped his thigh warningly.
Harry looked at him with narrowed eyes. "For Merlin's sake, Draco," he huffed and his hand tightened his grip on Draco's waist. "Just shut up and enjoy this."
“But are you sure you don’t want to – oh fuck, Harry!” His concerned question was abruptly cut off when he felt a hot, wet mouth closing around his hard cock, taking him almost completely in. The part that Harry couldn’t fit in his mouth without risking choking himself was encircled by a wet hand that started to move up and down, squeezing every few seconds.
Draco’s head fell back against the tiles and his eyes closed almost involuntarily. While one hand was braced against the wall to make sure he didn’t topple over, the other hand buried itself into dark, wet hair, gripping it almost roughly while his hips bucked forwards.
Harry made a strange hum sound around his member, which made him clench his teeth, trying to not be that loud. His lover seemed displeased about that, because he pulled back, leaving only the tip of his cock to rest against slightly parted lips and waited to make sure Draco looked at him through his hazy sight, before he suddenly dipped down with his mouth and swallowed around Draco’s cock.
“FUCK!” Various other explicative words left his mouth and when shiny emerald green eyes looked up at him, coupled with the red sheen dusting his cheeks; his lips reddened from being stretched around his hard girth, Draco almost lost it.
“Fuck, fuck, you’re so good, so good, Harry,” he chanted breathlessly. His legs almost buckled when he felt a tongue twisting around his cock, massaging it and teasing his slit, and his whole body started to tremble. He could barely keep his eyes open from the pleasure coursing through his body and he tried to keep his grip on Harry’s head light, not willing to hurt him even with the almost blinding pleasure making it difficult for him to think straight.
Vaguely he became aware of the fact that only one hand was still holding on to his waist and the soft moans pouring from his lover’s mouth.
Looking down, he caught sight of Harry’s hand wrapped around his own hard, leaking member and that together with Harry’s eyes looking at him with wide blown pupils was all that was needed for him to come with a loud shout that contained Harry’s name somewhere in it. He felt Harry swallowing around him, trying to not let anything spill and not long after he was coming down from his high, Harry came as well, moaning loudly.
His legs, that felt like jelly, couldn't hold his weight anymore and he practically collapsed on the floor, Harry's hands guiding him to make sure he didn't land too hard.
"Fuck, that was amazing," Draco sighed and opened his eyes.
Harry licked his lips and grinned. "I'm glad to hear I'm getting better at it," he joked.
Draco chuckled and bent forwards to give him a soft kiss.
The water washed away the last evidence of their tryst and Draco nudged Harry's hips.
"Time for bed?" he asked softly, feeling drowsiness creeping up on him.
Harry smiled sleepily back. "Yeah, let's go."
They shut off the water and hurried with drying off, feeling the cold air hitting their skin after the warm shower.
A shirt and pyjama pants were quickly pulled on and they slipped underneath the covers, ignoring the amused huff of their feline pets.
"Good night," Draco whispered and pulled Harry in his arms, positioning his head against his shoulder.
"Sweet dreams," Harry murmured, only half awake.
The last candle light was put out and with the darkness falling over them, they embraced the sleep taking over their bodies.

Harry hadn't known what to expect of the unexpected meeting at Remus' and Sirius' quarters, but he was definitely certain that he hadn't expected to find Luna Lovegood standing in front of the portrait with a serene smile on her face.
Draco stiffened next to him and Harry could feel Ruby's body becoming tense as well.
"Luna, what are you doing here?" he asked curiously. He hadn't had the chance to talk with her since they were back in school, though he did meet her eyes occasionally in the Great Hall and between lessons.
Blond hair was twirled around a slender finger and her necklace of Butterbeer bottle caps made a soft 'ting' sound when she craned her neck to look at him.
"I was told you needed my help today, Harry," she hummed and smiled dreamily.
"By whom?" Draco asked sharply.
Large blue eyes blinked at him. "The raven told me," she stated frankly.
Well, at least the animal exists for sure, Harry thought and his lips twitched. "With what would I need your help?" he asked out loud and approached the girl.
"With your quest of course," she smiled, ignoring Draco's shocked sputtering. "Shall we go inside?"
Harry and Draco shared a look. Obviously, Luna knew more than expected and Harry suspected it was in their best interests if they accepted her help. At least he knew she would never harm him.
"All right, let's go inside."
After muttering the password, they entered the room and found Remus, Sirius and Snape waiting for them on the couch with steaming tea cups in front of them.
Snape narrowed his eyes the moment he caught sight of Luna. "What is Miss Lovegood doing here?" he asked sharply.
Harry shrugged helplessly, sitting on the opposite couch. Draco sat down on his left and Luna on his right.
"She said she could help us," he answered and rubbed his neck.
"And how can you help us, Miss Lovegood?" Remus asked calmly, though his eyes were wary.
"Rowena Ravenclaw is my ancestor," she declared promptly with a dreamy look on her face. "I've always wanted to talk with her – mum said she was one of the smartest witches in history. Wouldn't it be fascinating to know how many creatures she discovered? Maybe she can help me protecting the Nargels."
"Rowena Ravenclaw is your ancestor," Sirius repeated slowly and shook his head warily. "Are you certain of that?"
"Of course," she hummed. "The raven told me I should help Harry, because he was having problems with his quest. I'm not allowed to help with the quest itself, but I can offer some help."
"So you can help us with identifying the place where Ravenclaw's portrait is?" Harry asked and his heart started to beat quicker in anticipation. If this was true, then they would be one step closer to completing their plan.
It shouldn't have surprised him to hear that the other Founders had family walking around here in Hogwarts. He just hadn't expected to stumble upon someone else sharing the blood of a Founder.
"Well then, let the girl donate some blood so that we can discover the damn location," Gryffindor snapped and walked around in the garden that had been painted in the portrait. "I'm sick of staring at Salazar's face – seeing her again would at least provide me the opportunity to talk with someone who is not a complete arrogant arse."
Slytherin smirked from his place underneath a tree. "It seems my arrogance has been rubbing off on you, dear Godric."
"Why you …"
"Oh, just shut up," Snape barked and Gryffindor looked offended. He threw a map down on the table – the same map they had used to locate Gryffindor's painting. "I trust you know what to do, girl?"
Luna simply smiled and pointed her wand at her finger. A few seconds later, blood welled up from the small cut and three drops fell on the map. Just like when Harry did it, the drops trilled and moved across the map. Unlike before though, Snape barked out a spell that Harry didn't recognize, though he did recognize the name of Ravenclaw at the end of it.
"What does that spell do?" he asked warily.
"It concentrates on the blood ties Lovegood shares with Ravenclaw. It will point out the place where her portrait is located, seeing as we don't need to know where Lovegood's house is located," Snape answered stiffly.
The drops of blood suddenly stopped at one particular place, spelling out the coordinates clearly.
Underneath the coordinates, Harry caught a glimpse of the town the ritual had decided on to be the correct place.
"Godric's Hollow? Why would her portrait be in Godric's Hollow?" He furrowed his eyebrows. Godric's Hollow was his birthplace – did it have ties with Ravenclaw?
Snape's sudden intake of breath made everyone stare at him.
"What's wrong?" Remus asked with a sharp voice.
"I recognize those coordinates."
"Which place is it then?" Draco asked confused.
Black eyes locked on green ones.
"That is Albus' house."

AN2: So yes, the quest for the next portrait will start in Dumbledore's house. Can this last line be considered a cliffhanger? I don't think so, but ...
Anyway, I hope you liked it and I hope you can forgive me for this long delay *winces* Please leave a review behind with your thoughts!
Next time: To say Harry is not happy to start searching in Dumbledore's house is the understatement of the year. But he has no choice and with McGonagall's permission, they once again sneak out of Hogwarts to find Ravenclaw's portrait. If Harry thought they were in trouble in Potter Manor, he'll discover that Dumbledore's home turns out to be even more terrible.

And this time there are no house elves to disable the rest of the traps ... Not only do they have to battle through the traps placed in the house, but Harry's faith in Draco will be severly tested. Will their love for each other prove to be enough? Or will this quest end in heart break or even worse ...
See you all in the next chapter!
Cuddles
Melissa
- 17
- 18
- 19
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Survival of the fittest