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
- 19
- 20
- 21
Author's note: First time in more than a year that I manage to update this story according to the original schedule ... I don't know whether to feel proud of that *clears throat*
Anyway, like promised, here is chapter 20 :) It turned out quite a bit longer than I expected, but well, that's just how it went *shrugs*
Warnings: a lot of drama, angst, violence, description of wounds and blood; just prepare for a rather heavy chapter
Please enjoy this chapter! (Despite the heaviness of it)

Chapter 20: Helpful Hufflepuff and Precarious Potions Part 4
"All right, where should we start first?" Harry asked.
They were back on the first floor. They were standing in front of the room with the vase in front of it, but when they looked at their right, they could see three more rooms in the small hallway. The room next to the one they were standing in front of had a door painted in pink and Harry suspected that it had belonged to a girl at some point. A bit past that room, on the opposite of the corridor, was another closed off room – this room had a dark blue coloured door. At the end of the corridor was another room, but this one had a smaller door than the other rooms; the paint of the door was badly chipped and there were some burn marks on it as well.
"Let's go through this room first and then continue like that through the hallway," Draco suggested and after checking the door for hidden traps or barriers, they opened it with an 'Alohomora' and entered the room.
The entire room was done in shades of blue: the walls were painted a sky blue, the rug on the floor was cerulean blue and the dusty, ratty bed sheets were a midnight blue, streaked with white lines. The desk – unbalanced because it missed two legs, making it lean to the left – was a milky white and an old newspaper was placed on it, accompanied with some parchment and used quills. A rickety chair was shoved against it. The desk was right next to the entrance, while the bed was placed underneath the window. Some posters, frayed at the edges, hung on the walls, but the pictures were too faded by time to see what they had portrayed.
A dark red bin was placed next to the bed and it seemed to contain some balled up parchment and cobwebs. A small bookcase stood behind the bed and was filled with a couple of books - the covers of it faded - on the first shelf while the second shelf was stuffed with a wooden box, which had flowers carved into the wood. A large spider seemed to have made its nest next to it. Next to the bookcase was a closet and Harry assumed it had been used as a wardrobe.
"You take the right side, I'll take the left," Draco murmured and they spread out to their assigned area: Harry going to the bed first while Draco inspected the bookcase and the small box in it.
The bin just showed – as Harry had expected – some balled up parchments which had familiar writing on it.
This was Dumbledore's room, Harry thought and bit his lip. He felt somewhat uneasy being in the room where Dumbledore had spent a lot of time in and made his way over to the desk. Some of the paper sheets seemed to be scribbled full with mathematical questions while some others seemed to contain some sort of mini essay on a spell. The newspaper was dated in the year 1890 and the first page was dictated to a scandal that the Prime Minister of the Wizarding world was involved in during that time.
Harry ignored the newspaper and the parchments, dismissing them as not important and focused his attention on the two drawers. After casting a spell to check for possible traps, he opened the first drawer. It contained a wizard photo of the Dumbledore family and Harry glanced at it, noting the happy smiles on their faces, before throwing it back in the drawer and looking at the other stuff. He picked up a little notebook and opened it; this one contained a list of spells that pertained to jinxing someone. Riffling further through the drawer produced nothing interesting; only a small ring and a broken practice wand.
Before he could open the second drawer, he was startled when he heard Draco cursing vehemently. He turned around quickly and saw the blond standing in front of the open closet, grimacing while he rubbed at his face.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked concerned.
Some dust coated Draco's face and he spat, rubbing his hand over his lips. "Eugh, disgusting! Yeah, I'm all right. Just some stupid dust that hit me when I opened this fucking closet."
Shaking his head, Harry returned his attention to the second drawer. This one contained some specific newspaper clippings and Harry picked them up, his interest piqued when he noticed the title on the first one: 'Percival Dumbledore sentenced to fifteen years for attacking Muggles!'. A clipping from 1890 showed the announcement that Percival had died in Azkaban.
Percival must have been Dumbledore's father. Although Harry was curious as to why Dumbledore's father had landed in Azkaban, he stuffed them back in the drawer. He wanted to close it again, as it didn't contain anything else bar some newspaper articles about Percival, when he suddenly noticed how the bottom of the drawer seemed rather loose.
Furrowing his eyebrows, he reached into the drawer and tugged at the bottom. It gave away and when he raised it up a bit, a dark blue notebook greeted him. He grabbed it and browsed through hit; his eyebrows shot up when he realised what the notebook was: Dumbledore's private diary. The entries in the beginning seemed to be mostly about the lessons his mother gave him; the middle talked about his father and how he had been right in attacking those 'vile Muggles' who had dared to attack his sister; the end only consisted out of short entries, focusing on the pranks he and his brother pulled on the neighbourhood.
Harry didn't know what to think of the diary; the pranks Dumbledore had pulled on the neighbourhood children had been rather vindictive and Harry wondered whether that had been some sort of misplaced revenge, because his sister had been attacked.
The person who had written this diary and the person who had taught students for years were practically as different as day and night.
"Hey Draco, look what I found," he called out and turned around while still looking at the notebook. "This is Dumbledore's … Hey, is something the matter?" he asked when he noticed how still Draco stood. It looked like he had barely moved after he had been attacked by the dust.
Harry threw the diary on the desk and approached Draco carefully. "Seriously, is something wrong? Did you get hurt or so?" He placed his hand on Draco's shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze.
"Don't touch me!" Draco snapped and smacked Harry's hand away, whirling around so that he could face him.
Harry stumbled back and stared at the blond wide-eyed, before he grew annoyed. "What the hell is your problem? You don't have to be so rude about …"
"Filthy Halfbloods like you shouldn't touch me," Draco said coldly.
"Excuse me?" Harry brought out with difficulty. What the hell was going on here? Why the hell was Draco saying things like that?
Draco sneered. "Are you deaf as well, scarhead? I said that filthy Halfbloods like you shouldn't touch me. Do you need me to repeat that a third time or did your brain – small as it is – finally manage to comprehend it?"
"Fuck you, Draco," Harry whispered angrily and clenched his hands. "Is this some kind of sick joke? Because I really don't think it's funny, you asshole!"
"A sick joke?" Draco repeated and looked thoughtfully, tapping the tip of his wand to his chin. "No, it's not a joke. This is just me finally getting sick of all the crap I have to put up with thanks to you. Seriously, I'm in this fucking hellhole, just because you can't fight your own battles and need other people to win. What do I get out of this? Nothing! I'm risking my life here and I get nothing in return."
"What the fuck are you …"
"I guess you could say that screwing you is my reward, but honestly, you're not that great in the sack," Draco continued, laughing coldly. "I thought fucking you would be better than fucking some girl, because guys can't get pregnant unless they take a potion, but of course once again you had to defy the fucking odds and you had to get knocked up. My life is getting ruined thanks to you and a baby I don't want and you honestly expect me to put up with it? Fuck, if only you were good in bed, then it wouldn't have been that bad, but you really suck. Not to mention that …"
SMACK!
Draco's head flew to the side when Harry's fist met his cheek and he blinked, looking a bit dazed while he stumbled back until he hit the closet.
"Go to hell, Malfoy," Harry whispered and furiously blinked his tears away. He couldn't believe everything he had just heard now. His lover seemed to have undergone a complete personality switch until he resembled the sneering git he had been during their first five years. He really didn't know what was happening now. Was this how Draco really felt? Had their entire relationship been a lie? Had Parkinson been right and did Draco indeed only have a fetish for dark haired, bright eyed men? Was he sick of him now, now that he had had his fill? Did he really hate their baby; had his reassurance that everything would be okay just been a big lie?
Was Harry the pathetic one for believing that Draco Malfoy could love him?
Was the Draco Malfoy in front of him, the one who was glaring darkly at him, the real one?
His head spinning with all these questions, his heart heavy, Harry turned around. "You won't have to put up with me for any longer. You can go to hell for all I care!" he snapped and prayed that his voice didn't hitch.
He had barely taken two steps when a body slammed against him and he landed on the bed with a choked yell.
"What the hell do you …" His furious question was cut off by a scream of pain when something stabbed through his right hand, heat travelling up his arm while pain, as hot as fire, bloomed up in his hand. Gasping for air, he looked through the haze of tears and was shocked to discover a knife impaling his hand.
Grey eyes shone in fury above him. "You won't get away with laying a hand on me!" His hand slammed down on the knife, driving it even further through Harry's hand, making him scream again.
Blood started trickling from the wound and Harry felt his magic rising through the surface. Before Draco could touch him again, his magic slammed against the blond and he was thrown off of him, collapsing against the wall.
Realising he wouldn't have long before the other one would be back up on his feet, Harry clenched his teeth together, closed his eyes and pulled the knife out of his hand; a choked scream escaped him and he moaned, wanting to curl up around his throbbing hand. Blindly searching the bed, he grabbed his wand with his left hand and forced himself to stand up. The searing pain made his head throb and his vision blurry, but he knew he had to get out of here while he still could.
He stumbled out of the room and leant against the wall, gasping for air. He needed to hide from Draco, needed to escape. Suddenly remembering the things he had packed, he dug up the Invisibility Cloak out of his bag and threw it on him. Assured that he was invisible, he stumbled through the hallway. He would have gone downstairs, but he didn't know whether the blond would attack the others as well. Maybe he could spell him unconscious and let one of others pick him up when they were done in this house.
On trembling legs, he stumbled forwards until he stopped in front of the room with the dark blue coloured door. Praying that the door wasn't jinxed, he grabbed the door knob and nearly sobbed in relief when the door opened. He quickly slipped inside when he heard Draco moaning in the other room and closed the door behind him. The entire room was bare except for a large bed, an open closet that contained some clothes and two nightstands. The window was half covered by a dark curtain and he sunk underneath it, leaning against the wall while his body trembled and shivered.
He pressed his forehead against his raised legs and tried to stifle his choked sobs. Gasping for air, he stared at his wounded hand. The knife didn't seem to have hit any major vein, but the blood was still dripping out of it and the pain was flaring up every time he so much as moved his hand an inch.
His mind reeled with what had just happened. He didn't want to believe what just had happened, but the proof was staring him right in the face in the form of a bleeding hand.
Draco had attacked him.
He had conjured a knife and had driven it through his hand without any remorse. What the fuck was going on? What had happened to make Draco snap like that? Was he telling the truth when he said he had grown fed up with Harry?
A shiver ran over his spine and he pressed his arm (the one with the wounded hand) against his rounded stomach. At least he hadn't fallen on the floor – that fall would have been bad for the baby.
His other hand gripped his hair tightly and he stared blankly at the floor, vaguely aware of the way his heart was beating loudly.
He just couldn't comprehend what was going on. The Draco he knew wouldn't have said those hurtful things; the Draco he loved wouldn't hurt him like this.
And yet he had done those things.
Was he missing something? Merlin, he desperately wanted that to be true; maybe he was missing something, something vital, something that would explain Draco's sudden change of personality. He didn't want to believe that the Draco he had seen in that room was the real one. Because if he had to believe that, he didn't know how he would …
"Don't ever stray from the answer your heart gives you."
His breath hitched when Luna's voice resounded through his head. She had said that to him right before they left the school. Had she known something like this would happen? Did she know that Draco would do something like this? What did her comment mean then? He didn't think she would want him to stay with someone who hated him, who had hurt him. Yet, her comment probably referred to the fact that he shouldn't give up on Draco.
But after hearing those hateful words, after having a knife driven through his hand, how could he stay with Draco if the man hated him?
But Luna had never been wrong before. Never. He had said he trusted her with his life. Should he trust her about this as well? How did she expect him to when …
The vials in his bag bumped against each other when he moved his leg and he froze.
That was right – Luna had given him two potions before she left.
His hand trembling slightly, he opened his bag and stared at the two vials. His eyes stayed on the thin vial in which the potion was softly bubbling. What had Snape called it? Aconitum Mentis? Draco had said it would cure the mind if it had been poisoned. Why would Luna give him something like that, unless …
He inhaled sharply and grabbed the thin vial carefully. Could this be the answer? Or was he meant to use it later on? She had never said he had to use it now. After all, she had sent the baby blanket last summer before he had become pregnant. Was the potion meant to be used later, or had she meant for him to use it now?
He nearly dropped the vial on the floor when the door was slammed open and a furious Draco appeared in the doorway.
"Hey, darling, if you want to hide, make sure you don't leave a trail behind," he sneered and his eyes glinted madly when he closed the door behind him. "Playing hide and seek is hardly any fun if you dirty the floor and walls with your blood."
Slowly Harry looked down at the floor and thin, red droplets shining in the weak light, leading straight to the place where he was hiding beneath the Cloak, seemed to taunt him.
Fuck.
The casting of a Silence bubble and his Invisibility Cloak snatched away from him thanks to the Summoning charm made him stare at Draco like a petrified animal in front of the headlights of a car.
"Let's see how long it takes before you're reduced to a sobbing mess," Draco smiled dangerously and advanced on him.

"There is less stuff here than I thought there would be," Sirius remarked when they disabled the trap on the door and entered the kitchen.
The walls were painted a butter yellow, but the space above the old cooker was splattered with old grease, darkening the wall to a dirty brown grey colour. The cooker itself had either always been black or it had become so dirty that no other colour could be distinguished. Two cabinets hung on the wall next to the cooker and the small doors on those were hanging half off of the cabinets, revealing dusty, chipped plates and the top of dusty, dark coloured glasses. A set of three frying pans and two cooking pots hung on the other side of the cooker; the metal had since long dulled until it only reflected the daylight shining through the windows in a bleakly manner.
The kitchen table and four chairs were reduced to nothing but a pile of rubble in the middle of the room. A sink was placed in the left corner and was empty save for a large cobweb and a green bucket underneath it. Next to the sink was a small door which was closed off.
"This doesn't look like a place to hide a Founder's portrait," he continued and looked disdainfully around him, tapping his wand against his thigh.
"Looks can be deceiving," Remus reminded his lover with a sigh, but his own gaze was sceptical. "At least this will make the search easier."
"There's that," Sirius muttered with a snort.
They had barely taken five steps to the middle of the room when the cooker suddenly burst into flames; the flames crackled loudly and were a white blue colour.
"What the hell?!" Sirius exclaimed and casted the Aguamenti Charm.
"Wait, no, Sirius, don't do …"
Too late. The water jet was absorbed by the magical fire and it grew smaller, seemingly on the verge of being put out, until the cooker exploded into tiny fragments of metal, flying around in the kitchen.
The two men barely had time to raise a strong shield before they heard the impact of the fragments against it and saw the actual indents the tiny pieces left in the walls around them and on the ruined kitchen table in front of them.
"You don't cast the Aguamenti Charm on something with a Heat Blast curse, Sirius!" Remus scolded the other man as soon as he deemed it safe to lower their shields. "You know how that curse just absorbs it and turns it into fuel to create the lethal explosion!"
Sirius huffed and glared at the smoking remnants of the cooker. "Excuse me for not immediately recognizing the flames of that particular curse!" he snapped.
Remus sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Just be careful, all right? I don't want to explain to Harry how his godfather survived prison and Death Eaters, only to succumb to some stupid traps Albus left behind."
Sirius threw him a foul look, but was more cautious when he ventured further. They slowly covered the entire kitchen, but had to stop several times when wards sprung up and launched curses at them that covered their arms with boiling wounds or caused a high fever or even tried to cut their faces off with the Scalping curse. By the time they had covered the entire kitchen and were standing in front of the closed door, they were panting slightly and wiping off their sweat.
"Merlin, I hope that ritual is going to make him suffer for the rest of his bloody life," Sirius murmured darkly and glared at the raffled edges of his left sleeve that was still slightly smoking thanks to a Fierce Fire spell.
Remus just shook his head, not deigning it worthy of a reply. Instead he studied the door in front of them with a critical eye. He could hear a soft buzzing sound, which indicated the presence of a magical barrier. The question now was whether it was just meant to keep people out of the room, acting as a shield, or whether it was meant to actively harm people trying to tamper with it.
After going through a list of spells, he finally decided on one that would determine the nature of the barrier and would whisper the counter curse once it knew what was needed.
He brought his wand down in a sharp slash motion and muttered the spell. Dark blue sparks appeared in the air and clumped together, forming a fairy like creature that purred and flew towards the door, zooming from one corner to the next one.
Once it completed its round across the barrier, it chirped and flew down until it hovered right above the ground. Two white lines extended from its body and flew upwards, attaching to the upper corners of the door. The barrier started buzzing louder and the barrier started to glow faintly.
Sirius and Remus covered their eyes when the light became almost blinding and a tortured scream resounded through the kitchen before the sound of glass shattering reached them and made them lower their arms again.
The buzzing had stopped and Remus couldn't smell any kind of barrier. It was just a plain door now.
"Let's search this room and then go back if we don't find her here," he said and opened the door.
They entered in what once had served as some sort of washroom; one large tub was standing near the wall, with a small wooden chair next to it. Three small closest were set up against the other wall and a pile of towels covered the top of one closet. There was another door right in front of them, half opened; Remus thought he could glimpse a sink in that room.
"Why don't you search through that room, while I look here?" Sirius suggest and was already casting Detection spells on the tub and area around it.
Remus nodded in agreement and made his way to the next room. There seemed no barrier in front of this room, but he still casted a spell to be certain. Once he was assured that there were no immediate traps or barriers, he opened the door and warily entered it.
He was standing in the bathroom. It had enough space for a dirty grey sink, a half demolished toilet and a square bathtub which was covered in some kind of greenish slime. Above the sink hung an oval shaped mirror which was cracked in two. A small cabinet – resembling a medicine's cabinet – stood next to the tub.
He very much doubted Albus had hidden the portrait in this dreary room, but nevertheless stepped forwards to start inspecting the cabinet.
The sound of a door slamming shut made him whirl around with his wand raised in front of him.
"Sirius?" he called out, not daring to move. It suddenly occurred to him that they had been fools to not consider the fact that there could be a ghost present in the house. He didn't know much about Albus' family; he had heard that his brother was still alive and working as a barman, but his sister was dead and his parents had died when he was still young.
His senses started screaming at him in warning when dark smoke curled around the edges of the door, caressing the walls.
Then the whispers started.
He's a freak, sweetie; don't go near him.
I don't know what happened to him, but something is seriously wrong with that boy. Don't go near him, son.
Stay away from him, darling – I don't want you to catch whatever that filthy brat has!
Should we try to appeal to Professor Dumbledore, Lyall? He's said to accept everyone – maybe he won't mind accepting our son, even in – in his condition.
Can we really put that burden on that man, Hope? I know that man is said to be open minded, but how will he hide Remus' condition every month from the rest of the school? We can't let the truth come out – if anyone hears about it, our son will be shunned for the rest of his school years, possibly even expelled! We already had to move once, because the villagers didn't want him there. We're barely making enough money as it is; I don't think we can handle a second moving with our income.
You filthy monster! Things like you shouldn't be allowed to live!
His parents should have put him down when they had the chance. No good will come from a dirty monster like him. What if he attacks our children?
Should we be punished, because Lyall was stupid enough to provoke Greyback? I'd say throw that monster out; if we're lucky, he'll die.
Albus, are you really certain? He's a threat to the students. What if he forgets to take the Wolfsbane and attacks one of them?
Should we really trust him around Harry, Arthur? It's bad enough that Black didn't have to undergo a mental check-up; I don't know if we can trust him to keep himself controlled. You've seen how he looked like last month! We can't risk Harry or our children around him.
We apologize, but your … illness … makes it rather difficult for us to hire you. We cannot afford to lose an employee every month. Our patients would not feel safe around you either and we have to think of their wellbeing.
Do you really think I would hire a dirty wolf like you? Get the fuck out of my pub!
Stones being thrown at him. Spells hitting him, creating boiling wounds on his back and legs that made him cry out in pain, which only egged them on more. His precious books ripped from his hands and thrown in the river. Mocking laughter. Sneering.
You dirty monster!
Get the hell away from me, you freak!
Did you seriously think someone can love a monster like you? Let me tell you the truth, Lupin: at the most you'll just be good to warm someone's bed for the night. Monsters like you don't deserve love!
"…mus!"
"…emus!"
"Moony!"
His eyes shot up and for a few seconds he wondered what went wrong with his sight, until he realised it was blurry thanks to the tears streaming out of his eyes. He was vaguely aware of a low, keening sound, coming from an animal that was in pain, and his breath choked when he realised it was him making that awful, keening sound.
Two familiar arms were wrapped around him tightly, pulling him against a strong chest and his nose caught the familiar scent of his lover. Without being fully conscious about it, he buried his face deeper against the skin; comfort flowing through him when the scent drifted lazily around him.
"I've got you," Sirius was muttering in his hair, rubbing a hand over his back. "I've got you; you're safe."
It took an embarrassing long time for Remus to gather his wits to calm down. His chest hurt with each inhale, his eyes felt uncomfortably dry and his skin felt too tight around his eyes.
His back ached a bit from the weird position he was in, but he didn't want to relinquish this hold; not when he felt so safe, so warm.
A hand brushing through his hair made him look up, right into worried, grey blue eyes.
"Are you okay?" Sirius asked him softly.
"Wha-what happened?" he asked and swallowed, feeling like shards of glass were stuck in his throat.
Sirius stared grimly over his head at the bathroom. "You were screaming your lungs out. You triggered the Memoria Atra curse and it took me a while before I managed to disable the wards and could drag you out of the room."
Remus closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh.
The Memoria Atra curse was designed in such a way that it fed off the darkest memories a person had. Once it had located the darkest memories, it brought them back to the surface and it made the victim relive every moment of them. Most people became insane after a short while of being subjected to it.
"Thanks for helping me," he murmured and looked up.
Sirius smiled wryly. "No need to thank me." He looked around and sighed. "I haven't found anything here aside from some traps. The bathroom didn't contain anything either."
Gratitude filled Remus for a few seconds. He really didn't want to discuss what had happened in that room and Sirius was giving him that space. From the way Sirius' hands tightened around his waist, he knew they would have to talk about it eventually, but for now he was willing to keep quiet about it.
"I guess it is on the first floor then," Remus sighed. "Let's go there. Maybe Harry and Draco need our help in retrieving it."

Draco walked towards him with his wand twirling and the bloodied knife in his other hand. He seemed to want to take his time; his eyes were trained on Harry, but he didn't hurry or rush forward or even throw the knife at him.
Harry swallowed and scrambled backwards, casting a shield around him. It shone blue around him and distorted his vision of Draco, as if he had blurry sight.
Draco snickered and came to a stop a few feet away from the shield. "A shield? Let's see how long that will hold up against my spells."
Harry couldn't supress the gasp when one of Draco's spell landed against his shield and made it rattle heavily. He didn't have much time and he stared down at his wand and the bottle in front of him. His right hand was practically useless; he could use the other potion to heal it as he remembered Snape mentioning it was used to heal wounds, but that would be wasting precious time he didn't have.
Already the shield was thinning with each blow it had to endure and he knew he had at most a minute left before it would completely break down.
"Fuck," he swore silently and snatched the bottle off the floor. He could only hope that Luna knew what she was doing. He clenched the bottle between his thighs and tried to remove the cork with his left hand. His sweaty palm made it nearly impossible to get a good grip on the bottle and his hand slipped off the bottle several times, making him curse again.
In a last desperate attempt, he used a Cutting hex on the bottle and the cork exploded, at the same time the shield protecting him shattered.
He had barely time to scramble up right before Draco threw himself against him and Harry thrusted his hand forwards, throwing the potion in Draco's face. Draco stumbled back, screaming loudly while frantically brushing his hands over his face, trying to wipe off the potion clinging to his skin.
Harry blocked out his screaming and stared at the knife that was stabbed through his left shoulder. He sunk down on the bed when his trembling legs couldn't hold his weight any longer and clenched his teeth together to hold back the scream that was begging to be unleashed.
It stung like hell, burned and his breathing came out in raspy gasps. He didn't think the knife had hit anything important, but he could feel and see his blood trickling out, darkening his shirt. The knife needed to be removed, but he couldn't use his left hand and his right hand wasn't in a state to properly grasp the hilt of the knife and pull it away.
He only had one option left.
The pain – dulled because his shoulder was hurting more – in his hand flared up again when he grabbed his wand. The blood made it slick and difficult to hold on to, so he quickly gasped an "Accio knife!" and this time he couldn't hold back the pained scream when the knife was ripped out of his shoulder with great force.
He hunched forwards, not caring where the knife landed, and tried to keep his breathing under control. He would need to grab that other potion, but he wasn't sure how he could open that bottle when his hands were slick with his blood.
"Harry?"
He whipped his head around and stared in wide, anxious grey eyes.
Eyes that no longer were cold and furious.
Yet instead of feeling happy and relieved that Luna had known what she was doing when she gave him that potion, he felt numb. Or not really numb, but his feelings were so tightly tangled together that he no longer could discern which was which feeling.
He didn't think that bode well for them both.

It felt as if he had broken through the surface of too hot water – it stung his skin, made it feel like his eyes were on fire and his brain overheated. But the hazy screen in front of his eyes had disappeared and he felt like he was released from a tiny cell.
When he looked around, he was confused; this was not Dumbledore's bedroom. When on earth had he entered this room? And why couldn't he remember leaving the other room and entering this one?
His head pounded, as if he had his head smacked against something – or something had smacked him.
When his eyes caught sight of Harry, however, he couldn't hold back the shocked gasp or his worried exclaim of Harry's name. Harry was sitting on the bed, hunched over, breathing too harshly for Draco's liking. Draco brought his hand up to cover his mouth when he saw the bleeding wound in Harry's right hand – a gash that looked too deep to have come from simply cutting himself against a sharp edge – and the sluggishly bleeding wound in his left shoulder.
What the fuck had happened to his lover?
He took a step forwards, reaching out with his hand to touch Harry's unharmed shoulder. "Harry, what the hell happened? Did …"
"STAY BACK!"
The shout seemed to vibrate the entire room and Draco froze. Green eyes stared at him in fury, some horror and deep inside those eyes he saw intense fear. He had experienced Harry looking at him in fury, heatedly whenever they were arguing, staring at him in disgust whenever he had insulted his friends, but never, never had he looked at him in fear. Nothing Draco had ever done had made Harry afraid of him.
And yet here he was now, fear lurking inside those lovely green eyes; his entire body trembling and shivering while his breathing came out in loud, harsh gasps.
What had happened?
Harry closed his eyes and turned away from him with a soft curse. "I'm sorry, it's just … Fuck," he muttered and shook his head.
"Harry, what happened?" Draco asked softly, not daring to move an inch.
A bitter chuckle escaped from Harry. "I don't know for certain. Guess some kind of curse got a hold of you before I managed to use Luna's potion."
Well, him being cursed would explain the hole in his memories; it would explain why he was suddenly standing in a different room with no knowledge of ever leaving the other room.
What it didn't explain, was why Harry was bloodied, hurt and afraid of him.
Involuntarily, his eyes slid from Harry's wounds to a bloodied knife laying against the wall. A knife that was very familiar – because it carried the Malfoy's insignia.
Only he or another member of his family could conjure that particular knife. A suspicion started to rise up in his mind, but he didn't dare to confront it. He didn't want to think it was true.
Because if it turned out to be true, then …
He tried to swallow, but his mouth and throat felt too dry, as if he was trying to swallow sand. "What did I do? Did I …" He jerked his head towards the wounds, his hands clenching and unclenching.
"Like I said, you were cursed." Harry shrugged, but stopped immediately and hissed softly. "It's not like you … You can't be responsible for the things you did while cursed."
Draco resisted the urge to close his eyes and sink down on the floor. He had hurt Harry. He had conjured the knife and had attacked his own lover. It didn't matter that he had been cursed – he shouldn't have succeeded in hurting Harry, should have managed to fight against the curse …
He shook his head; blaming himself wouldn't do either of them any good at the moment. They were still stuck in the house and Harry was losing blood. He needed to be Healed now.
"Lovegood gave you a potion for deep wounds, right?" he asked and took a deep breath.
Harry nodded slowly and waved at his bag, lying in front of him. "Can't really grab it without dropping it, though," he muttered half-heartedly.
"That's okay; I'll help you," Draco offered quickly and crossed the remaining space between them. He grabbed the round vial and uncorked it. "Will you let me put the potion on those wounds?"
Harry's eyes darkened and his frame slightly trembled, as if he wanted to curl up – or run away as soon as possible, Draco thought, when he noticed how tense Harry's legs had become.
"Yeah, you can put the potion on them," Harry finally muttered, but it didn't escape Draco's attention how reluctant he sounded.
If the fear in his eyes hadn't been enough to make it feel like he was stabbed through the heart, then his reluctance definitely succeeded in it. Just yesterday, Harry wouldn't have had any qualms about Draco helping him with potions. Now, he didn't seem able to look him in the eyes or even handle him near him.
Draco put the vial on the nightstand and slowly reached out with his hands. "I'm going to treat your shoulder first, but your sweater needs to be removed," he said, trying to keep his voice even. "How attached are you to this sweater?"
"Why?" Harry asked with a distrustful note in his voice.
"I think it's best if we cut the sweater off, because I don't want to aggravate the wound by pulling it off," Draco explained. "You can use my sweater afterwards; I'm wearing a T-shirt underneath it, so it doesn't really matter."
Harry nodded once, but still flinched when Draco aimed his wand at the sweater. One quick spell and the bloodied sweater fell in several pieces on the bed, leaving the dark haired wizard in nothing but a sleeveless shirt.
"All right, this will probably sting a bit," Draco warned him and used a clean piece of the sweater to soak in the potion. He then pressed it against the large gash and heard Harry's sharp intake of breath. "Sorry," Draco murmured, focusing his attention on the tense shoulder underneath his hand.
While he carefully dabbed the potion soaked cloth against the wound, his eyes slid down until they landed on Harry's rounded stomach; his shirt stretched tightly around it.
"Is – is everything all right with the baby?" he asked softly.
Harry's breath hitched. "I think so. I didn't fall down and nothing hit my stomach, so …"
Draco nodded, but resolved to ask Lupin to do a check-up once they were back in Hogwarts. It wouldn't hurt to be cautious.
Carefully he removed the cloth and studied the wound. The potion had disinfected the skin and the wound and it had closed it up until a deep red line remained as a memory. Grabbing a new piece of cloth, he poured the rest of the potion on it and started dabbing the gash in Harry's hand.
The silence that surrounded them was suffocating and it only made Draco more miserable.
His eyes still trained on the bloodied wound, he murmured, "I would never intentionally hurt you. I wish I could go back in time to prevent myself from getting cursed; I would never want to hurt you." It was important that Harry knew this, even though it seemed stupid to say this right after attacking him.
"I know," Harry replied almost inaudibly, but still refused to look at him.
Draco bit his lip and pulled the cloth away to look at the wound while disgust for himself swirled around lazily in his stomach. This wound as well seemed to have healed well, save for a jagged, red line.
"Once we're back, you'll need to get that looked over again. Maybe we'll find a potion that will reduce the scars as well," Draco said and shuffled back to give Harry some space. After a short moment of hesitation, he roughly pulled off his sweater and handed it over to Harry, who eyed it warily before accepting it and pulling it on.
When he stood up, the blood loss he suffered seemed to hit him and he stumbled. Without thinking about it, Draco rushed forwards to grab Harry's arms so that he could steady him. Immediately he felt Harry tense and his magic started to rise, feeling rather oppressive, vibrating against him; ready to lash out immediately.
"Harry, please," he whispered and green eyes met his own, whirling with too many emotions for Draco to understand them.
Harry stilled and his magic calmed down. He stepped back and looked away.
He cleared his throat and grabbed his wand and bag. "Let's go take a look in the next room. Maybe we'll find Ravenclaw there."
Draco opened his mouth, but closed it again in resignation. They needed to talk about this, but it was clear that Harry wasn't ready to talk about it here.
Well, he could understand that. He just hoped that this weird impasse between them wouldn't last.
Still …
"Harry …"
Harry barely turned his head to look at him. "I know, just … Not now, please."
Draco sighed, but nodded and silently followed Harry to the next room.
A heavy ward was placed in front of the room with the pink door and Draco grimaced when he felt the magic buzzing around him, pushing against his own. His nerves were screaming at him to go away, to leave this place as soon as possible and a sour taste was present in his mouth.
"There are runes placed on the floor and door," Harry murmured; his eyes and wand fixated on the mentioned runes.
Draco frowned and studied them. He had taken Ancient Runes and he thought he could decipher the meaning of some of them.
"This is a heavy ward," he muttered and bent down to touch one of the runes which was edged into the wooden floor. "I don't think we'll be able to disable this ward on our own. We'll need help from the others."
"Maybe that's a good sign," Harry sighed and eyed the door warily.
A rune at the upper corner of the door caught Draco's attention and he furrowed his eyebrows, trying to recall where he had seen that rune before. It had been in an obscure book he had found in the Malfoy library. He had felt bored during the summer and because he had finished all his homework, he had taken to wandering through the library, looking for something interesting to read. He had come across an old book that had nearly fallen apart in his hands when he took it off the shelf. It had been an encyclopaedia of runes: a detailed history of each one combined with the meaning and powers attributed to them. Near the back of the book, the runes had turned Dark in nature and the information about them had diminished to only a couple of small paragraphs.
This one etched in the corner was one that belonged to the Dark part in the book. He remembered staring at it in disgust, because it meant …
His eyes – previously contemplating the rune in silence – widened and shot towards Harry, who glanced at him apprehensively.
"What?"
"The ward won't be the only problem," Draco replied flatly and tried to ignore the fact that Harry seemed to keep him at a certain distance. He pointed towards the rune. "See that one? That one is meant to call up a Dark Beast as soon as someone enters the room."
"Shit." Harry glared at the door. "Do you know what kind of beast it calls up?"
Grey eyes slid over the other runes surrounding the rune in the corner. "Something associated with darkness and incredibly strong," Draco murmured. "And something with the number hundred, though I have no idea what exactly that means."
Harry retreated a few steps and tapped his wand against his leg. "Well, he probably wouldn't take that many precautions if the portrait was elsewhere, right? So at least we found the right room," he muttered and frowned.
Footsteps and soft murmurs interrupted Draco and both turned around to see Severus, Draco's father, Lupin and Black coming towards them.
Draco furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed the slight limp that affected his father's leg. "Father, did something happen?"
"Nothing Severus couldn't heal," Father murmured lightly and his godfather rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Harry, what happened to you?" Black asked worriedly and Lupin frowned.
Harry stiffened and then shrugged while Draco forced himself to breathe calmly. How would Black react if he heard that Draco was the cause of Harry's injuries? Granted, he had been under a curse when he attacked Harry, but that probably wouldn't matter much to Black.
And honestly, in this case Draco didn't think he would hold it against Black if he tried to hex him.
"We encountered some nasty traps, but Draco helped me heal the wounds," Harry replied softly and then briskly turned around to face the door again. "We think we've found the room where the portrait is hidden. This one has the strongest ward we've encountered so far and Draco said that there are runes which will call up a Dark Beast if we enter the room."
"The stench is the worst here," Mara piped up suddenly and they slipped past Black and Lupin.
"Mara, Ruby, you're okay!" Harry exclaimed relieved and reached out to rub over Ruby's head.
Mara made a soft snort sound. "Of course we are. What? You thought a spell like that could get rid of us? Give us some credit."
Draco sighed and wondered once again why he was stuck with such an arrogant pet.
Meanwhile Lupin had approached the door and studied the runes intently.
"I've never seen these runes placed in this particular pattern," he murmured and traced a rune (which was edged into the doorframe at shoulder height) with his wand.
"What's so special about the pattern?" Black asked curiously and cocked his head.
"The pattern consists out of the number hundred, strong and it refers to a mass of land," Lupin replied almost absentmindedly. "They are in the correct pattern to call up a Dark Beast, but I do not know which specific Beast they are referring …" he trailed off and retreated a few steps.
"What, wolf?" Severus snapped and scowled. "You've got an idea as to what it calls when triggered?"
"I think so, but …" Lupin shook his head and looked troubled. "It can't be possible. Unless …" He narrowed his eyes and directed his next question to Mara and Ruby. "Can you smell anything related to the Beast?"
They both raised their nose in the air and sniffed; their eyes glowing eerily.
"Sand," Ruby remarked after a bout of tense silence. "But not sand from this country. It smells drier."
"A faint scent of rain," Mara murmured and shook her head. "And some traces of lions and leopards. I think an elephant as well."
"I have no idea what to make out of that," Father remarked dryly.
Lupin, however, looked more worried than before. "This is worse than I thought."
"What?" Harry stared at him. "What's wrong?"
"If my assumption is correct, then as soon as we enter that room, a Nundu will appear," Lupin answered flatly.
"A Nundu," Black repeated blankly. "You mean, that beast that needs at least a hundred wizards to subdue it? The one that is forbidden to keep, because it murders everything it lays its eyes on?"
"Well, this is quite problematic," Father murmured and frowned.
"He wouldn't use an animal like that if it wasn't guarding something, right?" Harry asked uncertainly and stared at the door apprehensively.
"How are we going to retrieve the portrait then?" Draco asked and his hand clenched around his wand. The Nundu was one of the most dangerous creatures that existed; its breath was toxic and it could wipe out entire villages if it attacked. All the reports made about it were clear about one thing: a lot of wizards were needed to even attempt to subdue the animal. Their little group wouldn't stand a chance if there really was a Nundu waiting to be unleashed as soon as they opened the door.
Mara growled in annoyance. "No need to worry about that; Ruby and I will be enough to deal with that stupid animal."
"I don't know, Mara," Harry spoke slowly and shot her a wary look. "The Nundu is one of the most dangerous animals out there; I don't want to risk …"
"Who are the other dangerous animals, do you think?" Mara yawned and rubbed her ear with her paw.
Ruby butted his head against Harry's hip. "All animals exist in a hierarchy and our species occupy the top of it," he informed them calmly. "We will take care of it."
Lupin opened his mouth – presumably to protest – but was cut off by Mara.
"We may have masters, but that does not mean that we cannot act on our own," she said and sounded bored. "Whether you give permission or not, we will take care of that thing."
Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his noise. "Look, I don't want to spend any minute longer in this house than necessary – if they are certain they'll be able to defeat it, then by all means, let them do it."
"And you're really certain you'll be able to defeat the Nundu?" Draco asked for confirmation.
"Yes, do not worry about it," Ruby answered calmly. "All you have to do is bring down the barrier and stay out of the way while we deal with it."
Harry grimaced, but stepped away from the door. He threw the two large cats a resigned look. "Fine, if you're sure you can take it on, then you can do it."
Lupin and Severus were the ones to work on taking down the barrier. Draco and Harry made sure to keep out of the way and lingered near Black. If the Nundu would appear the moment that the door opened, it wouldn't be smart of them to keep standing in front of it.
"All right," Lupin breathed out and stepped back, lowering his wand.
Severus regarded the door coolly, but retreated as well.
The barrier was now completely gone; only three runes on the top were still faintly glowing.
Ruby and Mara crowded in front of the door while the two men slipped back to the small group waiting for them, further down the hallway.
Harry and Draco were pressed slightly against the wall, hidden behind Draco's father and Black. They had their wands trained on the door and Draco barely dared to shift his foot. Once Lupin and Severus had taken their place next to their partners, Black aimed his wand at the door and murmured a sharp 'Reducto!'.
The door blasted apart and a hastily erected Shield prevented the wooden chips from hitting either of them.
An ice cold shiver danced over Draco's spine when he heard a murderous roar and a big, light brown paw appeared in the doorway, followed by the head of the Nundu. Its eyes immediately shot towards them, but before it could leap over, Ruby and Mara slammed it back inside the room with resounding growls.
Draco's heart seemed intent on beating straight through his chest and when he glanced sideways, he saw how pale Harry had become and his hand trembled a bit. Draco reached out with his free hand, wanting to grab Harry's to comfort him, but before he could touch him, he retreated again when a flash of terrified green eyes tore through his mind.
Would Harry accept comfort of him now?
Harry seemingly hadn't noticed his hesitation; his eyes were fixed on the broken door and his body vibrated lightly with tension.
Heavy snarls and growls caused the floor to vibrate and they felt, rather than heard, bodies slamming against the walls.
It felt like they had been waiting for hours – but was only mere minutes – when the sounds finally died out and silence grew. A thick, rusty smell filled the air and Draco wrinkled his nose, resisting the urge to wipe his face.
Mara was the first one to appear and she shook her head; her white fur was covered in red brown spots and the flame on her tail was still glowing brightly. Her ice blue eyes shone in vicious satisfaction. Ruby joined her a few seconds later; his paws were matted with sticky blood and he was still growling softly.
"It's dead," Mara announced satisfied.
"You two managed to kill a Nundu?" Black answered incredulously.
Mara regarded him haughtily. "We said we would, didn't we?"
"Be careful of the blood," Ruby added calmly. "The floor is a bit slippery."
Before anyone could react, Harry was already striding over to the room, his wand trained in front of him.
"Harry!" Draco immediately followed him, his own wand held at hip level.
Blood decorated the entire room: puddles of the red liquid shone in the weak light; the walls showed bloody prints of paws and even the ceiling had specks of blood on it. The Nundu itself was ripped into various pieces: the head had rolled underneath a pink desk; two of its legs were lying in front of the door and its large, mutilated body was covering a broken bed, its entrails spread out over the grey bed sheets.
Harry gagged softly and covered his nose with his sleeve. Draco grimaced and breathed out through his mouth.
"Well, that's disgusting," Black remarked blankly.
"I was ready to warn you as soon as the ward was taken down, but it appears that that was futile." A soft, female voice – tinted with a Scottish accent - made their heads whip around. "I would like to do some research on these extraordinary creatures – they must be the first to ever defeat a Nundu in only ten minutes."
The portrait was standing on top of a small, dusty closet; a woman with long, black hair and stern, dark eyes, clad in beautiful, dark blue robes, was seated on a large, light blue arm chair with a book on her lap.
"Lady Ravenclaw," Draco's father murmured and inclined his head.
She smiled serenely, as if she hadn't spent years locked up in a tiny room with no way to communicate. "I am ready to return to Hogwarts."

The portrait was carefully picked up by Lupin and Black and they carried it downstairs; Draco's father and Severus took the lead and casted spells to make certain no other traps would activate.
They reached the front door without any other trap activated; the buzzing of magic that had been their constant companion during their time in this house had died out, as if the removal of Ravenclaw meant that no magic was necessary anymore.
"Ugh, finally, we can go back to Hogwarts," Black mumbled and squinted at the rain still pouring out of the sky.
Lupin covered the portrait with a charm to protect it against the rain and another one to keep it hidden from the Muggles' sight.
Harry nodded silently and rolled his shoulders with a sigh.
Draco glanced at him – only he seemed to notice the distance that Harry kept between them both.
He swallowed and turned his gaze to the street. He still didn't know what exactly had happened during the time he had been locked up in his own mind, but he was determined to find out. He wouldn't allow this to tear them apart.
He wouldn't and couldn't allow it.

AN2: What would my stories be without angst, hm? *coughs* Anyway, what do you think of it? Please leave your thoughts behind :)
Next chapter: Despite trying hard, the events in Dumbledore's house have sunk their claws in Harry and are not ready to let him go that easily. While he struggles with the memories, Draco does everything in his power to prove to Harry that he can be trusted.

Will they manage to get past this hurdle? Or will Dumbledore succeed in breaking them apart?
See you all in the next chapter!
Cuddles
Melissa
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- 21
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Survival of the fittest