Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Of Shield and Sheath	By : KusanoSaku Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 17446 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own the HP franchise so I make nothing from my writing.

Chapter List
- 19
- 20
- 21
Title: Of Shield and sheath
Pairing: future DracoxHarry
Summary: A foolhardy Dumbledore attempts to change fate, he gains more and less then he bargained for. Creature fic. Future Mpreg.

Chapter 19

Neville was quite disturbed when Harry never appeared after their Defence exam.

Quirrell was acting squirrelly again and well, he was starting that have serious doubts about that professor.

Not that they had any idea what was going on...

Neville felt guilty as hell but when Harry didn’t appear in the tower by curfew he decided that something had to be done.

He borrowed Harry’s cloak, grabbing Dean and Hermione as well as sending a message by his house elf to Draco. He would have asked Seamus but he was asleep…

They met in the corridor near the Professor Quirrell’s office.

Neville, Dean and Hermione stayed under the cloak while Blaise and Draco were under notice-me-not charms.

They watched Quirrell slip out of his office with a bundle over his shoulder.

Neville swallowed, a Harry-shaped bundle.

They followed quirrell silently only to find him enter the Forbidden Corridor.

Fluffy, that terrifying Cerberus lunged at Quirrel who dropped his bundle.

It was partially unwrapped to reveal an unconscious Harry.

Luckily, Quirrell couldn’t hear Hermione’s gasp of horror.

He was too busy pulling a golden harp from his cloak, resized it and cast a charm causing it to play.

The five students watched as Quirrell rolled up Harry, without touching him.

It was Draco who noticed that one of Quirrell’s hands was bandaged.

Harry was tossed back over Quirrell’s shoulder, Fluffy was moved by magic away from a trap door and then their noxious Defence Professor leapt into the hole.

“You can’t seriously think we should go after him!” Hermione protested. “We should tell a teacher!’

“Who is going to believe us?” Draco snorted. “A teacher kidnapped Harry and is breaking into the Forbidden Corridor? We don’t even know why. We’ll rescue Harry and figure the rest out later.”

Hermione hung her head but let Dean and Neville tug her towards the open trap door.

Neville had already pocket the cloak while Draco and Blaise ended their notice-me-not spells.

The five of them jumped into the hole one by one with the arrogant invincibility of children.

“Wow, we’re lucky this plant stuff is here.” Blaise said with a yawn.

“Lucky?” Neville hissed. “Are you insane? Freeze all of you! It’s Devil’s Snare!”

“It’s pulling my hair~!” Draco whinged.

“It likes the dark…thriving in dark places.” Neville mused.

“We need light or a fire.” Blaise groaned. “Charms are so not my best subject.”

“I don’t have a lighter…” Dean sighed.

“Are you a wizard or a Muggle!” Draco said exasperated.

“You’re not trying either!” Blaise retorted.

“I can’t move and my wand slipped out of my hand.” Draco growled.

“In…incedio!” Hermione blurted out in a stammering voice.

Red flames burst out of her wand like a torch.

Immediately, they were let go and landed on the stone floor of what seemed to be a chamber.

They walked on using the light from Hermione’s wand to keep the Devil’s Snare away. The Chamber sloped downwards, eventually they could see a faint bit of light through a cracked open door.

The five students hurried on.

Dean reached the door first and tugged it open.

They emerged into a brilliantly lit chamber with a very high ceiling…

The room sounded to Dean and Hermione like a visiting the Aviary at a zoo.

Blaise blinked, “Why those aren’t birds at all! They’re keys with wings…”

Draco frowned, “Hagrid provided the Cerberus, Sprout must have filled the last with Devil’s snare, this one is probably Flitwick.”

“Okay so what is the plan?”

Dean’s eyes narrowed, on the opposite end of the chamber from the stone passage was a large, old-fashioned wooden door with a silver lock. “If Flitwick charmed those keys to fly and there are broomsticks then I think we have to catch the right key. I don’t think it will open with the Alohomora Charm.”

“I see.” Neville sighed, “It’s probably old-fashioned like the lock and silver. Merlin I hate heights.”

“What’s the strategy?” Blaise frowned.

Dean tilted his head, “We find the Key and then we approach with a four-prong attack.”

“After Hermione’s sprained wrist during our joint flying lesson, I think she’s best left on the ground.” Draco agreed.

Neville had been worried he’d end up injured so when Hermione was, he’d offered to escort her to the infirmary. He’d had lessons to Gran’s disapproval from his cousin Oliver who was captain of Gryffindor so he wouldn’t embarrass himself. His nerves could be frazzled easily sometimes.

The four wizards clambered on brooms, only Draco seemed disgusted that they were old and ratty.

They weaved in and out of the flock of winged keys.

It was Draco who spotted it and pointed it out.

“Look over there. That must be it…”

“Are you sure?” Blaise frowned.

“It’s already been used once. That is why they banned using real snidgets.” Draco said pompously.

Dean directed them into a formation. “Draco should come from above, Blaise from below while Neville and I approach from the sides.”

“Who died and made you captain?” Draco grumbled.

“I have three years of footie experience. You play on a team yet?” Dean retorted.

“No, what’s footie?” Draco frowned.

“A muggle sport played with one ball, most players can’t use their hands.” Hermione pipped up.

“Why is it called Footie?” Blaise asked curiously.

“Because you primarily play with your feet.” Dean sighed.

Because he didn’t have a better plan, Draco agreed to Dean's begrudgingly.

Neville wasn’t sure it Dean planned it or not but it was Draco who caught their key with a whoop of triumph.

The four wizards landed a bit clumsily but they managed it.

They joined Hermione at the door to the next chamber, with a smug Draco doing the honours of unlocking the door.

Neville and Dean tugged the door open…

Worried, Hermione used her wand again, “Lumos!”

It was rather dark and foreboding.

The four wizards stayed close to Hermione so they could see…

Then abruptly, a large chess set appeared out of the gloom in the centre of the chamber and taking most of the room. They found they were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. The Gryffindors shivered slightly, the towering white chessmen had no faces.

“Chess? Who would want a giant chess set?”

“I bet McGonagall. I’m sure she could transfigure one.” Neville shrugged.

“I haven’t quite adapted to wizarding Chess. Shay’s tried to teach me but I keep trying to move the pieces…” Dean sighed.

Behind the white pieces, they could see another door.

“I can play.” Blaise grinned, he walked over to one of the black knights. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at him. “We have to play our way across, right?”

The knight nodded.

“Draco will be our Queen, Neville a bishop, Hermione and Dean will be rooks, while I’ll take the place of the knight.” Blaise said thoughtfully.

The knight he touched was joined by the four other named pieces in exiting the board.

The others knew chess well enough to take their assigned place.

“Why is Draco the queen?” Dean asked after having taken his place on the corner of the chess board.

“He’s the most powerful person I know, the king is a relatively useless piece and there aren’t any Princes in chess.” Blaise chuckled as he mounted the horse.

“This isn’t like real wizard’s chess, is it?” Hermione asked softly.

Blaise rolled his eyes and then ordered a pawn as his first move after white went first.

White’s pawn attacked, viciously destroying Blaise’s pawn.

“Yes Hermione, it’s clearly real Wizard’s chess just a life-size version.”

After that ridiculous sacrifice, Blaise began to direct the black pieces holding his friend’s back for safety as long as he could.

The black pieces moved silently wherever he sent them.

“Neville, I want you to move diagonally four squares to the right.” Blaise said firmly.

Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.

“Had to let that happen,” Blaise said fighting not to look shaken. “Leaves you free to take that bishop, Dean.”

Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Blaise knew that Hermione and Dean were their weakest and he kept them back- Draco he did not send out at all. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall.

Twice, Blaise only just noticed in time that Neville and Dean were in danger. Blaise’s moves had them darting around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.

“We’re nearly there,” he muttered suddenly. “Let me think — let me think…”

The white queen turned her blank face toward him.

“Yes…” Blaise growled softly to himself, “It’s the only way… I’ve got to be taken.”

“NO!” Draco shouted.

“That’s chess! You know that.” Blaise snapped. “We’ve got to make some sacrifices! I make my move and she’ll take me — that leaves Draco free to checkmate the king,”

“But…”

“Do you want to rescue Harry or not?” Blaise retorted

“Damn it Blaise… you’re my best friend!”

“Look, if you don’t hurry up, Harry could be hurt! We don’t know why Quirrell took him and we’re wasting precious time arguing about this.”

There was no alternative.

“Ready?” Blaise called, his face turning grey but determined. “Here I go. Don’t you dare hang around once we’ve won.”

His horse moved forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Blaise hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor on top of the pile of ‘killed’ black chess pieces. Hermione screamed, while the wizards with her were severely shaken but stayed on their squares but were shocked into silence. He looked as if he’d been knocked out.

Though shaken at his friend’s ruthless assault by a chess piece, Draco moved into position.

The white king took off his crown and threw it at Draco’s feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look back at Blaise’s mangled body, the others charged through the door and up the next passageway.

“What if he’s —?” Hermione choked back a sob.

“He’ll be all right. He has to be.” Draco said, trying to convince himself.

“What do you reckon’s next?” Neville asked.

“We’ve had Sprout’s, that was the Devil’s Snare; Flitwick must’ve put charms on the keys; McGonagall likely transfigured the chessmen to make them alive; that leaves Quirrell’s spell, Snape’s and Dumbledore’s.” Dean checked off

They had reached the door behind the chessmen by now.

“Alright?” Neville whispered.

“As ready as we’ll ever be.” Dean saluted rakishly.

The two cousins who could not be more dissimilar in appeared tugged the door open.

They nearly let it close on them when a disgusting smell filled their nostrils.

Draco and Hermione covered their noses to lessen the smell.

“A troll?” Draco whinged. “Why?”

Hermione was trying to hide behind him.

Eyes watering, they entered the chamber and saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they had rescued Hermione from before, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.

“I’m glad we didn’t have to fight that one,” Draco said haughtily as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs.

“Come on, I can’t breathe.” Neville coughed.

Dean tugged open the next door cautiously but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

“Uncle Sev’s,” Draco said with conviction.

“Then what do we have to do?” Hermione asked in a trembling voice.

They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn’t ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.

“Look!” Draco seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles.

The others looked over his shoulder to read it:

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine’s left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

Draco snickered

“Brilliant,” said Hermione grinning shyly.

Dean and Neville were confused.

“This isn’t magic. It’s a logic puzzle.” Hermione nodded happily.

Draco sneered, “Uncle Sev knows that a lot of the greatest wizards haven’t got an ounce of logic, they’d be stuck in here forever.”

“But so will we, won’t we?” Neville groaned.

“Of course not,” said Hermione.

Draco interrupted her, “Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple.”

“But how do we know which to drink?”

“Give me a minute.” Draco said stepping to the side to read the paper several times. Then he walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to himself and pointing at them. At last, he smirked, “Got it,” Draco said. “The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire — toward the Stone.”

Hermione looked at the tiny bottle. “There’s only enough there for one of us,” she said. “That’s hardly one swallow.”

They looked at each other worry dawning in Hermione’s face.

“Which one will get us back through the purple flames?” Dean blurted out.

“You three drink that,” Draco said, when Hermione and her fellow Gryffindors looked like they were about to protest he plunged on, “No, listen, go back and get Blaise. Grab brooms from the flying-key room, they’ll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy. Hopefully the music charm is still working. Go straight to the dungeon and try not to be seen. Tell Uncle Sev Aunt Annie must look at Blaise or Mother. Really my way is best. I’m going to have to drink the potion.”

“You’re just a student! Quirrell is a professor!” Hermione cried out wringing her hands.

“I’m the one from a Dark Family! I’m the only one who stands a chance. Send Uncle Sev down if you feel it’s the right thing to do.” Draco growled at them, using his Prince of Slytherin aura.

Hermione abruptly hugged him, “Please be careful!”

Then Dean plucked up the large squat bottle Draco had pointed out before, uncorked it and toasted him, “Here’s hoping.”

Dean shivered before passing the bottle off to Neville and finally, Hermione drank from it.

Draco waited until the unlikely cousins dragged Hermione off to get Blaise to a healer.

Salazar’s wand, he hoped he had properly deciphered Uncle Sev’s logic puzzle and then chugged the contents of his own tiny vial. It was as though ice was flooding his body.
Draco’s hand tensed around the bottle and he walked forward; bracing himself. While he could see the black flames licking his body, he couldn’t feel them. For a moment, he could see nothing but dark fire; then he was on the other side, in what must be the last chamber.

While Draco had known Quirrell was there, he hadn’t expected for the wizard to be waiting for him.

“Well if isn’t baby Malfoy. Out of all of Harry’s little friends, I didn’t expect you to be the one to make it all the way here. I expected Longbottom or perhaps, one of Harry’s friend from the Gryffindor Quidditch team.”

Draco snorted, “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“You intrigue me. A friendship between Harry Potter and you Mr. Malfoy was most unexpected.”

“Why did you kidnap Harry?”

“He intrigued me. We had thought that his parentage would have him stalking my every more.”

Ropes sprang out of thin air as it to wrap themselves tightly around Draco only to fall powerlessly to the ground.

Draco assumed an innocent air, “So, it was you let the troll in?”

“Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls.” the odious man bragged. “You must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off. Not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn’t even manage to bite Snape’s leg off properly.”

Draco growled, “I knew putting the blame of Uncle Sev’s injury on you was the right choice. You will pay.”

“What can you do little boy trapped behind that shield? Now, wait quietly, young man. I need to examine this interesting mirror.”

Draco skirted around Quirrell who was absorbed in the mirror.

With a bit of conjured water from his wand, Draco awoke Harry.

“What? Where am I?” Harry murmured lethargically.

Draco covered Harry’s mouth with his hand, casting the Legilimency spell softly.

‘We’re inside the chambers Fluffy was guarding. Quirrell kidnapped you.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know.’ Admitting that even mentally was annoying.

“This mirror is the key to finding the Stone,” Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. “Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this… but he’s in London… I’ll be far away by the time he gets back…”

‘Draco…we have to stop him.’

Draco looked into his eyes, ‘You know this mirror.’

Harry nodded, ‘Dumbledore showed it to us; Neville, Hermione, Dean and me. It was the night Uncle Sev collapsed. Percy called it the Mirror of Erised… he said it was dangerous. Dumbledore was very upset because we wouldn’t tell him what we saw.’

‘It shows you your heart’s desire. I don’t know how Dumbledore is using it.’

‘Well to be safe we have to distract him.’

“What stone is Dumbledore hiding?” Harry blurted out.

“Don’t you know? I am surprised you didn’t suss it out being a Potter. They are forever putting their noses where they don’t belong. Dumbledore caught wind that a powerful force was searching for the Philosopher’s Stone so he convinced Nicolas Flamel, the only known creator of it to allow him to protect it. It was stored in a vault in Gringotts but it was emptied on his orders, by Hagrid the day he took you into Diagon Alley.”

Harry frowned, “That grubby little package? What’s so special about it?”

“What’s so… Muggles. They are wreaking everything. Honestly? It is a marvellous stone that can turn lead into gold as well as produce the Elixir of Life.”

“Doesn’t the Elixir of Life only prolong life?” Draco frowned.

“Yes baby Malfoy. Now be quiet.”

“Why did you kidnap Harry?”

“I said be quiet didn’t I? Never mind, I did it to distract Snape. He has been on to me for a long time it seems, he followed him into the forest after a Quidditch match to try intimidating me to find out how far I’d got. He has suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side…” Quirrell came back out from behind the mirror and stared hungrily into it. “I see the Stone… I’m presenting it to my master… but where is it?”

Draco flinched, “The Dark Lord?”

“He is with me wherever I go,” said Quirrell quietly. “I met him when I travelled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it… Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me.” Quirrell shivered suddenly. “He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me… decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me…” Quirrell’s voice trailed away.

“Of course, he doesn’t forgive easily if ever. He’s the Dark Lord and has no loyalty to anyone besides himself but especially those who fail him.” Draco snorted, holding the shaking Harry to his chest.

Quirrell ignored him. He was still talking to himself. “What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!”

To Harry’s horror and Draco’s lack of amusement, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself.

“You must use the Potter boy…use the Potter boy…”

“But he burnt me when I touched him master.”

“If you cannot do this willingly, then I will have to force you to obey!”

Woodenly, Quirrell began to unwrap his turban and revealed a face on the back of their odious Defence professor’s head.

“I will have that stone and you will get it for me Potter.”

Draco was flung backwards into a wall.

Barely managing to cast a cushioning charm before he crashed.

Harry was bound with ropes and then tugged towards their possessed Defence professor.

Harry began to scream with pain, thrashing wildly.

“Silence petulant brat! Else I will put you out of your misery.”

Draco cast the leg-locker curse and Expellimellius, lighting Quirrell’s robes on fire.

It would have been laughable to see Quirrell fall over and then fail to put out the flames because of the leg-locker curse.

But Harry was in pain, Draco remembered the blasting curse’s incantation and cast it but carefully targeted the stone in front of Quirriel.

Their Defence professor was blasted into a pillar and then knocked unconscious.

Draco dragged Harry but not before cutting some of the ropes on his friend and using them to tie up their professor. He pocketed Quirrell’s wand before making his way out of the charmber.

He met his godfather in Troll’s chamber.

Uncle Severus hugged them both tight, “You’re alright! You should have told me!”

“How is Blaise?”

“I sent him to Malfoy Manor and your mother sent for the Healers Tonks.”

Draco snorted, “Father won’t be pleased.”

“Where is Quirrell?”

“In the last chamber.” Draco offered. “Unconscious.”

“And the stone?” Snape prodded.

“He didn’t get it.”

“Smythe is waiting for us at Tomle Chase. I have permission to create a portkey. Wait here.”

Uncle Sev had dragged them back into his own chamber.

Draco wasn’t all that surprised when his godfather drank a potion to cross the black flames.

He waited impatiently for his godfather to return.

Severus did but with a far more restrained Quirrell.

Draco, unlike Harry, was familiar with portkeys. He kept hold of Harry before grabbing the portkey.

The four of them emerged in the receiving room at what must be Tomle Chase…

Neville and Dean were being lectured but they still seemed defiant.

“Isn’t Andromeda his healer?” Smythe sniffed.

“Andromeda is treated another patient from this ill-advised escapade.” Uncle Severus glared at Draco.

Draco flinched.

A lion-maned wizard was handed Quirrell.

“He attacked and kidnapped a student. I want this investigated by the Aurors.” Uncle Sev snapped. “If he hadn’t done this, then the students wouldn’t have gone looking for their friend.”

“We will be discussing this at an emergency board meeting.”

“Which I will be happy to attend.”

“You never do.” Neville’s gran sniffed.

“Because Albus has classes scheduled on Thursdays, it is my day from Muggle Hell.” Uncle Sev grumbled.

The lion-maned wizard was obviously an Auror even if Draco didn’t recognize him, vanished through the floo with Quirrell.

Smythe was Draco’s own Healer since he wasn’t a witch and aside from his Aunt Andromeda, was the healer he would trust with Harry.

Harry was pronounced to be malnourished but clearly under a healer’s care and aside from signs of being formerly subjected to a spell that forced him into unconsciousness and being under the incarcerous, he seemed normal.

“He screamed when he was forced into the supposed Dark Lord’s presence…” Draco blurted out.

“Whatever are you raving about Malfoy!” Lady Augusta snapped.

Uncle Sev shook his head in warning.

“Quirrell claimed to be the pawn of the Dark Lord, even had a face on the back of his head and even talked to himself. We heard a second voice but I can’t be sure if it or the second face were real or products of his own mental instability. He or it, cast the incarcerous on Harry and made him come closer. They had the idea that Harry could help them retrieve the stone. The closer that Harry came to him, the more he started to scream.”

“I will have Andromeda look into this. Perhaps, Quirrell cast a dark spell that Smythe isn’t recognising.”

“I see…” Lady Augusta sniffed. “Harry may sleep over to recover. Dean and Neville have already been sent to bed. Snape may sleep over as well but given that his childhood friend was injured and is at Malfoy Manor, Draco ought to return there.”

Draco was bullied into the floo and sent onto the manor.

He informed his worried mother, what had happened briefly but promised to discuss this over breakfast.

His mother reluctantly sent him to bed.

Draco just hoped after this misadventure he could sleep…

XoooooX

While Lady Augusta seemed anxious to discuss this, instead they returned to bed.

Severus was disappointed that Draco had recklessly dove into that trapdoor to rescue Harry instead of fetching him.

Harry should never have been kidding, just what was Quirrell thinking?

That was best left for the Aurors…

What do you think? Outstanding? Exceeds expectations? Acceptable? Poor? Dreadful? Troll?
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Of Shield and Sheath