Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Cannot Save You Now	By : tigrelilje Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 15706 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter fandom nor do I make any money from writing this story.

Chapter List
- 23
- 24
- 25
Chapter 23
Dumbledore was feeling old beyond his years. The bright, cheerful sunlight that was streaming into the hospital wing was in direct opposition to the dark mood he was in. It was a miracle that Severus had been able to neutralize the poison that he had ingested, but he had sustained quite a lot of damage before that had occurred. Being a Dark Potion, there wasn’t much more to be done at this point.
Albus gazed sadly at his frail-looking hands, knowing that if he lifted them off of his lap they would be shaking. He was so weak at the moment; his body could barely support itself. Standing was beyond him for now. He was on a regiment of Strengthening Solutions and Nutrient potions, and Madam Pomfrey was hopefully he would at least be able to move around soon.
At this point, Albus just hoped he would last long enough to see the end of Voldemort.
***
Harry used his newfound abilities to sneak himself, Draco, and Severus into Malfoy Manor without the wards being alerted. They found themselves in the entrance hall and Draco immediately called a house elf to let his parents know that they had guests.
They didn’t have long to wait before both Malfoys arrived, looking mildly surprised to see them. Draco stepped forward to greet both of his parents before leading them into a nearby parlor room.
“Why are you here, Draco?” Lucius asked, glancing warily at his unexpected guests.
“It’s time to kidnap you,” Harry answered instead. “Things are coming to a head now and I don’t anticipate that Voldemort will be around much longer.”
The occupants of the room, minus Draco, shivered a little at his malicious grin.
“You have thirty minutes to pack some essentials,” Harry stressed. “You will be coming back and this needs to look like you actually just disappeared unexpectedly. I assure you my Sire’s manor will more than suit your extravagant needs.”
He saw Draco shoot him a slightly reprimanding look out of the corner of his eye, but Harry wasn’t about to take back what he said. The Malfoys were extravagant. He wasn’t even sure they knew what constituted as essential. He could be civil and would help them for Draco’s sake, but he wasn’t ready to completely forgive them for how they treated him in his life and didn’t think he should be expected to yet. There was something fundamentally wrong about adults willingly attacking a child that was the same age as their own, orders or not.
“Why are you here, Severus?” Narcissa asked quietly. “I thought you had decided not to go into hiding.”
“I am not,” Severus agreed. “I am merely accompanying you and then leaving again. I shall be meeting Harry’s Sire with you.”
Despite his outward appearance of calm, everyone present could see that the man was quite unsettled at the prospect of his upcoming meeting with his son’s new father, so to speak.
“Pack, now,” Harry pulled them back on track. “We can speak more at my Sire’s.”
When the Malfoys were standing in front of him again, ready to go, Harry used his abilities to take them all to his Father’s manor. They arrived in the entrance hall and Harry could tell they were impressed despite themselves. A few vampires were passing through and bowed slightly to Harry while casting his group curious glances. He nodded back to them, feeling his group’s slight shock at the deference he was being shown.
“My Sire allows many vampires to stay in this manor,” Harry explained as he walked toward his Father’s study. “It is extremely well protected from outsiders and has been for hundreds of years. Vampires are fairly social creatures, as long as we maintain our humanity. The rogue ones that wizards actually meet are loners and very territorial. The majority of us enjoy living in rather large groups. As my Father is their leader, many prefer to stay here, as it is like our capital, in a way.”
He saw Severus twitch a little when he referred to Tristan as his Father, but there wasn’t anything he could do about that. Tristan was his father, Severus never could be at this point. He couldn’t imagine ever going to Severus instead of Tristan for anything. He knocked on the study door as a warning before walking in with his group behind him. He pulled Draco with him to greet his Father as the man rose from the chair he was sitting in.
“Father,” Harry murmured with a smile as he kissed Tristan.
“Harry, Draco,” Tristan replied with his own smile and a kiss for each of them. Harry almost laughed out loud at the stunned look on the Malfoys and Severus’ faces. Perhaps he should have educated them a bit more? Draco flushed a bit when he saw his parents’ faces but seemed pleased to be greeted with such familiarity from Tristan. “Is it that time already?”
“Yes, Father, things will be ending soon I believe, so it was time to remove the Malfoys from danger before things get going.”
“Hmm,” Tristan said, eying up his new house guests, his previous smile no longer present. Unlike Harry had become used to doing, Tristan was not hiding his vampire nature. He knew this group of people were among some of his Son’s worst tormentors while he was alive. He didn’t particularly want to be nice to them, but he understood why his Son was helping them and knew he needed to behave. Though that didn’t mean he couldn’t let them know he was displeased with them.
“Introductions first,” Harry said. “Father, these are Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Draco’s parents. And this is Severus Snape, Draco’s godfather and my, uh, human father.” Tristan cast his Son an amused glance at his uncertainty of how to introduce the man. “Lucius, Narcissa, Severus, this is my Sire and Father, Tristan Renard… Also known as the infamous Vampire Renard from wizarding horror stories, apparently.”
His Father laughed out loud at that before stepping forward to greet his suddenly much more anxious guests, “A pleasure. I assure you I am more than capable of controlling myself, despite whatever your stories say about me. It may sooth your worries to know that there are many humans who live in this manor as well and not just vampires. Your presence will not be unusual and you have nothing to fear. Even from me, despite the parts you played in my Son’s human life.”
The older Slytherins all stiffened slightly at the potential threat, but otherwise didn’t react. Harry rolled his eyes slightly, feeling it was counter-productive to set the Malfoys on edge right away, though he understood his Sire’s desire to hurt them in retaliation for the damage they had inflicted upon his Son. Draco had a mildly concerned look on his face and was looking between his parents and Tristan.
“Don’t worry, love,” Harry whispered to Draco, kissing him lightly. “They are perfectly safe with my Father, even if he isn’t happy with them; he won’t do something to hurt you since that would hurt me.”
Draco sighed in irritation. “He isn’t going to be threatening them the whole time, is he?”
“No,” Harry chuckled, “but he also wants them to understand how lucky they are that this opportunity is available for them, and to remind them that if they have any decency at all they will begin to work to actually deserve it.”
Draco continued to frown at Harry until Tristan leaned over, and spoke loudly enough for the other adults to hear, “Think of it this way, little dragon, if your roles were reversed, would your parents forgive Harry’s if they had tried to kill you and hurt you in the past?” Draco slowly shook his head. “Then why should I, or my Son, immediately forgive yours for what they have done? Do not take your mate bond with my Son for granted and assume he will just give you whatever you like to make you happy, you must think of him as well. Neither of us will hurt or torment your family, but we are not about to forgive them any time soon unless they prove they regret their decisions. And right now, they do not appear regretful in the least.” They turned to see the Malfoys and Severus with their usual cold masks in place, though they were listening intently to what was being said and appeared to be thinking of how to proceed from here. Draco grudgingly acknowledged that Tristan was right, and he knew neither Tristan or Harry would hurt his family. He understood where they were coming from. He hoped his family proved themselves. Truthfully, he was upset with his family for their choices as well.
“Let’s sit down and get better acquainted with each other while our children are still here, hmm?” Tristan asked, gesturing for everyone to follow him over to his fireplace and quickly conjured some more seating to accommodate everyone. Although the Malfoys and Severus had seen Harry do magic, it hadn’t fully hit them that their knowledge of vampires was woefully lacking and the careless display of wandless magic stunned them for a moment. Tristan settled himself on a loveseat, ignoring his guests’ surprise, while Harry and Draco took another loveseat. Finally, the Malfoys took the final loveseat and Severus took one of the available armchairs. An elf brought some tea and then there was silence while everyone carefully sipped from their cups and gathered their thoughts.
“Is there anything we should know about vampires, since it would seem our knowledge is rather lacking,” Lucius finally broke the silence.
“Well, most vampires, as long as they retain their humanity, are really not much different than they were as humans,” Tristan explained, tilting his head slightly as he thought. He saw the Malfoys and Severus shoot disbelieving looks in Harry’s direction and Tristan chuckled slightly. “Yes, even Harry has not changed much from his human self. The person you knew in the past was just half of his personality. My Son suppressed his Slytherin side after being introduced to the wizarding world. After hearing about a madman from Slytherin that murdered his parents, being told that only evil wizards come from Slytherin, and finally meeting your son who reminded him strongly of his bully of a muggle cousin, Harry rejected that side of himself, even though it was more prominent than his Gryffindor side. Then, throughout the years, every Slytherin he met either treated him like dirt or tried to kill him.
“When I turned him, it helped release Harry from the social expectations he felt he had to live up to while human. So while he can still act as a Gryffindor, he is truly much more of a Slytherin. Had any of you ever attempted to actually get to know him while he was alive, you would have realized this.”
Harry was leaning against the armrest of the couch as he listened to his Father, but pulled Draco to lean against him when his first impression of the blonde was revealed. He kissed his neck softly, hoping to let him know that Harry no longer felt that way about him at all. The Malfoys frowned a bit at the open display of affection but turned back to Tristan when he began talking again. Severus simply looked as though he was carved from stone and Harry could easily guess what he was thinking.
“Other than generally staying the same, vampires are more sexual, violent, have heightened senses, retain their magic if they had it before turning, and are extremely hard to kill,” Tristan summed up, ticking off each point on a finger. “We also have to exercise extreme control over our desires, at least if we want to live among humans.”
“Will we see vampires copulating in public or getting into brawls while here?” Severus asked, clearly uncomfortable and eyeing Harry and Draco shamelessly cuddling in front of them.
“I’m not going to definitively say no, but you probably won’t. One difference that you will need to get used to quickly is that vampires are affectionate,” Tristan nodded his head in the direction of his Son and his mate. “We also don’t really hold the same taboos or views about sex that mortals do. There isn’t really such a thing as incest for us and there is a lot of potentially inappropriate affection shared between people who are just friends. Greeting friends and family alike with kisses is not only common but expected. For example, the way I greeted Harry and Draco with a kiss when they arrived, though a very tame one, if I may say so. When you are changed into a vampire, you are essentially reborn. There are no ties to your human family anymore. I am not saying it is the norm, but it is also not unheard of to see turned siblings sleep together on occasion. We cannot reproduce, so perhaps that is part of the reason we are unbothered by incest. Unless you become a vampire, I do not think you can understand the disconnect that is felt toward your human family.”
“Before Harry told me that we were mates,” Draco spoke up, drawing attention to himself, “I saw him with others on occasion around Hogwarts. Boys and girls, casually touching, embracing, kissing, maybe more, though thankfully I didn’t witness that.” Draco shot a slightly jealous and possessive look in Harry’s direction, but Harry just smiled. He wasn’t going to apologize for being a vampire, and someday Draco would probably come to understand his mindset for himself. The only thing he regretted about those encounters is that Draco was hurt by them. “Though it is still foreign to me, I know that those encounters meant nothing to him. What we see as promiscuity is just casual friend interaction to them.”
“That is correct,” Tristan agreed. “Vampires, no matter how refined and cultured, also have a taste for bloodshed and violence,” Tristan continued nonchalantly. “That is not to say we just go out and torture humans or attack each other, but we can be quick to anger. Most of us keep that side of us subdued unless we are hunting or only in the presence of other vampires. As I said, there are many humans in this manor so it is likely you will never see that side of any of us.
“If you have heard anything about us having heightened senses, you can take that for truth. We are much stronger and faster than humans, along with having exceptional sight and hearing. Lastly, if we were wizards before being turned, we have magic. Many of us do not require a wand; that seems to be a human limitation. Being turned doesn’t make our magic stronger, but it does unlock our full potential if it was not previously reached before our turning,” Tristan shrugged. “Also, obviously, sunlight doesn’t burn us and garlic won’t ward against us. Our heightened senses may make those things a bit of a nuisance for us but that’s about it. They won’t hurt us.”
“We also must exercise extreme control,” Harry added, elaborating on his Sire’s earlier summary. “We would not be able to live among humans if we allowed ourselves to be ruled by our instincts. We are more in touch with our instincts than humans are, which can make this difficult, but we are more than capable of shutting them out and behaving perfectly proper, though we do find it boring.”
Just then, the door to Tristan’s study opened and Remus stepped inside. He paused for a moment when he saw the unexpected guests, before closing the door and walking toward their group again. Harry saw Tristan give the werewolf a flirty half-smile and he raised an eyebrow in surprise. Remus settled himself on the loveseat next to Tristan, ignoring the other empty armchair, and Tristan’s smile widened a bit more. Harry’s look of surprise turned to one of suspicion as he observed his Father and honorary godfather.
“I believe you all know Remus Lupin,” Tristan introduced. “He is also a guest here for the time being.”
Remus nodded politely with a small smirk and now Harry was really feeling suspicious. Since when did Remus smirk? And he chose to sit right next to Tristan, after walking into his study without knocking or announcing himself? Harry decided to keep an eye on them from now on.
“Aren’t-,” Severus cut himself off without finishing, as if he thought better of asking his question, scowling slightly.
“Aren’t vampires and werewolves enemies?” Remus finished calmly. “Yes, usually. But it is not impossible for us to form bonds with each other. I still recognize Harry as my cub, despite his new creature status. We are not mindless creatures, after all, and are more than capable of functions above our instincts.”
Harry could almost feel the Malfoys and Severus’ desire to say something derogatory to Remus but were keeping themselves in check. He wondered if they would ever be able to coexist peacefully with each other. Harry caught Remus subtly eying Severus now, and almost laughed. He understood what was going on now. The werewolf’s time with the vampires was really taking its toll on Remus normally unassuming and docile nature. It seemed he was finally getting in touch with his inner wolf, explaining the drastic changes to his appearance, and picking up some vampire habits along the way. Or perhaps werewolves were also naturally flirty.
“Perhaps you should show the Malfoys to their rooms now, Father,” Harry suggested, amused at his new discoveries. “We should be heading back to Hogwarts soon before we are missed.”
“Yes, of course,” Tristan agreed, standing up. “I will show you out, though. Remus, would you mind showing the Malfoys to the rooms they are to being staying in?”
“Not at all,” Remus agreed mildly. He walked over to Harry first though to embrace him and kiss his temple quickly. “Stay safe, cub. And you, Draco.” He hesitated before embracing Draco as well and whispering, “Welcome to the family. I’m sorry I forgot to say it before.”
Though shocked by the embrace, Draco smiled nonetheless before stepping over to his parents to say goodbye. Harry rolled his eyes at the stiff and formal interactions that took place between the blonde family members. He was looking forward to the day when Draco no longer felt the need to act like that with his family, even if they continued to expect it.
The two groups split and went their separate ways. Tristan didn’t speak while he walked them back to the entrance hall, but he did stop and consider Severus for a few moments once they reached their destination. Harry and Draco could see the Potions Master holding himself very stiffly under the scrutiny of the ancient vampire.
“As much as I would like to punish you for the life my Son lived, ultimately your bad choices made it possible for me to gain a family, something I never thought I would have again,” Tristan said coldly. “I understand that you want to insinuate yourself in Harry’s life and I will not stand in the way.” Severus gave Tristan a look of surprise. “I won’t. It is Harry’s decision to make, not mine, if you will be allowed in his life. But I will warn you once; if you cause Harry any hurt from this point on, I will not hesitate to destroy you, no matter what my Son or his mate want. Truthfully, it goes against my instincts to let you escape punishment. For your sake, I hope you prove to me that you deserve forgiveness. Unlike my young Son, who is forgiving by nature, I am hundreds of years older, much more bitter, and much less forgiving.”
“I understand,” Severus replied stiffly, before continuing as if it pained him, “but I doubt you could possibly dislike me more than I dislike myself in regards to the past.”
“Perhaps.”
Tristan smiled mischievously before pulling Harry, and then Draco, into a deep kiss each. Draco tried very hard to control his blush while Harry huffed in amusement at his Father’s playful behavior. With a final nod to Severus, Tristan turned on his heel and left.
“So, back to Hogwarts then?” Harry asked innocently, enjoying Severus’ scandalized expression and Draco embarrassed one.
***
Severus was unsurprised when he was Summoned a few days later, though he was not looking forward to this meeting.
“Rise, Severus.”
He stood slowly and kept his eyes focused on his Master’s feet. He could tell the madman was in a foul mood. He knew why and was already praying he would not be Crucio’d too many times.
“Tell me, Severus, have you spoken to Lucius or Narcissa recently?”
“I have not, my Lord.”
“Have you heard anything in regards to them from the Order?”
“No, my Lord.”
“Crucio!”
Severus had been expecting the curse and collapsed as gracefully as he could to the floor as his body felt like all his nerves were on fire. He tried not to scream, but as usual that was impossible. After what felt like hours, the curse was released and Severus found himself panting on the floor at Voldemort’s feet, wishing he could appear more dignified.
“The Malfoys are missing, Severus. You would do well to find them. Dismissed.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
***
“Jasper, how nice to see you,” Dumbledore greeted from behind his desk. He had finally been released from the hospital wing but he was still weak enough that he wasn’t going to be standing unless he absolutely had to.
“Headmaster Dumbledore.”
“Have you any new information that I should know?”
“I believe I do,” Jasper admitted, feeling gleeful on the inside. Unlike his interactions with Voldemort, Jasper knew Dumbledore was much harder to manipulate. However, the man’s desperation was making it much easier than it should be. Jasper wasn’t about to complain. “I have some potentially disturbing news about the rogue vampires that you sent your wolf to investigate.”
“Do you know what has happened to Remus?” Dumbledore asked in concern, though he assumed the worst.
“As far as I know, he is alive but being held captive,” Jasper said, “but that is not what I came to tell you. It would seem their leader has recently taken an heir. Someone you know, in fact.”
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, waiting for Jasper to elaborate.
“It would seem that Harry Potter is not as dead as you may have believed.”
***
Harry was sitting, for once alone, on his bed in the Slytherin dorms. He finally had some time to go through the pictures and letters he had found in Regulus’ room. He wasn’t any less shocked than he had been the first time he saw them.
How had Sirius not known? Harry thought in disbelief.
Staring up at him from one of the photos was Regulus Black and James Potter. He thought maybe the picture had been taken in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. The boys were sitting on a couch in front of a fire, alternately sipping from mugs of hot chocolate and smiling at the camera while Regulus leaned against James’ shoulder.
There weren’t many photos, but there were a lot of letters. Harry had read a few and he debated if he should really read all of them. After all, James Potter wasn’t really his father, but he had spent his whole life thinking of the man as such. He figured a part of him would probably always think of the man that way, and that part of his was desperately curious.
Harry really wanted to know how and why the two boys had become a couple but unless he found a journal, he doubted that he would ever know the story. Of course, he only had the letters that James had written to Regulus. As he was the Potter heir, he wondered if he would be able to find the letters Regulus had written to James somewhere. It amused him to see James apologizing profusely to Regulus in his letters for being an ass to all Slytherins, especially Severus, but pointing out that he couldn’t change his attitude in public for the time being because it would have been highly suspicious. It saddened Harry to think that the Wizarding World was so prejudiced and judgmental and didn’t seem to be getting any better.
It confused him that Regulus obviously joined the Death Eaters after starting a relationship with James. Harry assumed he had somehow been forced much like Severus had been. He obviously hadn’t been very loyal considering how short his time with the Death Eaters had been before his success at stealing a Horcrux and subsequent death. It seemed he tried to make the best out of a bad situation, at least, Harry thought.
He shook off the thoughts. It wasn’t his world anymore. He would get rid of Voldemort, probably Dumbledore as well, and then leave them to fix their issues without the Dark and Light figureheads getting in the way of any progress.
{Master, what is troubling you?} Ciaran asked, and Harry jumped a bit. He suddenly felt guilty; he hadn’t really spent any time with Ciaran, being too caught up in his own problems and schemes.
{Ciaran, how are you? I’m sorry I haven’t been giving you the attention you deserve recently} Harry responded, not answering his question yet.
{It is fine, Master, I know you have been busy. You may want to visit your owl, though} Ciaran replied slyly. Harry felt his anxiety rise at the thought of Hedwig. He would really have to make things up to her when all this was over.
{Hmm, perhaps I will wait until things settle down, which shouldn’t be too far in the future} Harry murmured.
{As you wish. Now, answer my question, what are you looking at that is troubling you?} Ciaran demanded.
{I wouldn’t say it is troubling me. The man I grew up thinking to be my father… I just discovered who his secret mate was. It took me by surprise and just made me think about issues in the Wizarding World. Mates shouldn’t have to be secrets} Harry explained, thinking of his own mate, hoping Ciaran would understand.
{That is silly. Mates are not something to be ashamed of, that makes no sense. You should be proud to show off your mate} Ciaran agreed.
{Yes, well, humans are unreasonable about these things} Harry said, ignoring the fact that he had been unreasonable as well when he first learned that Draco was his mate. Ciaran gave him a look and Harry could only assume his snake was thinking the same thing. Before he could turn the conversation to something else, the door to his dorm opened suddenly and Harry tensed before realizing it was just Draco and relaxing again.
“Here you are,” Draco said, shutting the door behind him and locking it. Harry raised an eyebrow at that but Draco just shugged with a bland smile. Suspicious.
“What are those?” the blonde asked as he caught sight of the pile of letters and pictures in front of Harry. Harry hesitated a moment before gathering them together so Draco could sit down on his bed and handed them to his mate.
“Seems I know who James Potter was really seeing now,” Harry replied.
“Regulus Black?” Draco asked in disbelief.
“That was more or less my reaction,” Harry murmured, wrapping his arms around Draco and pulling him back so he was leaning against his chest.
“Wasn’t James Potter best friends with Sirius Black?” Draco asked. “How in the world did they cover this up?”
“Who knows? Everyone involved with all these secret relationships and their families are all dead now,” Harry said. “Except Severus. Maybe I could ask him, but it really doesn’t matter anymore.”
“No, I suppose it doesn’t,” Draco sighed. “But it is interesting.”
They were silent for a few minutes while Draco shuffled through the pile that Harry had given him and Harry absently traced patterns on Draco’s stomach and occasionally kissed his neck or hair.
“If you keep doing that, I won’t be held responsible for my actions,” Draco’s voice suddenly cut the silence. Harry furrowed his brow in confusion for a moment before taking note of his absentminded actions on Draco’s body.
“Is that so?” Harry asked, amused, not ceasing his actions.
Draco just growled a little before abruptly turning in Harry’s arms and pushing him down on his bed. Harry gazed up into Draco’s eyes for a moment before he was being thoroughly kissed. For once, Harry was happy to lay back and let Draco take control.
His mate moved from his lips to his neck and began kissing downward while Harry felt his shirt being undone quickly. When he reached for Draco’s shirt, however, his hand was smacked away and he received a scowl from Draco. Harry bit his lip slightly, amused and turned on, before holding up his hands in surrender. Draco eyed him for a moment before going back to his ministrations. Harry felt all his muscles clench when the kisses trailed down the front of his body to the waist of his pants. Faster than he thought possible, his pants were undone and Draco’s hand was wrapped around his cock. He moaned before he could stop himself and Draco’s smug expression almost made him try to take control again but he stopped himself.
Then Draco was kissing and licking his member torturously slow and most of Harry’s thoughts stopped. He ran his hands through Draco’s hair before gripping it, but used the last of his coherency to make sure he wasn’t hurting his mate. Draco had never done this to him before and Harry was trembling with excitement. When Draco took him completely into his mouth, Harry cried out and desperately tried not to thrust upward. Draco must have felt him twitch, because his hips were being held down in the next moment. His mate didn’t give him any time to get used to the new sensations before Harry was being given the most fantastic blow job of his life. He had to wonder if Draco was really that skilled or if Harry enjoyed it so much because it was Draco who was doing it.
“Draco,” Harry warned, panting, his voice a little desperate from his impending release.
Draco’s only response was to cup his balls and suck harder while licking the underside of his cock. Harry was no match for his mate’s determination and he came hard with a cry of Draco’s name. Draco pulled off of him with a self-satisfied look on his face and Harry pulled him down by his wrist to give him a soft kiss, growling slightly when he tasted himself in his mate’s mouth.
“I can’t wait until I am not forced to keep you a secret anymore,” Harry whispered against Draco’s lips, thinking about James and Regulus’ secret relationship. Draco gave him a soft smile before Harry flipped them over with a wicked grin. “You’re turn, lover.”
***
Theo could honestly admit that he was terrified when his Mark suddenly burned and he knew he was being called. Either this was a spontaneous meeting or he was being called alone. He had been out on the grounds so it was easy enough for him to slip into the Whomping Willow secret passage and make his way off the Hogwarts grounds.
When he arrived at Voldemort’s manor, with no other Death Eaters in sight, Theo was dismayed but made sure none of his worry was showing when he bowed before his former Lord.
“My Lord,” he intoned, praying he hadn’t slipped up on something. Or that Jasper was choosing to call him out now.
“Rise, Theodore.”
Theo rose as fast as he could without making it look hurried. He was trembling slightly and he cursed his body’s reactions for betraying him.
“I have a job for you, Theodore,” Voldemort said silkily. That didn’t sound like he had been caught, at least. “You will capture Draco Malfoy and bring him to me. You have one week.”
Theo really wanted to ask a few questions, like why hadn’t the madman just summoned Draco if he needed him? As far as Theo knew, Draco had not been called recently. But he knew he would never understand how Voldemort thought so he merely said, “Yes, my Lord.”
It didn’t matter that he hadn’t been caught yet. He couldn’t fulfill this mission. Their time was up.
***
“We have a problem,” Theo said, the moment he burst through the doors to their dorm. Harry glared at him for carelessly announcing something like that without checking the room first. It was beside the point that it was only him and Draco at the moment. Theo rolled his eyes. “Crabbe and Goyle are down in the common room. All I would have risked was looking like an idiot if you were not in here and I was talking to myself.”
“What’s wrong?” Harry asked, letting it go.
“Draco, have you been called recently?” Theo asked instead, wanting to double check before explaining.
“No,” Draco said slowly, immediately becoming tense.
“I don’t think you will be, so don’t worry, but he just summoned me,” Theo said. He had their full attention on him then. “I have been tasked to capture you and bring you to the Dark Lord. I’m not sure why he didn’t just summon you himself, or tell Severus to bring you, but maybe your parents’ disappearance made him paranoid and he doesn’t want to give you a chance to escape if you don’t know about their disappearance yet. Whatever the case, we are out of time.”
“How long?” Harry asked.
“One week.”
“So be it,” Harry said grimly.
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