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Lucky Strike	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Sirius Views: 76233 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 17
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make no money off this strange dance in JK Rowling's world.

Chapter List
- 24
- 25
- 26
Beta'd by the most amazing Tenchi, who I can't thank enough for all the hard work she does for me!

With help from Lynn who works with me when it comes to flow, continuity and other issues.

Just a reminder of what's on my profile; reviews complaining or whinging about the lack 'o sex in stories will get deleted. If you want a smut-filled romp, you need to find another story to read.

Chapter 24

Draco wasn't in a good mood, that's all there was to it. Yesterday—though sitting in court was good, what else happened was horrific. Then, this morning before his father brought him back to the castle, the news in the Prophet about the breakout was enough to shade his day even more. Thankfully the Malfoy household woke up early and he got to see the news before he had to come back. His father even had time to explain what he thought it meant to him, then give pointers on what to do to protect himself.
After getting here, his father had holed up with Flitwick and a few other teachers to discuss what was going on, at least that was what Draco took it to mean. So far, what he'd seen told him the teachers were taking the breakout seriously and that it meant the students were protected, the suspicion of what was really behind the breakout seeming to be on their minds. That was good, of course. He wasn't sure what the Ministry line was going to be on this, and getting info out of his father while at school when it came to what that end was doing, as that was already mentioned, would be hard. He was sure his father would come across with some in letters, but they had to remain cautious lest someone they didn't want to see it read over his shoulder or something.
On top of that, his father made it clear that he now had to watch his back when it came to plenty in his own house as they were likely to side with the Dark Lord. That he didn't need either. The only upside to this was that there was only a couple more months until the term was over. He could manage until then. During the summer break he was sure they could come up with something to help keep him safe and get a better feel for who was following which side. Those kinds of measures and information would help.
So far, Pansy and Blaise were right by his side. In fact, the two were just as wary as he was about some of the others. Millicent seemed like she was, but he couldn't tell for sure. From what he saw with her, she was just terrified. Crabbe and Goyle—they all needed to stay away from those two. They were already heavily leaning in the other direction. That meant nothing good and he planned to cut them loose as fast as he could manage. All this just meant that he had to stay alert. Nothing more. He would wait and watch, seeing where the rest of Slytherin was going to side. The other houses—he wasn't worried about those yet and would ignore them until they got the worst sorted. After that he would deal accordingly.
Sighing as he, Blaise and Pansy were heading to the dorm for their free period, he was mostly focusing on Harry and what he had seen with that. What he witnessed and heard while at St. Mungos was plenty bad. Of course, his parents and the others made sure he saw Harry when he was awake to assure him he was fine. Harry wasn't the same though. He just sat in bed, holding his rabbit and didn't say a word. While Harry looked at him as he talked, there was none of the messing up of his hair or anything of the normal bits he usually did to muck around. That bothered him more than anything else, honestly. His father assured him that with a bit of time, Harry would be back to normal, but it was hard to see him in such a state. His mother, before he left, told him to make sure to write Harry like normal though it might take some time for Harry to write back. That he planned to do. He would keep the letters the same as he always had, just like his mother suggested.
Tuning out most everything, he was planning to just relax the best he could then hide out when classes were over to give himself time to calm. As it was, he was just barely paying attention to Pansy and Blaise. They would keep an eye out, of course, so he didn't need to worry much about anyone else starting something. If there was a problem, they would get his attention.
As they reached the main level of the castle, headed towards the dungeons, he stopped in his tracks, eyes narrowing. Jamie Potter's voice cut through his introspection and his head whipped in that direction. This was not a twit he wanted to deal with right now as he was sure the fool would set fire to his temper.
“Draco, I think we need to just go,” Pansy said, trying to tug him along with the help of Blaise. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on when it came to her friend, but it had to be big, what with Draco not coming back the night before like he was supposed to. Then there was his mood today, something which told her plenty went on that they didn't know about and it was probably not good. She'd seen this from her friend before and knew it probably wouldn't take much to set him off. “Let's just go down and sit in front of the fire for a while, forgetting our homework. We're all caught up, of course, so it's not a problem.”
“Mate, let's go,” Blaise said, trying to shove him along, glancing at the loud-mouth Potter. Even Granger, Weasley and Longbottom were shooting the three of them wary looks, meaning that they were worried about what Draco would do as the idiot was probably spouting something that would set Draco off. And considering what Potter was like and the things he spouted, that was probably a justifiable concern. Even the Potter girl was throwing Draco worried glances while trying to drag her brother away. Which meant they happened on something Draco probably wouldn't like hearing.
Standing there, refusing to let the two move him, Draco ground his teeth. Now, really, Jamie could easily get on his last nerve. That was self-proving up to this point. And he wasn't in the greatest mood anyway, something that made his patience far thinner than normal. Combine the two, and it was explosive.
Standing there, listening to the twit talk about the breakout, crowing about his parents and Dumbledore being right for so long about the Dark Lord then how this was the reason they left, Draco could feel his temper skyrocket. Because he was around Harry and that lot so much, coupled in with what he knew of all Harry suffered with, then toss in what he saw the day before and he was done.
Brushing off Pansy and Blaise's hands, he stepped forward, wand in his hand, then snarled, “So, it was 'right' for your parents just to abandon Harry on a doorstep so he could be taken? All of what he suffered through is justified because of what might be going on?”
Glaring at Malfoy, Jamie snapped, “Yes! They knew this was coming and it's why they did what they did!”
“Oh, no,” Sarah muttered, eyes wide as she looked at Draco. That look on Draco's face was enough to tell her that she needed to get her brother away from here before all out war happened. Shaking her head, giving Draco a pleading look, hoping that he took it as she was trying to get him away, she then looked at those in her own house that were there. From the expressions, and how they were actually backing away, she figured she wasn't going to get any kind of assistance there. “Please, Jamie, just leave it. Now's not the time.”
Ignoring his sister, Jamie took a step forward and glared at Malfoy, hand on his wand. “All of you will understand shortly and it'll make sense!”
“Oh, no it won't,” Draco snarled, eyes flashing dangerously. “You forget what I've seen, Potter. And what I know of what went on. Nothing in this world justifies what your parents did to Harry. Nothing. In court yesterday that was made quite clear. I was sitting right there when the whole panel let your parents, and Dumbledore, have it. No one on it bought anything they had to say for justification.” He was done, completely. This might result in detention, but he was not putting up with it.
“Now, look!” Jamie snapped, face flushed. “People need to quit having at my parents! They did what they felt was for the best! There was no chance they knew what might come of it with my brother! And he needs to understand that!”
And that's where Draco was done. Leveling his wand at the loud mouth twit, hexes were on the tip of his tongue. Despite his temper and how he wanted to alleviate some of what he was feeling, he didn't use those. Instead, he pinned the nasty little fool to the wall then Silencio'd him. Stepping closer, wand still raised, ignoring the Potter girl, he snarled, “I've had enough of you and how you spout all kinds of foolish notions that you know nothing about, Potter! Justified? Quit having at them? They deserve it and there is nothing that could have justified what they sentenced Harry to! Nothing!”
“Do you know why I didn't come back last night, Potter?” As the idiot couldn't say anything, Draco just pressed on, “I'll tell you why! Because I spent the majority of the afternoon sitting at St. Mungos waiting for Harry to come out of surgery! You know why he had to have surgery? The flashback that was brought on by seeing your sister's dog! I have no idea how bad that flashback was, as my mother made sure I wasn't there to watch it, but it was among the worst they had ever seen from him from what I was told by my parents, who witnessed the whole thing. Well, my mother didn't see it all because she couldn't stand to watch and turned her back so she didn't have to see it. And his flashbacks recreate the injuries done during the memory he has to completely relive. As he required surgery and plenty of blood replenishers, we can all take a good guess how horrific it was. So, your parents doing what they did justifies him suffering that way? Justifies him having to relive the torture he went through? I don't think so!” At the end of that, he was as close to shouting as he ever got.
Wand hand trembling from anger, he hissed, “Maybe they'll find more justification and abandon all of you, too. What do you think? I mean, they did it to Harry, so it's quite easy to do it again, isn't it?”
Stepping closer, chest heaving from anger, he snarled, “You need to learn to shut your mouth about things you know nothing about! And stop spouting nonsense! Harry was dropped on a doorstep with no protections then taken because of a choice your parents made. A choice, Potter. That wasn't a mistake. What's going on is the consequences of that choice. And they get to pay. However, there is no price in the world that can give Harry back all that was taken from him, fix what was done, undo the damage or make him better. Nothing. Apologizes for whatever will never, ever be enough. Ever. He was tortured, humiliated and degraded for years because of their choice. There is no fixing or undoing what he went through and still is. And he isn't required to forgive, see or whatever them.”
Inching even closer, he hissed, “You need to learn that and get over it. Your parents and Dumbledore aren't saints. Their actions caused Harry more suffering than you can ever imagine.”
Straightening up, hearing people moving quickly in their direction, he decided to finish this. Oh, it wasn't completely over, as he doubted Potter would leave it alone, but it would be for now. “And if you think I'm lying, ask your parents. They stood there and watched everything that went on with the flashback.”
Taking a step back, he lowered his wand and waited. A glance down the corridor showed McGonagall and Slughorn headed their way. Raising his wand once more, he lifted the spells and waited to see what Potter would do.
Dropping to the floor on his feet, the first thing Jamie did was raise his wand, planning to get even. He was stopped from fulfilling that by McGonagall's voice.
“What's going on here?” Minerva asked, glancing around, making sure her tone had the required authority to it. While she could take a good guess, she wanted facts before issuing detentions.
“Draco, rightfully so, took exception to the misinformation Potter was spouting,” Pansy huffed, putting a hand on Draco's still trembling arm.
Glancing around, having seen wands raised, Minerva asked, “What happened?”
“Draco just pinned him to the wall and Silencio'd Potter to make him listen for once,” Blaise told her, also putting a hand on the right furious Draco's arm to keep him from doing any worse. While Draco kept his head, he wasn't sure that one more poke from Potter wouldn't send him over the edge, even with teachers present.
Before McGonagall could ask, Hermione piped in, softly, “That's all that happened, Professor. Nothing violent.”
Knowing the situation with Draco and what Jamie was like, Minerva was sure what set off the whole mess, so she was going to deal accordingly. “Mr. Potter, if you would come with me. I think you need to have a talk with your Head of House. Horace? If you would do the same with Mr. Malfoy?”
“Of course,” Horace said. Shooing the rest of the students along, he beckoned Draco to follow him. When everyone moved on their way, he motioned Draco to walk along side him. “Let's adjourn to my office. I think a cup of honey mead would do you good. Then we'll talk a little when you calm down.” Softly, he added, making sure that he wouldn't be overheard, “I do commend you for your restraint, Mr. Malfoy.”
Nodding at that, glancing over his shoulder to see Potter, who was following McGonagall do the same thing, his eyes narrowed. Oh, this wasn't over, not by a long shot. Potter was going to learn either the whole truth or at least to shut his big mouth before he was done with him.

“What happened with Slughorn? Did you get detention, Draco?” Pansy asked. He had just come back from seeing their Head of House and didn't seem overly stressed, so she was curious.
Settling in his normal comfortable seat by the common room fire, Draco smirked then told her, sounding plenty smug, “No. I got a few cups of honey mead, though. And a compliment for being restrained in what I did.”
Shoulders shaking as he grinned, Blaise shook his head. “That's good, then! I'm pretty sure when Sinistra gets done with Potter, he won't have gotten off that easily. The whole castle knows what he's like. I'm seeing detention with Filch or in the infirmary for him.”
“Would serve him right,” Draco said, still sounding smug. “I doubt it'll shut his mouth, though.”
Sobering up, Blaise asked, gently, “How is Harry? Do you know? I mean, you said he had surgery.” That alone told him this was plenty serious and what else was said would have been more than enough to cause Draco's mood.
“He's fine, just not himself,” Draco told him softly, shaking his head. “Father said give him a couple of weeks and he'll be pretty much back to normal. The surgery went well and he went home last night from it. I even saw him afterwards, once he was awake.”
“When you write to him next, tell him we said hi and send get well wishes, please,” Pansy said. While none of them knew Harry personally, her thought was that if he was good by Draco, he was good with the rest of them.
“I'll do that,” Draco assured her. Leaning his head back, he sighed softly. He was so tired after the stresses of the last twenty-four hours that he could easily just crawl in bed and go to sleep. That he might do after dinner, actually. He would see.

Waiting until the dozing Harry shifted around, Sirius watched to see if he was waking. When it became apparent he wasn't and was actually probably falling deeper asleep, he looked up at those that remained in the kitchen after the meeting. There was just those that lived in the house, Lucius, Cissy, Rufus, Kingsley and Tonks. “Let me ask this; what is the official Ministry stance on the breakout?” That would probably be in the paper the following day and hadn't been brought up at the meeting, so he was curious.
“The official statement is going to be that they think it's related to former Death Eaters because that's who was broken out and the targets from what we learned,” Rufus explained. “Unofficially, Madam Bones and I are leaning towards the stance of you lot. Between this and Albus returning, we're not seeing it as a coincidence. That's not for the public, though, as we do not want a mass panic until He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named makes it clear he's back.”
“At least there's no overt denial in house, despite the official stance of saying nothing,” Lucius told him with a nod. That was good for them. The meeting hadn't been much, obviously, more like the first steps in organizing and seeing what information they could gather. It was also made clear that Rufus was one they could get in touch with to pass anything and their names would be kept out of it, which was good. And Rufus was more than willing to listen.
Glancing around, Tonks asked, after a look at the sleeping Harry, “Does anyone have any idea where to get information or are we all just waiting for it to drop in our laps? We don't have much, honestly. I'm not telling tales out of school when we say those we talked to that were in Azkaban didn't see him.”
“I'm going to get in touch with a few that might be able to find out,” Sirius told her. “More the criminal types that might have heard bits and bobs. Not counting on much, but every little bit helps. Everyone else is going to see who they can get in contact with.”
“Unless we can get someone close to Albus and prod him into giving up some of what he knows, we're just going to have to wait and see what we can find,” Severus admitted with a shake of his head as he folded his hands on the table.
“It's our thought that Albus knows plenty. He didn't concoct and pull off this scheme without having some knowledge,” Remus added. “James even danced around that topic a couple of times in that one session we had with him and Lily.”
“And getting anything out of that old man he doesn't want to give up won't work,” Rufus snorted, looking sour. Thinking it over, he asked, “Any shot at getting anything out of James during your next one? I doubt it’ll be everything, as Albus never gives up all his secrets, but it might give us hints at what he knows.”
“We can try, but I don't know what we'll manage,” Severus told him. “I'll let Remus take that on as me trying anything with him will just end up in an all out verbal battle that won't get us anywhere.”
“Look, let's get Alastor involved. We know he wants nothing to do with the old goat after some of what he's heard. Privately, he told me that Albus is trying to get some of the old Order back together and put out feelers to him.” Before anyone could say anything about that, as Alastor's reputation was one that many didn't like, Sirius added, “I get what he's like. We all know he's paranoid, but he knows plenty. Let Remus put out some feelers. If nothing else, he can give us some clues where the hell to start looking.”
“I don't see that as a bad option,” Kingsley shrugged. “The more help we can get, the better. Alastor is plenty paranoid, but he's damned good. In this situation, his paranoia can only help with measures to keep people safe, especially you lot. Severus and Lucius alone are in real danger if this really is You-Know-Who. I get they are protected at home, but they do have to leave for various reasons. Having Alastor helping can give all of you a hand you're going to need.”
Thinking that over, Rufus nodded, “Point taken. I say that Remus sees what he can manage with him and we'll go from there. He might calm if he knows I'm helping all I can.” Eyes flitting to the sleeping Harry, he added with a sigh, “Harry's going to need more protection as well. You lot are good, but anything else can just aid in keeping him safe. Alastor can manage to set up plenty.”
Though Lucius sure as hell didn't want that crazy retired Auror anywhere around him, he understood why and would deal accordingly. As that was discussed, he thought over what Draco had told him in letters. During a lull, he said, “There might be another way. It's slightly distasteful, but it might get us some.”
“What do you have in mind?” Severus asked, looking at his old friend. Short of something being illegal, he was willing to consider almost all suggestions.
“From what Draco said, the Potter boy has the biggest mouth in the world. He's told us in letters he spouts all kinds of bits about why this and that was done. And he added that the more you poke him, the more he's likely to come across with as a way to defend his parents. Other sources have told us that it doesn't take much of anything in the way of prodding to set him off this way and have his mouth run. Maybe Draco can do a bit and see what flows forth.” Smirking, he added, “And I don't think that would be any hardship at all on Draco's end, honestly. He can't stand the boy and they've had a couple verbal tussles since the Potters have been in school.” Looking around, he sighed, then added, “I don't like going about it this way, but it may be the only thing we have to get anything in the way of information that Albus has. The way I see it is that the boy blathers anyway, so it would probably come, especially with how the adults are getting a sound thrashing in the papers.”
Thinking that over, looking at Lucius, Sirius said, “I say that we do that. If the kid can't keep his trap shut and has come out with it, let Draco see what he can get. First we get with Molly and Arthur, though. Ron is in the same house. He might have heard plenty if the kid likes to brag.”
“From what Draco said, he brags about everything, it doesn't matter what it is,” Lucius confirmed.
“We'll do this,” Rufus told them, looking around. “I'll go talk to Molly and Arthur myself and explain it. While I work on them, get with Draco, well the best you can manage, to see what he says. The kid might have already come across with something we can use.”
“I'm sure that Draco can enlist a couple others to help as well.” Severus added, glancing around. Though it curdled slightly to use a child like this, the situation was that they needed anything they could get their hands on to have even the slightest clues about where to look for information. If the boy was anything like his father when it came to bragging, he was sure he had already come across with plenty they needed. It could only help.
Happy to have even just the barest bones of something to work with, Rufus said, “You hear anything at all, you get in touch with me, personally, Tonks or Kingsley to pass it along. We'll take it seriously and look into it. Hearing the confirmation of that, he switched to another topic that was brought up so they could get it all out of the way and be on the same page. After all, the more he had, the better he could do his job.
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Lucky Strike