Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

A Different Kind of Hero	By : JunjouSlashGirl Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 53263 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 10
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters. All rights belong to J. K. Rowling. I do not earn any money with this story.

Chapter List
- 26
- 27
- 28
Chapter 27: The Price Of Secrets
HP
By the time he had reached the DADA classroom with Ron and Hermione, Harry had heard more speculations about Trelawney's prophecy than about any other topic previously discussed. Neither frightening, nor scandalous news, nor rumours had ever been this wildly discussed.
Some students were convinced that Trelawney had just told them that the Light Side would win the war. Others (mostly Slytherins) quoted the words in her second sentence, and pointed out and the fact that those words meant that there was a condition tied to the predicted outcome. The last group of students simply said, that her words had only been the Divinations Professor's usual babble because of the rubbish with the brotherly bonds that really didn't fit into the story of a young prodigy boy fighting an evil wizard.
In Harry's opinion, the prophecy didn't necessary sound, as if he would vanquish anybody, which fit into his personal plan for the war, but the Slytherins point was more valid; it really seemed, as if a condition would be tied to his success, but the thing with the brotherly bonds really sounded like utter nonsense.
Despite this logical explanation, he was still very cautious. Like Albus had said: Prophecies were treacherous and it would be unwise to give them more meaning than they deserved.
"So what will you do about it?" Ron asked suddenly, his voice nothing more than a whisper.
"About the new prophecy?" Harry asked, and when his friends nodded, he sighed and said: "I think I will just ignore it for now and when all is over, I will compare what was true in the end and what not. I will then probably realize that only one of her four lines came into effect and be glad that I didn't think about it too much."
Hermione nodded in agreement: "That is the best way to go about it. If things start to become true, you can then still try and decipher the prophecy."
"Yeah, the last one has already made your life complicated enough," Ron mused.
Harry only snorted: "Complicated?" He asked incredulously. "It had made my life a living hell. Without that stupid thing, my mom would still be alive and I would never have had to fight in a war."
"You're right," Ron said and his forehead wrinkled in a frown.
"Well, we cannot say that for sure," Hermione told them in a stern voice.
"No, but without it, everything would have probably been better for me, even if I would have ended up tangled in the war regardless. Maybe I would never have had to live with the Dursley’s," Harry replied.
"But if you hadn't lived with them, you would maybe never have gone to that muggle town and would have never met your mate," she argued.
Harry only smiled. She was right; at least his horrible childhood had brought him and his mates together, and in the end that was worth the years in the cupboard and the starvation, even though it had left him claustrophobic and too small for his age.
Glancing subtly over to Draco, he saw that the blonde was frowning even more than this morning. He had the suspicion that his mate might be worrying about being dragged into this whole mess of a war because of him, which was quite possible if he was being honest.
Draco had never been very courageous, so this prophecy, together with their current connection, was probably a nightmare for the blonde; after all, the boy was a typical Slytherin: Intelligent and cunning and the first one to be far away if troubled showed up on the horizon.
Harry snorted inwardly, Draco was as much a typical dominant as he was a typical submissive, at least as far as he could tell right now.
Glancing over again, he noticed that he still kept his distance from Pansy and Daphne, who by now looked more than unhappy. He could see that they were trying to get near Draco, but he had placed himself between his two bullies, providing himself with an effective shield against the girls.
His train of thoughts was cut off when the door to the classroom opened. He followed his friends to their seats and they, like everybody else by now, neither sat down nor pulled any books, quills or parchment out.
Lucius stood up from his chair behind his desk and gathered their homework with a flick of his wand, before moving their desks to the side again and conjuring the pillows, and then he said:
"Good morning. We will continue where we left off at the last lesson. I advise you to use today's class as much as possible because I will test your progress in our next lesson."
Harry watched his older mate, who seemed slightly tense, but he was sure that no one would notice it besides him and Draco. The only thing which gave Lucius away was a barely noticeable tension around his eyes, but he had expected that the man would not let anything show. Beside that, Lucius looked as gorgeous as always.
He really missed the man. His body yearned for the aristocrat's touch, his hot tongue on his skin and his strong arms wrapped protectively around his small frame at night. He was also starting to feel the strain of not being dominated as frequently since Draco's return, and his instincts were starting to fray due to nervousness. Until now, he not yet felt too overwhelmed with his life, but if things continued like they were, it was more a matter of days, than of weeks. That he had not yet broken down under the stress of his daily life was most likely due to the fact that they saw each other at least semi regularly.
Right now he could hex Draco for making him miss Lucius in the first place; if it weren't for the stubborn prat, they could already have been sharing a bed for weeks and waking up in each other's arms every morning.
"Draco," Lucius continued and fixed his son with a stern look. "You will help Mr. Potter with his multimagus training. You can go with him into my private study so that you will not disturb the other students."
"Yes father," Draco replied politely and Harry groaned inwardly. His friends threw him a pitiful look and pat him on the shoulder, before he picked up his school bag, resigning himself to spending two hours in close proximity with Draco. He really had hoped after his date yesterday that he would have some time before he had to face the blonde again.
They went up the stone staircase and Harry remembered the last time when he had used this entrance to the office, over two years ago. Back then Lockheart had used the rooms. A portrait of the man had waved from every wall and he had been forced to help him with his fan mail.
Lucius really had more style, he thought as he stepped into the room.
Draco went over to a lounge in one corner and flopped down into an armchair, looking at him expectantly. Sighing, he sat down across from him, placing his bag on the floor next to him.
His mate frowned at him, but then started in a lecturing voice surprisingly similar to Hermione's and without further preamble: "To find your core animal is similar to finding a normal animagus form. Have you read up on how to find your animagus form?"
Harry simply nodded, he had the feeling that Draco would not like being interrupted, same as Hermione did not, and his second mate continued:
"Then you know that a person has to concentrate on those character traits which are especially strong or unique in them. These traits are a part of the essence that defines us, the other part is the magical core and the soul, or the heart, depending on what term you would prefer using."
"Does that mean that I have to concentrate on my magical core to find my core animal?" Harry asked, remembering that the inner core animal of a multimagus was always a magical creature.
"Not exactly," Draco told him, his voice still very neutral and Harry could practically feel that his mate was as happy about their private session as he himself was.
"You have to concentrate on what is special about your magic. For example, a spell you are especially good at, or a magical ability. I would advise you to think about your parseltongue, even though it was not originally yours," Draco said, lifting an eyebrow, as if wanting to provoke him, but he only shrugged and said: "The ability is mine. My family does not only go back to Gryffindor."
"Really? You must show me the person who went to Slytherin on the Potter family tree," Draco sneered, but it was a weaker version than the sneer he had received the last four years.
Not taking the bait, he closed his eyes and replied: "Maybe one day, when I trust you enough," before starting to meditate.
He had much more trouble relaxing with Draco so near than with his friends to both side of him, and needed at least double the amount of time to calm himself down. Even though he had done nothing, his heart was racing, probably because it was always stressful to be near Draco these days. His still boiling anger, the hurt of being rejected and the feeling of wanting to be close to a person he still didn't even like, put a palpable strain on his body.
It took him long minutes, but when his heart rate had finally slowed down and the knowledge of his second mate only sitting a few inches away from him was not as present in his mind anymore, he turned to his magical core and thought about his parseltongue, like Draco had suggested.
It really was a special gift of his and it always had been important to him, even though it was considered a Dark Power. Since freeing the boa constrictor at the muggle zoo, he had talked with many snakes, mostly during the summer when he had been forced to do chores in the garden the Dursley’s the whole day. The snakes had kept him company and made the time pass faster. They had also distracted him when he had been hungry and thirsty and his relatives had denied him any food and water.
A green light started to pulse in his core and it really was amazing, how much space this ability had claimed, but he could clearly feel something else as well. In fact, there were a lot more different aspects of his magic, but one other thing stood out as well.
Harry decided to keep this other sensation in his mind but concentrated for now on his parseltongue. This ability felt like a snake, coiling and slithering and hissing in his mind, which wasn't really a surprise. Concentrating even more on his power, he could also feel that it felt very strong, almost deathly and immature at the same time.
Deathly and immature? How was that supposed to fit together? Examining the strength first, he pondered what kind of strong snakes he knew about, it also had to be a magical one.
He knew Nagini but didn't know what her species was actually called and his core animal felt different from her, more ancient.
Then there was of course the Basilisk, the king of all serpents, but surely such a snake would not feel immature? Or was he missing something?
Turning to the other feeling, he could sense that it had the same immatureness to it. Frowning, he opened his eyes and looked at Draco again.
"Do you have a question, or did you already figure out your core animal?" His mate asked with a raised eyebrow, making him look like a younger version of his father, only with short hair.
"I have a question," Harry said.
"Well?" Draco enquired and he asked:
"Is it normal that all my magical abilities have the same feeling to it?"
His mate frowned, clearly confused. Sighing, Harry wished that at least one thing about him could be normal for once.
"What kind of feeling?" Draco asked, still sounding neutral.
Chewing his bottom lip, Harry told him: "It feels all kind of immature." He really hated having to give even that much away about himself with the way Draco currently was, but it couldn't be helped.
His mate smirked: "Well, you are a midget, Potter."
Harry's eyes widened in realization. Of course, why had he not thought about it as soon as he had encountered the feeling? There was a third aspect that defined him and which would continue to define him. It was not a magical aspect in itself, but his transformation must have given it some magical properties: His youth, or childishness; he was an eternal kid!
"Thanks!" He quickly exclaimed with a grin, missing the widening of Draco's blue eyes, before closing his eyes again and going quickly back to his magical core.
This time, he didn't concentrate on his magical character traits but tried to summon the other creatures again. It only took him a few seconds and all the cats, birds, dogs and other animals appeared in front of his eyes again, only now he noticed that it wasn't just cats and birds. Instead, it was kittens and chicks and puppies; all his animals were still children, like he himself was, so his magical creature would probably still be very young as well, which meant that his snake would be a hatchling and that explained how a strong creature could feel so immature.
Turning to his magical core again, his other forms vanished and he let himself fall into the feeling of the snake.
Yes, it really was strong, very strong and ancient. Somehow his mind felt as if it was connecting to the snake and suddenly he could taste all kinds of scents on his tongue, could feel his magical and physical strength coursing through his body and the knowledge that every living being would tremble in his presence. A hiss escaped him and then there was a loud, high pitched scream.
Opening his eyes, he looked down at Draco, who had fallen out of his seat and was cowering and trembling on the floor, his eyes closed and his head determinedly turned to the side.
Blinking a few times, he wondered what was wrong with his mate and tried to soothe him, not noticing that he was still hissing. Draco trembled even more and then stammered: "Potter, don't you dare forget that I am your mate! You will die yourself if you kill me!"
Harry was getting even more confused, why should Draco think that he would kill him? And why were his eyes still closed? The blonde couldn't really think that he would ever kill him, he would never do that, not even after Draco's punch; they were bloodmates after all and that at least meant something.
He wanted to place a hand on Draco's shoulder and calm him down, but what actually landed on his mate's shoulder was not a hand, but the tip of a giant snake’s tail and as soon as it touched the blonde, he scrambled to his feet and bolted.
Confused, but wanting to tell his dominant that he would never harm him and not really realizing that he had indeed turned into a giant snake, Harry followed him.
All eyes were fixed on the staircase, where Draco had come running from, but as soon as he slithered down the steps, all his friends and fellow students started screaming.
Harry's eyes wandered over to Lucius, who had sprung up from his seat. Draco stood next to him and Harry heard the older aristocrat shout: "Everybody lie down on the floor and close your eyes!" Then he grabbed Draco by the arm and ordered: "Quick, change into your creature! He is harmless to us then and with a bit of luck we will be able to communicate with him!"
In the next moment, silver-white scales spread all over their bodies and they transformed into two, very similar Chinese Dragons, only without the legs those creatures normally possessed. They almost looked snake-like as well, but each of them had a mane down their spines in the colour of their eyes and on the tip of their tails, and their whiskers were equally coloured feathery tufts. They were even bigger than he himself and the students were quickly running out of their classroom, which was too small to house a giant snake and two dragons. Lucius and Draco's bodies were partially laying on top each other to fit them into the room, but even then their long forms pushed up against the walls.
"Harry, can you understand us?" Lucius asked carefully and with a heavy accent, finally looking directly at him.
His concentration was by now centred on his running classmates; even Ron and Hermione were amongst them and the strange accent which made his mate nearly incomprehensible didn't help his irritation either, so he only frowned and answered very irritated: "Of course I can."
He tried to get closer to his friends, but his mates blocked his way with a shift of their long bodies.
He growled in annoyance, he wanted to follow his friends. Why were they running from him? Had something happened during their practice? Draco had also reacted so strangely... he hadn't turned into a Dark Lord all of the sudden, had he? No, he certainly would have noticed if he had transformed at all.
Coming to a decision, he didn't listen to what Lucius was saying next but quickly slithered beneath a free space between his mates intertwined bodies and floor, his mind set on following his friends and asking them why they were so afraid of him.
He spotted Ron and Hermione, along with all the other students already on the bottom of the staircase and quickly followed them. When he arrived in the Entrance Hall, his friends ran to the huge double doors, which lead outside. A gasp alerted him to some newcomers, and when he turned his head to his right he saw Albus, McGonagall and even his father standing there, all looking at the ground, but with their wands drawn.
"A Basilisk!" his Head of House exclaimed and he froze. A Basilisk? Where was the Basilisk? Looking around, he finally noticed how much higher he seemed to float above them, and then it suddenly struck him: He was the basilisk! No wonder everybody was so afraid of him!
"Albus, we have to kill it!" McGonagall shouted and fear rose in his chest. Killing him? Didn't they recognize him? But then again, how would they?
In the moment his two dominants appeared in front of him, having caught up with him. He instantly slithered over to them, burying his face into Lucius’ scaled skin.
"Wait!" His father suddenly shouted. "The two dragons; those are Draco and Lucius. Weren't they practicing the animagus transformation today?"
"Of course!" Albus exclaimed and then asked: "Harry, is it you?" Harry nodded, his head still buried in Lucius’ soft main. He barely heard Albus telling the other professors to keep all students from the Great Hall, as Lucius curled protectively around him and then a shock of pleasure coursed through his body, making his scaled skin tingle all over. A soft tuff had lain down over his deadly eyes, but the tuff didn't belong to Lucius, it smelled like Draco. The gesture was oddly comforting and he would have given a fortune to find out what had made his second mate touch him so tenderly. Was it really care? Or did the younger blonde just know that Lucius would expect this kind of behaviour from him? Whatever the reason was, he would not find an answer to the question right now, because the sensation of both of his mates was nearly overwhelming him. Only the knowledge that he stood in the middle of the Great Hall, watched by many Professors and even more students prevented him from groaning in pleasure. Their warmth spread through his body, accompanied by little tingles, like a wonderful massage, and he relaxed in Lucius’ embrace.
"Harry, you need to turn back," Lucius said softly, pulling him from his blissful state. He had not even planned on transforming; normally he should only have been able to see his creature at first and that was why he hadn't realized until now. To actually transform was supposed to need more practice.
"Can you feel the difference between your human body and the body you are in right now?" his older mate asked softly and he hissed: "Yes."
"Good. Then concentrate on how your human body always feels. Imagine standing on the ground with two feet, instead of lying on it. Think about how it feels to clench and unclench your hands, or how it feels to pick something up. Try to concentrate on the things which separate your basilisk form from your human one."
Harry closed his eyes and tried to enter his meditative state again, but it wasn't easy right now. His heart was hammering with the shock of having scared his friends and classmates so much and the excitement of both of his mates touching him together for the first time. His skin prickled pleasantly wherever their bodies touched, which was a lot right now, and the sensation was stronger than any touch he had felt before. This magical spark on his skin had never been there when he had been alone with Lucius and he silently wondered how it would feel when they were all finally mated.
But maybe this new sensation could help him with his current problem and not only distract him? Calming himself down further, he started imagining Draco stroking his cheek, whilst a single claw of Lucius traced down his sensitive neck. His skin opened under the loving touch, a warm drop of blood ran down his flesh and a shudder went through his body.
He could almost feel it: The soft touches and caresses of his two mates, the pleasurable pain when one of them sliced or pierced his skin, reminding him that he was their submissive, and their property. Draco ran his hands down his sides and hips, before kneeling down in front of him and softly stroking his tights.
His magic started to pulse and he could actually feel his legs again, but he was not standing. Opening his eyes again, he saw only the ice blue feathers of Draco's tuff in front of him, but they lifted and opened to the view of Lucius’ silver-white scaled body still wrapped around him.
Silently, so that only Lucius and Draco could hear him, he whispered: "Thank you, Lucius and Draco."
The two big dragons nodded and his first mate released him before both turned back to their human forms simultaneously.
"Thank, Merlin!" McGonagall exclaimed and he looked sheepishly at his feet, he hadn't wanted to cause so much chaos. He felt so ashamed.
When he looked back up, Draco wore a disgusted expression for good measure, probably because some students came back from outside, but in his blue eyes, he could still see the shock of suddenly facing a basilisk. Turning around, he hung his head again, not able to look into Dumbledore or the other teacher's eyes. His father had just come back up from the dungeons, having guarded the entrance to the Great Hall there and a slight frown creased his forehead.
"I am sorry," he mumbled. His throat felt as if something was chocking it up and his heart clenched guiltily at the frightened looks of the students around them.
"Ah, no problem, my boy," Dumbledore smiled and waved him off. "Nothing happened and to discover your multimagus form can sometimes be a surprise. I remember quite well when I transformed the first time; I instantly burst into flames. It was an unusual sensation."
Harry blinked in confusion at the Headmaster, wondering if the man had eaten too many Lemon Drops just before transforming the first time and it had clouded his sense of reality. As if sensing his thoughts, Dumbledore chuckled and said: "You see, I am a phoenix and transformed on my burning day."
Harry blushed and cleared his throat in embarrassment, but his mentor only winked at him with mirth twinkling in his blue eyes, before saying to the assembled crowd: "But I do believe that you all have Care of Magical Creatures soon."
The gathered students started to return to their classroom, whilst he stood in the middle of the Great Hall for a moment, unsure, if he should follow the others or not. They still seemed frightened of him, but Lucius' eyes flickered pointedly to the stairs and he gave a curt nod, before falling into step with his two mates. No student wondered in that moment, why he Harry Potter , was still walking next to the two Malfoy’s, their thoughts were still on other things and slowly wild chatter erupted around him for the second time that morning.
As they passed Dumbledore, the old wizard grabbed Lucius’ arm with a quick motion and he stopped automatically, as did Draco to his right. Dumbledore didn't say a word, but only looked Lucius deep into his silver eyes and his dominant returned the gaze without breaking the eye contact even once. At his confused expression, Draco whispered: “You can communicate with the use of Occlumency if you are skilled enough and Dumbledore surely is one of those people."
"Oh," he said, not knowing what else to say. It was the first time that had Draco freely explained something to him without an order from his father, another teacher or being asked.
Finally, Lucius gave a single nod and they continued their walk. When they arrived at the classroom, students came towards them, but Lucius only declared: "The lesson is not over yet and I have not dismissed you," making them turn back around with a loud groan.
"Ten points from Gryffindor Mr. Thomas. I am your teacher and you do not complain about my orders unless they are unreasonable," his first mate drawled. Harry saw Draco smirk and rolled his eyes, but said nothing; they were in public after all.
The classroom was utterly destroyed: Desks and chairs had simply been crushed under the power of the two dragons’ bodies trying to fit into a single classroom; school bags were flattened and even one of the windows had somehow shattered.
He went over to Ron and Hermione, worried that they would not talk to him anymore now after they had seen what monster he could become, but as soon as he was near enough Hermione threw herself around his neck, even going so far as to lift his small frame up to give him an even stronger hug, and Ron pat his back reassuringly.
"Oh, you must have been so surprised!" Hermione exclaimed, her voice sounding worried. Harry pat her back a bit awkwardly.
"I am fine, Mione," he told her, feeling uncomfortable at being comforted like this after destroying an entire classroom. He should at least offer to pay for everything.
"Let the poor kid down," Ron chuckled and Hermione let him down, but asked: "Are you sure that everything is fine?"
Lucius cleared his throat, giving him no chance of answering.
"To close this lesson, I would like to tell everybody that I will of course be helping Mr. Potter control his powers. A basilisk is a dangerous creature, but despite common belief, they can control their eyes, they only do not see the need to do so. But Mr. Potter is not a real basilisk, even though he can take on its form," his mate told everybody.
Parvati Patil lifted her hand and Lucius nodded in her direction to allow her to speak up.
"Does that mean that you will allow Harry to transform again, Professor?" She asked, her voice shaking.
"Yes, indeed. He will train in my office again and I will lock him and my son in there and ward the room. It would be much more dangerous to not let him train. Mr. Potter needs to control his powers, or he will be a threat to everyone as soon as he transforms into his magical creature and we are lucky that my son can help him without being in danger himself."
"Why is he no danger to you and your son?" Dean asked, without raising his hand. Lucius glared at him but did not dock any points. "Snakes are the descendants of dragons. They are practically dragons without many magical abilities, or any if at all; that was why my son and I could communicate with him. The dragon language is similar to parseltongue. The more magic a snake possesses, the closer it is to a dragon and the basilisks still possess about half the amount of dragon blood, and that is why we cannot be harmed by him," Lucius explained as Harry listened attentively.
He had never known that Snakes and Dragons were related, even though it somehow made sense; they could look very similar after all.
"There is no homework besides practicing every evening," His older mate dismissed them then, and he noticed that his bag was still upstairs. He quickly summoned it to follow his friends, but Lucius stopped him: "Mr. Potter, I would like to speak to you and my son for a minute.
"Should we wait for you?" Ron asked.
Knowing how much Hermione hated to be late for class and not wanting to take the chance, that his friends might listen in on his mates and him, he shook his head and asked: "Would you just tell Hagrid that Malfoy and I will be late?"
Ron made a face.
Mirroring his expression, even though he didn't feel like it after the blonde had helped him earlier, he said: "He will be late because of me, so please?"
"We will tell Hagrid, Hermione said with a small smile and pulled at Ron's arm. They left the classroom and Harry waited until Lucius had locked and warded the room before he turned to his mates and asked: "What happened?"
His two mates lifted their left eyebrows at the same time and he couldn't suppress a grin at the identical gesture, it was almost as if he had two twins as mates, but not quite.
"I think we should ask you that, Potter," Draco huffed, before adding: One minute you were all relaxed and the next..." he broke off and glared at the floor.
"Can you try to describe what you felt?" Lucius asked and motioned to him to come closer.
Harry stepped closer and tried to remember what he had felt before he had opened his eyes as a giant snake. After a moment he said: "Um... Draco told me that I should concentrate on a special magical ability of mine, like parseltongue."
Looking up, he waited until Lucius had nodded, before he continued: "I went into my meditation and to my magical core and it was surprisingly easy to find the spot which symbolized my parseltongue. It felt like a snake, a very powerful one, but something was off."
Draco interrupted his revision: "So that was why you asked if it is normal that your magical abilities all have the same feeling to it?"
Harry nodded: "Yes, they all somehow felt very immature. Your comment gave me the idea that it could have something to do with my age, I am after all not an adult yet."
Lucius chuckled, whilst Draco frowned at his words, but he did not explain more about it and instead went on: "It confused me, why such a powerful creature could feel like that, but as I realized that it was probably not fully mature yet, I suddenly could taste all kinds of scents on my tongue and when I opened my eyes, Draco was panicking."
"I was not panicking!" Draco snapped indignantly and Harry saw Lucius' lips twitch a bit, as he said: "Of course not, Draco."
Remembering Lucius’ shocked look as he came down the stairs, he asked nervously: "Lucius, are you afraid of my form?"
Lucius chuckled and pulled him closer. Draco scowled at them, but he didn't draw back and let himself be enclosed by his first dominant's strong arms. He missed the feeling so much.
"I am not afraid; I was merely shocked that my sweet, innocent and very Gryffindorish submissive is a deadly snake," Lucius chuckled. "I think Severus is very happy right now."
Grinning up at Lucius, he ignoring Draco's irritated frown and asked: "Are you sure? It would mean a lot to me."
"I am, he is a Slytherin after all," Lucius replied smoothly and let him go again. He instantly missed the warmth of his mate’s body, but said nothing and only hoped that Draco would come around soon and that he would be able to forget his second mate's cruel behaviour from two days ago, by then. Maybe that Draco had helped him earlier and had even answered a question for him, was a sign that they were slowly going in the right direction?
Lucius’ expression grew sterner again and he told them: "You should go to Care of Magical Creatures now. I doubt that the oaf will cause any problems, but neither my son nor my submissive will make a bad impression on a teacher, regardless of how unqualified he is."
Harry glared at Lucius: "Hagrid is not an oaf and he knows a lot about creatures." Sighing he relented: "But I guess his teaching methods are not always the safest."
"Not always the safest?" Draco asked incredulously. "They are downright dangerous, Potter!"
"I know," he admitted, only to grin a second later: "At least now your arm would heal within seconds if you were ever stupid enough to not bow in front of a hippogriff again."
"Harry," Lucius growled warningly and he knew that he had just gone too far, so he apologized:
"Sorry Draco, I guess that doesn't help our relationship."
"No, it doesn't," Draco hissed. "And be glad we are not in public right now or you would have just disgraced both our families, but I guess it doesn't matter to you with both of your parents dead!"
A pang went through his heart at the harsh words and the little hope he had only a minute ago, shattered. Tears pricked at the back of his eyes and he heard Lucius hiss: "Draco that was no better!"
Trying to swallow the lump in his throat, but not quite succeeding, Harry mumbled: "its okay, we should just go to Care of Magical Creatures." He wanted to go back to his friends before he really could burst into tears. He really had started to hope that they could fix their mating bond, but apparently his second mate hated him even more than expected. He turned on the spot and left the classroom without another glance at his dominants and hurried down to Hagrid's hut.
He let his tears fall freely as he rushed past students, not caring that even more rumours would fly around by the time lunch came by.
Why was his second mate so cruel to him? He had apologized for his stupid comment. Did Draco really hate him that much? Was he such a bad submissive? His heart clenched in agony and a sob tore from his throat. He wanted his mates, both of them; he needed them. Why was he forced to be alone, when he had two bloodmates?
He wanted to just hide somewhere and cry until he fell asleep because of exhaustion, then at least he would not have to feel the consuming pain anymore.
Hagrid's hut came closer and he forced the tears back down, before wiping his face with his sleeve. Lucius would surely have scolded him if he stained his expensive robes like that, but he didn't want everybody to see his distress.
Hagrid smiled at him as he arrived and he quickly hurried over to his friends, forcing his face into a small smile, which probably looked very pathetic.
"You really gave us a scare there," Ron whispered. "For a moment we all thought that Slytherin’s monster was back."
Harry shuddered at the redhead’s words, but before he could answer anything, Hermione scowled at them and made a hushing sound.
Ron rolled his eyes but concentrated back on the lecture and he tried the same, thankful to not have to talk at the moment, but he just couldn't concentrate. His mind kept reeling and his injured heart just wouldn't stop hurting. His right hand fisted into the fabric of his waistcoat in a desperate hope that it would ease the pain, but it was of no use.
Hermione threw him a worried look and he mouthed: "Just a bit much, that's all," to reassure her, but it seemed to have the opposite effect: Her frown deepened and she chewed worriedly on her bottom lip.
"Do you want to go and lay down for a bit?" she whispered.
He shook his head fiercely; the last thing he wanted was to draw even more attention to him right now, so he forced his face into a more relaxed expression and pushed his pain to the back of his mind with all his willpower. Unfortunately, they were only replaced by worries about the new prophecy and his creature form: He couldn't say which of those topics worried him the most.
But he should probably think about the prophecy if he couldn't stop to worry about something right now, and it was more important than his multimagi form anyway. Sure, he agreed with Dumbledore that they should not pay it too much intention, but he still wondered what it could mean.
The first and last line was clear to him: He had made his decision to not kill Voldemort, so that had to be the reason for the other things which might occur or not. The second part of the second line worried him much more. Brotherly bonds, what could that mean? Did he have a brother? But no, that could not be. His father had told him that he had never slept with any woman other than his mother and he had not been a twin.
Or maybe the prophecy didn't mean a real brother? Could someone become a brother through a bond, and if so, who could it be?
His face paled at the thought of the other person who always seemed to pop up in his life and who was part of the first and the second prophecy about him: Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort.
Sure, they shared some things, like the ability to talk with snakes and their connection to Salazar Slytherin, but he surely could not be the bastard’s brother, that was impossible wasn't it?
And he also would never perform a bonding, which would create such a relationship between him and his enemy! He might not want to kill him, but that was only because he didn't like the idea of becoming a murderer, even though the man certainly deserved death and even worse.
But what if he were to have no chance to agree or disagree on a bond? He hadn't had the chance with the blood bond either. What if, it just happened? If that really was a possibility, then he should go and talk with Dumbledore.
His heart suddenly started to hammer wildly in fear. His chest tightened and panic clutched him. No, it could not be that cruel! Even the thing with him and Draco seemed like a joke in comparison.
Not thinking about the fact that he was in the middle of class, he scrambled to his feet and grabbed his bag.
"Harry? Where are ya going?" Hagrid’s voice barely registered in his mind, but he succeeded in replying: "I have to go to the Headmaster," before dashing off. In his haste he ran into his second mate, who had just arrived, but he only mumbled a quick apology, not noticing that Draco was following him.
He only stopped when he had reached the gargoyle and only then did he notice the blonde. "Why are you following me?" He asked with a scowl. Did the prat really think that he would take him to a personal meeting with Dumbledore after what he had said? That he would trust him enough?
Draco lowered his voice to a low hiss, before saying: "I am your fiancé now and father still thinks you are his soulmate, he will have my head if I let you run off like crazy!"
Scowling, he replied: "I am only going to see Albus, you can leave me alone."
"No," Draco simply said and crossed his arms.
Sighing, Harry tried to calm himself down before he could actually shout at his mate. "You are not interested in me and what I want to talk about is private. I also don't trust you, so leave," he said as calm as possible, but Draco only said "No," again.
Growling Harry hissed: “I said that I don't trust you and that you should leave."
"There is no need to not trust me; I would never betray my fiancé, regardless of what I think about you."
"Don't start with that Family Law crap again," Harry said in annoyance.
"It seems it is too much to ask that a Halfblood understands Pureblood ways. We have something like honour, Potter," Draco drawled.
Harry clenched his fists, desperately trying to not return the favour of a broken nose and a cracked skull.
"I don't want you here, so piss off," he growled, without feeling bad about the insult; Draco had hurt him twice now, so why should he stay polite?
"And I said that I do not care if you want my company or not," Draco hissed back.
Annoyed, Harry huffed: "Then I will come back later," and turned to go again, but his second mate grabbed his cloak and held him back.
"Oh no, you will not. I will not take the risk of you running off on some stupid hero mission later."
Harry tried to wrench his cloak from Draco's grasp, but the dominant was much stronger than him. He glared at his mate, who only smirked back.
"You know Potter, I still do not believe that you really are a vampire, but I can see why you would be a submissive."
Harry growled again, anger rising in his chest and tried to free himself again, but with not more success than the last time.
"Just give it up," Draco sneered. "You are more than three heads shorter; you cannot be stronger than me."
Unfortunately, Draco was right, but he would not go with him to Dumbledore alone. If he had to take the prat with him, he wanted someone there who could control him. So he said: "Fine, you can come with me, but then we will call for Lucius as well."
Draco shrugged. "If you really trust him that much," the blonde smirked.
"I do," Harry said and gave the gargoyle the password. It jumped to the side and he stepped onto the spiral staircase.
As they reached the door to the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore told them to enter before Harry could even knock.
He simply entered and sat down on the chair in front of his mentor's desk, which stood there as if Dumbledore had known that he would come. As the old wizard saw his mate, he quickly conjured the second one and then said:
"I thought you might come by my boy. Do you want to talk about the incident in DADA or about the new prophecy?"
"I... I have a question about the prophecy," Harry answered with an uneasy look.
"Very well, shall we call your other mate first?" Dumbledore asked with a knowing smile.
Harry nodded and his mentor stood up to go over to his floo, before making a firecall. He had the feeling that the old wizard did not only know who was approaching his office, but also what was spoken in front of it, he would not put it past the meddling man.
Only a few seconds later the old wizard straightened again and the flames in the hearth flared green, before his first dominant stepped out gracefully, hair perfect as ever and with his snake cane in hand.
"What is it Headmaster, I was just preparing for my next lesson?" Lucius asked, but then saw him and son and lifted a questioning eyebrow.
"Harry has some questions concerning his prophecy and seeing that one of his mates was already here, I thought it unfair to leave you out my dear boy," Dumbledore said and conjured another chair, before sitting down again and focusing his twinkling eyes expectantly. Lucius did the same, only with a more curious look in his silver eyes. That the older blonde was comfortable enough around him to show him so much expression really made Harry happy and for a moment, his heart started racing again, until he quickly looked away with a flush. Unfortunately, his eyes fell on his other mate, who looked very disgusted next to his father,
Feeling suddenly very uncomfortable, Harry cleared his throat and wondered how he should phrase his words without making them sound totally crazy or himself paranoid. Sadly he didn't know any elegant ways, he was not Lucius after all and simply started: "Um... The prophecy speaks of me and Tom again and I know it is unwise to pay it too much attention, but I just wondered whether there are bonds, which can make someone your brother even though he technically isn't?"
Both his mates' heads snapped towards him and they stared at him with huge eyes, but Dumbledore’s only continued to twinkle for a moment, before answering: "Indeed, there are some ways. For example blood adoptions, but those things would be in your and Tom's power."
Harry had the uncomfortable feeling that the Headmaster was leaving something important out and the old man's words just hinted too much to his earlier worries, so he asked: "And are there things which would not be in my power?"
To his horror, Dumbledore nodded: "Yes. Normally blood is the most powerful substance in our bodies, but in rare cases, the magic can overpower the blood and force the body to recognize magically- familiar relationship."
Not even his mates looked as if they knew what the Headmaster was talking about.
"What is that?" He inquired, therefore.
"It occurs when the magical core of two people are identical. It is different from a soul bond, where the souls recognize that they will complement each other perfectly. In those cases, the two people are considered magical siblings which are equal to blood-related siblings, but as I said, it is a rare phenomenon because the magical core is influenced not only by the genes of the parents but also by experiences in the early childhood."
Harry blinked and relief washed through him, he was not at all comparable with the Dark Wizard, besides their ability to speak parseltongue. "But he has done so much Dark Magic and Hermione even thinks that he might have used it to enhance his core, so that can't be it?"
"His mentor shook his head: "Dark Magic stains your soul and not your core and if you enhance your core with a ritual, it is more like putting a second core inside of you. It will not change the core with which you were born and that is the important one for those kinds of happenings."
Harry felt as if someone had poured ice water down his throat. Desperate to find a solid reason why he could not end up as the Dark Lord’s brother, he said: "But we can't possibly be similar in any other way? Our pasts have to be very different from each other."
Dumbledore smiled mysteriously and a sad expression entered his blue eyes. "I have almost gathered all the Memories. I think they will answer this question as well."
Harry's heart sunk even more. That sounded bad again, but he would refuse to believe that he could be so similar to that evil snake- bastard until fate proved him wrong.
"What would it mean if what you just told us is true, Dumbledore?" Lucius questioned.
"Normally, the two souls would start to recognize each other as magical siblings, but as wounded as Tom's soul is, it is very likely that it would need a further connection between Harry and Tom before it could happen. If the two souls should indeed recognize each other someday, they would be considered family by law, just like any other siblings and they should be able to feel it in the same way you can feel your connection to your mate's. But it would be a different kind of bond, of course. Magical siblings are not mates," Dumbledore explained. "Be assured Harry," the Headmaster continued "that I will help you, regardless of what you discover and decide in the end."
"I know," Harry nodded. His mind swirling with the new information and the horrible possibility they had shown him.
"Who do you mean by Tom?" Draco suddenly asked and Harry blinked at him owlishly, before answering: "Voldemort of course."
His second mate flinched at the Dark Lord's self-given name and then made an odd face: "Is that some kind of code name you use for him?"
Now Harry gave the blonde an odd look; did his mate read too many detective stories? "No, it is his birth name."
Draco snorted. "A Pureblood like the Dark Lord would never have a name like Tom. It is too common," he huffed.
"He isn't a Pureblood, his father was a muggle," Harry replied dryly.
"Where do you get that stupid notion from, Potter?" Draco sneered and his father threw him a warning look.
Shrugging, Harry told him: "He told me in the graveyard."
Both his dominant’s eyes widened in disbelief; they looked utterly gobsmacked.
"A Halfblood or a Mudblood?" Lucius asked in disbelief.
"Halfblood, but I don't know anything more," he told him.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and focused his twinkling eyes on him and Draco. "Well my boys, I think we have discussed everything we were able to discuss at this point. I think it is time for you to return to your classes. What do you have next?"
"Transfigurations, sir," Draco answered politely and rose. Harry followed his example and they said their goodbyes before leaving the office again.
Draco seemed rather deep in thought while they went down to their next classroom and Harry could not blame him; he had thought about Voldemort and his past a lot as well, but it had been rather quickly overshadowed by the events at Privet Drive. He watched his second dominant from the corner of his eyes and for once, Draco didn't seem to notice it. His posture was straight as ever, but his head faced the ground.
When they arrived at the Transfigurations classroom, it was still a bit early too for anybody else to be there, but it made no sense to go back to Hagrid, so they just stood there in silence.
"Do you really believe that the Dark Lord might be your brother?" Draco suddenly asked.
Harry had not thought that the dominant would actually want to start a conversation, so he had to blink for a few times before he could answer: "Well, he wouldn't be my real brother, only a magical one."
His mate shook his head: "Magical relations are equal to blood relations, with the only difference being that they do not follow a straight line, but appear randomly. I read about it once, but it was a long time ago and only a few short lines in a breaking of the law, so I did not remember it until the old fool explained it once more."
Harry gulped; he really didn't want to get Voldemort as a twisted version of a big brother, really, the thought alone sounded crazy.
"So, would he appear on my family tree?" he asked.
"Yes, it is really complicated. He would appear on your family tree and you on his, but if you had any living relatives anymore, they would not be considered his. The magical relationship only ties two people together, not entire family, even though it would give you the right to name each other the heir to your lines," Draco had wrinkled his forehead in concentration trying to remember everything that he had read in the law book.
"Do you want to become a lawyer like your father?" Harry asked curiously.
"No, but I do want to become a Professional Politician and therefore it is quite valuable to study law and eloquence. You still need to answer my question, Potter."
"Which one?" Harry asked, having forgotten Draco's first question over their conversation.
The blonde rolled his eyes exasperatedly and repeated: "If you really think the Dark Lord might be your brother."
Harry sighed and then said honestly: "I hope not, but it is me we are talking about."
Draco lifted an eyebrow in question and he elaborated:
"All crazy stuff happens to me. Who would have thought that I would turn out to be your and your father's mate?"
"Do you really still believe that?" His second mate asked, sounding as doubtful as always. Maybe Draco really would be happier with some Pureblood witch in a traditional marriage. The thought made him unbelievable sad and he quickly averted his eyes to the floor. But his head snapped back up when Draco suddenly snapped:
"Potter, whatever you are busy thinking about right now, stop it!"
Not willing to show weakness, he quickly snapped: "I was not thinking about anything." It sounded weak to his own ears, which was confirmed when Draco snorted.
"Of course, that is why you looked as if someone just stole your teddy bear," the blonde drawled in a sarcastic voice.
Harry only glared at him. "But it's nothing."
"Really?" Draco smirked and Harry got the feeling that the blonde was trying to find a way of bringing at least some of their past banter back to life, and he had to admit that he had missed it to a certain degree; at least with the bickering he got some real reactions from his mate and not only that cold aloofness.
"Yes, I didn't even have a teddy, so no one could steal it from me," he replied dryly.
"Well I think, if someone had gotten so many things as you most certainly had, it would lose its value," Draco sneered.
Harry didn't respond. Draco was so far from the truth, but his mate would not believe him and he didn't want to tell him anyway. The blonde glared at him when he didn't react, but he merely cast a tempus. Their classmates would arrive soon, so he went to stand at the opposite side of the corridor and said: "We better pretend that we were ignoring each other the whole time."
Draco gave a curt nod and crossed his arm in front of him; perfect Malfoy masks already back in place.
Ron and Hermione were the first two to arrive and they looked as if they had run up the whole way from Hagrid's hut to the classroom.
"Harry, why did you run off?" Hermione scolded as soon as they were near enough. He simply waved them closer and then whispered: "I had a question concerning the prophecy, or more like a bad, foreboding feeling."
"And that could not wait until classes were over?" Hermione asked with a disapproving look, but Ron only answered with another question: "Would you wait for a foreboding feeling about You-Know-Who?"
Their friend flushed a bright red and mumbled: "No."
"What was it?" Ron inquired, before glancing over at Draco, who still stood only a few steps away from them.
Knowing that he and his mate had to keep up appearances, Harry waved his wand and erected a privacy barrier, before asking: "Have you ever heard about magical brother bonds?"
Hermione gasped and her eyes widened in realization, but Ron still looked confused, so their female friend quickly explained in a hushed voice, even though no one could listen in on them:
"It is as if your magic had decided that you have a sibling. These bonds arise outside of someone's family when their magical core is practically identical and once this bond manifests, the two people are legally and magically related."
Ron looked slightly ill at her words and he asked: "But you don't actually think that you and You-Know-Who... I mean, you cannot have the same magical core as him, he is a Dark Wizard!"
Harry shrugged: "If it is true what he told me down in the Chamber at the end of our second year, then our family lines both go back to Slytherin and apparently the Dark Arts only stain your soul, not your magical core, but Albus said that this would not be enough, experiences in your early childhood also influence your magical core."
"Do you think he was abused as well?" Hermione asked.
Relieved that he had cast the privacy barrier and Draco could not have overheard Hermione's last words, he thought about his friend's question. He really could not say if he believed it or not, so he told her: "Albus said, that we can soon start with the memories and that it would possibly help me in finding out if we really could be siblings or not."
"But don't you think," Hermione questioned, "that it would explain a lot about his character? I mean, it is easy to hate all muggles if you were brought up in an environment like yours, Harry."
‘It would,’ he thought, but didn't voice it out loud as he felt as if he would only seal his and Voldemort's fate if he did so.
"Please, let's just hope that you will stay an only child," Ron said seriously.
"Yeah," Harry agreed and Hermione nodded as well.
"Can you imagine celebrating Christmas with him?" Ron suddenly asked and Harry and Hermione both burst into laughter; that was just too ridiculous. Ron snickered as well and then continued: "Just imagine snake face standing in front of a Christmas tree with us, and the rest of my family, singing Christmas carols."
Harry laughed even harder: "Yeah, and Sirius pranking the hell out of him. Maybe he could transform him into Santa?"
"Oh Harry, I would die from laughter!" Hermione gasped, holding her sides.
"Santa? That fat, old muggle in red?" Ron asked.
Harry nodded; he and Hermione had told him about Santa Clause once and Ron had found the idea of a fat man sliding down fireplaces hilarious.
Professor McGonagall arrived then, effectively cutting their laughter off. She gave them an odd look as if asking what they could find so funny on this miserable day, and they quickly lifted the privacy barrier to follow her into the classroom before she could say anything.
They were still practicing the transformation of living creatures, but by now they had to transform a bigger animal into a smaller one, which meant that the Gryffindor Head of House had organized a group of cats from somewhere. The mewing of the twenty animals was nearly ear shattering, at least for Harry and as he went to retrieve a red specimen, he saw Draco wince as well. Sometimes having vampire ears really sucked.
He still had to concentrate on not making his spell too powerful; Transfigurations were much more delicate than curses, even the slightest increase of the power he put into the spell could make the cat not only shrink to the size of a mouse, but an ant, and that was not what was required from them. He seriously hoped that he would have a grasp on his magic by the time the exams arrived; this year they had to write their OWL's and they were important for their future careers.
How he was to do his OWL's in Potions, he had no idea, but many jobs required the subject, at least nearly every job at the Ministry, and if he wanted to fulfil his wish and change something in the wizarding world, he probably would have to somehow enter it.
Sighing, he pointed his wand at the cat, which was once again confined to his desk and muttered the spell. She turned gray and her ears became rounder and she even shrank to her supposed size, but the mouse in front of him still had a furry, orange tail. Scowling, he ended the transformation and tried it a second time.
"Harry, you still aren’t concentrating enough," Hermione pointed out.
Harry sighed, he knew that already, but he not only had to concentrate on the spell like the rest of his classmates but also on how much magical power he used, which was not very easy with such a delicate spell.
But to his relief, he had successfully transformed his cat into a proper mouse by the end of the lesson and was rather pleased with himself.
As he left the classroom with his friends again, they decided to quickly finish their homework, before finally going out to fly for a while, hoping that he would not be called to go somewhere with Draco again.
Luckily they did not have a lot of homework, with having to practice their meditation for DADA again and only needed an hour to finish everything.
Ron and he quickly changed into their flying gear and even Hermione decided to not only watch them from the ground and read a book, but to borrow a school broom as well, as long as he and Ron would not do any wild stunts or force her into a race or something.
Harry and Ron agreed and they simply flew lazily over the Quidditch pitch and the outskirts of the forbidden forest for the rest of the afternoon.
The flying really helped him forget his problems with Draco for once, the shock of the new prophecy and his rather shocking discovery of his magical creature. As they landed nearly four hours later, he felt like a newly born person and a wide grin stretched across his face.
"I really needed that," He told his friends and stretched with his broom still in one hand.
"I thought as much, that was why I wanted to accompany you today as well," Hermione smiled as Ron and her both laid both an arm around his shoulders.
"Now let's go to the Great Hall, I am starving!" Ron announced and quickened his pace.
Harry snorted. "When are you not starving?" He asked with a grin.
"After I have eaten, for about an hour," Ron grinned back and Hermione chuckled.
They didn't even take their brooms back or change into something more appropriate for dinner, and just joined Neville, Dean, and Seamus at the Gryffindor table. The other students were a bit more relaxed around him again, but for once, no girls watched his every movement and he was thankful for that.
"Harry, you really surprised us there!" Dean exclaimed with a grin as soon as he was seated.
"Surprised? You mean he scared the shit out of us," Neville muttered but grinned as well.
Blushing again, Harry muttered his thousandth apology for the day; he really felt ashamed about what had happened, at least he should have noticed that he had transformed into some kind of creature earlier, but it had not registered in his mind until Lucius and Draco had approached him in the Entrance Hall.
He watched his friends starting to eat and looked whether Oscar had once again placed a goblet of blood or spiked pumpkin juice next to his plate.
"Are you searching for this?" Ron asked with a golden goblet in his hand and wrinkled his nose at the dark red liquid. "What is that anyway? Looks disgusting," the redhead inquired.
"Cherry juice," Harry lied and took the goblet before his friend could actually sniff at it. A movement at the head table let him look up and he watched Lucius and his father sitting down. Neither man paid him any attention, but he didn't mind. One day they would be able to greet each other openly and everybody would know that he shared a room with his two mates and that he had sleepovers in the dungeons. He smiled at the thought and sipped the blood, which tasted like dog today.
"So, how was it to practice with Malfoy?" Seamus asked and pulled him from his thoughts.
"Um, it was actually better than expected," he answered, and it was even true, his mate had only started to behave like a total prick afterwards. His five friends stared at him in disbelief, so he explained: "I think he didn't want to put his father in a bad light by behaving badly, you know they have this thing with their family honour."
Ron made a face. "Yeah and that Dumble... Ouch!"
Hermione had kicked him hard under the table and gave him a warning look. Ron seemed to realize what he had nearly blurted out and grew beet red, before turning back to his steak. But it was too late.
"What did Dumbledore do?" Dean asked curiously.
Hermione quickly saved the situation and told them: "Harry and Malfoy had to serve a detention for all their fighting and Lucius was rather angry. But you know we should not talk about these things so openly." She gave the three other boys pointed looks, who quickly nodded, understanding that it could compromise his new spy. They had seen Lucius at Potter Manor after all, but he would not tell them about the plan in making him friends with Draco, because Draco was not a part of the Order and thus, the contract between him and the Order members would not prevent them from talk about it. At Potter Manor, Dumbledore had set up a memory charm as a safety measure, but he could not do that in Hogwarts and he honestly didn't know how to either.
Dean, Seamus, and Neville winced.
"Did you have to serve the detention with Snape?" Neville asked with a frightened voice and glanced up at the head table with huge eyes.
Harry nodded with a sigh and the boys gave him sympathetic looks.
"Shall we go back to your room?" Hermione asked suddenly, pushing her plate away.
Harry had the feeling that she wanted to get them out of the conversation and nodded.
"But I am not yet finished!" Ron protested with a look at his food.
"We can ask Oscar to bring you something," Harry said and Ron finally stood up.
"See you tomorrow, guys," Harry waved and they left the Great Hall again. "We could take a dip in my whirlpool after Ron has eaten," he suggested, as they climbed up the stairs in the Hallway.
"That sounds good," Hermione said. "This day really was stressful."
"Yeah, I didn't even have time to go to Potter Manor like I had promised; I really should do that before going to bed," he sighed.
"You probably should," Hermione agreed with a sympathetic look.
They entered his quarters and Ron said: "I really don't know how you manage it all, I already feel stressed with only homework to worry about and you have the Order, the Safe House and all that other shit."
Harry shrugged; he really had no idea either. Maybe it was his vampire genes and Lucius, which helped him to deal with everything, but he really could do with a relaxing bath anyway.
Stepping into his living room, he froze. "Oh no! I have spent enough time with you for one day!" He snapped and his friends quickly appeared next to him, their eyes landing on the tall, blonde figure that sat in one of his armchairs as if he owned the place and only lifted an elegant eyebrow at them.
"Give him a break, ferret!" Ron hissed and placed himself in front of him protectively. Harry felt oddly touched at the gesture and smiled slightly.
"Believe me, weasel, if I had a choice, I would not be here," Draco drawled and rose, as Harry's eyes automatically landed on the tight fitting, silver-blue turtle neck, which clung to every muscle of his body. Why had his eyes been so treacherous? He didn't want to ogle at the prat; not after he had been hurt by him earlier again. Forcing his eyes away from his perfect chest, he stepped next to Ron again. Draco was right, they had no choice.
"Then at least accompany me to Potter Manor, I still have to go there," he said. If Lucius and his father insisted that he had to spend even more time with Draco after what had happened, he would at least use the time to get rid of some of his duties.
Draco inclined his head, but Ron asked, his voice incredulous: "I thought we wanted to take a bath in your whirlpool? And you said Oscar would bring me something to eat."
Harry sighed, but before he could respond to his friend, his mate sneered: "I am sure Potter can call the elf for you before we leave, wouldn't want that you starve. After all, Hogwarts is the only place where you get fed."
Ron launched at Draco, but Hermione grabbed his arm and held him back. "Just go, and Ron and I will go down to the kitchen," she said with an understanding smile, even though she looked unhappy herself, but Harry assumed that was more for his sake than for her own.
He gave her a thankful smile in return and said: "I am sorry, you two," before going over to his fireplace. He offered Draco some of his floo powder and his mate tossed it into the flames, before shouting "Potter Manor" and stepping inside. When the flames had returned to their usual red colour, Harry followed him.
He stumbled out of the hearth at the other end and nearly collided with Draco.
"Potter, are you always this clumsy and ungraceful?" His mate snapped.
"Shut up," he replied simply, not in the mood for light conversation. Really, what had hurt him so much were not the words, but the fact that he had hoped. Hoped that there was a chance of his second mate being nice to him after all, but it had been destroyed so quickly.
"Don't tell me you are still mad at me for the comment about your parents?" Draco drawled and eyed him as if he was a little child. Glaring back, he told him: "I am." He would not tell him his true reason.
His mate only scoffed. "Really, we insult each other all the time."
"We do, but there are still things that hurt too much, I at least apologized," Harry growled, before turning around and calling for Annie; he wanted to end this conversation, it only made him feel even worse. With Ron and Hermione he had been able to forget about the new argument with his younger mate, but now everything boiled up again and that after a day which would have been hell without the added pain caused his mate.
The female elf appeared in front of him and bowed deeply. "Master," she greeted him and he asked: "Where are my guests right now?"
"Guests are in ballroom eating," Annie answered.
"Are they doing fine?"
"There were no problems, sir," the elf told him with another bow.
"Thank you, Annie. You can go back to your work then," he dismissed her and then turned to his mate, who was leaning against the fireplace with a bored expression.
"I will just say hello and then we can go again, do you want to come with me?"
Draco didn't answer but straightened and fell into step with him.
"So, do we have to go to Hogsmeade again?" Harry asked as they left the Entrance Hall. If they had to really go out, he would refuse; surely their family magic would not punish them if they didn't follow their parent's orders once.
"No, we are just expected to spend some time together," Draco said.
Harry honestly wondered what they should do in his quarters, but nodded and simply turned in the direction of the large ballroom.
He could already hear the animated chattering of all the families and smiled slightly, before straightening his shoulders; his guests didn't need to know in what kind of mood he was. Draco seemed to think something along the same line because his face smoothed out even further as they stepped into the Dining Room.
Augusta again sat with the Granger’s and Luna's father. Her sharp eyes spotted him as soon as he entered with Draco. He gave her a smile and the witch actually smiled back, which made her face much softer.
For the next 15 minutes, he went from one table to another and asked how everybody was doing and if they needed anything. He was glad when no one had any complaints and they praised his family’s gardens and the helpfulness of his elves. Draco accompanied him silently and earned himself many odd and untrusting looks, but the blonde didn't seem to be bothered.
When they arrived at the table where Katie's mother sat with her husband and a little girl, the witch asked: "Is there any news about our houses?"
Shaking his head, Harry told her: "Not yet, but I think it will take a while. The Death Eaters really have done their best to curse your houses, at least, that was what had Kingsley told Albus. I had planned on calling a meeting, but the school day was kind of stressful."
Draco snorted drily and Augusta, whose table sat next to the one the Bells sat at, asked: "What happened? It was not Voldemort again?"
Harry blinked in surprise to hear another person besides Dumbledore and himself say the Dark Lord’s name out loud. Draco and the others flinched, but he quickly recovered from his shock and shook his head: "No, luckily not."
"Well, what was it then?" Michael asked and looked questioningly from him to Draco, but his mate obviously wouldn't say any more about the matter.
He really wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell them about his form, but then again, it probably would be all over the Prophet by tomorrow morning anyway. Sighing, he told them: "Draco and I were practicing my multimagus transformation and I kind of turned into a basilisk."
"By Merlin!" Augusta gasped and the Bells grew pale.
"What is a basilisk?" Anna asked curiously.
"A giant, 50 foot long snake with a deadly bite and eyes. They can kill by merely looking at you," Augusta explained and the Granger’s paled as well.
"Well, I am not that big and Draco will help me to control my powers," Harry explained quickly before his guests could actually panic.
"Will that not be very dangerous for you?" Anna asked with a look at Draco.
"No, father and I are dragons, who are related to snakes and thus immune to their powers," he said politely.
"You and your father are certainly powerful allies if we can trust your loyalty," Augusta said and examined his mate from head to toe. "Well, I think the binding contact does the trick in any case," the old witch mused and turned back to her plate.
Harry supposed that Neville's grandmother had just seen too much. Like Dumbledore, she had fought in the second wizarding war as well, and even though they were not at war officially yet, behind the scenes battles were already fought.
Draco looked slightly offended and he quickly decided that they had better go before his mate could start an argument with the stern witch.
"I think we will leave you to your meals again. I just wanted to check on everybody, but now I have to do some homework," he excused himself and his mate and waved his goodbyes.
"Tell Mione we said hello," Anna smiled and her husband nodded.
Smiling, Harry promised them that he would greet their daughter and he and Draco went back to the fireplace in the Entry Hall.
"Finally," Draco drawled and went ahead to take some floo powder. Harry rolled his eyes as he watched his mate disappear and followed him back to his quarters.
"You really stumble every time, Potter," Draco commented, as he stumbled out into his living room.
"Yeah, not everybody can be as graceful as you," Harry huffed and went over to his sofa, asking: "So, what are we going to do now?" He inquired, even though he only wanted to kick his second mate out of his quarters and call it a night. Couldn't they call their visit to his manor a date? Unfortunately, he knew that neither his father nor his other mate would accept 45 minutes together as a proper date, so he went over to his sofa and watched Draco pulling something out of his pocket. His mate enlarged the object to its original size and his eyes fell on a beautiful silver and golden chess board; it looked crazily expensive.
"Chess?" he asked in confusion.
"Yes, you mentioned that you play chess sometimes and this way, we do not have to talk a lot."
Thinking that chess might be a good idea, Harry nodded and looked down at the white pieces in front of him, who actually wrinkled their noses at him; this was definitely Draco's chess board.
"Let's see, how long you can hold your own against me," his mate smirked and motioned for him to start. He started with a classical move and the next half an hour they spend in silence. It was not the comfortable kind of silence that he shared with his other mate, his father, or his friends, but at least he didn't have to listen to any kinds of insults.
In the last weeks he had played many games against Lucius, his father and Ron, and Draco's style was very similar to his fathers, so he could actually hold his own, even though he would lose in the long run.
"Potter, who has taught you how to play?" Draco frowned, seemingly unhappy that he had not yet defeated him.
Smirking, he answered: "Your father mostly, but also Severus, why?"
"Ah yes, you mentioned it on our first date," Draco drawled and then added: "But you will not win, I am still better."
"I know, but you have to admit that I am better than you thought," Harry shrugged with a smirk.
Draco only huffed and moved a knight.
He lasted another 15 minutes before Draco defeated his king.
"Do we have to go on a date every day?" He asked as Draco ordered the pieces to return to their starting positions.
"I hope not," his second mate said. "But I would not hold out much hope."
They started again and Harry found his pieces even more unwilling after they had lost the previous round. Maybe, he thought, they could sense that he was a Gryffindor, or Draco had told them because they clearly eyed him with arrogant expressions which only Slytherins possessed.
The second game was over much quicker and they even played a third one. It was Lucius and Severus who finally ended their forced date.
"How is the evening going?" his father asked as the two men stepped into his living room.
"Good," Draco answered nonchalantly and leaned back in his armchair.
"Did you play the whole time?" Lucius asked and sat down next to Harry.
"We were also at Potter Manor as I needed to check in on my guests," he told his mate.
Lucius raised an eyebrow and looked from him to his son and back again: "I hope you have also had some conversation whilst playing. I had expected that you would at least use the time to clear your last row."
Feeling slightly guilty, Harry looked down at his lap. He knew that he and Draco were expected to get to know each other and talking about what had happened at the end of their DADA lesson would surely have been wise, but he also knew that it would have accomplished nothing. Every time they talked, it ended with some kind of argument or insult. And what else could he talk about with Draco, he didn't know either. Did they even have anything in common?
Lucius sighed next to him and announced: "I see, well then we will just have to go on a joined date tomorrow."
Harry blinked at his older mate, wondering if a joined date would be a good idea.
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A Different Kind of Hero