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Draco Malfoy & the House of Seraphim	By : KaliDiah Category: Harry Potter Crossovers > General - Misc Views: 20464 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, Angel, or Harry Potter or their associated characters, settings, or concepts. They belong to their various creators & distributing agencies, and have only been borrowed for entertainment purposes with no intent to profit.

Chapter List
- 30
- 31
AUTHOR’S NOTE – 04/19/11: Wow, it’s been a while. At the writing of this note, it’s been nearly FOUR YEARS since I’ve updated. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to apologize enough, and though I do have reasons I can’t help but feel they’ll come off as nothing more than poor excuses. Often I have said, “I need to update,” but then something shiny would go past and I’d go traipsing after that. Such is the price of being an Aries.

However, just recently I have begun working with my father on an original novel. It has reignited my love of storytelling (it has also made me realize I love commas a bit too much) and I don’t want to leave my readers in a lurch any longer. Besides, you guys loved me before I was famous (I’m not yet, but dammit, I am DETERMINED), so I should treat you with the gratitude you have earned.

As such, I am going through this story and fiddling with things a bit. No major plot points will be changed, but some wording might get reworked and a lotta grammar will be hammer out (boots random comma). Also, formatting will be fixed and made uniform throughout each chapter; please let me know if the new setup works or if I should tweak it some more.

BUT, before I do that I will be uploading a new chapter (this one right here!) to tide everyone over. At least I hope it will. I also have a brand spankin’ new email that alerts me on my phone, so I’ll KNOW when someone is trying to catch my ear (because honestly, I have a serious problem with remembering I HAVE email addresses, much less checking them).

On another note, I have lost touch with both my betas (Aimee and Sora), so I’m hoping things won’t get too choppy while I snag a new one. Seriously, if there are any parts that just don’t flow or are confusing, don’t hesitate to tell me. The perfectionist in me will thank you.

AND DAY-UM KALI IS LOVING THE EDITING TOOLS! SCORE!

That being said, here's Chapter Freakin' 31! I must warn you, it is TOTALLY NOT BETA'D. Therefore I will more than likely be going through and revising it once I get all the previous chapters done. I still hope it's worth the insane wait.

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DEDICATED TO CHELZI, WHO READ THIS THING FOUR TIMES IN ONE YEAR, AS WELL AS ALL MY OLD AND NEW READERS. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOUR KIND WORDS DO FOR MY SELF-ESTEEM. I'M BACK BECAUSE YOU WANT MORE, AND YOU ALL DESERVE IT. I LOVE YOU ALL.

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As fun as dinner had been, Draco knew he was going to suffer for it. Snape was quite upset, that much was evident, but it seemed that he was content to leave Draco to the wolves. Or more appropriately, the snakes. As he entered the Slytherin Common Room, every eye turned to him. Sometime before he went to bed, he would have to explain himself.

However, that time was not now, as Snape stood by the fireplace, trying to gain everyone’s attention. Beside him was a presentation board with what seemed to be a map of the western portion of the castle’s ground floor. Once everyone had settled, he drew his wand and pointed at the rooms blocked off in red. “Starting this year, many of your classes will be moved here, to the corridor off the Entry Hall. This is an attempt to cut time needed between classes. Muggle Studies, Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magick, and Defense Against the Dark Arts shall be held here. Potions, Astronomy, Herbology, Care of Magickal Creatures, Divination, and of course Flying will remain as is. Third- through fifth-year students taking Divination will be taught by the centaur Firenze, here.” He pointed to a room around the corner and on the other side of the courtyard from the front corridor. “Sixth- and seventh-years will attend classes in the North Tower with Professor Trelawney.

"When you receive your class schedules, you will also notice that class times have been changed. Please take careful note of these times. While your other teachers may be more lenient and give you time to acclimate yourself to the new locations and times of your classes, I will not. Points will be removed for tardiness.

“Now, are there any questions?” He waited only a moment before nodding and continuing. “Very well. I’m sure you all have things you wish to discuss with Messrs. Zabini and Malfoy.” He smirked and attempted a hasty exit.

“Actually, Professor, I may need your help with this,” Draco requested. Yeah, you think you’re going to get out of this that easily.

I tried, Snape returned with a sigh.

Thank you so much, Draco thought at Snape.

More than welcome, Snape chuckled in return.

Draco sighed and took Snape’s place beside the fireplace. “Alright, before you all decide to skin me alive, let me explain.”

“This better be good, Malfoy,” Theodore Nott said.

Draco rolled his eyes. He really did not want to have to go through this now, or ever for that matter. But he knew they would never let him be until he had explained things to their satisfaction. “Don’t worry, there are methods to this madness. Now, what is Potter’s strongest asset?”

“Impossible luck?” Pansy offered.

“No.”

“He’s a huge prat?” Theodore tried.

Again, no.”

“Well, then, how about you tell us?” Pansy snapped. Oh, she was so not happy. Her aura was a scintillating red edged with aggressive purple and streaked with suspicious dark blue. He was quite sure the stunt he and Blaise had pulled with Harry was only part of it. There was no doubt the discovery of his relationship with Blaise was a huge factor. He just shrugged it off as there was nothing he could do about. That, and he just did not care.

“Compassion,” Draco answered. “He always has to play the hero. If he sees someone in trouble, any kind of trouble, he feels this overwhelming urge to help.”

“So?” Pansy asked.

“Wow, really?” Blaise asked. “You don’t get it?”

“What are we supposed to get?” Pansy demanded. Apparently the rest of the House was content to let her lead this inquisition.

“Fine, I’ll explain nice and slow so you can all follow,” Draco responded without bothering to hide his irritation. “You see, there I was, all alone, feeling betrayed by my parents. Oh, it was so very tragic. And of course, who better to understand the loss of one’s parents than Harry Potter? I feed him my sob story, and how it has disillusioned me against the Dark Arts. Add to that the fact that not only did his two closest friends ignore him all summer, but they are now dating each other. Needless to say, this all made me look pretty good. So, now I’m in his good graces, as is Blaise. There’s a strong chance he’ll be asking us to join his little defense club.”

“So?” Pansy asked again.

“Still, Parkinson?” Blaise asked. “Draco and I are on the inside. We can get info that no one else can. Not to mention, Potter’s already distrustful of Dumbledore. All it will take is some well-placed manipulation, and we can have him sever the tie completely.”

“Which leaves things open for all sorts of possibilities,” Draco continued.

"Like what?” Theodore asked.

Draco only stared wide-eyed at them. Oh, sweet gods, please? I haven’t fed in a while and I’m sort of hungry. Just one?

A chorus of “NO!” rang through his head.

Lucky for Draco, Snape stepped in before he could pounce on the nearest student. “Potter’s friends can be turned against him. Some of the younger students in his club can be shown the error of their parents’ ways. Hell, why stop there? Why not get Potter himself to turn dark?”

A few of the Slytherins laughed. “You think he’s joking?” Draco asked. “Did you all not see what happened during dinner? It will take a matter of months until the Chosen One is putty in our hands.”

“Is that what you want, Malfoy?” Crabbe asked. “Potter in your hands?”

Draco snorted. “You’re just jealous because I’d get there first.” He sauntered to a couch and planted himself on it. Blaise moved to sit at his feet, leaning his head back as Draco absently began running his fingers through ebon locks.

“And you’re okay with that?” Pansy asked, glaring at Blaise.

“I’d get there a close second,” he replied with a smug smile.

Snape rolled his eyes. “Alright, that’s enough. If you two would kindly disengage yourselves from one another …” Draco and Blaise did so with matching huffs and rolling eyes. “Thank you. I believe your questions have been sufficiently answered.” Snape glanced around the room, but no one made any move to suggest otherwise. “Good. It is late and you need your rest. Malfoy, I will need to speak with you.”

“Of course, Professor,” Draco said with a smirk. He turned to Blaise, assuring he would be back later. Once everyone had dispersed, Draco followed his godfather to his office. He took a seat and waited for Snape to do the same. It was not long before Snape spoke.

“Never. Do. That. Again.”

Though he tried valiantly, Draco could not keep himself from breaking out in laughter at the look on Snape’s face. The man looked pained at the recollection of that evening’s “entertainment”.

I don’t know, came Spike’s voice, I kinda enjoyed it.

“That’s because you’re a perverted degenerate!” Snape cried aloud.

Isn’t that, like, redundant? Faith asked.

“When it comes to William Bloody Malfoy, no. In fact, it falls drastically short of the reality!” Snape replied.

Draco reigned in his laughter so that it dwindled down to a few remaining chuckles. “Really, we were just messing around. After all the hell Potter’s been through, we figured it would be nice to give him an opportunity to tell the world to go screw itself.”

“Language,” Snape chided automatically. After a dismissive wave from Draco, he continued. “As fun as you might have found it, that kind of behavior is going to get you into serious trouble. Need I remind you that the others in our House are to keep an eye on you? As much as I’d like to, I cannot control what they will tell their parents. If this becomes a problem, I cannot guarantee I will be able to provide sufficient damage control.”

Draco sobered quickly. Although Snape did not say it outright, Draco could read between the lines. As amusing as they might be, those kinds of antics would put a strain on Snape’s already dangerous position. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “But isn’t there some way we could work it in?”

Snape’s eyes widened. “Are you telling me you are seriously considering seducing Harry Potter?”

This brought Draco up short. Was that what he was really planning? At first, it just seemed like harmless fun, as well as a great way to let Harry blow off some steam. But was there a deeper meaning to it? He shook his head. No, it was just amusement. He would have to be careful in the future to not let it get out of hand. If Snape came to such a conclusion so quickly, then Harry might do the same. The last thing Draco wanted to do was lead the Gryffindor on.

“You’re right,” he said. “I didn’t realize it might come across that way. I don’t care about everyone else, but I don’t want Harry to start thinking like that. We’ll tone it down.”

Snape sat back with a satisfied sigh. Draco knew that under different circumstances Snape wouldn’t particularly care who he got involved with and on what level, but as things were it was too risky. “Good,” Snape said. “Now, I believe you have some Prefect duties to attend to?”

Draco’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Are you serious?!”

“I overheard Dumbledore mention to McGonagall that he wanted to speak to Potter. It filled me with a great sense of foreboding. I’d rather you were out there to ensure I’m worrying over nothing.”

“Ah, okay.” Draco rose and left, making his way out of the Dungeons. If Harry was going to be anywhere, it would be the upper levels. As Draco ascended into the slightly brighter portion of the castle, he could only hope Snape’s fears were unfounded.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Harry was a tad bit flustered. All throughout McGonagall’s speech about new rooms and class times, the entirety of Gryffindor House was staring at him. He could certainly understand why, but that failed to make it any less nerve-wracking. Afterwards, when McGonagall told him Dumbledore wanted to see him immediately, a murmur went up. Harry was quite sure he had heard someone say, “Oh, he’s gonna get it now!”

So yes, Harry was flustered, irritated, apprehensive, and all sorts of other uncomfortable things as he trudged his way to Dumbledore’s office. Muttering the password McGonagall had given him to the gargoyle, he let the moving stairs carry him upwards. As the office door came into sight, Harry took a deep breath and steadied himself. Whatever Dumbledore said, Harry would just deal with it the best way he knew how … the Slytherin way.

A touch more relaxed than before, he waltzed into Dumbledore’s office as if he owned it. He refused to be intimidated by this man any longer. Without preamble, he seated himself in the chair before the desk, noting that Dumbledore seemed a bit thrown off. Good, Harry thought to himself. “You wanted to see me, Sir?” Harry asked aloud.

Dumbledore regarded him a moment, though whether he was trying to intimidate Harry, read his mind, or just work out what the hell was going on, Harry was unable to tell. Finally, the old wizard adjusted his glasses and got straight to the point. “Harry, I must ask what that … display was all about.”

Harry knew this was coming and just shrugged. “It was just for fun. I had helped them buy something a few weeks ago in Diagon Alley and they were only just now able to repay me.”

“And what did you help them buy?”

Harry frowned at that. “That’s somewhat private, don’t you think, Professor?”

“You can never be too careful, my boy.” Though Harry was sure the Headmaster’s curiosity was still burning, he seemed to move on. “Well, I just wanted to be sure they were not bothering you. Sherbert lemon?” he asked, pushing the ever-present bowl toward the boy.

While he usually didn’t take the treats when offered, he figured one or two couldn’t hurt. So, he snatched a few up.

It was then that the bracelet Luna had given him grew warm. Glancing down at it, he saw that the tiny potion bottle was glowing an ungodly green. As he had yet to be able to read the bracelet’s booklet thoroughly, he was unable to determine what it meant. Not willing to take any chances, he looked up at Dumbledore with the best pout he could muster. “Actually,” he said, “would it be okay if I wrapped these in something for later? I’ve been having this tendency to snack in the middle of the night for some reason lately.” It was a bold-faced lie, but there was no way he was going to put those things in his mouth until he knew what a green potion bottle meant.

With a sheepish smile, Dumbledore nodded. “You are not alone, Harry. Here.” He transfigured a sheet of parchment into a cloth napkin and handed it to Harry, who in turn quickly wrapped the candies and stuffed them in his pocket. He could only hope they would keep from melting.

The conversation following that was similar to almost every other conversation Harry ever had with the Headmaster. He was warned that things could get even more dicey this year than they had been previously (no surprise). He was also encouraged to do his best and remember the strength of his friends (that had neglected him all summer). He was advised to keep his distance from Malfoy (as per usual). By the end of it, Harry was bored out of his mind.

When he was dismissed, Harry nearly ran out of the office. Once to the bottom of the stairs, though, he was faced with a new problem: the candy. He drew the package from his pocket and gingerly picked one of the four sherbert lemons up. It looked normal, but even without looking directly at the bracelet he could see the sickly green glow.

Rummaging in another pocket produced the booklet written in Luna’s impossibly neat hand. He paged through until he found the page about that particular charm.

The Potions Bottle is designed to warn the wearer of any tampering to food and/or drink. If the tampering is beneficial (such as a simple sleeping potion added to some soup for someone who is sick and needs rest), the bottle will glow blue. If, however, the tampering is meant to harm, it glows green. Under no circumstances should food or drink be consumed if the bottle glows green. I mean it, Harry.

Harry suddenly found it very hard to swallow. If Luna had not gotten so creative for his birthday, he would have downed the candies without hesitation. He decided right then and there that the next time he saw Luna he was going to give her the biggest hug ever.

However, his relief over the near escape was quickly squashed by the fact that it was Dumbledore offering the candy. Had they always been … poisoned? Or was it just that batch? And were they given out to anyone else? Could there be a dozen other students out there about to suffer who-knew-what at the hands of their “benevolent” Headmaster?

Harry’s heart raced and he found it hard to breathe. True, Harry had no way of knowing exactly what was in the sherbert lemon, but if Luna was that stern about keeping away from things that caused the bottle to glow green, then he knew it had to be bad. But what was he supposed to do about it?

His salvation came running up to him like a stampeding centaur, worry in his eyes. “Harry, are you okay?” Draco asked, clearly distressed. “You look as if you’re about to freak out or something.”

“Draco?” At the Slytherin’s nod, he allowed himself to relax. “I … I don’t know what to do.”

“About what?” Draco asked as he helped Harry to sit on some nearby stairs.

“The bottle’s green. Luna said not to eat it if the bottle’s green.”

“Whoa. Back the broom up a bit. What?” Harry answered simply by lifting his arm so Draco could see the bracelet dangling from his wrist. “Oh, yeah, there is a li’l bottle there. Aside from your disturbing infatuation with girly jewelry, what does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s green.”

“No, it isn’t. It looks like pewter to me.”

“No, it’s glowing green, but only the wearer can see it.”

“Convenient,” Draco said with a raised brow, his disbelief clear in his voice.

Harry let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head. “Okay, for my birthday, Luna made me this bracelet. Each charm is a detector of some sort. The potion bottle detects if food or drink has been messed with. If it glows green, it means something harmful has been added. When I hold any of these blasted candies, it glows green!”

“And only the wearer can see it.”

“Yes! And it’s a damn good thing, too, because otherwise I would have had to explain to Dumbledore why it was glowing.”

Draco’s uncertainty was suddenly replaced with seriousness. “Wait, you got those from the Headmaster and Luna’s charm is telling you it has something harmful in it?”

“Yes!” Harry said with a definitive nod. He was so relieved Draco finally understood.

“What did he do to them?” Draco asked.

“That’s the problem,” Harry lamented. “It tells me that it’s been tampered with, but not how or with what. And unfortunately, the only person I know of that could figure it out for me is not very high on my Like List.”

“Ah, Granger,” Draco said, nodding and looking away.

Harry had nothing else to offer, as he had no idea what to do. He had to admit though, telling Draco made him feel miles better. That was what bothered him most about his rift with Hermione and Ron: he had no one to rant and rave at about all of the crazy stuff that happened to him on an hourly basis.

Draco broke the somewhat companionable silence. “Wait,” he said as he stood. “There is someone else we can talk to.”

Harry looked up at him in confusion before it hit him. “No. Ohhhh, no. I am not going to Snape with this!”

“Oh, sweet fucking Hyne!”

Harry was momentarily thrown off kilter. “Hyne?”

Draco sighed as he grabbed Harry’s arm and hauled him up. Harry was surprised he was able to so easily, considering he was resisting. “I’ve decided that if I’m going to take a god’s name in vain, it should be a fictional one. Gods in video games cannot smite me, after all.”

Harry was even more confused. “Video games?” How the hell had Draco gotten access to video games? More than that, why would the great Draco Malfoy subject himself to such Muggle frivolity? Okay, Harry knew Draco had changed, but …

“Long story,” Draco groused, “had to be there. Now let’s go!” Draco huffed and began dragging Harry along, despite the fact that the brunet was digging his heels into the stone floor.

It went that way the entire trip down into the Dungeons. Harry was adamant about not going, just as Draco was adamant about getting there. Alas, Draco was stronger (by far), and it was with great annoyance that Harry found himself in front of the door to Snape’s personal quarters. Harry was scared nearly out of his skin when the door flew open without Draco even having to knock. The Potions Professor glared at them, though it seemed to be aimed mostly at Draco. Wait, that wasn’t right …

Finally, Snape sighed and stepped out, closing the door firmly behind him. Without a word, he started down the corridor, Draco dragging Harry close behind. This was most definitely not how Harry had envisioned the first night of this sixth year. He could only hope it was not a harbinger of things to come.

Snape led them through his office and into his private lab. He held out his hand expectantly. Harry was thoroughly confused, but handed the napkin and its contents to the professor, as it seemed the only logical thing to do in this instance of lunacy. It seemed to be the correct action, because Snape snatched it and began thoroughly inspecting the candies with a magnifying glass.

“And you got these …?” he prompted.

Before Harry could even think to open his mouth, Draco answered, “Dumbledore.” And was that seriously a growl Harry heard? He was quite sure it was a growl. Coming from Draco. And what the hell was with the gold flash in Draco’s eyes?

Harry was becoming increasingly nervous as the situation spiraled even farther out of his control than it had originally been. For the first time ever, Draco was scaring him. Sure, the two had been rivals from day one, but Harry had only ever seen him as an annoyance, never someone to be afraid of. But right now, with Draco’s eyes intermittently flashing gold and the vice-like grip he still had on Harry’s arm, the Gryffindor was beginning to rethink his stance.

The fact that Snape stiffened at Dumbledore’s name just made it worse.

Suddenly Draco’s grip tightened even more, causing Harry to cry out in pain. He was sure his arm would break if Draco did not let go that instant. However, it seemed as if Draco was lost somewhere as his eyes – now a pure, steady gold – gazed at nothing. Harry tried to tug himself free, but it was fruitless.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Draco!” Snape bellowed, snapping the younger Slytherin’s attention back to the there and then. “Release Potter before you mangle his arm any more than you have already.”

“What?” Draco asked softly, looking down at the offending hand. “I …” His voice trailed off as he slowly released Harry’s aching arm. “I’m sorry, Harry. I didn’t realize … I was really upset and I didn’t know …” He turned pleading eyes to Harry. It was a bizarre thought to begin with, Draco apologizing to Harry Bloody Potter. It was made even more so with the bright gold slowly swirling back to familiar blue-grey.

“What the fucking hell, Draco?!” Harry snarled, having become quite fed up with … well, everything.

Snape sighed. “Language, Potter.”

“Fuck language!” he cried. “Did you see Draco’s eyes?! They were gold. Not in a reflecting-light kind of way either. They were pure gold. I think they might have even been glowing! And he growled! Growled! In a very mean Fluffy sort of way. Have you ever heard Fluffy growl? I have! And that’s what he sounded like! So, I repeat: what the fucking hell, Draco?!”

Silence followed his outburst, and it was about a minute later before Draco once again focused on where he was. He flinched and sighed, as if someone had just scolded him, which was odd because Snape had not opened his mouth.

“Long story, had to be there?” Draco said once again, though this time his tone was sheepish.

Snape groaned. “Draco, you need to learn to control those emotions of yours. If you don’t do it soon I fear it may spell doom for us all.”

“You actually expect me to stand by and not react?!” Draco retorted. Harry took a few steps away until he was out of grabbing range.

“Draco, we don’t even know what was done to these, yet.”

“H-how long would it take, Sir?” Harry asked as quietly and respectfully as he could. It unnerved him that Snape of all people seemed to be the safer individual at the moment.

Snape sighed and rubbed his face, obviously tired. “It will have to wait until my free periods tomorrow. Until then, should the Headmaster ask, tell him that yes, you did eat them, and yes, they were delicious.” Harry’s brows rose at this, prompting the professor to continue. “He obviously wanted you to have these, Potter. Giving any indication that you have yet to consume them may make him suspicious. It would be best if he didn’t know we know … whatever it is we know.”

“How did you know, Sir?” Harry asked, himself now suspicious. Neither he nor Draco had said anything as to why they had bothered the professor at this time of night, yet the man acted as if he knew precisely why they were there.

“I am a spy, you idiot! It is my job to know these things!”

Harry’s eyes widened as he cast a frantic glance at Draco. But the Slytherin only chuckled. “Really, Harry, you should know by now that there is very little that gets past him.”

Harry sighed. “Yes, me and my house points know that very well, thank you.”

Harry was startled by the deep chuckle coming from Snape’s direction. First Draco was acting all weird, and now Snape. It was of Harry’s firm belief that he needed to get out of there, soon. He feared for his sanity.

“I think I should probably return to the dorms,” Harry hedged carefully. “Knowing them, if I’m gone too long they’ll think I was eaten or something.”

He was so surprised by the bark of laughter from Draco that he nearly toppled over.

“Sorry,” Draco said with a chuckle. “It’s something of a private joke.”

“Okay,” Harry said slowly, eyeing Draco warily. “Can we go now?”

“Yes. As I said, I will look into this tomorrow. Don’t approach me about it, either of you. Potter, I will send word when I have it figured out.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Harry said gratefully as he moved back through the office and into the dark, dank corridor.

“Whatever,” Snape muttered, turning on his heel and swiftly returning to his room. “Oh, and Potter,” he called when he was some ways down, “no more accepting candy from strange old men.” Again he spun around and continued on his way.

It took a good fifteen minutes for Draco to stop laughing.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, do you guys hate me? Personally, I'm not entirely thrilled with the first part of this chapter, but I just couldn't seem to get around it. As mentioned above, I will most likely revise this chapter to flesh it out and whatnot. If something just does not click well, please let me know.

On a side note, my old comp did a nose-dive (don't worry, all my files were safe). I have since lost any semblance to an update list I might have had. If you want to be added (and yes, I promise to USE it), you can mail me at kalidiah@gmail.com. As I said before, my phone will yell at me when I get a message, so I will see it the moment it comes in.

You just don't know how much I love you guys. Seriously.
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Draco Malfoy & the House of Seraphim