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Only You Can Set Me Free	By : wizgrl14 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 46730 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 35
- 36
- 37
AN: Sorry for the delay, I had the chapter finished but foolishly forgot to save it *smacks head* so I had to write it over again. It is just as well, I suppose, now I can correct some of the dialog.

Chapter 36

A Step in the Right Direction

As soon as their visitor had finished speaking, his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell forward. Sirius lunged at the falling man, grabbing him before he could hit the floor. He turned the battered man over and onto his back. The teens gasped in horror and surprise as they saw a magnitude of injuries covering his entire body.

“Remus… Remus my friend, what has happened to you?” Sirius shook the man in his arms softly, puffing a sigh of relief when his fellow marauder began to come around.

“Sirius,” the battered man replied in a whisper. He cast weary eyes to the teens around him, coughing when he made to sit up.

“Stay still, you’ll injure yourself further. Tell us, what happened to you Remus?”

The Headmaster relented, laying still in his the others’ arms. With a groan he closed his eyes and began speaking, albeit quite faintly.

“A week ago I was called by the ministry about the suspicious happenings at Hogwarts. As you know, they already had their reservations about me being at the school, let alone acting as Headmaster. They were set on having a trial and full inquisition, much to my aggravation. I explained to them that my priority was to care for my students and staff, and that I had no time to see to their obvious demands. They countered by saying that the students would be on break by the time the appointment came about. I relented, and told them that I would meet with them…”

He paused briefly, inhaling deeply as he opened his eyes and looked to Harry. The dark haired teen stared back at him, his emerald eyes shining softly in the dimness of the hallway.

“On the appointed day Severus and I arrived at the ministry and as we made our way inside we were ambushed.”

“Ambushed?” Harry remarked angrily, a snarl forming on his lips “by whom?”

“Followers… they were followers of Voldemort. It seems that the ministry has been completely overtaken by death eaters and the like. Their summons was a ruse, and the second we stepped out of the floo network we were viciously attacked. They seemed to have not known that I was no longer taking my potion, if their surprised faces when I transformed were any indication. Then Severus…” he chuckled bitterly.

“What happened, Headmaster? Did they harm Professor Snape?” Luna inquired, placing a comforting hand on the bruised man. He smiled slightly, his eyes remaining dark in suppressed fury.

“They tried to… believe me, they really did. However when I am in wolf form and anyone tries to so much as touch my mate, I get a bit irritated, to say the least. I pushed Severus back into the pit before it could be sealed and went at them with all I had. They outnumbered me by quite a bit, obviously, but I managed to hold my own. I was able to defeat a great deal of them and in their panic I suppose they forgot to seal off the fireplace I was nearest, and I stumbled into it. I landed in a pub nearby and came straight over. I only hope Severus landed somewhere safely.”

“He’ll be fine Remus; he may have landed in the area as well. He may be a git, but he is also very resourceful,” Sirius joked. Remus growled good naturedly before stilling suddenly. Harry too had stilled, listening for the sound he and the Headmaster apparently heard at the same time.

There was another, louder knock at the door. The person, if they were to be an ally, would know not to speak aloud for fear of alerting neighbors.

Harry ventured forward haltingly, sniffing for any indication of knowing the person at the door.

“Professor Snape?” he whispered as he stood with his ear against the door.

“Yes Potter, open up quickly.”

Harry turned to Remus in askance, and the older man gave him affirmation to open the door. The Gryffindor quickly unbolted the locks, dropping the spells that barred entrance (particularly to those bearing the dark mark). Snape rushed into the hallway, his black traveling cloak billowing about his thin frame.

Remus quickly got to his feet and hurried to his mate, pulling the taller man into him with a relieved moan.

“Severus, how did you know where I was?”

“I figured you might come here when I discovered that you did not return to Hogwarts. I was taken to a shop in Diagon Alley and from there to the grounds. Hagrid had not seen you, neither had any of the staff. This dump was the only other logical place you would feel secure in.”

Sirius grunted in aggravation as the teens snickered. Harry, who had cooled down upon Snape’s arrival, busied himself with casting defensive spells upon the door.

“What about the school, the remaining students?”

“McGonagall is watching over everything for the time being, don’t worry. Damn it Remus, look at yourself!” the potions master chastised, brandishing his wand and casting healing charms on his wounded mate.

“Don’t fuss over me Sev, I am fine, really. I would have been in worse shape had I not transformed.”

“About that… who the hell do you think you are, pushing me into that infernal fireplace without a word or second glance?”

Remus had the good grace to lower his head in mock shame, eliciting more laughs and snickers from the group.

“Love, you know I was only trying to protect you. Vold-“

“Don’t use him as an excuse to treat me like a useless child!”

“Now you know how I feel,” Draco commented as he crossed his arms and glared at Harry.

The dog demon wielder bit his lip, looking to his godfather for assistance. Said man took pity on the teen and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Alright now, what say we go into the kitchen and eat our now cold dinner? You two should stay for the night, there is plenty of room.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you my old friend,” Remus replied as he pulled the gloomy and augmentative potions master into the large kitchen.

“Thanks for the save, Sirius,” Harry said as he too pulled his mate as he followed their Headmaster into the dining area. The man and teens could only smile and shrug as they followed the other’s lead.

****************************

Harry was having a great time, catching his godfather up on everything that had happened in the two years since he had gone into limbo. Draco sat beside the boisterous teen, smirking slightly as he noticed that his mate was purposely trying to downplay the many dangers he had faced. He was distracted, however, when he heard his name from across the table.

“Draco, I mean no offense, but you smell a bit different.”

The blond blushed slightly at the observation, pride making him meet the Headmaster’s eyes so that he could respond with a certain amount of dignity.

“I would, Headmaster. A lot has changed since he left Hogwarts,” Draco said evenly, thanking his lucky stars that he had not stammered as he felt he might have.

Harry had stopped his conversation with Sirius, leaning into his mate with a proud smile. He placed a hand on the fairer teen’s stomach, to which to blond smiled (a slight tug at the corner of his mouth). Remus was no fool, and connected the dots before staring at the two in amazement.

“You two… you…”

“Mated, and are expecting twins, yes they are,” Luna cut in while beaming at the pair.

“It was a bit of a surprise to us, and we know we screwed up by not waiting for a ceremony… However it happened, and that’s how things stand,” Harry added.

The were-man smiled widely, reaching across the table to Harry and patting his back.

“Congratulations Harry, Draco. I had no idea! Severus, isn’t that wonderful news?”

“Marvelous,” the dark man said in his usual dark and monotonous tone. Only Draco, who had known the man for many years, could see the smile in his eyes, the very subtle nod of the head. The blond teen inclined his head in thanks as everyone began to break off into their own conversations once again.

“You know, I happened to have a rather bizarre chat with the ghost of Ravenclaw tower the other night,” Remus commented, addressing the only Ravenclaw in attendance.

Luna sat forward, her now long golden locks falling into a bowl of pudding on the table, much to her obliviousness. Cedric carefully removed it, taking a cloth to the gooey strands as the girl’s attention fell on the Headmaster.

“Oh, dear Helena, I do hope the students are treating her well. The poor girl has always been a bit of an outcast.”

“Well, she asked me to send her well wishes, and to let you know that she misses you terribly.”

“What a dear, will you send her my well wishes as well?”

“Of course… you know, she mentioned something quite odd, and asked me to find a way to pass it along to you Harry.”

Harry, who was until then trying to force feed his stuffed mate another treacle tart, turned to the man in wonder.

“Pass it to me? I don’t know the girl one bit, why would she have something to tell me?”

“She told me that she wanted you to find something on the grounds of Hogwarts. It seems Voldemort was quite interested in it when he was in school.”

Harry became still as a statue, as had the other teens who knew it must have had something to do with the horcruxes.

“What did she say?” Cedric asked, having cleaned his crushes hair as well as he could and was currently listening intently to the conversation.

“Actually, it was a riddle.”

“Bloody Ravenclaws and their infuriating riddles,” Severus muttered. This earned scowls from Luna and Remus and an undignified snort from Draco.

“Anyway, it was something along the lines of… it is in the place where everything is hidden. If you have to ask, you'll never know. If you know, you need only ask. She also told me that whatever this item is, Voldemort defiled it with dark magic many years ago but did not take it. She hid it… out of fear.”

Luna’s eyes widened in realization, she knew what item Helena had hidden from folklore.

“Harry, it must be Rowena Ravenclaw’s lost diadem. Helena, her daughter, was said to have taken it from her mother out of jealousy… Voldemort may have conned her into giving it to him, playing to her vanity.”

“And the diadem…”

“Is one of the remaining horcruxes,” Cedric completed Harry’s unfinished statement.

“Now we must find out where on the grounds she has hidden the diadem.”

“That’s easy,”

Everyone looked at Luna, she must have heard a million riddles by now, and would have an aptitude for solving them.

“Well, think about it. It is in a place where you must ask entrance into, and already have a destination in mind, or getting in will be futile. If you know, you need only ask.”

Draco nearly jumped; he knew exactly where the diadem must be.

“The place where people hide things, I’ve been there. Last year… when… Anyway, it is in the Room of Requirements!”

Harry tilted his head in puzzlement, and then he too remembered using the cluttered room to hide The Half Blood Prince’s, or Snape’s, potion book. Another realization hit him. He had seen the tiara. It was atop the head of a stone bust of an old wizard.

“That’s it then, I’ll go get it tonight.”

The others stared at the lightning scar bearer in shock. Remus shuffled in his seat, his eyes boring into the teen across from him.

“Harry, that would be most reckless. You are public enemy number one. Say a Slytherin, no offense Sev…”

“None taken.”

“Say one of the remaining students saw you. They could easily report you to their parents, and Voldemort would tear the barriers down to get to you. He has many minions, Harry; they could find a way in.”

“I won’t be vacationing there, Headmaster. I will simply-“

“No, you won’t simply do anything,” Draco cut in.

Harry’s head shot around to look at his mate in disbelief and aggravation. Everyone sat silently, fearing an outburst from the dog demon carrier.

“I have done a lot for you. I came with you, I help you, I went searching for you and now I carry these babies not just for you but for us. I have succumbed and accepted this canine like existence and have bowed to your canine tendencies. Won’t you stay for me? Just this one little favor, stay safe for a little longer, won’t you? If you won’t do it for my sake, then do it for our children’s sake.”

The emerald eyed youth sat in stunned silence. What his mate said was completely true. Until now Draco had gone along with his every whim and desire, a bit grudgingly of course, but he had stayed with him through everything. He owed it to the blond and their unborn pups to play it safe for once, and not run off like the hero everyone expected him to be. He had a mate, offspring and a pack to think of now.

“You’re right, my love. I will stay here.”

Draco sighed in relief, smirking slightly at his victory.

“It is settled, then. We will depart tomorrow morning to retrieve the diadem from the Room of Requirements. I know where it is, remember Harry; I helped create the Marauder’s Map. We knew the school inside out, didn’t we Sirius?”

Sirius laughed in his usual gruff manner, clapping his friend on the back.

“That we did, Moony.”

“Please don’t remind me of your youthful exploits,” Severus remarked. He would never forget the teens’ horrid behavior toward the lanky boy he once was.

“Sorry about that, mate,” Sirius said with a bit of a choked laugh. He then leaned over to his godson and added in a conspiratorial whisper, “but I bet ten galleons Remus got his jollies when he saw ol’ Snape’s skivvies.”

Harry snorted though his pumpkin juice, splashing the table with the cold beverage and leaving the bridge below his nose and chin coated.

“I heard that,” Remus growled, wiping the sticky beverage from his own face.

Thank you so much for sticking with this story. It turns out that it will be longer than anticipated, and I great appreciate your reviews. Please feel free to leave comments, questions, anything you wish. Again, thank you so much for your support, it help me develop as a writer when I can see that my medium is accepted and liked by others.

Much love and gratitude until next time!
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Only You Can Set Me Free