Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

You Set Fire to the Rain	By : icicle33 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 11826 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter characters or any part of the HP fandom or universe. This story is written purely for pleasure and no money is be made from it. None at all.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Warnings: Please refer to chapter 1 for a full list of warnings.

Author's note: Thank you so much to every who has read and reviewed so far! I was so overwhelmed with the lovely comments for the last chapter that I decided to update early! Originally, chapter 4 was ridiculously long and I was having trouble with the end of it. However, instead of making you wait, I decided to split it into two parts. I hope you enjoy it and once again, a special thank you to my betas: ashiiblack and sonnyisforlovers.

*Lastly, a big thank you to Cleo, who caught a big error that I had made in this chapter. It is now fixed. Thank you so much for pointing that out.

: : Four : :

“You hate someone whom you really wish to love, but whom you cannot love. Perhaps he himself prevents you. That is a disguised form of love. ” ~SC⁴

: : :

If I had known that to boost Andromeda’s spirits all I had to do was agree to go visit you, her most wretched nephew, then I would have agreed to do it weeks ago. That morning, Andromeda was a different person; it was as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders, and in rare moments, like when she was baking her famous lemon scones, I could see a glimpse of the former serenity and wisdom she used to radiate constantly.

In the last few weeks, I had put my not-so-highly-developed culinary skills into practise, and unfortunately, they had never progressed much from my former days of burning bacon in Little Whinging. Even Teddy was starting to protest that he didn’t want to eat mushy ‘pasghetti’ again, so I was grateful to have Andromeda reclaim her role in the kitchen that morning. She fixed the three of us a delicious lunch and even prepared a couple of meat pies for dinner. Her main hit though were her scrummy lemon scones.

It had been so long since she had made them last, and although I usually favoured chocolate éclairs, treacle tart, and other afters, Andie’s lemon scones were among my favourites as well. I found it strange that Andie insisted on eating lemon scones as an after rather than with tea, but it was a Black family tradition. Narcissa had started it when she was a little girl, and of course, Andie and her darling nephew, liked to keep the tradition alive. In fact, lemon scones were her nephew’s favourite she had explained to me, which was why she was baking them. She was baking a special batch for me to bring to you on my visit. You lucky sod, Andie never bakes me scones, and I figured you wouldn’t even appreciate the kind gesture.

It’s ironic how much Andromeda adores you now; it’s as if she knew that now that Narcissa was gone, you were going to need another mother, and she was more than happy to fill those shoes. Not too long ago, I remember her bad-mouthing Lucius Malfoy repeatedly and claiming that even though she didn’t know her nephew, she was positive that the insolent child was exactly like his father. If anyone were to say a negative word against you today, even if it’s me, she’ll have my head on a platter.

I couldn’t help but feel jealous that Andromeda was fussing over you so heavily since she had practically ignored me for the last few weeks, but I knew that my jealousy was ill-founded. You had just lost your mother, for Merlin’s sake, and were living alone in that dreary manor; as much as I didn’t like you at the time, I still felt that you deserved someone’s compassion, just not mine.

: : :

After a satisfying lunch, I made my way to Wiltshire. I hadn’t been inside the manor since the war, and I was not looking forward to facing my past ghosts and you at the same time. The one time I had seen your mother after her trial, she insisted that we meet in Diagon Alley. I suppose she understood that I wouldn’t want to visit her at Malfoy Manor, no matter how honourable her intentions were. Even during Narcissa's funeral, I kept to the gardens and the adjacent Malfoy chapel. I just couldn't bring myself to go inside the haunting manor house, and Andie didn't seem crazy about the idea either. Besides, it's not like you had invited me in for tea anyway; you didn't even talk to me that day, and I was positive that you wouldn't be particularly happy to have me stopping by the manor unexpectedly. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what I was sure would be a heated confrontation.

When I finally reached Malfoy Manor, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was expecting to feel fear, dread, to see flashes of Voldemort and Death Eaters, perhaps. But none of that happened. All I felt was empty, and somehow, the manor was even more worn and desolate than I remembered it. The formidable front gate had been left slightly ajar—the golden ‘M’ that had once stood for power and prestige was dangling, barely hanging on by its hinges and slightly crooked. Now, it almost appeared to be an ‘E’ rather than the once intimidating ‘M’. There were broad hedges, which enclosed the meandering path that led to what had once been a charming, ancestral manor house, but was now just a bleak shadow of its former glory. I remembered the hedges to have been neatly clipped and surrounded by vibrant flowerbeds and even a few white peacocks. Now, they were completely overgrown and bedraggled; there wasn’t a peacock in sight.

I was more than a little shocked that you had allowed the manor to fall into this derelict state, but that was the least of my worries. As I approached the manor door, I could tell that something was wrong. It was a dark and dreary afternoon. It had rained all morning, and the sky was still entirely clouded over; yet, the manor was completely dark. There wasn’t a light on in any areas of the vast house, not even in what I knew to be the house-elves’ quarters. The manor appeared abandoned and discarded, and I desperately hoped that you had gone on some luxurious holiday in the Med because the alternative was unimaginable. As much as I hated your stupid, pointy face, I couldn’t help but feel a lead weight growing and gnawing at my stomach. Merlin, I really regretted eating that second helping of pudding.

Why did I care what happened to you anyway? You were a foul git—you always have been.

As I knocked on the foreboding door, I held my breath. Everything would be fine, I assured myself. It had to be...for Andromeda’s sake. And as loath as I was to admit it, for my sake too. For some reason I just couldn’t explain, I cared what happened to you too. I wanted, no I needed, you to be all right.

: : :

The next few hours, turned out to be some of the longest of my life.

I had knocked incessantly on the door of your manor, but when no one answered, I tried a quick unlocking spell and the door opened easily. It was as if the house knew that its master was in trouble; all the wards that I knew had once been in place granted me access. I hesitantly searched the manor for any signs of you or at least one of the many house-elves, but the long, garish corridors were dust-ridden and empty. It appeared that the elves had taken a holiday or at least gone on strike because it was evident that they had been neglecting their duties. I tried not to panic since I hadn’t seen any evidence of danger or foul play, but I still couldn’t shake that niggling feeling in my gut.

I continued wandering around the empty manor when I came across the dining room—the long, cherry oak dining table had been broken in half and the dozen Ashford leatherback chairs that usually surrounded it were overturned and strewn across the room. The antique china cabinets had been smashed open, and it appeared that all the expensive porcelain had been looted and the everyday tableware had been shattered. My heart started pounding furiously, and I cried out your name, not caring that I sounded hysterical and frantic.

I ran down the endless corridors utterly lost and helpless. Something terrible had happened; I was just so sure of it, but I couldn’t find you anywhere. After what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, I came across a lone house-elf cowering in the corner of the kitchen. It was banging its large head repeatedly on the nearest cupboard.

“Blood...Blood...” it squeaked. “So much Blood.”

Immediately, I felt a deep pang in my chest, but I tried to remain calm.

“What are you talking about? Tell me,” I demanded, my voice harsh and authoritative.

The creature ignored me. “Blood...blood,” it continued to squeak.

I had the greatest urge to shake the blithering creature into compliancy, but I wouldn’t gain anything by terrifying the house-elf. No, I needed to get it to trust me. I knelt down on the floor next to the elf and attempted to speak as kindly as possible. “What’s your name?”

“Blood...blood...so much blood,” the elf continued whimpering, now rocking itself back and forth and completely ignoring me.

“I’m Harry Potter,” I tried again. “And I need your help.”

The elf stopped rocking and met my gaze; it opened its large mouth up and starting wailing, a dreadful shrill howl.

“Stop that.” I was starting to get impatient now. “I need your help.”

The creature continued sobbing and ignored my request once again.

“Your master sent me,” I said, trying to make eye contact with the barmy creature.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because the elf started sobbing even more hysterically and then latched onto my leg.

“Master, Master.”

“I’m not your master,” I snapped, trying to shake the elf off my leg unsuccessfully. “Where’s your master?”

“Bad men,” it said, finally meeting my eyes again.

“What are you—”

The wretched creature tightened its grip on my leg and screeched even louder; streams of black tears were falling down its long, ugly face. Who knew that house-elves cried black tears?

“Bad men...hurt Master,” the small elf choked out. “Bad, bad men.”

“Who? Where is your master?” I demanded. I was yelling now and once again trying to remove the elf from my appendages, but it was no use. It was as if the heinous creature was glued onto me. Desperation was choking me—an overwhelming urge to see you right that instant caused the air to tangibly tense with my uncontrollable magic. The house-elf was clearly mental because you had to be okay—had to—because Andromeda would not be able to handle losing you too. Not after everything else that had already been taken from her. And somehow, I knew that I couldn’t either.

“Stop crying,” I threatened. “If you don’t stop crying...”

My harsh words seemed to have no effect on the elf; if anything, they were only making her scream louder. I was beyond panicked at this point and needed to do something and fast.

“Please,” I said, using my softest voice. “I’m a friend of Dobby’s. I’m sure you remember Dobby.”

The small elf stopped crying and nodded vigorously.

“That’s good. I really liked Dobby,” I continued. I hated thinking about that mad elf. It still broke my heart knowing that he sacrificed everything for me, and I couldn’t even give him a proper burial. But now was not the time for regrets. I was desperate and needed this other elf to help me.

“I’m a friend of your master’s too. Where is he? Did something happen to him?”

“Master...Master,” the small elf sobbed, her big eyes filling with tears again.

“No, don’t cry. I need you to be brave. Please, for Dobby. Dobby was so brave.”

The elf didn’t stop crying, but at least she had released her death grip around my leg.

“Thank you. Now, where’s your master?”

“Bad elves. All left. Only Binky stay...bad, bad elves.”

I took a deep breath and tried to remain patient.

“It’s okay, Binky,” I said kindly. “You can tell me. I’m going to help your master. What happened?”

The elf brought its knobby knees to its chest and started rocking back and forth again. “Blood...blood...bad, bad men.”

“Binky, please.” This was getting ridiculous now. If you truly had been attacked, then listening to an incoherent and blithering house-elf was not going to help, and every second spent coddling Binky was a second wasted with your life on the line. I was about to give up and seek you out myself when the elf got up and wrapped itself around my legs again. This time, however, it Apparated us with a quick snap to a large parlour room.

To be continued...

: : :

Author's note: Thank you so much for reading, and I would love to hear what you think good or bad. I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, but I promise that I'll add chapter 5 by the end of the weekend. If anyone wants me to email then when I update, let me know. Also, I have a question for everyone. As a reader, I prefer to have more frequent updates with shorter chapters. Would you prefer for me to update once a week with longer chapters or a couple times a week with shorter chapters? Let me know. That's it for now and I promise you'll find out what happened to Draco in the next chapter.

[4] The quote at the beginning of part four is by Sri Chinmoy. I take no credit for this quote.

Until next time,

~Icicle

Review Responses:

Cleo: Hello dear! I'm so flattered and glad that you decided to read my story even if you were uneasy about the warnings. Trust me, I love these boys very much, so even though they will suffer, I promise the ending is hopeful. We're also a long way off because the story is just starting. Thank you for your comment about liking the first person pov because I usually don't write in first person, but I felt it was necessary for this fic. It really was the only way to truly understand Harry's feelings and his perception of the people and world around him. Harry's interest in Draco is a little fast, but at this point, he doesn't have any romantic feelings towards Draco. At all. He's just obsessed and fascinated by Draco for reasons he can't explain/doesn't understand, much like he was back at school. In the next couple of chapters, Harry's fascination and draw to Draco will be further explained. Thank you again for you lovely comment.

Scarlet Dark: Hello new reader! Thank you for your lovely comment and I will definitely keep you notified of future updates. = )

Elemental witch: Hello love! I want to thank you so much for your amazing review. Honestly, I was having a bad day yesterday, and your kind words made me feel so much better. I was flattered that you would want to stay up all night reading my story, so much so that I decided to update early. I can promise that this story is different from most, and I tried my best to not put the boys in too many cliche situations. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Hotflower901: Hello again, dear. Thank you so much for another wonderful review. I'm glad that you enjoyed Mrs Zabini's hat and hairstyle. I actually saw an older woman walking around with a hat that had a huge bird on it, and I couldn't help but laugh like poor Harry. Well, the woman turned around to glare at me, so I wound up adding that little snippet to the chapter. The last chapter was angsty and so is this one and the next one, so I figured I needed to add a little comic relief. Don't worry, Harry will most definitely find Draco, and my dear, didn't you hear Hermione...blood curses don't exist. = )

unneeded: Hello again, love, and thank you so much for your in depth comments. I'm sorry you are having trouble with your computer. I didn't have a computer almost the entire summer and it drove me insane. I hope you get everything straightened out...if not, then an old glitchy computer is better than nothing. = (. As for Harry volunteering to visit Malfoy...well, you are right it was obvious, but I don't think what he actually finds at the manor is that obvious...or at least I hope not. Harry will have more opportunities to attempt to comfort Draco and hopefully he can fair better than in the past. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I loved your little *cues dramatic music* addition. Also, I've included what I wrote in your past email, here at the bottom, just in case you weren't able to access it.

Review/email response for chapter 2:

unneeded: Hello lovely reader,

Thank you so much for your wonderful review to my story. I really appreciate it when readers take the time to tell me what they think of my work. Also, I didn't mean to sound as if it was mandatory to leave emails. The problem was that before I was able to see the email addresses of all registered users; therefore, I asked anyone without a aff.netaccount to leave an email, so I could reply to them too. Ever since they made the changes or upgrades to aff.net, I can't see the emails of anyone, which is why I responded at the end of the chapters. Anyway, sorry for rambling I just wanted to clear that up. On to your review:

It was indeed a rather dramatic way to introduce Draco. I really felt for him and for poor Harry too, who only wanted to help but made a right mess of things. I just posted chapter three, so you hope enjoy that as well.

Best,

Icicle
- 3
- 4
- 5
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

You Set Fire to the Rain