Emerald and silver

Chapter 26


Draco was the first to wake that morning as the sun peeked out over the horizon. Being content where he was still wrapped up in James strong embrace he snuggled in closer to the other man who reflexively tightened his grip and slowly opened his eyes.
“Good morning,” James murmured, before brushing a kiss on Draco’s forehead.
Lifting his head slightly, the blonde placed a kiss on James’s jaw.
“Good morning…James. My back feels quite sore and stiff this morning, after all that training you’ve been subjecting me to. Would you rub some more of that pain relieving salve on it?” Draco purred.
James lifted an eyebrow and looked at the blonde questioningly, then raised his hand and summoned the jar of salve int. Th. The sexy Slytherin scooted off of James and lay on his stomach, stretching out across the bed. The raven-haired man pulled off the covers gazing at the blonde’s naked form. Sitting up he straddled Draco’s thighs and began rubbing the salve into the blonde’s tense muscles on his back. He applied a firm even pressure, massaging his shoulders, back and up his sides. James leaned forward and placed kisses up Draco’s spine and a few on his neck.
“Mmmm, those lips of yours,” Draco purred.
Leaning down so that his lips were up against the blonde’s ear, he whispered, “What, about my lips?” He then licked the blonde’s earlobe causing his body to quiver. Feeling the heat pool in his groin and his erection intensify, Draco turned so that he was lying on his back again, facing the man who was the cause of all these erotic sensations.
“They are divine,” he whispered, as he pulled James down crushing their lips together in a sensual kiss, trying to convey his need, his hunger, and his lust. James’s cock was already fully erect from running his hands over the naked body beneath him; the kiss only inflamed his desire. They broke apart to catch their breath as Draco reached down, grabbing the other man’s firm arse in his hands, drawing their erections together and causing a delicious, stimulating friction. Joint moans of pleasure and need were released simultaneously. James knew that if he didn’t stop himself, he would give into his desires and take the enticing blonde in his arms. But that’s not what he wanted, he wanted to wait, he needed to tell Draco things first, things that could change the direction their relationship was currently headed. With that thought pounding its way to the forefront of his mind, James rolled onto his side pulling Draco with him, kissing him once again until he was breathless. James used the time it took for the blonde to catch his breath to climb off of the bed bringing Draco up with him. He continued to deliver earth-shattering kisses as he guided them into the bathroom. Draco was so caught up in those kisses and the electric currents surging through his body, he did not even notice they had left the bedroom until he felt the water from the shower running over his heated flesh. He was momentarily startled back into reality and started to say so when he felt his hard cock being engulfed in James’s hot wet mouth.
“Oh God, James,” were the only coherent words to come out of the blonde’s mouth, though he continued to moan and babble endlessly. As James gave such intense pleasure to Draco, he also began stroking himself, not being able to wait any longer. Knowing he was causing the blonde Adonis such euphoria brought him over with in seconds after Draco reached his orgasm. After greedily lapping up every last drop, James quickly stood just in time to wrap Draco into a strong embrace as the blonde collapsed into hims cms completely sated. The satiated Slytherin mumbled something with his face smothered in the other man’s chest.
“What luv? I didn’t quite catch that,” James said.
Turning his head to the side, he repeated, “I would be your wanton slave, if I could wake up to that every morning.”
“I don’t think it would have the same impact after awhile.”

James leisurely washed every inch of the blonde’s sensuous form, trying to prolong the shower in case he was never again able to experience this heaven with his heart’s desire. When he was sure he hadn’t missed a spot he washed himself. As James dried them both off, they shared more kisses, no longer as needy and lustful but just as passionate.
“Dress in something comfortable today; I have plans for us. Also if you would, ask Dobby to pack a lunch for us to take along while I inform Lord Voldemort of our plans.”
“Okay, where are we going?” Draco asked.
“Several places, I have a lot to show you,” he said and left it at that.

James went ts ros room, got dressed, grabbed a few belongings he wanted to take and dow downstairs in search of Voldemort. He found him enjoying a meal at the dining table and joined him.
“Lord Voldemort, if you have nothing important that you need me for today, my apprentice and I will be out on a field trip.”
“What do you plan on teaching today?”
“I’m going to take Draco to meet the Dragons. Work with him on his Animagus form and then on a more personal level, dinner in town.”
“Does that mean that I can start making arrangements and plans for a celebration in the near future?”
“Not just yet, but you’ll be the first to know.”
“Go, have fun. I’m sure I can handle things in your absence for one day.”
“Do me a favor?”
“What would that be?”
“Try to control your temper. I don’t want to come rushing back here because one of your minions pissed you off and you couldn’t control your rage. You know how your stronger emotions effect me.”
“Such insolence you brat,” Voldemort chuckled.

James reentered his rooms to find Draco dressed and waiting with the requested basket of food. Waving his hand, he shrunk the basket and handed it to the blonde.
“Put this in a secure pocket. After I change forms, I’d like you to cast the disillusion charm I taught you on yourself and then me after you have mounted.”
“Mounted?”
“How else do you ride a dragon?”
James waited to change to his dragon form until after Draco had cast the disillusion charm on himself. Even though he had seen James’s dragon form many times over the past month, it never ceased to amaze him or take his breath away.
They flew off of the balcony of the training room in broad daylight with no one the wiser. Roughly an hour later they landed in the alley way behind number Four Private Drive. James signaled to Draco in his mind that he would need to recast the disillusion charm after he changed back from his Animagus form. Immediately after changing into his human form Draco cast the charm and he disappeared from sight again.
“Where are we? And since when can you communicate to me in my head?” Draco questioned.
“I’ll answer all of you questions when we are inside. But first I have to disarm the wards and reset some of my own. It seems whoever set these wards thought that I might come back here one day and they are keyed to my magical signature. It will alert someone, I’m assuming the caster, if I enter the premise, no magic usage necessary.”
“Won’t disarming and removing them sound the alarm as well?”
“Not if I do it correctly. I’m not going to remove the wards, just sort of rekey the existing wards to do what I want. They’ll work for me instead of against me. I’m rekeying them so they’ll hide my presence and yours, but alert me to the presence of anyone else. Remind me to thank Mcnair personally for that one.”
It always astounded Draco how James could carry on a conversation while working some of the most complicated spells and magic known. He sometimes wondered if James was even aware of how truly powerful he was, or if he was just naively oblivious.

Fifteen minutes later they were making their way into the two-story, boarded-up little house. After silently following James, the man with the most intoxicating lips he had ever met, through every room in the house he decided to ask again.
“Now will you tell me where we are and why we are here?”
“I don’t know where to begin. I have a lot to tell you. Did you know that last night was the first time that I slept without nightmares in over a year?”
Draco was about to respond but James quickly cut him off, knowing he had to say so many things to the blonde and he wanted to tell him now before he changed his mind and kept up his carefully fabricated deception.
“Well let’s start with your first question. This house is where I grew up. I brought you here because I need to show you who I was and why I am who I am now. Do you remember when I told you that I would never lie to you, but I might not be able to tell you every thing?”
Draco simply nodded his respon “Dr “Draco…I love you.” James said those three little words that would usually signify a happy person; he, however, looked like he had just signed his own death warrant.
“James, unless you are about to tell me that one of us is going to die in the immediate future, whatever it is, we can find a way to work it out,” Draco said soothingly, as he diminished the distance between them and wrapped his arms around James in a tight, reassuring embrace.
“I want to tell you everything. No one can ever know what I’m going to tell you; it would be dangerous for both of us. Will you let me put a spell on you, one which will prevent you from being able to tell anyone my secret?”
“I trust you. I would never betray you but I understand the importance for the spell. I realize that if someone thought they could get to you through me, they would stop at nothing for the information. Torture and truth serums being an everyday occurrence by the people that surround us keeps me from being anything but naive.”
James cast the spell so nothing that was discovered by Draco today could be found out by any means, magical or otherwise.
“I can show you some specific memories I have as a child being raised here. It would be projected into your mind. You would be seeing things as if you were viewing it through a pensieve with the exception that you would view through my eyes as if you wer. It. It would be easier than me telling you, if you’ll let me?”
“Okay. Does it hurt?”
“No, I don’t think so, but we can start out really slow and I’ll stop if it does hurt you. Let’s sit on the sofa in the other room.”

They sat on the sofa in the living room with Draco leaning back on James and the raven-haired man’s hands on the blonde’s temples. Within a short period of time, James had shared with Draco his childhood as Harry Potter up to age eleven. He wasn’t ready to share anything that would reveal his identity yet; he planned to save that for last. Draco had a few tracks of tears that left trails on his pale cheeks from the memories he had just shared. He now knew how the other man had been forced to live in a cupboard, was treated as little better than a house elf, abused and starved, all because he had magic in his blood. James then shared a few more memories of specific abusive situations between himself and his uncle from the last five years. James slowly lowered his hands from Draco’s head and gave him a few minutes to digest the information.
“How are you feeli
“I
“It didn’t hurt me physically if that’s what you mean. James, these memories, is that what you see in your nightmares?”
“Yes and no. It’s some of what my dreams are about but it’s not the worst. The one I dream about most often happened about a year ago and I can only remember bits and pieces. That’s another reason I brought you here. I found a spell that can be used to see things that have happened if an echo remains.”
“What do you mean, an echo?”
“An echo is similar to a wizard photo. They are alike in the way the image moves in a reoccurring pattern. When you look at the picture the people in them only do the same things over and over. They are different in the respect that the echo does not have a frame and the image is imprinted on the molecules in the air so to speak. It almost looks as if you’re seeing a ghost but, unlike ghosts, you are not able to interact with the echo as it, too is in a reoccurring pattern. An echo remains where the original image was played out and is created by unusually strong magic, traumatic death or torture.”
“How do you know if the magic was strong enough to create an echo?”
“I believe that an echo remains because the night I am speaking of had all three of the necessary components. However, I am not exactly sure what we will see because no one would tell me and I can’t quite remember anything but bits and pieces. I’m hoping to get the answers I’m looking for. The majority of the echo captures the time during and after the magic or trauma happened. Very little if any of the time before the magic was cast is captured in the echo, but I’m hoping it’s enough. After we see the echo, you will know who I used to be; I hope you’ll give me a chance to explain before you leave.”
Draco nodded his head knowing that nothing he said at this point would ease James worries; he could foresee nothing to change his mind about James. James stood and took Draco’s hand and led him into the kitchen. He went through the steps one more time in his head and cast the spell to be able to observe the echo. A room which was empty moments ago, was now filled with transparent images moving like actors on a movie screen. James and Draco quickly realized they could move around the images, which were 3-D in detail, to gain the best angle from which to observe the scene playing out before them.

The echo started as Harry was receiving the last few punches from his uncle as his brutalized body crumpled and fell to the floor. As the image of Harry received the first few kicks from the Vernon image, the windows shattered, in horror James and Draco watched as the gruesome scene as the house and its inhabitants were destroyed. As they saw the house crumble and break, they noticed that no falling debris approached the lifeless body of Harry, who seemed to be cocooned within a circle extending two feet in every direction from his body. As James and Draco watched, stunned by the images they were seeing, they noticed a figure enter from the back of the house and approach the bodies scattered about the room. They saw Mcnair as he made his way over to Harry and bend over to move the fringe of hair covering they boy’s forehead revealing the lightning bolt scar. They watched as Mcnair took off his cloak, wrapped up the bloody body and then apparated away. Nothing seemed to be happening but the images of the destroyed house still surrounded them.

James was the first to speak. “He told me that I killed them; in cold-blooded murder and that I found my way to him afterwards.”
Draco stood there stunned; he couldn’t believe the power he had just witnessed. Nor could he see any resemblance between Harry Potter and man man standing in front of him; they looked so different.
“The papers made you out to be a heartless murderer; they said nothing about any of this,” Draco said as he snapped out of his shock.
No sooner had Draco said that when the Lucius image entered, clearing a path as he went. They saw him repair the windows and fix all of the damage done to the house. They saw him search through the house until he found a Hogwarts trunk and began to root through until he found Harry’s belongings. He grabbed Harry’s wand, invisibility cloak Gringotts key. They watched as Lucius apparated away.
“Well, now we know why the paper and the Ministry had Harry Potter convicted of murder without even having a trial,” Draco said.
“To think I actually believed Voldemort. He set me up and made sure it was all in the paper. You know, I have to admit it was very cunning, he didn’t tell me what happened; he let me read the articles from the paper and make my own assumptions. That coupled with the fact that I was a hunted man, on top of the shock of everything else, what other choice didave?ave? With the knowledge I was given, I played right into his hands. He manipulated me as much as Dumbledore did. But really, why did I expect any better from the man who killed my parents. What I don’t understand is why he told me my wand was confiscated by the ministry when he had it all along.”
“If you were in that condition when you were taken out of here and you were sequestered away by Voldemort, then you were never on the run and it couldn’t have been you who killed those six Aurors. But how did they pull it off using your wand?”
“What do you mean I killed six Aurors?”
“It was in the paper the day after this incident was reported, a special edition. I still have the article back at the manor. I know father was involved somehow; he was bragging that night about your downfall but he didn’t share any information. The paper reported that someone had spotted you in Hogsmeade and had reported to the Ministry. Apparently they sent out seven Aurors to capture you. Only one survived and in his statement, he said he had seen you and had made a positive identification from your scar. He claimed you had escaped after warning him that the same thing would happen to anyone else that tried to come after you. The strange thing that made no sense to me at the time was that you left your wand behind when you escaped. When the Ministry preformed prior incantatum on your wand, they found the killing curse used four times with several nasty hexes. Lucius could have easily used a polyjuice potion but how did he get your wand to respond to him?”
Digesting all the information Draco had just given him, James suddenly felt uneasy.
“Finite Incantatum,” James said canceling the echo spell. “We need to get out of here. You didn’t exactly react how I thought you might.”
“I’m still finding itd tod to believe. You look nothing like Harry Potter and you don’t even have the scar. You also stated that you had some things to explain to me. I’ll wait until I hear your explanations and give you a chance to prove to me that you weren’t just using me or trying to make me look like a fool before I pass judgment. Not to mention I’m currently the one with the advantage.”
James walked over to Draco, lifted the blonde’s hand to his forehead and let his fingertips brush over his scar.
“It’s still there, you can feel it; I was given a potion to conceal it. But I’ll explain more later. We should really leave here in case this place is being watched. After I change into the dragon put the illusionment charm on us again and, when we get out side, we’ll leave for our next destination.”
The two made their way out of the house to the backyard where James changed form and Draco cast the charm. Draco climbed onto the dragon’s back and the two flew off.