Unlikely Beginnings

Hours had gone by and still there’d been no sign of Professor Snape. Draco had become more and more irritated the later it became, with no sign of their Potions master. As they continued down the ever-changing corridors, Harry suddenly stopped, pulling at Draco’s sleeve to get his attention.

Draco felt the tug on his sleeve and stopped, wondering if anything was wrong. “What is it, Harry?” he asked.

“There’s Snape,” Harry replied, pointing further up the corridor.

Draco’s eyes trailed along Harry’s arm to the area where the boy was pointing and sighed in relief when he saw Snape, walking briskly down the corridor. Harry could have sworn he heard the blond mutter “thank God!” as they hurried their steps so they’d reach Snape before the school decided to shift on them again. Once they were close enough to their professor, Draco pulled urgently at his Head of House’s robe sleeve.

Snape whirled around at the tug he felt, a scowl fixed on his face and mouth open, ready to demand what someone thought they were doing yanking on him, when he caught sight of the two boys.

Harry thought for a brief second that he had seen relief flash across Snape’s features before the look disappeared altogether to be replaced with a heated glare directed towards him and Draco. Without a word spoken by anyone, Snape had roughly grabbed hold of both boys’ upper arms and dragged them through the nearest doorway into an empty classroom, slamming the door shut behind them.

Turning around in a swirl of robes to face the two boys, Snape growled out, “Have the two of you completely lost your minds!” Draco opened his mouth to reply, but closed it right away at the glare he received from his Head of House. “I did not ask for you to speak,” Snape said, interrupting the blond before he could say anything at all. “I cannot believe the risk you two took to get here. Did you know the Dark Lord is here, at this very moment, in this school, and knows that the two of you are here?” Snape paused a moment, trying to even his breathing and collect himself before going on. “I’d expected something like this from Potter,” Snape looked at Harry as he said this, making Harry frown at the way he said it, like he was stupid or something, “since he’s not in his right mind due to his condition; but you…” Snape continued before he turned his attention fully to Draco, scowling at the blond. “Mister Malfoy, you should have known better than to leave school grounds to come here.”

“Sir,” Harry interjected, “it was my idea to come here. I’d wanted to talk to you about…” he trailed off, not really sure what he had wanted to see Snape for in the first place. He knew that it had been important to him at the time, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember why exactly he had wanted to see Snape immediately rather than wait until the man had gone back to Hogwarts.

“Mister Potter, I don’t care what your reasons were,” Snape snapped back in reply. “If we were back at Hogwarts, I’d have handed out detentions to both of you every night until you both left the school and deducted four hundred points from each of you. Now,” Snape crossed his arms, scowl still in place, “I want the two of you to listen to me closely. After we leave this classroom, I want you both to go right up the first set of stairs you come to and down the hall to the fourth door on your left. Be sure not to dally: the walls and floors shift every five minutes give or take,” Snape said to the pair of them.

The boys nodded their heads in understanding, not wanting to be somewhere where anyone could come in contact with them and ask questions. Snape turned to head towards the door, but turned to address Draco. “I’d almost forgotten,” Snape began, “your father is here, Mister Malfoy, so I suggest the two of you continue to stay out of sight.”

“Does it really make a difference if he knows I’m here or not?” Draco replied, not surprised in the least that he’d somehow escaped from prison, most likely with help from his fellow Death Eaters on the Dark Lord’s orders, no less. “Besides, it’s just one more person we’re hiding from.”

“It wasn’t in any of the papers before we left,” Harry added, drawing the attention of the others to him. “I mean, absolutely no mention of it at all.”

“That is because he did not escape; he was set loose by the Dementors,” Snape curtly replied, looking at Harry. “The Dark Lord has recruited them once more into his ranks.”

Harry frowned, not looking at Snape. That would mean that there might be Dementors surrounding Durmstrang, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to fend them off this time. It wasn’t that he had forgotten how, but more along the lines of he had not quite felt up to par since finding out he was pregnant. He had assumed, after he found out, that this might have been the reason behind him feeling poorly and tired all the time.

He’d thought, at the time, it was mainly due to his mind focusing solely on what had happened between him and Draco, now he assumed it was the pregnancy. Also, the way he felt, what with Voldemort being so close, actually, here in the school itself, he had no idea if he’d be able to do it at all. He was brought out of his thoughts when Draco began to speak. “I just don’t see how my father being here can make much of a difference now.”

Snape sighed to himself in utter frustration; clearly the younger Malfoy wasn’t thinking. But before he could say anything further on the matter, Snape scowled in irritation as his Dark Mark began to burn. “I have to go,” Snape informed as he turned back to the door, pulled it open, and walked quickly out into the corridor. Harry watched as his robes swirled with the movement and flared out behind Snape from the force of air displaced in his wake. It might have looked more dramatic, in Harry’s opinion, if Snape wasn’t basically running off with his tail between his legs to see Voldemort.

The two boys stood right outside the door of the empty classroom for a few minutes, watching Snape disappear down the corridor. After a moment, Draco grabbed hold of the baggy sleeve of Harry’s too big Durmstrang robe and dragged him along as they made their way down the corridor themselves. They moved as quickly as they could towards the stairs Snape had mentioned, up the steps and down the corridor until they came to stand in front of the door Snape had told them about. Draco turned the door handle and almost sank to the floor in relief. It wasn’t that he thought Snape would set a trap or something else as unexpected, but he just didn’t like to assume things would all go well, especially seeing as how they’d basically had walked up to the Dark Lord’s front door.

Draco pushed open the door and the two boys walked into the room. It seemed that their Potions professor had sent them to a supply cupboard. As they looked around they saw a few mops, brooms, some cleaning supplies, and rags: both clean and dirty. Draco shook his head, muttering curses at no one Harry could hear clearly. Although, the room was a right sight nicer than the broom cupboard had been: more room (more than the other had, anyhow), and looking about the floor, not as many insects to watch out for.

Harry looked around the storage room before moving over to a fairly clean area and sitting down onto the floor. He shivered a bit involuntarily as the cold stone under his rear soaked through his trousers. Draco sighed as if a great burden had been thrust upon him as he joined the other boy on the floor, wrapping an arm around Harry’s shoulders to help warm him up a bit with his added body heat.

Harry smiled his thanks at the blond and sighed, trying to get comfortable, which seemed almost impossible, as the floor wasn’t about to become soft and fluffy. They sat in companionable silence, each one lost in their thoughts. “Draco?” Harry began quietly, breaking the silence.

“Hmm?” Draco tiredly replied. He hadn’t slept yet, unable to due to the noises that had kept him up most of the night, afraid someone would find them and drag them, kicking and screaming, to the Dark Lord.

Harry paused, not sure how to bring up the subject. He was curious though, and thought it better to just come out and say what he was thinking. “Do you reckon our child is a boy or a girl?”

Draco froze, wondering why now, of all times, Harry would bring up the sex of their child. Sighing quietly to himself, he said, “I’ve never really given it any thought, to tell the truth. If it was up to my father, he’d probably push for a boy to carry on the Malfoy name, but seeing as this child has two fathers, I’m not sure whose surname it’d get.” Draco was telling the truth; with everything that had happened since they’d first left Hogwarts to go on this poorly-thought out ‘adventure’, he hadn’t thought about what sex their child was.

“Couldn’t our child have both our names? I don’t think one has to be married to do so,” Harry said, leaning back against Draco’s arm, almost cuddling up against the blond as the room they were in began to get a bit chillier as the sun outside the castle began to set.

Draco shifted a bit when Harry mentioned the word ‘married’. He knew Harry wasn’t asking about getting married, but it still nettled Draco a bit. He wasn’t sure why, since he wasn’t against it, in and of itself, but mainly because he’d suddenly had thoughts of the two of them marrying and living off in some cottage somewhere. “You’re right, but would it be Malfoy-Potter, or Potter-Malfoy? Or would we combine the two into some off form, say Palfoy? Or even Motter?” Draco said, grinning at the small snort of laughter this produced from Harry.

Still chuckling, Harry said, “I think Potter-Malfoy would be good. Besides, it flows better.” Draco smiled at the other boy, leaning over to place a quick kiss onto his lips. Harry raised a hand, placing it behind Draco’s head to keep him in place as he kissed back hungrily, mouths partly open as their tongues slid gently against each other. After a moment, the two parted, catching their breaths. Harry snuggled closer to Draco and closed his eyes. He hadn’t mentioned actual baby names to Draco since he didn’t think the blond would have wanted to discuss it. He knew Draco still had a hard time thinking there really was a baby within him and besides, every time he’d looked into a children’s clothing store, Draco would get annoyed and pull him away.

Harry wanted to name their baby after his parents, but since he didn’t know what sex it would be, he sort of settled on Jamie, since it was a neutral name that could be applied to either gender and was very close to his father’s name. Letting out a deep breath, Harry finally succumbed to sleep, Draco following shortly after.

@>*~

It was about ten minutes after lunch had ended for the day; students were making their way out of the Great Hall on their way to their next class. Ron and Hermione were following the flow of seventh years all heading to Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Once inside the classroom, they took their usual seats up front, near the professor’s desk.

Silence descended among the students as they watched, in surprise, as Professor Dumbledore walked down the aisle to the teacher’s desk. As soon as he reached the desk, he turned so he was looking out at the students, seated at their desks, wondering what the Headmaster was doing in their classroom, instead of Professor Lupin. “Good afternoon! I’m afraid Professor Lupin will not be joining you all today,” Dumbledore said, looking around the class. “Fear not: for today, I shall be your instructor.” Dumbledore turned to pick up a piece of parchment from off the desk as the students began talking in hushed voices, wondering what had happened to Professor Lupin.

Ron leaned towards Hermione and whispered, “Where do you suppose Professor Lupin went?” He kept his eyes on Professor Dumbledore, watching as the old professor picked up a sheet of parchment and began calling names out and looking to see that everyone was there, sans Harry and Draco, of course.

“Ah! Is that a new hairstyle, Miss Parkinson?” Hermione heard the Headmaster ask, which was followed by a blush from Pansy and snickers from the boys in their class.

As Professor Dumbledore went about the room complimenting the students or asking how their families were, Hermione whispered back, “I’m not sure, but with Harry and Malfoy gone, he might have been sent out to look for them.”

“You reckon Dumbledore knows where he is?”

“He doesn’t seem upset about Professor Lupin being gone, so he may have been the one to send him out,” Hermione replied. She suddenly had to try very hard not to giggle when Dumbledore began to lecture: he had begun to wave his wand around in an attempt to show one of the Slytherins a complex move to block unwanted spells. Composing herself, she turned back to Ron. “I just hope Professor Lupin doesn’t run into any Death Eaters wherever he’s at right now.”

“Hermione, he’s a werewolf; I’m pretty sure he’ll be able to handle it if that were to happen. I mean, he’s been through enough in his life,” Ron replied.

Hermione looked up, making sure the Headmaster wasn’t going to say anything about her and Ron talking in class. “I know, and that’s what worries me. If You-Know-Who really is at full strength now, wouldn’t he try and find a way to get the werewolves on his side?” she asked.

Ron moved closer to his girlfriend and took hold of her hand, trying to comfort her in a way that wouldn’t draw too much attention to themselves. Just about the whole school knew they were together, but they tried to avoid pushing it into people’s faces. “I don’t know,” he pensively replied, “but I’m pretty sure Professor Lupin won’t go down without a fight.”

Hermione smiled in assurance, reassured, for now, and gently squeezed Ron’s hand in thanks. They spent the rest of the hour in class, working on their assignments, and being amused by their Headmaster’s antics.

@>*~

It was midnight and Snape lay in bed, trying to get some sleep. It was almost impossible these last few days as thoughts of the two boys kept intruding in his mind. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was worried for them. Oh, he still hated Potter with every fiber of his being for not only being James’ son, but also for the attention he received and the things he was allowed to get away with. It was enough to make anyone sick of hearing how ‘special’ someone was constantly.

He lay motionless as he heard his door squeak open slowly. His grip on his wand tightened: he’d taken to sleeping with his wand since arriving at Durmstrang, and barely opened an eye to see who had thought to disturb him so late at night. He almost threw a hex anyway when he saw who the person was. Draco and Harry had finally found their Potions master’s room after searching a few hours once the majority of the dark school had turned in for the night.

“Finally,” Draco mumbled upon seeing Snape in his bed. “We were about to give up and head back to the supply cupboard,” he said to Snape.

Snape sat up and glared at the two boys. Although he should have expected them to want to find him and ask, ‘what now?’ Even though they were both of age now, in the wizarding world, they both seemed to continue to need or seek guidance from an authority/parental figure. Anyone else would have been touched. But Severus Snape was not ‘anyone else’.

Snape moved around on the bed so his legs were over the side. “You two need to leave the castle, but not at this moment,” Snape said to the two boys.

“Why not right now?” Draco asked, moving further towards Snape’s bed.

“Because,” Snape sighed in annoyance, “there are sentries about: Death Eaters who are still scouring the castle looking for the both of you.”

“Great,” Draco mumbled, running a hand over his face. Harry looked like he was going to be sick.

“You have to keep moving. Stay hidden within the student population,” Snape said to Draco, almost as if Harry weren’t there with them.

Draco frowned, wondering why Snape was telling him all this. He knew Harry was acting a bit odd lately, and he heard what Snape had said earlier about Harry basically not being all there in the head due to the pregnancy, but he knew for a fact Harry wasn’t stupid. He thought it could be that Snape assumed Draco was ‘in charge’, which was true in a way, since he had known how to get to Durmstrang and such. He was brought out of his internal musings as Snape began to speak once more.

“Mister Malfoy, make sure to keep Harry as safe as possible. The child has most certainly weakened him a bit since male pregnancies can only carry on due to the wizard’s inborn magic. Hence, why the curse was able to take hold,” Snape informed him, glancing at Harry, who looked a bit green in the face. “Professor Lupin should be on his way here. I’ve told him to hurry and come.”

Harry's eyes lit up, feeling light and pleased for the first time in the last few days at this news. Draco nodded at his teacher. He really hoped they would be able to get back to school safely. As much as he disliked Dumbledore, Hogwarts was his home away from home, and he wanted to be back there, in his own dorm room, and fretting about their NEWTs.

“Now, off with you two; go, and try not to bring too much attention to yourselves,” Snape said, watching Draco grab Harry’s arm and lead him out of the room. Snape turned and made his way back towards his bed once the two boys had left. He paused in his step as he heard a strange scuffling sound. He looked around the room, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He was going to simply dismiss it as being tired, when he heard the noise again. His gaze moved down to the floor and spotted a rat sitting near the door. Without even thinking, he lunged at the rat, growling in frustration as the rat ran out the still semi-open door. Snape quickly got to his feet, running out into the corridor, but it was too late. Peter had already disappeared out of view. Snape refrained from cursing loudly as he walked a few feet down the corridor, still looking for Pettigrew, even though he knew it was pointless.

The bastard had been spying on him all this time, and right now he was probably telling the Dark Lord everything he’d just overheard. Severus knew he was running out of time and the Dark Lord would soon find out about Harry’s unborn child. Exactly how long had Pettigrew been spying on him? The entire time, or after the Dark Lord had gone traipsing through his mind? Snape’s anger overtook him a moment and he kicked a nearby chair into the wall hard enough to break the chair in pieces. He sighed to himself and turned to head back to his room when he heard someone speak.

“Something wrong, Severus?”

Snape turned around to see Lucius Malfoy smirking at him. Snape refrained from rolling his eyes as he said, “It’s none of your concern. What do you want?”

Lucius moved closer to Severus, invading his personal space. “Can’t an old friend drop in for a visit?” Lucius idly asked as he ran a hand, almost lovingly, down Snape’s arm. “We’re all on the same side here, aren’t we, Severus?” Lucius whispered to Snape, sticking out his tongue to run along the shell of his ear.

Snape closed his eyes a moment at the caressing touch, shivering as the other man assaulted not only his ear, but his senses, before pushing Lucius away from himself and backing up. “We were never that type of friend, Lucius,” Snape said, frowning.

Lucius sighed and shrugged. “Be careful, Severus,” he began. “You’ve had to make the choice of which side you’re on before.” Snape had crossed his arms and just looked at the blond man. “Are you sure you’re going to make the right one this time around?”

Snape uncrossed his arms and stalked off down the corridor back to his room, trying to strenuously ignore the blond. Before he stepped into his room, he heard Lucius call down the hall. “Do remember to feed your pets, as well. It wouldn’t do to have them on the back doorstep, nor to bring them inside.”

Snape continued into his room, wondering what the hell Lucius had been on about. He didn’t have any pets and even if he did, he definitely wouldn’t have brought them to Durmstrang. He thought on it a bit more, trying to work out the clue or warning Lucius had given him. It took him a few moments, but the only thing he could come up with was that Lucius somehow knew that Lupin was in Russia.

He wasn’t very worried about Lupin since he knew the man could take care of himself. Unless he did something stupid, like making his way to the castle itself, trying to see Snape, or some such nonsense. He didn’t really like Lupin all that much, especially not enough for Lucius to think Snape considered Lupin a pet. Of course, he’d come to put some past differences aside. He still hated Sirius, even though the man was dead now, and never forgave their little group for trying to get him killed by Lupin in his wolf form, but since Lupin had been asked back to teach by Dumbledore, Snape had to admit that he was putting in an effort to bury the hatchet.

Severus knew he liked men, along with women. He’d dated a fair few of the Slytherin girls in his youth. He was never very popular, or even what one would consider being handsome, but he knew he wasn’t outright ugly, either, no matter what he overheard from his students.

He hadn’t been on any type of date in nearly eighteen years, but that was mainly due to how busy his job was, and being a spy for the Order. It was a tad hard to woo someone with the Dark Lord and murderous, elitist colleagues looming over the relationship’s horizon. He shook his head and sighed loudly. Hell, it’d been nearly as long since he’d been intimate with anyone; he was just glad he had both his hands.

Snape moved to lie down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Maybe Lucius hadn’t said things outright because of the Dark Lord watching him more closely; or else he wasn’t watching the blond’s mind at all. It wouldn’t be above Lucius to keep something from the Dark Lord, and Snape knew many things that Lucius kept from the Dark Lord. The thing Snape wasn’t sure about was what Lucius was trying to tell him. Was Lucius trying to give him a hint, which he could use for the well-being of Lupin? Perhaps to tell Lupin false information to prove he was on the ‘right’ side, according to Lucius?

Snape brought his hands to his face, rubbing at his temples, a headache forming from too much conjecturing. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. His mind was telling him one thing and his conscience, another. The only thing he knew for sure was in the end, he couldn’t stay in the middle, watching from the sidelines. In the end, he was going to have to choose a side and between the two of them: the light and the dark; he knew which one was going to win in the end, and he planned to follow it.

@>*~

Draco and Harry had once more spent the night in a supply cupboard. After speaking with Snape the night before, they knew that the Death Eaters wouldn’t stop looking for them. Draco was just glad they were in a part of the castle that not many people went to unless they were in a sudden mood to clean. Draco had felt the urge to shag Harry a few times since they’d entered the castle, which he knew wasn’t likely to happen due to the chances of someone walking in on them, mainly the Death Eaters. He honestly had no idea why he wanted to shag Harry’s brains out all the time. Well, he had some clue, subconsciously, but consciously, he didn’t know why. He just knew that the closer they got to being caught by the Dark Lord, the more Draco wanted Harry.

When they had awoken that morning, Draco knew they’d have to brave possible detection once more to get food. It had already been a few days since they’d last eaten, and although Draco was sure he could go a few more days without eating, he didn’t think Harry could. Especially not now, since he was pregnant, and needed to eat to keep both himself and their baby healthy.

Sneaking out of the supply cupboard and merging into the flow of students, all heading to the hall for breakfast hadn’t been difficult at all. It had felt like they were being allowed to venture out to eat, to Draco, but they hadn’t seen any Death Eaters about, so it was probably just his imagination.

They walked into the hall and found themselves in front of one of the long tables. The tables were almost set up exactly like the ones at Hogwarts, but it seemed that here in Durmstrang, it didn’t matter where one sat. They sat down on the bench to the table in front of them, sitting beside each other; after a few moments, food appeared on the table in the same style as it did at Hogwarts, and Draco picked his cup up to take a sip as he heard Harry sigh happily at the sight of food. They enjoyed their food, especially since both boys were hungry. Harry was drinking pumpkin juice out of his cup when Draco noticed a boy, seated a table away, staring at Harry.

Draco turned to glance at Harry, wondering if the brunet was trying to attract the attention of the boy across from them, but Harry’s sole focus was on his breakfast. Draco turned his attention back to the boy, glaring at him. The boy didn’t seem to notice Draco’s glare, continuing to stare and even smirking at Harry. Draco finally had enough of the boy just staring, that he stood up from the bench. “What are you looking at?” Draco demanded loudly, startling Harry, who frowned at the blond. “You want something? Why don’t you come over here and tell me what you’re looking at!”

Harry was staring wide-eyed at his lover. He didn’t know what had made Draco so angry to not only yell across their table at someone, but to bring unwanted attention to them: they were supposed to lay low. Keeping his head down, more out of embarrassment than worried someone would see his face, Harry grabbed the back of Draco’s robes and pulled him forcibly back down to his seat. Once Draco sat down, glaring heatedly at the boy across the tables still, Harry leaned close to the blond and whispered, “What the hell are you playing at? Why were you yelling at that boy?”

“That arsehole was staring at you,” Draco growled out, clutching the butter knife in his right hand with white-knuckled force.

“So what?” Harry began. “Do you think I’m not used to people staring at me as I walk down the halls, or whispering about me behind my back?” Harry said quietly, so as not to attract more attention, or give away who they were.

Draco didn’t say anything to Harry in response. He wasn’t sure exactly why the strange boy, who’d been staring at Harry, had irked him so much. If they’d been at Hogwarts, it probably wouldn’t have bothered him so much, but seeing as how anyone at this dark school could be under orders to kill them, bring them in, or follow them, had Draco on edge. He’d never really cared all that much for the well-being of others, mostly looking out for himself, but it was almost as if his protective instincts had been brought to the forefront, wanting to protect Harry and their baby. He wasn’t sure why, since he knew Harry was quite capable of handling his own against the Dark Lord. Draco sighed to himself and shook his head.

Harry took another drink of pumpkin juice from his cup. Sometimes he had this strong urge to smack Draco about the head for some of the things he’d done since they’d begun this trip. He understood that Draco would get a bit overprotective of Harry due to him being pregnant, but he wasn’t made of glass. And he especially hadn’t become some poor little weak girl who needed a big, strong man to protect her. Did Draco forget that Harry had not only defeated Voldemort more than once, but that he and his friends had taken on wizards, not only twice their age, but more experienced, at the Department of Mysteries? He knew Professor Snape had said that he was weakened now, but that didn’t mean he was helpless.

Harry went to reach for his cup again when he suddenly felt very nauseous. He brought his hand back to his side, ready to cover his mouth and run to the nearest loo in case he was going to be sick, but it never came. He sat there, staring blankly at his half-eaten meal, wondering what the hell was happening. He frowned and placed a hand on his belly, barely stifling his gasp of shock as he felt his belly suddenly bulge out a bit. Harry looked down, eyes widening at his stomach.

Draco was still glaring at the boy across the table from them, watching him until the boy got up suddenly from his seat and walked out of the hall. The blond hadn’t noticed Harry touching his belly, but looked over to see him better when he had shifted in his seat. Draco didn’t like the white color that swept across Harry’s face. “All right, there?” Draco asked in concern. He frowned at Harry’s shake of his head in reply. His grey eyes got wide and he whipped his head to stare at Harry’s cup before grabbing it and taking a tentative sniff. His eyes squinted in rage as he caught a very faint smell of Helsbane. Draco wasn’t surprised Harry hadn’t noticed it since one had to actively sniff the liquid it was in to smell it. Draco’s hands clenched in fury: he knew almost for sure that Harry had been poisoned, most likely by the boy who’d been staring.

If he were to guess, this was supposed to be a quick-acting form of the poison, which was intended to kill the drinker within minutes. Draco was on the verge of losing his cool to freak out until he realized that Harry had been drinking from the cup for at least the past ten minutes or so and hadn’t keeled over dead yet. Draco frowned in thought, wondering idly if he had been mistaken in his guess at the type of poison used. He glanced once more over at Harry, but apart from an odd look on his face, seemed perfectly fine.

Harry didn’t know what was happening exactly or why, but he was pretty sure his baby had gone through a growth spurt of some type. Before he had noticed the sudden bulge, his stomach had been pretty flat still, which he knew meant he hadn’t been very far along. If he had to guess at when he had conceived, it might have been their first or second time Draco had taken him when they’d first begun their strange relationship. After the first couple of days of their trip to Durmstrang, he’d noticed a slight little bump sticking out right above his pubic bone, which hadn’t been there when they’d still been in school. So he had assumed it was the baby growing inside of him. He knew most women didn’t show until around their fourth or fifth month of pregnancy, but they normally had more fat naturally; he’d grown up malnourished and he was male. Now, though, his belly stuck out more and his trousers had become uncomfortably tight.

He didn’t think it’d be wise to tell Draco what he felt happen, since he could sense Draco was on the verge of freaking out already over something. Plus, he was all worked up about some boy staring at him. Harry sighed to himself; he didn’t know what happened, but he had a strong suspicion it wasn’t anything good.

@>*~

Voldemort closed his eyes as he relaxed in his chair, mind opened and focused on his Death Eaters. If his followers were close by, he was able to locate them, and most times able to know what they were planning. It wouldn’t do to have one of his Death Eaters plotting his untimely demise. Of course, most of them were too cowardly to try, so he wasn’t too worried.

He made sure none of his Death Eaters had come in contact with the Potter boy or his companion since entering Durmstrang. He’d sent Rodolphus, who had been disguised as a Durmstrang student, using Polyjuice Potion, out to poison the boy. He knew the poison’s true effects wouldn’t work on him since Lily Potter’s protection would forever be in effect until the day the boy died, but it would weaken the boy even further than he had been.

He’d sent Macnair and Goyle to question the students and find out where the two boys were so when the time came, he could finally be rid of Potter once and for all, and be able to rid the world of Muggles and all their supporters. Then, he would have his fun with the blood traitors. He’d sent Greyback out to ‘entice’ people into his ranks; he quite enjoyed the way he went about it. A little bloodshed and missing limbs never hurt anyone, after all. He frowned thoughtfully as Lucius Malfoy’s presence came to the forefront of his mind suddenly. Voldemort slowly opened his eyes to see Lucius walk confidently into his rooms.

“My Lord,” Lucius inquired, bowing his head respectively to Voldemort before continuing. “Any progress?”

Voldemort crossed his legs so his right ankle was over his left leg and replied, “The poison has taken some effect. I’ve been slowly monitoring his mind in his weakened state.”

“What brought this weakness on, my Lord?” Lucius asked. He knew the Dark Lord kept going on about Potter being weakened, but he had never specified.

Voldemort eyed the blond man in front of him. “It is not important to the plan for you to know, Lucius,” Voldemort warningly replied. Lucius remained quiet at this, knowing not to push the Dark Lord, questioning his motives. “Severus, however, is being quite … elusive, both physically and mentally. I haven’t sent anyone to find him physically, but he’s being quite closed with his mind.”

“Do you believe Snape will betray you, my Lord?” Lucius asked warily; he wasn’t close, personal friends with Snape, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to see any harm come to him because of Snape’s idiocy.

“I know he will, Lucius; it’s just a matter of time,” the Dark Lord replied. “So far, everything is going according to my plans. I am confident that Potter will die tonight.”

“And my son, my Lord? Will you spare his life?”

“That, Lucius, will be determined when the choice arises.” Lucius was none too satisfied with that response. He truly hoped Draco would do him proud and not incur the wrath of their Lord. Lucius was just glad the Dark Lord had become preoccupied with Potter’s arrival and Snape’s possible betrayal, and didn’t seem to think Lucius was a threat to him. Lucius opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when he noticed the Dark Lord’s expression go blank and a far away look passed over his face. “Lucius, go out and bring back Wormtail. He has some information for me,” Voldemort ordered, closing his eyes once more, refocusing on Harry’s mind.

Lucius bowed his head. “As you wish, my Lord,” he answered, turning and walking out of the room. He pursed his lips in thought as he did Voldemort’s bidding. He almost wished he could tell the Dark Lord what he thought of this plan of his. If it’d been up to him, he’d have ordered his followers to kill the boy, instead of wasting time with plots and plans, fleeing with his tail between his legs because some baby had unintentionally defeated him once. He only had to wait until his Lord was defeated, then he’d show them how it was done. He only hoped his son would make the right decision: he was too old to try and produce a new heir if Draco chose wrong.

@>*~

It was around noon when Ron finally made it out of bed. He’d had to stay up the night before until well into the morning, finishing up a Herbology report Professor Sprout had assigned. Usually, he’d have waited until the last minute to finish his homework so he’d have more time for trivial things, like playing chess or a long round of Exploding Snap; but since making Hermione his girlfriend, he’d wanted to put a bit more effort into his school work. He was determined to impress her.

Not that he needed to bother, since she knew all about his usual study habits. She’d have to have a little chat with him one of these days. Hermione didn’t want him wearing himself out, no matter how much she put up a fuss about his and Harry’s grades being affected. She would just look over their homework and correct it for them anyway, so what was the point?

Ron yawned and ran a hand through his hair. He went to his trunk, grabbing his toiletry bag so he could freshen up. A little while later, he emerged from the boys’ bathroom and got dressed. He and Hermione had another date, and since it was a Hogsmeade weekend, they figured they’d spend it together, strolling through town.

Earlier in the week, he hadn’t really wanted to go, since Harry wasn’t going to be there with them. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to spend time with his girlfriend, but he missed hanging out and just talking about boy stuff with Harry. He knew now that he was seriously in love with Hermione, but he loved Harry as well. His love for Harry wasn’t sexual, but more in a brotherly sense. Harry had been gone now for about a fortnight and Ron felt very lonely without his other best friend.

Hermione was down in the common room waiting for Ron. She wasn’t in any hurry to go to the village, so she was reading her Arithmancy book. She looked up when she heard a sound coming from the stairs and smiled brightly at Ron as he made his way to her. “Ready?” Hermione asked, getting up from the sofa, closing her book, and placing it on the table nearby. Ron nodded and smiled at her as he took hold of her hand and they walked out of the common room.

They followed the flow of the other students all making their way to the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade. After the short ride to the village, Ron and Hermione walked down the footpath, occasionally looking through shop windows. They wore coats as it was lightly snowing, making people look like they had a case of bad dandruff. The couple stopped in front of Honeydukes, entering the store and purchasing a few chocolate frogs, more Toothflossing Stringmints since Hermione’s parents couldn’t get enough of them, and a few other odds and ends that caught their fancy.

They wandered further and stopped at another store to look around before finally making their way into the Three Broomsticks. Madam Rosmerta walked up to their table to take their order, and Ron blushed and stumbled around his answer. Hermione just smiled and shook her head at him. It seemed he still had a crush on the older woman, even though he was with Hermione; of course, she wasn’t as irritated with him about that now as she had been in the past, since she knew she had nothing to worry or be jealous about.

The pair drank their butterbeers slowly, talking about nonsense subjects, but mainly just enjoying each other’s company. They looked up as Neville, and surprisingly, Blaise, stopped at their table.

“Hello, Ron, Hermione. Mind if we sit with you two?” Neville asked, pulling out a chair after the two shook their heads.

“How are you, Neville?” Hermione asked, smiling at the other boy as he sat down.

“I’m doing well. Blaise and I decided to be a little more open with our relationship after the talk we had the other day,” Neville said, leaning forward on the table in front of him.

“Won’t the other Slytherins be upset with you, Zabini?” Ron asked the other boy. He knew there might be a few in Gryffindor who wouldn’t be too happy - one of their own was fraternizing with the ‘enemy’- but he had a strong feeling that they wouldn’t treat Neville badly, because he helped others with their Herbology work and was just a very nice boy in general.

Blaise rolled his eyes at Ron’s question. “They won’t, and even if they did, I really don’t care,” he replied, crossing his arms in defiance of anyone who might say anything to the contrary. Ron stayed quiet at this; he had to admit that he really had underestimated the Slytherin boy. Zabini must care an awful lot about Neville if he was willing to become a potential target for the sake of their relationship.

The two couples spent the remainder of their time in Hogsmeade inside of the Three Broomsticks, chatting. Ron and Blaise had gotten into a heated discussion on Quidditch at one point, leaving Neville and Hermione sharing an amused look between themselves.

A few hours later, Blaise and Neville said their goodbyes and headed upstairs to spend the rest of their time in a room Neville had reserved earlier. Hermione blushed over what the boys were likely up to up there; Ron didn’t seem to notice this, too busy with his drink. Thank goodness.

On the way back to the castle they held hands, opting to walk back instead of taking a carriage. They didn’t care if people saw them occasionally share a kiss or other minor displays of affection, since just about everyone knew that they were a couple by now.

No one had asked them if they’d shagged yet, but then it wasn’t any of their damn business, Ron thought. Of course, Hermione had overheard one or two of their classmates speculate, but it wasn’t said in malice, so she wasn’t really upset over it.

Once they arrived back at school, they continued to make their way towards Gryffindor tower, but were delayed when the staircases decided to move on them. Not in any real hurry to get back to the common room, they wandered down the deserted corridor they found themselves in, before Ron pulled Hermione into a little nook, pushing her lightly until her back was against the wall.

Hermione raised an amused eyebrow at Ron before he leaned in to kiss her. She moaned into his mouth as she opened her own to accept his tongue. She was torn between being a good, sensible Head Girl and enjoying being with her boyfriend. Ron won out eventually when she felt his hand slip under her shirt to caress her breast through her bra. Hell with it, she thought to herself as she moved a hand down to cup Ron’s groin.

Ron moaned at the contact and moved his lips down to suck at Hermione’s neck. Hermione opened her eyes briefly, not realizing she had closed them, when she froze. Ron hadn’t noticed his girlfriend’s body go still, too busy enjoying himself. “Ron,” Hermione whispered, and received a ‘hmm?’ from Ron in response. “Ron, stop!”

“Why?” he replied at last, as he reluctantly pulled back long enough to stare at Hermione. Was she trying to tease him or something? Get him worked up, and then giggle at him as she walked away, wanting to play?

“Mrs. Norris is behind you, staring at us,” she whispered, not taking her eyes off of the caretaker’s cat.

“Oh, crap!” Ron quickly pulled away from Hermione. Grabbing her by the hand, he led her further down the corridor.

They knew that Filch was never far from his cat and they really didn’t want to explain why a Prefect and the Head Girl had been snogging in the halls. Ron stopped in front of the first door he came to and pushed it open, dragging Hermione along behind him. They kept still and quiet, listening for any signs of Filch. After a moment, when no one followed them inside, they each let out a sigh of relief.

“I think it’s all right, I don’t hear anyone out there,” Hermione whispered, ear pressed to the door.

Ron pulled Hermione back towards him, grinding his pelvis into her arse. “Good,” he said. Hermione gasped as she felt the bulge against her, turning around in Ron’s arms to kiss him heatedly on the lips. Ron moved his hands from Hermione’s back, bringing them to the hem of her shirt and jumper, pulling them up over her head, leaving her in only her bra. Hermione moved her hands to the fly of Ron’s trousers, working the zipper down. She moved her hand past the waistband of his pants, working at the leaking erection she found there, when a very loud and very pointed ‘AHEM!’ made them stop.

As Hermione bent over to hastily pick her shirt and jumper from off the floor, Ron moved to stand behind her as he tucked himself away and zipped his trousers up. Nothing could kill his erection faster than Myrtle could, except maybe thinking of his parents shagging. At that thought, Ron squirmed in disgust, almost sticking his tongue out at the thought and barely held himself back from making little gagging noises. Hermione squinted her eyes at no one in particular as she felt Ron wiggle behind her, before looking up at the ghost. “Um … hello, Myrtle,” Hermione said, blushing hotly.

“As usual, everyone forgets I exist,” Myrtle said, glaring at the couple. Hermione looked sheepish and was about to apologize, when Myrtle suddenly burst into tears.

“Er,” Ron said eloquently, exchanging a helpless look with Hermione.

“You know,” Myrtle began, sniffling as big, fat silver tears slid down her cheeks, “I died a virgin.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Ron muttered just loud enough for Hermione to hear.

Hermione elbowed him, giving him a look before turning back to the sobbing ghost. “I, uh, don’t know what to say.” Myrtle just wailed louder at this before diving into to her toilet.

Hermione and Ron moved quickly to the door and left the bathroom, hurrying through the school to their common room. Unfortunately, they weren’t likely to shag today. Once inside, they made their way to a couch that was situated across from the fireplace. It was around nine at night, so there were still a few of their fellow classmates hanging about the common room: mostly first and second years who couldn’t go into Hogsmeade yet.

Hermione cuddled closer to Ron, who wrapped his arm around her to draw her against his body. Hermione pulled her feet up onto the couch, getting herself comfortable. Ron leaned down and placed a soft kiss onto her lips, making Hermione smile up at him. They sat there, together, thinking of Harry. They missed talking with him, doing homework together; they just overall missed having him in their lives.

It just wasn’t the same without their best mate. Both Hermione and Ron knew that their new relationship might occasionally put a dampener on a few things they would normally do together, which was mainly why they held hands all the time and showed their affection for each other so much. When Harry returned to them, they knew they’d have to tone it down. Not because he’d be jealous or upset, but mainly because they were friends. Ron liked spending time with just Harry, without Hermione, and Hermione felt the same. If they always spent their time snogging or shagging, they may as well have acted like Harry didn’t exist. It was hard enough to picture Malfoy having to share Harry’s time as well.

Although, they weren’t sure what Malfoy and Harry’s relationship involved. It sounded stingy, like they wanted to monopolize all of Harry’s time, but they just wanted their friend back, safe and sound. The pair drifted off to sleep in front of the fire, thoughts still centered around their best friend.

@>*~

Hermione was the first one to wake up the next day, surprised their housemates let them sleep all night on the couch. She got up, yawning and stretching as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. She smiled a silly smile at seeing Ron, mouth open, snoring softly as a bit of drool escaped his open mouth. Giving one more full body stretch, she leaned over and shook Ron’s shoulder to wake him. She let out a startled squeak when she felt Ron’s arms close around her, pulling her down to land on top of him. “How long were you awake?” she asked, glaring playfully down at him.

“Just a few minutes,” he replied, grinning up at her. “Today’s Sunday, and another day we can spend in Hogsmeade. Want to get a room for the day?” he asked, smiling and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Hermione scoffed playfully at Ron. “Why, Mr. Weasley: are you trying to take advantage of me?”

“I sure am,” he said, still grinning.

“Mmm, sounds good, but we need to shower and change first,” Hermione said, reluctantly getting up from the warmth of Ron’s body. Ron sighed, but acquiesced.

A little while later, the two friends made their way out of their dorms and into the common room. They were about to head to the portrait entrance when they stopped at the sight of Professor McGonagall coming through the doorway. “Ah, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, I’m glad I caught you both,” Professor McGonagall said as she came to stand in front of the two Gryffindors.

“Is everything okay, Professor?” Hermione asked, little more than politely concerned.

“I need the two of you to come with me now, please,” McGonagall only said, turning back to the portrait and walking out. Ron and Hermione looked at each other worriedly before following their professor.

They made their way through the school in silence, both students fretting over what may have transpired to make their teacher want to speak to them. They had a ton of things on their minds but the number one thought was about Harry. Was he all right? Could they find him and bring him back? Was he alive?

They were brought out of their thoughts when they stopped in front of the stone gargoyle outside of Dumbledore’s office. “Sherbet Lemon,” Professor McGonagall said. The three of them watched the statue disappear into the staircase above. As soon as they made it to the Headmaster’s door, Professor McGonagall knocked and they entered at the “Please, come in,” from behind the door.

Ron and Hermione stopped in their tracks at the sight in front of them. Not only was Professor Dumbledore there in his parlor, but also members of the Order. “Mum, Dad, what are you doing here?” Ron asked as he watched them stand up.

“Ron! Hermione!” Molly Weasley said, giving them each a warm hug, happy to see the both of them.

“Professor? What’s happened?” Hermione asked once Mrs. Weasley let her go. Without thinking, she and Ron each took a seat, automatically taking hold of each other’s hand.

They both wondered why they were here, inside the Headmaster’s office with members of the Order. They didn’t know if it was because they were Harry’s best friends or if the others thought they were hiding important information from everyone. Neither Hermione nor Ron saw the look Mrs. Weasley gave her husband at seeing the two teens’ hands clasped together. Mr. Weasley just shrugged and smiled at his wife.

Hermione glanced around the Headmaster’s office, taking note of everyone there. All the Weasleys, except Percy, were present. She even saw Tonks and Shacklebolt talking amongst themselves in a corner off to the side.

After everyone got settled, Dumbledore cleared his throat quietly to get everyone’s attention; almost everyone there had been talking to one another quietly, wondering why they had been summoned to Hogwarts in the first place. “Thank you for coming on such short notice,” Dumbledore began, hands behind his back as he addressed the group in his office. “I have called you all here to discuss the situation with Harry.”

“Harry?” Molly stepped forward, worry clearly visible on her face. “What about Harry? Ron?” she said, turning her attention from Dumbledore to her son.

Ron shrank back a bit at the sudden attention he received from everyone in the room. “Uh…” he began, not really sure how to tell his mother about Harry and his relationship with Malfoy of all people.

Molly opened her mouth, ready to demand Ron tell her, when Hermione spoke up. “Harry left school to look for Professor Snape at Durmstrang.” The room broke out in heated whispers as they wondered about this latest news. The overall question being what was Harry’s reasoning to leave the safety of school to look for a teacher they all knew he didn’t like.

Molly moved closer to Hermione as she asked, “Durmstrang? Left the school to look for Snape? Why in Merlin’s name did he do this?”

“We’re not sure, Mum,” Ron replied, shifting in his seat at her look. “He left with Draco Malfoy though.”

“Draco Malfoy?” Fred asked, looking at his younger brother.

“That pompous git?” George added, shaking his head.

Molly frowned, looking over to Dumbledore. “I don’t understand. What is Harry doing with the Malfoy boy? I thought they didn’t get on very well,” she said, trying to get to the bottom of all that was happening.

“They’re seeing each other,” Hermione began, looking up at Mrs. Weasley, “but I don’t believe they wanted anyone to know. Harry always seemed … odd about the whole thing. He didn’t seem to be fawning over their relationship, but rather, reserved and depressed about it,” she finished.

She had to note privately, that she had seen a few bruises around Harry’s wrists that one day after lunch. She hadn’t paid it any mind at the time since Harry hadn’t seemed to notice them, or if he had, he hadn’t been very upset by it.

Ron wasn’t happy to hear what Hermione had seen and told her so. “See, Hermione, I told you he was no good for Harry, but you wouldn’t listen. Malfoy cares only about himself and no one else.”

No one said anything to this outburst, most of them agreeing. The adults knew how his father was, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to hear the younger Malfoy would be just like him.

“I saw the look in Harry’s eyes, though,” Hermione said, drawing attention back onto herself. “He definitely felt something when he was with Malfoy. Besides, I really don’t believe he would be doing something he didn’t want to do.”

“This is true,” Dumbledore spoke up, breaking the momentary silence, which came about after Hermione’s declaration. “I have never known Harry to do anything he did not want to do. If Lucius’ son had forced Harry, he would have retaliated in some form. Whether by telling a teacher or letting Mr. Weasley or Ms. Granger here, know.” There were murmurings of agreement going around the room by the Order members at this.

Molly sniffled suddenly and pulled out a handkerchief, dabbing at her eyes with it. What Hermione had said earlier about Harry had moved her. She sighed heavily. “I suppose I’ll have to go to the store and pick up some more yarn for Christmas. It seems Draco may become a part of the family,” she said to herself, ignoring the twins when they groaned. Of course, she didn’t know for sure if it was the idea of Draco becoming almost like family, or the thought of yet another jumper for Christmas.

Hermione jumped in her chair suddenly as the door to Dumbledore’s office opened. Were there no wards protecting the door? She squeezed Ron’s hand in worry, wanting to turn and yell at their Headmaster for not locking the door. Hermione let out a sigh in relief and willed her heart to stop pounding so hard from the fright, when she saw who had walked in.

Lupin looked tired as he entered the room, like he hadn’t slept in days, and made his way across to Dumbledore’s desk. “Headmaster,” he began, sighing softly. “I just came back from Lena where I spotted a large number of Death Eaters in the area. Lord Voldemort has become very active recently with Harry so close to him.

“I haven’t heard anything new from Snape since he asked me to scout out the town. I will, of course, go back to Lena to await any further information, and hopefully, come in contact with the boys,” he said tiredly.

Dumbledore nodded his head at Remus. “Is this all you’ve been able to find out?”

“Yes, Headmaster,” Remus replied. “Most of what I’ve been able to gather from overhearing Voldemort’s supporters is some big plan he has in the works, but nothing definite. I don’t believe Voldemort has told anyone what his plans entail.”

“Thank you, Remus. Please rest before heading back to Lena. You’re looking dreadful.” Remus nodded his head to Dumbledore before turning and leaving as quickly as he arrived.

A few tense minutes went by after Lupin left before Dumbledore told the others to head out and wait for any new information. There had been a few protests at this suggestion, but the Headmaster told them there was nothing anyone could do about the situation at the moment. He had contacted a team of Aurors, most of who were vacationing in other countries, to keep an eye out for Harry and Draco. He assured everyone that he had full confidence the two boys would make it safely back to Hogwarts.

@>*~

They were wandering the corridors of the castle, looking for Snape again since he hadn’t been in his room. Harry had wanted to speak to Snape once more, about what had happened, even though Draco had thought it was unwise to venture out into the corridors. When Harry had been poisoned four days ago, Draco hadn’t really noticed Harry’s stomach since it hadn’t stuck out very much, plus neither boy had had an opportunity to get naked since most of the time they slept in the storage cupboard Snape had previously sent them to. And besides, with the way their luck had been going recently, they would almost certainly get caught.

Harry protested loudly when Draco voiced his concerns about traipsing after Snape and Draco was still nursing a bruised arm from where a flying mop had hit him. Draco could do nothing but stare at his lover in utter disbelief. He’d heard a few rumors about Harry, mostly about how he’d lost his temper quite a bit during fifth year. But Draco hadn’t been very surprised since the year before Harry had gone through so much.

When he and Harry had first begun their strange relationship, Draco had never seen Harry throw things or lose control of his magic enough to affect the small space they’d been hiding in. Draco assumed it had to do with the pregnancy affecting him in some strange way. Afterwards, Draco agreed to go out and find Snape again. He knew Snape wouldn’t have anything new to say to them, but his willingness to go back out and look, seemed to calm Harry down.

The blond stopped and turned around at a soft moan from Harry. “All right there, Harry?” he asked, frowning at the green hue of his face.

“I’m okay, I think,” Harry quietly replied, placing a hand onto his expanding belly. “I think the baby had another growth spurt.”

“Another?” Draco asked; he knew the poison hadn’t worked like it was suppose to originally, but he hadn’t realized that their baby was growing so fast. Frowning at Harry’s nod at his question, Draco pulled Harry toward an empty corridor off to the side. Pushing aside Harry’s outer robes, Draco frowned at the bulge he saw there. Harry’s stomach now looked bigger and rounder than it had a few days ago. If Draco had to guess, he’d say Harry looked to be in his fourth or fifth month of pregnancy. “When did this first start?” Draco asked, placing a hand onto Harry’s belly. He startled a bit at the movement he felt under his hand.

Harry scrunched his eyebrows together in thought. “It started that day we were in this school’s Great Hall,” he said, quietly enjoying having the blond’s hand on his belly. Harry couldn’t quite get the soft smile that appeared on his face to leave at the feeling of his baby moving around inside of him. At least he assumed it was their baby, or else he had a very active stomach.

Without being too obvious about it, he quickly removed his hand, letting it rest back at his side. “Come on, Harry,” Draco said, grabbing hold of the boy’s sleeve. “Let’s go find Snape.”

Draco decided, since they were already heading down the empty corridor, to continue walking down it. Harry tagged along behind him, looking around at the walls and ceiling as they walked. It was dark in the corridor since there weren’t any visible windows on this side of the castle. It was still fairly early in the morning when they had first left the cupboard, so it was pretty dark outside.

He hadn’t realized that the poison Harry had unintentionally consumed would cause their child to grow so rapidly. When Harry had first told Draco he was pregnant, it almost didn’t seem like it was real. Yes, Harry had showed one or two obvious symptoms, but his stomach had remained relatively flat. Now, though, not only was Harry showing, but Draco had also felt their baby moving.

Draco wasn’t sure if he was ready for the baby to be born right now. He was just getting used to the idea of there actually being a baby inside of Harry; he wasn’t prepared for his impending fatherhood. He reckoned if the baby kept going through these strange growth spurts, it’d only be a matter of days instead of months until the baby arrived. Draco shook his head and mumbled obscenities to himself under his breath. God … he didn’t know what to do.

Draco was brought out of his musing abruptly when he heard Harry gasp loudly. Since it was nearly pitch black and neither boy had thought to light their wand tips up with a spell, they couldn’t see where they were headed very well. Before Draco had a chance to finally utter the spell, he felt a hand clamp down onto his shoulder, making him yelp out in fear. A moment later, Draco was blinking his eyes at the light that suddenly appeared.

“Remus!” Harry whispered, happy at seeing their professor. Remus didn’t say anything but turned around and walked down the hall, not stopping until he came to a closed door. Draco opened his mouth, only to close it again as he watched Harry follow blindly after Lupin.

Draco rubbed the back of his neck and sighed before following Harry. Once Draco caught up with the others, Lupin pushed the unlocked door open, gesturing for the two boys to go first.

Harry was happy that his professor was here with them. He’d missed Remus and his friends while he and Draco had been on their way to Durmstrang. Harry looked curiously around the room they’d been herded into. It seemed to have been a classroom at one time or another. The desks, which were broken, were covered in a thick layer of dust and grime. There were cobwebs around the room and various skeletons of dead experiments or creatures that had been left to die on their own when they were no longer needed.

“What are you doing here?” Draco asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at Lupin suspiciously. He wasn’t sure if their professor was here to help or if he suddenly decided to switch sides.

Remus sighed, absently scratching at his head. “Snape told me to come. The Dark Lord is searching high and low for you. I’m surprised I was even able to sneak inside myself without getting caught,” Remus replied, leaning against the only desk in the abandoned classroom that wasn’t broken. “Snape and I are trying to get you out of here as fast as we can without being spotted, caught … or worse.”

“Where’s Snape?” Harry asked, rubbing a hand over his belly. The baby had shifted and it had felt like a big knot had formed high on his stomach. Must be the baby’s head, Harry thought, continuing to rub at the spot until the baby moved again and the knot disappeared.

“I’m not sure where Snape is at the moment. The Dark Lord may have summoned him to his side,” Remus replied, looking Harry’s way. He frowned thoughtfully at the bulge he saw making Harry’s stomach stick out. When Remus had last seen Harry, his stomach had still been very flat. From what he gathered from listening to Ron and Hermione, Harry hadn’t been with Malfoy very long.

Harry scrunched his eyebrows together in thought. “What about Dumbledore? What’s he doing about this? What about Ron and Hermione? Are they okay?” Harry asked, taking a step towards Lupin, only to be held back a bit by Draco’s hand on his arm. Draco had kept a hold of Harry the moment they’d entered the classroom, and he wasn’t about to let go. And he still wasn’t sure why that was.

Draco kept looking around the classroom, turning his head to look behind their backs, almost as if he thought a Death Eater or the Dark Lord himself, was going to jump up from the floor and yell “There you are!” He knew he was being paranoid, but he was still wary of their professor. He was a werewolf, and he had no idea which side he was truly on, especially since there was at least one other known werewolf working for the Dark Lord. Draco pursed his lips in thought for a moment: maybe that was why Lupin was able to get inside the castle at all. It wasn’t registering to Voldemort that there was a werewolf inside the castle since he had most likely recruited the werewolves as his followers. Draco wouldn’t put it past the Dark Lord to do something like that.

Lupin was interrupted from answering Harry’s questions when a door in the not-so-distant hallways creaked and slammed shut, startling the three of them. They decided mutually to part ways for the time being. Lupin promised them that somehow they’d all make it out, together. Lupin stayed behind, watching the two boys exit the classroom and make their way quickly down the hall. He didn’t want to mention to the two boys how hard it would most likely be to get back to Hogwarts where it was safer. He just hoped that Snape had a plan in the works that would ensure their survival and guarantee they wouldn’t come to any harm. Well, one could only hope for the best, anyway.

@>*~

It was close to lunch by the time Professor Sprout ended the lesson for the day. Ron, Hermione, and Neville followed the flow of seventh years all making their way to the Great Hall.

“It was muggier than usual in there, wasn’t it?” asked Ron, stepping out of the way of a third year Ravenclaw student. Ron turned his head to see where the student was going in such a hurry. He turned back when the Ravenclaw ducked into the loo.

"It wasn't too bad," Neville offered (said the top student in Herbology, save for Hermione), hefting his bag higher up on his shoulder. The three Gryffindors continued on their way to the Hall, but Neville threw them a crooked smile and waved. "I'll see you two later."

“Where are you going?” Ron asked, looking at Neville curiously.

Neville smiled shyly. “I’m going to see Blaise, since we aren’t able to sit next to each other in the Hall. Bye,” he hastily said, waving at his friends as he walked down the corridor. Ron and Hermione waved back, watching Neville until he got to a nervous Blaise, grabbed his hand, and led him around the corner.

As they resumed walking, Hermione found her own mind wandering around corners, thoughts traveling away from Blaise and Neville and Harry and Draco for a moment. She wasn’t trying to forget about her other friend, but with everything that had been going on in previous weeks, she hadn’t had any time to think about herself. Now that she was with Ron, as a couple, she needed to rethink her future plans out.

Not that it was a bad thing to include Ron in her life, but before they’d gotten together, she’d only thought about what she’d be doing alone. This was their last year of school, after all: after taking their NEWTs, they would be leaving, for the final time, never to return. Hermione knew she’d probably be staying in England and most likely getting a job at the Ministry, as what, she wasn’t sure of yet.

Unbeknownst to Hermione, Ron had been thinking along the same lines. He wasn’t planning to leave England after school, but he hoped that Hermione would want to stay with him. He loved her very much, even if he hadn’t outright told her yet, but then again, neither had she. He knew she did, largely with how she was around him, and especially as she had been the one to begin their relationship, getting it past the friends only phase. They were both still laden down with thoughts when Hermione stopped in the doorway of the Great Hall, worrying her lip and turning to Ron as several fifth years passed them by.

“Ron, I’ve been thinking,” she suddenly said, pulling Ron out of his thoughts. He turned to her, prompting her to finish her thought with a curious look, wanting to know what she was thinking about. “We should…we should live together.”

His eyebrows flew into his hairline. Hermione quickly resumed, "Maybe...share a flat. You know," she made a vaguely feeble gesture, as she stared at a particularly fascinating discoloration in the flooring, "So we're not on our own," she finished. This was the last thing he was expecting Hermione to say. He wasn't against the suggestion, but how'd she know he was thinking that exact same thing?

He stared, mouth slightly open, eyes wide in shock, and audible clicks coming from his throat. “I’d like that, Hermione,” he said gently, one corner of his mouth rising in a crooked smile. A watery smile came to Hermione's face. She looked up at him, speechless for a few minutes as the emotion washed over her in euphoric waves.

She let out a relieved breath, feeling several pounds of worry vanish instantly. "I'd like that too, Ron," she finally replied, taking his hand into hers as they continued on into the Great Hall for lunch. Ron's ears turned red from her touch, even after so long.

They took their usual seats across from each other at Gryffindor table. It was always strange sitting at the table, the space open where Harry normally sat next to Ron. Sometimes one of their housemates would sit closer to the redhead, not realizing that spot was Harry’s, but Ron never really minded too much. It was a free spot to sit in until Harry got back, safe and sound. He’d convinced himself it was only a matter of time before that spot was once again occupied by his best mate.

Hermione dished some roast beef sandwiches onto her plate, pulling out her usual gigantic tome to read while she ate. Ron smiled at Hermione, who wasn’t paying much attention at this point, too busy engrossed in the text of what she was reading.

Ron grabbed some sandwiches for his own plate, taking one and biting into it as his thoughts came bubbling to the surface again. He and Hermione, living together! It was a strange feeling, knowing that his best friend-cum-girlfriend, wanted to spend her private life with him. Which suddenly got him thinking of what she’d be like in the privacy of their own flat. Would she be neat and tidy as she usually was with her schoolwork, or would she leave her clothes strewn about the sitting room? Did she lean on the sink while she brushed her teeth? Or did she stare at herself in the mirror as she did so?

He only ever got to see her public personality, the one she shared with everyone when they first met her. Ron knew she had insecurities as most everyone else did, but she tried to hide them behind books more often than not. He remembered how nervous she was at the Yule Ball, which he frowned at, thinking about who had taken her instead. Hermione had only been a best friend of his then; she hadn’t been with him like she was now. She’d been free to date, or not date, anyone she had wanted too back in fourth year. Although, now, he knew he was the jealous type and a bit slow on the uptake. Why, look how long it had taken him to figure out Hermione was a girl (and a very attractive girl at that).

Ron hummed to himself as he ate, and Hermione briefly looked up at the noise, wondering what Ron was thinking about. It sounded a bit stupid to ask him about it. He was entitled to have private thoughts, after all. She assumed he was either thinking about Harry, or maybe her. She knew it sounded conceited to suggest he was thinking of her, when he could have just been thinking about the next Quidditch match coming soon. But she hoped he thought of her occasionally. Hermione knew she had dropped quite a large bomb on his head at her suggestion to live together. Although, what about Harry? She didn’t want to be away from him, either. They were best mates, maybe even soul mates to an extent. She, Ron and Harry worked well as a team. Obviously they had their share of arguments and disagreements, but she didn’t know how she’d handle having either boy completely out of her life.

Then again, Harry might just decide to stay with Malfoy, but she hoped he’d have time for her and Ron, too. She didn’t want to take all of Harry’s time away from Malfoy, if they even were a couple. Maybe they simply shagged and hung out occasionally. She had no idea what the two of them were doing gallivanting around Europe, making their way to Durmstrang. It was almost as if Harry had lost his mind completely and had taken Malfoy along for the ride. But that was another thing: why did Malfoy go along in the first place? Did he put some compulsion on Harry to make him think to go and Malfoy was only pretending not to know about what lay ahead, or had he planned it all to begin with?

Frustrated, she pushed her plate away, suddenly too anxious to finish her lunch. She wouldn’t know what all happened until Harry made it back and she prayed to whatever deity was listening that he would make it back in one piece. Most importantly, make it back home to Hogwarts: alive.

@>*~

Snape made barely any noise as he stalked through the corridors of Durmstrang. He was in quite a mood as witnessed by students making a wide berth around the Potions master. For the last few hours, Snape had been pacing the entirety of the castle, lost in his thoughts and trying desperately to avoid Voldemort. He had some inkling why the Dark Lord was demanding his presence: namely one Wormtail, who had most likely been spying on Snape the entire time he’d been inside the castle.

Severus was sure the students he was passing as he moved through the corridors, most likely thought he’d finally slipped his sprockets. For the last few days he was certain he’d felt his sanity oozing out his left ear as he’d confronted Malfoy and Potter, and later, Lucius. Snape had had this sudden uneasy feeling of someone watching his every move. He didn’t mean Wormtail, although he was on the lookout for any stray rats that scuttled across his path, but mainly it was as if he had the shadow of his own shadow tagging along.

He was approaching the hallway that led to his room when he felt as if he were being appraised by a pair of eyes. It certainly did not feel like mere paranoia this time. His eyes scanned everything as he passed by it. He didn’t know what it was, but he felt not only as if he were bring watched, but that there was something he should be doing or noticing.

Snape stopped, brow creased in disquiet, and turned around, going back the way he came. He paused in his steps, frowning to himself when he came upon the room he’d passed by just moments before. He thought he heard something, coming from that room. Warily, Snape's brow furrowed and he lingered, opening the door. He cautiously stepped inside, looking around for something amiss, anything, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. The Potions master closed his eyes, frowning deeply and shaking his head. Damn this place. He was starting to become more paranoid than Trelawney.

A few minutes had gone by before Severus opened his eyes. Sighing quietly to himself, he turned and walked into the corridor. Severus decided to head back to his room to lie down; he could feel a headache coming on. Severus had heard mumblings from people throughout the ranks that there was going to be a meeting soon, but nothing more beyond that. He hadn’t heard from the boys recently, but he knew he could easily find them if need be.

It was when he approached the hallway that would lead to his room that he felt as if he were being watched again. Sure this time that it was not his infernal paranoia, he turned sharply on his heel, going down the hallway opposite from where his room lay. He strode down the hall, not briskly but at a leisurely, unsuspicious pace, enough to fool even the Dark Lord himself, but he really should have watched where he was going instead. Severus was saved from landing on his arse when the person he had run into grabbed his arm to steady him. “What the hell are you doing inside!? Get out of the castle!” Snape fiercely hissed to the man he’d bumped into. Severus really shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d had a feeling that the man before him would show up. Stupid, bloody, insane Gryffindor.

"I had to come inside," Lupin idly declared, shrugging remorselessly.

Severus was able to keep himself from gaping at Lupin like a fish by sheer force of will. “Come inside? For what? If Greyback finds you, you won’t live to see the next full moon,” Snape snarled and paused, trying to catch his breath and calm down. “Lupin, go back to Lena, find the tavern on Witchsparrow Street, and wait for me, tomorrow night. We can’t afford to spare a second,” Snape said, rubbing at his temples. His head was beginning to hurt. Lupin nodded in agreement. He knew the place: that was the same tavern he’d been at previously when he’d overheard those two Death Eaters talking.

“I’ll show you the best place to exit the castle without getting caught,” Snape offered as he turned and headed towards what looked to be the kitchen area. Remus frowned as he followed after Severus until the Potions master stopped at the door. Severus pushed it open, making their way through the center of the kitchen, which was oddly deserted at the moment. Maybe the house-elves are out cleaning, thought Remus absently. “This door is the way out,” Severus said, making a vague gesture at it.

“Albus knows what you told me before,” Remus had the urge to say suddenly, “but there isn’t much he can do. He can’t track the Death Eaters once we head back to Hogwarts and neither can he track us. Members of the Order can try to keep up, try to create diversions, or try to draw off some of those loyal to the Dark Lord.”

Snape nodded; they would just have to work around that. Lupin walked up to the door, brushing against Snape as he did so and pulled the door open. Lupin felt a hand on his back, pushing him outside and heard the door lock behind him.

Lupin sighed quietly to himself as he raised the hood of his robes over his head. He missed having the warmth of Severus’ hand on his back, even if it had only been brief in its contact. Lupin looked over his shoulder at where Snape had stood, almost longingly. He gathered his robes tighter to his body to fight off the chill in the air and started off for the gates so he could Apparate.

@>*~

Harry and Draco were having breakfast in the Great Hall. It was Draco who had decided that they needed to venture out into the school itself for at least one meal a day. Harry’s stomach was getting bigger and bigger each day, each hour, it seemed. Currently, Harry looked to be around six or seven months pregnant. The good thing about wearing their borrowed Durmstrang student robes was that they hid Harry’s ever-expanding belly very well.

Draco had a feeling that they were being watched, but after the incident in the Great Hall a few days previously, no one else had paid any attention to them. He wasn’t sure, but he thought that maybe the ‘boys’ from earlier when they had first arrived and heckled about wanting Draco’s arse, had really been Death Eaters in disguise. He wouldn’t put it past the Dark Lord to do something like that, since he really wanted Harry dead and buried.

@>*~

The Death Eaters were all gathered together, having been called to Voldemort’s rooms. As usual, Voldemort had not been there when his followers began to arrive. They all stood around, some murmuring to each other, while others looked quite bored. Others looked like they were on day four of a two-day binge, swaying where they stood like loose screen doors caught in a breeze.

The room quieted down as their Lord and Master came striding assertively into the room; his lips pursed, but with a ghost of a smirk, like a big, revoltingly pompous peacock. “As you all know,” the Dark Lord began, his silky voice low, yet reaching to every corner of the room as he stood before his gathered followers. "Harry Potter..." the boy’s very mention stirred the Death Eaters' interest, "...is in this very school, at this very moment." Voldemort complacently paused to allow his minions to murmur at his news before calling order with merely a furrowed brow. "He has been considerably weakened by a plan I had set in motion the second he set foot in this school. My Death Eaters...today is the day!" His voice was sharp, sure, and steadfast with conviction. "After today, there will be no more Harry Potter; the Boy Who Lived will be but another memory, spat on and spoken of with pride no longer, but ridicule! Today, is that day, when we destroy Harry Potter and every Mudblood and blood traitor; today, the purebloods recapture what is rightfully ours!" A resounding roar thundered throughout the room of Death Eaters.

Only Snape clenched his hands into fists at this news. While he didn’t really like Potter all that much, he hadn’t known that the Dark Lord had done something to the boy, most likely putting the unborn child he carried at risk for no other reason but to weaken Potter even further and ultimately kill the boy. He should have expected this from the Dark Lord; the man certainly wasn't noble when it came to tactics.

Snape had tried catching the Dark Lord’s eyes throughout his little, ‘Look at me! I’m the Dark Lord!’ speech, but Voldemort never met his eyes. He was growing more and more desperate to leave and tell the Dark Lord where he could stick his ‘brilliant’ plans when Voldemort finally stopped speaking. All eyes were drawn to Severus when the Death Eaters wondered why their Lord had suddenly stopped in the middle of his speech. It was a distinct pause in his address, though only for a split second, but it had been enough. Snape controlled himself, blanking his features into that of unreadable indifference.

“You all know what to do,” his tone was gravelly, low, and dangerous. “Make sure the boy does not escape. He is to be brought back to me alive. I think it pointless to inform you that if he is brought to me dead, you will suffer the same fate as well, joining him in Hell,” Voldemort said, turning his back to his frightened Death Eaters, dismissing them. As the Death Eaters fanned out to obey their orders, Voldemort caught sight of Lucius and beckoned him closer. The blond’s fellows parted instantly down the middle upon seeing him, clearing a path to the Dark Lord. “Lucius, keep close to Severus. I feel he has something planned. Keep him within your sight,” Voldemort whispered to the blond grimly.

“Of course, my Lord,” Lucius replied with a bow before getting lost in the crowd of Death Eaters. He followed Snape for a few minutes before Snape blended into the crowd of Death Eaters and Lucius lost sight of him. If he knew anything about Snape, he knew he would most likely try to get the boys safely out of the castle. Lucius let him go, since it meant his son would be safely away from the Dark Lord’s whims.

@>*~

In all his years, the Potions master never lost his nerve; not even while faced with incompetent students exploding and destroying his classroom for some ten years. But now…Severus Snape was panicking. He dashed about from one winding corridor to another, avoiding his headhunting fellows and making quick strides toward the obvious interlopers. Snape needed to find the boys and find them now. If he didn’t, they would most certainly be caught and dragged to the Dark Lord.

Snape had no clue where they had disappeared to at the moment. He had turned up at their hiding place, where he'd told them to sleep--to stay-- void of the two young wizards. He cursed as he briskly paced the corridors; he didn't have a lot of time to search the entire school. Every Death Eater was already out searching for both boys, and they were nowhere to be found; bloody typical.

He'd always thought Draco the logical one of the two (there was no question about that), but he'd probably lost several brain cells that had drained through his cock from fucking Potter so often. Severus paused a moment, trying to think where they might be. It was early morning and the school did sound rather quiet. All the students would most likely be in the Great Hall, having breakfast, naturally. It suddenly occurred to him where the two of them might be and Snape felt like banging his head against the wall.

In a mad rush, he practically ran down the corridor, taking the steps he came across two at a time as he ran full out to the Great Hall. He just hoped the other Death Eaters were too stupid to think of checking the Hall first for them.

With as much grace as a stampeding elephant, Snape burst through the open doors of the Great Hall, ignoring the curious looks thrown his way. He quickly scanned the tables for any sign of the Hogwarts students and refrained from making a desperate sprint to the sighted table, opting to walk urgently instead.

Draco was sitting close to Harry, keeping an eye out for anyone who got too close to them without being too obvious about it. He raised his eyebrows until they almost disappeared into his hairline as he watched his Head of House power walk up to their table. It was a rather odd sight, and he was sure if he’d said something that impertinent to Snape, Slytherin would be drowning in negative points. Were they at Hogwarts, of course.

Draco opened his mouth to inquire what was going on when Snape interrupted, making indistinct hand gestures as he said, “Get up. We have to leave now!”

Draco stood up so quickly that he almost tripped over the hem of his robes, trying to get off the bench. Harry took longer to get up from his seat; his huge belly making it difficult to maneuver. Draco ignored Snape’s impatient sighing at this and helped Harry move from behind the table and into the aisle. He could feel every eye in the Hall on them, most of them not at all friendly.

As soon as Harry was away from the table, Snape turned on his heel and made his way quickly out of the Hall. Draco held Harry’s arm as they moved as fast as Harry’s current condition would allow.

Out in the corridor, Snape waited until the two boys were standing next to him. “Raise your hoods and follow me. Keep up, and don’t fall behind. We have no time to spare to wait on anyone. Stick close to me,” Snape instructed, pulling his own hood up in the process.

Draco and Harry followed Snape as they made their way down shifting corridors. They had to backtrack twice as they had been too slow going down one particular direction. Harry was beginning to pant and wheeze slightly at how quickly they were moving. Under normal circumstances, this fast pace that they were setting wouldn’t have bothered Harry in the slightest. But normally, he wasn’t six months pregnant, either.

@>*~

Lucius took his time getting back to Voldemort’s room. He knew Snape would try to find the boys and they’d make their way out of the castle. Lucius had not been happy to hear that Voldemort wouldn’t guarantee that his son would be spared. The blond wasn’t sure if Draco actually had feelings for the Potter boy or not, but Lucius knew without a shadow of a doubt that Draco wouldn’t be able to block his mind from the Dark Lord.

He entered Voldemort's room, thoughts immediately whisked from his mind as he came to a stop before the Dark Lord. Lucius watched, expression mildly curious, as Voldemort appeared to be staring off to the side, a blank look casing his features. From the gentle crease in his forehead, Lucius surmised the Dark Lord was keeping tabs on his followers. “News, Lucius?” Voldemort asked. Lucius barely kept himself from starting at suddenly having the Dark Lord’s full attention.

“I’m afraid I lost Severus in the crowd of Death Eaters, my Lord,” Lucius said, looking directly into the Dark Lord’s eyes. He found that Voldemort didn’t bother looking into the minds of his followers when they kept eye contact, thinking liars wouldn’t be able to. Lucius was glad the Dark Lord was always too preoccupied to realize some of the best liars were able to look one in the eye while lying through their teeth.

Voldemort hummed, a curious edge to the sound, as he regarded this bit of information. “I’m not able to pinpoint his location. He’s shielding himself from me…” The elder Malfoy frowned slightly, inquiringly watching as the Dark Lord trailed off, and his face suddenly went blank again. Lucius was going to walk out and roam the castle, perhaps join the others on the hunt when Voldemort leapt out of his chair. Lucius couldn’t hide his surprise this time. “No! Lucius, bring me back Severus, now!”

Lucius bowed his head, hiding his bewilderment. “As you wish, my Lord.” He turned around and made his way out into the corridor. The Dark Lord must have finally found Severus, Lucius idly thought as he set out to complete his master’s orders, secretly hoping that when he found the elusive Potions master, his son would be nowhere in sight.

@>*~

They continued moving quickly through the ever-changing school corridors. After what felt like hours of running, backtracking, squeezing through crowds of milling students, they finally made it to the main chamber. Snape barely spared a glance at the two boys with him when he threw open the doors and ran outside, with his two charges following as closely as possible.

It was a long run to the gates, which Harry hadn’t paid much attention to when they’d first got to the Dark school. Of course, he didn't have a foot-long paunch hanging from his stomach when they'd first arrived, either. Now, it felt like he was carrying twenty extra pounds just in his stomach and he was getting a terrible stitch in his side. Draco had his hand on Harry’s arm the entire time, keeping him upright and pulling him along to keep up with Snape’s longer strides. He knew Harry was having a hard time of it, but he’d never seen his Potions master so freaked out before either.

They finally made it past the gates when Snape whirled around. “We have to Apparate right fucking now!” Snape all but screamed before closing his eyes and disappearing, leaving Harry and Draco to stare at the spot their professor had been standing in.

Draco pulled Harry close to him, placed a fierce kiss on his slack lips, and Apparated after Snape. Harry blinked hard before turning in a circle and gaping at the spot Draco had just been. They left me! They just fucking left me! his mind screamed at him, inducing panic. He began breathing heavily, all the pent up frustration, fear and just everything from the last four or so weeks began to crash down around him. He took a moment, pausing to take a deep steadying breath as thoughts of his unborn child surviving all this mess came to him, making him calm down.

Closing his eyes, he thought of Draco, his silver blond hair, his grey eyes, how he had been so protective of Harry, even if Draco would deny it until he was blue in face. A sudden displacement of air, and Harry found himself across from Draco. He managed a smile before a wave of nausea brought him to his knees; vomiting up what little food he’d had earlier before Snape had come bolting in.

Draco went to him, helping him to his feet once the puking episode passed. Harry followed after Draco, whose hand was on his arm again, dragging him along after Snape, who had barely taken the time to make sure Harry was okay before running off again.

@>*~

“Lucius!”

Lucius turned around, eyeing his fellow Death Eater, of which, he couldn’t remember the name of. “Yes?”

“Potter got away! And Snape was with them. I think your son was with them too. I think it was your son, he looked an awful lot like you,” the man musingly said, ringing his hands together.

Lucius nodded, keeping it curt, and not grave. Malfoys crafted masks of stone, and he was loath to let news of his son possibly defecting influence him before a low-level comrade. “Tell the others, have them meet up in the main chamber, I have a feeling our Lord will not be pleased when he finds out about this.” The man paled at this, but nodded, running off down the hall to do as he was told. Lucius sighed to himself; he felt a headache coming on. Turning around, he made his way back down the hall, towards the Dark Lord’s room. He didn’t believe the Dark Lord would harm him for this bit of news, but he wouldn’t put anything pass him.

Lucius entered Voldemort’s room once more, the very room itself feeling as if one could cut the tension with a knife. It was an ominous feel, as if the Dark Lord knew more then what he was letting on. Lucius eyed the Dark Lord as he sat there, staring off into space, face blank as ever. He swallowed, steeling himself. “My Lord?”

Voldemort blinked, staring at Lucius. “Yes?”

Lucius paused, suddenly finding it little more than difficult to keep eye contact now, even though he wasn't about to spout untruths. "My Lord, Potter… got away. With Severus." Voldemort's expression gave nothing away. "They were last seen running down the lawns to the gates before Apparating."

Lucius was quite impressed that the Dark Lord went from expressionless to pissed off in no time flat. He began to inch away from the storm clouds brewing about the Dark Lord’s head; for a moment, he actually thought he could see them, but it had to be his imagination.

Voldemort leapt up from his chair, giving an inhuman scream as he whipped out his wand. Lucius looked worried for a moment that he'd be cursed, but instead Voldemort turned and destroyed the chair he'd been sitting on, the one that had been designed especially for him to sit his arse in. “Lucius, gather my followers into the main chamber! I will not let Potter escape from me this time!” Voldemort snarled, passing Lucius and marching out the door, and down the hallway.

Lucius briskly nodded. "Already taken care of, my Lord," he called after him, stalling for a brief moment before following after his master

Voldemort stalked down the halls, face set with an almost constipated look, body rigid, turning as walls shifted and floors dropped or rose with each passing of time. He was on a mission: he was on the warpath, and if anyone fell in his way, he would not hesitate to step on them. When Voldemort rounded a corner and found himself boxed in by the shifting school, he waved his wand, blasting a sizeable hole. He continued in this vein: stop, blast, stop, blast until he made his way finally to the main chamber where his followers were gathered around, waiting for him.

Voldemort didn’t even stop once he came to the main chamber, ignoring his followers as he marched quickly but determinedly down the lawns towards the front gates. He couldn’t run, he wouldn’t dare; that was not dignified for a Dark Lord. As he went past the gates--because even he couldn’t Apparate inside of them--he stopped and turned wildly to his followers, who had traipsed along behind him.

“Macnair, Goyle, Crabbe: Head to Lena, scout out the entire town, interrogate anyone you have to and by any means,” Voldemort yelled, not watching to see if the men he addressed were carrying out his orders or not. They knew better then to disobey.

He continued in this vein, ordering his Death Eaters to different outposts Potter and the others may have been hiding out at, using the Dark Mark to send them messages, telling any of his followers not at Durmstrang where to go and what to do.

All the while, Lucius hung behind, waiting for the Dark Lord to tell him where to go. He already had a plan of what he was going to do, but better to act like he was following orders then outright defy the Dark Lord. He may have been careless at times, but he was not stupid. He Disapparated as soon as the Dark Lord gave him his orders as well.

With orders given and his followers gone to follow them, Voldemort Apparated to look for Potter and the others also. He couldn’t spare any time waiting for news. He had to be out in the field, driving sheer fear and terror into the hearts of the precious innocent. He would find Potter and he would put an end to this farce once and for all. He especially couldn’t wait until he got his hands on Snape, that traitor. No matter; it was his own fault for trusting the double agent. Never again.

@>*~