Only You Can Set Me Free

A/N: The story, still staying on course with the summary I have given, is taking a weird and unexpected turn for Harry and those he holds dear. What is it you may ask? A surprise until you read this chapter. And don’t get mad at me people, I am sticking to my summary, I never said that there were not going to be little surprise twists here and there… hehehe…

Chapter 13
Life Mates and Harry’s New Self

Draco screamed in agony and heartache as he clutched the parchment tightly to his heart. The crumpled paper was pried out of his trembling hands by Poppy, who was startled half mad by the boys' screams after he had scanned the parchment brought to him by a regal looking owl, whom Draco seemed to recognize as Nalanu.

Harry rushed toward the bed and grabbed onto Draco who shook uncontrollably. He pulled his blond friend to him softly and squeezed him close as Poppy finally managed to retrieve the parchment from the sobbing boy and handed it to Harry, she was not about to have the dark boy pounce her to get to the paper.

Harry shakily took the note from the medi witch and flattened it with his palms. The owl gazed nonchalantly at their actions from the open window sill and blinked tiredly as he retreated the noisy room. Harry, having finally flattened the note enough to read it, turned a cold glare on the retreating form of the owl, the bearer of bad news to his love, which he was sure of. He turned slowly to the letter and started to read the fine cursive written in an exquisite gold hue.

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Draco, son of Narcissa Malfoy. Read.

You are now a Gryffindor, and as such, you hold no ties to the Slytherin house or the many resources or prestige and honor being in said household. I as well as my entire blood line before I were honored with the attendance in the greatest of all four houses, or any house made afterward. I will hold no bond or have any ties to one not of the Slytherin house. That said, I am hereby giving up any and all legal ties with one Draco Malfoy, giving sole ownership to one Narcissa Malfoy. I will not have a son in the filthy mudblood loving house, I will not permit it. I can not have you placed back into Slytherin, for the Headmaster is set in his ways, and I will not bow to any demands brought forth to myself. You are hereby not my son, and only in name shall we be connected. Know that I am trying to acquire legal aid to change your name, the name that binds an unworthy Gryffindor to a prestigious and honored house such as Slytherin. I fail to see where I went wrong with your raising, I wish you would be the heir to our fortune and pass along the winning Slytherin quality; I see I was gravely mistaken. Farewell Mr. Malfoy, please, do not attempt to sully our good name and just stay far from me and anyone close to me.

Lucius Malfoy

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Harry gasped as he finished reading the letter to himself and quickly looked down to see the boy he held staring up at him sadly, as if lost. How could a father be so cold and uncaring to his offspring? Harry wondered looking at the blond boy as tears fell out of the silver eyes. The Gryffindor could not help but feel the misery emanating from the other. He slowly brought up his hands to Draco's face, using his thumbs to wipe at the tears the other boy shed.

This was not his Draco, his Draco was strong, yet arrogant. His Draco never showed his tears in such sadness, or at all for that matter.

“Drake, my love, please, don’t cry, I can’t stand to see you hurting. I would do anything to see you happy, be that old Draco, stubborn and arrogant. Be you, just be you…..” Harry shed his own tears now, feeling so very helpless. He also felt angry, very angry at Lucius, who hurt his love so. He felt an anger unlike any he had felt before, from the pit of his stomach crawling up to burn his heart. The anger he had felt toward the two that had hurt Draco was nothing compared to what he was feeling now, for this time, he actually saw hurt in his loves’ eyes, something he would never have allowed if he could prevent it. He felt it then, that anger bubbled up in him and boiled over as he clung rigidly to the other boy.

Draco looked at the dark boy somberly, feeling pitiful and beyond depressed he dropped his head. He felt Harry tense while holding him and then go lax. He looked at the other, worried about him and pulled his arms free to pull Harry’s face up to meet his eyes. He gasped in shock and pulled back when he saw Harry’s eyes. They were glowing bright forest green, the same shade they had been normally, but illuminated to blazing orbs. Poppy, who had stayed aloof from the two boys, now squeaked in surprise as she stepped forward trying to remember where she had seen this before, this inner glow full of anger and pain…

Harry was panting heavily as he looked at the shocked blond he still held. He growled softly feeling threatened by the small woman walking forward and growled again in threat. His fine hairs stood on end and his teeth, apparently longer and sharper, barred to the woman. Harry crouched lower as if shielding the startled blond from danger the small woman might impose.

Poppy took the hint and stood back. Then she remembered where she had seen that possessiveness. That… fierceness. He looked somewhat like a breed of dog demon she had encountered while studying for her medical degree some years ago. She had a ‘litter’ of two boys and a girl nestled to her as she was examined. She growled possessively and threateningly as the medi witches and wizards tried to calm her and finally managed to subdue the angry female. Harry was showing the same actions as her, Poppy thought and came up with her solution. As with the female, whom only calmed when her children snuggled to her in comfort, she would have to see if Draco could calm the seething boy. She sadly shook her head and realized that only Harry’s true mate or offspring would be able to calm him at this point. And since there were no pups that she knew of, she would have to hope that Draco was, in fact, Harry’s life mate. She just hoped that she was right about the dog demon factor in the ebony haired youth.

She had to give it a shot…

“Draco… Put Harry closer to yourself, pull him to you and hold him tight!” Poppy said urgently, yet quietly as to not disturb the angry Gryffindor.

“Are you out of your sodding mind?? I want out of here, I don’t want my throat ripped out by those things!! Get me out of here!!” Draco tried to break free from the boy and only succeeded in drawing another growl from the other.

“Please, just do this Draco, he needs it, if you are his true mate, he will not harm you!!! Do it!!”

Harry growled at the woman, her tone angering him.

“What! Mate? What are you talking about??” Draco saw that Harry was going to attack the little woman if he did not act fast, so he followed her pleas. He grabbed Harry’s arms gently and pulled the boy to him, nuzzling under the dark boys chin while wrapping his arms around the boys waist.

Harry stilled and growled again, low and angry. He bristled indignantly.

“Submit to him Draco, show him your neck, he just might be part dog demon, I am not sure, but if he is, he wants you to submit to him!!”

Draco was now the one who bristled indignantly.

“I will do no such thing!! He will surely kill me!!”

“Trust me, please; it is the only thing that will calm him back to normalcy.”

Harry growled again.

Draco was no fool, he would just have to heed the woman’s words. He bent his head back and showed Harry his pale throat, staying perfectly still. He knew some about dog types and knew that if he so much as gulped, he would set the dark boy off.

Harry whimpered softly as he lowered his nose to the pale boys neck and nuzzled happily into the throat, growling softly, content. He ran his tongue along the blonds jaw and under his chin, traveling still under and around back of the ear at which he nipped gently.

Draco shuddered in pleasure and felt compelled to submit to this dog boy, he rolled his head farther back to allow him more access. Harry took full advantage as he licked and nibbled at the tender flesh of his mate. Draco felt the urge to lay on his back and show this dominating boy his stomach (dogs do this to show that they are the subordinate, the lower and are showing that they see the other as higher than themselves.) Harry now growled happily and his eyes cooled down to normal, no longer needing glasses, he blinked in confusion down at the blushing blond and over to Poppy, also blushing slightly.

“Harry, are…. Are you feeling ok?” Poppy asked as she took a few tentative steps forward, realizing there was no longer a threat, she hurried the rest of the way to the bed just as Draco stumbled free and fell to the floor, panting and sweating uncomfortably.

“Just fine.. I think... I think I can see a great deal better than I ever could!! I can also.. smell better I think..” He then affirmed the last notion when he could smell the sweat on the other boy and rushed over to Draco.

“Are you ok Drake?”

“M…mm..me?? I am fine, I have to…. To dress, yeah, dress.” Draco clamored around the room to find his clothes. Poppy smiled sympathetically and grabbed his school clothes from a drawer near her and walked over to hand them to the boy. Draco gladly took them and pulled them on swiftly. He turned to see Harry staring intently at him and blushed.

“Well… yes.. I should get going.. to the… Gryffindor tower.” Draco finished lamely. He needed to get out of there, fast, he had a little problem, scrach that, a big problem. He did not want Harry to see his bulge and he quickly made for the exit.

“Thank you Poppy, for everything, bye.”

“Wait, Drake, I will go with you… we live in the same house, remember? I will walk you there, my mate!!”

Draco froze mid stride and turned sharply to stare at his fellow Gryffindor in shock.

“Mate?? What do you mean?”

“You are my mate, I can just.. sense it, I can tell you belong with me Drake.” Harry reached out to grab the pale boy’s hand. Draco drew back sharply. He backed away from the other boy wearily. Harry looked at the boy in confusion, then once again reached for the hand, this time catching it quickly into his hand. He turned Draco’s hand over so that the palm was facing up.

“If you are not my true mate, Drake, then why do we share this symbol on our wrists?”

“Draco looked quickly down at his wrist and his jaw dropped as he saw that Harry was not kidding at all.

There, on his wrist, as well as Harry’s, was a small lightning bolt incased between what looked like two fangs that appeared to form a heart.

“Harry.. how long have…” Poppy looked incredulously at Harry.

“I have known for about two weeks now, Remus knows, and I am sure that his mate knows now too. I guess it was today that I just realized a higher potential and had my senses sharpened.” Harry said proudly. He still held fast to a stunned Draco, who was still looking down at their enlaced fingers.

“Though I never would have imagined that Draco would be my mate!! Bonus!!”

Draco turned even paler and collapsed into Harry’s waiting arms. Poppy rolled her eyes and pointed to the bed.

“No, it is ok, I think I will take him to our room. He has to stop doing this.” Harry smiled happily as he walked toward the door.

“Harry, don’t try to take advantage now!!” Poppy said from inside, smirking to herself.

“I’ll try.” Came the answer from the hall.



Wow!! That was a big twist, huh?? Well, you shall see more about Harry’s condition in the next chapter, and we will see how Draco gets to react, once he awakens, that is. See, summary was right, Draco playing hard to get, and Harry, with his bad boy, and now doggy attitude, wont let him back down!! I love surprises!!!