Hate it or Love it

Disclaimer – Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter... :(

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Hate it or Love it
Poisoned Ink
Chapter Fourteen
Change of Seasons
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Lucius sighed heavily as he stepped through he fireplace and patted his robes lightly. It was good to be back at Hogwarts. Anywhere was better than Azkaban.

“Dumbledore...” he started, but was taken back by the bright twinkle in the headmaster's eyes. “the Death-Eaters...”

“Lucius!” he was interrupted as Snape screeched. A young man was dragged in front of him, Snape's hands tight on his collar.

Lucius' eyes swept over the young man before him. He took in the sight of messy black hair, emerald eyes, and the lighting scar that stood proudly on the boy's forehead.

“Potter?!”

He gaped and turned to Dumbledore. “How?”

Harry gulped and struggled to escape Snape's iron grip. His wiggling only made Snape growl and tighten his fist further.

“It seems Mr. Potter has been under our noses all along,” Dumbledore chuckled and gave Harry a little pat on his shoulder, which only made Harry more nervous. “I'm sure Severus will explain after the meeting.”

Snape growled and dragged harry back to his seat. Draco glared and shifted uncomfortably beside him.

Lucius frowned at his son but ignored the awkwardness. He would find out soon enough.

“Lucius?” Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, gestured for him to continue.

“Oh, yes,” Lucius quickly recovered and returned back to his report. “Bellatrix, Not and the other death eaters...”

... ... ... ... ... ...

“Will someone explain?” Lucius growled and banged his fist on the table. “Why did he,” he nodded sharply towards Potter, who dropped his dead, “suddenly appear and why is he staying here?”

“I think you better sit down for this, father,” Draco sighed.

Lucius sat down numbly. “Well?”

“It turns out,” Snape gritted between his teeth, “that Potter is your beloved pet.”

The glass in Lucius hand hit the floor with a splash, breaking into a million pieces.

“What?”

“I'm the golden retriever,” Harry admitted in a rush, “or, Niveus.”

Lucius stared.

“You meant to tell me,” Lucius breathed, “that you have been sleeping in the same room as me for nearly two months?”

Harry bit his lip nervously and darted Lucius a frightened look.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy,” he finally said.

Impossible!

This is impossible. How could he ignored Potter, who's been under his nose for over two months? Why would Draco give him Potter?

“Draco?” He asked shakily.

“I found him in Hogwarts right before the break,” Draco admitted, guiltily. “I didn't know it was him and thought it was a stray dog. He didn't have any tags or anything...”

Snape paled as he recalled what he and Draco had been doing the day before the holidays. Of course, Potter had attempted a transformation to escape his wrath. Draco also seemed to realize the same thing and were staring at Potter with his eyes wide with shock.

“For God's sake, Draco,” Lucius gritted his teeth in anger and frustration. “you don't pick up animals at Hogwarts! You should have gone to the Headmaster before you brought him home!”

Harry slid lower in his chair and cast his eyes on the floor. The Malfoys spoke of him as some kind of dirty and disgusting creature. Surely he wasn't that bad at the Manor.

“Oh my God...” Lucius whispered to himself as he took in Harry's messy black hair and slender form. He should have seen it before. He should have realized from the first moment he breathed in Harry's familiar scent. The person that he had been yarning for and searching for was right in front of him.

Harry Potter had seen the private, soft side of him that's only been reserved for Draco. He had seen him half naked. Oh hell, maybe even naked. He had seen him drunk. He had slept in the same bed as him for almost two months. He was Midnight, whom he had curled up against quite frequently in his sleep. The one who disappeared at the first break of dawn. The one who he longed for, a feeling that he didn't even know he had.

It was there then, that Lucius realized that he wanted Harry Potter. Badly.

“Merlin,” He whispered again, reaching out numbly to grasp the smooth whiskey bottle that felt strangely heavy in his hand. “I need a drink.”

... ... ... ... ... ...

The following week for Harry was probably the most awkward week he had spent in his life. Somehow Dumbledore convinced Draco to stay at Hogwarts since the term starts in a couple of days. The frequent visits that Lucius gave Draco didn't help Draco or Harry. For Harry, it meant it had to avoid one more person at all times. For Draco, it meant he had to be extra careful when he spent time with Snape.

Harry had retreated into the Gryffindor dorms, only coming out to the library to get books for his summer assignments and to the kitchen for food.

Currently he was chewing on his quill while staring into the warm shade of the fire. Harry jumped as the entrance creaked open and several voices traveled into the common room.

“Shush!” A voice whispered.

“Don't be absurd,” Another very similar voice replied. “No one's in here...hello.”

Harry grinned as the Weasley twins appeared through the portrait, each of them holding a couple of packets.

“Harry!” One of them exclaimed, stepping up to hug Harry tightly. “what are you doing here?”

“I came back early on my vacation,” Harry quickly replied, remembering what he told Ron and Hermione at the end of the term. “and Dumbledore allowed me to stay here.”

“I remember our little Ronnikins mention that,” the other twin, whom Harry suspected was Fred, replied. “actually, whining all summer about how he never goes on a vacation.”

Harry laughed. It sounded exactly like the Rom he remembered.

“What are those?” Harry questioned, gesturing to the packets the twins were holding. “latest invention?”

George grinned.

“color-changing powder,” he said proudly while shaking the packets. “changes everything in the room to a certain color.”

“Silver and green?” Harry noticed the colors. “Slytherin colors?”

“Well,” Fred replied, leaning closer and lowered his voice. “A little fun, really. We were curious what the reaction would be if everything turned to green and silver here.”

“The best thing is,” George pointed out. “It has a lasting effect of 12 hours. So sprinkle them in the closet before they come, their clothing turns too.”

Harry snickered and eyed the packets.

“They aren't permanent, are they?”

Fred rolled his eyes.

“Permanent? Mum will kill us if it was...”

“Since we've turned the while house pink.” George finished, grinning.

“There's a meeting in a few minutes,” Fred nodded his head towards the portrait. “I think you'd better get going.”

Harry frowned.

“What about you guys?”

George shook his head slightly.

“We're not invited. Apparently its some 'adult meeting'.” He rolled his eyes.

Harry laughed and headed out the door.

“Oh Harry?” One of the twins called, causing Harry to turn back. “You've never seen us here.” Fred winked as Harry headed out.

... ... ... ... ... ...

Harry shook his head as he climbed another staircase on his way to Dumbledore's office. It was strange really, to have the twins, who was totally surprised when they saw harry in the common room, to inform him the meeting. It took him a minute to realize that Dumbledore didn't want him to attend some of the meetings. Anger rushed through him. How many meetings had he missed because h never knew about them? Damn it, Dumbledore was using him as a weapon against Voldemort. Now that he had fulfilled his purpose, he was thrown away like a dusted sword, no longer valuable to Dumbledore.

Moving more quickly now, Harry tried to remember the last time someone had truly cared for him. He thought of Rom and Hermione first. Yes, they were the best friends anyone could ask for, but there was always something missing, something that he wasn't satisfied with.

His mind settled on Lucius Malfoy. The blond had truly cared for him, or one of is animagus forms. There was something about the older man that sparked Harry's interest. He would never have expected to see a Malfoy being....well, anything nicer than an arrogant bastard. He certainly didn't expect Lucius to be so warm and passionate, with his white blond hair flowing down his back. His perfectly toned bod, the pale skin that glittered when he just got out of t an shower...

Harry shook his head quickly, trying to get the image of Lucius Malfoy out of his mind. Looking up from the floor, he realized he was already in front of the statues that held entrance to Dumbledore's office.

“Erm...” harry fidgeted, gathering all the candy names he remembered in his head.

“Sugar quills? Blood pops? Chocolate Frogs? Lemon drops?”

The statues stood firmly in front of him.

“Damn it,” harry cursed. “The old man's gone nuts.”

Harry jumped as the statues slid open, exposing the stairs that led to Dumbledore's office.

“Nuts?” he murmured in shock. “The old man's finally cracked.”

The low murmur from Dumbledore's office could be heard as soon as the entrance opened. The members of the order seemed to be angry and were shouting. However, the voices stopped when he game very close to the door. Harry suspected that Dumbledore had sensed him outside.

It wasn't very long before the door was opened. The members of the order were silent inside the room. Every eye fell on Harry.

“Harry!” Dumbledore smiled. “I wee you've heard that there's a meeting. Come in and take a seat.”

“Sorry I'm late,” Harry apologized. “I wasn't aware of the meeting until five minutes ago.”

“Then the notice haven't gotten there in time,” Dumbledore covered smoothly. “It should have arrived yesterday...ah, no matter. I am glad you made the meeting.”

Harry smiled at Dumbledore coldly before taking a seat beside Snape, causing him to scowl slightly.

A short silence fell upon the room before Dumbledore broke it.

“Please, continue.” he gestured to Lucius, who promptly froze at Harry's entrance.

“As I was saying,” Lucius continued, casting one last glance at Harry before putting his attention on Dumbledore and the other members of the order. “the only way Nott and Bellatrix could have escaped without being recorded is with the help of Fudge.”

“that would mean Fudge is an ex-death eater!” Mr. Weasley interrupted, glaring at the older Malfoy. “I think we need more proof before we can reach such a important assumption...”

“So they just disappeared out of thin air?”

“Of course we would have to look into that. I'm saying they could have had help from another person...”

“Fudge's the only one who has controls over the dementors! Don't you know anything, Weasley?”

“Very provincial of you to think there is no other way...”

Noise rose in the room again. Harry sighed. It had been quite a surprise when he found out the supporters of Voldemort had escaped Azkaban without notice. Malfoy had claimed that fudge had let them out – after all, Fudge did have control over the dementors. It seemed odd to him that Fudge didn't act when the last battle took place. They've checked everyone they could for Dark Marks, surely the Minister himself had to be checked. But if Fudge didn't break the ex-death eater's out, who did?

“Settle down, gentlemen,” Dumbledore said effortlessly, his voice swallowed by the noise of the arguing members. The members continued to fight.

“Quiet!” Dumbledore tried again, yelling the word this time. The members quieted under the shouted command, with Malfoy and Weasley glaring at each other.

“Why not check on Fudge?” Harry interrupted. “Wouldn't hurt.”

Weasley blinked.

“I don't' see why not,” He replied. “Although I don't think there is no possibility that someone else could have done it.”

“I have an idea.” Dumbledore said cheerfully, his eyes twinkling madly again. “The person they want is Harry.”

Harry's blood ran cold. If Dumbledore wanted to throw him out there in front of the ex-death eaters...

“Albus,” McGonagall replied, appalled. “You don't mean...”

“I think it would be perfect for the occasion.” Dumbledore smiled cheerfully. “We're going to have a ball.”

... ... ... ... ... ...

Harry grumbled under his breath and kicked the stone corridor on his way back to the Gryffindor dorms. A ball? Bloody hell, he didn't even know how to dance. He shuddered as he imagined all the media that is going to be present at the ball. It is a public ball after all, with important figures all over the world, such as the Minister of Magic, invited. Deeply he admitted it was not a bad idea. It would be a perfect time for the ex death eaters to show up and it would be a perfect trap.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice as he bumped into another person, coming the opposite way.

“Umph!” the other person grunted as he fell to the stone floor forcefully. Harry groaned and lifted his head from the floor.

“I'm sorry...”

“Watch where you're going, Potter!” The person under him pushed himself up from the floor and gray eyes glared at Harry.

Harry groaned inwardly. Perfect.

“I'm sorry Draco, I didn't see...”

“Who gave you the permission to call me that?” Draco spat furiously, jerking his robes with his hands in short strokes. “Don't think just because you sneaked yourself into the Manor for a few weeks...”

“Sneaked?” Harry exclaimed, his face full of disbelief. “You bloody forced me into this gift box...”

Draco growled and pushed the green eyed boy, causing him to step back a few steps.

“If you haven't...”

“Haven't what?” Harry spat, his eyes glowing with fury. “Haven't found out your little 'affair' with the greasy bastard? You disgust me, Malfoy.”

Harry let out a grunt as he was pushed into the wall again by Draco's strong arms.

“How dare you?” Malfoy shrieked, his fist landed itself forcefully on Harry's cheekbone, successfully drawing out blood from Harry's nose.

“Is there a problem?” Draco stopped punching Harry at the cold voice behind him. Dropping Harry to the ground, he turned around and gulped as he looked up to his father.

“Father.” He stammered. “No, we had a small disagreement...”

Lucius glared at his son and winced inwardly at the site of Harry, sprawling on the floor with blood all over his face.

“Make sure it doesn't happen again, Draco.” He said coldly and walked off, his robes swishing furiously behind him.

Harry panted on the cold floor, his head still dizzy with Draco's punches.

“This isn't over yet, Potter.” Draco gritted his teeth with malice, before leaving the bleeding boy in the corridor.