Who Knew

Thank you so much for all your reviews! And because of it, I decided to give you all a quick update. :) Thanks again!

thrnbrooke: haha What did I tell you? I KNEW you would need Chapter 18! :) Wait no longer... here it is!

yaoiObsessed: *rubs back soothingly* Deep breaths. Take deeeep breaths. lol Your review seriously had me laughing. Darn! You now know my secret about how I love torturing you all. :) Well, your thoughts on R&J definitely made my jaw dropped, that's for sure. But are you right about it ending like that? Hmm... I don't know. There will definitely be more ups and downs, twists and turns. Perhaps you should keep that doctor around with the needle, just in case. :) Thank you again for your comments. So glad you like my story! Here's the next chapter.

SilentInvictus: I'm sorry. :( And yes, you were right. Glad you like how I portrayed them. Mmm... homemade cinnamon cookies and peach ice cream. Tempting... very tempting.

paganwoman: You so took my cookies away!! :( *sigh* I know. I deserved it. I'm glad you're liking my story. You know, I wasn't much of a Drarry fan until I read some really good fics about them. Now they're my all time favorites! They are just so YUM! :)

sheila: :) Well I'm happy you're happy. And here's another update! Hope you enjoy it.

Chloe :): So glad you found my story and you like it! Here's Chapter 18! BTW: You had me laughing when you begged "with draco on top." :) Mmm... I think that's definitely better than a cherry.

mira: Glad you're loving my story so far. I really wish I could tell you if it's a tragedy or not, but alas I can't. I will say this: there will definitely be more ups and downs along the way. Will Draco die? Will Harry die? Will they ever see each other again? Will they get their happily ever after? Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Black Padfoot: *casts disillusionment charm so as not to be caught just yet* Yes, it was definitely sad about Ron. But you're right... at least we have Harry and *cough* Draco. I can understand your thoughts about Lucius and Snape, but you have to remember that they just had sex the night before and were still feeling the effects from it. They left in such a haste that they didn't really have time to process what had happened. Seeing Snape care for him and his son made Lucius realize how much he didn't want to let him go. All emotions flooded back from the previous night and he just needed to feel his comfort again.

Sinister074: haha Here you go. Hope it was quick enough for you! :) Thank you for the nice comment. Hope you continue to like my story.

*****
Hermione gripped his hand tighter, as they stood together on the steps. She didn’t know why she agreed to come, but the letter insisted for her attendance, as well as his. He looked over at her and sighed, understanding her nerves as they waited.

“Blaise, why would he want me here?” she hesitated, staring at the big door before them.

Blaise shook his head. “I don’t know, but he was very adamant about us both coming over here quickly.”

The door opened, where a small house elf stood on the other side, bowing to her guests. She motioned for them to enter, and once they did, she closed the door behind them and led them to a room off to the right.

Hermione stood close to Blaise, as they walked along the corridor, curious of where they were headed. Having been in the Manor many times before, Blaise knew where they were going and, sensing her puzzlement, leaned over, whispering, “She’s bringing us to the living area.”

She nodded, as she continued to hold her breath, still a bit scared that something was going to happen to her. Seeing her worries, Blaise wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. “Stop worrying, love. You know I won’t let anything bad happen to you,” he assured her.

As soon as they entered the room, they became frozen in their stance, eyes wide in shock, seeing the three sitting on the couch in mid-conversation.

“Harry?” Hermione gasped.

Harry stopped talking to Malfoy and Snape, as he turned around, seeing his best friend standing in the entryway. He smiled brightly, as he jumped off the couch and ran toward her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Blaise watched the two hug, still surprised by what he was witnessing. He glanced over toward the two men on the couch, before looking around the room, realizing they were still short one. He furrowed his eyebrows, as he looked over at the two best friends still hugging. “Where’s Draco?” he inquired.

Harry’s body stilled, when he heard his boyfriend’s name. He slowly backed away from Hermione, looking over at Blaise. “He’s…gone,” he paused, trying hard to keep back his tears.

“What do you mean, ‘gone’?” Blaise curiously wondered, feeling his body stiffen a bit.

Harry’s lower lip began to tremble, as he glanced over at Hermione. Seeing her best friend’s sorrow, she hurried toward him, wrapping him in another tight hug. Tears began to fall down his face, which he no longer cared to hold back.

“He ran away,” Lucius softly answered from across the room, causing Hermione and Blaise to look over in his direction. “When he learned of Potter’s death, he was in a lot of pain. He couldn’t…I don’t think he could take it anymore,” he stopped, as he turned away, not letting them see the tears that wanted to escape.

Snape frowned, hating to see his lover sad. He wanted so desperately to reach out and comfort him, but knew it best not to do it in front of the others. He sighed, as he looked over at the three teenagers still standing in the entryway. “So I guess this means you haven’t seen him then?”

Blaise shook his head. “Not since last night when I told him about…” he suddenly furrowed his eyebrows, as he turned toward Harry. “Hang on. They said you were dead.”

Harry backed away from Hermione’s shoulder and wiped his eyes, as he looked over at Blaise. “Yes, well, they were a bit mistaken with the remains,” he explained, glancing over at his best friend one more time.

Hermione gasped, while covering her mouth with her hand, realizing the truth. She shook her head, as the tears suddenly fell. As much as she was happy to see Harry alive and well, she was reminded they were still short one friend. She had finally come to terms with Harry’s death, but never did she want to think about the possibility of Ron. They never did find any evidence on him, allowing her to continue to believe that he had escaped somehow and would return again soon.

“And now Draco is somewhere out there, about ready to do something so stupid,” Harry worriedly continued, seeing Blaise pull Hermione close to him, allowing her to cry on his shoulder.

Blaise gently moved his fingers through her hair, as he kept his gaze on Harry. “Do you have any idea where he may have gone?”

Harry shrugged. “I have some ideas, but we should cover everything. Did you guys ever have any secret places you went?” he questioned.

“Not really,” he replied. “I mean we had a few at Hogwarts, but I doubt he’d go back there.”

“Even so, I think someone should go and look,” Snape suggested, glancing over at Lucius and seeing him nod in agreement.

“I’ll go,” Blaise offered.

“Me too,” Hermione quietly said, lifting her head from her boyfriend’s shoulder and wiping her tears away.

Blaise smiled and softly kissed her forehead. He was glad to see her not hurting as much anymore. She returned his smile, before turning around to look at Harry. She placed her hand on his shoulder, wanting him to know that he wasn’t alone in this. “Don’t worry, Harry. We’ll find him,” she assured him.

Harry nodded, wiping his eyes one last time. “I know, but I can’t stop worrying. I just have a bad feeling about this,” he explained.

“What if we alerted the Order?” she questioned.

“That’ll take too long,” he answered. “And I don’t have the energy or time to talk to them about what really happened out there just yet.”

She nodded, understanding his worries. After quickly glancing at the other three, she leaned in closer to Harry, whispering, “Were you at least able to get to the cup before it happened?”

He nodded, “It’s destroyed.”

“So we’re down to two then?”

He nodded once more, pulling her into another embrace to talk a bit more without the others in the room overhearing. “But he knows, Hermione,” he whispered. “He knows what we’ve been doing.”

“Which means he’ll keep that snake very well protected and close to his side now,” she sighed.

“We’ll worry about that later. Right now I just want to concentrate on getting Draco back,” he responded, pulling away from her and looking toward the two men still sitting on the couch. “Let’s go.”

*****
Draco slowly walked through the back alleys in several of the towns he passed, hiding himself from anyone he could possibly run into. Memories of his time with Harry continued moving through his head, causing him to stall with his fatal plan.

He suddenly stopped, realizing he was no longer in an alley, but that he had actually walked all the way to the cave where he and Harry last saw each other. He took a deep breath, before slowly entering, shivering slightly from the cold. He knelt down in the middle of the cave, bowing his head to the ground, as the tears began to fall.

He pulled his wand out of his pocket and threw it across the cavern, hearing it hit against the wall. He took a deep breath, when he noticed the wall where it hit. He slowly stood up, walking nervously toward it. He knelt down again, gliding his hand across their initials carved in the stone. He cried some more, banging his fist hard against the wall.

After taking one last look at their initials, he left the cave and stood on top of the cliff, looking down at the town of Hogsmeade a few miles away. He wiped his tears away, as the cold air swept through his hair. His body shivered again, although he wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or what he was about to do. He remained frozen, still unsure if he could really do it.

He closed his eyes, taking in one last deep breath. It was now or never. He slowly opened his eyes, returning his gaze to the town below and nodded, finally making up his mind. He quickly kneeled to the ground, moving his finger in the dirt, leaving a short message for everyone to remember who he was. He stared at the message for a few more seconds, before standing up and moving to the edge of the cliff once more. He slightly moved forward, aware that in one more step it would all be over.

“There you are,” a voice called out, scaring Draco and making him lose his footing.

He saw his life pass before his eyes, as he fell over the edge; however, in an instant, he felt his body halt and float upward. He curiously looked around, noticing he was somehow being levitated back to the cliff.

Once his feet landed on the earth’s ground, he looked up, furious to know who had saved his life, but really, ruining it, for he was not able to be with Harry once again. His eyes grew wider and his face paled, as he stared at the man before him. He then glanced down to the man’s side, seeing the familiar slithering beast beside him.

“You know, you’ve been very difficult to find,” the man smirked.

Draco swallowed, as he returned his gaze to the Dark Lord. “I…I didn’t realize you were looking for me,” he stammered.

Voldemort clicked his tongue, as he walked closer to the young boy. “A lot of people are looking for you right now,” he began. “You gave them quite a shock. Your father will most likely be glad to know you are okay, as well as a few others,” he smirked.

“Did my father come to you?” he questioned.

Voldemort shook his head, as he started circling him. “He didn’t have to,” he answered, with a hint of glee in his voice. “I found out through someone else.”

Draco furrowed his eyebrows, curious to know how the Dark Lord figured out that he was missing. He knew the man had sources everywhere, but he was so careful not to be seen. If nobody had gone to him to tell him he was missing, how had he known?

“How easily one forgets I can go into someone’s mind,” he grinned, answering the boy’s unasked question.

Draco quickly used Occlumency, forgetting that little known fact about him. He just prayed he didn’t read any of his other thoughts. He couldn’t believe he allowed himself to leave his mind unguarded like that.

“So where have you been?” Voldemort asked.

“Just walking around,” he simply said.

“No,” Voldemort snapped. “I mean where have you been since that night on the Tower?”

Draco suddenly smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. He could have smacked himself for not thinking of this earlier. And really, what did he have left to lose? At least he could finally stand up to him, before meeting his demise. He smiled to himself, no longer afraid of the man before him.

“I believe I asked you a question,” Voldemort snarled.

“Well I believe you to be a fucking bastard,” Draco commented.

Voldemort raised his eyebrows in surprise, never hearing someone boldly say that in front of him. “What did you just call me?” he gritted.

“A fucking bastard,” Draco slowly repeated.

The man darted forward, grabbing the boy by his shirt and pulling him forward, so he was just a few inches away from his face. “You better watch yourself,” he seethed.

Draco narrowed his eyes, showing him no sign of fear. “Do it,” he demanded.

Voldemort was already aware of the boy’s death wish, especially when he saw him about ready to jump off the cliff moments ago. When he had first learned about the boy’s disappearance, thank you Harry Potter for having such a weak mind, he knew he had to get to him first, before the others did. No, he was definitely not going to kill him. Not yet, at least.

“What the hell are you waiting for?” Draco suddenly yelled, not wanting to wait any longer. “Kill me, you frigging lowlife piece of shit!”

Voldemort just smirked. “I’m not going to kill you,” he simply stated.

Draco became even angrier at his statement and began thrashing around in his grip. “Do it, you sick bastard. Do it!” he screamed.

Voldemort dropped him to the ground, shaking his head. “Honestly, how can I enjoy myself when I know you want it to happen?” he questioned.

“Who cares,” Draco snapped. “I’m just another body to kill.”

“Yes, but you see,” Voldemort sighed, “if I were to kill you, then I would be doing you a favor. And the Dark Lord definitely doesn’t like giving favors to anyone, unless they truly deserve them. Besides, I want to keep you around a bit longer, so I can finish this once and for all.”

Draco furrowed his eyebrows, still confused. “Finish what? You fucking won!” he screamed. “The prophecy is dead! Harry’s dead! Your stupid Death Eaters killed him!”

Voldemort smirked, while shaking his head. “Oh, you poor, pathetic boy,” he said, before casting a sleeping charm on him.

When Draco fell into a deep sleep, Voldemort hurriedly walked closer to him, picking his body up. He stared in enjoyment, realizing how lucky he was having Potter’s boyfriend now in his custody. “But don’t you worry,” he quietly said, staring at the still boy in his arms. “I will definitely kill you when the time is right. Which will be exactly a minute after you see your lover still alive when he comes to rescue you,” he smirked, before brushing his foot along the dirt to erase Draco’s last message, and Disapparating them both to his secret lair.

*****
“Anything?” Lucius frantically asked, seeing Potter walking slowly toward him.

Harry shook his head, as he took out Draco’s wand from his pocket. “This was all I could find,” he remarked, handing the wand to the elder Malfoy. He sensibly left out the part about seeing the two men’s initials carved together on the wall.

Lucius admired the piece of wood in his hands, recognizing it immediately as his son’s. He gripped the wand tighter, as he turned to see Snape walking from the other side.

Snape sighed and shook his head, when he saw Lucius’ questioning eyes. “Nothing, Lucius,” he explained. “We’ve looked everywhere.”

“Well we couldn’t have looked everywhere, or we would have found him by now,” Lucius snapped, before pacing in front of the two.

As Harry watched the man continue to pace, he kept thinking of all the other possible places his lover could have gone. He was at least on the right track when he went to the cave, finding his wand there. He knew he would go back there once more.

Lucius stopped pacing and paled, as he looked down at the wand still in his grasp. “What if he jumped?” he fearfully whispered, returning his gaze up on the hill where the cave stood.

While Harry bit his lower lip at the possibility, Snape quickly shook his head. “He didn’t,” he confirmed.

“And how would you know?” Harry questioned him.

“Because he would’ve left something for us,” he simply answered.

“What the bloody hell do you think this is?” he argued, pulling out the note Draco had left earlier on the bed.

“No, he would’ve left some other message,” he explained. “It’s not his style to just jump, without saying a few last words before doing it.”

“You’re seriously saying he has a style for offing himself?” Harry snapped, upset Snape would think such a thing.

“Do you know my godson at all?” Snape barked.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest, while glaring at the man. Snape returned the glare, before Lucius finally interrupted.

“Stop it! You two fighting is not going to help find my son any faster,” he growled.

“He started it,” they both argued in unison.

Lucius narrowed his eyes at the two of them, shaking his head in frustration. “Let’s just keep looking,” he muttered, walking away from them.

Harry sighed, as he and Snape began following Malfoy from behind. Harry kept his head lowered, while mumbling to himself, “This is all my fault. I should never have left. I should’ve been there. How could I be so stupid?”

Snape sighed, hearing Potter’s chastising remarks. As much as he enjoyed listening to the boy berate himself, he could still sense his sadness, knowing how much pain he was feeling right then. He gently placed his hand on Potter’s shoulder, seeing the boy jump from his touch. He quickly removed his hand, realizing what he had just done, and looked forward. He bit his bottom lip, hoping Potter would just ignore it and pretend like it never happened.

After his initial shock wore off from the touch, Harry stared at his professor, noticing the way he was deliberately trying to avoid looking at him. He had never known Snape to be anything but cold, so when he felt his comforting hand rest on his shoulder, he was completely stunned.

Feeling his eyes still upon him, Snape turned to look over at Potter once more. He sensed the boy’s confusion and suddenly felt the side of his mouth slightly twitch into a smile. He had no idea why he had even done it, but there was something inside of him that just wanted Potter to know it was going to be okay. Perhaps it was because he could see the love emitting from his eyes, knowing how much he truly did care for his godson.

“We’ll find him,” Snape quietly assured him.

Harry silently nodded, as he shifted his eyes toward the front where Malfoy was walking, before returning them back to his professor. “I’ll just never be able to forgive myself, if something happens to him,” he suddenly whispered, needing to finally voice his thoughts, even if it was to Snape. “I should never have gone on that mission.”

“What mission?” Snape curiously wondered. The Order never mentioned anything about a mission he was going on. At least, they never mentioned it flat out to him. The Headmistress just told him that Potter would be away for awhile, but nothing more.

Harry chewed on his lower lip, as he turned away from his professor, bowing his head. He knew Snape wasn’t a Death Eater anymore, but he still had his suspicions about him. Not only that, they were still in the presence of a current Death Eater. He then glanced over at Malfoy, remembering Draco’s words about him. He began thinking about it some more, realizing that either one of them could have taken him to the Dark Lord by now, if they really wanted to, knowing the fragile state he was in.

He took a deep breath, before looking up at Snape once more. He had been quiet for too long now; he needed to tell someone. “What do you know about Horcruxes?” he nervously began.

Snape furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head, never hearing such a word. “I’ve never heard of them,” he answered.

Harry nodded, thinking as much. “They’re these objects, which hold parts of a wizard’s soul, so the wizard can remain immortal.”

Snape paled, suddenly aware of what was to come next, as Harry nodded again in response. “Yes,” Harry confirmed. “And he had six of them.”

Snape shook his head in disbelief. He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe that was how the Dark Lord had been able to stay alive this whole time. It was unthinkable, yet very believable, considering the source. That’s why he was called the Dark Lord in the first place, wasn’t it?

With the silence between them growing as they continued on their journey, Snape began thinking about the Dark Lord and his Horcruxes. He suddenly turned toward Potter, remembering something he had said. “Wait, what do you mean ‘had’?” he inquired.

Harry smirked at Snape, slightly raising his eyebrows. Snape suddenly stopped in his stance, causing Harry to stop as well.

As if sensing no one following him, Lucius suddenly turned around, seeing the two staring at each other a few feet away. “Now what?” he sighed, believing they were somehow having another argument.

Snape glanced over at Lucius, before turning toward Potter once more. “You destroyed them?” he incredulously asked.

“Well, not all of them,” Harry sighed.

“How many are left?”

“Two,” Harry replied.

“So when the last two are destroyed, he’ll become mortal again?”

Harry nodded, “Yes, but it’s not going to be easy to get the last two.”

“Why not? What are they?”

“Well, one is Voldemort’s snake,” Harry explained, seeing his professor clench his teeth at the news, “which you know I will never get close enough to kill. And the other, we believe, is something that belongs to Ravenclaw.”

“You don’t even know what it is?” Snape asked and then sighed, after seeing Potter shake his head. “So, without destroying those last two objects, there’s really no chance of your survival, is there?”

Harry shook his head, before glancing in Malfoy’s direction, seeing the confusion on his face. He frowned as he turned back to Snape. “I never meant for this to happen,” he softly said. “With Draco, I mean. I had promised myself that I would not get involved with anyone, already knowing my fate, not wanting to hurt any more people I love.”

Snape frowned, seeing the pain return to Potter’s face. “You can’t control who you fall in love with, Potter,” he stated, repeating the words Hermione had said to Harry once before.

“I know,” Harry murmured, stealing another glance in Malfoy’s direction, seeing him start to walk toward them. “But as much as I want to find him and let him know I’m alive, there’s a part of me that wants him to keep thinking I’m dead,” he quietly said, before lowering his head and shaking it furiously. “How can I even think such things?”

“Because you love him too much to have his heart shatter again, if you were to die after he thought he had gotten you back,” Snape responded, noticing Lucius getting closer to them now. “You need to make a decision, Potter. Right now.”

Harry sighed, as he stared at the ground. He knew Snape was right; he had to make a decision before they went any further.

“What’s going on over here? Why did you two stop?” Lucius questioned when he finally approached them.

Harry took a deep breath, as he looked up into his boyfriend’s father’s eyes, finally making up his long awaited decision. It was now or never. “I can’t do this anymore,” he swallowed.

Snape sighed, realizing Potter had made up his decision. Although he understood why he had to do it, he was still upset. He had wished to see his godson happy again, even if it did last only a short while. At least he’d had been able to speak to Potter one last time, before it really did end.

Lucius furrowed his eyebrows, more confused than ever. “What are you talking about? Can’t do what anymore?” he asked.

“I want you to know that I love your son very much, and I will not rest until I find him and he is back in my arms,” he replied, glancing over at Snape and seeing his eyes widen in shock by his decision. “But before I do that, there’s something I need to tell you. Something I don’t want to hide from you any longer, knowing how you are willing to protect me for Draco’s sake,” he continued, remembering their conversation earlier as they waited for Blaise and Hermione to arrive at the Manor.

“Which is?” Lucius nervously wondered.

Harry took another deep breath, before glancing over at Snape for some reassurance. When he saw his professor nod, he started to relax, surprised by how safe he suddenly felt in their presence. “How much do you know about the prophecy?” he asked.

Lucius opened his eyes wide, when he heard the word come out of his mouth. He never did find out the second half of the prophecy, which had always intrigued him, especially when he was sent to the Department of Mysteries to retrieve it two years ago. Not even Snape had told him about it, afraid that the Dark Lord would somehow find out he knew and try to threaten it out of him.

“I only know the first part,” he finally answered.

“Then I’ll start from there,” Harry declared, as he began telling him all about the prophecy and the Horcruxes, needing him to know exactly what he was getting himself into.