The Three Keys

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any Harry Potter Characters, just my Laurel and her family and the plot.

A/N: Well, the fun (for us that is) is REALLY AND TRULY on deck…Next time…Goodbyes, A Kiss, Surprising Revelations, Death and Destruction and everything ends with a few Prayers and a BIG BANG

Oh and I had to comment - as it was in almost everyone's reviews - that most people seemed to like the picture of the trio standing at the bar, all decked out in their finery and looking, well, hot while the females were on parade waiting to be noticed! It was a point highly noted and I am SO HAPPY that you all got that. I wanted to show that the 3 of them together do make quite a striking bunch (though they're WAY to thick headed, each one of them to notice what a great team they'd make...At least for now)...The blond, the brunette and the redhead - what a one-two-three punch eh? Well girls, just picture them all standing there, looking you over and then, maybe having a little Draco/Harry/Ron sandwich on the dance floor!...Hummm, I think I'm getting hungry (wink!)

As always, A/N SHOUTOUTS below.

CH 22 – HARRY

Previously:

“You’re a good man Draco.” she stated.

Draco’s eyebrows shot up…Now Draco had been called a vast array of things in his 17 years, but GOOD was not one of them…he tried to think back quickly…’Nope, never.’ he surmised.

He gave her a sheepish smile and winked, “Just wait until you get to know me…”

She turned now, resting her cheek against his heart, melting into his arms and he felt her sigh into his chest… He hugged her close and groaned inside…’Draconious Lucius Malfoy, you are in serious trouble.’ ….

So much more than he knew…
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Draco had been so lost in Laurel that for a few brief happy moments he’d forgotten why he was here tonight. His eyes drifted toward the bar and he saw Harry and Ron’s heads bent low in conversation. As if Harry had felt his gaze, he looked up and into Draco’s eyes giving him an amused smirk and Ron, right on queue shook his shaggy mane and looked away, disgusted….Merlin he hated that Weasel.

Draco sighed, he needed to attend to important matters. He’d let meeting Laurel take him away from why he was here…Harry. Much as he would like to keep this girl in his arms all night long, ‘Actually much longer than that.’ he thought with an unfamiliar pang in his heart. He knew it was best to get her out of here now. He would feel much better knowing she was home safe and sound.

He looked wistfully at Laurel’s face, she seemed so content in his arms. “Laurel,” he began, not really knowing how to say what he wanted to, “I want to get to know you better, you know that don’t you?...But I ...”

“Oh”, she groaned, “Not trying to get rid of me already are you?” Her eyes were sparkling, she was teasing him, but as she searched his eyes and read his expression she blanched. “Ugh, you are!”

Draco looked nervous; he opened his mouth to speak.

“No, no you don’t Draco….” Laurel interrupted him, her eyes flashing. “You’re not getting off that easily.” She smiled but her smile faltered slightly at the set expression on his face. “You are NOT seriously trying to get rid of me ALREADY…” her voice dropped to a whisper, “Why?” Her heart was plummeting to her toes and her eyes turned almost black from hurt.

Draco’s eyes changed from blue to a stormy grey as he saw the sadness register across her face, “NO” he reassured, hugging her just a bit closer, “I’m most definitely NOT trying to get rid of you, but I have…” Draco stopped and grimaced, he was trying to get the word ‘friends’ out and it just wouldn’t come out in the same sentence as Potter and Weasel’s names. “I have…school mates here with me this evening and I have to get back to them.” Yes, Draco decided that sounded plausible, better than plausible, it was the truth.

Laurel’s eyes lit up immediately, “Really? I’d love to meet your school friends.” He grimaced again at her use of the word ‘friends’, but she didn’t notice as she was peeking over his shoulder looking back in the direction of the bar and Draco blanched. He would have smacked his forehead once he realized what he’d just said if he hadn’t been holding Laurel in his arms…

’Oh BLOODY BRILLIANT MALFOY! Great move, just go and introduce this MUGGLE girl that you can’t seem to take your eyes or hands off of to Harry frickin Potter and the Red-headed-slug-belcher…SHIT! That will go over REALLY WELL. They already don’t believe me…and my brining a woman over won’t help matters…’ ”Well, I’d love to do that but we are getting ready to leave…”

“You are?” She looked crestfallen. “Can’t you stay just a bit longer? We…we just met and…” Laurel felt horrible and Draco saw it. But what could he do? He had to get Harry out of there. His love life would just have to wait…Draco almost snorted, ‘Wait indeed’ he thought. That would imply his surviving this night and he wasn’t entirely convinced that was going to happen at the moment.

Laurel sighed and pulled away from his embrace slightly, “Well, if you have to go I suppose I understand.” Her unhappiness was evident and Draco sighed, he wasn’t used to dealing with upset females. She tried to smile, “Would you mind just walking me back over to my friends, Tad & Teeny?”

His eyes narrowed, “You want to go back with that bloke?” he asked incredulously.

Laurel looked surprised and answered honestly and immediately, “No, I’d rather spend time with you. But if you have to go, I should get back to them. I did come with them after all.” she shrugged and sighed. He only grunted as a response. NO WAY did Draco want her going back to that American pretty boy. He was just going to have to figure out some way to get her out of here when they left. He couldn’t see her home, but he’d think of something. Draco was interrupted from his thoughts as Laurel squeezed his arm affectionately, “Listen, my birthday is in a couple of days…I would love it if you could come over and visit... I live here in London. It would be nice to just spend some time together. What do you think?” She looked hopefully at him.

“I should like that very much.” he said earnestly, and smiled wistfully at her…’If I live through this night..’ he thought.

“Good!” she said brightly trying to ignore the sad expression in his eyes, “It’s settled then. I’m thirsty, I think I’ll let you buy me a drink and we’ll exchange numbers and then I suppose,” she rolled her eyes dramatically, “I’ll let you leave, IF you promise to call me.”

Draco nodded even though he didn’t have a ‘number’ to exchange, “Alright.” he agreed, taking her hand and leading her back toward the bar in the direction of the boys. He’d think of something to get her on her way home, but at the moment, like it or not, it appeared Draco was going to have to introduce Laurel to Ron and Harry.

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Harry had his arms folded over his chest, leaning casually against the bar watching Draco with an incredulous expression on his face as he approached with Laurel in tow, “Nice of you to join us Malfoy.” he drawled.

At that Laurel jumped, her eyes widening, “Malfoy? That’s your last name?” She couldn’t help it…it just slipped out…. She’d heard of the Malfoy’s what wizarding family hadn’t???

Three pairs of eyes looked at her suspiciously now.

Laurel regained her composure instantly…”My goodness Draco, were you teased endlessly as a child?” she inquired innocently. Laurel was reeling…’He’s a Malfoy…He’s a wizard…a MALFOY….But his soul was pure???’

“And why would that be?” he said with a dangerous lilt in his voice.

‘Uh oh, LAUREL YOU IDIOT…OH GOD, HE’S A MALFOY….HOLY SHIT!’

She looked at Ron and Harry then, her eyes flicking over Harry’s scar quickly….’Ohhhh, that’s HARRY POTTER!’ Her stomach flip-flopped uneasily. Why the hell is a Malfoy with Harry Potter? She began to feel anxious. ‘OK Laurel, don’t panic…THINK!’…

”Uh, doesn’t your last name mean….Bad food in French?” ’OH GOOD JOB LAUREL!’ she thought and smiled at him as sweetly as she could muster.

Harry grinned instantly and Ron laughed loudly, ribbing Harry as he choked out, “Your name means bad food? That’s hysterical!”

“It MEANS Weasel, BAD FAITH.” Draco eyed Laurel and gave a small smirk.

“Oh,” Laurel blushed prettily, “Is that better or worse?” She knew exactly what it meant, Laurel spoke fluent French.

"Vous parlez français ?" Draco inquired, ignoring her retort, eyes narrowed. (“You speak French?”)

“Oui, un petit peu..” she shrugged, “ I took a couple of classes in…uh, high school. As you can see, I’m not very good.” (“Yes, just a little..”)

Harry’s lips twitched, “I like her Malfoy.”

Laurel turned and beamed at him, “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”

Draco relaxed just a little, his mind processing her reaction…He was going to have to question her a little more thoroughly….”FRIENDS is a strong word.” inclining his head, “This is Harry and Ron” he said with distaste as he looked at Ron.

“Hello, I’m Laurel. Laurel Winters.” she held her hand out to Harry and shook his warmly.

“Harry Potter,” he said smiling.

Laurel turned to Ron and offered her hand, “Ron Weasley” he grinned shaking her hand.

“You’re American. Are you here on holiday?” Harry inquired.

Draco handed Laurel a drink and turned to Harry before Laurel could answer, “Potter, can I speak with you for a moment?...Weasel, please keep Laurel company.” Draco’s eyes narrowed, “And don’t dance with her!” he said menacingly.

Laurel and Ron both rolled their eyes. “Don’t listen to him, he’s just grumpy because I teased him about his name.” She arched an eyebrow at Draco and winked mischievously.

Draco sighed and shook his head, “We’ll be right back.” He steered Harry to the end of the bar and turned, arms crossed looking very dangerous, his eyes still on Ron.

Harry sighed, “She’s nice Malfoy.”

“Thank you, I know that, but I don’t care to discuss my love life at the moment, and definitely not with you! It’s time to go Harry, I have a bad feeling about being here and it’s getting worse by the minute.”

Harry’s mouth gaped and he shook his head, “Malfoy you really are bloody unbelievable...You’re out meeting beautiful women and as soon as you get a date you’re ready to leave with her?”

“POTTER, for your information, I am not leaving with her, I’m going to get your ass out of here NOW. No more playing around. I listened to you and let my guard down for a while and now I have a very bad feeling about this…We’ve been here too long already……You think she’s beautiful?” Draco’s eyes narrowed.

“You’ve said that TWICE Malfoy…I get it, you want to leave, you have a bad feeling….And yes, I do think she is beautiful.” Harry barked.

“Keep away from her Potter, she’s taken.” Draco warned. Harry rolled his eyes but Draco didn’t notice he was busy looking around the club again, his eyes alert. “I’m going to go check out the back; we should be able to leave through there. I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave through the front. I’m going to get Laurel out of here and we can leave at the same time.”

Harry groaned, “Where precisely are we supposed to go tonight?” Harry had already decided with Ron that they’d go to the Order’s headquarters, but they were still debating on telling Malfoy that.

“I’m working on that, I have a summer house here in London, but I don’t know if it is a safe place to bring you. I know it’s deserted…but, I’m not sure….Let’s GET OUT OF HERE FIRST and then we’ll work it out.” Draco was starting to get very worried and was berating himself for spending as much time as he had with Laurel. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid Malfoy’ he raged. “Look, just go back and stay with Laurel, I’ll be back in a couple of minutes and then we can leave, alright…And keep your eyes out!”

Harry nodded and went back to Laurel, standing alone at the bar. “Where’s Ron?”

“He went to dance with some girl.” Laurel smiled at him. ‘Oh my, my, my….I’m talking to Harry Potter and he is too cute for his own good…almost as good looking as Draco.’ “So, how do you know Draco?”

“We go to school together.” Harry couldn’t help but sneer just a bit, he was still a little suspicious of Malfoy.

“Oh right, he mentioned that.” I didn’t know a Malfoy went to Hogwarts…”That’s interesting, what’s the name of the school?”

“Er, it’s a private boarding school, outside of London.” Harry said, looking a little nervous suddenly.

“Uh huh, and does said school have a name?” Laurel was grinning at him…’Teasing him is just too easy!’ She knew now she’d be starting Hogwarts in the fall with them. Laurel knew Harry Potter went there and thought she’d have a little fun teasing him. She was just about to let him in on the joke and tell him she’d be going to school with them when he changed the subject.

Harry looked preoccupied, “You know what, I feel like dancing. Would you like to dance?” His broad smile made her a little weak in the knees. She cast a quick glance around for Draco, she was suddenly nervous to be around Harry alone.

“Where’s Draco off to? Do you think he’s upset with me for teasing him about his name?”

Laurel was surprised to see Harry staring intently into her eyes. She blinked, caught off guard by the power that she felt radiating out of his soul, out from his very being, like an electric current pulsing just under the surface of his skin. It was a little intoxicating…’Uh-Oh…Where IS Draco?’

Harry laughed, putting his drink down at the bar as he began leading her to the dance floor, “Oh, I certainly hope so!” he grinned.

Laurel paled, “Really, you hope so?”

“Oh yeah, Malfoy needs someone to bring him down a peg or two, he’s such an insufferable git, seeing him squirm is VERY enjoyable.” Harry’s eyes twinkled.

“You’re teasing me!” Laurel laughed. “Wait, you mean you’re not friends, really? I thought he was kidding.”

Harry smiled as he pulled her into his arms and they began dancing. “Like he said, ‘friends’ is a strong word…” His eyes were checking the dance floor and bar again.

“What do you keep looking for?” Laurel asked, trying very hard to ignore how close he was holding her and the small flutters in her stomach.

Harry still looked over her head, “Just looking.” He focused on Laurel now, he’d been watching her just as intently as Malfoy had all evening and was more than a little jealous that she’d been in Malfoy’s arms at all. He pulled her to him firmly as they swayed to the slow music, one hand resting on her hip and the other holding her hand in his. He gazed down into her eyes and she blushed.

‘Ohhhh, Uh-oh’ she glanced around quickly for Draco again, not seeing him anywhere. She couldn’t deny it was definitely nice being in Harry’s arms…

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A/N: Well there you have it…Laurel’s met Draco….AND Harry….Ah, Harry….Harry, Harry, Harry….Harry with eyes the color of freshly cut grass in spring…Harry with his jet black hair, broad smile and strong, inviting shoulders….Evil chuckle… - OH…yeah, that WAS out loud wasn’t it….DAMN I’VE GOT TO STOP DOING THAT!

Ah well, tell me what you think! You don't get too much of a feel for what Harry looks like in these chapters, but those of you who've read before know...oh, how we know, what he looks like - yes?! Just teasing you newbies a bit!

PS - I must give SPECIAL THANKS to my reader BETTINA for graciously suppling me with the CORRECT wording and grammar for my small French phrases in the story! THANK YOU AGAIN BETTINA - I DO APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH!