Losing The Game

Warning/disclaimer: All recognizable Harry Potter characters and places are not mine, They belong to J.K., I\'m just borrowing them and will give them back later slightly worse for the wear but perfectly fine. I make no money off this, please don\'t sue etc, etc.
~. . .~ song lyrics
\". . .\" talking or quotes from a person, letter, or book
\'. . .\' thoughts


Losing The Game CH 2~

~It doesn\'t really seem I\'m getting through to you
Though I see you weeping so sweetly.
I think that you might have to take another taste
A little bit of hell this time. ~


\"You think he\'ll wake up soon? He looks pretty awful like that, couldn\'t Madame Pomfrey do anything about the bruises? He looks like a bloody raccoon.\"


\"Shush, Ron, honestly.\"


Consciousness came to Harry suddenly, he was out one moment then awake the next. With awareness came the pain, every part of him ached and there was an odd sort of hollow feeling in his chest. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking a few times, taking in the familiar forms of his two friends bickering softly at the foot of his bed. His gaze slid around them to the also blurred but familiar walls of the Hogwarts hospital wing. \'Wouldn\'t be a normal year if you weren\'t in here atleast once, now would it?\' He frowned as he tried to remember what got him here this time but all it got him was a dull throb in his head.


\"Wha-\" he cleared his throat. \"What happened?\"


Hermione and Ron\'s attention went to him instantly. Hermione let out a soft gasp and went to his side her face full of worry.

\"Harry! You\'re awake! How do you feel, do you need something? Well, of course you need something. Madame Pomfrey! He\'s awake, Madame Pomfrey!\"


Harry just watched his friend of nearly six years for a moment. Her anxiety told him quite plainly that he had been in a very bad way, as did the fidgeting Ron was doing as well as his worried frown. The nurse\'s arrival was heralded by the loud clacks of her shoes on the hard floor. Her aged face was a mask of disapproval.


\"Miss Granger, there is no need to shout!\" She said gruffly. \"I do have another patient you know. Mr. Potter, you\'ve finally decided to join the land of the conscious, have you?\"


The steely blue eyes turned to him and softened noticeably. Harry nodded.


\"May I have some water?\"


\"Of course, dear.\"


She poured him a glass of water from the pitcher on the bedside table and handed it to him. \"How are you feeling, Mr. Potter?\"


\"I\'m feeling really achy, like somebody dropped me off of the Astronomy Tower, or dropped it on me. What happened? Why am I even in here? The last thing I can recall is being in the Gryffindor locker rooms.\"


The three of them exchanged a concerned look and then Madame Pomfrey took a vial out of her apron pocket.


\"Take this, dear, it\'ll help the pain. The Headmaster will be here shortly to explain.\" She turned to Ron and Hermione who were still looking at Harry with worried gazes. \"Now off with you two, you have classes to be in.\"


\"We\'ll come and visit with you after dinner, Harry, alright?\"


He nodded, watching them turn and go. Ron paused before he stepped around the privacy screen. He looked at Harry his blue eyes full of conflicting emotions and what seemed like heavy thoughts.


\"I\'m glad you woke up, Harry, real glad.\"


Harry felt his stomach twist anxiously at that comment, the odd hollow feeling growing more pronounced. \'Just how bad had I been?\'


\"So am I, Ron, so am I.\"


Ron left with a nod, leaving Harry with his racing thoughts and the company of the not so informative nurse. Madame Pomfrey bustled around him making sure he swallowed the potion, feeling his forehead and clucking over what he assumed were bruises. It didn\'t occur to him until about a minute after she also had disappeared around the curtain that not once had she used magic on him. The sick feeling in his belly grew, the strange hollow spot becoming cold. \'What in the bloody hell happened to me?\' Dumbledore arrived about five minutes later looking chipper as usual.


\"Glad to see you\'re awake, my boy. You gave us all quite a scare.\"


\"What happened to me? Why am I in here?\"


\"Tell me what you remember, Harry.\"


He frowned. \"Well, I remember going into the locker rooms after the Quidditch match with the guys. Then Ginny yelled that the party was full on in Gryffindor Tower and the rest of the guys got dressed and left. I didn\'t feel up to going to the party yet so I decided to take a shower. The last thing I remember was turning the water on and then I woke up here feeling like crap.\"


Dumbledore nodded. \"You were caught in a rather large magical explosion, Harry. It completely demolished the locker rooms and blew out all the windows in the green houses and on the first floor of the castle. You are lucky to be alive.\"


Harry felt a prickle of something at the back of his mind. \"Was it Voldemort? Did anyone else get hurt?\"


\"It wasn\'t Voldemort at all and yes another student was injured and Professor Sprout sustained a few minor lacerations.\"


\"I don\'t understand then, what caused the explosion?\"


\"You did, Harry.\"


\"How in the name of Merlin did I cause it?\"


\"Something rather surprising occurred after Mr. Malfoy entered the Gryffindor locker rooms.\"


\"Malfoy.\" Harry\'s head was filled with flashes of blonde hair, pale skin and angry silver eyes. \"We fought. He came in and we fought.\"


\"Yes, During that fight is when something rather important occurred. The Antiquus Gentilis Magicus.\"


\"The what?\"


\"Very loosely translated it means Ancient Clan Magic. It is a rare form of hereditary magic that causes a significant growth spurt in a witch or wizard\'s magical abilities. It can only be found in very old pureblood families such as the Malfoys, Blacks, Snapes, Dumbledores and even a few of the Weasleys I believe. It tends to come on quickly with a few, very subtle, warning signs. Tingling in the joints or limbs, higher body temperature, sudden mood fluctuations as well as spontaneous outbursts of magic from the very mild to the extreme. These occur about a day or so before the final surge of magic. Now this very strong, very old magic needs to be grounded in order to be used. That happens by transferring the magic back and forth with another who possesses it, usually a parent or a mentor, someone who is experienced with the surge and can calm it. A bond is formed between the usually elder Sponsor and the Novice, with the Novice getting the most from it. What a successful bonding does is increase the Novice\'s, and as the Sponsor\'s to a smaller extent, over all magical ability and spell comprehension as well as pinpoint one\'s propensity for a particular area of expertise, such as Transfigurations or Potions.\"


\"What does that have to do with me?\"


\"It turns out that you as well as Mr. Malfoy possess the Gentilis magic.\"


\"But-\" Harry went silent, thinking for a moment. \"So, what you\'re saying is, is that it came on for us both and lacking the experience to properly ground the power caused the explosion?\"


\"Yes.\"


\"Am I-\"


A throat was cleared loudly, interrupting what Harry was going to ask. He looked over and saw Madame Pomfrey giving Dumbledore a pointed look.


\"My patient needs rest, Headmaster.\"


\"Quite right, Poppy. I will visit you tomorrow, Harry.\"


\"But-\" He let out a frustrated sigh at the nurse\'s stern look. \"See you tomorrow, Headmaster,\"


After the Headmaster\'s departure Madame Pomfrey fussed over him again, asking if the pain potion had taken effect. Then after she told him that his body really did need rest he settled into the hospital bed. He shifted onto his left side gingerly, deciding that the hollow feeling must be hunger and let the grogginess take him down into an uneasy sleep.



*** *** ***



Draco lay on the scratchy sheets of his hospital bed, which he was confined to for further observation, and stared up at the ceiling. \'How they coddle him.\' He thought with disgust. His nice potion induced rest had been rudely interrupted by Granger\'s loud voice on the other side of the privacy curtain so he had been awake for Dumbledore\'s grossly inadequate explanation of the Gentilis magic. \'If only it were so fucking simple. Old Sot didn\'t even bother to tell him we\'d be connected for life, conveniently forgot to mention our fucking minds and bodies were connected and what hurts him hurts me and vice versa.\' Draco rubbed at his aching forehead taking a deep breath as despair made his belly clench tight. He blinked widely a few times to force away the prickle of tears behind his eyelids at the sound of a soft whimper to his right. He was projecting again. \'Stop it! By Salazar, stop. You know what will happen if you don\'t!\' He sneered at the protesting voice in his head. \'Yeah, I\'ll depress Scarhead then the bond will kick in and I\'ll end up feeling it twice as worse and possibly puke from the overload.\' He grimaced at the memory of his mother throwing up in the hall after one of his father\'s little \"meetings\".


Draco turned onto his left side, ignoring the soft voice inside him that said he needed to be on the other side of that curtain, his skin pressed against heated tan flesh. He could almost tune it out now, had been working at it for the past four days, ever since he had woken up screaming Harry\'s name. Harry had been dying, his brain tissue swelling from a severe contusion a stray brick had given him. They had been in St. Mungo\'s since their injuries from the explosion had been too severe for Madame Pomfrey to handle alone. He\'d woken up screaming, his head awash in agonizing pain, then had hobbled over to Harry\'s bed shoving past the yelling Medi-Wizards and Witches. Alarms had been going off and the yelling Healers were arguing over why their spells were not helping their precious savior. Draco had sat down next to him shoving off the various attempts to remove him, everything in him had been screaming with the need to help, to make it better. He had instinctively run his fingers over the brunette\'s face, leaning over to whisper in his ear. Telling him he was there, that they were safe and the others were trying to help and to please, please not die. After crooning in Harry\'s ear for a few minutes the pain in his head eased and he told the Healers to try again. Their spells worked after that and Harry, while still unconscious was no longer in danger of dying and Draco could begin to ignore the Gryffindor\'s existence for a while. It wasn\'t until two days later he realized how wishful that thought was.


His parents hadn\'t even come to visit him in the hospital. All he had gotten was a note his father had left saying he would write him later with instructions on what they were going to do about his \"unfortunate incident.\" So back to Hogwarts he had gone along with the still unconscious Potter. He had spent the past 24 hours trying to come to terms with just how messed up his life had become.


He had known for most of his life that the Gentilis was in his blood and that one day he would need to bond with someone, namely his father or Professor Snape. He had also been educated in the warning signs, how the magic would feel and the various methods and procedures of bonding. The Familial Bond, which bonded families or clan closer together, required blood from both Sponsor and Novice. A cut was usually made on the fleshy part of the palm and the participants hands clasped during the exchange of magic. The Friendship or Mentors Bond, which had been used to tie different clans together as allies, needed a small bit of blood mixed with, oddly enough saliva, which was ingested by the participants moments prior to the exchange. Draco had studied the two types of bonds extensively since he had figured they would be the ones he\'d most likely be doing, though the thought of swallowing Professor Snape\'s bloody spit had often made him want to heave.


He had briefly read up on the two other types of bonds that had required being a lot more intimate and had stronger ties then he had been willing to consider. The Lovers or Marriage Bond was the most obvious in it\'s connections and requirements, sexual fluids and a sexual act during the magical transference, but the bond was a strong one. It tied the bodies and minds together with a very strong psychic and emotional link, what one knew or felt so did the other if the knowledge or emotion was very strong or purposely or accidentally projected. The Familial and Friendship Bonds forged a tie of magical knowledge and talents, giving each a new sort of \"instinct\" for a particular area of magic the other may or may not possess.


The very last bond, the one Draco stressed over the most, was the Bond of Souls. It was extremely rare and happened when two individuals with the Antiquus Gentilis Magicus who\'s \"Souls were mated and meant to be\" bonded. They were then tied Mind, Body and Soul. He didn\'t remember the details of that bond but he knew he\'d shared blood, spit, and sex with the Scarheaded Gryffindor and was more connected to him then he had ever dreaded being to any living thing. His health, well-being and happiness now rested solely in the hands of the person he had wished dead for the past year and he really, really hated it. He was hoping to be unconscious when the other two of the Golden Trio explained how they had been found to his bondmate. That was one stomach ache he was NOT looking forward to.


~TBC



Sorry it took so long my muse tends to take her sweet time but it seems to keep coming so I guess I can\'t bitch too much. This fic seems to have taken a very angsty turn so be warned ppl this is no happy fluffy fic. Not as far as I can tell anyway the future is still undetermined, my inner eye having developed conjuntivitis and all, hehe. Thanks to Sak, Kyande, Thrnbrooke, Priss368, and Caz, ya\'ll helped keep my bum working on this. So review everyone! It keeps me wanting to write more, I\'ll update as soon as the next chapter gets written. Lyrics are still The Game by Disturbed.