Funerals and Weddings

For disclaimer, summary, story codes and other information, please see the prologue.

Chapter the Forty-second: Friends in Strange Places
6 January, late at night


[“Harry!” The figure stood frozen in the middle of the corridor, as if trying to decide whether or not to run.

“Don’t make me Petrificus you,” Harry said softly. “Just tell me how much you heard.” --end of Ch. 41]


Katie Bell swallowed and took a step towards Harry.

“I’m sorry, Harry,” she said earnestly. “I swear, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on you. You see, I was heading down to the kitchens when I heard someone coming, so I ducked behind the tapestry. There’s this little niche back here—Fred and George showed it to me once—so I was just going to hide until whoever it was left. Then I recognized Hermione’s voice and—”

Harry interrupted her by holding up his hand. “So you heard everything.”

“I…I guess so,” Katie replied hesitantly. She’d known Harry for over five years now and had always liked him, but the look in his eyes was starting to scare her a little.

“What was the first thing you heard us say?”

“Um, well,” Katie quickly thought back. “Oh! Yeah, you were saying something about someone switching sides and needing to keep it secret. Then I’m assuming you told her, but I couldn’t hear what you said.”

Harry felt a spark of hope at her words, but it was quickly squashed as she continued:

“But it became obvious really quickly that you were talking about Malfoy. Harry…is it true? Has he really switched?”

Harry was surprised that Katie seemed so eager to have him confirm Draco’s switch to the Light. He looked at her consideringly.

“Yeah, it’s true,” he finally answered. “What do you think about it?”

Now it was Katie’s turn to be surprised; she hadn’t expected Harry to ask her opinion about it.

“I…well, I’m glad. I’ve always ho—I mean, it’s really good isn’t it? Obviously you think so, if you’re dating him now,” she said, smiling at him and hoping he didn’t notice that she’d changed what she was going to say mid-sentence.

Harry did notice. He narrowed his eyes at her. “What were you about to say just then?”

“What?” Katie played dumb.

Harry sighed. “You said, ‘I’ve always ho—’ which I take to mean you’ve always hoped something. What?”

“Why does it matter?” Katie asked. “You’re just going to Obliviate me in a minute, so I don’t see any point in telling you anything else.”

Harry lifted an eyebrow. “Do you want me to Obliviate you?”

“Well, no, of course not! But if you Obliviated your best pal, there’s no way you’re not going to do the same to me.”

“You have a point,” Harry mused, tapping his wand against his palm. Abruptly, he stepped closer to Katie.

“What do you think about me and Draco being together?” he asked. “I mean, honestly, tell me what you think.”

Katie bit her lip and flushed a little. “Honestly? I think—I think it’s really hot.”

Harry blinked in surprise. “Come again?”

“I think the two of you would be a really hot couple. I mean, just physically you’d look great together. He’s so fair and you’re so dark, the contrast would really be striking. But more than that, you two have always made sparks fly when you were fighting. I imagine the fireworks the two of you’d make if you were, well, together would be really…hot!” she finished with a suggestive grin.

Harry couldn’t help it; he blushed. Katie laughed.

“Ah, so I’m right, yeah? Is that what the blush means?” she teased.

Harry rolled his eyes, but gave her a smile. “No comment. But seriously—you don’t think I’ve lost my mind to be dating Draco?”

Katie shook her head. “No. I mean, if what you said is true—that he swore an oath under Veritaserum—then he really must have changed. I mean, I can understand where Hermione’s coming from—he’s done some horrible things in the past, especially to the three of you—but if he’s really trying to change…I say, give him a chance.”

“That’s very…open-minded of you, Katie,” Harry said. “But I still get the impression that there’s something more you aren’t telling me—something that’s making it easier for you to give Draco a chance. C’mon, what is it? Did you sleep with him or something?”

Katie gaped at Harry. “Sleep with—what? No! No, I didn’t sleep with him! Wait, if he’s with you, isn’t he gay?”

Harry lifted a shoulder. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had other experiences, so to speak. And that’s besides the point—what is it you aren’t telling me? If you tell me, I…I’ll really consider not Obliviating you.”

Katie raised her brows. “Really? Well, ok, fine. It’s not such a big thing, anyway. See, I used to know Malfoy before he started school here. We’re distantly related in some weird way, on my mother’s side. Most of the pureblood families are, you know.”

“I didn’t know you were a pureblood,” Harry said, surprised.

“Yeah, well, technically I’m not. My grandmother went and married a half-blood and since then one of my aunts married a Muggle. So my mum’s family’s sort of on the shit list with the pureblood fanatics, you know? Anyway, when I was really little, my nanny used to take me over to the Malfoys’ to play with Draco sometimes. I can hardly remember it and I doubt he does—I’m a year older than him so his memory would be even sketchier. But looking back, I’ve often thought that she—my nanny, that is—was hoping to shine up the family name a little by associating with a powerful pureblood family like the Malfoys. I didn’t find out until much later—after I’d mentioned something to my mum about Malfoy starting school here, I think—that my nanny had been taking me there without permission. My parents found out somehow and forbade it, so I only went a few times.”

“Why did they forbid it?” Harry asked, curious.

Katie snorted. “Why do you think? They didn’t want to be associated with a family rumoured to have supported You-Know-Who. Mr. Malfoy claimed he was acting under the Imperius, but my parents say no one really believed him. They didn’t want anything to do with a family like that, pureblooded or not.”

“Right,” Harry said. “But I don’t get why you didn’t want to tell me this. It’s not a big deal.”

Katie bit her lip again. “Yeah, I know, it’s silly. But, see, I’ve always had a little soft spot for Malfoy because of it. Even when he’s being horrid, this image of him as a cute little boy pops into my head and I feel sorry for him. I mean, I remember him as being so sweet.”

Harry smiled as he tried to picture Draco as a sweet little boy. “Why do you feel sorry for him?”

“Well, I guess because I’ve always assumed that he turned into such a prat because of how his parents raised him. I don’t—didn’t—know him very well, but his father was always a cold sonofabitch when we’d see him out somewhere. I figured Malfoy was brought up to be just like his dad,” she explained.

Harry scowled as he thought of how Lucius must have treated Draco as a child. “I’m glad that bastard’s dead,” he spat. “I can’t imagine being raised by Voldemort’s right-hand-man.”

Katie shuddered at the mention of “Voldemort.” She knew Harry used his name, but she wasn’t used to hearing it said out loud. “Um, well, that’s part of the reason I’ve never told anyone about my memories of Malfoy—I didn’t want people to think I was friendly with a Death Eater’s kid. And, there’s the never-ending Gryffindor-Slytherin animosity to consider too. Having a soft spot for Draco Malfoy probably wouldn’t make me very popular,” she concluded.

Looking uncertainly at Harry, Katie then asked: “What now? Are you going to Obliviate me?”

Tilting his head, Harry studied Katie thoughtfully. “Can you keep a secret, Katie? I mean, a really important, life-or-death kind of secret?”

Katie nodded. “Yeah, I can. When I promise not to tell something, I always keep my word. I’m not a gossip, like some people.”

“So, if I agree not to Obliviate you, will you swear to keep everything you heard tonight and everything we’ve discussed to yourself? Not to tell anyone?” Harry asked seriously.

In response, Katie held out her hand. “Give me back my wand, and I’ll swear it to you. You can trust me, Harry.”

Meeting her gaze, Harry handed her back her wand. She placed it on her palm and made the pledge. “All right?” she asked when she was finished.

“Yeah, very all right,” Harry said, smiling. “Look, I’m sorry to ask you to swear that way, it’s just that—”

Katie waved his apology away. “No worries. I understand. It’s a big secret and a potentially dangerous one. You have to make sure you trust the right people. I’m really glad you decided to trust me, Harry. It means a lot.”

“I’m glad I can trust you, Katie. When Hermione reacted the way she did…well, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I mean, I wanted to tell someone about me and Draco. I just wanted someone else to be happy for me,” Harry said bitterly.

“Now there is!” Katie said with a huge grin. “And since I’m the only one who knows, I expect to be told all the juicy details of Hogwarts’ hottest secret couple.”

Harry laughed as Katie had hoped he would. “Keep dreaming. Actually, you’re not the only one who knows—Draco told Blaise Zabini.”

“Ah, my unwitting partner in deception,” Katie said with a mock evil cackle.

Harry shook his head and laughed again as he cast Tempus to check the time. “Shit! It’s almost midnight! I’ve got to go!” he exclaimed.

“Go? Go where?” Katie asked.

“Oh, I’m meeting Draco. Just to let him know how the talk with Hermione went,” Harry said, grimacing. “I’ll tell him you’re my new confidant that I’ll go running to when I need a shoulder to cry on if he hurts my feelings,” he finished with a smirk.

“And who’ll you come see any time you feel the need to share the sordid details of what the two of you get up to together,” Katie added, with a wink. “Have fun with your man. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see ya,” Harry said, waving as she headed off. Just as she reached the end of the corridor, he called out to her: “Hey, Katie!”

She turned. “Yeah?”

“Thanks,” he said simply.

She nodded and smiled, then continued on her way. Gathering up his Invisibility Cloak and tossing it on, Harry quickly headed off to the dungeons.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

At exactly midnight, Draco stood outside the Slytherin common room doorway. He was waiting silently, listening for approaching footsteps, when someone grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. Before he could react to the sudden attack, he heard a low voice growl in his ear: “Hey, sexy. Come here often?”

Draco slumped in Harry’s arms as the tension left his body. Twisting around, he said, “Harry! What the hell are—”

He stopped. There was no one there. Eyes darting around, he said, “Harry?”

Silence.

Draco turned a full circle to make sure Harry hadn’t somehow gotten behind him. “Harry, you prat, where are you?”

He couldn’t help it; he jumped when he was grabbed from behind again. “Hey, baby. What’s your sign?” Harry’s voice purred in his ear again.

This time when Draco twisted, he snatched at the air where he knew Harry had to be standing. His hand closed over what felt like material and he yanked. A feeling of déjà vu swept over him as he was suddenly confronted with Harry’s disembodied head floating in front of him.

“Argh!” he yelled, jumping back. “What the fuck?”

As he jumped back, he dragged the rest of the Invisibility Cloak off of Harry, who stood bent over, clutching his stomach as he laughed hysterically.

Draco shot Harry a glare that went unnoticed, then fingered the invisible material he could feel clutched in his hand. If he turned it just the right way…there! He could see something like a shadow. Then it finally clicked in his brain: an Invisibility Cloak.

By now, his sneaky git of a boyfriend had gotten himself under control. “Hey, Hot Stuff,” Harry said, with a stupid grin still plastered on his face, “are your legs tired?”

Draco blinked, bemused. “What? No, why would my legs be tired?”

“Maybe cuz you’ve been runnin’ through my head all night,” Harry drawled.

Draco stared at Harry blankly. “What?” Then he groaned, “Oh, Merlin, you did not just say that.”

Harry smirked and started to reply when they heard footsteps echoing in the corridor.

“Quick!” Harry said, grabbing his cloak from Draco. “Under here.”

Draco ducked under and stood with his back pressed up against Harry’s chest. Harry backed them into the farthest corner of the dungeon. Draco held his breath as the first glow of a swinging lantern became visible.

“Let’s just see who we catch out of bed tonight,” the boys heard Filch rasp. “I think I recognized that Potter boy’s voice—always out of bed after hours, that one is.”

Filch came into view, with Mrs. Norris miaowing at his feet. Filch swung the lantern around, lighting up the area.

“Damn!” he muttered. “Musta been a Slytherin who ducked back into the dorm. I was sure I heard Potter. Ah, well. C’mon, Mrs. Norris. We’ll catch them next time.”

With a final plaintive miaow, Mrs. Norris followed the caretaker and his swaying lantern back down the corridor.

Relaxing, Harry whispered into Draco’s ear. “Whew! Close one!”

“And whose fault is that, Mr. Laughing-Like-A-Maniac?” Draco whispered back.

“Oh, mine,” Harry said cheerfully. “C’mon, let’s go somewhere to talk.”

Draco slipped out from under the cloak. “Follow me.”

He led them to a door just down from the Slytherin dormitory. Opening it, he led Harry into a small, cramped room that looked like no one had used in about fifty years.

“What is this, an old office?” Harry asked after Draco had cast Silencing and Locking Charms.

“Yeah. Hasn’t been used as an office in ages, obviously. We use it for meetings of a more…clandestine…nature,” Draco said, with a slight smile.

“Really? With all this dust, I wouldn’t think anyone had even opened the door in the past decade,” Harry said, looking around at the thick layer of dust covering every surface. “I don’t even see any footprints…wait! Why aren’t we leaving any footprints?”

Draco grinned. “Welcome to the world of magic, Harry. Everything in here is charmed to remain undisturbed. I have no idea who originally did it—I learned about it from the upper level students when I was a second-year and they said it had been this way as long as anyone remembered. Pretty clever, don’t you think?”

“It’s brilliant!” Harry said, testing it out by running his hand over a desk. Not a mote of dust stirred.

“Wonder how many people have shagged on that very desk,” Draco said in an innocent tone. “Probably hundreds.”

“Eww!” Harry snatched his hand back and rubbed it on his jeans. “Thanks for that lovely thought.”

“Any time, lover,” Draco returned, sliding up Harry and wrapping his arms around his neck. “Don’t I get a kiss hello?”

In response, Harry put his arms around Draco’s waist and gave him a long, slow, warm kiss. Then he buried his face in Draco’s neck and hugged him close. Feeling the tension in Harry’s body, Draco just held him and stroked his back.

After a few moments, Harry sighed and lifted his head. “Thanks, I needed that.”

“What is it Harry? What’s wrong? Is it…did the talk with Granger not go well?” Draco led Harry over to a rather ugly sofa done in orange and purple upholstery and cast a quick ”Scourgify” before sitting down.

Harry flopped down, resting his head on the low back of the sofa and closing his eyes. “I guess you could say that,” he said wryly, “seeing as how I ended up Obliviating her.”

“What?” Draco gasped. “Are you serious? What exactly happened? What did she say?”

“Well, it started off all right—I asked her if she thought people could really change and she said yes. She was really surprised to hear you’d switched sides but seemed to accept it. It was when I told her I was dating you that she started going spare on me.”

Harry quickly summarised the rest of his conversation with Hermione. Draco was silent for a few moments after Harry finished speaking.

“Harry,” he finally said, “why are you willing to forget everything I’ve done to you and your friends in the past?”

“I don’t know!” Harry buried his face in his hands and growled his frustration. “I’ve been asking myself that over and over and I’m still not sure. I’ve come up with half-a-dozen reasons, but none of them really seem sufficient. And almost everything I think of ties back to DADA class.”

“How so?” Draco asked.

“Well, remember what you said to me about doing some thinking last summer and deciding that you weren’t going to just adopt Lucius’ beliefs and ideas as your own any more? You were going to make your own judgments, whereas in the past, you simply parroted whatever Lucius said or did. You said you might end up believing some of the same things as Lucius, but if you did, it would be because you had made the decision to believe it. I don’t know why, but that really made an impression on me. I’d never given it much thought, but I realised for the first time that you might have just been acting the way you were raised to act and saying the things you were taught to say.”

Draco gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Yeah, me neither until last summer. But I’m glad what I told you made sense and that you were willing to seriously consider it. I…I know it’s not an excuse for how I’ve treated you and others in the past…”

“But it does help explain why you acted like a complete arse all the time,” Harry finished for him with a smile to soften the insult. “I think one of the reasons what you said made such an impact on me is that…well, until last year, I’d never given much thought as to how much influence parents can have on their children.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, after I learnt about the prophecy, I spent a lot of time thinking about “what if.” “What if” my parents hadn’t died? How would my life be different? How would I be different? I tried to imagine how Ron would be if his parents hadn’t raised him—I think he’d still be the same basic person, but…not the same. It made me aware of how much influence parents have on their kids. And since my parents didn’t raise me, it wasn’t something I understood very well. So I can only imagine how being brought up by someone like Lucius—a man with a rather forceful personality—could really affect you. Does that make sense?” Harry finished.

“Yeah, completely. It really does make sense and I’m glad you can understand a little of where I’m coming from. So—would you say that’s the main reason you’re willing to give me a second chance?” Draco asked.

Harry lifted a shoulder. “Like I said, I’m not sure. But I guess, yeah, that’s the main reason. That, and the Silver Shield Spell. The fact that you dreamed about it, then purposely researched it and taught it to me in hopes of helping me if I fought Lucius...”

Harry trailed off, then suddenly pounded his fist against the couch cushion. “Bloody hell! You saved my life with that spell! How much more proof does anyone want that you’ve changed?”

“Well, considering no one else knows that, I’ll probably have to save you from a herd of rampaging Blast-Ended Skrewts during a sold-out Quidditch match before anyone is satisfied that I’ve changed,” Draco said dryly.

Harry snorted. “Do Skrewts travel in herds then? And here I was thinking they travelled in packs!”

“Yeah, you must have been in the infirmary getting your burns healed when Hagrid told us that,” Draco laughed. “You’re lucky it didn’t show up on the O.W.L.s!”

Harry joined Draco’s laughter. “Not sure how the Ministry could test me about creatures that aren’t meant to exist, though!”

“A bit like Granger’s memory, eh? Non-existent?” Draco smirked. “But seriously, Harry, are you just not going to tell anyone about us now?”

“Actually, I didn’t finish my story about what happened with Hermione,” Harry said. “After I Obliviated Hermione, I caught someone listening in to us around the corner.”

“Shite!” Draco exclaimed. “Who else did you Obliviate tonight?”

“No one. Actually, it worked out quite well, as now I do have one person who knows about us, even if it wasn’t whom I originally planned. In fact, it’s someone you know—or you used to. Do you know Katie Bell?”

Draco’s brow furrowed as he tried to place her. “She’s on your Quidditch team, I know. I’m trying to picture her face. Brown hair, shoulder-length? Short girl?”

“Yeah, that’s her. She’s a Chaser, a seventh-year.”

“Ok. But what do you mean I used to know her? I still know her—well, know who she is,” Draco said.

Harry smiled. “You don’t remember your old childhood playmate?”

Draco looked confused. “What?”

“Yeah, she said her nanny took her over to play with you a few times when you were both really little. She didn’t expect you to remember—she only barely remembers it herself. And it only happened a few times.”

“Well. That’s interesting. I don’t remember her. I’ve heard of the Bell family—Lucius didn’t like them because they ‘dirtied their blood’ or something. I don’t recall. But—she’s going to keep our secret? You trust her?”

Harry nodded. “Yes, I do. She swore it on her wand to keep it secret. I’ve always liked Katie a lot, but never gotten to be close with her. Maybe this will change things.”

“Well, don’t get too close,” Draco warned. “I don’t share.”

Harry laughed and pulled Draco closer. “You have no worries there. And just so you know, I don’t share either.” He grinned and kissed Draco lightly.

Draco smiled back at him. “Good to know.”

Then he sobered. “Harry, I…I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Granger. Are you really all right with it?”

Harry sighed and rested his forehead on Draco’s. “No, but I will be. Thanks for asking. I hope…I hope when we’re able to be open about being together that she and Ron will get used to the idea.”

He leaned back and looked at Draco. He smiled slowly. “But for now, since I’ve had such a rough night, having to Obliviate one of my best friends because she’s being a narrow-minded cow, I really think I could use some…comforting. I believe that falls under ‘boyfriend duties,’ doesn’t it?”

Draco smiled back at him and brought his hand up to cup the back of Harry’s neck. “Is that so? Well, let no one say that Draco Malfoy shirks his duties.”

Reaching up with his free hand to remove Harry’s glasses, he brought his lips to Harry’s. The kiss was slow and sweet—exactly what Harry needed, without him even realising it.

The kiss stayed sweet even as it deepened. Hands roamed, stroking to soothe rather than to arouse. Eventually, Draco pulled back with a sigh.

“As much as I’d rather stay here with you all night, we do have classes tomorrow, and it’s late,” he said with a regretful expression.

“And we didn’t exactly get much sleep last night, either,” Harry added. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Draco said as they stood to leave. Seeing Harry pick up his cloak, Draco remembered he’d never asked about it.

“Hey, Harry, that’s an Invisibility Cloak, right? Where’d you get it? They’re so rare! I’ve never even seen one before.”

“It was my dad’s,” Harry said. “I inherited it.”

“Well, now I know how you’ve managed to break so many rules and not get caught,” Draco said. “I guess now we’ll just use it to break rules together, right?”

Harry grinned. “Definitely.”

Giving Harry one last kiss, Draco waited until the Invisibility Cloak covered Harry before opening the door. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Harry’s invisible form replied.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

A/N: Well, I ended the suspense, but I’m sorry there was no smut. There will be more soon! What’d y’all think of Katie Bell? Let me know!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^