Dragon Hunt

Sirius lingered at the doorway “Harry, don’t do anything rash,” he said softly before allowing Charlie to finally push him out.

Harry took his seat again and pushed the food towards Draco. “Eat,” he instructed and Draco ate, delicately nibbling at a chunk of bread.

“Join me?” Draco asked tentatively. Harry gave him a long look and nodded. They ate in silence for so long. Draco seemed content to do so, but Harry was finding it completely disconcerting.

“What do you remember?” Harry asked.

“You,” Draco said easily, not offering anything more as he changed to the cheese, slicing off a few pieces he then placed on the plate before Harry before taking a slice for himself.

“What do you mean?”

“According to the man who showed me to the bath, my name is Draco Malfoy and I am a seventeen year old wizard. He says I grew up in a large manor and that after school let out in the spring I refused to go home and my father now hunts for my flesh. He says I was staying at a safe house with him until my birthday when I turned into a dragon and began stalking you,” he explained dryly.

Then Draco stopped his movements and pinned Harry with his startling ice-blue eyes. “But all I remember is you. I need you. I can feel you all the time and hurt when I’m not near you. It’s all about you.”

“You don’t even know me,” Harry tried to excuse.

“I disagree. I know that you’re afraid of what I’ve just said because you think it’s some kind of lie. I know you consistently believe that you’re not good enough to have what you have. Why do you not believe in the love your family here offers you?”

“I have no family,” Harry said softly, dropping his eyes from the blue gaze. “Not really.”

“The werewolf and his lover are your family, just like the red-head and the troop of those like him, and even the bushy-haired brunette. They are family. They love you and protect you fiercely, like family should. Why do you doubt that?” Draco asked sincerely.

Harry shook his head. “I didn’t grow up with all of them. They often feel like a dream I will have to awaken from.”

“Ahh, dreams,” Draco said knowingly, though sadly. “You love dreams.”

Harry nodded. “And you’ve allowed me to have them.” Draco smiled sadly. “Does my dreaming upset you?” Harry asked.

Draco shook his head. “Your dreams make you happy and I would not take that from you for anything.”

Harry watched him and felt his heart ache. Draco was sad and he had somehow caused it. “Do you know what I dream of?” Harry asked.

Draco nodded dully, his eyes focusing on a green grape that had rolled from the plate onto the worn wooden table. “You dream of him. The one with the stormy eyes,” he said softly. “He makes you happy.”

“Yes,” Harry breathed.

“I saw myself in your last dream. And I felt—“ Draco’s breath hitched in his throat. “I felt your hatred of me.”

“No!” Harry denied immediately, though he wasn’t sure how to defend himself beyond that. He took a long breath. “The you that I know, the you from my memories, I have never gotten along with. We’ve fought from the moment that we met. And in that dream, seeing you fighting with a man that I cared about so much, made me angry and protective and maybe for the briefest of moments, I did hate you. Maybe, but the you that is sitting in front of me now is not the same one from that memory.”

Draco nodded dully, but the sadness in the sound did not change and Harry knew that Draco believed him to be saying things not out of honestly, but to appease the dragon. He couldn’t think of a way to comfort the blonde across from him without touching him and he dared not touch him yet.

He didn’t know Draco. What he had said before was truth. The Draco he grew up knowing was not the same person as the one across from him. Which was real? Which was a dream? Either way, he needed to say the following. “Do not be sad. Do not be sad because of me,” he whispered.

Draco’s eyes snapped up to catch Harry’s gaze. And he saw tears there, tears for him. “Only if you promise the same,” Draco whispered.

Meanwhile, in the other room . . .

Sirius leaned back in the couch. “All right, so now what?” he asked snidely. “We just sit back and watch to see what happens?”

“Partially,” Snape said. “Draco will successfully woo him within days. At that point, we give them the privacy they deserve.”

“You’re quite confident in Draco,” Sirius snapped.

Snape shrugged. “More in Potter’s weakness.”

Remus ignored them. “I believe that the situation will improve greatly when Draco’s memory returns.”

Snape nodded agreement. “It has begun to. He at least now remembers being human. But it may take another month or more to return fully.”

“Plenty of time,” Remus said happily. “We have almost a year before the situation becomes critical for Draco.”

“I wouldn’t be sure of that,” Charlie inserted, cringing when three sets of frustrated eyes fell on him. “A dragon has a year from its maturity to bond with its mate, but Draco is not truly a dragon. Dragons live for centuries, some as long as a millennia. A human’s lifespan, even a wizard’s, rarely goes above a single century. I would go so far as saying that we can’t depend on longer than a month before Draco begins to deteriorate.”

“It has already been two weeks!” Snape complained. Charlie nodded. “This is ridiculous!”

“I agree,” Sirius snapped. “How does even Nature have the right to ask this of my godson? To make a decision about the rest of his existence while mending a broken heart, all while having a Dark Lord wanting to kill him? And to put a time limit on it?”

“Nature can ask whatever she wants,” Remus said.

“It’s unfair,” Sirius grumbled. Remus couldn’t help but chuckle at him.




Harry laughed a deep satisfying laugh. He hadn’t done that in so long. It felt so good. He could feel it down to his toes. And it was all thanks to the beautiful man across from him. They’d played wizard’s chess for hours, finding that they couldn’t beat each other. That’s when Draco took to pushing pieces together claiming that the reason the game seemed to last forever was the amount of sexual tension between his own knight and Harry’s bishop. And apparently he’d been right. The pieces were now involved in a heavy make-out section right in the middle of the board.

Draco watched Harry laughing and felt so satisfied. He had accomplished his greatest goal. He had made Harry happy, no matter how momentary that happiness was. Harry’s stunning emerald eyes sparkled and shined with an unnatural light and it was a light that Draco was firmly in love with.

True, he had no memory of life before his birthday. But he knew himself and knew that the love he felt existed before his transformation. Harry’s own dream had confirmed that when he saw his slightly younger self, felt the feelings of his slightly younger self.

. . . “What do you want, Malfoy?” Cedric snapped, his tone full or contempt and mocking.

“I saw you sucking off Potter in the library,” he’d said flatly, trying desperately to keep the emotion from his voice.

Cedric laughed. “Jealous, Malfoy?” he snapped. “Jealous that I’m fucking The-Boy-Who-Lived while you can only touch yourself and dream?”

Draco couldn’t deny that statement. He just needed to know why. He needed to know why Cedric was with him. He needed to know that this man would not hurt Harry. “In it together, are you? The tournament? Trading secrets? Helping each other out?” Malfoy asked. “Is that the only reason you’re with him?”

“None of your concern, Deatheater!” Cedric ground out. The comment hurt. Not only did it ring painfully true that it was not technically any of his concern, but also the name call: Deatheater. It was a lie, a cruel one at that. “Now leave!” Before Draco could react, Cedric had jogged off, disappearing in search of his own dorm. Draco just stood there dumbly and stared. . . .

Harry had only seen his lover defending him from a cruel interloper. He hadn’t guessed the true feelings of that interloper. The thought pained Draco. But being with Harry now, seeing him laugh and his eyes sparkle, was pushing that pain away.

They spent the day talking and laughing and playing. And when the sunset, Draco yawned in such a way that did not pass for entirely human and Harry laughed again. Draco blushed in embarrassment. The flush coloring his otherwise porcelain white skin was beautifully enticing. Harry felt himself flushing in response to his own thoughts. And then he felt guilty for being attracted to the blond when he still longed to be with Cedric each and every time he closed his eyes.

“When is the last time you slept?” Harry asked gently.

Draco shrugged his elegant shoulders and shook out his pale hair. As it dried, it had curled slightly and looked as messy as Harry’s ever had. “I don’t remember. It was before my birthday.”

Harry’s eyes narrowed in concern. “Is that healthy?” he asked.

Draco shrugged again and laughed. It was light and breathy. “How would I know? What is healthy for a dragon? What is healthy for a wizard cursed to have attributes of a dragon?”

Harry didn’t echo the laughter. “I don’t know, but I think sleep is healthy. When was the last time you ate before today?” Again, Draco shrugged. He was no longer laughing as he sensed the concern and fear from his mate. “Charlie!” Harry shouted loudly.

Not a moment later all four men rushed in. “What is it?” Charlie asked breathlessly.

“How often do dragons sleep and eat?”

Charlie looked uncomfortable. “Normally, they sleep every night and eat regularly: once to six times a day depending on the breed.”

“Normally?” Harry asked, sensing Harry avoiding his question.

“Umm . . .” Charlie looked uncomfortably towards Snape. “It is the natural reaction of a dragon to deny itself food and rest if it has been denied its mate,” he spat quickly.

Draco didn’t even flinch. He thought he knew that on some level. Harry, however, almost swallowed his own tongue. “What?” he barked.

“Harry, don’t,” Draco said softly. “Please.”

“Eat!” Harry snapped, throwing another loaf of bread at Draco. “And when you finish that, you’re going to bed. No arguing!”

“Harry!” Draco began.

“No arguing!” Harry snapped back. He jumped up from the table. “Charlie, I need to speak with you,” he said tightly, grabbing the other man to him from the room. The moment his hand wrapped around the red-head’s wrist, the comforting purr, leapt in pain. Harry snapped around to look at Draco. “What is it?” he asked, his voice again laced with concern.

Draco shook his head, eyes focused on the table in front of him. He looked about ready to either cry or kill. “Nothing,” he said quietly.

Harry was painfully aware of their audience. “Why are you in pain?” he asked. Draco shook his head. “Tell me, please,” Harry begged.

Draco breathed deeply to erase the emotion from his voice before he spoke a single sentence flatly: “You would allow another’s touch but not mine.”

Harry dropped Charlie’s wrist as if it burned. “Draco, get some food and sleep. Charlie, I need to speak with you, now!”

Harry could still hear the sadness in the purr. It was maddening and distracting. He needed it to be happy. He needed it to be the beautiful, comforting noise it should be. He couldn’t live with the sound the way it was. He couldn’t stand it. When it was panicked and scared, he knew it was only momentary. It was settled back down, but the sadness showed no sign of leaving.

“Harry, calm down!” Charlie shouted. Harry stopped, just now realizing he’d been pacing and tugging at his hair and muttering under his breath. “Sit!” Charlie commanded.

Harry dropped onto the worn sofa across from the fire. Charlie sat at the opposite end. He waited patiently for Harry to gather his thoughts. “Explain what will happen,” Harry said shortly.

Charlie shifted uncomfortably. “If you’re asking about gay sex, I think Remus and Sirius would be better—“

“No!” Harry snapped. “You said that a single touch begins the bonding process. What is the process? For dragons?”

“Oh, well, that—“ Charlie shifted in his seat to face Harry, though Harry stayed facing the fire. “The younger must begin the process with a single touch. It ends when the two actually consummate the relationship. The touch will effectively unleash the elder. Before the younger’s touch, the elder’s attempts to gain the younger’s favor are hobbled, being just the draw that apparently manifests itself as a sound that only the mate can hear. Which reminds me, I would like to ask you and Draco some questions. The field of dragon mating is greatly lacking due to the lack of communication possible—“

“Charlie!” Harry growled.

“When this is all settled, or course,” Charlie apologized. “The younger’s touch will signal to the elder dragon that their touch is permitted.”

“So, the moment I touch him, Draco will pounce?” Harry asked dully.

“No,” Charlie said quietly. “A dragon will never do anything that could possibly hurt their mate. What the touch will do is effectively give Draco permission to use any means necessary to—“ Charlie seemed to argue with himself for the correct word. “Seduce you, I guess would be the best explanation, though it’s more than that.”

“How do you mean?” Harry asked.

“It’s not necessarily a sexual seduction. However that is part of it, eventually. He will seduce you on every level. He will be able to give you everything you need. A dragon’s mate is their complete counterpart, providing their mate with strength when needs be, comfort, knowledge, anything the mate should need.” Charlie shook his head. “At least a dragon mate will.”

“What does that mean?” Harry asked.

“I’m sorry,” Charlie said. “I only meant that is how it works when a dragon mates with another dragon. I have the feeling that Draco is able to read your needs and is providing for them as best he can already. I am unsure you’ll be able to provide the same.”

Harry laughed derisively. “Leave you to be concerned for the dragon.”

“Harry, do you have any idea what is being offered to you? A mate. It is practically unheard of in the human realms, but in nature the bond between mates is so strong and beautiful. In magical nature, that bond is even more amazing. It is a gift from the gods, Harry, and you look on it as a burden!” Charlie reprimanded.

“How am I supposed to look at it?!” Harry snapped. He jumped from the couch and glared down at Charlie. “A little over a month ago, a man I cared about very deeply, maybe even loved was killed because of me! He was murdered because of me! Because I cared for him and wanted to share everything with him. That is what got him killed! And now, you’re telling me that I’m destined to share everything, share my life with a man who is part dragon, with unknown powers and abilities, a man who tried his damnedest to make my life at school a living hell to match the one at the Dursley?! I’m supposed to just accept that and see it as a gift?” Harry sighed. “And to feel the way I do around him, because of him. It makes it all the more confusing. And I could and would just accept it and the comfort he is offering me if it weren’t for the fact that in a couple of weeks, his memory will return and he will hate me for trapping him with me.”

“He won’t, Harry. Once a bond is complete, a dragon will never reject their mate.”

“But you said yourself that Draco isn’t really a dragon,” Harry said sadly. “I’ll wait until his memory returns so that I have some assurance that I won’t be falling into a dream that I will be rudely awoken from.”

“You might not have the time,” Charlie said. He quickly explained his theory or a human versus dragon lifespan and its effects on mating, and then Snape’s theories of the Malfoy Curse memory regains. “If Snape and I are both correct, Draco will be dead before his memory returns.”

“Mr. Potter,” Snape interrupted. “As per your request, I have asked Draco to eat a full meal. He has done so. I have also shown him up to a bedroom to sleep. I have placed him in the bedroom across the hallway from your own. As you have probably already noticed, I have allowed him to borrow some of your clothing. Yours were the most obvious choice as you are close to the same size.”

“Anything to make my mate comfortable,” Harry said sarcastically.

“Indeed,” Snape replied coldly. “I have brought you something that may make the situation easier on you,” he said snidely. Before Harry had a chance to react, he felt a heavy book hit his chest. “Now, I must go. I have been here too long already. Remus will be leaving within the hour as well.”

“Why?” Harry asked, concerned.

“Full moon. He’ll be going to a safe house.” He looked at Harry coldly. “Judging by how ill-prepared you are for my class, your natural instinct when I tell you to read something is to ignore it, but I highly suggest you read that book. It’s warded, but I have a feeling that will be no problem for you.”

Harry nodded and Snape was gone.