Short Fuse

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its corresponding ideas and themes. If I did, well, never mind; that\'s a big if.

Summary: This takes place in Harry\'s 7th year. Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape... are they really what they seem? Some things in Harry\'s life aren\'t as simple as they seem, and with his powers growing, he begins to learn this in a difficult way.

Notes: Yes, I am one crazy mother... Welcome to the Insanity.

\"Here in town you can tell he\'s been down for a while,
But my God it\'s so beautiful when the boy smiles,
I Wanna hold him, maybe I\'ll just sing about it.

Cause you can\'t jump the track, we\'re like cars on a cable,
And life\'s like an hourglass, glued to the table.
No one can find the rewind button boys,
So cradle your head in your hands,
And breathe, just breathe,
Woah breathe, just breathe.\"- \"Breathe\" by Anna Nalick

Chapter 7. Battle of Wills

They stood glaring at one another, each going over the small list in his own head of what he hated about the other. It was quite funny to watch, actually, unless one knew the destructive power either one possessed, in which case most would be running from the castle as fast as their legs could carry them. And indeed, outside, many a creature had fled to escape the immense magical energy that crackled around the castle, knowing that had they stayed, they could possibly have been turned into magical mince-meat by those who generated the power being felt across miles. The power struggle inside the castle was great, as Harry and Draco subconsciously willed their magic to fight against the other one\'s. This single battle had been going on for an hour since after Sirius\'s return, when Harry had told a bewildered Hagrid and a mourning McGonagall to leave the room while he spoke to his mate. Since then, they had merely stood there, willing each other to back down.

The blonde smirked, knowing that Harry no idea that if he backed down, he would become the sub in the bond that was to form. To him, it was hilarious and, to a point, even cute, that Harry was merely attempting to stare him down just because he didn\'t like him. It seemed to Draco that his lovely Golden Boy had not a clue what was going on, and he liked it that way, even if he has had to stand there for an hour and watch only the boy-who-lived. Unknown to Harry, Draco had found the boy to be irresistible, but due to his father\'s connections, and the refused friendship, the blonde had to make it look like to everyone else that he hated the Gryffindor, and would do anything to serve the Dark Lord. To Draco, this was merely a game to be won, and his prize, scar-head writhing under him. Draco was always good at getting what he wanted, and he wanted perfect-Potter.

Harry grinned ferociously, using his smile to make the Slytherin think and question. The other boy had not a clue of the Legilimency that was being used on him. \'Snape would be proud\' Harry thought to himself, thanking the potions master for the training he had agreed to give, again, to Harry the previous year. This time, Harry had concentrated, bled, sweated, and worked hard to refine his skill in Occlumency, and eventually, had succeeded in both shielding his thoughts, and delving into the minds of others, though his first was quite by accident. Snape had been badgering him about his Occlumency training, and had cast the spell as a surprise attack. When it struck, Harry was amazed at how easily he had driven it back, and instead of keeping it away, he had let his mind wander further, reaching back into the man\'s mind. Though the other man had been angered by it, Harry had quickly apologized and asked if he could be taught control, so nothing like that ever happened again. Snape had agreed, and they studied twice as hard to help Harry get it all right. Now, as he read through Draco\'s thoughts, picking up his reason for smiling, Harry was taken aback, and his control nearly toppled. \'No way will I lose to you, then, blondie!\'

Sending out a sweep, Harry saw and felt his magic as it wrestled with his mate\'s. He was surprised he hadn\'t sensed it before. He grinned at the Slytherin, winking at him and drawing a confused stare, before pushing down his will on his magic, using it to push Draco\'s magic back into him, and keep it there. Draco felt it happen, his resolve waver, flicker, and die, his smile retreating and his eyes looking downcast. He had lost! Angered, knowing that he has shown his weakness and was to be the sub to Potter, he forced himself to look back up into the twinkling eyes of his new mate, but suddenly found himself losing the will to fight again. Harry knew he had control now, but he didn\'t want it like this. The blood in his veins boiled, his every urge screaming to him that Draco, his mate, was right there and willing to be taken, but Harry didn\'t want to the blonde to hate him, and his instincts agreed. An angry mate would not be something he wanted to contend with, so Harry took the initiative, and spoke up.

\"So, Malfoy, how should we do this?\"

\"Potter, just take me. I\'ve lost the battle, and you don\'t need to rub it in. You will be the dominative in this pairing, so there\'s nothing I can do to change anything you do. So, just do it.\" Harry was taken aback, not knowing Malfoy to give up so easy, and knew that he definitely didn\'t want to his mate to be unhappy.

\"Listen, Malfoy, I know you don\'t like me, and to tell you the truth, I don\'t much care for you. I think, before I claim you, we should at least come to some kind of truce, and get to know each other a little. I\'d rather you be happy or, at least, not so miserable.\" Draco\'s eyes shot up, not expecting Harry to care what he felt like, but to rub it in his face that he could control whatever the blonde does at any one time. The golden boy continued, \"I\'ll meet you on the seventh floor tonight. We\'ll talk, okay? I need to go explain what is going on to the staff. I have no idea how I\'m going to explain about Dumbledore.\"

The other boy sneered at the back of Harry\'s head as the boy walked to the doors. His inner conflict was to either keep hating the boy, or try to get along with his partner for life. Draco sighed dramatically, letting his breathe carry over to Harry. He made up his mind, and gazed at the retreating boy.

\"Potter!\" he yelled just as Harry reached the door, then stopped and turned back to the other boy. \"If you are going to lie, remember, Dumbly-dork was very self-sacrificing.\" Draco hoped Harry got the hint, because a moment later, after a nod, the boy left the room, closing the door behind him.
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The heads of the houses stared at each other, waiting at the staff table for their Golden Boy to return from his talk with the young Slytherin. All eyes from the other professors and heads seemed to watch Severus closely, hoping to burn the answers from him as he was the only one who knew what was happening. Flitwick and Sprout were dodgy, noticing the completely defeated look on McGonagall\'s face, her tear stained cheeks making her look even worse for wear. They all could feel the magic that grew within the castle as Draco and Harry were supposedly talking. When one of the signatures seemed to dim, Severus and McGonagall became strained, wondering whether if one of their prized students had killed the other, or worse, had won over the other. Snape briefly wandered if Io was doing okay, sleeping soundly next to Black in the Infirmary from the excessive amount energy he drained when calling forth the veil and its fiery depths. All heads turned to the head of the table as Harry entered, looking no worse than he had before. He took a seat at the head of the table, and Flitwick nearly toppled from his own chair.

\"As Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape know already, Professor Dumbledore is dead.\" the entire staff shuttered and took in a deep breath. Harry ignored it and continued. \"He died today...\" Harry paused for a second, Draco\'s words coming to his head, \"... as he sacrificed himself to bring Sirius Black back from the Veil.\" several murmurs went through the room as the staff took in this announcement. Snape was surprised himself, though he chose not to show it. Harry was smart to lie, because otherwise, he might have been attacked on the spot. Most of these teachers had strong ties and allegiances to the headmaster, and wouldn\'t have taken the news of his demise at the hands of Harry Potter very well. It was Flitwick, as he retrieved himself back on his seat after having fallen off again, who spoke.

\"Well, Mr. Potter, how is that possible? Dumbledore told the rest of the staff that Black was lost behind the veil, and there was no way to get him back.\" Harry was a little unprepared for the question, but, was saved by Snape, who stood up and addressed the question.

\"Filius, as you may or may not be aware, there currently resides in out infirmary as very special boy. He was Fudge\'s slave until a little while ago, and is now serving Potter\'s after the minister\'s untimely death. This boy, who goes by the name of Io, is a wizard who has come into his own inheritance a short while ago. He is a dark creature called an \'Ethereal\'. This boy, or creature, however you look at it, has the special ability to pass through the veil and transport passengers through as well. This is normally a method of travel, but when Dumbledore met the boy yesterday, he decided he wanted to risk himself to bring Black back for Potter\'s sake. While he was there, something went wrong, and while Black got through okay, something happened to the headmaster, and he was lost. Before the boy had fallen asleep, he told us black fire had risen to grab the headmaster, and that fires themselves were lethal to anyone besides the Ethereal. Io himself just made it back, and his energy is so badly drained, that he has to rest for several days before he can make the trip again.\" Snape finished, giving a look to Harry, who thanked him with a nod back.

One professor stood shakily from his chair, walking down the table and stopping next to Harry. Remus Lupin, who looked shaken with the news of his best friend\'s return and the headmaster\'s demise, looked sadly at the boy-who-lived. Suddenly, he put his arms around the boy and gave him a hug, whispering \"Thank you.\" into his ear, before letting go and striding from the room, heading towards the infirmary. Harry let out a breath, than scanned the room, watching the teachers and waiting for any of them to say anything else.

\"So, what will the Order do now?\" asked Professor Sinistra. Harry took in the question, and sighed. He really didn\'t have a clue.
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As the meeting let out, and Harry stalked away towards the seventh floor, Hermione and Ron walked up to Professor Snape as readied himself to go meet Io. He raised an eyebrow as they approached, completely ignoring Harry as he passed. They looked at him, a book in Hermione\'s hand opened, and Ron took the initiative in speaking.

\"Professor, sir, there are some things about Io you might want to know...\" he trailed off as Snape rolled his eyes, feigning interest.

\"What is it, Weasley?\"
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Draco paced in the corridor, awaiting Harry\'s arrival. He had been thinking since the boy had spoken to him, still playing the entire thing over in his head, trying to figure out what happened that made his normally over-developed sense of Malfoy dominance fail, and let the Golden Boy over power him. It didn\'t make sense to him, how Harry had gone from not knowing a thing to being able to out-will him. And why had Harry cared if Draco was happy or not? He was the dom, and could take everything from Draco with a simple command if he chose. But yet, he hadn\'t, and wants to talk about them being... civil? Friends? More? The thoughts made Draco shiver, and quicken his pace. Another thought ran through his head. \'Father isn\'t going to be pleased.\' He stopped to listen as footsteps sounded around the hall, and Draco wheeled around to see the Gryffindor walking straight to him. Draco\'s heart stopped as he saw a grin plastered on the boy\'s face.

\"Potter, what the hell...?\" Potter said nothing, grabbing hold of Draco\'s hand and pulling him into his arms, making the blonde walk with him through a door that hadn\'t been there before.
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THANKS TO REVIEWERS!

Demon~ Hey, I\'ll keep going as long as you keep reading!

sbkar~ Well, not only will Snape become hotter thank you think, Draco and Harry will be very synchronized eventually. Now, I may not have shown much of Black in this chapter, but don\'t worry, he will be an important character in the following chapters. More of Percy, Umbridge, and Voldie to come! *Maybe even some Sirius/Remus action >.>*

tessa3~ I don\'t know about god, but GB will be fine. As for penguins and Luc, they will be coming back as well. Yeah, I liked getting Sirius back because I really didn\'t drop any hints that he would be. Damn right his return will bring about a plot twist. Lucius is my funnest toy!

Colton~ It\'s colt, the boy-who-shares-much. Hehe, I want the others to read this too, understand, Mr. Coldsoup? Anyways, thanks, and I\'ll do as much as I can to make the story less confusing.

Aisling~ Repeat after me, *Schizo* Now that is done, of course we can see Voldie\'s house. Pink marshmallows? I\'d hit it...
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Sorry about the lack of update yesterday. I went to see the Mormon Tabernacle(sp?) Choir. Before you ask, no, I\'m not Mormon, I\'m atheist, and after the show, I had some fun by threatening to gut the missionaries who tried talking to me with a popsicle stick. I got home so late I was too dead tired to write anything, so, don\'t hold it against me, k? I\'m going to try to pump out two chapters tomorrow, seeing as i don\'t have to work. Yes, the choir was quite good. Have fun with this until tomorrow. Later!