Wicked

Thank you once again for reading, voting and writing those lovely and encouraging reviews!

This chapter will shed some light on some questions; it will be better understandable if you are familiar with the books, though.
The text between the signs (-) is directly quoted from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" by J.K. Rowling, of the Bloomsbury Edition from 2003.


Enjoy!


It only now occured to Harry how easily he could have shared Draco´s fate if he hadn´t been able to escape from the graveyard the night of the Triwizard tournament. True, Voldemort had been intent on killing him, but who knew what else might have happened.
Shuddering, the Gryffindor shook off the memory of being watched by the group of masked and hooded men, not even wanting to imagine what they had done to Draco.

As the days wore on, Harry and Draco settled into a kind of unspoken pattern; each night they huddled together, for that seemed the only means to keep the nightmares at bay. During daylight, Draco´s dreams usually weren´t as bad, but once it got dark did he become agitated as soon as he had closed his eyes.

His physical injuries were healing well, as Madam Pomfrey confirmed. They had taken a lot longer to heal than they normally would have, since they had been mended in between and then cruelly been replicated. Draco was allowed to sit up after a week, and was glad about it since it meant he could read to take his mind off the things that were haunting him.

Harry did not possess many books and neither did Dudley, thus he asked Madam Pomfrey if she could be of any help there, and she returned with a stack of novels and books on Quidditch the following day.

Dumbledore however had not sent word of how he was progressing with the investigation of the Portkey yet, and Harry found himself growing more and more impatiently by the minute.

They had not talked about the subject of their future schooldays again, since Draco seemed reluctant to delve into it; there were days on which he kept curling in on himself and hardly spoke to Harry at all, too weary to take on the world.
Harry didn´t push him; he and Malfoy had not been on friendly terms before, after all, and he didn´t want to risk what little trust was developing between them.

It was hard for Draco to be unable to show more strength; he knew he was pathetic, acting like a child, but curling up came next to hiding, which was what he felt like doing on those days, because he felt so hurt, so helpless.
In the following nights he always had to restrain himself not to press against Harry with all his might and cling to him out of sheer anguish when the Gryffindor joined him in bed; he did not want to repel Harry with his defencelessness.

Harry however took matters in his own hands on such occasions, since he realized that Draco was close to cracking up on those days, no matter how hard he tried to conceal it, and usually nestled against him with one arm around Draco´s slender midriff.
At first Harry had tried to imagine it was someone else, a girl maybe, to make it feel less awkward, but he soon found it actually wasn´t necessary as he indeed liked it.
He told himself that this certainly was due to the general lack of tenderness he had had in his life, but then stopped that as well.
He had to admit that it felt good to have Draco in his arms, and he often caught himself watching the blond boy while he was sleeping, feeling at peace.

He briefly wondered if that was normal, but on the other hand he asked himself wether it was normal to spend the entire summer in one small room, hiding from Lord Voldemort along with his former enemy.
He worried about his best friends; what would Ron and Hermione say if they knew about this?

His questions were about to be answered sooner than he would have imagined.

When Madam Pomfrey appeared the next time, Dumbledore accompanied her. He beckoned Harry over to the far side of the room, his eyes twinkling kindly even though he seemed unusually tense.

“Harry,” he said quietly, “there is something I need to discuss with you two. I am going to wait until Poppy is done. In the meantime I am supposed to tell you hello from Ms Granger and Mr Weasley.”

“Have you spoken to them?” Harry asked eagerly, “do they know?”

Dumbledore nodded: “I will tell you about them in a minute,” he replied. “But first...” He raised his wand and seemed to cast a silencing spell around them, for suddenly Madam Pomfrey´s low voice became completely inaudible.


When he had made sure that they couldn´t be overheard, Dumbledore turned back to Harry: “Let me explain a few things to you before we get back to the subject of your friends. There have been a few new developments...”

Harry hardly believed his ears when Dumbledore told him about the Order of the Phoenix and Grimmauld Place; on the one hand, it sounded too good to be true, since something was happening at last, a palpable effort to fight Voldemort, but on the other hand he felt thoroughly left out.

Staying in Privet Drive was like being cut off the wizarding world anyway, and this made it even worse. If anyone should know about Voldemort´s proceedings, it was him, wasn´t it?

The range of emotions he was experiencing clearly showed on his face, and Dumbledore leaned forward: “Harry,” he said, “I know you would rather have come and joined the rest of us in our Headquarters, but there is a reason for your being safer here than anywhere else.”
“Yes,” Harry said defiantly, “there must be, if it is even safe enough to hide Draco here. I was wondering about that.”

A sad smile played across Dumbledore´s features: “I am aware of how the Dursleys have treated you, Harry,” he said kindly. “There was no other place for you to go, however, as incredible as this might sound. I was sure that Voldemort would return at some point, and that he would want to see you dead, to complete what he couldn´t accomplish before.” He sighed, shaking his head a little:
-
“I knew that Voldemort´s knowledge of magic is perhaps more extensive than any wizard alive. I knew that even my most complex and powerful protective spells and charms were unlikely to be invincible if he ever returned to full power.
But I knew, too, where Voldemort was weak. And so I made my decision. You would be protected by an ancient magic of which he knows, which he despises, and which he has always, therefore, underestimated- to his cost. I am speaking, of course, of the fact that your mother died to save you.
She gave you a lingering protection he never expected, a protection that flows in your veins to this day. I put my trust, therefore, in your mother´s blood. I delivered you to her sister, her only remaining relative.”

“She doesn´t love me,” said Harry at once. “She doesn´t give a damn-“

“But she took you,” Dumbledore cut across him. “She may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you. Your mother´s sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you.”

“I still don´t-“

“While you can still call home the place where your mother´s blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need to return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, whilst you are there he cannot hurt you. Your aunt knows this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left with you, on her doorstep. She knows that allowing you houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years.”
-

Harry considered this for a while, unable to express his feelings other than clenching his hands into fists. Once more it hit him how Voldemort had destroyed everything for him, and how he was still interfering with Harry´s life.
He felt utterly helpless right now, wanting Voldemort dead but being unable to do anything because he had to hide, hide with people who considered him abnormal and couldn´t have cared less about the wizarding world. He snorted at the irony of this.

Dumbledore eyed him benignly; when Harry finally looked at him again, he smiled: “Your friends have been asking for you on a daily basis,” he said, seeking to becalm Harry.

The boy exhaled forcefully, but listened nevertheless.

“Both of them demanded to know why you hadn´t been writing to them,” the Headmaster continued. “They sensed that something was going on, and I finally decided to tell them about Mr Malfoy.”

Harry could well imagine their different reactions to this- Hermione would look simply alarmed, whereas Ron would be flasterghasted. He could almost hear his best friend´s voice: “Malfoy? The Ferret?”

He subconsciously grinned at this.

Dumbledore´s eyes twinkled as he spoke: “They both seemed reluctant to believe you had agreed to this, but after I had depicted the extent of the situation, they were rather stricken by what has happened to Mr Malfoy.”
Harry blinked: “They were?”

Dumbledore confirmed this with a nod: “Does it astonish you, Harry? Ms Granger and Mr Weasley seem close enough to you to unconditionally trust you, therefore they also trust your judgement.”

“My judgement,” Harry murmured with a sinking feeling. “Things are changing between Draco and me, Professor. I agreed to keep him here because it was so obvious he couldn´t go anywhere else, and I felt for him despite our... despite... even though we used to loathe each other.
But now I don´t know... he is so different, and I find it hard not to... not to like him. I am not sure if Ron and Hermione will understand that as well. They haven´t seen him like this.”
He fell silent.

Dumbledore assessed him over the rim of his half-moon spectacles: “I am confident that you will be able to do justice to all three of them, Harry,” he said calmly. “Even if it might take some time.”

“So... do you think it´s all right if Draco and I become friends, sort of?”

“Oh, yes, by all means” Dumbledore said. “A person should always be given a second chance, in my opinion.”

Harry was about to reply when the Headmaster looked over him to Madam Pomfrey, who had gotten up and packed her bag.
With a flick of his wand he ended the silencing charm.

“I will be going then,” the Healer said, smiling at Harry before Disapparating.

Dumbledore and Harry moved over to the bed. Draco was sitting up, looking slightly more pale after the examination.
He looked uneasily from one to the other as they sat down; the Headmaster on the edge of the bed, Harry cross-legged on the mattress next to Draco.

“How are you feeling, Mr Malfoy?” Dumbledore asked kindly, though Harry noticed that he still looked tense.
“I´m getting better, thanks,” Draco said a little nervously.

“I have meanwhile examined the Portkey,” Dumbledore said. “It turns out that you have come from Malfoy Manor.”

Draco paled even more.

Harry thought it was terrible to see how the colour drained from his face: “M-Malfoy Manor?” he repeated in a whisper. “But... those dungeons...”

“Are part of the house,” Dumbledore confirmed. “From the information I was able to gather it was built upon the ruins of another stately home. They might well have derived from back then.”

“I didn´t know,” Draco murmured, drooping his head.

Harry tentatively touched his hand to reassure him while the Headmaster continued: “I was also able to identify who had put the Portus charm on the stone.” Both boys looked up at this, curious to know who had given his life to save Draco.

“His name was Thorfinn Rowle,” Dumbledore said quietly. Draco averted his eyes, feeling too confused to answer; he had only seen Rowle on a few occasions, had never even exchanged a word with him until that night in the cell.
He was grateful to a certain extent, but on the other hand it had taken the man a week to act, a week during which Draco had gone through hell, and who knew if Rowle hadn´t participated in the raping before his conscience had told him that it wasn´t right?

Apart from that, he felt a pang of disappointment- there had been others which he had known for a long time, whose children he had played with and whom he had trusted. If he was honest with himself, a small part of him had hoped that it had been his father.
He would have been dead then, but at least he would have shown mercy at last, would have shown something akin to feelings.

While Draco was still processing this, he felt Harry´s hand against his once more; the Gryffindor´s fingers wound around his own and held on to them, and Draco immediately tightened his grip around them.

Dumbledore gave him some time to recover before he spoke again: “Is there anything you would like to ask me?”

Draco only found his voice after several attempts to speak: “What will happen now?” he asked. “Are you- are you going to... I mean, is there anything... “

“That is one of the reasons why I have come here,” Dumbledore replied. “Even though we now know where Voldemort and his followers are gathering, there is nothing we can do right now.
You see, most people do not yet believe he really has come back-“ he smiled sadly at the disbelieving expressions in both Draco´s and Harry´s face, “thus there is only a limited amount of those who do. Too limited indeed to wage a war. It seems that the Ministry is against us, and there are other forces at work who undermine what little credibility we have.”

“What?” demanded Harry, upset and unable to contain himself. “How can that be? I was there, wasn´t I? I fought you know who, and Cedric-“ he felt himself beginning to shake, “you told them, didn´t you? You told them in unmistakable terms what had happened, and yet- have them ask Draco, for Merlin´s sake!”

Dumbledore raised his hand appeasingly: “Harry- there is no need to yell at me. I am not the one who needs convincing. Yet I am powerless to prevent what is happening right now. The Daily Prophet is writing all sorts of discrediting stuff about me- and even about you.”

“Me?” Harry felt his face grow hot.

“They are trying to make it look like you are only seeking attention and I am just an old fool.” Dumbledore´s voice was dry, yet he looked very serious.

Harry stared at him unseeingly, taken aback by these news: “Brilliant,” he then said bluntly, “just brilliant. What are we going to do now?”

He barely realized that Draco´s hand slipped out of his, as his mind was reeling: “Professor,” he said, rubbing his eyes, “there must be something we can do!”

The Headmaster´s attention however was directed at the Slytherin. Harry followed his gaze and saw that Draco was hugging himself again, visibly shaking and ashen-faced.

“Draco,” Harry reached out, but when he touched him, the blond boy flinched: “They are winning,” he muttered tonelessly, “they are gaining control...”

“Draco, look at me,” Harry said with a gentle yet firm voice: “Look at me, please. They are not, do you hear me? They are not and never will be! There will always be people fighting against them, no matter how limited their numbers are, people who will not let them regain power! I will not let them!”

Draco´s panicked expression softened after a while, and the shaking abated.

He believed Harry, Dumbledore realized with mild surprise. He had assumed Draco to be able to trust Harry, but he had not expected that the Gryffindor would have this much power over the Slytherin. It truly was interesting how things were developing, he mused.


“Nothing is decided yet,” Dumbledore said after a while. “The sad truth is that the human mind usually wants proof before it believes in something. I do however have another issue we need to address, concerning the coming school year.”
Draco and Harry exchanged a nervous glance.

The Headmaster´s voice was calm: “I have always insisted that Hogwarts is a safe place for her students, and have always strived for it to remain so. The Ministry however is determined to interfere, and I am afraid I will not be able to hold them off if things develop any further. Not without endangering a lot of people.”

He looked at Draco: “Regarding the latest developments, I fear for your safety in particular. Many of your fellow Slytherins are children of the Death Eaters you have just escaped from, like yourself. As soon as you set foot in the school, they´ll know you have survived and where to find you.

While I will do everything in my power to keep Hogwarts a safe place, I fear we wouldn´t be able to protect you one-hundred percent, thus I have come up with another idea: we will use Polyjuice Potion to disguise you and have you sorted into Gryffindor.”

For a moment, nobody spoke- on the contrary, all that could be heard was a sharp intake of breath from two people.

Harry found his speech first: “But- how? Won´t it be noticed that there suddenly is an additional student in the fifth year? Or do you plan to disguise him as a first- year?”

“That would be quite inefficient, wouldn´t it, seeing as he has to prepare for his OWLs and besides would attract attention if he spent time with you,” Dumbledore reasoned. “No, he will disguise himself as a fifth- year. To diminish the risk, we will have an Auror disguising himself as his twin brother. Thus, he´ll not only have a good disguise but a personal bodyguard as well.”

Harry thought that Draco looked stunned. Having to disguise himself for a whole year was risky and slightly unnerving, but it seemed the only solution if he wanted to return to Hogwarts.

Subconsciously, the blond boy smiled a little: “That sounds doable,” he said.

Dumbledore sighed: “I agree, and I am glad you consent to it. I will have Severus beginning to prepare the Potion immediately, seeing as it is rather complex to produce.”

Harry and Draco spoke simultaneously: “Snape?”

The Headmaster raised his eyebrows: “Yes, Professor Snape indeed, “ he repeated. “Why?”

This time, Draco was faster to answer than Harry, and he did it with an obvious effort: “I- I thought he was... you know, I thought he might have been... present. At the Manor.”

Dumbledore assessed him with an unfathomable expression: “He wasn´t there,” he said quietly. “His whereabouts are accounted for the whole time.”

At this, Draco relaxed visibly.

Harry opened his mouth and closed it again, perplexed until he remembered that Snape was in the Order of the Phoenix as well. And Dumbledore seemed to trust him, something he still couldn´t quite comprehend.

The Headmaster now straightened up: “We will determine the specifics of our plan later; right now you should get some rest and stomach all the new information. I presume you will have questions later.”


He got up, giving both of them a resassuring smile, and with a swish of his robes and the obligatory loud crack a second later was gone.

To Be Continued