Countdown

Countdown chapter 7


Disclaimer
I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters. Now that we have got that out of the way, we can move on to more important things. Besides you don’t really want me to own Harry Potter because if I did it would be slash and mpreg.

A/N: This story is no longer co-written with the wonderful Shey92. This is going to be a long chapter and if you find any grammar issues then take them up with my new beta and co-writer. If you don’t like the format then take that up with her.

Co-Written and Beta read by God Of Mercy
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Lucius Malfoy was storming through the castle in a furious rage heading toward the infirmary to where his beloved little one awaited, he could not believe that the old coot had let this happen. Striding quickly through hall after hall, he glared at anyone and at anything that crossed his path to get to the infirmary, his heart was beating a mile a minute, his black robes billowing out behind him and his snake headed cane gripped tightly in his hand. He hadn’t even got the chance to get out of the bed properly before Salazar popped into his picture frame at Slytherin Castle to alert him and Tom on what was going on at Hogwarts. Soon after that, he got a floo call from the Ministry telling him that he was needed at Hogwarts to investigate on the happenings of one Harry Potter. So with that, he had rushed to get dressed and apperated away to the outside of Hogwarts wards.

As he was striding up to the castle an into it, his pace quickened even faster through the halls of Hogwarts. On his way to see his other mate in the hospital. Why is his other mate in the hospital you ask? Well, someone at the school took it among themselves to damn near kill his little one, now he was going to raise hell, he would make whoever hurt his little one pay.
Thanks to his love, the dark mark had been removed to gain back his power over the stupid ministry. He had been reappointed as a School Governor and had paid his way back into the Minister of Magic’s good graces. Now he was in the school on official governors' business.

The governors had found out that a student had been injured and they were not happy about it. They had in no uncertain terms told him to find out what the hell happened in the school and to handle it accordingly. His love was pissed off when he found out, he would kill who ever it was that had harmed their youngest mate.

Finally reaching the infirmary, he stopped abruptly at the doors, upon hearing a loud argument. He recognized the voices immediately, Professor Dumblefuck and Madam Pomfrey, Hogwarts medi-witch. He leaned near to the doors to listen in on them.

"Albus, this is not the right time to be asking Mr. Potter questions about who assaulted him. He is still out of it and waking him up at a time like this could hinder the healing process." The medi-witch argued at the old-timer.

"I understand Poppy but we have to know." Albus was trying to get the witch to understand.

"Albus this is not right. Mr. Potter is not going to be in his right mind and could cause more serious damage if you were to wake him. If you wake him up now, I will have to report this to the school governor’s board. You are putting my patient in unnecessary danger." Poppy tried to threaten him, wanting the headmaster to cease in his foolishness.

"I have to Poppy, if I don’t we will not know who hurt Harry. You should want to know who did this as much as I do. What if this happens to another student? Besides, I have a potion that could help keep the danger down to a minimum. I am trying to keep this from happening again. What if someone tampered with his memory and he got the wrong people in trouble." Albus was making excuses now to get her to listen to him.

"Albus you can wait until he wakes up. I will be here to watch over him and no one will get in here to tamper with his memory. I want to know who hurt Mr. Potter as much as you do. I look at him like a grandchild and I care deeply about Mr. Potter." She told him.

"If you cared that much Poppy, you would want me to find out who did this to him. You would want me to keep this from happening to another student." Albus repeatedly insisted.

"How dare you question my love for that boy, when you are willing to take a risk with his health as it is right now! I don’t care what kind of potion you have; you are not going to wake up my patient!" She demandingly told Albus. Lucius had had enough of what he was hearing, he be damned if he let this continue. He knew the old-man was up to something.

Before Albus could say another word to the medi-witch, the doors banged opened to admit one agitated Lucius Malfoy. Poppy turned around to tell whoever it was to get out but when she saw the blond man the words died on her lips. Lucius walked up to the two of them, glancing briefly at the row of beds where he spotted one with curtains up around it a few beds away from them.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy. May I ask what has brought you here?" Albus turned peering over his half moon spectacles at the man, trying to make it look as if he and the medi-witch had not been arguing before he had stormed in, looking as though everything was fine.
When he reached the two, he merely raised an eyebrow at the old man with a look that said 'you know why'.

"I would think that was obvious, Albus. The school governors sent me to find out what happen to young Mr. Potter. It seems I came just in time." Lucius drawled out at the headmaster. Then it was Albus' turn to raise an eyebrow back at him.

"Mr. Malfoy, we have everything under control here. There is no need for the school governors to become involved in this matter." Albus tried to reassure the blond aristocrat but of course it didn't work on the man, after all he was here on business and it had to be done even if the old man did not like what he had to say next.

"On be hath of the governors, we believe it is in young Mr. Potters best interest to have him moved to a private room at St Mungo’s. The governors don’t think it is safe for him here. As headmaster, you should not put a student's health in danger especially after your medi-witch told you not to awaken the boy. I will also be sure to make the other governors aware of this fact." With that Lucius turned away from Albus, who glared furiously at him and looked at Poppy.

"I would like it if you would get Mr. Potter ready for transport." Madam Pomfrey nodded her head to him, feeling better that Harry was going to be safer at St. Mungos then at Hogwarts, for she did not know what Dumbledore would do to the boy if he got his hands on him. Before Poppy could make a move Albus sharply spoke up.

"What right do you have to come in my school and try to remove a student!" Lucius turned his head at the old-tart, narrowing his eyes. He straightened himself up and sharply clicked his cane on to the stone floor of the infirmary.

"Did you not hear me say, I was here on be hath of the governors. You are only the headmaster but that can so quickly change or do I have to remind you of second and fifth year. Your medi-witch warned you to not try to wake Mr. Potter and you were going to disregard the words of someone who knows more about medicine then you, for your own selfish goals. I am sure that the other governors will be very upset to find out how you are treating an injured student. I for one am sick of your lack of care for our children." Was nearly snapped at the flamboyantly dressed old fool.

As Albus was about to snap back, the doors opened once more and two other governors walked into the room to join Lucius in pulling out Mr. Potter from the school. Lucius nodded his head in greeting and they did the same. Albus drew himself up and faced the two new occupants. The headmaster was getting annoyed with all of this.

"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded. "I have always protected the students of this school and now because this death eater says I am a danger to the students, you are going to turn your back to all the good that I have done." He hotly pointed out to them. Lucius gave him a cold look, gripping the head of his cane in rage that was rising in him.

"Those are very serious accusations that you are making headmaster. I hope you are able to back up what you say, I would hate to have to call my attorney because of slander." Was coldly said to the headmaster. The old man looked sure of himself.

"Of course I can prove it, all we have to do is lift up the sleeve of your left arm and then they will see the dark mark." Lucius gave him a smug look and rolled up his sleeve. Everyone in the room waited in tense silence as the man bared his arm for them to see. When everyone saw that there was nothing but flawless pale flesh, the others in the room glared at Dumbledore.

"Maybe it is just me but I don’t see a dark mark, do you headmaster?" Lucius snidely asked him. Albus just couldn't understand, the mark was once there he had seen it. How could it have possibly be gone?

"How?! I saw it on your arm at the ministry!" He stubbornly insisted. "I saw it on your arm, what did you do to cover it?" One of the other governors had had enough of this blame game.

"That is enough! I will not sit here and let you slander a fellow governor, just because you don’t like him. The fact is, that another student has been hurt on your watch and we will not stand for it any longer!" Lucius gave Albus a satisfied smirk, rolling his sleeve back down before walking over to the medi-witch as the other governors discussed what had happened at the school. Who was by now just standing by watching.

"Madam Pomfrey, I am sorry to have to come under such horrid conditions. It is a shame that the students are no longer safe at this school." He apologized stepping up to the medi-witch.

"That's alright Mr. Malfoy. If this is the only way for Mr. Potter to be safe, then I have no complaints about it." The medi-witch assured him as she felt better knowing that her patient would get better care. Poppy was not pleased that her patient was no longer safe at Hogwarts.

"Would you accompany me to the hospital to get Mr. Potter set up? I know that if he wakes up, he would want to see a friendly face. After all, it's going to be enough of a shock to him when he wakes to find out that he was attacked in the place he felt safest in." He smiled a little at the older witch. Lucius wanted to make sure his young mate would be cared for by someone he would be comfortable with.

"Mr. Malfoy I would love to accompany you but what should happen to the children if anyone was hurt while I was gone? There would be no one to help take care of them." She asked him worry crossing her face, for she did want to go for she felt as Harry was family but knew that she was needed there at Hogwarts.

"Do not worry Madam Pomfrey. I'll be sure to ask St. Mungo's staff to send one of their own in your place till Mr. Potter is fully recovered. Will that be alright with you, Madam?" Poppy nodded her head once and turned to prepare the young Potter to be move to the hospital. Lucius gave a small sigh before turning around to tell the others to keep it quiet when he heard the last words being said.

"......one more chance but if anything like this happens again then you are out! No questions asked." Lucius felt his blood start to boil when he heard those words.

"How many students will you let be hurt with him as headmaster before you take the proper action? Will it take a student’s death before you all put someone in the place of headmaster or headmistress that will look out for the children of this school?" He angrily snapped nearly getting up in the other governor's face.

"Lucius calm down; we are not going to let him stay in this school without someone staying here to represent the governors. We understand your concern. We are removing some of his power as headmaster and giving it to the person that will be taking over here." One of the governors tried to pacify the irked blond governor as Albus snapped his head to the governor so fast that his hair flew into his mouth.

"That is not what we agreed on!" The governor on the left spoke up.

"The only thing we agreed on is letting you stay in the school. We never said that we would not have someone watching you. We will call all of the governors and then appoint one of us to stay in the school for the rest of the year. We will send this person here to keep an eye on you and how you run the school. We will not let this go on any longer. If you have a problem with that then you can leave now. Don’t think that we won't remove you from this school. Now if you don’t mind we have other things to do and Mr. Malfoy has to make sure that young Mr. Potter gets to the hospital and if we hear that you were anywhere near the room in the hospital that young Mr. Potter is at, we will have you removed from the school. We will also take this to the public to see what they think about you risking the savior’s health for nothing." Lucius turned his back on the other governors, he was not happy. They were supposed to kick the old man out of the school. They were supposed to put someone in charge that could not have so much control over Harry. He wanted his young love safe and the only way he would be safe is if he was far away from the old goat.

Lucius stepped away from the other three to walk closer to the bed that held his young love, looking past the curtains down to the bed where he saw Harry laying asleep. What he saw only made his rage grow even more. Harry's eyes were swollen shut and his lip was split, cuts all along his arms and neck. His young angel was lucky to be alive.

Madam Pomfrey stepped up to the side of the bed to administer a pain and sleeping potion to make sure that the young man wasn't in any discomfort while he was being moved. Once she was done she transfigured a chair that was near by into a stretcher and floated it in the air right beside the bed. When she was fixing to levitate the abused boy onto it, she heard the soft question he had asked her.

"What are all the injuries that was inflicted on him?" Lucius brought his eyes up off the child to look at the medi-witch so she could not see the concern he had for the boy. Pressing her lips together in a frown and replied to him as she levitated and place the boy on the stretcher.

"He has a shattered wrist, fracture in his skull. He has three broken ribs, one that was a hairs breath from puncturing a lung. His left leg is broken in three places and he has a number of bruises, cuts and burns along his body. Along with a slight concussion." Gripping his cane so tightly in his anger that his knuckles turned white. He wanted so badly to yank out his wand from his cane turn around and curse the ancient wizard to hell and back and then some more.

"All right Mr. Malfoy he's ready for transport." She floated the stretcher with the boy on it beside her as the medi-witch turned to him to show that they were ready. Lucius collected his anger and nodded his head turning to leave. Walking past the three with Madam Pomfrey on his heels, he barely nodded his head at them and ignored the glare he got from Dumbledore as he past. The two of them strided, an a floating stretcher with them, out of the Infirmary and into the halls of Hogwarts and outside to where they needed to get outside Hogwarts' wards. Once there they disappeared with a crack.


**AT SLYTHERIN CASTLE**

Salazar watched him from his picture frame.

Tom was in his study, pacing in front of Salazar's portrait, anger and worry coloring his face. Waiting for word from his blond lover. Him and Lucius were just stirring in bed or more like he had his lover nearly convinced into another round of incredible love making when Salazar popped into one of the paintings in his bedroom to alert them of the happenings at Hogwarts, he was nearly about to snap at the man that it could wait until later but Lord Slytherin quickly told him it was about the young Potter. That had gotten them both out of bed and dressed in an instant. Lucius was then called in for work shortly after, about the same thing that Salazar had told them.

Once his lover had left, he had gone to his study to pace. Which is where he was at this moment.

'What was taking so long?' Pace ten steps then turn. 'Was his younger mate alright?' Pace ten steps turn. 'I'll kill whoever has done this!' Pace ten more steps then turn. The slytherin in the painting sighed, he was worried just as his Marvolo was but this was enough he had to calm him down.

"Alright Marvolo, that's enough." Tom stopped his pacing to walk back in front of the fireplace to where Salazar's painting hung to look up at him.

"What is it? Any word from Hogwarts or Lucius yet?" His voice filled with a shimmer of hope that the slytherin might tell him something new.

"I know that you are worried as am I but you've got to calm down." Salazar shifted in the painting. Tom just gave him a look that said 'you have no idea what I'm feeling'.

"Salazar are you sure you hadn't seen or heard anything that might give us any idea as to who did this to Harry?" Lord Slytherin just shook his head. Voldemort's face fell at that until Salazar began talking again.

"The only thing I have to report is that Lucius has taken the child to St. Mungos. He should be there now with him along with the Hogwarts' medi-witch. Supposedly I hear that she is quite taken with the boy." Tom gave a thoughtful look at that. Then Lord Voldemort turned an took a few steps to the chair nearby to sit down so he could still talk to the older man that haunted his painting over the fireplace. Leaning back into the wing backed chair, he took a deep breath to calm down his nerves. He was surprised that one of the school staff cared about his young love.

"Is there anything else?" He looked back up at the older slytherin. Shifting once more in his painting, Salazar frowned. Tom knew what he had to say wasn't going to be good news.

"Yes there is. The school governors went to remove the old goat for not keeping his students safe but he ended up talking his way out of it." Tom shot up out of his chair, face twisted in a furious rage.

"WHAT!" The sound of crackling magic destroying the other chair across from him filled the room. The demon wizard in the painting held up a hand to show that he was not finished speaking. Tom cooled down just enough to hear him out.

"The governors have also told the old goat that the school governor's board will be putting one of there own to watch over him to make sure that what has happened, doesn’t and won't ever occur again." Voldemort this time calmed down enough to think about what this could mean for them. They could get one of his own people to watch over his dark haired angel, one he could trust in not harming him. The younger Lord began to pace again after he had waved his hand to magically fix the chair he had destroyed.

"Now Marvolo, your going to ware a hole in the floor if you keep that up." Lord Slytherin chided him, clicking his tongue at his grandchild, who was in deep thought pacing not looking up at the gentle reproach.

"If it bothers you so badly, Marvolo there is something else you should know." That got Tom attention, his grandfather had something to tell him. He hoped it wouldn't be bad news, he didn't think he could take anymore bad news. Stepping back in front of the fireplace he stared up at Salazar tensely waiting for him to say what was on his mind. Salazar knew with what he was fixing to tell Marvolo would be accepted greatly. He gave his young grandchild a small smile.

"Marvolo, My mates and I have decided to step back into the Wizarding World to help you and your mates." Tom had a stunned look upon his face now, almost like he was going to fall down. He was too stunned to say anything, all he could do was stare at Lord Slytherin.

"Morgan has taken on a glamour and has placed herself within the folds of the Ministry, in which she is a school board governor. More than likely she will be the governor that is going to be at Hogwarts to oversee that the old goat doesn't let the students abuse anyone else again." He paused to allow the information to sink into the Dark Lord's head as he was almost out of his stunned state. Tom shook his head slightly to shake of the rest of the shock, then he looked back up.

"And what of Rowena? Where would she be to look out for the boy's safety?" He looked confused up at him, after all Salazar did say both of his mates were going to be watching his younger mate.

"Rowena will also be taking on a glamour and apply for the DADA post at Hogwarts. Once your young love has been cleared to leave St. Mungos and comes back to Hogwarts, they can keep a better eye on him. Before you even ask about me, I will be giving young Harry the same training, down in the chamber, as I gave you. I know you wanted to send one of your Inner Circle, but they really can't be trusted to watch him. You can't be sure that you don’t have a spy among one of them and you wouldn’t want it getting back to Albus that you are trying to protect the boy. Besides yourself, the only ones you trust is Lucius and me." Tom was starting to see what the Slytherin Lord was getting at.

"You already know that if Lucius stays with Harry, they will be wondering why he is protecting the young Potter. Not only that, you wouldn't want Albus to have both of them under the same roof. He may not know that Lucius is your mate but he knows that he is a high ranking death eater. He would keep a very sharp eye on everything that Lucius does. Also, having him there would only make your young love feel even more pressured then what he already is with the old goat breathing down his neck. You want the child to come to you of his own free will." With all this new information Tom felt for sure that his Harry would be safer. He knew that Salazar's mates could take care of themselves and his little love. Now he just had to wait for Lucius to return to bring news of their young love and to inform him of what Lord Slytherin has planned. He just hope that his little love would be alright and that no one had done anything too damaging that couldn't be fixed.

"Thank You, Grandfather." Tom whispered to Salazar, he went to the book shelf to pick up a book on deadly poisons and then back to sit in the chair he had vacated early in his rage. Wishing that his blond haired lover would return soon, he missed him.

Salazar Slytherin just smiled down at him. Marvolo had grown up so much. He would finally be able to be happy.


** AT HOGWARTS **

Once everything had cooled down and the governors left to call a board meeting, Albus Dumbledore had went to his office, his thoughts raging on how he was treated now that he had let a student under his care nearly be beaten to death. Oh how his life was so unfair. In his office he paced back and forth in front of his desk. Fawkes was getting a kick out of watching the distraught headmaster.

'Damn! How did that man get back with the governors! I can't believe that I the Great Albus Dumbledore will have one of those nosy governors in my school. You would think that they would have more respect for me. I am the one who defeated the Dark Lord Grindulwald! To make it even worse, I can't even go see the boy.'

Unknown to Albus, Fawkes was giving him a smug look.

'I have done everything to keep this school the way the founders would have kept it. I am the greatest wizard since Merlin himself and for them not to show me the respect I deserve is just disrespectful. Where are those three damn brats.'
Right as he was about to go on letting his thoughts ramble on, on how great he was and all he had done for the wizarding world, there was a knock on his office door. He quickly straightened himself up and moved behind his desk to sit in his chair.

"Come in." The three walked into his office to stand in front of his desk.

"Hello children, would you care for a lemon drop?" He greeted pleasantly at the two red heads and mudblood. Ron practically pushed Ginny and Hermione out of the way to get to the candy.

"Ronald Bilious Wesely! I know mom taught you better manners then that. The candy is not going anywhere." Ginny irritatingly snapped at him. Ron just shrugged. Hermione had enough, she reached around Ginny and slapped him as hard as she could in the back of his head.

"Professor Dumbledore did not call us up here for you to act like a pig. Why don’t you show some respect." Hermione nagged at the red headed boy. Ron just glared at her sucking on the lemon drop he did snag out of the bowl.

"That is enough! I called you up here to tell you that the plans have changed. Lucius Malfoy is a governor again, and to make it worse, Harry had been moved. I am not aloud to go to the hospital and see him or I will be removed as headmaster." Albus snapped at them, looking through his half moon spectacles. Hermione put her hand over her mouth in shock at hearing that Albus wasn't allowed to see the young Potter.

"What! They can't do that!" Ron shouted, holding a fist up in front of him in outrage. Albus put up his hand to stop any more protest from the boy.

"I'm afraid they can. Now, did you succeed in giving him the love potion after the attack?" The headmaster looked back over his glasses at the three before him.

"Yes sir, we did." The red headed girl nearly bounced on her toes with a smirk. Dumbledore nodded his head in hearing they had done what they were told to do.

"Good. I need the three of you to go to the hospital, on the count that everyone knows that you are his best friends. Hermione, I am giving you this potion. I need you to give it to Mr. Potter, when no one is around. Do not get caught. If you do, you are on your own. This potion will get him back under my control as well as remove his memories of that night. Once he is back under my control, I will have him act like the proper hero once again. Do not mess this up!" The old man told them as he pulled the potion out of his desk and handed it to the bushy haired girl. The three nodded their heads frowning, knowing if they screwed up they would get nothing of what they were promised.

Little did any of them know, one Salazar Slytherin had just returned to his picture in Hogwarts from Slytherin Castle. The rage in his eyes at what he had heard was undeniable.


**AT ST. MUNGOS**

They popped into the waiting room of St. Mungos, stepping into the wide area, Lucius was over come with the sterilized whiteness of the place. From ceiling to floor was stunningly white, he had to blink a couple of time for his eyes to adjust. It was enough of the color to make him never want to see it again. However that wasn't what was important at the moment, what was important was why the hell he was there.

With out a word to the medi-witch at his side, he stride to the front desk where he would have to sign in for the boy. Clearing his throat to get the receptionist attention, making her nearly have a heart attack for she was working on some paper work. She looked up at him.

"Good morning sir, may I help you?"

"Hello, I have a student that is of high priority in need of assistance. I would like to have him put in a private room as well as speak with one of your head healers." He told the witch.

"Of course, sir." The receptionist said as she got up to lead them to a private room.

They traveled through the white halls passing room after room with the cursed, hexed and other injured patients. Soon they stopped a few floors up and at the end of a hall where the witch pointed them to go in.

"A head healer will be with you in a moment." She turned and left to send a head healer to him.

Poppy was getting Harry in the hospital bed. Making sure he was comfortable even if he was still out cold. Lucius turned to watch after the receptionist left, he wanted to take his young love to Slytherin Castle so badly. Taking a few steps toward the bed.

"How is he, Poppy?" The medi-witch looked up at him after making sure Harry was situated and the stretcher turned back into a chair.

"I don't think he was in any pain on the way here." The old witch sighed. Lucius nodded his head as he saw her sit down in the chair. He continued looking down at the boy in the bed, willing him with his mind to wake so he could see those beautiful green eyes but alas it did not work. He lift his head as he heard someone coming toward the room.

A brunette haired man walked in, Lucius hearing the man turned to speak to him. He was tall about 6 foot 3 with shoulder length brown hair with streaks of gray. From the looks of his gray-blue eyes you could tell that his job was taking a toll on him. Even though he had some frown lines he was still quite handsome.

"Hello. I'm head healer Ric Castro. How can I help you?" Healer Castro asked as he stepped up to the blond to put out his hand out in greeting to shake.

"Lucius Malfoy, I'm a school governor and the governor's school board wished for Mr. Potter to be moved here. Madam Pomfrey will be staying here to watch and take care of him, she is Hogwarts medi-witch. I need you to take care of Mr. Potter to make sure he gets the best care." Lucius told the man as he shook his hand and pointed to the medi-witch, who by now join them upon the healers entrance. The healer then shook her hand.

"I also wonder if it would be alright to send one of your staff to Hogwarts to take Madam Promfree's place for a short while till Mr. Potter is fully healed." The healer nodded to show that he would do that for the man.

"Yes, that can be taken care of. Mr. Potter will get our best care and we'll send someone to take up Madam Pomfrey's duties at Hogwarts." The blond nodded his head once, he hoped nothing more would happen to his little love. Lucius doubted he would be able to take anything else for his little love would surely would end his own life.

With that the healer went to work healing the young man.

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A/N: I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. If anyone is confused about something let us know.-God Of Mercy