White Lies (12/?)
Title: White Lies (12/?)
Author: Cassis Luna
Rating: PG-13 for now
Warnings: ignores DH, EWE, AU, adult themes, profanity
Chapter Word Count: 6052
Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me, it belongs to J.K. Rowling. No money is being made out of this.
Note: I got the idea about the Restoration Potion from the Troyjeinen Potion found here, so that's not mine either.
Summary: Eight year. Draco drinks a potion that makes him know if a person is lying, and Harry, apparently at fault that Draco is this way, is forced to 'help' him throughout the effects of the potion. For the first time, they deal with each other with no lies to hide behind.
Alternate Summary: In which Draco's a Potions experiment gone bad, Hogwarts wants to eat Harry (oh, but does it really?), and everyone thinks they're shagging each other. (Yes, even the house-elves.)
Chapter 12
Third Floor Corridor
Part II
Probably the only time when Harry saw Ron and Draco not insulting each other and actually talking like civilized wizards was when they were strategizing. It was a familiar sight, one that happened many times in Grimmauld Place before the climax of the war, but it still never ceased to amaze Harry. And okay, make him chuckle.
He looked around him. They almost took the entire row up, with the exception of the rooks. They were playing white. In order, Ron was playing as a Knight, Blaise as a Bishop, Hermione as the Queen, Pansy as the King, Harry as the other Bishop and Draco as the other Knight.
Harry tried rotating his ankle, and idly wondered who would have to be sacrificed this time.
-
Draco Malfoy was a coward. Everyone knew that. Draco knew that, and he wasn't even going to pretend he wasn't. Sure, he'd risked his life by spying on You-Know-Who and had fought against Death Eaters that were older than him and much more experienced with battle in the war. He may have also faced a Dark Lord, though Harry did most of the fighting and fancy wand waving.
Still, those feats of his (if you could call them that) were done under pressure.
He wasn't a Gryffindor after all, brave and courageous.
So the first time a piece was taken, Draco's eyes widened and he stared as the black pawn was pulverized by the white pawn. At the back of his mind, he vaguely heard Pansy's shriek through the clatter of broken pieces of stone that fell heavily on the chessboard, and remembered Hermione's words from earlier.
"This isn't your normal Wizard's chess. Well, it is, but that's the bad part about it. It gets rather… violent."
He knew that it was going to be like real Wizard's chess, but really…
These chess pieces were huge!
"I see what you mean now, Granger," he muttered, shakily running a hand through his hair. "Alright," he said, trying to sound calm. He caught Weasley's eye. "Pawn to E4!"
-
Ron did not look happy, Draco noted. He kept on glancing at Hermione, who looked relaxed as if it was just another day to perfect that Herbology quiz.
"Pawn to F5!" Ron bellowed, and all of them instinctively ducked as the opponent's Rook was destroyed.
Harry, Blaise, Pansy, and Hermione all had cuts on their arms, which they had been using for shielding their faces from the stray rocks that flew past them. Ron and Draco had no problems, since they were above ground on their horses. Their cuts weren't on their arms, but on their fingers and hands.
"Bloody fuckers," Pansy muttered, angrily flipping her bangs away from her eyes.
All of them agreed.
-
The next time Ron glanced over, it wasn't towards Hermione.
He caught Draco's eye, and Draco blanched, gripping the reins of his horse tighter that his knuckles turned white, as he looked around the chessboard and saw the same move that Ron was probably thinking of.
Draco Malfoy was a coward, yes.
But he liked to think that living with Harry Potter for a few days in Grimmauld Place and helping him defeat Dark Lords gave him at least some courage.
"Well, what are you waiting for, Weasley?" he snapped, and made the call himself. "Knight to H3!"
His heart dropped when his horse started to move, but he told himself to suck it in, be a man, and take away the black side's pawn.
He just hoped that there wasn't another piece waiting to take his head off.
-
There wasn't.
His head remained on his shoulders.
Nevertheless, Draco did not like where the game was going. He felt like something was wrong. Like he was missing some important detail.
They were winning, yes. The black side only had one pawn left, two Knights, a Rook, the Queen and, of course, the King. Subsequently, their own side also had one pawn left, one Rook, and everyone else accounted for. Pansy had not moved, but everyone else was in the middle of the battlefield.
Since the beginning, Draco had no second thoughts about their victory. He knew they were going to win. Draco had always been confident in his chess skills, and alright, so he was going to admit that - wait, okay, no, he didn't want to admit. He was just going to… secretly recognize that Ron Weasley was a good player. Great, even. Not as great as him though. As if.
The game had almost been one-sided, with most of the black pieces smashed to bits by now.
Then, Ron paused. "I can checkmate the King in two moves," he said, quietly.
"Thank Merlin on a stick!" Pansy mumbled from her position sitting on her tile, with her elbow dug onto her thigh and her chin rested on the palm of her hand. She had remained unmoved throughout the game.
Draco surveyed the remaining black pieces, trying to see what Ron's two moves were going to be.
Ron continued to look grim.
"Weasel," Pansy called, almost nervously. "Why aren't you thanking Merlin on a stick?"
"Harry," Ron said, turning his head to look behind him.
Hermione inhaled sharply.
And Draco realized, quite belatedly, that Harry had been quiet throughout the game. He hadn't worried about Harry being hurt much, since Draco had taken the liberty of discreetly and purposefully moving him away from the pieces, telling Ron that it was all part of his strategy and ignoring Pansy and Blaise's smirks and Hermione's inquisitive look.
While everyone else had been noisy, throwing out insults towards the inanimate chess pieces and sometimes even giving words of advice on which move should be made next, Harry just moved about the chessboard quietly, always looking thoughtful.
At Ron's call, Harry smiled wryly. "Expected as much, Ron."
Draco stared at him dumbly. His eyes shifted to the chessboard, mentally making moves in his head. He felt his blood go cold as Ron's plan started sinking in.
Ron looked at Harry, confused. "What -"
"I've been beaten by you so many times that I've stopped tallying," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "No matter how you play the game, you always end up sacrificing your bishops somehow." He shrugged nonchalantly but one could see how pale his face was. "Always thought you had some hidden hatred for the poor things," he continued, grinning weakly.
Fucking Gryffindor, Draco thought with a mix of anger and nausea as he tried to wash away images of Harry, being hit on the head by the black Queen's mace. It made him sick to the stomach. "No," he said firmly.
All eyes turned to look at him.
He stared straight at Ron unwaveringly. "Weasley, I'm going to move. When I do, move Granger," he said softly, being vague on purpose. He knew Blaise and Harry would get it eventually, but not as fast as Ron would. He could almost pinpoint the exact moment when his plan dawned on the Weasel, whose eyes widened at the same time his mouth opened to form a small 'o'.
Their plan would only work if the black King remained unmoved.
It required more moves than Ron's initial plan, but Draco knew without a doubt that Ron preferred this. After all, a choice between Harry and Draco wasn't much of a choice at all.
Harry felt his stomach drop. "Draco -" he started, voice strangled and eyebrows furrowed in frustration. He scowled, glaring at the other boy's back. "No, don't do it! I -"
Blaise had realized Draco's plan as well and was spitting out a colorful stream of curses. "When we get off this chessboard, Draco bloody Malfoy, I am going to -"
"Blaise!" Pansy shrieked, eyes shifting back and forth between Draco and Blaise. "What the hell is going on?"
"Draco's going to bloody sacrifice himself, the fucking -" Blaise spat out, but Pansy's high scream cut him off.
Pointing an accusing finger at Draco's finger, Pansy screeched, "You fucking Gryffindor!"
"It's chess!" Draco snapped, glaring behind him. "You have to make sacrifices!"
And Hermione remembered first year, remembered Ron's words, and figured it ironic how these two boys had more things in common than they initially thought.
"Draco!" Harry yelled, shutting everyone up. His heart was hammering in his chest, thinking of Draco being hit, Draco falling to the floor, Draco unconscious. Despite that, he stared at Draco firmly. "Move me. It takes lesser moves -"
"Your hero complex just won't stop -" Draco started frustratedly, but was surprised when Harry yelled again.
"It's not that!" Harry exclaimed, voice getting louder. "Hero complex or not, I don't want anyone getting hurt." The light around him shone gold brightly.
He stared at Draco unwaveringly, so much determination and emotion burning in his eyes that it almost hurt to look at them but Draco did, retaliating with the unasked question of 'So it's okay if you get hurt?' in his own eyes. Harry looked away, face burning. Finally, Draco sighed. "Harry, I don't know whether to kiss you or hex you."
Harry's eyes widened and his face turned an even darker shade of red.
Well, that certainly killed the tension.
Pansy and Blaise smirked, and even Hermione smiled.
Ron was the only one who remained sober. "Actually, Harry," Ron started slowly, eyes moving over the chessboard. "I'm going with Malfoy's plan - no, wait, listen," he said quickly when Harry glared at him. "You're right. I always end up sacrificing the bishops somehow. If I move you, the Queen will take you. I just realized that to checkmate the King, I'll have to move Blaise, too, to take the Queen, but have the enemy's Bishop take him. Then Hermione can finish the game."
Silence met him as they all took in this information. Blaise anxiously wiped his palms on his shirt.
Taking a deep breath, Ron continued. "But if we go with Malfoy's plan, we'll only have one, err, casualty. Just Malfoy."
Harry's lips pressed together tightly and Draco could swear that he was gritting his teeth.
Behind the fear and slight panic thudding in Draco's chest at the thought of being boxed by a very hard and very solid statue was that light, fluttery, Hufflepuff-y feeling at the thought that Harry was actually worried about him.
"Knight to D6," Draco called quietly, before anyone could have second thoughts and stop him.
Still, despite the low volume of his voice, his words hung in the air heavily until his horse started to move. Two squares forward, one square to the right.
"Check."
Slowly, the black bishop turned towards him, tall and looming. As it covered the squares that stood between them, Draco thought that he really wasn't cut out for Gryffindor after all.
Good, then, Draco thought as the bishop raised its scepter. That meant that he was a Slytherin through and through.
In one swift move, the bishop drove its scepter straight to the neck of Draco's horse, successfully throwing Draco off and to the floor in a hard thud. The horse crumpled to pieces, shards of stone hitting Draco's limp form on the floor and making cuts on his pale face and hands.
And Harry watched this all with wide eyes, feeling like he didn't know how to breathe. At the back of his mind, he heard Pansy yell. At the back of his eyes, he recounted the war and the fallen and the feeling of helplessness but that memory was faint compared to the present - to Draco -and the sight of him unconscious on the floor.
"Queen to D6," Ron said, shakily.
Trembling, Hermione walked towards D6 and the black bishop. Her eyes watered when she passed by Draco's prone form. The black bishop then slid off the board.
"Knight to F6," Ron called next. His horse slid towards the designated square.
After the black side made its move, Ron let out a big breath and almost exhaled his next move out in relief. "Bishop to B5!"
Blaise moved quickly, wanting to get this game over with. "Checkmate!" he yelled.
Slowly, the King's sword slid from its hands and to the floor, making a loud, echoing sound that was dreadful and relieving at the same time.
Everyone immediately rushed over to Draco, with Pansy dropping to the floor beside him.
Hermione's wand was automatically in her hand, whispering spells in quick succession.
"Well, Granger?" Pansy demanded, face pale and eyes wide.
"He's fine," Hermione said, trying to make her voice sound as firm as she could. "He probably dislocated a shoulder though - nothing that an Episkey can't fix. His head will hurt for a while. He hit it pretty badly."
"Right," Ron breathed out, still looking shaken. He looked anxiously at Draco's form. "Will he, I mean, is he - sorry, I didn't -"
"Don't worry, Weasley," Blaise muttered, waving a hand. He looked at Ron straight in the eyes, to show that he was serious. "Nobody blames you," he said softly.
Mutely, Ron nodded.
Later, Harry will look back on this and flush with pride at how far they've come - Gryffindors and Slytherins - but at the moment, he could only look at Draco, feeling like he was about to throw up. During the long game, the pain in his ankle had lessened to just a dull reminder so he had no problems putting weight on it anymore as he shuffled closer.
"The sooner we get him to Madame Pomfrey, the better," he found himself saying.
After all, when things go wrong, one goes to Madame Pomfrey.
"Are you sure he's alright? I mean, he'll be alright… walking?" Pansy asked nervously, looking behind her shoulder at Granger.
Hermione nodded, and then paused. She suddenly looked unsure of herself. "Do you want me to Rennervate him? Unless you want to do it yourself, of course," she added quickly.
"What are you talking about?" Pansy asked, almost impatiently. "Well, go on. Rennervate him!"
And Hermione was amazed at how easily Pansy was letting her point her wand towards Draco. Of course, she'd been casting spells on him earlier to check his injuries, but this blatant permission almost made her tear up.
"Rennervate!"
With a gasp and a wheeze, Draco's eyes snapped open - only to be immediately shut closed with a groan. "Fucking Merlin," he rasped out, breathing heavily.
"Draco!" Pansy and Blaise called out in relief.
"What happened?" Draco muttered, voice a little bit slurred.
Despite his earlier worry, Blaise just couldn't resist. "First time you got your arse kicked in chess, eh, Draco?"
Draco moved his head to glare at him, and then quickly decided that it was not a good idea to do so as it hurt. "You just wait, Zabini," he muttered, resting his cheek on the cold floor covered in dust and stone. On normal days he would have cringed at the thought, but today his head was throbbing and he badly needed a break.
A bath, too, when he thought about it for a moment.
"Can you stand?" It was Hermione who asked. She, Ron, and Harry had stepped back to give Draco some space, while Blaise and Pansy took him by the arms to help him stand up.
"Yeah," Draco muttered, leaning heavily against Blaise, who hooked Draco's arm around his shoulders. "Feel like I just got trampled on by hippogriffs though."
"I feel you, mate," Ron said sympathetically.
"Let's get going then," Harry started abruptly, softly and stiffly as he Not Looked at Draco and instead turned towards the door behind the remaining black pieces. "We're not far from the exit."
He set off for the door, the others following behind him with Draco being helped by Blaise.
If he felt the weight of Draco's curious stare boring onto his back, then he made no sign of it.
-
They reached the room with the winged keys, which just flittered about idly and without a care in the world.
"They're actually pretty cute," Pansy remarked, smiling at the view the keys made.
"Not when hundreds of them are chasing after you and itching to stab you," Ron muttered, which Hermione elbowed him for.
Harry immediately sighted the big, rusted key used to open the door they just came through but he simply continued to pass through the room and towards the passageway on the other side.
-
The next room was dark and smelled suspiciously musky.
Before entering though, Harry already had his wand ready. With a quick incantation, blue fire shot from his wand towards the middle of the room and provided light. Pansy yelped when she saw the moving vines and creepers on the floor.
"What are those?"
"Devil's Snare," Draco murmured, watching the vines scatter away from the fire with a hiss.
"Is that it, Potter?" Blaise asked, eyes on the ceiling where a trap door was.
Harry nodded. "That's already the third floor right there," he said, before turning to Ron. "Ron, help me up. Hermione, can you cast a Hover Charm on me, just so that I can reach the door?" he smiled sheepishly.
If there was one thing that Harry didn't gain, it was height. Eleven years of living in a cupboard did not give you a model height.
"Right, mate," Ron said gamely, cracking his knuckles. He linked his fingers together, and then opened his palms upward for Harry to step on it. "Tell me you didn't step on any suspicious stuff though."
"I did not step on any suspicious stuff," Harry said, before stepping on Ron's hands and hoisting himself up. Immediately, Hermione cast a Hover Charm on him that lifted him from Ron's hold and up towards the door. He quickly pushed the trap door open and thanked Merlin, Circe and Morgan le Fay for Hermione's outstanding charm skills because even though he only needed the Hover Charm to reach the trapdoor, Hermione continued to levitate him higher until he could finally land on the room above, albeit a bit clumsily.
Below, Hermione gave a great wheeze as she ended the spell, clutching the front of her shirt as she breathed heavily. "Right," she said weakly. "I don't think I can do that again."
"Featherlight charms, 'Mione," Harry called. "Once Ron helps them up and I've got their hands, you can cast the spell on them so I can easily pull them up."
Hermione nodded. She turned to Draco. "Well, go on then. Injured first."
Draco raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment. He extracted himself from Blaise, slowly rotating his shoulders with a wince. "Don't break my neck, Weasel," he said as he neared.
"Can't do that with witnesses around," Ron quipped, before grunting as Draco stepped on his hands and hoisted himself up. Draco balanced himself with a hand on Ron's head, successfully messing the redhead's hair, while his other hand reached shakily for Harry's outstretched one. As soon as their hands clasped each other, Hermione cast the Featherlight Charm.
Draco felt all his limbs going limp and he felt like he was floating.
Harry easily pulled him up as if he were just a sheet of paper, but he made sure to do with care, making sure that Draco didn't sway to hit the edges of the trap door. He gently laid Draco down on the floor beside him, avoiding his eyes. He held onto Draco's hands probably a bit longer than necessary, but that may have just been wishful thinking on Draco's part. Harry then cast a "Finite Incantatem".
They did the same with Blaise and Pansy, and when it was Hermione's turn, it was Draco who cast the Featherlight Charm.
"What about Weaselbee?" Pansy asked, looking down at the trapdoor where Ron was tapping his foot impatiently.
"Hover Charm," Harry said, mentally gauging his Charms prowess. "You guys are going to have to grab him as soon as you reach him though. I don't think I can do it for as long as Hermione did."
All heads nodded. Harry stood up, took a deep breath, and cast the spell.
Slowly, Ron rose from the ground. He was grinning as he glanced downwards to the floor which was going further and further away from him. He rose towards the trapdoor, hands automatically stretching above him. Hermione and Blaise's hands closed on his, and Ron half-expected himself to suddenly drop heavily but Harry continued the Hover Charm until Ron was completely above the trap door.
It was only when Ron was above solid ground that Harry took off the spell, letting Ron fall to the floor on his arse.
Harry gasped, hands on his knees as he breathed heavily. "Right," he muttered, taking huge gulps of air. "So I can, but I am so never doing that again."
"Practice, Harry," Hermione said, smiling.
"I must say," Blaise started, giving Harry a good pat on the back. "I'm impressed, Golden Boy."
Harry cringed at the name (Draco remembered their past conversations about Harry despising those ridiculous titles.) but laughed weakly afterwards. "Not just me. We all did it," he said, grinning.
Hermione beamed brightly, and Ron came over and pat him on the back as well. Blaise, Pansy and Draco rolled their eyes, though smiles were on their lips as well. "Gryffindors," they all said in unison.
The aforementioned Gryffindors all grinned at them.
It was until Harry's smile turned sheepish that everyone became sober. "Sorry I got you guys in this mess," Harry said with an apologetic expression. It was then that they remembered what this whole thing had been about.
"It's not your fault, Harry," Hermione said calmly, but she turned to him with her arms akimbo, lips pressed together and a raised eyebrow. "But since we're speaking of messes - Harry James Potter, you and I are going to have a long talk as soon as we've sent Draco to the infirmary."
Harry cringed, shoulders drooping. "Err. Right."
"I don't mean to be a gossipmonger," Pansy quipped, before pausing. She shrugged carelessly. "Alright, so I do, but I really am curious about what is going on and as a Slytherin, I have it upon myself to trigger your Gryffindor sense of chivalry with the fact that you guys do owe us at least a good enough explanation that's worth at least fifty gossip points."
Oh, Merlin, if Draco wasn't so horribly in love with Harry Potter, he could marry this girl. Her persistence to get her daily gossip ensured that Draco would know what was going on with Harry. Right, so it lacked the Slytherin tact, but, well, Slytherins always get what they want.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other.
"No need to trigger anything, Parkinson," Harry said, still with that apologetic demeanor. "I was going to tell you anyway, if you asked."
The light around him shone gold. Draco gaped. He had been surprised way too many times this past week. Harry Potter proved to be very unpredictable, though Draco already knew that, of course.
"No triggering needed, indeed," Hermione said cheerfully, not one to miss an opportunity. "Since we've all gone through a death-defying experience together and survived," she said, smiling widely and eyes dancing. "I suppose we're all friends now then," she quipped, hand outstretched.
Blaise chuckled.
Pansy stared at Hermione's outstretched hand and couldn't fight the smile that slid its way to her lips. "Don't get your knickers in a bunch, Granger," she replied as cheerfully, and shook Hermione's hand.
Draco rolled his eyes at the Muggle idiom.
Ron blinked hard. "Her… knickers?"
If Hermione was surprised by Pansy's reply, she didn't show it. She merely clasped Pansy's hand tighter and grinned.
For the first time since the chess game, Draco caught Harry's eye, who nudged his head towards the girls in both confusion and amusement. Draco couldn't help the chuckle that burst from his lips, from both amusement at the idiom and relief that Harry was looking at him in the eye again, as he shrugged and mouthed, 'Girls.'
Moments later, Ron's horrified squeak was heard.
"Wait, don't tell me we're going to have to hug now?"
-
As soon as they burst out the door and onto the third floor corridor, Pansy and Blaise immediately steered Draco towards the Hospital Wing, with Ron, Hermione and Harry falling behind but following nonetheless.
When they reached the stairs that Penny had led them to in search for Harry, the girl was nowhere to be seen. In her place stood Severus Snape, looking like he was trying very hard not to cast Bat-Bogey Hexes on them. His sharp eyes saw them when they emerged from the third floor corridor and a sneer ate up his face. It softened, though, when he saw their appearances, covered in cuts and bruises and dirt and looking like he had just dumped them a twelve-foot essay assignment.
Nevertheless, softened or not, Snape still looked like the thing of nightmares.
Oh, if looks could kill.
"As soon as we reach the Hospital Wing," Snape said in a deadly and calm voice that probably scared them more than the sharpness of his glare. He stared at each of them in the eye, slowly, chin rising as his sneer became more and more pronounced. "I expect to know everything -" He rolled the word out on his tongue. "-about the events that had transpired this morning, and if I do not get just that, then I assure each and every one of you that there will be dire consequences to be paid and suffered."
All of them could only nod in apprehension, some of them gulping.
Feeling rather pathetic and sorry for himself, Harry realized that he was probably more scared of Severus Snape than he had ever been of Tom Riddle.
Good thing Snape never took up the Dark Lord business then.
-
"Imagine my surprise," Snape started dryly, when they were all sitting on two of the infirmary beds and Madame Pomfrey was fussing over Draco. Snape remained standing, as if to remind them who was superior. "When Miss Coulby, wailing, disrupted my lunch to soil my robes."
"Not that his robes needed the help," Ron muttered lowly in Harry's ear, who forced himself to keep a straight face. He could imagine what a sight that must have been - a sobbing Hufflepuff bursting in the Great Hall to run towards the teachers' table and hug Professor Severus Snape. He wished he could have been there to see it.
"Took us half an hour to get her to stop crying and talk," Madame Pomfrey piped up exasperatedly at the memory.
"I had to get her to Madame Pomfrey for a Calming Drought," Snape muttered irritably, just as the door opened and in came Headmistress McGonagall.
Harry suddenly felt like he had swallowed a bogey-flavored jellybean.
He realized a moment too late that if Penny really had caused a scene in the Great Hall, then surely Professor McGonagall would be involved.
"I can't really say I'm surprised," she said as soon as she neared, her glasses glinting with the sun passing through the infirmary windows. "Can't even spend your last year here without making a ruckus," she continued lightly, and Harry had been reprimanded by her way too many times to know that underneath her disapproving demeanor, she had been worried. "However, I did not expect to find the six of you here together. It's quite… an unlikely combination." Her lips quirked up just a tiny bit at the edges, and the aforementioned six all looked at each other.
Well, that was the understatement of the year.
"Let me piece together the events for a moment," she started. "After we had considerably calmed down Miss Coulby, she told us of your predicament. It was rather… disconcerting." Here she paused, looking down at each of them above her glasses. She finished with Harry. "Especially after Professor Lupin came to me yesterday with disturbing observations," she murmured softly.
Draco turned to look at Harry, remembering that he had forgotten to ask just what he and the werewolf had talked about yesterday. Under McGonagall's stare, Harry fidgeted in his seat.
Finally, McGonagall looked away. "Would anyone care to inform us just what happened that had you all in such a… rumpled state?"
"It was my fault, Professor," Harry piped up, making all eyes turn to him.
Draco realized that the boy really did believe it was his fault, if the gold light around him was anything to go by.
"Since last week, I've been falling through trapdoors in the floor and walls. I've only found out a few days ago that they're called safety rooms that the Patching Team's installed. I thought that they were only accidents - I mean, that the safety rooms were still under construction. I didn't think much of it because a lot of students had been getting into small accidents too, ever since Hogwarts got renovated, until yesterday, when Remus -" Harry paused, feeling the hairs on his arms stand up at the thought again. "When Remus told me that the safety rooms only opened manually. With a wand and a spell," he finished softly.
All around him, his fellow students' expressions turned into ones of alarm as the magnitude of the situation dawned on them.
Draco could only stare at Harry, who was looking at McGonagall.
Now he realized just why Professor Lupin had been so distressed yesterday; why he'd been so adamant that someone look after Harry; why Harry had been so curious last night with Neville; and why Draco should have followed Harry when he ran out of the Great Hall that morning.
Professors Snape and McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey all looked unsurprised. Lupin had already come to them about Harry's predicament the night before.
"Mister Potter," McGonagall started softly, cutting through the stunned silence. "May I excuse you for a moment?"
Harry knew what she was trying to do. Slowly, he shook his head. "Professor, it's okay," he said, glancing at the Slytherins. His eyes rested on Draco a bit longer, but that may have been just the blond's imagination. "I… I want them to hear."
Now that surprised the professors. Only Madame Pomfrey smiled knowingly to herself.
Draco, however, was incredulous. And a tiny bit… alright, a lot happy.
Pansy and Blaise looked surprised as well, even though Harry had already said earlier that he was going to tell them. They didn't expect that Harry actually wanted to tell them though. After all, other than his Gryffindor sense of chivalry, Harry had no reason to.
Last night, Harry had only wanted to tell Draco. He told himself it was because Draco needed to know since he was putting himself on the line looking after Harry at Remus' request, and also because they were friends now. He wouldn't admit, though, that it really was because he liked seeing the look of good surprise and subtle joy on Draco's face whenever Harry would divulge to him something personal. Why Draco found anything about him interesting, Harry didn't know, but after that incident the other day, when he had broken his ankle and Draco had been unsure of pointing his wand at him as if Harry had all the reasons in the world to doubt him, Harry wanted to show him that he was worthy of being trusted.
Harry wouldn't admit that it was because he liked seeing Draco's face light up, but he could admit that it was because telling Draco was always so easy. So comforting, how the other could understand him so easily. And it was like Draco actually found him interesting. Him. Plain old Harry, not the Boy-Who-Lived.
Now though, he found that he also didn't mind telling Pansy and Blaise. Maybe because they were friends with Draco, or because they had fought with him against Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts. It may even be because that's what playing a life-or-death chess game together does to you.
Nevertheless, they also had the right to know, and he was sure that Ron and Hermione shared the same sentiment, since they had done and said nothing in protest and only nodded agreeably.
"Well," Professor McGonagall said. A small smile was on her lips, but she remained alert and stiff, not forgetting the gravity of the situation. "Go on then."
"I was on my way to the infirmary, but when I reached the top of the third floor staircase, the floor just suddenly opened up," Harry continued thoughtfully, remembering. "I was sliding, I think. It may have been a pipe, but it was a rather long way down. At the bottom was the room where the…" he paused, hesitating, not knowing how the professors would react. "Where the Philosopher's Stone was hidden."
McGonagall's eyes widened. Snape tried to keep his expression impassive.
"I'm not sure how long I sat there, before Ron fell on me," Harry continued wryly.
Ron looked sheepish.
"Ron and I became worried when Harry didn't return," Hermione said, picking up the story. "We went to the infirmary, but only found Draco, Pansy, and Blaise."
The deliberate use of their first names was not lost on the ones mentioned, and Pansy beamed.
"Harry had already mentioned falling through traps to us before, but it seemed that he told Draco a lot more than he did us," Hermione said purposefully but as nonchalantly as she could.
Draco whipped his head to look at Harry in shock, but Harry simply looked at the floor, face burning.
Pansy grinned at Hermione. Oh, you little devil, she thought wickedly.
"Ah, yes, I've heard of your… relationship," McGonagall nodded thoughtfully, eyebrow raised. "I cannot say I was very surprised, though it's nice to have it confirmed," she said wryly, seemingly oblivious to the knowing grins that Hermione, Pansy, Blaise and Ron shared. If McGonagall knew the truth, then she gave no signs to show it.
Snape had fingers pressing on his temple, and he looked pained.
If possible, Harry's face turned an even darker shade of red.
"Professor -" he started with great difficulty, his voice strangled. "Draco and I aren't -"
"Ah, my leg!" Ron yelled loudly.
Madame Pomfrey shot him a dry look for the fake injury, but an amused expression at his interruption.
Harry suddenly realized his losing battle.
Taking pity on him, Hermione continued the story. "However, we still had no leads on Harry's whereabouts, until Penny burst in. She told us she had followed Harry when he went out of the Great Hall and saw where he had fallen."
One look at Harry told all of them that he knew nothing of this.
"We're not sure why, but when Draco stood on it, it opened and he fell. All of us jumped in after, and I told Penny to get Professor Snape. To get out of there, we had to pass through the chambers that once guarded the Stone," Hermione said, knowing that the professors would understand her immediately. She then smiled wryly at McGonagall. "It was actually your trap, Professor, which got us into this rumpled state."
"I do my job well," McGonagall said, but her voice was stiff and she frowned at them gravely. "You should know how fortunate you are to have survived that," she murmured, a bit shakily as she looked at the Slytherins. Then, she turned to the Gryffindors. "Twice."
Her eyebrows were knitted closely together in worry, and her lips pursed. She took a moment to gather herself, before speaking in a serious voice. "You must know how serious this is," she said. "As such, I expect that none of this will leave this room. Can I trust you all on that?"
The students all nodded.
"Mister Potter - Harry," McGonagall continued, her voice going considerably soft as she turned to Harry. "I suspect Professor Lupin's already spared words for you so I'll save you the added trouble, but forgive me when I say that I commend him and Madame Pomfrey for suggesting that you start sleeping in the Hospital Wing for your own safety. I believe you're less than thrilled, but this is a very dangerous situation."
Here, she turned her eyes to Professor Snape and Madame Pomfrey.
"We may have a traitor in our midst."
Chapter 13
Author: Cassis Luna
Rating: PG-13 for now
Warnings: ignores DH, EWE, AU, adult themes, profanity
Chapter Word Count: 6052
Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me, it belongs to J.K. Rowling. No money is being made out of this.
Note: I got the idea about the Restoration Potion from the Troyjeinen Potion found here, so that's not mine either.
Summary: Eight year. Draco drinks a potion that makes him know if a person is lying, and Harry, apparently at fault that Draco is this way, is forced to 'help' him throughout the effects of the potion. For the first time, they deal with each other with no lies to hide behind.
Alternate Summary: In which Draco's a Potions experiment gone bad, Hogwarts wants to eat Harry (oh, but does it really?), and everyone thinks they're shagging each other. (Yes, even the house-elves.)
Chapter 12
Third Floor Corridor
Part II
Probably the only time when Harry saw Ron and Draco not insulting each other and actually talking like civilized wizards was when they were strategizing. It was a familiar sight, one that happened many times in Grimmauld Place before the climax of the war, but it still never ceased to amaze Harry. And okay, make him chuckle.
He looked around him. They almost took the entire row up, with the exception of the rooks. They were playing white. In order, Ron was playing as a Knight, Blaise as a Bishop, Hermione as the Queen, Pansy as the King, Harry as the other Bishop and Draco as the other Knight.
Harry tried rotating his ankle, and idly wondered who would have to be sacrificed this time.
-
Draco Malfoy was a coward. Everyone knew that. Draco knew that, and he wasn't even going to pretend he wasn't. Sure, he'd risked his life by spying on You-Know-Who and had fought against Death Eaters that were older than him and much more experienced with battle in the war. He may have also faced a Dark Lord, though Harry did most of the fighting and fancy wand waving.
Still, those feats of his (if you could call them that) were done under pressure.
He wasn't a Gryffindor after all, brave and courageous.
So the first time a piece was taken, Draco's eyes widened and he stared as the black pawn was pulverized by the white pawn. At the back of his mind, he vaguely heard Pansy's shriek through the clatter of broken pieces of stone that fell heavily on the chessboard, and remembered Hermione's words from earlier.
"This isn't your normal Wizard's chess. Well, it is, but that's the bad part about it. It gets rather… violent."
He knew that it was going to be like real Wizard's chess, but really…
These chess pieces were huge!
"I see what you mean now, Granger," he muttered, shakily running a hand through his hair. "Alright," he said, trying to sound calm. He caught Weasley's eye. "Pawn to E4!"
-
Ron did not look happy, Draco noted. He kept on glancing at Hermione, who looked relaxed as if it was just another day to perfect that Herbology quiz.
"Pawn to F5!" Ron bellowed, and all of them instinctively ducked as the opponent's Rook was destroyed.
Harry, Blaise, Pansy, and Hermione all had cuts on their arms, which they had been using for shielding their faces from the stray rocks that flew past them. Ron and Draco had no problems, since they were above ground on their horses. Their cuts weren't on their arms, but on their fingers and hands.
"Bloody fuckers," Pansy muttered, angrily flipping her bangs away from her eyes.
All of them agreed.
-
The next time Ron glanced over, it wasn't towards Hermione.
He caught Draco's eye, and Draco blanched, gripping the reins of his horse tighter that his knuckles turned white, as he looked around the chessboard and saw the same move that Ron was probably thinking of.
Draco Malfoy was a coward, yes.
But he liked to think that living with Harry Potter for a few days in Grimmauld Place and helping him defeat Dark Lords gave him at least some courage.
"Well, what are you waiting for, Weasley?" he snapped, and made the call himself. "Knight to H3!"
His heart dropped when his horse started to move, but he told himself to suck it in, be a man, and take away the black side's pawn.
He just hoped that there wasn't another piece waiting to take his head off.
-
There wasn't.
His head remained on his shoulders.
Nevertheless, Draco did not like where the game was going. He felt like something was wrong. Like he was missing some important detail.
They were winning, yes. The black side only had one pawn left, two Knights, a Rook, the Queen and, of course, the King. Subsequently, their own side also had one pawn left, one Rook, and everyone else accounted for. Pansy had not moved, but everyone else was in the middle of the battlefield.
Since the beginning, Draco had no second thoughts about their victory. He knew they were going to win. Draco had always been confident in his chess skills, and alright, so he was going to admit that - wait, okay, no, he didn't want to admit. He was just going to… secretly recognize that Ron Weasley was a good player. Great, even. Not as great as him though. As if.
The game had almost been one-sided, with most of the black pieces smashed to bits by now.
Then, Ron paused. "I can checkmate the King in two moves," he said, quietly.
"Thank Merlin on a stick!" Pansy mumbled from her position sitting on her tile, with her elbow dug onto her thigh and her chin rested on the palm of her hand. She had remained unmoved throughout the game.
Draco surveyed the remaining black pieces, trying to see what Ron's two moves were going to be.
Ron continued to look grim.
"Weasel," Pansy called, almost nervously. "Why aren't you thanking Merlin on a stick?"
"Harry," Ron said, turning his head to look behind him.
Hermione inhaled sharply.
And Draco realized, quite belatedly, that Harry had been quiet throughout the game. He hadn't worried about Harry being hurt much, since Draco had taken the liberty of discreetly and purposefully moving him away from the pieces, telling Ron that it was all part of his strategy and ignoring Pansy and Blaise's smirks and Hermione's inquisitive look.
While everyone else had been noisy, throwing out insults towards the inanimate chess pieces and sometimes even giving words of advice on which move should be made next, Harry just moved about the chessboard quietly, always looking thoughtful.
At Ron's call, Harry smiled wryly. "Expected as much, Ron."
Draco stared at him dumbly. His eyes shifted to the chessboard, mentally making moves in his head. He felt his blood go cold as Ron's plan started sinking in.
Ron looked at Harry, confused. "What -"
"I've been beaten by you so many times that I've stopped tallying," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "No matter how you play the game, you always end up sacrificing your bishops somehow." He shrugged nonchalantly but one could see how pale his face was. "Always thought you had some hidden hatred for the poor things," he continued, grinning weakly.
Fucking Gryffindor, Draco thought with a mix of anger and nausea as he tried to wash away images of Harry, being hit on the head by the black Queen's mace. It made him sick to the stomach. "No," he said firmly.
All eyes turned to look at him.
He stared straight at Ron unwaveringly. "Weasley, I'm going to move. When I do, move Granger," he said softly, being vague on purpose. He knew Blaise and Harry would get it eventually, but not as fast as Ron would. He could almost pinpoint the exact moment when his plan dawned on the Weasel, whose eyes widened at the same time his mouth opened to form a small 'o'.
Their plan would only work if the black King remained unmoved.
It required more moves than Ron's initial plan, but Draco knew without a doubt that Ron preferred this. After all, a choice between Harry and Draco wasn't much of a choice at all.
Harry felt his stomach drop. "Draco -" he started, voice strangled and eyebrows furrowed in frustration. He scowled, glaring at the other boy's back. "No, don't do it! I -"
Blaise had realized Draco's plan as well and was spitting out a colorful stream of curses. "When we get off this chessboard, Draco bloody Malfoy, I am going to -"
"Blaise!" Pansy shrieked, eyes shifting back and forth between Draco and Blaise. "What the hell is going on?"
"Draco's going to bloody sacrifice himself, the fucking -" Blaise spat out, but Pansy's high scream cut him off.
Pointing an accusing finger at Draco's finger, Pansy screeched, "You fucking Gryffindor!"
"It's chess!" Draco snapped, glaring behind him. "You have to make sacrifices!"
And Hermione remembered first year, remembered Ron's words, and figured it ironic how these two boys had more things in common than they initially thought.
"Draco!" Harry yelled, shutting everyone up. His heart was hammering in his chest, thinking of Draco being hit, Draco falling to the floor, Draco unconscious. Despite that, he stared at Draco firmly. "Move me. It takes lesser moves -"
"Your hero complex just won't stop -" Draco started frustratedly, but was surprised when Harry yelled again.
"It's not that!" Harry exclaimed, voice getting louder. "Hero complex or not, I don't want anyone getting hurt." The light around him shone gold brightly.
He stared at Draco unwaveringly, so much determination and emotion burning in his eyes that it almost hurt to look at them but Draco did, retaliating with the unasked question of 'So it's okay if you get hurt?' in his own eyes. Harry looked away, face burning. Finally, Draco sighed. "Harry, I don't know whether to kiss you or hex you."
Harry's eyes widened and his face turned an even darker shade of red.
Well, that certainly killed the tension.
Pansy and Blaise smirked, and even Hermione smiled.
Ron was the only one who remained sober. "Actually, Harry," Ron started slowly, eyes moving over the chessboard. "I'm going with Malfoy's plan - no, wait, listen," he said quickly when Harry glared at him. "You're right. I always end up sacrificing the bishops somehow. If I move you, the Queen will take you. I just realized that to checkmate the King, I'll have to move Blaise, too, to take the Queen, but have the enemy's Bishop take him. Then Hermione can finish the game."
Silence met him as they all took in this information. Blaise anxiously wiped his palms on his shirt.
Taking a deep breath, Ron continued. "But if we go with Malfoy's plan, we'll only have one, err, casualty. Just Malfoy."
Harry's lips pressed together tightly and Draco could swear that he was gritting his teeth.
Behind the fear and slight panic thudding in Draco's chest at the thought of being boxed by a very hard and very solid statue was that light, fluttery, Hufflepuff-y feeling at the thought that Harry was actually worried about him.
"Knight to D6," Draco called quietly, before anyone could have second thoughts and stop him.
Still, despite the low volume of his voice, his words hung in the air heavily until his horse started to move. Two squares forward, one square to the right.
"Check."
Slowly, the black bishop turned towards him, tall and looming. As it covered the squares that stood between them, Draco thought that he really wasn't cut out for Gryffindor after all.
Good, then, Draco thought as the bishop raised its scepter. That meant that he was a Slytherin through and through.
In one swift move, the bishop drove its scepter straight to the neck of Draco's horse, successfully throwing Draco off and to the floor in a hard thud. The horse crumpled to pieces, shards of stone hitting Draco's limp form on the floor and making cuts on his pale face and hands.
And Harry watched this all with wide eyes, feeling like he didn't know how to breathe. At the back of his mind, he heard Pansy yell. At the back of his eyes, he recounted the war and the fallen and the feeling of helplessness but that memory was faint compared to the present - to Draco -and the sight of him unconscious on the floor.
"Queen to D6," Ron said, shakily.
Trembling, Hermione walked towards D6 and the black bishop. Her eyes watered when she passed by Draco's prone form. The black bishop then slid off the board.
"Knight to F6," Ron called next. His horse slid towards the designated square.
After the black side made its move, Ron let out a big breath and almost exhaled his next move out in relief. "Bishop to B5!"
Blaise moved quickly, wanting to get this game over with. "Checkmate!" he yelled.
Slowly, the King's sword slid from its hands and to the floor, making a loud, echoing sound that was dreadful and relieving at the same time.
Everyone immediately rushed over to Draco, with Pansy dropping to the floor beside him.
Hermione's wand was automatically in her hand, whispering spells in quick succession.
"Well, Granger?" Pansy demanded, face pale and eyes wide.
"He's fine," Hermione said, trying to make her voice sound as firm as she could. "He probably dislocated a shoulder though - nothing that an Episkey can't fix. His head will hurt for a while. He hit it pretty badly."
"Right," Ron breathed out, still looking shaken. He looked anxiously at Draco's form. "Will he, I mean, is he - sorry, I didn't -"
"Don't worry, Weasley," Blaise muttered, waving a hand. He looked at Ron straight in the eyes, to show that he was serious. "Nobody blames you," he said softly.
Mutely, Ron nodded.
Later, Harry will look back on this and flush with pride at how far they've come - Gryffindors and Slytherins - but at the moment, he could only look at Draco, feeling like he was about to throw up. During the long game, the pain in his ankle had lessened to just a dull reminder so he had no problems putting weight on it anymore as he shuffled closer.
"The sooner we get him to Madame Pomfrey, the better," he found himself saying.
After all, when things go wrong, one goes to Madame Pomfrey.
"Are you sure he's alright? I mean, he'll be alright… walking?" Pansy asked nervously, looking behind her shoulder at Granger.
Hermione nodded, and then paused. She suddenly looked unsure of herself. "Do you want me to Rennervate him? Unless you want to do it yourself, of course," she added quickly.
"What are you talking about?" Pansy asked, almost impatiently. "Well, go on. Rennervate him!"
And Hermione was amazed at how easily Pansy was letting her point her wand towards Draco. Of course, she'd been casting spells on him earlier to check his injuries, but this blatant permission almost made her tear up.
"Rennervate!"
With a gasp and a wheeze, Draco's eyes snapped open - only to be immediately shut closed with a groan. "Fucking Merlin," he rasped out, breathing heavily.
"Draco!" Pansy and Blaise called out in relief.
"What happened?" Draco muttered, voice a little bit slurred.
Despite his earlier worry, Blaise just couldn't resist. "First time you got your arse kicked in chess, eh, Draco?"
Draco moved his head to glare at him, and then quickly decided that it was not a good idea to do so as it hurt. "You just wait, Zabini," he muttered, resting his cheek on the cold floor covered in dust and stone. On normal days he would have cringed at the thought, but today his head was throbbing and he badly needed a break.
A bath, too, when he thought about it for a moment.
"Can you stand?" It was Hermione who asked. She, Ron, and Harry had stepped back to give Draco some space, while Blaise and Pansy took him by the arms to help him stand up.
"Yeah," Draco muttered, leaning heavily against Blaise, who hooked Draco's arm around his shoulders. "Feel like I just got trampled on by hippogriffs though."
"I feel you, mate," Ron said sympathetically.
"Let's get going then," Harry started abruptly, softly and stiffly as he Not Looked at Draco and instead turned towards the door behind the remaining black pieces. "We're not far from the exit."
He set off for the door, the others following behind him with Draco being helped by Blaise.
If he felt the weight of Draco's curious stare boring onto his back, then he made no sign of it.
-
They reached the room with the winged keys, which just flittered about idly and without a care in the world.
"They're actually pretty cute," Pansy remarked, smiling at the view the keys made.
"Not when hundreds of them are chasing after you and itching to stab you," Ron muttered, which Hermione elbowed him for.
Harry immediately sighted the big, rusted key used to open the door they just came through but he simply continued to pass through the room and towards the passageway on the other side.
-
The next room was dark and smelled suspiciously musky.
Before entering though, Harry already had his wand ready. With a quick incantation, blue fire shot from his wand towards the middle of the room and provided light. Pansy yelped when she saw the moving vines and creepers on the floor.
"What are those?"
"Devil's Snare," Draco murmured, watching the vines scatter away from the fire with a hiss.
"Is that it, Potter?" Blaise asked, eyes on the ceiling where a trap door was.
Harry nodded. "That's already the third floor right there," he said, before turning to Ron. "Ron, help me up. Hermione, can you cast a Hover Charm on me, just so that I can reach the door?" he smiled sheepishly.
If there was one thing that Harry didn't gain, it was height. Eleven years of living in a cupboard did not give you a model height.
"Right, mate," Ron said gamely, cracking his knuckles. He linked his fingers together, and then opened his palms upward for Harry to step on it. "Tell me you didn't step on any suspicious stuff though."
"I did not step on any suspicious stuff," Harry said, before stepping on Ron's hands and hoisting himself up. Immediately, Hermione cast a Hover Charm on him that lifted him from Ron's hold and up towards the door. He quickly pushed the trap door open and thanked Merlin, Circe and Morgan le Fay for Hermione's outstanding charm skills because even though he only needed the Hover Charm to reach the trapdoor, Hermione continued to levitate him higher until he could finally land on the room above, albeit a bit clumsily.
Below, Hermione gave a great wheeze as she ended the spell, clutching the front of her shirt as she breathed heavily. "Right," she said weakly. "I don't think I can do that again."
"Featherlight charms, 'Mione," Harry called. "Once Ron helps them up and I've got their hands, you can cast the spell on them so I can easily pull them up."
Hermione nodded. She turned to Draco. "Well, go on then. Injured first."
Draco raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment. He extracted himself from Blaise, slowly rotating his shoulders with a wince. "Don't break my neck, Weasel," he said as he neared.
"Can't do that with witnesses around," Ron quipped, before grunting as Draco stepped on his hands and hoisted himself up. Draco balanced himself with a hand on Ron's head, successfully messing the redhead's hair, while his other hand reached shakily for Harry's outstretched one. As soon as their hands clasped each other, Hermione cast the Featherlight Charm.
Draco felt all his limbs going limp and he felt like he was floating.
Harry easily pulled him up as if he were just a sheet of paper, but he made sure to do with care, making sure that Draco didn't sway to hit the edges of the trap door. He gently laid Draco down on the floor beside him, avoiding his eyes. He held onto Draco's hands probably a bit longer than necessary, but that may have just been wishful thinking on Draco's part. Harry then cast a "Finite Incantatem".
They did the same with Blaise and Pansy, and when it was Hermione's turn, it was Draco who cast the Featherlight Charm.
"What about Weaselbee?" Pansy asked, looking down at the trapdoor where Ron was tapping his foot impatiently.
"Hover Charm," Harry said, mentally gauging his Charms prowess. "You guys are going to have to grab him as soon as you reach him though. I don't think I can do it for as long as Hermione did."
All heads nodded. Harry stood up, took a deep breath, and cast the spell.
Slowly, Ron rose from the ground. He was grinning as he glanced downwards to the floor which was going further and further away from him. He rose towards the trapdoor, hands automatically stretching above him. Hermione and Blaise's hands closed on his, and Ron half-expected himself to suddenly drop heavily but Harry continued the Hover Charm until Ron was completely above the trap door.
It was only when Ron was above solid ground that Harry took off the spell, letting Ron fall to the floor on his arse.
Harry gasped, hands on his knees as he breathed heavily. "Right," he muttered, taking huge gulps of air. "So I can, but I am so never doing that again."
"Practice, Harry," Hermione said, smiling.
"I must say," Blaise started, giving Harry a good pat on the back. "I'm impressed, Golden Boy."
Harry cringed at the name (Draco remembered their past conversations about Harry despising those ridiculous titles.) but laughed weakly afterwards. "Not just me. We all did it," he said, grinning.
Hermione beamed brightly, and Ron came over and pat him on the back as well. Blaise, Pansy and Draco rolled their eyes, though smiles were on their lips as well. "Gryffindors," they all said in unison.
The aforementioned Gryffindors all grinned at them.
It was until Harry's smile turned sheepish that everyone became sober. "Sorry I got you guys in this mess," Harry said with an apologetic expression. It was then that they remembered what this whole thing had been about.
"It's not your fault, Harry," Hermione said calmly, but she turned to him with her arms akimbo, lips pressed together and a raised eyebrow. "But since we're speaking of messes - Harry James Potter, you and I are going to have a long talk as soon as we've sent Draco to the infirmary."
Harry cringed, shoulders drooping. "Err. Right."
"I don't mean to be a gossipmonger," Pansy quipped, before pausing. She shrugged carelessly. "Alright, so I do, but I really am curious about what is going on and as a Slytherin, I have it upon myself to trigger your Gryffindor sense of chivalry with the fact that you guys do owe us at least a good enough explanation that's worth at least fifty gossip points."
Oh, Merlin, if Draco wasn't so horribly in love with Harry Potter, he could marry this girl. Her persistence to get her daily gossip ensured that Draco would know what was going on with Harry. Right, so it lacked the Slytherin tact, but, well, Slytherins always get what they want.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other.
"No need to trigger anything, Parkinson," Harry said, still with that apologetic demeanor. "I was going to tell you anyway, if you asked."
The light around him shone gold. Draco gaped. He had been surprised way too many times this past week. Harry Potter proved to be very unpredictable, though Draco already knew that, of course.
"No triggering needed, indeed," Hermione said cheerfully, not one to miss an opportunity. "Since we've all gone through a death-defying experience together and survived," she said, smiling widely and eyes dancing. "I suppose we're all friends now then," she quipped, hand outstretched.
Blaise chuckled.
Pansy stared at Hermione's outstretched hand and couldn't fight the smile that slid its way to her lips. "Don't get your knickers in a bunch, Granger," she replied as cheerfully, and shook Hermione's hand.
Draco rolled his eyes at the Muggle idiom.
Ron blinked hard. "Her… knickers?"
If Hermione was surprised by Pansy's reply, she didn't show it. She merely clasped Pansy's hand tighter and grinned.
For the first time since the chess game, Draco caught Harry's eye, who nudged his head towards the girls in both confusion and amusement. Draco couldn't help the chuckle that burst from his lips, from both amusement at the idiom and relief that Harry was looking at him in the eye again, as he shrugged and mouthed, 'Girls.'
Moments later, Ron's horrified squeak was heard.
"Wait, don't tell me we're going to have to hug now?"
-
As soon as they burst out the door and onto the third floor corridor, Pansy and Blaise immediately steered Draco towards the Hospital Wing, with Ron, Hermione and Harry falling behind but following nonetheless.
When they reached the stairs that Penny had led them to in search for Harry, the girl was nowhere to be seen. In her place stood Severus Snape, looking like he was trying very hard not to cast Bat-Bogey Hexes on them. His sharp eyes saw them when they emerged from the third floor corridor and a sneer ate up his face. It softened, though, when he saw their appearances, covered in cuts and bruises and dirt and looking like he had just dumped them a twelve-foot essay assignment.
Nevertheless, softened or not, Snape still looked like the thing of nightmares.
Oh, if looks could kill.
"As soon as we reach the Hospital Wing," Snape said in a deadly and calm voice that probably scared them more than the sharpness of his glare. He stared at each of them in the eye, slowly, chin rising as his sneer became more and more pronounced. "I expect to know everything -" He rolled the word out on his tongue. "-about the events that had transpired this morning, and if I do not get just that, then I assure each and every one of you that there will be dire consequences to be paid and suffered."
All of them could only nod in apprehension, some of them gulping.
Feeling rather pathetic and sorry for himself, Harry realized that he was probably more scared of Severus Snape than he had ever been of Tom Riddle.
Good thing Snape never took up the Dark Lord business then.
-
"Imagine my surprise," Snape started dryly, when they were all sitting on two of the infirmary beds and Madame Pomfrey was fussing over Draco. Snape remained standing, as if to remind them who was superior. "When Miss Coulby, wailing, disrupted my lunch to soil my robes."
"Not that his robes needed the help," Ron muttered lowly in Harry's ear, who forced himself to keep a straight face. He could imagine what a sight that must have been - a sobbing Hufflepuff bursting in the Great Hall to run towards the teachers' table and hug Professor Severus Snape. He wished he could have been there to see it.
"Took us half an hour to get her to stop crying and talk," Madame Pomfrey piped up exasperatedly at the memory.
"I had to get her to Madame Pomfrey for a Calming Drought," Snape muttered irritably, just as the door opened and in came Headmistress McGonagall.
Harry suddenly felt like he had swallowed a bogey-flavored jellybean.
He realized a moment too late that if Penny really had caused a scene in the Great Hall, then surely Professor McGonagall would be involved.
"I can't really say I'm surprised," she said as soon as she neared, her glasses glinting with the sun passing through the infirmary windows. "Can't even spend your last year here without making a ruckus," she continued lightly, and Harry had been reprimanded by her way too many times to know that underneath her disapproving demeanor, she had been worried. "However, I did not expect to find the six of you here together. It's quite… an unlikely combination." Her lips quirked up just a tiny bit at the edges, and the aforementioned six all looked at each other.
Well, that was the understatement of the year.
"Let me piece together the events for a moment," she started. "After we had considerably calmed down Miss Coulby, she told us of your predicament. It was rather… disconcerting." Here she paused, looking down at each of them above her glasses. She finished with Harry. "Especially after Professor Lupin came to me yesterday with disturbing observations," she murmured softly.
Draco turned to look at Harry, remembering that he had forgotten to ask just what he and the werewolf had talked about yesterday. Under McGonagall's stare, Harry fidgeted in his seat.
Finally, McGonagall looked away. "Would anyone care to inform us just what happened that had you all in such a… rumpled state?"
"It was my fault, Professor," Harry piped up, making all eyes turn to him.
Draco realized that the boy really did believe it was his fault, if the gold light around him was anything to go by.
"Since last week, I've been falling through trapdoors in the floor and walls. I've only found out a few days ago that they're called safety rooms that the Patching Team's installed. I thought that they were only accidents - I mean, that the safety rooms were still under construction. I didn't think much of it because a lot of students had been getting into small accidents too, ever since Hogwarts got renovated, until yesterday, when Remus -" Harry paused, feeling the hairs on his arms stand up at the thought again. "When Remus told me that the safety rooms only opened manually. With a wand and a spell," he finished softly.
All around him, his fellow students' expressions turned into ones of alarm as the magnitude of the situation dawned on them.
Draco could only stare at Harry, who was looking at McGonagall.
Now he realized just why Professor Lupin had been so distressed yesterday; why he'd been so adamant that someone look after Harry; why Harry had been so curious last night with Neville; and why Draco should have followed Harry when he ran out of the Great Hall that morning.
Professors Snape and McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey all looked unsurprised. Lupin had already come to them about Harry's predicament the night before.
"Mister Potter," McGonagall started softly, cutting through the stunned silence. "May I excuse you for a moment?"
Harry knew what she was trying to do. Slowly, he shook his head. "Professor, it's okay," he said, glancing at the Slytherins. His eyes rested on Draco a bit longer, but that may have been just the blond's imagination. "I… I want them to hear."
Now that surprised the professors. Only Madame Pomfrey smiled knowingly to herself.
Draco, however, was incredulous. And a tiny bit… alright, a lot happy.
Pansy and Blaise looked surprised as well, even though Harry had already said earlier that he was going to tell them. They didn't expect that Harry actually wanted to tell them though. After all, other than his Gryffindor sense of chivalry, Harry had no reason to.
Last night, Harry had only wanted to tell Draco. He told himself it was because Draco needed to know since he was putting himself on the line looking after Harry at Remus' request, and also because they were friends now. He wouldn't admit, though, that it really was because he liked seeing the look of good surprise and subtle joy on Draco's face whenever Harry would divulge to him something personal. Why Draco found anything about him interesting, Harry didn't know, but after that incident the other day, when he had broken his ankle and Draco had been unsure of pointing his wand at him as if Harry had all the reasons in the world to doubt him, Harry wanted to show him that he was worthy of being trusted.
Harry wouldn't admit that it was because he liked seeing Draco's face light up, but he could admit that it was because telling Draco was always so easy. So comforting, how the other could understand him so easily. And it was like Draco actually found him interesting. Him. Plain old Harry, not the Boy-Who-Lived.
Now though, he found that he also didn't mind telling Pansy and Blaise. Maybe because they were friends with Draco, or because they had fought with him against Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts. It may even be because that's what playing a life-or-death chess game together does to you.
Nevertheless, they also had the right to know, and he was sure that Ron and Hermione shared the same sentiment, since they had done and said nothing in protest and only nodded agreeably.
"Well," Professor McGonagall said. A small smile was on her lips, but she remained alert and stiff, not forgetting the gravity of the situation. "Go on then."
"I was on my way to the infirmary, but when I reached the top of the third floor staircase, the floor just suddenly opened up," Harry continued thoughtfully, remembering. "I was sliding, I think. It may have been a pipe, but it was a rather long way down. At the bottom was the room where the…" he paused, hesitating, not knowing how the professors would react. "Where the Philosopher's Stone was hidden."
McGonagall's eyes widened. Snape tried to keep his expression impassive.
"I'm not sure how long I sat there, before Ron fell on me," Harry continued wryly.
Ron looked sheepish.
"Ron and I became worried when Harry didn't return," Hermione said, picking up the story. "We went to the infirmary, but only found Draco, Pansy, and Blaise."
The deliberate use of their first names was not lost on the ones mentioned, and Pansy beamed.
"Harry had already mentioned falling through traps to us before, but it seemed that he told Draco a lot more than he did us," Hermione said purposefully but as nonchalantly as she could.
Draco whipped his head to look at Harry in shock, but Harry simply looked at the floor, face burning.
Pansy grinned at Hermione. Oh, you little devil, she thought wickedly.
"Ah, yes, I've heard of your… relationship," McGonagall nodded thoughtfully, eyebrow raised. "I cannot say I was very surprised, though it's nice to have it confirmed," she said wryly, seemingly oblivious to the knowing grins that Hermione, Pansy, Blaise and Ron shared. If McGonagall knew the truth, then she gave no signs to show it.
Snape had fingers pressing on his temple, and he looked pained.
If possible, Harry's face turned an even darker shade of red.
"Professor -" he started with great difficulty, his voice strangled. "Draco and I aren't -"
"Ah, my leg!" Ron yelled loudly.
Madame Pomfrey shot him a dry look for the fake injury, but an amused expression at his interruption.
Harry suddenly realized his losing battle.
Taking pity on him, Hermione continued the story. "However, we still had no leads on Harry's whereabouts, until Penny burst in. She told us she had followed Harry when he went out of the Great Hall and saw where he had fallen."
One look at Harry told all of them that he knew nothing of this.
"We're not sure why, but when Draco stood on it, it opened and he fell. All of us jumped in after, and I told Penny to get Professor Snape. To get out of there, we had to pass through the chambers that once guarded the Stone," Hermione said, knowing that the professors would understand her immediately. She then smiled wryly at McGonagall. "It was actually your trap, Professor, which got us into this rumpled state."
"I do my job well," McGonagall said, but her voice was stiff and she frowned at them gravely. "You should know how fortunate you are to have survived that," she murmured, a bit shakily as she looked at the Slytherins. Then, she turned to the Gryffindors. "Twice."
Her eyebrows were knitted closely together in worry, and her lips pursed. She took a moment to gather herself, before speaking in a serious voice. "You must know how serious this is," she said. "As such, I expect that none of this will leave this room. Can I trust you all on that?"
The students all nodded.
"Mister Potter - Harry," McGonagall continued, her voice going considerably soft as she turned to Harry. "I suspect Professor Lupin's already spared words for you so I'll save you the added trouble, but forgive me when I say that I commend him and Madame Pomfrey for suggesting that you start sleeping in the Hospital Wing for your own safety. I believe you're less than thrilled, but this is a very dangerous situation."
Here, she turned her eyes to Professor Snape and Madame Pomfrey.
"We may have a traitor in our midst."
Chapter 13