herumtreiber

Title: Unusual ending - chapter 17 - 1
Chapter: seventeen
Author:

herumtreiber
Genre: Slash, time travel, romance, adventure
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or related characters. Nor do I make any money from the writing of these stories.
Rating: R
Warnings: Sexual content
Epilogue compliant? No way!
Chapter length: 2444 words
Beta: None.
Summary: Old meets new. Harry walks all over Draco's heart, and when he realizes his mistakes he does the unforgivable so Draco takes him back. Time travel. During HBP, disregards Deathly Hallows - that means everyone's alive, except Sirius, but...

Table of contents

This orb of majesty - 2/2

If Harry and Draco thought that returning to Hogwarts meant they could go to their beds at once, they were sadly mistaken.

After he came through the Floo to the Headmaster's office, Harry looked towards the windows and noticed a beautiful dawn breaking out over the Black Lake; it reflected his buoyant mood when he saw Draco return after Bellatrix' deadly attack. Harry passed a hand through his unruly mop, noticing with distaste the slimy feel of blood and ashes. Truly the battle had wreaked havoc with his hair – or maybe Draco was rubbing off on him.

Harry yawned, after all, the night had been rough and hard - the battle with the Death Eaters exhausting and chaotic. All his nervous energy after the battle suddenly appeared to drain out of him, and he yearned to lie down on his bed, preferably near his blond boyfriend.

Harry put his hand on Draco's shoulder and lent towards him; he felt an urgent need to feel Draco's body, see him scowling and smirking – after Lestrange's attack, he just needed Draco near him.

Harry whispered in Draco's ear, "Let's go to the Room of Requirement, I'm busted." Harry yawned again.

Draco whispered back, "Deal." And then he broke into a wide yawn.

Whilst the Slytherin waved goodbye to Blaise and Pansy, Harry nodded curtly to Ron and Hermione.

The Seekers were making their way out of the office when Dumbledore's tired voice stopped them. "We need to discuss what happened tonight, my boys."

Pansy glared at the oblivious Headmaster – didn't the old coot see how tired they all were? It's not every night one faces the Death Eater hordes and lives to tell the tale. She whispered imperiously to Blaise, "Go and fetch Madam Pomfrey."

Blaise crossed his arms and glared at the stubborn girl, growling, "'M tired, Pans!"

Pansy elbowed him sharply and replied primly, "Poppy is our secret weapon, in case Dumbledore insists on debriefing everyone today. Now go, git!"

Meanwhile, George was protesting vehemently. He pointed at his twin's bandages. "But Headmaster, that's insane! Fred needs to have his ear attended to!"

Albus Dumbledore just sat back on his ornate chair and looked at them indulgently, his eyes sparkling as usual. "We have to discuss what happened tonight while it's still fresh on your minds. It's imperative that we do so."

McGonagall shook her head in disbelief. Why Albus insisted on interrogating the students at this moment, she didn't know, they all looked very tired. Ron and Fred Weasley were hurt, as was Parkinson.

McGonagall was ready to express her doubts when the Floo roared to life. The enormous figure of Hagrid appeared in the room, followed an instant later by Alastor Moody.

Whilst he was shaking the ash off his tunic, Moody's magical eye whirled and settled suspiciously on the students.

Hagrid walked to Harry and Draco, beaming at his favourite student and his boyfriend. The Slytherin had gained Hagrid's trust by protecting Harry from the strange black cloud emanating from Voldemort's dead body.

The half-giant looked at the students and frowned. They looked as whipped as Fang after a trying day.

"What are ye lot doing here?" Hagrid made shooing motions with his huge hands, nearly hitting Draco's head. "Scoot! You should be in your beds!"

Dumbledore fingered his beard and looked at Hagrid from beneath his spectacles. "I fear they have to answer some questions first, Hagrid."

Moody growled, "You should be the one to answer questions, Albus!"

His magical eye whirling madly in his anger, Moody took out his hip flask and drank a swig of firewhiskey to calm his nerves. "Like how in hell did you think immobilising Harry in the middle of the battle was a good idea?"

McGonagall looked sharply at Moody. "What exactly do you mean, Alastor?"

Moody limped towards the desk and swept some parchments off it before sitting down. He pointed at Dumbledore with his left hand. "Albus here immobilised Harry just when the boy was about to finish You-Know-Who. That's why I hexed him."

Mad-Eye glared at the flustered Head of Gryffindor, "You know, Minerva - just before you disarmed me!"

Moody looked imperiously at the students, "What are you doing here?" He pointed to the door with his silver flask, glinting in the soft morning light. "Get some shut eye. Merlin knows you deserve it!"

Draco and Harry exchanged a relieved glance and scurried towards the door. But before they could make their escape the door opened, revealing Madam Pomfrey, a yawning Blaise some steps behind her.

Pomfrey's white dimple shined brightly in the morning light as she walked slowly into the room. Poppy's stately progress reminded Draco of the topsail of the Durmstrang ship as it sailed on the Black Lake, carrying the students to the Triwizard tournament.

The formidable nurse frowned at the students - Fred with his bandage which had slipped again, Ron with his sleeves showing traces of blood, Pansy who grimaced in pain and Draco's pallor, unusual even for him.

Poppy pointed accusingly at them. "You all will come with me to the Infirmary at once!"

Recognising that Pomfrey's glare meant they could not get out of going to the Infirmary. Harry sighed and made his way to the door, holding Draco's hand. They were followed by a disgruntled Fred – Ron and the other students behind him.

Severus arrived when the students were going out. The Potions Master tried to slip away undetected, but Pomfrey noticed that his cheek was bleeding. She scowled at him and motioned to the door.

Severus glared at the woman and went to the exit. Before Poppy could catch him, he'd slipped away to the dungeons. He had a salve that would heal the wound. After all, Severus frequently sustained some kind of injury during his spying duties.

Snape walked down the marble stairs, his robes billowing behind him. If a portrait dared to look questioningly at the Potion's Master, his glare soon had them scurrying away, like that impertinent knight who looked like Don Quijote on steroids.

As the Head of Slytherin was leaving, Minerva McGonagall – her lips pressed into a thin line – muttered to Mad-Eye, "I owe you an apology, Alastor; your behaviour at Slytherin castle seemed quite suspicious-"

Hagrid shuffled his huge feet on the floor and tugged nervously his moleskin coat. It seemed quite strange that Albus Dumbledore, whom he knew to be the most powerful and sage wizard of the age, would do something as utterly stupid as immobilising Harry just when they were fighting the Death Eaters. Hagrid shook his head, thinking that perhaps Dumbledore should deal with innocuous creatures such as Aragog and Buckbeak to improve his empathy.

"-but it seems I was wrong and you were really protecting Harry," finished the Deputy Headmistress, turning to scowl at Dumbledore.

Fawkes started trilling calming notes, sensing that McGonagall was about to lose her composure, but Minerva dismissed the phoenix song from her mind. She looked sharply at the headmaster, twirling her wand and wishing she were in her office with a relaxing cup of tea. "And you, Albus. You'd better explain why you put Harry in such a precarious situation. Potter is - as you've said so many times before - your favourite pupil, and yet... this doesn't surprise me at all."

McGonagall sighed wearily. "After all, you put him up with the awful Dursleys, when I begged you not to."

Hagrid left the room, shaking his head and resolving to visit the students in the infirmary first thing after his class with the Second Years. As the door closed softly behind him, he could hear McGonagall's increasingly shrilly voice as she chastised the Headmaster.

"... I just don't understand you, Albus. Frankly, I'm beginning to think that you're just using Harry as a pawn in your supposedly brilliant chess strategy."

Ron and Draco started bickering on the way to the Infirmary.

"Malfoy, I don't see what Harry sees in you, you're despicable..."

"Well, you're an uncouth homophobe, Weasel!"

"And you dragged Harry into that battle."

"Harry just appeared! Wasn't expecting him nor wishing for him to be there," replied Draco, fingering his wand and weighing whether to curse the Weasel now or later.

Ron glared at the Slytherin and he was restrained from cursing him right there by Hermione's hand on his elbow. He continued, "You're just useless like..."

But Ron was interrupted by George, who punched his arm. "I wouldn't say that if I were you, Ronniekins. After all, it was Draco who saved our hides..."

Fred sidled next to Ron and jostled his elbow. "Yeah, it was Malfoy who avoided our getting killed and tortured by his crazy aunt Bellatrix."

The twins started relating their tale to a bewildered Ron as Hermione listened intently.

Pansy elbowed Blaise who was fiddling with his wand. "See, I told you this was Draco's plan!"

In the Infirmary, Poppy imperiously motioned for the students to lie down on the beds. Draco noticed that his elf champion, Kreacher, was on the bed next to the corner.

Narcissa stood up from the chair next to Tonks' bed. She walked gracefully towards her son, taking care not to wake up the sleeping DADA teacher who was sitting on the other chair.

It had been easy for Narcissa to counter the spell Bellatrix had used on their niece. The stubborn Metamorphmagus Auror wanted to check on the students until a discreet sleeping charm cast by Poppy made her sleep. Tonks was spending the day in the infirmary.

Narcissa ruffled her son's hair and hugged him, unmindful of the breach in Malfoy manners. This was her son, and she had almost lost him during the night. Draco inhaled his mother's perfume, reminding him of days spent securely in the Manor's garden, watching his mother take tea with the ladies and his father talking with the men.

When Narcissa noticed Draco yawning, she motioned for him to lie down on the bed, pretending not to notice his sleepy scowl.

As Draco lay down, he could hear Kreacher muttering, "Bloody dragon lady does not let go of Kreacher." When the old elf espied Dobby, who was standing behind Harry, he mumbled, "Kreacher can't get away from that bloody upstart elf."

Draco smiled tiredly when his mother helped him to take off his ruined robes. When Harry made to sit on the chair next to the bed, Draco smirked. "What are you doing here, Harry? Go on and grab some rest. I'll be fine."

"What happened with that old man?" said Harry, lifting an eyebrow inquiringly.

Draco yawned. "Tell you tomorrow, ok?"

Harry nodded and settled on the chair, crossing his arms. He rubbed his eyes – truly the battle had exhausted him. Though it was marvellous to think that Voldemort was gone.

The Seekers could hear the twins regaling the other students with the tale of their exploits and how they conquered the evil snake. Fred was pretending that he was Nagini, miming her sinuous movements – something that Parvati and Pansy were keenly observing.

When George started wrestling with Fred, they stumbled across the infirmary, jostling Cho's bed. The Ravenclaw Seeker was sleeping peacefully. Her bed was next to Tonks'.

The tired students watched this with sleepy gazes, interrupted now and then by their yawns – until Madam Pomfrey came back and glared at the twins, motioning for them to go to their beds.

When George tried to slip away from the room unnoticed, Pomfrey grabbed him by the sleeve of his pink robe and ordered him to lie down on the bed next to Fred's.

By that point Draco had succumbed to sleep. Harry stayed still for a few minutes, watching Draco's innocent slumber. The Slytherin looked like an elf prince just arrived from his realm. Draco's alabaster brow was unmarred, his dark eyelashes contrasted sharply with his porcelain skin, and he was the picture of innocence - belying the myriad plots Harry knew his Dragon was probably plotting, even if subconsciously.

Harry bent down and kissed Draco's forehead, murmuring, "Sleep well, sweet prince."

Harry sat down on his chair and yawned, wondering what a strange night this had turned out to be. He looked around and saw that Ron was sleeping next to Blaise. Parvati had left to look for her sister.

Harry's gaze slid towards the door and he noticed his former girlfriend Cho was sleeping soundly next to Tonks. Remus was on the chair next to his wife, holding her hand and trying to stay awake. Tonks' hair was brown, devoid of its usual colours.

Harry yawned once more and his eyelids, heavy with fatigue, kept closing more frequently until he fell asleep.

When Narcissa saw Harry nodding off, she took out her wand and with an experienced flick of her wrist she levitated the Gryffindor and laid him down on the bed next to Draco. She went to him and tucked him with the blanket, ruffling softly his unruly mop of hair and muttering, "Thanks."

A few minutes later Pomfrey walked by and examined each of her patients. Poppy touched gently Remus' shoulder and motioned for the bed on the other end of the aisle. When the DADA teacher tried to protest, a glare from Poppy shut him up. Shrugging, Remus stood up. Then he lied down on the bed and promptly fell asleep again.

Dobby smiled from the shadows and disappeared to the kitchens, ready to tell Winky about his adventures.

The secret pact - 2/2