Decorus Draco

Chapter 12 - Harry Potter Rescue Mission

Draco sat upright in his bed, sweat pouring down his forehead. He had awoken in his Cattus form and that was not good. Something was not right. Harry was in trouble.

Draco looked around for a robe to put over his pyjamas, and came across the cloak that Blaise had given him. He quickly draped the cloak around himself, picked up his wand and hurried down the corridors, as fast as he could on his clawed feet. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Let me in. Head Boy business."

The Fat Lady looked like she was about to protest, but taking one look at cat-Draco's anxious face was enough to squelch all protests.

Draco hurried into the Gryffindor Common Room, and for once in his life, was glad to see Granger sound asleep on the couch with a book on her lap.

Draco shook her arm roughly. "Wake up, Granger."

Granger tried to swat his hand away, mumbling, "I'm studying, Mum."

"Granger, you have to wake up," Draco repeated, shaking the sleeping girl's arm again.

Granger opened her eyes and frowned.

"Wha? Malfoy?"

Draco looked around to find a pitcher of water and splashed a handful of cold water on Granger, who spluttered and tried to sit up.

"Draco?" Granger squinted at Draco's furry face as her eyes glazed over.

"Listen to me, Granger. Where's Potter?"

"Harry? He's asleep in his dorm, I s'ppose. Did you come here to see me?"

"Granger, focus now. Are you sure Potter's up there? Can I go up and check?"

Granger sat up straight now. "Why? Is he in some kind of danger?"

"I hope not, but I have a bad feeling. Just tell me where the boys' dormitory is, and I'll go up and check on him."

Granger seemed to be fighting Draco's Decorus charms and regaining some sanity. She stood up swiftly and motioned Draco to follow her. The two of them walked towards the boys' dormitory, and Granger walked purposefully towards one of the beds, pulling the hangings aside.

"He's not here," she gasped. "Where is he?"

Granger hurried walked over to the next bed and shook the boy sleeping in there awake. A sleepy looking Weasley mumbled, "'ermione? Mmmm" and he moved to embrace her.

"Ron," Granger yelled, "Wake up, Harry's missing and Draco thinks he's in danger."

"Malfoy?" Weasley yelped, "Malfoy's here?"

"Yes, Weasley," said Draco, stepping up so that Weasley could see him.

Weasley promptly fell under the Decorus's charms, and got an idiotic smile on his face.

"Draco? Hi!" Weasley said, rather stupidly, and Draco rolled his eyes.

Granger gave Weasley a sharp jab in the ribs and Weasley yelped again.

"Wha'? What's happening?" Weasley muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Do you know where Potter is?" Draco asked, enunciating each word.

"Harry? He's sleeping." Weasley reached out a hand and stroked Draco's arm tenderly.

Draco roughly pushed Weasley's hand away, and focussed all his energy on minimizing his Decorus charms. "Weasley," Draco said, speaking slowly again, as if to a child. "Potter - Harry is not in his bed. Did he say anything to you about going anywhere?"

Weasley looked terribly confused now. "Harry's not there? Maybe he's in the loo or something?"

"Can you go and check?" Draco asked impatiently.

"Yeah, sure," Weasley said, stumbling out of the bed. He got back a moment later, looking rather worried. "There's nobody in there. Maybe he's gone for a walk?"

"The map!" Granger said suddenly, and Weasley's eyes widened. He walked over to a trunk by Harry's empty bed, and muttered a charm. The trunk sprung open. Weasley rummaged through it, and finally took out what looked like an old folded parchment. He walked over to the table, took out his wand, tapped the parchment and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

To Draco's surprise, writing began to appear on the parchment. It seemed to be a map of some sort. He peered over Weasley's shoulder. Granger was already next to Weasley, poring over the map.

Draco noticed that the map contained the names of various people at Hogwarts; he traced the map back to the Gryffindor Boys' dormitory, and saw his name in floating script along with the names of the other Gryffindors. After a few minutes of going over the map, Granger let out a frustrated sigh.

"I don't see him anywhere on here. Harry's not at Hogwarts!"

Draco looked at the two of them with growing apprehension. Harry was in danger, he just knew it. Draco ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of where Harry could be. 'The shirt,' he thought suddenly. 'Maybe Harry was wearing the shirt?'

Draco lifted his wand, and said, 'Locus Ostendo.' He closed his eyes, and felt a pull. He followed the pull, it led him to the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room. He imagined he heard Harry's voice whisper the words, 'Malfoy Manor.' Draco opened his eyes to find Granger and Weasley right behind him, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"I put the Locus charm on a t-shirt I gave him," he explained. "I suppose he was wearing it tonight. Shit! Harry's at Malfoy Manor. Oh God! He's at my house!"

"But..." Weasley began. "Your family knows about you and him, right? Surely they won't do anything to him."

Draco looked at Weasley and wondered if the boy had finally lost his marbles. "Weasley, do you know whom my father works for?"

Granger's eyes opened wide at that, and Weasley's face turned a shocking red.

"I'm going back to my dormitory, I have a portkey that will take me straight to my room at home. You - go to Professor Snape and tell him what happened."

Granger immediately burst out, "You cannot go after him, Draco. It's too dangerous. That's exactly what happened when Harry got the dream about... It could be a trap, let's just go to the headmaster.

Draco, who was feeling increasingly anxious, now released the hold he had put on his Decorus charms. He flashed a glowing smile at Granger and Weasley, and purred, "I'm going to go get Harry. The two of you will not stop me, will you? After I'm gone, you can go to the headmaster and get some help. Is that alright?"

Granger and Weasley smiled stupidly at Draco and nodded.

Draco turned to the two of them, and said, "Go to Professor Snape and tell him what's happened. He'll know what to do. You can go to the headmaster after that."

"Yes, Draco."

"Of course, Draco."

"Anything else Draco?"

Draco rolled his eyes as he rushed back to his own dormitory to get the portkey that would take him to Harry.

~~~~~

Ron and Hermione stared at the doorway through which Draco had left a few minutes ago, slowly coming out of the Decorus's spell.

Hermione shook her head, trying to clear the lusty thoughts that had been occupying her brain for the last few minutes. She turned to Ron with wide eyes.

"Harry...Harry's at Malfoy Manor. And Draco's gone after him alone!"

"We have to go after them," Ron said, starting towards the door.

Hermione grabbed the back of Ron's pyjama top and yanked Ron back. "Does anybody at this school have any common sense?" she yelled. "First Draco and now you. We are not going after them without back up. We are going to do what Draco said. We'll go to Snape first, and then to Dumbledore. We'll need their help to get Harry back."

Ron nodded, and the two of them hurried towards the dungeons to talk to their least favourite professor.

~~~~~

Draco ran back to his room, and opened his trunk. He rummaged through it till he found the elegant crystal falcon that would portkey him home on activation. Draco grasped the little statue and said the words to activate the portkey, and felt the familiar tug at his navel as his feet left the ground. When his feet hit firm ground again, Draco ran out of his bedroom, moving towards the pull he felt in his mind. He stopped short when he reached the main living room. His heart dropped at what he saw.

A man with a long face and thin, snake like eyes sat in a plush golden armchair. He was draped in a bright golden and purple robe, and wore jewel studded rings on eight of his ten fingers. Three black robed figures stood in front of him, their eyes turned towards Draco.

The man in the armchair, whom Draco guessed could only be Lord Voldemort, looked at Draco with a sinister smile.

"Why, if it isn't the son of my prettiest follower. Welcome home, Draco, we've been waiting for you."

Draco took a couple of steps forward and looked around the room. There was no sign of Harry.

"Looking for something, pretty one?" Voldemort asked, and Draco was disgusted to see a trace of lust in the man's eyes as he looked Draco over.

"Where is he?" Draco ground out.

Voldemort laughed. "Your little friend is quite okay at the moment. I'm actually surprised you found him so quickly. Do you have some sort of a telepathic connection with your boyfriend?"

Draco scowled at mention of Harry's name by the evil creature in front of him. He could feel through the tracking charm that the Gryffindor was nearby. He looked towards the open doorway that he felt the pull coming from. Draco had taken just two steps towards the door before he was hit by a spell. Draco felt the cloak tighten around him protecting him from the full impact of the spell, but still fell to the ground as an unbelievable pain darted through him.

Draco closed his eyes and focussed on one thought; he had to get to Harry. He had to get to Harry and save him. He felt the energy in the air around him and he drew it into himself. He opened his eyes and pointed both hands outwards. A blindingly bright light filled the room, and when it faded, Draco saw that Voldemort and the Death Eaters had been knocked out cold.

Draco struggled to his feet and walked towards the doorway beyond which he knew Harry was being held. Draco closed his eyes and followed the tug at his mind. He took several turns and felt the pull of the tracking charm growing stronger. He opened his eyes only when he heard Harry's broken "Draco!"

Draco felt his heart break looking at Harry's condition. His Harry, the brave, proud boy that he...that he felt...things about, was looking at him with swollen, red eyes. Harry was chained to a wall in the dungeon, and seemed unharmed, but the look in his eyes belied that assumption.

"Draco," Harry whispered again, his voice hoarse.

Draco walked quickly towards Harry, and moved to remove the shackles that bound the Gryffindor.

"No," Harry rasped out.

Not understanding, Draco grasped Harry's wrist, only to jump back with a shout. He looked at his fingers, which had been burnt.

"A potion," Harry said weakly. "It hurts, Draco."

Draco clenched his fists together, ignoring the fact that his claws dug into the furry skin of his palms.

"What does the potion do?"

"It burns. He...Voldemort said it would burn me from the inside. He said it would be a matter of hours. I'm sorry, Draco. It was all a ruse to get you, Voldemort wants you to join him because of your Decorus charms. There's nothing you can do for me, now. Just...try and escape. It will all be over soon. Please, Draco, just leave. Promise me you won't join him to save me."

"The Incendus potion," Draco muttered, almost to himself. He remembered his father teaching him how to brew the potion. Draco thought hard, trying to remember what his father had said about the potion. It came to him a few seconds later. The Incendus potion was one of the ways of killing a person and ensuring that they could never come back in any form. It burned a person from the inside, and destroyed the body, mind and soul, and left only nothingness. The Incendus potion had to be brewed along with its antidote, the Agua potion. The potion was most effective when the brewer carried the antidote on his person.

"Harry," Draco said urgently. "Do you...did he by any chance tell you who brewed the potion?" It was a long shot, but from what Draco had heard about the Dark Lord, he tended to brag about his plans.

"He...he said he brewed it himself," Harry said, his voice still raspy. "He said it was a present for all the...all the trouble I've caused him."

"Okay, okay," said Draco, thinking fast. The Incendus potion normally took a few hours to work, but he didn't have any idea how long Harry had been here. So time was of the essence. "I'll be right back," Draco told Harry, hurrying back out of the room.

Draco retraced his steps and found himself in the room he had first entered. The Death Eaters were still knocked out cold, but Voldemort was stirring.

Draco walked to the snake like creature, and put his wand to Voldemort's throat.

"Give me the antidote," he hissed.

Voldmort only laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "Gladly, young Malfoy. All I want in exchange for it is your word that you will join me. Your precious Potter will live, and you and I will merge our powers. Come, Draco, surely you can understand what we can do together. You have powers beyond your comprehension, and I have an army of minions willing to do my every bidding. Together we can take over the world. Harry Potter lives, for now, and you and I become unbeatable - everybody wins."

"I'll never join you," Draco hissed. "You're the most evil, despicable creature I've ever seen, and joining you would mean fighting against Harry, which I would never even consider."

Voldemort laughed, a cold metallic sound that chilled Draco's blood. "What's better, Draco, your boyfriend dying now, or him having a chance on the battlefield against us? If you please me enough, I might spare his life completely. How can you refuse such a generous offer, pretty one?"

Draco felt his emotions taking over the rational part of his brain, and all he felt was anger and desperation. He made to move towards the Dark Lord, but Voldemort was quicker. The Dark Lord lifted his wand and cast a Crucio on Draco, but with the cloak protecting him, all the curse did was make Draco stagger a bit.

Draco pointed his wand towards Voldemort, and without a spell being cast, Voldemort's wand came flying towards him.

Draco's voice was low and threatening now. "You will tell me where the antidote is now."

"Never," Voldemort rasped, clutching his throat as if in pain. Draco squeezed his hands together and Voldemort gasped for air, tugging at his own throat, even through Draco was several feet away from him.

"Where is it?" Draco asked again. Voldemort reached out a clawed hand towards Draco and tried to cast a spell on him, but Draco squeezed his hands tighter, and Voldemort fell unconscious again.

"Damn you!" Draco yelled, and a couple of bulbs in the room burst into smithereens. Draco took deep breaths and tried to calm himself. He couldn't think very logically in his Decorus form, and his worry for Harry was making him even more unreasonable.

"Got to get the antidote," he muttered to himself, and knelt down on the floor next to Voldemort. He checked all the outer pockets of the Dark Lord's robe, but couldn't find the antidote. In frustration, Draco threw the robes off, and began checking the clothes underneath. With growing disgust, Draco patted the unconscious Voldemort down, finally finding a small vial secretly locked away in the Death Eater leader's underwear.

"Ewwwwwwwwwww!" said Draco, taking the vial out, and muttering ten different cleansing spells on his hand as well as the vial. He then took the vial and ran towards the dungeon that Harry was in. No sooner had he entered the dungeon when he felt a sharp pain in his right arm, and found that a small arrow had lodged in it. Draco's legs gave way under him, and he collapsed to the ground, cradling the vial in his hands. A few feet away from him, Harry stood chained, his head bowed in defeat. Draco tried to get the vial to Harry, but the pain was killing him, and in his already befuddled state, nothing made sense. Instinctively, he turned towards Harry, and muttered 'Here's the antidote, Harry. Adjungo Potentia.'

~~~~~

Harry's head jerked up as a bright blue light shot from Draco's hand into Harry's chest. Harry felt the most tremendous surge of energy he had ever felt in his life, and the shackles that had bound him burst open. Harry tried to control all the energy flowing through him, but found it extremely difficult. The walls surrounding them started to tremble as waves of power radiated off Harry. The ceiling rumbled and a couple of stones fell from it, along with a lot of dust.

Harry walked shakily towards Draco, who was lying motionless on the ground, still grasping the little vial. Harry reached forward to take the vial from Draco's hands, but seeing Draco's fingers turn red as he touched them, he withdrew. He cast a Wingardium Leviosa and levitated the vial towards himself, drinking the contents in a couple of quick gulps. As soon as the antidote touched his lips, Harry felt its cooling power seeping through him. Harry reached forward and touched Draco's hand, and was happy to see that his touch did not burn Draco anymore.

Willing himself to concentrate, Harry now focused his energy on the only healing spell he knew. A pale pink cloud enveloped Draco, but the Decorus did not move. Harry sank to his knees, and sobbed, hearing the walls around them crumble and fall. As he kneeled beside Draco, Harry felt the borrowed power leaving him. Harry lifted Draco's head and put it on his lap, and cradled the unconscious Decorus against his body. Draco's breathing continued getting shallower and shallower. Harry felt his own energy drain away as his body gave in to the weakness and he collapsed on top of Draco. The last thing Harry remembered was a loud crash as most of the ceiling gave way, and two blond flashes storming through the doorway.

~~~~~