Meant to Be

Fourth Chapter

Draco Dormiens...

*

Harry stared in shock at the large, stony eye that was staring at him. After a moment, he managed to regain his senses. "Dumbledore," he said coolly. "I should have known."

"Yes, you should," the dragon agreed, a smirk on his lips. "Unfortunately, you didn't. Unfortunately for you, that is," he then added, his smirk getting even broader. "If it is any consolation to you, I'll tell you that forgetting it was the last mistake you ever did." Now, he bared his fangs.

"Oh?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrow. He most certainly wouldn't be scared that easily. "How come?"

"I'm going to make sure about that." The dragon shook himself, then stood up on his four feet. He was larger than any natural dragon, and definitely more threatening. "You are going to die, Harry, my boy. You should be happy, you know. After all, now you will at last meet your parents and dear godfather."

"We'll see about that." Harry swiftly jumped off the creature's back. Azkaban had left him in quite a bad fit, but ever since being finally freed he'd worked on getting back in condition -- not that he'd had much of anything else to do. Now those hours upon hours of hard work truly paid off. He hadn't really expected to have to fight with anybody anymore, but he was glad he hadn't still given up his exercise.

Despite its size, the dragon was unfortunately also very fast. Harry was having a hard time trying to dodge all its attacks, but he did manage to get in a few hits himself. The students and teachers had all been frozen at some point by some spell of the dragon, only Harry and his companions being left mobile. Of course, Snape didn't understand much, concentrating on just being frightened and cowering behind Moony, who did his best to protect the Slytherin. Lucius, who had turned back into a human when he noticed that their audience wasn't capable of seeing what actually happened, probably could have helped Harry if not for his magic being tracked by the Ministry. So, the blond was all the time on guard, indeed ready to use his wand as a last resort if they were discovered by the Aurors anyway.

Now, Harry wasn't feeling as self-confident anymore, though. He'd come to notice that the dragon was a tough opponent. There was no question about just why Voldemort had feared this wizard. Even Harry, who had slain Voldemort in the end, had a hard time just keeping himself from being torn apart.

However, he was slowly getting exhausted, and yet the dragon wasn't showing any signs of fatigue. Trying to dodge one of his attacks, Harry stumbled a bit, mostly because he was indeed exhausted. Now, Lucius stepped forward to join him in the battle despite anything else, but the dragon growled fiercely.

"This is our duel, you fool," the dragon said. And then, almost carelessly, it struck Lucius with one of its enormous paws instead of using magic. The long claws dug into flesh, tearing the man's thigh.

"Lucius!" Harry cried out. However, he could not go to his friend's aid -- yes, he nowadays considered Lucius a friend -- being too involved in his duel with Dumbledore the dragon. Things definitely weren't going his way at the moment. He could duel, yes, but his years in Azkaban had dulled his skills.

Suddenly he heard a short exclamation from Snape and a deep growl. Then a ball of golden fur rushed past him, sinking its teeth into the dragon's paw. The huge beast growled, too, then swiped with its paw, throwing the wolf into a large rock nearby. Blood seeped from one of the wolf's legs as one of the dragon's claws had cut into it, leaving a large wound. Now Moony just lay there, whimpering in pain.

"Moony!" shouted Snape with his childlike voice, and at the same time, another voice echoed from his mouth, "Remus!" That other voice was a more mature one, the voice of a man who had suffered more than anybody should have. It was also a voice Harry knew all too well. Snape's true voice.

"Ah, so you decided to finally wake up, too," the dragon laughed maliciously. "So wonderful to see you coming back to us again, Snape. This world certainly needs your wit and sharp tongue." Then, his eyes narrowed as he smirked evilly. "Too bad that you can't spread that blessing for long."

"That we will see," said the darkhaired man, moving to stand between the injured wolf and the threatening monster. "You betrayed me once, Dumbledore. I will not let you do that again."

The dragon laughed again. "I'd like to see you stopping me," he said with a nasty grin. "I'll tell you something. I am going to kill you, and Potter, and Lupin. And yes, then I will kill Malfoy, too." Nodding towards the frozen people, he added, "They will remember none of that. Everything they'll know is that a dangerous murderer tried to threaten the kids and that Dumbledore's spirit slew him. My reputation and fame will grow even more, and Hogwarts and its inhabitants will once again rely on my protection."

"A nice plan, indeed," spat Snape, fixing him a cold glare. "Worth of a Slytherin, really -- but then again, you were in Slytherin, weren't you?" Seeing the dragon flinch, he smirked. "Oh, yes, I do know about it. You were in Slytherin, because you were the Heir of Slytherin! You thought that nobody would find out, but I did. And I know, Dumbledore. I know just how evil and rotten you are."

"Evil, maybe," the dragon admitted. "However, rotten I am not. Rotten is what you will be once your lifeless corpse has lain under the ground for some time!" And with that, he suddenly attacked.

Or, at least, tried to attack. To his great shock the dragon found himself stopped by something invisible in the air. Snape, who now had his hand raised as if that had stopped him, shook his head slowly.

"You shouldn't have taught me anything," he hissed. "Most of all, you shouldn't have taught me that wands are in fact unnecessary. I never let you know that I'd mastered that skill, but I did learn it, and I learnt it from you. Your pupil number one, that I was, in good and bad alike -- and now, you will pay for it."

Something flickered in the dragon's eyes, something not completely unlike nervousness or even fear. Then, however, he just roared, raised his head once again and attacked. And, once again, it was stopped.

Frustrated, the dragon tried another attack, only to be yet again stopped by the invisible force. Those opposing it all smirked triumphantly, except for Snape, whose expression was pure ice. "Lucius!" the darkhaired man bellowed. "Lend me some of your power!" Even though Harry couldn't see anything, of course, he guessed that Snape opened some kind of a contact between Lucius and himself. The man was, after all, a master of Legilimency as well as Occlumency; he most certainly could do that.

Lucius gave his power, and gave it gladly, knowing that this was the closest connection he would ever have to the man he loved. Snape took it all, mixed it with his own magic, collecting all the pent-up hatred, anger, longing and pain of all his lonely years and formed it into raw power to add to Lucius' energy. Then, just as the dragon was about to strike, he raised his hand. The hand was bathing in the glow of pure magic.

"Avada Kedarva," said a voice, quiet but still very audible in the suddenly fallen silence. Nobody seemed to be able to move as all that power was gathered and melded into a jet of emerald green light that flew right at the dragon's chest. The mighty creature roared once, twice, and then fell to the ground with a huge crash, its last desperate, frustrated howl echoing around the grounds of the ancient school. And, under their staring eyes, the dragon twitched, then transformed, leaving the corpse of an old wizard behind.

For a moment, it was completely silent. Then Snape merely shrugged as if the whole thing hadn't touched him at all. "So that's all he was ever worth," he said disdainfully. And then, he collapsed.

Lucius was by the fallen man's side before Harry could even stand up from where the power of Snape's curse had thrown him. As the bespectacled man hurried nearer, however, the blond looked up at him, looking relieved. "He's fine," he said, "just exhausted after that blast. There's nothing wrong with him, at least nothing that a good night's sleep and a couple of potions couldn't fix."

"Well, that's good," Harry said with a relieved sigh. Then he glanced around. "Where's Moony, anyway?" he asked, frowning, as he didn't see the injured wolf anywhere. "He couldn't have walked with that leg!"

"He's right over there," Lucius said calmly, pointing. Harry flushed with embarrassment as he saw the wolf right where he had first glanced to. "I think we need to get both him and Snape away from here now, though. Our audience might be too stunned to act right now, but soon enough they'll be calling Aurors."

Harry simply nodded, knowing that Lucius was right. "Let's go."

*

"Is it true?" asked Harry curiously, his eyes fixed on Snape, who was sitting on a couch. "That Dumbledore was the Heir of Slytherin? Because, you know, I thought that was Riddle."

"It is indeed true," Snape told him quietly. "Riddle was also the Heir of Slytherin, but the last one. Dumbledore was his cousin, born before him. Just like Voldemort, Dumbledore wanted power -- he just realized that those loyal for love are more trustable than those loyal for fear. Grindewald he destroyed because he didn't want anybody to challenge him, as well as because he had to found his own position as the beloved leader. When Voldemort showed up, he realized that he couldn't win the other Heir alone. So, he got you, the perfect soldier -- his pawn in the War. And, after you had destroyed Voldemort, you were useless. To avoid you getting the fame and power that belonged to him, he then decided to get rid of you."

"I understand." Harry nodded slowly. Then his eyes drifted to another form sitting in the opposite armchair. "You know," he commented lightly, "I've truly missed seeing him -- the real him."

"You're not the only one." A brief smile crossed Snape's lips as he, too, watched Remus' sleeping form. Soon after they had returned home the last drifts of Dumbledore's curse had vanished and he had turned back into a human. He was now wearing one of Lucius' robes, which was too large for him, but at least it concealed his injuries, which had already begun to heal with Snape's careful treatment.

"What is the date, anyway?" asked Snape now, frowning slightly. "I seem to have forgotten."

Lucius, who was sitting in another armchair, immediately told him the date -- even the year, which was quite reasonable, considering that the other Slytherin had been quite out of it for several years now. The Potions Master nodded briefly, but then frowned. "It seems I have forgotten something else, too," he muttered. "I'm sure it is something important -- something I absolutely should remember."

"I'm sure it will come to you in time," Lucius said confidently. "It is, after all, quite understandable that you are rather out of sorts. You haven't been exactly in your best condition these past years."

"Too true," muttered Snape, shaking his head. "Well, at least Remus is safe now," he then said, glancing again at the werewolf. "Of that, I am glad." A brief smile crossed his lips.

Harry saw some strange expression cross over Lucius' features. Then the blond rose from his chair. "I believe I'm going to go to get a book from the library," he said politely. "If you'll excuse me."

"I'd like to come with you," Harry said quickly. He wanted to cheer Lucius up a bit. Even though Remus' human presence was a blessing to Severus, to the other Slytherin it must have been pure torture. After all, seeing the man you love pining after somebody else was definitely not something you wanted to experience.

They both headed towards the staircase. Yes, a staircase -- previously the cottage had been larger from the inside than from the outside, yes, but after the mental revival of its true owner, it had gotten enormous. So, it now had another floor, and in the second floor there was a library.

Harry started to say something, but then closed his mouth. Actually he did not know what to say. So, he just watched as the blond headed for the shelves. On his way to the particular book he wanted Lucius glanced out of the only window of the library -- a tiny thing, not enough for even a child to get through. And at that moment, he froze. "Damn," he cursed, staring at the quickly darkening night sky. "Now I know what Severus forgot!" Harry might have asked what he meant, of course, if not for the following events.

They heard Severus shouting something, but they couldn't make out the words. Now, Lucius looked very pale. As Harry asked him what was wrong, the blond shook his head, looking shocked.

"It's Remus. Severus forgot the full moon," said Lucius hurriedly. "Either the transformation so soon after turning back into a human tears Lupin apart... or he will tear us apart. Whatever, this will not end well."

Harry's eyes widened as he heard sounds from the staircase, knowing that they would not have time to escape, especially as the room only had one door, leading right to the approaching wolf. He saw the door being pushed open mere seconds later. Now the werewolf must be coming. He was surprised and startled, though, when Lucius suddenly transformed into a snake, and, not escaping like could have been expected, took a protective pose in front of him. As an animal the Slytherin would have been safe, but if he started to fight with the werewolf, he would inevitably be hurt, too -- even bitten. Was he really ready to take that kind of a risk -- and just for Harry? It was almost absurd.

Now, the door was opened wholly. To their great surprise they didn't see a raging werewolf, but instead Snape, looking actually quite healthy and actually pleased. Now, if this wasn't weird...

"What happened?" Lucius asked, frowning. "I just noticed that it's the full moon, and then heard you shouting... What on Earth happened with you and Remus? I demand some explanations!"

"He didn't transform," replied Snape. "He didn't transform into a wolf -- and it is a full moon, yes. I just remembered it -- I knew it because I have memorized all full moon dates for several years to come."

"Typical," muttered Harry. Then, seeing Remus indeed appearing in the doorway behind Snape, he added, "And I, with my poor muffled Gryffindor mind, would very much like an explanation, as well."

"Believe me, if I could explain it, I would," Remus said with an almost nervous chuckle. "However, I can't. I woke up, feeling a bit strange, and just then Severus looked out of the window and saw the full moon rising. You can only imagine my surprise when nothing actually happened."

"And what are you doing up here, if I may ask?" snapped Snape. "Transformed or not transformed, you are still injured. You'll never recover if you insist on running to and fro at every opportunity! I really can't turn my back on you for a second, can I?" He then ushered the now very amused man back downstairs.

"It is quite logical in the end," Lucius said thoughtfully. "He has been in the wolf form for so long that his body has used all its wolf energy. If we assume that the time he spent as a wolf is strictly equivalent to the full moons, I don't really think he'll live long enough to ever transform again."

"A werewolf who never transforms," Harry concluded. "Is he still a werewolf in the end?"

"Well..." the blond man shrugged. "Let's just hope he doesn't bite Severus too often, right?"

At that, Harry laughed a bit nervously. With Lucius you never knew when he was being serious.