A Swashbuckling Romance

Chapter Four: After You

“Ye wanna know what me an’ Ron were gonna do with our share o’ the treasure?” Harry asked quietly, staring at his weathered hands that were folded in his lap. He and Malfoy sat side by side, their respective maps laying on the sand between them, the tide rushing forward then stopping just short a few feet from them before retreating.

“Knowing you, it probably involves blood, pork, and sodomy.”

Harry laughed, a harsh barking sound. “Oh, but ye don’t know me.”

“Well then, enlighten me.”

Harry didn’t respond at length. Malfoy stopped tracing patterns into the sand and peered over at him as he gazed wistfully at the horizon. He cleared his throat.

Green eyes blinked over at him. “Aye, sorry, mate.” Harry took his map and fingered the worn edges. “We were gonna… retire.” He laughed again. “To America. New Orleans, it was. Find us a smarmy parrot to entertain us. Drink whiskey an’ rum an’ keep inside, away from sea air an’ the salty fiends we’d been livin’ as. Keep inside an’…” Malfoy cleared his throat again. Harry stopped that particular train of thought. “Aye, aye… Anyway, that was our grand idear.”

“I see. And why retire? What’s wrong with being a pirate?”

“I reckoned once I’d claimed what Voldemort lusted aft’ I could finally settle down. But as ye can undoubtedly see, me dear’eart Ron’s dead an’ I’m stuck sharin’ the lot with a damnable scurvy bilge-dog. New Orleans, me sodomized arse!”

“I thought we were over this, Potter!” protested Malfoy, faking an insulted air. “Clearly, I have been hoodwinked.”

Harry’s teeth flashed as he smiled. “An’ what were yer plans?”

“Sail off into the sunset in triumph?” Malfoy shrugged, his humor fading. “Hoard it with the rest of my wealth, I suppose.”

“So this treasure means nothin’ to ye?”

“No, not really. Although I must admit that when I saw you were after the same thing, it did take on some importance to me.”

“Ah, the rivalry,” said Harry fondly. “Remember Auld Jack’s Cavern at Ocracoke?”

Malfoy grunted and rubbed his face roughly with his hands. “Must I? That was a disaster!”

“I’d rather think ye’d be over that by now, bein’ as ‘twas five years ago.”

“Potter.” Malfoy cast a withering look toward Harry, who grinned wolfishly back at him. “Surely you don’t expect a man to get over being caught by his crew with his arms around his most irritating enemy?”

“Oy, it wasn’t that terrible. Ye didn’t ‘ave t’ be a fool like me an’ believe that’ toothless crone’s nonsense ‘bout magical treasure.”

“I was bored,” sniffed Malfoy. “Ocracoke’s very boring, you know.”

“Aye, tis. An’ that’s why we were both stinkin’ drunk that night.” Harry paused to thoughtfully rub his whiskered chin. “Well, Ron didn’t take too well to it, either.”

Malfoy visibly shuddered. “I don’t want to hear about it. Anyway. Right. Auld Jack’s Cavern I will forever remember.”

“O’ course! No one forgets the embrace of Harry Potter.”

“For Blackbeard’s sake, please. You forgot a bloody torch.”

“And ye didn’t?”

“Argh!” Malfoy’s knuckles turned white as his fingers curled tightly in the sand. “Let’s change the subject, shall we?”,p> “Righto, what to?”

“Say… why you chose a disgusting, unkempt beast such as Weasley for your lover?”

“Ye seem to think me a beast meself. Shouldn’t beasts stick together?”

“And a redhead to boot,” muttered Malfoy.

“A real beast in the sack.”

“To hell with you, Potter.”

Harry started humming a shanty under his breath, a smile still on his face. Malfoy continued to glower.

“Ye know,” Harry said after a few minutes, “We should do somethin’ about the pig.”

“Eh?”

“If we’re goin’ in search of this treasure now, we shouldn’t waste it.” Harry tucked his map into his pocket, briskly got to his feet, and wiped the sand off his breeches. Malfoy stood a moment later.

“What do you propose we do? We can’t very well eat the entire damn thing. I’m already becoming quite sick of it.”

“Er…ye’ll see.”

The two pirate captains set off across the beach in the direction of their camp.

“Would ye rather ‘ave me pick a great ‘andsome swab like you?” asked Harry suddenly.

“The thought horrifies me.”

“Aye, well…” Harry trailed off, picking carefully through a clump of drift wood on the beach.

Malfoy glanced at him quickly from the corner of his eye. “Hmph.”

******

“That hog of yours gives me the heebies,” said Malfoy, who remained at the edge of their camp clearing as Harry knelt next to the fire pit.

Harry snorted. “Well, it won’t be around much longer.” He pulled his dirk out from his boot and began cutting strips of meat off the boar.

“So what’s your plan?”

“Ye’ll see.” Harry kept cutting until he was satisfied with the amount of strips. He took them into his arms, stood, walked over to a nearby tree with low branches, and started to lay them out on a branch.

Malfoy came up behind Harry and peered over his shoulder at the meat.

“Now… where did I put that thing…” Harry stuffed his hands into his pockets and shuffled through their contents. His eyes lit up when he grasped what he wanted, and he pulled out his wand.

Malfoy made a soft accusatory noise from behind him.

“Sal Fumus Porcus,” stated Harry, loudly, pointing his wand at the strips. They were soon smoked, salted, and ready for travel.

“What! You... You used magic! You had me under the firm belief that pirates did not use magic.” Malfoy crossed his arms and glared at the back of Harry’s head.

Harry tucked his wand back into his pocket and turned around. “Would ye rather starve?”

“No… but… argh, back to smoked and salted meat? I thought I’d never have to lay my eyes on it again. Couldn’t we just transfigure some food into existence?”

Harry gave him an incredulous stare. “I’d rather ‘ang by me toes than conjure vittles when I got natural resources to get me what I need.”

“But-” Malfoy began, pointing at the magically salted meat.

“Pirate code.” Harry nodded sagely. “T’was but minor usage.”

Malfoy sputtered, “Of all the…”

“Sorry, mate.” Harry grabbed the strips of meat from the branch and shoved them into Malfoy’s arms. “I ‘ave to bury it.”

“This is ridiculous. First you brutally murder the creature, now you want to give it a respectable burial?” Malfoy grumbled, dropping a few pieces of meat. He bent to retrieve them, and dropped more.

“Don’t let ‘em get too dirty, Malfoy.” Harry hoisted the boar onto his back, stick still thrust through it. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

Malfoy watched Harry leave the clearing, then continued mumbling to himself as he picked up the fallen strips. He placed them neatly on a log and sat next to them. “Honestly, what kind of sea dog is he? First he looks down upon magic, and now uses it with no qualms whatsoever. I’ve never felt so dirty in my life, and now I’m talking to myself.” Malfoy sighed and slid the map out of his pocket. “I might as well try to figure this out. Then I can get off this damn island sooner.”

******

An hour later, Harry returned to find Malfoy musing over his map, a piece of meat hanging from his mouth.

“Figure anythin’ out?”

Malfoy jumped and immediately yanked the meat out of his mouth, hiding it underneath the map on his lap.

“I thought ye didn’t like salted meat?”

“I take what I can get,” spat Malfoy, sliding the strip out from under the map and holding it tightly in his fisted hand. He didn’t bring it back to his lips.

“Aye,” Harry sat next to him and nodded toward the map. “What ‘ave ye got?”

Malfoy moved the map over to the left a little more so Harry could see it better. “We have to figure out where we are on the island first. See this shape here?” Harry nodded at the small figure Malfoy pointed at. “It appears to have a human shape. It’s on the coast, you see, so we can find it walking along the beach and then we’ll know where we are in relation to the treasure.”

“All this ‘we’,” said Harry affectionately, smiling.

“Er, yes, well…” Malfoy scooted slightly away, and continued, “So we shall find that first.” Malfoy pointed at a different spot. “This skull and crossbones here; I think that leads to the treasure. Will there be a human skull and crossbones waiting for us? What awaits us, I’m not sure, but that’s where we have to end up.” Harry nodded. “Now, Potter, if you would please stop breathing down my neck, we could start our little quest.”

Harry laughed and Malfoy winced as the harsh sound hit his hear. “But I’m an ‘ungry man, and yer scrawny neck looks quite appetizin’.”

Malfoy gasped and flew to his feet, his hands flailing about his neck. “What in hellfire! I have had enough! Captain Potter, you are a disgusting, despicable man.” He finished off the insult by throwing his half eaten meat strip at Harry’s face. “Eat your god damn meat, you loathsome swab. I wouldn’t let you touch me if… Agh!”

Harry chewed the meat, still laughing, as Malfoy stalked away.

“The sooner we start this, the better,” shouted Malfoy, disappearing behind a tree.

Harry collected the salted meat and dashed after him. “I can’t carry all this in me pockets! Ye gotta ‘elp!”

A faint “Bah!” echoed in the distance.

******

Dusk was falling. Harry and Malfoy walked side by side along the beach, their pockets stuffed with salted meat. Malfoy held a long walking stick in his hand, and he occasionally stopped to draw circles into the wet sand. Harry hummed under his breath, twirling his dirk in his fingers.

“Shouldn’t a treasure hunt be exciting?”

“We could talk, ye know,” said Harry.

“Every conversation I have with you pains me,” retorted Malfoy, as he jabbed his stick into a crab hole.

“Yer jus’-”

“Potter, stop. I am not one of your… your kind.” Malfoy quickened his pace, walking ahead.

“Not one of me kind, eh?” Harry dashed forward, grabbed the stick, and yanked it out of his hand.

Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks and looked at him furiously. “Listen, bilge-rat, I’m not your ‘mate’ and this bloody ‘we’ is temporary and strictly business. As soon as we get off this island, the ‘we’ is over, got it? I may be a pirate, but I’m also a distinguished gentleman.” Harry snorted. “And you. You are the most vile being I have ever had the misfortune of spending time with.” Malfoy whirled and continued striding across the beach.

“Ye know what I think, meself? I think yer repressin’ yer desires,” said Harry, loudly.

“Preposterous!”

“It’s not ‘ealthy. It’s obvious yer…”

“Swine!” Malfoy stopped suddenly and whipped his map out of his pocket “I think I see it!”

“Eh?” Harry ran to catch up with the other pirate. “That dark shape up there?” asked Harry, pointing.

Malfoy began sprinting, with Harry following just behind him. The dark form, the first clue on the map, took shape as they got closer, and they saw it was a carved figurehead attached to the hull of a ship buried into the sand, the bowsprit broken in half.

“A woman!” said Malfoy in awe.

“A bonnie one, too”

“This must be it.” Malfoy began to circle the figurehead, examining it.

Harry sat down and leaned against the hull. Soon Malfoy joined him and began chewing a piece of meat absentmindedly. “You know,” he said slowly, “We found the first clue.”

Harry cocked his head, puzzled. “Er… yes.”

Malfoy glanced at him. “Why do we need to find the others? We could just head straight for the final one. I mean… what’s the point?”

Harry looked flabbergasted. “It’s an adventure, that’s what.”

“But it’s pointless. Why have all these marks scattered all across the island when we only need two: one to tell us where we are, and one to tell us where to go.”

“That’s… that’s jus’ ‘ow they’re made. What nonsense are ye gettin’ at?”

“I say we skip the damn markings and go for the treasure,” said Malfoy, matter-of-factly.

Harry flew to his feet, roaring. “Yer not a pirate, ye damn rotter!”

Malfoy rolled his eye. “Sit down, you beast, and listen to some sense for once.”

Harry grumbled angrily and continued standing.

“Look, Potter, I want to leave this island as soon as possible, and since you think I’m such scum, why stay longer than you need to?”

“I’m a pirate.”

“Yes, Potter, that’s quite obvious.”

“Me father died ‘cause of that map, damn it!” Harry stamped his foot. “And ye want me to forget the map I’ve spent me life broodin’ over?”

“Don’t be a fool, man. It may be a pirate treasure map, but it doesn’t have to make sense. The treasure’s all that matters!”

Harry scratched his head, suddenly starting to look unsure. “It would be a shame to pirates everywhere.”

“Is your crew here to see it? No. Is anyone here to see it but myself? No.” Malfoy patted the ground next to him. “Calm yourself.” Harry sat. “You are tempted. How about we make a deal?”

“Eh?”

“No more complaints from me. And I’ll try to live up to your pirate standards. I’ll be disgusting, brutal, dirty, beastly-” Harry punched him on the shoulder. Hard. “… as long as we go straight for the goal.”

“And the map?”

“We’re still using it. For directions.”

Harry gazed at the darkening horizon, thinking. “Aye, I guess that works.”

“Excellent!” Malfoy clapped him on the back.

Harry turned toward Malfoy, a wicked look on his face. “So does this mean yer lettin’ yer deepest, darkest desires loose on me?”

Malfoy grunted. “Don’t get your hopes up.” Harry giggled. “I’m not Weasley!” Malfoy exclaimed, throwing up his hands in frustration. “Why?”

“Yer startin’ to break.”

“Not in the least. Shut up and eat.”

Harry fingered the rough edges of a strip of meat, and turned his head away from Malfoy before speaking. “Can ye believe me when I say I enjoy yer company?”

“You’re not so bad yourself, when you’re not… well, you know,” mumbled Malfoy, in between bites of the chewy meal.

“Yer quite charmin’, really.” Malfoy choked. Harry didn’t seem to notice. “Would ye mind if I felt protective of ye? Yer rather vulnerable, ye know.”

The meat now lay forgotten on Malfoy’s lap. “You never fail to tell me every half hour.”

Harry chuckled softly. “Aye, and would ye mind if I found ye attractive?”

Malfoy snorted, and it was weak compared to his usual. “I know I’m attractive.”

Harry continued, dismissing the other man’s moment of arrogance. “I’m used to death. Bein’ a pirate, an’ I’m sure ye know what I mean. Me whole life’s been filled with violence. It hurts without Ron, an’ I think on ‘im often. But I learnt long ago, ye can’t live right if ye can’t live on.” He nodded his head.

“Such… wisdom.” And what is he getting at. I’m hungry and I’m tired, and I should want to slit his throat for getting sappy on me. I’ve never felt so used in my life. I quite like it.

“Now ye must hate me fer goin’ soft on ye. I don’ blame ye.”

Malfoy remained silent.

“I doubt ye ever got very close to yer men.” Harry sighed. “This island makes me feel lonely.”

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders slightly.

“Jus’ wanna tell ye, I’m only jokin’ when I get all… when I disgust ye. The feelin’s there, but I don’t mean it like that.” Harry relaxed against the hull. “Righto, I’m finished. Can ye say somethin’?”

“Er… good to know,” Malfoy muttered, nervously rubbing the bit of eyebrow above his patch.

Harry shifted slightly toward Malfoy, and touched his leg gently. “I’m jest a verra sexual man.” He started laughing through his nose.

Malfoy slapped the hand touching his leg. “Blackbeard’s death! What is wrong with you!”

Harry guffawed. “Sorry, I jus’-!” He continued to whoop with laughter.

Malfoy’s breath quickened and he cracked a smile. And then he was joining in, a high pitched chortle soon followed by full-fledged cackling.

They continued this way, tears soon streaming down their grizzled cheeks, until Malfoy noticed he never pulled back his hand after slapping Harry’s. Harry’s knuckles were warm from the sharp impact.

“Oh,” Malfoy mumbled, retrieving his hand quickly. Harry’s laughter died.

“I reckon we should finish eatin’… then turn in fer the night…”

Malfoy nodded quickly. “Aye.”

Neither noticed the slip in his accent.

Later on that night, as they lay along the lee of the ship wreckage to sleep among tattered canvas, Harry gruffly whispered. “I’m sorry, mate. I’m lonely. I miss ‘em.”

Malfoy rolled onto his side, toward the battered wood of the hull. “It’s okay. We’re men of the sea. We can handle it.”

******

“Ye weren’t at lunch,” growled Ron from behind Harry, who was leaning forward against the ship railing. A crew member laughed from somewhere on deck.

Harry didn’t turn around. “Yer dead, Ron.” He sounded weary.

Ron touched his shoulder briefly, and Harry flinched. “What nonsense is this, me ‘eart?”

“Yer gone.”

The wind changed direction and Harry looked up at the madly fluttering flag of the Gryffin. The lion skull suddenly appeared menacing, the cloth snapping like teeth. Harry heard Ron cry out and finally faced him.

“Ron, are ye well?” he asked, concerned. Ron was dead, he knew, but he couldn’t ignore him any longer.

“What do ye mean?”

“Ye cried out.”

“I didn’t.”

Harry blinked at him, confused, then looked up at the sky. The clouds were darkening, the wind picking up. Another cry from Ron, and Harry faced him again.

“Eh?” Harry peered at Ron, who looked not in the least bit distressed. “Why do ye keep crying out? Some kinda jest? Look, man, I’m sorry I missed ye.”

“What are ye goin’ on about. I havena said a word.”

Harry sighed.

“Ye weren’t at lunch,” Ron repeated, his voice back to a growl.

“I know, love, an’ I wish I’d been there.”

“Ye weren’t at lunch.”

“Aye, mate, was it nice?”

Ron stepped forward, fist raised. “Could be at each other’s throats.”

Harry murmured, “Where’s me punishment?” and Ron burst into flames.

A cannon blasted, the ship lurched, and a flood of rain hit Harry’s back as he fell forward against his burning lover. Ron was writhing in his arms as they tumbled on the slippery deck, slick with blood and salt water.

Somewhere in the distance came a drawling, mocking voice, yelling, “You’re a loathsome beast, Captain Potter! I hope you’re enjoying the weather!”

And Harry started choking, and he was submerged in the black frothing mass of the ocean, and Ron was still struggling in his arms. Harry could feel his own flesh burning from the contact but wouldn’t let go. Ron’s flailing ceased and his dark, cracked skin began to melt over Harry’s arms, diffusing into the surrounding water. Harry gagged and tried to close his mouth, not wanting to swallow his lover’s flesh and take any part back with him to the waking world. But his mouth wouldn’t close, and instead he screamed, and the sound hurtled through the thick, sickening substance he drowned in, dragging his blistered heart along with it, leaving him alone with the last oily remnants of Ron.

“Potter? Potter?”

Ron.

“For Merlin’s sake, Harry, quit screaming and wake up!”

Harry‘s eyes snapped open. Malfoy’s black shape hovered above him, a few stars twinkling behind his head.

“A dream,” he said simply.

Malfoy sighed and rolled over to recline on his elbows next to Harry.

Harry turned away from him, pressed his face against the cool wood of the hull, and tried to resist the urge to cry. He couldn’t.

“Er… was it about Ron?” asked Malfoy, nervous from Harry’s show of emotion.

Harry nodded and shook, trying to keep his sobbing quiet.

Malfoy touched Harry’s shoulder with a tentative finger.

“I didn’t feel the loss till I swallowed ‘im,” whispered Harry between breaths.

Malfoy had no idea what Harry meant by this, but he kept the tip of his finger pressed against the moist flesh of his shoulder in an attempt at comfort.

Harry rolled his shoulder. “Please go away, Draco,” he said, barely audible.

Malfoy retracted his finger, clambered to his feet and backed away, feeling slightly hurt; he didn’t give comfort to just anyone. He spent the rest of the night restlessly shifting on the opposite side of the hull.

******

Draco groaned as he woke. His head pounded and a shell was digging sharply into his back. He sat up with a mumbled curse.

Harry came out from behind the hull, and upon seeing that his companion was awake, approached, munching salted meat and looking cheerful. “Bout time ye got up!”

Draco squinted up at him with his one eye. “Mmmf.”

Harry kicked Draco’s knee lightly with the tip of his boot. “Come on, mate, time to find our treasure.”

Grumbling, Draco stood up and roughly brushed sand off himself. “You’re awfully happy. What happened to last night?”

Harry grabbed Draco by the arm and pulled him along the beach. “Oh, I’m fine.”

Judging by the way you’re digging your fingers into my arm, I don’t think so, thought Draco. “Do you know where we’re going?”

Harry looked back at him without faltering in his brisk pace, “Of course, we’re…erm…” He slowed to a stop and let go of Draco’s arm to dig in his pocket for his map.

Draco rubbed his arm as Harry peered at the tattered looking map.

“Erm… this way,” said Harry, turning right toward the forest.

“That’s what the figurehead was for, you dunce.” Draco caught up with Harry, and noticing his tight face, asked, “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Aside from the nasty bruise ye left on me shoulder last night, yes. T’was jest a dream,” said Harry, stepping over some prickly looking foliage. “Make sure we walk a straight path.”

Draco nodded, and they walked in silence for some time before he asked, “I left a bruise?”

Harry laughed and the tension left his face. “No, but it felt like ye did.”

Draco smirked. “Comfort is not my forte.”

“Apparently nothing is yer forte, as far as me eyes ‘ave seen.” Harry glanced at him, a slight glimmer of green under lowered lids. “May’aps it lies in the more pleasurable arts…”

Draco cleared his throat, and this time said nothing.

******

“Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate Miss Bailey!” sang Draco, concluding the verse by flourishing a twig in the air.

Harry snorted with laughter and threw a hunk of salted meat at him. They’d been walking for over two hours through the dense island foliage in a direction they hoped would lead them to the treasure, or at least to a clue. Their awkwardness at the start of the day had disappeared and the air rang with the sound of their heartily singing voices.

“On me ship, not a day went by without ‘avin’ a shanty sung,” Harry fondly reminisced.

“How about another one?” said Draco, grinning. “I’ve always enjoyed the delights of singing in taverns, but it didn’t happen much on the Serpent.”

“Why not? Ye’d bring the devil down on ‘em if they tried?”

“I wasn’t that cruel. As I’ve said before, I was not close to my hands. The relationships on my ship were kept strictly business.” Draco sniffed. “As is our relationship,” he added as an afterthought, pulling grimy fingers through his hair.

Harry rolled his eyes. “You a pirate? My hairy ass.”

Draco shuddered at the mental image.

“Anyway,” muttered Harry, “do ye know ‘Handsome Cabin Boy?’”

Draco’s face lit up. “Do I!” He stood up straighter, cleared his throat, and burst out in a rich tenor, “She had a mind for roving unto a foreign land!”

“Attired in sailors clothing she boldly did appear, and engaged with the captain for to serve him for a year!” roared Harry, guffawing as he finished the stanza.

They continued on to the second stanza together,

“So nimble was that pretty maid
And done her duty well
But mark what followed after,
As she herself can tell
The captain with that pretty maid
Did often kiss and toy
For he soon found out the secret of
The handsome cabin boy.”

Harry clapped Draco on the shoulder. “That’s it! Captain Malfoy ‘as a voice fer music!”

“Finally, something he approves of,” said Draco, rubbing the spot Harry slapped.

“Now, what do ye think,” said Harry, striking at some low hanging branches in his way with a stick, “If only that ‘andsome cabin boy was really a lad, eh?”

“Wouldn’t be with child, at least.”

“My kinda lad.”

“Sodomite,” growled Draco. He readjusted his eye patch after a branch walloped him across the face, a result of Harry’s violent thwacking.

Harry ignored him and went onto a different song, his voice sounding slightly strained. “It’s all for me beer and tobacco. For I spent all me tin on the laddies drinking gin, far across the western ocean I must wander.”

Draco cleared his throat and interrupted, “Wasn’t that supposed to be ‘lassies’?”

He soon found himself pressed between the hard barked surface of a tree and the equally hard body of Harry, who’s arms were on either side of his head. “Potter-?”

“Do ye know what it’s like to be around someone constantly fer days, watch ‘em eat, and sleep, and bitch, and want to rut ‘em senseless?” said Harry, anger in his low voice. Draco gaped at him, speechless. “It’s been nearly a week, and I ‘aven’t touched ye till now.”

“Well, you have,” said Draco quickly, “But-” He stopped suddenly with a short breath, as he felt a finger trail down his neck.

“Not like this,” whispered Harry.

“P-Potter. Harry.” Draco’s eye darted to the side, avoiding Harry’s fiery gaze as he attempted to open some space between their bodies.

Harry’s hand slid down and fondled the ruffled collar of Draco’s shirt, his thumb brushing the tanned skin underneath. “Fer too long I’ve been yearnin’ to feel yer warmth under me fingertips,” he said quietly, watching the pulse beat in Draco’s neck through half closed eyes.

Draco’s jaw clenched. “I told you…”

“I know what ye told me.” Harry pressed his knee up between Draco’s thighs. “And I don’t believe it.”

Harry tilted his face forward and ghosted his lips against the stubbled jaw of his captive.

Draco gasped. “Harry!”

“Mmmf,” mumbled Harry, gently taking Draco’s bottom lip between his teeth.

Draco shoved his hands between their chests and pushed the overbearing man back a step. “For Merlin’s sake, behind you!”

Harry looked at him dumbly, his eyes unfocused. “Wha?”

“The skull and crossbones, you goddamn degenerate!” Draco grabbed Harry’s arm and whipped him around to face the sandy clearing in front of them.

“Where?”

“The ground, twit.”

Harry rubbed his eyes and focused on the ground, and sure enough, a large, dark shadow of a skull and crossbones curved through the sand in the clearing.

“It’s a shadow!” exclaimed Harry, who looked up at the odd rock formation silhouetted by the sun. “So then where’s the treasure?”

“Hell if I know,” muttered Draco, edging away from Harry and the tree he had been molested against.

Harry pouted as he rummaged his map out of his pocket and scrutinized the spot where the skull and crossbones was located. “Ye sure this is where we’re supposed to be?”

Draco peered up at the rock formation and put his palm against the warm, rough surface. “Pretty sure, let’s have a look around.”

The two pirates walked slowly across the grounds, bent over and searching, but there was no sign of any treasure. Draco trudged through the shrubbery on the right side of the rocks and tripped on a tree root, nearly falling over the sudden edge of a cliff. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said, surveying the jutting rocks of the cliff-side, and the massive cave entrance some fifty feet below the rock formation.

“What?” asked Harry, crashing through the bushes. He stopped when he saw Draco hugging a thin, withered tree. “Don’t tell me yer afraid o’ heights, too.”

“Of course not,” Draco spat, slowly disengaging himself from the dismal plant.

Harry stood next to Draco and they contemplated the cliff-side together.

“Guess that’s it,” said Harry.

Draco nodded.

“Can ye climb?”

“I’m not that inept,” said Draco, as he folded up his sleeves and rolled his shoulders.

Harry chuckled. “Good, I thought I’d have to carry ye on me back.”

“You mean to tell me you wouldn’t prefer that?”

Harry winked. “Nah.”

“Well, then,” said Draco, gesturing toward the waves crashing against the cliff below them. “After you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~