Pulling Him Up

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CHAPTER SIX: READINGS BY DRACO
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Harry knew that Draco had been staring at him. His own face flamed slightly as his nipples hardened in reaction with the air around him. He wore his shirt quickly and sat down on the stool. Now that he was clothed, he had quickly focused his attention on the boy who was eating the cake quite slowly.

"Are you sure you're not addicted?" Harry asked in a dubious voice. The way Draco licked the fork after each bite seemed quite disturbing.

"I'm not," Draco muttered in reply.

Behind him, Harry heard Severus swearing quite indignantly. He glanced over his shoulder to find the Potions Master sitting on the divan and removing his shoes. He smiled roguishly and chuckled slightly when Severus gave him a glare.

Harry was relieved that Severus was going to rest after all. His gaze lingered on the professor for several more seconds before he turned his head to face the window. He fell into deep contemplation not long after that.

I should have brought something along, Harry thought. Then he shrugged.

"Do you feel like doing anything, Draco?" he asked abruptly.

Draco froze at his question and lifted his gray eyes. They appeared cloudy with hesitance and indecision.

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"Divination."

Harry blinked his eyes in disbelief. "I beg your pardon?"

"Divination. I want to do a reading."

"You're pulling my leg, aren't you?"

"No."

"I didn't know you like Divination," Harry muttered.

"I don't," Draco replied calmly. "I'm not into reading fate in the bottom of teacups or in crystals." The Slytherin shrugged. "I like to do oracular readings."

Harry could not help but feel surprised. "How?"

"By using a deck of oracle cards."

"You mean like tarot?" Harry tilted his head to one side.

"Something like that, but it's not tarot. Tarot is too confusing for me," Draco replied shortly. "Jabret."

The house-elf materialized out of the thin air and looked at the wizard who had summoned him expectantly.

"Get the black pouch inside the second drawer."

"Yes, sir."

The house-elf disappeared and Harry stared unblinkingly at Draco. Is he in the right frame of mind to do that?

Two minutes later, Jabret reappeared with a huge pouch. This he handed carefully to Draco. Harry had noticed that the pouch was made of good quality velvet, and for the second time, he was surprised.

All forms of hesitancy vanished from the Slytherin as he pulled at the strings and carefully poured the cards onto the bed.

"Can I pick one? Just to see?" Curiosity got the better of him. Surprisingly, Draco nodded.

"But I will lay them out first," Draco said.

"Wait ... I don't expect you to do a reading..." Harry's voice trailed off at Draco's penetrating gaze. "All right."

"You know how to meditate, don't you?" Draco asked quietly.

"Yes." Harry watched Severus' immobile form briefly. "As well as grounding and centering."

"Good. Do all three."

Rather than wonder about Draco's seemingly earnest gesture, Harry closed his eyes and blanked his mind. After a few minutes of meditation, he transited swiftly into a state of grounding, and from there, centering. Harry reopened his eyes with a somewhat tranquil mind. Draco himself was just coming out of his trance.

"Look at the back of the cards and pick one that seems to be calling you," Draco said softly.

Harry nodded and allowed his eyes to scan the spread of cards on the mattress. It was as though he was looking at wooden tiles, for the back of the cards had appeared as though they were barks of trees. Harry noticed that Draco had laid out the cards into six rows, and that there were sixty-six cards altogether. Finally, after much observation, he reached out to pick the sixth card from the first row.

"Can I turn it over?" Harry asked Draco as he felt the texture of the card. Quite contrary to its looks, it was smooth. Draco nodded again. Harry slid his finger along the side of the card before turning it over.

"It's upside down," Harry mused. He flipped the card over and read the silver inscriptions at its bottom. The words 'The Journeyman' were written on it.

Harry peered at the background. Harry realized it was of forest foliage painted in hues of dark blue and green. Then he focused his sight on the two woodland nymphs before reversing the picture.

"What does the card mean?" he asked Draco quizzically.

"What do you think it means?" Draco questioned him back.

"Hang on a second - aren't you the one who's supposed to give me clues?"

"That's not the way it works," Draco replied with a gentle smile.

Harry lifted his eyebrow. He stared at the card again. Am I walking on the right path?

"Pick five cards." Draco's clear voice interrupted his musings. Harry eyed Draco dubiously before following the Slytherin's instruction.

"Place the first two cards vertically next to each other."

"Face down?" Harry inquired.

"Face down." Draco nodded. "The third card; place it above the first two in a horizontal fashion. Then place the fourth vertically next to it, and the last card vertically above them."

Harry arranged the cards at the foot of the bed with a serious expression. "Like this?"

Draco nodded. "Get me a stool."

Harry looked suspiciously at Draco before summoning one of the stools Severus had conjured earlier over to his side. Draco got out of bed and sat beside him.

"Turn the first card over," Draco said to him.

"Okay," Harry replied. He flipped the card over from the left and studied what it revealed. Draco sniggered. "I wonder why I am doing this," Harry muttered. Unity was the word at the bottom of the card, and it was a reversed card. "So ... am I unstable?"

"Sorry. No, it doesn't necessarily mean you're at war with yourself." Harry looked at the thoughtful wizard sitting next to him.

"It could be ... well, maybe you are lonely." Draco coughed. "Allow others to be closer to you. Don't wait for them to make the first move, but reach out to them with ah ... an open heart."

Harry squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "Next card?" he asked with a strained voice.

"Go ahead."

Harry could not tear his eyes away from the single, bright eye that peered out at him through long and thin fingers.

"This card speaks of a breakdown of some sort. In your case, I don't think we're talking about emotional breakdowns, but perhaps a breakdown of a problem. Whatever it is, remember that you need relatively huge space to work with."

"Okay," Harry answered although he did not quite understand Draco's words. Without waiting for Draco to prompt him, Harry turned the horizontal card.

"The reason why I had asked you to place the third card horizontally was because this card might represent a problem," Draco said.

Harry nodded and picked up the oracle card. A nymph smirked at him in an unpleasant kind of way. Harry also noticed that the nymph had two faces. "Deception?" he asked Draco.

"Close." Draco reached out for the card solemnly. "Do not make any decisions when you're clouded by lust, Harry. Be it for a person, an object or an idea. Think carefully and take your time to consider before committing."

Harry stared at Draco in disbelief before looking down at his shoes. 'Right. I shall not move impulsively."

Draco set the card down and turned the fourth over. "Bodach, eh? This brownie is a meddler, but it means bad had the card been upright. Since it's reversed, this means that someone who is meddling in your life and who has messed up before finally gets to do whatever it is, right. A 'thank-you' is in order."

Emerald eyes blinked several times. Dumbledore?

"The last card." Draco chuckled. "Undressing of a Salad. It is hard to predict an outcome when a lot of things are in motion." The card transferred hands.

The nymphs appeared to be playing with many balls. "Okay. What else?" Harry asked.

"You need to remain calm in the future, but you also have to be flexible when the need arises. You can also use your powers to help you keep in balance, but you have to be careful."

"I see." Harry smiled. He doesn't sound like himself. "Shouldn't I ask a question before we start this?"

"This way is more interesting and it is less confusing."

Harry snorted. "Let's add one more thing then. You're a fortune teller."

"I'm not."

"Oracle reader."

Draco snorted derisively.

"A Slytherin who gives people readings purely on a whim," Harry continued with a straight face. However, Draco ignored him and stacked the cards neatly. "Okay, okay. Can I ask you a question?"

"No."

Harry ignored Draco's response. "Are these cards related to the first one I picked? The Journeyman?"

"Of course." Draco looked at him with bright, silver eyes. "Don't you think so?"

Harry pondered on all the things Draco had told him, right up to the card he had chosen on his own. It seemed to him that caution was the main theme. He pondered on the matter as Draco shuffled his cards.

Draco placed his first card horizontally before placing his second and third card next to it. Then one by one, he turned them over. He sighed. He did not like what the cards showed him but to ignore them would be unwise.

Am I following my own path, or the paths that others had set for me? Draco thought sadly. Should I start thinking about who I want to be?

He looked at the second card. Be generous? That is not like me.

"But you are. Harry would not be sitting here if you aren't," a small voice said in his mind.

The third card troubled him however. Self-destruction toward self or others, came the soft whisper in his mind. Draco drew three more cards, turned them over without analyzing them, and then picked another card and set it over the three cards.

I need courage. To show my gratefulness. To prevent myself from destroying things? People? Dreams? And I need courage, to trust. Trust. Draco lifted his eyes and locked with green ones before they strayed to watch the sleeping professor.

"Draco?" Harry touched him briefly on the shoulder. Draco saw the worried look in the pair of green eyes.

"Although you shouldn't hang your life on the readings, to ignore them totally is wrong," Draco said softly. Harry picked the Singer of Courage.

"I don't understand what the others mean. But this one, I think I do." Then Harry only looked at him and did not speak. Draco could only wonder what was going through the Gryffindor's mind.

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Severus turned over and stretched slightly. He felt better now. But I'm not going to say thank you to that brat. He opened his eyes to watch the antics of two students sitting cross-legged on Draco's bed.

"One?" he heard Harry ask.

"No," Draco replied. Severus looked at his own student. Draco looked puzzled.

"Two?"

"Yes." Draco frowned. "What in the hell were you asking?"

"How many humor bones you have." Then Harry laughed. "Just joking. Anyway, I didn't mean to sound cryptic but I'd rather no one knows the question."

"Whatever." Severus saw Draco rolling his eyes. "What else?"

"Are they mad at me?"

"Weasel and Granger? No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Is Severus a nice person?"

Draco burst into laughter and Severus saw him drawing another card. "No," the young Slytherin replied, still chuckling.

"Is he evil on purpose?"

"Yes. Why on earth are you asking ridiculously, ridiculous questions?"

"For fun, obviously. Is he good at flying?"

"No."

"Because he'd never had a good broom?"

"Yes."

Severus' eyes widened. They're extracting answers from a deck of cards? Not to mention that it was he who had presented the deck to Draco.

"Yes or no?"

"You're being irritatingly cryptic, Potter." Draco glared at the dark-haired wizard. "Just tell me the blasted question." Draco took a deep breath. "Yes."

"Okay. Thanks. No more inquiries."

"I have one. Is he mad at us?" Draco queried.

"No," Harry answered after turning a card.

"Does he think we're silly?"

"Yes."

Then both of his students turned to face him and they grinned.

"The two of you are silly," Severus confirmed in a sarcastic tone as he sat up.

"I have to go now," Harry announced. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"Nine o'clock. Sharp," Severus added.

"Whatever, Severus. You want nine? Nine it is."

Severus watched Harry leave the room, puzzled at the Gryffindor's mood. He stood up to stretch his limbs. Then he studied the cards on Draco's bed. "I hope Harry's not enough of an idiot to take these cards of yours seriously."

Draco looked at him seriously. "It's up to a person whether he or she wants to believe." Draco piled the cards again and shuffled them quickly. Then he separated the cards into three stacks. "Past, present, future."

Severus arched his eyebrow.

"Yours." Before he could say anything about it, Draco revealed his cards. "Past. You might have been confused about what might have been truths. You might have been silent when you're not supposed to. Present. It might be time for you to say that 'I can' instead of the opposite. On the other hand, you might need to consider whether it is the appropriate time for you to carry out the task. Future. Your actions may lead you on the correct path, and great joy and great accomplishments may be within reach. Ekstasis heals the past, intensifies the present, and enlightens the future." Then Draco cocked his head to one side. "Well?"

Huh. And I'd be a fool if I disregard them, Severus thought.

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To Be Continued in Chapter Seven