Now I Know What Love Is

Now I Know What Love Is, Chapter Four-Truth and Tale

Harry was lying on his side in his four poster bed in Gryffindor tower, engrossed in homework. He was trying to make sense of a three card Tarot spread, his first Divination homework assignment for the year. He groaned and said, "I'm either going to be attacked by the Whomping Willow, or I'm going to receive a message from an influential friend. I can't decide. Tell me again why we took this stupid class for the third year running?"

"I dunno, mate," Ron replied. He had gotten a pillow from his own bed and was lying comfortably, head and shoulders propped against Harry's back, reading his Potions text. "Gluttons for punishment?"

"Must be," said Harry. "Where's Hermione, by the way, never saw her in the common room at all tonight."

"Library," grunted Ron. "Didn't you notice? She swallowed dinner whole and took off as quick as she could. Didn't even stay for dessert. She must have a bee in her bonnet about something."

Harry hadn't noticed. Harry wouldn't have noticed if Hermione had sprouted wings and flown to the library. They had had ice cream for dessert that night, and all Harry's attention had been on Draco. Draco apparently loved ice cream. Instead of eating it like an ordinary person, he held his spoon upright and slid it over his tongue with an expression of exquisite pleasure, occasionally licking his lips. Harry could have almost sworn he was doing it on purpose. He had watched Draco's actions until he was so hot he thought steam would come out of his ears. Even Ron-the-oblivious had noticed, but thankfully he had misunderstood the reason for Harry's stare. He had gone into a long tirade about the evils of Malfoy in general, and the commotion Draco had caused in Potions today in particular.

Harry knew he needed to find a way to tell Ron and Hermione about what was going on between himself and Malfoy, but how? They were his two best friends, the only close friends he had ever had, and he didn't want to lose them. Hermione had faced every challenge he had ever encountered at school with him, from tests to fights with Snape to monstrous three-headed dogs. Even though he had had to face Voldemort alone three times since coming to Hogwarts, he could always feel her support. And his bond of friendship with Ron had become even stronger since their fight over the Triwizard Tournament last year. He decided to keep his recent encounters with Malfoy to himself for now. There was nothing to tell anyway, he reasoned.

Harry gathered up the Viscounti tarot deck he had borrowed from Professor Trelawney and rewrapped it in its purple cloth, laying it to the side. He picked up his Transfiguration text, preparing to try to puzzle out Transliteration with out Hermione's help, when a thought occurred to him. There WAS something he could share with Ron and Hermione.

"Gerroff, Ron," he said. "I have something I want to show you."

Ron sat up and Harry crawled forward to the edge of the bed, looking over it to search through his trunk. He pulled out the ring and the photo of Augustin, handing them to Ron. "What're these?" Ron said.

Harry proceeded to fill Ron in on the story of the ring, how he had found the items and the dream he had had of Augustin the night before, leaving out the "Draco episodes" of course. Ron's reaction showed a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

"So you don't have any idea who this Augustin character is, Harry?" Ron said. "Blimey, I don't like the sound of this. You'd better be careful with these things. The last time you "found" something like this it turned out to be You-Know-Who's diary. This ring, have you tried it on? Do you know what it does?"

"Well, uh, not really," Harry said. "But I'm sure the ring and the picture aren't, you know, evil or anything. Augustin seemed really nice, Ron."

"Yeah," replied Ron, "and he also seemed to know a lot about Professor Dumbledore's intentions. I think you should talk to Dumbledore himself about it."

Those were the last words Harry expected to hear out of Ron's mouth. He was usually game for any adventure, no matter how ill advised. Look at the flying car incident in their second year. The possibility of Voldemort's return had shaken him more than Harry thought.

Harry was now regretting that he had ever told Ron about the photo and the ring. He knew if he spoke to any teacher about it, they would have at least the ring out of his hands and gone, and he wanted to keep it, if only to find out what it did. Harry was suddenly unbearably curious about what exactly the ring could do. The few "experiments" he had made with it-well, now was not a good time to think about how they had turned out. He came to a decision.

Ron had been in enough dangerous situations with Harry to read the look on his face. "No, Harry!" he said. "What if you put it on and can't get it back off? What if it's cursed? What if it kills you, or worse, what if it has an Imperious curse attached to it? You could be under anyone's control!"

"Ron," said Harry firmly, "I have to do this."

Harry was suddenly struck by an extremely unpleasant thought. What if he put the ring on and it had the same effect on him and Ron as it had had on him and Draco? Ron would never forgive him.

He continued, "Just promise me one thing. If I start acting...strange...or if you feel funny in any way, promise me you'll jerk the ring off my finger. And for god's sake don't put it on yourself."

Ron nodded solemnly. "If you're determined to go through with this...I promise."

Harry held the ring up. For a second Ron could see one bright green eye framed in the ring's circle. Harry then lowered the ring and slipped it on his finger.

His first thought was one of relief. Ron looked the same as he always had, good-natured freckled face, long nose, and spiky red hair. He was no more or less attractive than he had always been.

Harry then looked around at his bedroom. He was amazed. His sense of perception was heightened to the extreme. He looked at his bed hangings, and not only were they beautiful and functional, he understood how they had been made and the charms the house elves had used to keep them clean. These were things he had always known, but there was a difference between knowing and understanding, and Harry understood.

"Harry, Harry, oh my god, Harry, are you all right?" Ron Looked as though he were ready to lunge at Harry and jerk the ring off.

"I'm fine, Ron, I'm fine, my god, this is AMAZING!"

Harry's eye fell on his Transfiguration textbook. Ron watched him study the page as though he had never seen it before, and then a wide-eyed look came over Harry's face. It was as though someone turned a cartoon light bulb on in his mind. Ron watched him pick up his wand and aim it at Ron's Potions textbook. "Imago!" Instantly, a perfect three-dimensional image of a Unicorn horn appeared, one of the ingredients in the Vivifying potion Ron had been studying.

"Look what you've done, Harry, that was BRILLIANT! Hermione couldn't have done better. I don't think a single person in class today even understood that spell but her, and you've just performed it perfectly!"

Harry was thrilled and amazed but also a little frightened. He decided he had had enough of the ring for one night. He slowly drew the ring from his finger. He and Ron both looked at it, lying there in his palm, and then up at each other.

"How did you do it?" asked Ron. "Did the ring give you the power?"

No," Harry said. "It was...like I had the knowledge all along, but when I put the ring on...all the pieces fit together. I understood not only how the spell worked, but WHY. I've never felt anything like it."

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Harry was clearing off his bed, preparing to go to sleep. He picked up his books, laying them aside for the next day. As he picked up his Transfiguration text, a small bit of parchment fell out of it. Curious, he picked it up and unfolded it.

"Potter, we need to see each other privately.

Send me an owl tomorrow at breakfast and let

me know if you agree. I'll even let you pick

the time and place."

Malfoy

Harry felt his face grow hot. Quickly he stuffed the note out of sight under his pillow and hopped in bed, stomach churning with emotion.

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Harry woke up early the next morning. He dressed hastily and then sat on his bed in the grey half-light of dawn, listening to the soft breathing of those asleep around him and pondering what to write. He finally decided to keep it simple.

"Malfoy, meet me outside the entrance

to your common room at midnight tomorrow night.

I know a private place where we can talk."

Potter

He grabbed his invisibility cloak and hurried silently from the dorm, making his way to the Owlery. He stopped to pat Hedwig, who blinked at him sleepily from her perch. "I have a note to send, but I can't use you," he told her softly, hoping she wouldn't be upset. She promptly turned her back on him. So much for hope.

Harry was looking around trying to decide which school owl to use, when he felt a soft nip at his elbow. Turning, he recognized Draco's eagle owl perched at his side.

"Oh, hullo," he said, debating on whether or not to give the owl a friendly pat. It was probably trained to attack Potters and Muggleborns on sight. He reached out and gently patted her feathers and was surprised when she preened under his touch. After he had patted her for a moment, she stuck out her leg, as though knowing his purpose and offering herself for the job.

"So you'll take it to him for me, then," he said softly. "No hurry, you can come during breakfast at the usual time."

He tied the note to her leg, patted her once more and left the Owlery to dress for breakfast.

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Harry sat at breakfast, not eating, growing more nervous by the minute. What if Draco read his note and refused to meet him? Or worse, passed the note up and down the Slytherin table? He'd be the laughingstock of the school. Thankfully, the mail chose that moment to make its appearance. Owls soared overhead.

Draco, too, was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the mail, although he was much better at hiding his anxiety than Harry. His heart fell when he saw only his own owl flying towards him. She could only be carrying something from his mother and father. She wouldn't have anything to do with anyone else.

She landed beside him and he reluctantly untied the note from her leg. He frowned as he looked down upon an untidy scrawl that belonged to neither of his parents. Relief and shock flooded through his body as he looked at the front of the letter, which simply said "Malfoy." How had Harry managed to get his owl to bring him the letter? She was unresponsive at best to attention paid her by anyone but him or his parents.

He opened the letter and read it, read it again, frowned at Pansy who was trying her best to read over his shoulder. This is it, he thought. He's agreed to meet me alone. What do I do now?

Draco looked up from the letter and caught Harry's eye. He nodded once, in agreement, and Harry returned his nod. Butterflies formed colonies in his stomach. There was no turning back now.

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Harry reluctantly entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and took a seat in the back of the room, slumping morosely at his desk. Hermione and Ron were not far behind. Hermione herself was extremely relieved that Harry was finally going to meet with Professor Figg. She had been worried senseless by Harry's recent behavior. He was moody and secretive all the time, and he was spending far too much of his time and attention focused on Malfoy. Hermione supposed that Harry was scared by the lurking fear of Lord Voldemort, especially since no one seemed to have any information about his whereabouts for the last three months. Harry had probably been staring at Malfoy and brooding about Voldemort, and no doubt Malfoy was taking every opportunity to aggravate Harry about the situation. She'd slap him again whenever she wasn't so busy with class work.

Hermione's musings were interrupted by the arrival of Professor Figg, who was not an ogre or troll at all but a short, plump, pleasant looking lady with greying hair pulled back in a bun. She greeted the class, and they set to work on something none of them had tried in DADA before; cloaking charms. Cloaking charms were designed to hide your magical presence, if you were in a dangerous situation where others could sense the magical aura around you.

Professor Figg had not looked at Harry once during the entire class, nor acknowledged his presence in any way. When it came time to choose someone to demonstrate the cloaking charms on, she chose Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. She didn't even look in his direction.

The bell sounded for the end of class. Harry considered gathering his things and walking out without speaking to Professor Figg, but one look from Hermione let him know he wasn't getting away with that. To his surprise, before he could approach Professor Figg himself, he heard her say, "Harry Potter, I would like to see you for a moment after class."

The rest of the class filed out the door, leaving Harry standing by Professor Figg's desk. Hermione and Ron were lurking in the doorway. Professor Figg smiled at them and said, "Your desire to stand by your friend is admirable. Don't worry, I'm the last person Harry would be in danger from. However, I need to speak to him privately. Would the two of you wait outside please?"

Hermione and Ron reluctantly left the room. Harry turned and faced Professor Figg.

She smiled warmly and said, "I suppose my arrival has been a bit of a shock for you, Harry?" He nodded mutely. She continued, "Explanations are in order, then. That is why I've arranged a private meeting between my self, you...and Professor Dumbledore. Tea, Saturday, four o'clock, Harry, in Professor Dumbledore's office. Don't be late."

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Harry, cloaked in invisibility, left Gryffindor Tower at five minutes to midnight, sneaking silently toward the Slytherin dungeons and Draco. He stopped outside the entrance to the Slytherin common room and looked around for Draco. He finally pulled off his cloak, sure he was alone, thinking damn him, if he's stood me up I'll kill him, especially since this was his idea.

Draco stepped from behind a suit of armour, a silent specter of silver and black, scaring Harry out of his wits. "Startled you, didn't I, Potter?" he said, moving closer. "Um, no," said Harry, wondering why he reverted to a three year old's vocabulary every time he was alone with Draco. The word alone reverberated around in his head, and he realized that he was finally alone with Draco, and Draco was standing very close....

"Come on, Potter, where is this private place you supposedly know of?" said Draco. "I saw Filch wandering about a few minutes ago. I don't want to get caught and have to spend a night in detention cleaning the loo without magic or something."

Harry walked off without a word, hoping Draco would follow him without arguing. Amazingly, he did, and the two boys set off through darkened Hogwarts. Harry was preparing to turn a corner when he heard the sound of Filch's rusty voice. "Come, my sweet, I thought I heard footsteps down the Slytherin corridor. If there are students out of bed, we'll catch them, and it'll be detention in the chains this time, mark my words."

Harry stopped short, about to turn the corner, and then backed into Draco, almost flattening him against the wall. Hurriedly, he pulled the invisibility cloak from under his arm and hissed, "Here, put this over you." Draco complied and the two of them stood silently under the cloak in the dark, listening to sound of Filch's approaching footsteps.

Harry could feel Draco, warm against his back, and was trying to suppress a new and rather frightening urge to rub up against him. Draco had his chin propped on Harry's shoulder, and Harry could feel warm breath on the side of his neck. He shivered involuntarily and felt Draco shudder behind him. Bloody hell, Filch, he thought, go somewhere else. I can't take much more of this.

Draco, behind Harry, gave up on trying to find something to do with his arms and wrapped them around Harry's waist. We need to be as close as possible, he reasoned, this damn cloak is hardly big enough for the both of us. A little voice inside his head replied, keep telling yourself that, Draco, and you might actually believe it.

Both boys stood as still as possible under the circumstances. Filch finally passed them and they turned their heads and watched his lantern light receding down the corridor, finally turning the corner out of sight. Harry decided not to move for a moment. Filch could come back, he thought to himself, better stay here for a little while and make sure. Besides, Draco was so warm, and so close, and it couldn't hurt to enjoy the feeling of being pressed up against him for a few more moments...

"Potter," said Draco, lips brushing his earlobe, "much as I enjoy the compromising situations we seem to be getting into lately, I think we'd better be moving along. Filch is probably all the way to the Astronomy Tower by now."

Harry gulped and heat shot through his body at Draco's words. He tucked his cloak under his arm again and reluctantly moved away from Draco and started off again, Draco close behind.

They reached the massive double doors at the entrance to Hogwarts.

"Potter, if you think we're going into the Forbidden Forest together again, you can forget it. There's no way I-"

"Shh," said Harry, placing a finger on Draco's lips. He opened one door just enough for the both of them to squeeze through. "This way," he said, motioning to Draco. They set off together down the wide, moonlit sweep of Hogwarts lawn.

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