Elementals of Magic: Prophecy of Lies

Chapter 19

Twisted Game of Trust and Faith

When Draco returned to his dorm, carefully tiptoeing so as not to wake Blaise and Nott, he was met with a peculiar sight. As the blonde prepared himself for bed, his eyes fell on the dragon figurine from the second contest.

Before, the dragon's paws were empty, holding nothing but air. Now, a thin scroll was nestled in between the claws. How intriguing. Unless...

To realize true feeling, best look inside...

Once discovered, can this go on...

Trust in your heart...

The truth will set you free...

This was not bloody funny. Some unknown person had insisted on his realizing his love for Pot--No, it was Harry now--to receive the clues to the third contest. But who was it that knew so much? Who knew what he felt before he knew it himself? And who was cruel and sneaky enough to do this?

***

Victoria smiled mischievously. Little Draco. With so much potential in him, so much potential to rise above everyone else, the dragon that he was.

But he was destined to fly only if he could save the other and be saved by the other. A minor inconvenience, it had seemed, but maybe not. Maybe not anymore, since the circumstances had turned in their favor.

He was growing into a big dragon now. A big dragon, the dragon that will rule over the rest of them, take her place in the cycle when all this was completed.

The dragon long ago prophesized about by the First, the dragon long ago seen, the dragon long ago destined for greatness. Her proud dragon, her Draco.

***

Harry felt relieved when he entered the Gryffindor Seventh Year boys' dorms, Invisibility Cloak swishing behind him. His troubles with Draco were finally over.

What was it that they had now? Definitely not enmity or hatred. Friendship, of course. Love, surely. But was it the start of a beautiful and happily ever after relationship? Or was this to be the beginning of the end for the both of them?

He had promised to save the blonde, promised to be his hero. He had promised to save him instead of everyone else, to be his hero instead of everyone else's. And even though he fully meant what he had said and was willing to, what if it was all for nothing?

And what about Draco´s marriage contract with Parkinson? He wouldn´t be able to stand it if the two were married; he needed to be the one lying against the blonde at night, holding him, claiming him, loving him. Harry didn´t want to have a secret relationship with Draco, not when everything was over. He wanted to be married to Draco in front of everyone, to let everyone know that Draco was his and only his.

So, what was it that they had between them?

As the Gryffindor prepared to sink into bed, his eye caught his miniature crystal griffin. And in its claws was a thin scroll. How had it gotten there? Words surfaced in Harry's mind.

Free your feelings to move in the game...

Love's not just a name, or fame...

Believe in your feelings...

Trust its dealings...

The dragon looms and waits...

Set yourself free, 'tis your fate...

Who had known about what he felt before even he did? Was it Dumbledore, who always seemed to know everything? Or was it someone else, someone who knew everything, someone who played a greater part in all this than anyone had previously thought?

Harry didn't know. In time, everything would be revealed, it always was.

***

Draco carefully slipped the tiny sheet of parchment out of the dragon's paws. It was thin and very fragile, though the parchment was smooth, quite new. The Slytherin unrolled the scroll gently, and mercurial eyes scanned the green ink scrawling across the brown.

Take Harry Potter's Firebolt.

How could they make him do this? He couldn't do this to Harry, not now. This had been set up so that right after he and Harry became involved, he would be faced with a horrible decision. To

If he did steal Harry's Firebolt, then he would win, but he would lose Harry. And he couldn't live with that, couldn't live without the Boy Who Lived, not after what just happened. But if he lost this contest, then he wouldn't be able to regain his current lead. And when Lucius came home this summer, no doubt going to force him to be initiated into the Death Eaters, he was not going to be gentle with the Slytherin.

What was worth more to him, Harry or his well-being? Draco didn't know.

***

Harry gingerly slid the scroll out of the griffin's claws, the parchment bumping against the crystal several times. The Gryffindor unrolled the rolled-up parchment and read the instructions for the next contest.

Retrieve Draco Malfoy's Merging Cloak.

What was a Merging Cloak in the first place? And supposing that he discovered what he was supposed to retrieve, could he do this to Draco?

He couldn't betray Draco, he just couldn't. The raven-haired young man wouldn't be able to face Draco in battle, wouldn't be able to do anything to the blonde. And Harry was sure that the young Malfoy would follow in his father's footsteps if Harry betrayed him.

But if he didn't do anything, then he would undoubtedly lose this contest. And for the sake of his family and his House, he couldn't lose.

This was very, very unfair

***

Victoria looked at them hesitating, shaking her head.

If you think that's hard, then you won't be able to pass your Tests.

Really. That was a very easy decision, a sort of pre-test in a way, not that they knew about their Tests. Tests that would test everything they had in them. She and her were both in the process of passing their Tests. Tests that were prophesized about by the First.

She had, in a way, changed their third contests. Not that it was going to matter, what they had to do. Victoria had also discovered what their fourth contest would require them to do, and it had been surprising, the task.

Really, Dumbledore was helping her without knowing it. But that was good. It made everything so much easier.

The pieces were almost in position. Soon, the last game will begin. And only they can win. If they lost, the next chance won´t come for a very long time. And that meant it would be harder the second time around, harder to save both of them the second time around.

***

It was hard for Harry and Draco to act as normal as they can the next time they saw each other in class. It was hard to keep the hatred, the enmity up. It was hard to insult each other while wishing to be snogging someplace private, someplace where they could be themselves instead of maintaining a tedious, difficult facade.

Neither knew about Pansy. Pansy, who was skilled at hiding and discovering obscured secrets, skilled at brushing away cobwebs that hid the truth, the truth covered up with shrewdly and artistically woven lies, lies that seemed plausible. Except they weren´t.

The brunette knew more about certain things than even Harry and Draco did. She knew about Vince and Greg, not that they knew she knew. Draco always overlooked the two hulks, thinking that they were nothing but gigantic walking boulders, minions that were bred to obey everything and anything he said.

But Pansy knew better. She knew who they truly were, whom they hid away from the rest of the public. She knew their weaknesses, their strengths, their loyalties. They were very clandestine, very slippery. Pretending to be stupid was a good act, an act that even Draco hadn´t seen through, the mastermind that he was.

However, Pansy had. She knew that they observed, that they observed things for their benefits. After all, they didn´t want to be on the wrong side of the current war. And she knew that they had enough information to blackmail almost anyone in the school, information that could very well be the utter destruction of some.

Yet Pansy was perhaps the only exception. She was more elusive than them, always one step ahead of them. If Draco and Harry were to be kept a secret, then they would have to take the utmost care. Nothing would slip from her, the carefully woven mask that she was, but if the two of them started acting unusually, Vince and Greg would pick up the scent, and they would very likely discover the hidden fruit

After all, next to her, Vince and Greg knew Draco the best. They knew that he loved his mother, something that was a carefully concealed secret from the public, as the two couldn´t afford to show emotions for each other. There was always Lucius to contend with, with his talks of apathy and indifference, of never letting feelings show.

But as skilled as the two hulks were, they didn´t know about her. They didn´t know about her and Draco´s once-marriage contract. And perhaps, that was the only big secret that she had. Except for when she cried on Yule.

Pansy couldn´t contain herself that day, what Draco had done for her. To know that he didn´t consider her to be worthless trash, a used and broken toy. She had slipped, shown emotion, shown her weakness. Her one and only weakness, Draco.

And the brunette knew that Vince and Greg weren´t asleep. They were perfect at faking deep slumber, yet she could see right through it. And she knew that they knew. The only thing that they could hold against her, yet the biggest thing that they held about her. Her weakness.

However, the two were useful allies to have, allies that would always hold cards against the opponents, allies that would always be of help, allies that would always have information. And if Draco couldn´t see that and things became too rough, she would take action. Vince and Greg were too valuable to lose.

***

After Double Herbology on Wednesday, as Harry was about to make his way out of Greenhouse Eight, by far the most challenging of all the greenhouses, he was stopped in his tracks by a Slytherin stepping in front of him.

Ron stopped alongside Harry, Hermione also when she realized that the two weren´t following her.

"What do you want, Parkinson? Malfoy not good enough for you anymore?" Ron sneered.

"Potter, a word."

"You´re not good enough to talk to the Great Harry Potter."

"The Mudblood´s waiting for her pet weasel, Weasel. So why don´t you go back to your master?"

"Why don´t you go back to yours, Parkinson?"

Pansy was murderous by this time, exchanging useless banter with a stupid redhead who couldn´t even think of good comebacks. Not surprisingly, considering that the two adult Weasels´ smarts had to be divided between seven children, none of which were particularly bright.

"Only after I acquire a red head that I´ll be serving on a silver platter."

"Ron, let her say what she has to say. It wouldn´t hurt, would it?"

"A private word, Potter."

"Harry, don´t. She´ll attack you as soon as you´re alone. After all, she´s with Malfoy, and you know how that git hates you."

Harry felt like laughing at this particular statement. She´s with Malfoy. How about not? After all, he was the one who was receiving all the kisses.

"Ron, Hermione, I´ll be fine. You two go, I´ll catch up later."

"You sure, Harry?" Ron asked, concerned. Pansy rolled her eyes and tapped her foot impatiently on the grass. Ron glared daggers at his Potions partner, which was returned tenfold.

"I´m sure, Ron. She can´t do anything to me. You two walk back to the castle, and I´ll follow soon. Don´t worry about it, Ron. I can take care of myself."

"Of course the Weasel would want to worry about you, Potter. Can´t afford to lose his partner, can he? After all, no one would come to him willingly, not without some kind of incentive, and he has no money to pay anyone. So what are you doing it for, Potter?"

Ron stepped forward, preparing to punch Pansy, even though guys were not supposed to hit girls. Harry hurriedly pushed Ron towards Hermione, in the direction of the castle, the two blushing when their bodies touched.

"I´ll be fine, guys. Trust me. I´ve survived meeting Voldemort three times, Pansy Parkinson should be nothing compared to him. Go."

Ron and Hermione left reluctantly, deliberately not looking at each other, heads turning every so often and making sure that Harry was still safe and sound, no limbs detached, nothing growing out of him. Finally, they entered the castle, after one last worried look at them.

By this time, there was no one left outside, as all the other students were already inside, most in their common rooms, relaxing during the fifteen minute break. Draco was one of the first ones to enter the castle, Vince and Greg tagging behind him. Good. She wouldn´t have to worry about those two.

"What do you want, Parkinson? I have classes to go to," Harry said impatiently.

"You´re not the only pupil in this school, Potter."

"Well then, tell me what you have to say!" Harry exclaimed exasperatedly.

"I know, Potter."

"Know what?" Harry asked, confused.

"I know," Pansy repeated, mentally wishing that Potter wasn´t such a stupid git. Pity that Draco had to choose him instead of someone smarter, like her. But now was not the time to debate over the wisdom of Draco Malfoy´s decisions.

Understanding dawned on Harry, stunned and horrified understanding, understanding that threatened to break down everything that he had, and he backed away from her, surprise intermingled with shock and dismay etched on his face. It was impossible. This was a carefully hidden secret.

"How--what--when--" he stammered.

"Potter, talk like a normal human being, or don´t talk at all."

Harry calmed down enough to speak coherently.

"How?" he uttered, aghast at having her know about something this confidential.

"That is not for you to know, Potter. You only need to know that I know. And if you hurt Draco Malfoy in anyway, whether unintentional or intentional, you will pay. No one messes with Draco Malfoy and gets away with it. He may not hurt you, you being who you are, but I will make sure that you pay dearly. Understand?"

Harry nodded.

"Good. You better take care of him, Potter, or there will be hell to pay." And with this, Pansy walked away swiftly and proudly, not glancing back once. Harry, meanwhile, stood rooted to the spot, mouth open in astonishment.

***

That night, Draco and Harry met in the dungeons, the cold air permeating the robes the two wore. The dungeons were colder than the rest of the school, chillier and more frightening, more disconcerting. Harry jumped every time he saw a shadow, afraid of bumping into a Slytherin, Filch, Mrs. Norris, or Sirius.

Thus, it was a relief to meet up with Draco, to see the Slytherin standing by a wall nonchalantly, waiting patiently for Harry to arrive, Invisibility Cloak on one arm just in case he needed to hide himself from intruders.

Harry pulled off his cloak and walked towards Draco as quietly as he could, trying to surprise the blonde. It didn´t work. Before the Gryffindor reached the xanthochroid, the pale face turned towards Harry.

"Harry, you´re here," Draco breathed, before Harry´s mouth crushed upon his in a searing kiss

Harry pulled away first, lungs aching from the deprivation of oxygen. He slumped against Draco, body pinning the smaller boy´s frame against the cold stone walls. Draco´s cheeks were a faint pink from the kiss, and though Harry radiated off warmness, Draco shivered against the damp cold that penetrated his thin robes, chilling him to the bone.

Harry´s arms encircled the Slytherin´s body and held him tightly against the Gryffindor´s body, transferring much-needed heat to the slim blonde. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry´s neck, clinging to the other boy in a tender embrace, content to be leaning into Harry, leaning into his warmth and protective hold, absorbing the love radiating from the raven-haired young man.

Even though Harry didn´t want to break this precious moment, this tender moment of love and contentment, he knew that he had to, had to tell Draco about Pansy. The Gryffindor softly whispered into the Slytherin´s ear, breath tickling the blonde.

"Pansy knows."

Draco abruptly pulled away from Harry, and Harry found that he missed holding the smaller body against his. Malfoy Grey eyes searched Harry´s face, hoping against hope that Harry was joking.

"How?" he whispered, resigning himself to the fact, the unfortunate fact.

"I don´t know. She told me today after Herbology."

"So that´s why she was late," Draco commented, more to himself than to Harry. "What did she say?"

"She said that if I hurt you in anyway, she´ll come after me. Also if I don´t take care of you."

Draco shook his head wryly.

"Don´t give her any reason to suspect you, Harry. Pansy isn´t really temperamental, but if you give her any reason to believe that you´ve done something wrong to me, she´ll chase after you relentlessly until she believes that she has avenged me."

"Why is she okay with this? Aren´t you two supposed to be married?"

"Once, we were. Not anymore. And she´s accepted the fact that I don´t love her, though she´s madly in love with me." And then, Draco uncharacteristically asked, " Can we stop talking and just go back to what we were doing before this? I´ll deal with Pansy later." He needed to feel Harry, needed to make sure that Harry was there, needed to make sure that everything was real.

Spurred on by Draco´s prompt, Harry took Draco into his arms and held him tight, mouth against Draco´s in an ardent kiss, tongues battling for dominance in each other´s mouths. And as they playfully teased each other in a kiss that spoke of love and affection, of need for each other, of need to be with each other, of promises of undying love and forever devotion, all worries out of their minds. The two were finally content for once, content with everything, content with the world, content with everything that had happened, content with life, content with each other, content to be themselves.

***

The next week, Blaise Zabini was nowhere to be seen, and Draco wondered where the other Slytherin might be. After all, he wouldn´t just disappear all of a sudden, without a single trace or clue of some sort.

Draco tried asking Pansy, who refused to tell him anything, giving off the implication that she was responsible somehow. Crabbe and Goyle, of course, would be of no use, too dumb to notice anything besides him, each other, and food. Maybe Pansy too, once in a while. Nott would be of no help at all, idiotic follower that he was, a cringing sniveling coward, which left him with his mother, who being a Malfoy and socially accepted in the highest circles of the Wizarding aristocracy, should know about everything that´s going on. Even though she had once been a Moore, a disgraced Moore at that, she was now a Malfoy, a prominent member of the Wizarding community, perhaps even more so than she had been when she was a Moore. Of course, her past was one of those things that everyone knew but never talked about.

Thus, Draco wrote to his mother about the disappearance of Blaise Zabini. A day later, he received his answer, which was something that he did not want to hear.

Pansy didn´t tell you? She wrote to me about what happened at the beginning of this month. I was shocked at Zabini´s behavior, needless to say. Thus, on behalf of both of our families, I sued the Zabinis in court, for almost violating the honor of a Parkinson, a prominent member of our community. They paid a hefty sum to both of our families, nearly bankrupting the family. About ten million galleons were paid to the Parkinsons and five million galleons to us, for daring to try to violate the honor of Pansy, who you are betrothed to. And because of this disgrace, Blaise Zabini has been withdrawn from Hogwarts. I believe he is now enrolled in Durmstrang. This whole thing has been hushed up, of course; after all, we can´t allow such news to leak out to the press and the tabloids, can we?

How dare Pansy go to his mother behind his back? He had promised himself that he would avenge Pansy one day. And then, she, not trusting him, the one she loved, goes tattling to his mother about this whole mess. And Narcissa, being who she was, of course, had to make sure that the Zabinis were taught a lesson

But this was too much for Draco to take. First, she went off behind his back and got Narcissa to take action against Blaise, then she somehow discovered about him and Harry and threatened Harry. They needed to talk.

Draco found Pansy chatting to Milicent in the common room. Milicent, seeing Draco approach, quickly excused herself and left, leaving the two alone to talk.

"We need to talk, Pansy, privately."

She looked at him with mild surprise before following him into his dorms. Not that she hadn´t been in there before, once, a long time ago. And she had lain in that wonderful bed against a wonderfully warm and adequate and superb body and believed that this heaven would last forever, only to have her dreams shattered the next day. From then on, the dorms held bad memories for her, and she tried to avoid it as much as she could.

As soon as the door was shut, Draco launched into a cold and calm tirade, though nonetheless, a tirade.

"What did you think you were doing, Pansy? Going behind my back and owling my mother about what happened here? I would have taken care of it; she didn´t have to know. And then, you threaten my Harry. I don´t know how you found out about us together, since the last time I checked, you only knew about my love for him, but nonetheless, you threaten Harry, someone you know who is dear to me. What´s gotten into you, Pansy?"

"Draco, I know that you would have avenged me," Pansy began, in the same icy tone, "but that wasn´t enough. I needed something done now. And Narcissa was the perfect person to owl. I couldn´t have owled my own parents, they would probably beat me when I go home for the summer for being weak after everything that they had taught me. She had power; who better else to teach the Zabinis a lesson for messing with their superiors? And threaten your Harry? I was only giving him some standards. He´s not allowed to treat you anyway he wants. And take my word, Draco, if he ever wrongs you, I will stop at nothing to strike him down, even if you stand in my way."

Pansy then left the dorm in a huff. Really. Everything she did was for the good of him, couldn´t he see that? She couldn´t allow the antipathy between him and Zabini level up another notch, or otherwise, there would be no happily ever after, not that there ever was in the first place. If the blatant hatred increased between them, then, when the two became Death Eaters, they would spread discord among the ranks with their spite for each other, which would mean lots and lots of pain and torturing and suffering, as neither Lucius or You-Know-Who would go easy on them. And talking to Potter? She was just telling him that he couldn´t mistreat Draco, use him and then throw him away. The same way she had been treated. She was a fool for love, oh yes, she was. But Pansy never could stop herself, not when Draco was concerned.

***

Draco stared after Pansy´s retreating back. They hadn´t had such a quarrel since...he couldn´t even remember the last time they had a quarrel of such proportions. He didn´t know how to respond. Pansy was a good friend, a trusted ally. If he lost her, then there would be no one to talk to in this school except for Harry, who knew almost nothing about him.

But yet, she was so infuriatingly frustrating sometimes. Like now. Pansy did things for what she believed was the best, but they weren´t always so. Like owling Narcissa. This would only increase the vendetta Zabini had against him, make him a more dangerous foe on the battlefield.

And Draco knew that Harry would never mistreat him, not after what they had gone through for this. He meant too much to the Gryffindor. Even if she wanted to talk to Harry, Pansy shouldn´t have threatened him, should have instead just talked to him rationally, like a regular person.

And that brought Draco back to the fact that he didn´t know if he could betray Harry or not. After everything, he just couldn´t. Yet he needed to win this contest. What was he to do?

***

On Monday, in Potions, they were told to make a potion that would give them photographic memory. Many students eagerly made the potion, knowing that this would make N.E.W.T.s easier to study for. Hermione had started studying everything that they had ever learned for the second time, and she could be found in the Library at any given moment when they were not in class. The brunette practically slept and ate there. Harry and Ron couldn´t understand her, as she would undoubtedly receive all twenty N.E.W.T.s available.

As Harry thought about such things, he absentmindedly picked up three eagle feathers and dropped them into the bubbling cauldron, oblivious to Draco´s shouts of consternation and horror. By the time the Gryffindor realized this, the potion had turned from green to purple in a matter of seconds and was fizzing horribly.

The next thing Harry knew, a dementor was standing in front of Draco, who had been standing nearer to the cauldron. The class collectively gasped and ran as far way from the dementor as they could, all squishing into a corner of the classroom, Pansy, Ron, Hermione, Crabbe, and Goyle included.

Draco raised his wand and started to cast the Patronus Charm.

"Expecto--expecto--"

And then his knees hit the hard stone floor with a thump, hands clasped over his ears, trying to block out whatever it was that he was hearing. The blonde was shaking from side to side, mumbling under his breath, and squinching his eyes shut tightly, trying to eradicate the voices from his mind.

The dementor raised its hands and prepared to lower its hood. Harry knew that he couldn´t allow that to happen. The Gryffindor still remembered the events in Third Year, how he almost didn´t escape from the Dementor´s Kiss.

Harry searched in his mind for a very happy memory, then decided on the first kiss he shared with Draco. The Gryffindor concentrated on the kiss, everything that encompassed it, the moonlit atmosphere, the softness of Draco´s lips, the intensity of the kiss, letting everything about the kiss wash over him, then raised his wand just as the dementor lowered its hood.

"Expecto patronum!"

A dazzling silver shape burst out of Harry´s wand and ran towards Draco, standing in between the blonde and the dementor, protecting the Slytherin. It was Prongs, and what a majestic and handsome stag he was. The dementor glided backwards, away from the Patronus, and bumped into the cauldron. The cauldron toppled, and the fizzing purple potion flowed down the stones, seeping into the cracks of old age.

As the liquid touched the dementor, a ring of white light surrounded the dementor, and though the dementor made no movement, everyone could tell that it was in pain, gruesome pain. Its cloak drooped slowly downwards until finally, there was nothing left except the black cloak, lying flat on the ground.

Kyon spoke in a shaky voice.

"Mr. Potter, please escort Mr. Malfoy to the Hospital Wing."

Harry nodded, then knelt down beside Draco and put an arm around the blonde´s waist, making sure to stay as far away as possible from the Slytherin so as not to arouse any suspicion. The Gryffindor then pulled one of Draco´s arms onto his shoulder, and he rose from the ground, supporting the smaller boy. The two walked awkwardly out of the classroom.

When they were outside in the hallway, the classroom door safely shut behind them, Harry turned to Draco.

"What did you see?" he asked, concerned.

Draco answered in a distant voice, "This summer...my father...the pain...the torturing...the killings...the dungeons..." The Slytherin then focused himself and turned to face Harry.

"Why did you save me?"

"You needed help, Draco. You didn´t just expect me to stand there and watch you lose your soul, did you?" Harry asked angrily.

"You shouldn´t have. But thank you."

And as they walked to the Hospital Wing, Draco leaning against Harry and reveling in his warmth and love, the two both came to a conclusion. Neither could betray the other in the third contest, even if it mean that he lost. Each was too dear to the other.

***

Victoria frowned at Harry´s carelessness. Really, to have the First prophesize about him too. Wasn´t it enough that he was famous? But no, he had to be in the greatest prophesy of all time, too. But the boy brewed a Chaos Magic potion, and that was completely out of the standards.

The first dementors were made from the exact same potion that had been brewed in Hogwarts. And though it created dementors, it also destroyed them. Which meant that they were lucky, especially since the potion was the only way to create or destroy a dementor.

But she was glad that it helped them realize what they had to do. Maybe their Tests won´t be so hard after all.