Elementals of Magic: Prophecy of Lies

Chapter 28

Surprise

N.E.W.T.s were over, much to the relief of the Seventh Years, but that did not mean peace and relaxation. Finals were on the horizon, and the studying craze continued, though it had become less frenzied.

Draco found it very relaxing, not having to study for finals. Pansy, contrary to expectation, did not study at all after N.E.W.T.s, saying that since she already knew so much for N.E.W.T.s, she had no need to study for finals.

The week of finals arrived quickly, which left Draco with nothing to do. He had already brewed his Power Location Potion, which was sitting in a vial in his trunk, and his trunk was protected with numerous wards to ensure maximum security.

Slowly, the finals ended, and a carefree spirit descended over the castle, despite the war that was growing ever nearer. Couples walked around the lake, enjoying the serene scenery. Friends chattered happily, and every inhabitant of the castle looked forward the fourth and last contest that would occur the next day.

Harry and Draco were finally at peace with everything, despite the events that would occur as soon as both of them leave Hogwarts. They were content to enjoy what little they could before the two would depart for seemingly opposite sides. As soon as Draco was initiated, they could have no contact at all, as it would jeopardize everything that they would be working for.

June 10 arrived with no incidents. All the other students chattered happily at breakfast, speculating about the nature of the task. Many students believed that Draco would have an advantage, the task being that of his own founder´s, plus he was already in the lead. However, many others still believed that Harry could win, if he did spectacularly.

As breakfast drew to an end, Dumbledore stood up.

"Will everyone gather outside for the fourth and last contest of the Founders´ Pride!"

The pupils left through the doors excitedly, many coming up to wish their respective champions good luck. Draco received his with a barely perceptible nod, knowing that they wanted him to earn the much deserved glory for Slytherin House, especially since Gryffindor had been stealing everything for the past six years.

When they arrived outside, they found a table set up by the lake, and the four Heads of Houses and Dumbledore sitting in their appropriate spots. The champions gathered in the front, facing the judges.

Dumbledore stood up.

"Will the champions please retrieve their tasks so we can test them?"

The four champions turned around and walked through the crowd, which was now muttering amongst itself. Minutes later, the champions returned, each holding a potion of some sort, except for Bones.

"Will Mr. Potter please come to the judges´ table to present his potion?"

Harry walked up to the judges´ table and gave them his potion, which was a screaming scarlet. Draco scrutinized the liquid carefully, believing it to be a Love Potion.

"Now, is anyone willing to drink this Love Potion?"

Almost all of the female population raised their hands, eager to drink something made by the great Harry Potter. Draco felt like laughing at the hilarity of the situation, especially as more than half of Hogwarts was already in love with Harry, himself included.

McGonagall stared at the willing girls with a steely gaze, then turned her glance onto the Slytherins.

"In order for the Potion to work, we need a volunteer who is not in love with Potter already." The girls all gave a disappointed sigh and lowered their hands. "Mr. Malfoy?"

They wanted him to try Harry´s Potion? Like it would work on him, since he was already in love with the Gryffindor.

"I do not wish to be fawning over Potter, even if it is induced by a Potion," Draco replied loftily. Dumbledore looked at the crowd.

"Is anyone willing to drink this Potion? Professor Kyon has the counterpotion with him, ready to administer as soon as we have assessed the results."

Finally, a Sixth Year Ravenclaw raised her hand and accepted the challenge. She looked at Harry in the eye, then drowned the Potion in one gulp. Nothing seemed to happen at first, then she gave him a dreamy sigh.

"Wow, that was a really good Potion. Would you mind if I asked you to tutor me in Potions? Also, do you think you could teach me how to play Quidditch? I´ve always been interested, but I´ve never been able to have anyone teach me..."

Black handed Harry the counterpotion, who promptly handed it to the girl. She took it all too willingly and drank it, and the next second, she turned redder than Weasel´s hair as she hastily excused herself and ran back to the castle.

"We award Mr. Potter fifty points for a perfect Love Potion. Mr. Boot, you are next."

Boot handed the judges his Potion. Draco watched as Dumbledore poured one drop into a container filled with delicate hyacinths. In the space of several minutes, all the plants withered and died. Another usually forbidden Potion.

"We award Mr. Boot fifty points for a perfect Eradication Potion." An Eradication Potion, one that can usually destroy small forms of life in its surrounding area with one drop.

Bones was next, and she, of course, was too much of a wimp and not ambitious enough to make a forbidden Potion.

"Mr. Malfoy, please present your Potion."

Draco gently placed his vial onto the judges´ table and watched as Dumbledore removed the stopper and poured it onto a map of the England.

The map did not become wet, though instantly, small dots began to appear, signifying more than average power. Nothing big appeared, which would be due to powerful Wizards cloaking their power to obscure themselves from being discovered.

"We award Mr. Malfoy with fifty points for a perfect Power Location Potion. The winner of this Founders´ Pride is Mr. Draco Malfoy, champion of Slytherin, with 195 points out of 200 points! Congratulations, Mr. Malfoy!"

Three-fourths of the school groaned, though the cheering from the other ¼ drowned out the negativity. The Slytherins cheered for their victory and all the other victories that should have been theirs, including the House Cup in First Year, and they placed Draco on their shoulders and carried him away for a party.

And as Draco was carried away above everyone else, he saw Harry give him a tiny smile, and the Slytherin´s heart leapt.

***

The party was much better than any one ever held in Draco´s days at Hogwarts, and it would be talked about as the greatest party of all time in Hogwarts history by future generations. The Slytherins had gone all out, with no holds barred.

A feast had been laid out, courtesy of the House Elves, who had been all too willing to serve them, even though they were Slytherins. The Slytherins stood about and talked, and many of the Seventh Years forgot about the upcoming Initiation.

Draco could not escape to Harry, though he desperately wanted to. The Slytherins surrounded him and gloated about him finally beating Harry, and even with the amount of self-restraint Draco possessed, he had to strive to not curse someone for the insults they were throwing at his fiancé.

Then, there were the girls who congratulated Pansy jealously for having such a husband, and she had basically been forced to stand by Draco all night and shower him with affection, playing the part of the dutiful "fiancée". Draco tried not to recoil every time she kissed him, wishing that it was Harry instead, Harry with his mouth on his cheek, Harry holding his hand, Harry cupping his cheek, Harry standing by him.

Draco and Pansy retired together, saying that they needed rest, and many Slytherins exchanged glances between them, thinking that the two wanted some shagging time. As soon as they were out of sight of the rest of the House, the two breathed a sigh of relief.

"I suppose you are going to see Potter now?" she asked quietly, though she did not wait for an answer. "Congratulations, Draco, and I hope all will be well with the two of you."

Draco nodded, and she swept away. The blonde retrieved his Invisibility Cloak, then went to meet Harry.

Harry greeted him with a kiss, then pulled back.

"Congratulations for winning. I suppose Lucius will not be so bad now."

"Don´t talk about him, love. We have three nights left to spend together before I´m to be Initiated."

"I know, Drac," Harry whispered sadly. "And how am I supposed to survive without being able to touch you, to kiss you, to know that you´re here and not dead by Voldemort´s hand? I can´t live without you, Draco."

"And neither can I without you, Harry. If any interference is to be done, as your dreams indicate, then let it be done now, before we are both hardened men with stone hearts. Because once it starts, it´ll take more than a miracle to stop everything. Fate herself will have to change our destinies to save us."

"Drac, promise me that no matter what, you´ll never forget me, alright?"

"Harry, you are not going to be the martyr. I refuse to allow you to sacrifice yourself for everyone else. Everyone may have drilled the concept into your head, but you don´t have to believe them."

"Do you expect me to watch as all of my friends and numerous other people die because I refused to save them? Do you think I could live with it?"

"Do you think I could watch as you sacrifice yourself to save everyone else? Do you know what that would do to me?"

Harry pressed his finger against Draco´s lips.

"Let´s not talk about this, love. We don´t have much time left, and let´s enjoy all that we can before we have to separate."

***

When it came to where he should stay after Hogwarts, Harry found himself at a standstill. He needed to stay close to Hogwarts, of course, though he would be pushing it if he stayed in the castle. The Gryffindor did not want to stay with Ron, as he would be intruding on the hospitality of the Weasleys once again. Finally, he hit upon the twins. They lived in London and would be quite glad to have company, at least in Harry´s mind.

Harry told Draco, who basically shrugged, though he did say that he would most likely write to him or have Pansy redirect letters for him. After all, the xanthochroid couldn´t be too careful when it came to writing to Harry.

Hermione had opted to stay with Ron, and the redhead secretly told Harry that he was thinking about asking the brunette to marry him. Harry congratulated Ron, saying that Hermione would most definitely be thrilled. Ron, however, worried that the war would get in the way, and Harry could do nothing to appease his best friend´s doubts. He definitely did not mention that maybe they should marry soon, just in case one of them died during the war.

Harry´s last nights with Draco were intimately sweet and touching, and Harry could not imagine how he would live separated from Draco and having to pretend that Draco was his enemy when all he wanted was to snog the blonde senseless. And in battle...how could he even raise his wand and curse his lover?

The marks for finals were out on June 12, and Hermione complained endlessly that Draco had beaten her by one point in Charms with a 141%. Scores for N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L.s were to be mailed several weeks into summer, and most of the student population was happy, particularly the Seventh Years, who had finally graduated.

Harry, though, was gloomy, as this was the last night he would be able to spend with Draco. And the night was gone too quick. The next morning, he awoke to find Draco already gone, and Harry knew that everything that he had been dreading had finally and truly started.

The Gryffindor packed his stuff slowly, reluctant to leave the castle and his friends, but most of all, Draco. However, the time came too soon, and he was in a horseless carriage with Ron and Hermione, speeding towards the train station.

The train ride back was silent. Hermione and Ron cuddled up with each other and looked sadly back at Hogwarts, and when the castle was out of sight, Harry. Harry stared into thin air while his mind thought of the most beautiful blonde he had ever met and loved.

Arrival onto Platform 9¾ was filled with tears as friends bade farewell to each other. Harry saw Draco walk resolutely and determined towards a tall figure topped with pale golden hair, and in the next moment, they were gone. Draco was gone, gone to be Initiated, and then, he would carry out his special task, whatever it was.

Mrs. Weasley came to pick Ron, Ginny, and Hermione up, and she gave Harry a motherly hug. Ron also gave him a hug awkwardly, and Hermione pecked him on the cheek. They walked through the barrier into the Muggle world, and Harry noticed that all of them had a hint of sadness in their eyes.

Harry walked through the barrier and lounged around, not willing to leave. Many people bade him farewell, though no one else took any notice of him. Finally, after almost everyone was gone, Harry prepared to leave King´s Cross Station, but someone stepped in front of him.

"Mr. Potter, I see that you are still alive and none the worse for wear."

Harry stopped at the familiar voice.

"Professor Snape?" he asked in a ridiculous tone.

The man in front of him pulled his hood back a tiny bit, and Harry could distinctly see the hooked nose, the sallow face, and the greasy hair.

"You--you´re alive?!" he sputtered.

"Be quiet, Potter. I don´t need to attract unwanted attention," Snape hissed, though Harry ignored his remark.

"Why didn´t you tell Dumbledore that you were still alive? How are you alive? What have you been doing?"

"Potter, if I had contacted Dumbledore, the information would have reached You-Know-Who, and if he knew that I was still alive, then I would not be able to survive."

"Then why are you here, exposing yourself to the public?"

"Because, Potter, I have something that could aid you in destroying the Dark Lord."

"What?"

"A rare artifact, Potter. I could not have brought it along, as it is too rare and too valuable. I insist that you come with me to retrieve the object, Potter."

"Now? I have to go find the Weasley twins and drop off my stuff."

"You can floo to Diagon Alley from my home, Potter. This is urgent. If you don´t take up on this offer, then I will leave right now."

"I will," Harry replied. He did not want to go with Snape, but if what he said was true, then the war could be ended before it even started.

"I´m glad you agreed, Potter." Snape led them to a red Toyota Corolla, and after putting Harry´s trunk in the back and putting Hedwig in the back seat, he drove off with Harry sitting by him in the front.

The car ride was silent and awkward, and Harry found himself starting to doze off after several hours of staring out the window at the scenery, which did not seem to change the whole time. It was trees, trees, and more trees.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Not far now, Potter," Snape replied.

Finally, Harry felt the car jerk to a stop, and he groggily opened his eyes. They were in front of a large house, and Harry felt the hairs on the back of neck rising. He felt as if he had been at this place before, though he could not recollect when.

Then, the doors opened, and Harry´s heart dropped. Wizards that he recognized as Death Eaters streamed from the doors, and as Harry fumbled for his wand, he heard Snape calmly say one single word.

"Stupefy!" And all went black.

***

Victoriacalmly stepped out of her self-induced reclusion. The sun shone brightly, and her mood darkened at the joviality of the world around her. She was here to fight a war, not to pretend that everything was fine, like Dumbledore.

In her mind, Victoria thought the words Riddle House, and moments later, she Speeded to the once glorious house. The most advanced from of Speeding, but then, she needed to prepare. Victoria clasped her necklace, thencast a shield around herself.

A few Death Eaters loitered outside, though they immediately started to throw spells at her when they saw her. The curses bounced off the shield, and Victoria walked steadily towards the one that was standing at the door.

"I am here to see your Lord."