Nied is Not Enough

Chapter Five

Harry followed Draco through the halls and down to the dungeons. Although he was still quite upset at the fact that he had to share responsibility for bloody Slytherin House, he couldn't help but watch the grace in which the man in front of him moved. He got lost in the thoughts of the night at the Leaky Cauldron but continued walking. I know you. I know what it's like, Draco. His eyes and skin. The fluidity of his voice.

The men stopped at the entrance to the dungeons. "I can't believe I'm giving the password to a bloody Gryffindor," Malfoy said under his breath. Harry clenched his jaw at the sound of the man's voice. "Bunny rabbit," he said quietly.

Did he just say, 'Bunny rabbit?'

The steel door in front of them opened. "Did you just say, 'bunny rabbit, Malfoy?" Harry asked in a slightly amused tone.

The man turned on his heels again to face Harry. "As a matter of fact I did, Potter. Do you expect anyone in this school would figure out a password like that?"

Harry couldn't keep his laughter in. He doubled over, trying to catch his breath. "No, I suppose they wouldn't." He continued snickering as they entered the dungeons.

"Tomorrow, then, Potter?" Draco asked.

"I suppose so." The men turned and stepped away from each other.

Draco heard Harry laugh again. "Bunny rabbit, hah!"

A small smile played on his lips.

Two doors from the entrance, Harry found his door by the sign hanging on it. "Professor Potter, Co-Head of Slytherin House." Harry felt a shiver go through his spine at the words.

All of his belongings indeed had been moved into the dungeons. The quarters weren't nearly as bad as he had anticipated after finding out about his new station at the school. He had, of course, been expecting it to be cold and moldy. Instead, he found a warm fire already built and throwing shadows across his sitting room. He inspected the room; it looked almost exactly like his flat in London. It was just missing one thing. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and removed the small skull. He set it on the fireplace and cast the enlarging spell. Voldemort was in his rightful place again. Harry patted the skull's forehead and continued looking around his rooms.

His bed and nightstand were in the bedroom. A nice bureau stood against the wall opposite the bed. Inside, Harry found his favorite long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of jeans, pulled them out and laid them on the bed. Everything from the day was rolling around in his head.

Slytherin House. Gods. Draco Malfoy. Ron, Hermione. The Professors. The train ride. I was laughing! Draco Malfoy.

Harry hadn't quite figured out how he was going to handle this. He had lost more control in the past few days than he had in probably fifteen years. So many people touching him, so many memories (so many of them Draco), so much emotions surging through his veins. Dreamless sleep draught was the only thing that would get him through the night.

He began searching through all of his belongings, the bureau, his desk, the nightstand. His potion bottles were nowhere to be found. "Dobby!" he hollered as he flung himself face-first onto the bed. He had now one of two options. He could either try to sleep without the draught he had become so accustomed to or walk down the hall to Malfoy's rooms and ask the man for some. He rolled onto his back, grabbed a pillow and while covering his face, screamed into it. He would just have to try and sleep without it.

He lay under the covers in his room. A sconce still burned in the sitting room sending a low glow across the floor. Harry drifted in and out of consciousness for a few moments and let himself relax into a deep sleep.

He lay still as voices filtered in around him. He barely opened his eyes at this point. Professor Dumbledore was telling Draco that Harry was the man in the bar that night. Harry tried to shake his head but couldn't. That wasn't me it wasn't he kept saying in his head. Just then, Lucius Malfoy walked in looking more than dead. He walked over to his son and Draco slapped him across the face. Lucius fell into a pile of ashes. Harry was then on the dark grounds of Hogwarts. Dementors and Death Eaters were surrounding him. The patronus did nothing to send the Dementors away. Every spell Harry tried did no good. They just kept coming. Voldemort appeared directly in front of him. Voldemort lifted his wand at Harry's head. "Avada kedav..." Voldemort couldn't finish because one of the Death Eaters stepped behind him and threw his arms around Voldemort's body....

"Potter, wake up! Wake up!" Harry opened his eyes. He was soaked from sweat and was breathing rapidly. Draco Malfoy was standing at the edge of the bed breathing nearly as hard as Harry.

"You were yelling and screaming. I could hear it from my rooms. You're going to wake up the whole bloody school. Here's a sleeping draught." The blond placed a small potion bottle on Harry's bed stand, turned and left Harry's rooms without another word.

Harry lay back on his pillows shaking. It was nearly three thirty in the morning; far too late to take the sleeping draught. The dream ran over and over in his mind. I don't remember the Death Eater from the other dreams. I never get that far.

Harry stared at the ceiling for a moment, and then kicked off his covers. He made his way to his bathroom to splash some cold water on his face, got dressed and left his rooms to wander.

He looked about the dungeons, noticing how comfortable they felt. Low glowing sconces lit the stone walls. Portraits of past house heads lined the walls in the common room. The portrait of Professor Snape eyed Harry as he looked around the room.

"Mr. Potter." Harry jumped. "Why is it you are in my dungeons?" The portrait asked.

Harry turned to see his old Potions Master sneering at him from across the common room. He took large strides toward the portrait, sneering back. "As a matter of fact, Severus, I am now the co-head of Slytherin with Malfoy."

"A disgrace to the house," Snape growled. The two stared at each other for a period, and then Harry softened his features.

"How are you, old friend?" Harry asked with a warm smile. He hadn't seen Severus for nearly eight years. During the war, Snape outgrew his seething hatred for the boy since they had to work together so closely to fight the Dark Lord. They had become quite familiar with each other and pushed away their childish games. Snape, however, continued to be verbally cruel to Harry out of habit. Harry knew though, that he had made a solid ally and good friend in Severus.

"Ah, neither here nor there, I suppose. That's the problem with these portraits. I feel like I never get any rest." Harry knew that a portrait of a still-living person was connected to the real person's sub-conscious, which allowed them to be in two places at once.

"Still out of bed when you're not supposed to be, I see," Snape smirked.

"Well, Severus, at least no one can take points from me anymore."

The two spoke for a little while longer and Harry took his leave to wander about the grounds until breakfast. His day was busy as he caught up with Ron and Hermione, (separately, of course) and readied his classroom for the following day. He stayed away from Malfoy as much as he could, turning into empty classrooms or down halls away from the blond man.

As Harry settled into bed that night, he noticed another bottle of sleeping draught on his bed stand next to the one from the previous night. I need to remember to lock my doors, he thought as he uncapped the first bottle and let the familiar liquid slide down his throat. Bloody Malfoy. He remembered the man from the night before standing next to his bed with a black silk robe hanging open around his milky white chest. Harry pulled the covers around his shoulder and drifted.

The first few weeks of school went as smoothly as possible for a new teacher. The students were terrified of Harry, mostly because of his demeanor. No one wanted to cross Professor Potter or they would serve detention doing things such as scrubbing the owlery floor by hand or gathering night flax in the Dark Forest (so the rumors went). He once heard some of the older students say to each other, "And you thought Snape was bad. Try taking a class with Potter. He's liable to kill us by Halloween, for sure."

Both Hermione and Ron had mentioned to him on separate occasions that he was likely the most feared teacher at the school. "Sometimes, I think I would prefer spending time with Malfoy, mate. At least he's friendly. And you know how much I love that prat," Ron said one afternoon. "All you do is trudge around the school. You don't even eat in the Hall with us. How is anyone supposed to like you?"

Harry had been taking all his meals in his rooms after the first feast. He barely spoke to anyone. Even Dobby had stopped coming around. The dreamless sleep draught Malfoy continued bringing was at least helping him sleep. As the days wore on, Harry became more irritable.

The Friday before Halloween, Harry had a particularly frustrating day. He had been teaching the first-years how to perform basic defensive spells and paired the students with members of other houses. Things seemed to be going well as he walked around his classroom, making sure the students were only using charms to disarm their opponents. Someone made a remark about Morgan's eyesight and before Harry could stop it, she had somehow managed to throw a blinding curse at other child. For such a small child, Morgan was capable of much more than the other children. She had a way of seeing magic and breaking it down so that she could understand it, or at least be able to mimic it with her own magic. Harry was quite unsure about where this child had seen a blinding curse before. He certainly didn't teach that as a defensive spell. The other child had to be taken to the hospital wing and Harry was so upset about the incident, he took house points away from everyone in the class. He gave Morgan detention with him for that evening.

He dismissed the students and stormed from his classroom to the dungeons for lunch. Turning from the hallway to the entrance of the dungeons, he strode up to the metal door. "Bunny rabbit." Nothing happened. "Bunny. Rabbit." Again, nothing.

Harry could feel his temper starting to flare. His face was getting hot and he yelled the password. Nothing happened so he kicked the door. Malfoy. Harry stormed up the steps of the dungeons and across the main floor to the Great Hall. His face was red and his jaw was clenched. He burst through the doors to the Great Hall with such force that all the students stopped, mid-bite or word and stared at their seething professor who was walking with great intensity to the head table. Malfoy was sitting ever-so-calmly reading the Daily Prophet. Harry happened to glance toward the Headmaster, who was looking over his glasses at the angry man warningly. In a second, he slammed his hands down on the table in front of Malfoy. The blond bent down the corner of his newspaper to look at Harry.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?" Draco said without noticing the look of death Harry was giving him.

"A word. In the Hall. Now." Harry glared at the man deeply, trying not to notice his beautifully chiseled cheekbones. He turned and slammed through the door to the right of the head table. Draco simply folded his newspaper, set it beside his plate, took a sip of his water and looked at the Headmaster. He let a smirk slide across his face and stood to leave.

"If you will excuse me. I believe I am needed in the hallway," Draco nodded to Dumbledore and left the room. The students began whispering to each other as Professor Malfoy clicked the door shut.

Harry was pacing back and forth in the low glow of the hall. As soon as Malfoy entered, he stopped and stared at the man in front of him. "What do you think you're doing, Malfoy? You can't just change the password to the dungeons without telling me. That is my house as much as it is yours, in case you've forgotten. How dare you!" Harry had started out low and raised his voice with each sentence. He stepped closer to Draco with every word.

Draco watched the man in front of him and without flinching, said, "Actually, Mr. Potter, I didn't change the password. Professor Dumbledore did."

Harry blinked a couple of times, "The Headmaster changed it? Why? And why would he do it without telling me?"

"Well, Mr. Potter, it seems as though he wanted you to come and eat with us in the Great Hall," Malfoy smirked.

"Very funny, Malfoy." Harry was still standing about a foot away from Draco. He could feel the warmth radiating from the man in front of him. His hand twitched a little trying to move towards the other man's arm. He caught himself and put his hand in his pocket.

"Harry," Draco said looking a bit forlorn.

He just called me Harry.

"I'm sorry."

He just apologized to me. Draco Malfoy apologized. To me. What is going on?

"I told Dumbledore that you refused to come out of your rooms except to teach. You won't help me at all with the students in our house. We are supposed to be working together here. I'm worried about you."

Harry looked at Draco sideways, not knowing whether or not to buy this whole thing. "You told Dumbledore that you are worried about me? And why would the Great Draco Malfoy be worried about me?" Harry asked with a sarcastic tone.

Draco tilted his head to the side a bit and took a step back. "I'm not the person I used to be, Harry. You might know that if you would ever even give me the chance to talk to you without trying to snap my head off."

Harry looked at the man for what seemed an eternity. His chin was strong but not harsh. His lips were slightly shiny and his eyes...Harry had tried to forget the hazel eyes from the Leaky Cauldron. Draco's eyes shone with such sincerity that Harry took in a short breath.

"The new password is 'Nied,' from the rune of necessity. Look it up." And with that, Draco left Harry standing in the hallway and returned to the Great Hall.

Look it up. Ha. Harry studied runes in his spare time. He was drawn to the ancient symbols. Harry knew the Runes inside out and upside down. Nied, the symbol of necessity, implies that there are forces so strong and so ingrained that one must not rush to overcome them. It also signifies a distance between two people which needs to be surmounted.

Harry sat down in the middle of the hallway to try and figure out what just happened. Harry wasn't sure if he could trust Draco Malfoy, but those eyes, and he apologized and he told Dumbledore that he is worried about me. Harry sat with his legs crossed and his head in his hands. There was only one way to find out.

He stood and walked to the door of the Great Hall. He timidly opened it, trying not to make to much noise. As he walked in, he saw the Headmaster smiling, as well as Ron and Hermione. He took his place next to Draco. The Great Hall was again filled with sounds of the lunch hour.

Harry felt his heart beating in his chest as Draco smiled next to him. It was a genuine smile which lightened the blonde's features. Harry felt warmth in his stomach as he reached toward his fork. He almost returned the smile. They ate in silence as the hall began to empty.

"I was wondering, Mr. Potter, if we could discuss some things about our house a little later this evening," Draco said with his usual mordant tone. Harry glanced up at the words, but saw the same sincerity in Draco's eyes that he had seen in the hallway moments before.

"In the staffroom at seven?" Draco asked.

Harry nodded his head. "Oh, I might be a bit late. I gave a student detention and I fully intend to, well nothing. Seven." Harry got up and left the Great Hall with much less anger than he entered with. Dumbledore smiled after him.

The afternoon classes proved to be worse than the morning. The students were obviously not paying attention seeing as how the following day was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. A few of the sixth years decided to have a bit of fun during Harry's last class of the day. They hit all the desks with a jelly charm. None of the students could take notes because the desks were sagging under the pressure of their quills. The students were giggling and whispering as Harry turned from the chalkboard. As soon as they noticed, a hush fell over them. He turned back to the chalkboard and continued writing. He thought of the tricks Fred and George Weasley used to play during his time as a student. The students were giggling again.

"Mr. White and Mr. Evans. I suppose that spending detention with me tomorrow instead of going to Hogsmeade is worth your little joke," Harry said still facing the chalkboard. Harry felt the students tense at his words.

"No professor Potter, sir," Mitch Evans replied. The bell rang through the hallways.

"Gentlemen. You will stay," Harry said as the other students hustled as quickly as they could from the classroom, afraid of what was to become of their two favorite jokesters. The two sixth years sunk into their chairs as Harry approached them.

"Might you explain why you feel it is appropriate to play your little jokes in here? Is my class too boring for you?"

The two boys began squirming as Harry settled himself on a chair in front of their desks. At the same time, the boys began blabbering "We just thought..." "You see we were in..." "We went to Hogsmeade and we saw a coupla' blokes with red hair" "yeah and they said that they knew you and" "and that you would like it if we played a joke in your class" "and they said that you were uptight" at this, Mitch Evans slapped his hands over his mouth and shot Harry a look of utter fear.

Harry had been looking back and forth between the youngsters as they blabbered on. "They had red hair, did they? They wouldn't happen to be the Weasley brothers now would they?" The boys nodded their heads. "Uptight, did they say?" The boys looked so afraid at this point, Harry openly laughed. Mitch Evans and Ross White visibly eased their tension. "Now, gentlemen, I can appreciate the good joke every now and again, but this class is not an appropriate place."

"Yes sir," the boys replied simultaneously, obviously relieved that they were not facing their deaths just yet.

"You may go to Hogsmeade tomorrow, but first, you will restore all the desks to their normal texture and you will clean the floors in this classroom. Without any spells." Harry stood and started to leave the classroom. He poked his finger at the desk in front of the boys. It jiggled under his finger. "By the way, boys, nice charm. I don't really want to know how it is you managed to do it without my knowledge. I'm sure nothing like this will happen again." He eyed the two in front of him harshly and continued out of the classroom.

Harry smirked as he made his way through the halls to the Dungeons for a short rest before dinner. "Nied," Harry murmured at the metal door. It opened to his relief. On the desk in his room, Harry found a piece of parchment address to him. He tossed his jacket and wand on one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and sat down to read the parchment.

Professor Potter,

It is my very sorrowful duty to let you know that one of your student's parents passed away this morning. Miss Morgan Wolfe will need to be excused from classes for the next week as she will be returning to Ireland this evening for her mother's funeral and her own future arrangements. Accept my sincerest apologies in this matter. Do what you can to help this student accept her mother's death as she is now without any known family.

M.M.

Harry let the parchment slip from his fingers and he watched the flames in the fireplace thrash against the bricks.