Second Place - Action/Adventure

(Saturday morning)

As much as I hated having to admit that I needed help, especially from my Head of House, I did it for Harry. I was amazed at the dour man�s willingness to help. I suppose I could have assumed it, given how Snape had reacted to Harry�s display in Potions, but actually experiencing it was something almost surreal.

Snape sat patiently, listening to me stutter and mumble my way through my explanations. He did nothing more than raise an eyebrow or nod in understanding, even when I described in vivid detail Harry�s using my hand to stroke himself to orgasm. I managed not to give in to the stinging behind my eyes when I relayed the bedtime incident. And I managed not to shake as I sipped my tea.

I knew Snape had his own thoughts about Harry�s flashbacks, or flash presents as it were, but he made no mention of them. He only informed me that he would relay the information to Dumbledore and that I could be reassured that I had done nothing wrong. As I placed my cup onto the table and stood, he broadsided me.

"I would suggest, Mr. Malfoy, that you inform Mr. Potter�s compatriots of these incidents as soon as possible."

I nearly threw back up the tea I had consumed. "W-what?" was my brilliant response.

"You must inform them," he gently ordered. "This will look all the worse if it happens to come out at another time or in another way. In addition, it would be of great help to have more than just one person watching for signs of Mr. Potter�s return."

I swallowed heavily against the surge in the back of my throat. "I have to tell all of them?" I mumbled.

Snape shook his head. "Of course not. In true Gryffindor fashion, anything said to one of them will be all over their house by nightfall. You need only to choose the one you feel most comfortable with to inform."

I must have turned pale. Or looked as though I would pass out, for he reached out to steady my arm. "Miss Granger is the least volatile of the group," he suggested calmly. "And the most likely to give you the benefit of the doubt. As well as the fact that Miss Granger runs the house, and whatever she decrees will eventually come to pass." His wry smirk actually went quite a ways in quelling my nervousness. Not all the way, mind you, but enough that I was able to leave his office on my own two feet.

Now I just had to find Granger.

And not throw up.

(Saturday morning-breakfast)

I wanted to die. Oh, all right, not die so much as sink into the floor. Either way, I wasn�t happy. I wouldn�t go so far as to say I was terrified, but I certainly wasn�t comfortable. Fine. I was terrified. I glanced over at the Slytherin table and Pansy gave me a thumbs-up to bolster my courage. Too bad I couldn�t race over there and plunge that thumb into my eye.

I led Harry up to the Gryffindor table and was slightly shocked to be greeted with the same joviality as Harry. At least from the bulk of the Gryffs. Of course, Weasel would never grin pleasantly at me, but I was fine with that. I showed Harry to a seat next to Ginny but didn�t seat myself. Rather, I hovered.

Harry wasn�t surprised. I�d told him I was going to have a talk with �Hermione� at breakfast and that he was to sit with his new friends from the house of the lion until I came back. I didn�t add �if I came back.�

I moved my hovering over to Granger�s immediate vicinity and cleared my throat. She looked up from greeting Harry with a quizzical glance. "Aren�t you having breakfast?" she asked.

"I-" Fuck. I just squeaked. The seventh year section of the Gryffindor table fell silent. I cleared my throat again and tried one more time. "I need to speak with you in private, Gr-Hermione."

"I don�t think so," Weasel gritted.

Bloody hell. Does he thwart me just because he can? "It concerns Harry," I replied in as polite of a voice as I could manage at the time.

"All the more reason to just say what you have to say right here, Malfoy," he smirked.

I turned a beseeching gaze on Granger. "I�m sorry, but I don�t feel comfortable telling the whole of Gryffindor," I stated quietly.

"Well, I don�t feel comfortable letting you off somewhere alone with my girlfriend!" Ron growled.

"Ron Weasley!" Granger narrowed her eyes at him. "I appreciate that you are trying to protect me, but I find it extremely insulting that you feel I can�t handle speaking to another person without you at wandguard." Weasel�s whole being drooped, as though he were a chastised dog.

"But, �Mione," he whined. She just looked at him. I�m sure they were having that silent conversation that couples sometimes have, but I couldn�t make heads nor tails of it and so I took that moment to suck in a deep breath in preparation for the horrid telling of my tale. "Fine," he eventually groused, and stabbed at his eggs.

Hermione sighed. She looked at me, pleading in her gaze. "Would you mind if Ginny came with us?" I turned to the redheaded girl and watched her carefully. She endured my brief examination with a smirk so unlike her brother that, had it not been for the hair, I wouldn�t have called her a Weasley. I could only see curiosity in her face. And concern for Harry. I shored up my defenses anyway.

"Fine," I nodded once. "Her too."

"And a guy," Ron interjected. I rolled my eyes. Would the demands never end? This was for his fucking best friend after all. Apparently Granger felt the same way.

"Ronald Weasley, you are pushing your luck!" she snapped. Heads turned from nearby tables, interested in what could cause the level headed Gryffindor Queen to become angry in public.

"�Mione," he held his hands up beseechingly. "I just want to be sure."

"Sure of what, Ron?" she glared at him. "Sure that you are indeed pissing me off to the point of hexing you? Congratulations. You are."

"I�ll go."

The quiet voice was nearly not heard over the crackling of tempers. Had Longbottom not stood up, he might have been ignored. Hermione turned her glare on him. Strangely enough, he remained passively cool under the heat of her anger.

"It�s me or him, Hermione," he shrugged. "I know you don�t want this, and I�m sure neither does Draco. But Ron is a stubborn bastard, especially when it comes to protecting you." Granger looked ready to explode. Neville just smiled slightly. "Give in graciously, �Mione."

Gracious? Not so much. But she did turn on her heel and march swiftly towards the door. Ginny shot her brother a look that turned him pale, but he still held his head high. I sighed.

"Fine, Longbottom," I said wearily. "Come on."

He nodded and moved in front of me to follow his friends. Granger led us to a small room not too far from the Charms classroom. I�d never seen it in use before, but in typical house-elf fashion, it was impeccably clean none-the-less. Granger threw herself into a chair, her arms crossed and her face flushed. Ginny took a seat on the desk in front of her. Longbottom took a seat next to Ginny.

And they sat.

And they waited for me to tell them why I�d brought them here. Oh, Merlin. What the fuck am I doing?

"I...I..." Bloody hell. I was stuttering. I looked around the room and realized that I was pacing as well. Well, shit. The Gryffindors seemed concerned. Ha! Bet that was about to change. I took a deep breath and dove in.

"Remember when I said that Harry was beginning to get some flashes of his old self?" They nodded in unison. "Well, he�s had some more."

"That�s wonderful!" Granger exclaimed, her anger disappearing instantly.

"N-not so much," I returned. A frown came to her face and I resumed pacing. "You see, there were two instances. The first came at...at bath time. A-and the second at bedtime." I couldn�t look. I just couldn�t. My imagination was going to kill me before they did. "Harry was kind of...needy after seeing Dumbledore last night," I continued. "He refused to leave my side, even to play with Vince and Greg. He just sat next to me all night."

Another deep breath. "I finally decided to just give him his bath and tuck him in bed." Did I just say tuck him in bed? Good Merlin, there went my reputation. Of course, at this point, I suppose my arse was what I should be worrying about. "He wouldn�t w-wash himself. He wouldn�t take the cloth. So...so I began washing him instead. I n-noticed after a bit that he kept squirming under the cloth. That he kept trying to get me t-to touch him in certain spots. I tried moving the cloth elsewhere and then I noticed his...he was...he was h-hard."

A slight gasp from the corner with the Gryffindors. I think it was female. I didn�t dare look. "I moved back, b-but he grabbed my hand." My voice had degenerated into a whisper. "He wr-wrapped my hand around his...around himself and he started to...use my hand to w-wank with. He kept t-telling me he loved me. He needed me. Begging me to touch him t-too. And then he...he c-came." Fuck. I was shaking.

"He seemed disoriented for a moment and then he was back to little Harry," I concluded. I had to. I had to look. I peeked up through the fringe of my hair. Granger was crying. Ginny was staring open-mouthed. Longbottom...Longbottom was just nodding with a slightly thoughtful look on his face. I could have just sunk into the floor right then and there. I don�t know how long the silence lasted. I only know I wasn�t about to break it.

"It�s okay, Draco," Neville filled the silence with blessed sound. "Go ahead and tell us the rest." I nodded warily but didn�t speak until Granger had wiped her eyes and Ginny had taken Granger�s hand in her own and gestured for me to continue as well.

"T-the next incident was later that night," I began again, my voice hardly carrying across the room. "I had put Harry in his bed but he woke up with a nightmare. I-I should have remembered the bath. I should have told him no. B-but I was sleepy and he was scared and I...I just let him climb in with me. The next time I woke up he w-was...he was r-rubbing off against me."

I squeezed my eyes shut and hugged myself close. Fuck, I needed Ginny�s hand right now. "I told him to stop. I did. I swear it. But he rolled over and pinned me down. He begged me to touch him again and then he...he..." My throat actually closed. No words would come out.

"He frotted you until he came," Longbottom�s calm, even voice rang out into the room. I winced, and nodded.

I cleared my throat again and again until I found I could make more than a squeak. "H-he went back to little Harry then," I whispered. "He...he thought he�d wet the bed." My voice broke again and I just stood there, waiting for the hexes to start.

"Well, I suppose I can see him thinking that," Neville's voice came again, this time closer to my ear. My eyes shot open and I flinched away. "You feel guilty, don�t you?" he asked gently.

"Of course I do!" I snapped, rather like an animal with his leg caught in a trap. "I shouldn�t have let him in the bed!"

He shook his head. "No. You feel guilty because you liked it. At least for a moment."

Fuck. Was Longbottom a mind reader? Holy shit, when I think of some of the things I�ve thought about him.

He smiled. "No, I�m not reading your mind."

Right.

"You�re a teenaged boy. You are gay, if I�m not mistaken. And you�ve just had the boy of your dreams rubbing his cock on you."

"Neville!" Hermione's horrified voice rang out.

"No, �Mione," Ginny overrode her. "Neville's right. Rather blunt," she sent a warning look at him that had him rolling his eyes, "But right. He needs to have Draco understand that."

"What the hell is going on here?" I demanded. "You should be hexing me!" At least I would know where the fuck I stood. Right now? I was oscillating all over the place.

"We�re not going to hex you, Draco," Ginny said with a slight smile. "It�s a bit...disturbing, granted. But at least it�s a sign that he�s in there somewhere. And that it was the right thing to do to place him with you."

What?

"What?" I repeated aloud.

"He�s obviously responding to you. That can only be a good thing."

"But...but I could be molesting him!" I blurted out.

Neville actually chuckled. "Right. And because you�re such a pedophile, you felt you had to come and share it with us, his closest friends."

I felt a flush coming up my neck. "Well, I could be," I said mulishly. I had no idea why I was even arguing this point. "And Professor Snape told me to come tell you," I added petulantly. "He said you had to help me watch for more flashes."

Granger nodded. "That�s a good idea." She glanced out the window and stood. "It looks like breakfast is over. Why don�t we get together later at the scrimmage? We can talk more there."

"A-about this?" I hated the quaver in my voice.

Granger shook her head. "Not exactly about this, no. I think I�ll be giving the others a very truncated version of what you�ve just told us."

Ginny nodded in agreement. "And I�ll kick my brother�s arse if he tries to start anything with you over it," she assured me.

I stared in bewildered awe as the girls linked arms and headed out into the hallway. A chuckle brought me back. Longbottom was standing beside me, watching them go as well.

"Ladies, they may be. Fragile, they are not," he informed me. He pulled his wand and pointed it in-between my eyes. I just closed them. I knew I deserved whatever he was about to do to me.

I felt a slight tingle under my eyes, around my cheeks and nose and I realized that he�d just cast a slight healing spell. My eyes shot open in astonishment. He shrugged. "I�ve spent quite a bit of time crying over the last few years," he said, gently resting a hand on my shoulder. "Learned a trick or two towards survival."

With that, his hand fell away and he, too, made his way out the door. And all I could think was...What the hell?

What the hell?

POV--Snape

When I cast Legilimens on him in the hospital wing, I felt as though the floor had fallen from beneath me. The Harry Potter I know was gone, and in his place was a child, terrified and alone. They say I have no feelings. If that is so, how is it that my heart shattered in that moment?

Blast Dumbledore for casting me in the role of Harry�s tormentor. Granted, I am well suited for the part. Given my history, how could I not be? Nonetheless, I have watched him grow from a frightened child into a courageous and steadfast young man. And now he is gone. Would that I had killed Lucius Malfoy the day following Draco�s conception. It would have saved the world a great deal of misery.

I blame myself for this. I should have seen it coming. Lucius has been far too moody of late during meetings with the Dark Lord. His anger at Potter over the fiasco at the Ministry over a year ago has festered within him like a disease. He is � was - never the type to assume responsibility for his own actions. Draco should be inducted into the Order of Merlin for exterminating the bastard.

I fear I shall never have the opportunity to tell Harry how sorry I am that I had to treat him the way I have. Even if he grows at an accelerated mental rate, he will not have the memories of my conduct toward him. I will never have the opportunity to explain. I should be pleased that I shall not have to, that there will be no need. But it is not so.

On the morning following his awakening, I was summoned, along with Minerva McGonagall, to the Headmaster�s office. I had not slept. I don�t think any of us had. The children looked worse than we did if that was possible. Miss Granger had been crying, that much was obvious. Mr. Weasley looked completely lost. As though his entire world had collapsed. I understood the feeling.

Mr. Malfoy appeared strained and fatigued. It is small wonder, his having spent the last several nights sleeping in a chair in the infirmary. I am certain he does not know that I am aware of this. Who does he think made the potions Albus left for him each morning? Does he not think Poppy checks on her patients during the night? Children are so painfully oblivious much of the time.

I am as proud of that young man as I have ever been of any member of my house. He held his ground and did so with sound argument and rational thought. What a fool Lucius Malfoy was for not recognizing what he had. I was not surprised that he knew about the Longbottoms. I was, however a bit taken aback that he mentioned it. He is normally much more cautious in sharing information he has gained through his association with his thankfully late father�s acquaintances.

He stood up to Weasley, he stood up to Granger and he stood up to Albus. And in so doing, he walked directly into the old man�s trap. Even I saw that one coming, but his experience is less. The man did not defeat Grindelwald by being soft. Even so, placing Harry in Draco�s care was the best possible choice that could have been made.

Then there was the incident in Potions class. I had determined to be on my best behaviour. I was not going to react no matter what Potter did. But what he did.... How can anyone look into that face and deny him anything? I did not care what the rest of the students thought. I had no concern at all for my reputation or their regard for me. It was as though I had been placed under Imperius and told to be honest with him and to comfort him. But I was not forced. For the first time, I did precisely what I wanted to do.

When I looked into his eyes, those childlike eyes, I saw with absolute clarity that this was not James nor had it ever been. He had never even known the man. If � no when � he comes back to us, I shall tell him that his father was a brave and wonderful man. He deserves to know the truth. My quarrels with James Potter were childhood things. I have only used them to create the part I was to play in Harry�s life. The one who challenged him. The one who did not treat him with reverence. I did not know he had already had nine years of that experience.

Later, in the Great Hall I heard everything. I heard Draco telling of Harry�s treatment at the hands of those Muggles he grew up with. If I had not been forced by Albus to swear I would not retaliate, the Dursleys would be living in a great deal of pain for a very long time. I heard Longbottom speaking much too loudly of Potter�s love for Malfoy. For a moment I was afraid that Draco would simply run away in spite of his own ill-guarded feelings. But again he surprised us all by staying firm.

And so I was not surprised to find young Malfoy at my door this morning. The fact that Mr. Potter�s first adult reactions were sexual neither shocked nor dismayed me. The Id is the first and strongest of the mental triad; therefore it was logical that it should be the first to stir. Draco�s reaction was amusing. He tried so hard to be clinical and detached. His entire body gave him away. Discussing this with Granger will not be easy for him, but I think he will find new allies. And he will need them.

Harry Potter is reacting to Draco Malfoy. It is the best news I have had in almost two weeks. There is hope yet.

Retreat - Chapter 9

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