queenteek: Lies (Draco, PG)
Title: Lies
Author: queenteek
Rating: PG (for language)
Prompt Set: draco 100.3
Prompt #: 18- Lies
Word Count: 1,500
Summary: If there was one thing he hated, it was being lied to.
Notes: Part 3/?? of “How to Save a Life”. If you missed the first parts, they can be found here.
Getting to Hogwarts was easy enough, it was getting in that was a problem. He had thought the mediwitch had been exaggerating when she said the wards had been reinforced, but she wasn’t. The gate itself was layered in spells he knew from personal experience were written with blood, and the ground a hundred feet before it was littered with traps that would be a challenge for even a veteran curse breaker. He wasn’t going to go into the village and take the tunnel, it was too far out of his way and he wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible. So, as he saw it, the only way in was over the gate.
With a quick look around, and a few steps away from the line of protective spells on the ground, he closed his eyes and focused on his feet. Years ago he would’ve been able to do this without so much as a second thought, but the ability was not very useful in peaceful times. A slight shift of his balance, a fast two steps forward, and with a small bounce on the balls of his feet and a mental push, he was in the air. His eyes flew open, narrowed as he twisted and turned himself over and around, and before he knew it, he was crouched on the other side of the gate, left hand pressed to the ground as he let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
“Been a long time since I’ve done that.” he said as he stood.
He stretched and pulled a small bag out of his coat pocket. A flick of his wrist and he found himself dressed in the robes Pomfrey had sent him. They were too big, and not at all fashionable, but it would have to do. He opened the flask of polyjuice and downed it as fast as he could to avoid the taste. He’d never had the stomach for the change, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting his hair grow out, eye sight change, and he frowned as he felt the skin of his cheeks sag.
“Hasn’t this man ever heard of anti-aging cream?”
An amused snort from behind him startled him and he whirled around, only to meet the face of a very familiar man. He swallowed hard as the man took a step towards him, a hand raised to keep him from protesting, and he suddenly felt very sick to his stomach. A flash of blue behind long dark hair, and he doubled over, heaving the polyjuice all over the grounds.
“Fuck.” he spat, trying to spit the taste out of his mouth.
“Veteriserum.” the man said, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking towards the castle. “You shouldn’t be here.”
He stood, feeling the effects of the polyjuice wearing off. If it had been in his system just a little longer, he would’ve at least been covered for an hour. Silver eyes met blue, and he ran a hand through his hair.
”Get back over the gate, and take the longest way home you can think of.”
“I have a meeting with-“
”Snape’s dead, kid. Died of a heart attack a week and a half ago.”
”What?! Pomfrey wrote and -“
“You’ve been away a long time, kid; things are different than when you left.”
“But she said he was going to be-“
”Use your head, Draco! This whole thing reeks of ‘TRAP!’- you had to of seen that!”
Rough hands grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look the man in the eye, and he gasped. Despite the years that had passed, those eyes never changed; still as expressive as ever, Draco saw the fear there. A tingle of magic raced up and down his spine from where calloused fingertips brushed his skin, and before he could stop it, felt his borrowed robes disappear, only to be replaced by the familiar Black robes.
“You trusted me once.” the man said as he turned to watch the castle for any sign of activity.
“I still do.” he breathed, hands shaking as he fought to keep them at his side.
“I’ll cover your tracks.”
”They’ll know I was here.”
”We can’t protect you if you’re here.”
“Who’s ‘we’?”
”No time!”
He felt the ground shudder as what sounded like elephants racing towards them. The magic in the air changed as they watched a herd of thestrals crest the hill, whinnying and nipping playfully at each other. They didn’t seem to care that the two men were there as they broke to move around them, but the hand on Draco’s shoulder tightened. One of the herd, a large stallion, slowed, staring at them, his tail flicking back and forth almost like a pissed off cat.
“Shit.”
The thestral lowered his head, ears pinned back, and spread his wings before starting towards them. As it charged, he quickly pushed the other man away and they rolled out of the path of angry hooves. There was a cry from behind them, and silver eyes widened as something jumped over them. A large black horse, what kind he couldn’t tell, pivoted as it landed, cutting the thestral’s attack off. The winged creature snorted and made to go around it, only to be slammed out of the way. The thestral bit at the horse, which in turn reared up and attempted to strike it. The magic around them had changed, and it had the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. The two circled each other for a moment, both equally pissed off, before the horse whinnied and chased the thestral off. It turned and trotted over to them, but it still wasn’t happy.
“Whoa, whoa, easy.” the dark-haired man said, reaching for the horse.
“You know- oof!”
Draco found himself stumbling backwards as the horse pushed him hard in the chest, and reached out to steady himself. Without even thinking, his fingers curled into the horse’s long, thick mane, and he pulled, other arm swinging up to catch its neck. The horse stopped, startled, and took a step back, effectively correcting his balance. Large brown eyes stared at him for a minute, before he leaned his head into the hand on his neck.
“You need to go.”
The hand was back on his shoulder, and turning him towards the gate. The horse pushed him, turning to look back at the castle. There was a dot of a broom in the sky coming towards them, and Draco knew that hat anywhere.
”Home, now. I’ll come fix your problem once I get Pansy out.”
”Pansy? She’s-“
”We don’t have time; you’re going to have to trust me to help you.”
“How will you find me?”
”The same way I did the first time. Go, now!”
He took one last look at the man, and the horse, before nodding and making the jump back over the gate. He disapparated just outside of Hogsmeade, running up the hill towards the Shrieking Shack. He found the entrance to the tunnel that would lead under the Whomping Willow, and took a deep breath.
“If McGonagall’s looking for me, I should send her in the opposite direction.” he thought, concentrating on a happy memory.
His left hand tingled and he balled it into a fist. With a final push of his memory, he threw his hand out, a silver ball of light flying from his fingertips. It swirled and burst open, leaving a small dragon in its place. It chirped and flew around him, ruffling his hair with the displaced air, and he smiled slightly.
“No time for pleasantries, I’m afraid, friend. I need you to go down the tunnel, into the castle, and wreak havoc. Buy me some time to get away.”
A determined growl and it made one last circle around him before disappearing down the path, a streak of silver in its wake. He turned and ran up the rickety old stairs to the attic, and flung the window open with a wave of his hand. There was only one way he knew of to get far enough away without leaving his signature behind, and it was a long fly to London. A broom flew into his outstretched hand and he took a deep breath before jumping out. With practiced ease he maneuvered the broom between his legs and sped off in the direction of home. If luck was on his side, his Patronus would keep the Headmistress busy enough for him to get out of tracking range, and he’d get home in one piece. He paused to look back one last time at the school, and his eyes zeroed in on the small speck racing away from the gate.
“That place is cursed.” he said, drawing a concealment rune with his finger before continuing on his way. “You’d better have some good answers, cousin.”
If there was one thing he hated, it was being lied to.
Part 4- A New Declarationl
Author: queenteek
Rating: PG (for language)
Prompt Set: draco 100.3
Prompt #: 18- Lies
Word Count: 1,500
Summary: If there was one thing he hated, it was being lied to.
Notes: Part 3/?? of “How to Save a Life”. If you missed the first parts, they can be found here.
Getting to Hogwarts was easy enough, it was getting in that was a problem. He had thought the mediwitch had been exaggerating when she said the wards had been reinforced, but she wasn’t. The gate itself was layered in spells he knew from personal experience were written with blood, and the ground a hundred feet before it was littered with traps that would be a challenge for even a veteran curse breaker. He wasn’t going to go into the village and take the tunnel, it was too far out of his way and he wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible. So, as he saw it, the only way in was over the gate.
With a quick look around, and a few steps away from the line of protective spells on the ground, he closed his eyes and focused on his feet. Years ago he would’ve been able to do this without so much as a second thought, but the ability was not very useful in peaceful times. A slight shift of his balance, a fast two steps forward, and with a small bounce on the balls of his feet and a mental push, he was in the air. His eyes flew open, narrowed as he twisted and turned himself over and around, and before he knew it, he was crouched on the other side of the gate, left hand pressed to the ground as he let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
“Been a long time since I’ve done that.” he said as he stood.
He stretched and pulled a small bag out of his coat pocket. A flick of his wrist and he found himself dressed in the robes Pomfrey had sent him. They were too big, and not at all fashionable, but it would have to do. He opened the flask of polyjuice and downed it as fast as he could to avoid the taste. He’d never had the stomach for the change, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting his hair grow out, eye sight change, and he frowned as he felt the skin of his cheeks sag.
“Hasn’t this man ever heard of anti-aging cream?”
An amused snort from behind him startled him and he whirled around, only to meet the face of a very familiar man. He swallowed hard as the man took a step towards him, a hand raised to keep him from protesting, and he suddenly felt very sick to his stomach. A flash of blue behind long dark hair, and he doubled over, heaving the polyjuice all over the grounds.
“Fuck.” he spat, trying to spit the taste out of his mouth.
“Veteriserum.” the man said, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking towards the castle. “You shouldn’t be here.”
He stood, feeling the effects of the polyjuice wearing off. If it had been in his system just a little longer, he would’ve at least been covered for an hour. Silver eyes met blue, and he ran a hand through his hair.
”Get back over the gate, and take the longest way home you can think of.”
“I have a meeting with-“
”Snape’s dead, kid. Died of a heart attack a week and a half ago.”
”What?! Pomfrey wrote and -“
“You’ve been away a long time, kid; things are different than when you left.”
“But she said he was going to be-“
”Use your head, Draco! This whole thing reeks of ‘TRAP!’- you had to of seen that!”
Rough hands grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look the man in the eye, and he gasped. Despite the years that had passed, those eyes never changed; still as expressive as ever, Draco saw the fear there. A tingle of magic raced up and down his spine from where calloused fingertips brushed his skin, and before he could stop it, felt his borrowed robes disappear, only to be replaced by the familiar Black robes.
“You trusted me once.” the man said as he turned to watch the castle for any sign of activity.
“I still do.” he breathed, hands shaking as he fought to keep them at his side.
“I’ll cover your tracks.”
”They’ll know I was here.”
”We can’t protect you if you’re here.”
“Who’s ‘we’?”
”No time!”
He felt the ground shudder as what sounded like elephants racing towards them. The magic in the air changed as they watched a herd of thestrals crest the hill, whinnying and nipping playfully at each other. They didn’t seem to care that the two men were there as they broke to move around them, but the hand on Draco’s shoulder tightened. One of the herd, a large stallion, slowed, staring at them, his tail flicking back and forth almost like a pissed off cat.
“Shit.”
The thestral lowered his head, ears pinned back, and spread his wings before starting towards them. As it charged, he quickly pushed the other man away and they rolled out of the path of angry hooves. There was a cry from behind them, and silver eyes widened as something jumped over them. A large black horse, what kind he couldn’t tell, pivoted as it landed, cutting the thestral’s attack off. The winged creature snorted and made to go around it, only to be slammed out of the way. The thestral bit at the horse, which in turn reared up and attempted to strike it. The magic around them had changed, and it had the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. The two circled each other for a moment, both equally pissed off, before the horse whinnied and chased the thestral off. It turned and trotted over to them, but it still wasn’t happy.
“Whoa, whoa, easy.” the dark-haired man said, reaching for the horse.
“You know- oof!”
Draco found himself stumbling backwards as the horse pushed him hard in the chest, and reached out to steady himself. Without even thinking, his fingers curled into the horse’s long, thick mane, and he pulled, other arm swinging up to catch its neck. The horse stopped, startled, and took a step back, effectively correcting his balance. Large brown eyes stared at him for a minute, before he leaned his head into the hand on his neck.
“You need to go.”
The hand was back on his shoulder, and turning him towards the gate. The horse pushed him, turning to look back at the castle. There was a dot of a broom in the sky coming towards them, and Draco knew that hat anywhere.
”Home, now. I’ll come fix your problem once I get Pansy out.”
”Pansy? She’s-“
”We don’t have time; you’re going to have to trust me to help you.”
“How will you find me?”
”The same way I did the first time. Go, now!”
He took one last look at the man, and the horse, before nodding and making the jump back over the gate. He disapparated just outside of Hogsmeade, running up the hill towards the Shrieking Shack. He found the entrance to the tunnel that would lead under the Whomping Willow, and took a deep breath.
“If McGonagall’s looking for me, I should send her in the opposite direction.” he thought, concentrating on a happy memory.
His left hand tingled and he balled it into a fist. With a final push of his memory, he threw his hand out, a silver ball of light flying from his fingertips. It swirled and burst open, leaving a small dragon in its place. It chirped and flew around him, ruffling his hair with the displaced air, and he smiled slightly.
“No time for pleasantries, I’m afraid, friend. I need you to go down the tunnel, into the castle, and wreak havoc. Buy me some time to get away.”
A determined growl and it made one last circle around him before disappearing down the path, a streak of silver in its wake. He turned and ran up the rickety old stairs to the attic, and flung the window open with a wave of his hand. There was only one way he knew of to get far enough away without leaving his signature behind, and it was a long fly to London. A broom flew into his outstretched hand and he took a deep breath before jumping out. With practiced ease he maneuvered the broom between his legs and sped off in the direction of home. If luck was on his side, his Patronus would keep the Headmistress busy enough for him to get out of tracking range, and he’d get home in one piece. He paused to look back one last time at the school, and his eyes zeroed in on the small speck racing away from the gate.
“That place is cursed.” he said, drawing a concealment rune with his finger before continuing on his way. “You’d better have some good answers, cousin.”
If there was one thing he hated, it was being lied to.
Part 4- A New Declarationl