Title
: Bruises"Let's not try to be a hero, Draco. Just tell me where Harry is, and no one has to know either of us was here." Sirius was sick of Slytherines who thought he was evil.
"Harry isn't even in the country, so you won't be getting your grimy hands on him." Draco was suddenly glad Harry was safe with the wolves. 'Safe with the wolves. You sound as crazy as Black. If anyone is going to be responsible for Harry's death, it's going to be me!" Why was that thought disturbing?
"We'll se about that." Sirius grabbed Draco in a fireman's carry, and headed for Dumbledore's office. He paused to thank the Fat Lady. "My dear, thank you for letting me in. If you'll excuse me, we have to go see the Headmaster."
"You nutty painting!" It was a funny sight watching Draco kick and scream like a child. "I hope you're happy! He's gonna murder me, you heartless bitch! Just because a Slytherine dares to come into your dorms, you're letting him kill me!"
The Fat Lady shook her head as Sirius walked off, Draco's rants fading. "So dramatic. Serves him right, never asking who Harry's godfather is."
*****
Eventually, it dawned on him that they really were going to Dumbledore's office. "You really are crazy. You'll turn me in even if it means going back to Azkaban."
"Oh, Dumbledore won't turn me in." Sirius addressed the gargoyle. "Mars Bars."
'Muggle candy?' Draco was dropped unceremoniously in front of Dumbledore's desk.
"I found him in the Gryffindor dorms." Sirius sat down across from Dumbledore. "I was expecting Harry, so I'd like to know what he was doing here."
"You're letting this mad man interrogate me?" Draco picked himself up off the floor. "You should be calling the ministry."
Dumbledore let out a sigh. "Harry was called away, Sirius. It appears he never told Draco who you were."
"Why would he have told him?" Sirius shot a look at Draco. "Planning on a prank, Malfoy?"
"I don't see why I should have to tell you anything, you homicidal maniac!" Draco turned to Dumbledore. "Sir, he knew the password to your office! You've got a security leak." The last thing he needed was some crazed ex-Deatheater blowing his cover.
"Sirius knows the password because I told it to him." Dumbledore wondered how to diffuse the situation. "And Draco knew it because Harry told him."
Both screamed, "What?" at the same time, and glared at each other.
"This really is amusing." Dumbledore smiled at them. "You're both on the same side, so calm down. Draco, Sirius is innocent. He's not going to hurt Harry. Sirius, Draco has replaced Serevus as our inside man. He's not going to hurt Harry."
"He's a spy?" Sirius looked like a man who's entire wold had just been shaken. "Why didn't Harry tell me?"
"That would defeat the purpose of being a spy." So Black wasn't guilty. But… "What about Pettigrew, that guy he murdered?"
"I believe you've met Peter. The sniveling mass that's always at Voldemort's right hand?"
"That thing is a Gryffindor?" Draco shook his head. 'Why wasn't I told about this? Need to know my arse. Ditch me in the field with faulty info, and see what happens?'
"I still want to know what you were doing in the dorms." Sirius crossed his arms, and stared.
Draco decided blushing was in his best interest, and wouldn't look at Dumbledore. "I couldn't sleep." //You're a fraud, never forget that.//
"So you broke into my godson's dorm? How typical?" Sirius purposely didn't mention it was typical of him at seventeen.
"I doubt that is what Draco was implying." Dumbledore was smiling, and Draco knew he knew. "It's my understanding he's spent quite a few nights in the Gryffindor dorms."
Sirius arched an eyebrow, and raked his eyes over Draco. "Why doesn't he tell me these things?"
"You don't…care?" Draco was a little shocked. At the very least, he'd expected ranting and raving. At the most, he'd expected to be hurt and lots of it.
"Care that he's dating a Malfoy? Of course I care." Sirius was still staring with mostly dead eyes. "But that's not what you mean."
"I'll leave you two boys alone for a moment." Dumbledore slipped out of his office, sure Sirius would want to speak to Draco in private.
"There are two reasons why I wouldn't care if Harry chose to be with anyone short of Lord Voldemort. He's my godson, all I have left of James and Lily. You're certainly not his first boyfriend, Draco. It seems he has a rather faulty sense of taste, but it's his choice." Sirius narrowed his eyes in a sudden realization. "You weren't expecting expectance, or even angry words. You expected pain."
"Maybe I did. What's it to you?" If he could even managed to convince this hardened man that he actually cared about Harry, then maybe he wasn't dead after all.
"Nothing to me." Sirius turned back to the direction of the door. "Sir, you can come back in now. I don't want to keep you out of your own office."
"Hey…" Something occurred to Draco. "What was the second thing?"
Dumbledore walked back in, and Sirius smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "Werewolves mate for life. I don't know what you're up to, Draco, but I'm sure it's nothing good. I'm equally sure Harry could do a hell of a lot better than you."
He looked Sirius in the eye. "I know." //A fraud who will destroy them all. //
-----
Harry was tired, dirty, and he never wanted to hear another person speak French around wolf fangs again. He barely mustered a hello for the Fat Lady before stumbling into the Commons room. After taking a good look around the room, Harry was sure that he'd finally lost his mind.
"Checkmate." Draco put on his best sneer as he moved his queen, and it brutally slugged Sirius' king.
"You're seventeen. How do you have the patience for this?" James and Remus used to play endlessly, and it had always driven him crazy. Only Azkaban had given him the patience to sit for hours at a time.
"Hello?" Harry set down his bags, and rubbed his eyes. "When did I get sent to the Twilight zone?"
"Next time I met your slightly deranged father figure, would you mind giving me some warning?" Draco only seemed to be half kidding. He leaned back in his chair, and waited for Harry's reaction.
"I hope you said hello to Moony for me, since you ditched me with your boyfriend to go visit him." Sirius stood, and walked towards Harry, who still seemed to be in shock. "Harry?"
"I need to sit down." He slid into a chair, seemingly exhausted. "I'm so sorry. I completely forgot you were coming, Sirius. Don't tell me you two have been bonding for a week and a half."
"Actually, he's been trying to uncover my devious plan to turn you over to Lord Voldemort." And Draco had been doing his best to convince a suspicious old man that he wasn't exactly what Sirius thought he was.
"Draco, would you leave us alone for awhile?" Harry reached for his bag. "I need to talk to my godfather."
"I think I've had enough of Sirius Black for the time being." Draco gave Harry a kiss, and headed for the door.
"Hey." He pulled a gift box out of his bag, and tossed it to Draco. "A souvenir." He waited until Draco had left the room before turning to Sirius. "Go ahead, I know you're dying to say it."
"Harry, I didn't say anything when you sleazed around in Muggle nightclubs all summer. I didn't say anything when you introduced me to that Joey boy with all the tattoos and a tongue ring. Or when he lost the keys to his handcuffs and we had to call a locksmith to unchain you from the bedposts. And I didn't say a word when he found out about Kyle and left you without a word. But this is different. He's a Malfoy. Nothing good has ever come out of that family."
"Sirius…." Harry leaned back and closed his eyes. "I need him, alright? He's taught me so much. I have a chance now."
"You act like you're in this alone. It's not all up to you, Harry." Sirius wasn't sure what to do. Three years ago, he would have hugged a scared fourth year, but here was something dead inside Harry now, something the Dursleys had cut out of his soul little by little.
"It is." He opened his eyes, deep endless green. "Can I trust you, Sirius?"
"Of course."
"Then there's something you need to know."
-----
Draco had gone to the Owlry rather than back to the dorms. Somehow, he had a feeling what would be waiting there for him. A piece of black parchment baring only a number. "Three." He knew what it meant.
//When word finally comes, it will be on black parchment, the message written in blood. My soldiers will enter Hogwarts through the tunnels, with Wormtail leading them. Be there to greet them. Oh, and Draco? Your father will be among them. Please, feel free to do away with him. It will give you good cover. Lucius Malfoy sneaks into Hogwarts, and manages to kill the Boy Who Lived before his own son takes him out. Very good cover. Think of it as a reward for a job well done, my boy. //
"Time's up." His fist crumpled the paper.
End Chapter Six
Yes, I know, I'm a horrible person, aren't I? If you'd like to guess what Harry told Sirius, email me, and if you're right, I'll send you a copy of the fan art for this story.
~ When I look into the mirror, and see a face I don't recognize, I am no longer surprised.
Choose Your Poison at www.angelfire.com/weird/cobalite/index.html
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Author's Note: Conversation in // are Draco remember a past conversation with Lord Voldemort. Also, I am a Slytherine with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named as her top match. Be warned.