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batsutousaiTitle: Abandoned: The Re-Write
Author: Batsutousai
Rating: M/R
Main Pairing: Harry/Tom, Harry/Voldemort
Side Pairings: Ginny/Theodore Nott, Seamus/Blaise Zabini, past-Ron/Hermione, Hermione/Luna, others
Warnings: SLASH, mentions of child abuse/rape/torture, language, character death, minor Dumbledore bashing, Grey-to-Dark!Harry
Summary: A complete re-write of Abandon: Before the start of his seventh year, Harry Potter is abandoned in London by his muggle family and finds himself befriending Lord Voldemort.
A/N: This chapter covers events that occurred in chapters nineteen and twenty in the original Abandon. (And technically twenty-one, on account of that also covering part of Halloween night, but events go a different direction in this, so there's no trip down to the Chamber.)
Chapter Fourteen: Dancing
-0-
Harry didn't actually mind people asking him about the duel, but certain members of his friends started to get a little twitchy some time Tuesday afternoon when students kept approaching him. By dinner, the Slytherins had taken to pointing their wands threateningly at any student who approached the Boy Who Lived.
"I don't know why you're making a big deal out of it," Harry commented as he served himself some cobbler. "It's not like I didn't know it would happen."
"It's been two days," Malfoy snapped. "Surely they have better things to do than demand your time."
"He's Harry Potter," Seamus helpfully pointed out. "Anything he does is big news for at least a week."
"So let them talk amongst themselves. I'm tired of having them interrupt important conversations."
"How, exactly, was your conversation about the idiosyncrasies of Hufflepuffs at all important?" Neville asked in a dry tone. The referenced 'conversation' had been about to devolve into an all-out war over lunch, before a hopeful Ravenclaw fifth year had approached Harry with a question. That had been about the time that the Slytherins had started twitching every time a student came up to Harry.
"It is important to understand how other Houses–" Malfoy started.
"You're so full of it," Ron said, snorting. "You just wanted to cause a fight and are upset that you missed the chance."
"Excuse me," Parkinson cut in, "but who was trying to start a fight? It was a perfectly amiable discussion until you and the mud–"
Harry cleared his throat and glanced around Draco to give the Slytherin girl a warning look.
"Thomas cut in," Parkinson finished, eyeing Harry warily. When the boy-saviour returned to his pudding, she let out a silent sigh of relief.
"You were making fun of other students," Dean muttered, scowling at the pureblood girl. "What did you expect us to do?"
"Join in?" Nott suggested.
Next to Seamus, Blaise sighed and shook his head. Seamus grinned at him, having heard his boyfriend complain about the hard headedness of both Slytherins and Gryffindors more than once.
"You'll have to forgive those of us who don't enjoy poking fun at our schoolmates," Ron snapped, face reddening in anger.
"Because you'd balk at poking fun at a Slytherin?" Malfoy shot back.
"That's different!" Ron shouted.
Harry sighed as the conversations at the tables around them died off and everyone turned their attention to the brewing hostilities at the Gryffindor table. "Don't make me silence you two."
"If you don't want us arguing, then you shouldn't have let them sit here!" Ron spat, giving Malfoy a disgusted look.
"I'm so sorry our presence bothers you, Weasel," Malfoy returned with a sneer. "Perhaps you should leave, since it's such an imposition."
"Look here, ferret–!"
Harry and Hermione wordlessly silenced the two, then both stood up and walked in tandem from the Great Hall.
"That was...amusing..." Parkinson admitted, watching the departing figures. "Do they do that often?" she asked the other Gryffindors.
"Regularly," Ginny agreed, rolling her eyes at her brother and Malfoy, who were busy miming threats at each other. Neither seemed to have considered going for their wand yet.
"It's especially funny when they hit Ron simultaneously," Seamus offered, grinning.
"And I wouldn't bother trying to remove the silencing spell on Malfoy," Neville suggested. "Depending on how ticked off Harry was, he might have to be the one to remove it."
Nott snorted. "No one is that magically strong."
Parkinson pointed her wand at Malfoy and incanted, "Finite Incantatem."
Malfoy smirked and opened his mouth to verbally decimate Ron, but nothing came out. Ron pointed at him and laughed silently, used to being stuck under a silencing spell until his friends calmed down.
"I suppose you could go to the Headmaster," Ginny offered with an unholy glint in her eyes. "He should be able to remove the spell."
"No one is that magically strong," Nott insisted, shooting his own useless finite at Malfoy.
"What about Weasley?" Parkinson wondered. "And don't go telling me Granger is stronger than you."
Dean snorted. "Nah. But if someone undoes her spell work while she's still ticked off, she silences Ron again, then hexes whoever ended the spell. Not worth it."
Parkinson raised one impressed eyebrow, then stood as Malfoy finally pulled his wand out. "Come, Draco. Weasley isn't worth it."
Malfoy looked murderous, especially since Ron was still silently laughing, but he allowed himself to be pulled away by Parkinson. Nott followed them, still scowling at the idea that someone could be strong enough to keep their silencing charm from being reversed.
"That was fun," Blaise decided, getting to his feet to follow his Housemates.
"If Harry's calmed down before curfew, we'll send him down," Neville offered. "Otherwise, he should be okay by breakfast."
Ron nodded in agreement to that. After a night's sleep, Harry had always calmed down enough to release him; Hermione was the one that usually held a grudge. (Ron had actually become quite proficient at silent spells when his two best friends had taken up the habit of silencing him the year before. Hermione had actually silenced him a few times just because she was pleased with his progress.)
"I'll keep an eye out for him so he can get in," Blaise replied.
"Harry'll manage without any help," Ginny said with a grin. "You probably won't even know he's been by until Malfoy can talk again."
"He'll never get into the common room," Blaise replied with certainty.
The Gryffindors traded amused looks and hoped Harry would calm down before curfew, just so they could rub it in Blaise's face in the morning.
Blaise rolled his eyes at the lions and left with a wave.
Harry did, in fact, sneak into the Slytherin common room twenty minutes before curfew and remove the spell from Malfoy. He let himself be seen by Blaise and Parkinson, both of whom widened their eyes in surprise, then vanished into the shadows. Blaise immediately turned to Malfoy and said, "Draco?"
"Hm?" the blond replied, distracted by a book he was reading.
"Hey! The spell's gone!" Nott realised, staring at Malfoy in awe.
Malfoy looked up with a frown. "The spell? Oh!" He grinned. "I can speak! Brilliant!"
Blaise and Parkinson traded wide-eyed looks. How had Potter got into their common room without anyone noticing?
Wednesday before dinner found most of the Gryffindors and all four Slytherins in the library. Ginny and Seamus had vanished earlier with excited gleams in their eyes and the others had refused to ask. Harry was distracted from his work by the question of claiming his winnings from the bet between himself and Tom, even though the questions had stopped due to the Slytherins, rather than the students having satisfied their curiosity.
Not long after Harry forced himself to return his attention to his work, after being prodded by Dean for some help, he felt an unholy glee from his bond with the Dark Lord. 'Tom?' he asked.
'So much fun! I forgot how gullible Gryffindors were!'
'What have you done to my friends?' Harry asked, not expecting an answer.
Indeed, Harry didn't get an answer from the Dark Lord beyond a mad mental cackle. Instead, his answer came in the form of Ginny and Seamus as they slipped into the library and joined the table, both looking rather like they'd faced down a dementor.
"What the blazes happened to you two?" Ron demanded while everyone else just stared at them.
Harry snorted. "You went to talk to Marcus, didn't you?"
"He's insane!" Seamus breathed, eyes wide. He half-rose from his seat, looking a little mad himself, and declared, "He said he'd eat you!"
Harry blinked once, then started snickering.
"It's not funny!" Seamus cried.
"Silence!" Madam Pince snapped, coming around a bookcase and looking imperious.
Harry covered his mouth with both hands as he continued to snicker and Seamus sat back down, looking chastised.
Once Madam Pince left them, Parkinson turned to Ginny and asked, "What happened? And why?"
"Ginny and Seamus decided to go ask how Professor Brutús felt about Harry," Hermione offered while elbowing the snickering Harry in the side. "Stop that, you."
"Can't help it," Harry gasped. "Sorry!"
"Weasley, explain," Parkinson demanded of the younger girl.
Ginny took a deep breath, then started speaking in a monotone, "Seamus and I went and found Brutús–"
"Professor Brutús," Hermione corrected absently.
"Shut up, Hermione," Dean ordered, enthralled by the story. Next to him, Ron was grimacing, while Neville, next to Hermione, just looked resigned. The Slytherins all looked intrigued, and Harry had forced himself to stop snickering so he could listen.
"We found him and asked him about his feelings for Harry," Ginny continued in a monotone. "Like, are they good friends or is there something more? And Brutús sort of shrugged and said he thought Harry was delectable. Seamus got all excited and agreed that Harry was delectable and Brutús asked how Seamus would know? Because he hadn't seen any bite marks on Harry, but maybe he was hiding them. And when we both stared at him, he went on to say that Harry would be particularly tasty when slightly cooked. Still some blood in him, but a little less chewy."
Harry started snickering again. 'Oh, dear Merlin, you didn't!'
'They started it,' the Dark Lord replied, amused.
"Then he started wondering about cooking methods," Seamus offered, sounding horrified. "Whether Harry would be better if roasted slowly over a fire, or stuffed into an oven and cooked. He also wondered about the pros and cons of cooking you alive..." Seamus trailed off when he realised Harry was too busy laughing to pay attention to their story. "Harry! He's bloody insane!"
"We knew that already," Hermione muttered, elbowing Harry again. "He's a sociopath."
"But he wants to eat Harry!" Seamus cried.
Harry pulled off his glasses so he could wipe at the tears in his eyes, still laughing to himself, despite Hermione's elbow digging into his side.
Nott gave Seamus a disbelieving look, then turned to the laughing Harry. "Is he seriously that gullible?" he asked.
Harry nodded his head and managed to say, "Yes... Merlin... You totally...fell for it!"
"It was a joke?" Dean asked, eyes wide. He looked like he'd started to believe Seamus and Ginny.
"But he looked so serious!" Seamus complained.
"You are so gullible," Blaise said, shaking his head.
"Brutús was a Slytherin," Malfoy reminded the Gryffindors, looking quite amused by the whole thing.
"And can you keep a straight face while talking about cooking someone alive?" Ginny demanded, some life returning to her eyes and voice as she realised that the professor had been messing with them.
Malfoy wrinkled his nose. "Why would I ever say something so crass?"
"Because you're a git," Ron replied drily, then turned to his sister while the blond scowled at him. "I told you to let the Brutús thing go, didn't I? So can we just...stop?"
While the rest of the table chuckled, Parkinson eyed Potter suspiciously. The Gryffindor hadn't been surprised when Weasley and Finnigan had come running in, and he'd been amused by their story, as if he'd expected something like it. And for Brutús to have come up with such an elaborate response, he would have had to be forewarned. Perhaps Brutús and Potter were closer than everyone else was being led to believe.
"Well played, wizards," Parkinson murmured. "Well played."
"What are you going to the dance as?" Ginny asked the Slytherins as they all sat down to breakfast on the morning of the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. Dumbledore had announced at dinner the night before that they'd be holding a dance instead of a Hallowe'en Feast on the thirty-first. Everyone was expected to wear costumes and, for those who couldn't afford costumes – or who weren't able to get them in time – there would be some robes and masks to borrow from the Heads of House. The dance was meant to help the students relax for the night and forget about any troubles.
"You'll just have to wait for the dance, won't you?" Parkinson replied primly.
"Is that Slytherin for, 'We haven't decided yet'?" Dean wondered.
"Probably," Ron agreed, grinning at the dark looks the snakes sent him.
"We could all go shopping together," Seamus suggested, looking almost hopeful.
"I was going to transfigure my costume," Hermione offered. At the surprised looks, she admitted, "I'm not sure I can find what I want in Hogsmeade."
"Something muggle, no doubt," Parkinson said with a sneer.
"No doubt," Hermione agreed.
"We couldn't shop together," Malfoy pointed out, eyeing Ron. "Weasley could never afford the shops we're going to."
"I don't need to shop," Ron snapped. "I've already got a costume."
"Was it a donation?" Malfoy suggested, smirking.
Ron flushed; the costume had been given to him by Kingsley.
"I'll probably have to transfigure something," Ginny admitted, leaning forward to see Hermione. "You'll help me though, right, Hermione?"
"Of course, Ginny. It'll be my pleasure." Hermione smiled down the table at Parkinson. "Let's see whose costume is better."
"You're on," the Slytherin replied, eyes narrowed.
Harry rolled his eyes at the strange relationships the two Houses had formed.
"Hey, Harry, do you know what you're going as yet?" Neville wondered.
Harry shrugged. "Not really. Why?"
"I've got an idea."
"Sure. We'll figure it out in the village." The two grinned at each other.
"I'm a little worried," Dean admitted, eyeing the two boys warily. For all that Neville was the quietest of the Gryffindors, he also had some of the weirdest ideas, and when he and Harry started plotting together... Well, bad things tended to happen.
"I'm not sure about the beard," Harry admitted, touching the potion-grown hair on his face. It was Hallowe'en night and the Gryffindor boys were all crowded in their bathroom, adding the finishing touches to their costumes.
"It's a little weird, mate," Ron agreed from where he was picking at some lint on the auror robes Kingsley had given him. There was some spell damage to the bright red robes, but Ron had thought it looked more authentic that way, so he’d left it.
"Didn't have much choice," Neville pointed out, tying his headband on. "Zeus has a beard. It's a fact."
"He's also supposed to have white hair," Dean supplied cheerfully from where he was fiddling with the game system Harry had loaned him to add to his costume as a muggle. The boy had originally been thinking of doing something else, but the thought of what the Slytherins would do when they saw him had made him practically cackle with glee.
"Yeah, well, we decided Harry's playing a younger version of Zeus," Neville muttered as he hid transfigured knives up his sleeves. "Stop that," he ordered, reaching over and batting Harry's hands away from the wrap over his torso. The green-eyed teen was mostly okay with the skirt, having spent seven years in the magical world – and he had a pair of shorts he could wear under it, which made it a lot more tolerable – but the fabric draped across his chest just didn't seem like enough.
"Let it be, Harry. You should show off what you've got," Seamus called in an overly dramatic Irish accent. He was dressed as a leprechaun and even had a pot of gold at his side.
"I will shrink you, Finnigan, if you come on to me again," Harry threatened over his shoulder. He liked his roommate, most of the time, but the last thing he needed was the Irishman hitting on him twice in one day. That had been... awkward.
"Understood, oh King of the Gods!" Seamus called, holding his pot of gold protectively against his chest.
"Help me out here, Neville," Ron said, leaning against the sink and watching the quiet Gryffindor place his last weapon in place. "What are you supposed to be?"
"A ninja," Harry and Dean chorused for what was probably the fourth time of the afternoon.
"It's a muggle thing," Neville said, reaching up to check that his headband was on straight.
Harry smacked his hands away and fixed the fabric himself. "Let it be, Nev," he ordered, then reached around to ensure the slightly older teen's swords were secure. "Okay. Looks brilliant."
Neville grinned. "Thanks! Hey, where are your lightning bolts?"
"In the dorm. I'll get them on the way out," Harry replied with a shrug.
"Well, let's head down now," Dean decided, shoving the game into his pocket. "I want to see what Hermione and Ginny came up with."
"It should be good," Harry agreed as they filed out. Everyone stopped a moment to let Harry gather his three lightning bolts in their carrying case, then made their way down the stairs. There was a brief wait in the common room, during which they got a lot of compliments for their costumes, until the girls descended.
Ginny came down first, decked out in what Harry and Dean recognised as a pirate costume. She paused at the bottom of the stairs to give Neville an odd look, which had the two muggle-raised wizards snickering, then announced, "May I present, her royal highness, Princess Hermione."
Hermione swept down the stairs at that, resplendent in a blue ball gown, a princess hat perched precariously atop her styled hair. The boys 'ooh'ed and 'ahh'ed as was expected, then the seven friends gathered together and discussed their costumes.
Hermione couldn't help but giggle at Neville as a ninja and insisted that he and Ginny duke it out in the middle of the Great Hall at some point during the night. Dean and Harry had loudly agreed, so the two purebloods had shrugged and agreed to do so, a little confused about why this was so amusing.
They finally made their way down to the Great Hall, Dean trying to explain to the purebloods and Seamus why it was so funny that Ginny was a pirate and Neville was a ninja. They never really got it, but Luna's arrival sort of made Dean forget about it altogether.
"What are you supposed to be?" Hermione wondered as Harry and Neville both went very still and stared at the Ravenclaw with wide eyes.
"Oh, I'm a thestral," Luna replied carelessly. "If you had a carriage, Princess Hermione, I would pull it for you."
Hermione blinked at the girl, completely mystified, but Ginny let out a snort before she covered her mouth and looked away.
Harry turned to Neville. "Did Luna just–"
"Yeah. Yeah, I think she did," Neville replied, eyeing the blonde with some surprise.
"Feast!" Ron demanded loudly, very determinedly not looking at Luna or Hermione. "Come on! Food! Torturing Slytherins!"
"Oh, yes!" Hermione's eyes lit up and she decided to wonder about Luna's oddities another time. "Parkinson and I were going to see whose costume was better."
"Yours is clearly the best," Luna breathed as Hermione strode past her.
"And I thought I was oblivious," Harry muttered, dropping an arm around Luna's shoulders as the other Gryffindors hurried past her. "Come on, Luna."
Luna looked up at Harry, blue eyes impossibly wide. "What did I say wrong?" she wondered.
"It wasn't you, it was the heter-flies," Harry replied soothingly. "They've been biting at her for a couple years now, and you know how it takes a while for their bites to fade."
Neville, who had stayed back to walk with the other two, rolled his eyes as Harry's explanation cheered Luna up. "Sometimes, I think you two have your own language."
Harry grinned at his friend and squeezed Luna's shoulder once before letting go and setting his shoulders. He was the god Zeus, after all; he could hardly be seen hugging a thestral.
Harry, Neville, and Luna caught up with the other Gryffindors outside the Great Hall. "They're not here yet," Hermione said by way of explanation as Harry stopped next to her with a curious look.
"We thought it best to wait out here," Ron agreed, stuffing a roll into his mouth.
Hermione turned away in disgust. "Who's even going to decide whose costume is better?" she wondered. "We'd need a neutral party."
"We could vote," Dean suggested, fiddling with the game station again.
"Too many Gryffindors," Hermione replied. "Dean, you do know that can't play in Hogwarts, right?"
"Of course." The boy grinned at her. "But my siblings spend most of their free time playing with these things, and since I'm pretending to be a muggle..." He shrugged.
"Who would want to be a muggle?" Parkinson demanded as she and the other four Slytherins joined them, all four decked out in fine robes, with Parkinson gleaming with jewellery. When she saw Dean, she held a handkerchief over her nose delicately and sniffed before turning to Hermione. "Oh, how plain."
"Because all your jewels really make a difference," Ron snapped.
Malfoy considered Ron for a moment, then asked, "Do you have a single creative bone in your body, Weasley?"
"At least I picked something realistic, Malfoy. What are you supposed to be, some sort of king?"
"Very good, Weasley." Malfoy preened for a moment. "I am the wizarding king, Draco, and this is my lovely queen, Pansy. And the Lords Theodore and Blaise, of course," he said, waving his hand over his shoulder at where Blaise and Nott stood. "Now, as the highest ranking individual here–" Malfoy started.
"I don't think so, King Ferret," Ron interrupted, grinning nastily. "You may be king of the prats, but Harry here is king of the gods."
Harry cleared his throat and pulled out one of his lightning bolts to hold up. "I think I'm supposed to smite someone with a lightning bolt?" he wondered.
"Potter?" Malfoy demanded, eyes wide.
"What's with the beard?" Parkinson asked, frowning at the wild thing attached to Harry's chin.
"I'm Zeus," Harry replied drily. "I have a beard. Problem?"
"It's just...unusual," Blaise offered.
"So, if Potter's the highest ranking individual here, does that mean he's judging Pansy and Granger's costumes?" Nott asked.
Malfoy looked disgusted. "Yes," he allowed.
The Gryffindors all looked pleased with that as Hermione and Parkinson turned to face Harry, both looking determined.
Harry sighed, scratching his back with one of his lightning bolts, and considered their costumes. He thought they both looked lovely: Parkinson had used jewels and beads to enhance her formal robes and she wore a crown, but the robes themselves weren't so good a make, since they were just a costume; Hermione's dress was relatively plain and her hat was more cute than regal, but the make was very fine, as if someone had spent hours working on it.
Finally, Harry said, "Judging by beauty, I'd have to give it to Pansy. But, judging by the actual make of the costume, I'd have to say 'Mione. Yeah, sure, Pansy's costume is very eye-catching, but 'Mione's actually had some work put into it."
"So you're saying it's a tie?" Hermione demanded.
Harry shrugged. "If you want a second opinion, find a professor or someone who isn't a friend to either of you. But, yeah, that's my call. You both look lovely, though." He smiled at them and clutched his lightning bolt protectively to his chest.
Hermione looked mildly disgusted, but Parkinson had a curious look on her face as she leant over and considered a seam of Hermione's dress. "You transfigured this?" the pureblood asked, and all the scorn she'd directed at Hermione for the past four weeks was absent.
Hermione gave the other girl a suspicious look. "Yeah. I worked on it all this last week."
Parkinson smiled. "I wish I could transfigure like you," she admitted. "I'm better at charming things, like all these jewels." So saying, she pulled one of her six necklaces off and carefully placed it around Hermione's neck. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch, Hermione."
Harry subtly cast a detection spell at the necklace but the only spell on it was a charm to make sure it always caught the right at the best angle, so when Hermione turned to him with wide eyes, he smiled at her. "Say thank you, 'Mione," he instructed.
Hermione turned back to Parkinson and held out her hand. "Thanks, Par– Pansy."
Beyond the two witches, the other Gryffindors and Slytherins looked completely baffled by this turn of events.
Ron's stomach let out a loud sound and broke the spell. The Gryffindors laughed while the Slytherins rolled their eyes and Malfoy demanded, "Do you have an animal trapped in there, Weasley?"
"Shut up, Malfoy," Ron snapped back.
"I guess we're limited to one miracle a day," Harry commented to Neville as the other boy fell in beside him as they all turned to walk into the Great Hall.
"That was weird," Neville declared.
"Do you think Parkinson meant it?" Ginny enquired, falling back a bit to walk with Harry and Neville.
Harry shrugged. "Well, the necklace wasn't cursed, and she certainly seemed genuine, but let's all keep our eyes open anyway, hm? I may be willing to let the Slytherins hang out with us, but I'm not that stupid."
Ginny's lips curled with a smile. "Really? Because I'd been wondering a bit. You even let them know about your crush on Brutús."
"Strategy," Harry replied. "And shut up about Marcus already!"
Ginny shook her head. "Not a chance. Hey! There he is!" She pointed over to where Marcus stood with a large chicken.
"Is that... the Headmaster?" Neville realised, horror in his voice.
Harry didn't care about the chicken, though. His eyes were only for Marcus, who was dressed in formal Roman attire, laurels wrapped around his head. The costume suited his Marcus form, Harry thought, and couldn't help a grin at the thought.
"It's worse than I thought," Ginny whispered to Neville, who shook his head helplessly. The girl grabbed Harry's arm and shook it a bit. "Harry, come back to us. Please. Don't let yourself be trapped by his beauty!"
Marcus caught sight of Harry and his two friends and raised an eyebrow. Harry flushed and looked away. "Come on," he whispered, hurrying over to where the rest of his friends had found a table. Seeing Luna so obviously pining after an oblivious Hermione helped him calm his racing heart a bit and Harry took the open seat next to her. "Hey."
Luna glanced over at him. "You look as though you've seen death," she commented absently.
"He just saw his crush," Ginny supplied, taking her own seat on Luna's other side. "Hey, Luna, are you seriously falling for Hermione?"
"You have a crush?" Luna wondered, ignoring Ginny, which just made the redhead grin. "Is he a man of great repute?"
Harry looked at the girl suspiciously and opened his mouth to demand what she meant by that, when an Italian voice said, "Greetings, Jupiter."
Ginny giggled at the trapped expression on Harry's face. "Hello, Professor. Who are you supposed to be?" she asked.
"And why are you calling Harry, Jupiter?" Ron asked. "I thought he was Zeus."
"Jupiter is the Roman name for Zeus," Hermione supplied, momentarily distracted from her conversation with Parkinson.
"I am Julius Caesar," Marcus supplied for the curious students, leaning on the back of Harry's chair. "Mind if I sit?"
"Please do," Ginny replied, eyes lit with glee.
Harry fingered one of his lightning bolts and gave Ginny a pointed look as the Dark Lord sat next to him. Then he turned to Marcus and said, "Hello, Caesar. How has your evening been so far?"
"Other than being accosted by a chicken?" Marcus replied drily and Harry grinned. "Not too bad. How about you? Anything gone wrong yet?"
Harry grimaced at the reminder that Hallowe'en was his least favourite holiday, since something always seemed to happen. "Not yet," he allowed, then grinned a bit. "Though, a miracle occurred!"
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "A miracle?"
Harry nodded. "Parkinson and 'Mione are sort of friends now."
The Dark Lord looked across the table at where Hermione and Parkinson were talking quietly over one of the Slytherin's bracelets. "Intriguing. What are you going to do about it?"
"Nothing." Harry shrugged at Marcus' disbelieving look. "Keep an eye on things, sure, but I'm not about to step in and demand they stop talking to one another. I am the one who let the Slytherins sit with us."
"Yeah, about that..." Ginny muttered.
"No need to sound so displeased," Neville commented from Marcus' far side. "It's not our fault Hermione and Parkinson made friendly before you could."
Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Professor?" Parkinson called.
"What can I do for you, Miss Parkinson?"
"When is the dancing supposed to start?"
A number of the guys rolled their eyes or groaned, but Marcus just smirked. "I believe the Headmaster wanted to give everyone an hour to eat before the band started up. So, perhaps half an hour left? You all came in a bit late."
"Someone had to be dragged out of the loo," Blaise muttered, shooting Malfoy an amused look. Malfoy sneered at him in return.
They all fell silent for a while after that, intent on eating the food they ordered by tapping their wand on the table and stating what they wanted.
As soon as the band was set up, Parkinson was up and out of her seat. Malfoy let himself be dragged out onto the dance floor with only minimal complaint. Ginny and Neville soon joined them, waving to their laughing friends. Luna managed to work her courage up enough to ask Hermione to dance, which the muggleborn agreed to with a surprised look. When Hermione gave Harry a curious look, he just grinned and waved her on.
Dean finally kicked Seamus enough times under the table that the Irishman got up, grabbed Blaise's arm and dragged him out onto the dance floor. Not long after that, Lavender came over to ask Ron for a dance and he grinned and walked out on the floor with her.
"This is a little lonely," Dean commented once it was just him, Harry, Marcus, and Nott left. It was part-way through the third song and none of their friends had come back.
Harry had turned in his chair to watch the dance floor. "I'm just waiting for Nev and Gin to freak everyone out."
"Oh, totally," Dean agreed.
Harry glanced over at the muggleborn and rolled his eyes when he saw the game out again. "Seriously, Dean. Someone's going to think you actually got the thing to work in the school and then you'll be mobbed by Ravenclaws."
Dean grinned at him. "Just imagining one of my brother's games. He let me play it a bit this summer and it kicked my arse." He flipped the machine over and pulled the cartridge out of the back. "This one here, actually."
Harry snorted. "Yeah, that was Zack's favourite game. I never played it myself, though."
Marcus considered the handheld console. "Looks a bit expensive for that idiot. Did he sell a bunch of drugs again?"
Harry rolled his eyes while Nott and Dean shot them curious looks. "No. His cousin was heading off to university and didn't want it any more; something about starting fresh. I don't know. Anyway, Zack thought I'd get more use out of it than he would."
Any further conversation was cut off by an excited shout from the dance floor. People stopped dancing and formed a circle around two figures who waved around swords that flashed silver. Harry and Dean let out identical whoops and dashed into the crowd to try and get closer. Many muggle-raised in the crowd were rooting for either the pirate or the ninja and that just made Harry grin all the wider.
The two Gryffindors reached Hermione and Luna after a bit of shoving and Harry slipped his arm through Hermione's, grinning at her as she shouted, "Pirates for the win!"
"Go, ninjas, go!" Harry shouted next to her.
"Oh, shut up," Hermione said good-naturedly. "Ginny is clearly going to be the winner."
"Nev's got more weapons," Harry retorted. "Two swords and however many knives he managed to fit in there."
"Having more weapons doesn't automatically make you the winner."
"Ginny would have made the better ninja," Dean commented, rolling his eyes at their arguing. "And I kind of wish Neville had an eye patch."
"Oh, damn. You're right," Harry muttered, snorting when Hermione elbowed him for his language. "Think about it, 'Mione: Nev, with an eye patch. And a parrot on his shoulder begging for crackers."
"Our poor pureblood friends," Hermione said, snickering. "How did you talk Neville into being a ninja, anyway?"
"He picked my costume, I picked his. How'd you get Gin to go pirate?"
"One of her roommates had a book with a picture of a pirate on the cover. She thought it looked awesome." Hermione and Harry traded amused looks.
They went back to rooting for their chosen champion for another few minutes, until the professors finally managed to get into the circle and stopped the mock fight. The professors weren't the least bit amused by the fight, especially when they found out that the weapons Ginny and Neville had been using were metal. Both of them were sent to the infirmary, grinning, while Snape and McGonagall shooed the students back to their dancing.
As everyone began to return to their dancing, Dean and Harry wished Hermione and Luna well, then moved back towards their seats. On the way, Malfoy stopped them and, looking slightly put upon, asked, "Potter, would you dance with me?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "I'm flattered, Draco, but not really interested."
Malfoy scowled. "I'm not being given a choice, Harry, so neither are you," he replied, grabbing Harry's free arm and ignoring the younger boy's flinch. (He was curious about Harry's tendency to flinch, sure, but since the Gryffindors never made a big deal of it, the Slytherins had decided to ignore it, too.)
Dean waved Harry off as he was dragged away. Harry just sighed and stuck the lightning bolt he'd been carrying into its case with he others, then let Malfoy lead. "What, exactly, is Pansy up to?" he asked, because there were only so many people who could get him to do something.
"I don't know," Malfoy admitted, wrinkling his nose. "And I don't want to know, thanks, though I'll probably find out. Why is Blaise dancing with Finnigan?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "You mean you can't guess? Seriously? They're not that subtle."
Malfoy huffed. "They're actually dating," he muttered. "Salazar save us."
Harry snorted. "They've been dating since the end of last year."
"No!" Malfoy stopped dancing so he could give Harry a horrified look. "I don't believe you!"
Harry grinned. "So don't believe me. Are you done forcing me to dance? I have smiting to do." He motioned towards where his lightning bolts were peeking out of their container.
Malfoy grimaced and shook his head, then started leading them again. "Not done until Pansy says we're done," he grumbled.
"You let her walk all over you? Seriously?"
"Shut up, Potter. You let Granger walk all over you."
" 'Mione usually knows what's best for me," Harry replied drily, "and when she doesn't, I tell her to piss off. You just let Parkinson order you around all over the place."
Malfoy was silent for a long moment, then he offered, "If she'd had her way, none of us would be sitting at your table. She didn't care what else might have been going on, she didn't want to sit with muggleborns and blood traitors."
Harry considered Malfoy curiously. "And what else is going on?" he asked, wondering if Malfoy would tell him about the orders from Voldemort.
Once again, Malfoy stopped dancing, glancing down at his feet. The two of them just stood there for a long moment, then the blond looked up, fear in his eyes. "Look, Potter, you're not a bad bloke, for all that you keep idiots as friends. The Dark Lord's got some plan involving us befriending you. Maybe you should just tell us to piss off–"
Harry smiled and shook his head. "I already knew about the letters he sent to your parents, Draco. Blaise told us when they'd first gone out. But thank you for telling me yourself. I appreciate it."
Malfoy gave him a suspicious look. "If you already knew about our orders, why would you let us sit with you?"
"Perhaps I had my own plans," Harry suggested, green eyes bright.
Malfoy looked like he might say something to that, but Pansy came over then, dancing with Marcus, who was grimacing. "Oh, Draco! Excellent. Potter, why don't you and Professor Brutús finish this song and I'll dance with Draco!" So saying, she grabbed Draco's arm and pulled him away.
Marcus raised an eyebrow at Harry and the teen rolled his eyes, then held out a hand for the Dark Lord to take. Marcus smiled just the slightest and pulled Harry into his arms, easily picking up the flow of the music again and leading the way around the dance floor.
Harry couldn't help the shiver that passed through him at the feeling of the other wizard's hands on his bare back. "She's crafty, that Parkinson," he muttered.
"Very much, yes," Marcus agreed, amused. He pulled the teen a little closer and felt a thrill of pleasure through the bond. "What had you and Malfoy standing around?"
"Oh, he was warning me that Voldemort had given them orders to get close to me," Harry replied flippantly.
Marcus snorted. "What did you tell him?"
"That I already knew that, but thanks for letting me know." Harry grinned up at him. "They're coming around."
"You're just too irresistible," Marcus whispered, leaning down to touch his lips to Harry's.
Harry smiled. "You're not too bad yourself," he whispered back, then looked up into the golden-brown eyes. "We're in public," he reminded the Dark Lord.
"Miss Parkinson has already figured it out," Marcus murmured back, "and the other Slytherins won't be far behind, which means Mr Zabini will tell Mr Finnigan and that will be that."
Harry smiled at that and had to admit that Marcus had a point. "Okay," he agreed and leaned up for another kiss, which Marcus granted. 'I love you,' he whispered in the privacy of their minds.
'And I...care for you as well,' the Dark Lord replied, grimacing slightly.
Harry let out a breathless laugh. 'Don't strain yourself.'
Marcus just rolled his eyes and continued leading them around the dance floor, neither one caring who saw them or what they thought.
-0-0-0-0-0-
A/N: I meant to get discussion of the prophecy in here, but the Hallowe'en dance sort of took over. Whoops.
~Bats ^.^x
Abandon the Prequel: Sixth Year
Abandon chapter 01
Reclaim chapter One
Abandoned Chapters:
One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six || Seven || Eight || Nine || Ten
Eleven || Twelve || Thirteen ||
INCOMPLETE
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