𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭

Draco and Harry walked side by side to the edge of the forbidden forest . Both in their heads thinking what to do now.

Stopping at the edge of the thick vegetation , Harry turned to Draco .

" We need to talk " ; Harry said in a resolut tone ,leaving no space for refusal .

They both knew that there was no way to hide things now . Both of them had revealed their ace cards . The only option they now had was a co-operation to attain their respective goals . Over that , they were handed this mysterious egg of unknown origin .

Harry stood there , searching Malfoy's eyes . He could see the helplessness , the tiredness and risk swirling in those silver eyes , like the dark blemishes on the face of fair moon . He kept his lips pursed tightly , his head bowed down.

" You know it's inevitable "; with a monotone voice Harry lists .

" I know what the situation demands of me , Potter . But what I do not know is your credibility . How do I trust you ?" ; Malfoy's voice was a mere whisper , filled with an empty void . The words brushing his ears like a frigid wind .

As they say , the one who experiences heavenly tribulation is the one most fearful as well as most thankful to the Heavens .Malfoy is still wary after the ordeal with his father .

"I believe I've proven my credibility enough , haven't I ? "; And it was true . Harry had no wish for unnecessary actions .

" Do not jest , Potter . There is no one alive who will not use a leverage in the time of peril . If you do not have a reason now then what about when you do ?" ; Malfoy said with a giggle in his voice like a fleeting mirth . He was still looking ahead , avoiding Harry's gaze .

The ones who don't understand the honeyed words will surely understand the language of threat. And Malfoy was exactly of this kind . And Harry was proficient in both .

Stepping forward to stand behind Malfoy , Harry caressed his ears , his fingers barely touching the skin , cold from the gloomy winds . His face so close to Draco's nape that he could see the faint veins running down beside his ears .

Harry's eyes darkened as he said in a voice similar to silence at the bottom of a deep dark sea , captivatingly haunting ," Carefully weigh your words , Malfoy . Once inside other's ears , they always stay there , no matter how much you wish you hadn't delivered them so "

Malfoy forgot that Harry had enough strength to turn the tables against him , in political situations as well as public image . Harry's word was enough to destroy him . He did not need leverage over Malfoy . He forgot that no matter how brave or good or righteous Harry was , power is an inevitable lure , especially in the form of control over his arch-nemesis , over someone like Draco Malfoy , especially Draco Malfoy .

Hand running down to Draco's throat , gently rubbing the small protrusion . It was a wonder that the tiny ball wasn't running up and down but slightly trembling .

" Ahhh~ ever so perceptive , aren't you ?" ; Whispered Harry . He wanted Malfoy to remember this fear. Wanted him to remember what Harry could do to his life . But no matter how much he reminded , Malfoy always forgot . Such was the anatomy of Draco Malfoy , the threat was remembered but the fear it brought forgotten . The calamity was lost but the disaster it bought always stayed behind . But it didn't matter , Harry will keep on reminding him .

His hand lay on Malfoy's throat as he gently curled his fingers over it to cover the delicately translucent skin .

Malfoy was stiff as a rock . Harry , satisfied with his demonstration , smiled shallowly . His threat firmly grounded in Malfoy's skin , his nerves and memory .

Stepping aside , Harry moved to stand in front of him to see his eyes wide and face pale . He looked Malfoy in the eyes and smiled a very gentle smile looking especially innocent in glasses as big as half of his face and unkept hair splayed across his forehead.

"Wait here while I fetch something " ; Harry commanded as he made his way to the school leaving him to stand there . He was not worried about Malfoy running away . He was smart enough to understand what he should and shouldn't do. Soon retrieving the invisibility cloak , he made his way back.

Seeing Malfoy still in the same place , Harry made his way towards him .He had his 'calm even in the face of disaster' mask up again as he looked up at Harry . Malfoy may think that his mask is perfect but he did not miss the way his pupils contracted the moment he caught the sight of Harry.

" Come inside the cloak " ; Harry said as he put the cloak over his head , beckoning him to step closer .

Malfoy's eyes narrowed as he squinted at Harry . Realising his hesitation , Harry sighed as he pulled a startled Draco right into his chest . He did not have time for a 'too proud to be near you' pureblood and didn't realise that it was actually a 'too close to be comfortable near you ' Draco .

Drawing the cloak to completely cover them , he looked down to see a very stiff Malfoy holding the egg in an awkward way so as to not touch Harry .

Ignoring the awkwardness , they slowly made their way to the castle . Entering the huge hallways , Harry slowly guided a very awkward Draco to the seventh floor .

Silently walking through the wide corridor , Harry had an inkling that something was coming . Which proved correct as the next moment Snape made his way across them . He hurriedly pulled Malfoy behind a statue as he vigilantly eyed Snape's moments .

Hearing a silent 'tsk' from Draco as he shifted slightly to better accommodate the egg , Harry put his hand on his mouth to mute him for good . Snape , probably hearing the 'tsk' , had stopped walking and was now looking around . He kept his grip on Draco as he squirmed and struggled to get Harry's hands off him .

Looks like Malfoy did not like being touched . Finding such a good opportunity for years of revenge !!! How could he let it go so easily ?!?!

Smirking slightly , Harry slowly dropped one of his hands down as he watched Malfoy's eyes warily following it . Slowly closing it just beside Draco's waist , he smirked as Draco looked up to give him a burning glare before returning his eyes on the hand .

" NO ! Don't you dare ! You pig !!!" ; Malfoy said in a whispered angry hiss . His eyes darting to look at Harry before going back to the offending hand still hovering over his waist .

Harry was having quite a fun . It was vividly amusing to watch the perfect proud pureblood being so twitchy .

" Pig ? To believe such atrocious words to be heard from the Slytherin Prince !!! What will the other snakes say ? I guess such behaviour is to be expected considering that Slytherin are a bunch of species lacking in decency" ; Harry irked whisperingly as his other hand drew closer as if to lay on top of Draco's head. It was obviously a threat . If he willed to utter anything else , he won't have one but two hands on himself .

Sensing the warmth on his scalp , Draco lifted his head again to give Harry a last scathing look before tightly closing his eyes and burying his face in the egg between them . Harry looked on as Draco's whole body stretched tight , readying itself for his hands , for his touch .

The general must run away when he has no soldiers to fight the war and surrender when ambushed with no chance of escape . And Draco is very much ambushed . Surrender ~ is the decision taken by Malfoy , it seems .

Smirking, Harry gradually lowered his hand . It was just about a hair's breadth away from Malfoy's head when it stopped and slowly drew back by itself.

Harry looked at the person in front of him and then at his own hand. He was confused .

Why ?

. Why was his reaction so different for Malfoy ? What did he have to make Harry behave in such an abnormal way ? Why was Harry's own body defying his will for Malfoy ? First was the incident in the girl's lavatory and now this . What was wrong with Harry ? No . What was wrong with Malfoy ?

Finally , Harry still did not touch Draco because it truly did feel inappropriate to touch Malfoy in such a way . Instead , if it had been Ron , Harry would not have thought twice. His eyebrows scrunched slightly with this thought which soon disappeared with the departure of a very grumpy Snape who didn't find anything , promoting them to continue their journey .

Stopping in front of the tapestry , Harry opened the wide doors of the room of requirements . Leading Malfoy inside and closing the door again , they came inside to the sight of a very cosy room with a fireplace and a couch in front of it with tons of soft blankets .

Raising an eyebrow , He looked down at a similarly confused Malfoy looking around . He had not wished for anything thus it must've been Malfoy's wish for this room to appear . Still , to feign surprise is too much of an anomaly . Harry exclaimed in his thoughts ,' Malfoy is such an antique piece* !!!'

{ Being an antique piece* - having a different or peculiar personality compared to others . Like an rare antique art piece between hundreds of commonly found art pieces .}

Sitting on the couch to make themselves comfortable , Draco started to wrap the egg up with a blanket , thinking ,' It is an egg , surely it needs to keep warm ! And the weather is so cold , what if it freezes ? When I take him down to the Slytherin dormitories , I will have to cast several warming charms , won't I ? After all , dungeons are considerably colder than here .' Draco mused with a concentrated expression and scrunched brows as he again undid the whole wrapping to do it all over again.

Harry watched as Malfoy wrapped the egg in thick blankets as he moved to again settle it on his lap . Waiting silently , Harry looked on .

" what should we do with the egg?" ; Harry asked.

"I don't know the future but I will take it back for now " , answered Malfoy in a troubled tone .

"Do you have any idea about what's inside ?"

"No . But that woman was a veela . I saw scars on her back. Her wings were ripped out and considering the wounds on her body , she must have been tortured ." ; Draco presented his analysis .

" Probably because of the egg by her protectiveness over it . Also did you notice the purple hue on the trees making a trail to her ?", Harry further questioned trying to ultimately estimate Malfoy's knowledge and worth .

"Yes , It was probably the poison in her blood which turned the plants purple . When the woman died she had the same hue in her neck . I can only conclude that she choked on her own blood which turned purple due to the poison and killed her almost immediately ." ; Frowning , Malfoy supplied .

Harry looked at Malfoy , silently assessing his views and alertness . His eyes flashed a surprised gleam , thinking,' Such knowledge and practical vigilance . An unpolished gem , he is ! '

" The egg is probably of a bird or reptile but the size indicates it being of a larger species . Can you assess it again ?"

"Hmm " ; replied Malfoy as he again closed his eyes and Harry could already feel his magic surrounding the egg .

Harry could feel Malfoy's magic , cool and calm . If comparing Harry's magic to Draco's then Harry's was like the magma swirling and boiling in the depth of earth , tightly controlled while Draco's magic was like a single pearl at the bottom of a deep dark sea , silent and cold . One inexorably dangerous and the other cryptically mysterious .

He watched as Draco supplied his magic inside it . Some time passed as Draco , still in the same position with his palm on top of the egg , scrunched his eyebrows and pursed his lips tightly . By the looks of it , he was having quite a difficulty meaning they were about to gain some information .

Opening his eyes , Draco looked at Harry . The egg was acting very peculiarly . It was actively absorbing all of his magic . No matter how much Draco supplied . Sighing , he silently called out in his head ," papa , Can you help me with this ?"

" Finally remembering someone as me exists , is it ?" ; Luar answered in a very monotone voice.

" I am sorry . I won't do it again ."

" Do what ?"

"Ignore you and not listen to you . Please , I already regret it "

"You ungrateful child !!!! I told you not to do it because I sensed this boy ! He might look simple but he is hiding much ! Even I am unable to guess what it is ! But he feels very similar to a person I knew , a very powerful person . And look where he got you ! You are right in his grasp ! Like a fool jumping right into the well , full well knowing that it already has a beast !!! "

Malfoy winced again and silently regretted his decisions . Why was he such a fool ? Now he not only got himself exposed to Potter but also threatened . He was a shame to Slytherins , wasn't he ?

To Draco , quite a time passed but actually it was only a moment . Looking at Potter , he said ," I could not find anything . It keeps consuming all my magic . I was not even able to check it's health."

Draco stopped before continuing ," Maybe you should try it ?"

Putting his hand on top , Harry silently closed his eyes . He tried to enter into the dense mass of the egg . That was when he felt a very strong backlash as his magic was rapidly being sucked out of him . He tried to withdraw his hand but it was stuck on the egg . Before he could call Malfoy , his vision blurred and blacked out . The magic from his entire body was sucked dry as he fell unconscious .

Draco looked as one second Potter was alright while the next he fell like a sack of potatoes . Panicked Draco moved to him . The golden boy cannot die on him !!! He did not need another murder charge !!! Checking his body to find that not only was his magic entirely depleted , his body was in a weak condition as well. Potter not only had deformed bones but also had many internal injuries yet to heal completely.

' Heavens , How many times did he come near to death to have so many injuries and still live along with it ? Is he even aware what a strain his body is going through ?'

Taking out several potions he ideally made , he fed Harry a potion to replenish his health and another nutrient potion . Finally done , he stood up and looked down at the unconscious Potter . Now that Potter was asleep , it was the perfect time to slip out and avoid disclosing anymore than he already did . He did not care from where Potter learnt to perform wandless magic . For all he cared , it was the best as long as he did not interface with Draco's life .

So Draco being the little slimy snake he was , ran away with his tail between his legs , very much like a fleeing kitten , jumpy and puffed up .

Taking the egg with him , he silently slipped out . Once out of the room , he put the egg in his ring storage and made a run for the dormitories . Reaching his bed he slipped inside the drapes to pull them down and cast spells to keep them so .

Now sitting in absolute silence , he thought. ' How did my great self land in this situation ? How the fuck !?! Over that I not only got exposed but also now I will have extra attention from Potter himself !!! Let's hope that he hit his head when he fell and has temporary ~ no , permanent amnesia . That will make everything so much easier . And not to forget , he also a very grumpy oldman to convince that he was truly apologetic '

________  

In the room of requirements , Harry woke up to see an empty room with no Draco and no egg .

' The kitty ran away , it seems . No matter . Where will he go ? To his dormitory ? To class? If he is in Hogwarts he cannot escape , can he ?'

Just then an oldman living in his head who had illegally hijacked his head space , finally spoke after consecutive days of complete silence .

" Finally , time that you woke up , brat . That boy of yours already went off running as soon as you fell " ; Eloise supplied.

" Did he ?" , Harry expected no less . It did not surprise him in the least .

" Sure did . A good choice to be an ally if you ask me . Even fed you healing potions before he went . He at least cares about you by the looks of it ."

" He fed me healing potions ?" ; Now this truly astonishedd Harry . He did not expect Malfoy to actually care about him as such . It was a novel feeling .

" He did . A vitality increasing potion and a nutrient potion . "

' Draco Malfoy , what else are you hiding in your pandora's box ? ' , Harry mused as his eyes turned an unfathomable shade .

Sitting up , he dusted his clothes and nonchalantly walked away .

________

The next morning sitting down on the gryffindor table , Harry looked at Malfoy to see him eating his meal . He looked fine and pointedly ignored even glancing at anything other than his plate . Harry kept his eyes on him throughout .

That night , Harry silently sneaked out after curfew to make his way towards Slytherin dormitories . It was fairly easy with the cloak and the boon of parseltongue .

Standing before the four-posture bed , Harry slowly parted the curtains . Inside lay Draco deep in his sleep , buried under the covers and a large white egg tucked under his arm . The sight unknowingly brought him a deep solace .

He came here to do and find out what he couldn't yesterday. But looking at this sight all his will dissipated as if warm steam into air . Sighing , he pulled the covers further up , as he looked at Draco as he fell in deeper sleep .

Harry stepped a small step back as he whispered in the darkness ," I leave you for today , Malfoy , for the sole acknowledgement to your care . I won't let you off the next time ."

As they say , for doing something only a reason is enough but for avoiding something a thousand excuses are listed .

That night Draco dreamt that he was in a very huge cave with a mighty black lion . The lion confined him there and he did not move because of the fear he had for it . Everyday the lion brought him different types of fruit and berries . Days passed like this and nothing happened , the lion did not eat him and Draco steadily grew into a fat, round, jiggly vanilla pudding . His cheeks grew round and rosy , his skin grew a healthy pale . He thought that if the lion was always like this then he wouldn't mind staying with him . After all , he just wished for a truthful friend . But then , one day this thoughts changed . That day after the lion came back , he slowly walked to Draco . Draco was scared but he thought that it wouldn't do anything to him after being so good to him for such a long time . But then it stopped right in front of Draco's face with it's snout touching his nose and opened it's mouth wide . Draco could see all its big sharp teeth and smell it's horrid breath . It was then that he realised that the lion did not want a friend but a fat , healthy and bulky prey to fill his stomach !!! He was only a very luxurious Delish which the lion made a lot of effort , time and patience in preparing !!!! He was a sheep fattented for slaughter!!! Now Draco could see inside the lion's mouth as it closed its mouth over the Draco's head . And -SNAP !!!!

Draco woke up with a jerk to see it was early morning with the first rays of sun . He remembered his late grandmother telling him that dreams seen at the first rays of sun are not dream but visions . Draco felt immense dread at this .

Looking up , he imagined his late , blond , stiff but awesome-when-she-scared-father grandmother and prayed ,' If you are somewhere hearing me , grandmother , then please bless your humble grandson for good luck and smooth sailing days . I promise to offer you a vintage bottle of 300 years old red wine next Samhain '

And this is when in the land of the dead , an old blond lady was looking into a wide mirror to see a young blond boy . Hearing him , she exclaimed ," This boy !!! Grew up to be such an unfilial brat ! Bribing his own dead grandmother ! He must have learn it from that idiot father of his ! I am going to curse Lucius from here ! He spoiled my good grandson !!! That good for nothing show-off son of mine ! He and his father , both the same !!! My dear Draco was such a sweet boy ~ grew to be such a gremlin ! HMPH !!! "

She said effective cursing three generations of Malfoy family lords and heirs .

But still she plucked a small petal from the vase beside the mirror to lightly kiss and blow it off into the mirror , watching as it passes through to land on the head of an unfilial blonde , glowing and shrouding him in gentle light before disappearing .

She elegantly stood up , muttering something like " well , I wouldn't mind the wine " before fading away and another soul taking her place in front of the mirror resulting in it changing the picture reflected .