Chapter 12
« Complicated? » Ron repeated (somewhat stupidly).
« At the same time, Ronald, saving Harry from the claws of a female Dragon can only be complicated, don't you think? » Draco explained calmly, « especially since Harry himself wasn't making much of an effort to escape either… »
« Why do you say that like it's wrong? » Sulked his husband, « I mean, if I had fought back or even tried to escape, I could have been killed. Or worse, end up in a Dragon's stomach. And let me tell you, Draco, living in a dragon's stomach is not my purpose in life!
« ... Of course you would see it that way, » sighed Draco, patting Harry's cheek, « only you, Love. »
« What? What did I say? » Asked for the brunette.
« Nothing, let me get on with this story before you fry your brain… »
The next morning, once Draco was wide awake (because even if Harry had been kidnapped by a Dragon that could possibly eat him, Draco Malfoy wouldn't move an inch to go save him until he was wide awake, and a minimum presentable. He had priorities, after all !) so, once Draco was awake and dressed, he and Charlie left to find Harry.
What Charlie seemed to have forgotten to tell him was that they would - apparently - have to walk a good two hours before they even saw the Dragon's nest. Draco was not impressed. And unhappy.
« And you didn't see fit to tell me that we were going to be walking for hours? » he grumbled.
« I thought it made sense, we're in the middle of the desert, and Dragon's nests are still quite visible from afar, » Charlie explained with a smile (and not the least bit tired), « when we were in the reserve, you didn't see any nests, did you? »
« ...Yes, I did. »
« I mean, apart from those on the reserve, Malfoy. »
« Oh, well... Then no, » admit the reluctant man.
« Which meant that logically, we would have to walk far enough, and therefore, long enough. »
Draco could see that Charlie took him for a fool. But honestly, how was Draco supposed to know all this?
« We're Wizards, why walk? »
« To avoid scaring the Dragon, who even if she was "nice" could accidentally eat Harry if she got scared. »
« Oh. I didn't see it from that angle, » Draco whispered.
« What do you mean you didn't see it that way? » Ron exclaimed, « everyone knows that you shouldn't scare a Dragon, it's logic. »
« It's logic to you, Ron, because your brother works with them and has explained to you and the rest of the family how to deal with them. » Harry explained calmly, « however, Draco wasn't so lucky, on his side, he was going blind. »
« It's true that it's logical for those who know it, » continued Blaise, « honestly, if I had been in Draco's place, I would have reacted the same way... It's true that in theory we know not to scare a Dragon. However, it doesn't immediately occur to us wizards that a spell can scare dragons. »
« If no one says that dragons are very sensitive to magic, you can't tell. » Says Pansy.
Hermione could see what he was getting at. (She didn't. But she could read anything that was made of paper with things written on it. And she was married to Ron, so she'd talked it over with Charlie). But if you took a step back, it was easy to see how some people who hadn't studied the Dragons might not have known about it.
« Okay, I see, » Ron mumbled in response, « so, after walking a good two hours, you found Harry's nest? »
« ... You could put it that way, » said Draco, starting to tell the story again.
« Are we there yet? » Asked Draco for the umpteenth time.
« Almost, » sighed Charlie, « I really wonder how Harry can travel with you when you're a spoiled brat when you walk more than twenty minutes… »
« First of all, I take offense at what you just said. » Draco replied, secondly, « I don't travel with Potter, we run into each other wherever we go. So we go a long way together because we don't have much choice. »
« I stand by what I said: You travel together. »
« I don't even know why I'm always trying to explain things that nobody wants to understand, » mumbled the blond, « yet what I'm saying is simple, isn't it? »
« Very, but what you're telling me is that you and Harry are traveling together and you're just in denial, » mocked the redhead, « but don't worry, it's no shame! »
Draco didn't think it was necessary to answer that. Partly because he knew Charlie was right. But mainly because he was better than that, and wasn't going to play his game!
He was still pouting in his corner when he saw something swallowing the huge air in the distance. At first he didn't say anything, because they were in the desert and he was pretty sure he'd been hallucinating for a little while. (Now he more or less understood how Harry had felt when they first saw each other. Even though he would never tell him).
« Except you just said it, Love, » teased Harry.
« I said absolutely nothing, » said Draco, « now you shut up and let me speak, because I don't know about you, but I'd like to have finished this story before sunrise because I need to sleep if I'm going to have beautiful skin in the morning. And be able to be in the presence of a child full of energy. Or two kids, because I'm counting you in… »
But after a few minutes, and the thing (which was indeed huge) didn't go away, and usually Draco's hallucinations tended to change (he still didn't know why, but he was trying not to think about it too much) so he decided to say something. Because even though logic would dictate that Charlie would be aware of the presence of this... Whatever it was, he hadn't said anything. So it was either nothing important, or he thought it was something so logical that he just hadn't thought to warn his fellow traveler, or he hadn't seen him. (Draco didn't like any of these three options. But he was tired, he was hungry, and he felt dirty, so nothing appealed to him now).
« Charlie? » He called
« Yes? »
« Are you seeing what I'm seeing right now? »
« ... The desert? In Romania? »
« No, I mean yes. But I mean, the big, huge thing there? »
« Oh. Yeah, I see it. But at the same time I've been aware of it for a long time now. »
So that was option two. Draco gritted his teeth. Now was not the time to lose patience, he had a wild Harry to save, because apparently he couldn't do it alone. So he did some breathing exercises before he spoke again.
« And didn't you think maybe you should give me a heads-up? » He asked with a false calm, « because I don't know what's here? Because I don't work here, I don't live here, and this is literally the first time in my life that I've set foot in this place? »
« Oh, now that you mention it… » Mumbled Charlie, « sorry. So, what you're seeing is the nest of the Dragon that has Harry. »
Well, at least it had the merit of answering the question, "Where is the Savior of the World Wizard? »
« And does that tell us if he's still alive or not? »
« Wait, did you really think a nest could give you that answer? » Asked Blaise surprised.
« I was in a deserted place in Romania with one of the Weasley children, Harry had been kidnapped by a Dragon, I had slept very badly, I hadn't eaten since the day before, and even though I had showered before leaving to look for the brunette, I felt like I'd never been so dirty, » said Draco, « so forgive me for thinking that someone who works with dragons might be able to tell whether or not a massacre had taken place just by looking at a nest in the distance. »
The room was silent, no one dared to answer Draco. (However, no one could tell if they were afraid of the blond's reaction, were in shock, or simply astonished at his stupidity).
« ... Did you seriously think that if there had been a massacre, the nest would still be in such good shape? » Harry finally asked.
« Because that's what you're focusing on? » Hermione wondered.
« It's an important question, » contra the brunette without even looking at her, « and I'm not really sure we can call it a massacre if it involves only one victim… »
« Harry, love of my life? » Says Draco.
« Yes? »
« Shut up. »
« I'd say so, » replied Charlie with an amused look.
« I'll believe you, but only because apparently you're good at your job, » mumbled Draco.
« Malfoy, if a Saviour had been killed, the nest wouldn't be intact, » sighed Charlie, « firstly because I don't think the Saviour would have let it go quietly and secondly because dragons are not really known for doing things in subtlety and without leaving traces. You don't have to work with them to find out. »
« Oh… »
Charlie shook his head gently, because Draco Malfoy was annoying, irritating, and a "mortal enemy to be avoided at all costs, or if ever met, not to be let go because someone like him is too dangerous to be let loose," according to his mother, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Charlie doesn't quite agree with them after all. (First of all, because he apparently traveled part-time with Harry, and if Harry trusted him, Charlie could only do the same.And secondly because he was, admittedly, more on the side of the "Aristocrat who prefers cleanliness and his home over a desert in Romania," but there he was, walking with him, meeting a Dragon who apparently liked Harry enough to take him along. Which was no small thing.
« So, in fact, if I've been following everything, » Draco began speaking again, « we're heading for the nest. But then what do we do? Do we wait quietly or... ? »
« We go up there. » The older one simply replied.
« ... We go up there? » Choked Draco.
« Yes. That's what I just said. »
« But, uh... Did you say we shouldn't do magic so we don't agitate the Dragon? »
« We don’t. »
That conversation seemed to amuse Charlie Weasley far too much for Draco's taste.
« So how are we gonna do this? » Asked the blond even though he was afraid of the answer.
« We have two options left, » said Charlie, « the first is to ride barehanded in a muggle style. »
« No way, » replied Draco immediately.
« ... I knew it, you could have let me finish, » sighed the redhead, « the second option is to take the broomsticks I took with me. »
« Shrunk? »
« Indeed, » smiled Charlie.
« But, uh... Magic? »
« The magic to grow two brooms is less, it won't disturb the ambient magic already present around here, » Charlie explained, « if we had appeared here, the level of magic would have been much higher. It all depends on the type of magic. »
« Fascinating, » whispered Draco, « once we've saved Harry and I've strangled him with my hands, I'll have quite a few questions to ask you about it. »
« That's quite all right. »
The rest of the ride was spent in complete silence, and Draco didn't know if it was just because no one wanted to talk anymore, or if it was so as not to disturb the Dragon who was getting closer and closer to them. (And Draco wondered for the umpteenth time what he had done to deserve this. He loved the Dragons, in theory and in books. But they were magical beasts of enormous power, and they were scary. Even though the blond man had survived a war where his whole family was on the wrong side. His mother aside). But since he had to save the other idiot, he was going to do it.
« We've arrived, » Charlie spoke softly, « I'm going to enlarge the broomsticks, and on my signal we're going to start climbing slowly. »
« All right, » answered Draco just as calmly.
« Once we're on the broomsticks we mustn't make another sound, » explained the redhead, « there's little chance the Dragon will be there, it would have been obvious. On the other hand, it might not be too far away. So be careful, and above all, stay focused. »
« Understood," nodded the blond man. »
So Charlie enlarged the broomsticks, and passed one to Draco. He prepared himself and waited for the redhead's signal to start the climb quietly and above all silently.
« So, no killing? » Asked Fred teasingly.
« I'm not sure I was right to talk about my concern for Harry's survival, » mumbled Draco in response, « It's not as if it matters whether he's alive or not, right. »
« That's not the point, dear Draco, » counter George, « it's just that you're predicting a "massacre" when there's absolutely no evidence to indicate it. It's cute as hell. »
« You know what? I'm just going to continue my story as if I hadn't just been interrupted, sulked Draco. »
Before starting his story again, he made himself comfortable and took the time to give his husband a little bump on the back of the head that didn't hide his giggles. (And since the blonde was a gifted being, he managed to do so without looking at the said husband).
Charlie was quick to give his signal, and with Draco, they began the climb slowly but surely. The blond was aware of everything around him, paying attention to the smallest details, the slightest movement and the slightest noise around him. As Charlie had said, it was clear that the dragon wasn't there. (So it was the best time to go and retrieve the package that was the so-called savior of the wizard's world).
After a few minutes, they reached the nest. Draco stayed behind Charlie as a precaution. He stared at him while the redhead looked into the nest. He was getting impatient when Charlie turned to him.
« He's there, awake and well, » he said to the blond, « and I don't think he was in any hurry to be saved. »
« What? »
Draco approached the nest to see that Harry was indeed there, cuddling one of the baby dragons.
« What do you think you're doing, you idiot? » He spoke coldly, surprising Harry.
« Keep your voice down, » ordered the dark-haired man, « you'll scare the poor things away!"
« Oh God, he's an idiot! »
« And you're a heartless one if you can't see what's cute when it's in front of you, » Harry said without looking at him.
Draco tried to relax for a few moments. (It didn't work.) Then he tried to convince himself that killing the Hero of the Wizard World himself was a very, very bad idea. (It already worked a little more.) Before he started talking again.
« Harry James Potter, do you have any idea how worried I was when I saw that Dragon take you away? » He spoke with clenched teeth.
Harry stopped moving when he heard this sentence, his face looking sheepish, as if he had just realized what had happened.
« Oh, it's true that when you look at it like that… »
« Harry, » Charlie interrupted, « I know the Dragon likes you, and that she's taken you, for some reason, for one of her little ones, but you know you can't stay here, don't you? »
« I know, » sighed Harry, « but they're so cute! But it's true that the mother, even though she's very welcoming and nice, scares me a little... Besides, if you had seen what she wanted me to eat… »
Draco held on really tight not to let himself fall off his broom... Or hit his head. Or even to turn around and resume his journey away from the happy fool in front of him.
« Say goodbye to your new friends, Harry, » sighed Draco, « I think we should be long gone by the time the Dragon Mother returns, because maybe YOU survived it, but I'm not sure that it would be the same for me. »
« ... All right, » Harry replied sadly.
« Then it all happened very quickly, » continued Draco, « once we had managed to untie Harry from his baby dragons. »
« You still have to admit they were adorable, » mumbled the brunette.
« I can admit it," sighed the blonde, rubbing his temples, « but that's not the point, Potter. »
« Once Harry came out of the nest, did anything happen? » asked Hermione, who had managed to remain more or less silent.
« The Dragon Mother spotted us quickly. Chased us. Harry smiled at her, because apparently he didn't want us to survive another day, so he made it very clear to her where we were. Once we were far enough away from the nest, we were able to use magic to reappear in the reserve, » Draco almost recited, and that was the end of the story.
Everyone remained silent, Harry and Draco because they were watching the reactions of those present. Blaise and Pansy were just wondering how someone who put himself and his family's safety first could have ended up with a man who jumped headfirst into danger and liked it. The twins laughed because that's the way they were. Molly and Hermione were on the verge of hyperventilating because it was Harry and even though they knew he had changed, it didn't stop the cold sweats. And Ron... Ron would have wanted to be there at that time and go through all this with Harry. But at the same time... Imagining Draco going through all this because of Harry (which was hilarious, honestly) and the fact that the blond guy stayed anyway... In other words, he respected the blond a little bit more. (But really, a little bit.) (Almost nothing.) (Because he was Ron. You shouldn't have asked for too much.)
« And now that you've had one of the stories of our lives, I'd like to go to sleep. » Talking Draco suddenly, « I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. »
Everyone understood the message (which was clear...) and got up, it was getting late, we had to admit it.
« Will we see each other soon? » Hermione asked hopefully.
« ... Normally, » Harry answered calmly, « what has to happen will happen, Hermione. »
She just nodded. Before following her husband and the rest of the family to the front door.
The story is nearing its end. How will the relationship between Harry and the Weasleys (and Hermione) evolve over time?