HP fic: Better Than Revenge, ch. 20: In Little Hangleton [Harry/Draco, general]
Title: Better Than Revenge chapter 20, "In Little Hangleton" Author: celandineb Fandom: HP Pairing: Harry/Draco Rating: general Summary: Harry sends a note to Hermione and gets one back. They search the graveyard in Little Hangleton and the ground floor of the old Riddle house.
Draco wondered what perversity it was in Harry that made him such a tease. It had to be deliberate. One second he was stroking Draco's face and holding his fingers to be kissed, the next he was declaring that he didn't want to do anything even remotely affectionate with Draco except in private. At least he indicated that he would not object to something along those lines, later, and Draco fully intended to hold him to that.
Since Harry refused to consider the possibility of a little quiet snogging where they were, they talked over possibilities for coping with Voldemort's Horcruxes instead. Two had already been destroyed, meaning there were probably four left, if Voldemort had split his soul into seven pieces. Professor Dumbledore had thought he had found another, but it had turned out to be a phony. When Harry mentioned that, Draco asked to see the note left with the substitute.
The parchment was grubby and worn at the creases, as if Harry or someone had unfolded and reread it scores of times. Draco looked at the handwriting. He was almost certain that he had seen it before somewhere, but it took him several minutes to place the oddly spiky "R" of "R.A.B." On a photograph! That was it. Draco's mother had a collection of family portraits in the drawing room, most of them signed. This "R" looked very like the one on the photograph of cousin Regulus, dead long before Draco could remember. What had his full name been? Regulus Black, Regulus... hadn't he been named after an uncle?
"I think," said Draco, "I think it must have been my mother's cousin, Regulus Alphard Black."
Harry seemed stunned, but Draco could not see why Harry should think he ought to have guessed it earlier. Regulus was no relation of his. Besides, knowing who had probablywritten the note and stolen the Horcrux did nothing to tell them if he had actually destroyed it as he had promised. Draco had heard rumors in the family that cousin Regulus had been killed by Voldemort for betrayal, trying to leave the Death Eaters, and it could have happened before he had time to deal with the Horcrux. There was no way to know.
Since there seemed little chance that they could guess what other objects might be Horcruxes, Draco suggested that a more practical approach would be to try to deduce what places Voldemort might have chosen to hide them, and search there. Harry mentioned that Little Hangleton was a likely spot, where the Riddle family house had been and where Voldemort's father was buried. Draco learned that Voldemort had originally been called Tom Riddle, son of the witch Merope Gaunt. Riddle... that was not the name of any wizarding family as far as Draco knew, and he was certain he knew every such family in England, in fact in all of Britain, and a fair few of the European families as well. Had Riddle been Voldemort's father's true name? If so, that must mean he was a half-blood wizard himself. Draco wondered if his father had any idea of that, that he had tied the Malfoy fortunes to those of a man who lacked the honor of a pure blood ancestry, powerful though he might be. He wished he could tell Lucius Malfoy what he had found out.
As well as Little Hangleton, Harry thought that Hogwarts itself was a possible hiding place for the Horcruxes, although, as he said, "I expect Dumbledore searched there. But he could have missed something, and it'll take ages to search alone."
"You won't have to look alone," Draco reminded him. "I'll help you, of course."
Harry demurred, saying that it might not be safe for Draco to be in the same place every day, not if Voldemort could trace him through the Dark Mark as Snape had hinted.
"That doesn't matter. You don't understand, Harry. Because of the Unbreakable Vow, I have to help you if you need help and I know of it," said Draco. "I haven't any choice. The Vow was unrestricted, so it's not just if you're in danger, it's any kind of help you might need."
Draco had realized the implications of the Vow before, but this was the first time he had spelled them out to Harry, who did not seem terribly keen on the notion. But it could not be helped; there was no way to negate an Unbreakable Vow, or break it, without causing Draco to die. It was not an entirely comfortable thought for Draco, knowing that will he or nill he, he was now tied to Harry forever. Just at the moment, all was well, but they had such different ideas, different backgrounds, different ways of doing everything – could they really get along indefinitely? They would both have to be willing to tolerate each other's assumptions of How Things Should Be. Draco decided to test Harry's capacity for rethinking some of his preconceptions. He casually brought up the idea that perhaps not all of the magic usually referred to as the Dark Arts was, in fact, necessarily evil.
At first Harry tried to argue that any spell or potion that caused pain must be Dark. He had to give up that position when Draco reminded him that some healing potions hurt the person who drank them. Then Harry fell back on arguing purpose: if the purpose was good, something that hurt would not be Dark magic.
Again Draco was able to counter Harry's argument, saying, "If you used Sectumsempra to keep someone from attacking you, the purpose would be self-defense, and that's perfectly reasonable, but the Ministry would still say it was a Dark Arts curse."
He left it at that for the time being. Harry had nothing more to defend his own viewpoint anyway. Draco did not expect to change Harry's mind so quickly, he just hoped to open it a little to a different perspective.
Their little discussion provoked Harry to think about something wholly unconnected, at least as far as Draco was concerned, because the next words out of Harry's mouth were, "Okay, so, you've known for ages that you liked blokes. Well, but what made you think I might?"
Harry's question struck Draco as, perhaps, a good sign. He might not want to snog in public, but Draco could tolerate that. Talking about fancying boys was still a step in the right direction as far as Draco was concerned.
"I didn't know," said Draco. "I was so far gone that first night I hardly knew what I was saying, and if I'm not mistaken you made me tell you, and you definitely told me to kiss you. Before that, at Hogwarts? No. There was never any gossip about you, not like that, and I'd've heard if there were." He wished he had heard something of the sort, as he might have done something about it sooner. "I know of five other blokes at school who are queer, not counting you or me. Well, six now, there was one who was in his seventh year last year."
When Harry asked, "Who?" Draco could see the curiosity naked in his eyes.
At that, Draco hesitated. The boys he knew of were not all even as open about their preferences as he was, and although he trusted Harry for himself, it was not really fair to any of them. Besides, if Harry did talk, and the rumor were traced to Draco, there could be some repercussions that Draco did not at all wish to risk. So he told Harry which Houses they belonged to, and which years in school they were, and left him to catch that unicorn for himself. Harry was plainly mesmerized by the whole notion – but surely he hadn't thought Draco was the only boy at Hogwarts who was queer, not when Draco had made no bones about the fact that his preference for boys was based on experience?
Talking was all very well, but Draco would rather do. He pointed out that it was late enough to go to their room at King's Halls. He spelled the Invisibility Cloak-covered chest full of Galleons to float along with them, and luckily there were not many Muggles about so they did not have to worry about someone bumping into it by accident.
They fetched in pizza to eat in the room, and opened a bottle of wine. Draco was about to suggest that they pick up the thread of their earlier conversation when a rap on the window startled them both.
"Hedwig!" said Harry, opening the window to let in the snowy owl and offering her a half-eaten pizza crust, at which she turned up her beak. He untied the message from her leg and unrolled the parchment.
"Hermione wants to know what we're up to. And she says that Ron was able to talk to Mad-eye Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt, and they both sounded quite sure that Voldemort can't use the Mark to trace you directly, whatever Snape might've said," Harry said after reading the note.
So Professor Snape had lied, but why? To frighten Draco? To get him to leave Spinner's End? To make him run in hopes that another Death Eater would find him and eliminate him?
When Draco voiced his speculations, Harry said, "To make you come find me?"
"Perhaps, he suggested you might help, but why would he do that?"
Harry shrugged. "Dunno."
"Strange. I don't suppose it's likely I'll ever have the chance to ask him and find out," said Draco, shaking his head. "But you know what this means, we don't have to keep moving to different places every day after all. If it takes several days to search the Riddle house and the graveyard at Little Hangleton, it won't be dangerous to me; and same at Hogwarts, I can help you there too, if you can get permission to get in."
"Yeah," but Harry did not sound very excited.
"What's wrong? Aren't you glad not to have to keep moving every day? You said before that you didn't like that," Draco said.
"Nothing. Later. I need to write this note to Hermione so that Hedwig can go back tonight. Come on, help me so I don't forget anything."
The message as they finally sent it read:
Dear Hermione,
Thanks for letting me know that Draco can't be traced through the Mark. But I have another question about it that maybe you can answer. We were going to try Transfiguration as you suggested, we came up with a spell that ought to change the shape of the Mark although not remove it, but Draco was worried that might act on it like Voldemort's touch and summon the Death Eaters. Anything you might know would be helpful. We're planning to go to Little Hangleton tomorrow, so you can either send Hedwig or come yourself if you'd rather and have the time. Otherwise we'll see you and Ron on Wednesday, sending location to meet via Hedwig or with the Galleon.
Harry P.S. Draco thinks R.A.B. was Regulus Black. I think he might be right.
As the white owl flew off southward, Draco poured another round of wine into the flimsy plastic cups that had been provided and handed one to Harry. He took a swallow from his own, saying, "All right, so it's later. Why don't you like the fact that apparently I can't be traced through the Mark after all?"
In a tight voice, Harry said, "It doesn't matter. Don't worry about it."
They had not bothered to switch on the electric light in the room when they had first come in, as the window faced south and there had been plenty of light in the early evening. Now, though, it was growing dim, and Draco could not read the expression on Harry's face. Nor could he understand Harry's attitude, so he persisted, "It does matter to you, obviously. So tell me."
Harry was silent, holding the cup to his lips but not drinking. Draco waited.
At last Harry said, "It's hard to explain. Look, you came to me last week. I was in the village where my parents lived and died, planning to go visit their graves and then start doing what I could to go after the one who had killed them, who tried to kill me more than once. Suddenly you turn up and all my plans fall apart, because you're in such trouble that even though we've spent years despising each other, you turn to me as your best chance of safety, and I agree to help you run and hide.
"On top of that I find out," Harry paused and Draco could hear him swallow, "I find out you fancy me, and that's an even bigger shock than having you come to me for help. And then you take that Unbreakable Vow, and suddenly we're tied together in a weird sort of way for the rest of our lives. Which should be a terrible thing, and the fact that it doesn't bother me as much as I think it should bothers me even more, if that makes any sense at all.
"So... if you hadn't thought that Voldemort could track you, none of any of this would've happened. You'd be off with Snape or back home or something, I'd've gone looking for the Horcruxes, everything would be fine, as it's supposed to be. One lie by Snape and now it's all so complicated that I don't know what to think. I don't even know how I feel about any of it right now." His voice thickened. "I'm angry, but the person to be angry at really is Snape. He's not here so the only one I can yell at is you, and that's not fair, is it?"
"Not fair," Draco agreed, "but I can understand why you would be. I'm angry at Professor Snape myself. I needn't have spent all that time sleeping in Muggle back gardens before I tracked you down, for instance. Going home would've been unwise, I expect, someone could well be watching for me there to take me off to Voldemort, but Professor Snape could have warned me about that, he didn't need to send me chasing all over the country. I'm not such an idiot as to ignore good advice when my skin is at stake."
"Yeah. I used to hate him and you about equally, in different ways, but he's way ahead now, let me tell you."
"Way ahead?" Harry hated him? Concern fluttered in Draco's stomach.
"I still have some leftover annoyance from all that time at Hogwarts," said Harry. "Breaking my nose last autumn? C'mon. I guess 'hate' is too strong a word, though. Especially after last night."
"Last night was only the first night. I hope," said Draco. "You did say that you wouldn't say no tonight?" He ended it as a question rather than a statement, thinking that Harry, the good Gryffindor that he was, would inevitably refuse an offered escape.
And so he did. Luckily Draco remembered to cast a couple of spells to seal the door and ensure that no sounds could be heard outside the room, because both of them got quite noisy at various times. He did not push Harry to do anything beyond a hand job, thinking that to rush things would only make the other boy too uncomfortable to have fun. And Draco intended that he should enjoy it, and want more.
He would have liked to sleep in the same bed again, afterwards, but they were just too narrow for comfort, or so Harry insisted when Draco suggested it. Being in the same room had to be enough for tonight. Perhaps tomorrow they could do better.
The breakfast that was included in the price of the room was convenient, but that was about all Draco was willing to say for it. The scrambled eggs were watery and the tomatoes tasted disgustingly of tin. Yesterday's sandwiches in the cave had been preferable. He was glad when Harry finished his toast and they could leave.
It took a certain amount of careful maneuvering to get Draco's trunk, once again concealed by Harry's Invisibility Cloak, out of the building. There was a moment when a Muggle girl passed them on the stairs and Draco was sure that the trunk had bumped into her, but she said nothing, only looked a little confused. Harry grinned conspiratorially at Draco as they left the building.
"Ready to start searching?"
Draco nodded, hoisting his rucksack onto his shoulders. They Apparated together.
The graveyard was small and poorly kept. One or two graves had been recently trimmed, but over most the long grass lay in tangled swathes. Harry pointed at a group of stones set a little apart, taller than most.
"Those belong to the Riddle family."
Draco saw him shiver. Before he could say anything, though, Harry stepped in a careful half-circle, avoiding a patch of grass that looked like every other bit Draco could see, and turned back to add in flat tones, "Cedric died here."
Walking the same circuitous path that Harry had, Draco followed him to the Riddles' stones, the trunk floating behind. He released the spell and let it settle to the ground behind one of the other headstones, next to a scraggly overgrown juniper. It would be all right there for the time being.
"I don't actually expect that Voldemort would have hidden the Horcrux out here," said Harry as they searched. "Not safe enough, really, not with regular villagers' funerals and all that. Someone might notice an unexpected object."
After more than an hour of looking, Draco was certain that Harry was correct. If Voldemort had chosen to associate one of his Horcruxes with his father's family, it must be in the house. Luckily Harry seemed to know where that was, although he did not explain how. Draco had worried that they might have to ask someone, which could well have aroused suspicions – two teenagers inquiring to find a deserted house? Wizard or Muggle, no adult would trust that. A Memory Charm would take care of the problem, but Draco's abilities at those were unfortunately limited. It was a skill he regretted not having mastered as yet. He could easily have performed the Unlocking Charm on the door, however, had Harry not beaten him to it. They slipped inside quickly, Draco levitating his cloak-covered trunk behind them, and closed the door.
"Put it down over there, but bring my cloak with you," said Harry, his voice echoing in the empty hallway. "I doubt anyone will come in here, but that would let us hide if they should."
Draco obeyed, floating the chest into a corner. It looked quite natural there, in fact, just a bit of furniture that had been too unimportant to take away. He folded the cloak up carefully and wedged it into the top of his rucksack. Surely if any Muggle did happen to venture into the house while they were there, they would hear the noise in plenty of time to pull it out and hide.
Harry hesitated, looking at the stairs curving upward to the first floor.
"Shall we go through together, room by room? I think it would be most sensible to search all of one floor, then on to the next," offered Draco. "And if the Horcrux is here, there's likely to be protective spells on it, right? Having two of us present is probably safer than one."
"You sound like Hermione," said Harry, and grinned. "Yeah, we'll do that."
Like Hermione? Strangely, Draco did not find the comparison offensive as he knew he would have done even ten days before. Perhaps it was because Hermione was one of Harry's best friends, next to Ron, and being told he was like her meant that Harry thought of Draco as a friend too. Well, not quite, Draco decided as Harry took his hand and they went into the first room to search. He doubted that Harry would take every excuse to touch Hermione or Ron the way he was doing to Draco. Little touches, only, but Draco knew what they must mean.
There was no furniture remaining in this room. They did not assume that meant no Horcrux could be hidden in it, though, and used their wands to tap along the walls, sounding for any hidden compartments. At one spot Draco thought he had found a hollow and called Harry over excitedly. Further investigation proved that it was only a place where the plaster had cracked loose, much to their disappointment.
Room by room they went over the ground floor. Some retained a few pieces of furniture or curtains, now tattered by generations of industrious moths and mice. None held any trace of an object that could possibly be a Horcrux. When they reached the kitchen, they realized that it was well past lunchtime.
"D'you want me to go fetch something?" Draco offered.
Harry shoved his glasses up his nose. "I'd rather not go into the village. It's too small, someone might ask questions about where we'd come from."
"I could Apparate somewhere else instead."
"Or we could finish with this floor of the house and call it a day, go off to find some dinner and somewhere to spend the night," said Harry. "If you're not too hungry to wait?"
Draco was, rather, but he said, "That's all right. There's only two rooms left on this floor, I think, after the kitchen. Shouldn't take too long."
They were just beginning the final room when a tapping on the glass interrupted them. Harry's owl perched awkwardly on the sill. Harry struggled to open the window, but the wood of the frame had warped and stuck, so they went around to the kitchen entrance and let her in there instead.
"Thanks, Hedwig," said Harry, removing the parchment. "Let's see what Hermione says."
Dear Harry,
Draco may be right about a Transfiguration attempt summoning the Death Eaters, so don't try it for the moment. If the two of you will come to the Burrow tonight, I'll see what other information I can gather during the day. Ron says that his mum is convinced you can't be eating properly and is threatening to track you down just to feed you, so you'd better come, both of you.
Hermione
Draco bit at a knuckle, realized what he was doing and yanked his hand back to his side. It was good to know that someone else thought his apprehension about Transfiguring the Mark was justified. On the other hand, he could have done without the command to go to the Weasleys', where, he suspected, they would end up being pressed to stay overnight. He held back his first instinctive protest and waited to hear Harry's response.
"Great," said Harry happily. "Mrs. Weasley's a wonderful cook, and we can talk with Hermione and Ron about where we're looking for the Horcruxes, as well as about the Mark."
The sigh that escaped Draco was unintentional, he assured himself. That it made Harry turn to him with concern was purely chance.
"You don't want to go to the Weasleys'?"
"No," said Draco.
"Look, if it's this blood traitor business, you have to get over that," said Harry. "I know, you're a Malfoy, it's probably written in some ancestral tome that you're not allowed to associate with Weasleys, but if you're going to be with me, you have to. Ron's been my best friend since the first day I went to Hogwarts, and his parents have treated me almost like another son."
"If you're going to be with me..." The words echoed in Draco's ears. Yes. Oh yes.
He said, "I'm not concerned whether the Weasleys are blood traitors, Harry. My parents would consider me one now myself."
"What's the problem, then?"
Draco said quietly, "Will Ginny be there?"
The blood drained out of Harry's face, leaving his eyes greener than ever below the darkness of his tousled hair. "I expect she will be. Oh, hell."
Hell was what it sounded like, yes. Draco was under no illusions that just because Harry had enjoyed what the two of them had done together, the other boy did not still have feelings – strong ones, he suspected – for the Weasley girl. To describe the situation as ruddy awkward would be to massively understate it.
"You don't have to go there, though," said Harry. "I mean, you could go stay by yourself in a hostel somewhere, just tonight, it should be safe enough, and I can go to the Burrow alone and learn whatever Hermione's found out. We can meet here again tomorrow morning to keep searching."
"That would be stupid of me, wouldn't it though? If there's some kind of test that Hermione can make on the Dark Mark, I'd have to be there, for instance," Draco said. Not to mention that if he refused to visit the Burrow because of Ginny Weasley, he would seem a coward, to Hermione who had guessed the truth, to himself, and most importantly to Harry. "No, I'll go. But, er... I'd rather not share a room with you and Ron, if it can be managed. I don't know if that's possible..."
"Oh, I think that'll be all right," Harry interrupted him, looking relieved. "I'll ask Mrs. Weasley if she can put you in Fred and George's old room, or maybe Percy's. Though she'll expect me to bunk in with Ron as usual, no doubt. Hermione usually shares with Ginny."
"All right," said Draco. "Let's finish up with this search for today. You said that Mrs. Weasley is a good cook, right? I hope so, I'm starving."
"She's great," said Harry enthusiastically, and for the rest of the time they spent searching he chattered on about the Weasley family, telling Draco more than he had ever wanted to know about them.
I hope this isn't a mistake, was Draco's final thought, as, laden with rucksacks, trunk, and owl, they Apparated to the Burrow.