Author: Lady B
Pairing(s): Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape/Remus Lupin, other pairings to follow
Genre: AU Fantasy
Rating for this chapter: R
Warnings: M/M relationship, character death, OOC, descriptive sexual acts between persons of the same sex
Challenge: 50harlequins prompt #45: Running from an arranged marriage and falling for a stranger who turns out to be the groom.
Summary: Space...the final frontier...In the year 4437 A.E. (After Earth) Prince Draco Abraxas Lucien Malfoy of the planet kingdom Slytherin is being forced to marry the enigmatic Prince of the neighboring planet kingdom Gryffindor. He hates the fact that he has to marry someone he's never met and runs away. His father, King Lucius, sends one of the best Retrievers in the galaxy after his wayward son, to be delivered to the Prince of Gryffindor personally.

Harry Potter was the best star pilot to ever come out of Hogwarts Academy. Known to his friends and crew as Captain Evans, he was also one of His Majesty's Retrievers, a band of men and women who searched the galaxies for the lost or stolen, whether they be people or objects. The Queen sends him on a mission requested by King Malfoy of Slytherin: find and retrieve his son to be delivered to the Prince of Gryffindor for a marriage ceremony.

Once he crosses paths with the Ice Prince of Slytherin, he does all he can to melt his heart of ice, and to make Draco his very own at personal cost to himself and the kingdom he serves.

Of course, things don't always go according to plan (-cue Darth Vader's Imperial March-)...

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and plots from the Harry Potterverse belong to JK Rowling and various publishing companies and movie studios. I am not making any money from this. I am simply doing this for the fun of it. Any plot devices and original characters belong to me alone and are simply a figment of my imagination.
Author's Note: (in a sing-song voice) Draco's gonna be in trouble! Draco's gonna be in trouble!

---

Chapter 8


Draco entered the atmosphere around L'gnoire with a fair amount of trepidation. All his hopes and dreams were tied up in this one excursion and failure was not an option.

He navigated his borrowed (stolen!) shuttle to a clearing he spotted near the base of a mountain and landed. Making sure he had all his weapons, he left the safety of the ship.

The place looked deserted, but after his last trip to an unknown planet, he decided to err on the side of caution. Pulling his blaster from its holster, he headed for the mountain.

- - -

He found an entrance into the mountain when he cleared the last of the trees and made his way inside. It was dark in the cave and he pulled out a glowrod. He took in his surroundings, seeing nothing but miles and miles of rocks. He sighed in frustration.

"Who dares enter the Cave of the Mists?" came a feminine voice somewhere in the dark.

"Who's there?" Draco asked.

"You are a trespasser. What do you want?"

"I come seeking The Soul Stone." he replied.

"Then you are on a fool's errand."

"Please. I've traveled so far and risked many lives to come here. Don't tell me it's all for naught."

There was silence. And then, "Why do you seek The Soul Stone?"

"I am betrothed to the heir of the kingdom of Gryffindor. While I have no qualms about the marriage as a whole, I just want to be sure that he is the one I'm destined to be with."

"Many who seek the knowledge The Soul Stone holds, have found nothing but disappointment. The Stone holds its own secrets which we have never been able to fathom."

"Disappointment? What do you mean?"

"Oft times, The Stone shows what you need to see, not what you want to see by looking into your heart. For the heart holds its own magic."

"Please. I have to try." Draco begged.

There was silence once again. Suddenly the stones began to glow in a faint light and Draco realized he wasn't as alone as he thought he was. He was surrounded by women. Gorgeous creatures with hair in shades of black, red, bronze and pale gold. Green eyes, hazel eyes, blue eyes, brown eyes. They were all dressed in white silk togas with lines of spun gold interlaced through the seams of the material. If he had been inclined toward the fairer sex, he would have been embarrassed at how quickly his body reacted. But there was no movement down below and for that he was thankful.

One of the women stepped toward him, her eyes as blue as an ocean and hair as dark as onyx. She wore a single circlet of purest gold around her forehead.

"I am Sidora, ruler of my people. Welcome Heir of Slytherin."

"Welcome." echoed the others.

"We will take you to a place where you may rest for a time before we sup."

"Thank you." Draco nodded. She turned and lead the way through the caverns and he was surprised when they came to a wide open field full of the greenest grass and the most color flowers he'd ever seen.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"This is the heart of my kingdom. You are the first Si'fora'hga who has seen it in nearly a millennium." Sidora replied.

"Si'fora what?"

"It means 'Outworlder' in the language of Man." she smiled. The group entered a large circular building and their escort branched off to other duties, leaving Sidora and Draco alone. She lead him passed several closed doors and into a lift. The door closed after they were both settled and she spoke a word in her language that set the lift into an upward motion.

Once the lift stopped, they stepped out into a spacious room, dominated by the large balcony directly across from them. Draco moved to the balcony and saw that he had a breathtaking view of the entire valley. He was awed.

"You may use this room, no one will disturb you while you are here."

"It's beautiful." he admitted.

"Thank you." she smiled in kind. "I will send someone to you when it is time to eat. For now, rest." She turned and left the room. Draco moved to the bed and lay down upon it. As he drifted off to sleep, he wondered if Harry was looking for him, and how angry he was going to be when he caught up to Draco.

- - -

Harry was indeed angry, but not for the reasons Draco thought. He was a million miles from home in a souped up sardine can being fired upon by Fudge and his lackeys.

A particularly loud screech echoed through the cockpit before his warning lights began to go off.

"Shit! That can't be good!" he moaned.

WARNING...WARP CORE MELTDOWN IMMINENT! ALL CREW ABANDON SHIP! SHUTTLE WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN SIXTY SECONDS! ALL CREW ABANDON SHIP!

"Sonuvabitch!" Harry shouted, kicking the instrument panel. He released his safety harness and made his way to the escape shuttle.

SHUTTLE WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN THIRTY SECONDS! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING! SILENT COUNTDOWN WILL BEGIN IN TEN SECONDS!

Harry's comm unit rang and he looked to see Fudge staring back at him.

"Surrender, Potter and no harm will come to you." Harry took the opportunity to come up with a quick plan, one he hoped would put a serious dent in Voldemort's forces. Looking beaten, he let out a deep sigh.

"All right, all right. You win. I'm unlocking the main hatch now."

"I knew you'd see it my way, Potter." Fudge smiled. The comm went silent and Harry ran toward the escape shuttle.

Just as the shuttle pulled away from the ship, Fudge and his group were entering the hold of the damaged ship. The computer resumed its spoken countdown.

SHUTTLE WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN TEN SECONDS...NINE...EIGHT...SEVEN...

"MOVE YOU FOOLS!" Fudge screamed, scrambling around his men as they all tried to get back to their own ship.

...FOUR...THREE...TWO...ONE!

Both the shuttle and Fudge's ship exploded in a fiery blast that rocked Harry's escape shuttle. The aftershock caused him to crack his head against the instrument panel and he blacked out, unaware that a second ship was in route to intercept.

- - -

On board, Viktor Krum grinned as he closed in on Harry's position. He asked to be put through to his master.

"My Lord, we have him." he grinned when Voldemort's visage appeared on his view screen.

"Excellent work, Krum. Bring him to me immediately! No foul-ups this time!"

"Yes, My Lord."

"And Krum?"

"My Lord?"

"Make sure our guest is...extra comfortable during his stay."

Viktor's grin turned downright malicious, "As you wish, My Lord!"


TBC...