Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) 13th Chapter ( Chapter 13 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Anything you recognize is property of JK Rowling. Additionally this is not my story. I am uploading this to my own account in support of the author the story belongs to who has been struggling with hackers.

The thing I've most been dreading as a fan is that the story would be removed from the site by the hackers and the author wouldn't have access to their old chapters when the situation was eventually brought under control in the event the site moderators wouldn't be able to give the author their account back.

For anyone interested the author goes by Hancock23 on Fanfiction -dot- net. I will remove the story from my account when Hancock23 has gotten the story safely uploaded elsewhere or has been safely given their account back on Fanfiction -dot- net. Without further ado I give you a backup upload of: Behind the Fog by Hancock23.

PS: This Backup Upload contains minor edits for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Plus some rewording/restructuring of sentences so they make better sense and flow better. Hope you don't mind me becoming something of a Beta Reader for this Backup Upload Hancock23.

Chapter 13 - The Holidays and Endings

November had gone by fast. Dragon World had launched the Legillimency Breaking Spell and the Letter Charm that prevented other people from reading one's mail. Draco had spent the first half of November trying to figure out a way to sell the spells in such a way that only the person who purchased it could use it. It was hard work, but eventually, he had managed.

The Legillimency Spell was retailing at one hundred galleons, and although it wasn't as successful as the Cruciatus Cure Potion, it had still sold remarkably well; and he knew for certain that even Potter had bought it. He understood that the spell wasn't as marketable, because there were very few people capable of Legillimency, and most of the population were not at risk of exposure.

He was not complaining though since they had managed to sell five hundred of said spells in the latter half of November. The Letter Charm was, however, another matter; It was their biggest seller yet. At twenty galleons, they had already sold ten thousand of the Letter Charms in half a month. Business was good and not even the summons by Dumbledore could dampen his mood as the Christmas holidays approached.

He walked with Potter to the headmaster's office, and as he expected, he found Snape, Lupin, and Black already waiting. They took their seats opposite the headmaster and waited to be addressed.

"The three months the bond requires you to be together will be over soon." Dumbledore said. "You need to consummate the bond." He said to them, and Harry flushed scarlet. They had neither spoken to each other nor to others about that incident.

"I, uh, um...you see, we..." Harry stammered, as a dark red took over his normally tan face.

"What Potter means to say, is that we have already completed the bond." Draco informed casually, causing Harry to flush even more; especially when every eye in the room turned to him.

"I, um; yes it's true." He confirmed without meeting anyone's eye.

"That is good then." The headmaster continued, surprised that Harry had not come to him to report the situation. "Christmas holidays are approaching, and naturally, Mr Malfoy cannot return home. Usually, he would be able to stay at Hogwarts, but this year there is no one staying back for the holidays. With a war looming over all our heads, most families have chosen to spend the holidays together."

"What are you saying headmaster?" Harry asked in alarm.

"Mr Malfoy will have to come to Order Headquarters over the winter break." Albus answered solemnly.

"Absolutely not!" Draco said, with a note of finality in his voice. "I don't have to go anywhere. I have fulfilled the contract; and it is my own prerogative where I go over the break." He argued stubbornly.

"You should understand that we can't just let you go wherever you want, now that you are bonded to Harry." Dumbledore said. "You are a target now."

"It's not as if we want you there, but nothing can be done about this until after Voldemort is dead." Sirius Black said.

Draco supposed that he should have expected this, but it still came as a surprise. It was the logical conclusion; and he should have already inferred as much, but he had still held some irrational hope that he would be allowed to go about as he pleased.

"You will pack your things, and be ready to leave with everyone else tomorrow afternoon, but come back here instead." Dumbledore said, and after they had agreed, Harry and Draco left the office for the East tower.

They didn't talk. Harry wanted to say that he was sorry, but didn't; while Malfoy just kept his mouth shut for fear of saying something incredibly rude to Potter. His earlier mood was ruined, and he packed his belongings under a gloomy cloud.

Harry spent the night at Gryffindor tower preferring to steer away from the clearly pissed blonde and Draco invited Blaise and Pansy to stay the night because he would be unable to see them for the whole break. They talked and played games the entire time before saying goodbye at noon.

Draco had shrunk his trunks and put them in his pocket, and at precisely two in the afternoon, he found himself with the golden trio and Ginevra Weasley in Dumbledore's office. The headmaster gave him a piece of paper with an address, and Draco surmised that the old coot was the secret keeper of the Order of the Phoenix's Headquarters. The paper burst into flames after he had read it.

Without wasting a moment, Dumbledore placed a Knut in each of their hands, and two minutes later, Draco felt the familiar tug of port-key travel, and a moment later, he appeared in a kitchen filled to the brim with people. They were all looking at him like he was a troll in their midst, but he had no difficulty keeping his head up.

"Settle in and get ready for dinner." Molly Weasley said, after greeting her children, Harry, and Hermione cheerfully; but giving only a slight nod to Draco.

"Ron, you are with Harry in your usual room, Ginny is with Hermione, and Malfoy is in the room next to yours Harry." Harry nodded, and Draco followed the group up the stairs, wanting to leave the tense atmosphere as fast as possible. He wanted to get into his room and unpack the equipment and ingredients he had packed in his trunks.

Draco had brought enough supplies to make several hundred potion vials but considering this was the holiday season, he expected them to be used up in no time; and he would have to get Bill to bring replacements of the exhausted ingredients whenever he could. The room he was showed into was small, but clean, and he was just glad that he didn't have to share with anyone.

"Dinner is at eight Malfoy." Harry said, as Draco locked the door behind him leaving Potter to proceed to his own room.

"I can't believe Dumbledore thinks it's okay to bring Malfoy here." Ron complained as they entered their room. "He is going to spoil the holidays for us." Harry couldn't argue with that, because he also thought the same.

It's not like Malfoy would go out of his way to cause trouble, but people would not act like they usually do with him there. This was the first Christmas Harry was spending with his friends and godfather away from Hogwarts, and he had wanted it to be perfect.

To while away the hours before dinner, Harry played chess with Ron, as Hermione and Ginny watched, and they all went to the kitchen for dinner a few minutes before eight. Malfoy showed up just before the hour, and took a seat next to Bill who had arrived sometime in the afternoon. They greeted each other politely, and showed no sign of the familiarity that had become normal to them.

As they waited for Molly to put food on the table, Draco looked around the room and recognized some faces, while others were strangers to him. He saw Kingsley Shackelbolt, Mad-Eye Moody, Mundungus Fletcher, and his cousin Nymphadora Tonks. Snape and some other teachers including Lupin, Dumbledore, and McGonagall were also present; and Draco couldn't have felt more out of place.

"Everybody eat up." Molly said, as she sat beside her husband and the gathered started scooping food onto their plates. Those seated next to each other engaged in conversation, but Draco was still a bit surprised when Bill began talking to him.

"It's not always this full." The redhead said, and Draco could not help but smile and be glad for a friendly face in a sea of hostility.

He was particularly worried about the ex-Auror Moody, and his special eye which could see through walls; Draco knew that he would have to be very careful, and find a way to hide the activities in his room, especially from Moody.

Dinner was mostly a quiet affair, and Draco had the distinct impression that everyone was holding their tongues because they thought they could not speak freely in front of him. He was almost home free, when a silvery thing streaked through the room and came to stand right in front of him on the table. It was a tiger Patronus that Draco had never seen before, but recognised the moment it opened its mouth to speak its message, because it spoke in the voice of his solicitor, Marina Vaughn Clark.

"Where the bloody hell are you Draco?! I have been trying to reach you for hours and my owl has just returned looking harassed and with the letter unopened. I apologize for the public manner in which I am relaying this message, but it's very urgent. I have located what you asked me to, and the owner is willing to sell, for a price of three million galleon if we can pay right away. I agreed, but the bloody goblins won't allow me to withdraw that much from your vaults without signed written consent from you. We have another thirty eight minutes before the offer becomes null and void. Please get back to me as quickly as possible."

"Oh, hell." Draco cursed, as he pushed his chair back. "You didn't tell me I would be unreachable in this place Professor Dumbledore." The blonde said, as he glared in accusation at the headmaster, but began to leave the room before anyone could explain.

"Where are you going Draco?" Severus Snape asked, as he stood to stop his godson.

"I don't have time for this right now." Draco said. "I need to be somewhere that is very much not here."

Draco's mind was spinning. Three million galleons was more than he had expected, but he would pay it if he could get what he wanted. He had painstakingly gone through hundreds of texts, before he even found a clue to what he wanted. He had found his home; A castle that had originally been part of Salazar Slytherin's estate, and he would be damned if he lost it. The grounds were expansive and would be more than enough to grow and keep plants and creatures. He had to have it.

"I cannot allow you to leave Mr Malfoy." Dumbledore said.

"Good thing I don't care what you can or can't allow at this juncture." He countered with a sneer. "Calm down everyone." It was Bill Weasley who interjected because things could get truly ugly.

"Mr Malfoy, I would be happy to carry your written consent to your solicitor if you give me the directions." Draco pretended to consider it for a moment, before he unhooked a bag from around his waist and waltzed over to Bill.

"There is no time to head to Gringotts." He said, and handed the bag to Bill.

"Tell her to use this bag to draw the three million galleons directly from my vault.' He spied parchment and quill; and wrote down an address which was not really necessary since Bill knew exactly where Marina was stationed. "Hurry please, before the time is up." Bill nodded, and left immediately.

Draco sighed and cast a tempus charm, noting that he had wasted ten minutes arguing.

"What in the world are you buying that could cost three million galleons Malfoy?" Harry asked, shocked that anyone could shell out such an amount of money, without blinking an eye. Even with his vast fortune, he could not fathom that he would so willingly use that much in one go. "And where did you get the money?"

"Correct me if I am wrong Potter, but I don't recall a clause in our marriage contract that allows you to know anything about me; least of all my financial situation." Draco sneered. "You should just be happy that I don't need any of your money to live, and leave it at that."

Harry didn't know what to say, because Malfoy was right; he had no rights whatsoever. He had given them up willingly, and there was no take back clause in their contract.

"Maybe the ferret didn't cut ties with his death eater family." Ron said, and the others looked at Draco accusingly, but he neither confirmed nor denied the assumption. What they thought about him was no concern of his. Severus decided that enough was enough, he had been unable to talk to his godson all term, but this was getting ridiculous.

"A word Mr Malfoy." He said, and indicated for Draco to follow him through the door. Draco decided to follow; It was better than waiting in the room until Bill returned. Severus led his godson to the library and spelled the door shut, adding muffliato among other spells before he began to speak.

"You used to talk to me." Snape said, and Draco sneered looking at him with cold eyes that showed nothing but indifference. Sighing, the younger Slytherin decided that maybe it was time to put everything to rest between them; It's not like he could keep avoiding the man forever.

"I used to talk to you because I used to trust you, and held a little faith in you." Draco said, and Snape was surprised; because this was the longest Draco had spoken to him all term.

"Do you by any chance remember this conversation?" Draco began to talk, and even Severus' mask could not hide his horror that someone had overheard him speak that one time.

"He is tainted, Severus." The boy who lived said.

"But he is your mate, Harry." The potions master said, with a regretful voice. "The dark lord grows more powerful with each day, and you are the only chance we have of defeating him. I know we are asking a lot from you, but to defeat him, you must accept that Draco is your mate, and form the bond. Only then can you fully come into your elemental powers."

"He will be my only spouse; there will be no breaking the bond. How can I live with him knowing what he is; knowing that the Dark Lord has touched him in that manner, I can't even look at him."

"I am sorry Harry. I wish there was another option."

"Surprised that I heard that Godfather?" Draco asked with a smirk.

"Draco, I…"

"I am thankful that I did you know, because, until that moment, I still had illusions about you." There was a bitter smile on his godson's face. "You have not given me any reasons to trust you over the years, but I had faith in you anyway. When I heard you talk like that though, I came to terms; I was not wrong about you. You are indeed a good person. You are a good person, but you would never be good to me, because you do not know the first thing about me; and you never cared to."

"I realised that day, that no-one was going to save me. That in the end, I was the only one left who could save me. That I would have to save myself. And since you lot already planned to use me for the sake of this world, I decided that being bound to Potter was a small price to pay. I don't blame you for anything, but I simply have no reason to continue our relationship any longer. Take care of yourself Severus." Draco used a Finite Incantatem to cancel the spells, before leaving a stunned Severus Snape to mull over everything that had been said.

He found Bill had already returned and upon hearing that Marina was completing the deal, he headed to bed. The talk with Snape had left him drained and saddened, and even though he had resolved all those months ago to bury his emotions, he felt a profound loss at the finality with which he had said his words.

Severus Snape did not leave the library for many hours just trying to make sense of everything that Draco had said. He did not understand anything, but he so desperately wanted to. He felt that he needed to understand, down to his bones, with every fiber of his being, and when he left the Black library, he had a plan.

Uploader's Note: This Has Been A Backup Upload of Chapter 13 of Behind the Fog by Hancock23.