Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) 26th Chapter ( Chapter 26 )

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 Twenty Six - Revelations

Biddy had served a delicious dinner which both boys had eaten with relish, but the warmth of the meal combined with the exhaustion of the last few days caught up with them as soon as they finished their dessert, and they both fell asleep right away.

Harry was having a pleasant dream where he was flying over a field of golden wheat when he was rudely and suddenly ripped from his dream world. He opened his eyes in confusion, taking in the dark room and trying to understand what had woken him up; frowning when he couldn't pinpoint the problem. He was just about to force himself back to sleep when he heard it.

It was a small pain filled whimper; much like one would expect from an animal caught in a hunter's trap; Now wide awake in alarm, he grabbed his glasses that lay on his bedside table and hastily put them on. Using the dim light that stole in from under the bathroom door, he turned to see Malfoy tangled in the beddings and the more he fought to free himself, the more tangled he got; the more he became hopelessly trapped.

Harry would have found the situation a bit funny, if the Slytherin's eyes weren't wide open and staring unseeingly at something Harry couldn't see, while tears fell in a steady stream down his fair cheeks. There was something horrifying about it all, and not knowing what to do, Harry began shaking him; and just when he started panicking because Draco wasn't waking up, the silver eyes seemed to lose their glazed look and became focused on Harry's face.

Draco looked at Harry, made a chocked noise, and before Harry could say anything, Malfoy was kissing him. Kissing him with an urgency that suggested the boy was trying to regain something, and Harry didn't fight it even when he was pushed on his back, and Malfoy climbed on top of him. Malfoy didn't seem very aware of what he was doing, but he appeared to need it, so Harry did nothing more than hold Malfoy by the hips.

Malfoy vanished their clothes with a wave of his hand, and another wave lubricated his hole. Before Harry could stop him, he impaled himself on Harry's erected dick and screamed at the sudden pain mixed with pleasure. Harry held his hips to still him for a minute, but Malfoy would not have it, and he began to move long before his body was actually ready; bouncing up and down on Harry's shaft while the Gryffindor tried to get past his shock long enough to comprehend what was happening.

His mind screamed that this was not the way to deal with whatever Malfoy was experiencing, but it was hard to listen when the rest of him wanted to focus on the pleasure he was getting out this. Deciding to think about it later, he let himself go, and it only took a short time before Malfoy was screaming caught up in the throes of his orgasm and taking Harry with him.

When they had both regained their breath, the blonde collapsed on Harry's chest, and Harry held on tightly to the shivering boy. His hands travelled up and down the blonde's back in a soothing manner, and he did not stop until he felt even breathing indicating that his bed mate had fallen back to sleep. Only then did he wandlessly and wordlessly clean them up, but he did not let go of Malfoy. He let the boy sleep on top of him while he threaded his fingers through his husband's platinum locks.

Despite how tired Harry was, the chaos in his mind would not let him fall back to sleep right away. Although Draco had been the one to take advantage of him physically, he felt like he had been the one to take advantage. Malfoy had not been in his right mind, and knowing what he knew about the situation with Voldemort, it was not difficult for Harry to figure out the likely nature of the nightmare that had driven Draco to attempt to reclaim sexual control.

Harry knew that they needed to speak about it, but it was a daunting task and one that he was not sure he was ready for. He wanted to know what had gotten Malfoy so terrified and panicked, and be allowed to help, but he also knew that finally knowing would irrevocably change their relationship in ways he was not ready for yet. One thing he was sure of though, was that those beautiful silver eyes should always be filled with happiness rather than tears, pain, and fear; and he decided that in the little way he was allowed, he would try to bring Draco that joy.

Harry must have fallen asleep at some point despite his mind being so active, because the next his eyes focused on the waking world, Malfoy was gone. A quick look at the Marauders Map revealed him to be in the dungeons walking with Parkinson and Zabini. Harry took a quick shower, dressed even faster, and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. As he walked from the East tower, he remembered with a cringe his blow up from the previous day; and when he got there to find himself being ignored by his friends, he realised that it was time to face the music.

"All right, I admit I deserve your ire right now; For what it's worth I am sorry guys." Harry said, the moment he'd sat down. "I was exhausted and suffering from lack of sleep; My temper was just itching to explode, and you did not deserve to be the ones on the receiving end of my outburst." Harry was aware that he had not said anything that wasn't true, but he also knew he could have said it in a better way.

He looked apologetically at Ron, Hermione, and Ginny; and almost sighed in relief when he saw a small smile appear on Ginny's face before she spoke.

"Anyone would be stressed if they had to stay up all day and night taking care of someone they didn't care about." She said almost challengingly, and Harry didn't correct her about the caring part.

He couldn't say that he was no longer so sure that he didn't care, because he didn't want to get into another fight when she was letting it go this easily. The fact that he cared would remain his secret for now, as he tried to figure out exactly why the years of enmity no longer seemed to matter, the more days he spent with the blonde Slytherin. The weight of the insults and humiliation that had passed between them over the years kept lessening, and Harry could not bring himself to mind.

"We care about you Harry; and we are just afraid of what he could and will do.' Hermione said in the motherly tone she had been adopting, and Harry had a distinct impression that every time he said or did something he was testing her patience somehow.

It wasn't something new exactly, since she always had that attitude whenever she attempted to explain something to him and Ron that she thought was obvious. This time Harry felt a degree of condescesion to the tone that he had never detected before.

"Yeah." Ron agreed grudgingly; and Harry felt that he, unlike the others; did not want to let go so easily, but was forced to do so. What was forcing him, Harry couldn't begin to guess, but Harry was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. It was probably Hermione actually; Whatever the reason though he opted not to dwell on it.

"The ferret is a death eater mate; His entire family are death eaters. The Malfoys have never been anything but evil." Ron continued, as though reminding him; and Harry nodded, because it was easier to nod and say yes, than to argue that they had all seen Malfoy shirtless on Halloween; and he did not have a single blemish on his perfect skin.

Harry also knew from experience, that there was no flaw anywhere on the blonde's beautiful body. His thoughts went back to the previous night when he thought of Malfoy's body. That had been the first time they had had sex since calling the truce, and he really didn't know what this meant for them. For now, he would just roll with it and see how Malfoy reacted.

"Are you listening Harry?" Ron asked, looking exasperated at the fact that his friend had been wool gathering when he was talking to him.

"Sorry Ron, what were you saying?" Harry shook his head clear, and focused on his friend.

Ron leant in closer. "Have you managed to find something on Malfoy yet?' He asked in a conspiratorial tone. Harry sighed, "No, all he does is read and do homework." He said, glad that he didn't need to lie.

Maybe he wasn't telling the whole truth, but he wasn't technically lying either. Malfoy's grey faction was a point of interest, but he knew nothing about it yet; and he didn't want to jump the gun and have his chance of finding out more compromised. "Maybe he will do something now that he has recovered."

"Probably." Ron mused, but kept the rest of his thoughts to himself. He had known Harry for a long time, and even though the boy who lived had gotten better at hiding his feelings, Ron could still detect that something was off with Harry. To be truthful, he thought a lot of things were off about the bonding and Malfoy situation, but he couldn't seem to connect all the dots.

Malfoy should have been poor, and yet he had been able to buy something worth three million galleons during Christmas the previous year! Although Ron still suspected that the Slytherin had not completely cut off ties with his family as he pretended to have, the very nature of the Malfoy family made him question his own theory.

The bond Malfoy had entered into was unbreakable, and since Harry was a half-blood, any children born of the union would not be purebloods. Ron seriously doubted that Lucius Malfoy would allow his only heir to bond with a half-blood; even for information about the light side. There was the fact that Draco Malfoy could sire an heir with someone other than Harry, but that child would be a bastard; and it was unheard of for a bastard to inherit in a family like the Malfoys. The more he thought about it, the more the prospect that Malfoy was still in contact with his family became unlikely; and that only made Ron cling to that theory more desperately, because the alternative was so much worse.

Grudgingly, Ron had considered the possibility that Malfoy not only knew the owner of Dragon World, but was in fact said owner.

The store had opened right after Malfoy bonded with Harry, and when Ron examined the situation more clearly, little things that meant nothing by themselves; started to come together to form an unsavoury picture. Bill quitting Gringotts, right after speaking with Malfoy. Numerous letters delivered by regular owls instead of the eagle owls that the Malfoy family preferred.

The unexplainable financial independence that allowed Malfoy to continue with his normal lifestyle; A genius way of playing chess, and the most of obvious of all, the name of the store. Ron couldn't be certain, but it was possible with a name like Dragon World that Malfoy was essentially Hiding in Plain Sight.

There was also the matter of Malfoy's academic record. Every year Malfoy landed near the top of their class academically speaking; and of those at the top of their class Malfoy was only ever second to Hermione, never being able to outdo her in any subject save Potions years after year after year. If Lucius Malfoy wasn't extending his influence as a member of the school's Board of Directors to buy his son's grades, and Snape wasn't just giving Malfoy good grades because he was his Head of House and Malfoy was his favorite student, could the reason Malfoy never outdid Hermione in anything save Potions be that Malfoy was purposely hiding his abilities all this time? Ron couldn't be sure; but if it actually was the case, Malfoy's grey faction had the potential to be more of a threat than anyone had yet realized.

Ron sincerely hoped that it wasn't the case; that Malfoy was just another contact of the Dragon World owner, and that eventually the Order would be able to recruit the genius inventor of Dragon World. For now, Ron would just keep observing rather than putting his head in the sand. He'd watch Malfoy, try to determine if the git was indeed more than he pretended to be; and he'd give Dragon World and their genius inventor some time to make their own moves. Clearing his head, he tuned back into the chatter around him. As per usual it was his sister who was the loudest among those speaking.

"Harry, I was thinking that we could go shopping together when we go to Hogsmeade this weekend." Ginny said.

For his part, Harry suppressed the urge to groan; Although he appreciated the change in topic, he had never been one to enjoy things like shopping. Still, if he was going to reconnect with his friends, and really it needed to be done, he should just grit his teeth and endure. Sighing, he resigned himself to the inevitable.

"Sure Ginny." He finally answered, and Ginny's face lit up; killing the air of displeasure and slight hostility that had fallen when Harry hadn't immediately agreed to her demand that was masquerading as a suggestion. "Anything in particular you want to buy?"

Ginny naturally, took that question as a cue that all was well between them, and linked her arm through Harry's. It didn't feel right anymore, but Harry forced himself to let it be no matter how hard he wanted to yank his arm away. He watched Ginny flutter her eyes and for a confused moment there; he almost offered to blow out whatever was in her eyes, but then it dawned on him that she was flirting with him.

If he was honest, Ginny was a beautiful girl; and when they had started dating he had naturally felt a sense of accomplishment, knowing that his girlfriend was one of the most sought-after girls in Hogwarts; but now, all he could think about, was that she wasn't Draco.

Speaking of, her flirtation was too obvious; Draco would have let his eyes droop seductively and...

"Harry?" Hermione called impatiently, and Harry realized that he'd gotten lost in his thoughts missing whatever Ginny's answer had been. "What is with you today?"

"Sorry Hermione. I suppose I am still a bit tired." He answered quickly, and shook his head a bit, in a vain attempt to rid his mind of the cloud of lust that had invaded it.

"As I was saying, this entire marriage has been hard on Ginny; and it has severely affected your relationship." She spoke again only when she was sure that she had Harry's attention. Hermione Granger was not the brightest witch in a century for no reason; and she was not buying any of Harry's 'tired' act, but this was not the time to get into that.

Grudgingly, she could admit that Malfoy was one of the most beautiful people she had ever met, and that was saying a lot considering that they'd had veelas staying in the castle in their fourth year for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. While her best friend was capable of resisting the Imperius Curse, Hermione did not have any faith that Harry could resist a determined Malfoy; Not when said Malfoy was pretending to be less evil than he truly was.

Harry may not have seen it yet, but Hermione could. She could clearly see that he was falling fast for their mortal enemy, and that could not be allowed to happen. Something needed to be done and fast.

"Maybe the two of you should take some time to be alone during the Hogsmeade visit. We can split up; You and Ginny can shop together while Ron and I do the same, then we can meet for dinner at the new restraunt that opened recently." She suggested, hoping that Ginny would take the opportunity to get Harry back on track.

"There's a new restaurant in Hogsmeade?" Harry asked in surprise.

He hadn't been to Hogsmeade since they came back from Christmas break; first, because the bond had not allowed him to separate from Malfoy, and after that, because Harry had needed to make up for the training he had missed as a result. The only reason he was even going this time, was because Dumbledore had to represent the English Wizarding Community in an International Confederation of Wizards meeting this weekend; and he had not been able to find a replacement with the skill that Harry required.

Although Harry knew he needed the training if he was going to stand a chance against Voldemort, he wasn't too regretful about missing one session, because he had genuinely missed going to Hogsmeade.

"It's so posh, Harry." Ginny gushed in excitement. "We have been waiting for you so that we can try it out together."

Unbidden, a thought came to Harry informing him that they had waited so that he could pay. The unwanted uncharitable thought shocked Harry so much he almost stood up from the table and left. He had no idea where it had come from, or why it had come in the first place, but it was there; and it was confusing him greatly, because he had always enjoyed sharing his wealth with his friends. Before he could think more on it, Ginny stood up, and turned to Harry with a regretful look.

"I am sorry, but I have to go now; See you at lunch." She kissed Harry on the cheek before she left.

Grey eyes watched the entire scene and thought that Harry looked slightly uncomfortable, which made their owner just as uncomfortable. Pushing his discomfort aside, Draco turned back to his coffee which he was sure Biddy had stood over until it was done to avoid a repeat of the poisoning. Thinking about the poisoning brought a frown to Draco's face, because his friends had already told him everything that had been in the paper, and even if they hadn't, he would have noticed that something was wronger than usual, because not less than ten people had mockingly called him pretty on his way to breakfast.

He had been poisoned, and the school took it as another form of entertainment for them; Draco couldn't help but be pissed. Severus had told him that morning, that the poison had been put in his coffee by a confounded elf; but Dumbledore had closed the case, claiming that there was no way to know who had cursed the elf. The four Slytherins who had gathered in Severus' quarters knew that was complete bullshit, and while Dumbledore was willing to put matters to rest, Draco had no such intention. He was aware that Ginevra was the culprit, and he would make her pay.

Angrily, Draco raised his head and directed a glare at the place she had been only moments ago, but his expression lost its hardness as he once again got caught up watching the fleeting emotions on Harry's face, as he listened to what his friends were saying to him.

"Harry, you have to do something to make Ginny feel secure in your relationship again." Hermione said seriously; and although Ron seemed to agree with the sentiment, he didn't add anything.

"What can I do Hermione?" Harry asked. "I am just beginning to get my privacy back after that bond debacle, and we still don't know what triggered it in the first place."

"I know that, but Ginny is important too." Hermione's persistence was on full display.
"I know that." Harry said. "What would you reccomend?"
"Maybe you should buy her something that shows that you still love her and want her to be in your life for the long run." Hermione's reply was almost instant.

Harry flinched at the implication of that, and frowned before he answered his best friend. "Hermione, I am married; I can't give her a ring." He said quickly, too quickly maybe, if the look it netted him was anything to go by.

The very thought of giving Ginny a ring made him nauseous though, and if he was honest with himself; he knew that love and devotion were no longer the reasons he was staying with her. It was not honourable to lead her on, when he already knew that things had changed between them; but he was afraid to let go and lose everything in the process.

"I know that Harry." Hermione rolled her eyes in mock annoyance; and Harry's eyes widened in confusion because everything felt horribly rehearsed to him. It was as if he was an actor in a play written by someone else.

She continued, "Marriage rings are not the only rings you can give to a person, there are other rings with different meanings."

"Is that so?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow, something that made his friends frown, because they had seen that same expression on Malfoy's face a hundred times before and the possiblity that Malfoy was rubbing off on Harry did not sit well with them in the slightest.

Harry for his part, really just wanted to beat a hasty escape from his friends; but he knew that would be impossible unless he gave some sort of concession.

"I will see what I can do when we go to Hogsmeade." He said; and he had apparently said the right thing, because his two friends smiled genuinely at him.

Looking at them, Harry didn't think they had changed. In fact, he remembered them always being this way, but he didn't understand why he perceived them so differently now. It was like he was looking at them through different eyes, and he didn't know how to feel about that. Harry was happy that the rest of the day passed without incident and although he had kept a lookout for the remainder of the day, the odd feelings he had had at breakfast did not make another appearance; making him think that he had imagined them all along.

To his misfortune he discovered when he went back to the East Tower after dinner, that he couldn't be more wrong about that. He arrived in the quarters to find Malfoy gone and after retrieving his cloak and map, Harry was set to trail him to the dungeons where he seemed to be headed. However, before he could begin his stalk, his attention was caught by another two dots, and out of a curiosity that he really couldn't place; he headed to the Astronomy Tower.

The trek did not take long. On the way, he had kept watch of the two dots to make sure that they had not moved and when he got there, it occurred to him with misplaced amusement that they were moving - just not in the way he had expected. Harry could not see their faces, but he knew that the girl being humped from behind by Dean Thomas was none other than Ginny.

Surprisingly, the anger that any normal person would feel at realizing that they were being cheated on, did not materialise in Harry. He didn't know why he stayed, maybe it was to reassure himself that he truly felt nothing at the sight of the scene that unfolded in front of him, but stay he did.

The oblivious couple fucked, they came, and then Harry left because there was nothing else to see. Remarkably the only thing he felt was relief, because now he no longer had to feel guilty for desiring Malfoy with such an urgency that he worried his body would catch fire.

Deciding to start following Malfoy the next day, Harry went back to their rooms only to find his query there. Malfoy seemed to have just gotten back himself; and when their eyes met, all Harry saw was Draco with his slightly trembling lip and eyes molten silver with a fire that was uniquely his.

"Kiss me." Draco ordered, causing a burst of lust to erupt in Harry.

It was the first time that the Slytherin had initiated a sexual encounter, except for the previous night, which didn't count in Harry's books; and it made his heart pound so loudly he feared that everyone in the castle would hear it. Tentatively, Harry moved closer, and when their lips finally connected, he had the sudden thought that he would not mind staying in that exact moment for the rest of his days.

Earlier that day right after breakfast…

"I am sorry, but I have to go now; See you at lunch." Ginny kissed Harry on the cheek before she left. She hurried through the halls knowing she was late, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Her cue to leave the Great Hall was when Dumbledore got up from his place at the teacher's table, but she had to make sure that everything was right between her and Harry, so she had taken the few minutes required to ascertain that. Ginny was sure the headmaster would understand. Within minutes, she arrived at the headmaster's office, and the gargoyles sprung open for her without requiring her to say the password that had been noted on the small bit of parchment that rested in her pocket.

Nervously, she rubbed the paper in her pocket as if trying to ascertain that it was still there, but that was only a distraction; she knew why she had been summoned there and it had nothing to do with the paper. She wanted to be remorseful for her actions, but she simply wasn't.

"Have a seat Miss Weasley." The old man said the moment Ginny walked into the office. There was censure in both his voice and face, and she prepared to feel his displeasure as she sat down.

"Headmaster..." She began.

"Miss Weasley, I expected less impulsive behaviour from you. Not only did you put Harry's life in danger, but you also sabotaged yourself in the process. What do you think would happen if Harry found out you are the one who poisoned Mr Malfoy?" It was a rhetorical question, that required no answer, and Ginny did not try to offer one.

For his part, Albus was trying to contain the anger that bubbled just below his surface. The silly girl should have known better than to act so recklessly, and yet she had poisoned the young Malfoy without regard for what would happen to Harry. He watched as she tilted her chin defiantly, and he had to restrain himself from throttling her.

"Can't you see Professor, if we do not act quickly, Malfoy will steal Harry from us." Ginny was not as stupid as everyone assumed; she saw how Harry had been changing since he bonded with Malfoy.

He had become distant with her to the point that he barely touched her, and even when he did, it went much like today. He would flinch in what she could tell was revulsion. She knew that Harry's heart had already been stolen; but his heart was a luxury she could live without. Ginny didn't and would never care about that, as long as everything else belonged to her.

Harry could not be Malfoy's. Ginny's family needed Harry, the Order needed Harry, and most importantly, she needed Harry. She shouldn't be blamed for trying to protect what was hers from the likes of Malfoy. Plus, if Malfoy was not around, that bloody defamation suit would amount to nothing.

She'd thought along those same lines when she received a summoing days ago that had been the last bit of encouragement she'd needed to make what ultimately turned into a failed attempt to get Malfoy out of the picture. Her solicitor wanted a meeting to discuss the terms that had been given by Malfoy's side; and her blood boiled every time she thought about the fact that she would have to apologize and pay reparations to that faggot little death eater.

Her face had begun glowing red with anger from her mind going down that particular line of memory lane again when the headmaster next spoke. "No matter your reasons, such selfish acts will not be tolerated." Dumbledore said, and from the aura of power emanating from his person, Ginny knew that she would be placing herself in peril if she did not toe the line.

Most people got taken in by Dumbledore's white hair, twinkling eyes, and bright robes, but not Ginny. In fact, she saw him as a kindred spirit. They were both very kind when they got their way; Otherwise, they could be more ruthless than any self-proclaimed dark lord.

Being the stronger of the two, Dumbledore had the upper hand. Although it irked Ginny that she was being forced to do nothing about the situation; she knew that she would end up on the winning side since her interests aligned with the old man's this time around.

"Not to worry though; Harry is not going anywhere." The old man assured, and Ginny believed him completely.

She had no way of knowing it, but Dumbledore was sure that young Miss Ginevra Weasley could still gain the Mrs Potter title she desired so much. All would be revealed in time though.

"Thank you, sir." She said and stood up; knowing that it was time for her to take leave. "I will let you know if I notice something."

Dumbledore nodded his head in acceptance of her unvoiced apology. Good, he did not need a chasm to form between Harry and his friends, or the Order for that matter. There was more than Voldemort at stake, and he was not willing to be on bad terms with Harry, especially if what he had begun to suspect was true.

He had caused some damage by implying that the Malfoy boy would not survive the war and while he knew it would not be easy; he needed to start rebuilding his relationship with Harry.

'Harry needs to trust me,' Dumbledore thought, as his old wrinkly fingers ran lightly over the letter that contained his summons for the International Confederation of Wizards meeting. 'Harry simply must trust me again!'

Uploader's Note: This Has Been A Backup Upload of Chapter 26 of Behind the Fog by Hancock23.