Harry Potter and the Parliament of Dreams - 26. Dance with the Devil

George surveyed the entrance to the Great Hall from the staircase. He was dressed in his costume and he was trying to judge his timing for entry.

He waited until no one was around before approaching Hagrid.

“Weasley!” Hagrid guffawed. “I hope you know what you’re doing boy.”

“Of course I do Hagrid.”

“Aye, I’m sure that ya do. Professor Snape is in there by the way. He has dressed himself up as a wolfman.”

“Thanks Hagrid, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for him.”

Hagrid opened the door and George swept by him into the room with a whirl of his cape.

Hagrid snickered quietly to himself as he closed the door.

George immediately encountered Ron and Hermione. They were both getting food from the refreshments table located just inside the entranceway.

“George?! Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Ron, dressed as a Roman solider, demanded.

Hermione, the Egyptian enchantress Cleopatra, also jumped in quickly with a comment, “Aren’t you afraid he’ll deduct points?”

“For this?” George smirked evilly in perfect imitation of Snape.

“Why did you keep the red hair though?” Ron asked in confusion.

“Ron!” George’s voice scolded not unlike Snape’s, “you should know by now that you can’t disguise the Weasley red in our hair.”

“A red-haired Potions Master. I think it works though,” Hermione said thoughtfully.

“Mr. Weasley, just what do you think you’re doing?” a wolf-snout-sporting Professor Snape demanded.

“I’m dressed as Britain’s finest Potions Master,” George replied smugly, sounding just as arrogant and pompous as Snape in his worst moments.

“I don’t slouch nearly as much. Straighten your back.”

George stood up straighter.

“Better. Tilt your head back a bit more like you have some disgusting smelling potion under your nose. That’s right. Better.”

“Ahem,” Lupin coughed from behind Snape.

“Five points to Gryffindor for a creative costume,” Snape said begrudgingly as he was obviously being prodded from behind by Lupin.

Snape didn’t stay to see the reaction. He breezed straight past his students towards the other side of the room. Lupin gave them all a little smile and followed Severus to the other side of the room.

“Well, that was bloody interesting,” Ron intoned quietly.

“You can say that again,” Hermione replied.

George sneered contemptuously in their direction before stalking off with a swirl of his cape, barking about silly, light-headed Gryffindors.

* * *

Harry and Draco were able to complete two full dances in relative peace. The music switched back to something fast, so they walked off the dance floor and went straight to the food table again. They both pawed lightly through the various finger foods available.

“Well, if it isn’t Scarboy,” Adrian Pucey, a seventh year Slytherin said.

It was tough for Harry to recognize him, but Draco did instantly and sent Harry the name.

“What do you want, Pucey?” Harry replied, looking over his killed Quidditch player costume.

“I want to know how the Great Harry Potter could possibly degrade himself so far as to actually sleep with the traitorous bastard, Malfoy.”

Harry snarled, showing his very sharp feline teeth. Pucey looked slightly startled but started to step forward anyway. Harry raised his arms up and his paws became very visible to the older boy. Razor-sharp obsidian claws slowly extended out of his paws. Harry gave the seventh year boy a feral grin while he stared menacingly at Pucey. The other boy stepped back suddenly.

Harry hissed dangerously, “Pansy got your balls Adrian?”

Adrian started to step forward again, but he noticed that Draco had the same posture as Harry. It looked as if both boys would quite literally tear him to shreds.

“Perhaps another time Potter,” Pucey replied and walked away.

Harry was about to move when a furry paw dropped on his shoulder. The fur was of a deep gray color and looked doglike or rather wolflike.

“Harry. You shouldn’t do that sort of thing,” Lupin chastised quietly.

“I was defending myself.”

“You were posturing.”

“Alpha males are occasionally called upon to defend their status. I’d think you’d know something about that,” Harry replied somewhat coldly.

“Harry, calmly. You’re getting cold again,” Draco told him privately.

Harry blinked twice and dropped his head.

Lupin wisely stepped away to let Draco deal with Harry.

* * *

“Turn more to the left. That’s it! Perfect!” Click.

“Thrust your hips up a little bit. A little more!” Click.

“Roll over on your stomach and give me that pouting look of yours. Widen those Irish eyes. Just like that!” Click.

“Can we stop now Colin? I’m getting cold,” Seamus asked.

“Sure Seammy. I don’t want you to get cold,” Colin replied, putting his camera on the nightstand and enthusiastically jumping onto his boyfriend.

Seamus, who was now used to Colin’s loving antics, was expecting it. He caught the younger boy and rolled over on top of him, pinning him to the bed. He then planted a huge kiss on Colin’s mouth, which effectively cut off his protest.

A few minutes later when they both came up for air, Colin said quietly, “You don’t mind me taking pictures of you, do you?”

“Of course not silly,” Seamus replied and then kissed Colin’s nose.

“Good. I don’t want to drive you away. You mean a lot to me,” Colin said, sounding unconvinced.

“Colin. I love you.”

“I love you too Seamus,” Colin smiled, his whole face lighting up.

Seamus pulled Colin into another long kiss.

“Why don’t we close the curtain and just go to bed?” Colin asked.

Seamus nodded, hopped out of bed and stripped down to his boxers. Colin quickly followed suite and they both climbed back into the bed. Colin was able to pull the curtain shut just barely as Seamus started to kiss him deeply again.

Seamus stopped after a few moments and pulled Colin to him as tightly as he could. Colin didn’t resist at all and both boys ended up touching along their full bodies.

“Thank you for being here for me Colin.”

“No. Thank you Seamus for saving me from myself.”

“I guess we just saved each other then,” Seamus said quietly after a few minutes of silence.

He was answered by a soft snore from Colin.

Seamus smiled broadly in the dark as he tacked the blanket over the both of them and snuggled tightly to his boyfriend. He was asleep moments later.

* * *

“Are you sure you want to skip the party?” Zavien asked nervously.

Fred, who was lying next to Zavien on his own bed, replied, “It’s a good chance to be alone.”

Zavien stretched out cautiously and then replied with far more confidence in his voice, “That’s a good point Fred.”

Fred snaked his hand under Zavien and then tugged him in real close, rolling over on top of him. Once Fred was in a good position, he leaned down and gently kissed Zavien’s nose.

Zavien was getting used to this little maneuver from Fred and he had developed a counter for it. Zavien reached up to either side of Fred’s belly and dug his hands in causing Fred to gasp and giggle. Zavien took advantage of Fred’s momentary distraction to roll the larger boy over so that he was on top.

Fred looked up surprised at his boyfriend. Zavien leaned down and kissed Fred squarely on the lips. He didn’t linger long though. Instead he scooted down Fred’s body just enough so that he could rest his head on Fred’s shoulder. Fred wrapped his arms around the younger teen and sighed happily with contentment.

“Are you okay?” Fred asked a few minutes later.

“Yes. This is the safest and most loved I’ve ever felt in my life.”

“Me too,” Fred replied somberly.

Zavien moved and crawled forward enough to plant a resounding kiss on Fred’s lips. They both moaned lightly on contact.

Fred then used Zavien’s trick to flip the smaller boy back over so that he was on top again.

“Do you like being on top Freddie?”

“I like everything with you Zavien.”

Zavien made a noise that sounded suspiciously like purring.

* * *

Severus stood in front of the mirror watching in fascination as his face slowly transformed back to normal. Remus was seated comfortably in the chair by the fire also watching his face closely.

“That was an interesting dance, don’t you think Sev?”

“It was quite interesting. I’m not that bad am I? I saw Weasley hamming it up quite a few times.”

“He was doing a caricature of you.”

“I can’t be that bad.”

“I don’t think you would be if you actually smiled once in awhile. It also might be better if you selected a different anti-inflammatory for your hair. The stuff you use makes your hair look greasy.”

“Do you actually watch me that close, Remus?”

“I always have Severus.”

“Do you think under different circumstances that it could have worked?” Severus asked about a topic that had been buried between the two for over two decades.

Remus was a long time in responding. “Yes. I think that it still could despite everything.”

“Even now?” Snape asked quietly.

“Even now. We are best friends and have been for a while now. I think we are the only ones foolish enough to enjoy each other’s company these days.”

“That very well may be Remus.”

Remus stood up and said very formally, “I think it is time for bed. Good evening Severus Snape.”

“Yes. Yes, it is.. Tomorrow is another day. Good evening to you Remus Lupin,” Snape replied just as formally.

* * *

The Halloween Ball ended up having the desired results. The students and the professors were far more relaxed for the rest of the week.

Several students were even rumored to have seen a smile on Professor Snape’s face. The students subsequently appeared in the infirmary seeking treatment for fright.

Justin hadn’t believed it when Ernie told him about an incident involving a smiling Snape in the hallway. Justin was suitably shocked when Professor Snape had smirked in their Thursday potions class however. It wasn’t quite a smile, but it was far less sinister then what he was used to.

Justin was glad that the week was finally over. Many odd things had been going on since the ball, and not just with Professor Snape. Professor Lupin was a little more on edge when he returned after two days off for the full moon.

Wednesday had also proven exciting and interesting. Several fulltime Aurors had arrived on school grounds. It coincided with the Headmaster’s announcement of a change of Minister of Magic in the Ministry.

Arthur Weasley, patriarch of the Weasley clan, was now the highest-ranking wizard in all of Britain. There was a sudden undercurrent in the student body about the change. Though the Order of the Phoenix had informed Justin ahead of time, he still had to act as surprised as the rest of the students in his house. He was very careful to note his housemate’s reactions to the announcement. The four Weasleys at the Gryffindor table and the one at the teacher’s table all garnered extra attention, though they seem to just shrug it off.

The Daily Prophet had announced the change with pragmatic indifference. The paper did publish Arthur’s record on dealing with wizards and muggles alike. The new Minister also reiterated his commitment to stopping the Dark Lord and promoting better muggle-wizard relations.

Justin decided to let everyone else worry about the politics of it all. He was only interested in doing the right thing and perhaps having a happy life.

* * *

As the snow raged outside, George leaned back onto his pillows then reached over and pulled Blaise down on top of him. Blaise squeaked in protest for a moment before George was able to get him into a very deep kiss.

They broke apart a few minutes later and Blaise promptly collapsed completely onto George. George rather enjoyed the feeling and just pulled a blanket over their naked bodies. He then proceeded to rub and massage Blaise all over. Blaise kept his face snuggled into George’s shoulder and moaned every now and then.

George felt more at peace then he had in sometime and resolved himself to simply enjoying Blaise as much as he could for as long as he could. They both fell asleep soon thereafter.

Blaise woke up about four hours later. They had shifted in their sleep so that he was lying next to George. George had managed to spoon against him. He became dimly aware that George’s semi-erect member was nestled comfortably in his bare arsecrack. Blaise very slowly extracted himself from George’s grasp and he stood up next to the bed.

They were in a small room very near the astronomy tower. It had apparently been a storeroom floating around randomly in the castle until very recently. George did tell him that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy now lived in the general vicinity. He suspected they were living behind a newly hung portrait of a boy that was directly across from the stairs to the astronomy tower.

Blaise had even gone so far as to talk to the boy in the portrait. The boy told him that he was Godric Gryffindor’s grandson and that he had been moved here so that he could watch all the young lasses going to astronomy class. Blaise had liked the portrait boy instantly because of his cheeky answers. The one he didn’t get was if there was something behind the portrait. It didn’t matter really though. It only made sense that the two boys that were most recently moved would be behind a new portrait in the middle of nowhere.

As soon as he was dressed warmly, he stepped out of the secret room and walked down the hall to the boy’s portrait. The boy was awake so he said hello.

“Good evening Mr. Zabini. What are you doing out of bed?” Othello “Orty” Gryffindor asked him.

“Hi Orty. I’m just out for some fresh air. You’re not going to tell anybody, are you?” Blaise asked feeling somewhat nervous about getting caught.

Blaise whipped around when he heard a loud meow from a cat. It was Mrs. Norris. He could hear old man Filch wheezing his way towards him. He looked around for someplace to hide but there wasn’t any. He sighed and was about to resign himself to the inevitable when the portrait opened inwards and a pair of hands grabbed a hold of him and tugged him inside.

He was about to thank the person when he realized that it was Harry Potter. Actually, he corrected himself, it was a nearly naked, half-asleep Harry Potter.

Two very green eyes opened widely and stared at him for a moment before Harry said, “Blaise, it is three in the morning. What are you doing out of bed?”

Blaise started to reply when Harry cut him off by taking a hold of his hand and pulling him towards the couch and the pleasantly crackling fireplace.

Blaise started to reply again when Harry’s head whipped around and he held up his finger indicating he wanted silence. Blaise nodded and then stared as Harry hopped off the couch he had barely sat on and went to the door again. He opened it and pulled a redheaded young man in, closing the door behind them.

George padded silently over to the couch and sat down next to Blaise. Blaise sat stiffly for a moment before moving over so that he could lean back into George.

Draco wandered out of the flat’s bedroom wearing only his boxers. Harry smiled at him and they read each other’s thoughts. Draco’s path altered slightly as he went to the closet and pulled out several very large and comfortable blankets.

Harry summoned his wand, which appeared into his hand and he then used his wand to conjure a few pillows. George watched in amusement as Draco started to create a nest-like bed of blankets on the floor. Blaise looked confused.

As soon as the two boys were done creating the bed, they walked over to the couch. Draco pulled Blaise into a standing position and started to strip him. Blaise squawked in protest only to be silenced by Draco putting a finger across his lips. As soon as Draco had Blaise stripped down to his boxers and clear of the couch, Harry did the same to George.

George stood there looking amused, naked except for his boxers, while Harry looked him over. Harry and Draco still had said nothing aloud since George had arrived.

“Why did you strip us of our clothes?” George finally asked.

“It’s more comfortable to sleep in your underwear,” Harry replied.

“Who said anything about sleeping here?” George asked, sounding somewhat surprised.

Harry and Draco exchanged looks again and this time Draco replied, “We sensed that you guys were having some confusion and thought we’d try to help.”

Draco’s statement left George looking completely puzzled.

Draco didn’t explain any further. In fact, he didn’t say anything else at all. He simply took hold of Blaise and pulled the boy down to the floor and onto the bed of blankets that he had created.

George looked amused and was surprised when Harry deftly did the same to him. Normally a smaller boy like Harry would never stand a chance of moving someone George’s size.

Draco did some maneuvering and ended up with Blaise spooned into him. Harry prodded George a bit until George was spooned into Blaise. Harry completed the little arrangement by cuddling in behind George. Harry pulled the blanket up over all of them and cuddled in as tightly as possible to George.

Harry then concentrated on calming thoughts. Draco did the same from the other side and soon the boys between them were in a deep sleep. Harry started to poke around inside George’s head.

“There is nothing bad in here. George is as good natured as he appears,” Harry sent into Draco’s head.

Draco was quiet for a few more moments, “I think I found the problem. Blaise was…taken against his will and his memory was modified. Can you look at his?”

Harry stretched his mind towards Blaise and caught onto the mental hook that Draco had tossed him. He used that hook to dive into the right spot in Blaise’s mind. Harry looked at the oddly colored landscape in Blaise’s mind. “Is this what you mean by memory modification?”

“Yeah. We both have something similar though ours is much more defined. I’m assuming that whoever modified his mind was not nearly as powerful as the Dark Lord.”

“What if we…” Harry’s voice trailed off as he mentally thrust against the odd spot in Blaise’s head.

Both boys were suddenly engulfed in a violent memory. It looked to be about two years previous. Marcus Flint had raped Blaise after losing in the Quidditch final. He had then hastily modified Blaise’s memory.

Blaise woke up screaming. George groggily tried to pull Blaise into him, but it only made it worse. Blaise broke out of the spot between Draco and George and ran towards the kitchen area. Harry hopped up to follow, leaving Draco to deal with George.

George had hopped up as well, but Draco blocked him. “Get out of my way Malfoy.”

“No. You need to listen.”

George’s eyes narrowed dangerously “Go ahead.”

“Blaise had a memory charm placed on him two years ago by Marcus Flint. Flint raped him.”

George’s face went dark red and then drained completely. “How do you know?”

“Our telepathic abilities are getting stronger. We were able to see around the block. Harry broke it and the memories came back to him.”

“Was this why you wanted us to stay?” George asked, his voice a mixture of confusion and anger.

“Harry felt something was off with Blaise and that it had to do with being… intimate with you,” Draco replied, choosing his words carefully.

“So Blaise ran to you and Harry for help instead of trying to talk to me?” George replied, his voice barely masking his confusion and anger.

“No. He went for a walk and ended up talking to Orty. He was radiating so much distress that he woke Harry up. Harry pulled him in here to talk to him and before he could, you showed up. So he pulled you in too.”

“He’s afraid that I’ll hurt him… isn’t he?”

“That was the underlying feeling. Now that he knows where the feelings were coming from, he’ll probably be able to work through them. I’m sure that you’ll be able to help him. I can feel your concern for him radiating out of you.”

George calmed down quite a bit because of Draco’s words. He walked over to the couch and plopped down onto it. Draco looked at him for a moment before grabbing a blanket from the floor and walking over to the couch. He sat down gracefully right next to George and then pulled the blanket over them both. George looked at the blonde in surprise.

“You Gryffindors carry your emotions on your sleeves. Did you know that?” Draco asked quietly.

“I suppose we do. Why are you…?” he pointed at the nonexistent space between them.

“Did you know that Harry loves you?” Draco asked suddenly, his gray eyes locking with George’s soft brown eyes.

George’s eyes widened in surprise again, “But he’s… I mean you’re…”

“Not quite like that Weasley. Although if we weren’t connected it wouldn’t surprise me if he did end up with you.”

“I don’t know what to say to that Draco.”

“It’s hard for me to express my emotions. Harry has been helping me, but it is so very difficult for me. I told you that because I want you to know the depth of trust that Harry has for you. Harry and I now share everything whether we will it or not. That means that I share his trust. Harry would go to any length to help you, you know. As he is helping your boyfriend, it falls upon me to do as Harry would do.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I’m going to sit here and cuddle with you while you tell me what’s on your mind… or perhaps while you stare at the fire. Either way, I’m not moving and neither are you.”

“If you insist,” George replied quietly.

George then tumbled over to a more comfortable sleeping position on the couch and pulled Draco with him. He reached up to fix the blanket and then down to the floor for a pillow. He tugged Draco into him tightly and sighed deeply.

Draco buried himself into George’s strong arms and sent waves of calming thoughts towards him. They both drifted off to sleep a few minutes later.

* * *

Harry followed Blaise into the kitchen. Blaise heard him so Harry moved to block him from going anywhere but the bedroom. Blaise took the bait and ducked into the bedroom with Harry hot on his trail.

Harry closed the door and herded Blaise to the bed. Blaise, looking panicked, climbed onto the bed and buried his face into a pillow. He was still on his knees and Harry would have been more than aroused by Blaise’s waving boxer-clad butt had the circumstances been any different.

Harry focused his thoughts on sending calming feelings to the other boy. Slowly over the next several minutes, Blaise calmed down. It really drained Harry, but he still had enough energy to climb onto the bed next to Blaise. Blaise had lay down on the bed and rolled over to face the bed’s canopy. Harry crawled up next to Blaise and pulled him tightly to him.

Blaise whimpered quietly in response.

“I’m not going to hurt you Blaise. Neither will George.”

“How can I trust you Potter?” Blaise asked suspiciously.

“What do you think I am, Blaise?” Harry asked patiently.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think that I go around hurting people? Have I ever given any indication to anyone that I’m out to take over the world or some such thing?”

“No,” Blaise responded after a few minutes of silence. “I guess I’m afraid of other males.”

“Marcus is dead Blaise. He’s not going to be hurting you or anyone else ever again. I seriously doubt that George is going to let anyone get past him to get to you either. Especially not after what happened to Fred and Zavien.”

Blaise didn’t reply, but he did nestle more fully into Harry’s embrace.

“Blaise, if you don’t mind I’m going to look into your mind again, okay?” Harry asked gently.

Blaise shifted slightly and then pushed hard into Harry’s embrace. “Will it help?”

“I’ll try my best to help.”

“Go ahead then,” Blaise replied nervously.

Harry gently probed into Blaise’s mind. Blaise relaxed as Harry poked around in his head. Harry was able to spot an unusual spot in Blaise’s mind and he studied it. With his mind he gently stroked this strange spot and Blaise seemed to completely relax.

“What are you doing Boy Wonder?”

“I’m probing Blaise’s mind, with his permission. I’ve found something odd, but I don’t know what it is. When I started to study it in detail, Blaise went completely limp.”

“I’m as new to this as you are. We need to see if there are any books on this subject.”

“Thanks Hermione.”

“I’m not that bad.”

“Never mind. How is George?”

“He’s very good with his hands and he’s a very caring individual. Blaise hooked himself a good one.”

“Yes he did. Blaise is quite the hunk too you know.”

“I know, but he doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

“Thanks Dragon.”

“Bring him out here soon so we can get back to sleep.”

“Almost done.”

“Mmm… was that Draco?” Blaise asked groggily.

“Did you hear that?”

“I heard something that sounded like Draco. What did you do?”

“Nothing that I know of. Do you feel different?”

“I feel safe with you and I really miss George.”

“Well, let’s get back out there then,” Harry replied happily.

Draco had anticipated their return and was back on the floor with George. George had helped him set back up the comfortable spot on the floor. The other two boys joined them. Draco took the outside this time with Harry next to him. Blaise lay down right next to Harry with their backs touching. George cuddled into Blaise so that they were facing each other.

Draco and George managed to drag the blanket up over all of them. Everyone but Harry drifted back to sleep, with only a few hours left before sunrise.

Harry stayed awake for a little while longer enjoying the waves of comfort and love that everyone was sharing, even as they slept.