Blackbird

12 | Of Night

It was two days until the challenge, and Harry was looking around the dungeon below Wolf's Hollow. He wasn't entirely sure what he'd been expecting, but...this wasn't it.

The underground room was enormous. There were at least thirty cells with barred doors and solid walls between them. The center of the room was a large circle. The door to the stairs was also barred.

Harry glanced over at Nadine, who had come down with him. She looked as worn and tired as he did. With the full moon rising the next night, every werewolf in the house was looking decidedly haggard.

"So, everyone else will be locked in their cells, and Lorcan and I will be fighting here in the center?"

Nadine nodded. She glanced at the door to the stairs and Harry sensed a hint of fear coming off of her. He knew exactly what was going through her mind.

"I'd like to send Thomas to stay with Draco at Grimmauld Place for the night, if that's okay with you," he said, "I have some other friends that will be there, too. My friend Hermione agreed to watch Thomas there for you. And if...if I don't make it, I don't want Thomas to see the aftermath, okay? Don't let him come down until...until it's cleaned up. I don't want him to be traumatized by seeing what happened."

She looked up at him, her eyes watery. "Harry, don't talk like that. You shouldn't—"

"And I need to talk to you about my Will."

"Harry, no. I don't want—"

He shook his head and continued doggedly, his eyes on the ground. "I'm not going to let you bond with that monster just to survive Nadine, no matter what happens to me. You and Thomas deserve to be free, even if I can't beat Lorcan. You can stay with Draco for a little while until all of the dust settles. I've been updating my Will with Gringotts this week and you and Thomas will be taken care of, I promise."

Harry expected her to object again, but instead she put a hand on his arm. He looked up at her and saw silent tears streaming down her face.

"Thank you, Harry. But...I don't understand. You barely know us. Shouldn't your money go to Draco? Or your godchildren?"

"They'll be taken care of too," Harry smiled gently. "I'm pretty well off, actually. I inherited the Black family fortune. And the Potters were wealthy, too. My grandfather invented that popular hair potion 'Sleekeasy's.'"

"Really?"

"Yeah, too bad it doesn't do much for my own hair," he grinned for a moment before his expression turned serious again. "Don't worry. Just put Lorcan off until after the challenge, okay? Then you and Thomas will be okay, no matter what happens."

She went up on tip-toes to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Harry."

•••••

The approaching full moon was affecting Harry even more the next morning, and the upcoming challenge certainly didn't help. He tossed and turned through the night and woke up looking like he hadn't slept at all. 

Draco groaned when Harry rolled over for what must have been the hundredth time. He shifted closer, draping an arm over Harry's waist and tucking his head under his chin.

"Morning," Harry murmured, rubbing at his eyes and stifling a yawn.

Draco smiled and pulled back to gently trail his fingers over the other man's cheek. "What do you want to do today?"

"Not feeling up to much," Harry sighed. "Just wanna be with you."

"I'm not going anywhere. Go back to sleep, love."