The Prince and the Slave
Part 14
By Shinri
The Prince and the Slave
Part 14
By Shinri
Harry was walking down the hall on the way to a meeting with his father. He was going to learn this morning what they had found out about Peter. Harry was unable to ask Draco anything last night. Draco had been really sensitive to the subject. He wouldn’t even let Harry go at all while he was awake. Later that night, Draco fell asleep in Harry’s arms. Harry, though, still remembered the kiss that he and Draco had shared. He knew that he was only teasing himself. Draco had made it clear that nothing could happen with him.
Harry let out a sigh as he continued down the halls. He still wondered what Peter had meant when he had called Draco a traitor. Who was Draco? The only thing that he knew about Draco was that he was from Slytherin. Even that was not for sure. He could have come from the dark kingdom. But wherever Draco came from, though, one thing was obvious: he had betrayed someone. He came to a stop outside the war room. This was where he was supposed to meet his father.
Harry knocked on the door and when he heard his father’s voice telling him to enter, he walked in. The room itself had no windows and was deep inside the castle. In case of a siege, this was where they would coordinate their defense. He walked towards the circular table in the middle of the room which was covered with a map of the continent. Harry stepped up to the first person that he came across. He gave him a nod. “General Black.”
Sirius Black was one of the generals of the Army of Gryffindor. He was in charge of all forces inside the country. Sirius looked at Harry for a moment before laughing. “Oh, come on, Harry, is that any way to address your godfather?”
Harry grinned in return and gave Sirius a hug. “I guess not.” After a moment, Harry stepped back and walked over to his father’s other general. He embraced him as well. “Hi, Moony.” Remus was in charge of all forces along the border. He was brought out of his hug by his godfather’s voice.
“Oh, I see. You call Lupin Moony but you call me Black?” Sirius crossed his arms and mock-pouted at Harry.
Harry shook his head. “Oh, alright. Hi, Snuffles.” Harry couldn’t believe that his godfather wanted him to call him that. He turned to his father when he spoke.
“Alright, you three. We have business to attend to.” James took a seat at the table and the rest joined him. James turned to Remus. “What have you found out about Peter?”
Remus glanced over at Harry before turning back to the king. “From what we can tell, he certainly was sent to us from either Slytherin or the Dark Kingdom. When going through his belongings, we found that he had substantial funds. So he had the backing of someone powerful or rich.”
James leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. “What do you think about response?”
Sirius was the first to speak. “I say we send more troops to the border as a sign that this kind of aggression will not be tolerated.”
Remus cut in at this point. “It’s true that we can not let this go unanswered, but you have to realize that we do not know for sure that Peter came from Slytherin. Sending more troops to the border may provoke a bigger response from Slytherin if we are wrong.”
“Come on, Moony. We all know that Slytherin and the Dark Kingdom are practically allies. If one of them were going to make such a bold move, then the other would have had to know.”
James thought on this. Remus had a point, but so did Sirius. He looked over at his son. “Son, what is your view on the situation.”
Harry was shocked at first that his father had asked him. Usually Harry only came to these meetings to watch his father so as to learn how to rule. But now that he was asked, how would he respond? He thought on it a moment before answering. “I would have to agree with both. I say send more troops to the border, but not too many. This will show that we will not tolerate it, but wouldn’t be seen as too much of a risk.”
James nodded at his son before turning back to his generals. “I say that we go with my son’s idea. Remus, has anything new happened at the border recently?”
Remus was about to respond when he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Remus stood up and walked to the door. When he opened it, he was met by a messenger. Remus took the letter from the messenger and, seeing that it was from the border, advised the messenger to wait. Remus closed the door and walked over to the table before taking a seat. He read over the letter once, and then he read it over one more time to be sure he read it right. He sat back in his chair confused.
James seeing the confusion on Remus’ face addressed him. “What is it, Remus?”
Remus looked up at James. “I don’t understand it, Your Majesty.”
Sirius looked at the king before looking back at Remus. Remus was rarely confused or shocked into silence. “What does the letter say? Has Slytherin invaded us or something?”
Remus looked back around the table before he looked straight at the king. “It appears that the Slytherin army has moved-.”
He was cut off by a slam of a fist into the table by Sirius. “I knew it. We are being invaded! This whole assassination attempt was meant to throw us into confusion.”
Remus raised his hand to get Sirius to be quiet for a moment. “No, we are not being invaded. The Slytherin army on the border is moving away from it. They are heading back into Slytherin.”
Sirius was shocked. As was Harry and James. James was the first to recover. “But why are they moving away from the border. That doesn’t make any sense. They are leaving the border unprotected.”
“That is what is confusing me. Why would the troops abandon the border? Your Highness, I would recommend you consult with your allies as soon as possible. While there is no immediate threat, this move by Slytherin could be a trap. They may be gathering there forces for an invasion.”
James nodded. “I agree, Remus. Sirius, as soon as this meeting is over, I want you to send a pair of your best riders to both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. If Slytherin and the Dark Kingdom come across the border, we are going to need help.” After seeing Sirius nod, he turned to Remus again. “Remus, I want you to put all forces on the border on full alert.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Good. I will be holding court tomorrow to make preparations for defense. I don’t want to be caught off guard here. We will make no aggressive moves, but we will defend ourselves if attacked. I call this meeting adjourned. Harry, would you stay a moment?”
Harry watched as Sirius and Remus left the room, then turned back to his father. “What did you want, father?”
James looked at his son closely. “Harry, do you think you could get any information from Draco?”
This confused him. “What type of information?”
“You said that Draco was caught illegally entering our country. He may have information on what is going on. I am also curious as to what could have caused Peter to go after Draco before you. It’s clear that you where his main target.”
Harry sighed. “Peter did say that Draco was a traitor.”
This perked James’s interest. “Why didn’t you tell me about this last night?”
Harry looked guiltily at his father. “I wanted to ask Draco myself, but he was so sensitive last night that I couldn’t bring it up. What do you think he meant?”
James pondered it for a moment. “Maybe he was in an army where he came from and deserted. But that still does not explain Peter though. He would not have broken cover like this for just a mere deserter.” James thought on it a few more moments. “Harry, you are going to have to ask Draco to tell you about everything. I am sorry to say this, but if you can’t get anything from him within the next few days I will have no choice but to send him to be integrated.”
“No, father, please don’t do anything like that.”
James gave his son a saddened expression. “Son, I won’t have any choice. We must know what is going on.”
Harry knew his father was right. He did not want to lose Draco, though. Even if they could not have a relationship, he liked to just be in the blonde’s presence. But could he get Draco to open up to him? Every time Harry had asked him about his past, Draco had tensed up and refused to speak. Harry knew he didn’t have a choice. He would have to make Draco talk. He looked back at his father. “I will get you the information.” Harry stood up and without even casting a glance back at his father, he left the room.
James watched his son leave the room with his head bowed. Once the door was shut, he brought his hands up to message his temples. “I am so sorry, Harry.”
TBC…
A/N: Please review
Now for the dreaded teaser:
Harry knew this would not satisfy his father. Even Harry could tell that Draco was holding something back. “Draco, my father is not going to accept that. I know you know something. Why won’t you tell me? Are you afraid that someone will come after you?”