harry wathed grimbie snap his fingers and disear after a minute or so, he popped bak into view “here, sirs,” he held up the master spell key he thanked grimbie and was about to turn away when another razy idea popped into his head
if he and drao ouldn’t get the timepiee w again, they’d have to wait until their other selves used the timepiee for the first time only after that ould they rejoin the group and not worry about reating a paradox but if something were to hen to him or drao, they’d never get the pnt bak for the ransom drop “wait!” harry said “grimbie, an you do me another favor?” the house elf nodded eagerly “i need you to look after a pnt,” harry started and then expined his pn one grimbie uood, harry thanked him again and then finally made his way to the top floor
he stepped out into the entrane way and auusly peered around it was deserted harry eyed the losed doors to the penthouse suite after a few seonds, he made his way to the enter of the foyer and ped the red liquor-stained page of the prophet on the ground then the ding of the lift’s bell rang, and the doors opened
“i’d hoped i wouldn’t find you here,” drao rushed out “but i ouldn’t see the threads, and i knew you would still want to hange things” he shook his head and grabbed harry
“no!” harry protested he pointed to the paper on the ground “i ame here it ensure everything hens the way it should” drao leaned in and gazed at him the proximity sent shivers down harry’s spine “we need to get—”
something roared behind the doors of the penthouse and both of them jerked their heads toward the sound the sudden rashing of objets nged and people started sreaming harry blinked and the doors to the penthouse were suddenly on fire the roar sounded again
“i reognise that,” he whispered, memories from the triwizard tour fshing in his mind but how ould a dragon be in the penthouse? “that’s a—”
a swift and powerful gust of wind blew past them and harry stumbled bakward into drao’s frame a silvery, opalesent form poked through the burning doors and rge, loudy eyes peered at them its long nek extended out toward them, and as the hungarian horntail opened its mouth, drao raised his wand and shouted, “expeto patronum!”
a bright and vivid white stoat shot out of the end of drao’s wand and rashed into the dragon’s loudy form, sending it reeling bak into the penthouse a few moments of silene passed, and harry turned to drao, ompletely stunned and breathless
“was that a ghost?”
drao shook his head, “ghosts an’t breathe fire or rip people apart” malfoy was shaking “it must have been some sort of onized soul”
harry ould hardly believe what he’d seen he hadn’t been able to figure out what ould’ve done the damage in the penthouse, but he never would have guessed a sort of phantom hungarian horntail had been responsible for all the arnage “thank you,” he breathed he turned and kissed drao “you saved my life”
“what is this?” a familiar voie rang from the other end of the entrane near the lift harry broke their kiss and raned his head another drao stood in front of the open lift with a up of tea and massive sowl pstered aross his fae
“stupefy!” the drao losest to him shouted and the other drao froze in pe
harry looked around them and started to pani “i thought you said you spent the m away?”
drao frowned, “that’s what i remember doing help me move him to the stairwell”
they levitated the inapaitated drao out of the main entrane and down the stairs to the fourteenth floor after they made it to the room, drao ped the other vern of himself on the bed and ran to the nearby desk he pulled a folded parhment from his waistoat poket and id it on the desk grabbing a bnk parhment, he began sribbling a message
“what are you doing? are you mad?” harry rushed to his side, gning between the unfolded note and the one drao was writing, or rather, opying
follow the threads to their respetive ends, drao no matter how strange, no matter how unomfortable it makes you follow the bizarre and extraordinary events you won’t regret it and when it’s time to go home, the time will be a quarter to seven on thursday m —drao
uanding suddenly filled him, followed by the realizan that drao must’ve had this note all along harry ouldn’t stop himself from shouting, “really, malfoy?” he shook his head and ran from the room
“harry, wait!” drao alled
“i an’t believe you’ve been lying this entire time!” he was halfway out the door harry turned bak and gred at the man standing in the doorway he ouldn’t believe drao had the nerve to keep something else from him, after everything they’d said to eah other, everything they’d done the omisn felt like another betrayal “this whole thing has been one lie after another!” he threw up his arms in frustran ready to ring the nek of the git staring bak at him then he realized how familiar the sene was “wait this is when—”
he turned and saw arhie eversworn standing in the open lift down the hall, gawking bak at him in horrified shok harry threw himself at drao and pulled them bak into the hotel room, smming the door behind him
“obliviate!” drao ast at his prone form on the bed he gathered the rest of his things and made for the door
“what are you doing?” harry followed him out into the hallway “we need to disear until tomorrow night we an’t let anyone see us”
they argued for a few minutes until drao admitted the timepiee wasn’t broken “before you erupt, i will remind you that you kept your seret from everyone, just the same as me only i atually reeived a note from myself, in my own hand, menning the urse and suh”
“drao,” harry said throug
