Harry looked around the room trying to understand where this feeling was coming from. His eyes locked onto wide brown eyes and all the breath left him in a whoosh. These were eyes he remembered very well. 700 years did nothing to hide the insane glint to those wild eyes. He was staring at the shocked face of Finneus Flamel.
Draco felt the panic and fear from Harry and he swung his face towards him. He noticed that his lover was locked in an odd stare off with the tester. He wondered if this was the person that Harry had sensed earlier, or if this was something else. The person didn't look remotely familiar so that didn't help him there.
Blaise looked up when he noticed that neither Harry or Draco responded to the twins' words. He noticed immediately that something was wrong. Draco looked worried and Harry looked like he had just seen a ghost. Blaise nudged Pansy lightly and nodded his head in Draco's direction.
Pansy frowned when Blaise broke her concentration, she was trying to count how long the sulfur in their Lucky Lozenge could maintain its consistency. She looked up to snap at him or at the very least sigh but she froze at the expression on his face. She slowly turned her head towards Harry and Draco as to not raise suspicion. She didn't know what was going on but her Slytherin instincts to be discreet were kicking in.
Finneus couldn't believe it. After he lost the two men earlier he feared that he would never come across such power again. The smell was intoxicating. Its rich aroma smelt sweeter than any flower in existence. He could feel the glands in his mouth producing more saliva as he nearly salivated. The room was so small that the power had nowhere to go and it was radiating off of the man in front of him. So much raw power. He could feel the haze of his mind start to go slightly fuzzy and he knew it was the power working overdrive to his senses. He felt drunk and alive. More alive than he has felt in centuries. His skin was nearly vibrating with the sheer aura of the man's presence. Oh, he wanted. He wanted this power. He wanted to immerse himself and never stop. If this power was like a pool of water, then he wanted to drown himself and get carried away in the waves of its energy.
Harry felt sick. Utterly sick. There was something so awful about the man that made his stomach twist and want to empty its contents. There was such a darkness to him. A brewing storm of absolute evil radiating off of him. It was almost tangible. It was almost too much. He wanted to tear his eyes away and either run away or fight to the death. But he couldn't stop staring. It was almost as if his eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had known that the Flamels were still alive but to actually see one of them was an entirely different thing. He did have to admit that Finneus was probably the most tame out of the family but that wasn't much comfort considering the man was a raving lunatic. Finneus hadn't aged a single day since the last time that Harry had seen him as Ethan. He thought that maybe the teen would've waited a couple years before taking the Elixir. Who would want to remain a teenager for the rest of their lives? Being a teenager is the awkward stage where you are considered an adult but not wise enough to be taken seriously. He couldn't imagine going through nearly 700 years as a teenager.
His appearance was nearly the same as well. Finneus's hair was longer but it was the same shade of sandy brown that it had once been. Harry wasn't sure what he had expected when he finally saw Finneus again but it sure wasn't this. He never thought the man would be employed by the twins or just so openly around in public. He thought they would have to search for a long time just to come up with a whisper of their whereabouts. Things falling literally right in front of him was not something that he had ever prepared for. He wasn't sure what to do or how to go about this. He couldn't release his glamour charms or Finneus might recognize him. Harry didn't think that Finneus would assume he was Ethan. Because his family had killed him. But he might think he was a descendant of Ethan's.
Harry could see the longing in those brown eyes and it made his stomach churn. Obviously, the man was still just as twisted as he once was. He wondered what it was about himself that made Finneus want him. Whatever it was it was disturbing to think about. Harry wanted to warn everyone else but he couldn't make his voice work. He couldn't make himself stop staring at the murderer. He was frozen in partial fear and uncertainty. He couldn't move if he tried.
The silence of the room made Fred and George look up from their clipboards. Fred frowned when he took in the rigid way that Harry and Draco were holding themselves. He was about to open his mouth and ask what was going on but Blaise held up a hand to keep him quiet. He was impressed that Blaise knew he was about to talk, considering he wasn't even facing Pansy or Blaise.
George narrowed his eyes at Finley. Whatever was going on had to be related to him. The fear and tension in Harry's posture made him nervous. Harry wasn't one to really be afraid of things. Unless it was for Draco's wellbeing. What was it about Finley that was making his brother act like this? He knew it had to do with Finley based off of the staring contest that was going on between them. He had to give Harry props because he himself couldn't look into Finley's eyes for more than a couple seconds. The guy freaked him out on so many levels, how Fred never noticed was beyond him. You could practically feel the darkness from him.
Draco noticed that Pansy and Blaise had caught onto the fact that something was wrong. Good. He knew that once words were spoken the odd trance Harry and this Finley guy were in would be broken. He didn't want any harm to come to Harry so they would have to play this very carefully. Draco quickly made eye contact with Pansy for a couple seconds and then with Blaise. He lifted his hand and made some hand gestures.
Fred and George shared a look. What on earth was Draco doing? Fred wondered if he was losing motor control in his hands. It looked like his hand was jerking uncontrollably. George wondered if this was sign language. He had come across a muggle one time that was deaf and they used hand gestures too. He had wanted to treat the muggle but knew that that would be unwise, there was no cure for deafness in the muggle world and it would raise questions. Deafness in the wizarding world had been cured centuries ago when potions were discovered that could go in and fix the problem, whether it be nerve damage, trauma or just hereditary.
Blaise frowned when Draco's hand movements reached his attention. Merlin, they hadn't used hand signals since they were children. Draco's house elf had taken him to the wrong day care to pick up Pansy and Blaise when they had been about 5. Draco had told them in whispers that the day care had been a muggle one and the children were watching moving pictures about please-men. The please-men used hand signals to tell other please-men where the bad guys were. They had come up with their own signals and played Grindewald vs Dumbledore. Pansy was always the one who got stuck being Dumbledore while Draco and Blaise took turns playing Grindewald. Of course their version always ended with the destruction of Dumbledore... er rather Pansy.
Pansy frowned trying to remember what the hand signals meant. It had been such a long time since they used them. Their games were never very fun for her. The boys got into it but being Dumbledore sucked balls. She never got to be Grindewald because her friends were arses, so she wasn't good with the signals. They wouldn't tell her what all of the signals meant because she might catch on and beat them. She was going to have to leave this one up to Blaise.
It took at least three times of Draco repeating the signals before Blaise finally got a grasp of what was going on. Blaise turned to Pansy and gave her several meaningful looks and a couple signals that he knew she would be able to understand.
Pansy's eyes widened and she looked to Draco and nodded once so that he knew that she was onboard. Pansy slowly inched her way until she was close to Finley. Pansy inched her way behind his chair and sent a discreet look to Blaise to let him know that it was okay to continue. Blaise quickly cast several charms around the room. He had to focus really hard on the nonverbal aspect to it. Nonverbal was not his strong suit but he knew that he needed to get a hang of it right now to help out his friends. Once he had gone through every spell that he could think of he cast a dampening charm preventing any further spells inside the room.
As soon as Draco got the confirmation form Blaise he cleared his throat and inched closer to Harry.
The noise of Draco clearing his throat broke the trance. Both Harry and Finneus jumped slightly, almost like they forgot where they were.
"Misters Weasley and Weasley." Draco said in his most authoritative voice that he could muster. Fred and George raised their brows in surprise, what was Draco playing at?
Harry blinked rapidly trying to clear his brain. He heard Draco speak but why was he acting so oddly? Did he have a plan?
Finneus stared at these two men with interest. There was something between them that he hadn't been able to pin down just yet. It was familiar and it was angering him that he couldn't figure it out. The man with black hair was powerful as well, not nearly as powerful as the man with brown hair but powerful enough that it was impressive. But there was a hint to the power that screamed a combination of the two of them. Which didn't make a whole lot of sense to him. Unless they performed binding rituals but that wasn't something that had been done in centuries. It was similar but different than a binding ritual. He supposed that it could be a spell gone wrong and now their powers were comingling. It was a puzzle that he didn't like. Puzzles are meant to be solved but he had no patience to figure them out. He wanted to understand what was going on between them right now.
Finneus narrowed his eyes at the way the man with the strong power was looking at him. It was almost like he recognized him but he knew that the man hadn't seen him earlier so that couldn't be it. If he had detected a hint of his magic, then it is perhaps possible that the man recognized that. But he doubted it. He knew without a doubt that the man couldn't have recognized him as who he really was. There was nothing to give that away. His mind was trying to come up with a plan on how to lure the man out of here without his shadow. He doubted that the two men went anywhere without the other and he was skilled enough to take on one of them but not the both of them. If it came down to a fight it would be a hell of a battle.
"Yes?" The twins answered at the same time.
Draco gave them both a polite smile. "We have come to assure you that your third shop has been confirmed. We came by to bring you the documents for you to sign."
If the twins were confused by Draco's words, then they didn't show it. They both adopted giant grins and immediately got into the roll that Draco wanted them to play.
"Of course, right away." George began.
"We are so happy to hear that-"
"Everything went smoothly but-"
"We both know how wonderful lawyers that you are." Fred said laying on the compliment pretty thickly.
"So we weren't even worried."
"You are too kind." Harry said forcing away any lingering unease. He could do this. He could pretend to be okay while he played into whatever game it was that Draco was beginning.
Finneus couldn't take his eyes off of the man with the tantalizing power. He was so captivating that it took his breath away. Once he was able to push past the power there was something so dark inside of him that he almost closed his eyes and moaned. But he knew that now was not the time for that. He had to keep his composure and make it just a little longer. He was fascinated that someone with so much power also had so much darkness inside them. The darkness seemed familiar too. The darkness was massive, it lured him in just as much as the power did. He wanted to reach in and grab the darkness and never let go. There was something so empowering about his darkness, so rich and clandestine that it made his blood boil in a good way. Finneus knew that he had come across this darkness before but he couldn't quite place it. It was familiar but different. He knew that once he figured it out he would probably smack himself but for now he was content with just trying to figure it out. What was with this guy?
Finneus's eyes widened before narrowing as he caught a giant cavern of light within the strange man. He furrowed his brows in confusion. Never in his entire existence had he come across someone with such power, darkness and light inside them. He was so incredibly confused. The darkness alone was enough to fill several dark wizards but this light... this light was so bright. Brighter than anything he had ever felt in his entire life. This light was so warm and beautiful that it stunned him. How could someone even exist with so much light inside of them? This light could fill not just several wizards but hundreds of light wizards. He was so blown away with the sheer depth of light inside of him. It was so... unreal, so unfathomable. Finneus was more confused than ever before. How could someone have so much light and darkness inside them? A lot of grey wizards have both. They have a mixture of the two magical spectrums. Always one side is higher than the other but they still have both. He knew that there wasn't an ounce of lightness inside of himself. Same applied to his parents. He knew that they were as dark as they come. But this man in front of him could rival his own darkness. But to think that the lightness inside of the man far outshone the darkness made no sense.
How could someone have so much inside of them and still manage to function? Finneus wasn't a conceited person like his mother. But he knew how powerful he himself was. It was no laughing matter. But to be able to contain that much darkness and that much light was unbelievable. He wondered if that is where such power was coming from. Surely to be able to contain such depth to both of the spectrums would require a lot of power.
Draco was thankful that he had the contract from Gringotts in his briefcase or this plan would have tanked already. He pulled it out and handed it over to Fred. "Look it over and let us know what you think, we will wait if you don't mind. The offer won't stand for too much longer, so the quicker we come to an agreement the faster you get your third store."
Fred was surprised that Draco had a document in his briefcase. He was still entirely in the dark about what the hell was going on but he knew that he needed to play along. He turned to George and they bent over the document together.
The silence while the twins looked over the document was stifling. Draco narrowed his eyes when he looked back over to Finley and realized that he was still staring at Harry. He didn't like the look in the man's eyes. It was like he just wanted to eat Harry up. That would happen over his dead body. Who did this guy think he was? Harry was his.
The twins were impressed with the document. They knew that they didn't actually have to read it but the contract was intriguing. What was this? They couldn't remember Harry or Draco mentioning that they were having issues with the goblins. They unknowingly were making the whole situation more believable by their mutterings that could be heard by everyone else.
"Really now?" Fred murmured.
"Wow. That is a lot of money."
"They sure struck a hard bargain."
"Impressive negotiation skills." George said.
Pansy and Blaise shared impressed looks. They had no idea that their partners were such good actors. Blaise wondered what was on the paper or if the parchment was blank. There would have to be something on it for Draco to pull it out of his briefcase. They had to have been doing something relating to the law or else they wouldn't be dressed the way they were or in the glamours. He was tempted to read the document too.
Harry tried looking everywhere else but at Finneus, but it was rather difficult. He could feel the hungry gaze on him. It was so distracting and creepy that the man wouldn't look away. He wanted to snap at him and tell him to quit but he needed to be strong right now. He didn't want the man to suspect anything.
Draco didn't like the unease that Harry was feeling. How in the world did Finley make it this far in life without someone hexing his balls off for his creepy tendencies? He couldn't make the possessive urges go away. He tried, he really did but the unwavering stare from Finley directed at his soulmate was just too much. Draco moved closer to Harry and wrapped an arm around his waist and glared at Finley.
Finneus tore his gaze away from the man with brown hair and raised an eyebrow at the hostility in the other man's eyes. Well jealousy is not becoming. Obviously, the man with black hair was staking his claim. It wouldn't matter in the end, he would have this power. He would be damned if he was going to allow someone to interfere.
Harry furrowed his brows and turned slightly to look at Draco. He almost busted out laughing when he felt envy floating through the bond. The idea that Harry might be into Finneus was so nauseating and farfetched that it was laughable. He laid his head on Draco's shoulder till his nose was pressed into Draco's neck. He knew it was unwise to not have his eyes on the enemy but he trusted Draco enough to protect him. His lover needed comfort and he was going to provide it. Besides, it sure as hell beat looking at the floor to avoid looking at Finneus.
Harry kissed Draco's neck. "I'm yours." He breathed quietly. He let the smell of Draco calm down his nerves. Harry pushed his love for Draco through the bond hoping to reassure him.
As soon as Draco felt Harry's lips on his skin he started to relax. He knew that he was being silly but he didn't like it when someone threatened his position on their love. The simple statement of Harry's was just what he needed to hear. Draco narrowed his eyes when Finley clenched his fists. Was it possible that he had heard what Harry said? It had been too quiet for normal ears.
Finneus nearly growled. It had been obvious that these two were an item but now he knew that he was going to have an incredibly hard time separating the two of them from each other. What irked him was the simple phrase. No. He was not the other mans. No. This power would be his. There was no doubt about it. None.
"So you guys are their lawyers?" Finneus asked hoping that his voice came out as polite.
Harry felt his skin crawl at the sound of his voice. 'I want to keep you.' That had been the last thing Finneus had said directly to Ethan before Perenelle interfered. He had to bite on his tongue to stop the bile from coming up. Merlin, he was having a flashback to that night. He almost whimpered but managed to keep it at bay. This was not the time to panic. This was not the time to lose it. He could break down later, he could lose control of his emotions later but right now he needed to be strong. He needed to be rock. He could do this. Hopefully.
Draco was nearly panicking at the emotions coming from Harry. He had never seen him like this. What was it about this Finley guy that set Harry to edge? He knew that he had to be missing something important. He just had to be.
"Yes." Draco said evenly. He didn't bother striking up a conversation or extending this one. He didn't even want to talk to the man. He didn't like anything about this guy. What on earth had the twins been thinking when they hired this weirdo?
Finneus glared when the man with black hair was making this difficult. All he had to do was play nice. Even pretending enough for a conversation would make things less awkward. How could he convince them to go somewhere with him if they wouldn't even talk to him?
The twins cleared their throats and made a show of pretending to sign the contract. They blocked Finley's view so that the man wouldn't get suspicious before they handed it back to Draco.
Finneus narrowed his eyes as he cocked his head to the side. Something suspicious was going on here. There had been no flare of magic when the signatures were signed. There had been no magic at all surrounding the document.
"Well sorry to cut this short Finley." Fred said with the most sincere voice that he could muster.
"But we have things to discuss. So if you would-"
"Come back-" Fred was cut off when Finley sprang up out of his seat startling everyone.
Finneus pulled out his wand and narrowed his eyes when no one else even bothered. "What is going on?" He demanded to know.
"What do you mean?" Blaise asked innocently as he slid his wand back into his robes. Draco would have snorted if it was any other time. The idea that Blaise could be innocent was laughable. "You are the one who drew your wand." Blaise pointed out.
Finneus ignored Blaise and looked to the twins. "There was no magic when you signed that. Something is wrong here and I want to know now before I hurt you all." He threatened. He frowned when still no one pulled out a wand. His four 'bosses' didn't worry him. He could take them all on at one time and still win. He knew this. But the other two, they would be a problem.
Fred and George were itching to pull out their wands but they were following everyone else's lead. They did not appreciate being in the dark right now. As soon as whatever was happening got taken care of, they were going to demand to be taught the hand signals too. They felt useless.
Harry was confused that no one was pulling out wands but he only felt caution and a sense of calm through the bond and Harry knew that Draco would never be vulnerable if there wasn't a reason. So if Draco wasn't going to use his wand then neither would Harry.
"Who are you two, really?" Finneus asked the two strangers. He didn't believe for one moment that they were really lawyers. There was something else going on here and he was going to get to the bottom of it. When no one answered him, he grew frustrated. Finneus was tired of playing this out, he swished his wand and frowned when nothing happened. He opened his mouth to say something but a sharp pain in the back of his head tumbled him forward. He tripped over his chair and his face smashed against the edge of the table. The last thing he heard before a blissful nothing took over was a surprised, 'Did you have to go all muggle on him?'
Pansy was still holding onto the clipboard that she used to smash the back of Finley's head with. She was panting hard from the exertion. Pansy turned to Draco who had been the one to speak and glared defiantly at him.
"Well excuse me for getting him out of the way! I would think that you would thank me!" She said a little hysterically. She had no idea what was going on but her emotions were running high and it would be nice if Draco could appreciate her level head.
George gently took the clipboard out of her hands and pulled her into a hug. Pansy buried her face into his chest and clung to him tightly. George glared lightly at Draco for upsetting his girlfriend.
Draco sighed and held his hands up in the air. "Alright I am sorry. I am just a little frazzled here. I didn't mean to take it out on you."
Pansy sniffled before looking to her best friend. "I forgive you." Her tone of voice suggested that she was being incredibly gracious by doing so. Draco had to quash the urge to roll his eyes at her. God, forbid he make it worse. Blaise had no issues about upsetting Pansy and he openly rolled his eyes.
"Can someone explain what the hell just happened?" Fred demanded.
"Yeah and what were the hand signals about?" George piped up.
"What hand signals?" Harry asked curiously.
"Why did I knock out one of our employees?" Pansy asked as she stared down at Finley who was knocked out with a bleeding forehead.
"Who was that guy?" Draco demanded to know.
Blaise was looking at everyone with a frown. Too many questions at one time. Everyone looked back and forth at each other before they all started laughing. No one had any idea which question to ask first.
"You know what I love the most about our friendship?" George asked wiping his eyes.
"How well we all know each other?" Pansy supplied, stepping away from the hug to take a closer look at Finley.
Fred shook his head. "No. The fact that we can all laugh like we didn't just assault someone in the shop, while that same someone is bleeding on the floor."
Blaise and Pansy snorted before looking up at Harry and Draco to start explaining.
"Hey don't look at me." Draco told them. "This is all on Harry to explain."
Blaise frowned looking between the two of them. "But you were the one who started the hand signals." He pointed out.
"What hand signals?" Harry asked again, slightly frustrated. He was getting really curious. He couldn't remember anyone performing any hand signals.
"Draco gave me the hand signals that meant that someone needed to be taken care of and for Pansy and I to take positions on either side of him. Since there was only Finley in the room, I knew that it meant him. He also told me to mind the magic. Which meant that I had to do it all quietly and efficiently. So I used spells to make it so that no one could apparate in or out of the room. I put some shield charms in place around the room and put in charms to ward off simple hexes as well as a magic dampener so that he wouldn't be able to perform any magic." Blaise explained.
Harry lifted his brows and looked at Draco rather impressed. He had no idea that Draco had been able to convey all of that without even making a single noise. That was some impressive team work. "That's why no one took out their wands!" Harry exclaimed.
Pansy nodded. "Yes. Then Blaise's hand signals told me to get into position behind Finley and to keep watch on the door."
Fred and George let out surprised breaths of air. They had no idea that any of that had gone on while they were in the room. They had seen the hand signals but they didn't think that it was anything as intricate as that. They were mildly impressed with their silent communication skills.
"Wow." Harry said with a low whistle. He turned to pout at Draco. "How come you never taught me any of the hand signals."
Draco laughed lightly and kissed the side of Harry's head. "Because I haven't used any of those since we were children. Besides, I have shown you different hand signals." He pointed out.
"Like what?" Blaise asked curiously. He smirked when Harry's face went red. Pansy leered openly. "Why Draco who knew you were so kinky. I want to know what kind of hand signs you two use in bed."
George coughed pointedly. He had no interest whatsoever in the things they do behind closed doors. "I am more interested in why we just hurt one of our employees. There has to be a good reason or we could so be sued."
Everyone turned to stare at Harry who began fidgeting. He looked at Finneus with narrowed eyes. "That is not Finley." Fred and George frowned. No, they were pretty sure that was Finley. They had seen him enough for the past two years to know who he was.
Harry could see the confusion on their faces and rushed to explain. "Well it is Finley. But that is also Finneus Flamel."
There was a deafening silence while everyone tried processing the new information.
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Authors Notes:
I loved the idea of the hand signals. I think it is rather cute. And the mini back story was adorable, if I do say so myself. My inspiration on that was kind of like 'Cops and Robbers' Only there was Grindewald and Dumbledore. I thought it was rather funny that children would play something like that. Considering who their families were it was no wonder that no one wanted to be Dumbledore. Haha.
Now for the tiny tid bit about deafness not being an issue in the wizarding world. I was not implying that being deaf is something bad or that needs to be cured. This was just something to explain why there is no deaf people in the wizarding world. No offense was intended.
I am a terrible actor so it is a good thing I was not in their shoes. I would have ruined the whole plan. What did you think of Draco's plan? I thought it was fascinating. It shows how well he knows his friends.
Now I know some of you might be a little confused as to why Finneus wouldn't be able to recognize the darkness inside of Harry as the same darkness in the stone. But keep in mind that Harry touched the stone. Finneus only ever drinks from the Elixir with gloves. The Flamels may be off their rockers but they know better than to touch dark artifacts without gloves. So that is why it is familiar to him but also different. He wouldn't know the darkness like Harry does.
Also, I know it might not make sense that Finneus thought the darkness in Harry could only fill several dark wizards while the lightness could fill hundreds. I know what you are thinking. How could something like the darkness that came from something so dark as the Sorcerer's Stone, that took the lives of three hundred people not be dark enough to fill more than several wizards? There is a reason for that. Butttt I won't be mentioning that till later on.
Anyone surprised that they all just started talking over the knocked out Finneus with zero fucks given? Haha
So let me know any thoughts that you might have on this chapter. I would love to hear from you all. :)
-XxTheDarkLordxX