Chapter Text
There’s a reason some people call Draco Malfoy the Slytherin Ice Prince, but there’s a better reason than they could ever imagine for him to wish they would stop.
The green curtains shut with an unsatisfying hiss and the boy swore he could hear the laughter from the common room through the locked door and now his well-practiced silencing charm. He allowed himself to collapse backwards into the comforting safety of his feather-filled pillow.
“I am Draco Malfoy. We are purebloods. My secret would bring shame to the family name. To all of us, I have a duty to protect the family name. And Cassiopeia’s.”
A moment of focus later and Draco’s mind cleared with the ease of years of practice. He allowed sleep to over power his conscious thoughts and his dreams to take him to Cassie. It was the only way he could remember her, be with the little girl in all of her glory. As soon as his eyes opened the visions of her would slip just beyond his grasp and the picture under his pillow would become more a stranger than ever before.
oOo
Harry smiled from his spot on top of Gryffindor Tower. Yes, on top of the Tower. It was one of the few places that no one else in the castle went, probably due to the fact that a single slip would send them plummeting to their demise faster than they could pray to Merlin. But if you ignored that, it was really a beautiful view. The only tower higher than this spot was the Headmaster’s and Dumbledore rarely looked out the windows on this side. Harry stayed out of view of the tower anyway just in case. There were only a handful people who knew of his little hideaway and he would like to keep it that way.
The other nice thing was that he could see practically all of the grounds from here. Which meant he was often the look out for Seamus’ and Dean’s pranks that happened outside of the castle. Like that one time they decided to prank the Giant Squid. It hadn’t ended well but it had been really amusing when the..
Harry’s reminiscing was cut short when he noticed a familiar light blue glow from the edge of the lake. It was barely noticeable if he were honest, he probably only saw it because of his own experience with it. His father had played hide and seek with him for years to hone exactly this skill. He had never thought he would actually use it before especially seeing it for the first time as a seventh year. He was convinced that his father was right and all of the other Elementals had disappeared due to breeding. But there was no denying the light aura that hovered just over the edge of the lake.
Harry Potter had just discovered another elemental here at Hogwarts.
With a gust of air the dark haired teen slid down the roof, caught hold of the angled lip and flipped in through the open window with practiced ease. Scaring the crap out of Neville Longbottom who managed to just save his nearly finished potion’s essay from death via overturned inkwell.
The boy tried to glare at Harry but was too busy sighing in relief to catch the other as he raced from their dorm room and out of sight.
oOo
Draco Malfoy woke up with a groan, he had dreamed of Cassie as per usual and he gave a small smile at the rapidly fading memory of their skating together her hands gripped tightly in his own. He wished he could remember more about the girl than vague memories of consistent dreams. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes reluctantly as the last wisps of the dream faded. Sitting up and pulling the curtains wide as he made his way towards the bathroom to prepare for the day.
It wasn’t until he walked into the common room and was faced with a room full of smiles, balloons, gifts, and banners proclaiming “Happy Birthday to Our Ice Prince.” That the teen realized that it was in fact June 5th and he was about to endure a whole day of this nonsense.
He forced a smile and cursed the fact it was a Saturday, at least last year he could escape this during class periods. They kept him busy until lunchtime when the Slytherin made the excuse of needing to floo his parents. He intended to floo them, but not until later as his father was still at work, but the excuse was good enough for what he needed.
Of course that did mean that he had to disappear for a solid five or so hours until dinner. The blond took a tour of the grounds around the castle. Thankfully, the younger students would not know what today was and the majority of the older students were beginning to panic about their upcoming tests. He came to a stop in his usual spot on the edge of the lake. The spot was pretty well hidden and always shady which meant that most everyone found it a little too cold. Draco loved it.
He let his thoughts drift as he dipped his feet into the still cold water. This time of the year was always the hardest, memories and dates filled his mother’s letters with anguish and his father’s with harsh words and critiques. He often wished he could just forget June 5th, but his birthday had to be the day that was forever haunted by reality.
oOo
Harry felt his grin tugging on his lips as he tried to subtly race across the grounds towards the lake. He could not believe it! This would be his first time meeting a stranger who had a strong elemental connection. The glow was only for people who had strong control over their elements. Neville and Charlie Weasley were both minor Elementals, they did not give off that spark though their talents did help them often. Seamus had more of an affinity for fire than control over the Element. Really he only knew of two people who qualified as “True Elementals” and finally seeing that tell-tale glow was like a dream for Harry.
He slowed once he reached the pitch, trying to make it look like he was hiding from a friend or something (which less face it was not exactly an unusual occurrence per say) before disappearing into the trees along the edge of the water.
He hoped he was going the right way to get to the other Elemental and after about three minutes of walking he began to think about turning around and just waiting for another sign later. But with less than a month left of his final year, and six years of waiting behind him, the odds of finding this person again were slim to none. That desperation pushed him forward through the final copse of trees until he spotted a figure in Slytherin robes with his feet sitting on the now frozen surface of the lake.
“I knew it! You’re an Elemental, aren’t you?! I never thought I would actually meet anyone else. How long have you known? What’s your name?”
The figure on the shore had stiffened at the first sound of Harry’s voice and pulled himself upward and a little more out of the shade, which was when the light reflected off of a familiar head of nearly white hair.
“Malfoy?!”
oOo
“Potter. I suppose you’ve learned my big secret now. I do hope it is not too much for your mind to handle. Along that line, I would request that you keep this information to yourself, for my mother’s sake if not for mine.”
Harry frowned, “Is your mother and Ice Elemental as well, then?”
“No. I was the only one lucky enough to be born with this. I’ll be off now.”
“Wait, Malfoy!”
But the blond continued on his way, shoving past trees as his eyesight began to darken, his hands began to sweat, and his breathing became harder. He had barely lost sight of the clearing when he could not handle it anymore and fell to his knees.
This was it. His father would never forgive him for someone finding out. He may be banned from the Manor. His mother would be horrified should the story get out of when his abilities matured. It was far too dangerous to live in this world with his abilities. There was no way he would be allowed to wander without restrictions at this point. He would be trapped in a cell, forbidden from human contact.
“Malfoy. Malfoy. Draco! You need to breath!”
The sound of Potter’s voice shook him to the core and he struggled to get enough air to glare at the Gryffindor.
“Mind yourself, Potter. I will not be as lenient the next time we come in contact, should this information become general knowledge.”
“O-of course! I wouldn’t share something like this. I understand-”
His face formed his trademark sneer without a hint of effort, “I seriously doubt that, Potter. Just leave.”
The Gryffindor seemed to debate with himself for a long moment, “You’ll be fine on your own?”
“I’ve managed to survive six years without your help, Potter. I seriously doubt I would shatter today without your presence.”
That seemed to decide it and the younger boy walked off with a determined stride, despite the obvious desire to look over his shoulder. Draco let his head fall as soon as the boy was out of sight. Thinking that he would have to write a letter to his father about this incident. He had made it more than ten years without discovery, why did it have to happen now? Weeks before he was free to be on his own?
“Damn it all.”
oOo
The Gryffindor forced himself to keep walking even as Malfoy’s words echoed in his ears. Draco’s panic may seem extreme, but if even half of the horror stories his father told of his great-grandfather’s discovery, Harry could imagine reacting in a similar way himself.
Elementals, due to their rarity, were a hot commodity for anyone looking for a prestigious marriage. Their kids were guaranteed to be more powerful than others, even if they did not get the gift themselves, and they were given a status raise among polite society if one desired to be in polite society.
His great-grandfather had placed a spell on his son to prevent him from sharing his own Elemental status with anyone until after marriage in order to prevent the social disaster he had faced under scrutiny for his abilities. His grandfather had done the same to his father, and James had done the same to Harry. Most people assumed Harry’s great-grandfather been the last Potter Elemental as a result. Which Harry was usually find with. Now though all he wanted to do was to tell Draco Malfoy that he was not the only one who had to deal with being an Elemental.
Harry muttered his own curse as he entered the front doors of the castle. How was he supposed to commiserate with Malfoy if the teen wouldn’t even talk to him? Much less know that Harry did understand it all. Harry could not tell the prat about it either.
Harry practically ran into Snape, lost in thought as he was. Barely registering the man’s raised voice commenting to McGonagall that some hooligans just had no idea how to use their eyes and take in their surroundings. Thankfully, his Slytherins knew better and were always sure to maintain constant vigilance.
It was as those last words echoed in his ears that an excited smile lit up his face. He forgot, Draco Malfoy was a Slytherin. Slytherin’s didn’t do anything open and obvious. They did everything subtly and underhanded. They were good at noticing things that no one else did, using it to their advantage.
All Harry had to do was give the boy enough clues to show him the truth. The Slytherin would be a confidant within a week if Harry had anything to say about it.
With that plan in mind, Harry gave the surprised Professor Snape a courteous thank you and made his way towards the Great Hall. All of that planning and running was enough to make him nearly as hungry as Ron.