Draco Malfoy and the Traitorous Marauder

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/15120722.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: M/M
Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Relationship: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger & Draco Malfoy & Harry
Potter & Ron Weasley, Harry Potter & Severus Snape
Character: Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Severus
Snape, Sirius Black, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Black Malfoy, Pansy
Parkinson, Blaise Zabini
Additional Tags: Past Child Abuse, Time Travel, Gryffindor Draco Malfoy, Slow Burn,
Courtship, Boggarts
Series: Part 3 of Time Twister
Stats: Published: 2018-07-01 Updated: 2021-03-18 Chapters: 29/38 Words:
121149

Draco Malfoy and the Traitorous Marauder

by YouAreMyHappilyEverAfter

Summary

Draco Malfoy, after travelling back in time, beating a shade of Voldemort, and befriending
Harry Potter, has survived his first two years of Hogwarts. He's now in his third year, again,
and looking forward to the peace and quiet that comes with it. So, yes, things between him
and Harry are getting complicated, his cousin Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban, and
there's a strange black dog following him and Harry all the way to Hogwarts - oh, right, and
he's been given a time turner to use in his classes so now he has even more to keep track of.
Other than that, though, it's going to be a perfectly normal year!

Notes

Hey guys, welcome to the third fic! - Kit

...Okay! To our new readers, STOP HERE! This is a part of an AU known as Time
Twister. To avoid any further confusion, we ask that before you read this, you go ahead and
hop over to the first fic, Draco Malfoy and the Resurrection Stone. Once you've done that,
hop back over!

Now that we're all caught up, I do have a little side note to make. Just... We've noticed that
some of you have theorized that Harry is from Draco's proper time. Very interesting theory.
~Kas

Really? You're going to- I mean. Alright. Yeah. This is actually good- Yes. Okay. Right.
Enjoy the fic, you guys, and yeah. It's- It's defintiely a theory, alright. - Kit
 A Well Deserved Rest

"I know I said I'd tell you about living with the Dursleys, but..." Harry was pacing in front of
Draco's bed, the two back at Malfoy Manor for the summer. It had only been a few days since they
left Hogwarts and Draco thought that was plenty of time for Harry to have to himself, because
he needed to know this. He needed to know what he was dealing with. "You're not going to like it,
Draco."

"What, you really believe I thought I would like it?" Draco reached out to grab Harry's hand as he
passed. "If you'd like… I'll tell you more. About before." That got Harry to finally pause, the child -
soon to be teen, really - staring at him before giving a rough sigh.

"Fine- Fine. But you have to promise me you won't tell anyone, okay? Not Ron, not Hermione, not
your parents, not Severus, not anyone."

Draco opened his mouth before sighing. "Alright. I promise I won't tell anyone, but I do think you
should talk to mother and father, or to Severus. Severus already knows the basics, by now, and said
he'd be willing to lend an ear."

"Maybe one day, but right now I can barely bring myself to tell even you about all of it." Harry
moved to sit on the bed, staring at the floor and playing with his shirt ends. "What do you want to
know first?"

"How about you start from the beginning. How it is you got landed with them." There was a sharp
silence, a shudder rolling through Harry before he harshly scratched at the back of his head.

"I don't know- I don't know. You think my parents wouldn't put me with them if they knew how
awful they were, but then they died and they were the only family I had left. I don't know. They
said they got stuck with me."

"They... never said anything more than that?" Draco pushed Harry's hair back behind his ear.
"What were they like in the beginning?" As he hoped, Harry stilled at the touch before completely
leaning into it.

"I don't- I think they were kind?" Harry let his eyes shut, his voice getting softer. "Sometimes I
think I remember Aunt Petunia rocking me to sleep and soothing me from a bad nightmare, but
other times I think that was nothing more than a dream. Something I made up."

"Maybe it was your aunt. Maybe it was your mother. Remember, they are sisters." Draco hummed.
"What about your uncle?" There was no answer forthcoming, Draco frowning and looking closer to
see that Harry was... He was afraid. Draco dropped his hand to hold Harry's close. "I had a good
relationship with my father in the beginning. I thought he was a hero, that he was going to change
the world for the better. Sometimes I said things he disapproved of, and... he showed me I was
wrong, but I knew it was because he wanted what was best for me. He told me Voldemort
Imperiused him, controlled him to follow his command, and I ate it up. It wasn't until Hogwarts I
realized he may have lied."

"He beat me." Harry's voice was whisper soft, the sound nothing but that of a scared child. "When I
didn't do what he wanted, when I talked back, when I asked questions, when he thought I was too
happy... He would beat me and lock me in my cupboard while my aunt just watched. No food, no
water, no anything."
Draco paused, his thumb slowly stroking Harry's hand. "...And your cousin?" The laugh given was
harsh and bitter and there was nothing kind about it.

"He thought it was a great game to play. 'Harry Hunting'. He and his friends would play it all the
time."

"Harry..." Draco sighed. "I know you don't want to, but if you tell Dumbledore even a portion of
what you just told me, he will never ask you to go back." Looking away, Harry was quiet -
although he didn't let go of Draco's hand.

"They're my 'family', though. I'm a kid. He'll just say I'm exaggerating or something like every
other adult I've ever told." He... He had told people all this before?

"Oh, Harry..." Draco finally pulled Harry into a hug. This child - no - this person had been through
so much, already, and he already had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "I know I promised,
but... Please. Please let me tell Sev, Harry. He won't stand for this. I won't do it unless you say I
can, but-"

"But if I don't I really could end up going back there." Harry didn't shake, he didn't cry, his voice
didn't waver, and he sounded nothing but tired as he finally sighed. "Alright. You have to, though. I
don't think I can."

"Will you come with me when I do?" It took a moment before Harry nodded, relaxing into Draco's
hug and settling closer. Draco rubbed at his back a few minutes more before finally withdrawing.
"Alright. Ask me anything."

Pulling back, Harry studied Draco before giving a sharp nod. "Do you remember the answers to
third year exams?"

Draco finally laughed. "N- Not quite. I didn't take half those classes, anyway." Still laughing,
Draco felt Harry's palm cup his cheek, the younger finally smiling.

"There we go. You look much better when you're laughing." Shocked into silence, Draco stared at
Harry, his hand warm against the blond's face. Harry's grin got even wider, the child laughing in
sheer delight. "C'mon, then. Tell me everything- Well, everything that you can. Small things. The
little things- What did you do for fun back then? Where did you go when you wanted to be alone?
What was your favorite color? Who was your best friend? Who was your favorite teacher? I wanna
know everything."

The questions forced a smile out of Draco, the teen chuckling softly. "I did plenty of things for fun.
I played Wizard's Chess, I schemed, I would fly my broom, I plotted, and I talked with my friends.
When I wanted to be alone, at first I would go out to the Great Lake, but about sixth year-" His
voice hitched slightly, "I started talking with Myrtle in her bathroom. My favorite color was… red,
though you can't tell anyone. Pansy would have had you believe that she was my best friend, but
actually Blaise and I favored each other a bit more, though not in any romantic aspect, and I really
needn't tell you my favorite teacher."

"It never hurts to check," Harry beamed, palm rubbing at Draco's cheek in a soft little motion that
felt... It felt nice. Comforting. "You're not that different for as much as you act like it sometimes,
you know. You still play chess, you still kind of scheme and plot, and you fly your broom and talk
with your friends all the time. Although, I kind of hope you don't feel the need to be alone as much
anymore."

"Not near as much, but… sometimes being alone can be nice," Draco said with a smile.
"Yeah, sometimes- Is red still your favorite color? And who's your best friend now?"

"Yes, red is still my favorite color, but I've started to be rather fond of blue. And I don't think I need
to answer that one, either, you berk."

"Hey, didn't I just say it never hurts to check," Harry laughed, wrapping himself around Draco in a
hug and burying close. It was rather adorable. "Hey, Draco... Were you- On the train, were you
serious? About me not going back to them?"

"Completely, Harry. If we tell Severus, he'll make sure of it." Draco ran a hand through Harry's
hair, speaking softly again. That... Draco was pretty sure that was the first time he had seen
Harry sob like that. He might have seen him cry before, but not break.

"Okay. Okay. We can tell him. I don't want to go back there, Dray. It hurts to be in that house."
There was an edge to the voice that made it seem as if he was about to work himself up again.

Draco tried to calm him down, "Shh, it's okay. You're not going to go back. You're going to be
okay. I won't let them take you." He had promised to protect Harry and he was damn well going to
keep that promise.

"We need to tell Sev. If we don't tell him before summer's over, I don't think I'll ever tell him."

Draco nodded. "Okay. We'll go ask mother when he'll be here, alright? He likes to stay for a few
weeks in the summer."

"Kay." Harry settled down against him, Draco feeling a tug to his robes. "Hey, Dray. I know it's
hard on you and hurts a lot, but I'm so glad you're here. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Pausing, Draco leaned back until he was laying on his back on the bed. "...If I hadn't come back, I
don't know if I'd still be alive." Things had been so dark for him back then - so pointless. What was
the point of a Slytherin Death Eater in a world that had despised everything he had been? There
wouldn't have been one. If he hadn't found the time twister...

Feeling weight on top of him, Draco looked up to see Harry was sitting on him once more, hands
braced on his chest and fierce expression on his face. "You're never going to feel like that again.
No matter what happens, I'm going to make sure you never feel like that again."

"I know." Draco smiled up at Harry, cupping his cheek. "I just… needed to say it, I think." Harry
leaned into the touch, smile back on his face.

"I can understand that." Staring for a moment, Draco gave a grunt as Harry flopped down on top of
him, stretching out. "Enough sad stuff, let's go do something. We should go flying- It's summer,
Dray, let's go flying. C'mon, we got all of summer let's go do something fun we can-"

"Alright, alright," the blond laughed, pushing Harry gently as he sat up. "Harry, I..."

"Yeah?"

"...Nevermind," Draco finally told him with a smile. "Let's go."

"Bet I can beat you in a Seeker's Game," Harry grinned, already laughing as he scrambled off the
bed.

"Oh, well we'll just see about that," he laughed, running after Harry, the two both finally acting like
children.
::

Sweaty and covered in dirt, the two came back in, pushing at each other and all-around rough
housing. Draco wasn't sure when they ended up running through the halls, but they eventually
tumbled to a stop in front of an amused-looking Narcissa, the woman raising an eyebrow down at
them, "I do hope you'll be changing before you come to dinner."

"Oh. Um, most likely- Oh! Mother! Do you know when Uncle Sev will be here?" Feeling a shove
to his side, Draco happily shoved Harry back, startled a bit at Narcissa's sudden laugh.

"He'll be visiting with us later this summer, Draco. Most likely he'll arrive the time your Hogwarts
letters do."

Draco gave a heavy, dramatic sigh. "But that's so far away, mother."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to entertain yourself until then," Narcissa chuckled, patting each of them
on the head before she was continuing on her way. "No mud at my dinner table."

"It's not mud, mother, it's a bright sunny day!"

"Then no dirt at my table!"

"Yes ma'am!" Draco grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him upstairs.

"So we have two months to figure out what to say to him," Harry said, letting himself be pulled
along. "What should we say to him? I mean- We shouldn't tell him everything, right?"

"More like a month at this point," Draco pointed out. "What we tell him is up to you. It's your
story, not mine." He hoped Harry would at least tell Sev enough that he knew how bad it had been
for Harry.

"Kay." A tug to his hand, Harry speaking quietly. "You should let me draw you later." Draco
smiled, holding his hand tighter.

"I'd love that."

"That's because you like to be at the center of attention," Harry teased, smile softening. "It also just
is fun, I guess. I've never really been able to draw anyone like I have you."

"I also just like being your model. I can tell you really enjoy drawing."

"It was a way to pretend everything was alright for a while, I think." Letting Draco's hand go,
Harry followed him into his room before rooting around Draco's closet - there were probably some
of Harry's clothes in there, actually, now that he thought about it. "Like, I could get lost in drawing
and pretend I was just a normal kid who would go home to normal parents."

"And now?" Draco stood a ways away, peering into the closet curiously. Harry was starting to
gravitate more and more towards greens and silvers, which, Draco was not at all against that.

"Now I- I don't know? It's familiar to me, I guess. I mean, at first I started drawing at Hogwarts
cause at least I knew how to do that. Magic? I still don't know half the time, but drawing was
familiar. And then it started becoming about drawing you and that... That made it feel-" Harry cut
himself off, shrugging and pulling down some robes. "I don't know. Better? More real? Safer, I
guess."
"It's okay if you don't have the words. I understand what you mean." Draco walked over, taking his
own robes off. "For me, magic has always been a constant. Wherever I go, I'll always be magic,
and I'll always do magic."

"It's kind of weird, isn't it?" Harry was struggling with his own robes, looking to have gotten them
tangled in his hair. "I mean, we're alike in a lot of ways, but we had such different childhoods."

"I like to wonder what would have happened if you grew up with your parents. If maybe we would
have met sooner." Watching Harry for a moment, Draco sighed and moved to gently untangle the
buttons from the teen's hair.

"I think if I had just grown up with my parents and we met on the train it would have gone a lot
like it did with the Harry Potter in your time." That... That was probably true. "If we had met
sooner, though, I like to think we could have been friends even then."

"I like to think so, too. But I have it on good authority that your father was a bit of a prat." Draco
pulled on his own robes with a hum.

"Maybe," Harry shrugged, tugging his own on - well, Draco's on - and patting them down with a
little nod. "I like your robes."

"Yes, so do I." Draco straightened Harry's robes out a bit before smiling. "There we are."

"It's kind of weird," Harry mused, relaxing under the small touches and fixes. "I don't think
anyone's ever fussed over me before you- Like- Okay, maybe not fuss, but take care of me? You
take care of me. It's- It's really nice."

Draco smiled at this. "I like to. And I think you deserve it."

"Right! Enough of talking. Let's go explore- We need to explore. I haven't seen all of the manor yet
and we still have some time until we need to go eat, right?"

"Oh... Just a few minutes, I suppose." Draco took Harry's hand and led him out of the room. He had
a feeling this summer was going to be one of his best yet.

::

Draco sat on Harry's bed, legs crossed. "There's something important I have to ask you." Harry,
who had been digging through his trunk for something, paused and looked up at Draco very
hesitantly.

"I- Yeah? Um, is it... A bad important thing?"

"No, no..." Draco looked him over. "Suit, or robes?"

"For- What? For what? Why am I being asked that?"

"Just answer, then I'll tell you."

"Oh, um... Suit, I guess?" Harry finally dug out the sketchbook he had been looking for. "Should I
be running away?"

Draco wrinkled his nose before smiling. "I was just trying to figure out what to wear to your
birthday ball. It's only a few weeks away, you know."

"Don't you always wear dress robes to the-" Harry cut himself off, eyes wide as he stared up at
Draco. "What birthday ball?"

"The one mother is organizing right now. I thought I'd try something new." Draco only continued
to smile at him.

"Wha- But- What if I don't want a birthday ball?" Harry whined, looking utterly pathetic as he
moved to sit on the bed beside Draco. "We should cancel. Right now."

"Harry, don't worry, it'll be small. Our friends, their family, us, a reporter from the Prophet or two,"
Draco murmured. Alright, the last part probably deserved the pathetic whine Harry gave.

"Draco."

"Think of it as your official debut to the Wizarding world! Don't worry, they're allies of my
father's."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" Harry fell back onto his bed with a groan,
sketchbook covering his face as he shook his head. "Okay, what if I just appear for a few minutes
and then escape? Can I do that?"

"We'll talk it over later, Harry, there's plenty of time until then." Draco ran a hand through Harry's
hair. "Didn't you say you were going to draw me?"

"That was before you distracted me with this betrayal," Harry huffed, tilting his head into the touch
and giving a smile. "Utter and complete betrayal."

Draco nodded. "A bit of one." The kick to his side was a nudge more than anything, Harry pouting
over at him. "Come on, then. Any pose you'd like."

"Okay." Harry sat up properly, pulling a pen out of his pocket and staring at Draco very intently.
Draco rose an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak before Harry stopped him. "No, no, just stay
there for a second." Harry tilted his head, narrowing his eyes and then moving to press a palm
against Draco's cheek and tilt his head ever so gently to the right. Draco smiled at him, leaning into
the touch with a quiet hum. "Any pose I want, right?" Harry grinned, pressing his palm closer.
"Then just be yourself. Show me you."

"I don't think I exactly know how to do that," Draco laughed, bringing his hand up to press against
Harry's, keeping it close. Harry's smile was soft and warm, Draco feeling the curious sensation of
Harry's thumb rubbing against the skin.

"Can't hurt to try. Just... Relax. Don't be who you used to be, or who you pretend to be, but just act
like you would when you're alone. No one else, just you."

"Harry... It's been a while since I've been able to do that." Looking down, he glanced back up when
he felt more than saw Harry move, both of the younger's hands now cupping his cheeks.

"Let me help, then. Close your eyes and pretend you're at the Great Lake, okay? It's probably... Oh,
let's say it's late fall. So all the leaves have fallen, it's starting to get cold, you're hiding behind your
scarf, and it's just you by the Great Lake. You know how there's that smell in the air? That really
cold, crisp one? It's like that. Just you, and the lake, and the sound of the waves it makes. I dunno,
maybe you can hear people playing Quidditch over at the pitch, little quiet sounds of laughing and
screaming, but right by the Great Lake, it's just you." Draco allowed his eyes to close as Harry
spoke, smiling.

"You remind me so much of mother. She's a good storyteller, too." It was kind of easy to imagine,
too. He had spent so much time by the Great Lake on his own that it was easy to imagine
everything that Harry was saying.

"Shush, you're supposed to be picturing it," Harry laughed, his hands slowly and carefully leaving
Draco's cheeks. "So you're there, alone, sitting at the Great Lake and it's just you. What are you
thinking about?"

It was easy to let the word slip from his lips like sweet honey before he could even think it through
completely. "You." How could he not be constantly thinking about Harry? Not Potter - well,
sometimes Potter, but really, he was often surprised by the differences between the two of them.
Ever since he had come back to this time, it had been Harry that had become his entire world, often
making him completely forget Potter's existence, sometimes forgetting the other time entirely.

"Okay... Okay." There was something warm in Harry's voice. Something that made Draco not think
of the Great Lake so much as those nights spent in the common room staying up late and studying.
Nights where the fire was going, the room was dark and warm, and Harry dozed against his
shoulder, just awake enough to talk and whisper about every little thing that crossed his mind.
"Good thoughts, I hope."

"Always."

"And you keep telling me people fear Slytherins." The hand was back on his cheek again, pressing
lightly and warm and soft. "How can people be afraid when you're all soft and mushy."

"Only for you." Draco allowed his eyes to open as he smiled up at Harry.

"Mushy," Harry repeated with a huff, grin wide as finally opened up his sketchbook. "Okay, keep
that image in your head for, um... Probably an hour, at least."

"Alright, alright, fine."

"Hey, Dray?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I'm really glad that we're one of the things you decided to change."

"I am, too. I don't know what I would have done." In the end, he would be absolutely lost if it
wasn't for Harry Potter. He had to admit, though, he liked this much better.

::

"We don't have to tell him right away, right? I mean, I know you said he's coming today, but we
don't have to tell him, right? I mean, I said this summer, but this feels way too soon."

Draco smiled at him. "No, we don't have to tell him today, but I'd like to at least go say hello."

"Okay, that- Yeah. He's probably worried after what happened right before the end of term with
everything, actually. Yeah. We should go say hi- I mean, if you want me to come with you-"

"I'd love if you did, but I won't make you."

"I... I think I'd like that. Saying hi to him, at least."

"Then let's go, before his head is stuck in the steam, again."
"I'm sure he doesn't make potions that-" Harry paused, wrinkling his nose. "Nevermind. If he's
anything like you, then he's probably already on his way to some kind of dungeon so he can lock
himself away."

"Truly a flattering description, Mr. Potter."

"It is not a dungeon, it is a cellar, and at times, a laboratory." Alright, it was a little adorable how
Harry quickly moved to hide behind him, looking very embarrassed.

"So you'd like to believe," Sev mused, smile twitching at his lips. "I see Mr. Potter is spending the
summer with you once more?" Draco nodded eagerly.

"Will you be celebrating his birthday with us?"

"As if Narcissa would ever let me avoid it," Sev laughed, which, good. Harry could stand to see
Sev outside of school where he was always worrying about his idiot students. "Your Hogwarts
letters should be arriving in the next day or two, by the way."

"I suppose so. Are you doing any experiments later today?" Draco already knew it was a yes just
by the look on Sev's face.

"I might be doing one or two you might be interested in." Sev glanced to Harry before continuing.
"You're welcome to join us, Mr. Potter, if you wish. You might learn something your textbooks
won't offer."

"Sev makes all sorts of improvements to potions that can't be found in most books," Draco
explained.

"Oh. I- Yeah." Harry smiled up at Sev, Draco seeing tension start to leave his shoulders. "That
would be really great if you don't mind, Professor."

"Then let's not dawdle, boys."

::

Draco was just starting to wake up when he felt a heavy weight ram into him, a groan not even
escaping before he had parchment shoved in his face. "Our Hogwarts letters are here, Dray, wake
up!" Draco groaned, slowly sitting up.

"Alright. Alright. 'M... I'm..." His bed was so warm... It wouldn't hurt to close his eyes just for a
second more and lean back every so slowly-

"Draco!" Ah. Harry. "Our letters Draco, our letters."

"Alright, alright," Draco finally gave in, rubbing at his eyes. "Hand it over." The letter was in his
hand before he could properly clear the blurriness from his eyes. By the time he focused, Harry
was eagerly opening his own letter, dumping it all out onto the bed. Draco stared before he
frowned. "I thought you gave me my letter."

"I did? I mean, that one had your name on it, so pretty sure it's yours."

"Then why do you have two?"

"Oh. I do." Harry blinked, looking surprised before he picked up the thinner letter, opening it
curiously. "Maybe it's something about the Chamber thing? But, no... You'd get one, too, in that
case." Harry opened it with a huff, Draco watching the boy read it through before his face
suddenly lost all color.

Draco frowned. That certainly couldn't be good. "Harry? Harry, what is it? What does it say?" He
leaned over, setting a hand on top of Harry's.

Harry flinched back, breathing picking up as he dropped the letter and ran for the door. "Mrs.
Malfoy! I need to talk to you!" Confusion and worry taking over, Draco ran after Harry, leaving
their letters to flutter in their wake. He skidded into the office Narcissa was in, Harry halfway
through a panicked explanation. "-told me that I had to go back to the Dursleys!"

"What?"

"I can't-" Harry was breathing rapidly and heavily, looking between Narcissa and Draco. "Please.
Ple-ase. I can't go back there." Draco took Harry's hand into his own.

"Come on. We're going to Uncle Sev, this second." The only one who could say something like
that would be Dumbledore. They needed Sev's help now.

"Dray." Merlin, was he crying? "Dray, don't let me go back."

Draco nodded. "I promised."

"Hasn't your father told you not to run- What's wrong? What happened?"

"Harry- He was just asked to go back to his relatives- Not mother and father, they would never-"

"Dumbledore," Sev muttered, shaking his head. "Luckily for you, Mr. Potter, he doesn't get a final
say-"

"They beat me." Harry talked quickly, still shaking. "They beat me and starved me and locked me
in a cupboard and please if I go back there they might kill me."

"You- You don't understand, I promised Harry he wouldn't ever have to go back-"

Sev raised a hand for silence, looking between the two of them with a blank look. "Harry, you
won't be going back to them unless you want to. I will speak to Dumbledore and make sure he
understands the matter. Explicitly."

"Did he even say why," Draco finally asked Harry.

"He said it was safer for me there." The child- No... Harry couldn't even really be called a child
anymore, could he? "He said I was safer. How could he- How could anyone ever- It's none of
his business."

"Maybe he's got some sort of protection against Voldemort set there?" It seemed like something
Dumbledore would do, at least.

"In a way he does," Sev spoke quietly, Draco looking back at him to see he looked- Oh. It had been
a very long time since Draco had seen Sev look this angry. "It is not worth it, however, if the very
place meant to keep him safe is what is putting him in such danger."

"You'll speak with Dumbledore," Draco finally asked with big round eyes. Because right now, even
with all his knowledge, there was only so much he could do to help Harry. Going up alone
against Dumbledore didn't sound like the best of plans, either.
"I'll speak with him." Sev walked up to Harry, careful of not touching him, but getting his attention
to look him in the eyes. "You will not be sent back there. You have my word."

Draco squeezed Harry's hand. "And mine." Harry looked between them before hesitantly nodding,
the nod a stronger a second later. A deep breath and Harry was moving to give Sev a quick hug,
Draco not sure if he or Sev were more surprised.

"Right! I should go reassure Mrs. Malfoy. She's probably worried." With that, Harry was quickly
running off.

Draco looking at Severus, gave a nod. "Thank you, Uncle Sev, for... For everything you've done,"
he said, quickly turning to follow Harry as he got misty eyed. That was probably another of the
greatest gifts the Time Twister had given him. He got his family back along with his second
chance.

He was going to make sure it didn't go to waste.

 Puzzled Pieces
Chapter Notes

WELL, I'm going to put this out there, if anyone is interested, I'm going to put our
tumblrs in here. For those wanting any non-fic related information. You can follow
me, Kas(ena) at cheshire-kas, and you can follow Nomi/Kit at
Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter. Or, if you're interested our shared fic-tumblr (posting
nearly exclusively just about our fics and updates and art) is Iambicbrose. We hope to
see you there.

"Summer isn't even halfway over really and it's already getting as complicated as a school year."
Harry was morosely curled up in the middle of Draco's bed and playing with the letter that had
arrived from Dumbledore.

"Not really," Draco tried to reassure him. "Uncle Sev will fix everything, then we can go back to
preparing for the ball."

"Can't Dumbledore order me back there, though? They're still my legal guardians," Harry
muttered, pulling over the Hogsmeade permission slip and sighing at it.

"Just... Everything will be okay on your birthday, Harry, alright?" Draco didn't want to spoil the
'surprise' his parents were planning, after all. Still, he could at least reassure Harry a little.

"My birthday?" Harry frowned, finally looking up at him. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Just wait a few days, okay?" Draco reached over to take Harry's hand.

"Okay." Harry tightened the hold for a moment before sighing and getting up. "I'm going to go start
on my homework in the library. I need to catch up on Charms and History of Magic pretty badly."

"Alright. I'll be here if you need help with anything." Draco sent him a warm smile, trying to relax
on the bed as much as possible. It was worth it to have Harry send him a grateful smile, Draco
watching him leave the room before sighing. It was good that Harry got some alone time to think
things through on his own, but Draco couldn't help but worry about him. Hm. Narcissa might need
help finalizing Harry's 'present'. Draco rose to his feet and left the room in search of his mother.

It didn't take long to find her, the woman in her own little office and studying the various papers
for all the committees she 'volunteered' for. Really, it was laughable how people thought
she didn't have as much control as Lucius. "Hello, darling. I take it Harry is doing a bit better?"

"A bit, yes. I came to ask after his present. Everything, I assume, is ready and prepared?" Draco
walked over and pulled up a chair to sit beside her. A glance at all the parchment showed
everything was just about in order.

"It will be by tomorrow at the very latest, I believe. I just need to get a few more people to sign off
on everything," Narcissa smiled, taking her reading glasses off and setting them down gently. She
looked tired. "Considering how we found him the summer before your second year... I won't let
him be hurt any longer."
"He was begging Uncle Sev and I to not send him back," Draco said softly. "What if they hurt him
in ways we can't heal?" He had known from the start that there were differences already in this
timeline and his, and it wouldn't surprise him if Harry's upbringing was even worse than Potter's.
To think he had mocked him for it, too.

"I'm afraid that's something we won't find out for a while, Draco. For now we just need to give him
time and space to heal." Draco sighed and leaned against her.

"Yes, mother..." Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he glanced up at her a bit shyly. "Tell
me about cousin Sirius again." Laughing, Narcissa mused his hair.

"Haven't I already told you about him?" Yes, well, it was starting to get important now. "Oh, let's
see... I find I remember telling you how magnetic he was. He burned brighter than any of the
Blacks put together, that was certain."

"But mother, you're a Black," he pointed out. That earned him a startled little laugh, Draco grinning
at the sound.

"Quite the charmer, aren't you? Alright, then, tell me what else you want to know about Cousin
Sirius."

"Well... Well he was Gryffindor, wasn't he? Tell me about that. And about his friends." Harry's
father, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin.

"Oh, the Marauders." The what now? Draco felt like he may have heard that name once, but he
wasn't certain. "They were quite the troublemakers in their time. The four of them were always
running around, getting into mischief, and often finding themselves in the most dangerous
situations in Hogwarts." Here, Narcissa gave him a very judgemental look.

"Is that so? I'm certain they were given very harsh scolding, no doubt. Was McGonagall still Head
of House?" That was quite the parallel to make, though.

"She was. Sirius had three best friends. Let's see, they were... Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, I
believe, and... James Potter."

Draco only gave a nod. "You mentioned all that - How did they meet? Did they all know each
other?"

"Oh, they met on the train, surely," Narcissa nodded. "There was no other chance for them to meet
before Hogwarts. They suited each other rather nicely, I think."

Draco nodded. "I think so, too... Sirius. He was a Black, but he sorted into Gryffindor."

"Rather like someone else I know," Narcissa chuckled. "Gryffindor was the best house he could
have ever gotten. He flourished in that house. I... I rather regret I treated him like any other
Slytherin would. He was always my favorite cousin."

"You mean like a blood traitor," Draco said softly.

"Yes." The two were quiet for a moment before Narcissa's hand carded through his hair softly.
"You know neither of us think that of you, Draco. Yes, we had hoped for you to go into Slytherin,
but oh, darling. I'm so proud of how far you've come and how well you're doing. Just like Sirius,
Gryffindor was the best choice for you."

"I still have to wonder if that's true." Draco leaned against her. "Mother, I fought against the hat so
hard and argued so much for Slytherin. I really did try to get Sorted there."

"Oh, darling." Narcissa pulled him even closer, kissing the side of his head. "Before we drifted
apart, Sirius came to me the first night after the sorting. He fought with the hat, too." He... He
what? "That was the last time we really spoke, and I said things I regret, but he fought just as hard
to get Slytherin. He didn't, though, and he became so much better for it." The arm around him
tightened, Narcissa's voice lowering. "Whatever happened with the night Harry's parents died... I
don't think it was Sirius. I haven't for one second. He and James were as close as you and Harry."

"But he came from a dark family. So everyone expected him to turn and to betray his-" Draco
found it too difficult to speak around the lump in his throat, instead turning his head in towards her.

"Coming from a dark family doesn't make you dark, Draco. Is Harry anything like his relatives?"
Narcissa held Draco close, the warmth something he had missed more than words could describe.

"Well, no- Well- But that's different." Draco sighed and asked her what he'd been wondering for
two years. "Why didn't father strike me off the family tree?"

The silence that greeted him told him more than any truth would in that moment. "I promised
myself I wouldn't lie to you, and I do believe he was considering it, but then he remembered that it
was you. The same little boy that adored him and followed him around like a crup puppy and
always wanted to be like him. The same little boy he swore to protect the day you were born.
There's- There's been mistakes in your father's past, Draco. In both of our pasts. We're doing our
best to fix them, but it's slow going. He didn't 'strike you off the family tree', as you put it, because
this is a chance for us to become better than what our parents wanted. For all of us to become
better."

"That's why I wrote you so quickly after I was sorted. I didn't want to be disowned." Draco finally
wrapped his arms around her. "Shouldn't father hate Harry?"

"I think he's grateful to him, if anything." Narcissa smiled, hugging Draco back tightly. "I feel so
bad for that child and all he's gone through, but he's the one who gave the entire Wizarding World
a second chance. He's our hope." Draco nodded his assent to this.

"He helped save us." It was because of Harry Potter that everyone was saved - even the Death
Eaters. No matter what, Harry played such an important role in this world, didn't he?

"That he did." Narcissa smiled, patting at the parchment on her desk. "Now it's our turn to help
save him."

"I- I want to tell you what all they did to him, but it's his story to tell. Not mine."

"I understand that perfectly, darling. I'll listen if he wants to tell me, but if he wishes then his
secrets are his to keep." Giving Draco one last squeeze, Narcissa stood up. "Now, I believe I should
be getting these down to the Ministry."

"Yes, mother," Draco said softly, standing and pulling her into another hug. "I love you."

"I love you too, darling." The hug he was given was tight, Narcissa holding him for a long few
moments before finally letting him go. "Right. I'll see you two at dinner."

"Right. Of course." He gave her a nod before quickly turning and leaving. He made his way to the
library, knocking on the door and poking his head in. "Harry? Is it alright if I come in?"

"I'm near the window!" Ah, he was fond of the window- Oh, dear. Maybe Draco and Hermione
had been a little too hard on Harry and his study habits if he was surrounded by this many books.

"Harry," he said softly, looking around at the books, tilting his head at the titles. Family Trees and
Relations of the Wizarding World; Great Magical Heroes of the Twentieth Century; History's
Greatest Wizards, A Remastering Addition? What had him so interested in all that? "Are you
alright?"

"Yeah, just doing some light reading." Light? These books were easily 1500 pages at the very least.
"What's up?"

"Nothing, just- Can I sit with you?" Draco moved his hands in front of him, looking down and
startled to see he was twisting his cuff link. He thought he had broken that habit, all things
considered. He hadn't developed it until a little after fourth year, after all.

"Yeah- Yeah, of course." Harry smiled, looking distracted even as he pushed a chair out for him.
Draco sat down in the chair, scooting it a bit closer to Harry. He didn't move to touch him, he
didn't say anything, he simply sat and thought about everything he had discussed with his mother.
There had been a lot to talk about, though. Was this timeline really so different from his, after all?
Maybe in little things, but not in how people acted and how their personalities were, perhaps. This
was all so complicated some days.

There was one thing that still didn't make sense. Why was it that his father was so kind to Harry?
Harry stood for everything his father was against - the light side, muggle blood and pureblood
together, pure morals. Why wasn't he planning a way to kill him for his 'Lord?' Unless... Maybe
Lucius really had been against the ideals of Voldemort- Or maybe it was more he was against the
killing. Even now Draco could tell Lucius still spat on the idea of muggles and wizards interacting
and still hated the idea of 'mudbloods'. It wasn't as bad as Draco's time, but still... Feeling a touch to
his knee, Draco startled, looking up. "Are you alright?"

"Oh. Um, yes- I think so, at least." The look he was given wasn't a very convinced one. "I just- I
had a talk with mother, and it gave me a lot to think about."

"You're not the only one with a lot to think about, if it helps," Harry huffed, the sound close to a
laugh as he leaned his head on Draco's shoulder. "Growing up is kind of complicated."

"...Oh bloody hell," Draco groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "I'm now of courting age."

"Courting?" Harry frowned, scrunching his nose up. "Like medieval dating?"

"Somewhat- It- It's hard to explain, when you're not raised pureblood."

"I'm willing to listen if you want to tell me more about it," Harry smiled, leaning against Draco a
bit more. "C'mon, I need to learn all this eventually, right? I mean... It's my world now, too."

Draco sighed. "Courting is... It's different than 'dating.' Courting is the mutual agreement that the
two of you wish to be romantically involved and married at a later date. Not necessarily a betrothal,
but harder to break off than just 'dating.'"

"So it's like somewhere in between," Harry nodded, giving a little frown. "That does sound kind of
complicated. Why is it harder to break off? Because it means so much?"

"Yes, because like I said, it begins as an agreement that you two will likely marry. There must be
witnesses both for the courting proposal and the separation, if such a thing happens. Courting
partners, in this world, are treated very similarly to spouses."
"That sounds like a potential for disaster- You said you're courting age? Isn't that kind of young to
be thinking about marriage and all that?"

"Not for purebloods. For us... It's always about keeping the name going, and keeping the name
within magical blood. Arranged marriages aren't uncommon. Mother and father were an arranged
marriage, actually."

"Really?" Harry looked like he was going to argue against that before he could see the moment he
paused and thought about it. "I wouldn't have thought that with how they act around each other. I
guess arranged stuff isn't so bad for some people?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes arranged marriages happen and the two never fall in love, or sometimes
they do. I'm glad that mother and father did." Draco smiled. "If it weren't for how bold she is with
her opinions, I think Pansy and I would have been betrothed."

"I guess I could see that. I think. Seeing you with anyone is kind of weird." Harry turned back to
one of his books, nudging Draco. "Did you have any crushes on anyone in your time?"

"I did," Draco answered simply, moving to lean against him. The silence was peaceful and warm -
comfortable. Draco could easily-

"Who was it? I mean, was it more than one person?"

"No. It was just the one."

"Pansy- Wait, no, you said you weren't with Pansy." Harry suddenly set a hand on his shoulder,
giving him a very serious look. "Just tell me it wasn't Blaise. You're better than that, Dray-"

Draco smiled over at Harry. "It wasn't." It was a long moment of Harry giving him a suspicious
look before he rolled his eyes and went back to his reading, shifting and moving so he was spread
out across two chairs. It was a little bit adorable. "I did court someone near the end there, though."

"Someone whose name you won't be telling me, I'd guess." Harry frowned at something in the
book, huffing as he dragged another on into his lap. "You wizards have a stupid way of organizing
information."

"It's just a way you're not used to. What are you looking for?"

"I don't know at this point." Harry snapped the book shut, tossing it back up on the table.

"How about we head back to your room and take a nap? Today feels like a lazy day."

"I... Yeah. A lazy day sounds great." Harry pushed the other book back onto the table, Draco
catching a glimpse of seeing it was the book on family heritages and it was on the page of... Of the
Potters. "I mean, it's summer, after all." Draco looked back to him, smiling and holding his hand.
He led the two back to Harry's room with a soft hum.

It was rather nice, actually. The room was lit by the afternoon sun that made everything feel soft
and lazy, Harry yawning as he crawled onto the bed and stretched out right in the middle, fingers
curling as he stretched. Chuckling softly, the blond nudged him. "Budge over, give me some
room." Draco curled up next to him, humming quietly in the back of his throat. His eyes drifted
shut as he felt Harry worm his way under one of his arms, curling up against his chest and sighing
softly, tension draining out of him. "We should have more days like this," Draco whispered.

"More days like this sounds great." Harry's voice was just as quiet, the younger nuzzling under his
chin and pressing closer. "Really, really great." Draco pulled him closer, running a hand through
his hair. It was nice to dote on Harry - Merlin knew the child had a lot to make up fro when it
came to such things. Besides, this really was nice when it was just the two of them relaxing like
this. Draco yawned, flicking his wand to draw the curtains as he curled up further. A nap could
never go amiss. "Hey, Dray?"

"Yeah, Harry?" There was a small tug to his shirt, Harry's voice still as soft as a whisper as he
pressed closer.

"I love you."

Yawning again, the blond tightened his hold, burying his nose in the younger hair. "Mhm. Love
you too," he mumbled. He heard a quiet laugh before arms wrapped around him, Harry's voice
nothing but warm and delighted.

"Night, Dray."

::

"I don't think Ron's gonna be making it to the ball." What? Oh, no, Draco would just- A newspaper
clipping from the Daily Prophet showed a picture of the entire Weasley family in Egypt. "His dad
won some grand prize drawing at work so they went to visit Bill. You know, one of the million
Weasleys."

"Bill, Bill, Bill... Oh." The one Fenrir had... "I've never met him personally, but I know of him." If
things continued, perhaps the attack of the Death Eaters at the school would never happen. Fenrir
would never attack Bill.

"Maybe we'll meet him one day," Harry mused, reading through the newspaper with other letters
spread out in front of him. "Oh, Hermione said she's still in France, but she'll try to visit before the
end of summer. She beat your scores by one point, apparently, and per your deal she wants full
access to your family library."

"What did that sneaky little harpy bribe them with?! I answered every extra credit point possible,
and then some!" Draco groaned, kicking the wall of the bedroom. It was hard to stay angry when
Harry was smothering giggles into his hands, looking far too amused.

"It was probably a spelling error knowing your luck. What were you going to ask her if you won,
anyways?"

"To admit that I was better than her."

"I think that's going to take a while, at this rate," Harry grinned, gently folding up the letters he had
read and tucking them away. "So, any chance I could skip out on the ball tonight? Maybe run away
in the dead of night?"

"Harry," Draco huffed, crossing his arms. "You can't - Oh."

"Oh?"

Draco picked up the Daily Prophet. "I didn't realize that happened today." Sirius Black had
escaped. He knew that Sirius was going to be an important figure in Harry's life, but he had
forgotten that had happened today.

"What?" Harry leaned over to see the Prophet, frowning. "Who's Sirius Black?"
"My cousin - Well, cousin once removed. He's mother's cousin."

"Oh, yeah. Your mom's name is Black." Harry tugged the paper down so he could read it, giving a
frown. "Why'd he get put away? Was he another follower of Voldemort?"

"He was accused of killing Peter Pettigrew, as well as twelve muggles." Ah, perhaps he shouldn't
let Harry read the paper. It would just cause more complications. Unfortunately, before he could
grab it, Harry was moving it so he couldn't and frowning.

"'Supposed best friend of the Potters, Black betrayed James and Lily Potter to You-Know-Who-'"

"That was part of my discussion with mother. She doesn't believe a bit of it. She said that Cousin
Sirius and your father were as close as the two of us."

"Then why does everyone think he did it?" Harry paused, sitting up and narrowing his eyes. "This
happened last time."

Draco sighed. "Because he's a Black. It's the same reason that people who didn't really know us
wouldn't be surprised if I did anything to you."

"Yeah, well, those people are idiots- Ah." Now he got it. "Did he escape in your time, then? Is that
why you aren't worried? Because you're usually worried when someone claims to be out to kill
me."

"Yes, he did," Draco said with a nod. "I'm not going to lie to you about anything."

"I know you won't," Harry smiled, pulling Draco over to sit back down on the bed with him. "So
he's not out to kill me and he's been in prison for... I guess twelve years. Why did he break out
now?"

"That is the real question," Draco hummed. "Why wait? Why today of all days?" It didn't make
sense for it to happen out of nowhere... Maybe he heard something about Voldemort gaining
strength while he was in Azkaban? It was possible, at least.

"Maybe he just finally figured out to escape this wizard prison place."

"Perhaps, but I highly doubt it would have taken twelve years." Draco stood again, walking to the
closet. "Come on, we need to get ready."

"But- But it's barely past breakfast! We have hours until the ball tonight!"

"Yes, exactly. It'll take me three hours to get ready, then another two to get you ready."

"Wha- It'll only take me five minutes to get ready! I just need to throw on my suit or whatever and
then I'm good to go. Maybe I'll brush my hair," Harry mused, looking contemplative. "Maybe."

"Harry!" Draco could not believe this. Was this really his Harry? Where was his cute, sweet Hary
who cared about how he looked and was becoming a Slytherin more and more by the day?

"What? Ooh, if I just show up in my school robes or something maybe your mom will lock me in
my room and ground me and I'll never have to go to another ball again!"

"Harry, please, stop or I may weep." Draco got out his suit. "I'm going for a shower."

"I'll see you in two hours, then," Harry laughed, grabbing his own suit where it had been placed
next to Draco's. "I'll get ready in my room and then you can nitpick when you get out, okay?"
"No, no, just... go wait for me."

"I know how to put on a suit, Dray."

"Go wait, Harry."

"Fine," Harry huffed, hanging his suit back up carefully and heading for the door. "I'm going to the
library, then, since you're going to take so long."

"I'll come get you when I'm ready!" Now... He needed to dress to impress.

::

"Harry?"

"In the back!" Draco smiled and walked to Harry's usual corner.

"Time to get you ready." There was a dramatic sigh as Harry looked up, words looking to die on
his tongue as he suddenly blushed. Just what was that all about? Draco tilted his head and frowned.
"Are you okay?"

"I- Yeah. Yeah." Harry didn't look okay. "I just- It's kind of rude, isn't it? Showing me up at my
own birthday ball and all that? Really, Dray, you're going to show up everyone at the rate you're
going."

Draco felt his face warm, though he smiled again. "You think this is good? Wait until I'm done
with you." Cute. Harry thought hiding behind his book was going to save him. How very mistaken
he was. Walking over, Draco took his hand. "Come on. Let's go."

"You're going to be the end of me," Harry sighed, letting himself be pulled up before he was
looking Draco over, cheeks still flushed and hair even messier than normal. "You really do look
amazing, Dray."

"I do try my best." Draco dragged him back to their rooms. "First, go take a shower. Oh! And hang
your suit in the bathroom!"

"Why would- Oh. I suppose steam would probably do something to it, wouldn't it? Like, get rid of
any creases, maybe?" Draco beamed at him.

"Yes, exactly." His little Slytherin had come so far! Now they just needed to get him dressing on
his own, but for now Draco supposed he could still take care of things.

"Alright, alright," Harry sighed, taking the suit down and walking towards the bathroom. "I'll be
done in ten minutes."

"Harry, you can not get properly clean in ten minutes!"

"Yes I can!"

"Harry!"

The child gave him a wink before he was laughing and closing the door, Draco unable to bring
himself to really even be upset - unless he somehow managed to wrinkle the suit in the ten minutes
he would be gone. Honestly. Draco sat carefully on Harry's bed, looking around the room. They
needed to get him some decorations.
It was so bare in here. It still looked like a guest room. The only real difference was a few of
Draco's clothing pieces in the closet and Harry's trunk at the end of the bed. Everything else was
neatly tucked out of sight or organized carefully on the desk. It was like Harry was scared to make
a mess at times.

Draco paused before beaming. He knew what to do. He walked over to the bathroom door and
knocked on it. "Harry? Can I pretty please get you to stay in there for an extra half hour? I have a
last minute birthday present for you I need to put together!"

"Hm? Mhm." Hm, steam was already coming out so Draco was going to assume Harry was
sleeping under a very hot shower. Draco opened up the door between their two rooms. Now, he'd
been given Slytherin things for Christmas first year as well as Gryffindor, equally, and he was
going to use every single thing.

When the bathroom door finally opened, Draco was standing on Harry's bed, pinning the Slytherin
scarf to the front board of the canopy. "Oh, there you are! I was wondering if you'd drowned!"

"I, ah..." Harry, wearing a loose bathrobe, was looking around the room with wide eyes before
looking back to Draco. "Are you taking over my room? Because if you wanted more space you
could have just told me."

"No, no, I just realized your room was a little melancholy, so I thought I would help decorate." He
had done quite a good job if he did say so himself.

"My room... My room." Harry's voice was quiet, looking around the room before he let his
fingertips drag against the worn wool of one of the sweaters. "I like it."

"Good. I worked hard on it, you berk. You could stand to be more appreciative." He barely even
finished before he was almost knocked over by the force of the hug he was given, Harry hugging
him tightly and- Oh. A hand was in his hair. That wasn't too bad, really.

"Thank you, Dray. I love it- I really, really love it."

Draco laughed, hugging him back just as fiercely. "I'm glad you do."

"It's great- Perfect. You know, you should show me everything you did and tell me why you did it.
In detail. It's okay if it takes hours."

"Or you can go put on your suit, and I can put on the finishing touches."

"I thought I wasn't allowed to put on my suit," Harry raised an eyebrow, finally letting Draco go
and heading back to the bathroom. "You were very upset about the thought."

"Well, just make sure you do it right!" He didn't need Harry's suit getting wrinkled after it had just
got flattened out!

"Don't worry, Dray," Harry smirked. "I learned from the best, right?"

Draco smiled. "I suppose you did."

It seemed he learned a little too well as it was near an hour and Harry still hadn't come out of the
bathroom. Draco was starting to wonder if the other had fallen asleep - ah, no, there was another
quiet swear. Draco frowned and knocked. "Harry? Are you okay in there?"

"I'm fine! Just finishing up." As he had said half an hour ago. "Um, you can- You can come in if
you want? I kind of want your opinion, anyway. Maybe you can help."

Draco opened the door, raising an eyebrow. "Was...there a silent explosion, in here?" It seemed
like a wreck - and that was rather saying something, all things considered.

"No, I just- I'm trying to do my hair." Oh. Oh! That- Did he have curls? Harry had curls. He
had curls. Draco gasped softly, stepping forward and holding Harry's face in his hands.

"Is this what it always looks like right after you properly wash it?"

"Not at all," Harry huffed, relaxing into the hold with a quiet hum. "It's usually even more curly
right after I brush it after showering, right now I'm just trying to straighten it."

"Hang- Hang on," Draco said with a shake of his head. "I can make it better." Letting go of Harry,
he looked around. "Where's a comb?"

"I don't use combs. They break." Harry offered up a brush. "You can use this." Draco searched
through the drawers and pulled out a comb.

"Do you straighten your hair every morning?" The sudden blush on Harry's face told Draco quite a
bit.

"My hair doesn't look good with curls. It looks... It looks stupid. Everyone always says so, so I
make sure it's either tangled or straight."

Draco gently rubbed under Harry's eye with his thumb, once again cupping his face. "Harry?"

"Ye- Yeah?" Harry gave a small shudder, looking up at Draco with wide, curious eyes. "What's
wrong?"

"Close your eyes and trust me." Draco made sure to keep his voice soft, rubbing at the skin and
smiling as Harry shut his eyes and tilted his head towards him at once. "Alright. This might take a
while, and I might tug on your hair a bit, but I promise you it'll be worth it." He was going to make
it so Harry never straightened his hair, again.

"It's okay, Aunt Petunia used to brush my hair to straighten it out. I got good at blocking out the
pain." Harry kept his eyes closed, smile appearing anyways. "'Sides, I trust you won't hurt me. Not
you."

"Well. Never say never."

"Well, I trust that if you do it's for a reason."

"I'm also going to put a bit of makeup on you."

"Wha- Draco!"

"You said you trusted me, Harry."

"You're horrible." Harry was grinning and laughing anyways, relaxing as Draco tugged him around
to start work on his hair. "Hey, Dray... If I have to dance tonight, can it be with you?"

"Harry, of course we're going to dance together," he laughed. "How do you think you're going to
kick it all off?" Oh, he was definitely combing Harry's hair more.

"Yeah, but..." Harry opened his eyes slowly, looking up at Draco and giving a smile that could
only be called nervous and shy. "Can you be the only one I dance with tonight?"

"...Oh. Well, sure," he said with a smile. "That sounds wonderful."

"Perfect. Now, make me look good."

 Birthday Wishes

"Can I open my eyes now?"

Draco put on the final touch, applying just a touch of blush to Harry's cheeks. "Wait... And...
Now."

Watching as Harry took a deep breath and opened his eyes, Draco saw his eyes go wide as he stared
in the mirror at himself. Slowly - so slowly - Harry brought his hand up to touch his curls. "This...
What spell did you use on my hair?"

"Just a simple charm to get them to stay in place. Unless you'd like me to take it off. It might look
better when we're dancing." Draco fluffed out a few of the curls, grinning and, yes, he was certainly
going to be taking care of Harry's hair in the future.

"No, I mean- These can't be naturally curly like this- They look- They don't look bad. They can't be
mine."

Draco laughed, wrapping his arms around Harry's shoulders where he stood behind the younger.
"Amazed what a little T.L.C. can do?"

"T.L.- Wait, what? What's that supposed to mean?" Harry frowned, leaning back into Draco and
still studying his hair.

"T.L.C," he repeated. "Tender love and care." There was still that blank stare and had... Had he
never really heard of even that simple phrase? "It means treating something with care and a gentle
hand."

"Oh." Harry looked up at Draco, giving a grin. "So it's how you treat me, then." Draco smiled,
running a hand through Harry's hair.

"I suppose it is."

"You know we're probably going to be late if we don't hurry up," Harry grinned, finally moving
from the mirror and grabbing Draco's hand. "C'mon, then, do I look decent enough to pass?"

"You look beautiful." Aw, the younger still blushed at compliments. Draco was rather hoping that
would happen for a while longer.

"R-Right! Let's go, then. Don't wanna be late."

Draco laughed as he followed after Harry. "Hang on, we don't go that way."

"This is the way to the ballroom, isn't it?"

"Perhaps if you don't want to make a grand entrance, but you're the guest of honor, so let's go."

"You're going to be having everyone look at me, aren't you?" Harry grumbled, following after
Draco and knocking their shoulders together. "Shouldn't I get a birthday gift of not making a prat of
myself?"

"You won't. Just follow me." Draco led him to the doors just outside the grand staircase. Pausing
suddenly, he turned to Harry and began to poke and prod. "Head up, shoulders back, stomach in,
walk confidently." After a moment, he added, "And smile."
"I don't think I can remember all of that." Harry took a breath, looking at the doors before giving a
nod. "I can't promise on the smile, but I'll do my best."

"If there's only one thing you do, smile. It's one of your best qualities." Well, a laugh hadn't been
what he was aiming for, but it did get Harry to give a bright, happy smile.

"Alright, alright. Can we go in, now?"

Draco looked him over, brushing a curl back with a soft smile. "You're ready." With that, he was
pushing the door open widely. Another deep breath and Harry was looking as calm as he would
when it was just him and Draco, smile soft on his face and head held up high.

"Catch me if I start falling down the stairs," Harry mumbled, looking out at the guests. "That's a lot
of people."

"You'll be just fine." Draco held his hand and the two began to walk out as one. The decorations
were some of the best yet, a tasteful mix between Gryffindor and Slytherin and there were even
less guests than there might normally be. Most likely his mother's attempts to reassure Harry since
he was still so nervous around people. "When we get to the bottom, we'll bow, and then dance."

"Just help me not look like an idiot." Oh, an idiot was the last thing Harry was going to look like
when the night was over. Once they reached the bottom, Harry followed his lead and bowed in
exact unison with him before turning to fall into position for the dance, offering a smile.

Draco smiled and held Harry's hand again, his other resting on his shoulder. "You have to lead."
There was a huff of breath as Harry pouted at him before taking the proper position, tugging Draco
closer before giving him a nod.

"Next time, try to warn me ahead of time, yeah?"

"But it's a bit fun, at least," he said with a smile. "You look dazzling."

"That's all because of you," Harry laughed, carefully leading Draco around the ballroom and
occasionally looking down to check their feet. "Let me know if I step on you, okay?"

"Don't discount yourself. I can only do so much. You had these looks hiding underneath it all."
There was only a quiet hum, Harry now more focused on their steps and honestly. Hadn't he taught
him better by now? "Harry, look up."

Blushing, Harry looked up, "I just don't want to step on your feet. In case you don't remember, I'm
not that good at dancing."

"Hush, you're wonderful." Draco smiled at him. "You're doing great."

"Only because you're here," Harry smiled back, shifting a bit closer before his grin turned wide.
"I'm gonna spin you now."

"Harry is that such-" Too late. Harry was guiding Draco into a spin, Draco just barely relaxing in
time before he was spun back into Harry's arms, much closer than before and, oh. Was he taller?
Harry was about an inch or so taller than him. Draco didn't like that. Draco couldn't help a quiet
laugh, re-adjusting his grip. "That was much better than I thought it would be."

"You should have more faith in me," Harry smirked, twirling them around the room and much
more relaxed. "Now please tell me the dance is about to end soon."
"On the next turn, we part, still holding hands, and bow again. Then we can begin another dance,
or we can take a break."

"Break sounds like a very good way to escape," Harry pointed out. "Right, okay. Turn, part, hold
hands, bow, escape. That right?"

"Yes," Draco told him with a smile. "Right... About... Now." Beautifully on cue, Harry turned them
before parting the same time as Draco, bowing and smiling perfectly. After they stood, Harry
offered his arm with another smile before leading them off the dance floor and getting lost in the
crowd. When they got to a relatively dark corner, Harry slumped and clutched his chest.

"That was awful."

"Harry, you did wonderfully. If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd grown up on this." Draco
nudged him slightly. "You really were great. And you look amazing."

"I suppose it wasn't all that bad." Harry's face was flushed from the dancing and he looked to still
be catching his breath. "There's a lot of people in here, though."

"Not really," Draco hummed. "The room seems almost bare." That earned him a huff and a light
shove, Harry grinning anyways.

"Do I get to eat at my birthday ball, then, or am I going to go starving?"

Draco tugged him along. "Come on, the buffet table is over here."

"The... The what?"

"The buffet table- Oh. Bonjour, grand-mère Rosette. How is your evening?"

"Draco, darling, it's so good to see you again." Grandmother Rosette was a bit forceful of a woman,
but she was nice enough to Draco, he supposed. He hadn't seen her in some years, actually. "I was
so delighted to get tonight's invitation."

"Well, of course. You're always invited, grand-mère." Draco smiled, giving her a small bow.
"Grand-mère, this is Harry Potter, my best friend. Harry, this is Grandmother Rosette, from
mother's side."

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Harry mimicking Draco's small bow, smile on his face.
"Draco's mentioned you fondly to me quite a bit." Oh? "I have to say, it really is nice to finally put
a face to the name."

"Mother was so glad when you accepted the invitation, of course. We know it is difficult for you to
make it out here very often." Ah, his little Slytherin had come so far! Draco was so proud.

"Of course dear. Family is so important, after all. Oh, it's a shame your Auntie Bella couldn't be
here... She would have loved to have been a part of your life while growing up." Draco shifted a bit
to hold Harry's hand, giving a hesitant nod.

"I'm sure she would have, Grand-mère. Mother often speaks fondly of her." Hopefully his
grandmother was sensitive enough to soon move off of this topic...

"Oh, of course! My dear Bella was always such a headstrong little thing, but she had the right
ideas. All us Blacks are skilled in finding those of true worth to follow." She... Was she really
saying all of this? In front of Harry, of all things? "Oh, we always have our black sheep, but even
your cousin Sirius got it right in the end."

Draco's eyes narrowed as he shifted to stand closer to Harry. "I suppose you're right, grand-mère.
We do find those of true worth to follow."

"I'm glad you agree." They knew nothing. How had he not seen that sooner? "I should get back to
your mother. It was nice to meet you, Harry."

"It was nice to meet you as well, ma'am. I hope you enjoy the rest of the night." Draco remained
silent as the woman left them, gripping Harry's hand in his own tightly. It was a moment before
Harry spoke. "Were- Um, were you speaking another language in the beginning there?"

"Huh? Oh. Yes, French. It's very common in the Black family." He couldn't believe that she had
just- Who did that! That was so inappropriate!

"R-Right." Draco sighed, tugging Harry close.

"Sorry about that. Grand-mère has always been a bit more..."

"Oh, no, no, that was fine. I'm used to dealing with people like that. Um, right, so, we were going
to get something to eat, then?"

"Right. Come on, to the buffet."

"So, you speak French, then? How much?"

"Oh, I'm fluent enough, though I suppose I am behind on the newer terms and slang."

"Fluent, huh? Prove it."

"I feel no need to prove something that is already fact." Heh, it was always nice to see Harry when
he was looking impressed. His cheeks were still a bit red, though - they should probably get him
something to drink soon. "Come on," Draco laughed. "Let's sit down for a bit."

"Yeah- Right. Yes. That sounds good. That- Yeah. Hey, were Blaise and Pansy able to make it?"

"Funny you ask that, Harry darling." Pansy had already wormed her way between the two, arms
wrapping around Harry and hugging him tightly.

"Oh, so it's like that 'speak of the devil and they appear,'" Harry laughed, relaxing against the hug.
"Blaise around too, then?"

"He's talking to Theo over there," she hummed. "Harry dear, can we talk?"

"Way to worry me," Harry snorted, shaking his head as he tugged her along. "Alright, come on,
let's talk about whatever you want to complain about now. Be right back, Dray."

"I'll keep your seat warm," Draco reassured him, watching the two curiously as they walked off.
Just what could Pansy have to talk with Harry about? If it was about a present she got him then she
would have wanted an audience. Strange.

"I see you cave to Harry's every whim like always." A warm arm around his shoulder had him
looking up to a grinning Blaise. "This party is tame compared to what you lot usually throw."

"Mother didn't want him to be too nervous." Draco pulled Blaise into a hug. "It's been too long."
"It's been a few weeks." Blaise returned the hug just as tightly. "How are you two, though? After
everything?"

"Much better. Almost as though it didn't happen."

"Good. Now, how are you two?" Wasn't- That was the same question?

"We're... better? I just told you, Blaise." This room was warm, when Draco actually thought about
it.

"C'mon, Draco, I've known you since we were toddlers. I mean, it's easy to see you both have
ridiculously obvious feelings for each other. I'm just wondering when you broke down and started
dating."

Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Dating? Blaise, I think you need your eyes checked. We're not
dating, and before you say it, we're not courting." How could Blaise even get an idea like that?

"Dray, come on, you know Pansy will just get it out of Harry." Lovely. He forgot how his friends
could be idiots.

"Blaise, I told you, we're not, and I don't understand how you could even get that idea. We're just
friends."

"There's- Huh." Blaise paused, frowning and crossing his arms. "You're right. Sorry, I guess I must
have been seeing things." Blaise grinned, patting at Draco's shoulder. "I'm going to go wish Harry a
happy birthday real quick."

"Hmph. You be sure to do that." Dating. Alright, yes, so he had feelings for Potter of the purely
aesthetic appreciation kind, but Harry was his friend. Just his friend. Honestly, it was like you
couldn't be friends without people thinking you were dating - Blaise and Pansy should know that
better than anyone! Though... When Draco thought about it, he supposed dating Harry wouldn't be
too bad. Maybe even nice. Late nights studying in the common room, curled up together. Lazy
mornings laying together to stay warm. Harry letting Draco spoil him to death because dammit,
he deserved it- ...Wait.

"I don't know how you dealt with Pansy and Blaise all those years," Harry was back at his side,
nose wrinkling even with a smile fighting on his face. With the way his was caught between
annoyance and laughter and how those precious curls of his framed his face he was... He was
perfect. "So, I believe you were escorting me to the buffet table?"

...Even if they were like that, it didn't much matter. They were friends. Anything else was just...
"Of course. Come on, the elves spent all day on it." The time twister had already given him
everything he had asked for, to even try and want more... Draco knew what happened when
someone wanted too much. He would appreciate what he had and that was that. It had to be.

"Great. Wanna grab a few things and then maybe escape? Please?"

"That sounds wonderful, Harry." Draco took his hand as the two put together a couple plates before
hurrying outside. Harry seemed to relax and open up as soon as they were outside, taking a deep
breath of the warm summer air before laughing loudly and freely.

"I just- I still can't believe I'm here, you know? I'm here and happy."

Draco waited until the two sat down to pull Harry into his lap. "You're here," he agreed, arms tight
around Harry's waist. "And I'm never letting you go."
"I think I'm okay with that." Harry relaxed against him, their plates to the side as they relaxed.
"Hey, Dray, you didn't tell me you had a dog."

"A dog? Where?!" Draco immediately scrambled up and back, looking around frantically. Was
Fenrir here? Already?! It was far too early, it wasn't time yet for them to be at the manor! They
needed to get inside as soon as-

Hands on his cheeks stilled him at once, Draco suddenly only able to see the glimmering green of
Harry's eyes, "Dray, Dray, hey, it's okay, it's okay, just me and you here, alright? Look, it's just a
dog over there. Probably a stray. It's okay. We'll go inside, okay? It's okay."

Draco took a deep breath. "Sorry. Sorry. Seventh year... A stray? We don't get strays around the
house." He gently pulled away, looking around the grounds, and right there, just as Harry said, was
a plain looking black dog. Actually, plain was being kind. It looked starved, dirty, and probably
sick. It also looked like it would be huge when properly fed.

"Looks like this one didn't know that," Harry hummed, looking down to their plates of food before
picking up his and walking towards the stray dog. "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Wha- Harry, what are you doing," Draco hissed, staying firmly away from the dog.

"He looks hungry." Yes, okay, great, that didn't explain why Harry was going near it. "I can always
grab more food from inside."

"Don't go near it! It might have diseases!"

"That's what magic is for!" Harry went right up to the giant beast and eat the plate down,
actually smiling at the thing. "Here you go. You're probably hungry, huh? 'S alright, you can eat all
you want. Just don't eat too fast, okay?" The mangy thing didn't even seem to wait, eating
everything off the plate.

Draco walked over, standing firmly behind Harry. "Go on. Shoo." The dog licked his lips and
stared up at them, not moving an inch. "Harry, I don't trust this. What if it's an animagus?" The dog
flicked it's ears backed and looked at him steadily and oh, there was definitely something strange
about this dog.

"An ani- A what?" Harry gave him an odd look, bending down and sticking his hand out. "He
doesn't seem aggressive."

"A witch or wizard that can turn into an animal. Namely, a dog." But then… That didn't make
sense. No person would look that awful, human or dog form.

"I dunno, I don't think a wizard would suddenly clean a plate that quickly." The dog didn't move at
Harry's hand, only staring at the boy with eyes that seemed crystal clear. "He looks like he's been
through a lot." Draco's eyes narrowed at the dog as he wrapped his arms around Harry's waist.

"Like I said. I don't trust it. What if it has mange?"

"You'd know if the dog was sick, Dray, trust me." Harry leaned against Draco's hold, tilting his
head as he watched the dog who finally sat down, still staring up at them. "He must have walked a
long way if he looks this exhausted." And then, quite suddenly, the dog looked up at Harry and
whined, sounding actually rather pathetic, though also sorrowful at the same time. It was a sound
that had shivers going down Draco's spine. Harry frowned, tugging himself free of Draco to take a
few more steps towards the dog. "It's probably just me imagining things, but he looks… This dog
almost looks familiar." Harry held his hand out gently, the dog's whining quieting before Harry
gently rested a hand on his head. Draco set a hand on Harry's back, watching them.

"...Maybe your parents had one." There was another soft whine from the dog, Harry gently starting
to stroke his fingers through the fur.

"Maybe." The two fell quiet, Harry finally sighing and shaking his head. "Maybe he just reminds
me of another dog I've seen. I used to take care of the strays around Privet Drive." Harry huffed out
a laugh. "I knew what it was like to be abandoned, I guess."

"I still don't like dogs," Draco huffed. As long as there were no fangs or growling, he supposed it
would be okay for now. Merlin, the dog looked absolutely pathetic. Maybe it was a pet left to be
abandoned. "...I'm going to go get some more food."

"Alright," Harry grinned, adjusting to sit down on the ground and still rub the top of the dog's head.
"Think he ran away from somewhere?"

"Maybe," he hummed quietly. "Don't those sorts of dogs usually have a collar, though?"

"He could have torn it off." Harry grinned at him. "We'll wait here until you get back."

"See to it that you do," Draco huffed, turning and returning to the party.

When Draco got back outside, the dog was laying down beside Harry, and Harry was rubbing the
beast's stomach, looking to speak quietly to it. He couldn't tell what was said as Harry stopped
talking as soon as Draco got closer, grinning instead as he rubbed at the mangy thing's stomach
even more. "I think I made a new friend."

Draco carefully set the plate down, along with a small bowl, casting an Aguamenti at it. "Harry,"
Draco said softly as he wrapped around the younger. Harry shifted in his hold and looked up at
him, tilting his head.

"What's wrong?"

"Will you come back and dance with me?"

The silence felt comfortable - right. There was nothing but the sound of that mangy dog quickly
emptying the bowl and plate and the gentle summer breeze blowing across the grounds. If he
strained his hearing, he could just barely hear the quiet, muffled sound of cheerful partygoers.
"Alright, but... Only if you dance with me out here, first."

"Harry," he chuckled. "We can't even hear the music." And it was true. Everything was muffled
from where they were, as though they were secluded in their own world.

"So we'll just pretend there's music," Harry laughed, nudging at Draco until he was in the position
to lead. "You're still better at this. Just... Think of it like more practice. We didn't have music then."

Draco finally smiled and nodded. "Alright. And... One two three, one two three, here we go."
There was a small stumble before Harry was falling into step with him, grinning and giggling even
at the small mistakes they made. "You know, Harry, I've realized something."

"Really?" Harry looked back up at Draco, grin wider. "What's that, Dray?"

"You're taller than me and I hate it." Instead of apologizing like he rightly should have, Harry only
laughed and squirmed so he was closer, wrapping his arms around Draco's shoulders.
"Do I always stay taller than you, then?"

Draco may have stood on his toes to look over Harry. "No, you don't."

"Then why are you so worried?" Harry knocked into him and back onto his feet, grinning as they
were mere inches apart. "Let me enjoy it while I can, okay?"

"No! I'm older, so I should get to be taller!"

"If we're being technical, here, you're only two months older." Harry paused before suddenly
getting taller and that rat- Draco pushed him away, stomping his foot.

"You're cheating! Stop growing!" The laughter did nothing to quell his rage. Turning to snap at
him, Draco was stopped at the sight of Harry laughing. He had seen him laugh plenty of times,
but... He never looked this happy- This right. "...Come on. You promised we'd go back inside."

"Fine, fine." Harry wrapped his hand around Draco's, pausing at seeing the empty plate and bowl
before refilling it with his own water charm. "You can stay out here, okay? I'll bring more food for
you tomorrow if you want to stick around." Draco smiled at Harry, holding his hand tightly.

"Your heart is far too big." That had always been true of Harry Potter, though, hadn't it?

"A little, but that's okay. I have you here to make sure it's okay." Harry pulled Draco towards the
ballroom, grinning. "Now, c'mon, if I get a ball as a present then I guess I should probably enjoy it
as best I can."

"Harry," Draco began with a warm smile. "What makes you think you get just one present?"

"Because... I mean, you guys threw me a ball. Why would you waste anything else on me." In the
background, Draco heard the stray give another one of those sorrowful whines.

"Because none of it is a waste. Harry, your birthday? That's another year you've survived. I think
that deserves celebration." This time Draco really wasn't surprised by the hug he was pulled into.
"Come on, let's go eat properly."

::

"You can't possibly have more presents." Harry was stifling a yawn in the wake of the ball, near all
the guests gone or on their way out. The younger looked exhausted but pleased. "You all have
given me way more than enough."

Narcissa and Lucius looked at each other before the former held out her hand. "Come with us,
Harry." There was a moment where Harry paused before carefully taking Narcissa's hand, looking
much younger than his age of thirteen. Narcissa only smiled at him as she led him to the sitting
room, where Harry's pile of presents was waiting for him.

"That- That's not all for me, is it?" Harry looked ready to almost cry, looking between them all. "I
mean, it's more than enough that you let me stay with you."

"Harry, dear, of course it's for you. It's your birthday. Though, you should know it's not all from
us. Of course some of it is from Draco, or from your friends, or-" Narcissa didn't even get to finish
before Harry was tightly wrapped around her in a hug. A second passed before he was quickly
letting go and taking a step back.

"Ah, sorry." A second didn't even pass before Narcissa was pulling him back into a hug. Harry
looked startled before he was burrowing back against her, smile wide enough to split his face.
"Thank you. For everything."

"Of course, Harry, of course. Well? Go on. Open your presents." Taking a seat on the couch, Draco
watched as Harry began opening his presents, overly careful about tearing the wrapping paper too
much. He seemed delighted with each and every present - even Sev's who had given him the
textbook they would need for the next year. And then -

"Oh! That one's from me!" He had a feeling Harry was going to like this one. After seeing all those
books in the library after Dumbledore's letter, it wasn't hard to piece together that he wanted to find
out more about his family. While Draco couldn't do much about the Evans, the Potters had left
quite a few pictures and Daily Prophet articles behind. It wasn't too hard to bind them all up into a
nice little book. As well as what information on 'the Marauders' there was that wasn't slanderous. If
they were such a big part of his father's life, he deserved to know as much about them as possible
He'd gotten plenty of help from his parents, and Sev and Hagrid, of course.

It was cute watching Harry's expression turn from confused to utterly awed. Although Draco wasn't
quite expecting to be almost knocked off the couch with how much force Harry had put into that
running hug. Draco laughed, hugging him back just as hard. "I take it you like your present, then?"

"If you're trying to make me love you even more then it's working."

"Oh, well, so long as it's working."

"You actually have one more present from us, Harry." And oh, if Harry thought Draco's present
was great then this was nothing compared to what was about to happen. "We've- Well, we've
noticed that you enjoy staying here, and..." Too excited to contain himself, Draco began to laugh,
holding Harry closer. "We wanted to know if you would want to become a part of our family and
let us be your guardians."

Harry didn't say anything beyond a strangled squeak, tears welling up in his eyes - Draco knew
enough about him at this point to know they weren't out of sorrow, either. "You don't ever have to
go back to that horrible family," Draco said softly. "You'll always have a home to come back to,
and a real family, and -"

"I'm trying not to cry, Dray!" Harry was covering his mouth, tears already slipping past. "Yes- Yes.
Yes, yes, yes, please."

Narcissa held out a piece of parchment. "You need only to sign it." As much as Harry was coiled
up and near bursting with energy, he was very careful in taking the parchment and quill and signing
his name so carefully right where Narcissa told him to. The moment he signed the last 'r,' Narcissa
rolled up the parchment with a smile. "There. You're part of the family."

"Does- Um, does this mean my last name is Malfoy now?" Harry was still half-sitting in Draco's
lap and looking utterly starstruck. Draco laughed slightly, shaking his head.

"No. It means that my mother and father are your legal guardians. Oh! Speaking of!" Draco dug
around in his pocket before handing over two paper slips.

"I was wondering when you got these." Narcissa smiled before taking the permissions slips to
Hogsmeade and signing them, Harry watching with confusion before he was nudging at Draco.

"Permission slips for Hogsmeade. The town next to Hogwarts? Only a legal guardian can sign it
for you."
"Oh." Harry settled back in Draco's lap, silent for a long moment before he spoke. "I was just
adopted." Draco's arms were still wrapped around Harry's waist as he nodded.

"Yes. And you never have to see them again." It was nice to see Harry finally realize that, too.
There was no need to go back to that place and Harry would never have to see the Dursleys again.
He supposed that was why he started tearing up again. Draco lowered his voice as he ran a hand
through Harry's hair. "No more of your aunt's shrill voice. No more of your uncle turning purple
when he's upset. No more Harry Hunting. You'll stay here with us and you'll always be able to do
magic, and ask questions. You're going to be a prince."

"I thought I told you I was trying to not cry," Harry grumbled, shifting and turning to hide against
Draco's chest. "Stop making me cry."

"I told you I wouldn't ever let you go back. And I always keep my promises."

"Dray." Draco only smiled, continuing to hold Harry close. It was nice to know for sure, now, that
Harry would at least be safe up until he came back. For now, though, the Manor was his home and
everything was going to be okay. This year was the year where it was normal. It was going to
be fine.
 Shopping and Snooping
Chapter Notes

Apologies for the late-running chapter, we're both growing ever more busy with work
as well as school, and we're trying to work out - pause for dramatic effect - an
uploading schedule. It's still in the works, right now, but it is in progress. ~Kas

I love Sirius in this. Sorry that we're very bad at time. -Kit

"You're getting to be too big for your clothes." Pausing from where he was putting his clothes on,
Harry looked down at himself before finally just giving a shrug.

"By an inch or two, maybe."

Draco began to grin as he took Harry's hands into his own. "Do you know what this means?"

"That you're going to make me go shopping with you today?" Harry was trying not to grin, twining
his hands with Draco's own.

"It means we get to go shopping!" He laughed, pulling Harry towards the door. "Come on, we have
to go right away!"

"Wha- Dray, hold on, the stores aren't suddenly going to disappear-" Harry paused, narrowing his
eyes as he looked at Draco. "Are they?"

"Well, no," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "But it's summer, so we want to get to the shops before the
big Hogwarts rush."

"I suppose you do have a point- Oh! Let me go check on Snuffles real quick, though, okay?"

"Snuffles?"

"Yeah, our new pet dog? He's probably hungry- I mean, obviously he's hungry. C'mon, we can stop
by the kitchens and then let your mom know we're going to Diagon Alley."

"First off, we do not have a pet dog. Secondly, if we did, we would not name him 'Snuffles.'"

"Snuffles is a great name for a dog." Harry pulled him along to the kitchens, ducking and weaving
between house elves as he grabbed a few things on a plate, throwing out pleasantries to each elf
who asked if he needed anything. "And he's definitely a pet. I've always wanted a pet dog, you
know."

"Snuffles is a horrible name. He should have something dignified, if we're naming him. Which
we're not." Naming a dog meant keeping them, and there was no way that they were keeping
a dog.

"What would you name him, then?" Plate piled high with food, Harry balanced a bowl in his other
arm as he headed towards the courtyard.
Draco paused and thought it over before nodding. "Hyperion. Not that we're naming him. Because
that means we're keeping him."

"Oh, so you'd give him a name as pretentious as the rest of you all are." Wha- Rude! "Snuffles is a
great name, you know. I bet Snuffles is waiting right at the edge of the grounds for us."

"Harry, don't give it a name." Draco couldn't help but to roll his eyes. Honestly.

"He's a he, Dray, and his name is Snuffles."

"His name is not Snuffles!"

"Well it's definitely not 'Hyperion'."

"Hyperion is a much better name than Snuffles!" Draco paused as he held his hands out. "Here, let
me hold them for a moment."

"Here, just hold the bowl and that'll help." Harry shifted things around until Draco was holding the
empty bowl, Harry giving a nod. "And Snuffles is the perfect name."

"Damn. I was going to shove you down the hill."

"I know." Harry smirked, quickly getting out of range of him or any kicking. "C'mon, let's go."
Draco rolled his eyes and followed him down the hill. Just like Harry had said, the dog was waiting
for them at the bottom. "Hey there, Snuffles!" There was a little yip from the dog, Harry beaming
as he set the plate of food down in front of him. "We brought you more food."

"I told you, his name is not Snuffles. It's Hyperion." Draco paused. "Not that we're naming it!" The
dog looked between them before bending down and eating the food off the plate. It was a lot less
frantic than last night, that was for sure.

"Snuffles, you can stay here as long as you want, okay?" Harry took the bowl back and filled it
with water, patting at not Snuffles' head.

"Harry! Perhaps in the dark it may have been different, but what happens when mother and father
look out their window and-"

"Well, we're technically on the edges of the grounds, right?" Harry shifted to sit down, watching
the mangy thing with fascination and delight. "So he's okay, right? He's not technically trespassing
or anything."

"No, but mother and father will see us out cavorting with a dirty, mangy, sickly..." Draco trailed off
as he watched the beast look up at him with incredibly sad eyes.

"You hurt his feelings," Harry said, holding his hand out and letting the animal rest his chin on it.
"Aw. He's absolutely perfect, Dray."

"He's an absolute beast."

"You really don't like dogs, do you?"

"No, I don't, and for good reason. They're terrifying!"

"No they're not." Harry grinned, sitting up on his knees and hugging the monster. "They're called
man's best friend for a reason, after all, you know. Besides, I've always been a good judge of
character with people. We can trust him."
"In case you haven't realized, that is not a person." Instead of snapping and turning on them, the
dog only went still in Harry's grip, eyes wide and tail utterly still behind him. "Ha- Harry, you
might want to-" All at once, the dog slumped against Harry, the boy laughing and scratching at the
dog's head as he grinned at Draco. Draco shook his head, crossing his arms. "You are an entirely
different species, Harry Potter."

"Maybe." They were going to end up keeping the mangy thing, weren't they? "I like dogs. I told
you I wandered around the neighborhood, right? I'd take care of strays and sometimes they'd growl
at Dudley when he came around."

Draco sighed. "I hate you." Grin growing, Harry patted the ground beside him. It was also the spot
away from the dog. With another heavy sigh, Draco sat down on the ground beside Harry, leaning
away from the dog.

"Now was that so hard?" Harry leaned against Draco's side, still patting the dog that looked more
like a Grim. "So what kind of year is this going to be, then?"

"A wonderfully normal one." Alright, he couldn't completely blame Harry for the doubting look. "I
mean it. Alright - A man alleged to have helped kill your parents broke out of Azkaban earlier this
summer and people think he's coming to kill you, but no near death experiences this year!"

"Oh, well as long as there are none of those." A bark from the monster had Draco scrambling back
a little bit and oh, dear, that was a very loud bark. "Oh, hush. We didn't even die. We just… came a
little close."

"Three times, for your part. I've lost track." Draco slowly settled, keeping a wary eye on the beast.
Didn't trust it as far as he could throw it. The creature was already making little noises and pawing
at Harry- Merlin that was a huge paw.

"That's probably not a good thing, Dray." Harry only caught the paw and held it, inspecting it.
"Huh, he's already fully grown. 'S weird, you usually see only young ones as strays."

"As you said, it's possible he escaped from somewhere." Draco examined the dog from a distance,
eyes narrowed.

"I dunno, though. If he had a family he'd be a lot better taken care of. He looks like he's been
starved for years." Harry was too sympathetic for his own good. "If he grew up on the streets or in
the woods, though, he'd be a lot more feral and would have bitten me by now."

"I don't know, Harry. I don't understand dogs." Draco watched them before laying back on the
grass. "It's a nice day out."

"It's a good thing we're going shopping today, then." A long moment passed before Draco felt
fingers carding through his hair. "Should we invite Blaise and Pansy, do you think?"

"Mm. If you'd like. I think it'd be fun, but we don't have to."

"How about we shop just me and you, we get lunch with them, and then we can shop for a while
the four of us before dinner. Maybe we can meet up with your other friends? Um, Crabbe, Goyle,
and... Theo, right?"

"Right. That..." Draco laughed softly as he leaned into Harry's touch. "That sounds wonderful."
And days like these were just perfect. The weather was gorgeous, Harry was safe, and he was
going to see his friends again.
"We can spend a little bit more time out here, though, I think. It really is a nice day after all."

"It is, isn't it? Hey, Harry..."

"Yeah, Dray?"

"...Nevermind."

This didn't feel like the day for change.

::

"If you don't hurry then we're going to be late meeting up with everyone. See, this is why you
shouldn't have signed up for all those extra classes. All those textbooks are going to kill you,
Dray."

Draco waved him off. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll catch up." Harry looked between him and the
way they were going, huffing a laugh as he looked back to Draco.

"Fine, I'll go ahead and let them know why you're so horribly slow. Wouldn't want them to
abandon us, now would we?" Throwing a wink, Harry grinned before he was rushing through the
crowds and up ahead to the Leaky Cauldron. It was easy to tell how distracted he was at all the
magic he was seeing. Draco couldn't help the smile that escaped as he watched Harry from a
distance. The younger really didn't know how enchanting he was, did he? Draco was going to have
to fix that. Harry needed to realise just how amazing every aspect of himself was. Not just the
Voldemort-killing part. Perhaps he could get some ideas and help from their friends,
because, really. Draco couldn't have been the only one to notice how quick Harry was when it
came to discrediting himself.

Just as he reached the Leaky Cauldron, he felt his load get lighter and turned to snap at whoever
had taken something from him. He was instead met with a very amused looking Blaise. "Harry
seemed pretty concerned about you dying on the side of the road with your books. How many did
you get?"

"Oh, you know. Just twelve," Draco answered easily, following the sound of Pansy's laughter. At
least his friends were easy to track down when he needed to find them.

"Not even I'm taking this many classes," Blaise sighed, looking through the bag he was holding.
"This is ridiculous. Are you planning on having time to sleep and eat this year?"

"Semantics," Draco waved off. "Harry dear, can you help me a bit?" Almost in a second Harry was
at his side and holding the bag for him, grinning widely.

"See, this is why I sent Blaise back."

"All he really did was tease me," the blond huffed as he sat down and smiled around him. "Well,
this is a right reunion, isn't it?"

"We were starting to think those lions finally ate you," Greg snorted, standing next Vince and
throwing Draco a smirk. "Nice to see you're still alive."

"Just barely." Draco sighed dramatically. "I did not think that a requirement of being associates
with Harry Potter was daily death-defying stunts."

"'Associates,'" Theo raised an eyebrow. "Sure, if that's what you wanna go with. And you don't-
Well, no, there was that thing with Quirrell. And then the whole Chamber of Secrets- How are you
alive?"

"A thing I wonder each day, Theo," Draco nodded, scooting over to make room for Harry. "What
do you want?"

"Oh, uh." Harry blinked before just shrugging. "Order for me?"

"If I must."

"Thanks, Dray." Harry sat down next to him, careful with setting their bags down before starting to
dig through for one of their books. Draco couldn't much blame him, since he didn't interact much
with Theo, Vince, or Greg. Draco only smiled.

"How's your brother, Theo? He's going to be a first year, this year, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's excited as can be," Theo laughed. "He's worried about what house he gets, but I told
him if he gets Gryffindor then he'll have a pair of Slytherins to help him out."

"And you, Greg? How's your mother," Draco asked.

"She's doing fine," Greg rolled his eyes. "No wonder you always ask after her considering how
much you act like her."

"What is that supposed to mean?" With a huff, Draco looked over the menu.

"It means you're as dramatic as any of our mothers," Pansy said, leaning over to tap at something
on the menu. "Get him that, he'll like it."

Draco shook his head. "I was thinking something more like..." He pointed to the one a few items
down, Pansy tsking and shaking her head as she took her own seat again.

"You spoil him."

"A bit, yes."

"What," Harry asked suddenly, leaning over to peek over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Draco pouted at him, leaning away. "It's a surprise."

"You don't need to make a surprise out of everything, you know," Harry pouted, trying to look at
the menu again.

"Sure I do. How else are we going to make it any fun?" Draco easily kept the menu out of reach,
trying not to laugh when Harry huffed and slumped against him. Draco did laugh, as well as the
others with them as they began to order their food.

It wasn't until after lunch that Blaise was taking Draco aside, grinning in a way that meant trouble,
"I take it you two finally talked things out on his birthday, then?"

Draco rose an eyebrow at that. "Talked what out?"

"Your feelings, of course." Oh, not this again. "About time, too. I was starting to worry you two
would never get your act together."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Draco huffed, crossing his arms.
"You called him 'dear'. At that point all subtly is out the window." Blaise patted at Draco's back
and goodness. He was quite mistaken. "I'm happy for you two."

"No- No, Blaise, you really don't know what you're talking about-"

"No, no, it's okay, I won't tell anyone if you two want to keep it quiet for a while. It's fine. I just
wanted to say that I'm happy you two have each other. You're always so down when he's not
around."

"Harry and I are not together!" Draco finally screeched.

"Are you and Pansy still on about that." See! Even Harry knew it was ridiculous! "I explained
everything to you guys last night at the ball. Can't you just drop it."

"There, you see," Draco huffed. He walked ahead of Blaise to instead stroll alongside Harry,
wrapping an arm around his waist. "Honestly. They must be seeing things."

"I'm sure, Dray." Oh, well glad Harry found this all amusing. "C'mon, we should take all our stuff
home and then... Huh." Harry paused, looking down at the ground. "Home." Draco smiled, pulling
Harry closer.

"I told you you wouldn't have to go back." Laughing, Harry wrapped him up in a hug before
nodding.

"Yeah- Yeah, you did. Well? C'mon, then, we need to check on Snuffles."

"Hyperion." Draco nudged him along. "Come on, you need to be fitted for a new wardrobe."

"My clothes are small by one inch," Harry whined, not fighting against the nudging. "And his
name is Snuffles."

"Draco!" Pansy seemed to materialize at their sides. "You let his clothes get that small?!"

"I didn't know," Draco quickly defended.

"You Slytherins are all insane," Harry sighed, turning around and heading towards the direction of
Madame Malkin's. "I get to pick the clothes this time!"

"Fine," Draco and Pansy harrumphed at the same time. Harry rolled his eyes, trying to hide a smile
as he held his hand out towards Draco. Draco finally smiled at him, taking his hand again.

"Unbelievable." Blaise muttered, trailing behind them. "I'm going, too, then. Might as well as show
you all what good clothes should look like."

::

"A lot of people had it out for Sirius Black, huh?" Harry was propped up against the still mangy
Hyperion and reading a copy if the Daily Prophet.

"People think of a real Slytherin, they think of that story. Betraying all of his best friends and
killing most of them off to please the Dark Lord. In case you never noticed, people don't like
Slytherin."

"Yeah, well, people are stupid," Harry huffed, slumping down against Hyperion, the dog
grumbling and whining. "I think being a Slytherin would have been great."
"Honestly? I think a Slytherin Harry Potter is a bit terrifying. Look at how much trouble you
already get into." Draco ran a hand through Harry's hair from where he lay a foot away on the
grass.

"Hey, trouble finds me." Harry tilted his head into the touch, flipping through the paper again.
"Oh, hey, your parents adopting me made the news."

"Did it?" Draco beamed and sat up, immediately snatching the paper from Harry's hands to read it
himself. There were noises of complaint from what sounded like both Harry and the mutt, Draco
paying it not mind and wow, there really was an article- Ugh, by Rita Skeeter. Already she was
spinning the story in her own twisted way. It seemed the Malfoys were 'corrupting the noble Harry
Potter' into becoming 'the next Dark Wizard'. What utter rot. "Hang on. How did they know about
that? We did all the legal bits in private," Draco huffed, eyebrows furrowing.

"Maybe the writer of it was at the ball you guys threw and overheard you talking about it?" Harry
suggested, patting at a grumbling Hyperion's head. "It's okay, boy, I'm starting to get used to being
'Harry Potter'."

"Harry, he's a dog, he doesn't understand what we're talking about, let alone who you are," Draco
scoffed, shaking his head as he read over the paper. 'Interestingly, the Malfoys have a very close tie
to one Sirius Black, known to have escaped from Azkaban and is currently hunting the Boy Who
Lived. Is it possible Narcissa Malfoy neé Black is saving him for her very close cousin-' "How dare
they!"

"What'd they say?" Harry didn't bother trying to read the paper, only fawning over his mutt some
more. "It can't be anything too bad, right?"

"They're going after my mother, saying that she's just saving you for Cousin Sirius!"

"Seriously?" That had Harry moving to read the paper over his shoulder, scoffing. "Who is this
person? This is so wrong!"

"Rita Skeeter. Slander is her specialty." Draco laid back down on the grass, handing the paper back
over to Harry.

"Stirring up trouble sounds like it's her speciality, too," Harry huffed, taking the paper and flipping
through it. "Why would anyone ever say things like that? You all saved me."

"Because they think they know us, but they don't," Draco said softly, reaching over to hold Harry's
hand. Harry twined their fingers together at once, huffing as he shifted so he was between Draco
and Hyperion.

"It's still- Is your Mom showing the Minister around the gardens?"

Draco sat up again with a frown. "The Minister? What's he doing here?"

Following Harry's gaze, Draco saw that Fudge was walking at Narcissa's side, the two talking
quietly as they walked through the gardens. Draco might have passed it off if it wasn't for the grim
looks that both of them were wearing. Beside him, Harry gave a quiet hum. "Think we should go
find out what they're talking about?"

"You read my mind. Do you have your cloak?" Nodding, Harry stood up and brushed himself off.

"It's in my trunk. I'll run and grab it and then we can head over and see what they look so worried
about."
Draco nodded. "I'll wait for you." Harry was away in a flash… Leaving Draco with the mutt. With
a pause, the blond narrowed his eyes. "Don't you dare set a paw a single millimeter forward, you
mutt."

The beast stared at him for a long moment before shifting so his right paw was even closer to
Draco. Beyond that, there wasn't a single other move made. Draco still scrambled to put another
foot between it and himself.

He didn't relax until he heard Harry's voice, the teen appearing a second later before throwing the
cloak over the both of them, wild grin only a hair's breadth away, "Come here often?" Draco rolled
his eyes, pushing at Harry's shoulder gently.

"Shut up and let's go." Laughing, Harry twined their fingers together before pulling them over
towards the garden where Narcissa and Fudge were walking, quieting down and falling as silent as
Draco.

"-just not safe," Fudge was saying, shaking his head. "Perhaps Dumbledore is right in saying we
should send the boy back to live with his family. He'd be safer in that world."

"I can guarantee you," Narcissa said sharply. "That is the furthest thing from the truth." Draco held
Harry's hand tightly, glancing at him. The teen was looking more calculating than scared, tilting
his head as they followed along from a distance.

"With how word has gotten out and your relation don't you think Sirius Black might check here for
the boy first? There's still a few weeks until school begins again."

"And we have the wards tightly guarded against any who mean harm to those who live here. If
Sirius Black comes within a kilometer, we will be the first to know," the woman reassured. "We,
however, will not be sending him back to those that the Ministry calls his family." Narcissa
glanced back to the entrance of the garden before speaking softer. "Did you hear what he told
Severus?"

"I'm afraid I haven't." Fudge raised a curious eyebrow, Harry tugging on Draco's hand to get them
to speed their pace up. "Why? What was said?"

"Cornelius... They starved him and locked him in what he called a 'cupboard.' He says that
they beat him." Suppressing a wince as the hand around his tightened to be almost painful, Draco
watched as Fudge's face drained of all color.

"Impossible. We were always assured that he was well cared for and looked after- Are you sure he
wasn't just blowing things out of proportion?"

"You haven't seen him. The first summer he stayed with us, he looked malnourished. We had to
go rescue him from his home. His letters weren't getting through, for a reason that is still a mystery
to me, and Draco was worried over him, so the two of us went to his home. They had locks on his
door, and a cat flap on the door. When I managed a good proper look, there were bars on his
windows. All his books, his robes, and even his wand was locked in a cupboard under the stairs."
Draco... Draco had nearly forgotten all about that.

That had only been last summer, too. How had he almost forgotten? The way Narcissa said it so
matter-of-factly made it sound so much worse than what it had first looked like, too. "Dear
Merlin... There's no possible way Dumbledore could have known about all of this."

"But he must. He sent Harry a letter requesting he return there for the remainder of the summer.
That was enough to have the boys running to Severus."

"Perhaps Severus merely hasn't told him of what he's heard. I'll be sure to speak with him and get
this all fixed. The wards are secure, however?"

"Absolutely. They're tied to our own magical energies." Narissa glanced back behind them again
and turned back to Fudge. "Please, excuse me, Cornelius." Uh oh.

"Oh, of course. I'll go wait in the front hall." As Fudge started walking away, Harry was tugging
him back and trying to be as quiet as possible to escape. Shame it wouldn't work.

"Now, Harry, you're excused. However. You, Draco, know better than to eavesdrop."

"Wha- Why is he excused?!" Draco pulled the cloak off to frown up at his mother.

"Because you I've taught to not eavesdrop and that if you must then to not be noticed." Narcissa
raised an eyebrow, Draco ready to argue back before Harry stepped in front of him.

"Um, Mrs. Malfoy ma'am? It was my idea to follow you two to see what you were talking about."

"Oh, well that doesn't much matter, Harry. Draco knows better." Narcissa looked them over, tilting
her head before finally a soft look crossed her face. "Do you want me to treat you like normal,
then?" Oh no.

"I- Um-" Harry looked almost panicked, glancing between Draco and Narcissa before giving a
scared little nod. "I guess."

"Alright, then. The both of you, no broom flying for the next week." And with that, she turned and
walked off to catch up with Fudge.

Draco sighed, shaking his head. "Honestly, it's probably for the best you agreed. If you'd said no,
she probably would have given you two weeks to 'keep you humble' or some rot."

"I... Right." Harry stared after Narcissa, finally looking to Draco. "Is that a normal kind of
punishment? No broom flying? I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to ban us from dinner for a
few nights?"

"Wha- Harry, no. Believe it or not, most parents don't starve their children as punishment."

"Right. Right." Harry nodded, taking the cloak and folding it up. "I think I'll be okay with not going
on my broom for a week, especially since we learned that Dumbledore is even trying to get the
Minister to make me go back."

"That's what makes me most upset." Draco crossed his arms before finally sighing and taking
Harry's hand. "Come on, we may as well go back inside, if we can't fly."

"Alright." Harry took his hand, pausing long enough to raise his voice towards Hyperion. "We'll be
back later, Snuffles! Try not to be seen,okay!"

"Hyperion!"
 Timely Encounters
Chapter Notes

It's cute, how those of you reading The Second Meeting think that these two stories
are the same. ~Kas

Had fun with the dementors, gonna have even more fun with 'Hyperion.' - Kit

When Draco checked on Harry and his packing, he was slightly startled to see the other sitting on
top of his trunk and very seriously looking at piles of items that were laid out in a circle around
him. The fierce concentration on his face only concerned Draco even more. "Um... Harry?" Draco
asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

"Not everything will fit in my trunk anymore." And this was a problem how? "I'm trying to decide
what I can take to Hogwarts and what can be left behind."

"Oh, don't worry about that, the extension charms can be tested out, now."

"What do you mean it can be tested out?"

"Oh, all the trunks come standard with extension charms."

"Wha- They do? I thought you only cast that on my trunk last year?" No? About to say as much,
Harry suddenly waved it off. "Wait, no, that was a shrinking charm I think. Okay, but that still
doesn't mean it's big enough to hold all my stuff."

"Then you leave the books you don't need, and most of your casual clothes. You only need them
for weekends." There was a moment where Harry looked ready to argue before he smiled.

"Right- Right. Because it'll still be here when I come back." Draco smiled and cupped his cheek.

"You can leave them here. At home." It was nice to see the words finally, finally sink in, Harry's
eyes wide for a moment before he grinned and pressed into the hand against his cheek.

"Yeah, I can. That still doesn't help when it comes to fitting in my sketchbooks, though."

"I can help well enough with that." Draco hummed as he folded Harry's clothes neatly. "You can't
just throw everything in, you know. There needs to be order."

"I mean, there's a little bit of order," Harry huffed, moving off the trunk and opening it to show a
mess of books and school supplies. "Sort of, at least." Draco sighed.

"I'll take care of it." A pouting look was shot at him before Harry gathered a few pencils and a
sketchbook and relocated to his bed. Draco didn't pay it much mind and instead heaved a sigh at
the mess he was left with. Really, it was a little ridiculous the lengths he would go to for the Boy
Who Lived to Make His Life Harder.

Getting to work, he made sure to not let himself get distracted until he at least had all the clothes
folded and the books stacked neatly within the confines of the trunk. When he did get distracted, he
took solace in the fact that it was at least by Harry's stubborn and determined look aimed solely at
the sketch he was working on. Draco couldn't help the amused and fond smile that remained, even
when Harry looked up at him. "Thought you were 'taking care of it'?"

"Hm? Mhm. Right." Giving a quiet laugh, Harry shifted over on the bed and patted the space next
to him, smile growing a little bit wider.

"You can come see what I've been working on if you want." Draco beamed at this, immediately
dropping whatever it was he'd been holding and sitting beside Harry. The younger laughed and
leaned up against him, tilting his sketchbook so Draco could see that he had been drawing… Him.
There were dozens of sketches across the page of Draco in the middle of just cleaning the room, but
the care put into them was breathtaking.

"Harry..." Draco didn't even know what he could say, what he should say. "I..." Oh.

"You've been doing that trailing off thing a lot." Harry shifted so he was better facing Draco,
flipping to a new page and poking his tongue out as he very quickly sketched over the page. "Is this
the part where you say 'it's nothing' or 'nevermind' again?"

Draco watched him for a moment before shifting to lean against his shoulder, a bit of a silly grin on
his face. "It can wait."

"Yeah- Yeah, I think it can." Harry ruffled his hair, shifting so Draco could watch as Harry
continued his sketch. Cautiously, Draco reached over and wrapped his hand around Harry's free
hand. Shifting so his sketchbook was braced against his knees, Harry twined their fingers together
as he kept drawing. And they were perfect, just as they were.

::

"Okay, so Dobby is going to keep feeding you while we're gone and we'll be back for the
Christmas Hols, okay?" Harry was kneeling down in front of the mutt he was so fond of and
holding the beast's cheeks like he wouldn't bite both hands off in a snap. "You're going to be fine."
The thing whined, high and soft as his head seemed to droop in Harry's hold. Draco sighed, rolling
his eyes.

"Harry, you really mustn't worry over it so much. It'll be fine."

"He." Harry gave him a hard stare, huffing. "And yes, he probably will be fine, but I can still
worry."

Draco nudged Harry with his foot. "Come on. Let's get going."

"Alright, alright." Standing up, Harry gave a last pat to the beast's head. "Be good, okay, Snuffles?"

"Harry, he'll be fine. We have a train to catch, if you'll recall."

"That's what magic is for," Harry winked. "Okay, okay, let's go before we're late, I guess. Although
knowing you lot we'll probably be there half an hour early no matter what." Draco watched Harry
walk away a few feet before he leaned down and gave the mutt's head a single pat.

"Behave." Hyperion gave a very serious looking nod, tail giving a single wag before the dog was
standing up and walking back towards the forest of trees that bordered the Manor. What a strange
dog. Draco turned to follow after Harry, acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

They near got all the way to the front gates before Harry smirked, "I saw that."
"What? Saw what? I don't know what you mean," Draco huffed, crossing his arms.

"I'm sure." Harry bumped up against him before leaning into his side and giving a pleased little
hum. "Ready for another hopefully normal year at Hogwarts, then?"

"Definitely more normal than the last two years, that's for sure." Draco tugged on Harry's arm a bit
until the two were arm in arm. Smiling at Harry, he leaned further against him.

"That sounds perfect." Harry gave him a bright smile, completely relaxed against him. "Are we
coming home for Christmas hols, then?" Home. Draco liked that.

"Most likely. Mother would be quite upset if we didn't. She likes to make sure we're still alive, you
know."

"I mean, I can kind of see where she's coming from, all things considered. Besides, spending
Christmas here sounds nice."

"It does, doesn't it? A nice normal Christmas." The two found Narcissa just outside the wards with
their trunks beside her. "Are we side-alonging this time, mother?"

"That seems to be the best way to travel," Narcissa smiled at the two, nudging them towards their
trunks. "Come along, now, we don't want to be late. Grab your trunks- Harry, you have Hedwig,
dear? Good, good, now each of you grab on tight." Draco only smiled, holding his trunk and
holding onto his mother's arm. He did so love apparition. Harry looked a little more wary, holding
onto Narcissa's arm tightly with a reluctant look on his face. Draco couldn't help a laugh as the
familiar pull seemed to tug at him, and a moment later, they were no longer outside of Malfoy
Manor.

The swirl of magic settled down around them and Draco beamed as he saw the familiar scarlet
engine that was waiting to take them to a new year of Hogwarts. Children were laughing and
running around, pets were scattered every which way, adults were worrying or watching with fond
amusement, and- And Harry looked slightly sick. Draco laughed, setting a hand on Harry's back.
"It's alright, you get used to it."

"You've said that before," Harry groaned, getting his wits back before turning to Draco and curling
up against him, the younger's arms thrown over his shoulders. "Make everything stop moving."

"Come on, let's get you sat down on the train." Draco wrapped an arm around Harry's waist tightly,
helping Harry walk towards the train. Narcissa was levitating their trunks after them, mumbling
under her breath and making sure they had everything and even releasing Merlin and Hedwig from
their cages to stretch their wings.

"'M fine, just a bit dizzy." Harry leaned up against Draco anyways, looking a little better the more
they walked.

"Says the one that was just whining," Draco huffed. He led Harry onto the train and back to their
usual car, running a hand through his hair with a smile. Harry had leaned into the touch at once.

"It wasn't whining. I like to think it was more talking in a higher pitched tone." The blond laughed
as they reached their usual car.

"Hello, who is... Oh." There in front of them was Remus Lupin. He- He looked utterly exhausted.
Lupin was slumped against the wall and window and breathing softly and just a touch raggedly,
fingers twitching in his sleep and an occasional expression of pain flitting across his face.
"I didn't know adults rode the train," Harry frowned, slipping over to sit across from the man,
watching him with a frown.

"Sometimes. He's our new Defense teacher." Draco sat beside Harry, leaning against him as his
eyelids started to droop. "We woke up far too early."

"It wasn't that early." Harry shifted against him, sniffing at the air and wrinkling his nose. "I feel
like I've met him before."

"It's possible," Draco answered vaguely. It wasn't like he could just say yes without spending hours
trying to explain everything. Still, it was strange. Harry couldn't possibly remember Lupin… Could
he?

"You know," Harry began with a bit of a smirk. "Your mom told me a few interesting things."

"Did she?" Draco raised an eyebrow, smile twitching at his lips. "What did she tell you, then?"

"She told me about my parents' friends. What was it she called them? The Ma..."

"The Marauders," Draco finished, watching as Lupin twitched in his sleep again. How on- Ah,
right werewolf hearing.

"Right. Them." Harry looked up to Lupin's suitcase- Oh. Well, that took care of that then, didn't it?
"Guess that might be why he seems familiar to me, huh?"

"I suppose so," Draco said with a smile. "It's alright. They're good." Harry nodded, staring at Lupin
and studying him intently. Draco didn't blame him. Lupin would be able to answer all of Harry's
questions about his parents and more. The compartment door opened, and Draco would admit he
was a bit startled when Ron and Hermione came on in.

"Here you two are." The two looked to have already put their trunks with storage, probably not
wanting to carry them. "We've been looking all over for you! Pansy and Blaise were, too, last I
saw."

"Honestly, we just got here mere moments ago. Besides, we always sit back here. You should have
known to look back here." Draco adjusted, holding Harry's hand as he leaned against the younger
further. Harry gave a quiet hum, relaxing against him.

"Oh- Oh, well it's about time." About time for what? "Is this our new professor for Defense, then?
Strange that he's riding on the train." Hermione sat down beside Draco, a bundle of energy and
words as per usual.

"Yes, yes- Oh, are you going to come to the Manor for Christmas, then?"

"I might just for the ball. I still want to spend most of my time home with my parents." Across from
them, Ron was shaking his head and finally taking a cautious seat next to Lupin.

Draco rose an eyebrow before shrugging. "Alright. That's your choice, then."

"Don't worry, I'll be making very effective use of your library."

"Hmph. You still cheated, you harpy."

"Excuse you, I did not cheat. I'm simply better than you, is all." Draco scoffed.

"Please! There is no possible way you could have beaten me, let alone by one point!"
Harry snickered beside him, "I still can't believe she beat you by a single point."

"Nor can I! Hence the cheating. And don't you laugh about this, you barely scraped by with an E, I
know for a fact, in a few classes."

"Hey, I'm not the one who's crazy about passing all my classes. Honestly, I'm fine as long as I get
an A in everything."

"Honestly, Harry," Hermione sighed. "You won't get anywhere with that sort of mentality." In
response, Harry merely gave a shrug, looking very uncaring of the subject, which, no. They would
be working on that this year. Draco tightened his hand around Harry's for a moment.

"Do you wanna get a sketchbook out?" Thinking about it, Harry gave a slow nod.

"Do we have time to get one out before the train leaves?"

"We can do it even after the train pulls out," Draco said with a smile. "Come on, storage is the last
car." Helping Harry up, Draco looked to the other two. "We'll be right back."

"Oh, it's better, but it's so much worse," Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "Yes, yes, we'll be
waiting."

Draco held Harry's hand as he led him to the storage car. "We just need to find your trunk."

"Okay." Harry held his hand tightly, walking as close to him as possible considering the cramped
space. "Hey, Dray?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I…" Harry trailed off, finally giving a laugh and shaking his head. "It's nothing right now. I'll tell
you later."

"And you tease me about trailing off," Draco chuckled, tightening his hold on Harry's hand and
pulling him into the car. "Alright, let's find your trunk." Since it was still in the middle of being
packed, it didn't take too long to dig out his sketchbook and a few pencils and erasers, struggling to
not drop anything. "Here, here-" Draco took a few things from him, helping him open the door as
well.

Harry beamed, /kissing his cheek/ before heading back to their car with a happy little smile. Draco
felt his face warm up before he smiled as well, entering the car after him. Not even Hermione and
Ron's expressions of distaste could get him down, Draco only curling up to Harry as they sat down
and making sure to leave him enough room to move and draw. Draco hummed softly, giving a
quiet giggle. "Am I allowed to watch?"

"It's so much worse." Ignoring Hermione, Draco instead focused on Harry as the teen flipped to a
blank page, humming in 'serious' thought.

"I don't know... That seems pretty personal, watching someone while they're drawing. It might
require compensation."

Now, Draco knew his face was red. "What do you suggest?"

"Midnight Seeker's games," Harry grinned, smile wide and bright.

"I think I'll be able to manage that."

Draco watched Harry draw for what must have been hours, finally entering a light doze as his head
rested on Harry's shoulder. It was peaceful and utterly wonderful. Then the train stopped. Draco
jerked forward, frowning. "That's strange. We're not there yet, are we?" As he asked, the lights
flickered before turning off altogether.

"We can't be." Hermione was standing up and looking out the window, Harry yelping. "Oh, sorry,
Harry- Oh, dear, I can't see anything out there. Why on earth would they turn the lights off!"

"Is it just me, or is it… Getting colder," Draco whispered, holding Harry's hand tightly.

"I don't think it's just you," Harry said quietly, all of them making some kind of noise as the door
opened and two bodies suddenly fell in. Draco near had a heart attack before he heard the voices of
Ginny and Longbottom.

"What on earth are you two doing in here," Draco hissed, curling closer to Harry. Just to make
room.

"Well, I was looking for Fred and George and found you lot, didn't I- Ow! Hermione, that was my
foot!"

"Sorry, sorry! It's hard to see in here! Do either of you know why we're stopped?"

"No idea, was hoping you or someone else would know-"

"Ginny! Don't sit on me!" Oh, it was far too dark and crowded in here to-

"Quiet." Ah, Lupin was awake, his wand lit and pointed at the door.

Draco held Harry's hand tighter, giving him a worried glance. "Sir?" Lupin didn't respond, merely
watching the door as Ginny and Neville nervously took a seat and squeezed in near them and it…
It felt like it was getting colder. Why did he know this feeling? It was so dark, and lonely, and it
felt like he would never be happy again- Oh.

Just as he saw the shadow outside the car, he could hear that cold, high laughter, he could hear all
the screams echoing out of the manor, he heard the chaos of the battlefield, the flames
roaring, Severus, please-

"-co." It was so dark. All of it was so, so, so dark. "-raco!" He just wanted it to stop... "Draco!"
Draco startled, looking around at all the worried faces.

"...I'm fine." He wondered if that lie sounded as weak to them as it did to him. He in no way felt
fine...

"At least you're responding." Hermione had moved to study Harry who wasn't... He wasn't even
looking at them. He was just staring at nothing, eyes wide and nothing but fear in his gaze.

"...Harry," Draco said with concern, cupping his cheek. "Harry." It took a moment - far too long a
moment - before Harry's gaze skittered over to him, breath uneven as well. Draco rubbed his thumb
under Harry's eye gently. "You're okay." This time it seemed he finally got through, Harry
shuddering before he was burrowing as close to Draco as he could get, arms wrapped tight around
him. Draco hugged him just as close, still shaking though the car was warm, now.

"They-" Hermione swallowed, sitting down across from them. "Professor Lupin- He called them
dementors. He chased them off with some kind of spell."
"The patronus charm. Dementors… Are not friendly creatures." Merlin, how had he forgotten?
Third year meant dementors. After what he had been through in the last year of the war no wonder
they affected him so greatly. "Harry? Are you alright?"

"Of course." Harry's throat worked as if he was trying to swallow. "Yeah. 'M fine. Just a little
shaken." That bad, then.

Draco began to bundle Harry up, tucking him under his chin. "C'mere," he mumbled. Harry shifted
closer at once, relaxing into Draco's touch and burying his hands against his robes. It look like
Hermione was about to say something before the door opened.

"Are they any better?" Ah, Lupin was back. It was nice that he asked about them, Draco supposed.

"We're fine," Draco told him quietly, running a hand through Harry's hair.

"I'm glad to hear you're doing better." Better, not fine. Hm. A sharp snap had Draco looking over,
Lupin breaking up a chocolate bar before handing pieces out to everyone. "Here, this should help
with the worst of it. Eat that and I'll be back soon, I need to check with the conductor and make
sure they're all gone."

Draco sighted softly, taking a bite. "Man knows his stuff." Chocolate always did help with the
worst of it. Nudging at Harry, Draco made sure he was taking bites of the chocolate before he was
satisfied. "That… Was hell," Draco finally admitted.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered. "I never thought meeting one would actually be that bad. I mean, I
knew they were bad, but that was..."

"Who screamed," Harry asked quietly from where he was still tucked against Draco.

"Harry," Hermione bit her lip, shaking her head. "No one screamed."

"That's what they do. They bring up all your worst memories for you to relive." What had Harry
remembered that involved screaming? Or, maybe more accurately, what hadn't he remembered.
There were a lot of memories already that had screaming in them.

"No, it wasn't-" Harry shook his head, sighing. "Yeah. Guess so."

"Harry," Draco frowned, drawing away from him to tilt his chin up. "What is it?"

"I-" Harry bit his cheek, looking away before looking back to Draco and speaking quietly as he
could, "It wasn't a memory."

"What was it?" Instead of answering, Harry only tugged his chin out of Draco's grip and looked out
the window, stubbornly avoiding all of their worried looks. Draco sighed, but for now he didn't
push. He only hesitantly took Harry's hand into his, looking down at his lap. At least Harry didn't
push him off, only returning the grip and quietly eating his chocolate.

"It was bad," Ginny said, eating her own chocolate square. "It… It was really bad."

Draco looked to the other four. "How long were we…"

"No more than a few minutes. You came to just as the train started moving again, really."

He nodded, looking to Harry, again. "Right, right... Sorry about all that. Wasn't really expecting it."

"I don't think any of us were," Longbottom said quietly, offering a weak smile. "We all saw the
worst of it." Hm. How had he ever seen Neville Longbottom as a Hufflepuff when he was such
a Gryffindor. "We'll be okay though, I think."

"Eventually," Draco said softly. Even if it hurt that Harry wouldn't tell him anything, he knew that
it was better now for the two of them to be together. Harry at least wasn't pulling away from him.
That was enough for right now.

When the train stopped again, everyone began to stand and leave. Draco looked to them and shook
his head. "Go on, we'll catch up." It took a few moments for them all to finally leave, the door
closing softly and Draco taking a breath and-

"It wasn't a memory. There was a woman I didn't know screaming and saying 'not him.'"

Draco paused, sighing. "I… Harry, I think it's possible that was a memory."

"Can we pretend it wasn't?" Harry smiled weakly, rubbing at his arm as he stood up. "There was…
There was green light, too. I think it might have been a memory of my nightmares. I used to dream
about that. Screaming and green light."

"The killing curse," Draco whispered. He could see it so clearly in his mind's eye- Harry
remembered that? He… He remembered the death of his parents…

"The- The what?"

"The killing curse," Draco repeated. "It's one of three curses that is labelled Unforgivable, in our
world. I've seen that light often enough to know what it means." Draco raised his wand, giving it a
small flick. "You… Raise your wand, say the words, and that's that."

"That's all it takes to kill someone, huh?" Harry sighed, wrapping his arms around Draco's neck and
gently kissing his cheek. "Sorry. I didn't want to say it around everyone else. It sounded a bit mad.
Hearing voices in my head again."

"It wasn't just you," Draco sighed. "I heard… A lot more voices, I think." Harry tightened the hug,
pulling Draco closer to him.

"How about we go to the feast and pretend this didn't happen and eat too much sugar?" Draco
opened his mouth before closing it and leaning his forehead against Harry's.

"Alright. Let's go to the feast." Smiling, Harry twined his fingers with Draco's, leaning forward to
brush their noses together.

"First sensible thing you've said all day." Draco rose, helping Harry to his feet and collecting all
his supplies together. Ladened down with sketchbooks, pencils, and a few other assorted candies
and objects, the two caught up to the others where a carriage was waiting for them.

Draco was actually starting to look forward to the feast when they arrived. Then McGonagall was
calling their names, "Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Potter. With me, please." Draco frowned.
Hermione? Why her, too? He gave the two a glance before following after McGonagall. "Stop
looking so worried, Mr. Malfoy, none of you are in trouble."

"Forgive my concerns, Professor, but can you blame me?" Draco wasn't sure if she was glaring or
smiling, which, yes, that rather summed up McGonagall, didn't it?

"First things first." They arrived at the woman's office - which was very close by - and had Madam
Pomfrey waiting in it. "Professor Lupin owled ahead."
"Ah, right," Draco said softly. "That."

"What have you two done now?" Pomfrey had her arms crossed and was looking quite stern before
bustling over to check them, eyeing Harry first. "I shouldn't even be surprised anymore."

"We're fine, Madam Pomfrey," Draco reassured her, gently waving her off.

"There were dementors, Poppy," McGonagall said, completely destroying Draco's attempts to
reassure her.

"We're fine, though," Harry said quickly, backing away from Pomfrey. "Promise. We're completely
fine - I mean, Professor Lupin gave us chocolate, so, uh, that helps?"

"Did he? Well, then at least he knows more than the last professor," she huffed, checking them
once more before finally leaving them alone. "Make sure to eat a bit more chocolate tonight before
you go to bed, otherwise I'll feel no shame in locking you in the ward for a night." With that and a
stern look, Pomfrey was leaving.

"Right. Mr. Potter, if you could wait out in the hall, please, I need to discuss with these two the
classes they'll be taking this year." Though Harry and Draco shared confused looks, Harry gave her
a nod. Giving Draco's hand a gentle squeeze, Harry left the room, shutting the door behind him.
"This might surprise you both seeing as I was unable to put it in your letters, but myself, the
Headmaster, and the Ministry have approved your course load and allowed you to take the extra
classes you wished for." That… That seemed like a lot of people to ask to agree to this.

"Professor," Hermione began slowly. "Not that I'm ungrateful, but how are we to attend all of the
classes we asked for? Some of them are in the same hour." Oh, that was definitely a smile on
McGonagall's face this time.

"That is why we needed Ministry approval." McGonagall walked to her desk and opened one of the
drawers, pulling out two... Oh. Oh. "These are called time turners and they'll be the tools that will
help you get to your classes." Draco's breath was stolen as he stared at the two necklaces, and
suddenly he was back in that room with the man who was eerily similar to Slughorn, he played the
part so well, and the glowing box with an hourglass of sand-

"-travel through time! The Ministry is really trusting us with such a thing?" Hermione was eager
and near bouncing beside him with glee, Draco trying to focus on what they were saying and shove
the memories away as far as they could go.

"Yes, after I wrote them a glowing letter of the type of work the two of you do, they were more
than willing to accept. And I do hope that you two understand the sort of responsibility that caring
these requires."

"Of course! They're some of the rarest magical artifacts in the world!" Hermione gently took the
one that was held out towards her, biting her lip and looking at Draco and then McGonagall. "We
can't tell anyone about this, can we?"

McGonagall's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "I would certainly hope you two understood the
discretion that must be held with something like this! No, I expect neither of you to say a word of
this to anyone. Am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." Draco took his own, half braced for something horrible to happen and for some
magic backlash to hit him. A few moments of staring at the lightly swinging time turner and Draco
finally carefully and hesitantly put it on and tucked it under his robes. "One turn, one hour, right?"
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, that is correct."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said beside him gleefully. "We won't prove you wrong."

"We'll be very careful with them - and quiet." Mostly.

"Alright, then. Go on, you two. Don't miss the feast." McGonagall followed after them into the
hall, raising an eyebrow at a very bored looking Harry who was crouched down and drawing
something in his sketchbook that he still was clutching onto.

Draco smiled and nudged Harry with his foot before holding his hands out to the boy. Blinking up
at them, Harry flushed slightly before tucking the book away and accepting Draco's help and
holding his hand as they headed towards the Great Hall. Draco didn't say anything to Harry, only
walking with him to the Great Hall as the two smiled, hand-in-hand.
 A Grim Tale

Draco had to admit he was ridiculously pleased at waking up with Harry curled up on top of him,
hair a mess, pillow lines pressed into his face, and a bit of drool leaking out of the younger's mouth
as he clung to Draco tightly and fiercely. Draco nudged Harry gently, running a hand through his
hair. "Harry, love. Time to wake up."

Groaning, Harry twitched at the hand in his hair before somehow relaxing even more, pleased and
content smile on his face. Chuckling softly, the blond continued to nudge him. "Come on. Get up."
There was a soft whine, the sound rumbling in the back of Harry's throat as he slid off of Draco just
enough to cuddle into his side.

"What if I say I'm not awake?"

"Then I'm afraid I'd have to call you a liar."

"That'd be rude of you." Harry groaned, shifting and moving to where he was near nuzzling right
under Draco's jaw, which, hm, not a bad feeling, really. "I don't wanna wake up."

"You have to, Harry. It's time for school." Draco hummed softly, tilting his head up. That was
actually nice. Dozing off maybe just a little bit, Draco blinked when Harry sat up and gave a wide
yawn. Looking closer, his hair was a fluffed up curly mess, his eyes were still a little glazed, and
the smile he had on was utterly perfect. "Morning," Draco hummed.

"Morning," Harry grinned back, rubbing at his eyes before shoving at Draco. "C'mon, food."

"Harry, do you really expect me to go out there looking like this?" Draco sat up, rubbing at his
own eyes.

"You know, one day the others will see what you truly look like and I can promise they won't run
away screaming in fear." Harry laughed, stretching out and face scrunched up in a happy grin. "I
mean, have you seen Ron?"

Draco scoffed, swatting at Harry's arm. "Don't you compare me to him! Have you seen what he
looks like in the mornings?!"

"See, that's my point! You look better than all of us without even trying." Harry was still laughing
as he caught Draco's hand, looking beyond happy to finally be home again.

Draco finally laughed, tugging Harry up and out of bed. "Well, the fact remains, I need to attend to
myself before I reveal myself to the public. Unless... You want me to help you, too?"

"You know, I could be wrong- I'm good at being wrong, after all, but I think I remember telling
you that I never in my life wearing makeup everyday like you do."

"No, no, not like me. And I was thinking, just for today..." Draco gave Harry a smile. "You'll let
me comb your hair?" That had Harry blinking, hand raising absently to brush through his hair with
a frown.

"I mean- I guess? I don't really mind when you brush it, but why?"

"Well, I know you don't really like them, but I rather like your curls."
"I don't- It's not that I don't like them, I guess, I just-" Harry finally gave a shrug. "Like I told you
at the ball, I thought they looked stupid so I either kept them tangled or kept them straight."

"Well then, come on," Draco laughed, pulling Harry towards the bathroom. "I plan on changing
that." Somehow, even with summer having ended, it still felt like summer. Maybe it was just that
sense that here, tucked away in the dorm room with their friends sleeping around them, nothing
really bad could happen.

"Okay, okay, but no makeup!" Harry smiled, the look growing soft as he moved to wrap Draco in a
hug. "You're probably the best thing to happen to me, you know."

"Of course I know," Draco said with a smirk. "I'm amazing. Now come on, let's get going. We don't
want to run late."

Surprisingly, it didn't take all that long to get Harry's hair in order - it was probably because Harry
wasn't fighting against him and instead rambling on and on about what they needed to do, the
classes they needed to start studying for right away, the things they needed to do before they
started studying. Really, it was a never ending ramble of words and jokes and laughter and a
bubbly, giggly attitude that was better than anything else. Draco beamed before bending down and
kissing at Harry's cheek before he started on his own makeup. "Go ahead and get dressed. I'll be
out in just a few moments."

"Mm- Yes- Ah- Yes! Yes, I'll go do that." Harry at least waited until Draco didn't have anything
near his face before he was hugging him tightly and then running off and honestly. Draco only
took a couple minutes to get himself together, very well settled into his morning routine, by now.
When he left the bathroom, he made for his trunk to get himself together for the day.

"This is going to be an amazing year." It seemed the other boys were still asleep, though. Well,
Draco supposed he and Harry would be getting the best breakfast-

"Certainly going to be interesting." Harry was sitting on the end of the bed, fingertips around the
time turner that had slipped out from under his shirt when he had bent down. "What's this?"

"Oh." Draco took back the time turner gently. "I swore to McGonagall that I wouldn't talk about it."
Draco turned away from Harry as he got himself together. "Did you know that Hermione and I got
our schedules approved, this year?"

"Your schedules?" Harry frowned, watching Draco before he saw the spot of realization. "Time
turners." Wait- Wait, he had told Harry about that? He didn't remember telling Harry about time
turners.

"Hang on- How do you know about that?" Draco frowned, his head tilting at Harry.

"Back in first year." Harry studied the time turner before standing up and tucking it back under
Draco's shirt. "You told me about the time twister, yeah, but you also told me about time turners."

"Oh." Draco hummed softly. "I don't remember." He took the time turner back out, letting it hang
before smiling. "Mind if I rope you into a lie, in case anyone asks?"

"Depends on the lie. Do I look good or bad in it?"

"Oh, good. Extremely good."

"Lie to your heart's content," Harry laughed, smile falling into something nervous and cheeks
starting to get a bit red. "Hey, Dray…"
"Yes, Harry?" Draco held his hand out to Harry so they could go down to breakfast together. Harry
stared at him for a moment before grinning and taking his hand, leaning against him and- Oh.
Kissing his cheek.

"Nothing important really- At least, nothing you don't already know, I guess." Draco felt his face
warm before his hand tightened around Harry's.

"Harry… We should probably-"

"Oh my god, shut up already," Finnigan groaned from his own bed. "We get it, you're dating, stop
flaunting it."

"We- How dare- We are not-" At least, not officially? Which was what Draco wanted to talk to
Harry about.

"You alright, Seamus?" Harry frowned, looking far too worried over no real reason. "Hey, I'm sure
he'll stop being an idiot, okay? I mean, maybe you might have to be a bit more obvious, but it's
probably going to work out."

"Harry," Draco said softly, tugging him along. "We should talk-"

"'Bout what?" Harry followed after him, swinging their hands back and forth.

Draco felt himself flush, again. "Well- Well, about-"

"Oi, wait up, you two!" A sudden shove at their backs and Ron had an arm around both their
shoulders, grinning widely. "Going down to breakfast? Because that's something we should do.
Now."

"Ah- Yes. Yes, we were. Actually-"

"I know, mate, this year's going to be great. No more giant snakes, no spiders all over the castle,
classes we actually got to pick. Hey, what do you think Divination is gonna be like?"

"Dray says it's a wooly discipline," Harry recited, trying not to laugh. "I think it's gonna be pretty
okay."

"It's very imprecise. You either understand it, or you don't, so taking the class in general is a bit of a
gamble."

"I'm basically hearing we get to sleep through it. Hope History of Magic comes right after it. That's
a few extra hours sleep right there." Merlin, these two were incorrigible when they were together.

"Alright, fine! I'm going down to breakfast by myself and I'm going to start on my studying!"

"Alright, 'Mione." Draco scoffed, walking faster to keep walking ahead of them. Honestly.

"Hey, Dray!" Harry's raised voice had him at least glancing back, the teen smiling at him. "We'll
talk after classes, okay?"

"...Alright," Draco sighed, giving him a smile. He had waited this long, so he supposed he could
wait a bit longer.

::

"How the bloody hell are you two managing to take all these classes?" Ron was looking at Draco
and Hermione's schedules, shaking his head. "You've got classes in the same block!"

"Do we? That's strange." Draco looked over to Hermione. "I think it best that we stay together, so
which class did you want to go to, first?"

"Oh, I suppose it doesn't really matter, does it? Maybe Divination, first, though, since... Well."
Hermione looked between Ron and Harry before putting on 'boys are so stupid' expression.

"Alright. Though, you should know..." Draco gave a sheepish expression. "He found out on his
own."

"He- It hasn't even been a day!" Hermione looked to Harry with an absolutely exhausted
expression. Harry raised an eyebrow and looked so much like a Slytherin that Draco was a little bit
smitten.

"Maybe one day you'll learn that a lack of book knowledge does not mean a lack
of practical knowledge."

Draco watched him and smiled, a hand to his chest. "I'm in love."

"I know." Wait- Wait, what? Harry only smirked, sipping at his tea. "So, Divination first, then.
Seems like it's gonna be interesting."

"Ex- Excuse me?"

"Well, you're my friend, aren't you?" Harry was screwing with them. He was screwing with all of
them, he had to be.

"...I'm leaving you." Not that they were... Together? Oh, this was so confusing.

"So, wait, are- Are they together or?" It was the boys from their dorm that were looking the most
confused, Finnigan looking at them with wide eyes.

Draco looked to Harry with a similar sort of glance. "Ah..."

"We should probably go if we don't want to be late. Divination is all the way up in the North
tower," Harry said simply, dragging Draco's schedule over and starting to draw on it. Draco stared,
because, okay, Harry usually gave it up by now so was it just- Did Harry not even know what they
were? Draco absolutely didn't know what they were, but since Harry had been initiating
everything, he had hoped that Harry had some sort of idea as to what they were. It was a bit
comforting that they were both so inexperienced and confused in this, however.

Under the table, Harry carefully wrapped his fingers around Draco's, Draco looking down to see
that Harry had doodled hourglasses next to all the classes he would need to use the time turner on.
Draco smiled, simply looking down at the schedule as he leaned into Harry's side. "You're right.
We should get going. It'll take us a bit to get there, I think."

"Definitely dating," Thomas sighed, shaking his head. "You lot can go on ahead, but I'm going to
finish my breakfast, thanks." He immediately slapped Finnigan's hand away from where he was
trying to sneak the bacon away. "Don't even think it." Draco and Harry watched Thomas and
Finnigan before sharing looks with each other and bursting into laughter.

"Oi, what's so funny!" Just- It all made no damn sense, Draco didn't know what was going to be
happening this year, the Dementors were still lingering at the corners of his mind, but oh- Oh, this
was just- He was home. Everything would be okay.
::

"At last… The mists have parted at last." ...Pardon. What the hell was this? Draco had been
listening to Harry complain about the long trip and get his breath back, but this... This whatever -
because she could certainly not be a teacher - was staring at them all with wide eyes that were
further magnified by the thickest glasses Draco had ever seen. "I see you all at last." With those
glasses, how could she? Draco rose an eyebrow to his friends, leaning against Harry and
whispering softly.

"This must be a joke." Instead of reprimanding him, Harry was only looking at this new professor
with wide eyes and looking to be shaking from trying not to laugh.

"Hush," Hermione snapped at him with narrowed eyes. Oh, please.

"I must admit, my students, I have not seen you beyond my crystal gazing, but I feel as if I already
know you so well… Yes. The Scholar, the King, the Seer, and the Survivor." The... The what? The
scholar, the king, the... Oh. Oh, all of a sudden this was a lot less funny. "Such a gift time has given
us all."

"Alright, maybe a bit of a joke," Hermione muttered, shaking her head. "She's not even making
sense-"

"Hermione, hush," Draco shushed her, shooting her a glare. Hermione looked startled and Harry sat
up, looking between Draco and this- This Seer.

"I'm afraid I should best tell you now that this is not a class where books will guide your way. If
this bothers you, well, then, perhaps you had best speak to your Head of House soon, my dears. For
those of you wishing to stay… Yes." The woman looked around the room, eyes landing on Draco.
"Yes, this class will help you well." Draco could only stare up at her with wide eyes, breath caught
in his chest. What… Just what all had this woman Seen?

"For those of who you are not aware, my name is Sybill Trelawney and I will be guiding you
through the paths of the future as you discover your way." It- Draco could see why the students
were trying not to laugh, but they didn't know- How could they not realize just how powerful this
witch was? "We will be starting with naught but the basics, today." Draco was immediately getting
his book out and turning the pages into the first chapter- Ah. Tea leaves, of course. That made
sense.

"If you all will gather your cups from up here, please." A wave of her hand and teacups were lining
up on a table pressed against the back. Pausing by Neville, Trelawney patted his hand. "Gather a
blue after you break the first one, dear. I'm rather fond of the floral ones."

Draco gasped softly. "She's bloody brilliant."

"What'd she say?" Harry nudged at his side, Draco only slightly distracted by the bouncing curls-
They were just so good on him! "About it all, what'd she say that's got you convinced?"

"I'll tell you later," Draco promised, holding his hand tightly and beaming. "This is going to be a
great class."

"I remain unconvinced," Hermione sniffed, standing up and heading towards the table. "Come on,
then. I guess we need cups - although it'd probably help if she told us why."

"You can't already tell," Draco asked with a frown. "We're going to read tea leaves. It's one of the
most basic forms of Divination-"
"Well said, young Malfoy." Trelawney stared at him, Draco feeling slightly uncomfortable before
she smiled. "No, I suppose it'd be young Black, wouldn't it? Yes, reading tea leaves is the basics of
personal, broad Divination."

"M- Ma'am?" Young Black? Hardly anyone even knew that he was a Black.

"Nothing, dear, nothing. Go on and collect your cups." A sound of shattering glass had half the
class jumping, Trelawney only smiling. "The blue one now, dear, thank you."

The moment Trelawney stepped away, Hermione scoffed. "That proves nothing. Every teacher in
Hogwarts knows that Neville has always been clumsy."

"Hey." Longbottom frowned from where he was passing by, Harry stifling a laugh against Draco's
shoulder. "I dunno, Hermione, I think she might be real here."

"She absolutely is," Draco confirmed. "You'll see soon enough, Hermione, Trelawney is no one to
make a fool of."

"Hmph. We'll see." Hermione went to the table, Harry getting him and Draco a cup each as well.
Harry's was half drained when he sat back down.

"Harry," Draco laughed quietly. "Don't drink all of it." He would always find Harry's addiction to
tea amusing.

"I'm thirsty," Harry huffed, leaning against Draco's side. "Seeing the future, huh?"

"That's what the whole class is about. Leave just a little tea at the bottom, then you can read the tea
leaves." The classroom was mostly silent as they drank, Draco turning it all over in his mind.
Scholar and Survivor was easy enough, but Seer and King? That was just… He had been a Prince
of Slytherin. Perhaps she referred to that? But then, no… That didn't seem quite right, either. Just
what could it be?

"Tell you what, mate, this all seems a bit barmy to me." Ron was squinting into his cup, tilting it
and sloshing it around. "It supposed to be a certain amount of empty?"

"Just enough for the tea leaves to make a shape at the bottom," Draco sighed. He sipped at his own
tea cup before setting it down. "Now, let's see…"

It definitely looked like something. A circle at this angle, but when he tilted it he was reminded of
the moon. Another tilt and he thought he saw something like the time turners. "None of this makes
sense," Hermione huffed. "It doesn't look like anything."

"I think I see a crown," Ron yawned, looking bored and tired. "Maybe it means I'm the
reincarnation of King Arthur."

"I think that's a thing," Harry muttered, flipping through the pages.

"Bloody hell," Draco said softly. Ron. Ron Weasley- Weasley is our king. "Bloody hell!"

"What? What's wrong? What's horrible thing just happened?" Ron awas looking ready to run,
Harry giving Draco an odd look.

Draco was already rising out of his seat. "Harry? Bathroom?"

"Wha- Oh, yeah. Yeah, okay." Harry stood up and followed after him, Draco quickly dropping
down through the trapdoor and oh. This was- This was just- "Dray- Dray, little help."

"Wha- Harry-" Draco looked over to see Harry... stuck. On the ladder. Draco sighed and helped
him down, shaking his head. "Bloody hell. I wasn't- She- I didn't think-"

"Words, Dray, use all your words." Harry waited until he was off the ladder to hug Draco tight.
"Thanks."

"She's a real Seer, Harry," Draco told him. "She- I don't know if she's seen this future, or my time,
but she has seen the future."

"Seriously? How could you tell?" Harry looked back up to the trapdoor, shaking his head. "Does
she know you're from the future?"

"I don't know. What she said earlier. The scholar, the king, the Seer, and the Survivor. Think about
it, Harry. Really think. Hermione's always the scholar, you're the Survivor..."

"You think you're the Seer and- And Ron got that crown in his cup just now. Wait- Wait, does Ron
become king of something?"

Draco snorted, crossing his arms. "King of Gryffindor, maybe. When I was in sixth year, I made up
this song about how Weasley was our King because he kept scoring Slytherin points in Quidditch.
Then... It went from there."

"Oh." Harry frowned, crossing her arms. "So- So was she seeing your time or are you gonna do that
again or- I mean, this is- Dray."

"I know. That's the same conflict I'm facing, now. And if I do it in this time, does it become a self-
fulfilling prophecy? But then I still don't understand 'the Seer.' Maybe that's as close as she could
find to time travel? I'm not a real Seer."

"I- What if traveling through time made you one, though?" Harry frowned, lacing his fingers with
Draco's and rocking on his heels. "It's not making sense. We're missing something here. It
definitely feels like we're missing something."

"I know, but I can't tell what." Draco huffed, shaking his head. "I don't understand it, Harry."

"We'll figure it out." Harry leaned forward and kissed at his cheek, the touch fluttering and light.
"We should probably get back to class for now, though."

Draco smiled at Harry, holding his hand tightly. "Alright. We'll go back." Harry gave him a grin
before letting go and climbing up the ladder again, Draco watching as the teen almost fell before
he was scrambling the rest of the way up. Oh, Harry Potter. So graceful in the air and so
uncoordinated on the ground. Draco couldn't help a quiet laugh as he followed Harry up.

"Shut up," Harry grumbled, taking his seat back by Ron and looking into his cup. "Really is a
crown. She's good."

"You see what I mean?"

"What- What are you two talking about," Ron asked with a frown.

"Don't worry about it, mate. Hey, lemme see your cup, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Ron huffed. "Lemme look at yours then, and see what your future is."
Draco glanced over to Hermione, giving her a smile. "I'll look over yours, if you like."

"I-" Hermione puffed herself up before deflating just as quick, pushing her cup over. "Yes, alright.
I suppose I should keep an open mind about all of this, but honestly. Seeing the future?" In
response, Draco only looked down at his time turner, raising an an eyebrow at her. "But that just
proves my point! No, look, listen, if people like us are about constantly changing time, then how
could a Seer ever really see it? Would they be seeing what's going to happen or what
was supposed to happen? Perhaps there merely see the most likely outcome. Yes, I suppose that at
least would make a bit of sense- Oh, this is all so woolly!"

"I… I think it's a discipline that you just need to put a bit of faith in," Draco finally said. "You don't
see how it all comes together until the end… Oh."

"Oh? Oh what? Draco, what are you 'oh'ing about?"

"Oh. Um. It's nothing, Hermione." Although Hermione gave him a studying look, she didn't press
the matter and instead took his own teacup with a huff.

"It looks like a bunch of tea leaves." Oh, Hermione was going to do very poorly in this class.

"-bowler hat. Maybe you'll be Minister of Magic?" Ron might do worse, it seemed.

Draco sighed, shaking his head and looking down at Hermione's cup. "Huh." He tilted it, and tilted
his head the other way. "Huh."

"What." Hermione snapped, looking annoyed and honestly, this girl needed to learn some patience.
"Well? Am I going to die or not?"

"Oh. No, no, nothing like that. You see," he showed her. "When you look at it this way, it looks
like a dog, like... Like a greyhound. But when you look at it this way, it looks like a dragon."

"I take it that's supposed to mean something," Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "This is
ridiculous. Human minds are designed to find shapes and patterns in objects. It's one of our
evolutionary quirks-"

"Wizarding World, 'Mione," Harry snorted. "I don't think they have science classes like we did."

"Evo… lution. I think my governess mentioned that once or twice." Hm, maybe it was in that
Chemistry book Harry got him for his birthday last year. Looking back to them, Draco saw
Hermione had her face buried in her hands and Harry was trying not to laugh. "What?" Draco
frowned, looking over at Ron. "Do you understand what they're on about?"

"Not a clue, mate." Ron tilted Harry's cup before holding it towards him. "What do you think, a
dog or a cat? Kinda looks like a mix, to be honest."

Harry frowned down at the cup, tilting his head. "...Dog. I think it's a dog." Harry took the cup,
tilting it to the other way. "Dray, what do you think?"

"A dog. In fact, it reminds me a bit of Hyperion." Laughing, Harry gave a nod and set the cup
down.

"It kind of does, huh? What do dogs mean, then? Does it mean we get to keep him?"

"No, it does not mean we're keeping him," Draco huffed, looking through the book. "Strange.
Professor? What does a dog mean when you can't tell the breed?"
"Well, dear, it depends on the cup." Trelawney wandered over to them, gently taking the cup from
Draco's hands. "Oh, dear me, this is not a happy cup. The falcon, an enemy, the club, an attack, the
skull with danger in your path... Dear oh dear."

"I- I didn't see nearly that much," Draco said with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, that's merely me, dear. Some see much happier things at first. I've always rather had the talent
of spotting the trouble first." Trelawney squinted, turning the cup about. "Now what's this..."

"The dog," Draco said. "We can't tell what kind." Turning it one final time, Trelawney's eyes went
wide and scared, the woman shakily setting down the cup as she stumbled back.

"Oh, my- Oh, you poor dear." Trelawney looked as Harry as if someone told her he was going to
die any second. Draco shared a frown with his friends, looking back up at her.

"Ma'am?" The professor shook her head, looking as if she was going to refuse to say anything
before she spoke, voice hushed and ragged.

"Oh, dear boy... You have the Grim."

"The- The Grim?" Draco questioned with wide eyes, looking back into the tea cup. "No, no- It just
looks like the stray we picked up over summer!" That- The stray that was too smart and too quiet
and too knowing.

"What's the Grim mean?" Harry was looking between them, a smirk on his face that did nothing to
hide his worry. "A near death experience at the end of the year?"

"No," Draco said with a shake of his head, flashing back to Potter's body being carried into the
courtyard, limp while he proclaimed victory- "Death." Did- Potter had come back, but Draco was
changing so much and did that mean that Harry-

"Well, Death failed the last two years, so I think I'll be okay this one."

Draco stared at Harry before finally smiling. "Right. You're right. Of course."

"He really had the Grim, though?"

"I don't think a teacher would lie about that."

"The Grim- They can't mean the Grim the grim, can they?"

"But it's Harry Potter..."

"Well? Let's see your cup, Draco dear. Surely a much more happy cup..." Handing it over, Draco
watched Trelawney spin it around, the woman studying it before paling rapidly and setting the cup
down. Staring down at them, Trelawney spoke in a high, shaking voice. "I believe that's enough for
class today, everyone. Please gather your things and remember to read the first ten pages of your
books. Yes… yes, that will be all."

Draco startled, looking back down to his cup. "Ma'am? What- What did you see?" He was given a
pat to his head, Trelawney looking at him so sadly before looking to Harry and letting her eyes
water. She then turned away and flowed towards the back of the room, disappearing through a
door. "What was that about?" Draco stared at the tea leaves. For the life of him, he couldn't see
what had made Trelawney panic so badly.
"I think our new professor just predicted yours and Harry's deaths." Hermione brushed herself off,
straightening everything out. "Now, shall we go on ahead to Care of Magical Creatures?" As she
said it, she looked to Draco and adjusted the collar of her- Ah.

"I think you're right," Draco nodded and looked at Harry. "I need to review the lesson with
Hermione for a moment."

"Why- Oh. Oh! Yeah, right, me and Ron will just go on ahead. We'll catch up to you later. In
time." Harry laughed as he dragged off a protesting and confused Ron. "Bye, Dray!"

"We'll be just a few moments!" Draco smiled at him, turning back to Hermione. "One or two?"

"I would like to do two to be safe, but that would be giving us a lot of extra time," Hermione
frowned, watching the last few students leave the room. "We should find an empty hall, first."

"But it might not be empty when we jump back," Draco pointed out. "Follow me, I know a few
spaces that are hard to find."

"We'd best do two hours in that case, so we're not late. Do you think we'd be able to do one and a
half turns? You think this would be more precise. Honestly, you wizards. Just use a pocket watch
as the model and it would be much less messy."

"It's not us wizards," Draco huffed as he led her down the ladder. "The man that made them is
bloody barmy. An eccentric."

"And just how would you know that? The man who invented these probably lived decades ago!"

"Oh. Er... That's just what I heard," he covered up quickly, turning away and walking swiftly down
the hall. Right, he'd have to be careful around Hermione with all his time turner knowledge.

"Yes, and where did you hear it? You can't just tell me something I don't know and then walk
away."

"Watch me!"

"Draco!"
 Omens, Flights, and Friends
Chapter Notes

Apologies for the tardiness, the two of us have both had a lot on our plate, but we hope
you still enjoy the new chapter. ~Kas

"No, no, it's this way, down past the painting of the old man with the crying child. You're going to
take us right around to the other side of the school at this rate!"

"Hermione, I think I know where I'm going a little better than you do." Honestly, this girl was-

"Here we are, right down this hallway. Come on, then, we're going to be late if you keep holding
us up."

"I told you so," he huffed, crossing his arms before immediately brightening as he entered the
class. "Blaise! Pans!"

"Over here, Dray!" Pansy was waving them over to some saved seats at once, smile wide and
bright. "I knew you two would be taking this class. Theo, Greg, and Vince all signed up for
Divination."

"...Did they?" He didn't remember seeing them in there. That could mean trouble. He would have
to be very careful about that.

"I'm sure they'll have fun," Hermione waved off, sitting by Blaise and giving a small smile. "Have
you started reading the textbook, then? I found that Chapter Five is going to be the most fun for
us."

"Really? I was thinking Chapter Seven, myself." Draco only rolled his eyes at the two, sitting
beside Pansy.

"How are you?"

"Much better now that you're here," Pansy grinned, cuddling up to his side and leaning against him.
"Draaay. I never see you anymore!"

"Pans. You can look over and see me at every meal." The girl whined and near hung off of him,
Draco too busy trying not to laugh to really be upset at the action.

"It's not the same, darling. You and Harry need to spend more of your meals with us. We'll even put
up with Granger and Weasley if you want to bring them over!"

"I'm sure that some sort of an arrangement could be made," he said with a smile. "Maybe lunches
together." Though if they started bringing entire entourages to different tables… Maybe they eat
somewhere else?

"I think lunch together sounds wonderful. It'll give me just enough time to get it out of you on why
you're not telling me that you and Harry are dating." Oh, dear. "Honestly, Dray, of all the people
not to tell."
"Pansy, it… It's not…" This was exactly why Draco and Harry needed to talk. So they at least
knew what they were. It wasn't like much would change if they put a label on it, but... It was for
reasons like this.

"Come on, I saw you two at his birthday ball. You wouldn't leave each other's sides, you only
danced with each other, and then you disappeared at the same time."

"Well yes. Harry got overwhelmed by it all and I went with him to be certain he was alright. And
he asked me beforehand if out would be alright to dance together."

"Mm." Pansy stared at him steadily, finally sighing and crossing her arms. "Fine. I'll believe you.
For now. How did he like all his presents?"

"He adored each and every one. Even the textbook from Uncle Sev." Draco smiled a bit into the
distance. "It is nice to spoil him."

"Something you do remarkably well, darling. I'm surprised he hasn't already changed his last name
to Malfoy. You do know all of the wizarding families are aware of what happened?"

"Oh, yes, I saw that nasty article from Skeeter. And I'm really not surprised. His name is one of the
few things of his parents he has left."

"You are far too kind, darling," Pansy sighed, patting at Draco's arm. "I'm just glad he's settling in
with you all. He was so skittish when we all first met and last year when we left seemed the
worst."

"Can you blame him? Last year was awful for the both of us, Pansy. I'm still getting nightmares
about it." Silent for a moment, Pansy linked their arms and rested her cheek against his shoulder.

"Yes, well, none of that nasty business this year, I'm afraid. It's going to be normal and boring-"

"Yeah, normal and boring as it gets with Sirius Black on the loose and dementors swarming the
castle," Blaise interrupted, grinning at Pansy's nasty look. "We wouldn't know what to do with
normal."

"Yes, well. I have a good feeling all this Sirius Black business is nothing to worry ourselves over
too terribly," Draco proclaimed. He noticed Hermione's eyes narrow as she seemed to examine
him. That probably wouldn't turn out well for him.

"I agree with Draco," Pansy sighed, brushing her skirts out. "We're surrounded by Dementors.
Sirius Black isn't getting in here and he's especially not getting anywhere near our dear Harry."
Draco opened his mouth to argue that Sirius Black wouldn't hurt Harry before realizing that wasn't
common information. With a huff, he simply got his book out and turned to the first chapter.

He would need to be more careful with what he said and what he knew this year. Things were
already getting all twisted with Hermione knowing about time turners. It wouldn't take much for
her to piece together the rest of it all. "So. Ancient Runes," he finally said with a nod.

"I have to admit, I'm looking forward to this class." Oh, well of course Blaise was. "Don't give me
that look. You know I like studying languages."

"Yes, I know," Draco sighed. "Ancient Runes are actually incredibly interesting, from what I
looked over during the summer."

"It's supposed to be one of the original magical languages. Think how much this will apply to all
our other studies!" Hermione was beaming and already flicking through her book, Draco trying not
to laugh.

He opened his mouth to get a word in- "Oh, I know," Blaise picked up. "Especially in Charms and
in History of Magic! We'll be ages ahead of the others!"

"Oh, I hear it's supposed to be so good when it comes to charmwork, especially with all the older
spells."

"I don't think we're getting a word in with those two," Pansy laughed.

"Hmph." Draco felt a bit put out, by that. He was supposed to be the knowledgeable one.

"You can't be that upset," Pansy said, waving her hand about. "It's Granger and Blaise. Really, it
was as obvious as you and Harry, dear."

"What- Pansy, what on earth do you mean?"

"Draco." Pansy was looking at him with a pitying look. "They may not quite be together yet, but it's
obvious to see they're crushing on each other." Wha- What?!

"What?" Draco hissed to her, shooting Hermione and Blaise small, betrayed looks. How could they
not even confide in him over something as important as this!

"Come on, Dray, it's obvious. They're always spending time together and all they do is talk and talk
and talk. Plus those looks. Really, I thought you would have seen it first."

"Looks? What looks? I haven't seen any looks!" How could he have been so oblivious to all of
this? Surely it wasn't that obvious- Wait. Hadn't Harry joked about Blaise and Hermione liking
each other last year? Maybe? Oh, this was just...

"Those looks." What? Hermione and Blaise were just looking at each other with the same look
they always had on!

"I don't see anything different about them, Pansy," Draco huffed, crossing his arms. Pansy merely
stayed silent, arching her brow in a silent gesture of 'you idiot'. "What? They look the same as
always!"

"Oh, Draco." Pansy shook her head, getting her book out. "I suppose we had pay attention. Class
looks as if it's ready to start." Hmph. Hermione and Blaise. Crushing on each other! It was
absolutely ridiculous! Draco would just tell Harry and get his support and put this whole kerfuffle
to rest.

::

"Relax, Ron, Draco's probably just explaining to Hermione about what he saw in her cup, or
something. Actually, no, he's probably trying to stop Hermione from killing the new professor.
Dont' worry about it."

Alright, Draco. Make something up. "And the crown obviously meant success and riches." Ah, it
was so amusing to see Ron clutch at his chest in absolute terror.

"Good, I don't think I want Ron becoming king of Britain," Harry grinned, falling back to walk
beside Draco.
"Certainly not," Draco said with a grin. "He already eats like he's one."

"Oi!"

"So," Harry said, lowering his voice. "Have fun in Ancient Runes?"

"Oh, that reminds me," Draco huffed. "Please help me explain to Pansy later that Hermione and
Blaise do not have crushes on each other." As expected, Harry leapt to agree with him, only... Only
Harry wasn't saying anything. Why wasn't he saying anything? "...Harry. Harry, you agree with
me. They can't possibly like each other."

"Oh, boy." Wha- What was that supposed to mean! "Dray, um, they- Well. Oh, jeez, this- This
explains a lot. Uh- Okay, so- Right." Harry cleared his throat, rubbing at the back of his neck.
"They, uh, they look at each other like we look at each other?"

"...Meaning?" Draco rose an eyebrow at him. "I don't look at you any differently than I look at
them."

"Oh, no, you do- You- You really- Jeez, Dray." Harry suddenly looked downtrodden. "I thought I
was being pretty obvious about it all. If you didn't want to talk about that then what did you wanna
talk about this morning?"

"What- Oh- Uh- Well. Perhaps we should… Wait? Until we have a little more… privacy?"

"Ri- Right, that'd probably be best." Harry cleared his throat again. "They do, though, you know.
At least, I know Blaise likes Hermione. I'm not sure if Hermione knows it yet, though."

"How could I have not noticed?" Draco frowned, glancing over to Hermione and Ron, the two
caught up in some argument or other. "It's always been-" Before he could reveal anything else,
Draco quickly cut himself off.

"It's always been what?" Harry frowned, nudging at Draco. "Hey, is it a future thing? Dray, tell me.
What is it? Is it about who Hermione ends up with? I bet that's it. You were too surprised at Blaise
liking her. Who is it?"

"Harry," Draco finally huffed. "You know I shouldn't tell you." Harry only blinked up at him,
finally shifting closer and linking their arms together. Draco turned his head away, even as he
walked closer to Harry. "I'm still not telling you."

"That's fine." Oh? Harry was suddenly a lot softer and quieter, small smile on his face as he relaxed
against Draco. "Think you're gonna like Ancient Runes, then?" Draco smiled over at Harry, tilting
his head so that their heads bumped together gently.

"I already know that I do. I took it last time." Laughing, Harry beamed.

"Then you won't have too much trouble. Hey, what's Hagrid's lessons gonna be like in Care of
Magical Creatures?"

"Terrifying," he huffed. "He brings in giant beasts, probably twenty feet tall, and they all breath
fire and try to eat you and claw at you all at the same time!" Instead of scared, Harry only looked
excited and right, Harry Potter. Idiot thrill seeker. "I swear, and you complain about facing death,
every year."

"Well, yeah, but I mean those creatures sound exciting. Plus, I mean, I trust Hagrid to keep us safe.
Not so much the mad man still out for my life."
"Harry. Fine. You can go have fun petting the ferocious, man-eating monsters, but I will stay far
away, thank you very much."

"It's okay, Dray," Harry grinned, leaning up to kiss at Draco's cheek. "I'll protect you." Draco felt
his face heat to what felt like boiling as he only let out a sound similar to 'eep' before he quickly
walked ahead of the rest of them.

"Right. You're definitely not dating," Hermione called after him, Draco hearing a wild laugh from
Harry, the traitor.

"Shut up," he cried back at her, his voice traitorously high and squeaky.

"This is going to be a great school year, don't you think, 'Mione?"

"The best, yet."

"I have to agree with you two."

Ugh. Meddlesome trio.

It didn't take long for Draco to get down to Hagrid's cabin the way he was hurrying ahead of them.
The close he got, the more he was starting to remember his own first Care of Magical Creatures
class, and the slower his pace became. Maybe he could feign injury before class and run? He
finally came to a stop just at the bottom of the hill, warily looking at the hut. Perhaps... Perhaps he
could sneak off? There would be enough students, it would be easy enough.

Yes. Yes, sneaking off would be the best- "Dray?" Oh, Harry had caught up. "Hey, Dray, you
okay?"

"Oh. Um. Actually, Harry, I think I'm coming down with something. I may need to go back up to
the castle."

"Uh huh." Harry raised an eyebrow, not looking one bit believing of his story. Damn. Harry used to
be a lot more gullible. "Wanna try the truth?"

"I…" Draco startled when the door of the cabin swung open. Hagrid was coming out with Fang
jumping about at his heels, grin wide and proud on his face. He also had a dead polecat hanging
off his shoulder.

"Oh, boy," Harry mumbled beside him. "That- You were joking about the twenty foot beasts,
right?"

"Ah, mostly. I hope so, at least." Draco stepped behind Harry, holding his hand tightly and lacing
their fingers together.

"Dray?" Harry frowned, holding his hand back just as tightly as the rest of the class started
arriving. "Hey, is something going to happen today? Something we need to prevent? Just tell me
what to do, okay."

"I, ah… I'll just stay back here, if that's alright." Draco looked away from Harry staring down at
the ground. It wasn't- What had happened his fault. It would be best if he just stayed out of the way
as much as possible.

"Okay. We'll just stay at the back today. How's that sound?"
"That does sound much better." Hagrid led them over to the fenced area, and the two - of course -
ended up at the front. But it was fine. Hagrid would pick Harry, and Harry would make friends
with the giant bird, and Draco would stay far away.

"Good on ya, you two! Here, why don't come here, Draco." What. "Just come up nice and slow and
give 'im a bow."

"I... Um..." Draco turned his head away and gave a weak cough. Maybe somebody would save
him? Except no one was jumping up to sacrifice themselves to a bunch of hippogriffs and Harry
was shifting uncomfortably beside him and looking torn between stepping forward and stepping
back. Finally - finally - Harry took a breath and pushed him forward. Draco squeaked as he
stumbled forward, shooting Harry a hurt look before turning back around. When the hippogryph
caught sight of him, Draco felt rooted to the spot.

"Easy does it, Draco." Yes, that was all well and nice for Hagrid to say, the twelve-foot half-giant!
"Just take a nice, easy bow and make eye contact - don't blink too much, though. They never trust
those who blink too much."

"Neither do I," Draco huffed. He took a deep breath and slid into a low bow, looking up at the
beast. There was a long stretch of time where fierce, golden eyes caught on his, the creature
fluffing his wings, stomping his talons against the ground and- And slowly dropping into a bow.
Draco's eyes widened as he slowly rose to stand up straight again, the hippogryph mimicking him
and clacking its beak.

"Well done, Draco, well done!" Hagrid was beaming, looking extremely proud that his class was
doing so well. He really was a good teacher. "Right, I think he'll let you pet him now. C'mon, come
closer."

"Oh. Um… Alright." Draco slowly walked closer, glancing to Hagrid for guidance. The man was
keeping a firm hand on the hippogriff's neck, gesturing for Draco to come around to the side.

"There we are, just stroke him right through the feathers here- Careful not to stroke up, he won't
like that. There you are, simple as can be!"

"...Oh. They're softer than I thought." Buckbeak - yes, that was right, that was the name - was softer
than Draco would have assumed by just looking. Buckbeak was looking at him every now and
then, seeming to not much care, but curious nonetheless.

"Right, I think he'll let you ride 'im now."

"Pardon me." He must have misheard hagrid, it sounded like he said he was going to ride the giant
bird.

"Oh, it's easy as can be. Just get you up here." Sputtering and yelping, Draco was 'helped' onto the
back of the bloody beast, Hagrid grinning. "Right, just hold on tight, now, but don't pull out any of
his feathers. He won't thank you for that!" With that, Hagrid was slapping Buckbeak into motion.

"Hag- Hagri- Hagrid!" Draco quickly wrapped his arms around Buckbeak's neck, shaking and
holding onto the beast as it took off into the air. It was- This was nothing like a broom! This was-
Buckbeak was rising into the air rapidly and Draco knew that if he fell off he wouldn't be catching
himself like he might have been able to if he was flying in a sensible manner. "Please," Draco
pleaded. "Please, please don't drop me. I take back every awful word I've said, I take back every
curse I ever dealt out, please."
The horrible, awful, brute of a beast had no care for his pleas, only climbing high and drifting out
over the lake and okay, that was good, Draco could at least not die if he fell into the lake. That
was… Oh, wow. Being inside or so near to Hogwarts, he so rarely got to see the entire building at
once, but this… It felt like he was a first year again, riding the boats to a castle of wonder. His
breath was caught in his throat as Buckbeak rose higher and higher, Draco seeing the castle at it's
proudest and he… He was going to keep it this way. Hogwarts would never be broken like it had
been in his seventh year. She would never surrender. Draco would promise it- He promised it.

Buckbeak began to glide back down to the little clearing, landing with hardly a sound. Draco
slowly slid off his back, grinning widely. "Can I go again?" That got a booming laugh out of
Hagrid, Draco managing to grin even more before he had to scramble to not fall to the ground from
where some idiot had just tackled- Oh, it was his idiot. "I'm alright," Draco said with a beaming
smile at Harry. "That was fun. You should try it."

"Maybe." Harry was pressing against him and patting him down, tilting him this way and that. "Are
you sure you're okay? That was really high- Oh, Dray, I'm sorry, I thought you just needed a push
or something I didn't think- Are you alright!"

"Harry," he laughed, running a hand through the teens curls and kissing his cheek. "I already told
you I'm alright." Draco watched as Buckbeak shoved his beak at Harry's head, the teen making a
choked sound in the back of his throat and spinning around before staring with wide eyes. A
moment passed and Harry cooed.

"Oh, you're beautiful." Harry dropped into a bow, waiting to Buckbeak to return it before darting
forward and combing a hand through his feathers, Hagrid laughing yet again.

"Atta boy, Harry!"

"He's not so bad," Draco told him with a grin, petting Buckbeak as well. That had been a rush. He
should go again.

"Well, what are you all waiting for," Hagrid boomed. "Find a partner and let's see how you all get
along!" Apparently seeing Draco sacrificed had made the rest of the class warm up to hippogriffs
rather quickly, Draco watching them all find a creature to bow or curtsey to. Longbottom was
running away from his already. Draco couldn't help a laugh as he bounded over to Longbottom.

"It's really not as bad as you think it is. Trust me. You just give it a right proper bow, like your
grandmother taught you." Although Longbottom gave him a look as if he was the crazy one, he
nodded and went back to try again, Draco beaming when he managed to do it correctly. "There,
you see? Not so bad- Oh, Pansy! You've gotten so much better!"

"You're scaring people more than you usually do," Blaise commented, moving to stand beside him.
"Nice to know the only thing needed to improve your attitude is to have a hippogriff almost drop
you."

"It was fun, you should try it, Blaise! You'd enjoy it! Freedom, the wind in your hair. Things you
like!"

"That'd be you and Potter," Blaise snorted, shaking his head. "Honestly, he was ready to grab a
broom and fly up after you when you wanted to be let down. Never seen him that scared before,
actually."

"Oh, he was probably just being dramatic. It wasn't nearly that bad!"
"Draco dear, have you seen your hair?"

"No. Why?"

"Pansy, no, you'll know what he'll do-" Harry's strange behavior was 'too late,' Draco supposed, as
Pansy was pulling out her compact mirror and holding it up for Draco. Draco frowned, looking into
the compact mirror. When he caught sight of his hair, he promptly screeched.

"Harry James Potter!" Looking up, Draco let out an even shriller sound when he saw the damn
brat was running away. "You get back here! Coward! You come and fix this right now!"

"Aw, look how cute he is when he's afraid," Pansy cooed, watching Harry weave his way between
the others of the class and hide behind Hagrid. The coward. "I bet you could probably get him
begging for you, darling."

Draco was ready to yell some more before he paused and looked back at Pansy. "What do you
suggest?"

"Well, we have a few options available to us, really. I'd usually suggest shutting him out and
ignoring him for an hour at least, but not only do I think you can't last that long, but ignoring him
for even fifteen minutes is probably enough to break his spirit. We'll have to try to guilt him
another way."

Draco slowly smirked at her. "I have an idea." With that, he was turning away from Harry, but not
before shooting him a hurt glance.

"Oh, that's dreadful," Pansy murmured, giving him a nod to let him know that Harry had doubled
back and was now, probably very cautiously, approaching.

"Dray?"

"What," Draco huffed, arms crossed firmly on his chest. He was going to make Harry crawl on
hands and knees.

"Oh, Dray." At least, that was the plan, but then Harry's arms were wrapping around his waist and
the younger was resting his forehead against the center of his back and Draco could hear that
smile. "You're always so dramatic."

"Harry," Draco whined at him. "You know I take good care of my hair! Now look at it! It's worse
than when I roll out of bed, and it's tangled all to hell, and- And-"

"And I think it makes you look great," Harry laughed, only letting him go long enough to slip
around so they were now face-to-face. "It makes you look very dashing. Reminds me what it looks
like after we play a game of Quidditch. And Dray, if you can turn my hair into this, then you can
fix yours in a flash."

"Harry, my hair never gets this bad! Do you realize what all I'm going to have to do to it to get it
right, again? It's going to take ages! I'm going to need another shower!"

"Dray, you shower every morning and night, I doubt that's much of a change." Ugh! Why was he
making it so hard to be upset! "You'll be fine, Dray." Harry kissed his cheek, a hand coming up to
work through his hair. "'Sides, I like you looking messy." Oh. Oh dear. He felt Harry's cool fingers
rest against his cheek. Why were his fingers so cold? "Makes you look more approachable. Less…"
Harry lowered his voice, smile softening. "Less like the Prince of Slytherin you were when I met
you."
"Oh." Of course. Of course! What else could his sweet little Harry possibly mean? "Well. Ahem.
That doesn't mean anything, I'm still upset at you!" Harry only laughed, finally letting him go and
snatching the little compact from a stunned Pansy's hand before holding it open to him. His hair -
while not as perfect as it usually was - no longer looked as awful. "That doesn't change anything,
you sacrificed me! You didn't stand up for me! What happened to 'I'll protect you?'"

"Do you honestly think I would have pushed you to go up there if there was any real danger?" Ah.
He had almost forgotten that while this was Harry, it was also Harry Potter. This was the boy who
had brought down the very world to keep those he loved safe. Draco only gave a harumph, arms
tightly crossed as he turned his head away. It was still the principle of the thing. Harry had
betrayed him! "Alright, alright. Yes, I've utterly betrayed you and everything we stood for. What's
it going to cost me to fix it, then?"

"That's not for me to figure out." Hmph. Just- Hmph! Honestly, if Harry thought his forgiveness
was going to be so easily won-

"Alright." Alright? "I suppose you'd rather not have me around since you're so mad." Harry sighed,
turning on his heel and heading back over towards Buckbeak.

"Well- Well good! Fine! That's right, you stay over there, far from me!"

"Oh, well done, darling." Pansy's tone was acidic. "Truly, you've taught him a lesson." Draco
pouted at her, a bit defeated.

"What just happened?"

"You lost," Blaise said simply, patting at his back. "Kid's gonna control you when we get older."

"What- No. I- I don't lose. I always win!"

"Not when you go up against Harry Potter, you don't." Oh- Oh, the irony of those words. Draco
only huffed, continuing to pout. He stayed that way throughout the remainder of the class - which
wasn't very long. It was kind of funny to see everyone struggle with their textbooks, Hagrid telling
them what pages to read if they wanted to know more before sending them off on their way. Harry,
he noticed, always smiled when he caught his gaze before going back to what he was doing, not
seeming to realize that Draco was still pouting and Harry should be paying attention.

Draco grabbed his things and stormed up the hill, not sparing a look back at any of them. He still
needed to go to Arithmancy. Getting into the halls and shuddering as the cool air hit him, Draco
didn't get very far before Harry was in front of him and Merlin how was this boy so fast- "Oh,
honestly, Dray." With that, Harry was wrapping him up in a hug, kissing at the skin under his ear
and holding him so close. "How much begging am I going to have to be doing, then?"

Draco shivered for an entirely different reason before he wrapped his arms around Harry. "I was
hoping for at least a little begging." Harry wasn't supposed to give him the silent treatment.

"Sorry, but that tends to encourage you." Oh, there was no need to sound so amused. "Okay, how
about this. If you forgive me, I'll answer any question you want to ask. The stuff I haven't told you
about me yet."

"What about you don't I already know?" In lieu of an answer, Harry only shifted a bit closer, arms
tightening around him. "Oh... Alright, alright."

"Next time I promise if I push you towards a hippogriff I'll be right behind you," Harry smiled,
pulling back and tugging at the chain around Draco's neck. "C'mon, then, ask me a question. I
mean, there has to be something you want to know about me that you don't yet."

"...What made you give me a chance? You weren't exactly the most trusting student of the year,
when we met. Why me?" Because that was something he had been curious about for a while, now.

"I…" Harry pulled back, looking contemplative as he looked at Draco. "I don't know, really. I
mean, when we met you were just another student- I mean, yeah, you were the only one to not treat
me like Harry Potter at /first/, but there were others, after that. I... Ah, that was it." Harry looked
into his eyes and smiled. "You reminded me of myself."

Draco jerked back a bit, giving Harry a curious frown. "I reminded you of yourself? What's that
mean?" For some reason that made Harry laugh, the teen moving to lace their fingers together.

"Well, you were lonely- Dray, you were so lonely. I remember you would always shut people out
and you were probably busy planning how to change things, but no one could get through to you.
You were lonely, everyone was too scared to talk to you, you were hiding a horrible past, everyone
seemed to have these expectations that you just kept shattering, and whenever you saw friends
laughing together you looked so sad…" Harry's smile went soft. "You were like me."

Draco could feel his heart shattering as he stared at Harry, the fragments reforming with him at the
center. This... Harry, who had gone through so much more than any of them, except perhaps
Draco, had. Harry, who so easily could have been another Voldemort, but instead used his pain to
fuel his love. "Harry, I-"

"There you are." Oh, bloody hell. "We're going to be late if you don't hurry it up, Draco, and I
am not spending a whole extra hour wasting my time because you were being so- So yourselves."

Draco smiled back at Harry. "I'll tell you later."

"I'm counting on it." Harry gave one last grin before letting Draco's hands go. "Right, I'll see you
two at lunch- You know, couldn't you just go through the first two classes and then rewind and go
through Runes and Arithmancy next?"

Draco paused, thinking it over before looking at Hermione. "He has a point. Then we don't have to
wait so long to eat."

"Yes, I was rather thinking the same," Hermione sighed, crossing her arms. "I still can't believe you
told him, but it is a good idea. Less trips through time, as well."

"I didn't tell him. He figured it out himself." Draco figured he could afford to look pretty proud of
that, too.

"We'll do the full wind backs from now on, but for right now we're going to be late to Arithmancy.
You can be boyfriends later, but right first and foremost we are all students!"

"Hermione," Draco huffed, but didn't say anything else, only dragging her to a secluded corner and
winding the time turners back. It was still such a strange feeling. It- It wasn't as all-consuming as
the time twister had been, but it was still… It was like going against a current. It was only an hour,
so it was rather mild, but each trip had Draco remembering the time twister and how for a second
(an eternity?) it felt like it had been tearing him apart. Draco didn't even realize Hermione was
calling his name until a hand was placed on his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts.
"...What?"

"I said we're going to be late." Hermione was frowning, though, gently steering him along. "Are
you alright, Draco? You were a little distant the first time we went back, too."
"Right. Right, sorry. Just thinking to myself, a bit. Arithmancy, yes? I've heard it's a bit difficult."

"I haven't heard much about it, honestly," Hermione frowned. "In Ancient Runes Blaise was
saying he didn't sign up for it because the subject matter was so complicated. It's often considered
a prerequisite to Alchemy, as well."

"Considered, but you can still easily take Alchemy and pass with flying colors," Draco told her as
they walked together.

"Did one of your parents take Alchemy, then?" Hermione was tucking her necklace under her robes
and out of sight, ruffling around to make sure she had the right book.

"Oh, ah…" Believable not-lie. "Actually, Severus has told me all about it since I was little. He
teaches it."

"Oh! That's right, he does." Hermione frowned as if she had just realized something. "Hm.
Maybe… Yes, well, what does he have to say about Arithmancy?"

"Oh, well, he always suggested I take it, but warned that it was difficult. That's all, really. He's not
an Arithmancer."

"We're going to be in for a very interesting year, then," Hermione sighed, finally digging the right
book out. "You heard how your other friends in Slytherin are taking Divination, right? Do you
think that will cause any problems about them finding out about us being in two places at once?"

"I don't really know. Between Blaise and Pansy, and Vince, Greg, and Theo, I'm the only common
thread. They were never really friends with each other."

"Really? I suppose the way you talk about them I always thought they were all close friends,"
Hermione said, shaking her head. "That just helps us, then. I think if we do as Harry suggested our
time turner days will be easier, though."

"I think so, too." Draco smiled, thinking about everything Harry always did for Draco. And he
never asked anything in return, besides perhaps his company. He should do something for him.

"Mm. Death omens in tea cups, daring flights on a Hippogriff, and suspicious friends. It's turning
out to be an interesting year already, isn't it?"

"Indeed- Wait." Suspicious friends. "What?"

 Skeletons in the Closet
Chapter Notes

Happy american Thanksgiving, everyone! Every year, we give thanks for having one
another, and for being able to do what we love and share it with all of you. We hope
you enjoy this chapter, this week, as well. It's sure to be a scream. Is it too late for
Halloween jokes? ~Kas

Writing the boggart scene was my favorite scene of this chapter, Lupin is a wonderful
teacher, and the chapter title is something I'm still proud of. I'm also being guilted into
leaving an author's note. Enjoy the chapter! -Kit

When Draco and Hermione caught up with Ron and Harry for lunch, the two were sitting in the
group's usual spot, but they looked… Harry was firmly glaring at his plate and Ron was
uncomfortably looking between Harry and the rest of their year- No, the rest of their year that was
in Divination. "Harry?" Draco set a gentle hand on Harry's arm as he sat down. "Everything
alright?"

"What? Yeah, fine, of course." Harry's glare changed to a weak grin. "Everyone's just talking about
their classes so far." Alright, but that- Ah. Draco heard someone faintly mention the Grim. Draco
gave him a smile and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"I've been enjoying most of my classes." It was so amusing to see Harry blush - rather adorable, as
well.

"Good- Glad- I'm glad. That's good. So, uh, how was Arithmancy? Percy mentioned something
about it being hard when we talked about it last year, I think."

"It is a bit more difficult than I expected," he hummed. "But nothing I won't be able to handle.
What did you think of our classes, then?"

"I think I'm going to like Care of Magical Creatures as long as Hagrid doesn't bring anything too
dangerous to class. I'd really like to go and visit him later and try to draw some sketches of
Buckbeak, if Hagrid doesn't mind it." Hm. Nothing about Divination.

"He probably won't. I'll go with you, if you like. I'm looking forward to learning more in
Divination, as well." There was the problem, then. Harry was looking away, poking at his plate of
food with a pensive expression. "Can I tell you something? About the other time?"

"Oh- Oh, uh, sure?" That seemed to get Harry to at least look over. "Maybe. Is it something that
I'm gonna wanna hear?"

"Every year that she knew him, Trelawney predicted Potter's death," Draco recalled from his
conversations with Vince and Greg.

"Is this supposed to be making me feel better? Because it's kind of not."

"Every year she predicted it, every year he never died."

"I… Every year?" Harry seemed to perk up a little, smile back on his face. "Sounds exhausting to
have your death predicted every year. Sure that Potter didn't go crazy?"

Draco laughed. "Well, I can't guarantee that." Laughing himself, Harry bumped his shoulder
against Draco's.

"Thanks, Dray." Draco hummed and turned his head to simply rest against Harry's hair.

"Anything for you."

"And they say they're not dating," Pansy huffed, sitting beside Hermione with a shake of her head.
"Really, can you-"

"Wait, wait, they're not?" Hermione stared with wide eyes, gaze snapping to Draco. "No- You and
Harry are dating, aren't you?" Draco remained quiet, only looking to Harry and raising his
eyebrows in question. They still hadn't talked.

"Ah, well, uh." Harry looked flustered, clearing his throat and rubbing at the back of his neck. "It's
a bit more-"

"He's been sighted, he's been sighted!" Draco wasn't sure what was more startling, the fact
Finnigan was screaming or the Daily Prophet slapped down onto the table. "Sirius Black's been
spotted!"

Draco glanced down at the paper, quirking just a single eyebrow before looking back up at
Finnigan. "And?"

"Dufftown," Hermione frowned. "That's not very far from here. Could he be heading towards the
school?"

"I don't see why it much matters," Draco huffed. It wasn't like Sirius Black was a threat - both his
memories and Narcissa had confirmed that. If he was heading towards Hogwarts then it would be
to check on Harry.

"Mate, this is the mad man who murdered twelve people with a single spell!"

"I thought it was thirteen?"

"Like I said, does it much matter?" Draco shot them all a glare. "If it gets to be a problem, we'll
worry. But until then, the Dementors are here to protect us from threats. And if you didn't
know, You-Know-Who himself was scared of Dumbledore."

"I agree with Draco." Surprising, it was Lavender Brown who agreed with him. "We're safe as long
as we're inside Hogwarts - especially with the Dementors guarding the castle. I don't think we have
anything to be worried about."

"There? Do you all see, now?" Draco held Harry's hand under the table, smiling sweetly. While
there was no more of that foolish panicking, there was now a very fervent discussion going on
about Sirius Black and why he would be coming towards Hogwarts - killing Harry being the most
popular theory.

"Remind me to thank Sirius Black if I ever see 'im," Harry mumbled. "Just saved my life right
there." Draco couldn't help a quiet laugh.

"When I see him, I'll tell him."

"Yeah, ye-" Harry paused, giving Draco an odd look. "When? Does that mean we end up meeting
him? You said he was falsely accused, right?"

"Wh- What- I didn't say when. It was rhetorical. Theoretical." Merlin, he had forgotten that Harry
paid far too close attention to the things he said when it came to saying the word when.

"Oh. Sorry, just- You seem to know a lot about him? I thought maybe you met him in the past- Er,
future?"

"Oh… No, actually. I never met him, in person. But I've asked my mother about him. Because
they're cousins. They were fairly close, before he sorted into Gryffindor."

"Your mom seemed to know a lot about them. She told me about the Marauders and all of them."
Harry looked up to the High Table, gaze pausing on Lupin. "Do you think Professor Lupin would
ever be okay to ask about it? Or would he not want to remember?"

"I think you should ask him, and if he tells you he doesn't want to talk about it, then you leave it at
that. But… I would think it'd be better to try for something, than to sit and hope for what could
have been," Draco said softly, glancing down at their hands.

"Yeah- Yeah, it's like, you know it's there- You know it is, but a part of you is still too afraid to
really say it because what if you're wrong about it all. You know you're not, but what if." Harry
paused, clearing his throat and flushing. "About, um, the Marauders. And stuff."

"Right. And this is all purely hypothetical."

"Completely hypothetical." Draco smiled and tightened his hold on Harry's hand for just a moment.
"Right- Right! Uh, we still have classes to worry about today, you know!"

"Harry, calm down, dear. It's lunch, we can afford to relax."

"Yeah, well." Harry huffed, knocking their shoulders together. "I'm kind of looking forward to
Defense later today. Is Professor Lupin a good teacher? Or is it more like… Okay, is he more
Lockhart or McGonagall?"

"Besides Sev, he's the best bloody teacher."

"Good- That's good. Maybe we'll actually learn some Defense this year."

"Oh, we do."

::

"Ugh, Potions. Seems like all the fun classes are over," Ron grumbled as they entered the
dungeons, a throat clearing behind them making Ron go pale.

"Perhaps instead of having 'fun' in my class you'll instead choose to learn something, Mr.
Weasley." Draco couldn't withhold his laugh if he tried, smiling up at Severus.

"How was the rest of your summer?"

"Rather well. I believe I perfected my truth-telling serum and even began something to a similar
vein of mind control." Sev's flat voice made for the perfect reaction in Ron near running to the
other side of the dungeon, Harry stifling his laugh against Draco's shoulder.

Draco only laughed harder. "I think I got my sense of humor from you, Uncle Sev."
"It is rather darker than Narcissa's, isn't it?" Sev finally gave a smile, looking to Harry. "How was
the rest of your summer, then."

"Oh, uh, it-" Harry paused, giving a small smile. "It was perfect."

"Though it is nice to be back at Hogwarts," Draco chimed in. "I think I speak for both of us when I
say we missed it."

"I'm not sure if the school missed you two considering how much trouble you bring to it.
Hopefully this year you'll be dedicating yourselves to nothing but your studies?"

"We can only try." That said, Draco tugged Harry over to their usual table with a bright smile.

"You're horrible," Harry said, speaking through his laughter. "At least this year is supposed to be
our normal year, right?"

"Right. Besides the class schedule," Draco pointed out. "But other than that, it should be normal."

"I think we could do with a normal year." Yeah… Next year was fourth year and the TriWizard
Tournament and after that- A normal year was going to be good. "Are you sure you don't
remember the third year exam answers?"

"Yes, Harry, I'm sure." Draco glanced up at the board. "Shall we get started, then?"

"Depends." Oh? On what? "I have no idea what half of these ingredients are."

"Oh, come on. I'll help teach you." Honestly.

The first Potions class of the year wasn't all that interesting, all things considered. It was a normal
routine, really. Draco and Harry did great, Hermione was her usual perfectionist self, and Finnigan
blew something up. It was like clockwork, truly. When the two began to walk upstairs for Defense
Against the Dark Arts, Draco looped his arm into Harry's, giving him a warm smile.

Harry returned it at once, leaning against him for a moment before falling into step with him,
"Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Lupin. Anything interesting on the first day that
you can remember? If not that's okay. It'll be a surprise."

"I… Not really? It's all a bit fuzzy, really." What had happened the first day in third year? Hm,
nothing important he didn't think.

"Should it be?" Harry frowned. "I mean, is it 'oh this was a long time ago' fuzzy or... Is it fuzzy?"

"Is there much of a difference? It was seven years ago."

"Yeah, but I mean- Could-" Harry sighed, glancing to the side. It took Draco a moment to notice
the teen was making sure no one was close enough to hear. "Could traveling back in time have
done something to your memories?"

"I… don't know." Draco frowned, and tried to remember back to his Slytherin sorting. It was hard,
he just kept hearing 'Gryffindor,' but… But. He could remember it. The loud call of Slytherin. It
was like the memory was shrouded in fog. Had the time twister affected his memories? It was
possible, but… He still remembered what came after. He remembered what the next few years
would bring.

"It's probably nothing to worry about." Harry shifted to hold his hand, giving him a smile. "We'll be
fine, yeah?"

"Right… Right. Yes. We'll be fine, Harry. I meant what I said. Lupin was the best bloody teacher."

"High praise, coming from you," Harry laughed. "I'm looking forward to learning from him, then. I
wonder what he'll teach us first- Hey, do you think we're going to learn about magical beasts?" Oh,
dear. "I mean, Hagrid is gonna teach us a lot of that, but there's dark creatures in Defense- What
about hexes? Is this class about learning jinxes and stuff or is it just about learning to defend from
it? Shouldn't we know both? I feel we should know both."

"An opinion I rather agree with." Ah, they were at the classroom already.

Draco smiled back at Harry. "In short? Yes. To everything."

"Ri- Right." Harry cleared his throat, looking embarrassed as Lupin gave a quiet laugh. "So, uh, I'm
just gonna go. Sit."

Draco released his arm from Harry's to continue staring up at Lupin. "Draco Malfoy, sir."

"Ah, yes, we met briefly on the train." Lupin shook his hand with a smile, looking… Huh. He
didn't look at all suspicious of having a Malfoy in his class. "I do hope you both are doing better. I
would have thought they knew better than to let those creatures near the students."

"Yes, sir, much better, thank you. And I completely agree. Ghastly things, I believe." There was a
snort from Ron and a mutter of the Prefect Weasley's name, Hermione rolling her eyes. Draco
stuck his leg out as Ron walked by.

If Lupin saw the action he didn't say anything, merely heading up to his desk and looking through a
set of papers and oh, thank Merlin. A Defense teacher with a lesson plan. "Oi! Don't trip me!"

"Oh no! Were you tripped? Did someone trip you? You poor thing." Pleased as that got a cackle
out of Hermione, Draco went over to sit by Harry, who was looking around the classroom.

"Much nicer without all the pictures of Lockhart and the pixies running about."

"Oh, yes, completely," Draco said with a smile, leaning against Harry. The teen leaned back,
sighing softly.

"Should we try this talk again, then, or wait until we're in the dorms tonight?"

"Wait until we're not in class."

"Probably for the best-"

"Attention, class." As Lupin called for the class' attention, Harry gave Draco a look. "Books away
and wands out, please, today will be a practical lesson." Draco frowned. This wasn't very familiar -
at least, not on the first day. The class was breaking out into murmurs at once - for good reason.
Their last 'practical' lesson had ended with a bunch of pixies being set loose on them. Ron was
clutching at his wand rather defensively, too. Lupin only laughed at their looks. "No worries,
nothing too difficult. Come on, stand up, then. I've got Professor Snape bringing in the,
ah, content for the class."

"Oh, well, he seems to get along with Severus alright." Harry stood up and nudged at Draco.
"Hopefully it's not more pixies?" Ah, good, Draco wasn't the only one remembering that.
"I'm fairly certain it won't be pixies." Draco stood and watched with wide eyes as Lupin flicked his
wand and sent the tables and chairs to the far sides of the room. What did they need this much
space for?

"It's bound to be interesting," Hermione said, moving to stand beside them, Ron still clutching his
wand a bit too tightly. "A practical lesson… Do you think we'll be pairing up and practicing
dueling spells, maybe?"

"May… be? I don't know," he said with general confusion. Lupin cleared the classroom up a bit
more before there was a single knock on the door and it was opening, Sev walking in and carrying
a hovering wardrobe behind him.

"You're lucky I got to it before Minerva did. Finally tracked it down to the staff room."

"Ah, yes, thank you, Severus. Would you like to stay? An extra hand could be helpful, just in case
anything goes awry."

"I suppose since I'm finished with classes for the day." Sev made a show of being greatly put out,
Harry trying to stifle a laugh beside Draco. "Gryffindors, hm?"

"Yes, I thought it to be a wonderful first exercise for the house." Oh. He… did different things for
each house?

"For most of them." Ah, Sev was looking over at him and Harry. Oh, Lupin was looking at them
too. Well, then. This could be interesting. "Very well, let's get started then, shall we?"

"Yes, let's! If you could set the wardrobe facing the class at the front, I would be grateful. Now,
everyone! I'd like you all to line up. Any order, it doesn't matter." Everyone was curious enough to
form a rough line, Harry settling into line behind Draco and watching curiously as Sev flipped the
wardrobe around to face them. As soon as he set it down, it gave a great jerk and rattle, the people
in the front quickly skittering back. "Let me see," Lupin said, looking down at his clipboard.
"Parvati Patil! Name a creature that is often found in dark spaces!"

"Oh, um-" Patil looked around at her friends, finally giving a small shake of her head. "I don't
know… Vampires, I suppose, because of the light?"

"Vampires, yes, that is a very good guess, Parvati. Dean Thomas?"

"Rats." Oh for- This was a magic class. "Really big and nasty rats."

"Rats. That is a very sound guess, Dean, rats." Lupin seemed to look over the list again. "Harry
Potter?" He gave away no sign that Harry was any different from any other student.

"Er." Harry looked to the wardrobe which gave a very nasty shake. "Lot of things could be found in
dark spaces, I guess. I mean, the right answer - or the one you're looking for - is whatever is gonna
be in there. Uh, sir?"

"Ah, I'm looking for many answers. Go ahead, give it your best guess." Silent for a long moment as
he stared at the wardrobe, Harry finally looked back to Lupin.

"Something magical that likes to hide in the dark?"

"Are you asking me what it is?"

"Yes- No? Ah." Harry looked to Draco for help.

"Just say the first thing you think of," Draco whispered.

"Spiders?"

"While that is a good guess, as spiders do prefer the dark, that is not what is contained within," he
said as he rapped on the wardrobe. "This wardrobe. Any other guesses? Anyone, anyone! Please!
There is no such thing as a wrong answer, in this class!" Hermione looked between Lupin and the
wardrobe before nodding and promptly raising her hand. "Ah, yes. What is your name, young
lady?"

"Hermione Granger, sir, and I believe what's inside to be a boggart." Ooh, that would explain
Lupin's line of questioning. Hm. This was a good way to get the Gryffindors interested, that was
for sure.

"Yes! Now, who besides Hermione here can tell us what a boggart is?" It was the ones who grew
up in wizard families that raised their hands, some looking more uncertain than others. "Ah, yes!
You in the back, there!"

"It's something that makes you afraid, innit?"

"Yes, in a way. The boggart is a creature that will take the form of your worst fear. You see, it
feeds upon your misery, so yes, it does make you afraid."

"So that's why he was asking us all those questions," Harry mumbled, looking at the wardrobe
again. "So it takes on what we're most afraid of. How do you fight your worst fear?"

"Now, I'm sure many of you are wondering how to combat such a fearsome foe!" Draco nearly
laughed when he heard Severus sigh heavily. Harry did laugh."Simple, really. You think of the
silliest possible thing that could happen."

"Uh, Professor? Do you mean imagine the silliest thing that could happen to the fear? How- How
does that help get rid of it?"

"Ah, yes. You turn that fantasy into a reality. For example, let us say that Professor Snape was our
greatest fear!" The dirty look Sev gave Lupin had Draco stifling a laugh into his fist, Harry not able
to hide it as well. "Ah, see, Severus? They're laughing already!" It seemed as if most of the class
was too scared of Sev and his glare to laugh beside Draco, Harry, and Hermione - although Ron
and a few others did give a nervous chuckle. "Now, you all know our drab professor here. Imagine,
if you will, our Professor Severus in a bright pink ladies' dressing gown, and a full face of
makeup!"

The reactions were too much to contain and the class was breaking out into laughter and giggles,
Draco pleased to see Sev only sighed tiredly and even looked to be fighting against a hint of a
smile. "Were this a true boggart, one need only wave their wand, like so, and say 'Riddikulus!'
Now, with me. Riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus." The class parroted, a few of them still giggling through the word.

"Yes, yes, very good. That is exactly what you will do to that boggart once I release him. One at a
time, of course, hence the line. Those who believe themselves unwilling or incapable of facing the
boggart, we will not look down upon you, you need only stand against the far wall."

"I like him," Harry said softly. It seemed a few others did too, as they didn't look ashamed or
embarrassed as they moved to lean against the far wall - not too many, though. Draco couldn't be
very surprised considering what house this was.
"This is a very Gryffindor lesson," Draco hummed to him. "Face your worst fear, on the first day."

"Yes," Lupin said, suddenly beside Draco. "Why, after this, anything else in the class should be
nothing."

"It is a very Gryffindor lesson," Harry grinned, Draco only trying to get his heart under control
because Merlin. "Professor, did you make different lessons for different houses?" Oh, good, Harry
suspected that too.

"Why yes, Harry, I did. How astute an observation." Smiling, Draco watched Harry as he just
blinked and gave a slow nod.

"Right. Uh, thank… Thank you?"

"Alright, are we all ready, then? Wands out, I want you to practice it one more time, even those of
you deciding to forego the lesson. Just a simple flick, 'Riddikulus.'" This time, the class flicked their
wands as they repeated the spell, Draco standing in line with the others and, hm. What…
What would his worst fear be? A dead Harry, perhaps, or… Or him. Draco wasn't sure what he
would do, if he came out. He tried to think of him as more ridiculous, and laughable, but nothing
came to mind.

"So we're supposed to imagine our worst fears as something funny," Hermione repeated, looking
serious about the matter. Next to her, Ron was muttering about 'taking its legs off'.

"Ye- Yes," Draco said quietly before looking to Harry. "I… I think I have to step out." Harry
looked startled before giving a small smile and nodding, hugging Draco quickly.

"That's fine. I'll stick it out, though. I'm- I'm not sure what I'm most afraid of, really."

Draco smiled at him. "Are you sure you'll do fine on your own?"

"I think so. Whatever it is, it can't be too bad, and if it is I know I'll be safe here."

With a nod, and a kiss to Harry's cheek, Draco stepped out of the line, and walked over to lean
against the far wall. He noticed a few of their classmates looked startled, although Sev seemed
most surprised. Draco couldn't blame him, it wasn't often he let himself back down from anything.
With something like this, with Draco especially, there was far too much risk with far too little
reward. He… He couldn't face him. Not now.

"Everyone prepared, then?" Lupin gave them all a warm smile, clapping his hands before pointing
his wand towards the wardrobe. "Remember you can leave the line any time or have either myself
or Professor Snape step in to help." When Harry glanced back, he gave a warm reassuring smile
before nodding towards the wardrobe. "Then let's begin!"

The door opened and Patil was the first one to step forward, face paling as a shambling mummy
pulled itself out of the wardrobe. Draco bit his tongue against a laugh. Amazing. Harry probably
had a fear of death, Draco feared the future, and she feared a mummy. It was just- He forgot that so
many of them were just children. "Ri- Riddikulus!" The mummy tripped on some of it's wrapping
and hit the floor face first. That had Draco giving a laugh, as well as a few others as Patil herself
gave a quiet giggle, walking over to stand beside them on the wall.

From there it seemed to go even more smoothly, people facing their fears and getting things like
bugs, a severed hand, Ron and his fear of spiders, and other basic things. He was glad there was
nothing too scary they feared. As they watched the spider roll around without legs, Harry laughed
as he stepped up next. Draco watched Severus and Lupin exchange a look as the spider seemed to
stop, and stare up at Harry, unblinking as though trying to decide what to turn in to. And then, it
wasn't a spider, anymore.

"I thought I bloody well warned you about what I thought of all this funny business, boy!" Oh…
Oh, no… There in front of a stunned and speechless Harry was Vernon Dursley. Draco couldn't
exactly say he was surprised, but it certainly seemed that Harry was. "You are going to leave, get
into the car this instant, and you're going to be locked up in your cupboard until you forget all of
this nonsense!"

"Ye- Ye-" Harry couldn't even get the word out, entire body shaking and wand limp in his hand.
His breathing was already rapidly picking up and no- No, it was supposed to be Voldemort or the
Dementors or something other than Vernon bloody Dursley. Lupin quickly stepped in front of
Harry, and the boggart seemed to lose its focus, transforming into a figure that had Draco's breath
hitching as he pressed himself against the wall. That- Fen- What was Fenrir doing as Lupin's worst
fear?! Werewolf- Lupin was a bloody werewolf. He had to have been turned by someone.

"Riddikulus," Lupin said softly, the beast turning into nothing more than a common domestic dog.
Harry was still shaking, eyes wide as he stared at where Dursley had been. Lupin nudged Harry
over towards Draco and Draco quickly walked over to guide Harry out of the room completely, the
lesson continuing on again. The voices faded as they walked, Draco not sure what to say before
Harry was giving a bitter laugh.

"Guess he scared me more than I thought, huh? Sorry about that, wasn't really expecting to see him
pop up."

"Harry," Draco said softly. "You really think you should apologize? At least you tried to face him. I
didn't even try to face my fear."

"Yeah, but I didn't know what my fear was going to be- I didn't- I should be stronger than-
Than him!"

"You had to live under him for ten years, love. No one can expect you to be magically healed, after
that. Magic can only do so much."

"Guess so, huh?" Harry sighed, rubbing at his eyes and near shoving his glasses off his face.
"Professor Lupin and Sev are gonna probably tell McGonagall, aren't they? I mean…"

"Well… She is your head of house. When I was in Slytherin, Sev always offered us help or advice
for any problem." A moment passed before Draco stumbled in his steps, Harry pressed up against
him and hiding his face against the robes- Ah. He was shaking.

"'S alright, isn't it? It's- It's alright to be scared of him, isn't it?"

"Yes, Harry," Draco said, running a hand through his hair. "It's alright. You don't even need to ask.
I mean, Patil was scared of a mummy. Do you think she asked if it's okay to be scared of
mummies?"

"Dunno." Harry burrowed closer for a second, taking in a shaky breath. "Just- Just give me today to
be afraid, okay? I'll be better tomorrow."

"Harry, you be afraid as much as you need to. How about the two of us go up to the dorm to relax a
bit, yeah? That sound good?"

"No- You have Muggle Studies right after Defense." Draco sighed.
"I nearly forgot. We can go ahead up to the dorms, and I'll turn back once Defense lets out."

"Fine- Yeah. As long as you're not late then yeah, staying in the dorms for a while sounds great."
Harry tugged at Draco's robes, staring at his chest. "Hey, Dray… 'S alright if I draw you for a
while?"

"Sure," Draco said with a smile. "Maybe ask me after Muggle Studies? Then you'll have me for
longer."

"Mm, well, technically from my perspective you'll only be gone for ten or twenty minutes until you
get back to the room, so really it doesn't matter much either way, does it?"

"But won't it be hard to get me back into the same position as when I left?"

"You have a point," Harry pouted. "Fine. No drawing until after Muggle Studies." Draco held
Harry's hand tightly as he led him up to the dorms. "Hey, Dray." Humming and looking back,
Draco saw that Harry had a faint blush on his cheek as he looked at the floor. "I think- We- Well,
um. We should talk."

"Oh. Oh, ah, well. I suppose we most likely should." The two were quiet until they got into the
dorms, Harry clearing his throat and heading for his bed.

"Right- Right. Talking. Um, why don't you start?"

"Oh- What? Me? Really?" Draco winced at how high his voice was before he cleared it and
glanced away. "Do… you think there's anything to talk about?"

"I guess that depends on whether you think there's anything to talk about." Oh, jeez. They were
going to go around like this all night, weren't they? "I- I haven't exactly been subtle about things."

"I could- Oh, dammit all, Harry, I've never been good at this sort of thing."

"You, at least, have a bit more experience in all of it." Yeah, 'experience.' "I just- I don't want
things to change, but I do. Does that make sense?"

"Not… Not really," Draco sighed. "And whatever experience you think I have is greatly
exaggerated."

Harry sighed himself, shoving a hand through his hair and tangling the curls back to how they had
been that morning. "Like- It's- You're making this very difficult, Dray."

"Well? Can I be blamed? Harry, you're thirteen." Which was one of the main whole problems
of all of this! Draco may have been physically thirteen, but mentally… Fuck, how old even was he
now?

"Yeah, thanks, I remember that much, and I know you're technically older, but you- You never act
like it. You haven't treated me like I'm younger than you in a long time, Dray." That had Draco
drawing back.

"What? Of- Of course I have. You've been asking so many questions about what happens-"

"No, that's not- I mean you actually trust me and tell me things. You don't act like the adults who
shove me away in a corner and say 'it's for your own good you'll understand one day'. You- You
treat me like an equal."
"Well… Of course not, Harry. You deserve better than that. You always have," Draco told him,
cupping his cheek gently. Harry leaned into the touch at once, sighing softly.

"Is- Is it really just because I'm thirteen and you haven't even thought to look at me like that, or is
it… Is it because I'm me?"

Draco frowned, his brow furrowing. "Because you're you? What do you mean?"

"I mean-" Harry waved his hand about, looking to be trying to find the words and getting frustrated
when he couldn't. "Do you- Do you just- Ugh! Is it because I'm young or you just don't feel that
way about me!" Draco sighed, sitting down and tugging Harry beside him.

"It's a lot of things, but it's not because of you. I don't want to rush anything because you're still
figuring out who you are. I also don't want you to think you're some Potter substitute. And... And
I really don't know what I'm doing, Harry."

"This all seemed a lot easier in my head," Harry sighed, falling backwards to lay on his back, the
teen staring up at the canopy. "But… The way you said all that, it- It makes you sound like
you do want something. Eventually."

"Well… Yes. I rather thought that much was obvious." Glancing back, he saw Harry wasn't
looking at him, but had on a stupidly big smile.

"Nothing's ever obvious with you, Dray. So- So, right. Maybe not now, but... Eventually. I can- I
think I can be good with eventually."

"Well," Draco said softly, laying down beside Harry and holding his hand. "I could be swayed."

"Oh?" Harry rolled over onto his side to face him, smiling at him and returning the hold just as
tight. "What would sway you?" A mischievous grin beginning to form, Draco only gave Harry a
shrug, looking away. "Dray- Hey, you can't just- Dray!" Harry was laughing even as he tugged at
his robes, squirming closer. "Come on, Dray, now you have to tell me."

"Well, I didn't have anything specific in mind," Draco laughed as well.

"Draaay." Harry whined long and loud, giggles bubbling out through the word as he moved to
'collapse' on top of him.

"I thought, how clever you can be, you would come up with something easily!"

"You're so mean." Harry settled down on top of him, the two slowly relaxing before Harry gave a
soft breath. "I think… I think I might love you more than just a friend."

Draco only gave him a nod, smiling warmly. "I know." Harry hide his face, huffing and grumbling.

"Don't just say 'I know' to that. I mean- Something's changed between us now, right? It feels like it
has, but it also feels like nothing has changed if that makes any sense."

"...You know, I mostly just wanted to figure out what we were going to tell everyone that asks if
we're together."

"Oh." Hiding a smile, Draco gently tousled Harry's hair. "We could keep being vague? Just let
them guess? I mean, no matter what we say they're going to think we're, uh, together."

"Do you… not want them to think that?"

"I mean- I don't- I don't want them to think that if it's not true, I guess." Draco didn't know what to
say. He really didn't want to push Harry, but… he did want this. "What do you want right now?"

"I… Well, I- I should probably get to Muggle Studies." Sitting up to where he was sitting on top of
Draco, Harry stared at him before giving a weak smile.

"Guess it really is our normal year, huh? Relationship troubles included."

"Normal? I think it's the new mystery of the year," Draco huffed, nudging at Harry. "Budge up."

"So- So just to be clear, all of this- It- It wasn't a no, right?"

"I-" Draco sighed, though he did look up fondly. "It wasn't a no."

"Right- Right! Class. You should get to class." Harry finally moved, pushing Draco up and off the
bed and still avoiding looking at him. "I'll just- I'll just do homework. Or something."

"Right. For the next ten or twenty seconds." Draco ruffled his hair. "I'll be right back."

Laughing, Harry grabbed Draco's hand, watching him for a moment before leaning forward and
hesitantly kissing at the back of it. "See you soon, Dray." Where his other hand was already on the
Time Turner, Draco had no way to hide his blush as he looked away. "Come back safe."

Draco nodded. "I will." With that, he gave the Time Turner a single turn.
 Traces of Magic
Chapter Notes

Happy New Year! Let's kick this year off right and get you all some new chapters,
drabbles, AU, the whole kit and kaboodle! If you're interested, hop over to either of
our accounts, Kasena, or Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter, where we both have our own
drabbles we've worked on, some of which relate directly to this AU! And you can find
us on Pillowfort, or Tumblr! Have a good one! ~Kas

Right. Muggle Studies. No problem. Easy enough. Or, at least, it would be easy enough if his mind
wasn't completely caught on his conversation with Harry and everything it meant. Draco waited
patiently outside the classroom, glancing over as Hermione joined him.

"Is Harry alright? You two didn't come back and I was worried it was even worse than I thought."

"He's… He's better. I took him up to the dorm to calm down, and we started to… talk."

"Talk?" Hermione frowned, pausing from where she was getting her book out. "What about?"

"About… Well. About quite a few things," he said softly, looking down at the ground. There was a
moment of silent, Hermione's hand gently touching his arm.

"Good things, I hope."

"Ah… Here and there." Draco gave her a bit of a weak smile. "I'm afraid that I may have let his
hope down."

"What do you mean?" Hermione frowned before her eyes widened. "Was this talk about, well, you
know… You two."

"It… Yes," Draco sighed. "It was. And… I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean? I mean, from my point of view it's pretty obvious you both have feelings for
each other like- Well, like that."

"It- Hermione, that might be true, but it is much more complicated than that. And what do you
mean obvious?"

"Draco, you two are always kissing each other on the cheek and- Yes, alright, I suppose that could
be considered close friends, but the way you two look at each other… That's not 'just friends'."

"I know. I had wanted to talk to him about maybe putting a label to it, but… He just doubts himself
so much." It seemed Harry automatically wanted to do whatever Draco wanted to do - one of the
reasons Draco was so hesitant about starting anything to begin with.

"After all he's been through? I can't blame him. Maybe you both just need time to grow, then?"

Draco snorted at that. "I do not. Harry, however… I've just been imitating whatever he initiates. I
don't want him to be uncomfortable."
"That's sweet, but make sure to keep in mind what you can and can't handle, too." Oh, no, that was
the last thing on his mind in all of this. "If it helps, I think you two are good together."

"It… does help, thank you." Draco paused as the door opened and students began to amble out.
"Shall we, then?"

"We shall. Right, eighth class of the day, then." When she said it like that it all sounded rather
exhausting. "I'm glad that it's only going to be Mondays that are this bad."

"You're right, every other day is only six or seven classes."

"We've made a horrible choice, I feel."

"It's… for the greater good?"

"Yes, yes." Hermione went straight up to the front desk, looking just a touch frazzled. "Don't
distract me. I need to think about how I'm going to do all my homework tonight." Oh, dear.

"...Actually," Draco said, clearing his throat. "I think this class may give me some trouble. Do you
think, possibly…" Instead of answering, Hermione only raised an eyebrow and, damn. She was
gonna make him actually ask, wasn't she? "I… need your help."

"I suppose if you really need help," Hermione sighed - rather dramatically - before giving a sly
grin. "See? Admitting it wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Actually, it was," Draco huffed, crossing his arms and looking away from her. "Most dreadful
thing I've ever done."

"Wait until you have to explain to Pansy that you and Harry aren't dating because you think you
aren't ready." Oh… Oh, bloody hell, if he gave that reason Pansy would kill him. Draco sighed.

"I made it all go wrong, didn't I?"

"No- No, Draco, you didn't-"

"Alright, class! I hope you all have had an exciting first day so far. I'll be teaching you for the
semester and for those who don't already know me my name is Professor Charity Burbage." And
just like that, Draco wasn't sitting in Muggle Studies class. He was instead at a table of murderers
as they all laughed- "Draco?" Oh, god, what had he done. "Draco Malfoy, that is you, yes?"

"Ye- Yes, ma'am," he said softly, looking firmly away. He wasn't sure what kind of look she gave
him - if any - but Draco didn't turn around to find out. He only kept his gaze firmly on his books
and refused to look up. Maybe that would be enough to get him through this class. Merlin, how had
he forgotten? They had killed her for teaching Muggle Studies positively. That was her only crime,
and for that she'd received torture and death.

Not this time, though. Draco had years before that time came and he was going to do everything he
could to stop it. He couldn't do much this year, but next year when Voldemort was supposed to
rise… He'd fix this. He'd keep everyone - Harry - safe. For now, it would be best for him to keep
his head down and stay quiet.

Draco stayed silent for the rest of the class, avoiding looking at Burbage as much as he could. As
soon as class was over he was one of the first ones out the door and oh no. He would not be sitting
in the front next time he stepped in that class. Maybe a nice little corner far in the back. That
sounded nice. Draco didn't even stop when Hermione tried to speak with him, only hurrying up to
the dorms where Harry was waiting for him. He… He should get started on homework. Yes, yes
that sounded nice and safe and simple.

It was far too easy to slip past everyone, no one having seen him for the last half hour having
helped since he and Harry left Defense early. A quick dash up the stairs and he was hiding in the
dorm, startling at the spike of magic- Ah. He had just left- Or, his past self had. Looking over
showed Harry was on the bed, hand half outstretched and a expression between sad and fond on his
face. Though he knew it probably wasn't right, Draco looked away from Harry quickly and settled
down on the floor next to his bed, getting out his homework and starting on it immediately.

"You were right about ten seconds, then," Harry laughed, the sound doing wonders to soothe
Draco. "How was Muggle Studies?"

"It was fine," he said quietly, spreading his papers out around him carefully. Harry didn't ask any
more questions which… That wasn't right. Harry was... Harry was now sitting a few feet across
from him on the floor and sketching. Draco frowned as he could only stare a him, head tilting
slightly. "Harry?"

"Yeah?" Harry looked up, tilting his head the opposite way.

"Are you alright?" Draco's frown deepened as he leaned forward.

"I think I should be asking you that question." Harry gave a smile, scooting a bit closer. "That bad
a class?" Draco sighed, and when Harry sat beside him, he leaned his head on the teen's shoulder.

"It just brought back a bad memory." Shifting against him, Harry rested his head on top of Draco's,
a quiet hum leaving him.

"That's okay. That's why you're here, right? To make those bad memories into good ones- Well, I
know it's a bit more complicated than that, but I swear that sounded better and more reassuring in
my head."

"No, love, it sounded perfectly fine." Draco hummed quietly, holding Harry's hand.

"Good- Good." Harry held Draco's hand back, pausing. "Dray, I can't draw left handed."

"Oh. Well then this should be good practice." Really. Harry whining and sounding so childish was
more reassuring than anything else he could have said in that moment. It reminded him that it
wasn't too late. That he could still just be 'Harry' instead of Harry Potter. It… It was good like this.
"I love you, too."

There was a long silence, Draco starting to feel a bit nervous before he felt Harry move and then
lips pressed against his cheek. "I know." Draco smiled, even as he looked away and focused on his
work. There was a moment before Harry was standing up and moving to sit on his other side,
holding his hand and settling his sketchbook. "You did promise to let me draw you."

"Well, now I can't work on my homework. I'm not left-handed, either."

"Oh," Harry smirked. "Well then this should be good practice." Draco huffed out a laugh, still
leaning against Harry.

"You, dear, are something else entirely."

"Shut up and do your homework," Harry laughed, settling against him and squeezing his hand
tightly. "You're okay."
"So are you." Draco squeezed his hand back. "He can't get you, here."

"Thanks, Dray."

"Anytime."

::

"Harry. Have you noticed anything strange about Hermione?"

"Er, depends on if I was supposed to or not."

"It feels like she's been staring at us a lot. Me more than you."

"Staring?" Harry frowned, looking over to where Hermione was acting as if she wasn't staring. She
definitely was staring, though. "I… Maybe, actually. She's been asking me weird questions, too.
Like, how we met, what we do over our summers, stuff like that."

Draco frowned and leaned closer to Harry. "Do you think she knows?" It took a moment, but when
it clicked Harry narrowed his eyes, giving a small shake of his head.

"No… No, but she might suspect."

"That's still no good." Draco crossed his arms. "I don't like it. If she can figure it out, who else
can."

"Hermione's not exactly the average student," Harry said quietly. "You and her are the only ones to
be approved for something like time turners, and you have years more knowledge. I'd be surprised
if she didn't figure out something was weird about you."

"Well… Just be careful around her, alright?"

"What's she gonna do, hex me?" Harry raised his hands peacefully. "Sorry, okay, I'll be careful."
Draco couldn't help a smile as he shifted against Harry and finally lifted up Harry's arm to wrap
around himself. "You know, you could have just said you wanted a hug," Harry teased, wrapping
both arms around Draco and near overbalancing them both as rested his forehead against Draco's
cheek.

"I could have, but this is more fun," Draco said softly, leaning his head against Harry's. The teen
gave a quiet hum, relaxing against Draco before speaking quietly.

"Sev wanted to talk to me after Potions today." Oh? Probably about the boggart- Harry didn't stay
behind in Potions. "I might've forgotten to tell you and I also might've forgotten to mention that's
why I was rushing us out of the classroom so quickly."

"Harry," Draco sighed, shaking his head. "Let's go talk to Sev."

"Okay, but, um, weren't we doing homework? Let's go back to that. Homework sounds great right
now." Draco only rose an eyebrow at Harry, standing and holding a hand out. "Oh, fine." Harry
took his hand, looking like he was being offered up to Dementors. With a smile, Draco tugged him
up.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Harry." The look very much begged to differ, but Harry didn't fight against
the tug towards the portrait hole.

"What would he even want to talk about? He already knows everything that happened there."
"Oh. Did he say that's what he wanted to talk about?"

"Not really. He said he wanted to 'discuss my progress' and that's usually a bad sign for me when
teachers say that, so, you know. Running. That's why the running."

Draco chuckled, shaking his head as he led Harry through the halls. "He very well could have
meant in Potions. We all know that it's not your best subject."

"Hey, at least I don't blow things up like Seamus does." Harry laced his fingers with Draco's,
swinging their hands back and forth as they walked. It… It was kind of incredible when Draco
thought about it. Him and Harry Potter walked through the halls and holding hands. "I'm in the top
fifteen in our class, at least."

"...Harry, dear, I'd say top thirty." They could hold hands and walk beside each other and no one
would even bat an eye, it was such a normal, average occurrence.

"Hey!" Harry was laughing too hard to even pout and it was just- He had already changed so much
for the better. "Alright, so, we say hi to Sev, you distract him with potion talk, and then I run away.
Sound good?"

"It sounds very plausible if I hadn't heard it ahead of time."

"You have to admit, he has gotten a knack for thinking on his feet."

"I'm quite aware." Sev was almost smiling. He must have been in a good mood. "The habit has
gotten worse after spending time with you, however." Mm, maybe a bit. Oh, how cute, Harry was
trying to hide behind him.

"I would say better. You wanted to speak with him?"

"Yes, I did. While your potions grade could use discussion, I mainly wanted to ask if you were
alright or if you wanted to perhaps contact Mrs. Malfoy." As Sev spoke, Harry relaxed a great deal,
finally giving a shake of his head.

"I'll be okay, Professor. It just… It caught me off guard, was all."

"We already talked about it a bit, Uncle Sev. I think I helped Harry with most of it."

"I really am alright." Sev didn't look like he believed it, but Harry's bright smile seemed to reassure
him.

"Very well. If you need to talk to anyone, however, myself, Professor Lupin, and Professor
McGonagall are willing to listen. I'm sure Draco's mother is, as well." Draco only hummed softly,
leaning against Harry. All things that Draco had told Harry.

"I understand, Professor. Thank you," Harry nodded, grinning at Draco and pressing back against
him. "Um, do we really need to talk about my potions grade? Because I'm pretty sure I'm around
and A right now."

"Yes, that is indeed a problem," Sev said seriously, nodding.

"Wha- A is passing! I'm passing!"

"Barely."

"Yes, but see, Professor, it's passing. As long as I'm passing I don't see why I should be worried."
"Actually, Harry," Draco chimed in. "In Uncle Sev's classes, you want to aim for O's. If you want
the upper level classes, you can't take them without O-levels."

"Oh- Wait, is it A, E, O, or is it A, O, E?" Oh, dear.

"A, E, O. Acceptable, Exceeds Expectations, and Outstanding."

"You want me to be doing top level work?! I can barely finish my essays without stea- Ah,
borrowing- Studying! Without studying Hermione's and yours notes." Harry cleared his throat,
avoiding looking at Sev.

"Well, of course," Draco said with a smile. "Don't worry. Hermione and I will be able to help. And
maybe… Uncle Sev might volunteer his services? He's always willing to help a student that's
eager."

"As long as the student is willing to put forth the effort," Sev agreed, giving a nod of his head. "My
advice is to learn and study with your friends. If after that there's still trouble then I can set aside
some time each week to help you through whatever you're confused over."

"Oh." Harry stared, looking... He looked confused. "I… Okay- Yes. That- Okay."

"Come on," Draco said, tugging him towards the door. "You were so wanting to make sure we did
our homework, when we left."

"Wha- I- Dray." Aw, Harry looked so adorable when he looked betrayed. "What did I ever do to
you!"

"Come on," he repeated.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming- Thanks for caring, Professor Snape!" Harry called, grabbing Draco's
hand and spinning him around the corner so they were facing each other. "You know, I was
promised some midnight Seeker's Games."

"You know, you're right. But once I go to sleep, I won't wake up. How about Friday night? Then
we won't have to worry about getting up early."

"Friday night sounds good." Harry paused, looking as if he realized something before he glanced
away. "So, um, I never asked, and just to be sure, you don't- You don't mind me sleeping in your
bed, do you?"

Draco smiled at Harry. "No, Harry. I don't. Nothing's really changed between us, has it?"

"Right- Right." Harry grinned, kissing at Draco's cheek. "By the way, Wood said that tryouts are
this Saturday."

"Oh. Alright. Do you want me to come watch, then? I… I don't know if I'll try out for reserves,
again."

"Really?" Harry paused, still holding his hand and frowning after a moment. "Are you gonna
wanna skip the team this year or do you maybe wanna try out for something else? There are other
positions on the team."

"I don't know. I've never played anything else."

"Well, maybe now's your opportunity to try, yeah?"

"Harry, I don't know how to play anything else."

"Yeah, but you can fly a broom pretty well. That's better than most of the people who turn up for
tryouts. Besides, the girls can run you through all the plays if you wanna be Chaser, Wood would
love to have a Keeper ready to go for next year, and you learning under the twins- Actually, no,
that last one sounds like a bad idea. Don't be a beater."

"No," he said with a sharp shake of the head. "I certainly wasn't planning on it. Though I wouldn't
be opposed to a chaser… I'd need a bit thicker build for a keeper."

"I think you'd be a good keeper, but chaser… That suits you better." Harry tugged on his hand,
kissing at his cheek. "You should try out. You know all our plays, after all."

"I don't know… I could use some convincing."

"Oh?" Oh. Yes, okay, oh, Harry was suddenly a lot closer and had his hands tangled in Draco's
robes and he was very close. "Dunno what I could say to convince you. You're kinda stubborn."

"I… I, uh…" What? Really, what? Draco lost all higher thought processes. This was- Ooh, boy,
this was very much not expected and he was a hundred percent certain Harry didn't even know
what he was doing.

"I'm probably going to make a horrible decision here," Harry huffed, falling forward to brace his
forehead against Draco's. "Letting the Slytherin choose, and all, but is there anything I could do to
convince you? I like you playing Quidditch with me. Wouldn't feel right without you there."

"I will," Draco said quickly, agreeing to, really, anything Harry wanted of him.

"Really?" Harry beamed, wrapping his arms around Draco's shoulders. "That's great! Now
we definitely need to go out and play Friday night- Hey, maybe we can drag Ron out. Hermione
too, maybe- Just like first year! We can have you try out some keeper and chaser positions."

"Right. Who's going to be beater? Hermione?"

"Mm, I don't think she'd be willing to go that high up. Either the twins or Dean and Seamus, I
think."

"Just get all the Gryffindors out of bed and out of the castle then to play Quidditch?"

"You have a point." Harry huffed, pouting as he fell forward and shifted so his head was braced
against his shoulder and aah, okay, breathing on his neck, that was weird- That was strange.
"Maybe we should have a day game and then you and me can practice more at night. Just us."
Aha, the way Harry was, it was almost like he was about to-

"Okay. Right. Sounds good." Suddenly Harry was letting him go and Draco could breathe and
alright, he was being pulled along down the halls now.

"Great! C'mon, let's go see if the others want to play- They probably will. I mean. Gryffindors."

"Right. Right- What are we doing, exactly?"

"You alright?" Harry gave him a silly little smile, laughs bubbling out of him. "I just told you.
We're gonna go schedule our own little Quidditch game."

"Right. Okay. I… I'll try chasing, for a bit." Draco smiled, leaning close enough to kiss Harry's
cheek gently. Harry blushed before quickly clearing his throat and, yeah- Yeah. This year was
going to be wonderfully normal - well, normal enough for them.

::

"You know, maybe it's a good thing you're not going for seeker this year!" Oh, this cheeky brat.

"I am better than any of the other seekers out there and you know it!"

"Not better than me!" With that, Harry was diving towards the ground at speeds that near every
sane person would avoid. Harry Potter, Draco had found, was anything but sane. Still, a flash of his
broom, a wicked smile, and the boy was holding up the snitch with windswept hair.

"You know, playing at night isn't very smart anyway. You're the only person who can see the
snitch in the dark. It's not fair. We shouldn't play in the dark anymore."

"Hey, I'm wearing glasses, I'm the one at the disadvantage here." Harry paused from where he was
about to let the snitch go, staring towards the direction of the Forbidden Forest. "Hey, uh, Dray,
did you hear anything just now?" Draco frowned and glanced in the same direction.

"No. Should I have?" Instead of flying back up, Harry touched down on the ground and
walked towards the Forbidden Forest, Draco flying down a bit closer.

"No- Maybe? I thought I heard something or maybe saw something."

"Harry?" Draco frowned, landing as well and catching up to Harry, placing a hand on his arm.
"Hey. Maybe not go into the dark forest?"

"Yeah, see, I can see how that's a good idea." Harry patted at his hand, walking forward again. "It
looked like a group of moving shadows." Oh, this boy had a death wish. "Do you think a Dementor
got on school grounds?"

"It shouldn't have. They're supposed to be on the very edges of the grounds, away from the
students. The only way it could be this far in would be if Sirius Black were."

"I'd rather Sirius Black than a Dementor," Harry muttered, jerking back into Draco and fumbling
for his wand. Before Draco could panic and grab his own wand, a swath of the shadows walked
forward and for a moment all Draco could see was the Grim and remember their first Divination
class. Then a large black dog was sitting down in front of them and giving a single wag of his tail.

"Harry… Is that-?" Was that the Grim-like dog? The one they'd left at Malfoy Manor?

"Snuffles!" Harry was running forward and dropping to his knees at once, wrapping his arms
around the dog- No, there was no way that was a normal dog. They had left it at the Manor. "You
found us!"

"Harry, I'm not sure I'd do that, if I were you." Draco drew his wand, though kept it pointed down
at the ground. The creature looked up at him and stared into his eyes for a long few moments
before heaving a great sigh, Harry cooing at the thing.

"Poor thing, you must have walked a long way to get here, huh?" Harry scratched at his ears and
head, frowning. "I bet he hasn't eaten much since then. How do you think he found us?"

"That's what I'm wondering. No normal dog would have been able to find us, let alone know to
come look for us here." Something wasn't adding up. By all accounts, this wasn't an average dog,
but there was no other evidence as to what it could be.

"Maybe he just got lucky," Harry shrugged, standing back up and brushing his robes off. "C'mon,
we should probably get back inside. Hey, do you know how to conjure a bowl or something? I
wanna give him some water before we leave."

"It would disappear in just a few minutes," Draco told him. Instead of accepting it, Harry gave him
a pathetic look that was worse than any 'puppy dog eyes' the mangy mutt could make. "...Fine."
Draco muttered the spell, wincing at the crude bowl he'd conjured. "Conjuring is not where my
talents lie."

"It's more than what I can do," Harry laughed, taking the bowl with a quick kiss to Draco's cheek
before setting it down. "Okay, and, um… What's the water spell again? Aqua…?"

"Aguamenti," Draco sighed, flicking his wand dully at the bowl. It filled up with water and Draco
had a moment of pride at seeing Harry's starstruck look before it vanished at the unimpressed
look the mutt was giving him. "Harry," Draco said softly. "Remember your tea cup from our first
Divination class?"

"Considering Lavender and Parvati keep whispering and looking like I'm about to die, yeah, I
remember," Harry snorted, patting at the creature's back as it lapped at the water. "Why?" Draco
gave a significant look down to the dog, looking back up at Harry. He couldn't be the only one
seeing the resemblance. "Wha- You think Snuffles is the Grim?" Harry crossed his arms, shaking
his head. "Isn't the Grim supposed to only show to the person about to die?"

"You don't think it's at least a little odd? I don't remember strays popping up at Hogwarts or the
Manor last go around." That had Harry looking a bit more hesitant.

"Well- Well, you said things were different between there and here, right? Maybe this is one of
them?" Harry looked back down to 'Snuffles,' biting at his lip. "I don't think he's dangerous, Dray.
He's familiar."

That had Draco drawing back with a frown. "Familiar?" The only way the dog could be familiar
would be if Harry met it before the past summer. And if he met it before the past summer, and it
was back now, all the more reason to keep it away.

"Not- Not like 'hey I've seen this dog before a few years ago,' but more like he's just- I don't know.
Safe, I guess? Smells familiar." Smell? "Like- Like you smell like sage and cauldron fire, right? He
kind of smells like- Like okay there's that wet dog fur smell, but also kind of something sweeter?
Reminds me of chocolate and Professor Lupin almost."

Sage... Cauldron- Hang on. "Harry- Harry, Harry, can you smell magical signatures?" He knew
Harry said he 'smelled' things a lot but he thought- He thought it was just- Just an overactive
imagination!

"I- What?" Harry stared at him, starling as the creature nudged at his elbow, a quiet sound in the
back of it's throat. "I don't- I didn't think you could detect magical signatures? It's just- You all
have a smell."

"Some people can, though it's not very common," Draco sighed. "For me personally, I can mostly
feel magical signatures." One of the reasons he had feared Voldemort so greatly and been so afraid
at his 'mission' of killing Dumbledore. Their magic was far, far too powerful.

"I didn't know that was possible," Harry muttered, shaking his head. "That- It makes sense. I never
smelled anything like that off the Dursleys, but then- Hagrid was stormy oceans and garden seeds,
Hermione is old parchment and pen ink, Ron is sunshine and grass, and you're sage and cauldron
fire."

"It... Really?" He supposed that made sense. Though now all those comments of sage made so
much sense, truly.

"Sorry. I- Sorry. I probably should have realized it on my own."

Draco frowned down at him. "How." Staying silent, Harry only gave a shrug. "How could you
have realized it on your own? And I just told you, I can do the same thing, albeit in a different
way."

Sighing, Harry shifted to sit himself down on the grass, the obviously magical creature if it had a
signature sitting down next to him and laying it's head on Harry's lap. "I thought it was just me
being weird when you never reacted. That's- That's how I always knew it wasn't you last year. The
scent changed."

Draco startled at that, his eyes widening. "What- Really? You would think with it still being me, it
would stay the same, he was still using my wand-"

"Death." Wha... "Smelled like death and rot and hate." Harry fell silent, looking back up at Draco.
"Wasn't your magic." Draco only nodded.

"It makes sense. That's about what his magic felt like. The way the Dementors make you feel?
That's what he feels like."

"About the same smell," Harry snorted. "So, uh, does that mean we can keep Snuffles? I mean, he
walked all the way here to find us!"

"Harry, if anything, it's more reason not to- Bloody hell, we are not naming it Snuffles!"

"I mean, Hyperion isn't much better, but I could be convinced if that horrible name means he gets
to stay." Oh for the love of- He would not let this go!

"Harry, normal animals don't have magical signatures." But… He couldn't really feel much from
this dog. Enough to be acknowledged, but then easily passed off as being around a lot of magic.

"I think if he was some mass murderer in disguise or the Grim as you seem to think, I'd be dead
instead of hugging him." To prove a point, Harry hugged the dog.

Draco snorted quietly. "Well, not if it was Sirius Black." A loud, booming bark from the beast had
Draco scrambling a few steps backward, Harry laughing.

"How would Sirius Black turn himself into a dog, Dray? Besides, he's supposed to be 'out to kill
me,' remember?" Cheeky brat.

"Maybe he's an animagus! Maybe he's one of the school owls at this very minute, waiting to swoop
in at breakfast tomorrow-"

"And do what? You said Sirius wasn't a threat to me and that me and him got along great in your
time." The mutt gave another, quieter bark at least, pressing against Harry more.

"Yes, well… Well, maybe I lied," Draco huffed, crossing his arms and turning away. Honestly,
Harry couldn't even tell that he was trying to help him and if the boy was going to be difficult, well,
then, Draco could be just as difficult-

"Dray." Harry's arms wrapped around his waist from behind and the teen was breathing and
pressing against the back of his neck and when had he even stood? "Dray, c'mon, what's wrong?"

Draco shivered, leaning back against Harry. "Something just doesn't seem right."

"It… It is a little weird that he found us all the way at Hogwarts, but I don't think he's dangerous,
Dray." Harry supported him easily, holding him closer and humming quietly. "Trust me a little,
yeah?"

"Oh… Oh, fine," Draco huffed, keeping his arms tightly crossed. That did nothing to stop Harry
from moving around to kiss his cheek, lingering for longer than he usually did and that was a
lot lower on his face than it usually was.

"Thanks, Dray." Draco, as always, wasn't able to hide his smile, only dropping his arms to wrap
around Harry. Harry pulled back and grinned, pressing closer for a second. "I'll be careful, okay?
'Sides, I have you protecting me."

"Always," Draco promised. "Come on. Let's go turn in for the night."

"Sounds good." Hugging Draco, Harry moved to pet at the mutt's head. "Okay, 'Hyperion,' don't
get into too much trouble, alright? We'll be back to check on you later." Bending down, it looked
as if he was trying to talk quietly enough Draco wouldn't hear him. "Snuffles was a stupid name
anyways, but it annoyed him well enough, didn't it?"

Draco scoffed. "Harry James Potter!" Before he could yell anymore, Harry was up and running
across the field, bright laughter leaving him. "You get back here, Harry!"

"No, I think you're gonna have to catch me instead, Draco!"

"Harry!"
 Chasing Mischief

Draco had a single moment to enjoy waking up peacefully before he realized that there was
someone sitting on top of him. Considering it was the morning of 'something important,' it didn't
take long to guess who was sitting on top of him. Draco groaned and grabbed one of the pillows,
trying to smother himself with it. One day. Just one day to sleep in. Was that too much to ask?

"Oh, are you awake? C'mon, we should go get breakfast." He was doomed to a life of dealing with
Harry Potter, wasn't he? "We should probably get to the field early, too. You know how Wood is
with his tryouts."

"Harry," Draco whined. "We've still got time." Draco tried to pull Harry back down to lay beside
him. "Come on." The key word there, however, was tried. Tried.

"We've got so much to do today, though!" Harry's laughter was light and bubbling out of him,
Draco cracking his eyes open just in time to see Harry duck down and then he felt warm lips on his
cheek. "C'mon, Dray." Draco sighed, sitting up and smiling at Harry. For a moment. Then he
jumped out of bed.

"Why are you looking at me?! I haven't gotten myself together!" Instead of looking properly
apologetic, Harry only laughed louder and harder.

"It's Quidditch tryouts!"

"Yes, exactly! Do you know how many people are going to be there?!" This only caused the
younger to laugh even more, and, really. He supposed it was nice to see Harry laughing and happy.
No doubt his boggart was still weighing heavily on his mind. Draco sighed, shaking his head as he
gathered up his clothes and went into the bathroom. He left the others all to sleep. It was only
Draco he ever tortured.

By the time he was dressed and ready for the day and coming out, he saw one or two of the other
boys had gotten out of bed and were no doubt getting breakfast. Harry was sitting next to one of the
windows and looking out at the morning sun, content little smile on his face. Draco smiled and
walked over, nudging him. "Come on then, Boy Wonder."

"You know, I am technically a teenager." Harry slid off his seat and near knocked Draco
backwards with the hug he gave him. "Morning."

"And yet, so immature," Draco laughed, bumping him and walking towards the door. "Come on."

"You're very bright and cheery for someone who was complaining so much not that long ago."

"What can I say? When my world seems to be on the bright side, how can I stay so upset?"

"'Bright side.' You have seen how crazy Wood gets about tryouts, haven't you?" Harry caught up to
him and twined their hands together, grinning up at him. "He's going to run us ragged."

"I dunno, you seem pretty happy." There was a moment where it all seemed to completely go over
Harry's head before he was blushing brightly and looking away. Laughing again, Draco squeezed
his hand. "You need breakfast before tryouts, Star Seeker."

"Fine, but only because you'll complain and kick up a fuss if I don't eat."
"And so will Wood, and Johnson, and Bell, and the Weasleys-"

"Alright, alright!" Harry whined, pulling Draco along down the halls with a dramatic frown.
"Honestly, you all and your caring."

"Careful," Draco smirked. "You're starting to sound more like me by the day."

"Perish the thought." Harry hid a little smile by kissing at Draco's cheek. "Breakfast, then?"

"Breakfast sounds brilliant."

The second they were getting down to the Great Hall, the team was swarming them, most of them
complaining about Wood and his horrible regime and the twins stealing Harry and getting him
even more excited about visiting Hogsmeade for the first time. That was good. Harry always
needed a few things to look forward to, around here. Too much death and despair, in his opinion.

"Are you both trying out for seeker again, this year?" Johnson asked, looking to Draco, mostly.
"Because if Harry doesn't try out for seeker we think Wood might cry."

"Of course he's trying out for Seeker. What else do you expect?" The girl raised her hands
peacefully, Bell breaking out into laughter. Honestly, the Gryffindors were so cheery.

"Are you trying out for reserve seeker this year, too, then?"

"No," Draco sighed. "I don't think so. I'm nowhere near as good a Seeker as him."

"But you are still trying out for something on the team, aren't you?" Mm, maybe he should make
them panic a little. "Draco- Draco, come on, you know Harry will mope if you're not there."

"I've thought about it. But really... I'm not sure I have much of an interest in Quidditch anymore."
The looks of horror the girls gave him almost had him cracking up. Almost.

"You're not trying out this year." Harry looked to him with wide, sad eyes, Draco seeing the spark
of utter mischief. "Oh, well... Maybe we can just watch the games this year." Hm... Now, this could
go one of two ways.

"Oh, no, Harry love, you don't need to do that... You should still play. You love it."

"But we only did Quidditch so we could be together, more. What would be the point of being on
the team without you there?" Across from them, Wood was looking ready to have a heart attack.

"I would still be at every game and practice, I just won't be playing with you. That's alright, isn't
it?" Draco watched as Harry chewed on his bottom lip, looking to be thinking deeply about it.

"I guess... Maybe you could try out for another position on the team?" While Wood looked like he
was dying, the twins looked to be trying not to break out in laughter. Draco stepped closer to him,
smiling.

"Whatever lets me be beside you." This time, Harry had to work at not laughing.

"Well. I suppose you could try out for something else. Maybe... Chaser?" Draco took a deep breath
to keep from giggling as he cupped Harry's cheek.

"What do I have to chase when I already have everything I want?" Instead of shooting a line back,
Harry's cheeks flushed as his hair started to curl at the ends.
"I- Um, yes- No, what?" Draco released Harry to lean against him, laughter finally bubbling out
and bloody hell, that was hilarious! Did he see the look on Wood's face?!

"That was brilliant, you two."

"I think Hogwarts is going to be well taken care of when we leave, Fred."

"George, I couldn't agree with you more." Draco wrapped his arms around Harry, still laughing.

"Harry, that was brilliant."

"Wait, wait, so are you going to try out for Chaser this year?" The girls were swarming and moving
them towards the table, Wood muttering curses under his breath and looking exhausted. It was a
good day, so far.

Draco's smile began to slip away. "I… really don't know."

"Yes, he is," Harry jumped up, embarrassment starting to fade. "That's the reason we were
practicing so much the last day or so. He's going to be trying out for Chaser, definitely."

"Am I, now? And what if I don't?" He couldn't help but to raise his chin, crossing his arms as he
turned from Harry.

"Then you'll try out for Seeker again. Maybe reserve Keeper." Oh? And what- "You love being in
the air, Dray, and you're competitive as hell. You're not going to sit back and let others play when
you have a chance of being in the air to save the day."

"Excuse me. Who are you to say what I love and don't love?"

"Your boyfriend." Harry shot back, delightful blush spreading over his cheeks. "And your best
friend. I know you."

"Wha- You- No, you can't-" How dare he.

"Aw, you guys are so sweet together," one of the girls sighed, Finnigan snorting from where he
was eating breakfast.

"I think you mean worse."

"Y'know, they sleep together in the dorm all the time." Oh- Oh, no, these children.

"You mean like how you keep crawling into bed with Seamus every night," Harry smiled
cheerfully. "Or is it where Seamus keeps going to sleep in your bed? It's hard to tell."

"You wanna know what's hard?" Oh, not Longbottom. "Trying to get to sleep and hearing you two
every morning." Don't say anything. If Draco said anything like he wanted to then it would be
suspicious because he was supposed to be thirteen. It was hard, though, when the girls were
clearing their throats and the Weasley twins were bent over laughing. Prats.

"Harry, I think we have a bit of studying to do in the library. Now?" Draco didn't have to say much
more before Harry was grabbing a few things off the table, grabbing Draco's hand, and pulling him
along.

"We'll meet you on the field soon, guys!"

"I hate them. I hate them- I hate you!"

"Mhm. Why do you hate me today, then?" Ugh! Why was Harry so calm sometimes?!

"Because- Because! Because you're an utter brat, you don't know when to shut up, you went and
said that in front of everyone, completely embarrassing me-!"

Harry cut him off with a quick, soft kiss to his cheek, grinning at him. "Yeah, but you're a brat, too,
so it evens out pretty nicely. C'mon, let's go eat this before practice."

"Right. Where are we going to eat it, exactly? If Madam Pince catches us with food-"

"Relax, we're not going down to the library. I figured we could go out on the grounds for a while.
Maybe check on Hyperion while we're down there."

"Oh... Alright, fine. It's still warm enough, I suppose," Draco huffed, following after him as he
rubbed at his cheek. This boy was bad for his heart no matter what time, it seemed.

"He's probably still starving even after we've been feeding him again. Can you imagine walking all
that way? Poor thing."

"Poor thing my bloody arse, he's been slobbering all over you."

"He was probably walking all on his own for weeks, Dray. I'd love to be hugged by someone after
that, too."

"Dogs are the same as wolves, and wolves spend their whole lives prowling through forests on
their own."

"Dogs are in no way the same as wolves," Harry laughed. "Have you ever even met a dog before
this one?"

"Yes," Draco huffed as they left the castle. "Fang."

"And he's a sweetheart! He loves us when we go and visit him- And Fluffy wasn't so bad, either,
once you past the whole, you know. Biting thing."

"Fang has knocked me over no less than four times, and constantly trods all over my poor feet! Not
to mention what he does to my face when he gets close enough."

"You're just upset he ruins your make-up," Harry snorted, munching on something off the plate he
had grabbed. No doubt they'd get yelled at for taking dishes out of the Great Hall if anyone saw.

"Yes, I'm upset he- Is that dog laughing at me?" That dog was definitely laughing at him. There
was no other explanation for the noises it was making.

"Of course not, Dray," Harry snickered, feeding the creature a few pieces of bacon. "Now come eat
before I feed him your eggs."

Draco scoffed. "You wouldn't."

"Wanna find out?" Harry smirked and, dammit, this Harry was much more a Slytherin than the
Potter he had grown up with. "He does look awfully hungry, after all."

"Harry James Potter." Draco hurried over, punching his shoulder. "You give me my breakfast, you
brat."

"Alright, alright," Harry laughed, holding the plate out to him and digging for his wand as he did
so. "Alright, I'm gonna try those spells to get him some water."

Draco sat down on the ground. "Do you remember the spell?"

"Aquamenti?"

"Aguamenti."

"Shouldn't it be Aqua, though? I mean, that's the word for water, isn't it? And hey, I got the 'menti'
part right!"

"Agua is also a word for water," Draco replied simply as he tucked into his food.

"Okay, but if they both mean water, then shouldn't either word work? I mean- There's gotta be
some rules to magic, right?" Honestly, why hadn't this boy gone into Ravenclaw or Slytherin?

"Yes, the rules are that you pronounce the spell correctly."

"But wouldn't they both be correct? Maybe we should ask Professor Lupin about this."

"Okay, fine, try it, see if I care."

"Fine. I will." Harry turned to Hyperion, pointed his wand a little bit away, and cleared his throat.
"Aquamenti." To Draco's surprise, Harry's wand did begin to spout water. Like a child at a drinking
fountain, Hyperion came forward and began to lap at it before backing away and seeming to gag.
"Oh, don't be dramatic." Harry huffed and caught some of the water before the spell ended, licking
it off of his hand before gagging himself.

"What? What'd you do to it?" Draco rose an eyebrow at the two of them. Harry couldn't have
messed up a spell that badly, could he have?

"Salt water," Harry groaned, sitting by Draco and quickly grabbing something off the plate of food
to eat. "It was disgusting."

Draco couldn't help but to laugh at that. "Really? It was salt water?"

"I mean, it had to be, it tasted horrible." Harry did the spell properly this time, both he and
Hyperion looking at it cautiously before Harry looked to the dog. "You try first." The dog seemed
to give him a look of betrayal before coming forward and lapping at the water. "Is it poisoned?"
Seeing as the dog kept drinking, they could probably assume that it worked. "Right. Think
Hermione will be interested to know the result of that one?"

"Unfortunately, I know she will." No doubt it would inspire the girl to try to research spells and
languages and then she'd end up dragging Draco along with her.

"Maybe we should wait until classes settle down. She has enough on her plate with all the multiple
classes." Harry was quiet for a moment before looking to him. "How are you doing with all of
that?"

"Well enough. I expect it's easier for me than her, as I already know half the content."

"Half, but not all. What about the time traveling thing? Anything to worry about?"

"Not so far as I can tell, at least. It seems that I'm perfectly fine."

"You'd tell me if you weren't, right?" Harry leaned against him, watching Hyperion settle back
down on the ground and stretch out.

Draco took the time to think it over before finally nodding. "I'd tell if there was something wrong,
when I used the time turners." Not that there was likely to be anything, but that at least seemed to
reassure Harry, the teen relaxing against him.

"Good. Also, we should probably start heading to the pitch before practice starts."

"Alright. I think... I think maybe being a Chaser will be good for me."

"If nothing else, the girls are gonna be happy," Harry laughed, bouncing to his feet before pulling
Draco up. "I mean, you've heard their complaints. They're getting as bad as Wood about their
'passing legacy.'"

"Did you see them in there?" Draco laughed as he nudged at him. "'Oh, Harry, you just are the
most darling little thing! You're like a little puppy, did you know that? You're so sweet!'"

"Shut up," Harry laughed, shoving at Draco and grinning. "They're all horrible and you seem to be
the only one who's realized that I almost went to Slytherin for a reason." Behind them, Hyperion
barked.

"Your dog is calling you."

"With that name, he's your dog, too," Harry grumbled, walking back over. "What's wrong, boy?
You upset at how mean Draco is being?"

He huffed, waiting for Harry while tapping his foot. "I am not." The mangy mutt had the gall to
look at Draco and then look at Harry and whine.

"I know," Harry cooed. "He's just awful, isn't he?"

Stamping his foot, Draco whined, "Harry!"

"Alright, alright," Harry laughed, standing back up properly. "You can go ahead and have what's
left on the plate, 'Hyperion.' We'll see you later."

Draco walked over and pulled Harry along by the arm. "Come on, then, leave the mutt to his food."

"You're going to end up liking him eventually," Harry huffed, letting himself be dragged along.
"Alright, I'm coming."

"Then hurry it up, you little brat." Giving him one last tug, Draco raised an eyebrow as Harry
pressed up against him before grinning, kissing his cheek, and running off ahead. "Harry! You get
back here!"

"Gotta catch me first, Dray!"

When tryouts started, they went about as Draco had expected. They had all the Seekers up first and
he'd squeezed Harry's hand, giving him a little 'good luck.' Harry gave him a brilliant grin and, as
utterly expected, blew everyone else out of the water. Wood looked ready to cry tears of joy that
his Seeker was in top form. Draco had to of course clap for Harry. He was just so proud of him!
And when Harry landed beside him, Draco couldn't help but to lean over and kiss his cheek. "You
were brilliant."

"Oh- Ah- Thank you!" Harry flushed, looking a mix of delighted and embarrassed. It was rather
sweet. "I mean, aha, I knew I'd do good, but, um, yeah." Harry cleared his throat. "Your turn, I
think?"

"Not yet. He's doing Keepers first, see?" Draco nudged Harry's foot, nodding towards the field.
Harry followed his gaze, eyes darting around the Keepers before his eyes widened.

"Is that- Is that Ron?"

"What? Don't-" Draco looked over. "Hell, it is."

"I didn't know he wanted to be Keeper- Why didn't he tell us?" Harry frowned, looking ready to
shout before thinking better of it. "I'll yell at him after his tryout, but I feel very betrayed right
now."

Draco shrugged, shaking his head. "I don't know. I don't see why he wouldn't tell us, he eventually-
"

"Might end up making the team, but we don't know, because we don't know the future and
Divination is a joke." Harry stared at him after his rush of words, huffing. "You're a bad time
traveller."

"Well, I'm sorry, it's not as though there were exactly classes on how to time travel-"

"Hello, boys."

"Hey, 'Mione," Harry greeted quickly, stomping on Draco's foot as if he didn't know to be quiet.
"Did you see Ron's trying out for Keeper?"

"I did," she told them with a smile as she sat down beside them.

"Did he tell you ahead of time? Because he didn't tell me and I'm feeling very betrayed." Oh,
honestly. And people thought Draco was dramatic.

"He did," she said with a nod. "He didn't want the two of you making such a fuss over him," she
said with a pointed look to Harry.

"Me? Make a fuss? Hermione, I would never." Oh, Merlin, he had corrupted this boy.

"Harry, love," Draco said quietly. "Let him have this."

"Fine," Harry huffed, watching the tryouts intently. "But if he ends up on the team then I'm going
to throw a party for him and have the twins help."

Draco laughed as he leaned against Harry. "Now, I never said not to do that." Harry leaned back
without even seeming to think about it, looking over at Hermione once he saw Ron wasn't in the air
yet.

"You know, I'm kind of surprised you haven't taken over the library with how book happy you've
been lately."

"Oh, well, with all these classes- Though, you know, Draco, I notice you haven't seemed to be
having any sort of trouble in Ancient Runes, or Care of Magical Creatures, or History of Magic.
You seem to already know everything."

"Please," Draco scoffed. "Care of Magical Creatures is hardly anything, History of Magic is
understandable to trolls as long as they actually stay awake, and Ancient Runes... Mm, I suppose
I'm just gifted in that aspect."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "But you seem just as lost and confused as the rest of us, in
Arithmancy and Divination."

"My poorer subjects, it seems. Arithmancy is harder than I would have thought, and Divination..."

"It's Divination," Harry snorted. "But, hey, we'll know our professor is right if I die this year."

"Harry, you're not going to die- What, do you expect you'll just suddenly drop dead?"

"Dunno, maybe Sirius Black is gonna try and off me," Harry snorted. "I still can't believe they let
those Dementor things into the school. I mean, just feeling them on the train..."

"I know. They're awful," Draco said with a shake of his head. "I hope we don't have to deal with
them, anymore."

"They're not allowed into the school," Hermione pointed out. "Dumbledore's forbidden it- Oh,
Ron's up next!" Draco watched along with the other two before he winced.

"Maybe... There's always next year?"

"He gets nervous really easily," Harry sighed, shaking his head at another fumble. "I don't get it.
He's great when we all play together!"

"Maybe we just need to get him to play with more of an audience so he'll be used to it," Draco
suggested.

"That's actually a good idea. We might have a decent Keeper replacement by the time Wood
leaves."

Draco smiled and nodded. "I think he could be really great."

"The twins won't mind helping out," Harry grinned. "They'd love an excuse to throw bludgers at
him."

"Are we sure they even need an excuse?"

"Good point, but this will get them excited about it."

"Alright. My turn up there. Wish me luck?"

Harry stared at him for a moment before grinning slowly and kissing Draco at the corner of his
lips, face already flushed. "Good luck."

Right. Chasing.
 Doggone Mad

"Wood is posting the results," Harry said quietly, gaze completely focused as he looked to where
Wood was trying to sneak the results onto the board without being seen. "I give it five seconds
before he's swarmed."

"Well? Get over there, then." Draco smiled and nudged Harry over towards the board. Harry only
stayed behind for a second longer before he was launching himself off the chair and straight to the
board. Ron was right behind him and Hermione was sighing from her own seat.

"Honestly, these boys. Is Quidditch all you care about?"

"Yes, obviously," he drawled, rolling his eyes at her. "Can't you tell? It's a primal desire of all boys
everywhere, to ride a broomstick professionally."

"Awful," Hermione tsked, looking to be holding in a smile. "I give it five seconds before Harry
starts cheering about how you both made the team."

"Draco! Draco, you're on the team!"

"I'm what?" Draco frowned and stood, making his way over to the board as well.

"Told you," Hermione called out after him, Draco ignoring her as he walked over to where he was
listed under Chasers.

"You're in," Harry beamed, hugging him tightly with a laugh. "Reserve Chaser!"

"I'm…" Draco frowned, feeling something twist in his stomach. "I'm a Chaser."

"Of course. You had one of the best tryouts," Harry pulled back, smile slipping. "Dray? Hey, you
okay?"

"I… I'm fine. Really. Just… I've never played anything but Seeker." Draco felt hands in his before
Harry was pulling him away from the board where people were starting to gather.

"Are you okay? You tend to get… You get like this when something changes."

Draco couldn't help his smile. "I'll be fine, Harry. Really. What will this really change?"

"Dunno, but you've probably already thought up a million bad things," Harry huffed, staring at
Draco for a moment before leaning in to swiftly kiss his cheek. "Change doesn't have to be bad."

"Harry," Draco huffed, turning away from him. "Are you going to do that whenever you feel like
it?"

"Probably, yeah." Harry tugged on their hands, Draco seeing his grin. "I'll try not to make you
uncomfortable with my 'boundless affection,' though."

"I'm not uncomfortable." It was just a bit startling, was all.

"It's okay." Harry leaned against him before shooting up. "Oh! We should write to your mom!
She'll want to know you got a different position this year."

"You're right, she will. Father may be disappointed, though." Draco smiled at Harry. "Seeker is
always a much more prideful position."

"He won't be disappointed," Harry smiled, pulling Draco along to grab their bags before leaving the
common room. "He's proud of you no matter what. Even I can tell that."

"Maybe." Draco picked up his own bag, following after Harry. "Where are we going?"

"Well, first I figure we can go see Hyperion and tell him the good news." Honestly. Leave it to
Harry to befriend what was no doubt the Grim. "Then we can write some letters and go mail them
to your mom."

"Why not just write while we're out there?" There was a moment where Harry paused to think
before pulling him along again.

"That works."

The two made their way down to the edge of the forest where Hyperion was waiting for them,
Draco already summoning a bowl of water for him before shivering. "Wind is starting to pick up."

"It's not even Halloween yet and it's already getting colder," Harry huffed, pulling his robes tighter
around him as he crouched down to pull Hyperion into a hug. "Hey, boy. How are you doing?"
Hyperion whined, and looked as though he were shivering.

"I suppose the cold is getting to him through that ragged fur, as well." Let's see… Draco knew a
warming charm or two he could use for now.

"Yeah…" Oh, no. Harry had on his 'Savior' face. "So, uh, hey, Hogwarts- Hogwarts is pretty big,
right? A lot of rooms? And stuff?"

"Y… Yes. Why do you ask?" Draco asked him with narrowed eyes. He wouldn't dare.

"Well- I mean, if there are a lot of rooms and a few of them won't be used or anything, it couldn't
hurt if we just sort of… borrowed one. Right?"

"Borrowed a classroom. What are you proposing we do, with said borrowed classroom?" There
was a long silence before Draco watched Harry hug Hyperion closer. "No," he said firmly. "No."

"But Dray." Harry whined, shivering along with Hyperion as another gust of wind went through.
"Look at how cold it's getting! We can't leave him out here to die!"

"Harry, he is not going to die, he's got fur!"

"You said it yourself! His fur is all ragged!" Harry turned big, watery eyes on him and oh. Oh, no.
"Please, Dray?"

"Oh… Oh…! Fine!" Draco huffed, crossing his arms. "I don't suppose you have your cloak?"

"Always," Harry grinned. "Actually, considering that this is us and we're, well, us, I started
thinking ahead." Harry dug around in his backpack before pulling out the cloak and bloody hell. He
just walked around with an invisibility cloak in his bag?

"You know how to think ahead?" Draco nudged him. "How are we going to do this, then?"

"Good question." Harry looked down to Hyperion and finally threw the cloak over him. "Okay. We
just hide him like that and let him follow us into the castle."
"How do you know he's going to follow us, Harry? He's a dog." The other only pouted and held his
hand out, beaming after a moment.

"Nope, still there. You're forgetting, Hyperion is a smart dog."

"Or a Grim. Or an animagus," Draco huffed, following along after them.

"He's not the Grim, Draco." That they knew of. "And if he was an animagus then we'd probably
realize it by now- Who would he even be?"

Draco shrugged. "Sirius Black? Peter Pettigrew? Anyone else that doesn't like you?"

"Peter Pettigrew was one of my dad's friends, right?" There was a quiet growling and oh, boy, that
was a lot more terrifying when Draco couldn't see where it was coming from. "Easy, boy."

Draco nodded, trying to keep his face as neutral as possible. "Wormtail. Which classroom do you
believe he should be hidden in?"

"Well, you see, he behaves so well so I thought that maybe, just maybe, he doesn't have to stay in
a classroom."

"Those are the only empty rooms within the castle, Harry, where else will he stay?"

"Well." The word was drawn out in a cute little manner- Oh, no. "Maybe he can stay with us?"

"No," Draco told him. "No! In our dorm room, Harry? It won't be so easy to hide him from our four
other dorm mates!"

"Well- I mean- We can maybe tell them and they'd probably help? Dray, he'd be so lonely. And
what if one of the teachers found him!"

"What if one of the teachers finds him in our dorm, Harry!" Draco shook his head. "No. No, I won't
do it."

"Okay- That's okay! We can just blame it all on me if he ever gets found out." There was a quiet
whine, Harry quickly pressing his hand down against what looked like thin air, but was probably
Hyperion's back. "Please, Dray?"

Draco crossed his arms, looking away from Harry. "Even if we were to attempt this, which
we shouldn't, how do you plan to get him up there safely?"

"We just… go slow, you know? Make sure he's by our sides, be careful on the steps, and try to
make it look like we're not sneaking an invisible dog up into the tower."

"Right. Because it's just that easy. And if someone stops to speak with us?"

"You charm them and I keep going. You can catch up later."

"This is a terrible idea, you know."

"That's not a no, though." Harry gave a truly pathetic pout that put a great deal of his previous ones
to shame. "Please, Dray?"

Draco thought about it. "What's in it for me?"

"Well." Harry moved to throw his arms around Draco's shoulders and lean against him and oh,
alright. He was suddenly a lot closer. "What do you want?"

Draco felt himself flush, even as he looked away. "You're creative."

"I try to be." Harry's lips brushed against his jaw as he leaned forward and Draco had to focus very
hard on not saying anything stupid. "How about you keep thinking about it while you help me, and
then I'll make it up to you however you want."

"Fine. Okay. Fine. Let's get this over with. You won't stop pestering me unless we do!" There was
some kind of noise from Hyperion, Draco willing to let it go as Harry patted at 'thin air' again.

"Great! Alright, Hyperion, you have to be quiet, okay? This is very important and we cannot get
caught." The dog, from under the cloak, gave a soft whine, but other than that stayed remarkably
quiet. "Okay. Let's go."

::

"You could have said no." Ron was staring at Hyperion with something akin to horror. Hyperion
was only quietly wagging his tail from where he was sitting on Harry's bed. "You could have told
him no."

"I… I was temporarily Imperiused." While Thomas and Harry shot him confused looks, Ron,
Finnigan, and Longbottom looked unimpressed.

"Right. By the dog or Harry?" Ugh. When did Longbottom get so sassy?

"I will have you know that I very well was mind controlled. You say no to him."

"It's not that hard to say no to him," Finnigan scoffed, looking to where Harry was cooing over
Hyperion and nuzzling against him. "I just don't want to, usually. I mean- He never really asks for
anything, does he?"

Draco laughed at that. "Maybe not from you." That had Ron snorting and shaking his head, looking
a bit better about the monster that had taken over the dorm room.

"I mean- I guess if he doesn't cause trouble or try to kill us in the middle of the night then it's
okay."

"You hear that, Harry?"

"I told you there was nothing to worry about," Harry pointed out, looking relieved anyways. "And
don't worry. Hyperion is a giant softy. His name was Snuffles-"

"Until Harry realized that the name was completely and utterly awful in every way."

"It got great reactions out of you," Harry snickered, Hyperion looking like he was laughing with
the brat. Draco should throw them both out. Draco sat on his own bed with a huff, crossing his
arms and facing away from Harry.

It was probably seven seconds before he felt Harry sit down next to him and squirm up to his side,
hand gripping his sleeve as he reached up to kiss Draco's cheek. "Think of what you want?"

"Harry," Draco hissed, firmly not looking at him.

"Wha- What? What'd I say?"

"Just- Just forget it. Nothing."

"Okay." Harry gave him a little nudge. "I mean, I won't forget it, but I'll drop it. Now, come on and
pet Hyperion. He's fluffy."

"No. I'm fine." There was a little huff beside him, Harry standing up and then swiftly kissing
Draco's cheek. "Harry!"

"Bye, love you, gonna go steal some food for Hyperion!"

Harry left the dorm, leaving Draco sitting there. "I hate him."

"No, you don't."

"Pretty sure it's the opposite, mate."

"Didn't know they changed the meaning of the word love."

"Shut up, the lot of you!" There was the sound of claws against the floor and Draco looked down to
see Hyperion had moved and was now gently touching his nose to Draco's knee. Draco frowned,
staring down at the dog before gently petting his head.

"I thought you hated dogs." Ron was frowning at him. "Every time you see Fang you basically run
away screaming in terror."

"I do not!" He pouted at Ron. "I just… Don't have good experiences with particularly large
canines."

"You seem fine with that one," Finnigan nodded at Hyperion. "He probably can't even bark, I bet."
Hyperion stiffened before looking to Draco and then to Finnigan.

Draco stood, arms crossed. "He can too. Sounds like thunder right above you! And he's different.
He's Harry's."

"Ah, so you have to play nice with the boyfriend's pet. Got it, got it. And I mean, come on?
Thunder-" As Finnigan spoke, Hyperion moved in front of Draco and Draco knew the second he
was about to bark and Merlin. Even the dog was a Gryffindor, it seemed. Draco turned slightly to
brace himself just as the dog gave a couple loud barks, Draco setting a hand on his back.

"We should have named you Godric." Hyperion seemed pleased as could be at Finnigan's swearing
and the boys' loud complaining.

"Bloody hell, we're not going to keep him a secret for long if he stays that loud all the time!"

"He didn't until you went and insulted him!"

"I just said he couldn't bark!"

"Proved that wrong, didn't he," Longbottom snorted. "I like him. I mean, it'll be good to have an
extra guard if Sirius Black breaks in or something."

Draco opened his mouth to retort before the dog… The dog started laughing? "And what
are you laughing at?"

Ron snorted. "What if the dog is Sirius Black?" The laughter stopped, thank Merlin. Such a weird
noise.
"Right. Obviously. The dog that was cuddling with Harry is Sirius Black." Thomas seemed to
hardly get the words out through his laughter. "Pretty sure he won't get past the Dementors, even if
he did manage to look like a dog."

"Well… He did once, already," Draco pointed out. That had the boys going quiet for a moment,
Thomas finally shrugging.

"So what. Lots of people break out of jail sometimes. They always catch them."

"Yeah, but… It's Azkaban," Finnigan said softly. "Mum's told me stories about the place. Right
nasty, it is. Half the inmates don't even sleep they're so scared and… empty."

"If they receive the Kiss," Draco nodded. "There's… Nothing left." Hyperion whined softly from
Draco's feet. Even animals knew to fear Dementors, no doubt.

"It's not just a prison," Ron sighed. "It's like- It's bad. I mean, even the ones that aren't Kissed go
crazy."

"If not entirely insane, they lose any and all reason to live." Draco glanced up at them before
looking back down at Hyperion. "I've an aunt in Azkaban. Mad as they come."

"Sounds bad," Thomas muttered, Draco watching Hyperion whine softly and look over to
Longbottom, the teen looking a little more withdrawn. Why- Oh. Right. Draco remained silent,
stroking Hyperion's fur and trying to keep his hands from shaking. No matter what, there was
still so much that the Malfoys and the Blacks alike had to pay for.

The door opened and Harry appeared like the sunshine he was, rambling away with a plate of food
before pausing, squinting, and looking at the others. "Why does it seem like I just missed a serious
conversation?"

Draco smiled at him. "Nothing. What did you get for him, then? Spoiling him?"

"Thought that was your job." Harry set the plate down next to Hyperion, patting the top of his head
before standing back up and emptying his pockets. "Also got us some snacks."

"Harry, this is probably enough for the entire house," Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"I mean, it's also a bribe to win everyone's favor so I can protect Hyperion," Harry said in a dead,
even tone, smirk quirking his lips as he grabbed a pumpkin pastry.

"Yeah, yeah," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "The mutt can stay. I guess. Right, fellas?"

"As long as he doesn't bark like that again and wake me up," Finnigan complained, him and
Thomas both grabbing a bunch of snacks. "Then, yeah. The mutt is fine."

Draco smiled at Harry, taking his hand in his own. "There you go, see?"

"The snacks helped," Harry huffed, smiling anyways as he squeezed Draco's hand back. "Thanks,
Dray."

"Well, after he just hugged and squeezed the poor mutt to death-"

"I did not!" There was a little huff of a noise from Hyperion, the dog looking at Draco before
turning away as if to say 'Us? Show affection? Please.' Draco couldn't help but smile, scratching
the poor mutt's ears. Hyperion tilted his head into it at once, Harry choking on a laugh.
"I see you two finally reached a truce, then." Harry kissed Draco's cheek, ruffled Hyperion's fur,
and then headed over towards where one of his sketchbooks was lying on the bed.

"I suppose he's not so bad," Draco hummed, gesturing to Harry's bed. "Go on, up there, then. You
can sleep there." Hyperion sat and stared at him, looking between Harry and the bed.

"Maybe he was a pet and wasn't allowed on the bed," Ron called out. "Go on, boy, it's not like
Harry ever sleeps in his bed."

"Go on," Draco said again. "Get up." It took a while, but Hyperion finally jumped up onto the bed
and flopped down with an exhausted air around him. Poor thing had been outside for far too long,
probably. Draco sat on his own bed, looking to Harry. "Going to draw him, then?"

"It'd be a wasted opportunity if I didn't," Harry said, quite seriously, as he crawled onto his bed and
poked at Hyperion's cheek with his pencil. "Don't move too much, okay?" The dog yawned, though
didn't seem to see any point in moving. Draco only reached for his bag.

"Right. Now, to write a letter, which I was going to do before you distracted me." Instead of being
repentant, Harry only grinned brightly and went to work at sketching Hyperion. Now, let's see…

Dear Mother,

All seems to be well so far, this year. A small number of the other students are worried for Harry's
safety, what with everything, but I have confidence that this year will turn out significantly better
than the last two. I may even dare say that - aside from Quidditch-related incidents - we may never
see the inside of the hospital ward!

Speaking of Quidditch, you may be interested to know that this year, I will not be playing as a
Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Instead, I tried out this year as a Chaser… And I made
reserves, yet again. Not quite as glamorous as a starting position, but much better than not playing
at all.

Any advice towards Harry for his first Hogsmeade visit? I very much intend on perusing
Honeyduke's Sweets Shop, having heard so much about it.

Your little dragon,

Draco Malfoy

P.S. Any tips for caring for those of the canine breed? Asking for a friend.
 Drowning in Secrets
Chapter Notes

Good news! We just finished writing the last of Traitorous Marauder, and we'll
probably be moving onto the next book, soon! It took a while to get here, but I'm
confident that we're over the hump, now. Just you wait! ~Kas

My dear little dragon,

I'm glad it is not myself alone who is worried for Harry and his safety. While I doubt my cousin
would truly wish to hurt him, it is better safe than sorry even in peaceful times such as these. I
would certainly hope that you two don't end up back in that ward, either! If I have to come down to
that school because my sons got hurt once again, then I will make sure you are under charms
aplenty when you return for fourth year - if you manage to survive that long.

I am grateful to hear, however, that you two are having a nice year so far and that the both of you
are back on your house team. You'll have to tell us when the games are so we can stop by and
watch when we can. From what I remember, reserves for Gryffindor will only mean that you start
later in the game.

As for Harry and Hogsmeade… There's a store on the outskirts of town, past Hog's Head, that is
called 'the Ink Well.' He still enjoys drawing, yes? Take him there. He'll have quite the time.

Your adoring and proud mother,

Narcissa Malfoy

P. S. - No.

Draco was reading through the letter at breakfast. "Mother's gotten back to me. No advice for
caring for Hyperion, I'm afraid."

"I think that's more of a 'no you can't have a dog' kind of no," Harry pointed out, reading the letter
over his shoulder before letting out a burst of startled laughter. "'Little dragon'?"

Draco frowned at Harry, swatting his arm. "My name, and the constellation I was named for. And
she didn't explicitly say anything about having a dog."

"You Slytherin," Harry snorted, reading the rest of the read. "Wonder what's at the 'Ink Well'
though. Sounds kind of cool."

"I'm not certain. I don't think I've been before, but it certainly sounds like somewhere Blaise and
Hermione may be interested in."

"Where would we be interested in?" Hermione was trying to read from three textbooks at once, it
seemed, and Ron was shooting her looks that were both worried and amused.

"A shop down in Hogsmeade mother just told me about. 'The Ink Well.' Certainly sounds your
speed, moreso than Zonko's."
"I don't know if I'll have time to go into Hogsmeade. There's just so much to catch up on!"

"Come on, 'Mione. The semester's barely even started and you're already getting carried away."

"He's right. Look, come the first Hogsmeade visit, the four of us will all go down, then we'll come
back up and the two of us will study together. How's for that?"

"Well…" Hermione was tempted. It only took a shy little smile from Harry and a beaming smile
from Ron to get her to sigh and close her books. "Alright, alright. I suppose it won't hurt as long as
we study afterwards."

"There we are." Draco was pleased, smile only falling a bit when he saw Harry's expression. It
looked like a smile, almost, but there was an edge of… something to it. Confusion, almost? Draco
tilted his head. "Harry? You alright?"

"Yeah, just- Just thinking is all, I guess." Harry stared at him a second longer before leaning his
head on his shoulder. "Nothing bad, though."

"As long as it's nothing bad. Honestly, I'm glad you can think at all!" That earned him a little
shove, but Harry was laughing and looking like he wasn't thinking so heavily on whatever he had
been.

"You two are worse than before," Ron complained. "At least before I didn't have to deal with all
this flirting."

"What- Flirting? This isn't flirting," Draco told him with a frown.

"It's your version of flirting," Hermione hummed, grin wide and amused. "You do it quite often."
Draco frowned. He didn't understand them- That was not what flirting was. "Flirting can be
different for everyone, you know."

"What? Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed, rolling his eyes at her. "What do you know?"

"In this? More than you, it seems."

"Hmph."

"Right. I'll meet you guys at our first class." Harry stood up and piled a few things on a plate. "I
need to take this upstairs."

Hermione frowned at him. "What?"

Draco only shook his head. "He stockpiles like a small animal."

"Hang on," Ron said suddenly. "Are you doing Ancient Runes homework? Isn't that at the same
time as Divination? You haven't been to that class once!"

"Are you really going to question Draco and Hermione about extra classwork?" Harry raised an
eyebrow, looking amused. "They probably just arranged something with the teachers so they do all
the work and studying outside of class. Percy did something like that, didn't he? A self-study
course for something dealing with the Ministry?"

"Oh. Well… Yeah." Ron laughed, shaking his head. "Here I thought you were taking the classes at
the same time." Draco threw a significant glance to Harry.

"Yeah, I don't think being in two places at once is a third year spell." Harry bent down to kiss
Draco's cheek, whispering quietly. "He'll do good in Divination, then, yeah?"

"Little scary," Draco murmured back to him. "Don't be long."

"I won't. Just want to make sure Hyperion has something to eat until dinner tonight." And off he
went.

"So. What do you suppose is next in our classes?"

"Hopefully we'll be learning new theory soon!"

"Theory!" Ron shook his head. "I hope we learn more spells soon!"

"I think you've learned enough spells," Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes at Ron.

"Oi. What's that supposed to mean?" Ron frowned and huffed and it probably shouldn't be as
hilarious as it was, but Draco had too many memories of tormenting Weasleys and their proclivity
of turning as red as their hair when flustered. Draco grinned at just the thought of it.

"I just mean, you can use one spell for a variety of uses. I'm sure you'd use a nice warming charm
to set fire to your bedroom curtains, or maybe some transfiguring on, say… Your teddy bear?"

Ron narrowed his eyes and hissed a quiet, "Don't you dare bring that up. They'll hear you."
Honestly. Ron seemed to think those twins were out to ruin his life some days.

"Hear what? It's not as though you have a teddy bear with you now for them to use." Ah, sweet,
sweet victory in the form of absolute silence and Hermione's growing grin as she looked between
them. It was too easy. "Oh… Ronnie-kins."

"Alright, that's it-" Before Ron could do anything too Gryffindor, Draco felt himself tugged off the
bench by the back of his robes before his hand was grabbed and pulled along.

"Come on!" Harry said cheerfully. "We don't want to be late for class!"

"Oh. Harry. When did you get back?"

"Five seconds ago. I realized I left you alone."

"What's wrong with that?"

"You're far too much of a Slytherin." Harry slowed down and glanced around at the empty halls
before leaning back to kiss Draco's cheek. "You rile Ron up way too much."

"You like it, don't you?" Instead of huffing or grumbling or even rolling his eyes, Harry only
hummed and leaned forward to kiss Draco's cheek again, lingering longer than he usually did.

"I guess I always was fond of snakes."

Draco felt his face grow warm as he swatted Harry away. "Harry!"

Harry laughed and ran off down the halls towards their first class of the day. "Better hurry before
Ron remembers that he's angry at you!"

::

"You know, I'm really warming up to this class." Harry seemed delighted at whatever Hagrid
planned to bring to class today - not that Draco even knew. These classes were years ago for him
and he was rather certain they had spent months on flobberworms.

"Are you?" Draco hummed, sitting on the grass and looking around at the field. It was a rather
peaceful day out, and even with the chill in the air it was a good day for an outdoor class.

"Definitely," Harry nodded. "I'm gonna go help Hagrid and see if I can't see what he has for us
today. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Alright, hurry back."

Harry was only gone for a few moments before one of the students behind Draco spoke,
"Considerably quiet, all taken into account." Draco rolled his eyes, only half wondering who they
were gossiping about now. Honestly, third years were worse than a sixth-year Pansy. Then again…
couldn't hurt to listen for a little while. "So many around, and yet they're all silent. Ah, but they are
young."

"This age is just perfect for them. The old ones complain and the little ones scream. At least now
they can be quiet enough for us to enjoy it." That… Alright. Probably not a student. Two professors
talking? Draco didn't recognize their voices.

"This age is perfect? They are just entering adolescence. That always brings out the worst in them
all."

"Pardon, but I don't think-" Draco's voice cracked and died as he stared at two snakes that stared
back at him. More accurately, he was staring at giant snakes that could probably swallow him
whole. "Ah. Not teachers."

"They also still scare so easily at this age." The snake… talked.

"Oh, be kind. He's still young, yet." The snakes were talking and he was understanding them and
that was- That shouldn't happen. That shouldn't be happening.

Draco rose his voice, "Ha- Harry!" He wasn't sure if anyone else heard him, but he felt more than
saw Harry run up and stop right beside him before there was silence.

"Those- Those are very big snakes. So, uh- Let's- Hey, you guys aren't gonna eat us or anything,
right?"

"No, young one. We have been well fed."

"Harry," Draco whispered. "I understand them."

"Yeah, they're a bit weird, though." Harry suddenly stiffened, eyes wide as he looked down to
Draco. "You… understand them."

"I understand them."

"Not many care to listen to our kind."

"Oh, good on ya, Harry! You found them! Bernadette, Georgie, you know not to get out," Hagrid
scolded the snakes.

"He's so sweet, but such a fool, as well," one of the snakes hissed, dropping down into the grass.
Draco saw the grass move as both snakes slithered over to Hagrid. "Good day, serpent speakers."
"I understood them," Draco repeated, watching as Hagrid brought the two of them to the front of
the class and began to explain how exactly they were magical, not that Draco was much listening.

He might have spent the rest of the class staring at nothing if it wasn't for Harry suddenly grabbing
his chin and jerking his head over, eyes narrowed and looking into his own. For a moment, Draco
could easily see why people had feared Potter in the war, and then his Harry was sighing and
dropping his tense posture. "Okay- Okay. Still you."

"Why can I understand them? We got read of it- It's gone!" Draco felt himself ready to panic
completely before Harry grabbed him by his cheeks.

"Hey. Hey, focus on me, okay? It's okay. Let's think about this without panicking or freaking out or
anything, okay? Please?"

"Harry," Draco said, holding Harry's hands. "How can I understand them?"

"I…" Harry went quiet for a moment, squeezing Draco's hand and sitting down properly in front of
him. "What if it is the diary, but not the way we think?"

"What do you mean? What other way can it be?"

"Well, I mean- Dray, you were controlled by that thing for almost the whole year. Maybe it
affected your magic? Made you be able to understand snakes since his magic gave you that
ability?"

"I-" Draco opened his mouth to speak before his eyes widened. "All magic leaves a mark." Of
course… It made sense. A year of magic that dark being in contact with this own? He was lucky he
wasn't in St. Mungo's!

"What?" Harry frowned, tugging at Draco's hands. "What'd you figure out? What's wrong?"

"Harry, all magic that strong? It leaves a mark. Like your scar."

"So it left a mark on you and you can speak Parseltongue, now?" It seemed that way. "We probably
should have noticed sooner, huh?"

Draco frowned and looked back up at Harry. "What? How could we have noticed?"

"I mean- I probably should have noticed or something seeing as I'm a- A snake speaker or
whatever it is."

"And… When was the last time either of us so much as saw a snake?"

"I… I guess not since the basilisk."

"So how could either of us have known?"

"Stop reassuring me. I'm supposed to be reassuring you." Harry smiled a bit anyways before
sighing. "Okay. You can talk to snakes. That's not the worst thing in the world, right?"

"No… No, I suppose not."

"Do you want to tell anyone? Sev or your mom?" Draco shook his head.

"No. Not them."

"Okay. Anyone else you want to know about this? Because it seems kind of important."

Draco thought over it, worrying at his lip. "Is it? It doesn't seem to be that important."

"Do you want Ron and Hermione to know, at least? Maybe Pansy or Blaise?"

"Well…" Did they really need to know? It didn't seem to be that important.

"Draco." Harry went quiet for a moment before sighing. "Think about telling them, at least?"

"I… I'll think about it," Draco sighed as well, looking back up to the lesson. "We can just ask them
all the answers."

"That feels like cheating," Harry snorted, sitting up and staring at Draco for a moment before biting
his lip and rocking forward to kiss the corner of Draco's lip. Draco knew his face was red as he just
looked away from Harry firmly. He would not react. That would encourage him. "Okay? Or too
much?"

"I'm fine." Draco felt himself pulled to his feet, Harry squeezing his hands one more time before
letting him go.

"Shall we go dominate today's discussion and start up some old rumors, then?"

Draco smiled and leaned over, kissing just at the corner of Harry's eye. "Let's."

A bit of a weird and worrying start to the year, Draco supposed, but it would be okay. This was
their year to just be normal and relax, after all, and after this, well. He was sure nothing else too
bad could happen.

::

"Don't forget to turn in your Hogsmeade permission slips if you haven't already- Yes, Mr.
Longbottom, your grandmother sent yours to me directly over the summer. Mr. Potter, a word, if
you please." As their Transfiguration class ended, Draco shot Harry a small frown, though shooed
him off.

"I'll wait outside for you, don't worry." It wasn't likely to be anything too bad and, at most,
McGonagall probably wanted to talk to him about his grades.

"I'll be quick," Harry smiled, grabbing his own bag and fighting through the crowd of students to
get to McGonagall's desk. Draco grabbed his own bag and remained true to his word, waiting
outside for Harry to finish his conversation with McGonagall. "What?!"

Alright, that did not seem to be about grades, then. Draco could probably just cast a little
eavesdropping spell- "On what grounds can you ban me from Hogsmeade?!"

"With circumstances being as they are, Potter, it has been decided that you leaving Hogwarts
grounds would be unwise. This was not my decision."

"Circumstances. You mean with people thinking that Sirius Black is out to get me even though
there's no proof of anything like that. Professor, you know this isn't fair."

"I am sorry, Potter. My hands are tied."

"Is this-" Harry's words stopped as if he had been spelled silent. Draco honestly worried until he
heard the other speaking once more. "Is this punishment for refusing to go back to the Dursleys?"
"What? The who? Oh- Oh, no, Potter. That has nothing to do with this." There was silence again
and Draco could feel Harry's magic beginning to rise.

"Sorry, Professor, but it still feels like I'm being punished." Not even a few seconds passed before
the door was opening and Harry was shutting it quietly and a… A smile on his face. "Sorry to
make you wait."

"Everything alright?" That wasn't fair! There was no more of a risk to Harry than any other student
who went down into Hogsmeade!

"Of course." Harry couldn't honestly be ready to hide behind a smile again. If he thought he could,
then he had another thing coming! "I'll tell you when we're in the dorm," Harry whispered as soon
as they were away from the door. Draco watched him before nodding and pulling him along.

"Let's go, then." The sooner they got up to the dorms the sooner Draco could write a letter home to
his mother.

It didn't take long to get to the tower, Draco pulling Harry all the way up to the dorm room before
finally letting him go. "Right. How much did you hear, then?"

"Just about all of it?" There was a scratch from the half open bathroom door where Hyperion poked
his head out before walking over to them, tail wagging.

"That has to be against the rules!" Ah, so much for Harry's 'calm.' "They can't just- They can't
just ban me from Hogsmeade!"

"It is ridiculous," Draco agreed. "They shouldn't be allowed to do that." Hyperion was whining at
their feet, Harry dropping down to pull him into a hug.

"It's okay, boy. Everyone here just seems to think I'm about to be murdered by 'Sirius Black'."

"They could not be further from the truth."

"Well, until whatever happened in your time happens in this one, I guess there's not much of a
choice," Harry grumbled, not fighting as Hyperion whined and leaned more against him.

"It'll be okay, Harry. I don't need to go to Hogsmeade. It's not so fanciful. Like any other wizarding
community, really." Draco sat beside Harry, running a hand through his hair.

"What- No, you should still go." Harry frowned, giving Draco a little shove with his shoulder. "I
mean, there's not that many visits, right? I'll be fine on my own for a day."

"Harry. If we'd really like to, we can come visit during the summer. Mother and father can just
apparate us, and we'll miss the floods of Hogwarts students- That's actually a clever idea."

"Still," Harry frowned. "Part of the fun is probably being there with everybody." Well, it wasn't
worth it if Harry were to be left behind. "I'll be fine."

"I know you will." Draco smiled at him before laying back in his bed. "What were we going to
do?"

"In Hogsmeade or before McGonagall utterly crushed my hopes and dreams?"

"Before you spoke with our slightly terrifying head of house," he snorted.

"'Slightly.'" Harry rolled his eyes as he moved to sit on the bed next to Draco. "You were thinking
about experimenting with the time turner and I was trying to convince you to not be an idiot."

"Oh. Yes, I should, though. Do you think it can go forward?"

"I mean… Wasn't it made to just go back in time? Going forward in time sounds more
complicated."

Draco beamed at him. "I have no idea!"

"Please don't use magic without any idea what it's going to do- Why don't you ask Hermione about
this?"

"Don't you think that might only give her more ammunition? Teaching her about time magic?"

"Or maybe it will make her doubt herself," Harry grinned, leaning against Draco. "After all, if you
were really from the future, why would you be leading her towards the answer? That doesn't sound
like you at all."

"I-" Draco paused, thinking it over. "You're right."

"Sorry, can you say that again?" Harry smirked and honestly, he was such a snake some days. "I
think I was daydreaming that the great Draco Malfoy admitted someone else was right."

"Harry, you're not someone else." There was a moment where Harry looked ready to shoot back
with another quip before he paused, closed his mouth, and leaned his head on Draco's shoulder and
tried to hide a grin.

"Still." Draco wrapped him up in a hug, smiling gently. Harry relaxed against him, giving a small
sigh. "Did this happen in your time? Potter being banned from Hogsmeade?"

"I…" Draco gave a small shrug. "I don't know, for sure. I can't recall, much-" Draco's jaw dropped
open. "He had been. I remember seeing his head in Hogsmeade. Just his head."

"Sorry, what?" Harry pulled back, smile twitching at his lips. He seemed stuck between being
amused and looking incredulous. "Just his head?"

"Just his head. Which meant he'd been using his cloak- Oh that little snake!" Instead of bursting
into laughter, Harry was only staring vacantly at the wall before that smile from before grew and
oh, no.

"The cloak." Harry's grin grew again. "So if Potter could pull that off…"

Draco snorted, crossing his arms. "You think he got away with that? I had Sev on him as quickly as
Vince or Greg could pounce on sweets."

"So he was only discovered because of you, right?" Wait- No, that wasn't what Draco had meant!
"So if I were to go now, then no one would ever known. You keep saying how similar everything
is."

"Yes, everything is similar, which means the man who caused the death of your parents is still
wandering free."

"That could still mean- Wait- Sorry, what?" Harry stared at Draco and suddenly looked shocked.
From their feet, Hyperion gave a sudden and loud bark that startled them both. Harry recovered
quickly, looking back to Draco, "What do you mean wandering free? You mean he's alive?"
Draco quickly glanced around the empty room. "I- That's not to say that he is- It's just that it's safer
if you- You'll understand later-"

"Draco." Harry's voice wasn't soft and warm anymore. "Who else was involved in killing my
parents?"

"Well, all of the Death Eaters were, Harry! It was a large operation, one that my aunt was a part
of!"

"You're deflecting." Harry squirmed his way free and slid down to the floor to hug Hyperion
tightly. "At least… Just say you can't tell me and leave at that, but just please don't lie to me."

He sighed softly, sliding down to sit beside Harry. "You know I don't lie."

"It was the spirit of lying," Harry complained, slowly leaning back against Draco. "I just…
Everyone keeps throwing me in the dark."

"I know, but… This is one of those things that's very important, Harry." Draco wrapped an arm
around his waist. "If something changes here, it could change everything else."

"I thought it was gonna be a normal year." Well… "Then again, I guess it wouldn't be us if there
weren't a few crazy things, huh?"

"This is… This is as normal as we get." The two fell into a soft quiet, Hyperion settling down to
lay his head in Harry's lap as the three just… were.

"Want to see if we can practice Parseltongue?" Draco couldn't help a snort, swatting at Harry's arm.

"Harry. I really should be doing homework- I should get Hermione as well."

"Or…" Harry trailed off, shifting and leaning over to kiss Draco's cheek. "You could spend a bit
more time with me, instead."

Draco bit at his lip, turning away from Harry. "What would we be doing?"

"Oh." The sound was soft and breathed more than said, Draco snapping his gaze back to Harry to
see he was grinning. "That- Okay. Yeah. Wanna be my model? I need some more drawing
practice."

"What? Oh- Um- Alright? I can still do homework if I'm- Why don't I just go get Hermione?"
Draco watched as Harry stumbled to his feet before reaching down to help him up, as well.

"Sure. I can draw you both. I need to practice drawing her hair, anyways. Do you know I think she
puts quills in there and doesn't find them again." Draco laughed as he got to his feet properly.

"Quills? How do you think she carries all of her books everywhere?" The two were laughing and
giggling as they gathered their bags to go back down to the common room, Draco pleased at seeing
Harry's bad mood from earlier was gone. This year might still have some complications, but… It
would be okay.
 Halloween at Hogwarts
Chapter Notes

Just a short note to those of you who follow us on FFN, we're gonna be phasing out
the use of our FFN and AO3 is gonna be the primary site we use. This account for our
joint/shared stuff, Kasena for my stuff, Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter for Kit's/Nomi's
stuff. Happy reading (will whore myself out for comments) ~Kas

"Bloody hell. He's trying to kill us." Harry's voice was soft and weak, Draco not even bothering to
look up from where he was collapsed on one of the benches in the Quidditch pitch locker rooms.

Draco panted, trying to get his breath back from the absolutely gruelling Quidditch practice they'd
gotten back from. "I hate Gryffindors. I hate them all. I want to go back to Slytherin."

"You were never in Slytherin," one of the Weasley twins called out. Draco took a moment to focus
on the magic around the twin speaking and felt warmth and excitement and, alright, Fred was
talking, then. "You've been a lion cub since day one!"

"Oh, please shut up, Fred, I don't want to have to deal with any fits or tantrums or fights. I'm too
exhausted to help stop anything." Draco fumbled for his wand, pointing it towards the twins.

"Levicorpus." There was a shriek from whichever one he had hit that was soon followed by wild
laughter from the other.

"Stop tormenting them," Harry whined. "They'll just get us back later and I don't want to have to
deal with that."

"Liberacorpus," Draco huffed, letting the twin fall rather spectacularly. There was more laughter
and grumbling before there was the echoing sound of a locker being slammed shut.

"If you lot still have so much energy then maybe we should go again for another practice! Our first
match is coming up soon and we're still nowhere near ready for it!"

"Touchy touchy, Wood."

"Look at the poor little things."

"They can hardly move!"

"We can defend ourselves," Harry complained, Draco hearing him shift and move. He was
honestly surprised Harry could move at all considering the last set of drills Wood had put him
through. "And I think we're good on training for today, Captain. You have that test in
Transfiguration Wednesday, don't you? If you don't do well enough, well… You know how
McGonagall is about grades."

Draco managed to move enough to see Wood pale before grabbing his own things and quickly
heading off. "We practice tomorrow, same time, same drills!"

Draco groaned quietly. "Harry. Help me up." There was a giggle of a laugh from Harry before
Draco saw him, the teen looking exhausted and worn out.

"You could probably stand yourself up. I did just save us from more practice, after all." That still
didn't stop Draco from lifting his hands up towards Harry. "Unbelievable."

Harry slipped his hands into Draco's and began to tug him up, Draco soon sitting on the bench
upright. Before he could thank Harry, he felt lips pressed against his cheek. "Harry!" Draco
brushed him away with a huff, taking off his own gear quickly.

"Aw, look at the cute little things," Fred crooned. "It's enough to make one's heart burst."

"That it is, oh twin of mine. They're sickeningly sweet, aren't they?" Draco quickly took out his
wand again, turning towards the two of them.

"Right. I believe we had homework to do?"

"Oh, yeah, loads of it. We should probably get on that."

"Have a nice day, you two." He didn't put his wand away until they were gone, giving a satisfied
smirk once they were.

"You're awful," Harry laughed, finally tugging off his own gear and robes. "So? What do you
think about training as a Chaser so far?"

"It's awful." Draco huffed, wrapping himself around Harry's shoulders. "It's so much more work!"

"You're enjoying it, though," Harry laughed, half tangled in his robes as he tried to squirm free.
"You wouldn't be this dramatic if you didn't."

He huffed, absently blowing his hair out of his face. "Hmph. You don't know that."

"I know you," Harry said simply, soft smile on his face as he let go of his own robes to twist in
Draco's arms and push his fingers through the hair in his face. A moment later and he was kissing
Draco's forehead.

"Harry!" Draco pushed him away, huffing to himself and running a hand through his hair. "Do you
think I should grow my hair out?"

"I… don't know." Harry let go of Draco fully, moving to see the back of his head for a moment. "I
think it'd look good if you grew your hair out a little, I guess? I mean, my hair is kinda long with
the curls, and it looks okay."

"But my hair doesn't have curls. Your hair is entirely different from mine, Harry." Instead of
answering, Harry was only silently staring at Draco before blinking.

"Sorry, I was picturing you with curls. Didn't like it." Draco couldn't help but to laugh. Ah, Harry
was so delightful, some days. "I'm serious!" Harry patted at Draco's cheek before resting his palm
against the skin, smile a bit smaller, but no less real. "I like you just the way you are now."

His smile began to retreat, head tilting into the hand on his cheek. "People change, Harry. I may
decide that red isn't my favorite color, anymore."

"Then I'll like the you that doesn't like red," Harry shrugged, looking unbothered. "I guess… I like
you as you are now, but I'll like you when you're not who you are now. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, Harry. And I like who you are, now." He took Harry's hand from his cheek, placing it down
onto his knee and stroking his thumb against the back of it. "You know, you've gotten better from
first year."

"What do you mean?" Harry looked back at him from where he had been looking at their hands.
"Better how?"

"Well… Harry, in first year, you were so small, and you were always so scared. It… It was like
you couldn't trust anyone or anything, like you thought the rug was going to be pulled out from
underneath you any second, and…" Draco smiled at him. "You were like me."

"Yeah…" Harry's voice was hushed, something indescribable in his eyes. "I think that's why- It's-"
Harry gave a startled little laugh, shaking his head. "I don't have the words for what I want to say."

"Well, try anyway." Draco was silent as he let Harry think through his words, the teen finally
giving a slow nod as he leaned forward.

"I guess…" Harry leaned a bit closer. "I guess that's part of why I fell in love with you." With that,
lips brushed against his own for just a few seconds. Draco could only stare in stunned silence when
Harry pulled away, his breath caught in his throat. It was a few seconds more before Harry bit his
lip. "Was that okay?"

"Yeah- Yeah, it- Yes- We should go." Draco had not been expecting something like that right on
the heels of their latest Quidditch practice.

"We should probably get changed, first," Harry laughed, finally untangling himself from Draco so
he could finish pulling his Quidditch robes off.

"Right… Right." Instead of blushing or worrying like he should be, Harry only gave him another
smile. Right… Okay.

::

Draco found the two of them at dinner. "Blaise? Pansy? A word?"

"How dramatic is whatever you're about to tell us?" Pansy was in a stare-off with another Slytherin
student. Draco would probably wonder why if he wasn't so panicked, still.

"It's important," he told her seriously. "And private." Pansy's eyes narrowed and Blaise was already
looking up at him with a frown.

"Private means Harry, but how important? Did you two have a fight?"

"No, we didn't have a fight," he told them primly, giving a not-so-subtle glance to the other
students around them.

"If it wasn't a fight then why are you freaking out?" Pansy finally looked away from the student
she was trying to intimidate, looking up to Draco and then suddenly… gasping? "Oh- Oh."

Draco only nodded. "Private?" Pansy was getting up and dragging Blaise up in a heartbeat,
grabbing both their hands and pulling them along.

"Come on, then. I know just the classroom."

It didn't take very long for them to reach the classroom, Draco throwing the lock the moment the
three were inside. "He kissed me."
"Wait- What? When? Where? Tell us everything." Blaise looked to Pansy. "Hang on, how the
bloody hell did you know?"

"I'm a girl, Blaise, we know these things," she huffed, flipping her hair.

"It was right after Quidditch practice earlier, we were by ourselves in the locker room, and… I had
said a few things that I suppose could, in a certain light, be taken as flirtations- Then he- He told
me- Oh, Merlin."

"What? What did he tell you?" Pansy was near vibrating in excitement, grin wide and beaming.
"Did he confess his undying love?"

"A little. He told me he'd fallen in love with me."

"Oh, Merlin." Pansy looked shocked speechless. A shame that never lasted. "You told him your
own feelings, as well, I presume?"

"I- Well- Well no," he admitted softly. Instead of supporting him and saying that it was alright, his
friends instead groaned. Traitors, the pair of them. "Well- Well we don't always need to say
everything-"

"This seems like something you should definitely be saying, though," Blaise groaned, rubbing at
his eyes. "You went long enough without saying anything about this before, didn't you?"

"Well… Well it's not quite so simple- You'll understand when you're- When you're- Involved."

"Uh huh." Blaise didn't look very believing of that, not that Draco could blame him. Still. Best not
to use the 'when you're older' line here. "So, feel free to hex me for this one, but how do you feel
about Harry?"

"Well, that- That is a very complicated question, Blaiziel- Really, what does it mean to feel?"
Alright. He perhaps earned those looks, this time.

"Oh, Dray." Pansy shook her head. "You're absolutely head-over-heels for him, aren't you?"

"I… I don't know if I'd put it like that…" Draco rubbed at his arms.

"But it's true, isn't it?" It… He had always held a fond spot for Potter, of course, but Harry was
someone entirely else. He'd been through his fair share of crushes and the like, but Harry was…
Harry.

"There you three are." Harry pushed the classroom door open. "Why are you in an empty
classroom?"

"Nothing. No reason. Studying. We should go."

"Right. Talking about embarrassing things, then." Harry looked like he was trying not to laugh.
"You know, lunch probably will be over soon if any of you want to go eat." Draco was quick to
grab Harry's hand and pull him along. They really did need to get going. "You alright? You seem…
jumpy."

"I'm fine. It just… Wasn't quite the talk I'd been expecting to have with them." He sighed softly,
barely even focused on where they were going.

"Doesn't seem like it was a bad talk, at least." Harry matched his pace, quiet for a moment. "Was it
a bad talk?"

"No, it- It wasn't bad," Draco sighed, shaking his head. "Just a little confusing?"

"To be fair, Pansy and Blaise can be pretty confusing," Harry laughed. "I'm sure you guys will
work it out later, whatever it is."

"Well- It's- There really isn't anything to work out, it's just- See, they have it in their heads that I-
Well, that I- It's funny-"

"Whenever you wanna start making sense, Dray." Harry was watching him with a fond smile, hand
warm and tight around his.

"Pansy seemed to get it into her head that I was head-over-heels in love with you!" Draco laughed
weakly. "Mad, isn't she?"

Harry was silent for long enough that Draco was starting to wonder if he had somehow destroyed
everything before it even started. Then Harry kissed his cheek. "I think she's pretty spot on."

"What- Harry!" The other only laughed at him, Harry's grin bright and absolutely stunning. Draco
would never admit that part out loud, of course.

"It's okay. I know you might not be able to say that, but it's okay. I already know."

"Ha- Harry."

"I also know that you're bad with feelings in general," Harry teased, looking not at all bothered by
any part of the conversation. "I'm not that great with them either, if it helps."

"Well, you're great at pretending," Draco huffed quietly. Harry only hummed, squeezing Draco's
hand more tightly.

"I think that's just because it's you, you know?"

"No, I don't," he sighed. "So, can we go study? I have a bit to catch up on."

"I'm not surprised considering all those classes of yours." They weren't that bad since Draco had
already taken most of them. "Dunno about studying, but I think we probably lost Blaise and
Pansy."

"Actually-" Draco turned them back towards the Great Hall. "I need to study with Hermione."

"Are you still torturing her with hints about you being a time traveller?"

"A small amount." Draco smiled. "Hogsmeade is in a few days. Any plans while everyone else
goes off galavanting?"

"I… I think I might go talk to Professor Lupin. You know, ask him a bit about my dad and what he
was like and all that."

"That sounds nice. Is it alright if I go with you?" Draco held his hand tightly.

"I'd like that." Harry gave a small smile. "I'd like that a lot."

::
Draco stood beside Harry as they waved their friends off. "See if you can find anything nice for
him!"

"We'll be back for the feast!" Pansy shouted back, walking backwards as she waved at the two of
them before she was swept up in the crowd of excited students.

Turning to Harry, Draco smiled. "You wanted to go talk to Lupin?"

"Do you think he'll mind? Or be there? Teachers go into Hogsmeade all the time too, don't they?
Maybe he left with the others." Oh, honestly, Harry fretted and worried about things far too much.

"Teachers are allowed to go whenever they like. Actually, I might expect him to be here more on
student trip days. Werewolves have better senses."

"Werewhat." Harry was staring at him and had he… not mentioned that part, yet?

"...I wasn't supposed to say that part yet, was I?"

"Oh my god," Harry breathed, staring at him with wide eyes. "You're the worst time
traveller ever."

"Well- You don't know that!" Draco huffed, tugging Harry along.

"You've literally revealed things that I'm not supposed to know by accident."

"And how many other time travellers do you know to make that assessment?"

"You're still a bad time traveller," Harry finally said, the two getting close to Lupin's office. "Okay,
so, right, just, uh. I shouldn't mention or know about him being a werewolf, right?"

"Right," Draco said, shaking his head. "Alright then, knock." Harry gave him a very betrayed look
before taking a steadying breath and raising his hand to knock.

"But what if he's not there?" Before Draco could answer, the door was opening and a very amused
Lupin was raising an eyebrow from where he was sitting at his desk.

Draco cleared his throat a bit, looking down. "Sir."

"Boys," Lupin greeted. He still looked amused, but it was more fond rather than him laughing at
them. "I thought you two would be in Hogsmeade by now."

"I'm banned." Harry tugged Draco into the room, Draco noting Lupin's surprised look. The news of
Harry's banning must not have travelled yet, then. "Apparently it's 'too dangerous.'"

"Obviously, it's much more heroic and martyrish for me to stay here with him," Draco said with a
nod.

"I see." Lupin's smile fell into something that Draco would almost call sad. Perhaps nostalgic was a
better word? It was… hm. It was interesting. "And you decided to use your valuable time to visit
me? I have to say I am honored."

Harry nodded, walking closer to the desk. "Actually, I um… I wanted to ask you a question? If
that's alright?"

"Of course it is, Harry." Lupin gave a smile, closing the book he had been reading. "What is it that
you wanted to ask?"
"Um- Well, um… You knew my dad?" Harry was fidgeting with his sleeves, looking down at the
floor.

"I did, yes." Lupin's voice was softer, the man flicking his wand at the two chairs to scoot them
out, a silent gesture that they could sit. "We were quite close." Draco pulled Harry over to sit down,
giving him a reassuring smile.

"And- And Sirius Black, too." Harry was sitting down a bit nervously, Draco noticing the barest
twitch of Lupin's shoulders.

"Yes… He was our friend, too."

Harry nodded, running a hand through his hair- "What were they like?"

"They… Well, they were remarkably like yourself and Draco, actually." Really? "It's honestly quite
astonishing how large the similarities are."

Draco tilted his head. "Similarities like what?"

"Personality, mostly," Lupin laughed. "I'm not sure if it's coincidence or that lovely Black charm,
but you speak like him very frequently, especially when Harry is nearby."

That had Draco frowning, drawing backwards. "Pardonnez-moi?" While Harry startled and gave
him a wide-eyed look, Lupin only laughed.

"You have a much better accent than he did, however!"

"What- What are you- Excuse me?!"

"Sirius used to speak French, at times, but he mostly used it for show," Lupin explained, still
chuckling. "His accent was atrocious at times, but I believe that's because he quit his lessons as
soon as possible."

"Yes, mother has told me as such." Him. Similar to Sirius Black. He had heard just enough of that
one to know that was an insult.

"Ah, she would remember him fondly. Sirius was always fond of her." Lupin smiled to himself
before the smile fell as he turned back to Harry. "Were they any specific questions you wanted to
ask?"

"Well, what can you tell me?"

"Hm…" Lupin seemed to think about it. "Transfiguration was his best subject and Minerva was his
favorite professor. I'm sure she'll tell you she doesn't have favorite students, but you could always
tell she loved him and our brand of, hm. Mischief, we'll say."

"Black? Or my dad?" Harry was beginning to sit forward in his seat, watching Lupin intently.

"Your dad," Lupin laughed. "Sorry, I should have specified. Sirius hated Transfiguration. He
always insisted that James was charming Minerva for answers to the tests." Now Harry was
grinning.

"Really? What about Defense? Or Potions? Did he ever fall asleep in History of Magic?"

"He loved Defense even if it took some extra work, he only enjoyed Potions when it came to
causing trouble, and History of Magic might as well have been nap time to him." Draco couldn't
help but to smile at Harry's growing excitement as he began to shoot off question after question at
Lupin. He supposed this was the best source of information for Harry to learn more about his
parents.

It was a nice chat and Draco was certain Harry could have gone on for an eternity asking questions
if it wasn't for Sev coming in with a smoking goblet. "Ah, so this is where you two vanished."

Draco smiled, giving him a nod. "Uncle Sev." Smoking goblet… Potion? Potion for- Draco waited
for the men to not be looking at them before he kicked Harry's foot. Harry, gem that he was, didn't
even flinch, only looked curiously at Sev before looking to Draco, silently asking him what the
kick was for. Draco only gave the goblet a significant look, glancing back at Harry again.

"Ah, thank you, Severus," Lupin stood up and accepted the goblet, making a face at it. "Pity sugar
never works on this."

"Not that I don't doubt you've tried it." Ah, yes. Draco could tell Lupin had been a troublemaker.
He met Sev's gaze without flinching and downed the entire goblet. Sev only rolled his eyes, turning
to leave. "Don't be keeping them all night, Remus."

"Of course not. They do have a curfew, after all." Severus only rose a brow at Lupin, remaining
silent. "I was an unwilling participant in many wayward adventures in my youth."

"Indeed. Just as I'm certain Draco is forced into many… Wayward adventures." At Sev's dry tone,
Draco could hear and see Harry doing his absolute best not to laugh.

"I'm sure he'll learn many great lessons from his adventures." Lupin caused most of the trouble,
Draco was willing to bet.

Draco cleared his throat. "Uncle Sev? What were you like, as a student?" There was a long silence,
Sev and Lupin both staring at him before exchanging a look and then look away.

"Severus was always very studious," Lupin finally said with a smile. "He was a master at potions
even when we were young."

Draco scoffed at that, crossing his arms. "Well, obviously. I knew that much."

"I could be a bit steadfast in my beliefs and those beliefs tended to be influenced by those I looked
up to." Sev tilted his head, thinking for a moment. "I suppose I often consorted with 'the wrong
sort.'" Draco thought it over before finally nodding at this information. It wasn't exactly new
information, Severus was close with his father, after all.

"We were all teenagers," Lupin gave a little laugh as he set the empty goblet down. "We were all…
a bit much, at times, but we settled down as we became older."

Draco only nodded. "Of course, as is to be expected." Harry shifted closer to him and then pinched
him.

"Ignore him, he likes to think he's more mature than the rest of us."

He huffed, kicking Harry's foot. "Shut up, I am too!"

"Oh, right, yeah, totally mature." Harry kicked him back. "You're a brat."

"I am not!" Draco swatted Harry's arm, frowning at him. "You've hardly got room to talk!"
"Wha- I'm not a brat! Name one time I've been a brat!"

"Hyperion."

"Snuffles was a great name!"

"I heard what you said to that mutt, liar!"

"Okay- Okay, so it was a really bad name, but you had so much fun fighting me about it!" Wait,
what? "I mean, you love getting into silly little arguments, so I figure coming up with a stupid
name for him would be the best."

"I do not love it! Do you know how incredibly stubborn you lot are?! You're supposed to just hand
everything to me on a silver platter!" There was a suppressed sound of laughter, Draco shooting his
head around to see Sev and Lupin both had on politely detached smiles.

"Remus, I believe I'll leave you to your Gryffindors."

"Thank you, Severus." Remus was smiling at him before glancing back to the boys.

"I still resent that."

"Is there anything you don't resent, though?"

"Would you shut up?!"

"Where would the fun in that be?" Harry grinned, reaching out to grab Draco's sleeve and give it a
little tug. "Hyperion is a better name, though."

"You act like I don't already know that," he said with a roll of his eyes. "That's why I named him."

"Is this 'Hyperion' a pet of yours, then?" Lupin asked curiously, Sev taking the goblet and leaving
the room.

"Ah… Somewhat? Harry and I found a stray dog over the summer at the Manor, and took care of
him.'

"Really?" Lupin raised an eyebrow at that, looking between the two. "I didn't think stray animals
would even be able to get on the grounds of your Manor with the old spells placed on it."

Draco gave a helpless shrug. "I hadn't thought so either, and I can't remember it ever happening
before, but he was friendly enough."

"I see. At least you'll have a friend waiting for you two when summer arrives and school ends."
While Draco managed to keep perfectly still and innocent, Harry shifted a touch nervously - no
doubt he was guilty about the fact he was lying to one of his new favorite professors.

"Actually, we plan to go back for winter holidays," Draco said pleasantly. Lupin gave them a bit
longer of a look before slowly nodding.

"Of course." Whatever he was suspicious about he seemed to put aside, turning to smile at Harry.
"You're always welcome to ask more questions, as well, Harry."

"Oh, uh, thanks- What about my mom?" As Harry asked, Draco settled back in his seat and
resigned himself to the fact that they would be there for a while. It didn't seem like such a bad
thing.
::

"Looks like everyone is still out at Hogsmeade." Harry was looking out the common room window
and out towards the grounds. "Isn't Halloween supposed to be a big deal in the wizard world?"

Draco nodded, though he knew Harry couldn't see. "It is. In all the old tales, the veil between life
and death lifts on the night of Samhain, and they always say that wizards and witches are more in
touch with their magic this night, than any other. Mother always took it as a wonderful excuse to
hold extravagant masquerade balls."

"I think she'll throw a ball over any excuse," Harry laughed, eyes wide and bright as he watched the
sun start to set. "The sun sets a lot earlier this time of year, but the sunsets are pretty great, aren't
they?"

"They are, yes." Watching Harry, he stood to stand beside him. "It sets your hair on fire." Harry
touched a hand to his hair instinctively, nose wrinkling.

"I wouldn't go that far." He glanced to Draco, smile settling into something a little softer. "You
really miss those dances your mom threw, huh?"

"There were always three I would never miss. My birthday, Yule Tide, and Samhain. They're each
my favorite for different reasons."

"Why was Samhain your favorite?"

"Well, as a child, it always meant dressing up, and having all the adults fawn over me over how
precious I was, at that age. I haven't attended one since I was ten."

"And for you that was a long time ago," Harry said quietly, the two silent as they went back to
watching the sun. "Well! I don't know about costumes, but we can at least do some of the ball."

Draco laughed, turning back to him. "Harry, what are you talking about?"

"Okay, so, there's not music, but bare with me, here." Harry stepped forward and grabbed Draco's
hands before pulling him into a familiar position.

"Harry James Potter. Are you volunteering yourself to dance with me?"

"I know, I'm so Gryffindor," Harry sighed with 'regret,' close to laughter. "I'll only dance when it
comes to you." Draco couldn't help himself from leaning close and quickly pecking Harry's cheek,
smiling brightly at him.

"Well? Come on, then. I haven't even taught you the fun ones, yet!" Harry's face was a bright red,
but his grin was delighted and he was tightening the hand that was holding Draco's own.

"That sounds like a great way to spend today."

Draco wasn't sure how long they were dancing, but he was distracted when he heard laughter and
he looked to see Hermione and Ron coming in with the other Gryffindors. The Hogsmeade trip
must have been over, then. "Ah, Weasley, come on, you should know this one!"

"Oh, no. No, no, no, you are not making me dance when I don't have to. I did those dances enough
as a kid!"

"No no no, these aren't any regular waltzes, come on- Hermione, I can teach you, too!"
"I'd love to learn!" Hermione seemed delighted and Draco saw some of the fifth years talking
before music started up.

"Told you I could get it working!" Ah, one of them must have found an old gramophone.

"There we are! Come on, then, it's not so hard, just follow me!" Some older ones were jumping in
at once and Draco saw the twins spinning past with Johnson and Bell and all four were laughing up
a storm. Draco joined in with the laughter as Hermione dragged Ron to dance with them, the room
quickly getting crowded as more students joined them.

"Looks like you get your Samhain balls back," Harry said quietly, watching him with a warm and
soft smile.

Draco couldn't help but to giggle quietly. "Not exactly, but in a way."

"Not so bad a Halloween, then, I think."

 Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff
Chapter Notes

Alright, we have a definite number of chapters to expect for this one now, so y'all
should have a bit better of an idea how this is gonna go. This one... Got away from us,
a bit. Anything to say, bae? ~Kas

Just the usual I hope they enjoy and that cats are stupid -Kit

Right then. ~Kas

“Uh, did we end up in the dungeons by mistake?”

Draco rolled his eyes at him. “Don't be ridiculous, Ron, why would we- Uncle… Sev? What are
you doing out of the dungeons?”

“I see you remain as charming as your mother taught you to be,” Sev said dryly, looking amused
anyways. “I’m filling in for Professor Lupin, today.”

“... Are you?” Draco turned to take his seat, shooting Harry a look as he did. Harry gave him a
confused look back.

“He’s fallen ill. Nothing terribly bad, but enough to be confined to his rooms for the time being.”
After effects of the full moon, then.

“I see.” Draco got his things out, beginning to dip his quill before setting it to his parchment. Harry
pulled out his own parchment and quill, speaking softly as Sev went back to the front of the room.

“Is Professor Lupin going to be alright? Or is he out because of the whole…” Harry waved his
hand about. “The whole thing I’m not supposed to know.”

Draco glanced to him and nodded slightly. “Yes,” he said, trying to draw as little attention as
possible. Sev seemed to be watching him more closely, these days.

“You alright?” Harry was frowning, pausing from where he was fiddling with his quill. “You’re
acting like you’re trying to be careful of something.”

“I've just been thinking that maybe a few things around here need to have a better eye kept on
them.”

“Wait, what?” Harry blinked at him, now looking confused. “Okay, now you’re just being too
vague.” Draco glanced to Severus before looking to Harry and nudging his foot. Harry followed his
gaze, blinked, and then slowly nodded. “What are we supposed to be keeping an eye on, again?”

Draco sighed, shaking his head. “Nevermind.” There was a little huff of a sigh as Harry went quiet
before Draco heard him speak in near a whisper.

“ Oh . It’s because he’s watching you .”

“ Finally, he gets it.” Draco rolled his eyes.

“You can get confusing,” Harry shrugged. “So, what, you think maybe he suspects you’re a time
traveller from some alternate future timeline or something?”

“He certainly suspects something, and that is more than enough, for a Slytherin.”

“Right. Forgot Slytherins were overly paranoid,” Harry teased. “So we just need to be more careful
around him. Alright, that doesn’t sound too bad.” Draco sighed quietly.

“We’re doomed.” Before Harry could respond, they both heard frantic squeaking and Ron’s quiet
mutterings.

“You brought Scabbers to class with - Bloody hell.” Harry stared at the lump of fur that, Draco
supposed, was Ron’s rat. “Is he dead?”

“No, but lookit,” Ron said with a frown, taking bread out of his bag. “He’s gone all thin. Scabbers’
never lost his appetite, before.”

“Well, we know it isn’t Crookshanks, anymore,” Hermione pointed out. Thinking about it, Draco
just vaguely remembered them arguing about that last month. “I’ve kept him in my dorm room for
two weeks straight, now.”

Draco frowned at that. “That is odd. Have you been bringing him much to eat?”

“I keep trying to feed him everything I can! I’ve even been using this rat tonic stuff I got in Diagon
Alley over the summer. Nothing seems to be working.”

Glancing to Harry, Draco cleared his throat. “How old was he, again?”

“I mean, pretty old, I guess. Twelve years, maybe? Thirteen? He belonged to Percy, first, and he
found him in the garden one day.”

“That is… That’s fairly old for a rat, isn’t it?”

“I mean- I guess it’s a little bit old, but he’s probably got some magic to him or something, I bet.
He just hasn’t really needed to use it.” Both Harry and Hermione had equally grim looks at Ron’s
denial.

“Well… Even magic has its limits,” Draco told him gently. It was doubtful that Scabbers would
last much longer with how dismal he looked and all that squeaking was probably nothing good.

“He’s fine. He just needs more tonic is all, I bet.” Oh, goodness, even Ron started looking
disbelieving. “Perce is gonna kill me.”

“No he won’t,” Draco sighed. “Don’t worry, so much. It’s natural.”

“He’s still been a pretty good pet,” Ron sighed, nudging Scabbers back into his robe pockets with
the piece of bread. “I’ll mention it to Percy, later. Maybe he has an idea to at least, I dunno, make
him stop starving himself?”

“Maybe. I hope so.” He didn’t remember what happened to Weasley’s pet rat, but hopefully Ron
could keep his for a while longer considering how disgustingly attached he was to it. As Sev began
class, Draco reached over and patted Ron’s shoulder comfortingly. Ron looked horrified.

“I don’t think that helped,” Harry said quietly, turning to face the front. “How good is Sev at
Defense?”

“He’s fairly good at it- And why wouldn’t that have helped?”

“Because when you’re nice like that, it usually means something terribly bad is about to happen.”

Draco scoffed as he began to copy down from the board. “No it doesn’t.”

“Mm.” Harry didn’t say much more than that, but that just said quite a bit in and of itself. Honestly.

::

Draco woke up slowly and he already knew that Harry was awake without even looking. It was the
day of a Quidditch match, after all. “You didn’t wake me.”

“Game isn’t for a while,” Harry hummed, moving a hand to brush Draco’s bangs back. “Besides,
Hyperion kept me company.”

“Mm, still.” Draco smiled as he sat up. “I think I’m starting to like these mornings with you.”

“You’re only just now starting to? Rude.” Harry was grinning as he ducked down to press a kiss to
Draco’s temple. “Morning.”

“Morning,” Draco hummed, leaning forward until he could wrap around Harry. Harry laughed and
hugged him back at once, kissing at his cheek, this time.

“Wanna go get breakfast, or stay here for a bit longer?”

“I think we could stand to stay here a little longer. This is nice.” There was a huffing growling
noise that sounded like it could have been Hyperion ‘agreeing.’ He was most likely reacting to
Draco’s voice- Hang on. Hyperion wasn’t supposed to be on their bed. “Why is Hyperion on our
bed, Harry?”

“He looked cold and lonely and I didn’t think you’d wake up this early so I thought I would have
time to hide him.”

Draco sighed, leaning further against Harry and holding a hand out. “C’mere, boy.” Hyperion
stretched out languidly before crawling his way over to the two, touching his nose to Draco’s hand
for a moment before laying back down. Draco reached over and scratched the top of Hyperion’s
head, smiling down at him. “I suppose he’s grown on me.”

“Is that Draco speak for the fact you really really really like him, then?” Harry was laughing and
scratching behind Hyperion’s ears, the silly thing kicking his leg.

“No, it is not.” Draco huffed, rolling his eyes at the two of them. It was hard to stay angry when
Hyperion was wagging his tail and Harry was shuffling closer to kiss his cheek. “So you just… Sit
here?”

“Kind of, I guess? I just wake up early and I just kind of think about things. You, me, the others,
whatever crazy stuff is going on. You know. Normal stuff.”

Draco reached over to hold Harry's hand. “Well… What are you thinking about, now?”

“Well, I was thinking about how bad the weather is going to be today, first.” Ah, it was storming,
wasn’t it? “Then I thought about how Wood is going to probably breakdown halfway through the
game with Hufflepuff since the Slytherin seeker got a concussion, and then I got distracted by
thinking about you for a while.”

“Really? What about me had you so distracted, then?” Draco smiled as he pulled the blanket
towards him, leaning against Harry.

“It’s…” Harry huffed, leaning back against him and making sure the blanket was tight around
them. “It’s hard to put into words. It was just… you.”

“Try anyway. Think out loud.” Closing his eyes, Draco laid his head on Harry's shoulder. Harry
hummed, playing with his hair and oh, that felt wonderful.

“I was thinking about how much you love dancing. You stupidly love it at times even when you
try to hide it. Halloween was amazing because it’s been awhile since I’ve seen you smile that wide.
I was also kind of thinking just about your smile in general and the first time I saw you smile.”

“You can remember that?” he asked in a soft mumble. “I can't.” That all felt like so long ago. It
seemed like lifetimes ago, at some points.

“Sort of. I remember the first time you really smiled. It was right after I brought you this cup of tea
and I asked you to come visit Hagrid with me. You said no, at first, but then you came running
over to catch up and… I remember your smile.”

“You're not going to count the first time we met?”

“That was different,” Harry said quietly, Draco feeling him kiss his cheek. “That was you smiling
because you were- You were right. You could change things. The time I’m talking about was the
first time you smiled at me .”

Draco shook his head. “I don’t think I understand.” There was some wiggling from Harry, Draco
feeling hands on his cheeks and a forehead against his own.

“The first time you smiled when you looked at me you were thinking about the Harry Potter from
your time. That time, when you came after me to join us, you were smiling at me .”

Draco opened his eyes, placing his own hands on Harry’s cheeks and smiling at him. “I was.”
Harry grinned and kissed the tip of Draco’s nose.

“I know.” It seemed like Harry was responding to something else, for a moment. Draco wrinkled
his nose, wriggling it.

“How long do you normally sit here?” Harry paused, shrugging after a moment.

“Until you wake up.”

“Then what do you want to do, now?”

“Oh, um-” Harry's growling stomach seemed to answer the question for him. Draco laughed,
standing, and holding his hands out to Harry.

“Then let’s get dressed, and head down to breakfast.” An early breakfast seemed just the thing
they needed before a big Quidditch game.

“And probably try to keep Wood from going crazy. He’s freaking out about facing Diggory today.”

“Diggory is… An incredible player. He could probably go professional,” Draco said quietly.
“Did he ever? In your time?” Harry stood up with a large stretch, hair tangled as it often was after a
night of sleeping on it. It didn’t get any better when he gathered Hyperion in a hug and cuddled up
to him. Draco gave a shake of his head, petting Hyperion.

“No, he didn’t. Not- Not yet.” If Harry knew he was hiding something, he didn’t pry, only moved
to give Draco a quick kiss to his cheek.

“I’m gonna steal the bathroom first.” With that, he was running.

“What- Harry!” Draco immediately ran after him.

“Gotta be faster than that, Dray!”

It didn’t take too long to get ready, but there was enough fun arguing that the other boys were
waking up by the time they were heading down to the Great Hall. A few older students were
already there, but a good part of the Great Hall was still empty.

“Bit creepy, isn’t it?” Harry pointed to the ceiling where menacing storm clouds were gathered.
“Gonna be a wreck to play in this weather.”

“This is the perfect Quidditch weather. See who really is superior. Sure, anyone can play in
sunshine. But who can play in a storm?”

“Hopefully us,” Harry laughed, pulling over the plate of eggs as they sat down. “Wood’s been
training us in all types of crazy weather, so at least we’ll do okay.”

“We should,” Draco hummed, digging into his breakfast.

“Unless someone falls off their broom again.”

“Or gets petrified.”

“That’d be a way to win.”

“Shame we can’t do it.” Draco opened his mouth to speak before stopping himself and… That…
That was this year, wasn’t it? Hm.

“Dray?” Harry gave him a little nudge. “You alright? You look like you just realized something
and that usually means bad things for us.”

“Hm? Oh, no, I’m fine, just…” Draco patted Harry’s shoulder gently. “Be ready.” Harry’s face
rapidly grew pale, the teen looking shocked.

“Oh my god, I’m gonna die today, aren’t I?”

“ No, Harry! You’re not going to die!”

“Well when you start acting like that then it means something bad is going to happen!”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Now who’s being dramatic?”

“Hey, I’m speaking from experience.” Harry huffed, smiling a bit anyways. “You’ll visit me in the
hospital wing when I fall off my broom, then?”

“Of course I will.”

“That’s good to know, at least.” A loud crack of thunder echoed throughout the halls, some
students almost screaming at the sound. “Think Wood will drown himself in this storm if we lose?”

“...Do we want to test it,” Draco asked him with a grin.

“We won’t try, but maybe we’ll get a happy coincidence. C’mon, let’s hurry up and eat before we
get dragged off.”

“Alright then, let’s get going!”

In no time at all they were gearing up for their first Quidditch game of the season, Wood tense and
silent and Harry near vibrating with excitement. “Right,” Draco said, turning to the girls. “Don’t
get hurt.”

“So caring,” Bell said dryly. “Come on, Draco, we’re not that weak. We’re gonna go up there and
kick Hufflepuff’s-” She paused, looking at the two of them. “We’re going to win.”

“We’re not children,” he told her with a roll of his eyes.

“I still feel like I’m corrupting you if I were to say anything, though.” That had Draco snorting.

“Whatever you choose to believe.”

“Alright, team!” Goodness. Draco didn’t remember the Gryffindor Quidditch captain being this…
Well. “Let’s get out there and win. Please. It’s my last year. We’re going to win .”

Draco nodded along to his words before pulling Harry back a moment. “Harry?”

“Yeah?” Harry lingered with him until the others were almost completely gone. “Something I
should know for future’s sake?”

“No, just…” Draco smiled and leaned forward, kissing Harry’s forehead. “Good luck.” Harry’s
face flushed and he gave a wide grin paired with an equally bright laugh.

“Don’t think we need luck, but that just means we’re extra sure to win, now!”

“Go on, get out there,” Draco laughed, pushing him along. Harry ducked in to kiss Draco’s cheek
before running away after the others. Draco tracked him with his eyes, watching as the game began
and the snitch was released.

At least, he tried to watch the game. The storm had hit with full force and even standing as far
under cover as he could he was still absolutely soaked. Jordan’s commentary was hard to hear, as
well, when the storm decided to get particularly rowdy. Had one of their chasers fallen off a
broom? He couldn’t tell . Draco began to shiver and it was growing colder across the field. Fog
seemed to be rolling in- Was that Hyperion? Draco thought he may have seen Hyperion before he
curled further in on himself, the rain around him freezing solid as it fell to the ground.

It was so cold . Why was it so cold? What was Hyperion doing out here, even. He couldn’t get out
if he was in the dorm, right? Maybe it wasn’t Hyperion. Maybe it was some other giant black dog
that was looking grim- Grim. Looking up, Draco’s heart fell. Dementors. It really was the Grim,
then, and oh Merlin he remembered the basilisk, and not being in control of himself, he
remembered being marked, he remembered it all he wanted to stop remembering it, he wanted it to
stop, stop, just stop-!

Draco groaned quietly as he felt that cold start to seep out of him and what… When did he close his
eyes?

“Do you think he’s awake, yet?”

“Dunno, but he’s probably right better than Harry is, right now.”

“He was so far up when he fell…”

“At least Dumbledore slowed him down.”

“What- Harry?” Draco rubbed at his eyes as he attempted to sit up. “What happened to Harry?”

“Draco!” Pansy and Hermione were pushing and helping him up as quick as they could, Draco
slowly blinking at seeing he was in the hospital ward and on one of the beds. “Are you alright?
They found you passed out by the lockers.”

“I- I think I’m fine- Passed out?” He didn’t remember anything like that. He didn’t even remember
entirely what may have caused it. The dementors hardly got near him.

“That’s what it looked like,” Pansy said quietly, lip bright red where it looked like she had been
biting on it. “Okay, don’t panic, but Harry fell off his broom-”

“He what?!” Draco immediately was looking around and there was only one bed that seemed to be
occupied, but the curtains were drawn all around it.

“He’s fine, he’s fine, he’s asleep right now. Dumbledore used a spell so he didn’t hit the ground as
hard and a lot of it was mud, so that probably helped, and he’s okay. Madam Pomfrey says he
should be back up and causing trouble by dinner.”

“I don’t even remember seeing him fall. When was this?” Why were the curtains even pulled if he
was alright?

“Right after the Dementors came onto the field,” Hermione said quietly. “It… I don’t think I’ve
ever seen Dumbledore that angry.”

“Got rid of ‘em all right quick,” Ron shook his head. “Harry fell when one got too close.”

“I’d be angry, too. Why’d they come onto the field?”

“No one knows, yet,” Hermione shrugged. “Maybe it’s because there was so many people? All
those emotions?”

Draco shook his head. “Maybe.” Just as he was about to stand, the doors of the ward were
opening- Oh dear.

“Your mother really does not look pleased,” Blaise commented, the Quidditch team quickly
making room for the storming force that was Narcissa, Lucius, Hagrid, Dumbledore, McGonagall,
Lupin, and Madam Pomfrey. It was a wreck, already. Draco only bit at his lip as he shrunk at the
look his mother was sending him. Right. This was sure to be fun.

“Poppy.” Ah, that was Narcissa’s tone of voice that showed she was about to start hexing people if
they didn’t do as she asked. “I would kindly ask you to remove the curtains around my other son or
I will rip them down myself.”

“I had them up for a reason,” Pomfrey said quietly, drawing back the curtains- Merlin, smite him
now. There was a rough growling sound from Hyperion and where he lay across Harry. Draco
didn’t even know the bloody dog could growl.

“Why on earth- Draco! Why is there a dog on Harry’s bed!” Oh, goodness, how did he explain that
one? Hyperion certainly didn’t look like he would be moving.

“I- I don’t entirely know? I don’t know why there’s a dog in the hospital ward.” There was a
moment where Narcissa narrowed her eyes and went over to Harry’s side, glaring at Hyperion.

“Hush.” The dog still gave a soft growl, though at least didn’t seem to take any offense to her
fretting over Harry.

“How did a dog even get into the ward?” McGonagall was frowning and turning to talk to
Pomfrey, but Draco noticed that Lupin was staring at Hyperion with wide eyes that looked…
Merlin, he looked like he had just seen someone come back to life.

“I’m assuming that it snuck in with the rest of the students, but as you can see, it’s refusing to be
moved.”

“No problem with that one, Ma’am Pomfrey.” Hagrid walked over and began to pick the poor mutt
up by the scruff. Instead of barking and trying to snap the man’s hand off like Draco almost
expected, Hyperion only looked straight into Hagrid’s eyes and bared his teeth. Hagrid drew back a
small amount, frowning at Hyperion. “Smart one, but dangerous.”

Draco cleared his throat. “Maybe… Maybe let him stay?” Half of the adults turned to look at him,
his friends very wisely staying out of it. He couldn’t blame them.

“This is a healing ward ,” Pomfrey finally huffed. “I will not allow a dog into this place when
students are healing!”

That had Draco frowning as he sat up. “What’s a dog being nearby got to do with healing? That’s
like saying we can’t have owls nearby while we’re studying.”

“You know, she’s kind of got a point. Something to do with germs and stuff?” The words were
quiet and cracked with sleep, but they were familiar enough to have Draco snapping his head over
to see Harry blinking his eyes open. “Oh, wow, there’s a lot of you.”

“Harry Potter, you stand up for your dog.” There was a moment where Harry stared at him, looked
to Hyperion, and then looked back to everyone in the room.

“I, uh…” Alright, Draco expected for Harry to at least snap out a witty response. “There’s really a
lot of you.” Draco frowned before looking around at everyone- Hm. He realized he may see the
problem, here.

Glancing to Hermione and Pansy, he nodded his head towards the door. Hermione was the first to
catch on, Pansy a second behind her. “Right! I think these boys could use some rest.” Hermione
was pushing at the Gryffindor team. “Come on, then, out, out! You need to go take a shower and
stop dripping all of this mud everywhere!”

“Thank you,” he said loud enough for the two as everyone else complained. It only took a minute
or two for all the students to be gone, Draco looking back to see that Harry had his hands clenched
in Hyperion’s fur and was breathing too fast to be normal. Hyperion only seemed to be cuddling
back up to Harry as Harry started to calm down, his breathing slowly matching Hyperion’s, and
good. Good. Draco knew that dog was good for them from the beginning.

“I think it would be best if the dog were to stay with them for the time being,” Lupin said softly,
smiling at Pomfrey. “There are quite a few studies about the healing effects of animals, after all.”

“Right. Of course there are,” Draco said with a firm nod. “Harry needs that dog.” Although said
dog was now whining quietly… Hm.

“Oh, fine,” Pomfrey sighed, bustling around them and setting a slab of chocolate in both of their
hands. “The two of you eat that- All of it.” Draco nodded and began to eat his piece of chocolate,
still staring over at Harry and Hyperion.

“Would either of you mind telling me how you came to have a dog?” Narcissa was looking at
Hyperion with a wrinkled nose as she gently brushed Harry’s hair away from his forehead.

Draco swallowed the chocolate before putting on his best ‘cute’ face. “He found us, mother. It was
meant to be.”

While Narcissa wavered, Harry quickly shoved a bit of chocolate in his mouth to keep himself from
laughing, which, really, how rude. “I… suppose he does seem to be helping Harry.”

“...His name’s Hyperion. If you care to know.” There was a polite ‘cough’ from Lucius, Narcissa
sighing softly.

“The fact still remains that you can’t have him running around while you two are at school.”

“Mother, he wasn’t! I swear, I’ve no idea how he’s in here, right now!”

“He’s supposed to be in the dorms,” Harry muttered, patting at Hyperion’s head.

“He what?” McGonagall snapped her head towards him. “You snuck a dog into your dorm room!”

“Well, really, professor, the dog just followed after us, so, it… Snuck himself… Into our dorm
room.” He was pretty sure at least three adults politely hid laughter from him.

“A cat, an owl, or a toad. Those are the rules. Why is it that I am always finding my Gryffindors
breaking those rules.”

“Professor, we didn’t bring him to Hogwarts. We’d left him back at the Manor, where we’d found
him. A couple weeks after the feast, we find him out on the grounds.”

“You’re telling me that your dog followed you all the way to Hogwarts?” McGonagall looked
skeptical at best, and Lupin was hovering around the end of Harry’s bed, looking lost in thought.

“It sounds insane, but I swear that’s what happened. My mother Apparated Harry and I right to the
train on September first, with no dog.”

“It is true, Minerva,” Narcissa agreed. “I didn’t even know they had taken a dog in - which is
something that we will be talking about.”

“Be that as it may-”

“Wait!” Harry blurted out, sitting up so fast it looked like he was about to collapse. “The- The
match- What happened with the Quidditch match? Did it get postponed?”

“As the dementors took the field, Diggory caught the Snitch,” McGonagall told them none too
pleasantly. “He has been requesting a rematch, since.”

“Which you’re going to approve?” Harry asked hopefully. “I mean, Professor, Dementors came
onto the field. That’s gotta be a foul or something.”

“Unfortunately, Potter, it was a fair win by Hufflepuff. The snitch would have been caught with or
without the dementors’ interference.”

“I beg to differ,” Harry grumbled, falling back onto the bed and mumbling and muttering to
himself. Draco vaguely caught the gist of destroying Hufflepuff later in the season. Draco only
remained sitting up before he finally moved himself to the edge of the bed to stand.

Pomfrey’s head snapped over and she glared at him, eyes narrowed. “Young man, you are not
allowed to leave this ward until dinner at the earliest.”

“I’m not leaving,” he huffed, walking over to sit beside Harry. Harry shifted and moved so he was
sitting back up and leaning against him, a quiet sigh leaving him.

“I think we know better than to try and leave before you let us, ma’am.” Draco reached over and
scratched at Hyperion’s head, watching the dog’s eyes close. He really was good if he had
managed to calm Harry down so quickly. “Er, one more question, but what happened to my
broom?”

Pomfrey turned and picked up a large cloth- That was nice of them to dry it. “They left it here, for
you.”

“Oh, good. I was worried something would happen to it with the storm.” Oh. Oh, Draco did not
like how McGonagall and Lupin suddenly shared a look . Draco leaned forward and took the
broom- Oh. Oh no. Draco glanced back to Harry, and… As long as Harry didn’t ask to see it.
“Well, let’s see it, then. It’s probably not in the best condition.” Draco winced as he reluctantly
unwrapped the cloth.

There was a long pause where the room was very silent and still before Harry made a quiet noise
that almost could have been called a whine if it wasn’t so quiet. “Oh.”

“Sorry. Apparently I was… Unconscious.” It took a few moments before Harry startled, staring at
Draco and then looking to the bed he was in.

“Wait- Why were you unconscious? Are you alright? What happened?”

“I- I think it was the dementors? I don’t remember being unconscious, I just remember them
starting to come onto the field, and…” Draco turned his head to frown. And Hyperion. Hyperion
had been there. How had he gotten out, though?

“Looks like I didn’t fare much better,” Harry sighed, slumping more against Draco as the adults
began to talk around them. “Feeling better, at least?” Draco gave a small nod, leaning back against
Harry.

“It was worse than last time.”

“Least you weren’t in the air.”

“No, at least I wasn’t.”

“There’s… There’s gotta be a way to fight back against them. There has to be something to keep
them from affecting us so much.”

“Actually,” Lupin said suddenly. “There is. The Patronus charm. I could teach the two of you, with
permission,” he said with a nod to Narcissa.

“Really? That’s a rather advanced spell,” Narcissa frowned, looking back to the two. “Then again,
this is the second time I’m hearing about Dementors affecting you both so strongly…”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to learning,” Draco murmured, looking back at Harry. Harry glanced
between Lupin and Narcissa before giving a firm nod.

“I don’t want to see those images in my head ever again.” Draco nodded as well.

Lupin smiled at them. “Good. I’m afraid that I’ll have to insist we don’t start until after the holiday
break.”

“Oh- Yeah, that’s fine.” Harry nodded, startling when Hyperion gave a quiet, soft whine. “Aw,
don’t worry, boy, me and Draco are going to be just fine.” Draco smiled, petting the mutt.

Hagrid huffed nearby. “Thought ye didn’t like big dogs.”

“Really?” Lucius finally spoke, raising an eyebrow as he looked to Hagrid. “All he wanted when
he was younger was a greyhound. He begged for months.”

Harry frowned. “What? You said you had bad experiences with big dogs.”

“Since when?” Oh, dear. Lucius, Narcissa, and Harry were all staring at Draco and he really
wasn’t quite sure how to get out of this one. Draco gulped.

“I, um-” He quickly pushed his remaining piece of chocolate into his mouth. Harry’s eyes widened
for a split moment before they narrowed and gave the smallest of nods. He then looked shy and
withdrawn as he cleared his throat.

“Before- Before we get distracted, I, uh, I just wanted to say thanks for coming down to check on
us, Mrs. Malfoy- I mean, I know you came here because Draco was hurt, but- Um, well.” Harry
looked away and oh, Merlin, he was a master at this, wasn’t he? “It was nice to wake up and know
there was an adult worried about me.”

Draco smiled at Harry, giving him a small nod. “I told you she’d come watch the match.” Narcissa
was already hugging Harry tightly and looking very close to shedding actual tears and goodness.
Slytherin really missed out on having Harry Potter.

“Why do I feel as if you’re a bad influence on him?” Lucius asked, looking at Draco with a rather
parental look.

Draco drew back. “Me? A bad influence? Father, how on earth could you believe such a thing?”

“Because I helped raise you.” Well, technically … “Although, there are times I think he might be a
bad influence on you.”

“How on earth could he be a bad influence on me? He’s Harry Potter!”

“Oh, Draco,” Narcissa was laughing, pulling him back into the hug as well. “I’m rather certain our
Harry could convince you to do anything for him.”

“I- Well that doesn’t mean anything bad.” Narcissa only laughed again while Harry looked as
confused as Draco felt. For as old as he had gotten, he had never understood his mother’s humor
some days. Draco only shook his head when Harry looked at him. “Mothers.”
 Room to Grow

“Why do the Dementors affect us so badly?”

“Well, how many people do you know that have gone through half of what we have?”

“Guess so.” Harry dropped the broom ordering catalogue he had been looking through and
collapsed next to Draco on their chair in the common room. “It’s still… It feels like I should be
stronger.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Harry, you know I mean this in the best way. You’re thirteen. ”

“You’re about to reassure me with something about how I’m too young to be thinking of it like
that, aren’t you?”

“No, just- You’re thirteen, you can’t possibly be stronger. Part of it is they’re all older. It’s easier
for them to put up with their emotions.”

“What about you, though?” Harry quieted his voice and shifted closer to Draco. “You have even
worse reactions than I do, sometimes.”

Draco shrugged at that. “I’ve… Been through a lot. And I never learned the Patronus charm.”

“Do you think-” Harry paused, shifting closer to Draco and somehow managing to speak even
quieter. “Do you think the time travel did something to you when it made you younger?”

“Something like what?” Draco wrapped an arm around Harry.

“Like how you sometimes act like you’re actually thirteen, yourself. Same with the last two years.
Even when we’re alone, there are times you don’t act like you’re…” Harry trailed off, frowning.
“Hang on, how old are you again?” Draco opened his mouth before frowning. He was eighteen
when he’d left, and now…

“Twen… ty,” he answered with a slow nod. Yes. Yes, he was twenty. He was twenty and he was
dating someone who was thirteen.

“Oh, that’s not as bad as I thought. You just act older than you really are, then.”

“I- I try not to think about my age, too often, really.”

“You don’t really act it these days, if it helps.” Harry squirmed to kiss at Draco’s cheek, Draco
feeling the smile against his skin. “You’re just… you.”

“Well, I do try to be.” Draco leaned back against Harry. “You were different from him from the
start.”

“Really?” Harry laughed, the sound quiet and amused. “You know, I used to think I was just some
kind of replacement for him, back when I first learned you were from the future.”

“I think, maybe, at the very beginning. But it didn’t take me long to realize that you two were
different. You were…” Draco held his hand, stroking his thumb lightly. “You were quieter. You
didn’t trust people quite so easily, I think. I mean, back at Madam Malkin’s, you hardly would
respond to me.”
“It wasn’t like that in your time?” Harry asked curiously, watching their hands and still smiling. “I
used to never really talk or trust anyone. It was weird with you, though.”

“Was it?” Draco smiled, tilting his head at Harry. “How so?”

“Haven’t we said this enough times already?” Harry smiled back. “You were like me. I think I was
kind of selfish, though. I thought that maybe if I could help you, I’d prove to myself that I deserved
to be here and have friends.”

“Well? Have you proved it, then?” This time Harry just full out climbed into his lap and alright,
they really were getting too big for this chair.

“Don’t need to.” Harry kissed his cheek, resting there for a long few moments. “I have you.” Draco
smiled brightly, holding Harry close.

“Do you two have to be so disgusting out here in the common room,” Ron whined. “I already put
up with this enough in the dorms!” Draco narrowed his eyes at Ron before purposefully leaning
over and kissing Harry’s temple. “ Guys .”

“Oh, please, we see older students in far more compromising positions at times,” Hermione
scoffed. “Besides, Harry deserves this considering what he had to put up with all of last year.”

“She’s right,” Draco hummed, still wrapped around Harry.

“Oh, I’m so glad you agree that you were completely oblivious.”

“What- What? I was- Tom Riddle- I wasn’t oblivious, I just didn’t-”

“No, no, no, I remember when we were coming up from the Chamber,” Ron jumped in. “Harry
was going on about how he loved you and couldn’t lose you and then you said you loved him and
that he was your best friend .”

“Well, that was for a very specific reason. I had just thought at the time that we both needed time to
grow. ” While Ron and Hermione gave him very dubious looks, Harry just looked as if he had
finally realized what Draco had been trying to tell him at the start of all this.

“Probably for the best.” Harry kissed his cheek again. “Ron, stop tormenting him or we’ll be even
more disgusting.”

“We will?”

“I mean, we could be. I could use some disgustingly cute nicknames, maybe?”

Draco laughed, his head thrown back. “Could you? And what would you come up with?” Harry
stared at him and Draco watched as the teen’s face steadily grew a bright red.

“I, uh- You know what? Nevermind.”

Draco could only laugh. “Don't strain yourself, love.” The blush grew worse and Harry groaned as
he dropped his forehead onto Draco’s shoulder.

“You’re awful. Why are you so mean to me? You’re awful .”

“I am not, I've simply had more practice. You didn't grow up with Blaise and Pansy.”

“Oh, god, could you imagine Pansy’s glee if I told her I needed help coming up with names like
that?”

“You should. She'd be more than happy to help you.” Draco smiled before unwrapping himself
from Harry. “Hermione? How are you doing with the Arithmancy?”

“Better after those tips you gave me,” Hermione sighed, shoulders dropping as she looked up from
her latest book. “It’s still very complicated, though.”

“Here, why don't we both work together through this next chapter?” Draco shifted around. “Let me
grab out my book.”

“Maybe we’re getting too big for this chair,” Harry mused, leaning over the side of the couch and
digging through Draco’s bag for a quick moment before handing him his book. Draco smiled at
him, only shifting a small amount and gesturing Hermione over.

“Come on, we want to beat those Ravenclaws, don't we?” There was a moment where Hermione
looked ready to lecture about knowledge for knowledge’s sake, and then he saw her eyes light up
with Gryffindor glee.

“Well, I suppose we ought to at least show them how studying is really done.”

Draco smiled at her. “There we are.” The Dementors had caused a few problems, granted, but this
year was shaping up to be a good one, overall.

::

“Wood’s going to kill us.” The words were said often, of course, but Draco had never agreed with
them more as all of the Gryffindor Quidditch team remained collapsed and unmoving in the
common room. “Ever since Ravenclaw destroyed Hufflepuff, he’s been trying to kill us.”

“Do you think this is punishment? For not already knowing the charm miraculously?” There was a
groan from Harry where he was collapsed on top of them, Bell speaking up.

“C’mon, guys, Wood’s not punishing us. He’s just… enthusiastic.”

“He’s punishing us,” Draco groaned dramatically, arm thrown over his face.

“Maybe he thinks we’ll win by default if he kills us.”

“Sounds like Wood, honestly.”

“Can’t we just destroy the other teams?”

“Less work.” Draco cried out again and why did they have to be so irritating? He missed Slytherin!

There was a quiet, thoughtful little hum from Harry as he shifted up enough to look at Draco’s
face. “Question. Would we be able to sneak into the Slytherin common room like we snuck Blaise
and Pansy in here one time?”

Draco’s eyes narrowed. “Hang on. Lemme think… Yes. We can.” As soon as he said it, Harry was
getting up and starting to pull Draco with him.

“I give in two minutes before the twins start a fight with the others and then this room is going to
be chaos and I just want a nice, quiet common room.”

“Well, we can’t exactly warn Pansy and Blaise that we’re about to sneak in,” Draco told him,
standing as he whined.

“They’ll support us,” Harry shrugged, tugging Draco along. “Any idea where we could find spare
Slytherin robes?”

“Here, hang on, I know a color-change charm, or two.” Draco took out his wand and murmured the
spell, pointing it at Harry’s robes, before doing the same to his hair.

“Really? My hair, too?” Harry looked up as best he could, snagging a curl to stare at it. “I guess
brown isn’t too bad.”

“I’ve half a mind to change your eyes as well. They’re far too easy to recognize,” Draco huffed,
crossing his arms. “...I just can’t do it.”

“What, why? Are eyes hard to change or something?” Harry blinked at him, green eyes shining as
beautifully as they always were.

“No, Harry,” he said with a small roll of his eyes as he placed a hand gently on Harry’s cheek. “I
just wouldn’t be able to bear your eyes being different.”

“Oh.” Harry flushed, clearing his throat even as he leaned into the touch. “Right, well, uh, you
better at least change your hair, too. Malfoy blond is kind of easy to spot. Just, um, don’t- Don’t
change your eyes either, okay?”

“Alright,” Draco smiled. “Well, you heard me do the spell. You go ahead and give it a try.” Harry
stared at him very seriously for a moment, looking to be thinking deeply before he pointed his
wand and recited the spell perfectly. Draco shook his head slightly- “Black? You made my hair
black?”

“Seemed like a good idea at the time, yeah,” Harry nodded, grinning. “Besides, it’s the complete
opposite of your normal hair color.”

“I… I suppose,” Draco huffed. “Come on, then, let’s go. I believe I still remember the password.”

“How do you remember a password from years ago? Ours change every few weeks.”

Draco shrugged at that. “Ours never changed. We never needed it to, no one ever guessed it.”

“Wha- It never changes? Seriously? That’s- That’s so stupid, but so brilliant .”

Draco leaned forward to whisper to Harry softly, “ The password is ‘pureblood.’ ”

“Slytherins,” Harry sighed, fond smile on his face as he grabbed Draco’s hand and pulled him
along, saying the quick spell to change the color of Draco’s robes, as well. “Good?”

“It’s fine.” Draco pulled Harry along down the stairs. “Come on, then.” It was too familiar to make
the trek down to the dungeons and say the password that he had known for years and had never
forgotten. It was new to have Harry right there with him, but that felt… good.

They had just stepped inside and it was like coming home before Draco saw a prefect look over
and narrow his eyes and oh, dear. “Go,” Draco murmured, quickly ushering Harry over towards
where Blaise and Pansy seemed to be studying together.

“Be careful,” Harry muttered back, heading over to Blaise and Pansy and looking as relaxed as he
could. He even managed to flash the prefect a convincing smile as he quickly passed him. The
prefect narrowed his eyes as he got to Draco.

“Can I help you?”

“Sorry, I don’t know what you mean,” Draco huffed, turning his head. This prefect was below him.
That was the sort of air he needed to keep around him. Hell, Harry wouldn’t have survived a week.

“Alright. Why don’t I just call your proper Head of House to come down and collect you, then,
since you’re obviously not a Slytherin.”

“ There you are,” Pansy squealed. “You were supposed to be here ages ago!” Pansy was wrapped
around him at once, Blaise coming up with Harry much more calmly.

“Calm down,” Blaise sighed. “We invited them here. They kept complaining their own common
room was too loud.”

Harry grinned. “They told us to come on down whenever,” he said with a shrug and a gesture to
Pansy and Blaise.

“You know there are rules against being in each other’s common rooms-”

“ Actually , according to Hogwarts, A History there are no rules against students of different houses
being in each other’s common rooms,” Blaise chimed in, smile darkening. “Would you like me to
reference the page and paragraph?”

“Really, it’s simply more… Loose guidelines that you know for a fact that students don’t follow
anyway, as I could have sworn I saw you headed towards the Hufflepuff common room the other
night,” Draco hummed, examining his nails.

The prefect did a very good job of concealing the split second of embarrassment before he instead
smirked. “Welcome to Slytherin. Try not to get caught doing anything stupid.”

As the prefect walked away, Draco cursed. “Amateur mistake, how incredibly stupid of me.
‘Sorry.’ What bloody Slytherin ever lets that word leave their lips?!”

“You’ve been out of the snake pit for too long,” Pansy huffed, grabbing Draco’s arm and pulling
him along. “Also, Slytherin Green? It looks incredibly good on you, darling.” Draco smirked at
that, standing up straighter.

“Trust me, I know.” There was a quiet snicker from Harry, the teen catching his eye and grinning
even wider.

“Slytherin really suits him.”

Draco pulled Harry over. “You would know, wouldn’t you?”

“Hey, I’ve known you were Slytherin since the beginning.” Harry pouted, leaning against him and
looking down at his own robes. “I don’t think I pull it off as well.” Draco hummed, looking him
over.

“I think it looks good on you.” Ah, Harry looked so nice when blushing.

“Draco, darling.” Pansy tugged at his arm. “Can you please explain to me why you ruined your
hair?”

“I haven’t actually gotten a chance to see it. Mirror, darling?”

“Of course.” Pansy was quick to provide a handheld mirror, Harry muttering and laughing to
himself about something or other.

Draco looked at the mirror, tilting his head- “Oh.” He… Hm. He shifted this way and that, running
a hand through his hair. He didn’t hate it.

“It doesn’t look that bad, but I still like your normal hair a lot more,” Harry said, tugging at a lock
of Draco’s hair. “Black looks… weird.”

“I think I like it. Maybe I’ll keep it like this,” he hummed, still observing himself in the mirror.
Draco heard Harry mutter something and- Oh. His hair was changing back. He frowned, looking
himself over again before handing the mirror back over to Pansy.

“Perhaps it’s for the best, darling,” Pansy patted his back, taking her mirror and checking her own
hair for a few moments. “Shall we show you two little Gryffindors how to have a proper good
time, then?”

“Please do, it’s been too long- Have you received your Yule Tide invitations, yet?”

“We already replied back with a yes,” Blaise nodded. “Hermione was telling me the other day how
she got hers, too, and that she’s going to be raiding your family library. Dare I ask?”

“She used her feminine wiles to cheat her way to getting top scores on last year’s final exams.”

“She beat him by one point,” Harry grinned. “It’s hilarious.”

“She cheated!” Draco huffed, shaking his head. “Why don’t we study?”

“Why don’t you and Blaise study, and Harry and I can sit together.” Pansy was already latching
onto Harry and leading him away. “Come on, Harry. Let me show you how Slytherins have fun.”

“Pansy, you need to-” Watching them walk away, Draco sighed, shaking his head. “She is a viper.”

“At least she’s fond of him,” Blaise snorted. “C’mon. Holidays are soon and I want to make sure
we aren’t scrambling to finish things like those Gryffindors of yours.”

Draco sighed. “Finally, thank you. Hermione is the only other one that seems to understand the
importance of studying.”

“There’s a reason I like her,” Blaise laughed. “She’s the only one among your lot that seems to
ever make any sense.”

Draco thought it over, nodding slightly. “You like her.”

“Yes?” Blaise raised an eyebrow. “I thought that would be obvious by now, but I suppose this is
you.”

“I just… I never would have even thought about the two of you,” Draco admitted. “You two never
seemed… Compatible.”

“Thanks.” Blaise didn’t seem overly offended, but… It had always been Hermione and Ron. “We
get along. That’s what matters, right?”

“I guess so.” Draco shrugged. “Whatever makes you happy.”

“What bracing support. Come on, let’s go study. We’ll save your Gryffindor from Pansy later.”
Draco smiled at him. “Thank you, Blaise.”

“I might be fond of him a little .” Blaise smiled and Draco felt himself relax at the sound of the
Slytherin common room. Some things didn’t have to completely new in this time, he supposed.

::

“Ah, Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter. Shall I put you two down for going home this year?” Oh, was it
already time for McGonagall to take the names of the students going home?

Draco spoke before Harry had the opportunity to. “Yes, ma’am, thank you.” McGonagall marked
their names down before pausing.

“This would be an opportune time to make sure your… pet gets home as well.” Draco cleared his
throat.

“Ma’am? He’s not our pet.” The look she gave was rather terrifying, honestly.

“Then kindly make sure your latest dormmate returns home where he will be staying for the rest of
the year.”

“We will… We can attempt.” One last stern look and McGonagall was sweeping away to the
others, Harry looking to Draco.

“Something tells me that we’re not getting Hyperion home that easily.”

“We're not going to even attempt it.”

“Slytherin,” Harry snorted. “We’ll have to take him home for summer, you know- Wait, who’s
going to look after him while we’re gone?”

“I wasn't sure about that one… Sev doesn't like animals near his potions for safety reasons.”

“We have time to think about that one, but maybe we can find someone to look after Hyperion for
the holidays… A teacher?”

“What other teacher would you suggest? Not Hagrid, Fang might eat the poor thing.”

“You know Hyperion could probably win against Fang no problem, right?” Harry snorted, crossing
his arms as he looked to the high table. “Sev will be out himself, so he’s out. I don’t really know
any other teachers that well besides McGonagall and… You think Professor Lupin could do it?”

“I think he could, the real question is if he would. Would you trust him with that?” Draco watched
as Harry took a few moments to think about it before giving a small nod.

“I think so. Professor Lupin is… He’s nice. Kind. He’s kind. I’d trust him with Hyperion. Would
you?”

“I think I could,” Draco finally nodded, smiling at him.

“Want to ask him after lunch?”

Draco's grin fell by half. “Maybe wait? If McGonagall hears we're not taking him home…”

“Yeah- Yeah. That could be- Okay, so maybe ask him right before the day we leave?” Harry
looked ready to say something else before he suddenly paused. “I’m going to have to dance at this
ball, too, aren’t I?”

“Of course you are,” Draco snickered. “And we're both thirteen, so-” So they were going to be of
courting age at a high class ball. Draco's grin fell as he realized.

“Hey, do you wanna go out and fly for a bit? I think I’m getting better at flying on the school
brooms.”

“Sure, and you can use my broom.”

“Oh, thank god.” Harry ‘collapsed’ against him. “I need to get a new broom, soon.”

Draco gave a nod, thinking about it. “Maybe mother and father will get you one.”

“Brooms are pretty expensive, you know.” Aw, how cute. Harry still felt uncomfortable when
people actually bought him things he needed. They would need to work on that.

Draco couldn't help but to laugh. “Harry, my wardrobe is expensive. A broom is nothing.” Harry
paused, tugging at Draco’s sleeve with a quiet huff.

“You could wear normal clothes instead of silk robes or whatever.”

“Are you kidding? No I couldn't! It does horrible things to my skin,” he declared.

“You’re something else,” Harry laughed, draining the last of his tea before standing up and pulling
on Draco’s sleeve again. “Come fly with me.” Draco laughed as well, following after him.

“Alright, alright, slow down!”

 The Secret Truth

Draco smiled at Harry. “You’re sure you don’t want me to pick something up, for you?”

“For the last time, Dray, I’ll be fine .” Harry laughed, pushing at his chest. “Come on, you said
yourself you still had Christmas shopping to do.” Draco sighed, catching Harry’s hand in his own.

“I do. But don’t worry, I won’t be too long. Just… Try not to get into too much trouble while I’m
gone? Difficult a task as that may be for you.”

“Hey, I don’t go looking for trouble,” Harry frowned, looking like he was trying not to laugh at the
same time. “Trouble finds me.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Draco laughed, pressing closer to Harry for a moment and
kissing his cheek. “I’ll be back soon.”

“I know.” Harry leaned against him for a moment, grinning as he kissed Draco’s forehead. “Go on.
We’ll see each other soon.” Draco only shared another moment with Harry before he was turning
and beginning to follow after their friends.

“Honestly, you act like you’re never going to see him again,” Pansy complained, latching onto
Draco’s arm. “Walk with me, darling, Blaise and Hermione are flirting using books.”

Draco snickered, shaking his head. “Are they really?” He glanced back to see Hermione and Blaise
both talking over each other a million words a second. “I’m still in shock.”

“You really shouldn’t be. This was more obvious than you and Harry.”

“Not quite so, Pansy dear…”

“Really?” Pansy arched an eyebrow. “Draco, darling, they’ve been flirting since the beginning of
second year.”

That had Draco startling. “They have? No, I don’t believe you. They were just friendly.”

“Draco.” Pansy looked disappointed in him. “It was obvious, darling.”

“Perhaps to you. Maybe I was just seeing things a different way,” he huffed.

“Oh? And what way were you seeing?” Pansy paused, tugging on Draco’s arm. “You will be
shopping for Harry’s gifts today, yes? This will probably be the only time he isn’t by your side.”

“Yes, of course I’m shopping for his gifts. Did you happen to see a shop called ‘ The Ink Well ’ on
your last visit? Mother recommended it for him.”

“I didn’t go in, but Blaise and Hermione did,” Pansy nodded. “It’s all a bunch of different colored
inks and parchment types.”

“Then I will try to pop in and pick up a few things for him,” Draco finally said with a smile. Harry
would love to experiment with drawing in colored inks, no doubt.

“You’re going to spoil him, aren’t you?”

Draco snickered. “Who else?”

“Your mother. She already adores him more than you, it seems.”

“Wha- Pansy!” He huffed, swatting at her.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. She loves him just a little more than you.”

“Hmph. Let’s go, then. We only have so much time to wipe out the family accounts.”

“Too true.”

It was actually a fun day. Draco had forgotten how much he missed lazy weekends in Hogsmeade.
It was nice to see old shops that looked almost new in this time, familiar faces of shopkeepers he
vaguely remembered, Hyperion sitting at the corner of an empty alleyway- Wait. Looking back, he
was certain. That was Hyperion. “Ah… You go on ahead.”

“Are you sure? What am I saying, of course you’re sure. It’s you .”

“I'll- I'll catch up, don't worry.” Waiting until she was gone, Draco turned back to Hyperion and
watched the dog give a single wag of his tail. Draco dropped down to one knee, holding a hand out.
“How on earth do you keep escaping the dorm? I know none of them are careless enough to let
you out.”

Hyperion stepped forward to press his nose against Draco’s hand for a moment, tail giving another
wag. At least he seemed alright, but honestly , now. “Oh, come here,” Draco said, petting the dog
with a smile. “You may as well stay close, then.”

It was all too easy to lead Hyperion through the streets, a hand resting on his back. It also made
Draco feel a bit better in case any Dementors came too close to the village. Hyperion, at least,
would be able to find someone to help him. He really needed to learn that Patronus spell, soon-
And Hyperion was running. Great. “Hyp- Hyperion- Get back here!” Draco ran after him and the
dog was barking at… Nothing. Wonderful. His dog was crazy.

Maybe he could get Hagrid to look over Hyperion to see what was wrong. There had to be
something if he was barking at thin air! “Who let Hyperion out of the dorm?”

“What-" Draco reached his hand forward and pulled- “ Harry! ” Harry was slightly flushed and
grinning while wearing clothing that was far too thin to be running around in the snow .

“We really need to get the twins a great Christmas present this year.”

“The twins? Why? What did they do?” Harry had lost it as well. What did the twins have to do
with him being in Hogsmeade?

“Bit of a long story, but I think I figured out how Potter got out of the castle in your first third
year.” Harry shivered as he bent down to pet Hyperion. “Really, though, how’d he get out? I
haven’t even been back to the dorm today besides to grab the cloak.”

“I don't know. He was a few alleys over, waiting for me,” Draco said, shifting his bags behind his
back. He had hope that Harry wouldn’t notice, but that hope was quickly crushed when Harry
looked at him and grinned .

“Were you doing some last minute Christmas shopping?”

“Yes, I was,” Draco hissed, “Because you're not supposed to be here!”

“I can always just wander around,” Harry shrugged, standing back up and looking towards some of
the buildings as he shivered again. “I mean- I haven’t seen much, yet, but this is all so amazing .”

“No, I am not just going to let you wander around unsupervised. Come on, let's go grab a drink. I'm
sure you'll love the butterbeer.”

“What’s butterbeer?” Oh, good, Hyperion seemed just as horrified as Draco, the dog nudging Harry
along after Draco. “Okay, okay, it’s important, got it!”

“It's only the favorite drink of every Hogwarts student to ever taste it. Now we really need to get
you a cup.”

They managed to get all the way to the Three Broomsticks before the others were joining up with
them and, as Draco could have easily predicted, either worrying or congratulating Harry on
escaping out of the castle.

“It could be dangerous , Harry! There’s a reason everyone told you to stay at the castle!”

“I can't believe you found a way out and you didn't tell me!”

“I can't believe you found it before I did.”

“I’ll try to explain later,” Harry finally laughed, still standing close to Draco. “Let’s maybe get out
of the doorway, though, before any teachers see me? And before we freeze to death?”

“Come on, then.” Draco led Harry inside, placing the order for their group as everyone else sat
down. Blaise was quick to push Harry next to Draco before taking a seat on his other side, the
other three sliding into the booth seat across from them.

“If any teachers look over you can probably just duck down,” Blaise hummed, studying Harry for a
moment. “Maybe we should change your hair color again.” Draco frowned at Blaise, pulling Harry
closer to him. “What? It’s a good idea and you know it. At least change the color of his eyes-”

“We are not changing his eyes for a moment and that is final.” The others all turned to look at him
and Pansy finally made a noise like a scoff.

“You're so fond .”

Draco reached over to pat her hand with a condescending smile. “You'll understand, someday.
Maybe. Hopefully.”

“You're a horrible friend, Dra- Shit.” Pansy looked at Harry and hissed, “Get down. Teachers.”
Harry was pushed under the table, Draco quickly muttering a coloring charm on his own hair.

Hermione was quick to whisper a moving charm at a Christmas tree to hide them while Ron swore.
“That's the bloody Minister!”

“What reason does he have to be in Hogsmeade, right now?” Right. Something big was happening.
Black?

“Well, we'd be poor Slytherins if we didn't find out.” With that, Pansy whispered one of her
eavesdropping spells..

“What else, m’dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school at
during the Quidditch match? Some, such as Severus, say they saw him.” “He was at the school?”
Rosmerta gasped and Draco blinked in surprise because, what? Sirius Black had been at the school
this year, if Draco was right, but he didn’t remember him at the Quidditch match .

“Aye, we believe that’s why the Dementors gathered as they did,” McGonagall nodded. “It’s been
a long time since I’ve seen Albus so furious.”

“Did any of you see Sirius Black,” Draco whispered furiously, looking to the rest of them. All of
them shook their heads.

“Bit too busy watching Harry fall out of the air, mate.” That… was a fair point. “Didn’t hear
anything about it until now, though.”

The group listened in as the adults began to talk about Sirius Black and how he was the Secret
Keeper for the Potters. Draco knew that wasn’t right, but he held his tongue, because… No one
knew. No one knew that it had been Pettigrew who had betrayed them. It felt like an eternity
before the adults left and they were safe.

Once they had all left, Draco looked back at Harry, who was still curled up tightly under the table.
“Harry?”

Harry’s expression was… blank. That was bad. That was very bad. Harry, once he had relaxed, was
always expressive. His face was never blank unless his emotions were too much for him. Next to
him, Pansy risked her own little, “Harry? You alright?”

She didn’t even fully finish before Harry was scampering out from under the table and
disappearing under his cloak. Draco rose immediately. “I’ll try to go after him, you lot stay here.
Too many of us will draw suspicion.”

“We’ll catch up later,” Blaise nodded, sliding out of the seat and pulling Draco out. “Go on, then,
go calm him down.” Draco nodded and hurried off, absently changing his hair back. Hyperion was
gone as well- Ah, but he’d left pawprints.

Draco could only hope Hyperion had chased after Harry and that the two would be at the end of the
line of pawprints. He wasn’t even sure how long he ran through the snow, but it was enough that
Draco was struggling for breath by the time he got to a clearing with a whining Hyperion that was
staring at thin air. “Harry?” Draco walked over to Hyperion, looking towards the same direction as
him. There were footprints leading right to emptiness.

It felt like an eternity before Harry slipped the cloak off and stared at Draco and oh. That was a
very angry look. “Draco.” And that was a very angry way to say his name. “You need to tell me the
truth.”

Draco stared at him before sighing. “What do you need to know?”

“Who killed my parents.” Hyperion whined softly and Harry’s voice was soft and serious. “You
keep saying I have nothing to worry about when it comes to Sirius Black, but everyone else is
absolutely certain that he is out to kill me!”

Draco shook his head, walking over to take Harry’s hands and sit him down on the roots of the
nearby tree. “Have you ever known me to lie to you?”

“You don’t need to lie to not be truthful,” Harry muttered, following the cue to sit down and
sighing quietly. “I just- I need to know, Dray. I can’t- I don’t want to be in the dark on this
anymore.”
“Okay. Well… I don’t know everything. I don’t know why, or how those twelve muggles all died.
I don’t know exactly how everything happened, but… Sirius Black was not your parents’ Secret
Keeper.”

“Then it was whoever betrayed them. The man that’s still alive that you won’t tell me about.”
Harry seemed to be talking more to himself, not even paying Hyperion any mind when the dog
whined and walked closer to him. “Why did everyone think it was Black?”

“You heard them. I’ve heard my mother and father talk about it. Black and your father were like…
Like the two of us, last year,” Draco said with a small shrug. “I think everyone just assumes it was
him.”

“That’s only all the more reason they wouldn’t make Black the Secret Keeper! If I had to go in
hiding, then everyone would know that I would trust you, so instead I’d trust someone they
wouldn’t expect like Neville or someone!” Draco only nodded along. Right. And… Pettigrew,
from what they’d been told, had been the Longbottom, or even the Weasley of the four of them.

Harry finally shook his head, looking frustrated beyond all measure. “That’s not right. It’s not fair-
Sirius Black is supposed to be my godfather and if he didn’t do anything then why- Why did he go
to jail! Why does everyone think he’s a traitor! Why did I get shipped off to the Dursleys and
beaten everyday of my life?!” Oh, dear. This… was having a worse effect on Harry than Draco
would have thought. He couldn’t keep hiding it from Harry, anymore.

“Pettigrew. The one that everyone says Black killed? He didn’t kill him. I know because Pettigrew
was alive, back in my time.” Draco closed his eyes, turning away from Harry. “He was one of
them.”

“You’re telling me he went to jail for a crime he didn’t even commit ?” Harry looked even angrier
and Hyperion tucked himself up against Harry’s side, looking as if he was almost sighing .
“Pettigrew is alive and he goes right back to Voldemort!”

“I was told that every witness said they saw Black point his wand at Pettigrew, and there was some
sort of big magical something. Twelve muggles dead, and all that was left of Pettigrew was… A
finger.” Draco frowned. “Hang on- I just realized. No one ever actually said that Black said any
kind of spell.”

“What?” Harry blinked, frowning and slowly raising his eyebrows. “I mean, your mum has done
magic without actually saying any words, hasn't she?

Draco shook his head. “Only small things, like an Accio, or a levitation charm. A blasting charm of
some sort is incredibly powerful, even the most adept of wizards would have trouble casting it
wordlessly.”

“There- I mean, can't they just test the magic? Smell it, or see it, or something? The Ministry
wouldn’t just lock Sirius Black up without looking into it and stuff, right?”

That had Draco snorting. “The Ministry’s gone round the bend.”

“So they put an innocent man in jail because they were idiots.” Harry hugged Hyperion tightly,
looking down at him. “The Wizarding World is crazy, Hyperion.” Hyperion huffed, curling up to
Harry.

“I won’t fight you against that one, and… That really is everything I know. Potter cared a lot about
Black, so they were obviously friendly, after all of this.”
“Well. Now we have a new goal for this year.” Harry’s grin was back and it was Gryffindor wild
and Slytherin sharp. “We need to figure out a way to prove Sirius Black’s innocence.”

“Good luck with that one. They couldn’t do that until after my seventh year, when mother and I
turned over Pettigrew’s dead body to the Ministry.”

“Good thing you’re here, and are all about changing the future and all that, then.” Harry stood up,
brushed himself off, and shook out his cloak. “Now, show me Hogsmeade. I have to get back soon
before any teachers notice I’m gone.”

“Actually… We should go back, now,” Draco sighed. “I’m not in much of a shopping mood, right
now.” He felt a touch on his cheek and looked up to see it was Harry’s fingers.

“Dray? Hey, are you alright?” Draco smiled, leaning over to kiss Harry’s forehead.

“I’m fine.” It was a bit insulting that Harry didn’t even pretend to believe him, although he did
blush a little.

“Fine. At least let’s tell the others we’re going back.” That was probably a good idea. “I want to try
and sneak a look in those bags you had.” Draco swatted at Harry’s arm.

“I’ll charm the bags, then you’ll see how easy it is to sneak a look.”

“Feel free, but we both know that isn’t going to stop me. C’mon, Hyperion, you can distract
Draco.” With that, Harry was cackling as he ran off.

“Harry, don’t you- You get back here!” When did Harry get to be so fast ? Draco didn’t get very
far before he was leaning on his knees, panting. “Please come back.”

He vaguely felt Hyperion blow past him, and, great. He really was alone, now. At least, he was
until he saw Hyperion and Harry coming to a stop in front of him, Harry amused. “Wow, I forgot
how bad you were at running.”

“Harry, I don’t run,” Draco told him for probably only the hundredth time. Harry only laughed and
ducked in to kiss his cheek.

“We’ll get you there eventually.”

“No we won’t.”

“Sure we will.” Harry grabbed his hand and pulled him along at a brisk pace. “Come on, let’s go!”
And Draco made sure to whine the entire way.

::

“Right. Okay. Right.” Harry sucked in a breath as he knocked on Lupin’s office door. He really
was working himself up. “Professor Lupin! Can we talk to you?”

The door opened in just a moment. “Ah, Harry and Draco. Come in, you two. What do you need? I
would expect you’d be getting ready to go home for the holidays.”

“We were, sir, but, um, well, we kind of had a favor to ask?” Harry rubbed at the back of his neck
with a nervous little smile. “It’s a bit… odd.”

Draco left the door open a moment after the two had entered before closing it behind him. “I feel
obligated to state this was entirely Harry’s idea, and I was merely an accomplice.”
Lupin looked to be fighting back a laugh as Harry scoffed and looked at him in betrayal. “ You’re
the one who suggested it!”

“I did not suggest it, I was just speaking notions aloud and you happened to latch on.”

“You’re such a Slytherin,” Harry grumbled, as if that was supposed to be an insult .

“Thank you.”

“ Anyways .” Harry turned to Lupin, the man very skilled in hiding the amused smile he just had
on. “You remember Hyperion, right? Our dog?”

“I do-”

“No- He’s not our dog,” Draco quickly corrected.

“Nevertheless,” Lupin said, raising his voice to stop any arguments. “I recall, yes. Why do you
bring it up?”

“We kind of need someone to watch him while we’re gone for the holidays.” Harry gave his best
smile that reminded Draco of when he was eleven and shy and didn’t think he could trust adults.
“We… I thought we could trust you to do it.”

“...Did you?” That wasn’t a no, that was good enough for Draco. He reached over and pulled the
cloak off of Hyperion.

“We did.” Lupin’s eyes widened and Hyperion gave a quiet little whine as he sat down. Poor thing
wasn’t used to being out of the dorm anymore, Draco bet. Draco smiled, kneeling down, and
petting Hyperion’s head. “It’s incredibly important to Harry that he’s well taken care of.”

“It would only be for the holidays and he’s very low maintenance!” Harry chimed in. “He just
needs some water, a bit of food, and he’ll probably sneak into your bed at night-” There was a loud
bark. “It just means he’s worried about you.”

“Oh, that makes me feel better. I thought you were inviting him into our bed.” Draco didn’t even
bother to acknowledge Harry’s glare.

“ Anyways . Would you be willing to look after him for a few weeks, Professor?” Harry had on that
kicked crup look again. “Please?”

“Not even really a few weeks,” Draco wheedled. “Just two weeks. Hardly anything, really, in the
grand scheme of things.”

“I see. You know, boys, I rather thought that Professor McGonagall had asked you to take him
home with you over the holidays.” Ah, right. So she had.

“And we said we could attempt to do so,” Harry nodded.

“We had said we could, and she accepted it. We had never said we would. ”

“Slytherin sorely missed out on having you two, I see.” Lupin laughed, a deep, amused sound that
made Draco remember how Lupin became Potter’s Sev. “I’d be delighted to watch after Hyperion
while you two are gone.”

“Wonderful! Come on, Harry, let’s go pack,” Draco said quickly, dragging Harry out before Lupin
could change his mind.
“We’ll be back soon, Hyperion, be good for Professor Lupin!” Harry waved at the two with a wide
grin as they quickly left. “That went well.”

“I think you’re right.” Hopefully they left before Lupin could realize he was making a horrible
mistake.

“Didn’t we already pack?”

“Well, I have a couple more things to pack.”

“Are they Christmas gift things?” Harry looked very excited at the possibility of seeing what Draco
had gotten him - not that he would.

“They may be.”

“Really? You know I’m going to have to try and find out what you got me, right?”

“Then I’ll have to tell mother. She’ll be disappointed in you, you know.” There was a long silence
and Draco finally looked over to see Harry’s expression.

“That was cheating and you know it.” Harry was so precious when bitter like that.

“I know,” he said with a satisfied smirk. “Come on, then, Hyperion will be perfectly fine.”

“I can still worry. Last time we left him on his own he made it all the way to Hogwarts .”

“Well…” Draco smiled. “I have a good feeling about this. I do.”

“Fine,” Harry sighed dramatically. “Your good feelings tend to be right. Hey, maybe you’re a Seer
and that’s why you’re doing so great in Divination. Even Trelawney seems to really like you.”

“Me? A Seer? Please, Harry. Seeing is passed down through generations, and not a single Malfoy
is a Seer.”

“What about a Black? That’s your mom’s side of the family, right?” Well… There had been
rumors, but nothing concrete that he knew of.

“No. No. Impossible.”

“We should ask Trelawney if you’re a Seer.”

“We are not asking Trelawney if I’m a Seer!”

“You’re right. I’ll do it right when we get back from break.”

“ Harry! ”
 A Fanciful Reprieve

“I still can’t believe the twins just gave this to me.” The train was close to King’s Cross when
Draco saw Harry fiddling with the map he had shown them after that day in Hogsmeade. Everyone
else seemed rather distracted as there were six of them crammed into one car, but it was at least
amusing to see Pansy and Blaise interact with the Golden Trio on good terms.

Draco smiled, his arm wrapped around Harry. “How does it feel?” Harry gave a small little smile,
leaning into Draco.

“I mean- This was really important to them and they just gave it to me because they saw I was so
upset about not being able to go to Hogsmeade.” Harry tapped the piece of parchment with his
wand and muttered the words, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

“Did you know that he would always follow me, all through our sixth? I always wondered how he
knew where I was. I used every possible secret passage I knew.”

“Maybe he had a crush on you,” Harry hummed back, watching the map spiral out before he
suddenly went ramrod straight and absolutely stiff against Draco.

“Him? A crush on me? ” Draco looked over at the map, his head tilting. “What is it?”

“It…” Harry’s voice seemed to disappear before he looked at Draco with wide eyes. “The
Marauder’s Map .”

Draco rose an eyebrow, slowly nodding. “Yes?”

“The- That’s what they called themselves, wasn’t it? My da and his friends? Your mom said it was
him, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and…” Harry’s expression went cold. “Pettigrew.”

Draco nodded. “Right. The Marauders.” He set a hand on Harry’s knee. “Didn’t you… You’re only
now realizing?”

“Well- I wasn’t really thinking about it the first time considering I had a map leading me out of the
castle!” Oh- Oh, Harry .

Draco asked him again, “How’s it feel?”

“I… I just never thought I would have anything of theirs, you know?” Harry rubbed the edges of
the map, eyes wide. “Pictures, yeah, but this- He and his friends made this.” He nodded against
Harry.

“Well… You have your father’s cloak.”

“Yeah, but that felt like- I mean, I love it, but it felt like a family thing more than something that
was really theirs, if that makes sense.”

Draco nodded. “I think I do.” He closed his eyes, just for the time being. Just until they got to the
station. He must have drifted off because he found himself waking up when Harry sharply elbowed
him in the side.

“Draco.” Harry’s voice was… odd. “Tell me what names you see right here.”

“What? What am I-" Draco looked at the map, sitting. “Remus Lupin and-" Who the bloody-?
“I’m reading this right, right? That says Sirius Black next to Professor Lupin, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. It does-"

“What says Sirius Black?”

“Nothing.” Harry seemed to realize the mistake he made as soon as the word was out of the mouth.
“I mean, nothing really important.”

“Would you just look at the countryside,” Pansy hummed, staring out the window. “This will be
where I build my summer home with the money from my third husband.”

“What happened to your first two husbands?” Ron asked, a bit of a nervous shake to his tone.
Blaise gave him a pitying look.

Pansy leaned towards the three of them with a smirk. “Wouldn't you like to know?” Ah, Pansy-
The bloody-!

“Hey!” Harry tried to grab the map back, but Pansy easily kept it out of his reach. “Pansy!”

Pansy quickly leapt up to stand on her seat- “Is this a map of Hogwarts?!”

“Yes and I would very much like it back , now!” Oh, for- This car was far too small for them to be
running around like this.

“How on earth do you have a map is Hogwarts? It's impossible!”

“It's unplottable!”

“It's Sirius Black!”

“It's just a bit of joke paper Fred and George gave me! That's it!” Oh, dear, even Draco could tell
that was a horrid lie.

Pansy dropped back down to the floor. “Look! Sirius Black is in Hogwarts!”

“What?” Hermione bent over to look with wide eyes. “Is this a real map? How does a map of
Hogwarts even work!” Draco looked helplessly to Harry, because… Well, Harry knew more about
it.

“It- Okay, it is a map, but it just shows Hogwarts. That's why it works, I think. It shows the school,
but not where it is.”

Pansy leaned over- Ow! “Someone explain, then, why Sirius Black is in Hogwarts!”

“Oh, uh…” Harry looked back to Draco with pleading eyes, which, really, it wasn’t like Draco had
much of an explanation for that . At least, not one that wouldn’t take a few hours.

“We don’t know.” Thankfully, the train was beginning to slow down and it seemed like they were
approaching King’s Cross Station.

“Maybe someone will find him while we’re away for the holidays,” Harry said, taking the map
back and wiping it clean with a little whisper of something that Draco couldn’t quite make out.

“I hope so,” Ron huffed. “Those dementors give me the creeps.”

“Tell me about it,” Harry snorted, tucking the parchment away. “You guys will be at the ball,
right?”

“Yeah, mate. Mum's making us go, says it's polite-"

“Of course, Harry,” Hermione interrupted. “A wizarding ball should be fun.”

“Great!” Harry beamed. “I’ll be there to help you guys escape when you need it.”

“ Harry, ” Draco sighed. “Come on, mother will be waiting for us.”

“Alright, alright.” Harry laughed as they joined the other students leaving the train, Draco feeling a
hand grab his after a few moments. Draco turned to smile at Harry, grabbing their things as well.

“Ready to go home?” There was a moment where Harry paused before he was giving a brilliant
smile.

“Going home sounds wonderful.”

::

“Oh, there’s so little time until Christmas,” Draco sighed.

“Are you worried about having time to get ready for the ball or are you worried about last minute
Christmas presents?”

Draco shook his head. “I’m just worried about wrapping everything in time. There’s so much, after
all.”

“Did you go overboard on everybody’s presents?” The two were in Harry’s room and Draco was
helping Harry to wrap some of the younger’s own presents. It was mostly an excuse to watch Harry
struggle with ribbon and get himself tangled up.

“Not everyone’s,” Draco hummed softly. Harry looked up at him suspiciously, but soon went back
to struggling with the green ribbon he was working on. Draco slipped around behind him,
wrapping his arms around Harry. “Here, let me help.”

“Please,” Harry sighed, leaning against Draco’s chest and giving up. “I think I should just never
use ribbon again.”

“No, here, just watch me. It’s just like tying a tie.”

“That seems like a lie.”

“No, really, just- Here, lay your hands on mine.”

“Fine, fine,” Harry sighed, laying his hands on top of Draco’s and looking like he was trying to
hide a smile. “Impress me.” Draco rested his chin on Harry’s shoulders, slowly going through the
motions and speaking quietly as he did so until there was a perfect bow lying atop the box.

They had just finished when there was a knock on the door followed by Narcissa poking her head
in, Harry and Draco looking up at her before Harry waved. “Draco was teaching me how to tie a
bow.” Draco smiled and rose to greet his mother.

“I was. I think he may fare well enough on his own. For now.” Harry stuck his tongue out at him
and Draco probably would have done the same if Narcissa wasn’t lightly clearly her throat.
“Draco, may I talk to you for a moment?”

“Of course, mother. What do you need?”

“I was actually hoping you would walk with me for a moment. I wanted to consult you on
something.” Narcissa glanced to Harry for a moment and, hm. She must want his opinion on a gift
for Harry.

“Oh, alright. I’ll be right back, Harry, this shouldn’t take long.” Draco walked to the door, holding
it open for his mother. Narcissa followed after him and Harry gave a dismissive little hum as he
went back to wrapping presents.

“How have your classes been? I know you’ve taken quite the amount this year.”

“My classes? They’ve been fine. Hermione shares classes with me, so we’ve been working together
on it all.”

“That’s good. How has Harry been? I have no doubt you two have learned everything there is to
know about Sirius and what happened so many years ago.”

“Well… Not everything,” Draco said with a small shrug. “Does anyone know how he’s escaped?”

“There’s still been no word on that, I’m afraid. The Dementors appear to be remaining at the castle
for the time being.” Draco nodded, thinking it over. How did Black escape? It didn’t add up.
“Draco… What do you see when the Dementors come close to you?” Draco startled at that, staring
up at her.

“Why do you ask?” It took a while for Narcissa to answer and that was… concerning.

“I never would have expected you to react so negatively to them, I suppose.”

“Oh. I wasn’t expecting it, either,” he admitted. “I suppose we were both surprised.”

“Yes. I suppose we were both very much surprised.” Narcissa fell quiet and Draco couldn’t help
but to worry about her behavior. “I see you and Harry have gotten closer while you’ve been gone.”

Draco thought it over. “I don’t know if we have. It all still feels relatively the same.” There was
more hugging and cheek kissing, now, but, as he said, it was all the same generally speakinig.

“I have the overpowering feeling that you’re lying to me, young man.” He smiled, shaking his
head.

“I’m not. We’ve both spoken about… About whatever this is, and we know that it’s not going to
change, probably, but we also know most things haven’t really changed.”

“I see,” Narcissa chuckled, brushing a hand through Draco’s hair and smiling down at him. “You
two are happy here, darling?”

“Of course. Mother, are you feeling alright?” There was a long stretch of silence where Narcisa
just… stared at him.

“Yes… I believe I’ll be just fine, darling.”

“Alright… Did you need anything else?”

“No, I believe that’s all for now.” Narcissa kissed his forehead, smile soft. “You still have presents
to wrap?”

“I do. Any chance you can distract Harry? He hasn’t left my side once. He’s trying to get a look at
what I got him, in Hogsmeade.”

“Hm.” Narcissa seemed to think, smile twitching at her lips. “Why don’t you tell him I want to see
him. I’ll be able to distract him for an hour or so.” He smiled, hugging her tightly before rushing
back to his room.

“Thank you, mother,” he called back to her. When he got back to Harry’s room, he saw that he was
finishing up the wrapping on another gift, looking proud of himself. Draco smiled, walking over to
grab Harry’s hands. “Come on. Mother said she needed to see you.”

“Really? For what?” Harry let himself be pulled up, Draco trying not to laugh at the pieces of tape
he saw stuck to Harry’s sleeves and hair.

“She wouldn’t say.” He helped to tidy Harry up, pushing him along. “Go on. She was headed to
the library.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll be back soon.” It was as much a threat as a promise, Harry narrowing his
eyes. “I still have time to find out what you got me.”

“Okay.” Draco returned to his room, pushing up his sleeves and filled with determination. He only
had so long to do this.

He wasn’t sure how long exactly he had, but he managed to finish the last present just as his door
opened and Harry popped his head in. The two stared at each other before Harry whined . “You
managed to wrap all of them?”

Draco looked around. “Oh. So I did.” He smiled, tilting his head back to Harry. “So. What did you
two talk about?”

“Nothing.” Harry was blushing and, for the first time in a while, his hair was starting to curl and
frizz with his magic. “So, uh, what are we doing for the ball? Clothing wise?”

“My clothes? I’ll be wearing dress robes, of course,” he chuckled. What had Harry so worked up?

“Yeah, okay, but have you ever considered a suit?”

Draco rose an eyebrow at him. “You mean like… A muggle suit?”

“Yeah.” Harry nodded, entering the room and moving to sit next to Draco. “I think you’d actually
look good in a muggle suit.”

“Be that as it may, I don’t own a muggle suit.”

“Really? You’re all about clothes, though! Doesn’t the Wizarding World make suits or
something?”

“Not as much as you seem to think.” Draco shrugged. “We wear dress robes. Simple.”

“You lot really don’t like muggle culture crossing over, do you?” Harry leaned against him,
sounding more curious than anything. “It’s like… You forget magic isn’t real in some places once
you’re here.”

“What do you mean it’s not real in some places? Magic is… It’s in us. It’s wherever I go.”
“It’s… When I went back to the Dursleys after that first year, it felt like nothing had changed. It
was the same people, the same house, and the same behavior. My letters had been blocked, too,
remember? It was like it was all some dream and if I thought too hard about it then I would forget
it.”

“Well, I think we can agree that that’s not very normal.” Draco wrapped an arm around Harry.
“You don’t feel that way now, do you?”

“I don’t think so. I haven’t really been back in the muggle world since you kidnapped me,” Harry
laughed, turning to kiss Draco’s cheek. “It’s still… There’s such a separation, you know?”

“Not at all.” Draco pressed himself back against Harry with a hum.

“Maybe it’s just me.” Harry was peacefully quiet. It didn’t last. “So what’d you get me?”

He gave a heavy sigh, “Alright, fine. I’ll tell you.”

“Really!” Harry was beaming and looking absolutely delighted. “You’ll really tell me what you got
me?”

“I’ll tell you one of them.”

“Do I get to pick in any way or are you just going to tell me about a random one?”

“Oh, no, I get to pick. How could you pick if you don’t know any of them?”

“Easy,” Harry smirked. “Tell me the one you picked out for me just because you saw it and though
I’d like it, because I know you probably saw something in a shop window and grabbed it because
you’re just like that.”

Draco opened his mouth before he smiled at Harry. “Alright. A belt with a specific wand holster.”

“What? Really?” Harry blinked, startled before he grinned. “That sounds amazing and way better
than pockets.”

“I know. You like to have some place to put your wand in easy access.”

“That obvious?” Mm. Maybe not to everyone else, but to Draco and their friends it certainly was.

“A little. You’re always ready for something.” Draco hugged him tightly. “Merry Christmas. Now
let’s work on homework.”

“What? No? That’s an awful way to spend Christmas hols,” Harry whined, not fighting against the
hug as he just squirmed against Draco. “C’mon, c’mon, why can’t we just go flying instead?”

“Harry, we always go flying! When did you last properly sit down and study?” There was a very
long silence that followed and oh, dear. It was that bad, then.

“When did we last have a test?”

“Come on. No arguments. Studying. Now.”

Harry opened his mouth, paused, closed it, and huffed. “I was going to make a comment about you
acting like you’re older than me, but…”

“That’s because I am.”

“ Fine . I guess we’ll go study. I still don’t understand the point of tarot cards or whatever.”

“You ask a question, they give an answer. It's not so difficult.”

“That doesn’t make much sense. How can cards give you an answer?” How was Harry even
surviving this class?

“Each card has a meaning to it. Some mean change, some mean health, some mean love-"

“So it’s basically all luck, then.” Luck. Luck , he called it. This from the boy who routinely flew
around in the air on what was basically a stick. Honestly.

“Is it luck that we met, or that I can make a book float? No, Harry! It's magic!”

“Are you absolutely sure you’re not a Seer? Because you always get really defensive over
Divination even though you were the one who kept calling it ‘wooly’ at the start of the year.”

“Well- Well it is, a bit. You either do it or you don't. That's all there is to it.”

“Right. So you do it.”

“And so do you. You're frightfully good at families.”

“I mean, I think that’s because Trelawney said something about my past trauma and making up for
what I never had before?” Harry shrugged. “I tune her out a lot in class.”

“I don't blame you,” Draco snickered. “She is a bit flighty- Oh! Get out the map!”

“What? Okay?” Harry grabbed his bag from where it had been resting in a corner of Draco’s room.
Honestly, he probably had been planning to hide it there so he didn’t have to do his homework.
“Why do we need the map?”

“Remember we saw Black? Almost as though he were talking to Lupin. I want to see if there's been
anything new, there.”

“Oh- Yeah, alright. So, uh, any ideas on how Sirius Black got into the castle?”

“He could have used any of these secret passages. You know. Seeing as he helped create the map.”

“Yeah, but…” Harry chewed on his lower lip, fiddling with the map that was still blank for the
moment. “Do you remember when you told me animals shouldn’t have magical signatures?”

“Vaguely, yes. Why?” Draco stared down at the parchment as well.

“Right. Do you remember when you told me Hyperion shouldn’t have a magical signature?” Harry
looked very serious. “He smelled familiar, I said.”

“R- Right… What are you getting at, here?” He looked back at Harry, a sinking feeling forming in
his stomach.

“What if you were right and Hyperion isn’t just a normal stray dog?” Harry finally touched his
wand to the map. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

“Alright,” Draco said as the map swirled out between them. “Then what do you think he is?”

“You won’t like the answer.” Harry turned and twisted the map around before he froze and looked
up at Draco with wide eyes. “I don’t think you’ll like this, either.”

“What?” Draco searched the map before he saw what it was Harry was talking about. All clustered
together as though in deep conversation were the names and footprints of Severus Snape, Remus
Lupin, and Sirius Black. “Harry…”

“Draco,” Harry said quietly. “I think Sirius Black might be an animagus.”

 Holiday Break

“No- No, Harry, if you're… If you're saying what I think you're saying, that means he knows!”

“But- It would make sense, wouldn’t it? Why he has a magic signature, why he keeps escaping the
dorm, and how he got to Hogwarts in the first place!”

“But- It doesn't- Then why hasn't anything been done? He's just been- Been pretending! Pretending
like he's not a person!”

“I don’t know! Maybe he thought it was safer than revealing himself? It’s- It makes sense though,
doesn’t it?”

“I- I don’t-” But it did make sense. “But then Harry. That means he knows.”

“He’d… He’d know everything. About you, about me, about the time travel .” Harry looked back
down at the map, swallowing audibly. “Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Severus Snape. If… If it
was him, would he tell?”

“He and Lupin were best friends. What reason would he have to not tell him?”

“That means they’d know about us, though. About you .”

Draco looked back to him. “That’s what frightens me. Harry- What if they put me in St. Mungo’s?
What if they try to force me to tell them everything?”

“They’re not- They wouldn’t do that. You said Sirius and Professor Lupin were good, right? And
Sev loves you. They’re not going to do that to you.”

“How do you know that? Do you know that with complete certainty? Harry, this could very
literally be life or death.”

“I…” Harry looked as overwhelmed as he felt. “I don’t know with complete certainty, but you’ve
been teaching me to trust adults, right? After everything you’ve told me… I trust them.”

Draco held his hands tightly. “Harry. I’m scared.” Harry held his hands back just as tightly.

“I know, but you don’t have to be.” Harry leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Everything will be
alright.”

“What do we do? Sev will be at the ball.”

“Just- Maybe we just act normal? He might not even bring it up!”

Draco nodded slowly. “Right. Maybe not. Right. Okay.”

“We’ll be okay,” Harry repeated, dragging Draco into a hug. “Now, c’mon. We were gonna study,
right?”

“Right, right…” Draco smiled. “Thank you.”

“Of course. No more panicking, okay?”

“Harry, you know I can't promise that to you.”

“Fine, but no panicking on your own, okay? I’ll be right by your side whenever you need me. Just
like you are for me.” Draco hugged him close.

“Thank you.”

It was relaxing to just sit down and study for a while, but Draco easily expected it when Harry
grew bored and started exploring Draco’s bedroom. There wasn’t really anything to hide, so Draco
had no problem focusing back on his own work. At least, he didn’t until he heard Harry’s voice.
“Hey, Draco, what’s this?”

Draco continued taking his notes, not much glancing up, as this was actually rather interesting.
“What's what, Harry?”

“This- I don’t know. I think it’s some kind of musical instrument or something?” Musical
instrument? “I didn’t know you played anything.”

Draco looked up- “...Oh. I forgot I used to play violin.”

“I think I’ve heard of the violin. Maybe.” Harry… was joking, right? He had to be joking.

Draco set his things aside to stand, walking over. “Give it here. It's been a while but… I might still
be able to play.”

“You can play?” Harry handed it over at once, looking excited.

“Maybe. I haven't done it in years- Where's the bow?”

“The what? Why do you have a bow in your room?”

“The bow?” Draco frowned at Harry, giving him a strange look as he looked through the closet-
“Ah, here it is. Rosin next to it as well. Fairly good condition for getting dust.”

“What’s rosin? And what kind of bow is that? It’s just a stick of wood with some string on it.”

“It's a bow, Harry, I don't know what else to tell you, and this is rosin. It helps the bow glide more
easily across the strings.” As he spoke, Draco applied an even coat over the bowstring.

“This seems like a lot to just play an instrument,” Harry commented, watching Draco anyways.
“When’s the last time you played?”

“I think… I was eleven or twelve. In my time.” Draco drew the bow across the strings, frowning
immediately and fiddling with the knobs. “Horribly out of tune…”

“How can you tell?” Harry had taken a seat back on the bed and was watching Draco curiously.

“Just by the sound.” He plucked a few strings as he tuned before finally smiling and trying again.
“See? Much better.”

Harry only tilted his head and gave a little hum. “Do you know any songs? Like, um, classical, or
stuff?”

“One or two, but I don't know how well I can play. It has been a long time.”

“Then just play whatever you can,” Harry grinned. “I promise I won’t judge since I’ve never heard
a violin played at all.” Staring at Harry, Draco finally closed his eyes and began to play. his throat
and nodded, beginning to play.
It really had been far too long, but Draco felt as if he was starting to remember bits and pieces the
longer he played. Why in Merlin’s name had he ever stopped playing to begin with? He felt
himself relaxing with each motion until he was slowly stepping around the room, which turned to
small hops, which turned to dancing around the room with his violin, the music now flowing much
more easily.

When he finally came to a stop and the song ended, he found himself breathing heavily and looking
to where Harry was staring at him with wide eyes. “That… Wow.”

“Maybe I should ask mother to start lessons again, during the summer. I forgot how much I used to
love this.” Draco smiled down at the violin, drawing his bow to play a silly, short little melody.

“I’m pretty sure you could show up anyone in the school with playing like that.” Harry was
grinning in an utterly goofy manner.

“Oh, no, no, There’s certainly plenty of people better than me. I haven’t played in years, Harry.”

“Well, you could at least show up everyone in our year, probably.”

“Well… Maybe. But, no. It would only distract from our studies. And the mystery of the year.
Speaking of… If Sev does say something about it, what should we do?”

“Not panic, probably, for one thing.” Harry could grin all he wanted, but both could feel the
tension in the room, still. Sev was… not to be trifled with.

“Do we tell him… Everything, or just parts of it? What parts? I don’t want to tell him everything
about who I was.”

“Then just start with what you think he needs to know like you did with me.”

Draco slowly nodded. “Right. Right. That makes sense. Okay.”

“What do we tell Professor Lupin, though?”

“I… I don’t know. What can we tell him?”

“That we need an adult on our side.” Harry gave a bit of a grin. “He’s a Gryffindor, right? That’ll
make him want to help us.”

Draco opened his mouth before closing it. “That’s… Not bad. What do we do about Black?”

“I… have no idea. It’s possible that he might be Hyperion, but I mean… He and Professor Lupin
were friends. It’s just as possible he found him and they talked it out and realized Sirius Black
wasn’t guilty.”

“Okay. Fine, then. What do we do about Hyperion?” He set his violin back into the case Harry had
dug out. “Harry… I think you’re right.”

“You said there were some wizards that could turn into animals, didn’t you? Near the beginning of
the year?”

“Animagi. Typically, you register with the Ministry once you learn to become one, but…” If that
was true then Sirius would have been an unregistered animagus.

“And I’m guessing he’s not registered as one with the Ministry?”
“If he is one, then no. He’s not.”

“Let’s just assume Hyperion is still Hyperion for now and we’ll keep a closer eye on him.” That…
would probably be for the best. “And for now you should also play some more.”

“You enjoy it?” Draco smiled, looking back down at his violin. “I don’t know where my books or
my music are.”

“So why don’t we spend some of break finding them? I… It’s nice. Hearing you play is nice.”

Staring for a moment longer, he nodded. “Alright. Let's go, then.”

“Really?” Harry blinked before he was beaming and jumping up, grabbing Draco’s hand and
pulling him along. “Great! Why don’t we start by asking your mom? She’ll probably know where
all your stuff is.”

“You're probably right.” Draco held Harry's hand as the two wandered the halls before finding
Narcissa in her study.It didn’t take her long to notice them, Narcissa looking a bit surprised.

“Hey, Mrs. Malfoy,” Harry chirped. “Do you know where Draco’s music stuff is?”

“We just found my old violin earlier, and Harry would like to hear me play more, but I feel like I've
fallen out of practice.”

“Oh.” Narcissa smiled, moving to rustle around her desk. “I do believe I kept your music sheets, at
the very least.”

“What- Kept them at your desk? I had just assumed they'd been shelved in the library,” he
commented with a small frown.

“I was planning on moving them there soon, but I suppose I hoped you would pick your lessons
back up,” Narcissa smiled, handing over the sheets of paper. “There are certainly more in the
library if you need them, though.”

“I probably will, thank you. Let's see how I do with just this for now,” he told Harry. “Come on,
let's head back. Maybe I'll teach you.”

“That sounds like the worst idea to ever exist.” Harry shook his head, looking almost amused. “I’ll
stick with my drawing, thanks.”

“I think you could be good at it. We could at least try.” There was a long moment where Harry
stared at him before he smiled.

“Yeah. I’ll be bad at it, but I can at least try.”

“That's the-” Draco was interrupted by his mother… laughing. “Mother? Are you alright?”

“Perfectly fine.” Narcissa looked happy, certainly, but Draco couldn’t figure out why she was
laughing . Draco shot Harry a frown, hoping he had some clue to his mother's recently strange
behavior.

“Right.” Harry looked back to Draco and gave a little shrug. At least they were both in the dark as
to why Narcissa had suddenly stopped making sense.

“Come on, let's go,” Draco lowered his voice as he left, “We'll leave mother to be merry.”
“Right. Also, you’re not allowed to laugh when I completely mess up playing the whatever it is.”

::

Draco was wandering the halls to find Harry - whom had snuck away in the early morning,
presumably to draw in some pretty window somewhere - when he ran into… Oh dear. “Uncle
Sev.”

“Draco. I’m surprised you’re up this early considering it’s the holidays.” Sev didn’t seem to be
acting different. Yet.

“I was looking for Harry. He wasn’t in either of our rooms when I woke up, or in the dining hall.”
Maybe he had gone to the library.

“Really?” Sev seemed amused more than anything. “Does he often wake up early?”

“Not usually, that’s what makes it un usual.” Draco thought it over. The library, maybe, but- “He
does enjoy the window near father’s study.” Sev raised a single eyebrow and his expression
seemed to be asking multiple questions at once. “Oh- He likes to sit near windows when he draws.
He’s been working on landscapes, recently.”

“Ah. I have heard that he’s taken to carrying around a sketchbook in some of his classes, although I
have yet to see it in mine.” Mm, well, Harry did like Sev’s classes. “It’s rather interesting that he
takes to drawing so well. As far as I know his father could never stand still for long enough and
Lily…” Sev trailed off, a full smile on his face. “She couldn’t draw.”

Draco thought about it and shrugged. “I think he said that he developed it… Within his former
place of residence.”

“Yes, the Dursleys. I do believe your father brought them up on charges of child abuse within the
muggle world. It was quite delightful.”

“...Oh. Is there anything in, say, a muggle paper about it?”

“Perhaps.” Sev smirked. “If nothing else, then I’m sure I can find a copy for you two to glance
over if needed.”

“I think I speak for Harry and I both when I say we’d love nothing more.”

“Speaking of Harry, you should probably find him and make sure he’s just drawing. I wouldn’t put
it past him to try and find wherever you put his presents.” Sev looked at him and Draco knew with
everything in him that Sev knew . “You are remarkably bad at hiding things, Draco.”

Draco laced his hands behind his back. “I should have you know all of his presents have already
been wrapped and placed under the tree.”

“As if that would ever stop him,” Sev snorted, continuing on down the hall and waiting half a
moment for Draco to catch up to him. “Or you, for that matter.”

“Well, I am confident that his curiosity has been sated. I’ve already told him one of his smaller
presents he’s getting, in exchange for him not trying so hard to go looking.”

“And did he actually say that he wouldn’t go looking for any of his other presents?” Draco opened
his mouth to answer confidently before he stopped himself, trailing to a stop in the hall.
“...I’ll be back.” He was off in a flash to check and dammit . He had raised Harry as a Slytherin far
too well.

Getting down to the East Sitting Hall, Draco held a hand to his chest. Not a single present looked
as though it had been touched, and there was no Harry, or drawing supplies to be seen. Thank
Merlin. He needed to go find that troublemaker.

It took a while of doubling back, but he finally got to the large sitting window near Lucius’ office,
Draco stopping a few feet short when he saw Harry was chatting and talking to Sev and looking
absolutely delighted , feet tucked under him and sketchbook hidden between his pulled up legs and
his chest. Draco huffed, walking over to stand behind Sev slightly. When Harry caught his eye, he
glanced up at Sev and gave a nod.

Harry’s expression didn’t change, but Draco saw his shoulders tense up. “Hey, Dray. Sev told me
you didn’t trust me and had to go make sure I didn’t see what you got me for Christmas.”

“Well, to be fair, he led me towards that conclusion.”

“This is why he’s Head of Slytherin House.” Draco walked over towards Harry, gently tilting his
sketchbook down so that Draco could look over it. Harry had been working on drawing the
grounds that could be seen from the window, rough lines showing the basic structure of it all.

“Working on the snow part of it. It makes everything softer and blurrier,” Harry said, scrunching
his nose up. “Makes it harder to draw, too.”

“Oh, I’ve seen this one trick that a few artists use when they’re painting out in Diagon Alley for
galleons…” Draco reached over and brushed his thumb over a few of the lines, the lines becomes
less sharp and more blurred. Harry blinked down and watched for a few moments before tugging at
Draco’s arm and pulling him down to kiss his cheek.

“You’re perfect.” Draco could have sworn he heard Sev laugh. Draco stubbornly didn’t
acknowledge the flush creeping up his face, only rolling his eyes.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” This only had Harry laughing before he was standing up and
looking back to Sev.

“It was nice to see you again, sir.”

“Are we going somewhere?”

“You promised to help me wrap the last of my presents, remember? I want to make sure everyone
gets theirs on time for those who can’t make it to the ball.” Harry gave him a grin, gaze flickering
back to Sev for half a second.

“Alright, then, let’s go ahead. You can finish that later. Weather’s not supposed to change, anytime
soon.”

“Good.” Harry grabbed Draco’s hand and pulled him along, the two not talking until they were
halfway across the Manor. “He knows?”

“For certain. He didn’t specifically say anything, but he didn’t have to, the implications were
damning enough.”

“That was probably just him studying your reactions to make sure. He was probably being subtle
enough that a thirteen-year-old wouldn’t really pick up on it.”
“I didn’t show any sign that I had picked up on it.” He gave a shake of his head. “If he knows, it’s
only a matter of time before mother and father learn the truth.”

“Would that be a bad thing?” Harry gave Draco’s hand a tight squeeze. “I mean, they are your
parents, right? And they’re pretty amazing.”

“You don’t think they wouldn’t want to know their futures?” That had them quiet for a moment,
Harry finally sighing.

“I don’t think anyone would really want to know their future. I think if they knew about you,
though, all they would ask is if you were alright.”

“I don’t think I can take that chance, Harry.” Draco squeezed Harry’s hand as they walked.

“For now let’s not worry about it. It’s the holidays and we’re supposed to be relaxing and enjoying
ourselves, right?”

Staring at Harry, Draco leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Right.”

“Good- Right. Yeah. Hey, why don’t we go see how the ballroom is looking! You can change the
decorations all you want and make it even better.”

“No I can’t, mother would be furious! ”

“Only if she finds out,” Harry shrugged. Draco thought about it, grinning slowly.

“Any suggestions?”

“Well, I saw that she was using mostly blues and whites because, you know, Christmas and all
that, but maybe we can work some other colors in there. White and blue is boring.”

“And what color, Mister Artist, would you suggest?

It seemed Harry was honestly thinking about it as he looked around the Manor as they walked. “I
think strips of gold could work well. Either that or replace the white with silver - don’t use gold if
you use silver, though.”

“I’ll certainly replace the white with silver,” Draco said with a nod. “And of course I won’t use
gold. It is a cardinal rule of fashion to never mix your metals.”

“Oh, good, so that’s where I picked that up.” What? “I didn’t know where I learned that, but I
knew that mixing gold and silver was bad.”

“Oh. Well, at least something seems to have stuck, then.” Draco smiled at him. Harry stuck his
tongue out even around his grin.

“Come on. Let’s go redecorate. We can even practice our dancing, if you want.”

“Perfect.”

Draco wasn’t sure how long they were adjusting the decorations in the ballroom and moving
things around to make it look better, but he certainly knew they were out of time when he heard
sensible high heels clicking against the floor before stopping abruptly. “Draco.”

Draco gulped as he dropped the ribbon in his hand to turn quickly towards her. “Mother.” Narcissa
was looking around the room with an emotionless face. Draco couldn’t tell if that was good or bad,
yet.

“Hi, Mrs. Malfoy.” Harry had his own supplies hidden behind his back. “We were wondering how
the decorations were coming along, earlier.”

“Harry wanted to come see the ballroom.”

“It’s looking amazing.” The unheard ‘now’ was heard so clearly that Draco had to work at not
laughing.

“ Ahem, Harry also… Imperiused me. Into redecorating. Because I would never do so willingly,
not after you worked so hard-”

“It was my idea to change the white into silver,” Harry piped up. “Draco had to do the magic,
though, I didn’t know the spell for it.”

As his mother still wasn’t speaking, Draco bit at his lip. “We’ll… take it-”

“It’s beautiful.” Wait, what? Narcissa was looking around the ballroom, slowly smiling. “I’m
rather upset that you two didn’t ask me first, but it’s clear to see that you’ve done a good job with
the decorations.”

“You… You think so?” That was a surprise if nothing else, he supposed.

“Of course. Our guests will love it. You two did a wonderful job, although please tell me next time
before you start changing things.”

Draco beamed at her, quickly nodding. “Yes, mother.”

“Now, why don’t we finish all of this up?” Narcissa took her own wand out and began moving
around the room before pointing it at the ceiling. “You know, Hogwarts had the right idea about
the ceiling.”

“With the candles, or the weather?” That gave Narcissa pause before she was nodding to herself.

“I believe both will work quite nicely in this case.”

“Mother, there are layers upon layers of charms from masters to get the weather-”

Narcissa mumbled what sounded like a long spell before there was the image of snow falling down
from the ceiling and disappearing before it reached the floor. “There we are. We’ll add the candles
right before the ball begins.”

Draco looked around before hugging his mother tightly. “It’s perfect.” Narcissa hugged him back
tightly for a moment, soothing his hair down.

“Yes, I believe it is.” Draco looked over to Harry, releasing one arm from Narcissa to hold it out to
Harry. It only took a few moments before Harry finally shuffled his way over to them and
squirmed his way into the hug. Draco was much quicker to pull Harry close, a smile lighting up his
face. For now… For now everything was fine. They weren’t in any sort of danger, his mother still
hadn’t caught on, and he and Harry… They were Draco and Harry. What could go wrong?
 More Than Anything

“You always panic every year and every year it turns out fine.” Harry was sitting on Draco’s bed
and looking amused , the traitor. “We still have almost five hours until the ball, Dray.”

“Well- But this time it’s different, ” Draco tried to tell him for only the hundredth time. Harry only
shook his head.

“How is it different this time?”

Draco crossed his arms as he stood turned away from Harry to instead look out the window. “We
weren’t us. And we weren’t… We weren’t thirteen.”

“The whole courting thing has really got you freaked out about all of this, doesn't it?”

“Well of course it does! I expect you’re only not bothered because you weren’t raised with this.”
Draco took a deep breath. “You learned history at your muggle school?”

“Yeah, of course.” Harry frowned, finally starting to look worried. “What’s muggle history have to
do with anything?”

“So then… You know about kings and kingdoms and princes and princesses.”

“I mean, I know the basics and stuff like that, at least.”

Draco nodded and alright… Just spare parchment and quill and ink. “Alright.” He drew two big
circles. “So, you know what happens when two kingdoms join together?”

“Uh… Both kingdoms get stronger?” Harry shook his head. “You’re getting way too into this, you
know.”

“And what happens if something bad happens between the two. Say- Say they had an agreement,
and one backed out.”

“I imagine the kingdoms wouldn’t be too happy- Ooh.” Now he got it. “So it’s important for family
status and those types of things.”

“Technically speaking, when we were born, Pansy and I were… intended for one another.”

“You and- Seriously? You guys treat each other like siblings half the time!”

“Yes, it helps to begin the process at a young age so the courting is natural when a betrothed pair is
older.”

“You said intended, though. That’s no longer gonna happen anymore, then?” Ah, yes. Draco could
see why Harry would be worried about that.

“I don’t believe so. Pansy, anyhow, doesn’t much see me like that, and… In case you haven’t
noticed, Pansy is rather good at getting what she wants.”

“Thank God for that, I guess. So, wait, that means anyone could ask you to court or whatever,
right? Or do your parents have to approve?”

“Well, they don’t have to, though it makes everything easier in the long run. If your parents
disapprove of your courting partner or your bond, if you go so far, then they can deny you access to
the family accounts, leave you out of the wards, or even burn you off of the family tree, which is
the greatest dishonor that can be inflicted on a pureblood. To be erased from the history of your
family.”

“Oh.” Harry swallowed, suddenly looking very pale. “So they- They typically approve when the
family is a good family, yeah? Well known and pureblood and all that?”

“Typically, unless there’s bad blood between the two specific families.”

“Right. Got it. Hey, uh, you keep getting ready and I’ll meet up with you at the ball, okay? I need
to ask your mom something about the ball.”

“Oh. Alright, if you’re sure. You’re sure you’ll be alright?” The other was already scrambling
towards the door.

“Yeah! I’ll be dressed and ready and meet you there, no worries! Love you see you later!”

“Alright, I’ll-” The door slammed shut, and Draco winced. “See you.” What on earth had gotten
into him? Although, Harry had been nervous since they woke up that morning. Was he coming
down with something? Hm… Draco would have to make sure he was alright, later. As it was, now,
he needed to start getting ready. His first official debut as a pureblood ‘of age.’

Oh, goodness, this was so stressful . Had it been this bad the first time around? Most likely, no.
Now that Draco knew what was coming in the future, he knew how important this could be. He
just needed to stay calm and he was certain things would be okay. Everyone knew he was dating
Harry, after all. There was no possible way anyone would ask to court him unless… Would his
parents allow him to deny a courting proposal? Other parents may put their daughters up to it, even
if it was traditionally the place of the young man to propose a courtship.

He should probably speak to his parents before the ball truly began. It would- It would be nice to at
least know if he had the option of declining. Yes. He’d ask Narcissa first. Draco made his way to
his mother’s usual dressing rooms for this sort of thing. His parents both getting prepared in the
same space was only a recipe for disaster. He was just about to knock when he frowned at seeing
the door was opened slightly.

“-says no? I mean- I mean what if it’s something he doesn’t want! He’s been so stressed out about
the idea of all of this.” That was Harry. Why was Harry sounding so panicked?

“He won’t. It really is sweet how much you’re worrying over his feelings.”

“That’s kind of the whole point of asking to court him, isn’t it?”

“Sometimes. Other times, it’s not so easy,” she told him. “Lucius - Draco’s father - proposed a
courtship to me when I was only a little older than you, and I accepted, though I didn’t love him
like you two do one another.”

“Really?” Harry sounded surprised. Actually, he sounded almost shocked. “But, I mean… You two
are great together.”

“Now, yes. Ours was an arranged marriage. We grew to love each other over time, though.”

“I’m not sure if that’s helping, Mrs. Malfoy, because now it’s just making me think that Draco
might not care about me in the way I care about him.”
“What would lead you to believe such a thing?”

“A… A few things, but I just… I don’t want to force him into anything or have him say yes just
because it’s what I want. I want him to want it, too.”

“And what makes you think he doesn’t? I’m not understanding, so explain it.” There was a minute
where Harry was silent and Draco could easily picture him tugging at his hair as he looked for the
words.

“He still thinks we’re young, which, yeah, I understand that, but I also feel like in a lot of this he
indulges me, maybe? It’s- He lets me set the pace for everything and I know that’s because he
doesn’t want to overwhelm me, but I also… I sometimes think he’s just comfortable with it and I’m
the only one who wants it, if that makes sense.”

“May I tell you something, Harry, with the understanding you won’t breathe a word to anyone
else?”

“I promise I won’t repeat whatever you’re about to tell me.”

“Draco was always a very nervous child, and I doubt he’s yet grown out of it.”

“Draco? Nervous ?”

Narcissa laughed quietly. “He is very good at hiding it, isn’t he?”

“Spectacularly so, if that’s true. He’s- He’s not really nervous now, though, is he? I mean, it’s
Draco .”

“He’s more so than he ever used to be.”

“So you think he’s like this because he’s nervous of… me?”

“Maybe it’s that, or maybe he’s cautious of what’s between the two of you. He may not seem like
it, but he is so like his father in that regard. During our courtship, Lucius was very soft, and very
careful.”

“So he’s just being careful because… he thinks he might ruin things, maybe?” Harry didn’t sound
as panicked as he had when Draco had first overheard them.

“I think that’s exactly what it is.”

“Right… Okay. Right. Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy.”

“Of course, darling. You know what to do?”

“I really hope I do. But, uh, just to be clear, do I say the words, first, or do I give him the bracelet,
first?”

“You make your proclamation first, then as you ask him, you present your gift.”

“Got it.” Harry’s voice was getting closer and that let Draco know that his time was up and he
needed to very quickly think of an excuse or escape. “Right. I can do this.” Draco quickly stepped
backward a few steps before walking forward again, making his footsteps more pronounced.

He knocked on the door, “Mother? I wanted to ask- Oh. Harry. You’re still getting ready?” Harry’s
face turned a bright red and his hair frizzed up immediately.
“No- Yes! Yes, uh, bye!” Harry quickly moved by him before near running down the hall.

Draco watched before stepping into the room. “Mother, I had a question…” But if Harry had
planned it all with her, then he didn’t need to ask it…

“What is it, darling?” Narcissa was definitely pleased about what Harry was planning, and…
Bloody hell. Harry was going to ask to court him tonight.

Draco took a moment to think before smiling. “What color is Harry wearing, tonight?”

“Black and emerald,” Narcissa smiled back. “Going to match, I take it?”

“Of course. What else?”

“Hm. Use black as your accent color and emerald as your main.” Narcissa said, grin widening.
“The contrast will look lovely.”

Draco hugged his mother. “Thank you, mother. For everything.”

“Of course, darling.” Narcissa hugged him back tightly, running a hand through his hair. “Just be
sure to act surprised.”

“Of course.” He bit at his lip. “What if someone asks before he does?”

“Then you have my full permission to decline them in whatever manner you see fit.” Narcissa
pulled back, expression soft. “I see how much you two love each other.”

“You think he does?”

“Absolutely.”

“Thank you, mother. I ought to get ready, then. Big night, and all.”

“Don’t tease him too much once it’s all said and done. He’s been as nervous as you.”

“Of course not. Thank you!”

It took a lot less time to get ready for the ball after that and Draco knew it was mostly because he
was looking forward to what Harry would be asking him that night. Merlin, he still couldn’t
believe it. Harry was going to ask to court him . He had gone and looked into courting and
everything because he wanted Draco . After he had gotten himself properly dressed, he couldn’t
help but to look in the mirror and beam.

Having taken his mother’s advice, his robes were a gorgeous emerald that was near exactly the
color of Harry’s eyes - or at least, as close as he could get. Deep blacks softened the look and
brought it all together and this was going to be the best ball of his life . But, hm… He felt there
needed to be a little more… Glancing to his hair, Draco smirked. He took out his wand and pointed
it up at his bangs, watching the very tips of them streak through with black.

It looked… It looked good. Black didn’t look so bad on him, but he was still a bit fond of his usual
blond hair. The two seemed to work pretty well together, though. Hopefully Harry would like it-
“What in Merlin’s name did you just do to your hair?” Ah. Pansy.

“What? You don’t like it? I thought it looked nice.” Draco frowned back at the mirror. Pansy did
have good taste and if she said it didn’t look good, she was probably right.
“Hm.” Pansy walked over to look at him from the front, studying him for a long moment before
nodding. “I’ll reserve final opinion, but for now it looks good on you.”

“Thank you.” He sighed with relief. “So? What do you think? Mother said Harry would be wearing
black with emerald accent.”

“I think you two are going to be absolutely dashing.” Pansy’s smile turned sly. “I actually caught a
peek of Harry’s outfit on my way over to you. It’s… Well. You’re going to like it, I think.” Draco
couldn't help but to pull her into a hug. He really was trying to do it all properly, wasn't he?
“Everything alright, darling? You’re very emotional, tonight.”

“Everything is perfect, Pansy. A nice ball at home, no deaths to worry about, and I'm definitely
going to be top of the class, this year!”

“Oh, that reminds me, Hermione and Blaise are in your library. They said they’d meet up with us
at the ball later tonight.”

“Oh fine, but they'd better put every single book back where they found it!”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that. They’re probably not too concerned about reading
right now.”

“What? What do- Pancella! ” He huffed as she tittered, quickly getting herself out of range.

“Come on, then! We have a grand entrance to make!”

Draco made his way quickly to the doors just outside the staircase, grinning at seeing Harry there.
“I'm not too late, am I?”

“You’re right on time.” Harry was dressed in a new pair of dress robes that Draco had never even
seen . They were a deep black, but splashes of emerald matched Draco’s own robes perfectly. His
hair was also more curled than usual and looked perfect on him. “New hairstyle?”

“I could say the same to you. Trying to impress someone?” Draco smirked, holding his hand out.
Harry took it at once, gently kissing his knuckles and oh, okay. He was going for charming tonight,
then.

“Only if it’s working.”

“Very well. Shall we?”

“Only if you don’t laugh at me when I embarrass myself.” Harry held Draco’s hand tightly,
sneaking a kiss to his cheek.

“I'll try my best.” Draco opened the door for them, giving Harry a small bow. “After you.” Harry
seemed to allow himself one more quiet moment of panic before he put on a smile and entered the
ballroom. He really was getting a lot better at this. Draco was at his side in a moment. “You're
doing fine. Smiles on the outside, panic on the inside.”

“That’s such a lame line,” Harry grinned, looking to be fighting back a laugh. “You realize how
stupid that sounds, right?”

Draco smiled back. “Is it working?”

“Extremely well. Right. We bow at each other and then start dancing, yeah?”
“Just like every other time. Ready?”

“With you here? Always.” The two both bowed just enough to be respectable before they came
together, Draco taking the lead position as they smiled and began. Harry was much more relaxed
than he used to be, but still nervously shooting a look to his feet every few moments.

“Harry, love, you’re doing perfectly fine. Stop fretting so much.” Huffing, Harry looked back upt
to Draco.

“Easy for you to say. You’ve been doing this for longer than I’ve been alive.”

“...Please don’t ever say that again.”

“Trust me, I don’t want to even think it again,” Harry muttered, nose wrinkling. “I can’t even think
of you as older when you act less mature than I do.”

“What? No I don’t,” he immediately argued.

“You sometimes do.” Harry tilted his head, studying him for a moment before smiling. “You’re
serious when I need you, though.”

“Of course I am,” he rolled his eyes. “You always need me.”

“Yeah. I think I kinda do. Wanna do another dance?”

“You want to?”

“I guess I’m starting to warm up to them.”

“Well then? What are we waiting for?” Draco beamed, pulling him into another dance as they
passed by his parents. Lucius was looking fond and happy as he led Narcissa in a dance of their
own, Narcissa glancing to Harry as they passed and giving him a gentle smile which only caused
Harry to swallow and look much more nervous.

“S-So, uh, how are… things? Classes?” Oh, Harry.

Draco only played along, giving him a teasing frown. “I expect better than you, seeing as you've
been avoiding your studies as much as possible.”

“Me? Avoiding my studies? I would never .” Harry’s nervousness faded for a twitch of a smile.
“I’ve just been planning to do them later in the holidays than most would.”

“So we'll do them after Christmas? That's a promise?”

“I won’t say it’s a promise, but I’ll do my absolute best to get my homework done before we go
back to school.” As the two slowed, Draco nodded.

“Maybe Christmas Eve night we can do our Astronomy.”

“That… sounds really nice.” The two were silent for a moment before Harry cleared his throat.
“So, uh, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Did you? What about?” Alright. Just act calm and surprised.

“It’s kind of about us, I guess. I wanted to wait until Christmas, but I felt like this day would be
better. That and I’m too nervous to wait.” Harry gave a lopsided grin. “So, uh, right. Yeah.”
“Well, you know you can ask me anything, Harry.”

“Right.” Harry’s eyes narrowed and Draco had only a second to make sure Harry wouldn’t be able
to tell he knew. “You heard me talking to your mom today, didn’t you?”

“What? Why, what were you talking to her about? Did you get me the new Firebolt? Because if
you did you can have my old broom.”

“You’re forgetting how well I know you.” Harry was starting to flush again and Draco had
honestly believed that Harry’s hair couldn’t get any curlier than that.

“What's that got to do with anything?” There was a huff of a laugh, Harry leaning forward to kiss
Draco’s cheek.

“I know when you’re hiding something and I know that you accidentally eavesdropping would
happen when it’s something this important.”

“Well… Well it's about time you got a taste of it. So? What did you get me?”

“You’re ridiculous,” Harry was smiling anyways as he tightened his grip on Draco. “You know I
actually have to say all the words and everything first, right? And that you’re really ruining the
moment?”

“Well? Go on, then. I'm not stopping you.” There was a long silence where Draco impatiently
waited before Harry laughed .

“I- I completely forgot all the words I was going to say.”

Draco laughed as well, the two having finally come to a stop. “Then ask me already, you berk.”

“Draco Lucius Malfoy.” Harry gave a bit of a grin, words quiet and hushed and for Draco and
Draco alone. “Will you do me, Harry James Potter, the honor of allowing me to court you and
follow the traditions of both our families and promise not to laugh because I forgot the rest of it.”
Draco laughed.

“I would, and I accept your courtship proposal.” For once, Draco wasn’t thinking about what could
change or what had changed or what was different. He could only watch as Harry patted at his
pockets before pulling out a small and nicely wrapped gift.

“What is it?” Draco beamed at the gift, holding his hands out. Harry set it in his hands, still
blushing and smiling.

“It’s- Well, okay, so, your mom told me about how jewelry was usually the first gift in a courtship,
but there’s also this thing in the muggle world about this kind of stuff.”

Draco stared down at the bracelet with… With a single green bead. “What’s this?” It was horribly
plain.

“They’re meant to be matching,” Harry took the box back and held up the other one that had a grey
bead. “They also have some protection charms on them and a few other spells. So if you get hit by
a stunner, then you can shake it off as long as you’re wearing this.” Draco stared at the two
bracelets as Harry slipped his own on.

“Oh. Harry, that’s so sweet.” Draco kept his wrist still as Harry reached out to put the bracelet on,
giving a little smile as it settled into place.
“It’s coded to magic, too, so only one of us can take it off. That took some work. The beads also…”
Harry trailed off for a moment, fiddling with the green bead on Draco’s wrist. “You worry a lot
and sometimes you don’t need to. This bead glows when I’m in danger, but only if I’m in real
danger.” Looking back to Harry again, Draco’s eyes widened and he leaned forward, pulling at
Harry’s collar to bring him closer until their lips met in the middle.

There was a moment where Harry was utterly still against him before he was carefully pressing
closer and then melting against him. When they finally parted, Harry was staring at him with wide
eyes and flushed cheeks. “Can we do that again?” Draco grinned and brought Harry closer again,
kissing him gently. And it… It was nice. He liked it.

It felt like both seconds and hours before they pulled back again, Harry’s grin only getting wider
the longer he stared at him. “You like it, then?”

Draco nodded, cupping Harry’s cheek. “Do you?”

“More than anything.” Harry leaned into the touch before clearing his throat. “We should probably
get out of here, though, before your mom tries to make a thing out of this.”

“Well, did you ask her to make something out of it?”

“I asked her not to. She didn’t seem like she listened to that part, though.”

“Loving family and friends.” Oh dear. Narcissa’s words were loud and clear and she looked right
at them for a knowing few seconds.

“Can we run? Let’s run. Please?”

“As always it is my pleasure to have you here. This year, it is also my honor to announce a special
occasion.”

“No. We’re staying.”

“Why are we staying ?” Harry looked horrified, but he was curling close to Draco anyways,
already picking at Draco’s bracelet.

“Because, Harry, this is special. I know you don’t understand it, but… But it is.” While Narcissa
talked, Harry reached in to kiss Draco’s cheek.

“I know.” He spoke just as Narcissa announced their courtship, and all eyes fell to the two of them.
Draco only smiled, his back straightening. “Are we supposed to say something?”

“Not now.”

“That means we say something eventually?”

“If we want to. Do you want to?”

“Uh…” That would be a very solid no, then.

Draco waved. “Thank you, mother. But we shouldn’t let this distract from the festivities. Please,
everyone, let’s dance.”

A resounding cheer went up, but Draco could see Pansy working her way over towards them,
Harry clutching his hand in a death grip. “Now we really need to run.”
“Right then. Let’s go!” It reminded Draco of all those months ago when they had slipped out of
Harry’s birthday ball, but this time he felt the bracelet against his wrist and it all felt perfect . He
was never going to let go of it.
 Christmas Morning
Chapter Notes

Hey guys, thanks to bblgumbby, our new Beta, and welcome her onto the writing team
with this monster project. Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter has been getting extraordinarily
busy and has started falling off the wagon a bit with this fic, so we both decided to
bring on someone else to help us with this. Don't worry about anything, she's a great
writer. Give her a great welcome for us! ~Kasena

Draco felt the weight the moment before he was truly awake and he knew what was coming. “If
you don’t wake up I’m going to open all your Christmas presents for you.”

“Harry, just… Just give me a bit to enjoy this.” Draco tugged and pulled at Harry until Harry was
lying on top of him, Draco's arms tight around him.

“Oh? And what exactly are you enjoying?” Harry squirmed against him before settling down,
warm and pliant in his arms.

“Waking up Christmas morning, warm in my bed with someone close that I care about? How are
you trying to end it?”

“You’re so dramatic.” Harry settled down even further, though, Draco feeling the teen gently
tugging and playing with the bracelet around his wrist.

“It's nice, though, isn't it?” He hummed, using his free hand to run through Harry's hair. Harry
leaned into the touch at once, a quiet sigh leaving him.

“I guess it is nice to not hear the others complaining about how ‘domestic’ we’re being - which is a
lot coming from Dean and Seamus, you know!”

“I know, trust me. It's incredibly hypocritical of them.” Draco wrapped around him tighter before
finally sitting up. “Let's go.”

“ Finally . You sleep in forever sometimes, you know.” Harry was scrambling up and out of bed,
trying to pull Draco along with him.

“Really? How long were you trying to wake me?”

“Oh, uh…” Harry trailed off, clearing his throat. “Doesn’t really matter, does it?”

Draco chuckled. “How long? How did you not wake me? What were you doing?”

“Fine,” Harry pouted. “I’ve been up about an hour and I didn’t really wake you up because I was
just kind of… watching you.”

Draco rose an eyebrow. “Watching me.”

“That’s why I didn’t want to say anything! It sounds creepy when you say it back like that.” Well,
watching someone sleep was seen as typically being ‘creepy.’
“Harry, why were you watching me sleep?” Draco watched as Harry cleared his throat, rubbed the
back of his neck, and then fiddled with his own bracelet. Definitely embarrassed.

“You just… You don’t look so stressed out when you’re asleep. You look happier. Younger.”

“I look happier… When I’m sleeping.”

“Well- Sort of.” Harry sat down by Draco again, a hand moving to rub at Draco’s cheek. “You
definitely look less stressed, though. You look… Hang on, actually.” With that, Harry was digging
around the bed and pulling out one of his sketchbooks.

“You were drawing me while I was asleep?” That was both concerning and sweet. Harry just stuck
his tongue out as he started flipping through pages.

“Don’t say it like that. It sounds creepy- Look, okay, here. Here’s you when you think I’m not
paying attention.”

Draco rose an eyebrow, looking over it. “Okay?”

“You look stressed more than when end of the year exams come around,” Harry huffed, turning to
a new page. “ Here’s what you look like asleep.”

Draco stared. “...That’s not me.” That might have been what he looked like before Hogwarts maybe
, but it certainly wasn’t him now.

“Yes, it is.” Harry pushed the sketchbook into his arms, smile almost… sad. “You take on more
than you realize, I think.”

“...We should go.” He didn’t get very far before Harry was tugging him back down and giving him
a serious look.

“Look, I get that there’s things you can’t tell anyone and that you have a hard time letting people in
at all, but you’re not- Just try to remember you’re not alone in all of this, okay? I mean, yeah, okay,
alone in the whole ‘I’m from a different future’ kind of thing, but we’re still- We’re still here and
some days you look at us like we’re ghosts.” The words seemed to tumble out of Harry like he had
been holding onto them for far too long.

Draco couldn’t help a smile. “Come on. I think you’ll like one of my presents to you.” Harry stared
at him for a moment before huffing.

“That’s cheating.” A second later. “Fine, but only because it’s Christmas!”

The two both rushed downstairs and got to the tree- “...Harry. Is that what I think it is?” There was
a long thing package under the tree and Draco knew that shape very well.

“We’re about to find out.” Harry was already scrambling towards it, pulling it out from under the
tree. “‘S got my name on it.”

“Is it from mother and father? They didn’t tell me they were getting you a broom!”

“Maybe they knew you’d ruin the surprise,” Harry laughed, flipping the card around. “It doesn’t
say who sent it. It’s the same thing with the cloak from first year.”

“Does it say anything? ” There was a moment where Harry tugged at the note before flipping it
around and looking at the back.
“‘For all the days I missed.’ That’s… weird.”

Draco frowned, his head tilting. “That’s odd. Should we wait for mother and father before we open
it?”

“I mean, we could.” Harry was already ripping at the paper. Draco shook his head as the wrapping
was torn off…

“Bloody hell.” A firebolt. Someone had gotten Harry a firebolt .

“Oh.” Harry was staring with wide eyes and looked completely speechless. Draco beamed at him.

“What are we waiting for?” The two were up and running without another word and they probably
would have been outside in a flash if they hadn’t almost fallen over themselves trying not to run
into Lucius and Narcissa.

“Draco,” Lucius sighed, still looking not at all awake. “We’ve talked about running inside.”

“Sorry, father- We’ll be back soon! Don’t wait for us!”

“Have you two even had breakfast yet?” Narcissa’s voice was already fading away as they ran. “At
least be careful!”

“We will,” Draco shouted back to her, laughing as Harry began to slip more than run through the
halls. “Hurry up!”

“Blame your floors!” Harry shouted back, laughing as he clutched the broom tightly. Draco pulled
Harry along until the two stepped outside, shivering at the cold winter air in nothing but their
pajamas. “We probably should have gotten dressed first, huh?”

“Nothing a good round of flying won’t fix! Come on!” This was just so exciting! Draco could tell
Harry was just waiting for a chance to get on that broom and all he needed was one last nudge.
Draco nudged at him. “What are you waiting for? Get on.”

“You can go next as soon as I get back.” With that, Harry was scrambling onto his broom and
leaving fast enough that Draco would have most likely lost his scarf if he was wearing one. Draco
laughed, watching as Harry whooped and hollered, flying loops through the air.

He really was a natural in the air. He had noticed the same in Potter, of course, but it seemed like
there was always some disaster going on to where the only time he could enjoy it were Quidditch
matches, and those sometimes ended in life or death situations. He needed to make sure Harry had
more time to just enjoy being in the air. Harry finally came down, holding the broom out to Draco.
Draco only shook his head. “Come on, we’ve still got plenty of presents. It’s still Christmas, after
all.”

“Fine. We’ll just come back out later.” Harry grabbed Draco’s hand and pulled him along, hair and
absolute wreck .

“Come on, come on! I want to see what all you got me!”

“You’re the one who’s going slower than I am!” Harry laughed, the two near running back through
the halls again.

“Harry!” The two slid back into the sitting room, Draco sliding on his knees to his pile of presents,
already grabbing the closest one and shaking it, his tongue stuck out as he listened.
“So much for being an ‘adult.’” Yes, yes, his father could gripe and complain all he wanted, but
presents . Hm… He heard baubles of some sort inside… Couldn’t have been Blaise or Pansy or
Harry… Hermione, probably. He glanced to his parents for approval before ripping open the paper
and tearing the box open…

“What are these? ” It took a moment to realize a few of them were those pens that Harry was so
fond of using, but a great deal of them looked very different.

“Looks like she got you some pens,” Harry commented, picking a few out. “Some of these are
pretty good, actually.”

“...Pens?” Pens, he heard them mention those before.

“Think quills that don’t need to be dipped back into an inkpot.”

Draco stared back down at the box. “ What? ”

“Dray, come on, I’ve gone over what pens are with you before. Multiple times.” Harry looked
more amused than annoyed. “They’re great, right?”

“I will definitely use those later. Alright, your turn.”

“Are we just going to take turns opening presents, then?” Harry was already digging under the tree,
poking and prodding around before digging out a present that was buried under the others and one
of the smallest ones there. After a pause, he carefully began unwrapping it.

“Did it say who it’s from? What is it?” There was a moment of twisting and turning the present
before Harry found the tag.

“‘S from Blaise, actually.” Harry looked startled. “Blaise got me something?”

“Apparently. Go on and open it properly.”

“Alright, alright.” Harry got the rest of the paper off, the two staring down at what was a
compendium of both magical and non-magical snakes with a Slytherin-colored bookmark resting
on top. Harry’s voice was very hushed when he spoke, “I love it.”

Draco chuckled. “How incredibly Blaise. Check the inside cover, he likes to write notes for gift
books.”

“Really?” Harry opened the front cover, reading it silently before closing it and making an
expression that Draco couldn’t quite decipher. “Blaise is terrifying.”

“Why? What'd he say?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Harry looked like he was blushing , almost. “Right. Your
turn.”

“Oh, alright, my turn.” Draco picked up the next present, shaking it before frowning. No noise- “
Hermione. ”

“You think she gave you pens and let it rattle just so she could make you unable to guess on the
next present?” Harry sounded disbelieving before his face scrunched. “Actually, yeah, she would
do that, wouldn’t she?” Draco opened it-

“It’s a book.” It was a very ordinary book and a quick glimpse through show no moved pictures of
any sort.

“I think it’s a science textbook.”

“You mean like the one you got me?”

“Higher year,” Harry said, tapping at the book. “This’ll probably pick up where the other left off.
Probably gonna be good for your Muggle Studies class.”

“Huh. Alright,” Draco said, setting it aside. “Your turn, then.” Nodding, Harry looked around all
the presents before snatching up the one that was closest to him.

“This one is from you.”

Draco looked it over, tilting his head. “Alright, I know which one that one is.”

“I’m not sure if I’m excited or nervous.” Harry was starting to pick and tear at the wrapping paper
anyways, carefully trying to save it. Draco still wasn’t sure why he did this.

“Why do you save the paper?” The question had Harry pausing, the teen staring at the paper before
giving a small shrug.

“I used to collect the torn paper because I liked the color and patterns on it,” Harry mumbled, voice
dropping even lower. “Sometimes I pretended that I got presents when I saw the paper the day
after.” Draco thought of it before he smiled at Harry.

“Why don’t you save this paper, then maybe use it for… For drawing on top of?”

“That… Yeah. That sounds good.” Harry tucked the paper away, trying to hide his smile. “Alright,
what did you get me this year?” Harry picked up his present, apparently very confused, judging by
the look on his face.

“It’s a journal. For writing down any thoughts you may have.” Draco watched as Harry seemed to
flip through some of the pages before setting it down carefully and pulling Draco into a hug. “Oh,
I- I didn’t think it was quite all that- ”

“It’s perfect, Dray.” Harry hugged him tighter for a moment, kissing his cheek with a silly grin.
“Just like you.”

“ Harry, ” Draco whined. “Just open the rest of your presents!”

::

“Do we really have to go to the ball tonight? We’ve already gone the other two days!”

“We certainly should. A portion of the ball is dedicated to thanking those that gave you your
presents earlier the same morning.”

“Hermione and Blaise are just going to be snogging in the library,” Harry grumbled, running a
brush through his curls.

Draco rolled his eyes, carefully touching up his eyebrows. “They will not.”

“They definitely will. They’re probably going to come out as dating each other any day now- Can
you help me with this?”
Allowing himself a smile, Draco looked over. “With your hair?”

“It’s fighting me,” Harry grumbled, wincing as he tore the brush out of his hair. “My hair hates me.
Let’s just shave it all off.”

“Don't you dare. We are not shaving your hair, Harry. Sit down, it makes it easier.” There was a
fair amount of grumbling as Harry complied and held the brush out with an expression that was
almost a dare. Draco only smiled at him. “Go on, turn around.” He pressed a kiss to the top of
Harry's hair. “Don't worry, I won't let him harm you.”

“Are you- Are you talking to my hair ?” Harry tried to look dismissive and only hit amused,
turning around anyways as he hid his laughter.

“Hush, Harry! You mustn't scare the wild beast.”

“You’ve gone insane, haven’t you? Don’t answer that. Years of time travel have finally caught up
to you.” Draco laughed as he stared to brush Harry's hair.

“I'm pleased.”

“Is that the Malfoy way of saying happy?”

He turned his nose up at that. “Malfoys are never happy.”

At that, Harry tilted his head back and stared up at Draco, bright green eyes looking far too…
everything. “You’re not happy with me?” Draco only frowned, looking down at Harry. What
exactly was that expression? It was heartbroken and hopeful and innocent and devious all at once.
Harry kept eye contact with him before his cheeks slowly started flushing. “Here’s where you
embarrass yourself by proclaiming your love or whatever, you know.”

“I'm trying to figure out what to call that look on your face.” That had the younger giving a
surprised look.

“I have a look on my face? What look?”

“I couldn't tell for sure- Do it again.”

“Dray, I can’t just- I can’t just force an expression on my face.” Harry leaned back into Draco’s
chest, looking amused, but also something like fond. Draco frowned, nudging him.

“Sit up, I'm not done.”

“You didn’t even really start,” Harry grumbled, sitting up and staying still.

“That's because you kept moving. While I'm doing this, you apply that rouge in front of you.”

“I do what, now?”

“The rouge. Sitting right in front of you. Use it.”

“My makeup skills aren’t that good, you know.” Harry picked it up anyways, staring at it quietly.
“Do I… use this on my face, or…?”

“It's for your cheeks.” Draco smiled at Harry. “It varies from person to person where exactly to put
it, and how dark to make it.”
“Is this that stupid blush stuff?”

“Harry, it's not stupid.”

“It’s a little stupid. All I have to do is compliment you and you blush on your own.” Draco rolled
his eyes as Harry's hair was in proper order.

“Alright, fine, look at me, then close your eyes. I haven't done mine, yet.”

“Fine, fine.” Harry looked up at him, looking amused at the whole thing. “Should I close my eyes
now, then?”

“Yes.” It only took Draco a moment to apply his makeup, keeping a careful eye in the mirror.
“There.”

“Right. Opening my eyes, then.” Harry opened his eyes and looked to Draco, blinking before biting
his lower lip. “I mean, you’re not awful, I guess.”

“Oh, you flatter me,” Draco said sarcastically.

“Sorry. I mean, you look-” Harry cut himself off, staring at Draco for a moment before looking
away. “You look great, Dray.”

Draco smiled, gently turning Harry back towards him. “And so do you. Let me make you look
better.”

“You just want to put makeup on me.” Harry didn’t fight against the turn, only smiling up at Draco
after a few moments. “No getting carried away.”

“Alright, fine,” Draco said with a grin.

“I don’t trust that grin.”

“I won’t get carried away,” Draco told him pleasantly.

“You’re too happy and it worries me.” Harry closed his eyes with a sigh. “Alright. Do your worst.”

It didn’t take Draco long to ‘do his worst,’ Harry coming out all the better for it. “Alright, I just
need to finish up my own touch-ups here, then I’ll be ready to go.”

“So we’ll be here another hour, you mean,” Harry jumped up and headed back towards his room.
“I’ll finish getting dressed!” He was smirking. Why was he smirking?

“Mm, alright,” Draco hummed, already back to fixing his own hair and makeup.

He wasn’t quite sure how long he spent on his makeup, but he was just finishing up when there
was a knock on the door. “Come in,” he called, tucking his things away and mussing his hair.
There. Perfect.

“ This is where you’ve been tucked away, then!” Pansy was opening the door, looking amused.
“Did you just finish, then?”

“I did, yes. Have you already been by to see Harry? Is he done, quite yet?”

“He was on his way to the ballroom,” Pansy grinned. “I think you’re going to like his outfit,
tonight. It’s certainly… a statement.”
“Is it?” Draco turned, raising an eyebrow to her. “Why don’t I trust you?”

“Would I ever betray you, darling?” In a heartbeat. “You’re going to love him even more than you
already do.”

Draco laughed as he shut the drawer of the vanity. “Now I know that you’re lying to me.”

“I would- Well, no. I suppose I would lie to you, wouldn’t I? Well, I’m not lying this time. Now
come on. There’s already people down in the ballroom.”

He led her to the ballroom rather easily, smiling the whole way down. “How was your morning,
then?”

“Delightful.” Pansy leaned against him, smile softening. “Thanks for the presents, darling. They
were wonderful.”

Draco leaned over and hugged her. “And thank you. Did you buy it using the money from your
fourth husband, then?”

“Second, certainly. He was a rich one,” Pansy said, quite seriously, before she broke into a laugh.
He laughed along with her as the two entered the ballroom.

“Pansy, never change.”

“I can promise I will do my best. Also, don’t be surprised if Harry drags you into a dance, soon. I
made him worry about competition.”

“Competition? Like who? We’re courting, who on earth would try to challenge that?”

“No one that I know of, but I thought you might like the gift of having Harry’s complete focus for
tonight.” Pansy shrugged and had a wicked grin on her face. “Aren’t I just the best?”

“Pansy, you are a delight.”

“I know.” Pansy gave Draco’s cheek a swift kiss before disappearing like she was never there,
Draco hearing a quiet laugh.

“Think she’s off to find her third future husband, then?”

“Oh, we were just talking about her second,” Draco chuckled, turning to greet Harry. “Glad to see
you…” Oh.

“I thought I might finally wear the suit your mom helped me with.” Harry was wearing a suit. It
wasn’t simply a dull, bland muggle suit, either, but it was a suit made of shimmering emerald green
fabric that matched his eyes perfectly .

“Oh,” was all Draco had to say, staring at Harry with wide eyes. He… Hell, but he was gorgeous,
and were they older, Draco may have been tempted.

“Do you like it, then?” Harry bit his lip and he had the same expression showing in his eyes as he
had earlier that day. The one that Draco couldn’t figure out.

Draco managed a small nod. “Yes, I…”

“Did I just render the great Draco Malfoy speechless?” Harry’s lips quirked up into a smile. “A
shame no one would believe me if I told them that.”
“Harry, you're stunning, you're dazzling, you're radiant and far better than I deserve and-”

“Okay, okay, I get it, you’re not speechless.” Harry’s cheeks were flushed a dark red and his hair
was curling even more than it already was.

Draco laughed and reached forward, brushing Harry's bangs back. “I could keep going.”

“I’d rather that you didn’t, I think,” Harry muttered, wrapping his hand around Draco’s wrist. He
didn’t tug him away, though.

“I think I'd prefer to, though. Harry, you're everything. You're my everything. I couldn't imagine
doing this without you. Not Potter. You.”

“Oh.” Harry stared at him, looking as if he had realized something monumental before he was
surging forward and pulling Draco into a proper kiss. Draco kept it short and sweet, finally pulling
back with a laugh.

“Though, in all honesty, Potter may have made it all easier.”

“What- You’re the one who makes it all so complicated!”

“Dealing with a Harry Potter that hated me was much easier!”

“How is that easier! You two were probably trying to kill each other half the time!”

“Exactly. Harry, believe it or not, it was much easier. I hated him and he hated me and that was all
there was to it.”

“And now?” Harry pulled and tugged at Draco and before he knew it, the two of them were
dancing around the room. “What makes it so complicated with us?”

Draco smiled, looking down at their feet. “Well… I love you.” There was a quiet noise that
sounded like a whine, Draco glancing back up to see Harry looked ready to cry .

“You can’t just- That’s so- You Slytherin .”

“Harry? I- Please don't cry-” Oh dear. What did he do? He had thought Harry would be happy!

“Shut up, I’m not gonna cry.” Yes, well, evidence seemed to be saying otherwise. “I just-” Harry
shook his head, pulling Draco closer and wrapping him up in a hug, the two still swaying to the
music. “I’m really happy to hear it, is all.”

Draco wrapped himself around Harry as well. “Sorry it took so long.”

“That’s okay,” Harry laughed, the sound more of a giggle than anything else. “I kind of expected to
not hear it until next year, at least.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you.” The two continued to just sway to the music, Draco holding Harry
close.

“I wouldn’t have been upset if you did,” Harry said softly, pressing a kiss to Draco’s cheek.

Draco looked at him properly. “Harry? Is it alright if I…?”

“Yes.” Harry tilted his head, warm smile on his face. “Anything.” Draco took that opportunity to
lean forward and pull Harry into a kiss, smiling as he did so, and this time savoring it. It only took a
moment for Harry to press back against him, Draco hearing the quietest of sounds before feeling
fingers clutch onto his robes. He didn’t cut it off this time, only humming quietly before gently
pulling away.

“If we’d like to continue, I suggest it not be on the dance floor.” There was a beat where Harry
blinked at him before flushing from what seemed to be head to toe.

“Oh, jeez, yeah, we’re- Aha. Yeah. We’re definitely in the ballroom right now, aren’t we?”

Draco smiled at him. “We are, yes.”

“We should probably leave before we either get a lecture or get tormented, then.”

“Come on,” Draco said, leading Harry along, and for once, he wasn’t given the changes of the
future a single thought.
 The End of the Holiday

The second they were out of the ballroom, Harry was tugging and pulling Draco along through the
halls, laughs bubbling up and only quieted when he pressed his lips against Draco’s. Draco eagerly
returned each and every small affection before laughing as they parted. “Alright- I want to go to
the library. I’ve got a plan in mind.”

“A plan?” Harry raised his eyebrows, trying to look skeptical and only managing to laugh as he
swooped in to kiss Draco’s cheek. “What kind of plan involves the library?”

“One that involves fooling Blaise and Hermione both.” That had the other looking curious, Harry
seeming to think about it for a moment before humming.

“What would we be fooling them about?”

Draco beamed at him, dragging him along. “About me.”

“You know that doesn’t make any sense,” Harry complained, letting himself be dragged along.
“No one can read your mind, Dray.”

“Just come on and follow my lead.” When they stood outside, Draco gave him a small nod. Harry
rolled his eyes, but gave a small nod back.

“You know, it’d help if you clued me as to what we’re doing,” Harry whispered as he moved to
push the doors open. Draco nodded to the two of them when they entered.

“Blaise. Hermione. Enjoying yourselves, shut away in here?” Draco moved behind them to look
through the shelves. Now, if he remembered correctly, the perfect book would be right around
here…

“We were,” Blaise sighed, shaking his head from where he was sitting on the table. “Did you two
sneak away from the ball already?”

“Just for a short while. What are the two of you studying, then?”

“Oh, um,” Hermione glanced down to the notes and books in front of her before looking back to
Draco. “School work.”

“Ah, Ancient Runes I take it.” Draco ‘accidentally’ dropped the book he’d been looking for.
“Damn. I am clumsy, tonight.” All three of them in the room looked to where Draco had perfectly
picked out a fantasy book on time travel. There was a muffled laugh from Harry that near turned
hysterical. Draco only shot him an odd look, purposefully leaving the book out instead of setting it
back in its place. “Harry, are you alright?”

“What? No- Yes. Fine. I’m fine.” Harry was still muffling laughter, near shaking with the effort of
it. On the table, Blaise was looking between Draco and the book with absolute bafflement.

“I suppose we’ll leave you two to… Schoolwork. Come on, Harry, the library is obviously
unavailable.”

“Oh, obviously.” Harry twined his fingers with Draco and pulled him along, throwing a smirk back
to Blaise and Hermione. “Good night, guys. Try not to spend too much time in here.” The second
the door closed, Draco held back his laughter. Keep it together until they were far enough away.
Harry seemed to have the same thought, pulling Draco along through the cool, dark hallways until
he was stopping and laughing loudly. “That- That was brilliant !”

“Oh, did you see the look on Blaise’s face! Oh, that was gorgeous!” That would have them
throwing fits for days .

“Hermione looked ready to pull her hair out!” Harry shook his head before wrapping himself
around Draco in a hug, kissing right at the edge of his jaw. “That was great.” Draco pulled Harry
closer, kissing his forehead.

“I’m glad you think so. You need to learn to trust me more.”

“Trusting you isn’t really a problem,” Harry snorted, leaning more against Draco and sighing
softly. “Maybe you need to learn to share more.”

“Oh? And how do you propose to teach me that?”

“Dunno, yet. Could try positive reinforcement every time you tell me something you’ve been
hiding, maybe.”

“Positive reinforcement? Like what?”

“Hm. Dunno. Tell me something that you’ve been hiding and we’ll find out, I guess.”

Draco grinned. “Red's always been my favorite because it's Gryffindors color.” There was a
moment where Harry looked honestly surprised before he was ducking in to press a soft, gentle
kiss against Draco’s lips, a hand moving to rest on the back of his neck that had him giving a small
shudder. When Harry moved away, Draco bit at his lip. “I see.”

“Positive enough?” Harry gave a shy little grin, near rocking forward again. “Or do I need to try
again?”

“We can always try again,” Draco quickly told him.

“Mm, I don’t know. Should we try having you say something else? Positive reinforcement would
be pretty useless otherwise, don’t you think?”

“...Like what?” Draco stared at Harry, and he felt… Something. It wasn’t something good. Harry
stared back before hesitantly cupping his cheek.

“Something you’re afraid to tell me.”

Draco couldn’t help a quiet laugh. “Like what? That could be one of a million things.”

“So just start with one,” Harry grinned, arms tight around Draco’s shoulders. “Tell me the first
thing you were afraid to tell me that didn’t involve time travel.” The first…

“That… That even if we were in different houses, I really did want to be your friend.” He barely
finished before Harry was tugging him into another kiss, barely giving him room to move as he
only pressed closer and closer.

“Still glad I chose you and Gryffindor,” Harry muttered, words catching between them. “Tell me
what you really thought when you saw me at the Dursleys. The summer before second year.”

“I thought…” What had he thought? “I thought that this couldn’t be happening. Not to the great
Harry Potter, the one strong enough to help everyone else.”
“Maybe in your time,” Harry mumbled, near tucking himself under Draco’s chin before pressing
his lips against Draco’s neck. “I thought I was dreaming when I heard your voice.” Draco pulled
himself away from Harry, giving him a nervous smile. Harry blinked, tilting his head. “You
alright?”

“Fine. I’m fine- Would you like to go back to the ball?”

“Oh, uh, not really, if I can avoid it. Want to go back to your room and I can draw you in your dress
robes while we avoid doing homework?”

“Oh… Alright, fine.” Harry always could bribe him.

“Perfect! I know just the pose I want you in!” Oh, goodness.

::

“You said Pettigrew was still alive… Would there be a way to stop him? From what he’s going to
end up doing?”

Draco shook his head. “I don’t know. I… I don’t know if we should stop him.”

“You don’t- He ends up bringing back Voldemort . That sounds like something that should be
stopped!”

“Exactly! It would change everything! What if he ends up finding a different way to come back?
Then we’re going in completely blind!”

“I mean- I get where you’re coming from, but if there’s a chance to stop all of this then shouldn’t
we?”

“I don’t know,” Draco told him again. “I really don’t.” Harry chewed at his bottom lip for a
moment before clasping Draco’s hand.

“Whatever happens, I trust you.” Draco nodded.

“Okay.”

“Draco!” Turning to see Pansy had her arms out, Draco stumbled forward at Harry’s push to his
back.

“I’ll grab our seats, you deal with Pansy.” Draco rolled his eyes, greeting Pansy with a hug.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get him later,” Pansy laughed, hugging Draco tightly. “I have to say, for as much
as I loved going home, I’m looking forward to going back.” Oh, really? “There was just this cutest
boy in our year…”

“Pansy… I’m so sorry, but Harry and I are courting-” Draco didn’t even get to finish before Pansy
was sighing loudly.

“I suppose it was at least worth a shot to go after Harry.”

“You know I have more money than him.”

“Yes, but he’ll always have more fame and sway,” Pansy hummed, pulling Draco along. “So, ready
to go back?”
“I… Suppose I am,” Draco said slowly. Hyperion was Sirius Black. Right. They would need to…
Do something.

“That doesn’t sound very sure.” Pansy tugged on his arm, speaking quieter. “What’s wrong,
darling?”

Draco shook his head. “I’m sorry Pansy. I can’t tell you.”

“Hm.” Pansy frowned, clutching Draco’s arm tightly before relaxing her grip. “You’ll at least
confide in Harry or Professor Snape if it gets to be too much?”

“Of course,” he told her.

“Then that’s the important part, I suppose.” As Pansy chatted and tugged him along, Draco turned
his thoughts back to Hyperion- To Sirius Black . What were they going to do about that? Plus there
was the fact that Sev, Sirius, and Lupin all seemed to know who he was, now.

Wait, hang on- “Are you going to sit with us again?”

“Well I certainly planned on it. Why? Afraid us snakes are going to corrupt your lion cubs?”

“No, I just thought you had feared the opposite. Too much do-goodism for you, darling?”

Pansy gave him an odd look for a moment before blowing her bangs out of her eyes. “As if a lion
could ever corrupt me. Then again… There are some cute ones.”

“Oh? Like which ones?”

“That Weasley of yours is pretty cute.”

“Wha… What?”

“Mhm. He’s cute, nice, not that smart, but then that’s always the best ones.”

Draco quickly shook his head. “Of all the- You choose- He doesn’t even have money!”

“Well, that’s why he’d be husband one or two, maybe three depending on how it all works out,”
Pansy waved off, throwing the door open to the train car. “Hello, darlings!” Her eyes went straight
to Ron. Draco slowly sat beside Harry.

“Save me.” There was a quiet little hum from where Harry was flipping through one of his
sketchbooks, frowning a bit absently. “Pansy likes Ron.”

“Yeah, I agree.” What? “Definitely on your side on this issue, whatever it is.” Ugh, Harry wasn’t
even listening to him.

Draco huffed, swatting at his arm. “ Harry. ”

“What?” Harry frowned, huffing himself as he looked up. He then paused and his entire expression
scrunched up. “Hang on- Hang on, did you just say Ron and Pansy ?”

He sighed. “Yes, Harry, that is what I said!”

Harry looked up to where Pansy was talking to Ron - flirting with him - before he laughed and
shook his head. “No, she’s just doing it to mess with you, I think.”
“She called him ‘cute.’”

“She also calls everyone ‘darling.’”

“She said he would be husband one or two.”

“Do you really take her seriously when she-” Harry suddenly cut himself off, eyes wide as he
stared at Draco. “How many people had she married before you left?”

“What? None. I left only a month or two after seventh year. But of course I take her seriously,
she’s been learning from Blaise’s mother.”

“Blaise’s mum? What about her?”

“Are you telling stories on mum again?”

“Yes, I am,” Draco sniffed, crossing his arms and turning his head. “I was just telling Harry how
she got to where she is. She got the most out of number five, didn’t she?”

“So far,” Blaise smirked, taking a seat on Harry’s other side. Harry seemed a little startled, but
gave a smile after a moment before he suddenly frowned.

“Wait- Wait, the seven husbands thing was serious?”

“Yes, Harry, did you think we would lie about that?”

Pansy sighed, a hand fluttering to her chest. “I can only aspire to be so lucky.”

“You Slytherins are absolutely insane,” Harry breathed, startling as Blaise slung an arm around
him and dragged him in for a half-hug hold.

“And to think, you’re an honorary member, too.” Draco frowned but… Ah, this was a fourteen-
year-old Blaise. Draco had no reason to worry… He hoped. While Harry looked confused, Blaise
turned and smirked at him. It seemed both childhood friends had betrayed him, today. Draco drew
back, his frown deepening. He… Unless Draco was mistaken, Blaise was purposefully flirting with
Harry! “So, Harry! What have you been drawing, recently?”

Blaise tucked Harry even closer, Harry looking startled once more before smiling. “I was just
looking at some old pictures I did of Hyperion.”

Draco scoffed, crossing his arms and muttering, “Blaise would get a kick out of those. Knows all
about dogs. ”

“Oh, my.” Pansy’s voice was quiet, her eyebrows raised. “Do I have to worry about you ripping
our dear Blaise’s throat out?”

“If he doesn’t rip himself away from Harry, you may. ” Honestly. This may have been amusing if
they were a bit younger and Draco and Harry weren’t officially courting .

“He’s probably just tormenting you for something, darling, I wouldn’t worry about it. You know
he sees Harry like a cute, misguided little brother he needs to watch out for.”

Draco raised his eyebrows to Pansy before glancing back to Blaise. “Then explain that. ” Blaise
was brushing a lock of hair behind Harry’s ear, Harry looking startled before he slowly narrowed
his eyes, a Slytherin smirk appearing.
“You’re using me for a scheme, aren’t you? Right, then. As far as I know Draco hasn’t offended
you, so I take it you’re attempting to get information out of me since you know you can’t get it out
of him.”

Blaise whistled. “Damn. Green does look good on you.”

“Catch up, Zabini, we figured that out last year.” Harry patted at Blaise’s chest, voice dropping
enough that only he and Draco could really hear over the sound of the train whistle blowing. “You
should be focused on charming Hermione anyways, shouldn’t you? I hear a few of those
Ravenclaws are getting pretty impressed by her.”

“Nah. None of them can keep up with her,” Blaise murmured back. Huh, that might have been one
of the few times Draco had heard Blaise give an honest compliment.

“Don’t worry. She’s already looking at you.” Harry patted at Blaise’s arm this time before sliding
down to press up against Draco, leaning against him with a grin. “Hi.”

“Hmph,” Draco huffed, turning his head from Harry. There was half a worry that Harry might close
in on himself even if only for a moment, but instead Harry tugged at the bracelet on Draco’s wrist.

“You don’t think this is fun? He’s trying so hard to figure it all out.”

“I… Suppose you are right in that regard.”

“I think it’s funny,” Harry grinned, tugging at the bracelet again and giving Draco a look that was
filled with so much affection . “You get jealous too easily.”

“How can I not?” Harry seemed to take a moment to think about that one, tilting his head this way
and that before leaning up to kiss Draco’s cheek.

“I guess I am pretty amazing.” Mm, he had been around Draco perhaps a bit too much. “But you
don’t need to worry about me.”

“Mm, it's not you I'm worried about, don't worry.”

“I worry when you’re worried,” Harry shot back, quieting as Hermione entered the train and took a
seat beside Pansy, chatting about the Malfoy library at once. “What are we gonna do about
Hyperion?”

“That's what I was wondering,” he mused, tapping his foot. “You had said-”

“So! Have you two come up with an excuse yet for why Sirius Black was at Hogwarts?”

“Forgot about that,” Harry muttered quietly. “I still think he just snuck in for some reason while
everyone was gone for the holidays. Maybe he had some secret stash pile in there he was trying to
get back.”

Draco looked at the rest of them and winced and some of the looks. “Maybe he was… Looking for
Harry?”

“Considering what we heard when in Hogsmeade,” Hermione said quietly, looking to Harry. “It’s
possible that he is looking for you, Harry.” When Harry shot him a look, Draco gave as slight a
shrug as he could. It was the best he had.

“Yeah, but they don’t really have proof that he did all those things, right? I mean, we don’t know
that he’s not already left the entire country at this point.”

Draco nodded along. “He's right, you know.”

“Well? Show us the map, again.”

“Oh, uh, I left it in my trunk, I think. At this point it’s probably buried in the storage compartment,”
Harry lied, shrugging his shoulder apologetically. “We’ll check when we get to school.”

“That had better be a promise, Harry Potter,” Pansy threatened. “Or maybe you and husband four
will suffer the same sort of accident.”

“Do you- Wait, do you have plans on how to get rid of each husband, or are you threatening to
make me husband four?”

“Don't be ridiculous! I would never murder my own husband!”

“Didn’t really answer my question, thanks, but I’ll pretend that you didn’t do it when I end up
getting dragged into wizard court or whatever.” Harry looked back down to his sketchbook, staring
at a picture of ‘Hyperion.’ “I’ll check the map later.”

“Draco,” Hermione spoke up suddenly. “Before I get any further in our Ancient Runes textbook,
what are the final study sections for this year’s exams?”

“The final study- Why would you suspect me to know what the final study sections are?”

“Because you’re as paranoid as me when it comes to test dates,” Hermione laughed. “And I don’t
know where I left my notes right now.”

“Well of course I couldn't tell you what they are when we haven't even taken the exams. Don't be
ridiculous.” While Hermione very obviously pouted, Draco felt Harry suddenly tensed up against
him and give a quiet little hiss.

“ Draco ,” Harry hissed. Draco glanced to Harry and what? Now she wasn't asking such nosy
questions! Harry groaned, scrubbing at his face and barely muttering loud enough for a whisper .
“You’re making this year harder than it needs to be.”

Draco frowned at him. “Just what does that mean?”

“I’ll explain later,” Harry sighed, tugging at Draco’s bracelet before clasping their hands together.
“Feels like we’re running out of time, kind of, doesn’t it?” Draco began to stroke his thumb against
Harry's hand.

“It does. Everything has felt like it's been pressing in.”

“Maybe we’ll have one normal school year,” Harry laughed, relaxing slowly against Draco. “If I
fall asleep, make sure Pansy doesn’t get close. I don’t trust her right now.”

“Don't worry. It's my turn to protect you.” There was a bout of silence before Harry near hid his
head against Draco’s chest, Draco catching the flash of a smile.

“You always do.”

 A Good Feeling

“So we just act normal and it’ll be fine,” Harry muttered, the two of them heading up to Lupin’s
office. “It’s just Hyperion, right now.”

“Of course it is. We just… Collect him from Lupin, and continue on our way.” It would be easy.

“Right. Right.” Harry nodded before groaning. “But he’s not just Hyperion!”

“I know. But what do you want to do? Stand there and declare that we know what they’re up to?”

“It’d certainly shock them,” Harry snorted, shaking his head. “No, that’s not- I just-” Harry waved
his hands about for a moment before groaning and tugging at his hair. “I have so many questions .”

Draco bit at his lip. “Harry, I don’t know what happens, this year. If you want to tell them… I’ll
trust you.” Harry blinked and stared at him, standing in the middle of the hall and looking utterly
speechless.

“I… You can’t just- That’s cheating.” Harry huffed out a breath, fidgeting with his own bracelet,
now. “That’s cheating to go and say stuff like that .”

“Sorry. I’ve never been good at playing fair.” Draco was about to say more before Harry’s hands
were cupping his cheeks and he was pulling him in for a kiss.

“Okay. Okay, we’ll do it your way, for now, but just… Keep your mind open.”

Draco gave a small nod, just leaning against Harry. “Alright. I’m following your lead, now.”

“How much does that thought terrify you,” Harry laughed, pulling Draco along. “Come on, I have
a good feeling about this.”

“When don’t you have a good feeling,” Draco groaned. “Every time you say that, I get a bad
feeling, you know.”

“We balance each other out nicely, then, don’t we?” Entering the classroom and heading for the
office door behind it, Harry huffed a breath. “Right. Normal.”

“Well? Go on, then. Knock,” Draco said, pushing him forward.

“What? Why do I have to knock? You knock!”

“Because I’m older, now knock. ”

“Your older doesn’t count when it’s cheating! Besides, since you’re older that means you should
knock-”

The door opened and Lupin quirked an eyebrow at them. “Good morning, boys.” Draco
immediately stood up straight.

“Professor.”

“Good morning, Professor,” Harry chirped, smile sweet and soft and purely honest. “Was Hyperion
good for you while we were gone? Sorry we’re so late. Draco took ages to put his things away.”
“ I took ages?! You-!” Draco swatted at Harry’s arm, frowning at him. Harry didn’t even flinch,
still smiling.

“So! How was Hyperion? We missed him over break.”

“Yes,” Draco said, still glaring at Harry. “Deeply.”

“Well, I missed him, at least,” Harry shrugged, peeking behind Lupin, who shuffled out of the way
with a quiet laugh. “I used to always want a dog. I kept imagining that I’d find one that would bite
Dudley, you know?”

Lupin seemed to smile at him. “And did you, then?” That had Harry pausing, Draco watching him
bite his lip for a moment before shaking his head.

“No. Dogs didn’t stay around long for me. Thinking back on it, it was probably the whole magic
thing I didn’t know about, then. Besides, Uncle Vernon would have locked me in the cupboard for
a month if I let Dudley get bitten or anything.”

“I see. Well, you can see he has been well taken care of, while left in my care.” Draco glanced to
Harry. It was true. ‘Hyperion’ seemed much more clean, and groomed, and seemed to have put on
a bit of weight.

“He must really like you,” Harry laughed, dropping to his knees in front of Hyperion and staring at
him for a moment before smiling and hugging him tightly. “Hey, Hyperion. ‘S good to see you
again.” Draco smiled at him.

“Come on, then. We should get him back sooner rather than later.” Draco watched as Harry jolted
before standing up.

“McGonagall is gonna kill us. C’mon, Hyperion, we need to get you back to the dorms before she
sees you.” Harry pulled and nudged Hyperion along, suddenly laughing and muttering about ‘cats
and dogs.’

Draco rose an eyebrow, catching up to him. “What was that?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just remembered what McGonagall’s animagus form was that she shows us on
our first day of Transfiguration.” Draco paused, thought it over, then began snickering at Harry’s
side.

There was a quiet little whine noise from Hyperion, Lupin coughing quite suddenly and oh, that
was definitely to hide a laugh. Harry beamed at him, quickly. “Thanks for watching Hyperion,
Professor Lupin. We promise we’ll let him visit whenever he wants to.”

“Harry, come on. You brought it, didn’t you?”

“Brought what?” Goodness. For being so quick on some things, Harry could be remarkably
oblivious to others. It must have been a Potter trait. Draco nudged him and dropped his voice.

“The cloak? ” Harry stared at him before uttering a quiet little ‘oh’ and digging in his bag before
pulling it out and throwing it over Hyperion and his wagging tail. Draco glanced back to Lupin
with a frown. “Sir, did you in our first year…?”

Lupin blinked at him before looking confused before he seemed to realize what Draco was asking.
“Oh, the cloak? I certainly didn’t.” Then who… “I was wondering how Harry managed to obtain it,
myself. I thought it was still in the house that night.”
“It was a Christmas present from someone anonymous in our first year.” Draco looked back to
Harry, shrugging.

“Never recognized the handwriting,” Harry chimed in, carefully waving a hand through thin air
before supposedly patting Hyperion’s head. “It just said it belonged to my dad and I should ‘use it
well.’”

“Well, if anything I've heard is true, you will, and you'll solve this mystery as well.”

“We are getting pretty good at solving mysteries,” Harry laughed, looking to Draco. “Think there’s
a job for that?”

“Well, there's always Auror work but it's honestly ridiculous,” Draco sniffed. “A career of what
you're doing now, just about.”

“That sounds like the most awful thing in the world.” Huh. Draco wasn’t quite sure, but he thought
Potter had started Auror training or was about to when he left.

Draco shrugged. “I've always been interested in Potion making, of course, but Cursebreaking has
always been a close second.”

“What’s Cursebreaking?” Harry was grabbing Draco’s hand tugging him towards the door. “Bye,
Professor Lupin, thanks for looking after Hyperion, again!"

As they left, Draco explained, “Cursebreaking is just as it sounds. Taking people or objects and
breaking the curses, hexes, or jinxed placed on them.”

“Huh. Sounds like it could be pretty dangerous, though. I mean, working with hexes and curses all
the time.”

“Only if you don't know what you're doing. It's much more dangerous out on the field. I think a
qualification of being an Auror is being certifiably insane.”

“Let me guess, Potter was an Auror?” Harry paused, wiggling his free hand about. “Still there,
Hyperion?” Draco heard a quiet bark beside them.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Draco said, glancing to where Si- Hy- Yes. Glancing to where Hyperion
seemed to be, Draco walked closer to Harry, lowering his voice. “When I left, I think maybe he
was going to enter Auror training.”

“Bloody mad, then, after everything you’ve told me,” Harry shook his head. “I mean, solving the
whole mystery of the year thing isn’t bad, but it’s not… I don’t want to do it the rest of my life, you
know?”

“I would certainly hope not,” he huffed. “As I said. Insane.” There was a quiet laugh from Harry
and Draco released a soft sigh. He knew Sirius Black was right behind them, but at least for the
moment things felt like they could almost be normal.

“Oh! We should have asked Professor Lupin about learning that Patronus!”

Pausing, Draco nodded. “Do you want to go back and ask him?”

“I…” Harry trailed off, huffing quietly. “Let’s get Hyperion back to the dorms, first, so we know
he’s okay, then we can go back and ask. I mean, I know we’re not likely to run into Dementors
again this year, but what about the future? I can’t- I don’t want to see those things again.”
Draco nodded. “I never properly learned it, either, so I’d like to learn, as well.” It might be
difficult, but he knew Sev could do the Patronus charm, so Draco could probably learn himself.
Hopefully.

“How tough a spell is it if you’ve never learned it?”

“Incredibly so. It’s beyond even the N.E.W.T. levels. Most average wizards don’t formally learn
it.”

“I think I could have done with a ‘no, Harry, it’s really no that bad’ or something,” Harry groaned.
“How are we supposed to learn that ?”

Draco shrugged. “Well… He did. If he could, it couldn’t be that hard.”

“Hope you’re right about that one.”

Stopping in the hall, Draco crossed his arms, shaking his head. “I can’t believe it.”

“What? What can’t you believe?” Harry blinked, startled from his thoughts and looking down to
his free hand. “Er, shouldn’t we keep moving?”

“I just can’t believe you’re going to let him be better than you at something.”

“What? What are you- Oh. Oh, no. I know what you’re doing.” Harry shook his head, starting to
walk again. “I’m not letting you manipulate me into proving I’m better than the Potter of your
time.”

“No? He learned it so well he taught it to almost our entire year in fifth year. But what do I know.
You’re different. I suppose he’ll just be… better.”

“That’s not going to work.” Harry walked a few more feet before turning on his heel and marching
back the way they had come from. “I really hate you sometimes. You know that, right?"

“I know,” Draco told him smugly. It was only a quick walk back to Lupin’s office, Harry knocking
on the door and speaking as soon as it opened.

“I’m sorry for bothering you again and I probably seem rude but I wanted to ask when you’d be
able to teach us the Patronus charm, sir.”

“I was wondering. Why don’t you two meet me here tomorrow after lunch?” Lupin didn’t seem at
all bothered, and that seemed to set Harry at ease the most, Draco noticed.

“Oh, uh, yes- Yes, sir. That sounds perfect.” Harry smiled after a moment, tension leaking out of
him. “Thanks.”

“Anytime, Harry. For now, I believe you have more pressing matters?”

“What?” There was quiet followed by a soft bark. “Oh! Right! Yeah, right, of course. Thank you!”

Draco nodded as well as they left. “Thank you, Professor.”

“Of course, boys,” Lupin laughed. “‘Hyperion.’ I expect you to keep an eye on them.” Oh, he
definitely knew it was Sirius Black. Draco waited until the door closed to glance to Harry before
reaching out and holding his hand.

“That wasn’t as terrifying as I thought,” Harry said quietly. “Professor Lupin is a really good
teacher, isn’t he.”

“He is, yes. One of our best.”

“Good. Now let’s get going before McGonagall finds us.”

“So, um, is it okay that we brought Hyperion?” The two were with Lupin as soon as possible,
Draco finding himself excited for what they were about to learn, although he wasn’t sure why
Harry insisted on Hyperion tagging along with them. Maybe to keep an eye on him ?

Though Lupin seemed surprised, he smiled. “Perfectly fine. Though of course I must bring myself
to ask why.”

“Well, it’s a spell to ward off Dementors, isn’t it? I thought that if you somehow managed to make
one appear or copy it’s magic or something, I…” Harry glanced to Hyperion. “He makes me feel
safe, if that makes sense. Dunno why.” Oh, Harry…

Lupin smiled at Harry. “Of course he's welcome to stay, Harry. Though for today we will simply
be practicing the spell. Not against anything.”

“That sounds perfect.” Harry let go of Hyperion’s fur, giving him a nudge to go lay down. “It’s
called the Patronus charm, isn’t it? How exactly does it drive off Dementors?”

“You take your happiest memory and you channel it into your patronus. Perhaps a demonstration.”
Lupin took his wand out, “Expecto patronum.”

A large creature leapt out of the end of the wand and bounded around the room before coming to a
stop in front of them, Harry seeming as surprised as Draco felt. “Er, sir… Your patronus really
looks like Hyperion. Is it supposed to?”

“It is, yes, though I suspect yours and Draco's may look rather different. Give it a go. Your happiest
memory.” While Harry closed his eyes and seemed to think, Draco stole a glance to Hyperion, who
was looking at Lupin the way Harry might look at Draco. Oh… Oh. Well. Well then.

Right, right… Happiest memory… What was his happiest memory? Meeting this Harry? That was
definitely up there, but it might not be his happiest memory. It had to be something in this time,
that was certain.

“Do you two have a memory ready to use, then?” Draco bit at his lip. Harry asking to court him?
Yes, yes, that must have been it. He couldn’t think of anything else. What else was there? “Right.
The wand motions themselves are rather simple.” Lupin took out his own wand again, making
steady circles. “It’s merely a circular motion clockwise. The true difficulty lies in the fact that your
emotions be at the forefront of your spellcasting, something that’s often taught out of us. How
often have you two been told to never cast a spell when emotional?”

Harry shrugged. “Not that much.”

Draco only balked. “Only every day of my life.”

“Well, I can see which of you grew up with magic,” Lupin laughed, smiling at the two of them.
“Harry, you’ll do alright, I think, but Draco, with this spell you need to focus on holding your
emotions at the forefront of your mind. One of the reasons this spell is easier to understand in
concept for younger witches and wizards is because they’re still used to casting with their magic.
The only downside is that your magical cores are still growing, hence why many aren’t able to cast
this spell at your age.”

“But in almost every case, at best attempting to cast while emotional leads to accidental magic, if
not leading to a fizzled out or ruined spell entirely! It doesn’t make any sense!”

“That’s typically true, but usually our emotions aren’t in the best place when we’re casting magic,”
Lupin said softly. “We’ll be scared, or angry, or a mix of the two. This spell relies are positive
emotions and happy memories. That’s why it works. It’s light going up against darkness.”

“That’s completely ridiculous!”

“I think it kind of makes sense,” Harry spoke up, grinning at Draco. “I mean, happiness is basically
the opposite of what those things do, right?”

“Magic isn’t meant to be emotional, that’s the whole point!”

“Kind of seems like it should be, though, when you think about it.” What? No! It shouldn’t! Harry
obviously didn’t know what he was talking about. “I mean, the first time we ever do magic is
because we’re emotional. That’s gotta mean something, don’t you think?”

“All it means is we know nothing about magic.”

“As riveting a debate as this is, perhaps discuss the merits of emotional magic at a later time?”
Lupin, at least, seemed more amused than displeased. “I know it’s difficult, Draco, but that’s
simply how the spell works. Many adults never cast it fully for that exact reason.” Oh… Oh dear.
He certainly knew. He was suddenly realizing perhaps this wasn’t the best idea.

“We can at least give it a try,” Harry nudged at Draco, giving him a smile. “I promise I won’t
laugh at your attempts as long as you don’t laugh at mine.”

“Alright, alright… As long as you promise.”

“I promise.” Harry smiled softly before it grew. “I might smile, though.”

“Fine, then. You go ahead first.”

“What? No- You go first. You keep saying you’re the older one!”

“You’re the chosen one. You cast it.”

“You’re you. You cast it.”

“Why don’t you both cast it,” Lupin spoke over them.

Draco glanced to Harry, nodding. “Fine.”

“Fine,” Harry agreed, the two raising their wands and sharing a look before Draco was casting it
the same time as Harry, their voices ringing out with the spell, “ Expecto Patronum. ”

At least Harry’s seemed to begin to form a fine mist. Draco’s wand spat out a couple pitiful white
sparks at best. Draco felt a bit better when he saw Harry’s only lasted a second longer before
disappearing. Lupin, however, smiled and nodded at them. “Good."

“You’re calling that good?” It was bloody awful and he knew it.

“Yes, I am,” Lupin sighed, shaking his head. “Draco, this isn’t just advanced spellwork, but it’s
predominately a light-based spell. Unless I’m mistaken, your core is dark, isn’t it?”

“Ah… Yes, it is. I suppose I should have known, then.”

“It took Sirius a while to get this spell right,” Lupin said quietly, a small smile on his face.

“He has one as well?” There was an odd look and oh- Right. He wasn’t really supposed to know
anything.

“Yes, he does,” Lupin finally nodded. “The Black family has always been composed of those with
dark cores, as you well know. Sirius adapted to using light spells with his exposure to so much
light magic at such a young age, however.” Lupin gave a quiet laugh after a moment. “And so
many Gryffindors.”

Draco frowned as he nodded. “I see.” Was his core then ‘adapting’ as well? By his seventh year in
this time would he be able to cast light spells better than in his own time?

“Actually… I suppose yours would be, as well.” The man hummed to himself, gaze sliding to
Hyperion before casually looking around the room. He was good at being subtle, that was certain.
“This spell takes time, patience, and dedication. You might not even fully master it for years to
come.”

“For years?! We haven't got years, the dementors are a problem right bloody now!” There was a
sharp nudge at his side from Harry, but really now!

“Exactly!” Oh. Oh, Draco did not like that smile on Lupin’s face. That was a ‘Potter is up to no
good’ smile. “Which is why we’re going to get you two able to at least hold them off until more
help can arrive. Now, let’s try that spell again.”

Draco turned to Harry and hissed the moment the man turned away, “ I hate you. ” Harry blinked
before rolling his eyes and waving his wrist where the bracelet caught the light.

“I think I’d know if you hated me at this point, Dray,” Harry near whispered back. “And come on.
We need to learn this.”

“‘Hold them off until help arrives.’ What kind of a spell-”

“The one that we’re supposed to be learning,” Harry grumbled. “If you want to not have to rely on
help, then master the spell- Yeah- Yes. That’s brilliant. We’ll master the spell out of spite.”

“ Harry. ”

“Well? Come on, boys, let's go again!”

“This spell might be harder to learn than we thought,” Harry groaned, pulling the cloak off of
Sirius before collapsing on their bed in the dorms. “I’m exhausted. Why am I exhausted? We made
circles with our wands for an hour.”

“Because it's ‘emotionally draining,’” Draco mocked, falling down beside Harry and immediately
turning up. “I hate it. I hate you for making me do this.”

“I’m pretty sure you were at least half responsible for this.” There was a quiet noise from
Hyperion, Harry laughing. “See? Hyperion agrees with me. It’s half your fault.”

“That wasn't agreeing with you, that was sympathy,” Draco complained, swatting Harry's arm and
looking to Hyperion. “Tell him.” Hyperion met his eyes evenly and gave a single wag of his tail.
Sirius Black was good at acting, Draco would give him that.

“Are you two talking to your dog again?” The door opened and shut as Ron’s voice filtered in.
“Bloody hell. You two look exhausted.”

“Talking to, talking about, conspiring against, take your pick,” Draco told him.

“Hey, now. We wouldn’t ever conspire against -” Harry’s words drowned out suddenly with a
cacophonous amount of barking that had Harry jerking against Draco before he was scrambling to
sit up. Draco sat up as well to watch Hyperion standing quickly and barking and leaping at… At
Ron?

There was a scramble as Harry was suddenly off the bed and grabbing Hyperion by the scruff of
his neck, Ron scrambling back with a tight grip on that dying rat of his that was now thrashing
about. “Hyperion, no! No attacking the friend, please, that would be very bad!”.

“Maybe your rat just… Set him off,” Draco suggested as the rodent escaped Ron's hold and
squeezed under the door. “Oh.”

“Scabbers! Come back!” Ron was chasing after his pet at once, Hyperion trying to get out of
Harry’s grip and not cause him any harm at the same time. It wasn’t going so well seeing as Harry
had a tight grip on him.

“Why would a rat set him off? It can’t have been Ron - he hasn’t even done anything today!”

“I don't know,” Draco said, shaking his head. It just didn't make any sense, though he closed up the
door properly to prevent any mishaps.

“Hey- Hey, you’re alright. It’s okay.” Harry was using the same tone of voice he had used on
Draco last year when he had kept slipping and Riddle had kept taking him over. “It’s just us, okay?
You’re safe at Hogwarts and you’re in a Gryffindor dorm room with me and Draco. See? Nothing
to worry about. No danger or anything.” Hyperion started whining, though to Harry's credit, he did
calm down. Still, it was odd. What exactly had set him off? Was he afraid of rats, any? That may
have explained it.

“Right,” Harry finally said, rubbing at Hyperion’s head. “Let’s just keep him away from Scabbers
for the time being.” Draco could see the unspoken desire to figure out just what had been about, as
well. Hyperion chasing a rat wasn’t odd, but Sirius Black? Now… that was a mystery.
 The Patronus Charm

“I think this class is the most confusing class I’ve ever had,” Harry muttered, staring down at
where they were supposed to be starting on gazing into crystal balls. “I mean. It’s a reflection. I see
my reflection. Upside down.” Draco shook his head.

He nudged Harry. “You’re supposed to look beyond the surface, look deeper in.” Harry turned to
stare at him, opening and closing his mouth and gesturing to the crystal.

“It’s- It’s glass. Dray, what does ‘look beyond the surface’ mean?”

“Think about the lake. You can choose to look at the surface, or you can look past the surface and
down to the floor of the lake. Same concept here.”

“Yeah, okay, but the lake has the giant squid in it and stuff. This is just glass.” Oh, dear. Ron and
Hermione didn’t seem to be faring much better, either. Ron was asleep and Hermione was reading
her Ancient Runes textbook.

“You’re meant to see images in the glass,” Draco sighed, leaning back in his chair and shutting his
eyes. Merlin help him.

“Oh- Oh! So it’s like your magic using the glass to reflect back what might be in the future and all
that kind of stuff, right?”

“Precisely, Harry, dear,” Trelawney’s voice had all four of them jumping, the woman staring at the
crystal ball over Harry’s shoulder. “Yes… Yes, there’s hope for you yet, I think, with this noble
art.”

Draco nodded to him. “There, you see?” Trelawney was now hovering around him, voice quiet as
she rested a hand on his shoulder.

“And you, dear? What do you see?”

He stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and looking into the crystal ball. “I see… A
dog?” Maybe. Perhaps. It looked vaguely like a dog. “Maybe a wolf? I think I see the moon.”

“Do you, now…” Trelawney hummed, quiet and thoughtful as she seemed to nod. “Yes, I suppose
so… full moon is approaching.” Wait- Did she know about Lupin?

“I, ah… Suppose it is… I think there’s a mouse?” What did a mouse have to do with Lupin?
Trelawney seemed just as surprised.

“A mouse? Really?” Trelawney frowned, shaking her head. “Timid, perhaps? No, never him.
Quiet, but a lion through and through. A mouse… How very odd.”

Draco gave a shake of his head. “That’s just what I see.”

“Keep an eye on your dreams,” Trelawney finally said softly, patting Draco’s hair in a rather
motherly way. “She found her way best when dreaming, I think.” With that, Trelawney was
walking to the other side of the classroom.

“Sh- She?” There was no response and Draco looked to where the other three were staring at him
with equally confused looks.
“Do you ever feel like she’s speaking two conversations at once?” Ron finally asked. “And one of
them is in her head half the time.”

“All the time,” Draco said quietly. Who on earth was she talking about? Dreaming?

“Just ignore it,” Hermione sighed. “Half of what she says doesn’t seem to make any sense.”

“Well, of course it doesn’t, not right now,” he told her with a frown.

“Oh, so I suppose it will make sense ‘in the future.’ You know she’s just vague enough that we can
place meaning on almost anything she says once it happens? All it takes is one bad day to be ‘a
foreboding event in March.’”

“Are you just determined to disbelieve in an entire branch of magic?” Draco frowned at her.

“I’m determined to disbelieve in the idea that the average witch or wizard could see the future . Of
all people you should know that.”

He rose an eyebrow. “Why should I know about it?” He looked to Harry, mouthing the words
‘she’s lost it.’ Harry hid a laugh behind his fist, Ron looking between them.

“You know exactly why,” Hermione groused, looking at him and then looking at Harry . Did they
really think Harry was from the future, too?

“ Do I? And why would I know anything about the future?”

“More than some of us, I’d be willing to bet.” Hermione looked from him to Harry, eyes getting
narrower. “ Right , Harry?”

“Oh, don’t drag me into this.” Harry looked away nervously , shifting around in his seat. “I mean,
why are you on about time and the future all of a sudden?” Harry wouldn’t meet Hermione’s eyes
and Draco was about to worry before he saw a flash of a smirk .

“You know, that’s a good question,” Draco said, immediately turning the attention again. “Maybe
she knows something you don’t. Why are you so interested in time, and the future recently? Are
you hiding something?”

“Am I hiding something-?!” The near shriek was cut off by Trelawney’s quiet shushing.

“Quiet, dears, quiet. The beyond requires softness.” The look turned a touch stern. “As do your
classmates.”

Draco nodded. “Of course, I was just trying to tell her the same thing.” Hermione gave him a very
nasty look before turning back to her book, Harry hiding another laugh.

“You lot are barmy,” Ron muttered, looking in his own crystal ball at last. “Hey, what’s it mean
when I see one of those hourglass things?”

Harry only shrugged. “Time to get a watch?” Ron snorted and seemed to not notice Draco’s own
internal panic or how Hermione had tensed up, herself. Bloody hell, was that boy terrifying at
times. Draco and Harry exchanged glances again, Harry sighing and looking away.

It seemed they had more to worry about than just Sirius Black and the Dementors.

“Why is this spell so hard ?” While Harry had been calmer than Draco at the start of their Patronus
lessons, now he looked ready to throw his wand across the room. Draco couldn’t blame him.
Where before the boy had been able to produce a fine mist when focusing, his spell now just
seemed to be getting weaker.

“Why don’t we try this. I’d like you both to take a seat.” Draco frowned, looking over at Harry and
slowly sitting down in one of the available chairs. Harry looked to be taking a moment to let the
tension drain out of him before he moved to collapse in the chair next to Draco’s. Lupin nodded.
“Alright. Close your eyes.”

“Close our eyes?” Draco shot a look to Harry, who looked just as skeptical at the instruction.

“Yes, Draco, close your eyes.” It was more gentle than reprimanding, Draco hearing Harry give a
soft sigh beside him.

“Can’t hurt, at this point.”

Draco sighed. “ Fine. ”

“Good, now, allow your minds to wander. Think about whatever comes to mind. Then let it pass
over you, bringing you to the next thought.”

“Are you teaching us to meditate. ”

“What’s meditate mean?” Harry half-whispered, Draco not sure whether to laugh or be horrified at
how much there was still left for Harry to learn.

“It means you’re quiet and you don’t think for a long time.”

“Oh, so History of Magic class?” There was a noise from Lupin that could have been either a
reprimand or a laugh. It was hard to tell. “Sorry.” Right, then. Meditating.

“I can’t believe we’re meditating for some stupid spell.”

“Just shut up,” Harry muttered. “And let your thoughts- What was it, Professor?”

There was a quiet laugh from Lupin. “The point is to not let your thoughts do anything except to
be. Just release your focus like you would if you were drifting off to sleep.”

“But then there comes the risk of actually falling asleep.”

“I think you two will survive.” Hmph. “Just allow your thoughts to wander, Draco. You don’t have
to be on guard every second of the day.” A few moments passed where Draco tried to think of what
to say before he felt fingers carefully and slowly grasp his. Draco forced himself to sigh, sitting up
in his chair.

“...Now what?” There was no answer and Draco bit his tongue against saying anything, instead
wondering how in Merlin’s name he had been tricked into doing this. This was so completely
ridiculous. What exactly was this supposed to do? He was just… Just thinking. There was no
deeper meaning to it. Maybe he thought the silence would aggravate him to the point of breaking
and telling all his secrets? If he were friends with Sirius Black, it wasn’t beyond reason.

No… Lupin was a decent teacher, so there was probably some scheme to this to show them the
truth to producing true happiness or some such rot. Was that what he was supposed to be thinking
about? Something happy? Lupin hadn’t told him to think of anything specific, but Draco was
almost certain that the man had almost gone into Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Either one of the two,
were it not for the lycanthropy, either would have been happy to take him. But it just didn’t make
sense. How on earth could meditating lead to a successful Patronus charm? Meditating was
detaching yourself, wasn’t it? So then if it was supposedly emotional magic, why would meditating
help?

Maybe meditating would help him to see some deep truth of the world that would give him the
knowledge that he needed… Mm, unlikely. Well, his thoughts were certainly wandering, he
supposed. The only real thing that was grounding him was Harry’s hand in his, fingers twitching
every so often. “Now,” he heard Lupin speak quietly, soft enough to not startle him completely.
“Start to turn your thoughts to the positive. Things that have made you happy.” Things that had
made him happy? Well, there was Harry…

Harry was probably the thing to cause him the most happiness since he had come back to this time.
Yes, alright, at first it was the chance to fix his mistakes, but Harry… Well. He was the one whom
showed Draco that this was a new time and not just a do-over. “...Alright. Now, don’t open your
eyes, but grab your wands. Keep thinking about those thoughts. Maybe it’s a specific moment, how
did you feel? What was around you? If it’s something more general, what led up to it?”

Reaching for his wand, Draco thought on the questions. A specific moment where Harry made him
happy? Well, there were a lot of those. Although there was that one recently where… Harry had
looked at him and had said ‘you were like me.’ It was the moment that Draco realized, with
everything in him, that Harry understood . Draco was a time traveller from a future that would now
never be, and yet Harry had still managed to understand him. It wasn’t happy, not to anyone’s
standards, but… But it made him feel better. It made him feel like he wasn’t alone. “Open your
eyes, and cast the spell.”

Opening his eyes, Draco kept those thoughts in mind as he made the familiar circular movements
and recited the spell calmly and clearly. “ Expecto Patronum .” A fine white mist came out of his
wand and Draco knew, without a doubt, that it would be enough to keep back a Dementor. Harry’s
seemed stronger than before as well. Instead of a mist, now it looked almost like a shield. He
couldn’t remember what Potter’s Patronus was, though he wondered if Harry’s would be different.
“Yes, yes! Much better than before, boys, very good!”

They kept the spell going for another moment before stopping it, Draco feeling as exhausted as
Harry looked. He supposed their magical cores were still growing. “Sir?” Harry’s voice was
almost as quiet as a whisper. “Is it alright if I thought of a person instead of a specific memory?”

“Of course, Harry, of course. It worked well enough, didn’t it?” Lupin was just smiling at Harry.
Harry nodded slowly, a smile finally showing.

“Yeah… It worked.” Harry bit his lip for only a moment, and Draco knew the second what he was
going to ask before he did. “Sir… You think of a person too, don’t you?”

“Yes, Harry, I do.” Nodding at Lupin’s answer, Harry gave a smile before glancing to Draco, smile
getting a bit softer.

“Yeah… seems to work pretty well.” Draco smiled back at him.

“Well I'm glad this all has gone well, thank you, Professor, for teaching us the spell-”

“Oh, you’re not done quite yet,” Lupin grinned. It was easy to see the Gryffindor evil in that smile.
“You’re only starting to gain an understanding of the basic Patronus. It’s the corporeal patronus
that you two will be working on now.”
“You said you didn't expect us to be able to form a corporeal patronus and that the only goal was to
be able to hold back a Dementor long enough for help.”

“Oh, did I? Hm. I suppose that’ll be changing now that I’ve seen you two can pull off the first
stage.” There was a small noise of something from Harry, Draco not sure if it was fear or
amusement. “Please do remember what my house was, boys.” Slytherins didn’t lie, but Gryffindors
would without even flinching , Merlin.

“You can't force us into this!” The smile didn’t fall for one second.

“Well, no, I can’t. I just assumed you two would like to practice against a Dementor in a way that
would cause little to no harm to you and allow you the practice you need in case you go up against
a real one on your own.”

“But haven't we got enough practice, now? This has been going on for ages!”

“It’s only been a few weeks.” Lupin’s smile and whole demeanor were soft once more, but Draco
could see the Marauder lurking in his eyes. “This spell takes years to fully master.”

“Exactly, so it's unreasonable to expect us to begin to master it now!”

“I mean… It wouldn’t hurt to have a few more lessons,” Harry mumbled, Draco turning to stare at
him. Lupin’s Gryffindor goading had gotten to him, obviously.

“ Harry, ” Draco huffed. He crossed his arms. “I see I'm going to be overruled.”

“You can always stop coming anytime you wish,” Lupin said, looking to him. “But I truly do
believe a few more lessons will benefit you in the long term.”

“We still ought to go study for our other classes. As you've been avoiding. Why not History of
Magic?”

“That’s just cruel,” Harry muttered, standing up. “We’ll be back next week, Professor, and we’ll
even bring Hyperion with us.”

“Alright, boys. I'll be here,” he told the both of them. Harry gave him a smile before dragging
Draco along, laughing once they were in the halls.

“That went well, I think.”

“It could have gone better,” Draco huffed.

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, let’s get back up to the dorms before ‘Hyperion’ finds a way to escape
again,” Harry snorted, pulling at Draco’s hand.

It didn't take them long to get back to their dorm, though when they did… “You rubbish mutt! You
leave him alone!”

“Ron? What’s- Hey, Hyperion, no!” Harry was rushing forward at once to where Hyperion was
once again trying to get at Ron’s rat. “What’s wrong with you! No eating rats!”

Draco rushed forward to help pull him away from Ron. “What is his problem?! ”

“He’s been after Scabbers since he first saw him! Not even Hermione’s stupid cat was this bad!”

“Would you quit it?! Ron, take Scabbers and go!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Ron was running toward the door at once, Hyperion starting to try
and force his way past the two. “You need to control that dog!”

Once the door was shut, Draco frowned as Hyperion was launching at the door and clawing at it.
“What have you got against his rat!”

“Maybe Scabbers is bringing up some bad memories?” Harry asked hesitantly, going over to
Hyperion and swallowing. “Hey, Hyperion? Could you, ah- Could you not do that, maybe? Don’t
quite like the sound.” Hyperion looked back to Harry and he did leave the door alone, though now
he was barking loudly, circling in front of it.

“Like what? You think he got bit by a rat, now he hates the sight of them all?” Draco was watching
as Harry tried to hush Hyperion, and really, what was happening ?

“Ssh, shush, hey, no, no barking. McGonagall will kill us if she knows you’re still here!” Now
Hyperion was staring at the door and sitting, whining.

Draco sat down on his bed, shaking his head. “I don’t get it.”

“Maybe he thinks he’s protecting us from something?” Hyperion’s head snapped to Harry and
stared as if willing him to understand something. “Sorry. I don’t read thoughts.”

“I wonder if Dumbledore will teach you that,” Draco hummed, tilting his head.

“I- What?” Harry looked back to Draco with a baffled look. “Wait- Wait, you can read thoughts?”

“Oh, me? No, I was only taught Occlumency. Shielding your thoughts from others,” he further
elaborated.

“Magic is the stupidest thing to ever exist,” Harry finally muttered, sitting on the floor and looking
to Hyperion. “How do you lot deal with this?”

“It’s life, Harry. It… Just is.”

“I know, and I get that, but it’s still…” Harry trailed off before shrugging. “It’s like this constant
feeling of one day I’m going to wake up. I’ll be hearing knocking on my cupboard door and I’ll
realize that all of this was a dream.” Draco held a hand out to Harry.

“You won’t.” It took only a moment for Harry’s hand to latch onto his, the teen giving him a smile.

“I’m starting to realize that.” Draco pulled him up to the bed.

“Come here- Accio bag. ”

“You can use that summoning spell thing?” Harry let himself be pulled up, looking at Draco’s bag
curiously. “There’s a lot of magic left to learn, huh…”

“Of course there is. Even I won’t learn all the magic there is to know.”

“How- I mean, I know there’s that divide and you keep it from the muggles, but how . Shouldn’t
someone have found out by now?”

“Oh, well that’s simple. If a muggle finds out, their memory is modified, or obliviated entirely,
depending on what the situation requires.”

“So, if I weren’t magic and I met you and saw that you had magic, my memories of you would be
taken away?”

Draco nodded. “Yes. Depending on circumstances, I could also go on trial for illegal use of
magic.”

“That seems stupid.” Harry leaned against Draco, slowly relaxing as he looked towards Hyperion.
“C’mere and lie down, Hyperion. You’re not eating Scabbers.” Hyperion seemed to huff, though
leapt onto Harry’s bed, still keeping an eye on the door as he laid down.

“It’s how things are.”

“Seems like there are a lot of things in the Wizarding World that are like that because it’s ‘how
things are.’” Harry shrugged, lying down and stretching out. “Just seems weird.”

“Well… You haven’t told me much about how things were, where you used to live. You told me
about your relatives, but not much beyond that.”

“I mean… What do you want to know? It was kind of a quiet neighborhood, everyone was pale
and white, and no one seemed to really like me.”

“Well… What was your school like? What did you study?”

“Um, basic stuff, I guess. Maths, history, science, English… Things like that.”

Draco adjusted himself until his head was laying on Harry’s chest. “Tell me about it.” Harry
brushed his fingers through his hair, voice getting quieter.

“I mean, maths was where we studied numbers and stuff, history was history, English was English,
and science is just kind of like the muggle version of magic, I guess. I mean, the muggle world
does pretty okay without magic.”

“Okay. What do muggles do when they can’t get to sleep at night?”

“Oh, uh, I guess Dudley would sometimes drink some hot chocolate. Aunt Petunia would
sometimes take these little pills, if it got too bad. I think Uncle Vernon just fell asleep in front of
the television.”

“See? Here, I personally would take Dreamless Sleep.”

“Yeah, the closest we have is medicine and stuff that’s kind of like potions, I guess? Just in pill
form. Sev would probably know more about it.” There was a grumbled noise from Hyperion on the
bed. Draco lifted his head and frowned at Hyperion.

“And what’s gotten into you?” There was more grumbled complaint, Hyperion shifting and
moving and looking like he’d be pacing if he put a bit more effort into it.

“Shame parseltongue doesn’t work on dogs,” Harry mused.

“Then it wouldn’t be parseltongue. Alright, come on. Sit up. We’ve got homework.”

“You were serious about that?” Harry wasn’t smiling anymore. “I mean- We still have the entire
weekend!”

“Exactly. So if we do it now, we’ll have the entire weekend.”

“That’s horrible logic.” Harry dragged his own bag over, though, pulling out the colored ink Draco
had given him for Christmas. “How much colored ink do you think I can get away with?”

“As much as you’d like, they won’t mark you down for using a different color of ink.”

“Perfect.” Harry seemed delighted as he got to work, pausing only once to glance up at Hyperion.
“Remind me to draw him later.”

“I will.” While they would need to figure out what to do with Hyperion and Scabbers, relaxing with
Harry and doing homework seemed like the perfect thing for right now.
 The Boggart

“You two need to control that bloody mutt of yours!” Ron barely finished before Harry was
groaning.

“We’ve been trying , mate. It’s not that easy.”

“Maybe you should just let him eat the bloody rat,” Draco huffed. “Save us all a headache.”

“ Dray ,” Harry snapped at the same time Ron made an annoyed shrieking sound. “We’re not
letting Hyperion eat Ron’s rat.”

“Well why not? He apparently wants to eat the rat, and what good is that bloody rat doing for us,
besides causing trouble?”

“Come on, don’t be like that. Besides, Scabbers will die soon, anyways.” At the whine from Ron,
Harry gave the other a pat to the back. “I know, mate.”

“Exactly. Why prolong the inevitable?”

“Because some of us actually come to care for our pets.”

“I care plenty for Merlin!”

“Then don’t suggest feeding Scabbers to that mutt of yours!”

“At least our mutt isn’t a rodent. Probably carrying plague, yours is.”

“Alright, now we’re really just going around in circles,” Harry sighed, rubbing at his cheek for a
moment. “Ron, maybe think about having Scabbers stay with Percy? I mean, you said Scabbers
originally belonged to him, right? This way he gets out of the dorm and away from Hyperion.”

Draco thought it over, finally nodding and crossing his arms. “Acceptable.” Harry rolled his eyes
while Ron seemed to think it over himself.

“It’s… not the worst idea, I guess. Percy only gave him up because he became prefect and had
‘more responsibilities.’”

“Well there. Then go get rid of him.”

“You’re such a Slytherin,” Ron groaned, getting up and heading for the other dorm rooms, Draco
noticing that Harry was giving him a look .

Draco uncrossed his arms. “What?”

“Be nicer. Ron’s had Scabbers for years and the rat is dying .”

“I just don’t have a good feeling about that rat. You know I never have.”

“I know, but he’ll be dead soon, anyways.” Harry stood up with a stretch. “C’mon, Wood’s gonna
kills us if we’re late to practice - plus we have practice with Professor Lupin later tonight.”

“Fine, fine, I suppose we do need to get ready for the game.” Ever since the last game, Wood had
been working them harder than ever so Gryffindor had the chance of winning the cup this year.
Draco had no doubt they would win if previous years were anything to go by.

“Hey, Dray, there’s not a Hogsmeade trip in February, is there?”

“There is, why?”

“When’s it on? Early, probably?”

“Should be a week after our match.”

“Right. Okay. Got it.” Harry was acting very oddly. Why in Merlin’s name would he be asking
about the next Hogsmeade trip in early Feb- Oh. Oh . Draco grinned slyly, glancing to Harry.

“Any plans?” From this angle it was hard to see Harry’s face, but Draco could see a creeping hint
of red at the tips of his ears.

“Not really. I’ll probably try to sneak back into Hogsmeade, or something.”

“Well, while you come up with those plans, why don’t we get going to our patronus lessons?”

“I don’t have any plans I need to come up with,” Harry muttered, shooting a look back to Draco
before looking away. “Shut up.” Draco smiled, leaning forward to kiss his cheek.

“Let’s go.” It looked like Draco had something to look forward to after their next Quidditch match.

The two arrived at Lupin’s office after an exhausting Quidditch practice, Draco knocking and
waiting patiently for the door to open. It did after only a few moments of waiting, Lupin giving
them a smile. “I see you both are back for another lesson.”

Draco nodded. “Yes, sir.” They were useful, after all.

“Sorry if we’re a bit early or anything. Wood has us training later tonight,” Harry said, entering the
room and blinking as Lupin held out a glass of Butterbeer for him. “Oh- Oh! Butterbeer! Thanks.”

“Now that is odd.” Uh oh. “How would you know what Butterbeer looks like if you've been
banned from Hogsmeade?”

“Draco brought some back for me on the last visit,” Harry shot out at once, looking completely
calm through the lie as he took a sip of the Butterbeer and then beamed. “It tastes a lot better fresh,
though.”

“I see. And I see you brought Hyperion.” That had Harry coughing on his next sip, turning around
at the same time as Draco to see Hyperion sitting there with the cloak at this paws. Marauders ,
honestly.

“I, uh- Yeah. Yes. I guess we did bring him along.”

“Well, we hadn't meant to bring him.” If Draco was a bad time traveler, Sirius Black was an even
worse secret animagus.

“Yeah, I thought we left him in the dorms with the doors shut.” Harry stared down at Hyperion
before muttering and mumbling as he sipped at his Butterbeer again.

Hyperion whined as he sat down. His head tilted to the side, ears flopping as he raised a paw.
“...No.” Oh goodness. Oh Salazar, he had before cooed and kissed at-!
“I guess it’s fine that he’s here since he didn’t get caught,” Harry gave in easily, completely
forgetting all of his morals and values. “I mean, he used the cloak.”

“He did.” Draco glared at Harry. “And you call me awful.” Harry hid a response behind the rest of
his drink.

“Well, you might find his company grateful today. While I don’t have a Dementor for you to
practice on, I have found a way for you to use a substitute.”

“A substitute,” Draco said plainly. “Like what?”

“A boggart.”

“How can you use a boggart when it's not our worst fear?”

“Well, it did take a bit of problem solving, but it should work overall.”’

Draco rose an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “‘S that so?”

“Yes, it is.” Lupin gave him a cheerful smile, Harry pinching at Draco’s side with a little scowl.
Glaring at Harry, he turned and swatted Harry’s hand. “Now, shall we get started?”

“Chosen Ones first.” There was a very betrayed look Harry was giving him, but Draco figured that
he would get over it.

“So, uh, these can’t suck out our wills to live or anything, right?”

Lupin laughed, shaking his head as Hyperion leapt forward to stand in front of Harry, growling at
the box in a very menacing fashion as it rattled. Good acting, at least. “No, Harry, these are not real
dementors.”

“Still,” Harry grumbled, relaxing at seeing Hyperion in front of him. “Is he going to be another
shield for me, then? Because if so, I think I’m okay with him standing in front of me the whole
time.” What- Oh. That little sneak. He was giving them the perfect opportunity to lie so they could
all keep their own secrets intact.

“If you haven’t got a problem with him trying to protect you, I see no reason to disallow it.” This
was getting ridiculous. They all had to know that everyone knew , didn’t they?

“It’s fine. He’s a pretty good protector, after all.”

“Alright, then. Are you ready, Harry?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be, Professor.” Harry took a deep breath and held up his wand, looking
determined. Lupin nodded and pointed his wand at the lock of the box. Immediately the box
opened, and out came the most convincing Dementor Draco had ever seen. It had him taking a step
back before he was aware of it, Harry swallowing as he stuttered out the spell. The spell came out
weaker than it normally was, just a fine mist spouting itself out at the Dementor.

“Harry, it’s not real,” Draco told him, even as he felt the fear begin to cling to him.

“Yeah- Thanks, trying to keep that in mind,” Harry snapped, swallowing and squeezing his eyes
shut for a moment. “ Expecto Patronum !”

And that was already so much better. The mist seemed to be more solid, forming a shield in front
of Hyperion and pushing the Dementor back. Hyperion gave a little bark that sounded as close to
pride as a dog could get, Lupin locking the Dementor away back in the wardrobe it had popped out
of. As soon as it was gone, Harry was slumping to the ground with a shaking sigh. Draco knelt
down beside him. “Harry, that was excellent.”

“Thanks,” Harry gave a small smile, laughing as Hyperion nudged at his cheek. “Sorry, I’m fine. I
guess just the sight of them kind of brings back the memories of what they’ve shown me.”

Draco smiled at Harry, holding his hands out to him as he stood. “Come on. You did great.” Harry
let himself be pulled up, smiling at Draco.

“Yeah, but now it’s your turn. You wanna guard Dray too, Hyperion?”

“Must he?”

“He’s probably just worried about us,” Harry rolled his eyes, giving Draco a very pointed look and
the smallest shake of his head. “Please?”

“...Fine.” Draco watched Harry give him a quick smile before stepping back.

“You’ll do great.” Draco took a deep breath and nodded, stepping forward. Hyperion matched his
steps, standing slightly in front of him as Lupin pointed his own wand at the wardrobe.

“Ready, Draco?”

Draco gave him a small nod. “Ready.” The boggart came out, a Dementor loomed closer, and
Draco took a steady breath. It was just practice. There was nothing to be afraid over.

Draco rose his wand and shifted forward. “Expecto-”

“Patronum? Never could do one. None of us can.” Heart near stopping in his chest, Draco stared up
at where he stood - at where he was staring at himself . A quick glance down showed that
Hyperion wasn’t directly in front of him anymore. “It’s almost funny, you know.” No. No, this
wasn't- It was supposed to be maybe Harry dead on the ground, or Voldemort taunting him, or his
father, not- Not himself.

“I can see what you’re thinking.” This older version of himself walked- strutted forward with arms
crossed in front of him. “You thought I would be this version of Harry Potter dead in front of you,
right? Maybe even the Dark Lord? Stop lying to yourself.” Draco's wand slipped from his grip as
he stepped backwards- He needed to get away. “Oh ho! Running away again, are we? That’s what
we’re good at, isn’t it? We run and run and run until we can do it all over again to make it work.”

Draco gave a shake of his head as- As his real self bent down to pick up his wand, the light
catching on the Dark Mark. “No.”

“Oh, please. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? Running away in fear until we find people who
believe the lies we tell them. Like him.” A cold smirk grew as eyes flicked over to where Draco
knew Harry was standing. “You haven’t even told him what’s coming.”

He shook his head more quickly now, staring in horror. “No. No, I-”

“You haven’t told any of them what’s coming. The Second War, the hunt on mudbloods, the rise
of the Dark Lord, your part to play in all of this, and of course, what happens to Harry Potter.” Was
this what people had always seen of him? Cruel eyes and a cold visage? “Should I tell him myself,
then? About that final battle where-”
A dull pop and Draco stared as Harry was in front of him with shaking shoulders, boggart shifted
down into a younger Draco and… Harry was afraid of him? “You? You never really meant
anything. I was playing you. To make sure it all went to plan. You were my little puppet on a
string, and you did your little song and dance.”

“Professor Lupin.” Harry could pretend to be calm all he wanted, but Draco could hear how his
voice shook and his shoulders were still shaking and oh, Harry . “I don’t know how to make this
funny.” Then Lupin was stood in front of Harry and it was changing again and there was the dead
dog again and Lupin said the spell quietly and-

Draco didn't stay long enough to find out what came next, running quickly and tucking himself into
one of the many hidden alcoves throughout the castle, a hand over his mouth as he sobbed and
broke. His boggart was…

It was nothing but truth.

Draco wasn’t sure how long he stayed hidden, but it must have been hours before he heard
footsteps stopping in front of him instead of just walking or running by. “You know, we really
should thank the twins again for this map.”

“...Are you alone?” There was a moment of silence before Draco saw the fluttering of a cloak that
was draped over him, Harry sitting down beside him.

“Yeah. Just me and my cloak.” Draco leaned against Harry, grasping at his hand tightly.

“What did they say?”

“I didn’t stick around very long. I think Professor Lupin was going to come clean about Sirius or
something, but I left before he could. Decided you could use some time by yourself.” Oh. “That
and I had to go find the map to actually find you .”

He only shrugged. “I spent a lot of sixth year like this.”

“Hiding away from others?” Harry rested his head against Draco’s, voice quiet. “Wanna talk about
it?”

Draco shook his head as his eyes began to water again. “No, I don't want to talk about it. I hardly
want to think about it.”

“Yeah, I… I don’t think either of us were expecting that.” Harry tucked an arm behind him and
pulled him closer, the two completely hidden under the invisibility cloak. “That’s okay. If you
don’t want to talk about it.”

“It was awful. Sixth year was when I got the mark. You weren't allowed to show fear or pain.”

“Yeah, but… It’s not sixth year, right now. It’s third year and we’re thirteen.”

“That doesn't just erase what happened, Harry! In that time there are people dead because of things
I did!”

“I…” Harry’s voice was soft, the teen quiet for what felt like an eternity. “I don’t know how that
feels and… I don’t know how to help you, Dray.”

Draco shook his head. “I- I never said you had to help me. I don’t even know if I can be helped.”
“I know you don’t want to, but have you thought about talking to Sev? We figured out he probably
already knows everything, right? He… I mean, he fought in the last war, didn’t he? Wouldn’t he be
able to help?”

“But wouldn’t he also tell Dumbledore? Think about what kind of a great asset that could be in a
war. Someone who knows how it all plays out.”

“Yeah, but there’s not a war right now and you’re still a kid.” Harry nudged him, voice getting
quieter. “You made me tell Sev about the Dursleys. How is that any different?”

“I… It…” He was right… Much as Draco hated to admit it. Draco looked to him. “Harry, I can’t.”

“Yeah, and I told myself that no one would ever find out about the Dursleys. Look how that turned
out.” Harry gently touched his cheek, voice hardly louder than a whisper. “Draco, please tell him.”
Draco’s shoulders shook as he stared at Harry before finally leaning against him and crying again.
He was just so scared. He hated feeling scared all the time.

It was like everything was falling apart around him and he couldn’t even keep up with it. It was
more exhausting than anything he had done. “It’s gonna be okay, Dray.” Harry held him tightly,
wrapping the cloak around them so they were completely hidden from the world. “We’re not gonna
leave.”

Draco was trembling even as he drew away from Harry. “We have to tell them, don’t we?”

“Yeah, Dray. We have to tell all of them.” Harry kissed Draco’s cheek, curled up and tucked
against him. “Sev, Ron, Hermione, Blaise, Pansy, just… You’re tearing yourself apart trying to
keep us in the dark.”

“Okay. Okay, we’ll tell them.”

“Promise me we’ll tell them soon. Before the year ends.”

“I promise.”

“Want to sit here for a bit? We have some time before dinner.” Oh, Harry. Even now he was trying
to calm Draco down and keep him steady. Draco slowly nodded.

“Right. Right, sit here… We can… Yes.”

“Right. I’m going to try something. Don’t flail and hit me or anything, okay?”

Draco couldn’t help but to raise an eyebrow at him. “Why would I hit- What are you doing?”

“Being a good boyfriend.” With that, arms were around Draco’s waist and tugging . Draco only
just managed not to flail before he felt half of his back and side awkwardly pressed against Harry’s
chest before the arms around him tightened.

Draco turned to try to face him, feeling himself grow warmer. “Harry, what are you doing?” Harry
shifted them so they were tucked up against the wall more, looking pleased with himself when
Draco finally managed to make out his expression.

“Well, unless it’s changed, I think it’s called giving you a hug.”

“Well- Why are you- This isn’t- I’m not-”

“You needed a hug,” Harry said simply, kissing Draco’s cheek. “And I like hugging and kissing
you.”

“ Harry, ” Draco whined.

“No, shut up, you need a hug.” Harry hugged him more tightly before bending down and ducking
in quick, kissing at his neck and jerking a startled laugh out of him.

Now Draco swatted him away, biting at his lip. “Harry! Enough!” Harry tugged him back, resting
his head against Draco’s shoulder and smiling up at him softly. “What? What is it?”

“You’ll complain if I tell you what I’m thinking right now.”

“Alright. Tell me, then.”

“I was thinking about…” Harry trailed off, voice quieting. “About how much I’m in love with
you.” Draco huffed, crossing his arms.

“You know that’s not fair.”

“Yeah, but you’re the one who taught me not to play fair. All your fault, really.”

“You’re the one that’s supposed to be the hero, and good, and nice, and-”

“Wrong Harry Potter, I think,” Harry laughed, nuzzling close to Draco again and near hiding his
face against him. “I just want us to survive the next few years - even if that means doing whatever
we have to.”

“And does that include completely embarrassing me?”

“Mm. A little bit.” Harry looked up at him, giving another smile. “Doing better?”

“A little bit. Thank you.” Draco adjusted to sit properly in Harry’s lap, leaning down and giving
him a short, sweet kiss.

“Good- Yeah. That’s good. Right. So, um, food, probably? Or at least maybe somewhere else
besides this hallway. My legs are going numb.” Draco laughed as he clambered off of Harry.

“Alright. Dinner it is. And…” Well. He came here to try new things. “And maybe later we can
practice more?”

“The Patronus?” Harry frowned, catching the cloak as it fell off of them before standing himself. “I
thought you would be sick of that spell.” Draco walked out of the alcove, shooting Harry a
backwards glance.

“I didn’t mean the charm.” It was hardly ten or fifteen seconds before Draco heard Harry
scrambling after him. It wasn’t the worst end to the day, Draco supposed.
 Practice Pays Off

“Harry, Draco, could you boys stay after class for a moment? I can promise that you’re not in
trouble.” Oh. Oh, dear.

Draco glanced to Harry while Harry nodded. “No problem, Professor.”

The moment Lupin turned his back, Draco was gone. He would let Harry deal with that one, for
now. Draco certainly planned on keeping his promise to Harry, but not quite yet. He needed a few
more weeks to come to terms with this. Should he… No, Harry was independent. He didn’t need
him to wait outside the classroom. He could just… Go to lunch. Yes. He would go to lunch with
Pansy and Blaise.

Actually, lunch with Pansy and Blaise sounded wonderful just about then. No doubt the two were
worried where Draco had been a touch distant over the last few days. “Blaise! Pansy! Lovely to
see the two of you.” Draco brought them both into a hug, kissing their cheeks.

“Who did you piss off now?” Blaise grumbled, not fighting against his hug, unlike Pansy. Pansy
was squirming and glaring.

“I am not fighting off a pack of Gryffindors for you, Draco.”

“No, no, don’t worry, it’s nothing to worry about. Lunch?”

“Lunch is good as long as it’s not poisoned.” Slytherins, honestly. Draco adored them. “You seem
pleased by something. Did you sacrifice Harry to escape someone else?”

“I possibly may have-”

“ Draco! ”

“Hide me!”

“I will not hide you from your mistakes,” Pansy huffed, waving Harry over even as Draco
attempted to hide behind Blaise.

Draco gave Harry a weak smile. “ Harry, love. Thought you were right behind me.”

“Uh huh. Thought Slytherins didn’t lie. Hi, Blaise, hi, Pansy,” Harry chirped. “Sorry I’m late for
lunch. Draco threw me to the wolves.”

“Oh that’s not fair.”

“It’s completely fair and you know it.” Harry gave him a small smile after a moment. “It’s fine. I
was actually learning a bit more about Dementors.”

“Really? What about?”

“The Dementor’s Kiss.” Draco saw Pansy and Blaise both give a shudder, Harry’s lips twitching
into a humorless smile. “Yeah, that about describes it, I think.”

“Come on, then. Let’s sit down.” Draco glanced to Harry and… He’d ought to tell them. Harry met
his gaze and held it before giving a small smile and a shrug. It was his choice for today, then. “So?
What have I missed?”
“Nothing much. The others have been going on about how much they love Divination,” Pansy
sniffed, waving at the other third year Slytherins. “Honestly, I can’t believe they even took that
class.”

“Well… It’s not so bad.”

“Oh? And how would you know that?” Blaise raised his eyebrows and Draco could tell that Blaise
had thought he had ‘slipped.’

Draco shrugged. “I know lots of things.” Pansy rolled her eyes and Blaise looked vaguely panicked
and oh, dear. Blaise did tend to overthink things, didn’t he? “Harry's been taking Divination.”

“It’s not that great a class,” Harry rolled his eyes. “She predicted my death on the first day of
class.” Draco smiled even when he heard the words repeat back to him in his head. The final battle
where…

“I suppose it doesn’t sound all that bad,” Pansy mused. “I mean, tales of death and drama? You’ll
have to tell me more, Harry.”

“We’ll see,” Harry laughed, sliding closer to Draco and holding his hand tightly from where they
were all sitting down at the Slytherin table. Draco smiled and tightened his hold.

The four of them ate lunch in relative peace, exchanging pieces of gossip and drama until Draco
rose. “We should be going if I want to have time to study for Arithmancy. Pansy, tell me if
anything develops?"

“Of course.” Pansy gave him a slightly odd look, Harry standing with him and giving him an even
odder look. “Are you alright, darling?”

“Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?”

“Just my imagination, then,” Pansy waved off. “Oh, yes, keep a close eye on Harry, would you?
Those curls are too perfect for their own good.”

“Trust me. I'm not letting him out of my sight.”

“Good. And Harry-”

“I know.” Harry held up their hands, bracelets knocking together as he smirked. “There’s more
than one reason for the courting gifts.”

“Oh.” Pansy held a hand to her heart. “Draco, darling, I love him.”

“What does your courting gift have to do with anything?”

“Nothing,” Harry grinned, kissing the back of Draco’s hand before pulling him along. “See you
guys later.”

“You'll never make sense to me, will you?”

“Where would the fun in that be?” Harry pulled Draco out into the hall, voice getting quieter. “Are
you alright? You seemed tense.”

“Harry, I'm fine,” Draco told him, shaking his head. “I really do need to study, though.”

“Yeah, but… You said you had to go study Arithmancy, you know, the class that’s the same time
as Care of Magical Creatures.”

“I know what I said.”

“So you’re gonna work up to it, then?” Harry begun to swing their hands back and forth as they
walked, a silly little smile on his face.

“I think so,” he said with a nod. “That's probably best. Should we go home for Easter?”

“We can if you want,” Harry shrugged. “I don’t mind if we stay here and just relax, though. I kind
of missed running around the castle over hols, this year.”

“Okay. We can stay if you'd like.” Draco leaned over and kissed Harry's cheek. “I care about you,
you know.”

“I know.” Harry answered quickly, even as he blushed. “I know, Dray.”

“Good. I'm glad. You should. Let's study before our next class.”

“Why do all of your ideas lately involve studying. We haven’t even hit March, yet! We have plenty
of time to study.”

“I have more classes to study for, Harry.”

“You should drop some.” Harry looked down to the ground, chewing on his lip. “You and
Hermione both should drop some of your extra classes.”

Draco tilted his head. “You think so? Why?”

“Just- You two are kind of overwhelmed, aren’t you? I mean, Hermione looks close to pulling her
hair out, some days.”

“Well… I suppose I was thinking of dropping a class or two.”

“I mean, you don’t really need to take all of them, right? You could just drop the two that you took
last time around.”

“But I do like taking Ancient Runes… It's a nice refresher.” He frowned as the two got to their
classrooms and Draco opened up his bag to get his books.

“Then maybe drop something like Muggle Studies? Hermione says you don’t even pay attention to
that class and you barely even look at the professor.”

“I- I pay attention,” he told Harry, not looking at him.

“Not like you do in other classes, apparently.” Harry caught his wrist, quieting his voice. “Is it a
future thing?”

Draco sighed, nodding. “She- Burbage, I… I watched them…” Even now that was one memory
that was so clear in his head.

“Draco? Hey, you alright?” Draco shook his head, jerking his hand back from Harry’s grip and
turning away from him. “Oh. Definitely a future thing, then.”

“ Please, Harry. I don’t want to talk about it, anymore.” There was a long moment where Draco
thought Harry was going to push him before he jerked his head as his backpack was held in front of
him from where he had dropped it.

“Homework, right? I think I need some help in Potions again.”

“Okay. Right. Potions.” Draco nodded as the two settled in before class. Harry gripped his hand
tightly, not offering anything else besides a small smile. Right. Third year. Everything was going
to be fine.

::

Draco felt hair pushed out of his face before he even opened his eyes and, considering what day it
was, he knew exactly who it was. “Not even a good morning?” He didn’t bother to open his eyes,
only shifting and yawning.

“You always complain about me being up too early when I do that,” Harry laughed, Draco feeling
dry, warm lips against his skin. “Fine. Good morning.”

“Mm. It is still too early.” He rolled over to make himself comfortable. “Tell me what you’re
thinking.”

“That the weather is a lot better than our last game and that your hair looks gold when the sun hits
it.”

Draco chuckled, his eyes still shut. “What else?”

“I love how you look when you’re still kind of asleep. You look happier, almost.”

“That’s because I’m here with you and it’s just us.”

“Nice to know,” Harry laughed, Draco feeling the teen settle back down beside him, pressed
against his side. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m thinking… Maybe if it keeps you this warm and soft, I can stand mornings a little more.”

“I’m always warm and soft,” Harry lied, words pressed against Draco’s skin and as soft and quiet
as the morning. “We still have a few hours until the Quidditch match, today.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to find something to do.” Draco felt Harry squirm a little closer, an arm
wrapping around him.

“Any ideas?” Draco kissed Harry’s cheek.

“More practice?”

“Oh?” Draco saw a flash of a grin before lips were just barely pressing against his own, Harry’s
breath quick as his hands buried themselves in Draco’s shirt. “What kind of practice, Dray?”

Draco smirked, his own hand tangling in Harry’s hair. “Give me a few ideas.” There wasn’t even a
pause before Harry’s lips were on his, the teen half lying on top of him as he tugged him down
even closer than before. Draco hummed as he pressed back against Harry, running a careful hand
through the teen's hair. He could do with more mornings like this.

“Hey, Dray,” Harry muttered, still pressing kisses against him even as he spoke. “Good morning.”

“Mm, good morning, Harry.” Before Harry could lean back in, there was a bark from the other bed
that caused a wave of groans and complaints. “Hang on, lemme grab my…” Draco fumbled for his
wand, pointing it first at Harry's bed, then at his, casting silencing spells on both of them. “Where
were we?”

“We should probably talk about that with them, you know,” Harry muttered, cupping Draco’s
cheeks and pulling him in for a harder kiss, teeth catching against his bottom lip and making him
shudder. “Later. A lot later.”

“‘S not important.” Not right now, anyways. Besides, as Harry said, they had a few hours until they
had to worry about the match.

Later, far later, in the locker room, Draco helped Harry get his gloves on. “Ready?” They had only
wasted a little longer in the dorms, and Draco could see that Harry was now near vibrating with the
energy that came from a match.

“Depends, actually.” Harry grinned, catching Draco’s hand and holding it tightly. “Wish me luck?”

Draco twisted their hands until he was holding Harry’s delicately, pressing a kiss to the back of it.
“Good luck.”

“Aw, look at the third years being all cute,” Fred cooed, Draco a bit pleased he could tell the two
apart now. “I think you broke ‘im, mate.” Draco stared at the twins, head tilting slightly. So that
was their individual magicks, then. Their magicks both were warm and spoke of summer, but
Fred’s seemed to be more of a summer afternoon spent gardening with his mother while George
seemed to be a summer morning out on an early flight.

“Er, Harry, mate, should we worry about the fact he’s staring at us?” George asked, nudging at
where Harry was blushing and still clutching onto Draco’s hand. Harry seemed to jump a bit before
shaking his head.

“He does that sometimes. Dray? You alright?”

“I’ve finally figured it out.” While the twins fretted, Harry gave a small smirk.

“Oh? And what did you figure out?” Draco only hummed as he stood and made sure he was
properly together before holding Harry’s broom out to him. Harry took his broom with a grin,
lowering his voice. “Making them panic over nothing?”

“Of course I am. I just finally found their individual magicks.”

“Oh.” Harry gave a nod. “Yeah, they’re kind of nice, aren’t they? Really Gryffindor.” Harry looked
back to the twins, pulling a face that could best be described as sympathetic. “Guess we better
enjoy the match while we can, then.” Draco looked to the twins before tsking, shaking his head
while he pat them each on a shoulder.

Their faces rapidly paled as they looked at each other and then back to Draco, speaking in unison,
“We’re dead.” When the twins passed by him, Draco couldn’t help but to lean against the wall and
break down into laughter.

“Why is there laughter?! We have a match to win today!” Ah, yes. Wood. He looked one loss away
from going to live with the giant squid in the lake.

“Ask your Beaters, ‘Captain.’”

“Be nice,” Harry scolded. “Wood looks ready to lose his mind. Don’t worry, Wood. We’re going
to beat Ravenclaw if it kills us!” Actually, considering how these matches typically went...
“If it kills us?” Mm, this was far too fun.

“C’mon, guys! Gryffindor spirit!” Harry was having far too much fun.

“ Spirit? ”

“George, buddy, it was nice knowing you.”

“Likewise, Fred pal.”

“Oh, come on, you two.” Wood grabbed the two by their robes and began pulling them along, the
girls laughing as they followed after them. Harry lingered behind, darting in to kiss Draco’s cheek.

“Any future insight, then?”

“...What’s been going on this year? Sirius Black, time turners, Demen- Oh.”

“Oh?” Harry tilted his head. “That a bad oh I need to worry about?”

“Just… Be careful, and… It shouldn’t be real.”

“Cryptic.” Harry tugged Draco along. “Sounds fun, then. Now, c’mon. We got a match to win.”

Draco stood on the edge of the field as the teams took to the sky, Draco keeping his eyes on Cho
Chang. He remembered just how vicious she could be in a match, but Harry should be alright. At
least, as long as he didn’t let himself get distracted by ‘Dementors.’ Then again, would there even
be students pretending to be Dementors this year? It had been Draco’s idea, after all. Oh.
Apparently there were students pretending to be Dementors, and apparently Harry had gotten much
better at his Patronus charm, judging by the way they fell back. Draco shot a charm at their shoddy
cloak to see who it- Oh. Oh, those utter-

Of bloody course it would be Hufflepuffs who would try something like this. No one would have
ever expected them. Well, at least they were getting their comeuppance. McGonagall certainly
didn’t look pleased as she took to the field, Gryffindor cheering up a storm around the stands. Harry
looked confused, captured Snitch in his hand as he looked around, then finally down. Draco waved
at him, waving him down. “Bloody good game, it’s over now!”

Harry seemed to realize they had won as his eyes slowly widened before he was beaming and
racing towards Draco. Draco honestly thought they were about to crash to the ground before Harry
stopped just in time to jump off his broom and into Draco’s arms. Draco laughed, shaking his head.
“You’re insane, d’ya know that?” He held Harry closer before nudging him to turn around. “And
take a look at those Dementors.”

Harry turned his head and look before he was bursting out into laughter. “They- Really?” Harry
seemed beyond amused at the fact. “Well, at least we know I can cast a Patronus!”

“At least there’s that. Come on, we have a win to celebrate.” Draco could already tell this was
going to be a good party with the way students were swarming the field and surrounding the team.

And he was right. Someone had gotten streamers and balloons all through the common room, and
there seemed to be a feast laid out for them, Draco laughing as Harry hurried towards the table,
only to be stopped by the rest of the house touting him up into the air.

“Gryffindors, honestly,” Hermione complained, coming up to stand by Draco. He could see what
Harry meant about the stress. She looked a little frizzer than normal. “How is one supposed to get
any reading done in this?”

“You’re not.” Draco smiled. “Hermione, you’ve got to take a break once in a while. It’s unhealthy
to keep going like you have. Trust me, I would know.”

“Would you, now?” Hermione shot him a knowing look before it fell, her voice quiet. “I suppose
one night of not studying will hurt.”

“Exactly. Take one night to enjoy yourself and not worry about exams, or Blaise or-”

“C’mon, Draco! We’re celebrating the whole team, here!” Oh, bloody hell.

“Have fun, Draco,” Hermione, the traitor, waved him off.

“What- No, no, they won you the game-”

“Let’s hear it for our Quidditch team!” Oh, goodness, there was no way that Draco was going to
get a word in edgewise, now. At least Harry looked happy. He supposed there was always that.
Draco laughed as the twins got both him and Harry up on their shoulders-

“Chicken fight!” Oh no.

It all devolved from there and Draco honestly wasn’t sure what was going on half the time -
although he was having fun, he had to admit. He was pretty sure he saw Pansy and Blaise wrapped
up in it all at one point, as well as the occasional Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but he never had the
time to get a close enough look before someone was pulling him away.

It could have been minutes or hours before he felt himself pulled up the steps and out of the crowd,
Draco looking to Harry. The teen looked sweaty, relaxed, and happier than Draco had seen in a
while. He smiled at Harry, brushing his hair from his face. “All finished up with your party, then?
It’s in celebration of you, you know.”

“It’s a team celebration,” Harry argued back, leaning into the touch and laughing as he pressed
closer. “I was thinking you needed a break from everyone.”

“Well, thank you for that,” he said with a smile. “I have a thought. If you’ll indulge me.”

“Don’t I always indulge you?” Harry grinned, arms resting on Draco’s shoulder as he leaned
against him. “What’s the thought?”

“Well, more of an idea… Urge…” Draco grinned at him. “Kiss me.” Harry raised an eyebrow but
complied at once, giving him a soft kiss that Draco realized he had to lean up for. He quickly paid
it little mind, pressing against the kiss and… This was how it was done. Maybe. Hm. He’d only
read a few of Pansy’s romance novels in the other time, but he was fairly sure he was supposed to
do something with his teeth, and Harry’s lip…

He must have done something right because Harry shuddered against him and Draco heard a quiet
little noise that sounded close to one of his usual hums. Alright, so that worked, then maybe if he
went a little further- “Ow!”

“Sorry!” Draco could feel his face on fire, but Harry didn’t look too put out, only running his
tongue over his bottom lip with a bemused little expression.

“‘S alright, just, uh, not so hard, maybe.”

“I don’t much know what I’m doing, really.” Draco bit at his own lip, looking back down at his
lap.

“At least we’re on an even playing field,” Harry laughed, resting his forehead against Draco’s and
pressing closer. “‘M just gonna…” Harry ended his words with a kiss, lips pressing against Draco’s
before he felt a small bite to his lower lip followed by a flick of Harry’s tongue. Draco shivered, a
small noise escaping as he pressed back into Harry again. He tried to continue what it was he was
doing earlier, more gently dragging his teeth against Harry’s lip.

The more gentle touch seemed to work better, Harry near melting against him as his hands pulled
tightly at Draco’s robes before he was pressing as close as they could get. Draco began to pull
away, staring at Harry before laughing. He stroked Harry’s hair down from where it had begun to
fly up, and fixed his glasses from where they had gotten off-kilter.

“You sure that’s me indulging you?” Harry finally asked, still looking wonderfully mused.
“Because it kind of feels the other way around.”

“Trust me, it is.” Draco leaned forward and kissed Harry’s cheek. “Did you like it?”

“I definitely think we need more practice. Like, a lot of it.”

“Really? Do you think we have time for it?”

“I think everyone else is distracted enough that we won’t be missed,” Harry laughed, leaning back
in towards Draco and wrapping his arms around him. “Teach me some more?”

“Not much teaching when I don’t know anything about it.” Draco laughed, keeping Harry close.

“Learning together doesn’t sound so bad, then.” Harry’s lips brushed against Draco’s, his laughter
catching in his chest. “Kiss me?” He lived to please.
 Out From the Shadows
Chapter Notes

Merry Christmas Eve! As our present to you readers that have stuck with us the past
couple years, here's another chapter. The last chapter was super sweet, right? ~Kas

Draco woke up to screaming or, perhaps more accurate, Draco woke up to Harry scrambling over
him with a wand in his hand and the curtains half near ripped as he scrambled towards the dorm
door and ran towards the screaming. Draco leapt up, wand in hand as well. “Harry, you idiot,
don’t-”

“ Someone’s gotta do something!” Harry shouted back, which, alright, that was all well and good,
but Harry was thirteen . This wasn’t a battle-hardened Potter who knew how to fight back, yet!
“It’s coming from the upper dorms!”

“You don’t have to be the bloody hero, Harry!” Draco heard other people scrambling about and
coming out with their own wands. At least there was good in being in Gryffindor, for once.

As they got up the stairs, Draco’s eyes widened as he saw Percy stumbling out of his dorm room,
looking around with wide eyes and breathing heavily. “Perce?” Ron and the twins were there near
at once, fretting over him and looking worried. “Hey, Percy, what happened? Did you have a
nightmare about some bad grades?”

Percy seemed to be hyperventilating, his bed torn to pieces as he held their rat close- “ Sirius
Black! It was Sirius Black, I swear!”

“What?” Harry snapped out the same time Draco felt his breath leave him. Had Sirius really tried to
kill Percy ? “What do you mean it was Sirius Black-”

“I mean that Sirius Black was standing over me with a knife!”

Draco looked to Harry. “Harry, we need to-”

“What in Merlin’s name is going on in here!” McGonagall near screeched the words as she came
storming up the steps, looking at them all in her dressing gown. “I’m as pleased as the rest of you
that we won, but night is a time for sleep . And of all people, Percy Weasley, I didn’t expect you to
be behind this commotion!”

“Professor, it was Sirius Black! He was standing over my bed with a knife!” Draco quickly pulled
Harry along, back to their dorm.

“Cloak. Map. Now.” Harry was nodding at once, letting Draco pull him along before he was
rushing for his bag, pulling out the map quickly.

“I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good.” The words were rushed enough that they sounded like
they were one word, Harry holding up the map at once and scanning it quickly. “Why would he try
to kill Percy ?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out.” Draco threw the cloak over them just as McGonagall came
into the room.

“All Gryffindors are to be led by their Prefects to the Great Hall. There are no exceptions.” She
looked to Seamus and Neville. “Where are Potter and Black- And Malfoy?”

“Oh, um, that’s a good question, ma’am,” Seamus swallowed, looking around the room. “Probably
over with Ron and Percy and them, seeing how they’re friends.”

“They had just left,” McGonagall said with a look of horror. “The moment you see them. The Great
Hall. Am I understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the two chimed in at once, Harry gripping Draco’s hand tightly as the other two
looked around the room. “Er, Harry? Draco? Um… Meet us in the Great Hall, I guess?” Draco
nudged Harry, the two hurrying out of the dorm.

“We are going to question Lupin and Black.” The two made their way down the stairs as quick as
possible, trying not to let themselves be seen as they escaped out the portrait hole and set off at
once, Harry staring down at the map.

“He’s running back towards Professor Lupin’s office. Why would he try to kill a student? It doesn’t
make sense! He’s been looking after us the whole time since we first saw him!”

“I am done with all of these games. We are going to get answers, and we’re going to get them now.
”

“That means your secrets will come out too, Dray. You’ll have to talk to them about how you’re a
time traveller.”

“I don’t care! I’m sick and tired of all of this, and I am tired of being kept in the dark!” Being kept
in the dark may have been how Potter dealt with it, but there was a reason Draco was here and that
was to change all of it. He was not going to let this school or these students get harmed as long as
he could help it.

“Then what are we waiting for?” The two ran through the halls, only stopping and hiding in
alcoves when they saw a teacher or ghost rush by, all of them looking panicked and worried. The
news had spread fast. “Almost there.”

The moment they were at the doors, Draco threw the classroom door open and pointed his wand at
the private office door- “ Bombarda! ”

“ Draco !” Harry yelled at him even as the door blasted open. Draco might have felt a little bit bad
if there was any room to feel bad about any of this. As it was, he mostly felt angry. “We can’t just
break his door down!"

Draco only stormed into the room, throwing glares at the two men. “What the hell was that?! ”
Lupin looked surprised and startled and seemed speechless, but Black looked tired and exhausted.
He didn’t look as bad as his wanted poster, but Draco could see what twelve years in Azkaban had
done to him.

“For as much as you know, you don’t understand any of what’s going on here.” Black’s words
were more growls than words, his gaze firmly on Draco. “I was doing what I had to.”

“What you bloody had to has sent the entire school into a panic! What the fuck is going on here?!”

“Draco-” Lupin had taken a step forward before he stopped and sighed, dropping his hands. “It’s
not what you're thinking.”

“The thing is, Professor, that we’d really like to stop being lied to.” Harry’s voice was soft, but
there was a hard edge to it. “I think we’ve been left in the dark enough.”

“I think you’ve gone ‘round the bloody bend is what I think, who are you to say what I’m
thinking?”

“I wasn’t after the boy!” Black snapped, his voice almost a roar before he took an unsteady breath.
“I was after that fucking rat .”

“The rat? What does the rat-” The rat. The… Draco’s wand nearly dropped to the ground.
“Wormtail.”

“Wormtail,” Lupin nodded grimly. “I only found out recently myself once ‘Hyperion’ showed up,
but…”

“Wormtail as in- As in Peter Pettigrew?” Harry frowned, looking between the three of them. “What
does that have to do with Ron’s pet rat?”

“Harry, how long have the Weasleys had Scabbers?” Draco turned to Harry. “Isn’t Scabbers
missing a toe?” Harry looked between them all before his eyes lit up and Draco saw the second it
hit. Then he saw the second it hit . Draco immediately reached out and gripped Harry’s wrist.
“What did I tell you less than five minutes ago?”

“This doesn’t much feel like playing the hero,” Harry snapped, trying to jerk his wrist out of
Draco’s grip. “I can’t- You can’t just expect me to stand by while my parents’ murderer is just
upstairs in the dorms!”

“What are you going to do, then? Go up there, cast a killing curse, and do exactly what he just
did?”

“Of course not,” Harry muttered. “I don’t know the killing curse, do I? He’s a rat right now, isn’t
he? Probably doesn’t take much to just throw him out a window.”

“Right, and what’ll Ron and the twins all think when you toss their pet out the window?” Draco
paused, turning to Black. “And a knife?! ”

“Didn’t have a wand, now did I?” Before either of them could make another move or sound, they
heard a sharp gasp from someone entering the classroom.

Draco felt himself near knocked off as Harry threw himself at him, throwing the cloak over them
both and covering Draco’s mouth. At the same moment, Black fluidly shifted into ‘Hyperion’ and
darted behind the desk. “Remus!"

“In here, Minerva. Apologies, stray spell gone wrong when I was testing out the next lesson. Did
you need something?”

“Oh, Remus… You were always the best liar of those four, but you know it never worked on me.”
Minerva shook her head, fixing the door with a flick of her wand. “Sirius Black is in the castle and
was found holding a knife over a student, Percy Weasley. Percy seems to be unharmed, but Black is
now loose inside the castle.”

“...Apologies, found holding a knife over a student?” Ah. Black hadn’t had time to tell him that part
of it, then.
“Indeed.” Minerva studied him for a moment before nodding. “Come on, then. Students are being
led to the Great Hall and the castle is being searched for his whereabouts as of this moment."

“I’ll help keep watch of the students, then.” Lupin followed after McGonagall, shooting a glance
back at the room.

Once the two left, Draco took the cloak off of them. “Right. We need to think reasonably about
this.”

“Right. Here’s my reasoning. We use the cloak to sneak back up to the dorms and kill Pettigrew.
Seems pretty simple.”

“You are not going to kill someone in cold blood.” Black had shifted back and was looking at
Harry with a complicated expression. It looked like grief mixed with rage if Draco were to name it.

“He’s most likely not in the dorms anymore, anyway. Not since someone warned him off.” Draco
glared at Black. “Harry, you know that any moment the teachers are going to be spread through
every corridor looking for us.”

“Then we should tell one of them about this! Professor Lupin can testify that he’s an animagus or
something! We can’t just- We can’t just let this happen!”

“You know that’s not what I’m saying. I said let’s be reasonable. We need to think before jumping
into action Harry James Potter, a lesson you still need to learn.”

“Like you’re any better!” Harry looked like he was at a loss for words, tugging at his hair before
shaking his head. “You jumped back in time . I really don’t think you get to lecture me about
thinking things through.”

Draco jerked back as though he’d been struck, glare now turned to Harry. “You don’t know
anything. Do you know that I actually did have time to think about it? I had to say goodbye to my
friends, to my mother because I knew they were never going to see me again? Don’t you dare say I
did it without a thought.”

“Really? Because you never seem to think anything out here! You’re always jumping into things or
taking on too much at once and you never listen when I’m trying to tell you something! You just
bury it all away and try to deal with it on your own instead of letting me in!”

“Letting you in. Right. Letting you in. Alright, how’s this for letting you in? I became a Death
Eater against my own will in my own sixth year and I was forced not only to let all the other Death
Eaters into the castle and let them take over the school, I also helped kill Dumbledore. Or maybe
you wanted to know about when I had to watch Crabbe die in a fire he set against Potter because all
of us fell too far to the side of the Dark Lord? You want me to let you in? What else, hm? What
else is there, Potter?!”

“Apparently more than I thought, Malfoy .”

“Don’t you dare use that fucking map of yours, am I clear?” Without waiting for a response, Draco
turned and stomped away, casting a couple disillusionment charms as he went. If Harry Potter
wanted to be Harry bloody Potter , then so be it. Draco wasn’t going to play babysitter to someone
who would know better if he used two seconds to think things through.

Draco tucked himself into a far away corner and curled up, his knees to his chest. He should have
seen this coming. Nothing good in his life lasted long. Everything always fell apart. This was just
another thing he should have expected.
As much as he knew he needed to get to the Great Hall before anyone suspected anything, he just
needed a few moments to himself. He just needed enough time to scrape himself together and then
continue on like he had planned in the beginning.

“-foy. Mister Malfoy! ” Draco startled, looking around and who was calling- Oh. McGonagall. She
didn’t look very pleased or put together, that was certain. “Oh, goodness- Are you alright? We
haven’t seen you in hours and we were searching all over the castle! What were you thinking
curling up in a corner such as this!”

“Oh. Sorry, Professor. I must have fallen asleep.” He really must have been tired to manage that.

“Yes, well, let’s get you back to the Great Hall.” McGonagall helped him up before nudging him
along. “Come on, let’s go. We still have a few more hours until daylight.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Draco held his wand in his… Oh. “Professor, is Harry already down there?"

“Of course you would be worried about him over yourself,” McGonagall sighed, Draco staring
down at where he was holding Harry’s wand. “Yes, Mr. Potter showed up just before we had to
lock the doors, although he made no mention of where you were.”

“No, just… I suppose in all the chaos we must have mixed up our wands.” When had they
switched? When they had first woken up?

“Mr. Malfoy, are you… alright? You seem unwell.”

“I’m fine, Professor.”

“Very well.” McGonagall led them to the Great Hall in silence, opening the doors with her wand
before nodding him in. “Sleep well, Mr. Malfoy.”

Draco nodded and stepped into the room, sitting down against the wall. “Thank you, Professor.”
McGonagall looked like she wanted to say something else, but she left before she did. Draco found
himself a bit relieved.

“ There you are!” Pansy and Blaise were converging on him in a heartbeat with quiet whispers and
an extra sleeping bag. “We’ve been worrying about you all night!”

“Sorry. Fell asleep in one of the hidden spots in the castle. You two alright?”

“ We’re fine, but you don’t seem to be.” Blaise sat down right beside Draco, Pansy quick to get on
his other side. “Neither does Harry, for that matter. Want me to go get him for you?”

“No,” Draco said quickly before amending it. “No, I'm fine. You don't need to worry.”

“Must have been a pretty nasty fight,” Pansy said quietly. “He’s barely said a word all night.
Actually tried to get us to believe he had fallen asleep.”

“I told you, I'm fine, ” he told them coolly. “We should sleep as well.”

“Extremely nasty, then,” Blaise snorted, not moving away from Draco. “Do you really want to
sleep or would you rather talk about how a Hufflepuff thinks Sirius Black can turn into a plant.”

“...Sorry, what?”

“My favorite is that he can turn himself into a portrait and walk along the walls,” Pansy beamed.
“The theories are amazing, Draco, honestly.”
“Alright, then. Tell me some of them.”

That seemed to be all the excuse the two needed to rattle off theory after ridiculous theory, Draco
letting his attention drift as he caught sight of Hermione’s familiar hair. Maybe… he should talk
about all of this with someone who wasn’t an adult.

::

“Hermione?” It was just after breakfast and the two were headed to class. “I need to talk to you.
Privately.” Hermione gave him a single look before taking his wrist and pulling him along to what
seemed to be an empty classroom.

“Lucky for you we’re pretty good at managing our time. What do you need to talk to me about?”

“You already know I'm a time traveler. Harry and I had a fight last night because of the attack, he
wanted to help Black and kill Scabbers, because it was Scabbers he was after not Percy because
Scabbers is an animagus, I just found out last night he's Peter Pettigrew, and I told him he couldn't
rush in without thinking and he said that me coming back was a display of hypocrisy towards that
even though he apparently doesn't realize that I had to say goodbye to everyone I cared about
before I left and I had plenty of time to think about it-”

Draco’s words stopped when he saw the look on Hermione’s face. She looked… faint. “Right. I
might need some clarification, but from what I understand, you two are fighting over the fact that
Harry wants to murder a man thought dead. And he said something about how you were wrong to
come back in time?”

“Well- No, he didn't say that he just said I had done it without thinking which was completely
wrong. And we weren't fighting over him wanting to kill Pettigrew, just over him wanting to do it
right that second. I was trying to tell him we needed to wait and think of a plan and then he started
attacking me like that-”

“First off, attacking might not be the right word to use there. Second, you are not killing anybody.
If need be we will get the teachers like responsible students .”

“The teachers who all also believe Pettigrew is dead and are more likely to throw me in St.
Mungo's before they listen to me, as well as throw Black to the Dementors- I also need to add that
apparently Black was Hyperion the entire time—also an animagus—and Harry and I only found out
on the train home for Christmas.”

“Oh.” Hermione held up her hand, seeming to ask for silence before she began pacing back and
forth across the room in a slow, methodical manner. Draco watched her, hoping she could accept
this quickly so he could get some advice. “That doesn’t make sense. If Sirius Black was Hyperion ,
then why did he try to kill Percy? He should be after Harry, but he’s had weeks if that were the
case.”

“He didn't, Percy had Pettigrew. If he dies in Animagus form, he reverts back to a human.”

“I see.” Hermione stared at him again before taking a slow breath. “Have you considered telling a
teacher about this?”

“Lupin already knows.”

“Okay.” Hermione was handling this very well, really. Draco was proud of her. “And… You and
Harry are fighting because he said that you hadn’t thought… this through?”
Draco nodded. “I also may have called him Potter because he said I never let him in so I told him
some of the worse things I hadn't told him yet.”

“That could have been handled better, I feel like.” Hermione sighed, rubbing her palms together.
“Alright. So you called him Potter, which I believe he’s always hated-”

“It was also exclusively my name for the Harry Potter from my time. Whom I for the most part
hated and fought with.”

“Well, Draco, I believe this could have been dealt with more maturely.” Hermione looked ready to
hit him. “I feel like I don’t know the full extent of this, but calling him Potter seems to have been…
a bad decision.”

Draco waved it off. “He said I don't think things through and he called me Malfoy, I'd say we're
even.”

“Did he call you Malfoy before or after you called him Potter?”

“After, but he said I didn't think things through before I called him Potter, I thought long enough to
know what I was doing.”

“I swear it’s always such drastic measures to end a fight when it comes to you,” Hermione groaned,
looking away from him. “That explains his behavior last night, then.”

“...Really? Why? What'd he say? What'd he do?”

“He…” Hermione looked away for a moment before looking back. “He went cold. He reminded
me of how he was at the beginning of our first year, actually. He wouldn’t talk to us, he didn’t say
anything beyond a few words, and he was just… cold.”

Draco thought it over before finally nodding. “Well. I didn't do much wrong, so I'm not
apologizing.”

“How Gryffindor of you.”

“ What?! ”

“Standing up for your own beliefs above everything else? I’m just saying that it sounds very
Gryffindor of you.”

“How dare you, first of all. Second of all, how dare you! ”

“We should probably get to class now, although, if you ever need to talk to someone about the
whole… time travelling business, then I’ll be happy to lend an ear.”

Draco took a second to let his anger drain out. He really had dumped a lot of information on her.
“Thank you, Hermione,” he told her genuinely.

“And don’t be too hard on Harry. I don’t know how far you’re from, but it’s obviously quite a few
years ahead, and Harry- we are all still thirteen. We’re still learning, I think.”

“You think I don't know that? Why did you think I was the way I was last year?”

“Oh.” Hermione blinked for a moment, nodding soon after. “Good. Then I needn’t worry. Come
on, then. Class awaits.”
Draco followed her, walking closer to her than usual. “I really am grateful to have you.”

“As you should be.” Hermione gave him a small smile as they bumped shoulders. “You two will
be just fine.”

“At least someone believes that.”

“I don’t believe it. I know it. And when am I ever wrong?”

“What about last week's Arithmancy paper?” There wasn’t a response and Draco enjoyed the
temporary feeling of superiority.

“Just make sure you talk to Harry sooner rather than later.”

“And just so you know? I've never taken Divination or Arithmancy.”

“What- No. You have to be lying- You do so well in both of those classes!”

“No, but since I took almost every other class I can put all my study time into those two.”

“That’s cheating!” Mm, Draco supposed he felt a little better, now. He would have to talk to Harry
later, but, well… Another day wouldn’t hurt anything.

::

It had been a solid ten minutes at least that Draco had been watching Harry out of the corner of his
eye. It looked like the teen was torn between confronting him so they could talk, and running away
in the opposite direction. Draco turned his head fully towards Harry, raising an eyebrow. Harry
jerked to a stop, stared at him, and then his entire posture seemed to drop as he dragged himself
over to him. “We should probably talk, huh?”

“I don't see why we need to talk about anything.” Draco half expected Harry to snap back with
some witty retort, but he only gave a single nod.

“Right. I can talk, then. I’m sorry.” Oh, that… was easy. “You probably thought about what you
did for months and you’ve probably been thinking about it for years.” Draco crossed his arms
before sighing.

“It took me a few days to decide that it was what I wanted to do. The man who created it wouldn't
let me use it the same day. He told me to leave and say my goodbyes and to come back the next
day."

“So you had to look at everyone you loved and tell them goodbye.” Harry’s voice was quiet, Draco
glancing up to see him fidgeting with the bracelet on his wrist. “And then you saw them the next
day and they had no idea.”

“I saw them, but they weren't the same. When I left, we were all eighteen.” Draco turned his head
down to the floor. “I'm surprised you can even look at me.”

“Because of what you told me?” Harry’s voice got closer as it did quieter, Draco feeling more than
seeing him take a seat beside him. “I… kind of knew, in a way, how bad it was. The way you’d
talk about some things? I knew it’d be bad, Draco. I’ve always known.”

“That was what I saw in the mirror. In our first year? All the people that the war took. I saw them
all there, alive. My parents looked proud of me, too, and…”
It was silent for what felt like too long when Harry finally said something. “Do you… Do you
sometimes wish I was different? That I was… That I at least had his memories?”

Draco thought it over before finally nodding. “Sometimes. I do think about it. But then I realize
how much better you are. I came here for a fresh start everywhere, with everyone. And I think
that's part of why we're us. Because you're you, and not him.”

“Do you still want us to avoid each other for a while?” It felt like Harry had more he wanted to say,
but, most likely, he didn’t know how to say it.

“...I don't know,” Draco sighed. “I don't know anything, I've just been stumbling through
everything.

“Seems like you’re just like everyone else.” Harry slowly leaned against him and Draco felt the
lightest of tugs to Draco’s bracelet. “I don’t know how I feel about you, right now, but I know I
still love you. ‘S that enough?”

Draco leaned back against him as tears threatened at the corners of his eyes. “I think you were
right. I didn't think it through enough. Harry, I took away her son. ” He had tried not to think about
it too much, but…

“Draco, you are her son. You just have a few more memories, is all.”

“No. Harry… I’ve done my growing up. Perhaps not physically, but mentally, most often, I am an
adult. She won’t get to watch her son grow up.”

Harry didn’t have a response for that - not that Draco expected one. “I can’t understand you, but I’ll
listen if you ever need me to.”

“What do we do?” Draco looked back at Harry, feeling as lost as when he’d been Sorted.

“I don’t know, but that’s kind of good, don’t you think?” Harry looked to Draco, the smallest of
smiles on his face. “Knowing everything would just make this worse. Our problems are a bit
different than everyone else’s, but the fact we’re still dealing with problems and trying to make it
work… Kind of makes it feel like we’re normal, you know? We’re just… trying to figure it out like
everyone else.”

“I suppose,” Draco sighed, shaking his head. “So. It’s all out there. I told Hermione.”

“You did?” Harry grinned, leaning more against Draco. “That’s- That’s great.”

“You think it is? It didn’t feel great.”

“Well, no, it probably didn’t feel great, but I just- I’m happy you’re telling other people,” Harry
said, gaze sliding to the side. “That means you have other people you can talk to when you can’t
talk to me.”

“I suppose. And… Black and Pettigrew?” Draco had a moment’s worry that question might start
another fight before Harry blew out a sharp breath.

“I figure I should let the adults worry about that.”

Draco startled and turned to face Harry properly. “Pardonnez-moi? Say again?”

“I mean- I’ve kind of ruined things enough acting on my own. You… You said it yourself, right? I
don’t always need to be ‘the hero.’”

“Oh… Harry, no- No, you haven’t ruined anything. I just- Whenever you go storming in without a
plan or anything, it makes me worry.”

“I- It’s kind of an excuse, but I kind of learned to not trust adults early on,” Harry laughed, the
sound not carrying even an ounce of humor. “Sev and your mom were the first ones to ever even
believe me about the Dursleys and I don’t- I don’t want to lose you or them because I can’t learn to
just trust something to be handled.” The way he said it… Did Harry honestly believe them fighting
would mean he wouldn’t still have a home to go to?

“Harry. You’re allowed to disagree with an adult. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing.” Draco brushed
Harry’s hair back. “My mother and father both knew I didn’t want to take part in anything to do
with the war — at least not until I was out of school — but they didn’t burn me off the family tree
or otherwise disown me for it.”

“Yeah, I’m- I’m still learning that part.” Harry leaned into Draco’s touch at once, shoulders
dropping. “I really am sorry, Draco. I shouldn’t’ve- I was just so angry , and you make it really
easy to be angry at you, sometimes.”

“I know. I… I’ve been trying to get better. I really have.”

“I know.” Harry shifted and squirmed in the seat a bit, Draco recognizing the nervous energy.
“Guess you’ll probably say it’s too dangerous for me to go down to Hogsmeade, tomorrow.”

“Harry, we don’t know where Pettigrew is, or what he’s planning. I’d feel much better if maybe
you talked to Lupin or Sev tomorrow while everyone is at Hogsmeade.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Harry stood up after a moment, giving a smile. “At least go and enjoy yourself if
you can, okay? I’ll talk to Professor Lupin and Sev about… about everything I can.”

“Harry?” Draco gently ran his thumb over the top of Harry’s hand. “You can tell Sev.” Sev, at
least, deserved to know about all of this.

“I’ll tell him the basics,” Harry smiled slightly, squeezing Draco’s hand tightly. “Maybe next year
we’ll actually be able to go to Hogsmeade together around this time.”

Draco nodded. “We will. Don’t worry.”

“Good- Good. Hopefully next year is normal,” Harry snorted, leaning in to kiss Draco’s forehead.
“Can we be done avoiding each other, now?”

“Can you beg and grovel a little more?” Instead of a laugh, Harry tangled his hands with both of
Draco’s and leaned their foreheads together.

“ Please can we be done avoiding each other? ‘S not the homework or studying or anything else I
miss, I just… miss sitting next to you. Knowing you’re there.”

Draco smiled and pulled away to ‘think’ about it. “I suppose it's true what they say. Absence does
make the heart grow fonder.”

“And you say I’m the brat?” Harry was grinning anyways, hands not letting go of Draco’s. “I really
do miss you, stupid as that seems considering we share a dorm room.”

“...Fine, then. Just this once.” Just this once, he’d let it be that easy for Harry.
 Pot, Meetle

“So, I see you and Harry have made up.” Hermione took her usual seat next to Draco at their table
in Defense, looking pleased. “At least, I assume so, seeing as he’s fallen asleep on your shoulder.”

“We have,” Draco said with a nod. “Things will be better, now.” He had to believe that, but after
everything else they had gone through, he knew they would get through this year, too.

“I’m just glad to see he’s getting some sleep,” Hermione said quietly, narrowing her eyes at Draco.
“You need to catch up on rest, too. Both of you have looked exhausted for days.”

“It’s been exceptionally busy,” Draco sighed, sitting up as class began. While Lupin walked
towards his desk, Harry startled beside him, jolting awake from where it looked like he had
actually fallen asleep.

“Before we really begin, I do have a question of all of you,” Lupin said with that spark of mischief
that was quickly becoming incredibly familiar. “How many of you have started on your papers that
are due at the end of the week?”

There was a deep silence as Hermione raised her hand, the rest of the room utterly still and silent,
Draco hesitantly raising his hand beside her. Ron was trying to sink under the desk and Harry was
digging in his backpack to avoid looking up. Lupin just nodded. “As I suspected, then. I’m sure
you’ll be pleased to know that today, I’m giving you the class to work on your paper.”

“What’s the catch?” Finnigan asked at once, belatedly putting his hand in the air as he asked the
question. “Sir?”

Lupin smiled at him. “You must be working on class content of some kind. No Gobstones or
trading cards, I want today to be productive.”

Finnigan seemed to think for a moment, finally nodding, “You’re pretty cool, sir.” Gryffindor
children, honestly.

“Thank you, Mr. Finnigan, for that truly heartfelt sentiment. Well? Aren’t you all going to get your
work out, then?”

The students scrambled to get their work out, some looking like they had been given the greatest
gift while others still looked half asleep. Beside him, Harry gave a low little noise that could have
been some sort of mumble. A moment passed and just after Draco had his papers out- “Draco, I
believe you’ve already gotten a head start on your assignment. Mind coming to my office?”

Draco shot a glance at Harry before speaking. “Have I done something?” Harry frowned, thinking
before narrowing his eyes, Lupin only smiling.

“Nothing to warrant any worry.”

“Which implies that I have done something.”

“Well, yes.” At least he wasn’t trying to lie to him. “Come on, then. I’m sure the class will be
alright without our presence for a few minutes.” As Lupin walked away, Draco looked at Harry
then at Hermione.

Harry gave him a weak smile while Hermione looked vaguely worried before offering a smile as
well. A quick glance at Ron showed he just looked plain worried. Lovely. Feeling much like a
prisoner walking to his Dementor, Draco followed Lupin into his office, his wand slipping into his
hand at seeing Black there as well.

“Oh, please, we’re not about to kill you,” Black muttered, sitting in Lupin’s chair and wearing
clothes that utterly dwarfed him. Judging by the worn slacks and overly large sweater, it looked
like Lupin had gotten sick of Black’s prisoner uniform. “We just have a few questions.”

“Right, then. Not an execution, simply an interrogation.” At his words, Lupin sighed, shaking his
head.

“No, Draco, we simply want to talk-”

“No, he’s right. This might as well be an interrogation.” When Black looked at him, he was
looking at Draco the adult - and he knew it. Draco was… almost grateful about that. “Keep your
wand out if it helps. We want to talk about how you came to be here. Time travel, right?”

“Of sorts, at least. I didn’t learn the technicalities completely.” No more disguises, then.

“I don’t think anyone can learn the technicalities of time travel,” Lupin snorted, walking over to his
desk and giving Black a glare. Black didn’t even look at him.

“I’ve overhead enough of your conversations. It’s almost like a different universe from the one you
came from, right? Little changes that weren’t in yours?”

Draco gave a slight nod. “Yes.” He didn’t like this, he did not like this. This was an interrogation
that would be held before the executions-

“That leaves me with really only one question,” Black muttered, looking up at Draco with utter
seriousness. It was the same seriousness Harry had before he asked something utterly ridiculous.
“What’s the top Quidditch team where you come from? Please, please tell me it’s not those
goddamn Chuddley-” Black was cut off with a tsk from Lupin, the man slapping his shoulder.

Draco gave his head a rough shake. “ Pardon?! ” What the hell kind of a question was that?! This
was a serious matter!

“You looked so serious,” Black shrugged, grin wild and far too wide. “Distracted you, didn’t it?”

“ I’m ready to be thrown into fucking St. Mungo’s, or to Azkaban myself, and you believe the best
possible choice is to ask something so inconsequential as Quidditch-?! ”

“Merlin, I haven’t heard French that pretentious since I was ten,” Black snorted, as if he couldn’t
be having more fun, the fucker . “You’ll never answer any question we ask about the war because I
know I wouldn’t if I was in your position.”

“So you presume to bloody know my own mind, barely having actually spoken to me yourself-”

“I’ve been listening to you and Harry for months, now,” Black interrupted, shaking his head. “Plus
you’re Cissy’s kid. You’re probably more stubborn than any other kid in your year.” Draco decided
just then. He loathed Sirius Black. “I’ll take your silence as my being right, then.”

“Please don’t make it worse,” Lupin sighed, rubbing at his eyes. “I forgot how exhausting you
were.”

“You missed it,” Black taunted back at him.

He shook his head again at them. “What point is there to this, then?”

“Well, Remus wanted to make sure you didn’t go around expecting the worst after Harry told us
the basics,” Black snorted. “Look, you’re not gonna trust us right away and that’s fine. Just
remember you have allies when this war hits.”

“‘Allies’ and ‘friends,’ I’ve found, are two very separate things.” The two shared a look, Lupin
finally giving him a small smile.

“We’re allies until you want more. I meant what I said, however, before all of this. You’re always
welcome in this office to talk.”

“Well?” There was a quiet grumble as Black said something, Lupin giving the man a glare before
smiling at Draco.

“Well, it looks like we had better get back before the class starts to worry.” Draco shot Black
another look. He didn't like the idea of turning his back on the man. Black raised an eyebrow.

“I spent months letting you two call me Snuffles . If I was going to kill you, I would have done it
then.”

“ Two? ”

“Oh, right, you went with Hyperion. You know, that’s actually pretty close, so I guess good job, on
that one.”

“I swear on-”

“Draco! Please, let's return.” Lupin headed for the door, shooting a glare back at Black just as he
opened his mouth, “ You need to stop saying everything on your mind just before you can think.”
Black looked unwholly apologetic, but he did stay quiet.

Draco reluctantly rejoined the class, sitting back in his seat while his fingertips continued to buzz,
itching for his wand. Harry gave him a nudge after a few moments, raising an eyebrow,
“Everything alright?”

“I've decided I hate Black, if that's what you mean,” Draco said conversationally. While Hermione
and Ron gave him very odd looks, Harry only nodded.

“Yeah, that’s fair.” Ah, Harry could be so sensible. “I think he’s becoming one of my favorite
adults, though.”

“What are you talking about? He's awful!”

“Well… I guess it’s nice that he didn’t really treat me like a child when I was talking to them the
other day. Plus I remembered ‘Hyperion’ helped me when I felt awful all those times.”

Draco frowned. “‘All?’”

“I mean, there was that time after the Quidditch match with the dementors,” Harry said quickly -
too quickly. He was trying to hide something.

“And… What other times?” As expected, there was a long silence where Harry rubbed at the back
of his neck.

“I mean, sometimes when you’re studying with Hermione or hanging with Blaise and Pansy I
guess I just kind of felt… overwhelmed? I just went down and hung out with Hyperion for a little
bit.”

Draco smiled at him, nodding. “I understand.” That had Harry pausing, slowly lifting an eyebrow.

“You… do?”

“Harry, of course I do. That's why I gave you the notebook for Christmas. If I'm having an awful
time of it, I can't imagine how it is for you.”

“Not good,” Harry finally sighed, “But not the worst. I’m just glad I don’t have to deal with all the
extra classes you and Hermione take. That would drive me crazy.”

“Well, yes I have to do the homework, but most of it I already know, remember?”

“You said you told Hermione, right?” Harry asked, corner of his lips lifting into a grin. “Did she
accuse you of cheating?”

“Just a little. These powers must be used for evil, Harry.” That earned him a startled snort of
laughter, Harry slapping a hand over his mouth even as his shoulders shook. Draco laughed beside
him, ignoring Hermione’s look of bewilderment at the two of them daring to skive off doing their
work in class.

“C’mon, we should probably do a little work before Hermione tries to kill us,” Harry said, still
giggling a bit as he gave Draco a nudge. “Oh, hey, what did Professor Lupin want?”

“He and Black spoke to me. Don’t worry, the two of you are going to get on extremely well.”

“What do you mean?” Harry tilted his head, nose scrunching up a little. “I feel like I was insulted.
Why does it feel like you insulted me?”

Draco shook his head. “You two are so incredibly alike I have no worries.”

“Thank… you?” Harry looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or not. “Okay, right. Defense.”
Harry tapped his hands on the desk for a few seconds before giving a hum. “So, uh, what were we
supposed to be doing?”

“Working on the paper you haven’t started yet.” Draco smirked at him. Harry huffed, looking
away and proving Draco’s point that he hadn’t started.

“I mean… I’ve done some of it.”

Snickering, Draco looked over his papers and set them in proper- What was on his foot. Slowly
looking down, he saw Sirius Black in his animagus form sitting on his foot with a slowly wagging
tail. “...Harry.”

“Yeah, no, I see him there.” Half of the class wasn’t even staring . He supposed they hadn’t been
that discrete near the end of Hyperion’s stay in their dorm room.

“If I cast an Unforgivable, make sure they give me one of the nicer cells.”

“You’re not going to cast any curses when people are watching,” Harry scoffed, looking down to
Black and giving him a nudge with his foot. “Get over here before he really does do something.”
And then he did.

“You see? I told you so.” Black was obviously out to drive him mad. That was the only
explanation.

“Don’t worry,” Harry hummed, patting the animagus’ head out of habit more than anything else.
“He has to deal with Professor Lupin after class.”

Starting in on his assignment, Draco nodded. “I suppose you’re right.” From underneath the table,
there was a soft whine. It was a good sound.

::

Draco sighed as he leaned back in their chair. “Must we go to practice? It feels as if that’s all we do
anymore.”

“I think I’m starting to agree with you,” Harry groaned, shifting so he was spread out over Draco’s
lap, legs hooked over the chair arm. He looked utterly exhausted.

“Can we skip?” It was an honest question. They’d been good, going to every practice since the
year began.

“Do you think we’d survive if Wood managed to hunt us down and find us?” Mm… That was a
good point.

“I think you'd sacrifice yourself bravely.”

“No, I’d throw Ron into his path and then have the twins pull some kind of prank on the field
while I ran in the other direction.” Draco snickered, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist.

“How utterly Slytherin. You know you don't have to go out of your way to impress me.”

“Who says I’m going out of my way?” Harry shifted to lean more against Draco, head resting on
his chest. “Maybe I’m just that amazing.”

“That would be a dream come true, and I stopped believing in dreams a long time ago.”

“Oi, there’s no need to be rude,” Harry frowned, yawning as he grumbled under his breath, “I think
I’m actually considering skipping out.”

“Where would we go, then?”

“Mm… It’s been awhile since we’ve gone and seen Hagrid. I don’t know about you, but a nice
afternoon where nothing crazy is happening sounds like it could be just what we need.”

“Harry dear, that sounds perfect. Let's go now before they suspect anything.” The younger nodded
and was quick to grab his hand, the two almost tumbling off the chair as Harry pulled him along,
looking far cheerier. Draco laughed as he followed Harry, not even enough time to grab his bag
before he had to fight to keep upright as Harry pulled him out of the Common Room.

“C’mon, c’mon, you know how Wood is, he’ll probably sense we’re skiving off and show up
within a heartbeat.” Even as Harry worried, he seemed utterly delighted.

“Harry, slow down- Okay, really. Slow down,” Draco said, pulling his hand away and stopping.
“My chest hurts.”

“We need to get you in shape more,” Harry sighed, very dramatically, as he doubled back and
leaned against Draco, almost bouncing with excess energy. It was probably due to the fact he
hadn’t used it all in some near death situation. “Aren’t you used to running around after the past
two years?”

“ No. I've told you time and again, I don't run!” And for the most part, it was true. If he was
running, most likely it meant there was something to run from.

“Might have to run in the future, you know.” Harry’s hand found his, the teen ducking in to press a
kiss to his cheek before tugging him along much more slowly. “At least we’re far enough away
that Wood probably won’t find us.”

“There is that. Hagrid’s?”

“Hagrid’s. Think you’ll survive Fang?”

Draco shuddered. “Any chance he won't be around?”

“Don’t worry,” Harry laughed, pressing more against Draco and giving him a brief, quick kiss. “I’ll
protect you.” Beaming, he wrapped his arms around Harry.

“Well, I certainly feel safe now.”

“Oh, that actually reminds me,” Harry paused, as if the thought had forced him to stop in his steps.
“You remember after the Quidditch match where my nimbus broke? The Dementor one?”

Draco nodded. “How can I forget?”

“Your dad said you wanted a dog when you were younger, but you’re afraid of dogs now… What
happened?”

“What has that got to do with the Quidditch match?”

“Nothing, but it was after the match that I heard you dad say that, when we were in the hospital
wing with Hyperion.”

“Oh.” He hardly remembered that in the chaos of everything. “Fenrir Greyback. He worked with
him. ”

“Fenrir Greyback?” Harry frowned, looking to be thinking for a moment. “I don’t recognize the
name - or at least, I’ve forgotten if you ever mentioned it.”

“A werewolf. The worst of them.”

“A werewolf… Did he ever…?”

“Not me, a least.”

“Jeez,” Harry finally said, shaking his head. “I think I’d be afraid of dogs after that, too.”

He gave a shake of his own head. “It’s- Small dogs, or distinctive ones, those are fine.”

“But dogs like Hyperion and Fang…” Harry gave Draco’s hand a tight squeeze. “At least not all
werewolves are terrifying. We have Professor Lupin, after all.”

“Well, sure. He’s human, for the most part. Greyback never looked all the way human not once.
He always looked mid-shift.”

“That doesn’t sound like it should be right. Werewolves are only supposed to change on the full
moon, aren’t they?”

“He’s… He’s almost like the original werewolf. He might even be such, I don’t know entirely.”

“That sounds pretty bad,” Harry finally said, the two almost to Hagrid’s cabin. “C’mon, Hagrid’s
gonna notice our moods and immediately make us tea and force feed us rock cakes.”

“Oh please let him learn to bake at some point.”

“Did he ever learn to properly bake in your time?”

“I've no clue.”

“Maybe we can have someone teach him or something. Just enough to not poison us,” Harry
laughed, letting go of Draco’s hand to bounce up the steps before knocking on the door. ‘Hagrid!
It’s your favorite Gryffindors!”

“Well, I didn't know Hermione was coming for a visit- Oh, it's you two.” Oh, honestly, Gryffindors
all had the same sense of humor - as proven when Harry tried to stifle his giggles as the door
opened."

“Nice to see you too,” Harry laughed, perking up at the loud barking. He shot Draco a glance
before slipping inside under Hagrid’s arm. “Alright, Fang, c’mon, you get one hug from me.”
Draco nodded to Hagrid as they moved inside.

“You two know it’s not safe to be coming down here like this,” Hagrid scolded, looking outside
warily as he closed and locked the door. It took a moment to remember that everyone still assumed
Sirius Black was out to kill Harry.

“Why not?” Ah, it was a bit amusing to watch Hagrid struggle to find something to say, finally just
flapping his hand about.

“Never you mind. That’s adult business, that is.”

Draco rose an eyebrow. “Is it?” So not all of the staff had been made aware. He would have
thought every teacher on the staff would know he was, technically, an adult.

“Oh, go on with you,” Hagrid grumbled, gently nudging Draco towards a chair. “I just made a fresh
pot of tea, so you two have good timing, if nothing else.”

Harry snickered. “Yeah, we're pretty good with time.” Hagrid gave him a very odd look, as if
realizing Harry was making a joke, but not sure what it connected to.

“Uh huh.”

“I expect you would have a unique perspective on all this mess,” Draco said coolly.

“Oh, do you, now?” Hagrid shook his head, hair going everywhere as he gathered up three mugs.
“You lot are always too curious for your own good, you know.”

“That's not a no.”

“And what kind of a unique perspective do you think I’d have?” Hagrid passed him a mug of tea
before doing the same to Harry. “Do you two want something to eat? I just made some fresh rock
cakes.”
“I’m full. And my thoughts are just that you’ve been at Hogwarts a while. Surely you knew Sirius
Black when he was a student.”

“In passing,” Hagrid said, a bit grudgingly. “Didn’t know ‘im as well as I thought, though.”

Draco hummed. “Perhaps. You still knew something. Mother wasn’t able to tell us much of his
school years.”

“She would’ve been a few years above him,” Hagrid nodded. “I don’t know overly much, just that
he was always up to some sort of mischief or trouble with his friends.”

“Well, yes, Mother was able to tell us just as much.” Draco watched him. “What was he like in his
first year?” A student from a prominent, pureblooded Slytherin family sorting into Gryffindor…

“Well, he made sure everyone knew who he was,” Hagrid finally said, sitting down with what
could have been a smile. “He was a Black and he went to Gryffindor . Whatever kid didn’t know
what that meant soon learned when his mum kept sending him Howlers.”

Draco nodded. “Great-Aunt Walburga. Mother’s told me stories.”

“I’d be willing to bet they were all true, too,” Hagrid said grimly. “That woman was… Well. Sirius
and his parents never got along, but him being a Gryffindor just made everything worse.”

“And the other Marauders?”

“She told you that name too, huh?” Hagrid gave him a long look before nodding. “They were close
as brothers by the end of their first year.”

“That soon?”

“Far as I recall, you lot were pretty close by the end of your first year,” Hagrid’s beard twitched as
if he was hiding a smile.

Draco frowned. “That was different,” he argued.

“Oh? How was it different?” Hagrid was definitely amused. “Your sorting was certainly similar.”

“Trust me, there’s been no Sorting like mine before.”

“So they were close? Professor Lupin, Sirius, and my dad?” Harry asked, Draco noticing that he
left out any mention of Peter.

Hagrid gave Harry a glance from the side. “Aye, they were. Close as you and your own friends, I’d
say. Maybe closer.”

“Professor Lupin has told me a bit about them,” Harry said, settling down in the armchair with
Fang half crawling on top of him. “It’s nice to hear stories about my parents from people who
knew them.”

“He is my cousin,” Draco said, looking down at his lap. “Mother says we're alike, but won't
elaborate.”

“Ah, well… I suppose I can tell you a bit about him.” Gryffindors, even former Gryffindors, were
far too easy.

“Would you?” The heavy sigh was answer enough, Hagrid leaning back in his seat with a nod.
Behind him, Harry stifled a laugh. At least now they might learn a bit more about Peter from an
outsider’s perspective.
 Valentine's Confessions
Chapter Notes

Happy Valentine's Day! To celebrate, have a new chapter! Also to note: I know there
have been readers concerned about the age gap between Harry and Draco. I don't
blame you. I'll explain more in the notes at the bottom so those that don't mind can
keep on scrolling. ~Kas

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“This year is going by too quickly,” Harry complained, sitting on the arm of their armchair and
nudging at Draco. “It’s already February. It’s been February for days - wasn’t it just Christmas?”

“That’s what it feels like,” Draco sighed, leaning back in the chair. Time really had been going so
quickly, this year, especially with the Sirius Black mess they were dealing with.

“We need a break,” Harry decided, falling back to sit in Draco’s lap, dragging a grunt of pain from
both of them. “Okay, that was a bad idea.”

“Why would you do that, then?”

“It lets me be closer to you,” Harry said, quite seriously, before grinning. “That and sitting on that
part of the chair isn’t that comfortable. As I was saying, though, we need a break.”

Wrapping an arm around Harry’s waist, Draco smirked. “What do you suggest?”

“Well… We still haven’t discovered all the places on the map, yet, so maybe we could just wander
around the castle? Find somewhere quiet to just… relax?”

“‘Relax.’”

“I mean, it’d technically be relaxing,” Harry shrugged, leaning against Draco’s chest and hiding his
face as his words turned into a mumble. “‘S the 14th, anyways.”

Draco nudged Harry. “What are we waiting for? Hurry, before the twins get some bright idea.”

“I’ll go grab my bag,” Harry beamed, jumping up at once and running upstairs. When Draco stood
up himself, he noticed Hermione was giving him an amused look.

Draco frowned and turned his head from her. “May I help you?” He heard a burst of her laughter
and could easily picture the smile on her face.

“I just wanted to say that I hope you two have fun on your Valentine’s date.”

“It is not- Whatever you’re thinking- Stop that!”

“Well, it’s better than seeing you two fight,” Hermione huffed. “That week or so you were
avoiding each other Harry was a wreck- Did you see his hair? It looked just how it did during first
year!”
“What has his hair got to do with anything?”

“He only takes care of it and brushes it because of you,” Hermione said, as if this was obvious
information. “Seeing you both look so lost was… bad. I’m glad everything has worked itself out.”

“I don’t know what you mean ‘both.’ I was fine.”

“Fine, maybe, but not happy.” Before he could give a response to that, Harry was running back
down the stairs and grabbing his hand, slowing his pace as he pulled Draco along. Draco smiled at
him as Harry pulled him out of the room, and he couldn’t help it. He reached over and ran a hand
through his hair. He supposed she may have had a point… He did seem to have his hair in proper
curls more often than not.

“If you mess my hair up you get to brush it out,” Harry complained, leaning into the touch
anyways. “It tangles too easily.”

“I'd love to brush your hair out,” he hummed, gently tugging on a few locks.

“You can do it later, then,” Harry laughed. “For now, we have the whole day to ourselves, all our
homework is caught up on, and there’s at least a dozen places on this map that we haven’t had a
chance to look at, yet.”

“Then where do you want to go first?” Draco’s question had Harry pulling out the Marauder’s Map
at once, opening it up while mumbling the spell before he was looking it over.

“There was this one part of the library I was looking at that looked like it was some kind of closed
up study room. There was also a weird room on the fifth floor, I think.”

“Which room? I might already know it,” Draco hummed, looking over his shoulder.

“It’s right by the stairs to the Astronomy tower, I think,” Harry said, holding the map towards him
more.

“...Oh.”

“Oh?” Harry gave him a little nudge. “What’s wrong?”

Draco shook his head before smiling at him. “The library, you said?”

“Yeah.” Harry stared at him for a long moment before he was holding Draco’s hand tightly and
pulling him along, chatting at once about every little thing he could think of as if he was trying to
fill the silence. Draco didn't say much, but he didn't have to. And he knew Harry wouldn't make
him say anything, either. Merlin, how he wished he could just forget… But that would completely
negate the reasons he came back.

Maybe one day he could forget the particulars of that life, but he knew he needed to remember as
much as he could as the years went by. Merlin, he was already in his third year, again. It felt like
just a short while ago that he had even decided to come here . But then, his last conversation with
Potter felt like a lifetime ago. He hoped his mother hadn't worried herself too much. He hoped
Pansy and Blaise were enough for each other, enough to support each other. He hoped… Merlin,
he hoped he made the right decision.

Glancing to Harry, who was still rambling and swinging their hands about as he talked, he couldn’t
help but feel that even if this was the wrong choice, it was one he couldn’t bring himself to regret.
Draco pulled on his hand. “Harry?”
Harry stopped at once, looking back at Draco with a tilt of his head, “Yeah?”

Draco smiled and leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together. “I love you.” There was a
moment where Harry blinked, looking surprised, before his entire face started to flush a dark red.

“I- Oh . I- I love you, too!” Harry’s voice warbled and almost cracked at the end, the blushing
getting even worse as he realized he had no way to hide his face. “Stop being so- So you .”

Draco laughed, brushing his lips against Harry's before pulling away. “Come on.”

“You’re so mean to me,” Harry whined, grin wide and bright as he pulled Draco along again.

“Don't you love it?”

“I tolerate it,” Harry huffed, trying to hold a serious face and seemingly finding himself unable to.
“I do love you, though.”

“Come on. This'll be much better in a nice, quiet, private room. On the way there, tell me more
about how great I am.”

“I thought that was what we had Ron for,” Harry laughed, words getting tangled together where he
had started laughing before he even finished. “Alright, do you want me to tell you how amazing
you are for everything you’ve done for me or should I just start with the basics and work my way
up?”

“I think you can work your way up, give your pretty cheeks a poor break.”

“You know, for being amazing, you can be a pretty awful person,” Harry grumbled, leaning over to
kiss Draco’s cheek. “Library, then?”

“Mais oui, bien sûr,” he told him. The flush was back on Harry’s cheeks, the teen quickly looking
away from him in a way that he remembered others doing when he had been younger - older?
Hm… He would need to test that more.

For now, though, this seemed like it was shaping up to be a rather nice Valentine’s Day.

::

“Okay, I know I said I would leave it up to the adults, but adults never do anything right, and this
seems a bit too important to mess up- And it will be! Because we should do it, right? We should,
but if we do, then that messes up the future, and then you’ll panic about that, and then we won’t
know what’s coming, but, I mean, come on .”

Draco just shook his head, deep into his own thoughts. “We've got to tell him. We can't keep him in
the dark forever, he's got a right to know, all things considered.”

“Right.” Harry paused in his pacing from where they were in the dorm room, trying to figure out
what to do about Peter Pettigrew. “Wait, are you talking about Professor Lupin or Sirius?”

“What? I was talking about Ron.”

“What? Ron? What would- Oh. Oh, yeah. Hermione knows, now, and that means Blaise probably
knows, and maybe Pansy… Yeah, jeez, we- We really need to tell Ron about it all.”

“I mean… It was his rat. He was literally in bed with the enemy. He has a right to know.”
“Hey mates, coming in.” Startling at that, Draco looked to where Ron was coming in, throwing his
bag against his bed before following it with a collapse of his own.

“Creepy,” Harry muttered, looking to Draco. “No time like the present?”

“Right. Ron,” Draco said a bit cautiously. “Seen your rat lately?”

“I think you were right about him, mate,” Ron groaned, loud and a touch dramatic. “Percy’s been
complaining ever since I told him about Scabbers and gave him back and now he seems to have
upped and vanished after that Sirius Black attack. Me and Perce can’t find him anywhere. Fred
thinks he found a corner to curl up and die in.”

“Right… You've had him how long, again?” They had to tell him, but they could break it to him
gently, couldn't they?

“Twelve years, I think? Something like that.” Ron sat up, looking between the two before sighing.
“Alright, just tell me whatever you’re going to tell me if it’s this bad.”

“... It's Peter Pettigrew.”

“It- What? That’s the bloke that got blown up by Black, wasn’t it? What’s he got to do with
anything?”

“He's actually the one that made himself look blown up by cutting off a finger then disappearing
for the next twelve years…”

“Yeah, it’s… a lot,” Harry admitted, moving to sit by Ron, who was looking like he didn’t know
how to react. “We’ll explain it all, but, uh, keep an open mind here, okay?”

“Hang on, how do you even know any of that?!”

“Sirius Black told us.”

“So, uh, you probably know what an animagus is, right?” Harry asked, waiting for Ron to nod.
“Well, you know Hyperion…”

“... No,” Ron said with growing horror. “Sirius Black has been in our dorm room this whole time?!
How come he went after Percy?!”

“That's the thing, he wasn't going after Percy. He was aiming for Peter Pettigrew who's been hiding
as Scabbers this whole time.”

“Scabbers… is a man named Peter Pettigrew?”

“Yeah,” Harry nodded, giving a weak grin. “But at least that means your pet rat wasn’t dying.
That’s some good news, right?” Well, it was certainly news, but Draco didn’t think Ron would see
it as good.

“ There was some man sleeping in my bed for the past three years?! ”

“A middle-aged man, too,” Draco said dryly, noticing that this news didn’t seem to help Ron at all,
especially considering the glare Harry gave him.

“He’s not middle aged,” Harry said, rolling his eyes. “He was… around twenty, or something,
when he fake-died.”
“How- How do you two know this?” Ron finally managed to get out. “How did you find this out?
Please tell me this is some really bad joke.”

Draco glanced to Harry and sighed. “I’m a time traveller.”

“You what?” Ron stared, looking like he didn’t know how to process that. “You’re… You’re
joking, right?”

“Possibly also universe jumper, if we’re being technical.”

“You’re not joking. Bloody fuck , you’re not joking.” Ron shook his head, slowly at first, and then
more firmly. “I mean, I always knew there was something weird about you, mate, but I wouldn’t
have thought you two were time travellers .”

“Wait, hang on, two?” Harry blinked, looking startled.

“Why do they always think it’s you, too?”

“I don’t know!” Harry stood with a whine, looking to Ron seriously. “Ron, mate, I am not a time
traveller. Draco is, but I’m not- Why does everything think that?”

“That is a good question- Ron, why did you believe Harry was a time traveller?”

“I dunno, I mean- It’s you two, isn’t it? You’re always together, you’re always coming up with
these plans, and you’ve been close as possible since first year.”

Draco scoffed at that, rolling his eyes. “That was not through my choice. He somehow managed to
put it together in our first year.”

“I mean, I guessed and kept asking until you told me all the really important stuff,” Harry said,
looking back to Ron. “No time travelling on my end, though. Or universe jumping.”

“Really? You sure?” Why on Earth would he be so surprised?

“Absolutely sure. So, uh, yeah, there’s a bit more to it all, too. Sirius Black had a reason for going
after Peter Pettigrew.”

“Well, why?! You heard them all, Black betrayed your parents to Voldemort!”

“No, he didn’t. Pettigrew was the one who betrayed them, Sirius was trying to set things right
before Pettigrew faked his own death.”

“... Ohhh. ”

Draco rolled his eyes as he sat on his bed. “Finally he gets it.”

“Right, let’s catch you up to speed, Ron.”

::

“Right, so, probably time all of us talked.” As soon as Hermione was in the room, Harry was
locking the door to the boys’ dorm, moving to sit down next to Draco before continuing, “So, time
travel.”

“...What is this?” This was seeming very familiar to the last interrogation, but at least this time
Harry was holding his hand.
“I just figured we should all probably talk now that we know everything, so we don’t end up
making a stupid mistake or saying something we shouldn’t.”

Draco narrowed his eyes at them, looking between the three of them. “What about?”

“I’ll go first.” Ron sat on the bed across from them, looking remarkably serious. Draco didn’t even
have time to worry before, “Do you remember the answers to third year finals?”

“I’m saying this for the final time, no. ”

“He was obviously joking,” Hermione said, glaring at Ron who looked completely unapologetic.
“You’ve mentioned the basics, but is there anything else we need to know? Whatever happens in
the future… it sounds dangerous.”

He gave her a nod. “It is.”

“Well, it’s not like we didn’t expect dangerous after we went up against that troll in first year,”
Ron snorted.

Draco looked to them. “Voldemort’s going to come back.” Hermione looked worried, but Ron, as
someone who had grown up in this world, looked horrified. He nodded to him. “In my time, he was
killed, but not until after he’d come back and caused damage to the Wizarding World.”

“Bloody hell, mate,” Ron muttered. “I mean- We knew he was still alive and all cause of first year,
but- He’s just a ghost right now. You mean he… He comes back comes back?”

“Yes.”

“How bad does it get?” Hermione finally asked.

Taking a breath, he sighed. “That depends on who you ask.”

“How bad is it going to get for us?” Hermione’s gaze flickered around to all of them.

“We’ll get through it, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It wasn’t, but I suppose I’ll take what I can get… Are you alright? I can’t imagine this has been
easy for you.”

“I’m better than I would be if I had stayed there.”

“Better for us, too,” Ron laughed. “This explains why you always seem to know things, sometimes.
Hey, does this mean you’ll take pity and help me with my homework, more?”

“If I wanted to, I would have by now.”

“Aw, come on, show me some pity! Hermione barely even helps unless I do it all myself first-”

“Because you’re supposed to learn from your homework, Ron.”

Draco rose an eyebrow at her. “That’s why you don’t help him? That’s entirely untrue, class is
where you’re supposed to learn.”

“Well, yes, but homework gives additional knowledge and is supposed to help reinforce the lessons
we’re given!”
“Homework doesn’t give additional knowledge. At best, it helps you practice, and at worst, it
typically is just busy work. I just don’t help him because I like to watch him squirm.”

“You’re so mean to him,” Harry snorted, Ron only whining loudly and dramatically. Honestly,
these three.

Draco shrugged as a smile started to creep onto his face. “Only a small amount.”

“A small amount is too much, if you ask me,” Ron complained, Hermione hiding a laugh. It took a
moment, but Draco realized… they weren’t acting any differently. They weren’t treating him like
an adult that was far above them, or anything. He was still… Draco. “He’s smiling. He’s smiling at
me. Should I worry? Am I going to die?”

“You’re not going to die, Ron,” Harry sighed, shaking his head as he leaned against Draco, voice
whisper soft. “ Is he going to die?” Draco shook his head before brightening his smile and holding
his arms out to Ron.

“What… what is he doing?” Ron asked, scooting back further on the bed, as if attempting to get
away. “Why is he doing that?”

Harry seemed to examine Draco before nodding and using what was probably his most solemn
voice. “He wants a hug, mate.”

“Why does he want a hug?! Does that mean I die this year?!” This was hilarious.

“I just want a hug. Is that so wrong?”

“ Yes .”

“Oh, honestly, Ronald. You’re so incredibly paranoid.”

Draco turned to her, now. “You know, you are the cleverest witch I’ve ever had the pleasure of
meeting.”

“Yes, yes, enough of your fun. We’re fine. We’re perfectly fine.” Her high and wavering voice said
otherwise. “Right, Harry?” Harry gave a quiet hum, looking away from them.

“Will you give me a hug, ‘Mione?”

“No.” With that, Hermione was standing up and leaving rather quickly.

“Ron, mate?”

“Hey, ‘Mione, wait for me!”

As soon as the two were gone, Harry was giving a laugh, “You’re so mean to them, you know.”

“How can I not be? They make it so easy! ”

“They do make it pretty easy, I guess,” Harry laughed again, standing up to draw Draco into a tight
hug. “How are you doing? With them knowing?”

“Good. I’m doing good.” Draco hugged him back.

“You’re not going to wake up in the middle of the night and freak out about it?”
 Letting go of Harry, he smiled at him. “I never said anything about that.”

“Well, I’ll be here when you do start to worry,” Harry said softly, tugging Draco over into a soft
kiss.

“Thank you.”

Chapter End Notes

Alright, here we go. Chronologically, yes, Draco is roughly twenty. However... Time
travel magic is a little fucky. What happened when Draco travelled back is that his
mental age and his physical age were at war with one another. The end result, as you
may see, is there are times he acts his physical age, and other times he acts his mental
age. This averages him out to behaving more like what you may expect from a
fourteen or fifteen year old. Does it make sense? Not entirely, but that's magic. This is
the same explanation given in fic as well. And to those that haven't noticed, Harry is
the driving force behind their relationship. Harry initiates everything. That's done very
purposefully. DRACO does that on purpose, because he doesn't want to force/sway
Harry, and because we don't want to display grooming behavior. Draco follows Harry's
lead throughout the relationship for a reason. If you're still uncomfortable, by no
means feel obliged to keep reading. To those that continue, we greatly value and
appreciate you as readers. ~Kas
 Chapter 29

Cho Chang was the most vicious little child that Draco had ever had the displeasure to meet, Draco
decided. While the girl was quick in the air and quick to think of a plan, she was also utterly
ruthless and had attempted to knock Harry off his broom throughout the whole match. But she was
nothing towards Harry’s amazing speed and skill. Still, not all of the team was clever enough to
keep away from her. Spinnet had ended up crashing herself into the ground, causing Draco to have
to be substituted in.

He had quickly had his attention caught up as he ran plays with the other two girls, trying to keep
focused. While Quidditch was something he normally didn’t have to push himself too far for, this
was his first time playing Chaser in an actual match . It… was fun. It was odd, to not be looking for
the Snitch, but it was much more fun to be flying alongside everyone, and he passed the Quaffle to
Bell and Johnson more times than he could count.

Out of the corner of his eyes, though, he saw Harry and Cho fighting for the snitch. Cho was
ruthless throughout the match, but Harry had managed to outmaneuver her at every turn and it had
paid off, by the fact he ended up being the one to catch the Snitch. Draco had just been about to
toss the quaffle to Bell when the cry went up that Gryffindor had won the match. His head
swivelling towards Harry, Draco beamed at him as he landed, tossing the Quaffle over his shoulder
somewhere.

Harry was laughing even as he near fell off his broom, arms wrapping around Draco as tight as
possible as the team swarmed the field around them. “Harry, you were brilliant! ” Draco held him
close, laughter bubbling out of him as the rest of the team started to- Okay, this was close. He was
contemplating hexing some people when he heard the twins shouting and getting attention for a
party, Harry grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the crowd.

“C’mon, before the crowd realizes we’re escaping. And you keep saying the twins do nothing but
cause trouble.”

“Now they’re just causing trouble for people besides us,” Draco laughed, the two of them hurrying
to the common room. “I think I saw Wood sobbing tears of joy.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him. I think I saw the Ravenclaw captain looking like he wanted to escape
when Wood tried to shake his hand. C’mon, c’mon, before the common room goes crazy.” The two
both ended up pulling each other along, laughing and giggling and running through the halls,
having just barely shucked off most of their gear.

The common room was empty when they managed to get in, everyone else still down at the match
or on their way up themselves. “So, do you want to stick around for the party, this time?”

“It sounds like fun.”

“Really?” Harry grinned brightly. “I thought you hated the parties?”

“I think they could be fun. Shall we be going?”

“How about we actually changed into something that’s not covered in sweat and dirt, yeah?”

Draco looked down. “Oh. Right.” He was further distracted when Harry pulled him into a quick
kiss before tugging him towards the stairs, laughs bubbling out of him again. Draco pointed his
wand at Harry with a devilish grin. “You know… I could do a little something with your hair.”
“Like what?” Harry raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms with a grin. “Nothing too terrible, I’d
hope.”

“How would you like blue? ”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Harry took a step back, defensive. “We just beat Ravenclaw.”

“I would dare and you know it.”

“Draco- Draco, no-” Harry was running the second Draco moved towards him.

Draco laughed as he chased after Harry, the two of them running out of the dorm and down to the
common room. The room was filled with Gryffindors when they got down, the two earning more
than a few confused looks as Harry tried to scramble away, giggling with laughter as he dodged
Draco. “Get back here, you! We both know who the better wand wielder is! I’ll do it, I will!”

“You’ll have to catch me first, and we both know who the better runner is!” Harry was then diving
behind the couch.

“You can’t hide forever!”

“You wanna bet! I’m great at hiding!” Draco was ready to leap behind the couch before one of the
twins grabbed him around the waist, causing him to kick and flail. There was an offended screech
from Harry when another twin grabbed him as well - it was actually a very impressive screech.
“What are you doing, let go of me-!” Oh, wait, Harry was being held still for him!

The perfect chance and a moment later Harry Potter had blue hair. There was a sharp silence from
the people around them, Harry blinking slowly before looking up to the twin - Fred, he was pretty
sure - and frowning, “Look what you did. You helped him .” Draco could only laugh himself to
pieces, falling to the floor as George slowly let go of him. Oh, he looked ridiculous! It was the
funniest thing he’d seen in ages! “ Dra co! Pansy is going to kill you when she sees what you did to
my hair and Blaise will probably help!”

“You l- look ridiculous! ” Draco finally managed through gasping laughs. He managed to look up
just as Harry was pointing his wand and casting a spell with vicious amusement.

“Look, guys,” Harry smiled, crossing his arms. “Another Weasley.” Draco was back on his feet,
casting another spell at Harry.

“There! I told you you were just like him!” It took a moment for Harry to notice the black dog tail
wagging behind him, Harry’s eyes wide before they narrowed sharply.

“Oh… Now it’s on.”

It was hours later, after an entire Gryffindor war and McGonagall showing up to put an end to all
the fun and undo the spells at once, that Draco was collapsed on their usual armchair with Harry
right on top of him, the teen near asleep. “Harry. Harry, love.”

“There’s no way you can convince me to move after all that running around we just did,” Harry
complained, settling down further.

“Not even to go up to bed?” There was a long, considering silence before Harry sighed and sat up.

“Fine, but then we’re not moving until morning, at least.”

Draco started to pull Harry up to their dorms. “I do have… one idea.”

“What sort of idea?” Harry let himself be pulled along easily, hardly a step behind Draco as he
leaned against him with a soft, warm smile.

“An… indulgence.” That had Harry lagging behind for a moment, looking curious.

“What kind of indulgence?”

Draco smirked at him. “Why don’t you come find out?”

“You’ve got me curious, I guess,” Harry grinned, following after Draco into the dorm room, not
willing to let him go for very long. “A good indulgence?”

“Oh, the best kind.” He beamed as he pulled Harry to their bed. Harry raised an eyebrow, looking
curious as he was guided to sit down on the bed.

“Now you got me really curious.”

Rolling his eyes, Draco sighed. “Oh, come here. ” He pulled Harry close into a kiss. Harry startled
for only a moment before completely relaxing against him, hands fisting at the front of Draco’s
robes to pull him even closer. Alright… He’d read this in one or two of Pansy’s novels. Carefully,
he prodded his tongue forward against Harry’s lips. There was a little shiver that pressed against
him that came from Harry, the teen making a soft sound that bordered near confusion before his
lips were parting the barest amount. He continued to lick along Harry’s lips for a moment before
curiosity took over, and he pressed forward.

This time, the soft, almost ragged whine that Harry gave didn’t sound like confusion. Draco felt a
hand against the back of his neck, Harry’s fingers lightly pressing in as if asking him to not pull
back. It did make Draco jump a bit, but… This was nice. He liked it. It felt nice.

He wasn’t sure how long they were like that, fumbling here and there and figuring out how to
properly breathe before they were fully parting. Harry’s cheeks were flushed and his glasses had
been knocked askew, the teen staring up at him with eyes that looked almost dilated. “So, uh, I
wouldn’t mind indulging you again, just so you know.” Draco pushed his glasses up, staring at him
quietly.

“Are you sure? You don’t think it’s too much?” Draco watched as Harry only grinned , cheeks still
sweetly flushed.

“Definitely not too much, but everyone might start complaining we’re even worse than we already
are.”

“And… You’re sure it’s okay?”

“I mean… It’s new and kind of overwhelming, but in a good way,” Harry finally said, wrapping his
arms around Draco’s shoulders and leaning against him. “How about you? You okay?”

Draco nodded. “I think so, at least. You’ll know if I’m not.”

“Not sure if that’s reassuring or not.” Harry stared at him for a long few seconds before he started
to grin. “Can I draw you before we go to bed?”

“I'd love if you did.”

“Good.” Harry was pulling him over towards the window seat, pushing him down. “Stay right
there and get comfortable.”

Draco asked with a grin, “How comfortable?”

“Not enough to fall asleep,” Harry laughed, coming back with his sketchbook a moment later and
crawling onto the seat to sit opposite him. Another year and they probably wouldn’t be able to fit
like this. Draco threw his feet over Harry's lap with a smirk.

“Now I'm comfortable.” Harry stuck his tongue out at him, but settled down anyways, propping his
sketchbook up and leaning over to tilt Draco’s head just so.

“Do I need to tell you to not move or do you think you can remember on your own?”

“Don't worry, I won't.”

“Good.” Harry relaxed back, foot knocking against Draco for a moment. “Love you.”

Draco smiled. “I love you, too.”

::

“Mr. Malfoy, a word, if you please.” Potions had just been let out for the day and Draco knew,
with everything in him, that Severus definitely knew about his past - or, well, future, depending on
who was asking. He watched his friends give him worried glances, Ron especially. It seemed
Blaise was made privy to his situation, but Pansy looked confused… Oh, hell, no one had told her,
had they?

Harry seemed to notice the same, grumbling to himself, “I thought Blaise would’ve mentioned it…
Want me to start explaining while you deal with Sev?”

“Would you? I’m not willing to deal with the screeching when she realizes she’s the last to know.”

“I’ll handle it,” Harry laughed, kissing Draco’s cheek and grabbing his bag. “See you soon. Try not
to let yourself be killed. Hey, Pansy! Blaise! Let me walk with you guys?”

Draco turned as the classroom cleared out. “Sir.”

“How many of them are aware, then?” Ah, Severus had never been the type to go in slow, he
supposed.

“Aware of what?”

“That you’re from years in the future and have travelled back in time with untested magic in order
to change the future.” The look in Severus’ eyes could kill a lesser man, it looked like.

“And exactly who is ‘them’ referring to?”

“ Draco. ”

No, he was mentally an adult. He refused to allow that tone of voice to affect him, even if it made
him want to do nothing more than shuffle his feet and stare at his shoes. “Yes?”

There was a long silence, Severus finally sighing, “You’re no doubt of age, at least, then.
Seventeen or eighteen when you came back, seeing as not even a moron would allow a child to use
untested time magic.”
“Eighteen, with written consent from McGonagall.” There was a very complicated expression on
Severus’ face before he sighed.

“Of course she would. So, then. How many of your friends in this time know?” Harry, Ron,
Hermione…

Draco nodded. “Five.”

“I would have thought one or two, at most,” Severus hummed, looking… pleased? “I’m glad to see
you’ve realized there are some things you can’t do on your own.”

He narrowed his eyes at him. “It wasn’t by choice.”

“Not with Harry, no, but I’m willing to bet the others were told through a choice - even if you
believed there wasn’t one.”

“Well, no, though it was necessary after being spied on for the better half of a year.”

“You’re better than I am,” Severus said, quite seriously. “I would have hexed the mutt the next
time I saw him.”

“I very nearly did, after the stunt he pulled with Wormtail.”

“Ah, yes. That mess.” Severus’ lip curled, as if the very idea was disgusting. “We should have
known better. Sirius Black was many things, but he was never a traitor.” Draco gave him another
nod, watching him carefully.

“Who else.” The man seemed to think about it, finally nodding.

“Myself, Lupin, Black, Professor McGonagall, and your parents know for certain. We believe
Dumbledore might know, but we’ve yet to fill him in on everything we ourselves know.”

Draco shook his head. “What exactly do you-” He paled as he ran over the words again. “My
parents,” he asked, his voice hollow.

“Yes, and before you panic, they’ve known since before Christmas.” They what . “Narcissa
already had her suspicions, but that doesn’t surprise me. Your mother is terrifying.”

“They have known for how long, exactly?! Here I am, tearing myself into little tiny pieces trying to
keep this as secret as possible, and it appears that wasn’t bloody necessary as everyone and my
mother already knew-! ”

“Draco, I don’t speak or understand French, as I’ve told you countless times. I have no desire to
dredge up the effort required in casting a translation spell, either.”

“Then don’t! See if I care!”

“Draco, how old are you right now?”

“What do you mean how old am I?!”

“I mean how many years have you consciously lived through.” Draco’s eyes widened slightly.
How many years had it been? He was eighteen when he left, and when he came back he had just
turned eleven… “Draco?”

“ What? ” There was a long moment of silence, Severus sighing and sitting down behind his desk.
“I want to help you, but I also know that even though you don’t look it, you are an adult. I can
understand your reasons for not wanting to confide in us if what little I know is true. I do hope you
remember that you don’t have to go through this alone, however.”

Draco took a deep breath. “What do you know?”

“That there is to be a war where the Dark Lord returns and while we win it is at a great cost. I
know that you found a way to come back with what was likely untested magic. I know you’ve been
going through this almost alone for three years.”

“Harry’s known nearly since the beginning. I was one of them. He Marked me when I turned
sixteen.” A very dark look passed over Severus’ face as he looked down at his desk.

“You were so young…” In a way, Draco knew he was still young now, even with his ‘real’ age,
but… Sixteen was young.

“He had needed a student.”

“What would he need a student for?” He turned his head away to save himself from looking at him.
“I suppose that’s an answer I won’t be getting for a while, then.”

Draco turned to give a cruel smile. “I guess we’re more alike than ever before.”

“I wish we weren’t, though.” Severus’ smile was nothing except gentle. “Let me know if you need
anything - whether that be advice or just a quiet space to stay."

“Is anyone else going to attempt to interrogate me, then? That’s three, are we aiming for four?”

“I’d suggest you don’t go home for Easter.” Right. Because his parents knew. His parents… knew.
About him.

“Right. Right, of course.” Draco ran a hand through his hair. This was getting dangerous. If too
many people knew the truth, who knew what they'd do.

“Draco. Right now this is contained. I trust you to trust your friends, but trust me to at least deal
with the staff.”

“It's not you I'm concerned about.”

“Who are you concerned about, then?”

“Lupin. Black. Dumbledore. My father, who may well hand me over to the Dark Lord again.” For
a long moment, Severus looked utterly shocked .

“Draco, your father would never do that- What do you mean again ?”

“You think I volunteered?”

“Of course not, but… Lucius pushed for it?” Severus sounded as if he couldn’t even contemplate
the thought. Was… this world really that different from his own?

“Of course he did. Anything to be at his right hand.”

“I think it’s possible that you travelled through more than just time, then.”

“I knew that much, I know this is a different universe, yet I still don't follow.”
“The Lucius in this universe would sooner let himself die than ever let you get hurt like this. The
day you were born it took at least three people to get him to stop carrying you around and showing
you off.”

“...Pardon?”

“Oh, Draco…” Severus looked sad. He looked sad for him .

“What?”

“Your parents, both of them, love you. They would do anything to help you and the only reason
they haven’t talked to you about this is because they didn’t want you to feel trapped or forced to
tell us anything. They would never hurt you.” He said it like it was all so simple .

“Of course not. I know that.”

“Perhaps, but it seems like you could do with hearing it.”

“Am I free to go?”

“Yes, Draco, you’re free to go,” Severus sighed.

Draco nodded stiffly and turned, leaving the class, his skin suddenly feeling much too
uncomfortable for him to be living in it. It seemed every time things started to get better, something
happened to make them so much worse . How was he supposed to deal with all of this when so
many people started to learn his secret? Stepping out the door, Draco found himself surrounded
and barely stopped himself from reaching for his wand. It felt like his heart was beating faster,
though.

“I told them you’d talk to them later, but they never take no for an answer,” Harry grumbled,
standing as far away from Pansy as he could get, it seemed. “And you were right about her being
offended over finding out last.”

He looked around at them. “Well?”

“I can’t believe you told the Gryffindors before us,” Blaise was the first to speak, doing nothing to
hide his smile. “How are you doing?”

“I'm fine.”

Harry smiled at him, and looked at the others. “You guys go on ahead.”

“We’re not done here,” Pansy grumbled, grabbing Blaise by the front of his robes and pulling him
along. “And you ! You knew for how long ?”

“Not long, I swear! It was Hermione, she told me!”

“And yet you didn’t tell me !”

“How are you really doing?” Harry asked quietly, Hermione and Ron following after Pansy and
Blaise to try and prevent Pansy’s little tantrum.

Draco shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”

“Probably not, but I’ll listen anyways if you need me to.” Harry hesitantly tapped the back of
Draco’s hand, giving a little smile. “Wanna head to lunch, then?”
“We probably should.” Maybe that would get his mind off of this for at least a short while.

“Probably.” It was a good thing Harry seemed braced, because Draco practically fell into him,
wrapping his arms around him and letting their books hit the floor. “Whoa- Hey, are you okay?
What’s wrong?” Even as he asked, Harry’s arms returned the hold.

“ I hate this, ” Draco told him. He hated feeling like everything was closing in. He hated feeling
like he had no control over anything. He hated this feeling.

“I know.” Harry didn’t tell him that it was going to be okay or that it would get better. He just held
him tighter. “I know, Dray.”

“What can we do?”

“Just… our best, I guess.” He held Harry closer, his shoulders shaking and it was just so much. He
couldn’t take it anymore. “Hey, what do you say we head back up to the dorm and get something
to eat later at dinner?”

Draco nodded against him. He wasn’t much up for lunch. Harry kissed his cheek before tugging
him along, heading towards the dorms. Draco hardly even saw if they passed anyone, just keeping
his head down. He didn’t really look up until Harry was pushing him down on one of their beds,
following after him and closing the curtains.

“You know, I’ve found that sometimes having a breakdown helps.”

“Harry, they all know! It’s only a matter of time before Dumbledore, or Voldemort- He said my
parents already know-!”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down. Your parents know about everything?”

“That’s what Sev said. Since before Christmas.”

“Well, they didn’t treat you any differently while we were home.”

“But that means it was all for nothing! ”

“Whoa, hey, who says it was all for nothing? Dray, you’re here to change things, right? That was
the point of it all, right? Nothing’s changed about that.”

He shook his head. “No, Harry, I mean hiding it all! It was for nothing, if they already knew!”

“Hey, hey, we don’t know how long they knew.” Harry cast a Silencing charm around them,
pulling Draco over into a hug. “It could’ve been that they only just found recently.”

“He said before Christmas.”

“Semi-recently, then,” Harry brushed off. “Look, we should be looking at this like a good thing.
They know and… they still love you, right? They didn’t yell or scream or anything.”

“But they know I’m not theirs. ”

“That’s my point, Dray. They know, and they still love you.”

He stared down at his lap. “I wish I could believe you.”

“It’s okay if you can’t,” Harry said, as if this was something normal . “I still don’t believe you,
sometimes, when you say they care about me. It just takes some getting used to.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, and I promise… We’ll both be okay.”

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