Harry Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor - 6. Chapter 6

Breakfast was over far too fast, and took far too long for Harry Potter. Despite the pleasant discovery of Crabbe (and Goyle), the two women who spent the entire meal arguing with Draco made the consumption of any food impossible. No wonder Draco was skinnier. He never got to eat much when they were around.

Leaving the hall, he was able to meet up with Ron at least. Hermione actually joined Draco and a couple of Slytherins on their way to Arithmancy. Ron just stared after her with a lost look as she smiled coyly at Draco. Harry waited a moment and sure enough there was the spark of jealousy in Ron’s eyes. He couldn’t help but let out a Draco-ish chuckle. That earned him a dirty look from the Gryffindors around them. Not nearly as dirty a look as when Crab and Goyle joined the group, squaring off behind Harry like they usually did with Draco.

“’Mione not taking plant class with us?” Goyle asked in his “stupid” voice.

“Not this year, Goyle.” Harry said with a smirk. Dean was in the group as they walked down the corridor and he knew why the two Slytherins were there. Imagine that, the life of a Gryffindor saved by the presence of two Slytherins. Harry knew that Crabbe wasn’t about to let Harry outright kill the traitor.

“Don’t worry about her, Ron.” Harry said as they made their way towards the greenhouses. “Draco ain’t interested.”

“Oh, I suppose he tells you who he wants to shag, eh?” Ron spat back. “C’mon I know you’re not really shagging him.”

“Not yet, Ron, but soon.” Harry said with a smirk. He couldn’t hold it inside any longer. He just had to tell his best friend about it. Hell, Pansy would already be reporting it so it didn’t hurt that Dean would add his own report. And this way he got to see Ron’s face as he took in the concept of Harry taking a bath with Draco. Despite yesterday, Harry wished Colin was around with his camera. Sure enough, the flash went off and Harry actually smiled at the younger Gryffindor.

“2 galleons if you can blow that up to an 8 by 10.” Harry told the boy.

“How about taking off the rest of my detention?” Colin bargained.

“Nope. 2 galleons. Take it or leave it.” Harry smirked. “You need to learn who you can and can’t take pictures of.”

“Draco’s right.” Crabbe murmured behind Harry where the other Gryffindor’s couldn’t hear.

“Yep,” Goyle responded the same way. “He sure deals like one.”

“Be careful you two.” Harry murmured while Ron chased Colin around the field. “I’ll be ‘in’ a Slytherin soon enough.”

“I’m going to be sick” Crabbe gagged.

“Me too.” Goyle said.

“Why you wasting your breath on those two?” Ron demanded as they reached the Greenhouses. “It’s not like they can really understand you anyway.”

After class was over Harry wondered if Ron would ever understand why Goyle had dropped that potted mandrake on his foot. A mental note was needed to make sure and have Colin on hand with his camera when Ron found out those two weren’t quite that dumb. It was sure to be another fine moment of humor. Slinging his arm around his best friend, they made their way to Divination with Professor Trelawney. There was no way class could be as bad as yesterday.

Yep, it was worse. He had to sit there and listen to a Hufflepuff girl try to use Tarot cards to figure out who he was seeing in Hufflepuff and then whether he was cheating on her or on Draco. You know what they say about Hufflepuff loyalty? It can be misplaced sometimes…

The good news was that Harry and Draco had twenty minutes between their last morning class and lunch. The bad news was that Head Boys got a private room because they really didn’t have any privacy. Anyone who needed them knew where they were and could summon them through the portrait. The lady on the portrait outside interrupting their snogging session by showing up in the landscape portrait above the fireplace. Her polite cough took three tries before Draco heard it.

Of course Harry forgot to ask who it was.

Answering the door when your hair is all ruffled, your lips slightly swelled, and a dreamy look on your face is not always the best idea. Especially when it’s your ex-girlfriend outside and your boyfriend is sitting in front of the fireplace buttoning up his robe and fixing his tie.

“Oh, Harry.” Cho said when she stepped inside. She had fixed up her hair, was wearing a strong dose of perfume, and had moved in a way that once set Harry’s blood on warm. Of course just thinking of Draco now set it on fire. “I didn’t know you had company. I came by to discuss next week’s prefect’s schedule.”

“Why don’t we do that later tonight, Cho?” Harry asked politely. “Say around 7:00? Draco and I need to study potions and we can do that as soon as you and I finish fixing the schedules.”

“Oh, okay Harry.” Cho said, pouting her lips a bit. Didn’t work. Harry was very glad when she left. He expected Draco to be a little bit upset, but he didn’t expect to be pounced, dragged to the floor and thoroughly ravished.

“You’re mine, Potter.” Draco said in a possessive voice and a smirk on his face. “They can look, they can dream, but if any of them touches you they will live to regret it.

“Thank god.” Harry remarked to the empty room after Draco had strutted out. “A few months ago I don’t think they would have lived to regret it.”

It took him long enough to get his robes straightened out that by the time he got to the hall, Draco was already seated. To his pleasant surprise, he was sitting next to Ron with an empty seat next to him. Ginny Weasely was on the other side and waived at Harry when he entered. Hermione was sitting on the other side of Ron. Harry sat down with a sigh, and was immediately chagrined to hear a loud sound that strongly resembled someone passing gas loudly. Draco almost got a lapful of pumpkin juice for his laughing, but Harry knew who was responsible, and the glare he sent in the direction of the twins promised retribution.

Of course he strengthened the glare when he realized that they probably had bought the damn thing with money he gave them! They’d managed to get two of Bill’s friends to run the counter at their store while they finished their schooling. I think Molly’s use of the fact that with good N.E.W.T scores they’d have an even better reputation helped to convince them to finish school

Unlike breakfast, Lunch was a more raucous affair at the Gryffindor table. Everyone actually seemed to be getting along with Draco, even when he smirked at them or made his typical biting comments. Somehow just knowing he wasn’t doing them to hurt anyone seemed to make them more bearable. He stopped eating though when he noticed Dean looking at the two of them.

Oh, and the fact that Harry’s neck was turning purple in several key places was not discussed at all. Unless you count the fact that Ginny wanted to play connect the dots with them. Harry sighed. Two days into the school term and he’d gotten a boyfriend. To top it all off, the entire school knew about them before it had happened. The only thing worse would be Trelawney announcing she had predicted the whole thing.

There was still Dean to deal with though, and as lunch ended and Draco went off to class, Harry made his way to Dumbledore’s office with a heavy heart. Knowing that Death Eaters might exist in any House, and knowing that one was in your own House were two different things. He’d always liked Dean, always considered him a good friend, if not as close as Ron and ‘Mione. Still, the betrayal hurt.

The look of hurt that showed in Dumbledore’s eyes when he told him gave Harry an idea of how much the man was hurt by the news as well. He cared about all his students, and losing any of them was like losing a child. Or at least that’s how Harry imagined it would feel.

An hour later as he made his way to Transfigurations, he realized that he suddenly felt old. Then he wondered when he’d get his first grey hair. Probably not before Hermione. She worried about everything.

The rest of the day passed quickly, even Care for Magical Creatures which Draco had dropped. Hagrid seemed a bit put out by not being told about Harry’s relationship, but accepted a promise to come by and explain later. Dinner when good, even if it was at the Slytherin table. Harry noticed a pattern developing and made a mental bet that Breakfast would be at the Gryffindor table. It looked like both Houses were laying claim to both of them.

At least they were sharing, for now.

A summons to Dumbledore’s office after dinner meant Draco went back to the rooms alone. They were supposed to be studying together, and knowing Draco he’d actually make sure they did study before any snogging got done. Sometimes he could be as bad as Hermione.

Between his meeting with Dumbledore and thoughts of Draco, Harry just wasn’t paying attention. That’s probably why he froze in shock when he passed through the portrait and say Draco lying on the floor with Dean standing over him. Before he even had a chance to feel jealous, Dean’s hand moved and Harry saw the wand as it pointed at him.

“Imperio” Dean shouted and Harry began laughing even before he’d fully thrown off effects of the mind-control curse. His own wand came out and he stopped laughing as he pointed his wand at Dean.

“Cru…” Harry began but changed his mind at the last second. “Expelliarmus!”

Dean’s wand flew from his hands and the boy himself flew against the far wall with the force that Harry had sent towards him. The distance between him and Draco was crossed with a few quick strides while Harry cast a full-body binding on Dean. Draco by this time had gotten to his knees but was still groaning.

“He can do a mean Cruciatus.” Draco moaned as Harry knelt next to him. “I heard you, Harry. You almost…”

“But I didn’t.” Harry said, and there was a touch of regret in his voice. “He’s been feeding information to Voldemort since last year. Crabbe told me at breakfast.”

“Oh Harry.” Draco said softly lifting a hand to rub it against Harry’s jaw. That was when Harry noticed he was grinding his teeth. “He’s not worth going to Azkaban for. No one is.”

“Not even you?” Harry asked softly.

“Not even me.” Draco said, then chuckled followed immediately by a groan. “Never thought I’d say that either.”

“Let’s get you to the infirmary.” Harry said, helping Draco to his feet. A quick Accio brought Dean’s wand to his hand and another spell lifted the bound Dean off the ground as Harry moved towards the door. Of course that’s when Snape showed up with Dumbledore not far behind. Both had their wands drawn and had worried looks. Snape practically tore Draco from Harry’s grasp and dragged him down to the infirmary. Meanwhile Dumbledore got that sad look in his eyes, took charge of Dean, who was now awake and shouting that Dumbledore was a fool.

That left Harry to shoo away all the students who had heard and seen the ruckus as Dean was taken away. Cho showed up at seven, but quickly was forgotten when Draco returned from the infirmary. She left on her own when she realized Harry was going to be paying no attention to her for a long time.

Breakfast that next day began as a somber affair, until Harry and Draco showed up. They both made it a point to go and sit at the Gryffindor table, and a sigh of relief was heard from every Gryffindor at the table. Of course Ron and Hermione had to hear everything that had happened three or four times, but everyone went quiet as Dumbledore stood.

“Last night,” he began in a somber tone, “Hogwarts suffered another casualty in the war that Voldemort has brought upon us. One of our students attacked another at the orders of the enemy. Fortunately another student happened upon the scene and prevented any permanent harm from occurring. However, because the attacker used one of the Unforgivables, he will be sent to Azkaban when convicted. The Dark Arts are alluring, their power is strong, but there is a reason why we do not teach them hear and call them the Unforgivable curses. The power they use is addictive. The more you use them, the more you want to use them again and again.

“That is part of why our enemy uses these curses on his own people. The power has addicted him so much that he must use it or suffer. That is the price all who use the Dark Arts must pay, and why they are called Dark. Remember, if any student wishes to speak to me, my office is always open. Snickers bar, anyone?”

Harry tried to stay out of the buzz of conversation as much as possible, letting Draco do all the talking. Of course when he started embellishing the story so that dozens of spells had been cast he had to clamp down on him. Damn Draco could spin a story. The rest of breakfast was trouble free until Pansy Parkinson crossed their path.

“So, Draco, how does it feel to have Potter save your life again?” She sneered towards them. Harry felt his anger build and started to strike out when he felt Draco’s arm on his sleeve.

“Detention with Filch tonight, Pansy.” Draco drawled out slowly, a smirk on his face. “Now get to class.”

As they passed near his room, Draco hauled him inside for a moment, and the fierceness of his gaze matched Harry’s own anger. They stared at each other like that for a few moments until Harry began to calm down. As Harry calmed, the fierceness of Draco’s gaze also softened.

“That’s better, Potter.” Draco drawled softly, and somehow Harry realized he was talking to Harry’s hero side, his ‘Gryffindor’ nature. “I’m not one of you bloody do-gooders. I don’t have to be brave and jump into harms way. That’s your job. It’s my job to plan, to spy, and teach you how to act civilized when in public. You got that?”

Harry could only nod at the words, and what he saw in those grey eyes.

“That’s right, Potter.” Draco drawled softly. “You’re the bloody hero. You feel free to rescue me like that anytime. Everything else is my job. Think you can handle it?”

“You don’t care what they…” Harry asked softly.

“You don’t get it do you?” Draco asked with a smirk. “How did I ever hook up with…oh yeah, you saved me. Listen, the more weak they think I am, the more they will underestimate me. They’ll wave a wand at me, see me fall down and then concentrate on you. What they won’t realize is they will have a snake behind them with a very poisonous bite.”

“I like those snake bites.” Harry said, understanding more now. He could never imagine being viewed as weak like that. It would grate on his nerves, but Draco wasn’t him.

“What, like these?” Draco asked playfully as he nipped on Harry’s chin. They only made it to class ten minutes late. What really set Harry to laughing was when Snape took ten points from Gryffindor for Malfoy being late.

The fifteen points for his laughing didn’t go over to well with everyone though. Hermione lectured him all the way to his next class before she remembered she had a different class on the other side of the castle. Of course Harry had to laugh about that too, which caused Trelawney to go into a fit about star-crossed lovers who never seem to quite stay together. Not to mention that Ravenclaw chit who kept on staring daggers at him. He had no idea what that was about.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The weeks after Dean's attack blended into a pattern that saw both Harry and Draco extremely busy. Harry would get up early and finish homework from the night before, often with Draco joining him on his own homework or tutoring Harry on Potions. After the first week, they no longer sat together at meals. Too much was going on and they both found that meal times were their best opportunity to reconnect with their friends in their own Houses.

Potions actually became more and more fun for Harry. With Draco's help, he was becoming quite proficient. They figured out after a week that Harry's problem wasn't that he couldn't understand potions; it was that he lacked concentration and he let Snape fluster him. Draco was able to help with both and now it was Snape who was getting frustrated when he couldn't stump Harry.

Snape even partnered him with Crabbe, who quickly taught Harry the trick of receiving hints from Crabbe while looking like it was Harry keeping Crabbe from making mistakes. Apparently Snape didn't even know how good Crabbe was at potions. For some reason that just made Harry even happier. Happy enough that he agreed to intentionally blowing up a potion when Snape started getting suspicious about them. The cloud of smoke and the cracked cauldron, along with a Snape covered from head to toe with pink goo was well worth the 50 points he took from Gryffindor.

Harry's other classes were going well, especially when Trelawney got off of her love kick and went back to predicting Harry's imminent death. Somehow that just seemed more comfortable. Lunch with Hagrid went well the first weekend when he brought Draco with him. Draco finally admitted he'd always been terrified that Hagrid would break him in half, so when Hagrid hugged Draco as they were leaving, the look on the blond boy's face was priceless.

Why is it that Colin's never around when Harry wanted him to be?

No, the actual school portion of Harry's life at Hogwarts was going quite well. The problem was all the other stuff. The DA meetings were going on five nights a week. Although Harry only led one or two per week, he tried to show up and at least say hello at each one. That way he had an idea of who was participating and who wasn't. While the leadership that Ron and Hermione were providing was expected, it was Neville's leadership that surprised him even more. Something had changed over the summer and the un-confident Gryffindor had returned with an amazing confidence in himself. After a particular DA meeting where Neville had been leading thirty students in practicing the Petrificus Totalis charm, Harry had a long conversation with him. What Harry learned in that hour made him believe absolutely that Neville would one day become a very powerful Auror, maybe even better than his own parents had been.

Still, if it had just been DA meetings, Harry wouldn't have been as tired as he was. Quidditch practices took a great deal of time, even though he missed about half of them. Then there were his private lessons with Snape.

Snape had been none too pleased with Harry's skills at occumilensy. In fact, he started pushing Harry even harder at their twice weekly sessions. He seemed to take great pleasure in pulling up images of Harry snogging Draco and then sarcastically reminding him of the school's rules. The only thing that Harry was glad for is that Snape didn't try to prevent Draco from sleeping in his room. Of course so long as he had these lessons with Snape, Harry wouldn't let the physical part of their relationship go beyond snogging.

Although he was tempted to do it just to see Snape's face.

Then there were the meetings with Cho about Head Boy/Girl stuff and Prefect crap. Harry hadn't wanted this position, but as Draco pointed out, now that he was in it he had an image to uphold. Failing to perform his duties wouldn't look too good when it was printed in the Prophet or the Quibbler.

Merlin, how Harry had come to hate the press!

Their schedules were so tight that it wasn't until after midnight that both boys were done with a day’s work. Usually they spent the last two hours of the night frantically doing homework. Draco's Prefect's duties were keeping him just as busy as Harry so that it often seemed like the best time to get that done.

Of course half the time they just spent those few hours exploring each other's mouths and necks and shoulders, but they did try to control themselves. Still, by the time they were a month into school, both boys had bags under their eyes. Instead of going to Hogsmeade that weekend, they'd chosen to stay and rest as much as they could. Neither of them woke before it was time to eat lunch. Four hours of homework, most of it Potions, and then Harry had to meet with Cho about the plans for the Halloween party. They met in the common room (as usual) while Draco pretended to work on homework, but was really spending his time making sure she kept her hands to herself.

Harry didn't believe Draco that she was still trying to seduce him back to her, but he still made sure his contacts with her were always public or that Draco was there. The Slytherin had a very strong jealousy streak and he knew better than to get it riled up. By the time the two were done, it was dinner time.

After dinner, it was time for private Defense Against Dark Arts with Crabbe and Goyle. They couldn't really join the DA meetings without revealing they weren't quite as stupid as most of the school thought. In fact, most Slytherins, while knowing they were somewhat intelligent still had no idea exactly how intelligent they were. It really was scary, especially when Harry remembered impersonating them. He even broke down and told the pair and Draco of the whole story. Apparently Draco had really suspected something but thought it was just because they were still in the common room.

That could have been really disastrous.

Sunday use to be a day of rest for Harry. Now as Head Boy he had meetings with Prefects from all the Houses. Sunday was nothing more than planning of events for the big Halloween party. By the time it was over, and lunch was served, Harry was ready to crawl back in bed. Unfortunately for him, he the first meeting of the Order of Hogwarts as it was now being called.

In a little known room below the Astronomy Tower, Harry stood with Ron and Hermione watching as students showed up by ones and twos. As the time for the meeting to start arrived, they were still short three people. Harry cleared his throat and stood a little bit straighter. Like most of the students, he was dressed casually in an emerald green coat that hugged his body to his knees. Gold Gryffindor lions adorned his sleeves with slivers of rubies in the eyes.

Draco had picked it out.

“Welcome to the first meeting of the Order of Hogwarts.” Harry said, surprised at how much difference a year made. When he’d started the DA meetings with his two best friends, he’d been so nervous that he had a hard time speaking. Now he was confident.

“Headmaster Dumbledore has authorized the forming of this group, but we are not an official part of the school.” Harry continued. “What we are, is the eyes and ears of the Order of Phoenix in this school. You’ve all heard me at the DA meetings, you’ve heard what Dumbledore has to say about our enemy, Voldemort. For the last four years, Hogwarts has proven to play an important part of the effort to defeat him, and I believe the next few years will only see the importance of the school grow.”

Harry’s speech was interrupted by the door opening. The Bloody Baron was watching outside, and the only people with the password were those were invited. Everyone except Harry jumped when the door opened and three figures walked in. Hermione hissed when she recognized the two figures towering over Draco, and Ron went so far as to draw his wand, which Harry quickly grabbed.

“You can’t be serious!” Ron exclaimed loudly as Crabbe closed the door behind the three Slytherins. “I can maybe see that git Draco, but those two! They are as good as Marked already!”

“Crabbe, Goyle, why don’t you come up front here?” Harry said in a calm voice. A glare got Ron to put his wand away, and low murmurs filled the room. Many of the people here had suffered at the hands of the three Slytherins. Draco they had given some forgiveness based on his association with Harry. Apparently that did not extend to other Slytherins.

“Harry.” Goyle said as they crossed the room to stand in front of them.

“Why are you here?” Harry asked them in a cool voice.

“We’re here to help stop Voldemort.” Crabbe said, his voice holding no trace of the usual slurs or “dumbness”.

“We know our parents are Death Eaters.” Goyle said, his voice sounding different as well. “We’ve seen what they do, and we don’t like it. We don’t want that future for ourselves, so we’re here.”

The look on Hermione’s face was priceless. She was staring at them, then switching to Harry’s face. He knew the smirk on his face was all she needed to confirm that he already knew the two were more articulate than most people had suspected. Ron just stared at the two, his eyes squinting a little as Crabbe spoke up.

“Don’t get us wrong. We aren’t as touchy-feely as Dumbledore.” Crabbe said, and actually got a chuckle from a couple of the students. “We don’t necessarily like muggles, and we like them interfering with the Wizard world even less, but Voldemort is a madman. We’ve played a lot of pranks here at school, and we’ve been bullies. That doesn’t mean we want to murder people. They may be different than us, but muggles are people and don’t deserve to be murdered and tortured. Neither do those who are…um, who aren’t purebloods.”

“But you still think that people with muggle blood shouldn’t be here at Hogwart’s?” One of the Ravenclaws asked.

“We didn’t say that.” Goyle replied. “Granger here has proven that she can be a valuable addition to the Wizarding community. Doesn’t mean I’d be willing to marry her. I’m Pureblood. Nor does it mean that if Crabbe wants to marry her that she, or he, deserves to die.”

“That’s still prejudiced!” Hermione said, and Crabbe grinned at her.

“Of course it is, Granger.” He replied with a smirk of his own. “Nothing wrong with me holding my opinions and living by them, is there? Unless I force you to live by them as well I’m not hurting you am I?”

“Good point.” Hermione agreed after a few moments of thought. Then her eyes widened when she realized that she had just complimented Crabbe on a philosophical argument. Finally she nodded at the two Slytherins, signaling her acceptance of them.

“What, are we just going to take anyone now?” Ron demanded angrily. “You heard them from the their own mouths! They’re no better than…”

”Ron,” Hermione said, reaching across Harry to put her hand on the fiery red-head’s arm. He stopped to look at her. “There is a difference. They don’t support the murder of people, or the torture of people. That’s enough.”

“Correct.” Harry said firmly. “The Order doesn’t exist to further the arguments about the purity of the blood running in the veins of wizards and witches. We exist for the sole purpose of opposing Voldemort. When he’s defeated, the Order will disband as the Order of the Phoenix disbanded the first time. Let the Ministry and the community itself hash out the political issues. That’s not our job.”

“What is our job?” One of the Hufflepuffs asked. The question seemed to signal an acceptance of all three Slytherins and the pair moved to the back of the room and stood with Draco. Ron still fumed, but kept his mouth shut.

“Our job is to watch, first and foremost.” Harry said, smiling softly. It was his Potter smile, and most of the students relaxed a little. Draco just smirked. Harry let a corner of his mouth move into a smirk back at the blond git.

“We watch our fellow students, and yes, the faculty, for signs that they may be supporting our enemy. Secondly, we reach out to our fellow Housemates. We sound out their feelings on Voldemort, we strengthen the resolve to oppose him, and we show that he can be opposed.”

“How do we do that?” Cho Chang asked. Harry had not planned to invite her, but both Ron and Hermione had insisted.

“You understand that I will be the contact between us and the Order of the Phoenix?” Harry reminded them, and waited for most of them to nod. “Well, information will be flowing both ways. The Prophet seems to emphasize the damage done by Death Eater attacks. The Quibbler has been better but doesn’t have the same impact. I’ll be sharing information of some successes with you, and you in turn will be sharing them with your fellow students.”

“What if we find…others like Dean?” Luna asked.

“You report them to me, Ron, or Hermione. No one else unless you can’t find us, then get Dumbledore.” Harry answered.

“What if…what if we get attacked?” Neville asked.

“Fight back enough to get away and get a Professor.” Harry said quietly, but firmly. “No more raids on the Ministry. That was a mistake that I don’t care to repeat.”

“Do we know who the Death Eaters are in Slytherin yet?” Cho asked, giving a quick glance back at Draco.

“Yeah!” Ron exclaimed, shooting daggers at Harry with his eyes.

“I have already received information from Draco, Greg, and Vince about who they suspect. I was even warned about Dean before the attack.” Harry said firmly. That raised a few eyebrows, and Ron stared at the trio with a slightly less antagonistic look. “I had just finished telling Dumbledore about him when I returned to my rooms to find him attacking Draco.”

That calmed people down, and generated some looks at the three Slytherins that bordered on respect. For the next hour Harry shared information about several raids by the Order. Each had resulted in captured Death Eaters or plots uncovered. Any information that could compromise how the Order worked wasn’t included, but it was more than could be read in either of the more prominent wizard publications. By the time he was done, he saw more confidence in the room than had been there when they started.

As people filed out, a few made a few friendly parting comments to the three Slytherins. Most just stared at the two ‘idiots’ that had surprised them earlier that night. Finally, Draco and his two friends approached Harry and his two friends and they were the only ones left in the room. The Bloody Baron poked his head, waved at Draco and then took off, probably to find out what trouble Peeves had started lately.

“By Merlin I didn’t know you could actually be so eloquent, Potter.” Draco said, a smirk in his face and a sneer in his voice reminiscent of past quarrels.

“We smash?” Crabbe grunted the voice Harry and his friends were more use to.

“Not now. Me hungry.” Goyle said, his grin belying his voice.

“I’m scared.” Ron said in a small voice. “I feel so…”

“Disjointed?” Hermione said in a small voice.

“We can arrange that if you really want.” Draco smirked at them, earning a glare from Harry.

“Ron, Hermione, meet the real Crabbe and Goyle.” Harry said with a smirk of his own.

“Oh Merlin!” Ron exclaimed loudly with a look of horror on his face. “All those times in classes that I…”

“Yep, we really did understand you, Weasely.” Crabbe said with a smile of his own.

“Um, how about we…uh…” Ron stammered while Harry wished Colin was around. This look was priceless.

“Forgive and forget?” Goyle offered with a smile. “We were all rather…mean to each other.”

“Uh, okay.” Ron said after a minute, then he let out a wail. “It’s not FAIR! They’re BIG and they have BRAINS. It’s just not FAIR!”

“Look, we do have a problem though, Harry.” Vince said and he had Harry’s attention.

“Pansy and a few of the others are suspicious of us because we still hang around Draco so much.” Goyle explained. “We’re not getting as much information as we use to from them.”

“So what can be done?” Harry asked quietly.

“Well,” Crabbe said slowly. “Last night we both received letters from our families. We got instructions. Pretty damn clear instructions too.”

“Apparently Dean wasn’t supposed to get caught or actually harm Draco.” Goyle supplied. “He was supposed to make sure no one was around and then put Draco under Cruciatis for a few minutes. Then give him that potion Crabbe’s dad created. It fuzzes the memory of who the attacker was but leaves the memory of the punishment clear.”

“Dumbledore found a potion on him.” Harry supplied for his two friends. “Snape recognized it but neither would tell me what it was.”

“Not surprising.” Draco said. “Possession of that potion can land a guy in Azkaban. Hell, just knowing how to brew it is illegal!”

“Dear Voldemort was apparently upset about losing his ‘best placed servant’ in Gryffindor.” Crabbe said.

“That means there’s more.” Hermione said with a sharp look. Ron just look disgusted.

“I would be surprised if he doesn’t have two or three in each House.” Harry said sadly.

“You’re right there.” Goyle said with a nod. “Look, back to our instructions. Voldemort wants Draco to be isolated from Slytherins. He wants him punished as well. We’re supposed to beat him up and make it look like we’re upset because he’s dating Potter. At first Pansy thought it was a masterful plan of Draco’s to seduce you to the dark side, but she’s decided Draco really does love you. Our fathers have told us to beat Draco up pretty fiercely and make it look like simple inter-House rivalry.”

“He’s your friend!” Ron shouted with a horrified look on his face.

“And they’ll still be my friends after they do it, Ron.” Draco said firmly. “They have to do it or we lose the information they can provide over the next year. They’re not going to be expected to get the Mark until they turn 18. The longer they stay in the confidences of their families, the more Death Eaters we can uncover here.”

“So they’re going to be spies,” Ron spat the words out fiercely. “and you are going to let them beat you up? Why not just fake it? I mean Madam Pomfrey can cover it up!”

“Not when he’s brought in.” Crabbe said. “We’re supposed to tell Pansy before we do it and we know what that means. She’ll have someone, probably one of the people in the other Houses in the infirmary ready to observe when they bring Draco in. If the injuries aren’t real, they’ll be able to realize that and then the whole thing is blown.”

“He’s supposed to be really hurt.” Goyle added. “Broken bones at least. But not dead. They were quite clear on that. They have more plans for him.”

“Carrot and stick?” Hermione said softly. The blank looks on the faces of Crabbe, Goyle, Draco, and Ron announced they didn’t understand the muggle term. She explained it in a few sentences and they all nodded.

“Probably.” Draco said softly. “We just don’t know what the carrot is going to be.”

“We’ll probably find out later.” Crabbe said. “Right now we’re not fully trusted. We’ve been friends with Draco since we were all little. Merlin, I can’t even remember ever NOT being friends with him. That means it has to be really convincing even though we don’t want to do this.”

“We will though, unless you tell us not to, Harry.” Goyle said. This was it, Harry realized. This was the kind of decision that Dumbledore had to make every year with Snape and his spying on the Death Eaters. For a moment he wanted to scream out that he was just a kid himself! He was only sixteen and WAY to young to make decisions like this. Then he looked in Draco’s eyes and saw his confidence.

“When?” Harry asked, his voice weak.

“Tonight.” Crabbe answered. “About an hour from now. Pansy suggested that we do it near the Gryffindor towers and leave him near the entrance. She somehow knows that Ron is supposed to be meeting Harry tonight and talking about the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. She wanted us to time it late so that Ron would be the one to find him. I think she’s making bets he won’t even tell people.”

Ron snorted at that, and Harry just shook his head. He thought things through and realized that this would also provide an even better opportunity than just getting Crab and Goyle into a position as spies. They could uncover whoever it was that would be watching for Draco’s arrival in the infirmary.

“Hermione,” Harry said firmly, looking at her with his eyes pleading for her to agree. “When we leave here, Ron and I will go to my rooms and have a conversation about Quidditch. We talked about doing that after lunch today just outside the great hall. There were too many people around to figure out who might have overheard us. However, I want to know everyone who is in the infirmary when Draco gets brought down. Why don’t you head back to the Common Room? About twenty minutes later trip in front of the fireplace and make sure you burn your arm. Make sure it’s enough that you have to go to the infirmary. Then you can report tomorrow who was there without raising any suspicion.”

“HARRY!” Ron shouted, surprise filling his face. “You can’t possibly expect her to…”

“Ron, he’s right.” Hermione broke in firmly. “A burn like that will just take a potion to fix and not cause any lasting harm. We might be able to figure out who else is working for Voldemort. It’s worth the pain, especially if you think about what that person might do in the future if they become a Death Eater. It could save lives.”

“That’s why you’re a Gryffindor and not a Ravenclaw.” Crabbe said with a polite nod towards her. “Not only do you have brains but you have that damn Gryffindor bravery.”

“Thanks, Vince.” Hermione said with a smile and slight flush. Crabbe just frowned.

“Granger, don’t mistake me.” Crabbe said slowly and Harry’s heart sank a little at his harsh tone. “You’re smart, you’re brave, and you’ve long since earned my respect even when I was pushing you around. I’ll probably still have to push you around even though I don’t want to just to keep up pretenses. That doesn’t mean we’ll ever be friends. You’re a mudblood and we’ll never really be friends. That doesn’t mean I don’t respect you, nor does it mean that I’ll hesitate to fight at your side, but don’t take things too far.”

“I see.” Hermione said, drawing each word out. Ron looked furious again, but Harry’s hand on his arm stopped any outburst. His glare promised that Harry would be hearing his thoughts soon enough though. A silence fell in the room that lasted for an uncomfortably long time and Harry gave Draco a glance that promised they also would be having a long conversation later.

“Well, we better get moving.” Harry said to break the silence. “Ron, ‘Mione, let’s get moving.”

The three Gryffindors moved out the room, and Harry stopped to give Draco a kiss. He refused to think about what would be happening soon. Instinctively, he knew that the three Slytherins would be having their own conversation in the room after they left. They had been friends longer than Harry had known anyone but his muggle relatives and he had an idea of how important those minutes together would be. It might be years before they’d be able to openly enjoy each other’s company again. He tried to imagine how much it would hurt to be separated from Ron and Hermione that way and it made him shudder.

Their trip back to the Gryffindor common room was made in silence. Hermione even managed to give Ron a hug as they separated. The trip down to Harry’s own room was made in further silence, a silence that left no room in Harry’s mind of how upset Ron was at that moment. Sure enough, the portrait to Harry’s room had barely closed before Ron blew up.

“WHAT THE HELL HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU HARRY POTTER?” Ronald Weasly shouted at the top of his lungs. Harry drew his wand, ignoring the flinch from Ron and quickly cast a silencing charm that would prevent anyone from overhearing their argument but would not block the sound of someone knocking on his door.

“It has to be done, Ron.” Harry replied quietly as he put away his wand.

“You’ve changed.” Ron’s voice was quieter, but hard as steel. “Ever since this Malfoy business started you’ve started to become someone I barely understand.”

“It started before that, Ron” Harry pointed out.

“But it wasn’t like this, even after Cedric died!” Ron’s voice grew a little more shrill, a lot like his mother’s.

“No, it wasn’t.” Harry said calmly, sitting in one of the chairs near the fireplace. He let out a big sigh before continuing. “Ron, I realized something about this whole business after Sirius died. I fell right into the trap that Voldemort laid in front of me because we all acted like typical Gryffindors. He knows us, he knows how we just jump in to these situations. He used that and Sirius died because I wasn’t smarter.”

“Harry, it’s not your fault…” Ron began, but Harry cut him off.

“I’m not the one who cast the spell on him, Ron.” Harry said slowly. “That was Beatrix Lestrange and she’ll pay for that. But if I hadn’t fallen for the trap, Sirius wouldn’t have been there that day. That’s the past though, and dwelling on the past is only good for one thing.”

“What’s that?” Ron said as Harry remained quiet for a few moments.

“I first realized it about two weeks into summer, long before Draco showed up.” Harry explained slowly, looking into his friend’s eyes. Ron was perched on the arm of the couch and leaned forward to hear Harry’s words.

“You remember me telling you about how the Sorting Hat almost put me in Slytherin?” Harry said, remembering Ron’s shocked expression at the time. He continued as soon as Ron nodded. “Well, I really started thinking about that. I realized that the problem I was facing was that Voldemort has all that Slytherin cunning and he was using it against me. I knew that I could be that cunning if I tried, but I also realized it would help to have someone who is Slytherin to help me develop those skills. Dammit! I’ve been used from day one by both sides and I’m sick of it. From now on I’m going to play a more active role!”

“That’s why you helped Draco out at his trial.” Ron said, nodding in understanding.

“Partially.” Harry agreed. “The other part was that I understood why he was angry. I wanted to do the same thing, jump on my broom and fly to wherever Beatrix was and kill her. If I knew where she was at the time, I’d probably have done it as well.”

“There’s one thing I don’t understand.” Ron said. “I thought you were protected by the blood bond between you and your Aunt. I thought that prevented you from being attacked so long as you were there.”

“I don’t think Draco ever really meant to kill me.” Harry said softly. “From the first time we ever met, he really did want to be my friend, and I turned him down. I think most of our fights over the years stemmed from my rejection of him that day on the train.”

“That was my fault, wasn’t it?” Ron asked softly. “I started the argument. It’s just that he’s from a rich family and they’ve always looked down on my dad and my family. You saw how Lucius Malfoy treated him!”

“Don’t blame yourself, Ron and don’t bother trying to justify your actions towards him.” Harry said in a stern voice. “It wasn’t your entire fault. I actually met him before that in Diagon Alley. He insulted Hagrid then as well. What you said then just reinforced what I was always thinking.”

“Oh.” Ron said after a moment. A comfortable quiet grew then as they both thought things over. It was Ron who broke the quiet after the fire popped a bit.

“You’re changing, Harry.” Ron said quietly. “I have to say I don’t like all yer changes, but I must say that I think you’re on the right track. I’m still your best friend and I’ll stick by you no matter what.”

“Thanks, Ron.” Harry said with a genuine smile. Next thing he knew, he was on his feet and wrapped in the warm embrace with his best friend. They separated after a while and Harry stared into his friends eyes, his right hand still on Ron’s shoulder.

“I don’t regret standing by you on the train that day.” Harry said with conviction. “You’ve been a better friend than Draco was ready to be. Hell, even now he’s not my best friend and he probably never will be.

“What is he exactly, then?” Ron asked.

“My lover, a partner, the man I hope to spend the rest of my life with.” Harry said softly, tears starting to form in his eyes. Ron gave him a quizzical look.

“Harry, you’re only sixteen.” His best friend told him. “The guy tormented you for five years and now you’ve only been friends for a few months. How the hell can you be sure about something like that?”

“Ron, you’ve known Hermione for the same amount of time and been friends with her.” Harry replied. “Everyone sees the way you two look at each other. Fred and George have been running a betting pool on when you two will officially hook up for the last year. Can you honestly say that you can imagine spending the rest of your life with anyone else?”

“I’ve never thought about that.” Ron answered after a long moment of thought. “I mean, I’ve been dreaming about her for years, imagined what it would be like to have kids with her, but I’ve never wanted to risk our friendship by actually asking her…”

“Exactly.” Harry said with a soft smile. “You both are so stuck in the friendship that you’re unwilling to risk rejection, even though you know each other better than I do! Still, you’re both the same age as Draco and I but have no problem dreaming about being together and raising children. She told me much the same thing last week. Draco and I didn’t have five years of friendship to risk when we got together.”

“I think I understand, Harry.” Ron said after a moment. “You know, it’s really a good thing the Malfoy’s have disowned Draco. If he hadn’t you’d have them banging on your door demanding you accept an engagement.”

“Engagement?” Harry said, a wild look about his eyes. “It isn’t legal for two men…”

“Maybe not in the muggle world.” Ron said with a smile. He started chuckling as he spoke. “It’s different for old pureblood families. People like the Malfoys would be demanding you two get engaged as soon as Draco turns sixteen next month. Then they’d be having you pick out mothers for your children as soon as you graduated and the wedding would probably be the week after the graduation ceremony! It’d be the social event of the year if Lucius hadn’t been a Death Eater. ”

“I’m not a pure-blood.” Harry said, making a dismissive gesture at the whole ridiculous notion. “Besides, Draco would kill me if I touched a woman, and I’d probably kill him.”

“Who said anything about touching women?” Ron said with a weird look. Then he got that typical lumos-spell look as he understood. “I keep forgetting that you were raised a muggle. Dad said muggles finally figured out how to make babies without sex. Well, wizards developed a way to do that with magic a long time ago. Pureblood families who have sons that don’t like women in their bed made sure the blood line would continue. I don’t know the whole process, but the medi-wizards at St. Mungos can do it. It’s expensive, but the families like the Malfoys can afford the whole thing. Supposedly the children are the combination of both the fathers, none of the… whatcha call them? Jeans? From the mother.”

“Genes.” Harry said, intrigued at the idea. Then he idly wondered how long they’d been talking. “What time is it?”

“Oh crap!” Ron said sharply. “I was supposed to be going up there ten minutes ago!”

“Draco!” Harry shouted, jumping to his feet.

“Stay here, Harry.” Ron said forcefully, pushing Harry back into the chair. “It will do no good for you to be running up there screaming his name when you’re not supposed to know about it.”

“I hate this, Ron.” Harry said miserably. “Here I am fucking consenting to my boyfriend being beaten up and then fucking asking one of my best friends to injure herself to find some fucking spy that may or may not exist!”

“That’s the Harry I know.” Ron said with a smile. “But I think the new Harry knows the answers to those questions better than I ever will. Blimey, Harry, I don’t think I could ever do something like this. I’ll be happy to just let you make these decisions and do what you tell me.”

“Thanks Ron.” Harry said sarcastically with a grimace. Ron just laughed shortly then headed out. He stopped suddenly as he reached the portrait and stared back at Harry with the most morose face he’d ever worn.

“What’s wrong?” Harry asked, worried suddenly.

“I just realized something.” Ron muttered miserably. “I’m about to find Draco Malfoy beaten to a pulp in front of our common room and I’m not going to be enjoying it! You two sure know how to ruin a good time.”

As Ron rushed outside the room, Harry couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. It turned into rueful chuckling after a second and as the portrait closed he sank down into the armchair and stared at the fire wondering just how far over his head he was this time.

“Why is nothing ever simple?” He asked the empty room.