Harry Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor - 3. Chapter 3

“Potter,” Malfoy said later the next day, “I thought you wanted me to live here so I’d like muggles? These relatives of yours are starting to make me miss my Father and his Cruciatus.”

“Sometimes, Malfoy, I agree with you.” Harry said with a chuckle. Uncle Vernon still had not unlocked the door to their room and as it was now approaching lunch time they were both hungry.

“Then why am I here?” Malfoy asked.

“Because it’s better than Azkaban?” Harry opined.

“Barely.” Malfoy sneered. “I don’t see how this does anything but confirm that muggles are a danger to all magic-born.

“I never said they weren’t.” Harry said after a moment of silence, turning away from where Malfoy sat on the bed.

“Watch it, Potter.” Malfoy drawled, closer to his long-familiar sound than the nicer guy Harry had been getting to know. “I might have to report you to the Ministry for speaking pro-Death Eater thoughts. Imagine the headlines Boy Who Lived is a Death Eater!”

“They’d believe that as much as they’d believe the two of us as lovers!” Harry snorted, then wished he’d not said that part.

“Oh, Potter, admitting your feelings at last?” Malfoy drawled, sliding off the bed and putting his hands on Harry’s shoulders.

“Malfoy, enough.” Harry said sternly, his voice leaving no room for argument. He was relieved when Malfoy returned to the bed and started reading the Potions book again.

“At this rate, we’ll have our summer work done by tomorrow.” Malfoy said with a grimace.

“Good.” Harry said. “I never get any work done once I’m with the Weasley family.”

“You would have to remind me!” Malfoy groaned, bringing a smile to Harry’s face. That always seemed to take Draco down a bit. Mention that he, Draco Malfoy, would be living with that family was guaranteed to shut him up.

Harry loved every moment of the torture.

A sound at the door caused both boys to perk up. After all the locks were done, the door opened to reveal Aunt Petunia standing there. She smiled gently at Harry while giving Draco a guarded look.

“You boys hungry?” She asked in that kind tone that let Harry know Uncle Vernon was no where around.

“YES!” both of them replied at once. Once downstairs, and helping themselves to sandwiches, she revealed that she had some more surprises.

“Harry, your Headmaster sent me a letter yesterday with a lot of real money inside.” Aunt Petunia said, emphasizing the money was “real” not ‘magic’. “He wanted us to use it for ‘entertainment’ as long as you both got to do something. I thought we might go into town, you know. Take the Tube to Piccadilly Circus and spend the day there.”

“Where’s Uncle Vernon?” Harry asked guardedly.

“He took Dudleykins to go see a football match. Then they’re going to a pub. They should be gone all day.” Aunt Petunia said, and Harry knew that the majority of the money would be spent by them. Still, it was a chance to get out.

“When do we leave?” Harry asked her.

“Anytime you’re ready.” She said with a sad smile.

“C’mon, Draco, let’s go!” Harry said excitedly, totally forgetting that they weren’t on first-name basis. Malfoy just smiled and followed to change into a set of clothes that resembled Muggle clothing enough to pass casual inspection.

An hour later, they were in London and visiting Piccadilly Circus. Neither had been there before and found it to be…intimidating. Harry couldn’t help but examine the throngs of people around him and wonder if any were Death Eaters in disguise. His wand was hidden under the large shirt he was wearing, another Dudley cast-off. For once he didn’t mind the size because it hid his wand perfectly.

“Would you look at that!” Malfoy sneered, pointing at the carousel that was the centerpiece of the market area. “A first year could charm a better contraption than that!”

“Yeah, but would you feel safe riding in one that they did?” Harry responded.

“No, but I don’t feel safe on that muggle contraption either!” Malfoy retorted.

“Point” Harry said. They’d adopted a point game to keep track of who won their many arguments. So far, Harry was ahead, but not by much. Neither remembered that it was Petunia who had suggested the game after listening to them argue on the Tube. She was walking back towards them, her hands filled with three ice-cream cones, and Harry was suddenly struck by how much she resembled his mother at the moment. Tears started to fill his eyes and he wondered what it would have been like growing up with her if he’d had even a few moments like this.

“Here you are, boys.” She said loudly. A little too loud since Harry blushed. Malfoy just scowled, then smiled and thanked her for the ice cream. They walked around, looking into the various shops. Malfoy was starting to get real excited at all the different things he was seeing.

“So, let me get this straight,” Malfoy was saying outside of an Electronics store. “They send these signals through the air and this machine ‘decodes’ them into picture and sound? Wouldn’t it just be easier to use a Recordo spell and then owl it to everyone?”

“Well, they don’t send to much out on broadcast anymore.” Petunia was trying to explain. “Most people have cable and that carries more channels, but I think your spell works differently. See, the signal goes out to EVERYONE who wants to watch it at the same time, not just one person.”

“What’s this cable?” Malfoy asked, and Harry just groaned. He couldn’t believe Aunt Petunia was actually talking about magic without stuttering or shrinking her face up like a prune. In fact, she looked more relaxed than he ever remembered her being when magic came up.

She topped the trip off with a movie. Both boys were ecstatic about the prospect of seeing a real muggle movie. Harry had never been but he’d heard kids in school (not Hogwarts, but lower schools) talking about them. They walked out two hours later with frowns on their faces.

“Not the same.” Malfoy was saying. “It was so…flat.”

“I have to agree.” Harry said. Petunia was just walking behind them totally not understanding their reactions at all.

“The story was good.” Harry opted.

“Decent.” Malfoy agreed. “But with magic and seeing it three dimensional…”

“Point.” Harry conceded. They were now tied.

“Thanks, Aunt Petunia.” Harry said as they headed back to the Tube station.

“My pleasure, Harry, my pleasure.” She replied, and for once he actually believed her.

They had stopped for dinner on the way back home and so it was with full stomachs that they made their way back up stairs and were locked back in the room. Harry sat back down and was trying to worm his way through the Potions book when Malfoy spoke up.

“You know, muggles aren’t really that different.” Malfoy said into the silence.

“Exactly.” Harry said with a nod of his head.

“But your family sucks as bad as mine.” Malfoy said.

“Two points to Slytherin.” Harry said with a grin.

“So how did we turn out so different?” Malfoy asked. “I mean both our families were tough on us, mean, abusive, you name it they did it to us. But you are a do-gooder and I’m…”

“A right mean bastard.” Harry supplied.

“Point.” Malfoy said with a smile. “So, really, what makes us so different?”

“Maybe it has something to do with them always telling me I’m worthless and putting me down while yours kept on trying to make you into something perfect.” Harry offered.

“Maybe.” Draco said. “Still, I’d rather be locked in my old room than this one, or even that damn cupboard!”

“I don’t know, Malfoy, I don’t know.” Harry said. Both decided to resume studying at that time and hours more passed before either said something.

“Potter,” Malfoy said after a while.

“Yes, Malfoy?” Harry said, marking his place. He’d moved on to a Charms book since the Potions book had been giving him a headache.

“Here we are, locked up most of the day in the same room. We sleep in the same bed, we’ve shaken hands and started to be friends but we still call each other by our surnames. What’s up with that?”

“Years and years of habit?” Harry offered.

“How about we knock off a point every time we use a surname instead of our given name?” Malfoy asked.

“I don’t know, Draco.” Harry said, trying the word out on purpose. Truth be told, it came out easier than Malfoy now. “Think you stand being in the negatives?”

“POTTER!” Draco said in a scandalized yelp.

“1 point from Slytherin, Draco!” Harry said with a patented Malfoy smirk.

“1 point from Gryffindor for using my patented smirk!” Draco yelled while throwing a pillow. That started a pillow fight that lasted until Uncle Vernon started banging on the door complaining about their disturbing ‘Dudleykins’. Both young men gave each other the patented smirk, which set off another bout of laughing. They sprawled on the bed, legs intertwined, and Harry couldn’t help but looking deep into the grey eyes of his former rival.

“Draco, are you still mad at me about your father?” Harry asked quietly. Draco was just looking back at him, a vacant look in his eyes as he thought hard.

“I don’t know, Harry.” He replied honestly. I mean we’ve talked about things that have happened at Hogwarts over the last few years. We’ve seen each other’s viewpoints, but I can’t help to feel some…anger…at what’s happened to my father.”

“I understand that.” Harry admitted. “For what’s it worth, I wish things had been different.”

“So do I, Harry.” Draco murmured, suddenly looking like he was about to fall asleep.

“Let’s get some sleep.” Harry said, getting up to get undressed and turn the lights out.

Draco was already passed out.

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

The old Draco Malfoy was back in full force. Not only was he standing so upright that it looked like he was a carving, but the sneer was in full force on his face. Cool grey eyes scanned everything in the living room like nothing met his standards and Uncle Vernon was shifting uncomfortably where he sat. Behind the two boys, their trunks and other gear were all ready to go. The sound of the doorbell announced that their expected visitor had arrived.

“Well, good morning Harry!” Arthur Weasley said, his bright red hair blowing in the wind outside. He was still pressing the doorbell and his smile announced his pleasure at the muggle device. The snort behind Harry announced what Draco was thinking about all this. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley all sat on the furniture, looking at the television and pretended they didn’t hear the doorbell ringing continuously.

“Come in, Mr. Weasley.” Harry said, politely, making it a point to take Arthur’s hand off of the doorbell button. “We’re all ready to go.”

“Right-o, chaps.” Arthur continued cheerily. His expression got a little more serious as he saw Draco standing there. “Right, well, there’s a few things we need to discuss. You see, we’re not going to the Burrow. To many things need to get done and we can’t keep going out there to supervise you two. We’ll just have to take you to that place we went to last year. Mr. Malfoy, what this means for you is that since we’ll be staying somewhere…uh…sensitive, you are not to go downstairs unless invited. You can stay in the upper floors, including the library and a few other nice rooms. Harry, since you vouched for Mr. Malfoy in this, we believe it’s only fair that you share his restriction. That means anywhere he can’t go, you can’t go. Is this understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Both boys said together, although Draco’s voice had a strong note of haughtiness. They gathered their gear, said good-bye to the Durselys (Harry had left a note to Aunt Petunia thanking her for her kindness. It was in his room, a place he knew she might go but neither of the men would).

“So, Harry, was it that bad this time?” Arthur asked as they all grasped the portkey he held out.

“Not so bad.” Harry replied with a smile. “In fact, it was probably the best summer I’ve spent there yet.”

“If that was the best.” Draco smirked. “I’d hate to see the worst.”

The familiar tugging sensation of the portkey took hold then, and next thing he knew Privet Drive was gone and he was in Grimmauld Place. Tears came to Harry’s eyes and it took a moment for himself to get under control. Suddenly he remembered the talks with Draco about the Slytherin's past and how he’d developed that exterior. His features changed as he got himself under control more a smirk from Draco told him that their facial expressions were very similar at that moment.

Of course that was when a heard of elephants stampeded down the stairs and came to a sudden stop as they saw the two newcomers. Harry and Draco both turned at the same time and faced practically all of the Weasley clan, plus a few other school mates. A massed collective groan filled the room.

“I told you!” Ron yelled, just under the level that would wake the Black portrait. “He’s corrupted him!”

“You heard Ron!” Draco snarled, slapping Harry lightly on the arm. “You’ve corrupted me!”

“Shut up,” Harry snarled back in a perfect Draco imitation. “Weasel doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“Blimey,” George Weasley stated.

“They’ve gone and switched bodies!” Fred finished.

“There’s got to be a counter-curse” Hermione said quickly, and turned to head back upstairs where the library was. That did it for Harry and Draco. They both started cracking up laughing and leaning on each other in order to stay standing. Hermione stopped and re-joined the Weasley family in staring at the two.

“I don’t know what’s worse ‘Mione” Ron breathed out. “The sight of Harry pulling off a perfect Malfoy imitation or the sight of Malfoy laughing like Harry.”

“Oh, Ron.” Hermione said, wrapping her arms around the red-head’s shoulders. “We always wished that Malfoy would change.”

“Yeah, but did we want Harry to change like this?” Ginny asked.

“Let’s go…” Fred started.

“welcome them properly.” George finished. “After all, they did get us with a joke!”

Two hours later they were all sitting down in the upstairs library having an animated conversation about the movie the two had seen. Ron and Hermione were the most silent, just watching their old friend interact with their old enemy. Fred and George were actively involved asking questions while Ginny had this thoughtful look on her face as she watched the two.

“Bloody hell.” Ron whispered to Hermione. “He hasn’t insulted us once in two hours!”

“He did insult Fred and George about finishing each other’s sentences.” Hermione pointed out.

“But everyone does that!” Ron’s voice while still a “whisper” did a very good job at showing his frustration. “If he doesn’t crack soon we might have to let him stay here until school starts!”

“Well then, you insult him!” Hermione whispered urgently. “We can’t let him corrupt Harry any further!”

“Bloody brilliant, Granger” Ron whispered viciously. “You know I promised Harry I wouldn’t start anything.”

“Well I didn’t.” Hermione whispered. Then she straightened in the love seat they shared and waited for a lull in the conversation.

“So, Malfoy.” She began icily. “Think you’ll beat my marks in any class other than potions this year?”

“I don’t know, Granger.” Malfoy drawled in response, his grey eyes shooting daggers. “Since I don’t have to worry about Father hitting me with Cruciatis for every point you beat me by, I might slack off this year.”

“Oh.” Hermione said softly, a look of horror on her face. The room remained silent for a while as Harry shot both Ron and her dirty looks. Even the twins were silent until a voice from the hallway called them to dinner downstairs.

As usual, Molly Weasley had cooked a feast for the large group. Remus Lupin, Tonks, and two other Aurors joined them in the dining room and the table was filled with food and the noise of conversation. Harry and Draco had been given seats next to each other with Tonks on Harry’s other side and one of the other Aurors beside Draco.

“Does he always try to talk with his mouth full?” Draco whispered to Harry. Harry’s snort was all the response he needed, but he said nothing loud enough for anyone else to hear. As it was, Ron shot them both a dirty look. Arthur and Molly both tried to include the blond-haired guest in conversation and after a while he became more relaxed. Still, he sat upright and ate with a cool grace that seemed oddly out of place with the people around him, but in character with the actual physical setting of the Black family dining room. Unconsciously, Harry imitated the cool demeanor and grace at the dinner table. He’d always wondered about the table manners he’d observed at the Slytherin table across from his own tables at Hogwarts. The last few weeks had given many chances for that topic to be discussed and Harry was actually putting some of that information to good use.

After dinner was over, the twins dragged Draco off to a room that had been set up as a potions work area. Their animated discussion helped Harry relax as he realized at least Draco had something in common with those two…a love for potions. His relaxed attitude didn’t last long though as Hermione and Ron dragged him back to the library. They had sat down for no more than a second before Ron began.

“Blimy, Harry.” He began fiercely. “You have to tell us…what did that bastard do to you to get you to stand up for him at trial? The bugger should be in Azkaban!”

“I can’t believe you’d say that, Ron!” Harry retorted, aghast at his friend’s vehemence. “You’ve known him for years, just like me. Has he done anything worse than we have to him?”

“Harry, he starts everything!” Hermione whined.

“Oh, just like earlier tonight in this room, eh?” Harry drawled in a Draco imitation.

“Harry, you even sound like him!” Ron shouted.

“She started it tonight!” Harry shouted back, pointing at Hermione.

“Harry, that slimey git deserves everything he’s gotten!” Ron shouted.

“You’re absolutely right, Ron.” Harry agreed. That shut them both up for a moment. “He’s earned every detention he’s ever gotten, he’s earned punishment when he attacked me and broke the Ministry Regulations and he’s being punished! But dammit, you can’t turn your back on something that’s even more important here!”

“What would that be?” Ron nearly shouted.

“WE ARE AT WAR!” Harry shouted in a voice filled with passion. “We are at war with Voldemort! You were both there at the Ministry. You saw Sirius die! You saw what happened to Neville and to Ginny and to Luna and to both of you! You know what I almost did there! Both of you have been there from the beginning as well! You remember Quirrel and the stone? You remember the Chamber of Secrets? You remember Sirius and Pettigrew?”

“We remember.” Hermione sniffed. “But what does that have to do with…”

“It has EVERYTHING to do with the fight!” Harry shouted. “Dammit! Draco was practically raised to be a Death Eater. Remember what we use to call him? Death-Eater-In-Training? Remember that? Well he turned his back on them! He told Voldemort where to shove it and now he’s here!”

“So he’s our ally now?” Ron asked. “He’s fighting for us.”

“No, you silly git!” Harry shouted. “We haven’t shown him anything worth fighting for yet! So far, he’s made one friend, me. That’s it. How can we expect him to take up our cause just for that? He has to want it like we do, he has to believe in it like we do and the only way he’ll reach that point is if you guys help me show him WHY we do what we do.”

“Bloody hell, Harry.” Ron squeaked out, taken aback by his friend’s vehemence. “We’re just kids! It’s not like we’re bloody Aurors leading this fight!”

“That’s right, Ron.” Harry said sarcastically. “We’re just kids who’ve managed to foil Voldemort time after time. This last time we approached it like we always did, as kids, and we got our butts kicked! Sirius is dead because we behaved like kids and didn’t think things through. Dammit, it’s time we grew up!”

“Harry, we’re not…” Hermione began but was cut off.

“Hermione.” Harry said a little more quietly, but no less passionately. “As long as we think of ourselves as just kids we aren’t going to get any better. We’ve complained since First Year that Dumbledore treated us like kids, never shared anything with us, didn’t include us until we fell into things headfirst. Well, guess what. I’ve been doing some thinking over the last few weeks and I realized that if I was him I wouldn’t have trusted us either. The reason the three of us have always done so good together is that we talked about things, shared things. We knew where each of us were at and what we could each do. We didn’t do that with other people so they never knew those things about us. Dumbledore didn’t trust us because we never gave him any reasons to trust us!”

“Harry, that’s not really true.” Ron cut in. “We were all on the same side but they still never told things.”

“Because they knew we’d rush off and get ourselves tied up in a sack.” Harry exclaimed. “We’ve been lucky so far and our luck ran out the last two times. Cedric’s dead and so is Sirius. Who knows how many more will die before Voldemort is defeated, but dammit I’m going to be there when he is! We all know that. The thing is, I want you two there as well and if we don’t grow up and act like the adults we pretend to be we’re not going to all make it.”

“So what does this have to do with Malfoy?” Ron asked in a huff.

“Simple, really.” Harry said in a more normal tone. “He’s a Slytherin.”

“The house of junior death-eaters.” Ron quipped.

“Ron,” Harry said sternly. “Do you remember what the Sorting Hat said at last year’s feast?”

“Vaguely.” Ron admitted. Well, it was a long time ago and he’d been hungry!

“It warned us that if the houses didn’t band together, combine their strengths then Hogwarts would fall.” Hermione supplied. “Cunning Slytherins, Brave Gryffindors, Intelligent Ravenclaws, and Loyal Hufflepuffs are all stronger together than they are separate.”

“Exactly.” Harry said, a smile on his face. Trust Hermione to get things right. “We Gryffindors rush off into danger without a second thought. Ravenclaws figure things out faster than anyone but Hermione. Hufflepuffs are our backbone. What we’ve been missing is the cleverness and guile of the Slytherins. We’ve written them all off as Death Eaters when we all know that not all of them feel that way. Hell, Draco’s proved it already. If we worked together there’s no way Voldemort would stand a chance. However, after the last few years we’ve given the Slytherins little reason to trust us or to want to help. We have a chance to do that now.”

“So you want us ‘convert’ Malfoy?” Ron said, his voice holding none of the typical disgust at that name.

“No.” Harry said. “We’re not Voldemort. We have to earn his trust. We have to show him why we are fighting and convince him it is worth his time to be a part of this. We need to do that with all the Slytherins. Once we’ve done that, we have to show Dumbledore and the others that we can be trusted. We have to show that we are worthy to be a part of the Order and not just some kids that need their asses pulled out of the fire.”

“You’ve taken the first steps down that road, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore’s voice from the doorway caused all three of them to jump. Harry’s heart then did another flip as he saw who was in the doorway. Draco was surrounded by Fred and George who had been holding him in place until Dumbledore surprised them all. As Draco turned back towards Harry he had an expression on his face that Harry now recognized. He was thinking, thinking really hard.

“I…I need to get some sleep.” Draco said to everyone and walked down the hallway. Dumbledore shooed the Weasley twins inside and they took seats. Dumbledore sat as well and a familiar house-elf appeared. Dobby bowed low to the aged Headmaster and disappeared again, only to return less than a minute later with a tea tray. It was only another minute before everyone had tea in front of them and were offered a lemon drop. Only Harry took one.

“Quite an impressive speech, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore said after everyone was settled. “I don’t think I remember ever having heard you be so…eloquent. Mr. Malfoy is rubbing off on you as much as you are rubbing off on him.”

“How much did you hear, sir?” Harry asked. His voice was brusqe. He found that he still respected this man, but he didn’t hold him quite the same sense of awe as he use to.

“Enough to know that you are growing up, young Harry.” Dumbledore said, and for a moment it looked like he had tears in his eyes. “Of course you never did have a real childhood, but it would have been nice for you to have a few more years of being young.”

“We all have to grow up sometime.” Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Yes, yes, we do.” Dumbledore said. He paused for a moment, and Harry felt himself being weighed, judged by those twinkling eyes he had once loved so much. “So, is it your intent, Mr. Potter, to become an asset in this war? A leader, a part of the team?”

“We have to do this.” Harry said calmly, but firmly. “I’ve paid too much of a price so far to let him win now.”

“We all have, Harry, we all have.” Dumbledore said, and there was something in his voice that shook Harry to his core. Dumbledore had fought Voldemort twice. Twice he had watched, and even sent, those that he’d loved on missions only to see them die. Cedric had died, and Sirius had died. Suddenly the memories from last year’s sorting drifted through his mind and he remembered looking at all those young faces. So innocent they seemed, so vibrant and happy and full of life. For a brief moment, they’d made him feel old, old and very protective of them. Harry looked up at Dumbledore’s face and saw something in those eyes that reflected what he was feeling, what he had been feeling for a while now.

Dumbledore hadn’t been trying to coddle them. He’d been trying to protect them, to allow them some vestige of youth. Their eyes shared this understanding and Harry sighed as Dumbledore nodded at him. While he no longer felt the same awe and love he’d felt for the Headmaster since First Year, a new feeling was awakening between them. Respect, trust, and love was building slowly.

“It is time.” Dumbledore said into the silence as Harry and he had shared eye contact. “The Order of the Phoenix has been reestablished to lead the fight against Voldemort and his followers. However, Voldemort reaches into our school, into Hogwarts and is tempting students to his side. The Order cannot, filled with adults, can do little to stop this. Further, those of you in this room have proven integral to stopping him each time he has moved so far. Hogwarts is protected from outside attack by the staff and the Order. However, it is from the inside that the greatest danger now exists. The Order has decided to establish a student branch.”

“What will this student branch do?” Harry asked calmly.

“It will be formed, and led by students.” Dumbledore said. You, Harry, will lead it as I lead the main Order. You will operate under the same rules, and within the strictures set by Hogwarts and the Ministry. It is not to be a gang of vigilantes, but to work within the laws and the rules. I believe that you, Harry, have reached a level of maturity that you did not possess before, a maturity that will enable you to be successful. Choose your people well, quality is more important than quantity. Not all will want to join, nor should all be welcomed. You will also attend all future meetings of the Order as the representative of the Hogwarts Student Order.”

“What about us?” Fred asked.

“We’re not students anymore? George added.

“I’m afraid your business endeavors will have to be scaled back, boys.” Dumbledore said with a smile. “Your mother insists that you finish your Seventh Year so you will be returning. There will be no arguing.”

“Blimey.” Both said in unison and everyone else laughed. The mood seemed to lighten as Dumbledore stood and made his way out. Harry just sat in his chair, lost in thought until Ron spoke up.

“Is Malfoy going to be a part of this Order?” Ron asked softly.

“If he wants to.” Harry said firmly.

“If he calls me ‘Weasel” I’ll call him ‘Ferret’ without hesitation.”

“And if he calls me ‘mudblood’ I’m slapping him.” Hermione added.

“Fine by me.” Harry said with a smile. He was tired now, drained. “I already told him he can respond to any insults with insults as long as he doesn’t start it and as long as it doesn’t get physical.”

“Can we trust him, Harry?” Ron asked, whining a little. “I mean…it’s Malfoy!”

“I hope so Ron, I hope so.” Harry said. He stood and looked around the room. “Think about the Order guys. When school starts we need to have a list of people to invite to start the group. For now, I’m tired and going to bed.”

“Blimey,” Ron whispered loud enough that Harry could still hear it as he exited. “I don’t know if he’s sounding more like Dumbledore or Malfoy but it’s bloody scary.”

The soft laughter of his friends was like a balm to his frayed nerves. He made it back to his room and was surprised to find Malfoy stretched out on his bed in silk pajamas. Harry’s entrance woke up him up, and his shy grin made his narrow face seem softer for a moment.

“Hullo Harry.” Draco said in a husky voice. “Looks like Mrs. Weasley got me a care package from home. Most of my stuff. Finally no more muggle cast-offs.”

“I thought you had your own room?” Harry asked as he closed the door behind him and began to disrobe. His own pajamas were in the drawer that they’d been in last time he stayed here.

“I do, but…” Draco paused for a moment. “Would you mind if I slept here? I feel more comfortable here.”

“Just don’t steal my covers again.” Harry said with a grin.

“Thanks.” Draco mumbled before crawling under the said covers and curling up into sleep. Harry finished changing, turned out the lights and climbed into the canopied bed as well. He closed the curtains and laid down to go to sleep. It took a while for his racing mind to calm down, but it eventually did. His last thought before sleep took him was surprise as he felt Draco’s hand take his in a comforting grasp.