Remember You

As the rest of the week passed, Harry immersed himself in his studies. The N.E.W.T's were approaching quickly. There were only two weeks until the tests, and Harry's nerves were frazzled trying to jam everything he had learned into his head. Draco had avoided Harry since Tuesday evening's argument. It was now Friday morning and his day was blissfully free until three that afternoon, so Harry was sitting in the library after breakfast, studying feverishly for Potions. Draco had promised to help him with it, but since they were at odds, Harry was on his own.

His quiet studies were interrupted when Sirius walked resolutely into the library and seated himself across from his godson. "Morning, Harry."

Harry grunted, but did not look up from his book. "How are things with you and Draco?" Harry grunted in response once more. "I'm going to need a better response than that."

"Why?"

"Well, Remus and I were wondering if you were accompanying us to Draco's appointment with Healer Adina at eleven this morning."

"Of course I was."

"Did you make up with him?"

"No."

Sirius seemed surprised now. "Then why are you agreeing to go?"

Harry looked to the side, sighing tiredly. "He may need some lessons in tactfulness in some things, butÖ no matter what, I love Draco. He needs me after those appointments, and I'm not going to let him down."

"That's very mature, Harry. I'm proud that you can distinguish what is important."

Harry slammed his book shut, earning a reproving look from Madam Pince, but he ignored her completely. "So you think that I'm being just a silly little boy for thinking that this is important?"

"That's not what I said. I just meant that some things are more important, and in this case, Draco's appointments are the important matter. Besides, I just can't see that Draco meant what he said. Why don't you talk to him about it?"

"I've already tried doing that many times before Tuesday. I thought he was going to be okay with it. I can't change his mind."

"Talk to him again. He has to learn to accept it."

"Let's hope."

Sirius sighed. "There is nothing he can do about the way he feels. There has to be a way that you can compromise."

Harry glared.

Sirius held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean compromise your possible career as an Auror." Sirius sighed. "Harry, I'm not here to make things better between the two of you. That's something you'll have to do on your own. However, he feels awful enough as it is. He has come to see me this week because Snape was too busy to talk. He's very distressed about what he said and about what you said when you left. He thinks you're just getting the courage to leave him. I think he said something along the lines of, ëAnd he'll find the courage soon enough, won't he? He's a bloody Gryffindor.'"

"Maybe I should find the courage to leave him."

"You don't mean that. I don't like seeing you like this, Harry."

"I'm sorry, Sirius, but how can I live with somebody who doesn't support what I do? It's almost like your mum and dad. They never really supported you, and you ran away to my dad's house!"

"That's different."

"How so?"

"I didn't believe in what they were condoning."

"I don't believe in what Draco is condoning! As long as I'm with him, he doesn't care if I'm unhappy or not."

"I can't say if that's true or not, so you'll have to just talk to him. You need communication to make a marriage work, and if you're not communicating before the marriage, what will happen after the wedding? Will you ignore each other while you're living in the same small space? Because no matter how big your home is, it'll seem suffocating if you're not speaking. It'll seem like you're walking all over each other even if you hardly see him. Do you want that?"

"Of course not." "Then you know what to do." Sirius looked down at his watch. "It's half past ten. Let's go to my office. Draco and Remus are meeting us there."

Harry gathered up his books and put them into his bag before following Sirius to his office. When they arrived, they heard laughter from inside. Sirius opened the door, revealing Remus in the very tail end of a story that had Draco in hysterics. Remus was very animated, and even seemed to be acting out the story. Sirius smiled fondly as Remus stood up straight, straightened his robes and promptly turned pink.

"Telling stories again, Moony? Should have known."

"Again?" Harry questioned as he closed the door.

Sirius kissed Remus's cheek before Sirius turned to explain. "Yes. Believe it or not, Remus has always been a very good story teller. His scary stories had me pissing my pants... literally one time come to think of it."

"Yeah... in James's bed if I recall," Remus smiled.

Sirius let out a barking laugh. "Yeah," he said reverently. "He hexed me good. But it was his fault! He's the one who jumped on me from behind."

"You knew he was behind you!" Remus exclaimed.

"It didn't make it any less frightening," Sirius grinned. "You peed in dad's bed?" Harry asked, laughing.

"YeahÖ. That was one scary story... What was it about again, Remus?"

Remus smiled indulgently. "I don't recall exactly. I think I made up a story about gnomes because James told me how you always ran away screaming whenever you saw one."

Sirius let out a barking laugh. "Yes, I think you're right. I used to hate gnomes."

"Still do," Remus muttered as he checked his watch. "Anyway, we should get going so that we aren't late." The werewolf pulled out an old pocket watch and told them to grab onto it. The two older men and Harry grabbed it, but Draco did not. He was busy staring at Harry.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Why are you coming?"

"If it's a problem, I can stay behind."

"No... it isn't. I was hoping you would, but it's just... I thought you were mad."

"I'm really pissed off actually."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry. I really am."

"Okay then. Grab on."

"But..."

"But what, Draco?" Harry asked exasperated, stepping away from his godfather and Remus. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know."

"Then I don't know what to say."

"Well, if you're so mad at me, why are you coming now?"

"Don't be daft. You need me after these appointments and I know it. Besides, just because I'm mad at you, doesn't mean I don't love you."

"I don't like being in fights with you."

"Well, neither do I. But I can't help it that you're a daft prick." When Draco stood fidgeting in front of him, Harry sighed. "I'm coming to your appointment."

Harry pulled Draco to him and made him touch the pocket watch. Remus activated it with the touch of his wand, and in a few seconds, the four men were gone.

Nearly an hour and a half later, Draco emerged from the healer's office, sweating and shaking terribly. Healer Adina had made him relive his second memory, and he seemed no better off than he was the first time. Harry stood as Draco emerged, and the blond wasted no time in hurtling himself at the darker boy. Harry stroked his hair, offering meaningless comfort words. Draco turned his face up towards Harry.

"Harry," he whimpered.

"Yes?"

Draco abruptly kissed Harry, clinging to him fiercely. Harry obligingly kissed his boyfriend back as he remembered the healer's advice to give Draco whatever he wanted after an appointment. Sirius started to say something to break them up, but Adina had come out of her office to receive her next patient.

"Please do not interrupt, Mr. Black," she said seriously. "It's part of the healing process." She then called out the name of her next patient and disappeared into her office.

"Do you get the feeling that she's not all there?" Harry heard Sirius mutter to Remus. "If snogging my boyfriend is a part of therapy, I want in."

Harry lifted both his and Draco's hands, indicating that they were ready to go back to Hogwarts, and felt somebody guide their fingers onto an object. Harry felt the familiar pull behind his navel as Draco continued snogging him senseless. It was either Sirius or Remus who guided them to a chair, forcing Harry to sit with Draco on top. The door opened.

"Er - don't do anything I wouldn't do in a professor's office," Sirius said loudly.

"Sirius, there isn't much you wouldn't do in a professor's office, so be quiet and leave them alone."

The door closed and as far as Harry knew, they were alone in Sirius's office. Draco moved down to nibble on Harry's neck. Harry turned to face the ceiling as he drew in great gulps of air. All of a sudden, Draco stopped, and Harry felt something warm and wet on his neck. The Gryffindor realised with some horror that he was crying.

"Draco? Are you okay?"

"I can't do it anymore, Harry. I can't go back to her. I can't relive those memories again. I just want to forget it all. You heard Professor Black... she's not all there. How do we know that she knows what she's doing?"

"Pomfrey wouldn't have suggested her if she didn't know what she was doing. But I can talk to Pomfrey about Adina if you like."

"Yes. Please. I just... I can't do it. The second memory... that I relived today... that was when Voldemort first. That's all I can think about... is him." Draco sat up suddenly and stared at Harry with manic, red rimmed eyes. "Harry, I have to forget." He fisted Harry's robes. "Please... help me. Make love to me. I want to feel you inside me. I want to remember you. Not Voldemort. Please." The blond started to fumble with Harry's clothes, desperate to get them off. Harry grabbed his hands and kissed them both gently.

"Not when you're like this, Draco. You're in distress. You have to calm down. Take a deep breath."

Draco began to breathe deeply. "I still want you in me," he whispered.

Harry felt something in his gut tighten with those words, but he would not let himself give in. "Not now. Not when you're like this."

Draco collapsed against Harry's body, breathing deeply. "I'm sorry. I want to be normal again."

"You are normal. You just have to get better again, and you will, Draco. You will."

The boys sat in silence for nearly five minutes, and Harry began to think that the blond in his lap had fallen asleep. He was breathing deeply in and out, and only when Harry remembered that Draco snored while sleeping, did Draco speak. "Harry... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'll never be able to take it back."

"Take what back? You can't help how you act after therapy. It's a part of the side effect."

"Not that... About..." Draco reached up with both hands and cupped Harry's head between them, and nestled his face against Harry's neck. "About what I said on Tuesday, about you not being Auror material."

"Oh, that."

Draco lifted his head to look at Harry, regret wrinkling his eyes. "You have to know that I didn't mean it, Harry."

"But I don't know that you didn't mean it. You seemed especially serious to me."

Draco looked lost for a moment, but he blinked and he was himself again. "This has taken a lot for me to gain the courage to say, so I'm just going to get it over with. There's a lot more to this than you think, Harry. But first, you have to know that I did not under any circumstances mean what I said. I don't know why I said it. I thought it would make you change your mind about being an Auror. I never even considered that it would upset you like this. I can see the faulty reasoning behind that now."

Harry scoffed. Draco moved his thumbs in circles against Harry's cheeks.

"At any rate, the main reason for me not wanting you to be an Auror is simply because I'll worry too much about you. And I know that you'll worry about me when I become one, but for some reason it doesn't seem as bad. There's faulty reasoning behind this as well, I just don't have a name for it. But the reason that you'll only hear me say this once, and trust me, only this onceÖ" Draco laughed, shaking his head. "It'll sound stupid out loud, but I suppose it's always been this way, even since we've become friends and lovers. It's justÖ you're Harry Potter."

Harry blinked. "Yes. It's nice to meet you, tooÖ what's your name again? Draco Malone?"

"Shut up. I'm serious here. I mean that you're Harry Potter. That means something to everybody. What does Draco Malfoy mean to anybody? It means the son of a known Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy. It basically means I'm scum. If you and I become Aurors, I'll have to constantly prove myself against you. I don't want competition. I don't want to continue doing that after Hogwarts. I've had to do it ever since we met, and now we're getting married. I don't want to be second best to you in Quidditch and my career. I want to be separate from you. I don't want to resent you for besting me in everything I do. If you're not there in the Academy with me, I won't have to worry. Do you see what I'm saying?"

"I see what you're saying, Draco, but I don't understand why you're worrying so much about it. Quidditch at Hogwarts is nothing. It's a game, plain and simple. If I beat you at Quidditch five years ago because you didn't see the Snitch, who's going to remember in ten years, or even now?"

"I do. You do."

"That's obvious. Of course we'll remember our own highlights and lowlights. And Draco, when we're Aurors, nobody will care about who we are when we're out there in the field. It's about doing the job and doing it well. Maybe at some point in my career, I'll be awarded for doing something really well, but maybe you will too. Maybe I will never get anything, but Muggle astronauts will see you from the moon because of all the medals awarded."

Draco blinked, not understanding the reference to Muggles on the moon. But, he shrugged. "I doubt it."

"Back to the point, Draco, is you're being a little selfish. You don't know how things will turn out when we become Aurors, yet you're already assuming that you'll be miserable working with me. You don't know that. But you think that just as long as you're happy with me at home, then we'll all be happy. You're asking me to sacrifice my happiness for yours. In some situations, I'd say yes, because I'll do practically anything for you. But this, I'm not moving. If you want to prove yourself, you'll have to work at it, just like anybody else, just as I'll have to do. When people look at me, they think, ëHe's Harry Potter. He's supposed to be something special.' So then I'll have to prove myself, and I don't always prove to be the best at everything. I'm sorry, but I'm not moving on this subject." "Fine." Draco looked disappointed as he slid off of Harry's lap, and offered the darker boy a hand up. "Let's go see if lunch is still in the Great Hall then; I'm starving."

Harry took the proffered hand and stood, leading Draco out of Sirius's office and into the hallway. "I don't know how I feel about this yet, Draco. You said some nasty things to me."

"I know. I'm sorry; I wasn't thinking. I'll make it up to you. I don't know how yet, but I will. But for now, will you at least talk to me like I'm your fiancˆ©?"

"I could give it my best shot."

"That'll be good enough," Draco smiled. He pulled Harry close and they walked down the hallway, arms wrapped around each other. When they arrived at the entrance hall, they found that the last students were leaving lunch and they could see that the tables were cleared up already.

"Well, let's go down to the kitchens," Harry suggested. "I still have plenty of time before class."

"Me too."

The boys turned in the direction of the kitchens, but stopped their progress when they heard screaming outside. They looked towards the door. In the next moment, it flew open, letting in third year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws who were supposed to be in Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid was herding them into the castle. Draco stepped forward, alarm on his face.

"What's going on?" he commanded, making sure his Head Boy badge glared into everybody's eyes.

A third year Hufflepuff, who looked beyond terrified, looked up at him and burst into tears, nearly collapsing to the floor. Draco, thoroughly surprised, caught her before she hit the ground. Another girl beside them, tried to help her friend.

"What happened?" Draco asked the coherent girl.

"There are magical creatures all over the grounds," she whispered fearfully. "A... a lethifold came and attacked a Ravenclaw boy. Ha... Hagrid can't do magic... Evan - that's the boys name - was eaten by th... the lethifold." A few tears leaked down her face as Hagrid slammed the doors shut.

"What kinds of magical creatures?" Draco asked, as Harry absorbed this bit of horrifying news.

"I don't know all their names!" the girl cried out. "I'm a Muggle-born. I only know that it was a lethifold because she..." The girl pointed to her friend who was still in hysterics in Draco's arms. "She told me what it was. I think the big human-like things in cloaks are Dementors, but that's all I could see. I didn't notice anything else."

Harry felt his blood run cold at the mention of Dementors. Dumbledore and McGonagall came running down the stairs, demanding to know what had happened. Hagrid, through tears of his own told the story of what had just occurred.

"Somebody needs to get the students out of the Greenhouses," McGonagall said briskly. "I'll arrange for Black and Lupin to gather a team together to fly there."

"That will be good Minerva," Dumbledore said, looking contemplative. The old man looked to Draco and Harry who were trying to comfort the girl who was crying, and approached them. "Would I be able to trust you two to escort these students to their dormitories?"

"Of course, sir," Harry said. "Draco, you take the Hufflepuffs. I'll gather the Ravenclaws."

Draco nodded and began calling the Hufflepuffs.

After they had brought the younger students to their dormitories, Harry and Draco met in the Entrance Hall and found all Prefects and Head Girl, Hermione were gathered there, having a hushed discussion with Professor Dumbledore.

"Oh, Harry! Draco!" Hermione called out as she saw them approaching from different directions. "Professor McGonagall is asking the Quidditch players in seventh year to help get the first years and Professor Sprout from the Greenhouse. Do you want to go?"

"Of course," Harry replied without hesitation. "Just let me summon my Firebolt."

"I already did it," Hermione briskly replied, holding out a hand to Ernie Macmillan - the Hufflepuff Prefect. Ernie handed her the Firebolt and she handed it to Harry. "I knew you would say yes," she explained.

Draco had summoned his broom just as Harry said that he would help, and Harry had to duck as it zoomed up the stairs and to the gathered Prefects.

"I'll help as well," the blond said needlessly.

"Great. You are to meet Professor McGonagall in the Astronomy Tower in ten minutes," Professor Dumbledore informed them. "Afterwards, there will be a Prefects meeting with myself and Professor McGonagall."

"Yes, sir," the boys chorused together and then headed up the marble staircase. Draco grabbed at Harry's hand and squeezed tightly.

"You'll be okay, right? I mean with the Dementors and everything?"

"Of course, I will be. I can conjure a Patronus. There's no need to worry."

Draco nodded and they continued in silence. "I'm still hungry," the blond commented as they were nearing their destination.

"We'll take care of that later, I think."

"I know. I was just informing you."

As they ascended the stairs, voices began floating down from the top. When they arrived, Draco immediately tensed upon seeing who was there. Crabbe and Goyle were standing stupidly by themselves. They were still Slytherin's beaters after being appointed in fifth year, so it must have been natural to ask them. Draco never hung out with them anymore, and as Harry thought about it, never spoke about them either. It made Harry wonder what sort of relationship the three had now that he, Harry and Draco had gotten together. Harry did not have to ponder on this for long, however, before he heard one of their grunting voices sneer at Draco.

"We knew you'd be here, Draco," Crabbe sneered at Draco. "You can't resist helping your boyfriend, can you?"

"Stupid faggots," Goyle put in.

Harry and Draco had their wands out in a flash, pointing at the two, large Slytherins. "If I recall, Gregory," Draco began in a mild voice, "your father has no problem fucking other men."

Crabbe and Goyle pulled their wands out just as Harry spotted another wand point out of the corner of his eye, pointing at the large Slytherins. Harry glanced over and made eye contact with Ron for a moment.

Ron grinned. "I've been waiting for an excuse to hex these two. They tried hexing Ginny a couple weeks ago," he whispered so that only Harry could hear.

"You're a liar," Goyle said fiercely to Draco, taking a step closer to him.

"Oh, I'm telling you every bit of the truth," Draco said calmly. "After all, I should know. Your father was one of the more brutal ones, I must say."

"Draco," Harry whispered, but Draco ignored him.

"What are you saying?" Goyle asked angrily.

"Exactly what your tiny brain just heard me say. Your father fucked me... hard."

Draco glanced at Harry for a moment and shook his head. Harry understood. He was lying about Goyle's father, but Harry still wanted Draco to stop doing this to himself. "If you two are planning on becoming Death Eaters, get used to the idea of fucking other boys. It happens often."

"You're probably just a slut," Goyle spit out.

Draco's and Harry's eyes flashed and they were both about to hex both Slytherins, but Professor McGonagall chose that moment to appear with Sirius and Remus on her heels.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded when she saw the five boys pointing their wands at each other. "Put your wands away this instant!" she ordered. "We are about to do something very dangerous and we cannot have you five squabbling like school boys."

"We are school boys," Ron pointed out.

"Mr. Weasley! That is quite enough. I am well aware that you are, but if you are willing to help today, then I highly suggest you act as an adult member of the community. Now, we will discuss your punishment later."

She turned to address the rest of the students. "Split into groups of four and then come to me for your duty."

Harry, Draco, and Ron were joined by Ginny, who explained that when too many seventh years could not be found, the sixth years were asked. They approached the Professor and were one of the few groups who were not going into the Greenhouses. They were to patrol the area and protect the people who were flying the students back to the castle. The four of them were very relieved to find out that Crabbe and Goyle were not able to find two other people to join them and so they were to send spells from the rooftop and make sure that the students were okay when they returned. Remus was staying with them so Harry felt much better about having them help at all. Sirius and McGonagall were flying school brooms out to the students in case some were experienced in flying by themselves.

The students were helping to rescue the trapped first years, watched from the tower as Sirius and McGonagall escorted the four students who had decent flying abilities. Remus quickly checked them over, and then ordered them to their dormitories. Since none of the creatures had made it into the Greenhouse, they were only a little shaken at being informed of the problem outside and walked calmly away, discussing this new revelation quietly amongst themselves.

When they were gone, the two seventh year Hufflepuff Quidditch players and two Ravenclaw players flew to the Greenhouse while Harry's group flew quickly to the ground. From above, the creatures looked like small spots moving across the ground, but as they neared, Harry could see a few lethifolds moving. He raised his wand, and thought of Draco and himself getting married in a few months. He felt himself become giddy with happiness.

"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted.

The silver stag erupted from the tip of his wand and galloped to the first lethifold that it saw. The creature glided away. "Go to that one!" Harry commanded his stag. The stag turned to where Harry had pointed and chased down the next lethifold. Harry did not see any more lethifolds after that, so let his stag fade away into a silver mist. The Gryffindor then looked to see where his group was and found Draco headed toward a smaller Acromantula to fight it himself. Harry groaned and flew after him. Ron and Ginny were near the blond, and had seemingly just defeated something particularly difficult as they were both huffing and quite red faced.

Draco threw a Stunning spell at the spider, and as Harry's experience knew that it would, bounced off of the spider, and Draco only just managed to roll out of the way in time. "Draco, we have to do it at the same time!" Harry called out.

"Okay. Let's knock it over first so that it has a hard time getting up when it wakes back up."

The boys flew to the side of the spider as it clicked its pincers angrily at them. They counted to three and then cried out, "Diffindo!" The spell blasted the smaller Acromantula onto its side as they had hoped. Harry flew nearer to the ground so that he was facing the spider's stomach and Draco flew higher, right above the spider's side.

Harry felt a cold chill enter his entire body and he could vaguely hear a girl screaming, but he blinked and the screaming stopped. He looked up at Draco, who nodded. "Stupefy!" they yelled in unison, and the spider stilled as the jets hit. The cold grew worse. There was a roaring sound in Harry's ears, and the screaming began again, only it was much louder this time. The Gryffindor felt his mind becoming fuzzy and confused as he struggled to remember what was doing this to him. He remembered only as a long-fingered hand clamped down on his shoulder and pulled him off his broom. The Firebolt XP stayed floating in the air as his feet hit the ground with a thud.

Harry lifted his wand as he felt his chin being lifted, and he closed his eyes, not wanting to see the horrible vision of a Dementor with its hood down. Rancid breath was blowing onto his face, and Harry's panic heightened considerably. Draco and I are getting married, he tried to think through the haze in his mind, but it was too difficult through the screaming of his mother, the choked breaths of Lucius Malfoy, and the hysterical Draco as he remembered his most terrible memories.

Draco and I are getting married, he thought more fiercely this time, but it was getting hard to remember what happiness was. "Expecto Patronum," he whimpered feebly. Harry could not be sure if anything had come from his wand, but he was positive that his stag had not made an appearance. Harry struggled against the firm hold the Dementor had on him, but it was too strong for him. His mind went blank from the world, other than the screams, pleas, and blood that clouded his mind, as he felt lips begin to attach around his own.

Suddenly, it all vanished and Harry was lying on the grass, panting, tears and sweat running down his face. He felt somebody lift him, but did not open his eyes to look. He was too afraid that it would be a Dementor, though he could not think of one good reason why a Dementor would handle him so gently, or even pick him up at all.

"Give him to me!" a voice commanded in a strained voice.

"Follow me up to the Tower, and you'll see how he is there," said the man who was holding him.

Harry vaguely felt himself rising up into the air, still in the man's arms. "Well..." stuttered the first voice, "is... Does he still have..." the voice trailed off.

"Harry?" the man asked.

Harry did not feel like responding. His mind was wonderfully free from the pain. He did not respond.

"Harry?" the man asked again, his voice beginning to panic. Harry felt like he should say something, but it seemed to be too much effort.

The Gryffindor was placed on a hard surface, and somebody began smoothing back his hair before placing a kiss on his forehead. "Harry?" the first voice said. "Please say something intelligent."

A large piece of food was stuffed into Harry's mouth. He let it melt and then swallowed it, beginning to feel a bit clearer as to what happened. The dark haired boy opened his eyes, seeing Draco bending over him on one side, and Remus, and Sirius on his other side. Sirius had a large block of chocolate, ready to be chipped away and fed to Harry.

"Say something intelligent," Draco demanded.

Harry suddenly clearly remembered the Dementor placing its lips around his own. The Gryffindor swallowed and looked at Sirius. "I think my soul is gone," he whispered. Much to Harry's surprise, Sirius broke into a grin and began to laugh maniacally. Draco pulled Harry up into a rough hug and laughed in relief.

"I told you to say something intelligent."

"It wasn't?" Harry questioned. "But... the Dementor..."

"Didn't Kiss you, you daft prick," Draco informed him, kissing him firmly on the temple. "People generally aren't able to form coherent speech after having their souls sucked from them. Hell, they aren't able to use their voices." Draco kissed the side of Harry's neck, and stayed with his face pressed against Harry's skin. "It was close though," he whispered. "So close."

Harry blinked a few times as he rested his chin on Draco's shoulder. Sirius looked to Remus with a questioning look on his face. "I thought he had been Kissed," Sirius whispered. "He wasn't responding."

"He was probably in shock," Remus whispered back. "Add the effects of Dementors on Harry.... I think anybody's mind would have shut down momentarily."

Remus blinked as some more students were brought back from the Greenhouse and stood to help with them. Harry stared at Sirius until he looked back. "Where's Ron and Ginny?" he asked.

"They're still out there helping out. Remus and I sent out our Patronuses, and that sent the Dementors away. There were only three of them, but there will probably be more later. Here... take some more chocolate."

Harry took the chunk of chocolate offered by his godfather and pulled a little from Draco's tight embrace. Draco did not want to let go, however, and made Harry lean into his side. Harry did not protest as he leaned his head on Draco's shoulder from the sheer exhaustion that had taken over his body, and began to take small bites of his chocolate.

"May I go out and help again?" Harry asked of Sirius.

"No, not anymore," Sirius shook his head, to which Draco nodded his head sharply in agreement. "You're going to be too weak to help. Besides, we've almost got everybody out. I believe the last group is coming back now, and then Professor Sprout will fly back on the broom Professor McGonagall brought her."

"Is everybody all right?"

"Yes. Nobody was hurt. You have no need to worry about any of it."

"Do you need us anymore, Professor?" Draco asked Sirius, helping Harry to his feet. "If you don't, I'll take Harry to the Prefects meeting room to wait for the meeting to start."

"Sure. Go on and let Harry rest. I think we have it all covered," Sirius smiled.

Draco nodded his thanks, took Harry by the hand and left the tower.

"I don't really want to leave," Harry said petulantly.

"Too bad. You need to rest."

Harry considered pouting, but decided that he would leave that to Draco. When they arrived in the Prefects room, Hermione was going over some notes, highlighting facts with her wand. She looked up as they entered, and immediately stood up, looking concerned.

"Harry? You look peaky. What happened?"

"He was almost Kissed by a Dementor," Draco informed her grimly, unnecessarily leading Harry to a chair and guiding him down into it. Harry scowled at him, but he did not notice it.

"What?" Hermione gasped, horror struck.

"Yeah... Harry and I had just taken out an Acromantula. I had looked to see where Weasley and Weaslette were, and when I looked back, Harry had been pulled off his broom by the Dementor, and was trying to cast a Patronus, but only a mist came out." Draco's voice began to shake a little, but he was doing his best to keep it steady. "It was getting ready to kiss him. It even got his mouth over Harry's...." Draco let out a small breath. "If Black and Lupin hadn't...." He thread his fingers through Harry's hair as if to assure himself of Harry's continued existence.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione breathed. "I'm so glad you're okay." Her eyes glazed over as if in thought and then she rushed to her bag and began rummaging through it. "Ron gave me some chocolate frogs the other day," she mumbled under her breath.

Draco rolled his eyes. "How utterly romantic of him."

Hermione frowned at him, and then turned back to her bag. "I don't need any chocolate," Harry informed her. "Sirius gave me some."

"You know, Harry, you should really call him Professor, or Professor Black while you're in school."

"He's my godfather! I'll call him Professor when there are other students around."

"There are other students around," she sighed as she gestured to the other Prefects around them. Ernie Macmillan was close to them and straining an ear to listen. Draco frowned disapprovingly at him. "Here they are!" She triumphantly brought out three chocolate frogs and handed them to her friend. "Eat them. I don't care if Professor Black already gave you some."

Harry sighed, opened one up, caught it as it jumped from its package and bit the head off. Draco pulled a chair next to Harry's and wrapped the darker boy in his arms, nuzzling his neck softly.

Hermione bit her lip to keep from smiling as Harry dropped his frog in his lap, wrapped his left arm around Draco's shoulders and nuzzled his nose into Draco's soft hair. "As cute as you two are," she coughed. "This is neither the time, nor the place."

"It's always the time to prep for a little snogging," Draco murmured against Harry's neck. The blond turned his head up and kissed his boyfriend. Harry whimpered appreciatively against Draco's mouth.

"Unfortunetely, Miss Granger is correct, Mister Malfoy," admonished a stern voice behind them.

The two boys broke apart to see Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore striding into the room. Harry looked down and blushed. Draco turned his nose up. "Do not even think of retorting Mister Malfoy," McGonagall continued before he could say anything. "If you do, there will be a noticeable reduction in house points for Slytherin."

Draco looked down and grumbled to himself. Harry smiled slightly, intertwining their fingers, settling down for the meeting. Hermione summoned her books, papers and bag to herself, and sat on the other side of Harry. The Professors stood at the head of the table where Hermione and Draco usually stood.

The occupants of the room waited for the rest of the Prefects to turn up, and the room slowly grew in volume as more people arrived. When all seats were filled, the Headmaster cleared his throat.

"Good afternoon, Prefects," he began loudly. "As you all know, magical creatures of all kinds have come to Hogwarts today. Normally, this is taken as a special opportunity to teach the students, but these are quite different circumstances. There is no need for me to be evasive..."

Draco choked down a laugh and leaned into Harry. "If he's telling us he's not going to be evasive for once, we're not going to have any idea what the hell is going on."

Harry did not know if Dumbledore had heard Draco, but sent him a glare all the same when Hermione made a reproving sound in the back of her throat.

Dumbledore paused for a moment, but went on with no indication to if he had heard the Head Boy's comment. "These are extraordinary circumstances, and precautions will be made immediately. As of right now, no visitors will be allowed into Hogwarts, and all students and teachers are under house arrest."

The room erupted into mutterings about the indignity of it all. A few mentioned Quidditch, while others were worried that they would not be able to return home in a few weeks when the holidays began. Dumbledore held up a hand to quiet them. They eventually fell silent, while Harry, Draco, and Hermione exchanged nervous looks.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience to our normal lives here at Hogwarts. I am especially sorry to the seventh years who would like to end their final year as normally as possible, but I am afraid that that is looking impossible at the moment. Quidditch will once again be cancelled as I am sure you have all deduced, and if necessary, you will be held here for the summer holidays if we are not able to rectify the problem with the magical creatures before the end of term approaches. If it becomes apparent that this will be the case, we will then hold a meeting as to the summer rules. Are there any questions?"

Hannah Abbot cautiously raised her hand, and Dumbledore nodded at her. "Sir, I was wondering if you knew why the creatures have invaded the grounds like this?"

"I am afraid I do, Miss Abbot," Dumbledore nodded gravely. "It will not please any of you to hear it, but they are here for Lord Voldemort." A shudder went simultaneously throughout the room. "He has acquired means to control all magical creatures." Harry looked down at his lap, feeling guilt course through him like fire.

"Does.... does this mean that he will be coming soon to Hogwarts?" Hannah asked fearfully.

"It in no way means that," McGonagall said briskly. "You Know Who may not have any qualms with sending magical creatures to Hogwarts, but the one wizard that he has always feared is Professor Dumbledore. He would not be foolish enough to come here."

Dumbledore closed his eyes briefly, and if anybody had noticed, they had not noticed the tired look on his face. Harry did, and it made him worry. "Fear makes a person do irrational things, Professor McGonagall," Draco said quietly. "Besides, Voldemort will be seen as weak by his followers if he does not face one of his biggest fears. A week max... give him a week, and he'll be here."

"Mister Malfoy," McGonagall began harshly, but was cut off by Dumbledore.

"Minerva," he began quietly. "He is correct. I cannot say for sure that Voldemort will be here within a week, but Draco is correct about fear."

Harry felt the beginnings of panic with Draco's words. Harry had known for a few years now that his fight with Voldemort was inevitable, but now that could be so close, he was not sure he could handle it. He was not sure that he could defeat Voldemort. The Gryffindor began to breathe deeply through his nose as Dumbledore answered a few more questions and then dismissed the Prefects from the meeting. When Harry finally paid attention to what was going on, he found Draco speaking with Dumbledore about Voldemort coming to Hogwarts. Harry focused his attention on the conversation, but found his mind wandering back to what Draco had said about Voldemort not wanting to seem weak, and Harry spoke before he could think thoroughly on the matter.

"Voldemort is afraid of death. His main goal in life is immortality. Shouldn't he be seen as weak by his followers because of that?"

"Possibly," Dumbledore pondered for a few moments. "For some reason, Death Eaters do not see it as a weakness. They will see it as an accomplishment if Voldemort can truly obtain immortality. Besides, most humans are afraid of death, and so will not judge a person if that is one of their biggest fears." Harry looked to his lap once more and thought on this for a few moments before the Headmaster interrupted his train of thought. "Harry, I believe that you have had a rough afternoon. Why don't you go on up to your dormitory and try to rest."

Harry was about to protest, but his body suddenly felt weighed down from sheer exhaustion. It had been such a long day and it was not even three yet. Draco and Hermione followed him to the Gryffindor dormitories, though Hermione huffed the entire way about students not being allowed to enter other Common Rooms. The Slytherin ignored her indignant protests all the way up to Harry's dorm until he shut the door.

"That woman never shuts her nagging mouth," he sighed, slipping out of his robe. Harry followed suit and they climbed into his bed together and closed the curtains. "Harry," Draco purred suddenly after nearly ten minutes of silence.

"Hmm?"

"I'm feeling randy."

"You're always feeling randy," Harry smiled.

Draco waited expectantly for a few minutes, and then pouted when Harry still had not made a move. "I'm pouting here. Can't you see me?"

"No, it's dark."

"Well, I'm pouting."

Harry sighed, reached for his wand, and magically took Draco's trousers off, making the blond gasp in surprise. "How'd you do that?" Draco asked. "I've never heard of a spell like that.... It's hot."

"Don't ask, don't tell," Harry murmured as he wrapped a hand around Draco.

Draco moaned appreciatively. "Harry, tell me."

"I can't when I have my mouth full."

"There's nothing in your... Oh."