The Spirit of Death

The three of them stood and watched Ginny run back down the corridor and into another bedroom, slamming the door behind her, her face as red as her hair. Hermione looked around at Draco and Harry, to find both of them looking straight back at her. Knowing what they were thinking, she merely shrugged. She then remembered that before she had found Ginny outside the room. waiting for a glimpse of her favourite couple, she had been on her way to talk Ron around about Harry and Draco's relationship. Before she set off down the stairs, she continued to look straight into Harry's eyes, and spoke.

"He took this much better the other night when I broke it to him," she assured them, before continuing with her explanation. "He started making jokes about it, you know, 'I hope he doesn't fancy me,' that kind of thing, but I don't think it really hit him until he saw you together. I'll talk to him, and see what he's thinking. I'll let you both know."

"Thanks, Hermione," said Harry, really meaning it.

"Yeah, thanks," Draco added. Hermione now looked at him, and saw that he was entirely sincere.

"No problem," she said, smiling at Draco, and seeing relief on the boy's face, as him face broke to return the smile. Ginny's got a point, thought Hermione, chuckling inwardly as she set off down the stairs, Harry and Draco right behind her, fortunately unable to see the expression on her face. As they reached the downstairs hallway, Dumbledore re-emerged from the side room.

"Your Aunt is still trying out wands, Harry," he announced as he saw the threesome reach the bottom of the stairs, "her pile of tried and failed wands exceeds even yours, six years ago!!" he added, raising his eyebrows. Harry knew that it had taken to long for Harry to find a wand, because it was meant to be that Harry should use the brother-wand to that of Lord Voldemort. Harry was not particularly superstitious, but he knew that sometimes magic worked in mysterious ways, so he allowed the thought to linger in his mind for a little while. Harry also found that he was not half as mad as he had been at Dumbledore, even though he still had no idea why Dumbledore had Aunt Petunia trying out magic wands. Sensing that Harry wanted to be filled in, Dumbledore invited him, and Draco, into the front drawing room, where there were a couple of green leather, button-backed armchairs, and a matching sofa. Dumbledore settled into one of the armchairs, and Harry and Draco sat at either end of the sofa, with Harry closest to Dumbledore, looking up at the old man over an end table.

"I suppose you are wondering why your Aunt is next door trying out magic wands, Harry. I suppose, also, you're wondering how she managed to open a magically sealed door the other night, and I suppose that your primary concern is why I didn't give any reason pertaining to these occurrences when I told you that you would be spending Christmas in Surrey." The old man paused for breath after this long question. He did not require Harry to answer it, in order to know that he should continue.

"Well, when I saw you attracting, almost controlling, and very nearly capturing the power of the Whomping Willow, without using the usual incantation which summons the spirit the tree contains, I knew that you two had become a very powerful magical entity." Both boys noticed immediately that Dumbledore had called the pair of them, an entity, but did not interrupt the great man.

"Also, when I saw you drain the power of both my own, and you father's spells," he nodded towards Draco, "I realised that the sheer amount of raw magic you possess, and the power it represents and makes available to you both, could cause the very small amount of magical power your Aunt possesses to be able to manifest itself into useful power in your presence. Now I have no idea what you two were up to within the locked room, but I have the strong suspicion that your magic was, err, a little more united than usual at that time, perhaps? And that it was the power you brought out in your Aunt that allowed her to enter the room."

"Hold on," Harry interjected, "how do you know that she came though a locked door?"

"Do you really think that we would leave you in the exclusive care of Muggles, Harry?" Dumbledore asked. "We invoked certain ways of monitoring you, and of course, the magical activity within those walls, the very first time that Hagrid and I left you on the Dursleys' doorstep.

"Anyway, to cut a long story short, I saw two main qualities that this power has for you, one advantage, and one possible disadvantage. Let us look on the bright side to begin with.

"The fact that you appear to be able to 'lend' power to the less magical, for it is not uncommon for the siblings of Muggle-born witches or wizards to possess some degree of magical power, and therefore I saw the distinct possibility for the protection she can offer you to be increased by the magic you can lend her. The magical properties of a magic wand, plus the fact that her power will grow if she is allowed to practice magic, will allow the protection to be reinforced during the term time also, when you are not present in your Aunt's house. This is why she will be given a wand, and a course in household magic from Mrs Arabella Figg, one of your neighbours and member of the Order, in the foreseeable future.

"Unfortunately though, the very property of your magic which bring out the magic in your Aunt, could just as easily be used against you by those who wish to cause you harm. I don't mean to sound like Alastor Moody when I say you must maintain constant vigilance, but it is definitely the case here. You eminently possess the ability to drain other wizards of their power when you use your magic, and I see you being able to draw prodigious amounts of magic from wizards around you in duelling situations, though it seems to me that this magical aura could be used against you by wizards approaching your power.

"I believe that your power will grow, and be more controllable by you as you get used to the amount of power you both possess. The bond between the two of you is quite possibly the strongest I have yet seen."

He leaned back in his chair, and smiled at the boys, looking quite tired.

"Gosh my throat's dry after all that," he said briskly. "Tea, anyone?" He twiddled his wand in his customary fashion, and the trademark tray of tea and the appropriate accompaniment appeared on the tip of it, before zooming down onto the coffee table in front of the sofa. Both boys silently accepted tea from Dumbledore, and continued to sit in silence.

"Do either of you have any questions?" Dumbledore asked, stirring large amounts of sugar into his tea. There was more silence for a few moments, before Harry had a thought.

"Yes," he said, "now that Aunt Petunia has enough magic to operate a wand, can we go back to Hogwarts?" He tried not to look at the look of surprise on Draco's face - he wanted to go back to Hogwarts to try to make good with Ron before term started up again. Dumbledore considered the question for a few moments, surveying Harry in his characteristic way, peering over the top of his half-moon glasses at him.

"I see no reason why not," he concluded, "you must go back to Little Whinging tonight, if for no other reason than to fix your uncle's fireplace," he winked at Harry. "Then you may Apparate back to Hogsmeade tomorrow, and walk back to school."

Harry was on the point of reminding Dumbledore that neither of them could Apparate, when Snape entered the room. He looked at Draco for a second, but determinedly did not look at Harry.

"Are they ready?" he asked, shortly.

"Yes, I think so," replied Dumbledore, warmly. "Some tea, before we begin, Severus?"

"No, I don't think so, thank you, Headmaster," said Snape, in a rather rigid staccato. "I'll take my place upstairs, just in case they make it," he said, eyeing Harry finally, though rather unpleasantly. He was once again wearing his look of quiet loathing, which was reserved exclusively for Harry. It had made reappearance since Harry and Draco had struck up their relationship, though it did not really bother Harry, as he was so used to Snape not liking him and, indeed, did not like him back.

"Very well, Severus," said Dumbledore cheerfully. Snape left the room without another word.

"Apparition, my boys," announced Dumbledore, placing his teacup and saucer back onto the table and returning his full attention to the two adolescents before him, "is rather complex, though I doubt that either of you will have the least bit of trouble with it.

"There is no incantation, and no wand is needed. It only requires sufficient willpower on your part, and your inherent magic will to the rest. You must concentrate as hard as you can on where you want to go, and will yourself to be there, and all things being well, you will be instantaneously transported to that destination. It will give you a bit of a shock to begin with, because you will not know, initially, at what point in time you will move. As you gain experience however, you should be able to prepare somewhat for your Disapparition.

"Professor Snape is waiting in the bedroom at the top of the stairs for your arrival, and all you have to do is will yourself to be up in that bedroom, with Professor Snape."

Draco tried to suppress a snort of laughter, but was not entirely successful. Harry elbowed him, but was not as discrete about it as he would have liked. Dumbledore smiled slightly, but straightened his face again before either boy really realised that he had done so.

"Which of you would like to go first?" he asked.

"Umm, Harry - can you go first, I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore for a moment.

"Oh - sure," Harry replied, a little taken aback.

"OK, then Harry, concentrate as hard as you can on that room," he said, "will yourself to be in the room..."

If Dumbledore said anything else by way of guidance, Harry didn't hear it. With a faint popping sound, he became aware that he was no longer in the sitting room with Dumbledore and Draco. He had no idea where in fact he was, but before he had had enough time to ponder his situation, there was another pop! and he was in the upstairs bedroom with Professor Snape.

"You managed it, then?" Snape drawled at him, distaste evident in his tone, "but of course, there's nothing that is too good for Potter, nothing that Potter can't do. Get out of my sight - go back downstairs."

"Actually, Draco wants to talk to Dumbledore in private, so I'm not going back until he's come up here also, because then I'll know he's done," Harry replied shortly.

Snape glared at him, but said nothing more. He walked as far away from Harry as he could, without leaving the room, and looked away from him. A few moments later, Draco landed on the bed, right on top of Harry. They chuckled for a few seconds before Draco got off of Harry, and when they looked back at Snape, they could see his eyes popping, a look of something like rage on his face. He regained his composure somewhat before he spoke.

"I hardly think this is the time," he said, mockingly, knowing fully well that neither of them was at fault, as Apparition is prone to such innocent occurrences as someone landing on top of somebody else. "Go back downstairs, both of you, now."

At the same instant, Harry and Draco both Disapparated, and instantaneously reappeared back in Dumbledore's drawing room, to find themselves splinched together in a rather compromising position. Harry was on top, and tried to pick himself up, off Draco, before the pair of them realised that something was awry. Both of them felt an odd sensation, a sensation as though each had taken hold of a large pinch of skin on the stomach and pulled it rather hard. Harry stopped trying to lift himself off the floor straight away, resting back onto Draco. They both realised at that stage that they were no longer two people, at least not to look at. They managed, just, not to panic, then Draco drew his wand and raised them both up into a standing position in front of Dumbledore.

"Oh Dear," he said, a little surprised, "you are very powerful indeed, it seems." He drew his wand, to separate the two boys. "Professor Snape should have known that this was an eminent risk for the two of you. If two people who share power, like you two, Apparate at the same time, between the same points, your united magic will unite your bodies, as you see here."

Just as Dumbledore raised his wand, Snape Apparated right next to him, looking straight at the boys, smirking, "seems there are some things yet, you still can't do."

This was the first occasion on which Harry or Draco had seem Dumbledore shoot a questioning look at any member of his staff. The look was quickly replaced however, and the great man settled for quietly clearing his throat instead of making a point to Snape. His eyes returned to the boys, "this should not hurt," he promised, and raised his wand again.

At the point where Harry's and Draco's bodies were connected, there grew a large bubble of flesh which, when it had reached a sufficient diameter, split, and the excess flesh wrapped itself back around the boys' bodies, leaving them as before, as if nothing had happened. Their clothes had mirrored the motions of the reparation, preserving the boys' privacy.

Shortly after an hour's addition practise, the boys returned to Privet Drive with Aunt Petunia, via the arcane-feeling Floo system. They repaired Uncle Vernon's fireplace, then repaired themselves to Harry's bedroom, for a good night's sleep. As Harry snuggled back in the bed, against Draco's chest, Draco whispered in his ear, "I can think of a better way to 'unite our bodies'."

A wide grin split Harry's face, and he rolled over onto Draco. After an extended period of intense physical activity, the two boys simultaneously moaned louder than ever as they both reached their climax. As they bucked together, the image faded, to be replaced by a view of a dark ceiling.

Ginny woke from her dream, breathing hard. Across the country, Harry rolled off Draco, falling onto his bed, tired but entirely satisfied. They fell asleep in each others' arms within minutes.

The next day Harry and Draco both packed their trunks, and after breakfast bade the Dursleys farewell. Aunt Petunia seemed genuinely upset that they had to leave, as she had been hoping for additional magic tutelage from the boys. They each took firm hold of their trunks, as Dumbledore had instructed, and concentrated on the iron, gargoyle flanked gates of Hogwarts. Instantaneously they both vanished from the Dursleys' lives, and magically reappeared hundreds of miles away, staring up at the great gates.

"Well, bugger it, I'm not walking," drawled Draco, and with that he flicked his wand and Summoned one of the horseless carriages that usually appeared at the beginning and end of each term to transport students between Hogsmeade station and the Hogwarts entrance. Before Harry could ask, Draco explained.

"They hang around outside the Slytherin common room - you know that grille in the ground in the back courtyard?"

"Yea..."

"There. They're driven my some quite powerful Dark magic, apparently. The year after you conquered Voldemort they had a big event when they could finally start using them again. They had to keep them locked up during Voldemort's years, as obviously they yearned for him."

Harry had not really listened to the second half of Draco's explanation, as he was been taken aback by the fact that Draco was the first person he had known to use Voldemort's name, excluding himself and Voldemort. They stepped aboard the evil carriage, and sat for about a minute.

"Come on you bastard," muttered Draco, stabbing the backrest of the seat with his wand, spurring the carriage into moving off. It moved very slowly, unwillingly. Harry and Draco were lost in conversation as it gradually altered its path away from the castle. At length, as the boys continued talking, the carriage jolted to a halt and threw its door open, in usual fashion. Without thinking, Harry and Draco each seized their trunks and piled out of the carriage. When they looked up, however, their trunks fell heavily back to the ground.

Instead of the warming view of the entrance to their school, the boys found themselves beholding the seething visage of Lucius Malfoy's face. Draco began visibly to shake, but Harry remained unmoving.

"You disgust me," said Lucius, suddenly. "Walking out on your family and our honour, the pride and respect the Malfoy name commands," he spat. Draco was shaking, and Harry could see was ready to capitulate entirely to his father, as had been expected of him throughout his life, with the exception of the past two weeks, since their encounter in Dumbledore's office.

"Honour? Respect?" said Harry, shaking too, but with fury not fear. "You've suppressed Draco his entire life." His wand had come out of his inside pocket. Lucius had not noticed until that point, so taken aback was he that he should be talked back to. Lucius began to whirl his wand."

"We've done it before," roared Harry, enraged. Draco, taking heart from Harry stood, his wand raised also, his hand dead still, the tip of his wand aimed directly at his father's heart.

"Draco!" a shrill voice carried over to them from somewhere off in the forest. That moment, Draco's mother came into the clearing, gliding across the soft forest ground like a wraith. She also had her wand raised.

"Go home, Narcissa," Lucius commanded his wife. Both boys and Lucious could see that the thin woman was fighting her every instinct, bar one. Her instinct to protect her only child was stronger than the instinct which told her to run for her life. She moved in between the two boys and her husband, separating them, and defending her son and his boyfriend from him. Lucius' lip curled, in its familiar way. Draco's lip curled in a similar manner, though it looked, to Harry, endlessly more attractive on Draco's face, due to the shape of his mouth, and his thin lips. When Lucious raised his wand and opened his mouth, the incantation was barely audible.

"Avada Kedavra," he breathed, and a rushing sound began to fill the air. As a wall of green light began to surge towards Narcissa and the two boys, in the blinding light, the noise doubled. Draco was terrified; his parents had finally done what had been building up his whole life. Harry dived on Draco, pushing his unwilling form out of the path of the killing curse. Squinting through his almost-closed eyelids he saw two walls of lightpass right through each other, in the instant they crossed, the pinpoint in time during which the two curses were occupying the same space, which Harry was now viewing through his eyelids, such was the intensity of the light. That instant passed and the lights each passed on their lethal ways, rolling right over the two people occupying the centre of the clearing without stopping, before fading at the edge of opposite sides of the clearing. The sound faded to deathly silence, and Harry opened his eyes. The ground over which the curses had passed was scorched, the strip between the two bodies charred black where two curses had passed over. The perfectly still bodies of two people who had been alive moments before were, in contrast to the wrecked terrain, utterly unblemished, but most definitely lifeless. Draco was cowering on the ground, at Harry's feet as he stood surveying the scene before him. He crouched beside his lover's trembling form, and laid a hand on his shaking shoulder.

Draco began to weep audibly. The emotion of the last two minutes events hit him so hard he couldn't control it. Without saying a word, he just lay on the ground, his eyes screwed up, refusing himself the indulgence of his own desire to see for himself what had happened. Such was the intensity of the moment, that while his eyes had been shut, he had been able to see through Harry's eyes, and what Harry had seen utterly terrified him. Both of his parents dead, each of them having killed the other. He picked himself up, rolling away from the clearing, and pulling Harry down to his level. He looked up into Harry's green eyes, and saw the redness around the startling irises, the tears welling at the bottom of his eyes. He slipped his arm around Harry's neck, placed his chin over Harry's shoulder and wept unashamedly into his neck.

Harry cried with him. He had lived his whole life without parents, and as he could never remember having parents, and therefore did not remember experiencing the loss of parents, he knew what life was like without the luxury. Harry's empathy was compounded by the fact that the previous year his uncle, Sirius, with whom Harry had hoped so much to go live with, had also passed away preserving Harry's life. He still had nightmares about it, and had not fully forgiven himself for getting into the situation from which he had required rescuing. It had brought home the reality that in the game in which Harry was involved through the consequence of a magical prophecy, the stakes were as high as they could possibly be.

He knew that Draco would be feeling as though the world had ended, and also as though it was his own fault. However, Harry could sense through Draco's anguish at the demise of his parents, a sense of happiness, or if not happiness then a certain relief, if that, even, was the right word for it. Through uncontrollable, snatched breaths, Draco spoke silently into Harry's ear, raising his head off Harry's shoulder just enough that Harry could just hear as he all but mouthed the words.

"I love you, Harry," he managed.

These words started an additional wave of tears welling in Harry's eyes. He did not know what to say, how to respond. It seemed insensitive to even ask how Draco felt. He settled for the most direct and obvious answer to what Draco had said, without pushing the conversation, perhaps, further than Draco wanted to go.

"I love you too," he nuzzled into Draco's ear. Their embrace tightened momentarily, before Draco disengaged himself from Harry's grip and turned slowly to survey the scene he had been dreading.

The grass was still smoking around and between where his lifeless parents lay, their expressions frozen in time. Draco stepped over his mother's form, and looked into her face. Standing behind Draco, far enough behind so that Draco had the room he needed, yet close enough that Draco knew he was there for him, Harry also saw. Saw her petrified face frozen in an expression of desperate desire to protect her son, to fend off the attack of her husband. After a moment, Draco took the hood of her robe from under her head, and lowered it over his mother's already cold face. As he did so, he took a deep breath, his eyes closed. As he released that breath, he stood back up and viewed his mother for the final time. He then stepped back from the dead body, and linked his hand with Harry's. He led Harry from the clearing without looking back.

The pair exchanged no words during their trek back up to the castle - their carriage had snuck off while the Malfoys had been duelling, and they wouldn't have trusted it had it remained. Remarkably, they made it to the edge of the forest, a good five minutes' walk, without meeting any of the forest's other inhabitants, which had to be something of a record in itself. They continued in silence across the vast front lawns of Hogwarts, right up to the oak front doors of the castle. They stood at the bottom of the stone steps, appraising the castle for a moment as it stood before them, impressive and imposing. Once at the top of the steps, their hands came apart for the first time since they had left the forest.

"What time is it?" Draco asked, his voice hardly discernable from his usual smooth elocution, despite what he had just witnessed.

"Err," said Harry, stalling for time in the customary fashion of one consulting one's wristwatch, "just seven."

"Good - everyone will be at dinner. Lets go in and find somewhere out of the way while everyone's in the Hall."

Harry followed without any verbal response, as Draco held the door for him, and shut it behind him. The went straight on, across the Entrance Hall and up the magnificent marble staircase that was the central feature of the hall. About halfway down the first floor corridor, Draco tried the handle on the door to one of the empty classrooms - locked. The next too.

"Why do all the teachers lock their rooms?" Draco snapped, angrily, not at Harry, but more to the door. Not wanting to annoy Draco by saying 'calm down' which only ever has the effect of winding someone up, Harry touched his arm.

"Follow me," he said, and led the way back to the staircase, and up two more flights. He tried each door along the corridor in turn, until finally one opened. When it did so, Harry put his head around the door and looked into the room. He smiled briefly, then pushed the door wide, allowing Draco to enter the room before him. Harry shut the door behind him, and locked it magically. He crossed the room and sat down on a sofa, which was facing a large fireplace. As he sat, he launched an arc of bright flame across the room into the hearth, where it took hold, illuminating and warming the room. Draco sat at the far end of the sofa, looking into the heart of the fire.

The room Harry had led Draco to was, of course, the magical room which appeared according to the needs of the finder. He had first heard about it when he had overheard a conversation between Professors Dumbledore and Karkaroff, of Durmstrang, two years previously, on which occasion the room had been filled with chamber-pots. The previous year, Harry had regularly conducted meetings of the "DA", Dumbledore's Army. It was in this very room that he had had his first kiss, from Cho Chang, a pretty, oriental girl, who played opposite Harry on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Harry returned from his musings, and withdrew his gaze from the fire, and looked at Draco. He was slightly surprised to see Draco looking straight into his eyes. He was smiling.

Through the shock of having witnessed his parents murdering each other, Draco moved over to Harry, slipping one arm around his back, and nuzzling into the base of Harry's neck, his chin hooked over Harry's shoulder. He began to weep. After a few moments he pulled away from Harry, and smiled broadly into Harry's face.

"I'm so happy," he said, which confused Harry for a moment, before the explanation came, "my parents, neither of them, would never have seen us together."

Something occurred to Harry, and he interrupted.

"But your mum came and defended..."

"Me. She stopped my father killing me. She would have turned and killed you a second later. She might be slightly more compassionate then my father where I'm concerned, but she's still a huge supporter of the Dark Lord."

Harry did not contest further. He smiled back at Draco.

"Also, this will make it a lot easier to come out to the rest of the world," Draco continued. He stopped abruptly, and looked at Harry, who suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. He wanted to go see Ron, and talk to him rationally, before anyone else found out. And time for this was short, because it would be impossible for it to remain secret for much longer. Secrets have a habit of coming out at Hogwarts, often from the most unassuming of sources. Of course the ghosts did not help matters at all. They would float through walls into rooms, and witness private conversations, or activities, entirely by chance, but then they would talk to each other about what they had seen, then a student would hear, and then the entire school would know before the end of the week.

"Yea, it will," Harry agreed with Draco, "it'll still be hard though. How will we do it?"

"Well, I'd brush up on a bit of defensive magic before too long," joked Draco, though both of them knew that he had a point. Neither of them had any idea how the school as a whole would react to their relationship. Both were rather prominent members of the school community, each playing Seeker for their respective House Quidditch teams.

At that moment, there came a tapping sound at one of the windows - wide, short windows right up by the ceiling of the chamber, a good ten feet from the floor. Harry raised his wand and flicked it at the window, which shot open, and an owl entered the room, and dropped a roll of parchment onto Draco's lap. It also dropped a self-inking quill on top of the parchment, before settling on the mantelpiece.

Draco unrolled the parchment. It was an official letter. It read:

Dear Mr D Malfoy

Following the tragic deaths of your parents, and according to standard procedures, the entire holdings of Mr L, and Mrs N Malfoy have been credited to a new account, in your name, in Vault No. 5 at Gringott's Wizarding Bank. The total credit stands at:

8 million Galleons

11 Sickles

2 Knuts

and is accessible only in your presence, at any time.

May we extend our deepest sympathies at this time.

Gringott's Wizarding Bank

Clerk 98654312

Draco signed a slip of parchment which had come with the statement, confirming that he had received it. He handed the quill and the slip back to the owl, which duly took off and left through the still open window.

"Vault Number 5?" Harry asked, in awe. He had found out, over the summer, how the Gringotts' vaults were numbered.

"Yea," said Draco, rereading the statement.

"You're the fifth richest wizard banking with Gringotts."

"I guess so. This figure doesn't include the contents of the vault at home though, my father kept most of his money where only he could get it. He was rather paranoid, though it is true that our home has better security, even, than Gringotts or Hogwarts."

Harry had just recalled that his vault number wasn't that high, and out of all the people who banked with Gringotts, which was practically the entire magical community, he must also be one of the richest wizards in Britain. He smiled to himself, briefly.

It was no secret that Draco's family was rich, though. Everyone knew, mainly because Lucius was always seen to be handing out enormous grants to St Mungo's, the wizarding hospital, or to Hogwarts or any number of other 'good causes', which would keep him close to the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

"The money has been passed down through about 6 generations, the seventh most recent was a successful businessman - the money is actually legitimate, though nobody would believe it, after our family's recent history."

"6 generations?" asked Harry, "were all your ancestors only children?"

"No," Draco replied, "the money was always handed down to the oldest son, making sure that the money was always Malfoy money. I wonder who I'll bequeath it to - we'll not be having many children!!"

Harry chuckled with Draco, but he quickly found himself worrying once again about the more immediate future, and how the pair of them were to deal with the rest of the school.

"Let's go," he said, "you can come visiting in Gryffindor Tower. Follow me."

They crossed the room together, and as they reached the door, Draco leant on it, and turned to face Harry, smiling alluringly. Harry grinned as he leaned in towards Draco and their lips met. There was still the electricity, the insatiable desire for contact. As their tongues entwined and their hands worked around each others' torsos, they both had the tantalizing feeling of knowing that they would never be able to get enough of each other. Finally, after a couple of minutes they broke apart once again, and Draco swung the door open for Harry.

Harry stuck his head out into the corridor first, to check that the coast was clear. Just when he thought it was OK to leave, he heard the clatter feet as someone ran down the stairs at the end of the corridor. Fortunately, it only sounded like one person, and indeed, as Cho Chang landed at the bottom of the stairs, she was alone. She beamed at Harry when she saw him, which Harry though was odd, as she had given up speaking to him the year before, following their first date when she had insisted upon talking about Cedric Diggory, her boyfriend from the year before, who had perished during the Triwizard Tournament.

She slowed as she reached him, and was too busy staring at Harry's eyes to notice the door behind him move very slightly as Draco shifted it so as not to be seen. Cho stopped short of Harry, looking straight into his eyes.

"Have you been thinking about it too?" she asked. The question was quite abrupt, in the character of someone who, having said something, had decided that though they had summoned the courage to ask the question, did not feel as if they had the bravery to hear the answer.

"About what?" asked Harry, genuinely taken aback.

"You know. What happened in here? Last year?"

"Err yea, I guess so," said Harry, still not cottoning on.

She took a step towards him, so that they were standing practically nose to nose, and started to put her arm around Harry's neck. Finally realising what she wanted, Harry tried, and failed, to stumble backwards. As she began to lean forwards, Harry's arm found the door which he pushed open to reveal Draco standing inside the room.

Harry's abrupt backwards lurch distracted Cho, and she opened her eyes again, and caught sight of Draco. Then she looked back at Harry, who took another step backwards to stand next to Draco, and linked his fingers with Dracos. Cho's mouth hung, unflatteringly, wide open as she saw the two boys standing shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand. Then she choked slightly.

"I'm sorry, Harry," she managed, before stumbling backwards out of the doorway and running off, back up the stairs.

"Shit," said Harry, bluntly.

"Mmm, hmm," agreed Draco, "you should have let her kiss you, though of course I'm exceedingly flattered that you didn't."

Harry turned to look at him, trying to communicate without words how not-funny Draco was being. He already had the idea though, and suggested quickly that they go up to Gryffindor Tower quickly, and find Ron before Cho told everyone about them.

"Thanks," said Harry, just as they set off at a run, in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.

When they reached the portrait hole, they stopped running, as the Fat Lady regarded the pair of them with a slightly questioning look on her face.

"Wait here," Harry said to Draco, "I want to see how many people are here before you come in. I think technically you're not supposed to come in here. I'll be back in a sec if its OK."

While Harry told the Fat Lady the password, she narrowed her eyes at Draco over Harry's head, so make sure that he wasn't trying to overhear the password in purpose. Satisfied, she swung open to allow Harry to climb through the opening, before slamming quickly shut behind him, preventing Draco from following. As she stared down at him, Draco shot her a withering look. She looked away.

Inside the common room, Harry found it was empty except for Hermione who was sitting in the comfy armchairs in front of the fire, reading an unbelievably thick book. She looked up from it as she heard him enter.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, when she saw him, Dumbledore let you come back. When did you arrive?"

"About five minutes ago," Harry lied, "we had a little trouble with the transportation though."

"Oh?" Hermione asked.

"I'll tell you later. Where's Ron?"

"He just went upstairs to get something."

"How is he?"

At that moment, Ron appeared at the bottom of the stairwell to the dormitories. At the sound, Harry looked over, and their eyes met.

As soon as they made eye contact, each immediately looked down at the floor, both feeling upset about their situation, but neither about to admit to it. Finally, Ron said, "Hi Harry."

He had raised his eyes from the floor as he spoke, but dropped his gaze once again as soon as he had said it. Harry looked up to respond and saw Ron looking at the floor once again.

"Hey," he replied, nervously. Ron began to walk slowly across the room, veering towards the seat next to Hermione's in front of the fire. Harry walked backwards, and sat in a seat facing them both. Neither boy spoke, and Hermione just sat looking between them, watching them, and not saying anything either. After what seemed like the most uncomfortable eternity, Ron spoke again.

"Err, Harry?"

"Yea?"

"I'm sorry about how I reacted the other day, you know, to the thing."

"OK," said Harry. Ron looked up.

"OK? I mean, I just wasn't expecting it, and, well, it was a bit of a shock to see you two there, you know."

"Yea, I'm sorry too," said Harry, speaking to both of them, "its been going on for quite a while, and I haven't told you."

"Why not?" asked Ron, trying to sound incredulous, "its not like we'd have flipped out or anything!!" The three of them laughed, though the atmosphere was still quite tense.

"Really, though, Harry, I'm really sorry," said Ron again. He stood.

"It's OK, really," said Harry, and also stood.

"Is it OK to..." said Ron, stepping forwards.

"Sure," said Harry, and they came together in a brief hug, clapping each other on the back.

"Good to have you back, mate," said Ron as they came apart.

"It's not so bad, is it, see?" joked Harry, raising his eyebrows to Ron, grinning.

"Don't enjoy it too much, that all you're getting," Ron replied, in his usual gruff manner. "How can you have gone out with two of the best looking girls in the school, then gotten bent, Harry?" he asked, laughing.

Harry pretended to consider the question, then replied, "well one wanted to talk about previous boyfriends, and the other seemed much more interested in those little French boys. So I decided they're too much trouble."

He paused for a moment, smiling at Ron and Hermione.

"Who else is still here in Gryffindor," he asked.

"Just us," said Hermione and Ron together, looking at each other. Harry raised his eyebrows at them both, then winked at Ron, who went very pink around his ears.

"Is it OK if Draco joins us, then?" he asked, tentatively. The both nodded. Harry went to the portrait hole and pushed it open. Immediately, Draco's voice floated through it.

"Finally," he said, in mock exasperation, "I thought you'd gone to bed ... without me!" Harry laughed briefly, and behind his back, Ron pulled a very odd face, causing Hermione to laugh doubly - at Draco and at Ron.

Harry helped Draco through the portrait hole, as getting through was something of an acquired skill which took at least a terms' honing, then shut the portrait hole. Then he and Draco walked shoulder to shoulder across the room to join Ron and Hermione.

"Hi Hermione," said Draco as they walked. Hermione smiled back at him.

"Hey Draco."

Ron did the smallest of double takes, at hearing Draco and Hermione use each others' first names, then looked back at Harry and Draco. There was an odd silence, before Draco spoke.

"Hi, Ron."

"Hi," said Ron, a bit shortly, but not quite intentionally.

"Harry, did you tell them?" asked Draco seriously of Harry, turning to face him.

"No," said Harry, worry rushing back into the pit of its stomach.

"What," said Ron. Hermione asked also, but with a little more urgency.

"Umm, we're out," said Harry, bluntly. Ron and Hermione raised their eyebrows,

while Draco turned up his nose at Harry's explanation.

"Allow me to explain this a little better," he said, in his soft, smooth drawl, to which all of them were accustomed, though Ron especially had never heard it without inherent malice, as he did now. "This is quite a long story, which begins with our little detour, courtesy of the horseless carriages. They took us to the centre of the forest, about an hour ago, where my father was waiting, intending to split us up," he reached for Harry's hand, "in the most permanent of ways. Now my mother turned up to protect me, and in the end my parents killed each other." Everyone was stunned at the nature in which Draco related the tale, not coldly, but without as much emotion as one would expect of someone whom has just lost both his parents.

"Harry took me to a room out of the way, so that he could talk to me about what happened. I have explained to him that I feel no sense of loss, as both my parents would have, and indeed did, die to keep us apart, and, due to the magical nature of our relationship, neither of us can survive whilst separated from the other. Therefore losing my parents was a necessary step to securing our future. Now the real catch came, when we were leaving the room, as Miss Chang spotted Harry leaving the room, and having decided to rekindle a flame with dear Harry here," he jabbed his free thumb in Harry's direction, "she discovered me, in the room with Harry."

Ron looked a little uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, Ron, I assure you that nothing untoward was happening between Harry and myself at the time."

He smiled at Ron, who tried to smile back.

"Anyway, now that Cho Chang knows, it can't be long before the rest of the school finds out, especially when they all come back at the end of the holidays."

Hermione and Ron looked shocked.

"What are you going to do?" asked Hermione.

"Well, we were hoping you might help us with that part, Hermione," said Harry, "I don't think there's much we can do, really." Hermione pursed her lips.