Undertow

"Bloody hell," Draco swore under his breath. The Slytherin was standing on a rooftop somewhere in London; he was completely lost. How was he going to get to his destination now? He racked his brain for ideas and finally came up with something.

"Locatus Harry Potter," he whispered. A glowing silver ball of light emerged from the tip of his wand and hovered lazily off to his right. Draco swung back onto his broom and kicked off. The ball sailed a few feet in front of him, guiding him through the night sky.

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Only Sirius and Bellatrix were still fighting. They didn't seem to have noticed the arrival of Dumbledore. Sirius ducked the red light that shot from Bellatrix's wand. He laughed and egged her on.

"Come on, surely you can do better than that!"

A second jet of red light hit Sirius on the chest. He only had time to adopt a surprised expression before he gracefully sank through the veil.

"Sirius!"

Harry woke with a start. He was dripping with cold sweat. Tears and blood were mingling in his mouth; he must have bitten his tongue. His head clearing slightly; he looked around.

"Glad I put that Silencing Charm on the room last night," he muttered to Hedwig, who hooted at him reproachfully.

"Sorry, girl," Harry apologized. He got up and softly crept across the room and down the hall to the bathroom. There he rinsed out his mouth and washed the sweat off his face. Feeling refreshed, he turned off the light, slipped back down the hall to his bedroom and, once inside, locked the door.

I should get back to bed, thought Harry. He walked across the room, slid back under the sheets and rested his head on the pillow. He spent a few minutes clearing his mind like Snape had taught him before closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep.

Rap-tap-tap!

Harry's eyes flew open. Someone or something was knocking at his window. Curious, he fumbled for his glasses and went over to the window. A large eagle-owl was perched on the windowsill outside. Harry hastened to open the window, all the while thinking that the owl looked vaguely familiar. Once the window was open far enough, the owl soared in and landed gracefully on the back of a chair. It stared at Harry expectantly, waiting for him to do something. Hedwig clacked her beak in the background. Harry looked at the owl again and gently offered her Hedwig's water dish. The owl drank its fill and then settled down on the chair.

Where have I seen this owl before? Harry wondered. It seemed to be settling in as if it were planning on staying for a while.

'Alright...Mr. Owl," Harry consented. "You can stay for the night, as long as Hedwig is okay with it."

The snowy owl hooted her agreement, and both owls looked at Harry.

"Okay, you two. Let me get some sleep now." The Gryffindor crawled back into his bed and fell asleep.

The crowd was cheering. He leaned forward, speeding up his Firebolt as he chased after the Snitch. Suddenly, a figure clad in green robes swerved in front of him, forcing him to drop down to avoid a collision. As his broom hurdled down, he turned and glanced at the face above him. A familiar blonde sneered down at him. Malfoy looked back up just in time to see a Bludger hit him square on the chest. The blow knocked him off balance and he slid from his broom, tumbling through the air. Much to his own surprise, Harry found himself racing after the falling boy, determined to catch him.

He managed to get underneath Malfoy, catching him in his arms, all thoughts of the game gone. Harry pulled his broom up and looked down at the boy in his arms. Suddenly, Harry felt an overpowering urge to kiss him

Before there was any lip-locking, Harry woke up. The dream was still vivid in his mind, and he felt vaguely disappointed.

Draco?! Why the bloody hell am I dreaming about Draco like that? Why am I dreaming about Draco at all? Oh, Jesus, I thought of him as Draco. I must be losing my mind. What's happening to me? I'm supposed to dream about girls like that!

A small voice in his mind interrupted and informed Harry that he had dreamt about guys like that before, just not Dra- Malfoy. After all, he entertained a series of fantasies about Oliver Wood in his third year, as well as the Cho-fantasies that took over his fourth and early fifth years. He had recently started having those dreams about- No. He wouldn't even let himself think it. She was entirely and completely off-limits, so he simply wouldn't allow himself to want her, at least not while he was awake. Harry shook his head and returned his trail of thought to Draco. Why was he thinking of his arch-nemesis like this?

Harry stood up and started pacing the room. Feeling confused, he thought about who he could ask. Not Hermione, she wouldn't understand. Not Ron, he was too close to the matter. None of his teachers would work. Sirius. He'd ask Sir-

A sudden pang of misery struck him. How could he be so stupid? In his confusion, he'd forgotten that the man he had come to rely on was dead. However, before he could dwell on this and become miserable and depressed again, a loud cry cut through the still morning air.

"POTTER! Get your bloody arse down here now!"

There was a note of panic in Uncle Vernon' s voice that typically was associated with anything to do with the wizarding world.

Maybe someone from the Order has come to rescue me! Harry thought excitedly as he quickly pulled on trousers and hastened down the stairs while pulling a t-shirt over his head. He bounded across the hall and cut in front of Uncle Vernon, only to find himself staring deep into a pair of steel grey eyes.