A/N: Another chapter for you all. Thanks again for the reviews and follows and favorites :). Enjoy!
It had been a few days since Draco and Harry had last talked. Harry hadn't had a chance to talk with Dumbledore as he always seemed to not be in his office when he came around and left quickly from meals or lingered well after a reasonable time for Harry to be there. Draco had only sent small notes here and there about mundane things. Harry sent back similar ones, but at least the communication was still open.
Finally, Harry managed to catch Dumbledore in his office. The man looked almost reluctant to speak to him thus increasing the theory that Dumbledore was keeping something very big from him. Harry studied him for a moment as he puttered around his office making tea and gathering up some biscuits. The man was moving slower and he seemed to be exhausted and looked almost ill. The twinkle in his eye seemed a bit less than usual. Harry frowned, the knot in his stomach tightening.
"Professor, are you well?" Harry asked after the silence became too much for him.
Dumbledore sat down and smiled at Harry which seemed almost a grimace to him. Harry frowned further; his worry about what Dumbledore was hiding growing. "I'm fine, my boy. Now, what brings you here?"
Harry sighed. Why would Dumbledore tell him what he was hiding anyway? "Well, I needed to tell you something that I found out, directly from the source actually," he replied.
"From the source?" he questioned, but based on the gleam in his eye, he already knew.
"Well, I've been speaking with Draco," Harry began.
Dumbledore nodded knowingly. "I know. I thought that the two of you were up to something. Your injuries appeared to be quite superficial and I might have seen you by the lake at one point this week," he responded, twirling his beard.
"Yes, well, we talked and he told me what's been bothering him," Harry continued.
Dumbledore nodded knowingly again. "I suspected that he is in over his head with something," he replied.
Harry frowned again. Even though he knew that Dumbledore always seemed to know things, it was still a bit annoying telling him something he already knew. "Voldemort has tasked him with fixing a cabinet and to kill you!" Harry exclaimed.
He nodded again and frowned. "I did know that," he replied.
Harry's eyes widened. "What are you going to do about it?" he demanded angrily. Knowing that Dumbledore already knew of his impending death made the reality of it all even more frightening than hearing Draco tell him what he had to do.
"Harry, my boy, it's being handled. I've got everything under control. All I want you to concern yourself with is your studies," he assured him.
"But-" Harry began, but was silenced by Dumbledore whom had lifted his blackened hand to stop him from speaking any longer. Harry glanced at it and his eyes widened in horror as he saw how much worse it looked. He seemed to notice what hand he had used and dropped it, sliding his robe over the top.
"Harry, your job is to also just be there for Draco and understand that he has no choice in what he is doing," Dumbledore reminded him.
"There's always a choice," he muttered. He stood and nodded brusquely, knowing that he was being dismissed.
He glanced up at Fawkes who stared down at him with knowledgeable eyes. He had become even more afraid of what was going to happen in regards to Dumbledore. He left his office, suddenly wanting to talk to Draco. He made his way quickly to the Gryffindor Tower. He realized that it was later than he thought and the common room was mostly empty save for a couple of seventh years studying. He was surprised that Hermione wasn't in there.
He ran up to his dorm and made his way inside. His dorm mates were all snoring loudly. He felt relieved at his luck. He had to speak to Draco and if he didn't have to shake anyone off, that'd be easier. He grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a note down on it. He hoped that Draco was still awake. He shoved the note into his pocket and muttered the spell. He fished out his invisibility cloak and set it next to him. His meeting with Dumbledore played around in his mind as he waited for some sort of response from Draco.
About ten minutes later, his pocket warmed up. After it cooled, Harry reached in and pulled out a response from Draco. He agreed to meet him. Harry stood and walked out of his dorm and down into the common room. The seventh years from before were still there, but were obviously still caught up in their studying and didn't seem to notice him. He put his cloak on and then left to meet Draco near the library.
The library closed late since it was closer to exam time. If they happened to be caught up there, they could easily explain that they had been in the library. Harry arrived and stepped into an alcove, directly across from the library. He waited impatiently for Draco to show. He did, about two minutes later. He was looking around for him so as he passed close enough to where Harry was hiding; he sent a wordless silencing charm and grabbed Draco, pulling him into the alcove. He could hear his cry as soon as he was within Harry's silence bubble.
"Unhand me, fiend!" Draco exclaimed.
He struggled in Harry's arms which made him laugh. "Draco, calm down, it's just me," he assured him.
"Merlin, Potter! What is wrong with you? How dare you summon me at this hour of the night and then pull me into an alcove, effectively giving me a heart attack?" he demanded angrily.
"You're perfectly fine and you did not have a heart attack," Harry pointed out.
Draco pouted slightly. "Yes, well, it sure as hell feels like I did," he replied as he placed a hand over his pounding heart.
"I'm sorry. I just, I needed to talk to you. I talked to Dumbledore tonight," Harry apologized.
Draco's face fell and if it was possible, he became paler. "Oh," was all he said.
"As I suspected, he already knows what you are doing. He simply told me that everything is under control and that all I need to worry about are my studies and being there for you. Oh, and he also knows that we've been talking," Harry replied.
Draco's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "How could he possibly know? You don't think anyone else does….." he trailed off, worrying his lip.
Harry glanced down at what he was doing to his lip. It intrigued him and he wasn't sure why. He reached out and tentatively gripped his hand, giving it a quick squeeze before he let go. He could feel his cheeks heating and saw some pink on Draco's cheeks as well.
"Dumbledore knows practically everything, but I don't think anyone else knows about you and me. It's important that we keep it under the radar as you know because it could spell trouble for the both of us," he answered.
"I know, I know, but how can he possibly say that it's being handled? The cabinet is basically working and it's only a matter of time before it's working effectively. It's only a matter of time that all my attempts at killing Dumbledore this year will come through. Merlin, Harry, I can't kill him, but I don't know how else to get out of this. Dumbledore is going to have to die, one way or the other, but I'm not a murderer…." Draco trailed off, the torment and fear apparent in his tone. Harry could hear the tears in Draco's voice, even though they hadn't been shed.
"I know. I wish I knew how to get you out of this," Harry said lamely. He didn't know what to say to him. Draco hung his head and Harry could see him wipe absently at his eyes. Harry reached out and patted his shoulder, wanting to pull him into a hug, but unsure if that was acceptable. Draco seemed to be content with just a pat so Harry decided not to test the boundaries.
After a few moments, Draco sniffled and looked up at Harry, wiping his eyes once more. "Thank you for trying. I better get back. We do have classes tomorrow after all. Goodnight, Harry," Draco said before he squeezed Harry's hand once and quickly walked away, blending into the shadows. Harry sighed and put his cloak back on before he headed in the same direction as Draco had. He paused for just a moment on his trek back to the Gryffindor tower and thought, 'Did he just call me Harry?' He tried to ignore how it made him feel, but the warmth building in his belly made it difficult.
