DPOV

Before we had even made it to my chambers, I was mentally going through my potions inventory, focusing on the healing brews I had recently made. I wanted to be certain he would be getting the best potions I had and would recover as quickly as possible. The princely side of me knew I needed to reign in my childish eagerness, but I couldn't help being excited.

Truthfully, I did hate Harry in first year when he refused me. My father did always tell me that Malfoy's always get what they want, and Harry was what I wanted. Who wouldn't want him? He was the first one to ever tell me no, in more ways than one. He always treated me like a real human being, unlike those that were just after my money or status. Obviously, the hate was slowly replaced with desire over time. Even all those years ago, he was so, dare I say it, adorable. Him and his perfect body, perfectly tousled hair that always made him look like he had been properly shagged, and of course those captivating green eyes. I wanted to learn everything about him. That was my mission in bringing him here after all. I wanted to know his favorite color, what made him smile, what foods he craved, where he was ticklish, what spots on his skin made him-

Whoa Draco. Calm down. Harry is going to stay here, find a mate, and raise a family. You are perfectly happy settling for being his friend. I had to remind myself. I'll be damned if I'm not there every step of the way throughout his new life, though. Just focus on finding that potion.

Harry flopped onto the settee by the fireplace while I shuffled through the various bottles in my private lab connected to my room. The King had no problem with providing me with an entire dungeon-fashioned room filled with every ingredient a potion master could dream of. Not to mention self-cleaning cauldrons, walls lined with organized shelves and any kind of tool I would ever need. I turned around to see Harry had walked in, looking around completely baffled.

"Wow." He said, emerald eyes scanning the room. "I feel like I'm back in potions class again." His amazement seemed to falter for a second. I felt him think about Weasley and the rest of the ungrateful lions again. I shook my head in disappointment.

"Go on. Shoo. Out of here. We can't have you thinking about that awful place." I ushered over to the sad boy, scooped him up just the way he told me he liked, and took him back to the common room. "You're one of us now. Within a few days, you'll have to ask what Hogwarts even is." I say looking down at him.

He smiles back up at me. "I'd like that."

"That's my goal." I gently set him back down on the settee "Stay right here and I'll be back." I went back into the lab to find the potion. After a while, I finally found the elusive lavender bottle hiding behind a cluster of ingredients. So much for organization. "Found it!" I yelled. I heard Harry laugh in the other room. Merlin, his laugh is beautiful.

I went over to him and tossed the bottle at him. "Drink up." I ordered and sat next to him. "Best pain potion I've got."

He barely caught it with his one good arm. Metteri, our clan doctor, had fashioned a perfect sling to keep his left arm in place. That should prevent any movement in his shoulder, minimizing the pain. He downed the potion with a couple gulps and handed me the glass. I caught myself looking over him for a little too long, mainly at his arm. I couldn't believe I didn't check him before the change. I felt fully responsible for getting him hurt.

"I'm so sorry Harry." I told him, watching him feel the potion effects.

"For what? Saving me?" He joked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I got you hurt. I should have checked over you before the change, especially after everything with Jonnor. I swear on my life he'll pay for this." My fists clenched unconsciously when I thought of that smug faced bastard.

"Draco, it's fine. It wasn't your fault. If this is what it takes to stay here, I'm all for it. Besides, you said I was safe here right? You were my savior when no one else would stand up for me. For that, I'll look past anything. I think we'll be great friends." He says genuinely.

"Really?" I swear, he makes me as giddy as a first year Hufflepuff girl!

"Really."

I just had to lunge forward and hug him. I squeezed him tight in my arms, probably too tight.

"Draco? You're crushing me." He squeaks.

I jump back quickly. "Sorry."

"You're a completely different person from school, aren't you?" He asked with that same questioning expression.

Sure, I had changed a lot from fifth year, but I still saw myself as the same Draco Malfoy. Then again, I was no longer surrounded by wizards with prejudice and racism in every home. Here, everybody was friendly and inclusive in every way. We are all the same in the good way, and there was no war as long as we stayed away from humans. Maybe I had changed more than I thought.

"Maybe. Maybe not." I answered simply with a smirk. "You'll have to find out."

"Alright. I know you know I have questions. You willing to answer them all?"

"I can handle anything you put out, Potter." I made sure to add my trademark smirk with his surname. "Give me your worst."

"There's the Malfoy I know. Okay, firstly, who attacked me and why?"

"Jonnor. Animal dragon. Can speak with and control any animal among other things. A little older than me and the dumbest bloke you'll ever meet. Insanely strong but uncontrollable. His animalistic nature makes him dangerous and all he wants is blood, never a mate. He's one of the few of us that kills humans regularly. Father decided the best way to make use of his aggression would be to make him our standing night guard for the grounds."

"He would've eaten me?"

"Pretty much. Dragons are carnivores, you know. Most of us have just adapted to not need raw meat like that. I have to admit though, the occasional taste of blood is a real treat." I couldn't help but lick my lips at the memory of how Harry's own blood tasted. I almost lost all control and drank too much.

"Okay then. I guess I've heard weirder. Thanks, by the way."

"No problem. You should probably get used to that. You're stuck with me protecting you for a long time." My comment elicits one of the most amazing smiles I've ever seen. I make myself a mental note to make that happen as often as possible from now on.

"Okay. Where am I exactly?"

"The castle of the royal tribe, Gens Regis, meaning Clan of the King. We are as far north as we could be in the UK. Right near Thurso, Scotland. This is one of the largest castles in the world. Probably the oldest too. It's surrounded by a town with a population of about ten thousand."

"What about the backstory? I'm sure an entire species didn't just come out of nowhere."

"Well. Hundreds of years ago, when dragons roamed the earth and Latin was still the most prominent language, the elder dragons realized they were not going to live forever. Dragons can live for hundreds of years but are not immortal, same with us. They had a sorcerer come to them and create a spell that allowed a late dragon to release his soul into the air. The soul would reattach to an inanimate object until finding a living host, like your pendant. Those dragons are all gone now, but we are multiplying just fine considering we can't mate with anything but another Draconian. That way, we are all purebloods and there is no prejudice. Plus, there are still thousands upon thousands of souls still waiting to match. While they were waiting to die, they organized all the clans that are still up today. All of the names are Latin-originated, and they are all scattered about the globe."

"Wow! Okay. What about the whole mating thing?"

"Well, there are two types of Draconians, dominant and submissive. The names make them pretty self explanatory. Your specific mate will be your ideal match. No doubt about it. She will be the absolute perfect one for you. You'll know when you see her. There are four steps to the mating process. The first, courting. You will do whatever you believe is necessary to charm your submissive into mating with you. There may even be other dominants trying to do the same. She must willingly accept the courting before it can begin. From there, she will have to decide between those courting her and continue the process with a kiss.

After that comes the mind stage. Whenever you both deem it time, you'll preform a ritual. It will connect your minds to become one. When completed, you will have the ability to telepathically communicate with each other to ensure each other's safety.

The body stage is simply the official marriage of the mates. After marriage comes the honeymoon, obviously. During the honeymoon, she will go into heat and most likely conceive a child.

After marriage, mating, and usually the first-born child, you two will concoct a soul bond with each other and each coming child. With this comes the ability to connect emotions between mates and children."

Harry blinked owlishly at me, looking at me like I was insane. I couldn't tell if he was confused or just shocked. "Whoa." He said simply. "That's a lot to take in."

"If it helps, you're far from any of that."

"Uh yea. I think I'll just stay single for a bit."

I laughed with him for a second to help prevent any awkward silence.

"Anything else?" I ask quickly, trying to change the subject.

"Actually yes. How long do you think it'll be before I can fly on my own?"

"Well, let's worry about your healing first. It will depend on how well you recover. It's possible you could finally see your wings and immediately get out there. Why the long face?" He had started to sink into the furniture slowly as I spoke, looking like a pouty toddler.

"Well, I haven't been flying since the Final Battle. For real at least. Sometimes I could sneak out at night and float around. But I could never actually go anywhere due to the alarmed wards."

"You want to go right now?" I asked with a grin. This was the beginning of a great friendship. I just knew it.

"Can we?" He looked like a small child asking to go in the sweets shop.

"Of course, but have you even looked in the mirror yet?"

Harry had definitely changed from the transformation. He looked at me confused and stood to walk to the bathroom. I followed close behind and watched his appalled face from behind him in the mirror.

He had filled out a lot. You could no longer count his ribs if he stretched his back. There may have been a height difference but not much. He was still much shorter than me, but it was cute. He no longer looked unhealthy, just petite. His hair grew a bit, making it loosely fall on the nape of his neck. His facial features had smoothed out. His body was more defined but had some curves, especially in the hips. He looked absolutely delectable. Then again, it was a little odd that he was still small.

The first thing he did was take off his glasses. "I had my glasses on this whole time?! But I couldn't see anything. I didn't even notice they were there!" He yelled at himself excitedly. He put them back on for a second to double check.

"Welcome to the world of Draconians. We have no natural defects or problems. Even if we did in the past, they tend to be fixed from the transformation. Dragons are particularly picky about their host bodies being at peak performance." I say from behind him as I take the wire frames from his nose. Now, his perfect emerald eyes were free to sparkle in the light. He notices something on his shoulder and tried to move his white T-shirt out of the way. Intricate black strokes sat on his right shoulder and trailed farther down. He fumbled with the shirt trying to see more but was unsuccessful with only one hand.

"Can you get this off me?"

Shit. I swallow deeply and don't say another word for fear of saying something stupid. All I can do is help him maneuver the shirt over his head and around his sling. His tanned chest is exposed, marred with scars of all shapes and sizes.

"Harry where did you get so many scars?" I asked worriedly. But he's not listening. Instead, he focuses on the beautiful black dragon tattoo that trails down the length of his back. The head rested on his right collar bone while the tail curled around his left hip. It was absolutely gorgeous, a sign of a very powerful dragon. I smiled at him in the mirror.

"Say hello." I offer.

He looks at me incredulously but mutters an unsure "hello?"

The inky black dragon shifts slightly and opens little emerald green eyes. It stares intently into Harry's eyes and tilts its head.

"Whoa! It's alive?" He gently ran his fingers over the dragon's head and jumped when it leaned into the touch.

"Sure is. That's your dragon spirit. We all have a tattoo somewhere on our bodies." I answered and unbuttoned my dress shirt. My own dragon wrapped around my left side with the head on my lower chest. It opened its piercing blue eyes when I pet it. Harry turned around to take a closer look.

"Wow. It's beautiful." He went to touch it but hesitated, taking his hand back. I chuckled a bit and shrugged the shirt off my shoulders.

"Go ahead." I told him. "He won't bite."

He extended his hand again and barely touched the markings. While he looks, my eyes trail back to his scars.

"Harry, where did you get so many scars?" I repeat carefully.

He pulls away from me and looks to the floor. He hesitates but answers. "They're battle scars." He quickly grabs his shirt and tries desperately to put it back on, failing miserably. I grab his wrist to stop him and lock eyes with him.

"I don't believe you. Those are old. Much too old be from a battle no more than six months ago. What happened?"

"Nothing. They're from the war. Just drop it." I didn't expect him to be mad, so I released his wrist and didn't say anything else. I could physically feel that he was lying, but I didn't want to say that for fear of upsetting him further.

He continued to scan his new body in the mirror. There was a long silence while he tried to put his shirt back on. He gave up and glared at me in question. I helped him dress once again, following suit afterwards.

"Anything else I should know about?" He asks, quickly changing the subject.

"I don't think so. Nothing important at least. Maybe that your senses will be a little sensitive. You ready to go?"

"Yeah! Let's go!" He ran back out of the room towards the door.

"Uh-uh. Not that way." I say and start walking towards my balcony. "I never take the boring way. Come look." He follows me like a lost krup out by the railing. Across the landscape is the kingdom village, about twenty stories down from my tower. We look down at all the people walking down the streets, conversing and shopping.

"It's a quaint little place but I like to go down there and walk around, talk to the locals. I do have to keep up my image as the prince you know?"

"I can see that. Makes sense."

"I know that's not what you wanted to do." I jump up on the railing and extend a hand to him. "Come here."

"Okay, then." He says doubtfully but climbs up anyway. "I'm kind of confused."

"Don't worry. You afraid of heights, Potter?" I joke.

"Do you think I would've beaten your arse in quidditch so many times if I was?" He retaliates just like the old days.

"Then just hang on tight and you'll be fine." I wrapped my arms around his chest and held on tight. "Do you trust me?"

"I suppose I do. Don't drop me. I can still take you with one good arm, Malfoy." He says with a smile.

I just laugh and bend my knees and fall forwards, diving towards the ground below. I felt Harry's hand grip me tighter and watched him watch the ground. A few seconds pass before I let my wings emerge from my back. I pulled up to glide across the house tops, nearly missing the buildings.

Looking down, I see Harry smiling brightly, scanning the beautiful morning landscape of our kingdom. We glide down over the tops of the trees of the nearby forest and let Harry reach down to touch the leaves.

"This is amazing!" He shouts. "Definitely better than brooms."

I laugh at the comment and dive back down to land by the town lake. I pull my wings in close to my back but don't put them away. "Is that what you were looking for?"

"Yes yes yes yes! Thank you, Draco!" He jumps over to hug me and catches me by surprise, but I return the hug without a second thought.

"My pleasure. I'll do that anytime you need. Though, you won't need me to after your own wings come in."

"Maybe, but that was fun with you." He smiles up at me innocently.

"Then it's settled; just let me know whenever you'd like to join me again. Want to roam the village?"

"Sure. I guess I've got to meet other people too."

We make our way across the lakeside towards the town, which was thriving with all kinds of people going about their day. Business owners conversed with their customers while children chased each other through the streets with toys.

"Good morning, Prince Draco!" A familiar voice called out. The old man had run his market here for decades and was kind to everyone who came through. Everyone in the village saw him as a grandfather figure.

"Good morning Mr. Asheton. Everything going well, I assume?"

"Oh yes, just fine. You know I'll never let my shop fall behind. Now who's this fellow?" He asks, gesturing to Harry.

"This is Harry. An old schoolmate of mine."

"Hello." Harry says and shakes hands with the shopkeeper. "Harry Potter."

"Ah. Thaddeus Asheton. Shopkeeper." The old man tells him and then turns back to me. "A potential Your Majesty?" I could feel me cheeks flush in response.

"Oh, no no no. Just a newbie I'm showing around." I say quickly.

"Well, you've already battered him up, haven't ya?" He gestures towards Harry's arm.

"That, I'll have to take up with a certain guard in the castle who doesn't know his place." I say angrily. I still have to make sure Jonnor knows what he's done and will be punished for it.

"I see. Well you seem to be busy. I'll let you two off to wherever you're going." He says with a wave.

"Goodbye Mr. Asheton." Harry calls back, then turns to me. "What's a potential?"

I swallow hard and think about the question. "Well. Mr. Asheton was under the impression that I was courting you. A potential is literally a potential mate."

"Oh." He says simply.

An awkward silence fills the air. Thankfully, a ball lands at Harry's feet. He bends down to scoop it up. A small blond child turns the corner and looks at her ball in Harry's hand. The Gryffindor smiles and softly tosses the toy back to the toddler. The girl laughs as it bounces and runs to catch it. She trots off happily with her toy. Harry is still smiling even when she is out of sight. He almost doesn't notice me smirking at him for a second. When he catches my eye, he looks at me oddly.

"What? I love kids. Always have."

"There's nothing wrong with that. Kids are precious and should be loved and played with like that all the time." I say almost sadly. We continue to walk along the streets, occasionally waving at those passing by.

"Why the long face? Is everything okay?"

I shrugged. "My childhood wasn't exactly ideal. I had everything I ever wanted when it came to physical possessions, but there was never anybody to play with or spend my time with. My parents tried to be there but were always whisked off to some Death Eater meeting or something."

"I'm sorry. I know the feeling."

"Really? Why? I figured Dumbledore had everything set up for you."

"No. The old man left me with my Muggle aunt and uncle. They hated me with a passion solely because I was different. The 'm word' was forbidden in the house, I couldn't talk to anybody, and they made me do everything in the house. I cleaned, cooked, gardened, and polished. September could never come quite enough in my opinion." The emerald eyed boy had been solemnly watching the ground as he walked, kicking pebbles along the way. Everything he said just made me angrier with every word. I couldn't imagine someone treating a child that way, especially someone like Harry. Part of me felt ridiculous for complaining about my trifle childhood problems.

"That's absurd! Have you told anybody else?"

"Just Hermione, Ron and Dumbledore. Hermione was actually the one to convince me to tell Dumbledore, but he didn't do anything. He just told me I had to stay because it was best for my safety. Blood wards surround the Dursley's house so that's where I had to stay."

"I'll kill them. You did nothing wrong. Why should they treat you like that?" I say angrily, and probably a lot louder than I should have.

"Draco, calm down. It's fine. It was just a little hard labor. There are plenty of kids that go through more than I did. Besides, I'll never have to see them again right?" He stopped me in my tracks with a hand on my chest. I sharply shook my head no. "Then forget about it. I already have."

"I'll make sure you forget. You'll live the rest of your life the best way possible, I promise." I grasped his hand and looked him in the eye with every word. He smiled at me for probably the hundredth time in just a few hours, but that's my goal. "You ready for lunch? It's past noon."

"Yea I'm starved. Didn't get breakfast you know."

"Let's head inside. You can finally meet everybody there." I tug him back along the path, still holding his hand.