"Ah, Remus, Sirius... Harry... Draco... What can I do for you all?" Dumbledore addressed them as they walked in.
"Well it seems that Harry's inheritance included more than just Remus' wolf." Sirius started. "It would seem that Harry also acquired my great grandmother's nymph powers. He shot flames from his hands and destroyed one Snivel--Snape's cauldrons yesterday. Did he not tell you?"
"Ah yes, Severus came to me yesterday before dinner and said that Mr. Potter had done something quite extraordinary, but he would not share what. He said that he would rather have the boy tell me."
"Well, yes, that's what happened. And there is so much more that Harry will be capable of. That is probably why his powers came so late after his inheritance. They are so strong, they must have simply been developing, and who knows if they're done... After all, Harry could perform wandless magic immediately after his inheritance, but it was not until yesterday we saw just how far his powers have been advancing since then..." Remus explained. Dumbledore seemed to digest this new information.
"Harry, could you tell me exactly what happened yesterday?"
"Yes sir, it was in potions. I completely botched the potion we were supposed to be working on and when Snape came by he noticed that I hadn't made my potion correctly. He asked me what I did wrong "
"Oh, please, Harry, he taunted you! He was just downright rude and when he insulted you like that I really wanted to just jump up and punch him in the face, but I knew you wouldn't want that." Draco interjected angrily.
"You're right, I wouldn't want that. I can't have you getting in trouble over someone like Snape."
"I wouldn't get in trouble. I had to right to hurt him as much as I wanted for hurting my mate. Veela law says so."
"He didn't hurt me."
"Well, he must have, your emotions were purely anger and disappointment. What else could have inspired those sexy flames? Besides me of course " Draco winked at Harry who rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, professor," he said, turning back to Dumbledore. "I got pretty angry at Snape, and I can't exactly say why I was as angry as I was, but I just couldn't help feeling the rage I had, and the next thing I knew I was shooting fire out of my hands at the potion that Snape was yelling at me to get rid of. And then... then I was holding Draco." Harry told his professor. Dumbledore nodded and leaned back in his seat.
"Well, the next course we shall take seems obvious. Harry, I do believe that I shall start training you to control your powers and use them to your advantage. These new powers could be what the Dark Lord knows not and so I advise you not to tell anyone of these lessons you will be taking.
Ron and Hermione will probably want to join you in this mission of yours. You three are close and the bond of friendship between you is strong. I believe that if we are to defeat Voldemort, then you will have to do it. And wasting your energy on his minions probably wouldn't help, so you'll need all the help you can get. It is important to have a large and functional team. I will ask Severus to bring me all the students that were in the potions classroom at the time so that I can remove their memories of the incident... I am sorry to say that you and Professor Snape will have to return to your Occlumency lessons. That will be very important." Dumbledore stated.
What about Draco? Harry asked immediately. He also has power and our bond is stronger than anything I have with Ron or Hermione.
Hmm, yes Then the same instruction for Draco. I will arrange a personal teacher for you both. Also, Draco, you may want to collect two friends of your own as your team.
"Albus, what would this 'training' entail?" Remus asked hesitantly. "Harry would not be hurt, would he?"
"Not too badly. But he would be hurt. I will deal with both Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy as though I am truly dueling with them. But I assure you, that will only be after I have taught them proper technique and defensive spells." Dumbledore responded, in no way easing any of Remus' fear.
"Who will be teaching us about our advanced power?" Draco asked.
"That is something for another day, Draco. For now I think I need some time to get all of this sorted out. You do have homework, do you not Harry?" Dumbledore asked in a tone that said, 'time to leave.' Harry nodded in response and the two boys filed out.
"Albus, are you sure that this is the right thing to do?" Sirius asked concernedly.
"I do not wish to put one so young through so much. Yet, it seems that I will have to. Harry was never allowed the chance to be a child, and I will always be sorry for that. But I do not wish him to die a child instead of living a man. If training him as a man will keep him alive, I will do so." Albus confessed. Remus and Sirius, finding no fault in the man's logic, could only nod.
"Thank you, Albus." Remus said quietly before he and his mate left the office.
Albus went over to the fire and called for Severus' presence. That done, he dropped heavily back into his chair. He put his face in his hands. Why did he have to do this? Harry was so young, and yet, he was already planning his death. The young boy had never had a childhood. Ever since he could remember he was either fighting with the Dursleys or fighting with Voldemort. A boy shouldn't have to fight for his life. Not so young. Albus wished he didn't have to train Harry or Draco. Draco was in so much danger as it was and he didn't even realize. He was so wrapped up in Harry, he didn't even stop to look at how badly Harry would be hurt if Draco was. All Voldemort would have to do was get Draco and Harry would be gone. Albus had to train Draco. They had to be ready. It was just so horrible that it had to happen to such young boys...who hadn't even had the chance to live their lives yet.
"Albus?" there was a knock at the door and the headmaster admitted his potions professor. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes Severus, please, have a seat... Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy are coming into their powers and they are much more powerful than any of us could have expected. I will have to train them in how to duel and how to use more advanced defensive spells. I am going to need to bring in one of their kind to train them in their new powers. And Severus, I will need you to teach them Occlumency."
"Albus, I would happily teach Draco Occlumency, but he is already as skilled an Occlumens as I. As for Potter, you know how that worked out last time..."
"Yes, Severus, I know. But Draco will be there with him this time and perhaps you could be a little less... cold, towards the boy." Albus pressed the idea.
"I was not cold, Albus. I was merely what a trainer should be... I was forceful." Severus defended.
"We both know how Harry responds to that..." Albus lowered his gaze to study his hands in his lap. Tears threatened at his eyes. Harry should not have to go through this... "Please, Severus..."
The potions master was shocked to see the sheen of tears at the headmaster's eyes. He realized how much was at stake and how much Albus cared for the boy. He nodded his head in acceptance. "Alright, Albus I will teach him."
"Thank you, Severus."
"Is that all?"
"No, actually, I need you to bring me all the students that were in your classroom yesterday. If any of them were to tell their parents of what they saw... of Harry's powers and such.... well, I just don't think that it would be wise for information like this to get to Voldemort through the grapevine. He would be angry at you for not reporting immediately to him after such an incident and as such, the students will need to be obliviated. Just in case."
"It's already been done, Albus. I took care of it the minute Draco led Potter out of my class." Severus assured.
"Thank you, Severus. That saves us a lot of time and energy... you may go now, if you wish..." Albus offered, turning his chair so that the professor would not see his tears. It was only human to cry, but Albus still felt somewhat foolish.
Albus felt strong arms encase him and pull him close and he felt the floodgates crack. Severus had watched as the headmaster turned and just had to do something. He could not bear to see Albus Dumbledore break down crying all alone. He could at least offer some sort of support, right? He did not expect to be holding the older man as he cried... it just sort of happened. Albus had been like a father to him his whole life... he had had faith in him when no one else had. So here he was, holding the broken headmaster in his arms as the man cried.
"Oh Severus, I know this is silly, but I hate having to put such young boys through this! They should not have to think about war, they should not have to worry about death, or capture or torture or guarding their thoughts... It is all so horrible... perhaps if I had just had the strength to defeat the first Dark Lord, then Harry would not be in this position. If I had just gotten it over with, if I had been stronger or faster..." Albus sobbed.
"Shhh... shhh... Albus, nothing you could have done would have prevented any of this. And the first Dark Lord, if I recall correctly was your Severus tried to decide on an appropriate word, your friend. Grindelwald was close to you. And no one can blame you for not wanting to murder him. I know you Albus, you are like a father to me. You confide in me all that I confide in you. I know so much about you, yet I cannot understand you. How can one so great as yourself, hold themselves responsible for something so terrible? None of this is your fault. At all." Severus said forcefully. The headmaster nodded against his robes and wiped at his tears. Severus released Albus awkwardly and stood back.
"Thank you, Severus." Albus whispered.
"You're welcome." Severus replied quietly and made a motion to excuse himself. He was at the door with his hand outstretched when Albus' voice stopped him.
"Did you mean it?"
"Every word."
"You always were like a son to me."
Severus nodded. "If you tell any of the others I hugged you I will make you wish that you never had a voice." Severus added and stepped out, the sound of the headmaster's laughter following him out.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Draco, I really have to tell Mione and Ron about this..."
"I'll come with you."
"To Gryffindor Tower? You will?"
"I can't have any of those horny Gryffindors humping your leg, now can I?" Harry leaned his head back and laughed at his Mate.
"Come on, let's go "
They arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady laughing and joking together. The elegant woman smiled down at them. "Semper Fi," Harry said to the portrait who swung open for them. Draco crinkled his nose at the tacky red and gold decor or the room while Harry sighed with contentment, feeling at home.
"HARRY!"
"Harry!"
"OI, HARRY!"
Harry was smothered in a giant group hug from Hermione, Seamus, Neville, Dean, and Ron.
"Hi, guys, missed you too--" Harry choked out. All of them laughed and released him. Ron moved to put his arm around Lavender and pull her close while Dean snuggled back into Seamus. Hermione looked suddenly quite alone and Harry wondered why she hadn't just snogged Pansy yet, but he didn't say anything.
"So what brings you here?" Ron asked.
"What? I can't visit my friends?" Harry asked laughing.
"No. You can't." Seamus said seriously before cracking a wide smile and shaking his head. "It's good to see you, mate."
"Yeah, it's good to see all of you." Harry replied, absentmindedly moving closer to Draco who smiled mischievously. It wasn't until everyone in the room was practically swooning, except for Harry that the boy-who-lived turned around and swatted Draco on the head.
"Could you possibly refrain from using your Veela charms like that?!" Harry fumed. "Seamus was about to jump you!"
"Jealous?"
"No!"
"Really?"
"Shutup."
"Make me."
Harry scowled at his Mate and put some distance between them, moving to sit closer to Neville and Ginny who were oblivious to everything around them as they continued to snog each other senseless. Everyone around them laughed at the couple's antics and Harry just kept shooting a death glare at Draco.
"Come on, luv, don't be angry..." Draco said, snuggling into the taller boy's arms. Harry closed his eyes, trying to control the beast within him from leaping out and ravaging his mate's tempting mouth. God, why did Draco have to be so cute when he pouted his lip like that!? It would have been moderately easy to resist, but the linger of Veela charm still hung on him.
"Draco," Harry leaned down to whisper in his mate's ear. "Move away from me or I'll be forced to ravage you right here, right now and scar a lot of people..." Harry warned, already kissing Draco's neck, making the blond shiver.
**What is up with us lately? I can't seem to want anything but you inside me!** Draco whined mentally.
^^Haha, Draco, surely you haven't forgotten what next Tuesday is...^^ Harry replied.
**...umm... Double Potions?**
^^I can't believe you forgot!^^
**What is it?**
^^Only the most important, most wonderful, most dangerous time of year!^^
**What? What is it?**
^^MATING SEASON!^^
Draco gasped aloud and everyone looked oddly at the up till now silent couple. As Harry and Draco had been communicating telepathically, no one had heard what they'd said and now were very confused. Draco flushed a light pink.
**Are you serious!?**
^^Yes, of course. Ask Hermione, she knows all there is to know about us, I bet.^^ Harry cleared his throat and looked out at the rest of the group nervously. "Umm guys, I kind of need to talk to Ron and Hermione alone if you don't mind " he said nervously.
"Course not, mate! C'mon Dean, I have to show you something..." Seamus said, his eyes filed with lust as he dragged Dean off to their dorm.
"Umm, is there somewhere we can go that's more... private?" Harry asked his friends once the others were gone. Lavender and Hermione nodded and led the way to the girl's dorm.
"Mione, we can't go up there. It won't let us." Ron interjected.
"You guys will be able to come up, but only if Lavender doesn't come. The charm is meant to turn the stairs into a slide if there is a threat to the dorm occupants. Seeing as Harry and Draco are gay, that's no threat to me. And as long as Lavender stays out of the dorm, you're not a threat either." Hermione explained and everyone nodded. Ron turned back to Lavender who just smiled, gave him a quick kiss and flounced off to go hang out with Parvati.
"So, Harry, what is it you need to talk to us about?" Hermione asked, sitting on her bed, while the others took seats around her, Draco in Harry's lap.
"Well-"
"Me first, Hermione," Draco interjected.
"You just called me Hermione..."
"Well it is your name, and I don't really have anything against muggleborns, and it would have hurt Harry if I kept calling you Granger." Draco reasoned quickly. "But anyways... You know when my mating season is?"
"Yes, next Tuesday." Hermione replied instantly making Harry grin with pride.
"This can't be happening!" Draco wailed.
"What is so horrible about this situation, Draco?" Harry asked, somewhat hurt that his mate didn't seem to be enjoying the idea of mating season.
Draco heard the hurt in Harry's voice immediately and turned to wrap his arms around Harry's neck. "No, no, it's not what you think it's just..." **I already can't stand having to go through one day without having you, what's it going to be like during mating season!? With both of us lusting like that?! It will be utter torture! Having to walk around with an aching hard-on all day. Sitting next to you in potions and not being able to touch you...** Harry smiled at his mate's response, comforted in the knowledge that his mate adored him so.
^^We'll figure something out.^^ Harry assured.
"I don't mean to be rude, but could you guys not use your mind bond? It makes me feel... out of the loop." Hermione interrupted politely, her voice quiet and mock disappointed.
Harry and Draco laughed. "Sirius just got mad at us for that!" Harry told her.
"What's this 'mind bond' thing you guys are talking about?" Ron asked exasperatedly.
"When a Veela has sex with its mate, it gains the ability to speak telepathically with them." Hermione supplied the redhead who paled considerably.
"Merlin, I so did not need the visual of Harry shagging Mal-Draco!" Ron moaned making everyone in the room laugh.
"Hey, how do you know I'm the bottom!?" Draco asked with mock anger.
"Hun? It's only a little obvious..." Harry replied sarcastically and Draco narrowed his eyes at him, but snuggled closer to the boy anyway.
"So, getting back on subject... What is it you needed to talk to us about?" Ron asked.
"Well, I recently found out that Sirius' great grandmother was a really powerful nymph. And I guess I've inherited her powers. And since Draco is such a powerful Veela, Dumbledore wants to have us trained. But he also wants us trained for dueling and defense, in a more advanced way than we would get in school. He said that we all need to be prepared and considering that you guys and I have such a powerful friendship, and you guys will probably be there for me during the final battle, he said that he wants to train you guys with me and Draco." Harry told them.
"Wow... Training with Albus Dumbledore..." Hermione's voice was filled with awe and excitement. "Did he tell you when we'll begin?"
"He said he'd let us know. But there's a few more things I have to tell you. Dumbledore said that Draco should bring two of his friends as well... and I don't want you guys fighting."
"Of course not, Harry. Most of the inter-house rivalry ended when you two hooked up." said Ron, shocking both Draco and Harry.
"Wow, I hadn't realized." Draco replied.
"Well ok, there's that and then he also told us that he would spar with us as if we were in a real battle. To prepare us for the real thing. He said that we would be hurt, but not too badly. Can you handle that? Because I'll understand if you don't want to do it after that..." Harry assured them.
"No, Harry. We've always been in this together. During first year when we got you to the Chamber of Secrets, even though you faced Quirrell alone, we went as far as we could together. And in third year, we saved Sirius and Buckbeak together. And in fourth year, we helped you as much as we could on those challenges and Ron and you even got over that whole burst of male ego. And we were there in the Department of Mysteries. We'll be there for you now." Hermione told him firmly. Harry nodded, setting Draco aside to go embrace his friends.
Draco looked at them and smiled. This was Harry's family... and he was part of it now. Knowing that, and knowing Harry was happy was the best feeling he'd ever had and he couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face at the sight.
"Whoa, I can't believe I'm actually seeing this..." Ron said abruptly.
"What?" the others asked in unison.
"Draco Malfoy is... smiling," he said making everyone in the room laugh heartily.