Ok...please don't kill me. I know it's been like...6 months? Since I last updated, but I'm here now!! Does that count? I'm so sorry, I've just been really busy. But please, enjoy chapter 7, it took me a hella long time to write.

Chapter 7

"Boy! Get up and cook the bacon. Now!" Aunt Petunia rapped on Harry's bedroom door and jolted him awake. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and grabbed his glasses off his shelf, not fully awake just yet. Harry got up warily and opened the door and stepped out into the light of the hallway, hearing the sizzling of bacon and the delectable smell of toast and orange juice wafting from the kitchen. His mouth began to drool, and he ambled towards the brightly lit kitchen where a pan sat sizzling on the stove. Harry walked over to the food and began to lightly stir the bacon, avoiding the grease popping everywhere.

"Hurry up, boy!" Uncle Vernon yelled from the dining room, his fat red face and bushy mustache making him look like a mutated walrus. Harry rolled his eyes and picked up the pan, bringing it to the dining room and putting bacon and eggs onto Dudley and Uncle Vernon's plates. Aunt Petunia was bustling around the house, tidying up for only God knows what. Uncle Vernon, after scarfing down his breakfast, stood up and called to Aunt Petunia.

"Petunia, I'm going to town to pick up Marge, I'll be about five hours." Harry's head shot up and his mouth dropped open.

"S-she's not coming here...is she?" He asked, incredulous, not even being able to believe it. He remembered all her visits clearly and was not keen on experiencing another one.

"Yes, and you will be respectful to her, you hear me, boy?" Uncle Vernon snapped, his head spinning to face Harry's.

"I will if she is…" Harry mumbled, but the beefy man acted like he didn't hear him.

"Dudders, you want to come with me?" Uncle Vernon called, but there was no reply, so he began to grab his coat and walk to the car. Suddenly, Harry was struck with a brilliant idea, which means he had to act on it before he thought about it. He went to his room and found his Hogsmeade permission form then ran down to the hallway to where his Uncle was standing with the keys to the car.

"I didn't ask you." He spat, and Harry just rolled his eyes.

"Like I wanted to come. Here, this is something I need to be signed."

As the week progressed, Harry grew moodier and moodier. Although he had been allowed to let Hedwig out of his cage, she only came back at night, so he had no one to keep him company. Aunt Marge (She wasn't really his aunt, of course, but it was no use trying to argue with someone like Vernon) berated him consistently, but he kept his cool. If he didn't, his deal with Uncle Vernon to sign his form would go down the drain, and he couldn't risk that. So he let her rip his pride and spirit into little pieces, not saying anything that could piss his Uncle off.

"Boy, get down here for dinner. Now!" Aunt Petunia called, making Harry sigh with resentment and slowly, reluctantly, get off his bed and trudge down the stairs. He sat with a plop at the table, ignoring the dirty looks he received from Aunt Marge. Aunt Petunia set plates down, careful not to let anything get onto her meticulously clean table. Uncle Vernon, with a nasty grin on his face, motioned to Aunt Marge.

"May I tempt you, Marge?" He asked with a sliminess to his voice and redness to his already normally red face. They were both extremely drunk, and even Aunt Petunia had a look of severe discomfort on her face.

"Yes, yes. Just a little, now-" Marge responded and Vernon filled her cup, "-keep it going, just a tad more. That's the ticket!" Harry looked at his Uncle's face and Marge's hands waiting for any of them to say something. He knew they would, after all, it was their favorite thing to do.

"Harry, you bloody scared me. You can't just run off from your home like that, what if Sirius Black had tried to get you, what then?" Draco asked incredulously, smacking Harry up the back of the head. Harry looked away sheepishly.

"Sorry, Dray. It's just...she was talking about my parents." Draco 's eyes narrowed and he looked down the road towards Private Drive, where Aunt Marge's yells could still be heard.

"Harry, let's go to the Manor. Heaven knows you need to relax, and my parents aren't home. They needn't ever know you were there. C'mon, now."

"Draco, I don't think-"

"You're right, you don't think. That's your problem. C'mon!"

"Fine."

Draco stuck his wand out with a blank expression, waiting on something that Harry couldn't begin to guess at. Harry furrowed his brows, wondering what Draco was doing.

"Draco, wh-" His question was cut off by a loud "bang" as a huge, violently purple, triple-decker bus with golden words, which read "The Knight Bus", emblazoned in gold, pulled to a stop in front of Draco, who had put his wand away.

"C'mon, now, Harry." Draco called out, making Harry stop staring at the bus. Before they could board, however, a tall, gangly, and pimply man walked out of the bus, talking loudly into the night.

"Welcome to tha' Knight Bus, transportation for tha' stranded witch or wizard. Ma' name's Stan Shunpike." Draco rolled his eyes and looked at an incredulous Harry.

"My name is Draco Malfoy. Now, we would like a seat on the second deck, straight to Diagon Alley. Now, please." Stan looked at the small blonde boy with a look of surprise that quickly turned to one of disgust.

"Oh, you're Lucius Malfoy's boy, eh? Well, c'mon in then, don' wanna hav' choo' waitin' out in the col', now wood we?" The sarcasm was evident in his tone, making Harry narrow his eyes and shove past the young man, who Harry realized wasn't much older than they were, onto the bus.

"I suggest you watch your tone, or my father will hear about this. Understand?" Draco hissed, and Stan's face went white.

"Fine. Get on, ya little runt."

The Leaky Caldron was empty, except the old Innkeeper Tom and Cornelius Fudge himself.

"Ah, Harry Potter a-and...Draco Malfoy? What in the name of Merlin's beard are you doing here? Where is your father?" Fudge asked when the two boys had stepped off the Knight Bus and walked into the old pub. Draco's normally alabaster face turned red and he stuttered out a weak

"A-at the Ministry…"

"Well, why aren't you at home?"

"Er…"

"No matter, I'll just have your father come and fetch you. Come now Harry, we have much to discuss."

"Blimey Harry, I didn't know you'd be here. I thought you'd be at Malfoy's?" Ron asked Harry one morning at the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry had resided for the last two weeks. Draco's father had been livid and refused to let Harry return to the Manor, as a punishment to Draco for sneaking out and for Harry illegally using magic. Mr. Malfoy was not pleased that Fudge had let him off scot-free, so that was his way to punish him, and Harry had to admit, it was a bloody effective one; he had never missed Draco so much.

"No, he got in trouble after coming to get me two weeks ago. His father was very angry." Harry replied solemnly. Ron looked at his friend sympathetically but quickly brightened.

"Hey, do you wanna hear about my trip? It was loads of fun. Bill showed us all inside these pyramids with creepy mutated skeletons; mom didn't let Ginny come into the last one; it had a skeleton with two heads." Harry smiled as Ron talked animatedly about Egypt, realizing just how much he really missed everyone.

"Hey, Ron, is Hermione going to be here?" Harry interrupted, making Ron shrug his shoulders. At that moment, Hedwig flew in and dropped a letter in front of the two boys, Harry just being able to make out Hermione's impeccable handwriting.

"Looks like Hedwig knows. Go on, open it, mate." Ron motioned towards the letter and Harry grabbed it, opening it, and reading aloud.

Dear Harry,

Hedwig found me in France. She's such a smart bird, isn't she? Anyways, I heard from Ron that he would be staying at the Leaky Cauldron, so I've convinced my parents to head over there for the last two weeks before school started. Will you be able to make it? I hope so. I also heard that Ron got to visit Egypt; I'm so jealous, he must be learning loads. Well, I hope to see you soon, if not at the Leaky Cauldron, at school.

With love,

Hermione.

"Should we surprise her or should I write her back?" Harry asked when he was finished.

"Let's surprise her; Merlin knows she needs some fun in her life. Learning? While on vacation? I think bloody not! Oh, Scabbers, no!" Scabbers, Ron's old rat, had jumped out of his pocket and ran underneath a dresser. The two boys had to spend the next five minutes trying to bait Scabbers into coming back out into Ron's pocket, which was hardly a joy.

"Hey, Harry, let's go get some ice cream from the shop down the street." Ron called out from the dresser, where he had finally gotten Scabbers back into his pocket after Harry had abandoned him.

"Ok, sure." He replied with a sunny smile.

"I can't believe you only have three of your assignments done!" Hermione admonished to a sheepish Ron. She smiled at Harry.

"You, on the other hand, Harry, I am really proud of. You got them all done!" Harry stuck his tongue out at Ron and glowed with Hermione's praise. The young witch had arrived just yesterday. The two wizards had run into her while she was out looking for supplies after they had gotten ice cream and had been heading back to the Leaky Cauldron. The trio walked on the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley, enjoying the sun on their face and each others presence.

"Man, do we really have to go back tomorrow? I feel like summer just started…" Ron whined, making Hermione roll her eyes and Harry laugh. Behind the laugh was a sadness. The summer, to Harry, couldn't have gone any slower, and he was more than ready to see Draco tomorrow on the train. As much as he liked Ron and Hermione, it just wasn't the same as Draco's presence. He missed him so much…

"Harry? Harry!" Draco called out on the platform when he spotted his best friend's messy black hair. Harry turned his head and let out a blinding smile when he saw Draco. Oh, Merlin, was he that attractive last time I saw him? He made a motion to the two friends at his side and dragged his trunk towards the blonde.

"Draco! I missed you." Harry said when he reached his friend and enveloped him in a one-armed hug. The boy flinched, which made Harry pull back. Green eyes looked at the blonde with concern, but Draco just smiled and began walking to the train to find good seats, Harry about to say something, when he heard a nasty voice call out to him.

"Still hanging around Potter, eh Draco?" The voice was sickly sweet and too high-pitched, and instantly Harry knew who it was.

"Pansy. What do you want?" Draco asked cooly with his trademark glare, but the black-haired girl didn't back down. She walked, well more like twitched (I mean, could she shake her butt any harder?) over to the two boys, trying to look intimidating and failing miserably.

"Well, I want you to figure out that Potter is no good. He's just using you for your money and fame; he's probably broke. That's why he mooches off of you during the breaks instead of going home." The ridiculous girl replied with a nasty face. Harry rolled his eyes, exasperated. He wasn't rich like Draco, but he was well-off with his own small fortune that his parents had left him when they died, and that he was always with Draco because his own guardians were abusive. What a stupid girl. Draco went to grab his wand, obviously irritated, but Harry grabbed his wrist. Grey eyes snapped to his, confused, but Harry just dragged him onto the train, leaving an irate Pansy behind.

"I'll get you, Harry Potter."

"Why didn't you let me at her, Harry?" Draco asked incredulously. They were walking down the crowded aisles of the Hogwarts Express, looking for seats, and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Because, Draco, you- oh Ron, Hermione, let's go find seats together." The two in question nodded eagerly and Draco was left to mentally smack Harry for avoiding his question.

It took several minutes to find empty seats, and the only one they found had a man with greying hair slumped in the corner.

"Professor R.J Lupin." Hermione stated, and Ron looked at her with amazement.

"You know everything, 'Mione! Really, it's incredible." Hermione rolled her eyes and pointed to a battered and worn briefcase on the racks, which, in peeling gold letters, read "R.J Lupin."

"Oh…" Ron said sheepishly, hunching his shoulders and plopping down next to Hermione, leaving Harry and Draco on the side next to the man. The seat wasn't very big, so they had to sit very close together, legs barely brushing each other. It was never a problem before, but now… they were thirteen, and starting to realize things that they never had before. Like the fact that Draco smelled so bloody good, and how Harry was so warm. They probably wouldn't be sharing a bed, anymore.

Over the summer, Harry had a lot of time to sit and think. What he thought about, mostly, was Draco. He was his very first friend in the Wizarding World, no, scratch that, his first friend ever, really. Harry had never particularly been interested in anyone, really, but he knew that a boy liking another boy was a big no-no. What about in the Wizarding World, though? What were the views on that? Did it matter? He imagined it would, as many Pureblood families married just to make powerful and rich children to pass on. He also wondered why Draco had flinched when he hugged him. What was that about? Did something happen to him? Harry decided to ask him about it during the Feast later on when Hermione and Ron weren't around. Although Harry had made amends with the two, via letter, Draco was still tense around them, and rightfully so. Harry looked over at the other boy and scooted closer to him, closing the space in between them, making the boy look at him with surprise. Grey eyes snapped to green and a blush dusted his face, which, if Harry was being honest, was very attractive. Harry's thoughts were cut short by the compartment door sliding open to reveal a very irate Pansy Parkinson. Draco stood quickly and grabbed Harry's hand without thinking, making the black-haired boy smile slightly.

"Oh, Draco, sitting with the weasel and mudblood now? How low can you get?" Pansy sneered, causing Ron's face to turn a splotchy red and him to open his mouth, ready to defend his friend. However, Draco just gave her a bored stare and motioned towards the man slumped in the corner, where Pansy had yet to see him.

"I think this is the new DADA Professor, Pansy. Would you like to say hello?" Pansy's sneer dropped off her face and she went pale. Guess she wasn't so brave, after all.

"We'll continue this later, Draco. And don't think your father won't hear about this." It was Draco's turn to blanch as Pansy turned with a smirk and twitched out of their compartment and slamming the door behind her. Harry saw how scared Draco looked at the mention of his father and worried about his friend. Is that why he was wincing? Did his father do something? Harry promised he would find out, but before he could even sit back down, the train screeched to a stop, making Ron and Hermione fall out of their seats and onto the floor. The lights went off and the whole train was plunged into darkness. Harry groped around for Draco's hand and found it, holding it tight and relishing the warmth it gave him. It was suddenly very cold, and Harry could see ice forming on the windows. What was happening? He heard a rustling and felt the members of his compartment shuffle around, but Draco stayed latched onto Harry.

"Why is it so cold all of a sudden?"

"Where are the teachers?"

"Why did we stop?"

"Quiet!" It seems the man in the corner had woken up and cast a Lumos, bathing the small area in a soft glow. His tired face and greying hair were nothing compared to the flashing amber eyes filled with intelligence. He held an arm to Harry's chest as the compartment door slid open. A black-hooded figure stood in the doorway and Harry's head was filled with screaming. He vaguely heard Draco's cry and felt himself hit the floor, but other than that, it was just...black.

Later that night, in their rooms, Harry and Draco were sitting next to the fire in silence. Harry cast worried glances at Draco until it was too much.

"Does your father hit you, Draco?" The blonde stiffened and didn't answer, but Harry knew him well enough by now to know what that meant.

"Take your shirt off. Let me see, Draco."

"I-it's nothing, Harry."

"Let me see."

"No." Harry frowned and, while the boy wasn't paying attention, waved his wand, making the blonde's shirt disappear. Harry couldn't help but gasp. On the normally pale and perfect skin were large, angry, red welts that crossed over his back.

"What did he hit you with?" Draco finally turned to him, knowing he couldn't get out of it.

"You know that cane he carried around with him?" Harry's face hardened and in the light of the fire, he looked very scary indeed. Draco shrank in on himself, scared as the boy got up. Harry came near him and put his wand right above the welts and began an incantation, instantly soothing the pain that racked Draco's body. When he was done, he wrapped Draco in a tight hug, enveloping him in warmth and making his heart beat faster. Harry felt the need to...kiss him. He wanted to, damnit. He looked into Draco's eyes, full of fear and pain, and that was all it took. He slowly, giving Draco a chance to pull away, leaned down, face mere inches from Draco's. Draco felt his breath on his lips and pushed his head forward, closing the last of the space between them. They were inexperienced but it didn't matter, all that mattered was that they were there and real. They kept their lips closed, just enjoying the feel of each other and how they felt. They released, breathing heavy, and Draco had to pinch himself. Was it real, or just a dream? His father would kill him, he knew, but at that moment, he didn't care. All that mattered was that the one he had looked up to for so long, the one he had loved for so long, noticed him. They were still kids, yes, but when you meet your soulmate, you just know. And thirteen was more than old enough to realize how much they really needed each other. Not because of some sort of want, but because they could talk and comfort each other, something most people can't do. But they could, and that was all that really mattered.