Chapter 10

Gloomy Farewell

The three days after the big conversation Harry received his letter from Ron saying that he would pick Harry up late that night and to be ready and waiting at the door so as 'not to disturb the muggles'! Harry sighed. The three days had gone by very fast, he had enjoyed the company of the two Slytherin's more then he thought possible and he wondered if he should have let the sorting hat place him in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor all those years ago.

Would he have been happier? He couldn't help but think he might have ended up happier being the best friend to Draco instead of Ron and Hermione. They were good friends, they had stuck with him through a lot of tough situations... but they had also abandoned him on a number of occasions and these two men he hated above almost all others (other than Voldemort) had promised him that even though it might be hard on them, they would never abandon him the way the others all had at one point.

That meant more to Harry then almost anything else. Finally someone was promising something that they honestly wanted to keep. He knew deep down they might not be able to keep the promise just because of their previous obligations... their family in Draco's case... their lives in Snape's case… but the sheer want and desire to not abandon him, to not lie to him meant a great deal.

He was sitting in the windowsill thinking about this as he heard his door creak open and saw a pale blonde head peak through and look around the room before finally finding him in the window. A smile spread his thin pink lips.

Draco stepped into the room as his gaze swept over the tiny form in the window. Harry had always been tiny and he realized now it was because of the abuse. But it also made him look cute in a way. Like delicate spun glass. If you tapped too hard he would break.

But that was what was so beautiful about Harry, as he sat there in the window, the morning sun streaming in behind him he looked like a fallen angel. He was delicate looking but in reality more powerful then you could ever even imagine. Behind those baggy clothes and hard thin lines lay pure, corded muscle, always tensed to fight, ready to defend those who needed it, even if they didn't deserve it.

He stepped towards Harry and sat down in the chair facing the window and incidentally Harry. "I bet you're happy, you get to see Weasley tonight." Draco still didn't like Ron and Harry didn't expect him too, but Draco knew that Weasley and Granger were a big part of his life so he tried to at least not say their names with disdain.

Harry didn't say anything for a long time; he just stared into Draco's eyes as if he was trying to see something in them, seeing if they could tell him something Draco never would say out loud. "Part of me does... and part of me dreads it." He looked away and out the window, his green eyes sparkling as the light reflected through his glasses and into them.

"I miss things about them, they can always make me laugh and they were my first real taste of family and friendship. Before them I didn't have either of those things... but they haven't always been the best at either. The Weasley's try but I feel most of the time like I'm a burden. They have seven children and then every summer they take me in because I live with horrible muggles who starve me. And Molly is very overbearing sometimes and it becomes a little much... and honestly I think Ron's jealous of me because his parents like me so much because I'm famous and rich."

He took a deep breath considering his next train of thought. "Hermione has never really abandoned me, but she hen pecks me and makes me feel so low sometimes I just wish she would leave me alone. And the biggest problem I face with all of that is that, I feel bad about feeling those things. Even though they haven't been the best friends they've stuck with me through things many would have laughed at me for suggesting they help with. Even first year Ron thought he was going to die and still they went along with me. They have good intentions, they are Gryffindor's after all... they just don't know how to be friends with someone as dangerous as me."

He looked so lost and... angry. Like he wished he could be anyone else. They sat in silence for a few long minutes and when Harry finally spoke again it surprised Draco. "Part of me wishes I had accepted your request for friendship first year, but the logical part of me, the part that has been through the years knows that wouldn't have helped and would probably have made things harder if that is at all possible, but still I can't help but feel that having you there would have at least made the extra pain bearable." Harry turned to look at Draco and a tiny smile broke over his face lighting it up. "And maybe if I had been a Slytherin Sev wouldn't have been such a bastard all these years."

Just as the sentence finished they heard a throat clear and their heads shot towards the door where Snape was standing, his arms crossed over his chest just glaring. "I resent that, and it wasn't the house that bothered me Potter," the Potter was a joke now, only used when Severus was irritated. "It was the fact that I thought you had been raised to be a spoiled brat and you look just like your infuriating hateful father. I see now that it was wrong of me to judge you without actually knowing the facts but I digress I did not come in here to justify myself to you two!" He tutted loudly as Harry and Draco began to snigger behind their hands.

"The Weasley's are coming to collect you tonight and I need to go over plans with you two." He strode over to the other chair next to Draco's and gracefully sat down in it. "Now, while you are away unfortunately we cannot do much more then keep you informed of my future plans, but I do have plans. For now they are to discreetly talk to the Order members and see which are in the Order because they believe in you and who are there because they believe in Dumbledore." He leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees and rubbing his face with his hands.

"Meanwhile I must ask if you can subtly figure out whether your friends are willing to believe solely in you, see if they are prepared to follow you and not you and Dumbledore. If they are then great, if not then we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Also for future plans, because this is just the basics I'm doing all of this because I plan on you forming your own side. Dumbledore obviously isn't as 'light' as we wished to believe... and The Dark Lord is still as dark as we know him to be... Since Dumbledore is more like a 'gray' murky water sort of man suddenly the people are going to need a new light... and you've always been the light Harry, and now you're going to take your destined role as leader of that side. We are going to discreetly move you out from under Dumbledore and above him. Draco and I have already agreed that we are with you through every step of the way... but this isn't going to be easy because now I'm really acting as a triple threat spy. I am pretending to spy on both Dumbledore and The Dark Lord for the other while really the entire time I'm really on your side."

Snape and Draco watched as Harry tensed to the point where it looked as if someone had replaced his spine with a cold metal rod. His body was full of stiff tension while his face betrayed all of the emotion and fear he felt. "Oh my gods Severus, I didn't think about that, I mean I know this was going to be really hard on you and that this wasn't going to be an easy plan, but I guess I didn't want to let myself think about how hard this was really going to be for you. And I don't have any doubts that you can do this... and I know that even if I protested you wouldn't take anything I said into consideration... but I'm so sorry. It's really not much at all, my apologies aren't more then words but I truly am sorry that after all of this time, after all of these years of fighting, I'm inadvertently asking you to fight even more."

Snape wanted to protest, but when he saw the look on Harry's face the pure pain and apology there, he couldn't muster any type of response. He wanted to deny that this was going to be painfully difficult for him, but he didn't want to seem like he was more then what he really was. He looked at Harry, cool black meeting warm green and finally found a response. Long-winded though it may be. "I'm not a hero Harry, I've done courageous things I suppose, I've tried my best to keep you safe in the past years. But don't think that was because I'm noble. I promised myself that because I couldn't save your mother I would spend the rest of my life saving her child." His gaze didn't waver as he continued. "Three days ago if someone had told me I would care about you, want to protect you because of who you are I would have laughed. But, knowing you now I find myself wanting to do my best to keep you as safe as possible because deep down their is genuine affection for you. But I can't promise anything, what I'm trying to accomplish is no small feat and it's going to be dangerous and frankly there is very little doubt in my mind that I will live to see you kill The Dark Lord."

Everything went very quiet at his final words. No one moved or spoke until suddenly Harry was standing and practically throwing himself into Snape's arms. He hugged the man tightly not even caring if Severus hugged him back or not. But he was pleasantly surprised when Severus arms slowly wrapped around his waist clinging to him almost as tightly as Harry did.

Draco smiled at their moment. He liked seeing his Godfather so... affectionate? And he liked that Harry had someone who he could hug like a father figure.

Severus and Harry released each other after a few minutes and Harry sat back down in the windowsill. Draco and Harry gave Severus there full attention as they waited for him to continue the conversation they had been having before.

"Now," Severus cleared his throat to also clear the emotion from it. "Unfortunately when we do finally get back to school we are going to have to keep up the appearance that Draco and I still loathe you and vice versa. We will of course have to meet so that we can brief each other on future endeavors and so on... but we must be very discreet. Dumbledore can't know what's going on, if he found out he would try to stop us, try to stop you." Snape pointed at Harry. "He would go to any lengths to ensure that you stay on his side, stay his weapon. Don't forget that Harry."

Harry nodded and looked over to Draco who was also nodding in understanding. "Thank you, both of you. I don't know what kind of shape I would be in if you two hadn't come for me that night. I'm not sure I would even still be here." He didn't wait for a response before turning back to the window, he didn't need one he knew they understood him better then could ever have imagined.

Draco tried a couple of minutes later to lighten the mood by talking about their summer assignments and Harry joined in the conversation easily enough, all three surprisingly trying to forget that Harry was going to be leaving in just a few hours... and that once he did they wouldn't really speak to him like this again for quite some time.

~*#*~

At a quarter to midnight Severus and Draco snuck Harry from the Malfoy home and back to number 4. Severus cast a disillusionment charm on himself and Draco so they could wait with Harry without getting seen by any of the Weasley's. Harry sat on the front porch and wished he could see them, talk with them while he still could, but since he couldn't, he was happy to just have them nearby. He placed his hand on the concrete step next to his thigh and felt a warm weight cup the back of it. He looked down at it and smiled. He knew it was Draco silently telling him it was okay.

Harry looked up into to sky and stared up at the stars. He didn't get to do that for long before he heard the tell-tale crack of apparition down the street. He turned his hand over and gave Draco's hand a squeeze. He brought it to his lips and kissed the invisible knuckles in a mirror gesture of the one Draco had become accustomed to bestowing upon him. He smiled where he assumed their faces were and stood up. He stretched his back out and rubbed his cold bum from sitting on the chilly hard concrete. He grabbed one end of his trunk and waited patiently for the Weasley's to make their way down the street to meet him.

The twins, Ron, and Arthur were there just like they had been the summer before fourth year. He smiled at the memory of his cousin's tongue swelling to such an amusing size, trying not to think about the school year that had followed that most entertaining visit.

They approached with their usual jolly smiles and flaming red hair. Ron came up first giving Harry a bear hug before releasing him and having the twins take him up in a joint hug that lifted him from the ground. Arthur came next giving him a fatherly one armed hug. When the greetings were finished the twins each took an end of the trunk and heaved it up between them.

The party left the front yard and began back down the street. And Harry couldn't help but look back over his shoulder at the front step where he knew the two Slytherin's were waiting to make sure he was found safely. He smiled and gave a little discreet wave before taking Arthur's arm tightly and apparateing away.