Normal Text
Thoughts
Flashback
Thoughts within a flashback
SUMMARY: Voldemort's body may be dead, but he still has Horcruxes. Harry has to find them, while training to be shinobi and learning to be a wizard Lord, not to mention classes and Draco. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke have to deal with pregnancy and parenthood... Will they all be able to handle everything?
WARNINGS: SasuNaru, Drarry, HarryxDraco, SuiKarin, RonxHermione, explicit yaoi, mpreg
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto, they are the property of J. K. Rowling and Masashi Kishimoto respectively
A/N - Thanks to everyone who favourited and/or followed this story and/or me and to the reviews! I now have 60 favourites and 84 followers for this story!
In Konoha, Harry, Draco and Naruto were slowly making their way up to the top of the Hokage monument. It was New Year's Eve, and the fireworks would be starting soon. The three of them had decided to avoid the noise in the streets below and get a little further from the fireworks by going up to the top of the monument to watch them. When they reached the top, Harry helped Naruto sit down on a blanket on the Yondaime's head, then set down a second blanket for himself and Draco. Soon, Neji, Hinata, Ino and Shikamaru joined them, and they all sat down together to watch the fireworks.
Naruto leaned back slightly, getting comfortable as the babies jostled against each other inside him. He rubbed his stomach soothingly, and muttered:
"Yeah, I miss him too."
Although the others heard him, they decided it was better to ignore the comment, as there would be nothing which made Naruto feel better about Sasuke's absence. Even though he had only been gone a couple of weeks, they knew he would be gone much longer. A recent message Tsunade had received revealed that Sasuke's team was stuck in a village on the outskirts of Konoha due to the New Year's festivals taking place everywhere, and would also have to cross the border to head after Kisame, who seemed to be travelling towards the Land of Lightning.
As the countdown started, Draco leaned into Harry's arms.
"Going to kiss me at midnight then?" he asked Harry teasingly.
"Why would he do that?" Ino asked.
"It's a British thing, you're supposed to kiss someone at midnight at New Year", Harry explained, as the countdown started below them, loud enough that they could hear it even from the top of the monument. As the countdown reached zero, Draco leaned against Harry and pressed his lips against him, chastely but still pressing himself hard against Harry. Next to them, Ino kissed Shikamaru, decidedly less chastely, while Neji kissed Hinata on the cheek. Only Naruto was left with no-one.
"We probably should have mentioned that it's more of a lovers thing than a friends thing", Harry said, looking at Neji and Hinata.
"What do you mean?" Ino asked.
"The idea is that whoever you kiss at midnight you will be with for the rest of the year", Draco stated.
"O-oh", Hinata stammered, blushing slightly.
"Well, who else would she be with?" Neji asked. "They'd have to prove that they deserved her after all." Hinata's blush only intensified at Neji's protective words, while Naruto shuffled uncomfortably, glad that Hinata wasn't still in love with him – or at least he assumed she wasn't.
"I guess we should warn whoever you like then", Ino mused.
"I-Ino-san, I...I d-don't...ano..." Hinata stuttered.
"It's fine, it's not like I want you to tell me in front of everyone...and Sakura isn't here either...at some point we can get together and find a way to get whoever he is to go out with you", Ino said, somewhat dismissively.
"O-ok", Hinata agreed, nervous about what would happen when Neji did find out who she liked. Deciding to change the subject, she looked to Naruto: "Naruto-sama, how is S-Sasuke-san doing?"
"He's about to cross the border, their team is just stuck at the moment, as the New Year festivals mean everywhere is busy – they couldn't leave the inn as the next village would have nowhere to stay, so they've been there for around a week, then they've got to cross into the Land of Hot Water after the Akatsuki member. He's probably heading to the Lightning, so hopefully they'll catch up with him before he gets there."
"How far is that?" Harry asked.
"A month away", Naruto sighed. "And I really do miss him..."
On the Konoha border, Sasuke was sitting in a tree on the edge of the village. He was half-watching the fireworks while he thought about Naruto in Konoha. At least Harry and Draco are there, but at this rate I may even end up missing the birth of my child, Sasuke said to himself.
"Thinking about Naruto?" he heard from below him, before the person jumped up to sit on the tree branch beside him.
"Hn", was Sasuke's only reply, as the grey-haired jounin sat down beside him and pulled one of his books out from a pocket of his flak jacket.
"About Harry..."
"Remember what happened back at Hogwarts when you asked me questions I didn't want to answer?" Sasuke said, half-threateningly as he reminded Kakashi of the mess he and Naruto left in Kakashi's bed when Kakashi was trying to figure out why Sasuke had returned to the village.
"When Minato-sensei was pregnant, he had to hide it. He managed it fairly well, by using genjutsu to hide it, although it was easy to figure it out when you were around him a lot."
"Your point?"
"He hid it due to the Elders, he knew they wouldn't like the idea of a Hokage being with a Uchiha. And you're a little worse than just any Uchiha, as you actually did go against the village, whereas at least when Minato-sensei was pregnant the Uchiha clan were still seen as loyal, if disliked. You and Naruto can't hide it now, but you must realise what the Elders are saying, along with the head of the Root..."
"I'm using Naruto to build my own personal army?"
"Yeah", Kakashi agreed, turning a page in his book. Sasuke considered glaring at the man who was reading porn during such a serious conversation, but knew that Kakashi would probably only find his glare amusing.
"I know they don't like me, but it's not like we can hide it now. You should talk to Naruto about this, perhaps he can do something as the Rokudaime. Otherwise, just leave me alone", Sasuke said, jumping down from the tree and heading back for the inn where they were staying, the fireworks still exploding over his head.
In the Leaf Village, the fireworks carried on exploding as Naruto wondered how Sasuke was doing. The babies kicked at him again, and Naruto rubbed at his stomach absent-mindedly, thinking about his and Sasuke's future, just as his boyfriend was doing the same.
Sasuke sighed to himself. I will not sigh out loud, I am a Uchiha, he reminded himself. They had been forced to stop in the inn for some time due to the New Year's festivals, and unfortunately Kisame hadn't apparently done the same. That meant that their team was now a week behind Kisame as they headed into the Land of Hot Water. Sasuke also didn't appreciate that all the information they needed was being gathered from barmaids and other random women who only wanted to speak to him. Although he was used to girls always going after him, it was still annoying, and only served to repeatedly remind him that Naruto was back in Konoha, not to mention that he was due in four months, and if Sasuke missed the birth of his children...
Ahead of him, Sai and Kakashi were discussing Yugakure, the former hidden village of the country. Suigetsu was mostly keeping quiet, which Sasuke was thankful for, and he also hoped that Suigetsu was missing Karin, just so he wasn't the only one.
"He's almost certainly going to the Land of Lightning", Kakashi said, stopping walking.
"What's your point?" Sasuke asked irritably.
"If he's a week ahead he's probably already crossed into the Land of Frost", Kakashi pointed out. "We'll have to get more supplies before we cross the border again, and we'll have to send another message to Tsunade-sama – depending on the current political situation, we may have to go to the Lightning Village first and liaise with them." Sasuke grit his teeth at that, still wanting to get back to Konoha...
In the Uchiha district, Naruto sank deeper into the bathwater, letting it come up to his nose. He rubbed his belly under the water, feeling the babies moving inside him. He sat down on the side of the bath, still mostly under the water, and took a deep breath.
"I miss him too", Naruto said, rubbing his stomach. "I'm sure he won't miss your birth – he better not – and he'll be around a lot after that. He'll have to do missions with Suigetsu and Harry, and Harry's only a genin – and unlike them he's only at that level, at least for now. He'll learn the Rinnegan and achieve the higher ranks pretty quickly, but it depends on what happens in Britain, if he comes here or stays there after school..." he trailed off, thinking about everything that had happened. Harry and Draco had left earlier that day. While Harry had been there, he had completed 7 D-rank missions, added to the 16 he did over the summer while Kakashi was training him...it was more than enough to enter the chunin exams, but Naruto and Tsunade had wanted him to do team missions, and Naruto was due during Harry's Easter holidays. Naruto started as the babies kicked him hard.
"I know, that's when you get to be born", Naruto spoke again, still talking to his unborn children. "Beginning of April, that'll be around the right time for Harry to be here. And as for your younger sibling when I get Sasuke pregnant, he or she will be around a year younger than you, okay?" The babies kicked again, which Naruto took to mean that they were agreeing with him, as he allowed the warm water to soak into him, relaxing him.
On the first Saturday of the new year, Harry and Draco sat in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, heading back to school after the Christmas holidays. Many people from their year had stayed at school that year, so they found themselves alone in the compartment, Harry lying down on the seat with his head in Draco's lap, as the blond carded his fingers through dark hair.
"You okay?" Draco asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine", Harry replied. "Just thinking about everything that's happened over the last few days."
"You knew who would win and what would happen afterwards", Draco reminded him.
"I know", Harry sighed.
When Harry and Draco had returned to Malfoy Manor on Thursday morning, Narcissa greeted them and handed them the paper from earlier that day, announcing the election results – that Fudge had won. Harry also received a letter inviting himself and Draco to a party to celebrate the results the following evening. Fortunately, they had expected this and had brought back appropriate clothes with them from school, although they had left them at Malfoy Manor, knowing they wouldn't need anything so formal in Konoha.
On Friday night, as they attended the party, Harry found himself practically pounced on by Fudge, who insisted on introducing him to many different people. He also reminded Harry about the position of his advisor, which he still wanted Harry to accept. Harry made a show of humbly refusing, but allowed himself to (supposedly) be talked into it by the Minister, with the additional promise that it would be kept secret.
As Harry and Draco were leaving the manor where the party was being held, they found themselves being stopped:
"Leaving already?" a voice enquired slyly from just outside the main entrance to the manor.
"Good evening Professor, or should I say Lord Prince?" Harry greeted Snape.
"Thanks to you, I assume?" Snape asked, looking at Harry.
"Can't hurt to have people loyal to me around, and it's not like you deserve to be treated like a criminal by Dumbledore, the very person vehemently denying that you were ever evil."
"I suppose you are correct", Snape relented. "Are you leaving then?"
"Yeah, I think Fudge has already introduced me to everyone here and then some", Harry sighed. "Besides, we have to get up early for the train back to school tomorrow, so..."
"Very well then, I will see you in class on Monday."
"Professor, how is Dumbledore?" Draco asked.
"Oh yeah, that curse", Harry remembered.
"He is still worsening, and there is still no cure", Snape answered. "I expect he will die within the next few months, and certainly before the end of this academic year."
"We should watch that he doesn't try anything to make himself immortal", Draco pointed out.
"Do you think he would?" Harry asked. "No, never mind, of course he would, especially now Shacklebolt has lost, he'll think it's necessary to make sure the country survives."
"I will keep a close eye on him", Snape stated.
"Thank you", Harry said. "But for now, we really should be going, enjoy the rest of your evening."
"You too", Snape said knowingly, before entering the manor, leaving the two young men blushing slightly at the implications of his statement.
"I still can't believe Snape would say something like that", Draco said, still playing with Harry's hair, the dark head still resting in his lap as the English countryside whizzed past the window.
"It's not like he doesn't know what we're up to", Harry pointed out.
"I know, I'm just waiting for him to offer us contraceptives or something", Draco groaned.
"What for?" Harry asked.
"Well, what are they usually for?"
"But we're both guys."
"Yeah, but we're wizards, so..."
"You're saying that all this time we risked getting pregnant?"
"Well, no, I used contraceptive charms on myself, didn't you?" Draco asked.
"I didn't know I needed to", Harry said, sitting up abruptly and turning to sit beside Draco.
"Well, at least you know now", Draco said helpfully. Harry glared at him slightly before sighing to himself.
"Yeah, I guess I should have realised anyway, Naruto's pregnant and I'm a shinobi, so I could still get pregnant from that..."
"I'll teach you the charms when we're back at school", Draco offered.
"Thanks."
The two of them sat in silence for a moment, before Harry spoke again:
"If we had gotten pregnant –"
"I do want kids with you some day, but not until we graduate and you're sure about what you're doing with your life, given that you're part of both worlds now", Draco said, interrupting Harry before he could go any further with that particular train of thought.
"That's probably best", Harry agreed. "And I will figure it out, I just wish there was a way for me to stay in both worlds, not have to pick one."
"Well, try talking to your brothers at Easter or in the summer, maybe there is a way", Draco suggested. Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Oh, and you still haven't done any of your Christmas homework", Draco pointed out.
"Crap", Harry swore, as Draco handed him some books. "Wait – when did you do yours?"
"In Konoha, while you were on missions."
"I thought you were with Naruto?"
"Yeah, but he had work to do as well, so we just worked together – to be honest, I think he was just glad for the company."
"Probably, I hope Sasuke isn't much longer, it sounded like he'd end up some distance away just to find the person they're looking for, and then they have to get back to Konoha after that..."
"I'm sure it'll be fine, he won't be any longer than necessary, not with Naruto pregnant."
"I know", Harry said. "I just worry about them."
"They're your brothers, you're allowed to", Draco reminded him. Harry kissed him briefly.
"Thanks", he said, before turning to his homework, hoping that he would have enough time to finish it all before classes started again. As Harry activated his Sharingan so that the work would go faster, Draco smiled, although the smile hid his feelings a little, as he realised that, if forced to choose, Harry would go to the shinobi world. He uses his powers all the time, Draco thought to himself. I know he has to learn how to control them, but still, I think he would go there, if he really had to choose...I hope there is a way he can live in both worlds, as I don't think Konoha is my place, and I don't want to lose him – but I also don't want him to stay here just for me...
On the first Monday morning of term, Harry sat in Defence. Fortunately the lesson was only a lecture, as he wasn't really paying any attention to Remus. He knew something had been wrong with Draco for a while, ever since they were on the train, and it had only gotten worse at breakfast. Harry had gotten a letter about an Apparition exam, as had a few others, who were good at Apparition and were already seventeen. Although everyone believed Harry to still be sixteen, he had easily argued off the letter as being the result of his fame, which people had believed, or at least it seemed like they had, and Harry didn't know what else could be wrong with Draco.
Beside him, Draco was still thinking about the future, about what Harry would do after school, which world he would live in. He didn't want Harry to remain in Britain just for him, but he knew that could happen, that it very likely would. Although it was only January of their sixth year, Draco was still worried – Harry would become a chunin in the summer, as Draco knew his boyfriend would pass the exams, so Harry could just stay there. The political connections Harry had been gathering were really only in order to find the Horcruxes, and there were now only three left, and Harry knew the locations of two of them. He could probably find them all fairly quickly, maybe even before the summer, and then he wouldn't really need to come to Britain, except for Draco.
As Remus continued lecturing them about non-verbal spells, Neville and Blaise shared a look, wondering what was bothering their friends so much. Blaise decided to take as many notes as he could, knowing that the two of them would probably need to look over someone's notes, as they weren't paying attention. He also wondered what problems there were – if the two of them had one problem they would discuss it with each other, but now it seemed like they both had a problem, so it was reasonable to assume that it was different things. Blaise also wondered if one of them was hiding a problem that the other was then getting worried about, and hoped that they sorted everything soon, as he didn't want anyone like Hermione or the Weasley two to take advantage of the situation to split up Harry and Draco.
School continued as normal, with classes and homework. Draco decided to leave his issues for now, as he had no idea what Harry would do, but also realised that there was no way he could do anything to change Harry's mind if he did decide to stay in Britain just for Draco. As Valentine's Day approached, Draco made a big thing of asking Harry out in Apparation class, purposely doing it in a way that people like Ron and Hermione would see, even though Harry had already invited him to dinner in London. Conveniently, Valentine's Day this year was on a Friday, so it was easy for Harry and Draco to go to dinner in London on the actual day. Harry had spoken to the Minister and had gotten special permission for Draco to take his Apparition exam early as well, and they both had the exam the following day. Due to how early they had to be at the Ministry offices in London, Harry and Draco had also gotten permission from McGonagall and Snape to stay in London overnight, or, more specifically, in Grimmauld Place.
They had a good meal, although as they were leaving, Draco did ask Harry why they had gone to dinner so early when they didn't have a curfew that night. Harry didn't answer, merely changing the subject:
"Do you think you're ready for the test tomorrow?"
"Yeah, we've been doing fine in class after all. I guess Apparation would be helpful on your missions in Konoha, wouldn't it?"
"It might be I guess", Harry replied thoughtfully. "I suppose it's something the enemy wouldn't expect as well, unless they know that I'm a wizard and what wizards are capable of doing..." he continued, musing to himself as they walked through the streets of London. "I suppose it would also help us when we go out to dinner, so we can Apparate back to Grimmauld rather than walk there."
"It's not like it's far", Draco pointed out.
"Only because I keep going for restaurants only twenty to thirty minutes walk away at most", Harry responded. "We could try something on the other side of London if we knew we could Apparate back, right?"
"What about Muggle transportation?" Draco asked.
"But then we'd have to wear Muggle clothing, so I wouldn't get to see you in those tight robes", Harry replied, speaking as if his response wasn't intended to gain any reaction even as Draco blushed slightly.
"Why do you always have to make me blush?" Draco grumbled under his breath, as they turned into Grimmauld Place and walked down the road.
"It's fun", Harry stated simply, as they walked up the steps outside number 12 and entered the house. "And as for an early dinner, I figured we'd need to get an early night so we're ready for the exam tomorrow", he continued, walking up the stairs.
"Oh", Draco replied, almost dejectedly, as he followed Harry upstairs and to the master bedroom.
As Draco entered the room, Harry was already sitting on the side of the bed, taking off his shoes. Draco kicked off his own and strode purposefully over to the bed, grabbing Harry's legs and throwing them upwards so that Harry fell back onto the bed. Harry wiggled up the bed slightly as Draco climbed on top of him, pressing his body flat against Harry's.
"Are you sure the early night wasn't for this reason?" Draco asked seductively, whispering into Harry's ear as his hands trailed down Harry's sides.
"N-No", Harry muttered weakly.
"No what?"
"I really did want sleep before the exam. We have to be at the Ministry at 10, so we'll have to leave here around 9 and get the Tube to go in the visitor's entrance."
"9? That means we have to be up at what, 8? Giving us an hour to shower, get dressed and grab breakfast? It's only 9pm now, do you really need 11 hours of sleep?"
"Draco –"
"Didn't think so", Draco interrupted, swooping down for a kiss, pressing his lips insistently against Harry's. Harry groaned underneath him, fisting his hands in the back of Draco's robes as Draco's tongue continued to plunder his mouth.
Draco slid his hands down Harry's front, unbuttoning and unfastening, then pulled open Harry's clothes to reveal the broad expanse of chest beneath them. Harry moaned as Draco's mouth moved to his neck, sucking a mark into it, before trailing hot kisses down Harry's chest, leaving marks along the way. Draco sucked on Harry's nipples in turn, earning an approving moan and several gasps, as Harry bucked underneath him. Draco could already feel Harry's hardness through the underwear and layers of his own clothing. His own clothes were becoming increasingly stifling, so Draco got up from the bed. Harry whined slightly at the loss of sensation, but the whine turned to a groan as he looked at the blond, who seemed to be undressing in the most seductive way possible. Unfortunately, this was also the slowest way possible, leading Harry to push himself off the bed and practically rip Draco's clothes off, slipping out of his own clothing at the same time.
Draco realised that Harry was trying to take control, so he walked the dark-haired male backwards and pushed him onto the bed. Harry bounced back slightly, but didn't even have time to register what had happened, as Draco resumed the assault on his nipples.
"Ah! Draco, please!" Harry begged, as one of Draco's hands started fondling his crotch.
"Please what?" Draco asked deviously, kissing down Harry's stomach. Harry tensed up slightly, expecting the hot mouth to wrap around his aching cock, but Draco bypassed the area, instead placing kisses up the inside of Harry's thighs.
"Please, touch there", Harry begged again.
"Touch where?" Draco asked again, as he run his fingers up the inside of Harry's thighs and across the smooth globes of Harry's ass, avoiding both Harry's cock and his hole, purposely teasing him.
"Here!" Harry practically shouted, sitting up, grabbing one of Draco's hands and pressing it against his aching need.
"Oh, here", Draco said, as if he'd just figured out what Harry meant. He moved his flat palm up and down Harry's shaft, not curling his fingers around it. "Like this?" he asked.
"Draco, can't take it any more, you know what I want", Harry groaned.
"I suppose", Draco relented, curling his fingers around Harry's hard cock and giving it a few jerks. He gathered up the precome leaking from Harry's head and spread it around on his fingers, running them back and teasingly rubbing them around Harry'e entrance. Harry groaned and pushed downwards, making Draco relent again, as he rapidly pushed two fingers inside Harry, soon adding a third and roughly preparing his boyfriend.
"Ah! M-More!" Harry groaned brokenly, as he reached down to touch his neglected cock. Draco swatted his hand away.
"No, just here", Draco ordered, thrusting his fingers deeper inside Harry.
"Then do more there!"
Draco relented for a third time, his own need becoming increasingly harder to control, as he stood up. He pulled Harry to the edge of the bed and wrapped Harry's legs around his waist, standing at the side of the bed as he guided his cock into Harry's entrance. Both men groaned as Draco slid into the tight heat of his boyfriend's body, before setting a rapid pace, pistoning his hips back and forward as Harry groaned towards the ceiling.
After a few minutes, Harry reached upwards, running his hands across Draco's stomach and chest.
"Come down here, want to kiss you", he whispered, before moaning loudly at a particularly hard thrust. Draco put his knees up onto the bed, one at a time, until he was no longer standing by the bed, but kneeling on it. Harry tightened his legs around Draco's waist, causing the blond to fall forwards slightly, and craned his neck upwards for a kiss. Draco leaned forwards and kissed Harry briefly, wrapping his arms around Harry's back. He then pulled Harry up with him as he knelt back up onto his knees, so that Harry was sitting on him, allowing his cock to slide even deeper inside his boyfriend. Harry moaned as he began bouncing on Draco, the mattress bouncing with them to make Draco seem to be hitting spots impossibly deep within Harry's body. Draco pulled Harry into a kiss, much deeper this time, mimicking with his tongue what his cock was doing, as he thrust both appendages deep into Harry's body.
Harry groaned at the multiple sensations, as his cock was rubbed between his own and his boyfriend's hard stomachs, and both Draco's cock and his tongue were doing wicked things as they thrust into him. Harry felt his orgasm approaching all too soon, but had no time to warn Draco as it hit him hard, and he came, throwing his head back and screaming. Draco continued thrusting upwards as Harry bounced erratically, riding out his orgasm, before he allowed his own to wash over him. He came deep inside Harry, grunting as he filled his boyfriend with his seed. As his own orgasm subsided, he fell forwards, slipping out of Harry as they flopped down onto the bed.
As they lay there, gasping and panting, Harry curled into Draco's side, and the blond wrapped his arm around his boyfriend.
"See, wasn't that sort of early night much better than just going to sleep?" Draco asked between gasps, as Harry rested his head on the blond's heaving chest.
"Shut up", Harry said, kicking around the covers of the bed so that he could pull them up and over their bodies. He cast a quick charm to clean off the remnants of his orgasm from their bodies, then cuddled against his boyfriend.
"Hey, you only cleaned up yours", Draco noticed.
"Want yours inside me", Harry muttered sleepily, blushing slightly.
"You're blushing", Draco noticed.
"Don't make fun of me."
"You always mention it when I blush."
"I know, but shut up", Harry mumbled.
"Fine. 'Night."
"'Night", Harry replied, closing his eyes. Draco's arms tightened further around him as he slipped into sleep, enjoying the safeness he felt as his tiredness overtook him and he fell into a restful sleep.
The following morning, Draco woke up in bed alone. He could hear the sounds of the shower in the en-suite, but decided it wouldn't be the best idea to shower with his boyfriend, or they'd only end up distracted and late for their exam. Instead, he grabbed some clothes and a towel and went to one of the other bathrooms to get ready.
It was just after 8 in the morning when Draco made it downstairs, only to find that Harry had made them a full breakfast.
"How much earlier than me did you get up?" he asked Harry.
"Not much", Harry shrugged, as he sat down at the table, which was covered with various plates of food. "Kreacher did this", he added, as Draco looked at him disbelievingly.
"Oh, that makes sense."
"Hey, I could have...if I had time..."
"Yeah, but you were a little...indisposed last night, weren't you?"
"Are you complaining?"
"Hardly", Draco commented, as he started eating his breakfast. Harry smiled at him, as he began eating as well.
Once they had finished, the two of them went back upstairs to get their things.
"Harry, remember when you said about getting the house redecorated?"
"I seem to remember you got annoyed at me when I did..."
"That's because you were changing the subject in order to distract me so...that's beside the point, did you really want to?"
"I guess it would be good, the house is in a good place as it's in London, and it's also hidden and everything..."
"If you have any blueprints or anything I wouldn't mind helping", Draco offered.
"You want to redesign it, don't you?" Harry asked, as he slung his bag over his shoulder and headed back towards the stairs.
"Can I?" Draco asked, grabbing his own bag and following Harry down the stairs and out the front door. Harry called a 'goodbye' to Kreacher before closing the front door behind them.
"I guess, I'll see if I have any plans or anything", Harry replied, as he and Draco headed down the street to the nearest Tube station.
It didn't take long for the two of them to take the Tube through London and arrive at the visitor's entrance to the Ministry, going down in the same telephone box they had entered not even a year ago to fight Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries. They moved through the Ministry easily, and Draco also noticed how many of the upper-class wizards acknowledged them on the way, mostly for Harry's benefit he assumed, but they still recognised him as well. They reached the testing room a little before the written exam was to start, so they went in and took their seats. The exam was in two parts, an hour-long written exam and then a practical exam which included some oral questions. As the two of them waited for the exam to start, Draco found himself thinking about redecorating ideas for Grimmauld while Harry's mind drifted to Apparation, and how useful it would be if he could Apparate to and from Konoha...
It was the middle of the afternoon before Harry and Draco got back to school. After both passing their respective exams with flying colours they had gone to get lunch, before deciding to celebrate their new-found sense of freedom by Apparating back to school. They appeared outside the school gates, immediately noticing the difference in temperature.
"I know London is south and Scotland is north, but still", Draco commented, as he zipped up his jacket and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, but we were also just in a warm restaurant and now we're outside", Harry pointed out, as they went through the school gates and walked up to the school.
"What about the frost?" Draco asked, as he noticed the crunching under his feet.
"It's still February, it's not going to be twenty degrees, is it?"
"Does it get to that in the summer?" Draco asked.
"Good point. You probably just got used to Konoha over the holidays though – winter doesn't really hit there, it's warm most of the year, so..."
"Yeah", Draco nodded, the conversation about Konoha naturally stopping as they entered the castle, the great wooden doors closing behind them.
The two of them walked through the school, heading for Draco's common room, when Ron passed them.
"Have you two been out all night?" he asked.
"Yes, why?" Harry asked in reply.
"You can't just leave the school overnight, or did he make you?" Ron sneered.
"He has a name, and no, Draco didn't force me to do anything, we had permission to be out overnight, from McGonagall and Snape – check with them if you really think it's any of your business."
"And what about all the other nights?"
"When?" Harry asked.
"All those other times you didn't sleep in our dorm."
"I was sleeping in the Slytherin dorm – it's kind of cold at the moment after all, and Draco makes a good bed-warmer."
"Hey, don't say it like that's all I'm good for", Draco complained.
"Sorry, you know what I mean", Harry apologised, leaning in to place a brief chaste kiss on Draco's lips. He ignored the disgusted look on Ron's face as he turned to continue walking.
"So, that's where I was, and where I'm going now, see you later", Harry said, finishing the conversation as he and Draco walked off down the corridor and down the stairs towards the Slytherin common room and dorms.
An hour later, as Harry was sitting in the Slytherin common room, doing some homework, he looked around. Draco was sitting opposite him scribbling down ideas on redecorating the house in Grimmauld Place, with Pansy helping him. Theo and Blaise were also sat at the table doing homework. As Harry's thoughts drifted to his encounter with Ron, he realised that, even if he was losing Ron and Hermione, he was making friends down here – and ones that had no problems with his relationship or tried to trick him into being with Ginny. In short, he was losing people who only seemed to want to use him, and gaining actual friends, although it didn't seem to him like the others were ever really his friends...
A/N - Please read and review!
Next Chapter - Kisame and the Easter holidays begin!