The day after they arrived at school the other students arrived on the train and Harry knew he would be facing questions. His friends had been told he had been in a safe house for the summer, they had not been told he was living with the Malfoys. Harry no longer made the distinction between the Malfoys and Severus for after a summer with them he came to realize Severus was as much a Malfoy as the other two, bonded but not married. They hoped one day of course he would enter into it with them. They could not be married even when Narcissa died, not the traditional human marriage at least for it would be bigamy, but they all three could be bonded, an union which was recognized by both wizards and veelas though veelas only had bonds, purebloods, it was considered being married to them. Harry and Draco were both slightly concerned about seeing their friends and it was one of the reasons they had both been made to live with Draco's dads.

Draco knew most of his friends had at least one parent who was a true Death Eater and he knew there were a number of people in his house who would join including Theo. Blaise was the only real safe bet, his mother having never been into the Dark arts, especially after she lost two husbands to it, one of them being Blaise's dad. Blaise's current stepfather was an Italian business wizard and Blaise and his mom lived in Italy for the past two years when he was not at school. Though Harry did not have to worry about possible future Death Eaters, he knew there would be those who would have a problem with him and Draco being friends, Ron mainly.

Draco and Harry headed up for the Great Hall as the other students were arriving and Harry could see the surprise of his friends when they saw him. They had noticed not only was he with Draco but that he had come up from the dungeons as well. They had all assumed he would have been at a Black property with his godfather and having no idea how to explain about his mates, he had not told them other wise.

Hermione hugged Harry when he got close enough. "We have been worried; we have heard so little this summer from you. What were you doing down there?"

Harry took a deep breath and explained. "I spent the summer living with Professor Snape and Malfoy. And it has been decided I will continue to live with them."

Ron stared in shock at him and his other friends were not much better. For now Harry did not mention the mate part for he was never sure it would become more. He would let them train him but he could not see himself ever coming to want to be bonded with them. For now his friends assumed that since Sirius was a fugitive it had been decided that he needed a different guardian and he had become the ward of Severus. They knew how close he and Lucius Malfoy were, well as friends, they did not know the two were lovers and that Draco was Severus' son. Even if Harry felt comfortable to talk to them about that, it was not his place to share.

As Harry was talking Ron had been looking over at Draco and glared. He knew that the world believed his dad had saved Harry at the end of the tournament but the little blonde snake was another matter. He didn't trust Malfoys, his family had a long history with them, and he didn't like the snake was worming his way into Harry.

Ron steered Harry towards the Great Hall, "Well as long as you're not turning Slytherin on us or anything. I mean you know they can not be trusted Harry."

Harry removed his arm from his friend's grip. "Some of them can not be trusted but we all know full well that not all dark wizards come from Slytherin either."

One of the reasons he had fought being made a Slytherin when the hat wanted to place him there was Ron had made a comment all Dark wizards came from that house. And while Voldemort had and a number of his followers did, not all did. There were purebloods in all the houses and there were those who were half bloods like Severus who joined as well. Peter Pettigrew was the perfect example of that, a Gryffindor and a member of the Order, who had betrayed their group and his friends. Just as there were those from other houses who went dark, not all of the people in Slytherin would turn into Death Eaters and killers.

As he sat down and looked over at Draco who was sitting with Blaise and his goons but the others were keeping their distance, Harry reminded himself he knew Draco well. He knew he could trust the three with his life, even if still angry about their invasion of his mid. He trusted Draco more then some of his friends.

Fred put his brother in a headlock as the first years were coming in and Ron kept going on and on. "Lay off little brother, Draco is a decent guy. Or we'll flush you."

Ron sneered at the twins. "You knew where he was, some how you knew where he was this summer? You two always acted like you handsome big secret."

The twins always had some secret, usually a prank or trick they were going to pull on someone, but it had seemed different. The twins had been sworn to secrecy when they had been allowed to come and visit Harry that summer and their disappearances had not one unnoticed by their family. But they were seventeen and could apparate and come and go as they chose to do so and Arthur at least had known part of it, having been told so the family would not worry about the boys. He was not all that pleased for he did not trust the Malfoys that much either but if they were helping a boy he considered to be a son, he was willing to over loo that.

As the sorting ended all their attention was on a toad of a woman who sat at the head table. Harry had been told about her, Dolores Umbridge, a lackey for the minister. Cornelius had sent her but no one had any idea her role. The school governors had appointed Lucius as the new DADA teacher as well as their eyes and ears there.

Hermione grimaced when the woman gave her speech. "That woman is going to try and run this school I am sure of it. I still don't get what she is doing here."

Harry shook his head. "I have a feeling we will be happy Lucius is here. I mean if anyone can stand up to a ministry flunky, it is Lord Malfoy."

The woman it seemed had been appointed by the minister to come and do an inspection of the school which would last a year. The governors ran the school for the most part but the government had some control. She would supervise the school and make sure the teachers and students were kept in line here.