Soft murmurs danced at the edges of Draco's consciousness as he slowly faded in and out. He was aware of a low, chanting sound and hushed voices. As he gradually came to, he felt hard wood digging into his back, most certainly bruising his tailbone.

He picked up on the low voices and immediately discerned Harry's—it was hard and had a sharp edge to it. "Fetch him some clothes and a blanket—he'll need them."

Footsteps echoed away and Draco felt each one vibrate against his back. The side of his head, right above his ear, was throbbing and he let out a soft groan. Immediately, the voices stopped, as did the chanting. He felt cool, delicate fingers brush over his eyelids, then pull them up. Draco made a noise of protest and turned his head away, blinking rapidly. Gradually, everything began to come into focus.

Luna was kneeling down beside him, her large eyes almost glowing. A slow smile curled her lips when Draco's vision focused.

"Draco Malfoy," she cooed, "welcome back."

Blinking rapidly, attempting to clear the fogginess from his mind, Draco struggled to sit up, grunting with the effort. His body felt spent and his muscles ached miserably. He put a hand to his head, applying pressure where the thudding in his skull was most prominent. Only when he felt the breeze tickle his skin did he realize that he was quite naked. Inhaling sharply, he curled in upon himself and wrapped his arms around his body. Gulping down panic, he glanced around at his surroundings.

He was on the deck of the Siren, along with Luna, Red, and Harry. Red was politely looking away, but Luna was watching him with a smile dancing at the corners of her lips. His eyes met Harry's and he felt ice run through his veins—Harry was regarding him with apprehension.

"W-what happened?" He croaked. "What did I do?"

Harry's green eyes flared. "You don't remember?"

Draco felt that same panic bubbling in his chest and struggled to contain it. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but then Creevey came running onto the deck with a pile of clothes and blankets in his hands. He gave them to Harry, who then ordered him to remain below deck with the rest of the crew. Creevey nodded obediently, but glanced worriedly at Draco and offered him a sympathetic smile before scurrying off.

Harry clenched his jaw, then strode over to Draco. He knelt down to envelop Draco in a blanket, then pressed some of his clothes into Draco's hands. "Here, you ought to be freezing," he muttered. As Draco clumsily pulled on a pair of Harry's trousers, Harry tugged a tunic over his head, then wrapped an additional blanket around him.

"I'd appreciate if someone would inform me of what's happened." Draco clutched the blankets to his chest and leaned back into Harry's warm embrace.

"You're a bloody mermaid." Harry's eyes snapped to Red, who merely crossed his arms over his chest. "What? Someone needs to start talking."

Draco was gaping at Red. "M-mermaid? What?"

"Draco-" Harry started.

"Is this some sort of prank?" Draco glanced between the other three people on the deck. "Some sort of initiation back onto the ship?"

"Not a mermaid," Luna shot an exasperated look toward the red-haired first mate, "a siren."

"A siren," Draco said carefully.

"You didn't know," Harry said quietly.

"No, I didn't know," Draco snarled. "Nobody bothered to tell me I was a- a siren." He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to ignore the thudding. "Please tell me this is a prank. I have legs for christ's sake."

"You didn't a bit ago," Red remarked.

"Red, go make sure we're still on a steady course," Harry said in a voice of barely-concealed irritation. It was obvious, even to Draco, that it was a dismissal.

"Harry-"

"That was an order."

The two men stared each other down before Red nodded curtly, then strut toward the steering wheel, away from the three of them. Draco pulled up his trousers and observed his legs—they looked perfectly normal.

"I should have just listened to you when you said you couldn't swim," Harry said roughly, running his fingers through his hair and clenching his jaw.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Draco demanded, turning to meet Harry's gaze.

"That is how sirens shift," Luna said softly. "They must be emerged in salt water. That is why you did not know you had siren blood in your veins."

Harry whipped his glare to Luna. "But you did. You could have warned us so Draco didn't have to go through this."

Luna merely met Harry's gaze head-on. "I do not play with fate, you know this." Harry clenched his jaw. "He would not have believed me if I had told him."

"But I would have." Harry's voice was raising. "If I had known I could have helped his first transition. I could have consulted with Moony and talked Draco through it so he knew not to give in to the siren."

"Moony?" Draco questioned.

"What's done is done," Luna said with a finality. "All you can do now is help train him."

"Train?"

"And what makes you think I'm qualified to do that?"

"You are the only human able to," Luna said sharply. "Do not feign ignorance."

Draco could feel all the muscles in Harry's body were taut. He put a hand on Harry's arm, understanding Harry was upset despite being confused by the conversation.

"You cannot run from your past forever, Harry Potter," Luna said more softly. "Draco needs you right now and you cannot defeat Voldemort without his assistance." Luna raised her chin as if she expected Harry to protest to what she was about to say and was preparing for his reaction. "You need to call an Order meeting." Harry inhaled sharply. "You know it's necessary."

Harry was silent for a long time before he finally nodded. Draco felt him stand behind him, then Harry's arms were around Draco pulling him up. Draco stood on bare, shaky feet and he was embarrassed to note that most of his weight was on Harry.

"Draco needs rest," Harry said in a voice that left no room for question. "We will discuss this further tomorrow."

Luna nodded in agreement. "As do you."

Draco let Harry steer him through the double doors and into his room. It looked exactly as Draco remembered it. Harry closed the door behind them, then let out a long sigh. Wordlessly, he walked over to the corner to splash his face with water, dampening his hair and the front of his shirt.

Stifling a yawn, Draco sank down on the edge of the bed, inhaling deeply when the familiar scent of Harry filled his nostrils. Salt and smoke. He was about to lean back and crawl under the covers when he noticed Harry was slipping into bed himself.

"You're not going to take your shirt off?" Draco wondered, frowning.

Harry shook his head. "It's too cold."

"That's never been a problem before." Draco studied Harry.

He noticed faint marks beneath the thin, damp cloth of his shirt. Draco's breathing hitched. Before Harry could move out of the way, Draco snatched the front of his shirt and yanked it upward. Draco immediately tasted bile on his tongue.

"Oh my god," he whispered, his eyes wide.

"Draco, don't," Harry's hands wrapped around Draco's wrists, attempting to get Draco to listen. "It doesn't hurt, it's fine-"

"I did that to you," Draco said, his voice hollow.

Harry's chest had numerous marks dragging across his chest, dangerously close to his neck. They weren't particularly deep, but they would leave light scars and they were a vibrant red. Draco felt dangerously faint.

"…listening? It's fine." Harry was cupping his face and looking into his eyes. "It doesn't hurt. You weren't yourself. It's not your fault, Draco-"

"Oh god, I did that to you," Draco choked. "I hurt you."

He twisted away from Harry and blinked away tears of shame. Instantly, calloused fingers were gripping his chin and twisting his head to face Harry. He looked desperately at Harry, terrified of what he had done and what he had become.

"Draco, listen to me," Harry's voice was stern, but laced with a pleading tone. "Calm down. Do you want to know how we got you back onto the ship?" Green eyes pierced Draco's. "I'm the one who knocked you out. That's why your head hurts. We're even, all right?"

Draco stared at Harry, unblinking. Eventually, he nodded slowly and swallowed down his stress. He felt even more exhausted. "Okay," he said hoarsely, "okay."

"Okay," Harry parroted, combing his fingers through Draco's hair.

He pressed a kiss to Draco's temple before moving to his side of the bed and pulling his shirt off. Draco let out a long sigh, then rubbed his eyes, trying to force the day away. He wanted everything to be normal again.

"Go to sleep, Draco," Harry said softly, his voice muffled by his pillow.

Draco did.