The colours outside grabbed his attention despite the grim setting around him. The sky had lines of red and purple cutting through it, with the newly rising moon shining in the background. Its serenity was at odds with what he was experiencing inside. Everything had happened so fast that he wasn't sure he had even digested it all yet. For one, what were the chances of him getting bonded to Draco, who was in contact with Severus Snape, who was supposed to have been bonded to his Mother? The wiccan community couldn't have been that small. He'd seen all those clusters of family names on Draco's ancestral chart, and that had only been one family's tree.

"Move that candle a bit to the left," commanded Draco, bringing Harry back to the present.

Harry tore his eyes off of the sky and looked around him. Draco had decided to do the seance in the front hall, saying that it had the energy of many people coming in and would make it easier for the dead to come in and visit them as well. It made no sense to Harry, since another way to look at it would be that the front hall was were many people left the manor from and thus it would be logical to say that it carried the energy of people leaving so it wouldn't be easy for the dead to come through or even that all the coming and going balanced each other out.

He moved the candle near his foot a little to the left and looked at Draco for approval. They'd been setting this up for the past few hours. They hadn't seen Snape again after the day's lesson had ended, but Harry was sure that the servants had informed Narcissa and Lucius by now about what their Son was up to in their front hall. If they had a problem with it, they hadn't shown up to voice it so far.

The tall thick white candles were arranged in a big circle and a white chalk was used to draw many shapes and circles around them, connecting them at places. Harry had had to gather various ingredients that were mashed and added under an incantation into a bowl and set at the foot of the circle. Draco and him were wearing white outfits, ready for the summoning, but they had to wait for midnight to light the candles and start the ceremony. It had all seemed a bit ridiculous to Harry until he'd seen how seriously Draco was taking it.

"It's not good to offend the dead," he had said.

Harry wasn't completely sure that it would work. Even though all the spells Draco had done so far had been successful, this seemed a bit far fetched. He'd never even seen a picture of his parents, how was he supposed to know if Draco summoned the right dead people? He supposed his speculation was due to the fact that he had never really believed in ghosts, or at least seances. He'd always seen psychics claiming to do it as part of a scam, and it had stuck with him. Was it possible that this one would actually work and he'd meet his parents for the first time since they had passed on?

After every detail was ready and perfected, there was nothing left to do but wait. Draco insisted that Harry snuggle with him on the sofa and he found himself unable to resist. The contact with Draco reminded him of their earlier experiment with the golden string of the bond, but as midnight approached, he found himself forgetting about all thoughts other than his parents. He felt himself grow anxious, and Draco's hand reached up to rub soothing circles on his back.

"It'll be alright," Draco reassured. "Just remember to remain standing behind me because I will be opening the connection through you and if you move the connection will close. I won't be able to do anything except continue with the incantation once the connection opens; it's up to you to ask the questions."

Harry's mouth was too dry to make a comment. He nodded and got up with Draco, taking his place behind him at the foot of the circle. He felt a tremor go through him; there were goosebumps on his arms. He kept his eyes at Draco's back as the clock started chiming. Harry started counting along. He could see Draco nodding slowly as each chime sounded; he was counting them too. After the twelfth chime sounded, the echo resonating through them, Draco started the incantation. This time, his words sounded not only ancient and powerful, but also strangely hollow. It was as if his own energy was being drained with each word.

Harry bit his lip. He hadn't really expected it to work, but as a white fog started to fill up the room, he felt his uncertainty slipping away. He was really going to come face to face with the ghosts of his parents. He watched helplessly as Draco kneeled before the bowl of ingredients that Harry had helped prepare. It was glowing an iridescent red colour which changed to black when Draco threw some powder into it. His voice was growing weaker as each word left him, while the fog grew thicker around them.

At first, Harry didn't notice any changes because his eyes were on Draco and his mind was occupied with worried thoughts about his energy fading. But when he heard that unearthly voice, his head snapped up and he saw the two faded forms standing in the centre of the summoning circle. Draco's head had by now slumped down, and the incantation was leaving his lips in slow hushed tones. He remembered at the last second about Draco telling him not to move from his position no matter what, and held himself from taking a step forward.

"Harry," the woman's voice repeated, this time in a stronger voice. "My Harry."

"Mum?" Asked Harry, voice filled with wonder. "Dad?"

Unlike his earlier expectations, he could clearly tell that these were in fact his parents and not two random people. He could see his own physical features in them, and that kind smile that they wore; they had to be his parents. He wished he could move closer, to look at them and even try to touch them even though they clearly did not have a physical form.

"Not that it's not good to see you, Son," James said. "But why did you summon us? Is something wrong?"

"I need to ask you about the past," said Harry regretfully. He wished that there was a happier subject to talk about, now that he finally had his parents in front of him.

He saw his Mother sigh. "You mean our bonding."

"Yes," said Harry sadly. "I need to know what really happened between Snape and you."

"Snape?" Asked James sharply. "How do you know about him?"

"It's a long story," said Harry, looking at Draco's weakening form. "And I don't think we have the time."

He saw his parents notice Draco for the first time, a question in their eyes. "That's Draco. I'm bonded to him. I can't explain further, I don't think we have more than a few minutes left and I really need to know what happened."

He watched Lily put a gentle hand on James. "He's right. He needs us and we have to trust him."

James nodded reluctantly and Lily continued, "Severus and I were meant to bond, but I met James before I knew about that. We fell in love and didn't know any better than to bond, being sure that it was the right thing to do. When Severus told me that I was his bonded and that we were to bond, I felt sorry but in my heart I knew that I had done the right thing. James was hopeless without me, we were in love and a perfect match. There was no way to reverse our bond, and even if there was, I wouldn't have wanted it."

Before Harry could form a reply, a shadow stepped out of the hallway.

"I'm sorry, old friend," Lily said wistfully as her eyes fell on Snape.

"You would have lived a long and happy life with me," said Snape, his eyes burning.

"I lived a full and happy life," said Lily gently. "All I can ask for is your understanding and forgiveness."

"We both ask for that," said James grudgingly, after a hard look from Lily.

"At least one of us was happy," grumbled Snape, looking down.

"So you know our Son," said Lily, smiling. "Take care of him for us, will you?"

"I don't owe you anything," said Snape sharply. At the hurt look in Lily's eyes however, he softened. "I will teach him what I can, since you went and got yourself carelessly killed in a car accident."

"Car accident?" Asked James incredulously. "As if I would let her get killed in a car!"

"That's how the newspapers reported it," said Harry, confused. "And uncle Vernon and aunt Petunia never discussed it."

"No, no, that's not what happened at all," said Lily, sharing a worried look with James. "How did they keep it under wraps?"

"With that level of dark power, anything is possible," said James.

"Dark power?" Asked Snape, paling.

"It was Voldemort," Said Lily gravely. "He came for us. When we wouldn't comply, he killed us."

"And Harry? How did he survive?" Asked Snape hurriedly. Draco's words had become mere whispers, his body was visibly losing all its remaining energy. Lily and James' shapes were blurring at the edges; the connection wouldn't stay open for much longer.

"We put our last remaining energy to shield him," said James, his voice sounding far away.

"We love you," said Lily, before they both faded away completely.

Harry stood in place, looking at Snape, more confused than he had been before the seance.

"Who is Voldemort?" He asked, but Snape seemed to not have heard him.

"Make Draco lie down and give him some chocolate and water. Blow out the candles and burn the contents of the bowl. Tell him what your parents told you; he will explain. I need to talk to Lucius and Narcissa," said Snape, rushing out of the hall.

Harry gritted his teeth and did as he was asked. Draco was weak and pale and held on to Harry as he moved him to the couch. He took some water and held the bar of chocolate as Harry went to blow the candles and burn the contents of the bowl. When he came back to Draco's side, half of the chocolate had disappeared and Draco had some of his colouring back.

"Tell me what happened," he said resolutely.

"Are you sure you don't need more rest?" Asked Harry. Draco shook his head. "Did you hear any of that?"

"Only some words here and there. I had to concentrate on keeping the connection open. Tell me what happened," Draco said again.

Harry told him what his parents had said about their bonding, how Snape had appeared midway, and finally what they had said about their death. He rushed through the story, trying to get to the end and ask his questions.

"Are you sure that's what they said?" Asked Draco weakly. "Voldemort?"

Harry nodded. "What does that mean?"

"It's the name of the most powerful dark wiccan," said Draco, cringing. "We don't usually use his name, even that carries darkness with it."

"A dark wiccan?" Asked Harry. "What does that mean?"

"There are wicca like us who use their powers in accordance with wiccan laws, and then there are those dark ones outside the law," explained Draco. "They have no respect for bonds, for example. It should be why He decided to approach your parents; since they also had no respect for the bond between Lily and Severus."

"Seemingly had no respect," interjected Harry, glaring at Draco. "They didn't know any better, remember?"

"Sure," said Draco, looking unconvinced. "Either way, because they broke that rule, they attracted Voldemort's attention, and by refusing him, they faced death. I'm sure Snape must be a bit pleased with that consequence."

"He didn't look pleased," said Harry. "If anything, he looked scared."

"With good reasoning," agreed Draco. "If Voldemort is invested in your family and was unable to kill you as a child, then he will be coming for you soon."

"Me?" Squeaked Harry.

"Yes," said Draco grimly. "He'll be coming here once he knows you are here, which I'm afraid will be sooner rather than later."

"Why is that?" Harry asked.

"His bonded is Bellatrix, who is my Mother's sister, and coming for a visit in a week. But first you have to understand, dark wicca hold no regard for bonds. Even if they find their bonded, they stay close to enjoy the benefits of a bond, but they do not perform a binding ritual and as such remain unbound," said Draco disgustedly.

"But why?" Asked Harry, perplexed. "What's the point if you're going to stay close to them anyway?"

"The point is that you can bind yourself to multiple others who aren't your bonded. Through this, you can drain their magic and become more powerful yourself, as you hold no regard for them," explained Draco, his expression pained. "In fact, He was not a wiccan to begin with. He was a bonded to a dark wiccan, my aunt, Bellatrix. They found each other quite early on but didn't perform a binding ritual, choosing to stay close and instead bond to others. He has gotten many wicca to bind themselves to him and has drained their magic using my aunt's help, so that he can enhance his magic and become a powerful dark wiccan."

"So what could he want from me?" Asked Harry, gaping. "I'm already bound to you."

Draco shook his head. "Remember what I said about bonds not being breakable?"

Harry nodded.

"Dark magic corrodes bonds, that is the core purpose of it. I assume that Voldemort's goal will be to corrode the bond between us and bind himself to you to steal your magic," said Draco stonily.

"But what would be the point of that?" Harry pushed. "I'm only a bonded, I barely have any magic."

"After the events of tonight, we can't assume that to be true any longer," said Draco, his bright eyes on Harry with amazement. "Your parents confirmed the story that your Father is a wiccan and your mother a bonded, which means that you are also a wiccan."

"But I have no magic," Harry pressed on. "And in case you've forgotten, I am a bonded, because I am bound to you."

"No," said Draco, vehemently shaking his head. "You have magic, it's just locked up inside you. I'm guessing that your parents locked it with their shielding spell before they died so that Voldemort could not steal that magic then and there. You were treated as a bonded because of no apparent magic and pulled to me. But now that we know that, we can unlock that magic."

"You mean I'm a wiccan?" Asked Harry, eyes wide.

"You are a wiccan," said Draco triumphantly. "And this is the first wiccan-wiccan bond in all of time, and as such the strongest bond in history. Because we are unlocking your magic after the bond, the bond will still stand."

"Then how come no one else has done that if it's that powerful to be bound to another wiccan?" Asked Harry, trying to keep up.

"It's impossible to lock one's magic. Your parents' life, combined with their dying need to keep you safe, combined with the force of their desperate magic, was what made the locking of your magic possible. No one has ever been able to do that before, because even if you lock a wiccan's magic it is very hard for them not to accidentally unlock it. Your case was unique as you and no one around you had any idea that you were a wiccan."

Harry leaned back on the couch and stared at the velvety blue sky outside. He never thought that his life could monumentally change again, but the universe had proved him wrong once again.