Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, characters or places. That honor goes to J. K. Rowling and her literary genius.

Just a small make-out session, not in the least bit graphic, but nothing much to worry over. I rate this chapter at . . .pretends to think really hard

Draco: Careful you don't want to hurt yourself sneers

Midnight: ignores him I rate it at PG, or T as the site goes by now.shrugs I'm being uber-safe.

A/N: I warn u, I like a supportive Ron, it will be that way in the majority of my stories, but I might change it for at least one. And I don't have much of an imagination when it comes to color schemes, I hated that class in school(almost every single f-ing year for three years).

/Parseltongue/

Chapter 10:

Malfoy Manor

Harry felt his jaw drop at the sight in front of him as the Knight Bus sped away. Everyone else behind him gasped lightly and he couldn't help but glance up at Malfoy. His face was impassive and anyone else would have called the expression cold, but not Harry. He could see the spark of amusement in the other's eye. And when Draco turned to face him, he could feel his cheeks heat up.

"Blimey Malfoy, your house is huge!" Ron exclaimed from behind him and Harry could hear the almost inaudible chuckle from the blonde.

"Of course it is. Why do you think it's called Malfoy Manor?" He said arrogantly.

Ron wasn't too far off in his inelegant description. The front of the house was a sheer white, with pale blue trim, and four stories worth of windows. From what Harry could see, there were at least two separate wings and maybe another in the back.

It wasn't a house. Or a manor. It was a mansion.

Harry stepped forward and gently touched the curved head of a snake that was twined around a bar that formed part of the gate. It hissed and moved and only him Draco, Siruis, and Remus didn't jump back. Mrs. Weasley nearly shrieked. Sirius chuckled.

/Who goes there?/ Harry blinked at the angry hiss in the snake's voice, but responded as politely as he could.

/The Malfoy Heir and his guests./ He could hear a sharp intake of breath from behind him.

/Ah, a snake-speaker. Hello, legged brother./ The metal serpent gave what he could of a bow.

/Hello, legless brother./ Harry paused as the snake scented the air with it's forked tongue.

/Oh. Oh my./ It hissed sibilantly, but there was a definite smug sound to it.

/What?/

"I didn't know you could talk to the magically constructed ones." Draco murmured as he leaned a bit.

"Harry, mate, that is bloody creepy." He could almost hear Ron shiver.

"Ronald, language."

"Yes, mum."

/My master's scent is all over you, legged brother./

"What's it saying?" Draco whispered, leaning closer to Harry, who blushed again.

/Congratulations, snake-speaker. It is not often someone catches the heart of a Malfoy./

/What?!/ His cheeks grew even hotter.

"Harry?"

"You don't want to know what it's saying." Harry mumbled, stepping away. Ron snickered when he caught sight of his friend's flushed face and Harry threw him a glare. The twins, who had accompanied them to get Apparating coordinates, snickered as well, and hummed a muggle song Harry knew all too well.

Draco shrugged, a graceful lifting of the shoulders, and spoke the password to the gates. They opened and everyone trudged up the gravel path and up the marble staircase to the large french doors and into the foyer. Looking up, Harry felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked straight up at the sky outside.

"Skylights, that's a muggle architectural design." Hermione breathed beside him.

"Yes, my mother had a thing about beauty and upstaging the competition, and when Mrs. Sophia Zabini had some installed, she convinced my father too as well." Draco looked up from where he was instructing a house-elf. The wrinkled green creature promptly bowed and disappeared with a CRACK.

"Well, dear, this is absolutely wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley was saying from between Sirius and Mr. Weasley.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley, would you like to help arrange the menu for the meals? I was never very good with that." The blonde asked diplomatically.

"I would love to, it's the least I could do, dear." She instantly turned around to face Ginny, who she was trying to put some sort of femininity into, and started asking for her opinion.

"I gotta hand it to ya Malfoy, your family's got taste." Sirius chuckled, and Remus rolled his eyes.

"Sirius, anyone has better taste then you do." The werewolf stated plainly. It took a minute for that to sink in.

"Hey!"

Harry chuckled and turned to Bill and Fluer, who were only going to be coming for dinner and maybe an occasional lunch. He felt Malfoy tense up beside him slightly, but he paid it no mind.

"It's good seeing you two again. How's Gringott's, Bill?" He asked politely.

"It's great. Mum still wants me to get rid of my earring, but as long as the goblins don't mind, I don't see why I should have to." He smiled at Harry, and this time he did look at Draco when he heard a low growl.

"Draco?" Harry asked curiously, tilting his head slightly.

"Nothing. Would you like me to ask the house-elves to make lunch?" He turned to face everyone else.

"That would be nice dear." Mrs. Weasley said, and instantly listed what would be an expensive meal at a high end restaurant.

Harry found himself applauding the choices mentally and grinned at Draco, who raised an eyebrow at him.

As lunch was being prepared, they found themselves given a tour of the mansion, Fluer gave just about everyone a headache with her comments and Harry found himself wishing he had something akin to the Marauder's map. They were shown the minor and major dining halls, the ballroom, the two dens, the piano room, the small study, then the grand study. There was an East Wing, a West Wing(containing the Master Suite), a South Wing, three gardens(rose(attached to the master suite), formal, and guest), stables filled with several kinds of riding beasts(thestrals, horses, hippogriffs, tamed hippocampi in tanks, etc), a quidditch pitch, two ponds(one was for swimming), training grounds, and a small building that Hermione called a dojo. They saw the edge of the forests that Draco claimed had several waterfalls and miscellaneous clearings, a racing track, and the guest building(which was two stories tall). Finally he led them into what he called the Family Dining Hall, and lunch was on the table.

Harry sat down across from Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, and Draco sat down beside him, across from the bushy haired girl. The adults sat down at the other end of the table, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, and the twins sat down in the middle.

"Blimey Malfoy, your house is huge!" Ron exclaimed, and Harry chuckled.

"That's the tenth time you've said that Ron." He chuckled at his best friend as Hermione spoke up.

"Fifteenth." Ginny corrected.

"My point is proven. Thank you, Ginny."

"No problem, Hermione."

"What's the sleeping arrangements gonna be like, Malfoy?" Ron asked, pointedly ignoring his sister and Hermione.

"That's what we need to figure out. But first, I need to speak with Granger in private." Hermione threw him a quizzical look as they stood up and walked far enough away to be out of earshot. Harry watched them from the corner of his eye as he slowly began to eat.

"You like him, don't you." Ginny stated rather then asked and Harry looked at her sharply, blushing brightly.

"What? What give you that idea?" He squeaked, nearly dropping his fork and she smirked as Ron shuddered.

"Harry, mate, it's pretty obvious." Ron said.

"You, don't mind?" Harry asked his best friend hesitantly, half expecting a 'I bloody well do mind.'

"No, not really," He started slowly, "It's not completely uncommon for our world, and there is a way to have an heir. It's pretty obvious he likes you too."

Harry gaped at him and thought he was hearing things for a minute, "This is Malfoy we're talking about here, I seriously doubt he could ever love me." He said, taking a bite of his food in an attempt to turn them onto other things to discuss.

What he got was mischievous smirks on both of their faces. He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what that could mean and was about to open his mouth and ask when he was distracted by Draco sitting back down beside him, grinning imperceptively.

"You never know Harry." Ginny said sagely, not bothering to change her expression.

"I've had my say and that's the end of it."

"Had your say in what Harry?" Hermione asked him, but Ron beat him to the answer.

"Quidditch Hermione. We were arguing which keeper was better, the Japanese, or the American."

"Oh," She said blankly, before returning to the original topic of conversation, "We need to work on sleeping arrangements. Sirius and Remus will want to share. Ron can have his own room, and so can Charlie, I'll share with Ginny, and Ron's parents will share, and you and Malfoy will share." She said it all without stopping for breath and Harry frowned.

"What?"

"You heard me. Malfoy told me about you not sleeping and I agree that someone needs to keep an eye on you." At this he turned to glare at Draco, who only shrugged.

"She decided who was sleeping where, not me." He said calmly.

Harry just growled and turned back to his food, deciding to ignore everyone else for the time being. Overhead, Ron and Ginny started up a discussion on quidditch strategies and moves. Hermione and Draco started talking about a variety of subjects, from school to politics. Harry took it all in, but kept from responding when the Weasley's starting an argument, until they turned to him to settle it.

"Harry, tell her that the move that Hufflepuff seeker used against you isn't as hard as it looks."

"It's not, it's just a matter of placing your hands, and keeping your balance, especially when you start spinning." He frowned at them, wondering for a minute why they had turned to him.

"See Ginny? I told you."

"And I stand by what I said when it comes to the triple barrel spin maneuver that the Ravenclaw chaser used against you." She glared at him.

"That's an almost impossible move Ginny, and you know it." He glared right back.

"I agree with Ron, the whole problem is of keeping your broom under you while you jump over each other. That's difficult." Harry said slowly, deciding he might as well contribute.

"We can do it if we tried hard enough." Ginny stated defiantly.

"Yes, and that would take several months to perform it perfectly every time. That would take too much time away from homework and other things." He shook his head at her.

"Well, I don't see why." She huffed at them, stabbing a piece of lettuce brutally.

"You complained several times last year when I let practice go for a bit longer then necessary."

"Well..." She trailed off.

"Exactly."

"What do you think of the Australian seeker Harry?" Ron interjected, wanting to keep the conversation going.

"She's pretty good."

"Pretty good? She's bloody brilliant!" Harry chuckled at his enthusiasm.

"Harry, tell Malfoy why you don't like Minister scrimgeor." Hermione turned to him, taking a sip of her drink.

"He wanted me to be a poster boy for the war," He looked into Draco's amused grey eyes and frowned, "What?"

"Nothing, you just look adorable."

He felt heat invade his cheeks and he heard Ginny and Hermione giggle across from them, while Ron snickered. He didn't bother replying, but turned back to the discussion on the Australian seeker. Draco's eyes never left his profile for long and neither did the flush leave Harry's face and neck.

Finally everyone was done. The twins, Bill, and Fluer left, promising to be back for dinner. Draco had several house elves lead Molly, Arthur, Sirius, Remus, and Charlie to their rooms in the East Wing, and the Malfoy heir led the teens to their rooms in the West Wing. Ron had a room that was a pale orange, done in the tones of sunrise. Ginny and Hermione's was done in multiple shades of purple, pink, and red. Finally Draco led a blushing Harry into the rooms they would be sharing.

Right off the hall there was a sitting room, done in an white with blood red trim. The carpet was a plush black while the furniture matched the trim. One wall had a fireplace and the one directly across held a plain mahogany door. Straight across from them stood large french doors. Harry instantly headed to the plain door and opened it into a study, one wall was lined with shelves, and a desk in front of a row of windows, one of which was a glass door that led to steps. The third wall had a fireplace with a couch and two chairs in front of it.

"That reminds me. I'll be needing to look over the Malfoy accounts. I need to see what damage Lucius did in his obsession with Voldemort. Mother is hiding with friends in France right now so it's up to me." Draco spoke up from behind him.

"You have your own study?" Harry asked, stepping up to a shelf and scanning the titles.

"Yes. I am the sole owner of the Malfoy monies and properties, now that Lucius is in Azkaban. And that is where he is going to stay."

"I don't think they would ever believe his claims to being under Imperius now." He muttered, and walked to the windows, looking out onto the Rose Garden.

"And even if they did, he won't be able to touch me here. The moment he was arrested, my mother had me put everything in my name. He would be poorer than the Weasley's and unable to find a job." He came up behind Harry and wrapped his arms around the shorter boys waist, pulling him against his chest.

"Oh . . ." The flush darkened and he resisted the urge to just relax, but relented enough to cover Draco's hands with his own. As it was, he couldn't ignore the silver snake that suddenly animated in front of them.

"What is it with your family and snakes?" He asked with mild disdain.

"We always went into Slytherin. Or something similar to Slytherin. Hence the fascination with silver and green everywhere but my Wing of the house." Draco whispered huskily in his ear and Harry couldn't resist the impulse to shudder and gasp at the feel of his warm breath.

/Ah, so the rumor is true, the Malfoy Heir took a lover. But is it true that he is a snake-speaker? A legged brother?/ The serpent's forked tongue flicked in and out.

"L-lover?!" He stuttered in English and could practically feel Draco raising an eyebrow at him.

/It appears that the rumor is untrue./ It started to head back, but Harry spoke up and it stopped.

/What did you mean by lover, legless brother?/

/So it is true. Are you a screamer? I would like to have a screamer, our last master's mate was not a screamer./ Harry squeaked indignantly at that.

"What did it say? I've always wondered what they talked about." Draco said, breathing across his ear. Harry tuned out the snake for a minute to answer him.

"They talk about the sex life of the Malfoy's." He muttered quietly.

"Oh? What did it say about you?"

"It asked me if I was your...l-lover and if I was a screamer. Among other things." His voice dipped down again in embarrassment.

"Really?" Draco's voice lowered even more, and he ran his tongue along the shell of Harry's ear.

"Y-yes." Harry gasped out, tightening his grip slightly.

/Oh! Am I going to get a show?/ The snake asked.

/No!/

Draco's mouth latched onto his earlobe, and sucked gently and anything that Harry might of said was lost as a low moan was torn out of his throat.

/It seems so, legged brother./ It said triumphantly.

Harry tried to respond to the snake's jibe, but that was postponed as Draco spun him around and laid his lips on Harry's.

The kiss was gentle, chaste, but passionate, and filled with a sense of utter rightness that had his stomach rolling. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's neck, and moaned deep in his throat when he parted his lips and felt the blonde's warm and moist tongue flick against the roof of his mouth. He ran his own tongue along Draco's, who groaned almost silently before pulling back. He stared into shining grey eyes and felt a panic building.

He would never be able to deny the blonde anything and he knew that. He had to get away, he just had to. Needed to get away from the Slytherin before he did something he might or might not regret.

"Don't you have accounts to look over? I'll leave you to do that. I'll go see if the others want to spend some time in the garden." He said quickly, before pulling away and running into the hall, ignoring the snake's sibilant laughter that followed him.

Review Responses:

RRW: chuckling evilly just you wait until Sirius finds out in chapter...checks her rough mental outline13. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHhacking

Eerie Iri: Thanks! I hope you keep reading!

random-laughter: blushesthanks. And lookie! an update! and see how bad Harry is being?(i wrote this chapter back in july) keep enjoying!

Egyptianauthmn: thanks, i'm glad u enjoyed it. Happy Reading!

dgpolo: Hey! A new reviewer! I'm glad you enjoy the interaction between them, it has caused me many a sleepless night(that i would have stayed up anyway) making sure it was perfect. Keep enjoying, plz! Happy Reading!

Shania Maxwell: just you wait. Happy Reading!

MissBehavior: smiles brightlyi'm glad you enjoyed it, and that I can make someone squeal like a fangirl(i giggle like them at the mention of hpdm or rlsb or several others). Happy Reading!

bookworm3213: here's an update! and i'm glad u enjoy it so far. Please keep doing so, Happy Reading!

Potter-Black-Lupin: hmmm. . .in my debt for years you say?starts stroking a mysteriously-appearing goatee Anyway, glad u like my writing, Happy Reading!

personifiedx: i'm glad u like it. Happy Reading!

eTerNaLzAnzI98: in wonderu know what, I've been doing that for years. . .i think u just caught me messing up in my grammer in such a major way. Thank u. And i'm glad u like my story, Happy Reading!

rubyinnle: I'm glad u love my story. Please keep enjoying! Happy Reading!

demon-girl98: salutes yes sir---i mean ma'am!

mistress of the flames: i'm glad u enjoy my story so much. Another update should be up next week. Happy Reading!

Magpie quill: smiles like a looni'm glad u think i'm doing a good job keeping them real. it's fun, if one looks at it from a certain angle. and ur welcome for bringing sirius back, i just couldn't leave him out of this! Happy Reading!

PaddyWaddy: lol. yes, sirius is back!

A/N: I'm pretty sure I got all the reviewers, if I skipped u, i'm really sry!

This Week's Recommendation Goes To:

Black Truth
Author: InferiorBeing
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: T