A/N: Another chapter! I think I'm going to try and post more often than I have been. I am currently sitting at about 30 chapters with probably several more to go. The end is near in where I'm at in my writing so it might not be several. Anyway, Harry and Draco's relationship gets a bit deeper in this chapter as well as the next. Slight lemon in this one, just a small bit. Enjoy :)

Harry's POV

"Master Harry! Master Harry!" Kreacher's croaking voice called out, jarring me from sleep. I sat up, groaning as the pain in my cheek shot through my entire face. I rubbed the part of my face that didn't hurt and noticed my glasses were still on my face.

"What is it Kreacher?" I asked sleepily.

"Mister Malfoy and his elf are here," he replied.

I was suddenly very much awake. I shot up and ran into the loo. I splashed water on my face and brushed my teeth quickly. I ran my hands through my hair several times without much success and gave up. I came back out into my room. "How long have they been here?" I questioned.

"Not longs, a few minutes," he replied.

I nodded and walked out of my room. I rushed down the steps and found Draco standing in my sitting room with Tibbles standing next to him. He had a smile on his face and was mid-wave when he presumably noticed my cheek. I brought my hand up to block it and managed to bump it and wince. That's all it took before he was marching over and looking at me closely.

"What happened?" he cried as he brought his hand up towards my cheek.

"I ran into a table," I told him.

He lifted his eyebrow at me in disbelief. "Were you crawling at full speed on the floor or something?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

"More like diving to avoid a spell," I replied sheepishly.

His eyes widened and his face paled. "What?"

I sighed. I gestured to the couch and sat. He reluctantly sat. Tibbles stood by, not knowing what to do. "Hold on, why is Tibbles with you?" House elves didn't typically travel with their masters unless it was necessary.

"I'll get to that. Tibbles, why don't you find Kreacher and see if he needs help with anything," Draco suggested.

"Draco, what's going on?" I asked in alarm.

"You first," he replied.

His tone suggested that he wasn't going to repeat himself. "Hermione and I were cleaning up the office when Marcus Flint walked in. He wanted to check in with everyone, but he seemed off so we suggested he come back tomorrow. He left and then as Hermione and I were leaving we heard a crash behind us and noticed that a couple of the furniture pieces had been knocked over. Next thing I know, Hermione is flying across the office and Flint has his wand trained on me so I dove, hit the table, missed being hit by a spell, and scrambled behind a desk. That's what happened," I explained.

"Marcus Flint?" he asked in confusion.

I nodded. "I think he was the one who originally ransacked the office. I'm also pretty sure that he was under the imperius curse."

Draco's eyes widened. "That explains a lot. Merlin, is Granger alright?"

I smirked at the concern in his tone for Hermione. He shook his head, but smiled slightly. "She was just stunned and was fine when I took her home a bit ago. I managed to tackle him and get him bound before I got word to Ron. He's in a holding cell right now, but I'm positive they'll find that he was cursed."

He nodded. "Tibbles!" he called out.

Tibbles popped in next to the couch. "Yes, master?"

"Will you get a healing potion and a pain potion for Harry?" he requested.

"I can get my own potions," I replied.

Draco shot me a look that suggested that I will take what he is asking of his elf and go with it. I put my hands up in surrender, but smiled. Tibbles nodded and disappeared. He returned a few moments later with what Draco requested. Tibbles handed them to me and I took them both. Draco looked over at me with a pleased expression. I rolled my eyes.

"Now, tell me what is going on with you," I requested.

Draco sighed deeply. "I asked Pansy and Theo if they've heard anything that might relate to your office being ransacked and the note. They have heard rumors," he replied.

"Oh?" I asked. I felt my stomach turn at this.

He nodded. "Yeah, Theo has heard that some old Death Eaters are stirring things up. He said he was going to tell the aurors, but I don't know if he did or not," he said.

"Did he hear of anyone specific?"

He nodded again. "The Lestrange brothers," he said quietly.

My eyes widened. Lestrange was Bellatrix's last name and I knew that one of the brothers was her husband. If they were even remotely as crazy as her, we were in for a lot of problems. "Merlin," I whispered.

"After I found that out and went home, I went to see my parents," he continued.

I lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. "How did that go?"

"As expected. My parents haven't heard anything, but they asked me to stay elsewhere than the Manor. I explained that it's quite protected, but they stressed that there are other ways to get into the Manor. They wanted me to stay with them," he explained.

I felt my stomach turn for another reason. I knew his parents lived in France and it bothered me immensely, more than I thought it would, at the idea that Draco would be so far away even by Wizarding standards. Plus, he'd be with his parents and I knew that he wasn't ready to spend that kind of time with them again. "What did you say?" I asked in a quiet voice.

He paused and stared at me. He looked like he was looking for something specific in my expression. I wasn't sure what, but he was looking for something. "I told them no. I told them I had a reason to stay here. My mother wasn't pleased, but oh well."

"What reason do you have to stay here?" I asked.

He gave me a look that suggested I was being dense. "My reason is you."

I felt my face warm at this. "Me?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I know it's out of nowhere and I know it's fast, but I also know that I'd rather spend any time I have with you, than be anywhere else. I didn't expect this and maybe it's because of that dream, but honestly, Harry, I don't want to be anywhere else," he replied.

I stared at him in surprise. He was saying everything that had been flitting around in the back of my mind. I hadn't had time to really think about it, but I knew that I felt the same. "Wow, I was thinking the same thing, only about you of course," I replied.

He smiled at me. "My mother knows that you're my reason. Well, I should say she figured it out. I don't think my father has put two and two together so at least you have some luck there," he teased.

My eyes widened a fraction at the concept of either of his parents knowing about us, whatever us we were that is. I wasn't too worried about his mother. She did after all save me in the forest so that has to matter. Plus, she seemed more reasonable than Lucius and more worried about her son and his happiness than who he was with. It would be interesting as I'm sure at some point I will have to be around them. "Well, at least that's out of the way. Since they don't want you staying at the Manor, where are you going to stay?" I asked curiously.

Draco blushed slightly and glanced around. "Well, I was hoping you'd have a spare room here," he suggested unsurely.

I lifted an eyebrow at his request. I didn't have a problem with him staying here. As a matter of fact, it made my heart soar at the idea of having him here all day and all night. "That would explain Tibbles being with you. Merlin, I'm going to have to think about that for a bit. I think I need some tea and biscuits to completely process it. Excuse me for a moment," I stated as I got up from the couch. Draco looked at me in shock. He must have expected me to say yes right away. Of course, I was going to tell him yes, but that didn't mean I couldn't have some fun.

I walked out of my sitting room and into the kitchen. It took Draco five seconds to follow me into here. "Well, I'm a very clean person and I'm quiet. I won't get in the way. I won't bug you when you are busy," he said as he came into the kitchen.

I busied myself at the stove as I got my tea pot ready. I filled it with water and set it back on, turning the temperature up high enough to boil the water. I rummaged through my cupboards and found the biscuits. I turned and placed them on the table. I stepped back and leaned against the counter, crossing my arms. "I don't know. I mean, I've been by myself for a long time. I'm not sure if I would want another person around my house," I responded. I brought my hand up to my chin and rubbed it thoughtfully.

Draco was frowning at me, but also turning a shade of curious red. He glanced around, trying to find another reason for me to say yes. "Look, I know it's asking a lot because we just reconnected so to speak, but if there's any place that I'll feel safest, it's with you. When you came back for me in the Room of Requirement, when it was on fire, I felt so safe being behind you on the broom. As much as I hated you in school, I knew that I was safest if you were around. I know that Grimmauld has security upon security and that no one outside of those you tell, know it even exists or still exists. It's the safest place for me to be. Please let me stay here," he pleaded. For some reason, his words struck me in such a way that even if I had been wavering on saying yes or no, he would have sent me straight to yes with no other option. "Come here," I requested.

He looked at me in confusion, but came over to me. He stopped in front of me and gave me a questioning look. I stepped away from the counter, closing the space between us. His eyes widened as I moved closer to him. I reached up and loosely gripped his sweater. I pulled him towards me and connected my mouth with his. It took him only a fraction of a second before he was placing his hands on my hips, pulling me closer. We kissed deeply and once again it was more amazing than the first time. It was obvious that we were where we were supposed to be. We fit together perfectly and somehow it made sense. I opened my lips further, running the tip of my tongue against his bottom lip. He opened his lips further, opening himself to me. Our kiss became intense, just as it had before, but this time there was nothing to stop us.

He pushed against me and I could feel his arousal between us. It surprised me and I nearly broke our kiss, but then I felt the counter against my backside and it somehow anchored me to the moment. He increased the intensity of the kiss, and pushed against me further. My arousal was becoming more and more apparent. I felt completely lost in the kiss, lost in him.

In the background, I could vaguely hear a high pitched whistle and my brain was trying to push through the steam of Draco's kiss to get me to realize that the teapot was about ready to blow. Finally, the pitch became so loud that I broke our kiss. Draco stepped back from me, breathing fast. I took the teapot off the burner and set it on a pot holder. I took a moment to gather my thoughts and calm my breathing and racing heart. If I got so lost in a kiss, what would happen if we did something more? It was so intense.

I turned around and looked at Draco. He was still breathing heavily and his eyes were lidded heavily. His eyes were more molten silver than bright silver. He was a complete mess. I sidestepped to the counter and leaned against it again. "Are you alright?" I asked.

He stared at me for several moments before responding. His breathing slowed and his eyes started to go paler. He looked to be in much more control than he had been. "Yes. I…How do you do that?" he questioned quietly.

I wasn't sure what he was talking about. "Do what?"

"Kissing you, it completely messes me up. In a good way of course, but I can't seem to control any part of myself when I'm kissing you. I can't imagine what it will be like when more happens between us," he said thoughtfully.

He said when, not if. That made my heart beat a bit faster and my stomach flutter at the thought. "I guess I just have some sort of power over you," I teased.

He lifted an eyebrow at that and then rolled his eyes. "Yeah, something like that, I'm sure. Can I stay here, Harry?" he asked again, the pleading back in his voice.

I smirked at him. "You know, you're cute when you beg," I teased.

He looked admonished by that comment and completely taken aback. "Malfoys don't beg," he stated in a haughty tone.

I laughed and shook my head. "Yes, they do," I repeated. He went to deny it more, but I stepped over to him and silenced him with a light kiss. I heard him sigh quietly which made me smile. "You had me at hoping I had a spare room," I whispered. I didn't see his expression, but I heard him scoff and knew that he wasn't pleased that I made him beg. I pulled two cups out of the cupboard and the tea and brought them to the table while Draco still stood there trying to process my joke. I brought the teapot to the table and took a seat.

"You made me say all those things and you were already going to say yes," he stated rhetorically.

I shrugged my shoulders and went about preparing my tea. "Sugar? Milk?" I asked innocently.

He glared at me, but took a seat across from me. "That was a very Slytherin thing to do, Potter," he responded in annoyance.

I laughed. "Ah, so we're back to Potter, eh?"

He narrowed his gaze at me as he took a bite of a biscuit. "For the moment," he replied as he lifted his chin in defiance.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. Now that I was older and Draco and I got along well enough, it was fun to see these snippets of the old Draco. "I could have been a Slytherin. The sorting hat did debate about putting me in that house," I told him.

He lifted an eyebrow, momentarily forgetting his annoyance with me. "It did? I didn't realize that the sorting hat did anything else, but tell you your house," he replied.

I sipped my tea carefully. "There are a lot of things that the sorting hat can do. When I got to Hogwarts for the sorting, McGonagall put the hat on my head and it told me that I could do well in Slytherin. I repeated over and over again that I didn't want to be in Slytherin so it put me into Gryffindor," I explained.

"Why didn't you want to be in Slytherin?" he asked, although the expression on his face suggested that he already knew the answer.

"All I knew about Slytherin was that no wizard that had ever been in Slytherin had come out good and that a snarky, stuck-up blonde haired kid was in Slytherin and I didn't want to be in the same house as him," I replied.

Draco frowned at me, but nodded. "I don't blame you. I definitely didn't come off very well to you at all," he agreed.

"Yes, but obviously, not all Slytherins come out bad, even former ones like you," I said quietly.

He smiled at me in appreciation. "Thank you," he said as his cheeks colored.

"You're Welcome. Kreacher?" I called out.

Kreacher popped into existence next to me. "Yes, Master Harry?"

"Will you prepare a room for Draco, please? He and Tibbles will be staying with us for awhile. Also, be sure that Tibbles is set-up nicely as well," I requested. Kreacher nodded and disappeared.

We enjoyed our tea and biscuits in quiet. After some time, we were both finished. I gathered our cups and placed them in the sink and emptied the teapot. Draco had gotten up and gone into the sitting room. I walked in there and noticed that he was looking at the same picture as he had the last time he had been here. I walked over and peeked at it. It was a picture of me with Teddy.

"That's the same picture that you were looking at the last time you were here," I stated.

Draco was smiling at it. Teddy was probably about one in the picture. His hair color changed a couple of times in the photo. I smiled too as I remembered that day. It was the day that he had taken his first steps. He was so happy that his hair turned a blinding shade of yellow and stayed that way all day. Andromeda had also told me that one day, when I was ready and old enough, that Teddy would begin staying with me more and more. She wanted him to be comfortable with me and know me in case something happened to her sooner than she planned. It was unsettling to think that about her, but I understood her plan.

"You look happy with him," he commented.

I smiled further. "That's the day that he took his first steps," I replied. I didn't want to tell him the other part because I wasn't sure how he'd react to that. Some people just weren't kid people. I didn't know Draco well enough to know one way or the other if he was a kid person or not.

"Do you want to have your own kids?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I imagine myself having two or three running around. What about you?"

Draco smiled. It seemed almost sad though. "Well, I'm expected to have a child to carry on the Malfoy name so yes," he replied quietly.

"You may be expected to have one, but do you want one?" I asked stressing want.

He watched Teddy for a moment and then I saw his eyes move to me. He smiled. "Yeah, I do want one or two, maybe three," he replied quietly.

I felt like there was more to his answer then what he was saying. I wasn't ready to think about that since what I thought he was thinking about was so far in the future and at this point out of the realm of possibility. He placed the photo back on the shelf and looked at my other photos. There were many with Ron and Hermione and other friends from Hogwarts. I had a picture of my parents up there, Sirius and Remus, and Dumbledore. I even had a picture of Snape. Draco stopped at this photo and watched it for several moments. Snape smirked in the photo, but didn't move much. I could see Draco smiling at this photo.

"Snape, that's interesting," he commented.

"Yeah, well, it turns out that yeah he didn't really like me, but he protected me because he loved my mum," I replied as I walked over to him.

"That explains a lot," he responded as he replaced the photo to the shelf.

I was about to respond when I heard cursing coming from the kitchen. I recognized the voice and made my way into the kitchen. Ron was standing there looking disgruntled and brushing off his robes. Draco came in behind me. Ron looked up at us both.

"Good, you're both here," he stated. He went over to my ice box and started rummaging through it. I glanced over at Draco who was looking at him in dismay.

"He does this all the time," I muttered to him.

"Does he not know manners?" Draco demanded quietly.

I laughed and leaned over, kissing his cheek. I heard a gasp and knew that Ron had his attention on us. Draco was staring at him and I was staring at the side of Draco's face. I turned slowly to look at him.

"I'm going to pretend that with my heightened stress that I'm seeing things," he stated in a higher voice than usual. He sat down at the table and bit into the sandwich that he put together.

I smiled and sat down across from him. Draco joined me reluctantly. "What brings you by?" I asked.

I waited for him to eat a bit more of his sandwich. I knew that a hungry Ron was not an enjoyable Ron so it was better to wait him out. Finally he was filled enough to take a break. He set his sandwich down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. I glanced over at Draco and noticed that he looked mesmerized and surprised at the same time while he watched Ron.

"You were right about Flint. He was imperiused. He said the last thing he remembers is sitting at the bar in the Leaky Cauldron after work and talking to a couple of blokes that were there as well. He doesn't remember what they talked about and he didn't recognize them, but the next thing he knows is he's in our holding cell, being accused of robbery and assault and he had no idea how it happened," Ron explained.

"Did he offer to give you his memories to see if you can pinpoint more?" Draco asked.

Ron nodded. "He said he'd help us in any way he can. He was pretty remorseful for what he did to Dream Big and to you and Mione."

I shrugged. "He didn't know what he was doing. Did you find out anything else?"

"I've got Auror Nicholson looking into the auction house and I've got a few others working on seeing if the rumors that Nott heard are true," he replied.

"Nott told you who he heard were coming out of hiding?" Draco asked.

Ron nodded. "Yeah, the Lestranges."

Draco nodded. "I talked to my parents about it. They haven't heard anything, but they've been doing much as the same as me and avoiding talking to people that are in their past. I have a feeling that my father is going to reach out to some of them though to see what's being said. If he does that, and they tell me, I'll be sure to pass it along," he told him.

"I appreciate that, Malfoy," he said gratefully.

I looked over at Draco and saw that he looked surprised by Ron's appreciation. This made me feel very pleased. "What's next?" I asked, returning my attention to Ron.

"Tomorrow we're going to head to the Leaky Cauldron to see what we can find out. I'm guessing they were under polyjuice or they altered their appearance somehow so it might get us nowhere, but we'll see," he replied. He finished his sandwich and sat back, patting his belly. I glanced over at Draco again who looked disgusted. I laughed. Ron looked at Draco and glared at him. "Haven't you ever seen a bloke enjoy his meal?" he demanded.

Draco frowned. "Yes, but there are more polite ways to show your satisfaction with a meal than patting your belly," he scolded.

Ron glared at him, but then shrugged his shoulders and looked perfectly content. "I don't feel like being polite. Well, Harry, Malfoy, I'm going to head home. Mione seemed to be doing better this afternoon so hopefully she's feeling even better when I get home. I'll let you know what we find out tomorrow. Good night," he said as he stood up from the table and flooed home.

Draco shook his head. "Despicable," he muttered to himself.

I laughed and looked over at him. He turned to me with a slight glare. I stopped laughing and smiled innocently at him. He shook his head, but leaned forward and captured my lips in a kiss. Kissing was becoming easier and easier for us.

I turned my body to better position myself and increased the pressure of the kiss. Draco kissed me back deeply, but just as I was getting into it, he broke the kiss. He looked at me with his darkening eyes and stood. I looked up at him in confusion, wondering if I had done something wrong. He leaned down and grabbed my hand, pulling me up. He held my hand as he pulled me into the sitting room. He went straight to the couch and turned to face me. I looked at him in confusion again, unsure of what he wanted to do.

We were standing at one end of the couch, my back to the longer part of the couch. Draco leaned down and started kissing me again. He moved towards me ever so slightly and my knees hit the back of the couch. I was starting to figure out what he wanted me to do. I broke the kiss and sat down on the couch, leaning back on my elbows. I was suddenly very nervous and I felt my stomach doing somersaults. Draco looked completely at ease, but I did catch some slight apprehension in his eyes.

He brought one knee down on one side of me and brought the other down on the other side in a straddle. I felt my heart pounding at what was going to come next. He moved forward and started kissing me again. My mind went blank as he settled more and more of his weight on me. I collapsed backwards bringing my legs up onto the couch, our kiss barely broken. He settled on top of me and ground his hips into me, showing me just how much he was enjoying this. He was harder than he had been earlier and that instantly perked my arousal right up.

He was kissing me so deeply and grinding his hips against me so much that I couldn't even focus on what I needed to do. My hands were sitting lamely at my sides and I could barely move because I was so caught up in the amazing things that I was feeling because of him. I could hear myself moaning quietly. Draco broke our kiss which saddened me until he moved to my neck and a whole set of new sensations went through me. He brought one hand up to the hem of my shirt and then slipped underneath the material, skimming my bare stomach. I arched my back at the touch and brought my hips up against him, moaning a bit louder than before. I could feel him smiling against my neck. I had to get some control back and I had to get it fast, otherwise I'd be putty in his hands in no time.