Disclaimer: If you know it, I do not own it and it is likely from Order of the Phoenix by JKR.

Snake Eyes

Hermione and Harry plowed through the snow Sunday morning to see Hagrid. Draco remained behind, mostly because he knew it was useless. Hagrid would do as he wished, no matter what Hermione and Harry said, so Draco chose to finish up his five foot Potions essay and go over Harry's to make sure he didn't regress into waffling on about Muggle things as he was apt to do to take up room. While this brilliantly worked with Bins' essays, Snape was not likely to fail to notice Harry was no longer writing about Potions and now talking about Muggle Oil.

The pair returned after lunch, both wet up to their knees and shivering.

"So?" Draco asked as they both sat down across from him at the brooding table in the corner. (It was the only open table as everyone was inside due to the snow.) "Planned all his lessons?"

"I tried," Hermione sighed, giving a complicated wave that made her robes steam. "He wasn't even there when we first arrived."

"We were there a half hour before he came stumping out of the forest," Harry said, as Hermione waved her wand at him, making his robes steam dry.

Draco quirked an eyebrow.

"Have any idea what he's hiding? He wouldn't say," Harry complained. "I have a feeling it's not Monday's lesson."

"It's not."

"Monday's lesson?"

"Threstral," Draco said. Harry nodded. Hermione sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "They're honestly not dangerous. They have a bad wrap because no one can see them—"

"Unless you've seen death," Hermione quietly finished. "He looked more beat up so I doubt he was visiting them. If they pull our carriages they are not beating up Hagrid."

"Nope," Draco popped. "He spends the entire year looking like that, so whatever it is he is hiding, it will never like him much."

Harry groaned. "This is just what we need."

"The only highlight of the whole thing," Harry said Monday after he'd had Care of Magical Creatures, "was when Umbridge did her stupid little cough, Hagrid honestly thought there was something wrong with a thestral."

"And the worst?" Draco mildly asked.

Harry gave Draco a dark look. Draco tried to look innocent.

"You know what happened."

"Well, let's see. Umbridge likely spoke to him as if he was deaf and stupid, then asked leading questions to Slytherins, right?"

Harry nodded.

"She was worst than usual. And she simply egged the Slytherins on," Harry complained. "You were a right git, you know that?"

Draco startled and stared at Harry.

"I mean, if you were like Nott. Did you fall to the ground laughing?"

"No. Parkinson did, though."

"They both did."

Draco sniffed in distaste. "I won't deny I was a git then. I've changed, right?"

"Yeah. I don't like gits."

"Aw, you like me?"

Harry slugged Draco in the shoulder.

"How long does Hagrid last?"

"Till we're talking OWLs."

"Oh, well, that's good, I guess."

"Yes, but this time he might not last as long. Or he might last longer, if Dumbledore doesn't go on the run."

"What?"

Draco shook his head. "Did you read what was happening this year at all?"

"Yeah. There was a lot!"

Draco shook his head, rolling his eyes and flopping his hair out of his face. "We caught Potter's little defense club and there was a list of members pinned to the wall. It was called Dumbledore's Army, just what the Ministry feared Dumbledore was doing."

Harry snored.

"I wasn't there, but per the rumor mill and later the Daily Prophet, Dumbledore admitted he was building an army and when the Minister went to have him arrested, he…took out everyone in the room and vanished in a cloud of smoke or something."

"Wow. Really?"

"Yeah. Had to keep Potter in school," Draco reminded Harry. "Potter was in the office, along with the snitch, but she didn't remember anything and stopped talking. The curse Granger put on that parchment…she never did loose the pimples that spelled 'snitch' out on her face."

"Wow. Mean."

"Yes."

Clearly, Harry was unaware Hermione had used the same spell on the parchment they'd created of the members of their club.

"Well, that's not going to happen," Harry proclaimed. "Umbridge knows we've got a chess club. She's been to it."

"You also didn't call the group Dumbledore's Army."

"No, just Dumbledore's Muggle-Loving Chess Club."

Draco snorted. "Yes, true, but no one actually calls it that. Let's head to the greenhouses before we're more late than we already are."

Harry cursed, turned around, and headed back out into the snow.

December brought more snow, if possible, to the grounds. It also brought more homework for the fifth years. Draco noticed he was drowning in an avalanche of homework and the extra prefect duties as Christmas approached. Draco felt as if he never saw his friends. He honestly looked forward to DMCC when the coin burned the last week before the holidays simply because he'd be able to see Hermione and Harry in the same location. He'd been skipping out on regular Chess Club, but he'd never skip out on DMCC, so he went down early with Harry to get the room ready.

"Should we decorate for the holidays?" Harry asked, looking around the empty room. He scrunched up his face and closed his eyes and suddenly the room was decorated. Hundreds of little lights were strung across the ceiling and there was a huge tree decorated in gold and red baubles in the corner. Harry grinned, putting his hands on his hips.

"Brilliant," Draco agreed. He decided to see if the room would work for him, so he thought they needed snow. Suddenly there was never melting snow in all the corners and decorating the ledges all over the room.

"Why do I keep forgetting wizards have this stuff?" Harry asked, sticking his hand into the snow. "It's awesome."

"Mistletoe?" asked a dreamy voice from the doorway. "Good thinking. It's often infested with Nargles."

"Of course it is," Harry agreed. "Why is it here? I didn't think of it."

"Nor I," Draco agreed.

Luna smiled dreamily, breezing past the boys. Neither could ask Luna if she had thought up the mistletoe, as Johnson, Bell, and the other Gyffindor Chaser arrived. All three were breathless and looked very cold.

"Well, we've replaced you," Johnson said dully, pulling her cloak off and throwing it over a coat rack that appeared.

"Replaced me?" Harry asked, looking baffled.

"Yes. We needed a new Seeker and two Beaters. Why didn't you come out?" Johnson wheeled around and stared at Draco. "I know you play."

"Chaser. I play Chaser."

"But, you could be a Seeker."

"I'm too tall."

"You're skinny."

"Angelina," whined Bell. "You don't say that to boys!"

"Yes, we all wish to be fat," Draco snarked.

"He's built like a Seeker, only he's taller than normal."

"He's more taller than normal," Harry muttered under his breath. Draco elbowed him. "So, who's the new Seeker?"

"Ginny Weasley," Bell answered.

Harry nodded. "Good choice."

"You knew she played? I didn't. I guess it makes sense, seeing as all her brothers except two play."

"She small, light, likely fast on a broom," Harry listed off.

"Yeah. I want to know where she got a Firebolt," one of the twins said loudly when they entered. "Didn't Umbridge take your broom?"

"Yeah."

"I lent Ginny mine," Draco offered.

The twins cast Draco a look of betrayal.

"What? I'd have lent it to either of you, but you never asked."

"And she did?"

"Actually, yes, she did."

"Who'd you get to replace those idiots?" Harry asked, jerking his thumb at the twins, who both looked outraged to be called idiots.

"Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper," the other Chaser whose name Draco couldn't remember answered. "Neither of them are brilliant, but compared to the rest of the clots that showed up…"

The arrival of Hermione, Zabini and the Slytherin girls, and Neville brought the depressing discussion to an end. Within five more minutes, the room was full and Harry moved to the front to start the meeting.

"Okay," Harry called out and quiet fell over the room. "I thought this evening we should go over what we've done so far. You know, last meeting before the hols and there's no point in starting anything new right before a three week break."

"We're not doing anything new?" sneered the annoying Hufflepuff. (Honestly, how did this guy get into Hufflepuff? Weren't they supposed to be nice?)

"I'd rather not you forget it over the holidays," Harry ground out.

"If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come."

"We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you, then," one of the twins said loudly.

Several people sniggered. Harry for some reason turned pink and shook his head quickly.

"We can practice in pairs," Harry began. "We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, just for ten minutes, then we can get cushions and try Stunning again."

Draco paired up with Neville, who had improved beyond all recognition. It was truly amazing to be witness to such vast improvement. He was almost a challenge for Draco to duel against. During the ten minutes they worked on the Impediment Jinx, Neville managed to freeze Draco almost ten times.

After ten minutes, they laid out cushions all over the floor and starting Stunning one another. The space got larger so they could all work on this at the same time, which Draco didn't even notice till he thought he was farther way from Hermione than he'd been when they started. Neville wasn't as good at stunning as he was at impedimenting, as instead of stunning Draco, he kept stunning Padma, but it was closer than his usual miss, as Padma was next to Draco rather than two people over.

"You're all getting really good!" Harry called out, beaming. "When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff— maybe even Patronuses."

There was a murmur of excitement and Draco felt a swoosh in his stomach. That would be something completely new for him, as well as something he was desperate to learn.

"So, you're heading home for the holidays?" Hermione asked as people began to clear out after the meeting.

"Yes. Where are you going?"

"Skiing."

"Excuse me?"

"Skiing," Hermione said, turning red. "You do know what that is, right?"

"Yes, I just cannot see you doing it," Draco admitted.

"You know what it is?"

"Yes," Draco said, looking confused. "Wizards don't do it, but I've lived with Harry for five years. He's enlightened me to the ways of Muggles. Also, Sirius thinks it's hilariously fun to strap pieces of wood to his feet and ski down the stairs."

"Skis aren't made of wood anymore," Hermione sniffed.

Draco smirked down at her, turning to call Harry to join them only to find Cho still hanging around eyeing Harry who was speaking to Atlanta.

"Let's go," Draco murmured, taking Hermione by the elbow. "I've got a feeling Harry might just get a girlfriend."

"What?" Hermione asked, turning to look over her shoulder as Draco dragged her out of the back room into the front room.

It was loud in the room, between the chess players and chess pieces. The room wasn't decorated for the holidays, but there was a definite feeling of cheer in the room as the members all played. Ronald Weasley, who opted to run the Chess Club tonight, was hollering at the top of his lungs what might have been a Christmas carol.

"Poor Tom," Hermione whispered as Draco led her through the room.

Draco snickered. Poor Tom indeed.

Draco waited up for Harry. At half passed the hour Harry walked in looking dazed. Draco was seated by the fire tonight, mostly because the students were in bed or scrambling to complete various homework assignments before break so they were taking up the tables. Draco was working through his Transfiguration homework in his lap.

"So?" Draco asked when Harry flopped face first onto the rug in front of the fire by Draco's feet.

Harry half-heartedly shrugged.

"That bad, huh?"

Harry lifted his head up and stared at Draco.

"I'm not blind, Harry James Potter. And I already know something happened."

"WHY?" Harry moaned, rolling over dramatically. "Where did she get the idea I liked her?"

"Don't you?"

"She's nice, but I don't think I like her that way."

"Uh, okay."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I don't like her that way," Harry corrected. "No. I don't like her."

He made a face that no girl would wish to see on a guy's face after she'd kissed him.

"What was wrong with it?"

Harry made a series of faces before he said, "Wet."

"Wet. Well, kisses can be wet if tongues are involved."

Harry made a truly disgusted face and gagged.

Yeah, he didn't like Cho at all. Or kissing clearly.

"No, she was crying," Harry clarified. "She kept her mouth closed."

Harry looked immensely pleased by this fact.

"You were gone a half hour because you made her cry? Your kissing skills are that dismal?"

"NO! I didn't make her cry! She was crying before she kissed me."

"She was crying in anticipation of kissing you?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Did she speak to you before she kissed you?"

"Yeah."

"About?"

"Cedric."

"Ah."

"It was a total disaster. She was crying, I had no clue what was going on, and then she kept getting closer and closer…"

Harry wore a horrified expression.

"And then bam, lips on lips, and tears all over the place," Draco joked.

Harry's face suddenly went blank. "That was my first kiss. And it was horrible."

"Some are," Draco assured.

"Was yours?"

Draco shuddered. "At the time, I didn't think so. But what she turned into…"

"Oh? Don't tell me it was Parkinson," Harry said, wrinkling up his nose and looking like he was going to puke.

"Fine. I won't tell you."

Draco looked back at his homework determinedly. Harry was silent for a long time before he asked, "So, uh, have you…er…uh…this round…you know?"

"No," Draco answered. "I don't fancy anyone."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense. We're all younger than you. How old are you now?"

"I don't know. I don't keep track really since I'm stuck as a teenager for the time being," Draco replied.

"Well, you were seventeen when you went back to being eleven, right?"

"Yes. A month short of eighteen."

"Oh, okay. Let's go with eighteen then. Since you went back to your birthday. So…" Harry trailed off. He was quiet for a minute before he shouted, "Twenty-two!"

Several people looked over to see what had Harry so excited, but turned away when they only saw Harry and Draco doing nothing of worth.

"Great. I'm twenty-two. Much too old to be kissing anyone here."

"Or young," Harry said, waggling his eyebrows.

Draco threw a pillow at his head.

Screaming woke Draco up from a dead sleep. He shot up, looking around wildly only to find Tom Riddle inches from his face. This made Draco shriek and scramble away till he fell out of bed.

That was when he realized Harry was twisting up a storm in his bed, almost like he was a snake slithering along the ground. His face was a mask of pain. He was the source of the screaming that had awoken Draco.

"I can't wake him," Tom whispered urgently as Harry screamed louder.

Harry normally used silencing charms on his curtains, but in his quest to get to Draco, Tom had somehow left the curtains open so the entire dorm could hear Harry.

"Harry!" Neville shouted.

"Stay here," Draco ordered before vaulting into action.

Draco threw open Harry's curtains fully and pinned Harry to the bed. Harry tried to twist out of Draco's grasp, but Draco was bigger and stronger.

"HARRY! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" Draco bellowed at him.

Harry's eyes shot opened. For a moment they were brilliant red, like rubies, before they reverted to emerald. Harry himself began to turn green. Draco let him go and got off in time for Harry to roll over and vomit over the edge of the mattress.

"He's really ill," Neville whispered gravely.

"Sur…Siri…ius…" Harry panted, looking worse. "Sn…sn…ake."

Draco could have kicked himself. How could he forget?

"Let's go," Draco ordered, grabbing Harry by the wrist. He reached into Harry's bed blindly and found the cube. He put the cube in his pocket, went back to his own bed, grabbed his wand and Tom, and pulled Harry towards the door. Harry had no motor control, so it was a long trip.

"Draco, where are you going?"

"Neville, go tell McGonagall Harry's had a nightmare and we're going to see Dumbledore."

"Okay," Neville said, sounding unsure.

Neville hurried out of the room, followed by Draco dragging Harry. The stairs were a challenge, but they made it without toppling down.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," Draco whispered as he and Harry exited the portal and into the cold hallways. The temperature seemed to do Harry some good, as the color slowly went from green to pink.

"I was the snake. I bit Sirius," Harry whispered, getting his feet to move properly. They began to make better progress. "There was so much blood. Oh, god. What if he dies?"

"He won't. Mr Weasley did not die, Sirius Black definitely will not die," Draco insisted as they turned a corner.

"Will we get in trouble for going without McGonagall?"

"No. I think she knows that if you had a nightmare and I took you to see Dumbledore it has to do with Marv."

Harry fell silent.

Since Harry's feet were working, they wound up running the rest of the way to Dumbledore's office.

"Fizzing Whizbee," Draco shouted as they jogged to the gargoyle. (The new Head Boy was an idiot who would brag about anything, so Draco had been able to trick the headmaster's password out of him—which he'd done just for this night.) The statue sprang to life and leapt aside. The wall split into two and revealed the stone staircase. Harry got in front of Draco at this point and sprinted at top speed up the twisting stairs with Draco hot on his heels. By the time they reached the top, Draco was dizzy. Harry grabbed onto a brass knocker shaped like a griffin, but froze when he realized there were quite a number of voices sounding behind the door.

"Who the hell is he talking to at this hour?" Harry whispered, looking worried.

"Who cares," Draco said, pushing Harry aside and rapping three times with the knocker. The voices ceased abruptly and the door opened by itself, revealing Dumbledore's office free of people and mostly dark. Drumbledore came into the dim light and looked massively confused to find two students at his door.

"What are you two doing up at this hour? And here?" he asked, looking honestly confused.

"Harry had a nightmare," Draco stated. "Well, nightmare isn't the right word, but fitting perhaps."

Dumbledore's eyes lit with understanding.

"Get in," he ordered.

Harry stumbled in and began talking. "It wasn't an ordinary dream. I mean, I was sleeping, but it was real, what happened was real! I saw…Sirius has been attacked by a giant snake."

The words reverberated in the air, sounding slightly ridiculous and kind of comical. Dumbledore was white faced and completely serious, so Draco decided not to let loose the hysterical laughter bubbling in his chest.

"How did you see this?" Dumbledore quietly asked, eye still boring into Harry's.

"Inside my head?" Harry asked, sounding kind of confused.

"You misunderstand. I mean…can you remember—er—where you were positioned as you watched this attack?"

"I was the snake."

Dumbledore stared at Draco for some reason. Draco made big eyes and shrugged. If Dumbledore didn't know how this worked, Draco didn't think he ought to tell them how they were guessing it worked. Dumbledore spent a good long while staring at Draco before he asked, "Sirius is injured?"

"Yes! Dying! Right now!" Harry angrily shouted.

Dumbledore stood up quickly, releasing Draco from his gaze. Draco sagged.

"Everard?" Dumbledore asked sharply. "And you too, Dilys!"

A sallow-faced wizard with short, black bangs and an elderly witch with long silver ringlets in the frame beside him, both who seemed to have been in the deepest of sleeps, opened their eyes immediately.

"You were listening?"

The wizard nodded and the witch said, "Naturally."

"The man is clearly a Black," Dumbledore said. "Black hair and devilishly handsome."

The witch snorted.

"Everard, you will need to raise the alarm, make sure he is found by the right people."

Both nodded and moved sideways in their frames, but instead of emerging in neighboring pictures, they vanished. Their frames were just blank swaths of nothingness.

"You're saying the Head of the House of Black is injured and near death?!" shouted one of the paintings.

"Yes, Phineas," Dumbledore said.

Draco looked up to see a familiar, clever-looking wizard walk out of his painting in a huff.

"He will alert your mother and Regulus," Dumbledore stated plainly. At Harry's confused look he explained, "Everard, Dilys, and Phineas are all former Heads of Hogwarts, Everard and Dilys two of the most celebrated. Their renown is such that they both have portraits hanging in other important Wizarding institutions. As they are free to move between their own portraits they can tell us what may be happening elsewhere."

"Phineas' other painting is at Grimmauld Place?" Draco guessed.

"In your bedroom, Mr Malfoy."

"Oh god," Draco moaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Where are Everard and Dilys' other portraits?" Harry asked.

"One second," Dumbledore said, going over to his phoenix. Fawkes awoke immediately. He stretched his head high and observed Dumbledore through bright, dark eyes.

"We will need," Dumbledore said quietly to the bird, "a warning."

There was a flash of fire and the bird was gone.

Dumbledore turned and swooped over to the table with all the silver gizmos. He grabbed one and carried it to his desk. He sat down facing the boys, who were both still standing. He gently tapped the thing with the tip of his wand. He studied the instrument as it tinkled into life. It gave off tiny puffs of pale green smoke, which made Dumbledore furrow his brow. The tiny puffs became a steady stream of smoke that thicken and coiled into a serpent, who opened its mouth wide.

"Naturally, naturally," murmured Dumbledore, eyes still on the stream of smoke. "But in essence divided?"

Harry looked at Draco for explanation, but Draco shrugged.

The smoke snake split itself instantly into two snakes, both coiling and undulating in the dark air. With a look of grim satisfaction, Dumbledore sighed and gave the gizmo a tap with his wand. The smoke faded and the tinkling stopped. Dumbledore replaced the thing at the table with the other silver things. As he did, Everard reappeared, panting slightly.

"Dumbledore!"

"What news?" Dumbledore asked, moving across the room to Everard's painting.

"I yelled until someone came running," the wizard reported. He grabbed the curtain behind him and began to mop his brow. "I said I'd heard something moving downstairs— they weren't sure they wanted to believe me but went down to see. There are no portraits down there to watch from. Anyways, they carried him up a few minutes later. He doesn't look good, he's covered in blood. I ran along to Elfrida Cragg's portrait to get a good view as they left and it was definitely Sirius Black. You should have just said, Dumbledore. I'd know him anywhere."

"Yes, yes. I forgot how often he was in here," Dumbledore sighed. "Good. I take it Dilys will have seen him arrive soon then."

As if the sound of her name called her, Dilys appeared, coughing and sinking into her arm chair. "Yes, they've taken him to St Mungo's. Poor man. He looked so bad. Such a beautiful face lost."

Harry paled. "His face? I don't remember the face being bitten."

"Thank you," Dumbledore said. He put a fist to his mouth and contemplated a moment. He glanced around his office before heading to the cupboard behind Draco and Harry. He rummaged around before pulling out an old, dinged, blackened kettle. He raised his wand and muttered "Portus." The kettle trembled and glowed an eye shattering shade of blue before reverting to its original form.

"Narcissa is ready for them," Phineas drawled. He studied his nails for a moment before peaking to see if Dumbledore was watching, which he was not. Dumbledore was looking around at the papers on his desk. Phineas looked as if he was about to say something else when there was a flash of flame in the middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather.

"Well, time to go. Umbridge knows you both are out of bed."

Dumbledore held out the kettle, which Harry and Draco grabbed onto.

"You've both used a Portkey before, yes?"

The boys nodded.

"Well, then, on the count of three. One…two…three."

A powerful jerk behind his navel and the ground vanishing signaled the Portkey working. Draco closed his eyes and moved his feet. Draco landed softly on the other end to the sound of something heavy crash land near by.

"You forgot to move your feet," his mother quietly said, hurrying forward.

Draco opened his eyes to find Harry sprawled out on the ground, looking as if he'd gone ten rounds with a troll. Narcissa Malfoy, dressed in what appeared to be hurried donned day robes, knelt down besides Harry, checking him over with her eyes as she aided him to stand.

"What has happened to you?" she asked quietly.

"I…I…I don't know," Harry whispered, rubbing his forehead.

Seeing this action, Narcissa frowned deeply. "Phineas said that Sirius has been wounded in action. Bitten by a huge snake while in the Ministry?"

Harry's mouth worked but no words came out. Narcissa drew him to her and hugged him, looking to Draco to explain.

"He had a…vision? Dream? We're not all that sure," Draco began, then told her all he knew about what had happened since he'd woken (leaving Tom out).

"It's the scar," Narcissa whispered. "I was concerned…"

She trailed off, hugging Harry to the point Draco knew he'd have trouble breathing, but Harry made no move to try to disengage himself from Draco's mother.

"Is Regulus here?" Draco asked.

"No. He's out on Order business," Narcissa said. "I sent Dobby to fetch him. St. Mungo's will inform him no matter where he might be, but he must be here."

No sooner had she spoken there was a loud crack and Dobby appeared with Regulus, the latter more pale than usual.

"He was alive, right?" Regulus asked, sounding and looking young and scared.

"Yes," Draco answered when Harry continued to hide his face in Narcissa's robes.

Regulus nodded, sitting down hard on the bench that went along the wall of the room they were in. Draco looked around and found they were standing in the kitchen.

"Why are we in the kitchen?"

"It's the only room Dumbledore likely knows well enough to send you via an illegal Portkey," Regulus replied.

"You should go to bed. It'll be suspicious if the messenger from St Mungo's finds you here and dressed for…"

Regulus was indeed dressed strangely for someone of his status, as he was wearing Muggle clothing. Regulus nodded, standing and vanished with a loud pop. Narcissa finally let go of Harry and insisted he drink something, which Dobby produced and handed to Harry. Harry downed whatever they gave him and slumped on the floor.

"Dobby, take him to his room."

"Yes, Mistress," Dobby said, grabbing Harry and cracking away.

"You drugged him?"

"Yes. He appears as if he's not slept in weeks. Does he sleep?"

"Not well," Draco admitted. "I'd not really noticed since he never sleeps well."

Narcissa hummed her annoyance. "I'd tell you to go to bed, but I have a feeling you'd not be able to go back to sleep."

"No. Likely not."

"What do you know?"

Draco startled. "What do you mean?"

"About Harry's scar. You are not surprised at all that he has visions of what Tom Riddle is doing."

The Tom Riddle within Draco's pocket made a noise. Draco looked around to make sure he appeared as if he didn't know where the noise had come from.

"Do you and Harry suspect what it truly is? The scar?"

Draco stared at his mother.

"Tell her," Tom's voice whispered from behind Draco's head. Draco had no clue how Tom had gotten out or why he would risk it.

Draco cleared his throat.

"We think…well, we think it's a horcrux."

Draco waited for his mother to look horrified he knew this, but she simply regarded him as if he was an interesting conversationalist.

"How did you come to this conclusion?"

"Harry's friend Tom put him on the trail," Draco decided to admit. "And, uh, Regulus seemed to think Harry ought to know what he was carrying around."

Narcissa rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "I assumed he might have with how calm you are about Harry having visions as he is."

Draco shifted on his feet, waiting for his mother to react other than to keep staring at the ceiling.

"How do you feel about Harry being a horcrux?"

"Horrible. It's not fair," Draco said instantly. "Do you know how to destroy one?"

"Not one that is contained within a human being," Narcissa replied sadly.

Before either could say anything else on the topic, Regulus appeared in the doorway, dressed in plain wizard robes. His hair was in disarray, looking as if he'd just woken.

"You best come along," Regulus said to Narcissa. "While the House Elves of St Mungo's might be onto us, the rest of the lot are not and it'd strange for me to show up without you. In their eyes, you are Sirius's closest relative since Harry's underage."

"We'll be fine, Mother," Draco assured. "I'm going to go upstairs and maybe watch some telly."

Narcissa appeared unsure for a moment before she nodded. "Let me get my cloak. Do not leave this house, or let anyone in."

Draco nodded.

"Do not answer the fireplace either," Regulus advised.

Narcissa hugged Draco before exiting the room. Regulus followed in her wake. After Draco was sure Narcissa and Regulus were gone, he pulled the block out of his pocket and tossed it at the table.

"Come out," Draco ordered.

"Paintings."

"Oh, fine. We'll go to my room," Draco conceded, picking up the block and pocketing it. He eyed the painting of a bunch of wizards cooking that rested on the wall above the stove. They hurriedly began to cook when they found Draco staring.

"There's a Hogwarts Headmaster in your room."

Draco made a noise of frustration.

"Then where, oh great one, do you want to go?"

"Harry's room doesn't have any paintings that can spy on us," Tom relayed. "All wall hangings are Muggle."

"What about the library?"

"True. Your mother removed the paintings because they were too loud," Tom reported. "The only place free of paintings are the bedrooms, save yours, and the library."

"Let me guess, he wouldn't leave?"

"Yes. If Regulus hadn't been around, I have a feeling they would have put you in his room instead of what used to be a study."

Draco grumbled under his breath and headed for the stairs. After a long climb, he entered Harry's room. Harry was tucked in tightly to the bed, fast asleep. Dobby was no where to be seen, but had clearly set the room up for good sleeping as it was cold and dark in the room, yet not too cold. Tom poured himself out of Draco's pocket the moment they were in the room, heading straight for Harry. He loomed over Harry for a solid minute before all the tension drained out of his body and he slumped. Draco, though he wasn't sure how he knew this, remembered Tom needed sleep like a normal human being and likely due to Harry had not been getting it. Without uttering a word of farewell, Draco set the block on the desk, slunk out of the dark room, and quietly shut the door.