The next few days had been very sombre and very quiet, only Fred and George seemed to be making an effort to make the last of Christmas jolly and happy- Harry had holed himself up in Percy's old room for those few days and hadn't come out let alone speak to any of them. He hated the fact he had lost control around Ron again, but he hated the fact that he had in his home in front of nearly all the Weasley's. Harry gingerly touched the hex burns across his chest, he hadn't allowed Molly in at all to heal them, he deserved them and they would serve as a brutal reminder that he could never ever be normal. He hated Bellatrix Lestrange with passion- he hated her as much as Voldemort and he wouldn't rest until she died- he knew Hermione knew and he knew Molly knew and both of them hated her just as much for what they had done to him.

A soft knock on the door and Harry wasn't fast enough to cast a sticking charm, Ginny walked in. Harry opened his mouth to say something but she shook her head.

"It's okay. So stop beating yourself up over it Harry."

Harry stared at her. The red haired girl sighed and ran a hand through her hair and glanced out of the window for a split second. Deciding on what she could say. Harry didn't avert his gaze.

"It's not okay Ginny. It's not, Ron's now got an avid fear of me and… look I don't think I should be here anymore, I've intruded long enough and I've caused you all a great deal of trouble."

Ginny crossed her arms her expression set reaching forwards she smacked him hard, Harry didn't flinch, but it still hurt like a bitch, he frowned lightly. Ginny had crossed her arms again and looked back over her shoulder and nodded. Ron shuffled into the room and Ginny turned back to Harry her brown eyes conceding.

"Both of you have been locking yourselves up in your respective rooms for days. You both won't even get a grip and talk to each other, Ron isn't scared of you and Harry you're just being difficult. I'll leave you to it."

With that the youngest Weasley left the room, her footsteps echoing in the empty stairway; Ron looked a fright, his fiery hair a mess and terrible dark bruises circling his throat like a crude tattooed necklace. Harry clasped his hands in front of him and waited, Ron took a deep breath, and it rattled, wheezing a little through his damaged throat.

"It's not your fault, its okay Harry. I don't know what it's like to have what you have but we just want to help you. I as your best mate want to help you."

Harry could tell that it had taken a huge effort for Ron to come down and speak to him, his voice was cracked and weedy from the distortion the strangulation had done to him. Harry met his blue eyes and they were kind. Harry inhaled deeply a few times through his nose to calm himself, but he had to accept Ron's kindness, he… Harry didn't know how to describe it. They two stared at each other awkwardly; the silence was broken by running footsteps, crashing up the stairs and in flew Hermione. Hedwig and Pigwidgeon came fluttering after her in excited hoots. Panting and wheezing she straightened and shook the scroll of parchment (a letter, possibly from Ginny) in front of them.

"Just… got… here!"

She ground out as she tried to catch her breath, her bushy hair was everywhere and Ron was now staring at her instead. Harry waited patiently. Finally Hermione straightened and composed herself.

"I heard what happened, Ginny sent me this letter and I came as quickly as I could. So, tell me you two what are you going to do about it?"

Ron scratched his head as he thought. He then extended a hand to Harry who cocked his head to one side. Hermione shifted her weight from one leg to the other, crumpling the letter slightly- Hedwig landed on Harry's shoulder and nuzzled his temple, he tickled her beak affectionately. Pigwidgeon however was batted away by Ron as if he were an irksome fly. Put out the tiny little grey owl went to the window sill and sulked, sending his master every so often a glare. Ron finally found words:

"Shake on it?"

The redhead whispered, his voice really was strange and Hermione frowned at the sound of it. Harry shook his head and Ron blinked. Hermione opened her mouth to say something but promptly closed it. As Ron withdrew his hand Harry suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the wrist and in a single motion, pulled the Weasley into a hug.

It was two days left until the new school term started and the atmosphere in the Burrow had lightened a great deal since both Ron and Harry had come down to breakfast together chatting like nothing had ever happened. Harry sat on Ron's bed nibbling on a piece of leftover fudge from Christmas- Lupin had come and gone after examining him and giving him a few more words of wisdom. Hermione was flicking furiously through a textbook and Ron was trying to win Pigwidgeon over with his favourite owl treats- Pig had never forgiven Ron for rejecting him in Percy's room the other day.

"Come on Pig! Big juicy owl treats! So sticky and delicious!"

The youngest Weasley son waved one tantalisingly in front of the teeny owl, but he pointedly stuck his little beak up in the air and ignored him. Harry noted Ron's voice was now more or less normal again. Sighing Ron looked over to his two friends. Harry tried hard not to smile but Ron caught it and threw a pillow at him. Pig ruffled his feathers indignantly the image was of a rather puffed up pin cushion- Hermione stifled a giggle lest Pigwidgeon hail war upon her as well.

"Why won't you help me Harry?"

"Because that is your own personal issue and I cannot interfere in such a beautiful relationship. Well I mean, your relationship with Pig is something I can't help you with. It's your own fault you know."

"What, beautiful! Oh sod off! Pig please? Seriously how could you resist these treats?"

Harry laughed softly and went back to watching the teeny ink Draco dot on the Marauder's Map; Hermione peered over his shoulder and shut her book with a resounding snap. Harry jumped and both watched as Draco melted out of existence on the map. Frowning Harry knew Hermione had seen it too, the way her breath caught in her throat told him.

"The map never lies…"

Hermione whispered, in the background Ron was still trying to win his feathery friend back. The clever witch pondered on the idea and scrutinised the map with intelligence, Harry sat back and watched her; she then snapped her fingers. This caught Ron's attention and he scrambled over to sit next to them. Pigwidgeon now more infuriated that his master had chosen a piece of ratty parchment over him and was ignoring him again, hooted shrilly and flew up to the ceiling beams of the redhead's room to perch grumpily.

"Harry, Malfoy's been going into the Room of Requirement!"

"It's unplottable or something right?"

Ron said straining his neck a little to see the open map, mildly surprised and impressed Hermione nodded. The bruise marks round Ron's neck were nothing more than a few blemishes, thanks to Molly's care. Harry flipped a page of the map and looked to Hermione. She smiled at Harry and ruffled his hair affectionately, Ron grumbled slightly and the bushy haired girl relented and patted him on the head as well.

"There's your answer Harry, the Room of Requirement! I think either it's unplottable as Ron said or the makers didn't know it existed at the time and missed it."

Harry then thought back to his encounters with Draco Malfoy- all of them had included the blonde looking incredibly ruffled- as if blown about by strong magic.

"You don't think he's working on some kind of weapon for Voldemort do you? Just like he thought Dumbledore was, when we had the DA?"

Both predictably flinched and Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes at them. He watched his two best friends turn the idea over in their minds, Ron spoke first stroking an imaginary beard. Pigwidgeon was still sulking above their heads; he let out a soft chirrup to notify them all that he was still here. But he was ignored.

"Nah, he's just being Malfoy, being a git, having some alone time to think over all the horrible stuff he's done."

Hermione's response was a bit more feasible and less judgmental; tucking a lock of curly brown chestnut hair behind her ear she took the map gently from Harry and stared down at it. Tracing the pathways of the halls she knew so well with her index finger.

"I don't believe he's a Death Eater Harry… But from what we saw from when we followed him in Knockturn alley… before… before your problem Harry… Maybe he is doing something…"

"Furniture?"

Ron piped up, he too was now thinking hard, Harry grit his teeth, yes his turning was still a painfully sore subject for him. The emerald eyed teen remembered with Ron and Hermione following the ice blonde to Borgin and Burkes and watching him examine a cupboard of some kind. Once again Hermione got it.

"He was looking at a cabinet sort of object wasn't he?"

"Yeah."

"If it's Knockturn Alley then it means it was dark magic, wait."

The two boys watched in mild amusement and exasperation as the bibliophile scooted over to Ron's bedside to pluck 'History of Magic- Magic of the Recent Kind.' by Bathilda Bagshot off of the top. Speeding through the pages Hermione stopped on a section that was dedicated to Voldemort's rising and how the Ministry and Order of the Phoenix tried to fight him the first time.

"Vanishing Cabinets were often used by those escaping You-Know-Who! Dark magic! Yes Harry this is your answer!"

Harry hadn't felt this happy in a long time; finally he had a breakthrough of what Draco might be doing. His heart fell at the thought of Draco doing whatever it was with the cabinet was to help Voldemort. Ron was gaping at Hermione and she gave him a pitying look and reached over to close his mouth, it just fell open again, Hermione giggled.

"Ron, close your mouth, you look a bit gormless."

Shaking himself Ron did so, he was still stunned, Harry knew he himself was too, but there was one thing that didn't make sense, Draco had never bought the cabinet from Borgin and Burkes. Something with dark magic would've never made it past Filch's probity probes. Unless the Slytherin had somehow sneaked the cabinet in, just like that cursed necklace. The door to Ron's room creaked opened and Fred popped his head through, George's also appeared a split second after and Harry had it.

"Mum wants you lot down now to set the table!"

Fred grinned and George waved them goodbye and together with a startling whip crack they apparated downstairs. Ron threw himself onto his bed groaning and Pig twittered and fluffed out his chest feathers- sounding rather smug. Harry felt a huge smile blooming across his face and Ron noticed it first, tilting his head to one side the redhead silently questioned Harry. Harry laughed and ran a hand through his hair- he winced a little as he felt a few knots in the messy jet black mass. He faced his best friend with a grin.

"Twins."

"What?"

"Twins, the vanishing cabinet has a twin. The one in Borgin and Burkes has…"

"Another one in Hogwarts."

Hermione finished his sentence. The three looked at each other and Ron burst out laughing, he rolled about his bed clutching his sides.

"I guess the little ferret is homesick and wants to take a shortcut home without anyone knowing his weakness! Ha, I always knew he was Mama's boy!"

Hermione smiled thinly at this and stood up dusting off her jeans and shivering a little in her thick woolly cardigan. Harry felt his own quirking at his lips but it wasn't that funny, Draco Malfoy had a mission. A mission from Voldemort, to kill Dumbledore and these Vanishing Cabinets were going to help him do it.

Maybe that was how Draco got the necklace into Hogwarts.

Harry bit his lower lip.

He missed Draco a great deal. He looked out of the window at the gorgeous darkening twilight dusk sky, snow was falling lazily.

School was starting soon.

Harry grimaced along with Neville and Ron at the pile of homework that sat before them. The holidays had ended and their teachers had been ruthless and merciless in the amount of homework and essays they had been given to do. Snape was particularly nasty, perhaps the cold weather got to him. The trio looked up as Dean and Seamus plopped down beside them and they too stared at the mountain of books. Seamus broke the ice first.

"Right. So who wants to go first?"

They all shook their heads; Hermione just then strode past with her own set and without glancing tossed a book at Ron who caught it with an 'oof'. The boys watched the clever brunette witch settle in her own chair by the fire and begin her essays. Her quill scratching away rapidly, faint pauses in between as she thought of her next sentence, the handsome eagle feather was a blur as she continued. Ron looked down at the textbook on his lap and whined.

"She's so mean to me."

"Nah, I think she's got her eye on you Ron."

Seamus grinned and shared a secretive smile with Dean who snorted and tried to pass it off as a cough. Ron raised an eyebrow at the two boys. Neville shot Harry an amused look.

"What do you mean she has an eye on me?"

"Oh you'll figure it out one day Ron. You'll see."

"You guys…"

Ron mumbled as he looked at the cover of the book again with mounting dislike- Potions. Potions was a subject Ron didn't actually have to take but since McGonagall; was in Ron's opinion an old sadistic hag who took free periods away from 6th formers… Harry sighed and reached out the pluck his Charms spells book grade 6 from the pile and flipped it open to advanced levitation. This served as a cue for all of them to begin- Seamus and Dean disappeared behind a Transfiguration tome whereas Neville studied the pages of his Herbology text carefully with huge intensity. Harry scratched his head it was finally the long awaited Quidditch season, first game of the year Gryffindor versus Slytherin was this Friday. He tried to concentrate on his homework, with a growl of irritation he snapped the book shut.

"I can't do this. Who wants to throw a Quaffle around?"

He was met with hearty cheers; Harry sent Hermione an apologetic look as they all jubilantly crammed out of the porthole to grab their broomsticks. He could hear her tutting and rolling her eyes as the left with excited chatter.

Harry knew he and the boys were going to get an earful once they returned to Gryffindor Tower but really, Quidditch was serious business, procrastinate now and work until the last minute later. Ron whooped in front of him and raced Neville down the stairs.

They were going to wipe the floor with Slytherin during the match.