~O-O~

Rubbing his itchy eyes, Severus collapsed back in his armchair. He blinked through the smokey haze that filled his small cottage and rubbed his eyes again. He flung his hand towards the windows and they all flew open wandlessly, allowing the smoke to escape. He had been drafting a letter to Potter and casting incendios as each piece of parchment was more pathetic than the one before.

He knew he couldn't write directly to Draco but he also didn't want Potter breaking the news either. That boy had no finesse. Merlin, that boy still cannot control his emotions as his rage-fueled letter indicated.

Severus thought back to their occomulucy lessons when he had told Potter that only fools wear their hearts on their sleeves. Now, he needed to ask for Harry's assistance and somehow to convince him to tell Draco without becoming emotional.

The Gringotts owl hopped up the arm of the chair until it was at eye level, hooting quietly. Severus smoothed his finger across the bird's head, "I'll try again. You can stay a little longer? Deliver my letter tomorrow?"

The owl moved forward until it was in Severus' arms, cradled against his chest.

"Great, now I am overly attached to this stupid owl," Severus rubbed his face on the owl's head and grumbled. "I'll have to write a letter to Gringotts too, see if they will allow me to adopt you. I'm not an easy man to live with," he trailed off as the owl trilled at him.

Tucking the bird into his left arm, he accioed several parchments and began the arduous process of writing letters to Potter and the goblins.

~O-O~

Harry's floo lit up on a Wednesday night, interrupting the rousing game of cars and plushies that Teddy had invented. Glad for the break, Harry welcomed a harried George as Teddy yelled 'Orge!' at the top of his lungs.

George was in an excitable mood. He swung Teddy around and threw him in the air.

"He just finished dinner; I would set him down before he throws up on you."

Quickly adjusting his hold on Teddy, George hugged him close before putting him back on the floor with his toys, "Harry, Harry, Harry, have I got news."

Smiling at his friend, Harry gestured towards the couch and they both sat down, "go on then.

"I asked her to dinner and she said yes."

"The woman at the Daily Prophet?"

George filled him in on the woman, Helena, that handled WWW's advertisements, and their plans for dinner on Friday.

They were interrupted by a Gringotts owl with a letter for Harry. After removing the protective charms, Harry's breathing shuddered as recognized Snape's spidering handwriting.

The shock must have shown on his face as George stood up and began to cross the room, "all right there, Mate?"

"Uh, yeah, I just need to go read this? Can you watch Teddy? Or I can call Gussy?" rambled Harry.

"It's fine. Go, I'll watch the little man."

Focusing on being steady on his feet, Harry made his way to his study before collapsing into the chair. Despite wanting responses to his letters, he certainly didn't expect Snape to write back. Carefully, he opened the envelope and read the short missive.

"Dear Mr. Potter,

Given current circumstances, I cannot contact Mr. Malfoy directly. Would you act as an intermediary?

Inform him of my situation without alarming him or causing suspicions. If it is possible, let him know that I am exceedingly proud of him and I welcome visits when his probation ends.

Please keep me apprised if able.

Regards,

Severus T. Snape"

Rolling his eyes at the message, Harry scoffed, "I wrote him two rolls of parchment and he gives me 15 centimeters. He is such a prat."

Shoving the letter back in the envelope, he placed it in a drawer before casting a concealment charm.

"Well, at least he didn't yell at me or tell me to stop writing to him. Of course, now I have to talk to Malfoy," Harry continued talking to himself as he made his way back to the sitting room, "Okay, Teddy and George, we need to celebrate George's soon-to-be date. How does everyone feel about cake?"

~O-O~

Harry waited until the rest of the students had left the tutoring session before he closed his notebook. Even with his head down, he could tell that Malfoy was watching him from the front of the room.

Reminding himself that he is a Gryffindor, Harry nodded at the other man, "Malfoy, do you have a few minutes? Perhaps we can get a pint? There is a muggle bar close by if you don't mind muggles these days."

Casting a skeptical look at Harry, Draco shook his head, "I'm under house arrest, Potter. I can only floo to St Mungos or the Ministry. And if I wasn't, I would still decline your invitation and not because of muggles. We are not friends, Potter."

Harry snorted indelicately, "that we can agree on. But there is something I need to tell you. It's important."

The men stared, sizing each other up before Draco sighed, "you can come to the manor, Mother won't mind and lord know Aunt Andromeda would be delighted."

"I can't go back there," Harry said simply but Draco understood the implications.

"I've stripped it of everything. The rugs, the furniture, nothing is the same since," he trailed off before turning around. Draco gathered his books, parchments, and quills; placing each item in his bag carefully, "but I understand. There is a greenhouse on the edge of the property that has only been used by our house elves. Or I supposed we could talk here. I could ask Master Blackthorne if we can use her office."

Considering the options, Harry didn't like the idea of breaking the news at St. Mungos, he had really wanted the anonymity of a muggle bar. "The greenhouse is fine but you can't tell your mother or Andi about this. Our meeting, I mean. What I tell you must remain a secret."

Puzzled, Draco cocked his head to the side, "what are you going on about, Potter?"

When Harry didn't respond other than a quirking of his eyebrows, Draco reached into his bag and ripped off a piece of parchment. He grabbed a muggle pen from Harry's hand and jotted down a quick note, "Give me ten minutes to key you into the wards. This will get you to the greenhouse, it can't be seen from the house."

Draco shoved the parchment and pen into Harry's hands before striding out the door.

"Bloody hell, I'm going to have to go back to Malfoy Manor," Harry said in the empty classroom.

~O-O~

A/N:

'Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked so easily – weak people, in other words – they stand no chance against his powers! He will penetrate your mind with absurd ease, Potter!' ~ Snape says this to Potter in Order of the Phoenix during their occlumency lesson.