Disclaimer: All the characters you recognise from the Harry Potter universe rightfully belong to J. K. Rowling, I'm just borrowing them...

Author's Note: I have the feeling I wanted to tell you something at least vaguely important, but I can't remember so... read and enjoy!

Beta: Thanks for your help, jharad17!


29. TRAIN RIDE

"Let's go and get on the train," Draco urged not for the first time, tugging on Harry's hand to make him move. "I'm sure he'll be there soon. We might even have missed him and he's already on the train."

"Go ahead, but I'm waiting for Lucius. I have a bad feeling," Harry murmured absently, before turning to Nightmare. /Do you see him anywhere?/

/No./ The dragon seemed not much less irritated than Draco. /Just like the selfish prat to make us wait in the cold. I guess it's too much to expect that he comes on time./

/I'm worried about him,/ Harry whispered. /His father was so angry when we left him. I'm afraid what Abraxas could have done to him in the last six days./

/He wrote you, didn't he?/ Nightmare dismissed his concerns. /Besides, blondie should pay./ She flew a little loop in the air. /You shouldn't have forgiven him so easily. Maybe his father will set him straight./

/I hardly think that his father's methods will encourage him to become a better person./ Harry shook his head, wishing for once that he could look out for Lucius himself and didn't have to rely on Draco's and Nightmare's eyes.

/That's a lost cause anyway,/ the dragon gave back.

/You and Draco are both being irrationally mean,/ the blind boy told her angrily. /Yes, Luc made a mistake and yes, maybe I let him get away with it too easily, but he still deserves better than his father punishing him for standing up for us./

"There he is," Draco interrupted their quarrel, watching Lucius approach.

He had to suppress a sharp intake of breath because Lucius really didn't look too peachy. Oh, there were no bruises on his skin, no limp in his step, no blood on his clothes that were as immaculate and unwrinkled as always, no bandages around parts of his body, no, not even dark rings under his eyes, but Draco had often enough seen his father returning from Death Eater meetings to recognise the same look in his eyes. Fatigue, disgust, shame, pain and even fear. The way Lucius held himself was perhaps a little straighter than usual, that told Draco he had to make a conscious effort, and his face was so impassive that Draco knew it was a mask held in place by sheer power of will.

"Luc." Harry sighed in relief. "Thank Merlin, you are here. Are you okay?"

"Everything perfect," Lucius gave back, returning Harry's hug though his aching muscles protested. "It's good to see you. Shall we board?"

Harry cocked his head a little, knowing without a doubt that Lucius was lying. Not about seeing him, no, he was pretty sure that the blond was glad to see him and the thought was kind of flattering, but about being hurt. He had felt the muscles tighten and tense under his hand when he had reached up to embrace Lucius, and the breaths that tickled his neck had turned sharper and more pressed.

Draco's insistent hand and the loud whistle of the train startled him out of his thoughts, and he allowed himself to be dragged on board. He stumbled as the train jerked before smoothly pulling out of the station, and Draco caught him in his arms, holding him close for a moment before he set him back down on his feet.

"Sorry for dragging you," he apologised softly. "Let's find the others, yes?"

He took a much more gentle hold of Harry's hand and led him along the narrow corridor, until he spied Sirius and Remus in one compartment. The two young men were heavily snogging. The black-haired Gryffindor was sitting astride Remus' lap, rubbing against him as he pushed his tongue deeper into the werewolf's mouth, not allowing him to dominate the kiss. His hands were buried in the brown, grey-streaked hair, using that to pull his head back so that he could better kiss him. Remus growled lowly, trying to reverse their positions, but he only managed to be pushed back so that he laid on the bench, Sirius on top of him.

Draco cleared his throat, making Sirius look up at least briefly. "Oh, hey, Harry. See you later."

With that said, the black-haired Gryffindor pulled out his wand, waved it in the direction of the door, which promptly shut in Draco's face. The lock clicked and the curtain moved so that it obstructed the view inside.

"What were they doing?" Harry asked. "Sirius sounded kind of breathless."

"What do you think?" Draco grinned at him. "Come on, Harry, you are not that naive!"

Harry blushed brightly and then changed the subject: "Let's find somewhere to sit down, please?"

"Severus and the Lestranges are over here," Lucius called, already having give his luggage to Rabastan, who put it in the overhead compartment without protest.

Harry's face split into a grin as he bounded over to the four boys and hugged the Lestranges and then Severus, much to the latter's chagrin and interrupting him from treating Rudolphus with accusing silence.

Draco followed Harry into the compartment, brushing against Lucius, who still stood in the doorway and winced at the contact. Upper hand or not, his father's Cruciatus Curses hurt like hell.

Abraxas hadn't been in a very good mood when the party finally came to an end, and Lucius was pretty sure that it had nothing to do with the red wine stain on the fine Persian carpet his mother was lamenting about. No, it had everything to do with Lucius, his involvement with certain non-purebloods (or with questionable purebloods who were to be classed as non-purebloods, as they obviously had no idea how to live up to their heritage) and his improper attitude towards his parents and their important, pureblood guests. His father had never been a man of many words and when it came down to it, he was much more in favour of speaking with actions, or, in this case, his wand.

That suited Lucius just fine, and though his father had an unfair advantage because he didn't deem it necessary to inform Lucius of the beginning of this duel, he gave as good as he got.

He smirked almost happily as he thought of his father sitting on a cushion for the next few days.

Of course, the duel hadn't amounted to anything, save for the fact that they found out that a Boiling Hex combined with a Leg-Locker Curse made for some nasty results. Lucius would bet anything that his father wished back the old times where this method had brought his son back under control, where he had stood no chance against the older wizard. Now it was different: they were about equal in strength and skill - Abraxas perhaps still a bit more versed, but Lucius making up for it with youthful energy - and in the end there had been no clear winner. A few more empty threats and Lucius had been free to go and write a letter to Harry.

He was still a bit sore and bruised, but that couldn't dim his good mood. Harry had answered his letters, had thanked him for the little tokens of his affection (and told him that he shouldn't have send them), and he had waited for him just now. If that wasn't reason for a positive outlook on life!

"I want to know what happened!" Severus exclaimed suddenly, making Harry wince at the volume.

"I told you," Rudolphus gave back evenly.

"You told me nothing," Severus snapped back. "You only told me that you met my older self, that's it! If nothing had happened, you wouldn't have mentioned it!"

"Wouldn't I have?" Rudolphus returned. "Well, if you had been there, like I asked of you, you could have seen for yourself if anything else happened."

"I wasn't invited," Severus pressed out.

"Of course you were, I sent you the invitation myself," Lucius protested and was rewarded with Severus' glare.

"Not helpful, Lucius!" He turned back to Rudolphus. "Well, so what! I didn't come just to be ignored or be pushed in the background while you fulfilled your obligations to your future wife. I didn't think you would really appreciate my presence as you couldn't even remember me on Christmas."

"I sent you a card!" Rudolphus protested.

"Exactly! I get a card from my father too, if he isn't too drunk to forget that it's Christmas or that he has a son," the thin Slytherin snapped. "That sure shows how much he cares for me. Thanks a lot, Rudo! I wouldn't have bothered with finding a present for you, if I had known that I would get a fucking card."

"Sev..."

"No."

"Fine, be that way, but if you had come to the New Year's Eve ball, you would have got something better than a card." Rudolphus leaned back into his seat, closing his eyes.

"Oh, yeah? Sorry to disappoint you, but your--"

"I got you a book," Rudolphus interrupted him. "Potions and Poisons. You said once that you wanted it, but never found an unedited copy."

"You got me an unedited version?" Severus perked up, impatiently nudging Rudolphus' knee, when the broad-shouldered young wizard didn't look at him immediately. "Really? Because the edited version isn't any good; it's mediocre at best."

"Yes, Sev, the unedited version," Rudolphus sighed. "I did not listen to your ramblings for over two hours to just forget what you said."

"Oh, thank you!" The lanky Slytherin smiled at him before throwing himself into Rudolphus' arms.

"Hey, hey, no snogging!" Draco said quickly. "It's bad enough that Sirius and Remus are at it like rabbits. I don't need another bad mental image."

"Oh, you shut up," Harry admonished him with a smile. "Just don't look at them. They are entitled to a bit of quality time."

"It's easy for you to say. What they are doing has the quality of cheap porn," Draco grumbled, standing up. "I'm going to the loo, and you better be finished when I get back."

Severus and Rudolphus didn't deign to give him an answer, as they were too occupied with each other, and Draco rolled his eyes, dropped a kiss on Harry's forehead and left the compartment. Nightmare followed him.

"He seems a bit on edge," Lucius observed. "Is everything okay with you two?"

Harry didn't miss the hint of hopefulness in his voice and scowled. "I love him, Lucius. Don't try to break us up. Why did you lie?"

"I was foolish. If I had known you as well as--" Lucius started, but Harry interrupted him.

"Not that, Luc. We've been over that, you apologised, I forgave you, there's not much more to say. No, why didn't you tell me that you are hurt?"

"Because I'm not," Lucius said defensively.

"I'm blind, Luc, I'm not dumb." Harry shook his head. "I know when someone is evading my questions and that's what you have been doing in your letters. And I know how Voldemort and his cronies think - you cannot honestly think I'd believe that your father would just peacefully wish you a good night after you stood up for us."

"It's nothing," Lucius insisted, shuddering at the thought of what could have happened, at the thought of what had happened to Harry. "My father and I just had a slight disagreement. The Dark Lord had nothing to do with that. Family business stays family business. I really am okay, Harry."

"Here." Harry still looked sceptical and handed over a small bottle with a clear blue liquid. "It helps against pain and boosts your regeneration. You don't have to take it, but I'd feel better if you did. Please?"

"Of course, Harry, if you put it like that." Lucius sent him his most charming smile and quickly downed the potion.

The potion made him feel better almost instantly. His muscles uncramped, his bruises, which had been hidden under a glamour, faded, and his magic and energy were replenished, making him suspect that this was not merely a mild healing potion.

"Are you feeling better?" Harry asked.

"I'm feeling better now that I'm around you." Lucius grinned at him and Harry blushed.

"Lucius..."

"What? You want me to tell the truth, don't you?" the blond challenged.

"Of course, but... it's over. I'm together with Draco, and I'm happy and very much in love with him." Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair. "You can't get me back."

"Because you don't trust me?" Lucius asked sadly and Harry nodded. "What can I do to earn your trust?"

"Be a good friend," Harry whispered, putting his head on Rabastan' shoulder. "Nothing more."

"You better not do more," Draco growled warningly, having heard the last part of their conversation, and scooped up Harry, sitting back down with him in his lap. "Missed me?" He grinned roguishly.

"Very much so," Harry returned happily.

"Well, that's good to know, but it would be even better if that life-threatening lizard had had a chance to miss me as well," Draco glared at the blue creature. "Why exactly does she feel the need to follow me everywhere?"

"She's making sure that you won't get another chance to hurt me like you did," Harry said simply.

"But you trust me," Draco protested, sending Lucius an angry look.

"But she doesn't. I don't see the problem. If you are doing nothing wrong, why should it bother you?"

That "if" hit Draco harder than he wanted to accept. Harry may have forgiven him, but what he had done and what he hadn't done wasn't forgotten. And Harry may trust him, but not completely, not like before. He closed his eyes briefly, snaking his hands under Harry's pullover, just wanting to feel him, to feel that he was still alive, still breathing and in a way, still his. Not like before, no, but maybe still his.

"I'm not hiding anything, but it's unnerving when she's hovering around me constantly. Even in the bathroom, Harry!" He knew that he was sounding whiny, but smiled to himself when Harry chuckled.

"Why, Dray, I didn't know you were so self-conscious," Harry teased.

"Oh, it's so good to know that you understand me," Draco grumbled. "Besides, she's here to protect and guide you. How is she supposed to do that while she's spying on me? I'm just worried about you."

"I know, but Nightmare feels that she has to do this." Harry happily waved at the dragon, who sat perched on Lucius' trunk and observed everything with keen blue eyes. "Humour her."

"Fine, I guess I'll just have to stay close to you from now on, so that she can keep an eye on you too." Draco grinned, pulling Harry closer. "I can't say that I'm averse to that idea."

"Surprise, surprise," Harry muttered with a small smile, snuggling down into Draco's lean yet muscular form. "Thanks. Are you okay?"

"Yes." Draco nodded. "Was just a bit much earlier. Not everyone smells as good as you."

He buried his nose in Harry's hair, making the younger boy giggle.

"And how is that better than what we did?" Severus groused, sitting with his arms crossed, opposite of Rudolphus, though he glanced longingly at the brown-haired Slytherin every once in a while. "Why are you allowed to molest your boyfriend, when I'm not?"

Draco rolled his eyes heavenwards, pulling back slightly. "You know, I heard rumours about privacy, but I have yet to experience it. And sniffing Harry's hair is quite different from what you two were doing."

"Sniffing his hair?" Severus mocked. "What are you? A dog?"

Harry felt Draco wince at Severus' casual remark and the hand that still rested on his stomach curled into a fist.

"Actually, he's more like a ferret, you know?" Harry grinned conspiratorially at the future Potion's Master, who snorted. "He bears a striking resemblance to one."

"Shut up, cheeky," Draco grumbled, but Harry felt him relax again. "You don't want me to tell them how you spent one entire week as Harriet because you botched up the same potion three times in a row, and Uncle Sev thought that maybe you would have a bit more motivation to do it right if you actually had to drink your concoction."

A deep blush spread over Harry's cheeks as he swatted Draco's thigh. "Thanks a lot. I sure appreciate it that you didn't tell them that!"

"No problem, featherweight." Draco smirked. "I wouldn't want to embarrass you."

"How very considerate," Harry muttered under his breath. "You know that you would be in big trouble now if you weren't wearing that pullover, right?"

"Yes, I know," Draco admitted with a sigh, inspecting his Weasley sweater with strong distaste. "But I'm already suffering enough."

"Oh, come on, don't be like this." Harry nudged him. "I'm sure you look fabulous as always."

"It's purple, Harry," Draco grated out. "No one can look even close to fabulous in purple. I swear, Mrs. Weasley only gave me this sweater to torture me."

"She gave it to you because she likes you. You didn't complain about the cookies."

"But I don't have to wear them either," Draco gave back. "And if she liked me she would have chosen a less offensive colour, or would have at least stopped herself from knitting a snowman on it."

"Well, those sweaters are winter clothes," Harry argued, but couldn't keep from grinning. "A snowman is kind of fitting."

"Yes, for a toddler," Draco complained moodily. "Why do I have to wear it? You can't even see it!"

"Oh, but Dad and Sirius took photos." Harry laughed at him. "Besides, I like how it feels under my hands and my cheek... unless you don't want me to snuggle into you?"

"Tease." Draco tightened his hold on Harry, taking him with him as he leaned back, getting comfortable. "Let me kiss you?"

Harry nodded, tilting his head a little, and Draco blew a teasing breath over Harry's face, before pressing their lips together, cupping Harry's cheek with his hand as his tongue passed the barrier of Harry's lips.

"You are all tensed up," Harry commented, blushing as Draco chuckled. "I didn't mean it like that. Let me help you relax."

He wiggled a little so that he could put his hands more comfortably on Draco's neck. The black-haired boy's fingers started to gently but firmly work the knots and kinks out of his muscles, rubbing circles and pressing his thumbs down, until Draco gave a soft groan, his eyes closing on their own accord.

"Good," the blond moaned, cocking his head and rolling his shoulders. "Don't stop."

Harry complied easily, moving his hands down Draco's back and finally over his shoulder blades, but when he accidentally brushed over the healed and scarred werewolf bite, he drew back in shock when the blue-eyed wizard hissed.

"Sorry, I... I forgot about your shoulder. Are you okay? Should I get Sev?" Harry started rambling.

"I'm fine, Harry." Draco grasped Harry's shaking hands before the smaller boy could draw back even further. "Just because of... well, this, you don't have to pamper me. I'm not made of glass. It's just sensitive, is all."

"Well, now you know what it feels like when people think you need to be constantly watched over," Harry growled, still worried. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't," the blond assured him, tenderly kissing Harry on the lips. "Thanks for the massage. It was wonderful. And we only pamper you because we all love you so much, I most of all."

Lucius watched impassively, outwardly at least, as Severus and Rudolphus took advantage of Draco's attention being solely focused on Harry to continue where they had left off. It was a very sad day indeed that antisocial loner Severus Snape had a lover and sex god Lucius Malfoy didn't. Worse still, that sex god Lucius Malfoy had to watch his hoped-for lover being ravished by his son and heir.

Maybe he should never marry Narcissa, never sleep with her (which would be such a sacrifice!) and never father Draco, who then would never come to exist and would never be able to replace him as Harry's boyfriend. Sounded like a good enough plan, if only there weren't this tiny little fact that Draco had practically saved Harry, not only from being bitten, which was the consequence of Draco's ill-reflected actions in any case, but also, from what he had heard, from drowning in the after effects of being raped. As much as he wanted Harry back, he didn't want to take his support from him. So much for good prospects!

If only Draco had stayed in his place. But no, he had to do something absolutely foolish and declare his undying love, and now Lucius was stuck with watching through jealousy-clouded eyes as Draco's fingers twirled Harry's hair and caressed his milky skin.

If it hadn't been for Rabastan, who was still in the compartment, though he was so still and silent, reading a book, that he was hardly noticeably, Lucius would have felt decidedly superfluous - not that he didn't already.

As if to spite him, Rabastan closed his book, briefly glanced at the two couples and then stood up.

"I'm going to go see my friends," he told Lucius, who was the only one not otherwise occupied.

Lucius merely shrugged. He wasn't in the mood to act like he cared. He turned back to pretend to stare out of the window, though his eyes were capturing all of Harry's moves, his ears capturing his moans and mewls. It should be him doing that, kissing him, touching him, making Harry arch helplessly into his touch with moans and incoherent pleas falling from those perfect rose lips. It should be him!

Sure, he had made a mistake and yes, he deserved some kind of punishment, but this was too hard, too cruel. He didn't want to take Draco's place. 'Be a good friend.' Of course, because he was so good at being a friend, because he could write a whole fucking book about friendship, because that wouldn't be another fucking lie! Trust. Why was trust so damn important for Harry, anyway? Wasn't love enough? There was no doubt that Harry still loved him, was there? Was there?

A low moan from Harry interrupted his increasingly hysterical inner voice, and he came to the conclusion that maybe Draco's idea to disappear to the bathroom for a while wasn't to be scoffed at. He stood in one fluid motion and without a backward glance left the compartment, shutting the door with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary.

Harry jumped at the loud bang, his hands tightening almost painfully where they rested on Draco's upper arms.

"Shh, easy there, featherweight." He could feel the low rumble of Draco's voice in his chest. "It was just the door. I have you, you're safe."

Harry took a deep breath, relaxing once more into Draco's embrace. "I'm fine. Just startled me."

Draco placed a chaste kiss on his lips that would have turned more passionate and demanding if Harry hadn't stopped him, carefully pushing himself away from the blond.

"What is it? Did I do something you don't like?" Draco asked, worry edging his voice.

"I... Can we not do this right now?" Harry asked cautiously. "Please?"

"Of course, Harry. Do you want to tell me why not?" the werewolf asked gently, rubbing soothing circles in the palm of Harry's right hand.

"I... You distract me too much. I can't keep track of my surroundings, and that scares me. I don't want to be startled again, by something less innocent than the door banging," Harry whispered, shivering uncontrollably. "You are safe, I know that. Hogwarts is safe too, but the Express... I'm not so sure about that. And it was inconsiderate of us to kiss like that in front of Luc. He left, didn't he?"

"Yeah." Draco sounded uncomfortable, with a weird mixture of satisfaction and guilt.

Harry just shook his head before putting it against Draco's shoulder, curling up in the blond's lap, quickly getting lost in his own thoughts, like he had been lost earlier in Draco's kisses.

He felt guilty about not considering how Lucius must have felt when he saw them kissing, but it was so easy to forget everything else when Draco held him, so safe and warm and lovingly. And what kind of boyfriend would he be if he thought of Lucius while Draco kissed him? It was bad enough that he thought about the older blond now, but there was so much he still had to figure out for himself.

Of course he still loved Lucius, how could he not? How could he possibly get over him within a few weeks? But at the moment he needed Draco more, he trusted him more, maybe even loved him more. And Draco would still be there when they went back to their own time. Lucius might be dead or in Azkaban, or he might be a cold, heartless bastard like his father. It was much better and safer to love Draco than to continue loving Lucius. It would just hurt him again, and it would hurt Draco. And that was something Harry was not willing to risk.

The door slid open once more and Lucius sat back down, absently wiping his lipstick-smeared cheek with a handkerchief. Damn Narcissa! She didn't even give him the time to brood in solitude, latching onto him as soon as he had stepped out of the bathroom, telling him how happy she was that Harry no longer stood between them, that now she had him all to herself. She actually had the guts to act like it had been her idea all along, like she had arranged for him to have one last tryst with someone so far beneath her that he could only be of temporary interest, before they moved head-on into their happily married life. It was disgusting and it was pathetic.

He had been close to slapping her for what she said about Harry and her misinterpretation of his feelings for the black-haired beauty, but had just barely controlled himself. If it hadn't been for the insistent witch, he would have stayed away from this particular compartment for a lot longer. But if he had to choose between Narcissa's sharp nails digging into his skin, her shrill voice grating on his nerves, and having to watch Draco and Harry, the second option won, though it was a narrow victory.

Thus he found himself back in the compartment, sitting opposite Draco and Harry and next to Severus and Rudolphus, mildly surprised and not a little grateful that there was no snogging or other lovey-dovey behaviour, if you disregarded the occasional pats and caresses. It was a definite improvement.

The downside to this new development however was that Harry seemed to be fast asleep on Draco's lap, while Draco carded his fingers through the unruly black hair and watched him like a hawk.

Despite appearances, Draco was dwelling on not quite happy thoughts.

He had grown up with magic all around him. He learned about werewolves when he was about four or five, and yet he was totally taken by surprise by the avalanche of smells, noises and urges that bombarded him. It was one thing to know that you would turn into a monster-wolf once a month - not exactly something that eased his sleep - but it was quite another thing to have to deal with all of these sensations constantly and not only during the full moon.

Draco vaguely wondered how Remus handled it, how he could stand Sirius' outgoing and flirty nature without going ballistic. The other werewolf had assured him that it would get better, that it just took some getting used to, and that eventually he wouldn't overreact anymore. Draco was more than sceptical, since most of the time it didn't feel like he was overreacting. Oh, he knew that he was, but that realisation mostly came too late to stop himself, when all that was left for him to do was apologise. Harry had to be getting sick and tired of hearing that, of having to put up with his territorial behaviour.

He was just so damn confused, and the overload of information his enhanced senses were giving him wasn't helpful either. He could smell Harry, and that scent soothed him, like vanilla and apples and his grandmother's cookies. But then he could also smell Lucius and Severus and Rudolphus, and though he could see them, sitting peacefully on the opposite bench, his sense of smell told him that they were much too close to him, and therefore too close to Harry.

It was infuriating. He had more control than that! "Ice," that was the code name Harry had given him during the war, when they had first started a tentative friendship that soon became more. Composed, collected, cool, that was what he was, not this damned hot-head he was starting to turn into.

He put his feet on the opposite bench, returning Severus' glare with one of his own, thereby shielding Harry a bit more from the others. He just didn't want to lose him, not to Lucius, but least of all because of his own lack of composure and rationality.

Harry suddenly sat up, startling Draco, who had thought him asleep. "Let's play cards!"

"Let's all stand on our hands," Severus scoffed. "Brilliant idea, Potter, really."

"Why, I'm glad you think so, Sevvie." Harry beamed at him. "But your idea isn't half bad either. What do you say I stand on my hands, and unless you can stand longer than I, we'll play cards. I heard you like bets."

Severus gulped uncomfortably.

"Why don't you get the cards out, love," Rudolphus suggested mildly, though there was a certain edge to his voice. "And then maybe you could apologise to Harry for making him the object of a bet."

"That's okay," Harry sighed, cutting Severus short. "I'm sorry I said that. I honestly can't stand to hear anymore apologies. I just want to play cards, okay?"

"If that's all I have to do to get back in your good graces," Severus muttered and summoned a deck of cards from his truck, shuffling them a little before dealing them.

"Can you read them, Harry?" Rudolphus asked considerately. "If not, we can play in teams."

"That's fine," Harry waved him off, tapping his cards with his wand, so that the smaller symbols in the corners changed into Braille, but then he scowled. "These are weird cards. With potions ingredients? How am I supposed to play with them?"

"It's called 'Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble,'(1)" Draco told him. "Wizarding children learn the basics of brewing while playing it. You have to get rid of all your cards, but you can only add ingredients that don't react badly with other ingredients. If you add a wrong ingredient the 'potion' blows up and you have to take all the cards."

"Figures that you would have a game like that, Sev," Harry grumbled. "You have a weird idea of fun."

"It's fun to win, and I never lose this game," Severus gave back with a smirk. "Not that you could relate to that, I suppose, the way you botch up your potion at least once in every lesson."

"I changed my mind," Harry stated, handing his cards to the other black-haired wizard. "I'm playing with Sev."

"What? But then why did you give me your cards?" Severus asked. "That's not how it works."

"Afraid of a challenge?" Harry teased. "Come on, Sevvie, I thought you never lose? Twice as many cards and me, that should make things a bit more interesting, don't you think so, genius?"

"I have no problem with the cards," Severus grumbled, but figured that he still owed Harry something, and that if correcting Harry's mistakes and keeping him from losing the game was to be his punishment, he really had no reason to complain. "Well, what are you waiting for, little nuisance? You will have to get over here if you want to be on my team."

Draco growled, clearly displeased at that suggestion, but eventually let Harry go. Harry just smiled brilliantly at him and teasingly kissed his cheek. He then sat down next to Severus, who not so reluctantly pressed closer to Rudolphus, and Nightmare gracefully glided down from the overhead compartment, making herself comfortable in Harry's lap.


(1) Well, I thought it was a quote by Shakespeare, but as I found out, he never really used those words together. In Macbeth he wrote: "Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble," but that's close enough, isn't it? So he gets all the credit for it...


Did you know most kids find clowns to be scary and not in the least amusing? Well, I didn't, but that's a whole other story... Reviews are always appreciate and maybe they'll keep my head from exploding from all the stuff I should have started learning months ago, maybe even years... #sigh#