A/N Omg...I have never written a chapter so fast in my entire life. Phew. This one is a little shorter than the other ones but here it is. Sort of a filler chapter because I want to spend some more time on the next ones. I'm going to do lots of brainstorming while I'm away but no more chapters will be posted until I get back. So...two weeks? Give or take. And I can't believe I got three reviews last chapter! You guys showed up :). For some reason the anonymous reviews are being held hostage in my email but they appear eventually lol. Also, I'm trying to think of a good summary but I literally have not been able to decided on one. So if some of y'all wanna write a summary in the reviews I'll choose the best one? Okay... It think that was all. Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing it means the whole world! Until next time!

Onward

Chapter 18

Harry

For a moment neither he or Snape moved. It was a bit disturbing, to say the least, to see Draco manically run from their room. Their room? Oh dear… that was even more disturbing.

"Rat." Draco murmured from the floor. Harry knelt next to Draco.

"Rat?" he asked. Draco gasped and sat up abruptly nearly knocking heads with Harry.

"R-r-RAT!" he insisted, shaking Harry's shoulders.

"You already said that. What do you mean rat?" Harry asked, now slightly scared.

"There's a rat in that room you idiot!" Draco yelled.

"Hey rat and that rhyme." he muttered. Draco glared at him.

"Right, sorry." Both of them looked at Snape.

"Show me where it is." Snape said.

"You crazy! I'm not going back in there!" Draco scooted behind Harry. Snape glanced at Harry.

"Don't look at me! I'm not going in there either!" Snape rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath before sweeping dramatically out of the room.

"You're welcome." Draco said smugly once he was gone.

"For what?" Harry asked, getting up from the floor and sitting at the table.

"For getting you out of that conversation." he said, joining Harry.

"That was staged?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Course. I could definitely best a rat. Or just have Bagel kill it." Draco drawled.

"Wow...well thanks." he said, grinning.

"Chances are he's going to be in there a while, looking for something that doesn't exist." Draco murmured under his breath. Harry snorted.

"So, shall we…"

"Tell jokes?" Harry suggested.
"Jokes?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

Harry nodded. "You know what those are, right?"

"Of course I know what a joke is!"

"Yeah, so...we'll just try and make the other person laugh?" Harry suggested.

"Fine. You go first, I need time to think."

"Uh…" Harry thought for a moment. "Why do cows have hooves instead of feet?"

"I dunno."

"Because they lactose."

"Oh...wow." Draco swallowed. "That was funny." Harry studied him for a moment.

"You gonna laugh?"

"No, but great delivery on the joke." he said with a straight face. "Okay, my turn. What did the eye say to the other eye?"

"We're both eyes."

"Nope. Between you and me something smells."

"Right."

"It's your nose. Do you get it?" Draco asked.

"Yes. It just wasn't funny." he said plainly.

"It was hilarious! I don't know what you're talking about."

Harry burst out laughing.

"See, there! I get a point!"

"I wasn't laughing at your joke dummy."

"But you still laughed-" Draco broke off when the phone rang and Snape left the other room to go get it. They shared a look before creeping over to eavesdrop.

"...we're well, thank you. Tomorrow?"

"Who's he talking to?" Draco mouthed.

"How should I know?" Harry mouthed back.

"Yes, we'll see you then." Snape was silent for a moment before saying, "If you two are done will you come in here?" Harry's stomach dropped a little. They walked into the room where Snape was sitting by the phone.

"There was no rat in the room." Snape said first. Harry glanced at Draco to see how he would react. His face was kept blank.

"Oh? Must've been one of Harry's nasty shoes." Harry gaped at him.

"My shoes are not nasty!"

"Ms. Weasley has invited us over to the Burrow for dinner tomorrow." Snape said, stopping Harry's train of thought about shoes. A swooping sensation went through him. He was going to see Ginny? Maybe they would finally get a chance to kiss! At the thought his face began to redden, and he desperately tried to think of something else to get it to cool down. Think of something else. Come on… Shoes. Shoes. Shoes.

"You get red just thinking about her!" Draco exclaimed. Damnit. Just when his cheeks had finally started to return to a normal color.

"I do not!" he said. Thank Merlin his voice didn't crack.

"I mean no offense but right now you kind of look like a turnip with a punch of black dirt on top of you." Harry thought he heard a sound escape Snape but he turned his attention to Draco.

"No I don't."

"You two are like a thing now right?" He was not having this conversation in front of Snape.

"Was that all?" he asked Snape.

"I believe I wanted to talk to you." Snape said cooly. He'd forgotten about that.

"I'm staying." Draco said. "Right Harry?"

He nodded.

"Sit down then." Snape motioned to the other chairs in the room and Harry and Draco sat. He twisted his hands in his lap. Bagel walked lazily into the room and rubbed against Harry like a cat.

"You won't be going back to your Aunt and Uncle ever again." he told Harry, ignoring Draco.

"But Dumbledore said-"

"I'm your-"

"Oh, yeah." His chest squeezed a little. He really did not need Snape reminding him about that right now.

"And both of you will continue to go to therapy, even when you get back to school." Harry opened his mouth to protest but then thought better of it and closed it. Draco was like a gaping fish. Then he seemed to collect himself and swallowed audibly.

"That was all." he said.

"Okay…" Harry stood up, waiting for Draco to do the same. Draco took one long look at Snape before following Harry out of the room.

Hermione

"Hermione!" her mum called from downstairs. She set down her book with a thud and hurried to see what she wanted.

"Yes?" she asked.

"We just got a letter from your school. Something about the wards being ready on time." Her mother was eying her as if checking for lies. She was no good at this.

"Thecastlewasattackedandthesafetywardsneededtoberenewed." she blurted out very fast.

"Why didn't you tell us! We would have sent you to therapy sooner." Hermione stiffened.

"Pardon?"

"Therapy! You've been through a traumatic event!" she insisted.

"I'm sure it's not necessary." she said weakly.

"Oh I'm sure it is. Now, your...friends, are staying with that professor, correct?" Hermione nodded slowly.

"I sure bet he'd love to get those boys to go therapy as well." Hermione thought for a moment. Sorry Harry and Draco, but she did not want to go alone.
"Yes, definitely." she said quietly.

"Well, I'll just make a call then shall I?"

"Uh, huh."

"Perfect!" Mum gave her a hug then marched over to the telephone. Good grief.

The next day she kept an eye out for Harry and Draco as her mum drove up. She spotted them standing with Snape. Ah hah!

"Bye!" she called, flinging herself out of the car, and calling out their names. She gave them a tight hug before spotting Snape.

"What are you two doing here? Oh, hello professor." She hoped she was being convincing. She didn't want either of them to know therapy had almost certainly been her doing. Once inside she sat next to Draco, listening to people introduce themselves. She couldn't help but notice Harry looked quite pale, and a little shaky. When he introduced himself, his voice was low, almost meek. She nudged Draco.

"Has Harry been okay these past few days?" she whispered.

"Sometimes." he whispered back. Sometimes? She wanted to ask what he meant but Emma started asking them questions. Hermione took it upon herself to answer them, as both of the boys looked rather opposed to answering any of them.

While she was talking, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Harry's pale, clammy face, and his shuddering breaths. She was about done, but she knew when she stopped attention would be drawn to Harry. So she continued to ramble on. No longer realizing what she was saying. Eventually she ran out of words and was forced to stop. Emma gave her a smile before asking,

"Harry? Draco? Why don't you tell us something about yourselves."

"Er-" Draco started.

"We both have really bad nightmares." Harry said quickly, as if he was keeping Draco from saying something he didn't want to come out. No one said anything, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Because, uh, because some stuff happened to us." he said lamely. She narrowed her eyes. Something wasn't right here.

"Yeah, and Harry ha-" No one missed the not so subtle kick Harry gave Draco. After an uneasy conversation with Draco and Harry after therapy, she thought that Harry might be hiding something. Granted, anyone who was in there could've figured it out, but she was his best friend! She should know what was going on with him. Harry probably wouldn't tell her. But who would he tell?

Ginny

Harry was coming for dinner! And Snape. And Draco. But they didn't matter. What was she going to wear? For the thousandth time she wished for an older sister she could ask about this sort of stuff. She certainly was not about to ask any of her brothers. Ginny was in nothing other than some jeans and a bra, hanging upside down over her bed. Maybe being in this position would cause some fashion sense to flow into her mind. She closed her eyes, willing images of clothes to come into her brain.

"Ginny! What on earth are you doing!" Her eyes flew open to find her mother right in front of her.

"Mum!" She sat up hastily. Her mum crossed her arms, waiting for an answer.

"Er- I was just doing some thinking." She tugged a t- shirt over her head.

"In just your bra." Her mother said flatly.

"Uh huh. I was trying to think of clothes."

"Clothes?" Mum raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. What to wear...tonight."

"Ah." Mum sat next to her on the bed. "Ginny, you don't need to impress a guy with the clothes you wear. He should like you for your heart." Mum and Ron sounded exactly the same, bloody hell. Since when could her brother give mum-like speeches? Pansy really had changed him.

"Your right." she sighed. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"I always am."

"Mum." Ginny groaned.

"If you're all done, why don't you go wash the dishes." Mum suggested.

"Okay, fine." she sighed, swinging off the bed. Downstairs she studied the clock. It was 4:32...Just under two hours. If she kept busy it would go by fast, good idea. Just keep busy. She immersed herself in washing the dishes and cleaning her room, a rather rare occurrence to be perfectly honest. As she was finishing shoving her dirty laundry under her bed she heard voices outside her window. She hurried over and saw the forms of Harry, Snape, and Draco. Bloody hell, she was still in this old t-shirt. Fumbling around in her dresser she fished out what looked like a clean enough tank top, then hurried to her bed to grab a flannel she had just stuffed underneath. She heard her mum open the door downstairs and cursing under her breath checked herself in the mirror. Her hair. Oh sweet Merlin her hair. It was up in the messiest ponytail in the history of the universe. She grabbed her brush and wildly tore it down to attempt to brush it out.

"Ginny! Ron!" her mum called.

"Be right there!" She tugged the brush through her hair too fast and a chunk of hair flew out. A squeak escaped her and she gave up. Messily braiding her hair to the side she flew downstairs to find Harry, Draco, and professor Snape all awkwardly standing there.

Harry

Ginny ran down the stairs and stopped right in front of him.

"Hey." she said, grinning.

"Hi." he smiled back. He heard Draco mutter something under his breath, but ignored him.

"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley yelled again.

"He's in the shed." Ginny said.

"What on earth is he doing in there?!" Mrs. Weasley demanded. "You know what, nevermind. Harry dear, will you get him?"

He nodded and started outside when Ginny said,

"I'll go with him."

"Alright." Mrs. Weasley waved a hand dismissively. They hurried outside, with huge grins.

"So." she said, moving a little closer to him.

"Hey Harry!" It was Ron, coming out of the shed. He loved his best mate, he really did. But right now he would give anything for Ron to be somewhere else.

"Hey." Ron gave him a high five and studied the pair of them, both standing very close together. Harry stepped back self consciously.

"Let's go eat, I'm starving." Ginny glared at Ron's back as they went back inside.

"There you are. Arthur will be home soon." she told Snape, who nodded in return. They sat at the table and Mrs. Weasley asked how they were doing, Snape answered all the questions. Harry wasn't able to focus on the conversation. Ginny smelled really good. Like some sort of flower. Mr. Weasley came home soon after and the adults all talked.

"You kids can go upstairs." Mrs. Weasley said when she noticed how stiff all of them looked.

"Thanks mum." Ginny said, jumping to her feet. Harry followed Ginny upstairs, where they sat on the steps. To his annoyance Ron and Draco sat right below them, Ginny huffed.

"They're doing it on purpose." she hissed to him. "They don't want us to be alone together."

"Why? I can understand Ron...but why Draco?"

"I dunno." she said slowly, eyeing the pair of them. "I would take you to my room but mum would kill me."
"Can't have that." he murmured.

"Nah, I have an idea." she said, brightening.

"What is it?"

"Let's go downstairs, to the bathroom, we won't even pass the kitchen. We'll just tell Ron and Draco we're going to get some water." she spoke very lowly, keeping her gaze on them the whole time. They'd been reduced to the bathroom...again. Oh well. Better than nothing.

"Let's do it."

"Fancy a glass of water Harry?" she asked, sounding completely normal. She should give Hermione lessons, he thought, remembering the milk river.

"Sure." he said, doing his best to keep his voice casual. They both got up and stepped around Ron and Draco who continued to talk like nothing was happening. If Harry didn't know any better he would think they were talking about Hermione, but he was much too preoccupied at the moment to care. They tiptoed down the stairs and made their way over to the bathroom. Ginny intertwined their fingers and opened the door with her back to it, facing Harry. She tugged him in, not noticing the figure standing at the sink, washing their hands. Shit. Shit. It was Snape. Ginny bumped into him and screamed one of the most terrifying screams he had ever heard. He yanked her out and quickly closed the door. His heart was beating wildly in his chest.

"Ginny! Are you alright?" Mr. Weasley called.

"Yes dad! It was just a bug, Harry killed it." she called.

"Oh, okay. Professor Snape is in the bathroom." he yelled back.

"No kidding." she said under her breath. "Oh my God." She put her hands on her knees.

"I can't go back to potions. Ever." His face was on fire, thank goodness Snape was still in the bathroom.

"Let's go, uh, back upstairs?" He nodded.

"Yeah er, that's probably the best thing." Together they walked back to their spot on the stairs. Draco and Ron were shaking with laughter.

"Snape was in the bathroom wasn't he." Draco wheezed. Ron wiped tears from his eyes, grinning like a maniac.

"Shut it." Ginny muttered, leaning against Harry. He felt like he had just run a marathon. They sat there for over an hour, Ginny's head on his shoulder and their hands interlocked. He fell asleep like that, feeling safer than he had all year.

Draco

Okay. So maybe Harry and the Weasley girl were sort of, only a little bit, cute together. Both of them were asleep, leaning against each other. Snape had told them it was time to go and he supposed it was his job to wake them up.
"Harry. Harry wake up. We're leaving. Harry." He shook his shoulder.

"Mmm?" Harry raised his head sleepily.

"Time to go."

"Oh...hang on a sec. Ginny." He moved her head off of his shoulder gently.

"I have to go."

"Huh?" She was drooling, Draco wrinkled his nose. Harry wiped it away with his sleeve.

"I have to go." he repeated.

"Already? Ugh, we fell asleep. And we never got to be alone together!"

"It's okay. We'll have plenty of time back at school."

"Right. I'll walk you out." She stood up sleepily, stretching like a cat. He put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently before letting go. He walked with Ron behind the two of them.

"I guess, we can trust them with each other." Ron said softly.

"I suppose." He thanked the Weasley's and walked out with Snape and Harry. Never in his whole life had he imagined that he would willingly have dinner with the Weasleys. And never would he have believed he would thank them for it. Harry was still half asleep, blinking every few seconds as if that would wake him up. He clearly did not remember walking in on Snape in the bathroom.

"Night." he muttered once they disapparated back into the flat. He scooped up Bagel and went into their room.

"Tea, Draco?" Snape asked. He hesitated a moment before nodding and sitting at the table. Snape put the kettle on and sat down too.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked cautiously. Snape waved a hand. He took that as a yes.

"Why are you trying to, actually be, Harry's-er dad? I mean no offense but he seems to be fine with not acknowledging it." Draco tapped his fingers on the table waiting for an answer.

"I owe it to Lily. And him as well." Snape said softly, then stood up to turn off the wailing kettle and pour them some tea.

"His mum?" Draco asked, accepting the cup of tea.

"Yes." They were both silent for a moment.

"He's not who you think. I mean you're probably starting to realize that already, but you don't know him. I'm only just starting to, and he's so angry at you, the whole world, and something else… I dunno." he finished, and took a sip of his tea.

"His upbringing." Snape said, gripping his cup a little harder.

"That too." Draco ran a hand through his hair, thinking of the boy in the next room.

A/N I just had to say goodbye one last time *sigh* Two weeks is so long I know! But if some of you guys could help me out with the summary that would be great, thank you! :)