Harry had practiced very hard the remaining days they had left before returning to the Weasley's. Severus was happy to stay out on the pitch with him and continue dueling for as long as Harry wished. The boy worked tirelessly, determined that he would beat Severus at some point, who still remained undefeated. Severus did his best to help Harry recognize common strategies, but at this point, it was just a matter of experience.
While Harry and Severus dueled, the other four students flitted in and out of pitch, largely left to their own devices. Harry thought he'd heard someone say something about a meeting with the Headmaster, but no one had said anymore about it.
Putting it from his mind, he asked Severus to put him through some drills to help with his agility and instinct. Severus, deciding it couldn't hurt, bewitched a dummy to shoot stinging hexes which Harry would have to either dodge or block while blindfolded. Harry grimaced as he took a couple hexes to the knees.
"Try to feel the air around you; feel and listen for the magic," Severus suggested. Harry focused, feeling more than ever like Luke Skywalker as he successfully blocked a couple more hexes. He grinned, then hissed as a third grazed his bicep. "Focus, Potter," came the reprimand. Harry refocused his attention, blocking a quick volley of spells before Severus called a halt. The older wizard had to admit he was impressed, though he would never say it out loud. He gave the young man a slight nod.
"Better. Be sure to focus from the beginning, or it won't just be a sting- you could find yourself in critical condition. Do not forget that," Severus warned. Harry nodded.
"Can we try dueling again? Maybe that drill will have helped," he suggested. Severus nodded, noting the boy's drive to perfect this aspect of magic. He took his stance, surprised when Harry shut his eyes. Assuming this was intentional, he attacked, sending a quick volley of silently-cast charms and jinxes at the young wizard. He was surprised when Harry blocked them all skillfully without use of his wards, jumping to the side before conjuring a mass of leaves and transfiguring them into stones. Severus only just barely had time to get out of the way, but was hit by a freezing spell which rooted him to the spot.
Breaking free of the ice, Severus attacked again, but to no avail as Harry quickly dodged, sending a volley of arrows toward the potions master. Severus slashed his wand, dropping the arrows to the ground before sending them back toward the boy as a mass of angry wasps. Harry vanished them, sending a tornado towards his mentor, who propelled himself away like he was wearing a jet pack. The cyclone missed him completely, but Harry was ready. Using a simple disarming charm, Severus's wand flew out of his hand while Severus himself was thrown back halfway across the stadium onto his back, effectively ending the duel.
"Uncle Severus! Are you alright?" Harry shouted, hurrying over as the man carefully picked himself up off the ground and brushed himself down.
"Perfectly adequate, thank you Harry," he said stiffly, embarrassed by the boy's concern. "Congratulations on your victory. I believe we should leave it there for today. Go and pack your things for your trip tomorrow." And with that, the potions master strode away, leaving Harry staring after him.
While Harry was preoccupied with his dueling, Albus took the opportunity to call the other students to his office. Ginny, Hermione, Draco, and Neville sat obediently in the chairs the Headmaster had conjured for them across the desk from him, wondering what Dumbledore could possibly want them for. The old man paced the floor behind his desk while the young wizards watched with some trepidation.
"I suppose there is no easy way to say this," Albus began. "Harry is in great need of your help." Ginny quickly leapt to her feet, though Draco had a feeling he knew where this conversation was going. "Please sit down, Miss Weasley," Albus bid her. "He is in no immediate danger." Ginny sheepishly retook her seat. "As I was saying, Harry is a child of prophecy- meaning, a real prophecy was made concerning him and his eventual defeat of Lord Voldemort." The young students flinched at the name.
"Professor, isn't there a taboo on the name?" Neville asked. "We mustn't-"
"Hogwarts' wards protect us from that, Neville," Hermione reminded him. "Hogwarts is Unplottable, after all."
"Quite right, Miss Granger," Albus said. "Back to the point. Harry, to further complicate things, currently plays host to a fragment of Voldemort's soul via his remarkable scar, though he does not know it. While he does so, Voldemort can not be killed." The young people in the room looked slightly ill at the thought, but none moreso than Ginny, who was steadily turning green. Dumbledore calmly pulled a couple small vials of potion out of a drawer in his desk, handing them to the redhead.
"Calming potion and stomach-settling potion," he said as the girl took them gratefully. "I assume you see the similarities between this and the diary from your first year, Miss Weasley," he commented. Ginny nodded shakily. "The diary was, in fact, another of Lord Voldemort's soul fragments. Its sole function was to keep Voldemort alive." Ginny's face turned white as a sheet, and Hermione, who was seated next to her, laid a hand on her arm to steady her.
"Breathe, Ginny," Hermione commanded quietly. The redhead gasped in a breath, then another. Neville looked on in concern, and Draco, who was attempting to look indifferent, was also shooting her looks from the corner of his eye. Dumbledore gave everyone a moment, then continued his speech.
"The soul fragment is a very old, very dark piece of magic which I will, for security reasons, not name. However, the idea is that the wizard splits their soul through an act of supreme evil and encases it in an object which is then protected with extensive dark magic. The only way to destroy one is to break it beyond magical repair," he explained grimly. The students, who understood where Dumbledore was going with this, paled.
"No," Ginny whispered, sounding heartbroken; Hermione clapped a hand to her mouth in shock. Neville stared sadly down at his lap; and Draco's face became, if possible even more blank than before, the only clue to his true feelings a muscle ticking in the boy's jaw.
"We can't let this happen," Draco interjected suddenly. "There has to be a solution."
Albus smiled slightly. "I had hoped you would say that, Mister Malfoy. I had asked you all here because I thought perhaps having all of you thinking on ideas would help. Severus and I have been working on it; Severus in particular has been working tirelessly."
"When he was researching that one day in the library when Harry and I offered to help…the cursed object…was Harry himself?" Draco asked, putting this together. Dumbledore nodded.
"Unfortunately we have not had any luck on the matter. I did not destroy the diary, but held onto it. Once I heard your tale in first year, Miss Weasley, I had my suspicions that Harry might have a soul fragment as well. I checked once he arrived here, and the results are undeniable. The solutions Severus and I have found have not cleansed the diary. We know that fiendfyre should destroy it, and basilisk venom, but other than those two sources, we have not found anything else.
"Harry, of course, has no idea about any of this. There is no evidence that the soul fragment effects him negatively, and if it does, it must be so minimally that he has not realized it. However, if he were informed, we have no way of knowing what that would do to him emotionally, as well as whether or not Voldemort would try to possess his body. It could put him in serious danger; this kind of magic often has built-in defenses that attempt to destroy any danger posed to it. As such, I would ask that, until we have a solution, you would please continue to keep this information to yourselves. Besides, Harry has a lot on his plate with the prophecy, his magic, and catching up in his studies."
Draco's face hardened further. "With all due respect, Headmaster, Harry is likely the best person to help us find a solution. He is more skilled in magic than us all put together. He has none of the limitations that growing up with magic puts on us, being able to just…create spells by thinking about it."
Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm afraid I must insist on this, Mister Malfoy. Now, I suggest all of you get back to your dormitories. You likely have packing to do."
Recognizing their dismissal, the four students got slowly to their feet, Dray shooting a sharp look at the Headmaster on his way out.
"I hope you know what you're doing, sir."
Harry bounced excitedly- only inwardly, of course- as he floated his trunk- one the house elves had found somewhere, he assumed- in front him as he followed his friends up to Dumbledore's office to travel to the Weasley's. He noted Draco walking stiffly; he knew the blond was nervous, having not been sure he would truly be welcomed. Harry was not worried. The Weasleys were reasonable people; he was sure they would understand that Draco was not his father.
However, he knew very little about Neville's grandmother, whose house they would be visiting later that week. From what he'd heard, the old woman was formidable and strict, leaving him wondering if any of them would be able to measure up to her expectations. He shrugged this off, happy to put off thinking about it until it was imminent. He refused to let anything bring down his good mood.
He had noticed, though, that all of his friends seemed a little off, not just Draco. All of them were unusually quiet during breakfast; they probably thought he wasn't paying attention as he was, as usual, buried in a book. But not much got by him. He had chosen not to comment since they had little time to eat breakfast. If it persisted, he decided, he would ask.
Severus met the teens in the Headmaster's office, standing stoically as they prepared to step through the Floo. The potions master nodded to Hermione and Neville, turning first to Draco, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Remember…"
"Be calm and civil, I know Uncle Severus," Dray replied, nodding. Severus nodded back.
"If you need me, Patronus message or come back to the castle. Otherwise, I will collect you and Harry from the Longbottom's on the 31st," the older man said, shooting a stern glance at the green-eyed boy. "Harry…"
"Keep up with my training or you will bring me back early. Yes sir, Uncle Severus," Harry answered, giving a mocking little bow. Severus scowled, but Harry could see a glint of amusement in his obsidian eyes. "I'll get the others to help me with Jedi drills, too." Severus raised an eyebrow, while Hermione laughed. The other students just shook their heads, by now having heard all about Jedis and the Force, but still not really understanding.
"I believe it is time to be going," Dumbledore spoke up, gesturing toward the clock on his desk. Hermione and Neville took their handfuls of Floo powder and stepped into the fireplace, one after the other. While Draco and Harry got ready to depart, Severus caught Ginny.
"You, being closest to Harry, will likely have the most temptation to tell him about the soul fragment. Make sure you make the right choice," he cautioned in an undertone, his gaze sharp. Ginny nodded more confidently than she felt. She, like Draco, partially felt it a mistake to keep this from Harry. She could not help but notice Severus had not specifically warned her to keep it to herself. She smirked inwardly at his Slytherin tendency.
"I will, Professor," she assured him. "I only want what's best for Harry." Then she floated her trunk forward into the grate and vanished in a flash of green flames.
Draco could never remember any experiences he'd ever had that were similar to his time in the Weasley household. From the state of the house to the warmth of the Weasley parents to the delicious food to the casualness of the interactions between the inhabitants of the Burrow (a name he snickered at inwardly, though he'd had the sense to not make any smart-mouth comments about breeding like rabbits), he was thoroughly surprised.
The only thing that did not surprise him was Ronald's continued dislike of him, though the red-haired wizard made a point to keep his glares and stupid remarks to himself within sight and earshot of his mother. This also caused Draco to snicker at the idea that the boy feared his mother that much at his age; he was almost of age now, for goodness sake! However, he had to admit that his own mother had been just as formidable.
He'd relished in mostly being able to do whatever he wanted as the Weasley's did not seem to have a strict schedule for lessons in their household. As long as the children did their chores and their homework, they could essentially choose their activities after that. Currently, he was relaxing in the room he was sharing with Neville and Harry, skimming through books as he idly hoped he'd come across an idea of how to save Harry from the Dark Lord's soul fragment without hurting him. It was then that Harry himself bounded into the room.
"Come on, brother! We're going to Diagon Alley!" he said happily. Draco raised an eyebrow at him, both for the moniker and for his little speech. It seemed Harry had adopted him.
"How exactly are we going to do that?" He asked. "There are probably a lot of people we don't want catching a glimpse of us out in the open like that." Harry waved him off unconcernedly.
"Mrs. Weasley is going to disguise us. Glamours. If it comes to it, I can always make the wards cover you, too. We'll be fine. Uncle Severus even gave us permission. We need to go get our school supplies, remember?"
Draco had to admit this was true. He needed to replace his broomstick- he grinned at the thought of being able to get rid of the old one he'd been practicing with at the school. Not to mention he was in need of school books, parchment, and potions ingredients. He sighed.
"Alright," he said, getting slowly to his feet to follow the raven-haired boy back down to the kitchen.
Soon Harry and Draco were both disguised as brunettes, Harry with brown eyes and Draco with blue. Hermione changed Harry's glasses to ones with thick rectangular frames. If anyone asked, they were Hermione's American penpals, brothers, James and Matthew, who'd come to visit for a week. Both boys rolled their eyes at this; there was no way they could pull off an American accent if someone asked after them, but they decided it was better to just go along with it. Maybe they could pretend to be practicing a British accent or something…
The Weasley parents, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, 'James,' and 'Matthew' quickly made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. Draco wouldn't admit it, but it was nice to get out after spending the entire summer at Hogwarts. He hadn't even been permitted to go down to the village since his mother had died…not that he'd really wanted to. But being cooped up in the castle for the whole break…it was heartening to have a change of scenery at least.
Draco kept an eye on Harry as they made their way through the street checking out all shops. The other boy was staring around with barely disguised fascination. Apparently Severus had not allowed sight-seeing during their last visit.
Soon the group was laden with purchases. Harry, while he hadn't needed to buy spellbooks (he was borrowing the ones from the school as he was going through the standard spells much more quickly than normal) bought several more books on various topics. Hermione, too, had chosen a number of books. Harry also purchased rolls of parchment, quills ("I'll just transfigure a bunch more pens from these," he'd explained when Ginny reminded him he needed ink too), school robes of his own, an owl-a great gray male he named Paracelsus in honor of their temporary house- and a Nimbus 2001 broomstick.
Draco had tried to convince him he needed a Firebolt, but Harry, who wasn't certain he had the skill or the time to make the house team, had chosen a less-expensive, less professional option. Draco, himself, had sprung for a Firebolt, his silver eyes gleaming as he examined the high-quality broomstick. He could see Hermione rolling her eyes at him, but he shrugged it off. Hermione just didn't understand about Quidditch.
They had just decided to stop for ice cream on their way back when they heard a voice call from behind.
"Ginny! Ron!"
Turning, they saw a tall black-haired, dark-skinned boy heading toward them. Draco's eyes narrowed. This could get messy, he thought, glancing at Harry as the newcomer clapped Ronald on the back in a manly hug. Then, he turned to the petite witch as he attempted to scoop her up in a hug. Dray could see Harry's body go tense.
"Dean," he could hear Ginny say as she stepped back from him, ducking his hug easily, as Harry had with Sirius just a couple weeks previously. Draco smirked as Dean's face drooped. Evidently dueling these past few weeks had been good to her. "What a surprise," she continued coolly. Obviously she was less than impressed at his attempts at physical affection.
"Ron said you would be here today," Dean explained, attempting to take her hand. "I really wanted to see you, babe." Ginny's face betrayed her discomfort, and Draco had to set a hand on Harry's shoulder, who was beginning to radiate magic.
"Steady," Draco muttered in his best friend's ear. "Not the time to act like a Gryffindor. Your girl can take care of herself." Harry didn't take his eyes off the redheaded girl and her ex, but nodded, indicating he had heard. Draco noticed the other boy attempting to relax, taking a few breaths, and the magic receded slightly. Dray refocused just in time to see Ginny pulling her hand out of her ex-boyfriend's grip.
"Well, it was nice to see you, Dean, but we must be going. We're just going to get ice cream and-"
"Great! I'll come too," the boy invited himself along. Draco could nearly hear Ginny mentally slapping her forehead in exasperation, but she had no choice but to go along with it when her mother agreed enthusiastically. Draco watched as Dean chattered to Ginny happily as though no break-up had happened; the redheaded girl looked resigned. It was then he caught Ronald watching the pair too. The boy glanced at Harry, looking very pleased with himself. Draco sneered. That ridiculous prat.
"He set this whole thing up," Harry muttered to Draco angrily.
"Firebug doesn't want him," Dray said bluntly. "Any fool can see that. Don't worry about that idiot. He's not worth the energy."
Harry smirked. "Which one?"
"Both," Draco replied with a straight face. "Come on, I want ice cream." The two boys wandered through the group asking for flavor preferences (Draco taking care to "accidentally" tread on Ron's foot on his way past, which very nearly got him a punch to the gut) and wandering up to the shop with Ginny (who jumped at the chance to get away from Dean by pretending to go help bring the ice cream back to the table while her mother engaged him in conversation), Hermione, and Neville.
They were just finishing ordering when suddenly Draco began to feel cold. Hermione next to him shivered.
"That's odd weather for summer," Harry remarked, gazing around at the sky, which was becoming steadily darker in the middle of the day. Draco froze, a feeling of dread overtaking him.
"It's not the weather," he said stiffly. "Wands out, now!" The others didn't need telling twice.
"What's going on, Dray?" Harry asked. "You see something?"
"Dementors," he said shortly, pointing off down the street where a number of black hooded shapes was gliding slowly. People were screaming and running in all directions, desperate to escape.
"Come on, we have to help!" Ginny said, taking off toward the action before anyone could stop her. Harry didn't stop to think as he ran after her. Draco kept his friend in sight, eyes widening when he saw Harry double over, clutching his head. His own mind was racing.
A flash of fear, a woman with wild curly hair cornering him in his room at the manor, wand pointed at his forehead…
"Patronus, Harry!" He cried. "Expecto Patronum!" His silver eagle owl burst into being, flying swiftly toward the source of the darkness, driving it away from his best friend. The terrible memories receded somewhat. Neville's grizzly and Hermione's otter joined the owl, pushing the dementors back. Dray hurried forward, helping Harry to his feet. "Alright?" he asked shortly. The bespectacled boy nodded shakily.
"I think so. Thanks, brother." They looked around, catching sight of Ginny's flash of red hair. She was sending spells at the dementors, but none were having any effect. She was quickly fading…
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry bellowed, and a huge wolf sprang from his wand. Draco's eyes widened. It was much bigger than it had been before. Maybe it was a product of Harry's distress, or maybe the fact that he was using his wand this time? Whatever it was, Draco didn't have time to think about it now as he urged his owl forward. The wolf nearly devoured the dementors, creating a glowing shield between Ginny and the monsters.
Ginny, it seemed, had enough wit about her then to cast her silver mare. The five silver animals were joined by a weasel, which, it turned out, belonged to Ginny's father.
"You kids get out of here," the red-haired wizard said, gesturing back toward the Leaky Cauldron. "The Aurors will be here any minute. We'll take care of this. I just need to find Ginny…"
"I'll get her," Harry said quickly, darting forward under cover of his wolf patronus to pick up the red-haired girl, whose own patronus had winked out of existence when she had passed out. He carefully carried her back to her mother, who was waiting worriedly.
"Ginny! Is…is she…?"
"I think she's ok," Harry said. "Let's get her checked out when we get back to the house." The five teens plus Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Dean, who had been at the alley on his own, made their way quickly back through the Floo. Pretty soon, the lot of them were sitting at the Weasley's kitchen table being fed chocolate frogs by Mrs. Weasley, minus Ginny, who was laying on the sofa, now awake and nibbling on her chocolate, and Harry himself, who refused to leave her side. Harry, for his part, had a hard time keeping his astonishment hidden from Dean as the frog attempted to make a break for it as soon as he opened the box. Dean, unfortunately, seemed to have put the pieces together despite the remaining glamours as he watched Harry tend to Ginny.
"That's Harry Potter, isn't it?" he asked Ronald, scowling. Draco rolled his eyes. Ronald evidently had a bigger mouth than he'd thought. Maybe he could punch the redhead Gryffindor and make it look like an accident…He froze slightly when he realized the dark-skinned Gryffindor's eyes were on him. "And that makes you Malfoy," he added, looking at Draco with great distaste. Draco's Slytherin mask slid into place. He took it back- he was going to kill Weasley.
"Congrats, Thomas," he drawled sarcastically. "You solved the mystery." He received an elbow to the ribs from Hermione, who was shooting him a reproachful look. Dean, however, went on the defensive, wand out. Draco rolled his eyes again. Luckily, Mrs. Weasley cut in, waving her wand to let the glamours drop. Harry and Draco stood in their normal forms in the Weasley's kitchen. Perhaps the woman could sense the tension in the room because she quickly moved to defuse the situation.
"Ron, take Dean up to your room for a bit," she all but ordered. "I'm sure you'll be wanting to catch up." Ronald was about to argue but a look from his mother silenced him.
"Come on," he grumbled, and Dean reluctantly followed him from the room.
Just after Ronald and Dean had made their exit, Mr. Weasley came in from the yard where he'd just apparated in.
"The dementors are gone," he said, forgoing the greetings for news, though he took a moment to pull his wife into a hug, who was looking thankful to have him back safely. "Accounts say there were somewhere around ten to twenty of them." He sighed. "We drove them off, but three people were kissed. They've been taken to St. Mungo's." The teens in the room solemnly processed this. They had been extremely lucky, it seemed.
Draco excused himself, making his way outside and sitting on the lawn looking out over the pond. He couldn't help but remember what he'd been thinking of when the dementors attacked. A mad cackle; a wand pointed at his head…
"Dray?" a voice called. After a moment, Hermione came to sit beside him, studying his brooding aura and blank expression. "Everything ok?" He shrugged, saying nothing. She raised an eyebrow, looking like she desperately wanted to ask. However, she thankfully decided to let it lie. She slowly got to her feet, probably assuming he didn't want her there from his lack of response.
"Wait," he said softly. She stopped, turning back to him questioningly. "Stay?" he asked. He would never beg- it wasn't who he was- but he desperately wanted to. He didn't want to be alone with his thoughts right now. She obligingly came back over to sit next to him, studying him again.
"I'll…I'll listen. If- if you want," she offered shyly. He stared at her. She hadn't demanded he tell her anything, but yet had made him aware that she cared about him enough to ask, to accept his decision, to sit with him whether or not he told her anything. After a moment, he let out the breath he'd been holding, and began to slowly tell his tale.