Sitting at a table outside Florian and Fortescue's, Harry could see his boyfriend's eyes trained on the figure of Remus Lupin, who was sitting at another table, just out of earshot.
"Are you sure he's not listening," Draco said, still staring at Remus.
"Yes Draco, Merlin, trust me, okay."
"Fine," Draco sighed. He turned to look at Harry, his expression softening the second their eyes met. "How have you been?"
"Not great, honestly. I feel like such a danger to everyone. What if I attack someone else?"
"You won't, you didn't even attack Weasley's father."
"No, I know I will, I overheard something the other day. Voldemort's controlling me, Dumbledore knows it." Harry was getting frantic as he tried to convey to his boyfriend the seriousness of the situation.
"Well, he's wrong."
"Draco, you don't understand…"
"No, you don't understand, Harry. I owled you for a reason. I know more than you think." Draco took his boyfriend's hand across the table, squeezing it gently. He then took a deep breath. "I'm sure you are aware of my father's connections with the dark lord." Harry nodded.
"I don't think of you any differently because of it."
Draco smiled. "I didn't think so. Because of these connections, he knows some things that might explain what happened the other night. He also struggles to keep this information secret from his son." Draco paused, looked down at his and Harry's joint hands before continuing. "Especially if he is trying to convince said son to join the cause."
"What?! He wants you to join!" Harry exclaimed, a little too loudly for Draco's comfort.
"Shh, of course he does, Harry, what did you except."
"You're fifteen. There is no way he thinks you joining the death eaters is wise."
"Even if he didn't, he doesn't have much of a choice, and neither do I. My father made the mistake of joining ranks with the dark lord, putting his entire family in a position where they have to decide between joining the death eaters, or death. I want you to understand that, if unless you defeat him, the Dark Lord will force me to join him."
Harry gasped, struggling to come to terms with what his boyfriend had just said.
"I'll make sure you won't have too, I promise."
Draco laughed bitterly. "I wish it were that simple. However unfortunate my situation might be, it has put me in a position where I have access to some information that will be critical to your defeat of the dark lord. Harry, I want to make this very clear. You did not attack Mr Weasley that night, nor are you at any risk of the Dark Lord possessing you."
"Then… then how come I saw what happened, how come I was the snake that attacked Mr Weasley."
"No one is sure, not even the dark lord himself, however what we know is that there is some connection between you and him."
"Yes, like our wands!" Draco looked at Harry in visible confusion. "Last year in the graveyard, our wands refused to fight against each other. They both have a core of phoenix feather from the same bird, meaning they can't duel." The look of confusion didn't leave Draco's face.
"Hmm, that's interesting, I wonder if that could explain the connection between your minds."
"Our minds?" Harry asked.
"Somehow, you and the dark lord's minds are connected, and his is connected to his snake. This means, when the snake attacked Mr Weasley, you saw it all, from the snake's point of view."
Harry nodded, though he didn't quite understand.
"I know it doesn't make much sense, Harry, but it's the truth." Harry let out a deep breath.
"So, so I didn't hurt Mr Weasley?" Draco shook his head.
It felt as if someone had lifted a weight from Harry's shoulders and he smiled wide, before dropping his head onto the table in relief.
Draco laughed softly. "I know you are very relieved, but this connection is very dangerous. If you can see into the dark lord's mind, it means he will also be able to see into yours." Harry froze. Voldemort seeing into his mind was bad. He knew the location of the order, and many secrets into what they were doing.
"Another threat this poses," Draco continued. "Is that if the dark lord were to learn more about this connection, something he is clearly trying to do, he could be able to send you fake visions to lure you into a trap. I urge you, Harry, if you have another vision, please remember that there is a strong possibility that it is fake."
Harry nodded. "Is there any way for me to not be able to see into Voldemort's mind?"
"Yes," Draco said. "This was the key thing I wanted to tell you. Occlumency is the skill of protecting your mind from outside penetration, and it is vital that you master it. When you get back to wherever you are staying, tell Hermione about it, I'm sure she will access a myriad of books on the subject, and when we return to school, I'll help you learn it."
Harry smiled at his boyfriend. "Thank you. You are amazing, you know that right."
Draco laughed. "I think I knew that, yeah. Well, I probably should get going, don't want to be out too long. I'm glad you're okay. It would be best if we didn't send anymore owls to each other. I'll see you when we get back to school, alright." With that, Draco stood up, and Remus, who had been watching them, did too. Looking at the man piercingly, who quickly averted his eyes, Draco kissed Harry deeply.
"I'll see you at school, babe."
Harry nodded. "See you then. Love you."
"I love you too." And with that, Draco strode off into the crowds of people in Diagon Alley.