Draco was blinking up at me in what I could only call amazement, and I wanted to shy away from it.

"What?"

"Can you teach me how to do that? Like… In the real world."

"Do what? Tell your father off?"

"No… Cast a Patronus."

"Oh. You can't?" He shook his head. "Ah… Well… Probably? I mean, wouldn't you rather ask a professor?"

He shook his head again.

"I've even had private tutors. Nothing seems to work."

I frowned.

"Well… Patronuses are summoned from good memories, so I… Can't say I'm surprised, but… Maybe we can make some good memories together? Ones that would be strong enough to produce a Patronus?"

Now, Draco frowned.

"What memory do you use?"

I sighed and sat back on the floor before him, crossing my legs and leaning over them on my arms.

"It's… Probably not applicable to your situation, but… It's a very, very early memory I have of my parents… Talking to me."

"About what?"

I shrugged.

"Honestly, I'm not even sure it's a real memory. If it is, I was too young to understand what they were saying. It's just them, alive, and interacting with me."

Draco cast his eyes downward.

"You must really love your parents," he said with a grimace.

"I… Guess I do. Even though I've only ever interacted with their ghosts, more or less."

"Wait, what? How…?"

"So there was this time in first year, when I was out wandering the castle in my Invisibility Cloak, and I stumbled upon the Mirror of Erised. You know what that is?" Draco nodded, listening intently. I swallowed. "Well… When I walked up to it, I saw… My mum and dad, standing behind me. Smiling at me." I was briefly lost in the memory before I continued. "And then… When V- he came back, we dueled and our spells… Connected? I still don't really understand, but Dumbledore called it priori incantatem? I saw all the people he'd killed, including my parents. The final time was in the Forbidden Forest when I was walking to my death. Dumbledore'd left me the Resurrection Stone, and I finally used it. I talked to my parents, to Sirius, to Lupin... "

Harry looked incredibly sad, but I was too curious to filter my questions. How many people could say they'd used all three Deathly Hallows?

"What did they say?" He swallowed.

"M-my parents… Said they were proud of me… And I asked if dying hurt, and… Sirius said it was like falling asleep. I guess he was just trying to encourage me, because I quickly discovered what a lie that was. Still, prophecies are no joke. Everything happened exactly as it was predicted."

"Holy shit," I commented as the train lurched forward. We were moving again. I suddenly realized the sky had lightened again, too.

"Before you ask, and I know you're going to, dying… Hurts. A lot. It's like… Being forcibly ejected from your body. And there's a brief sensation of absolutely nothing before you end up wherever you end up. That's the most terrifying part of it. For a few seconds, I just… Wasn't."

I swallowed. Harry's confession was terrifying, and his expression even more so. Even then, he shook his head and smiled up at me.

"Sorry. I knew you'd be wondering, most people do. I didn't mean to go into such detail."

"Have you ever considered writing a book?" Harry gave me a curious expression.

"No. You think I should? An exposeé on all the horrors I've witnessed?"

His phrasing was purposefully pessimistic, but I considered it seriously. The world should know the extent of his sacrifice for us. He should be appreciated more.

"I dunno, I think… It could shed light on just how lucky the rest of us are."

Harry seemed to consider this. Before he could come up with an answer, though, a knock came at our compartment door. With a groan, Harry twisted at the waist to see what I'd already perceived.

"What now?"

It was Rodolfo, of all people. I froze. Harry cast a curious glance back at him, gesturing for him to enter.

"Hey, Draco."

"Well, this is… Disturbing. Harry, Rodolfo, Rodolfo, Harry."

Harry was suddenly on his feet.

"Rodolfo…" I watched them appraise each other, and passed a hand over my eyes. Jesus, this is the last thing I wanted to happen in this dream.

"Harry… Potter?"

"The very same," Harry gave a half-hearted chuckle as the two shook hands. Rodolfo gave a disbelieving laugh.

"This is who you're fucking now?" He directed his question back at me. I rolled my eyes.

"We're not just fucking, Rodolfo."

"Oh, I see. So you've replaced me."

"I'd say he's upgraded," Harry interjected as their hands parted. "At least I don't fuck and run."

Rodolfo gave an astonished chuckle.

"This is weird. I know you're still sixteen because that's the last time I saw you, but can we… Not do this?" I begged as I forced myself to my feet.

"Oh, I'm sure your imagination can manage," he retorted and, as I watched him, he aged maybe two years. He grew slightly taller, a dark stubble shading his sharpening jaw, but the smug look on his face remained. "This is probably fairly accurate, right?" His voice had deepened, and I scowled.

"What do you want?"

"Just wanted to meet your new beaux," His eyes turned back to look Harry up and down. I scoffed.

"Please. You were never my anything."

"Is that so?" Harry glanced back at me now, and I wanted to beat my head against the wall to erase Rodolfo from my subconscious.

"It is so! Sure, we fucked a few times, but we never got to know each other or anything. The only thing we had in common was our fathers."

"A few times? Don't sell me short, now, Drag."

"Drag?" Harry obviously asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"He… Used to call me Dragon, Drag for short."

"And you used to call me…?"

I huffed and sat back in the seat of our compartment.

"I don't see why it matters, or what you're even still doing here, for that matter."

"He called me Wolf," he whispered to Harry, who followed my lead and sat back down.

"Well, Wolf, I think you should leave."

"Yes, Wolf, unless you'd like a face full of hexes. I won't hesitate to throw you out the window, either."

Rodolfo raised his hands in defeat.

"No problem. Just know I'm always here when you want me." With the same infuriating, shit-eating grin, he turned on his heel and left.

"That was weird," I commented.

"Probably just because you finally got some dick," Harry retorted with a grin. I rolled my eyes. "How long had it been?"

"I guess… A year and a few months?"

"Jesus… I guess I can't really talk, having never done anything, but that seems an awfully long dry spell."

"Yeah, well, I was in the closet I guess."

Harry suddenly barked a laugh.

"Sorry… It's just… I actually did live in a closet for the majority of my childhood. Who'd have thought?"

I laughed with him.

"That's dark," but neither of us stopped laughing for a few moments. "Not nearly as dark as my dreams usually are, though… This is very strange for me. Is it really so tame just because you're here?"

Harry shrugged as his laughter died.

"Could be. But blimey, is this a long train ride."

Just as he said that, the train began decelerating. My eyebrows shot upward.

"Guess that's all it took."

As we exited our compartment and made our way toward the door, Hogwarts came into view. The entire train was now empty except for us.

"Couldn't have brought us anywhere more creative than school, could you?"

"Look, I don't control my dreams, I just experience them."

"Yeah, yeah."