The boys might be a little OOC in this chapter. Promise it's all part of the mystery surrounding the Talisman.

Chapter 7.

"Bumblebee?" Bumblebee hummed and nodded. Harry gave the metal giant a quick once over and smiled, "I like it. Suits you." Bumblebee let out an embrassed gurgle. Harry tilted his head slightly, "Don't you think it suits him, Draco?"

Draco was still staring at Bumblebee, something was not quite right about all this. At Harry's nudge he jolted, "Yeah...Uh, Harry? A word?" Harry frowned but nodded. Once they were out of ear-shot... "Don't you think it's odd that, out of all people, it's us that find this thing."

"No...We just stumbled across him. What are you getting at?"

Draco rubbed a hand over his face. "Think about it!" He hissed. "We get paired up because we pick the same card: a bumblebee. And now we find this creature whose name happens to be Bumblebee? Coincidence? I think not."

"You think someone planned this?" A nod. "But who?"

Draco looked up at Bumblebee, "I intend to find out." With a swagger, the Slytherin stood infront of Bumblebee, his hands on his hips. "I have a few questions. And if I don't like the answers I'll send red sparks from my wand-" He pulled out his wand, waving it, Bumblebee whimpered curling into himself, "-and others will come. Understand?" He sat down on a nearby fallen tree. Bumblebee sat infront of him and waited. "Right then: Why are you here? Are you dangerous? Do you mean harm to the school and its students? Are you-"

"Malfoy! You're being a prat. Slow down!" Harry stood between wizard and robot. Bumblebee looked dazed and confused from the barrage of questions. He offered him a small smile. "Sorry 'bout that. He can be a git sometimes." Harry sat next to Malfoy, giving him a sharp look. "Do it slowly. Like this," he cleared his throat, "Bumblebee, do you mean us harm?"

Bumblebee shook his head. "I'd do anything. For you, dear, anything..."

Harry nodded, a little surprised that the robot chose that from the Muggle musical, "Alright. Good. Um... Why are you here?"

Bumblebee was quiet as he constructed an answer that didn't give too much away, "For the fate of our worlds... WORKING TOGETHER ... Mission complete, Captain."

"Working together? You mean...Us help you?" Bumblebee nodded. "How?" At this the young Transformer whined and shrugged. "It's OK, Bee. We'll think of something." Bumblebee let out a happy chirp and leaned closer, causing Harry to shuffle up to Draco. "W-what did I say?"

Draco smirked slightly, "I think it's his nick-name." The fair-haired teen, having pocketed his wand, grinned up at Bumblebee. "Isn't that right, Bee?" Bumblebee chirped again and nodded.

"Oh? That all? Thank Merlin for that." Bumblebee lowered his head with a sniff. It went unnoticed by Harry, but not Draco. Bumblebee shifted closer to look at their robes, with care he gently proded Harry's chest. He then did the same with Draco. "You want to know why they're different?" Bee nodded. "Well, I'm a Gryfindor. My House's crest is a lion because, like a lion, a Gryffindor is brave."

"Stupidly brave at times." Muttered Draco. Harry shot him a look, which he returned playfully. He looked down at his own chest feeling Bee's gentle touch. "My turn now?" Bee nodded again. "I'm a Slytherin. My House is the best, so we only take the best."

"Yeah," went Harry, " the best at being sneaky snakes. Which is why Slytherin's crest is a serpent."

"Not true!"

"Is so!"

"Not!"

"Is!"

Bumblebee watched the two human males argue childishly, rolling his blue eyes heaven-wards.

Harry huffed, noticing the mists drawing closer and getting thicker, "What-ever. Let's not do this now. We have more important things to worry about."

"Yeah. Like how to help you, Bee." Draco thought for a moment, "Does it have to be us that helps you?" A nod. "What's so special about us?" An awkward shrug. "OK... We'll figure it out."

Harry, beside him, suddenly yawned loudly. "Yeah...Don't worry, Bee. We'll figure something out, but right now..." Another yawn. "I need sleep." He slumped against Draco, messy black hair resting on his shoulder. Draco looked down at the sleeping Gryffindor, a softness in his grey eyes...that were slowly growing heavy...

With a yawn of his own Draco slouched against Harry, who was snoring softly.

Bumblebee looked at the sleeping humans, unsure what had happened. A twig snapped behind him and he rose quickly, visor down, eyes red and weapon ready. When he saw who it was he reverted back and stood down.

Dumbledore and Witwicky broke through the thicket. Both gazed at the snoozing boys with fondness. Witwicky smiled up at the young Transformer. "B-127? So you've finally made contact." Bee nodded. "Shouldn't be long now. You're not alone in this. You have us, and the boys...And there's-"

Dumbledore coughed loudly, shooting the young witch a look before clearing the mists with a wave of his hand. He quickly looked around, making sure the coast was clear before turning and heading back towards the school. "We must hurry. There's something else in these woods, and I fear it's not friendly." Bumblebee growled low in his voice box. "Take the boys, B-127. They need somewhere safe to rest. We'll walk with you, make sure you're not detected."

Bumblebee hummed, crouched, and with care, picked up Harry and Draco. Cradling them to his chest the young Scout followed the witch and the old Headmaster towards the Castle.

When Harry woke the next morning, he found his surroundings were blurred. Great, he thought, where'd they go now? Fumbling under his pillow he found his charmed specs, slipped them on and blinked. He was very surprised to find he wasn't in the Forest, or in his bed in the Tower. He was in Hagrid's Hut, in Hagrid's humongous bed...And judging by the wall of warmth behind him, he wasn't alone.

He shifted deeper into the sheets, the wall of warmth moved closer, turned and a pale hand landed on his waist above the covers. Harry's eyes widened seeing the hand and the silver serpent ring decorating one finger.

A soft puff of air against his ear made him shiver and squeeze his eyes shut. A nose nuzzled at his neck followed by a low groan. The hand by his waist flexed a couple of times before with-drawing. Harry waited a few seconds before mustering up enough courage to turn around.

He met the sleepy grey eyes of Draco, "Um...Good morning?"

Draco blinked a couple of times, he then groaned again, rolling onto his back, rubbing his face with both hands. He peeked at Harry through his fingers, "Morning."

"Don't tell me you're bashful?"

"OK."

Harry raised a brow, "OK, what?"

Draco, still peeking, smirked, "OK, I won't tell you."

Harry snorted into his arms making Draco frown. Harry's shoulders shook with his muffled chuckles. Draco watched him for a while before his stony expression crumbled and, he too, started chuckling. Rolling onto his back Harry's chuckles turned into unbridled laughter.

Laughter died down after a while leaving the two boys staring at each other. Draco shyly reached over, tracing Harry's jaw with his finger-tips. The young Gryffindor sighed softly with a gentle smile.

"You know," Harry said, "if someone had said to me that this year I would be work-buddies and then end up sharing a bed with the Prince of Slytherin, I would've thought they'd escaped St Mungos."

Draco pulled away a little, "And here I thought we were making such good head-way. I had hoped we were more than work-buddies. Friends maybe? Is sharing a bed with me so bad? We didn't hex each-other, right?"

A sleepy smile, "I'd like to think we're friends to the first. No to the second and couldn't be arsed for the third." A yawn, "What happened last night? I remember the Feast, and we had to help Dumbledore with the magical barriers surrounding the school..." He sat up with a gasp, "Bumblebee!"

"Bumblebee?" Draco was quiet and then he remembered, "So it wasn't a dream? We did meet that yellow, metal creature last night?"

Harry frowned at him folding his arms, "Yes. You were rude. You pointed your wand at him."

"I was scared! I thought he was going to attack. In case you'd forgotten, he was pointing a big gun at us!"

"Was being the word. Bumblebee is friendly, he needs our help and we...we..." He stopped, taking in their surroundings, "How did we get here?"

Draco followed his gaze, trying not to shudder at the shabby state of their current dwelling, "I don't know. All I know is that we were in the Forest talking with Bumblebee. You fell alseep and then I did a few minutes later. Now we're here."

The other boy huffed and then, without warning, crawled over Draco to gaze out of the small window by the bed. Draco stayed very still as Harry pulled back the flimsy net to reveal the first light of the new day. Harry sat back down, right on his lap. "Comfy?" Draco asked. Harry quickly gazed down between them, taking in their current position, his cheeks flushing. Draco smirked, "A blushing Gryffindor. How cute."

Harry frowned. "Not cute." A small flash in the growing sun-light caught his eye. It came from Draco's chest. Reaching forwards he took hold of the newly repaired chain around the Slytherin's neck, pulling the pendent free from his shirt. Holding said pendent he carefully took out his own and held them in his palms. "They're the same! Look!"

Draco sat up. "Well...I'll be a pixie's uncle." Taking the two halves he inspected them for himself. His had the tiny crack running up the side (thanks to the carelessness of the Weaselette.) while Harry's was mark-free. The design was the same, right down to the writting. "The symbols go all the way round the outer edge. Looks like they're spell out something. I wonder..." Nibbling his lower lip, the fair-haired teen put the two parts together...

...Nothing happened.

"Oh..." Harry looked disappointly at the pieces of metal. He took his back, slipping it under his shirt. While Draco did the same he looked at his watch, "Damn it! We better hurry. Come on!"

"Aw, Harry!" Draco whined, flopping back onto the bed, watching Harry slip out for under the over-sized sheet to hunt down his robe and shoes. (luckily they were still dressed from the night before.) "Can't we stay for a bit longer?"

Harry growled, finding Draco's jacket and throwing it at him. "No. We didn't return last night and tongues are likely to wag, if they're not already. If we leave now, we'll get there before the early morning crowd. Come on!"

Draco got up as well, taking his sweet time making sure he was well groomed and wrinkle-free. By the time he slipped on his robe Harry was bouncing by the door. "Just a moment, Potter." Harry turned, a small frown on his face. "You can't go to breakfast looking like you've gone through a hedge backwards. Here..." Harry stood in front of him. With muttered words and a wave of his wand, Draco smoothed out the creases on Harry's shirt. He then ran his hands through his hair, trying to put it in some sort of order. After ten minutes he stepped back to admire his handy-work. "Not bad. I guess you'll do."

"Um...Thanks." The raven haired teen shoved his hands into his robe pockets. A couple of seconds later he pushed a small wrapper in Draco's hand. "For you." He took another for himself and unwrapped the sweet inside.

"And this is?" He unwrapped his own brightly coloured paper. Nestled in the paper was a small sweet in the shape of a mouse. Lifting it to his nose he caught the supple hint of mint.

Harry was chewing his, "It's something Hermione got me last birthday. It's sugar-free candy, a quick fix if you're in a hurry to clean your teeth and freshen your breath."

"Ah..." Slipping the treat into his mouth he chewed for a few seconds. The outer shell gave way to the soft centre. The more he chewed, the minty centre disolved into foam and froth that coated his inner cheeks and tongue. He swallowed and his whole mouth tingled with minty freshness. "Huh...Not bad. I must get some."

Harry grinned, "You can share mine. Hermione brought me a big sack full, enough for the whole year and beyond." He made it to the door and edged it open, the area was quiet. Not a soul in sight. "OK. It's clear." He waved a hand behind him, motioning to Draco they could go. He stepped out of the door and a soft hand encased his wrist. He looked back, but before he could say anything, a familiar warmth settled in his chest. looking up, his eyes met Draco's, which had gone a light misty grey, and he smiled softly. Draco smiled in return and let himself be led out and up the path towards the Castle.

On the way Draco's hand, that had been around Harry's wrist, found it's way entwined with the Gryfindors. It didn't seem to faze either of them, in fact, they kept stealing glances at each other all the way up the main path.

They made it to the Entrance Hall with-out bumping into anyone. A win in their books. Harry, with reddened cheeks, quickly gave the Slytherin an awkward hug, muttering a quick good-bye before heading in first. Draco stood in the foyer a while longer, a slightly dazed expression on his face. The area on his chest, where his half of the pendent sat, was still buzzing with warmth from being so close to Harry. He reached for the chain around his neck to look at his half of the pendent. The runes on his half were swimming before his very eyes, changing into a word or words, becoming a close translation of what the pendent was trying to say, to point him in the right direction (as it had done from the moment it called to him, hidden in Mother's old jewellery box at the Manor.) Once the runes had stopped, he blinked at the newly formed words.

The words were: Bookworm. Find Emrys.

"Huh. Looks like I'm going to pay Granger a visit." He tucked the necklace under the collar of his shirt and headed inside.

I've decided to included Hermione as one of the chosen few. She would have found out eventually, and the boys need all the help they can get.

I might do a Quidditch match in the next chapter. I think Bumblebee would enjoy it.

Nearly time for the Christmas chapter. Time for Ginny and Harry to have The Talk.

Mistakes are mine and mine alone.

Reviews are hugs!

Until next time.

M.x