Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.
Notes: The last chapter I tried to self-beta it, it didn't work out that well, obviously. LOL, thanks to everyone who reviewed, I appreciate when people take time to click the little "Review" button and write some comments.
Answers to Questions and Comments: Yes, there is a plot to this. I have written everything out on paper. I am basing how Harry acts on my nephew's and nieces. I have (currently) two four-year-old nephews, one 1 year old, one 9 months old, one ten year old and others. I have lived through my ten year old nephew's life since he was five – and I still don't know how I survived. Someone asked about Harry's glasses – As far as I see it, Harry still needs them and that will come up in the upcoming chapters. Someone was sort of concerned if it was a bit of incest-related. I was thinking about this also, but I hope the way I will progress the story it will make more sense that it really isn't… incestuous. The CIRCE painting comes later in the plot as well does the snitch… opps! Shut up Dorothy! :: shuts up ::. I put angst as one of the genres earlier, but I can see how it won't be it as of this chapter, but later there should be some angst. This WILL be a Harry and Draco pairing. SLASH. MALE ON MALE. (To those of you who think it won't, just to clarify).
Chapter Five: Harry turns Six.
Draco looked around his surroundings, his robes fluttering madly behind him in the raging and howling wind that made him cover his ears because of the sound. It was strange, for he felt like he was inside and not outside, but the force of the sudden wind was strong and angry as he struggled on his spot to stay upright. He heard several muffled voices before his ears almost popped with an ear-splitting scream.
"Harry!" a frightened and terrified high voice screamed as he looked around the now misty room. Draco's body reeled in every direction, struggling to see who had screamed, struggling to stand erect and not to fall and struggling to find Harry, his instincts telling him that something was wrong. Something was terribly and horribly wrong.
He heard a small high-pitched scream that could have only came from a child in pain or in agony or probably being scared out of its wits. He started looking around hastily, trying to find out where the hell those screams were coming from. He looked left and right, the windows he caught sight off were broken and had sharp edges that gleamed madly in the suspicious light.
The wind was howling in the small-enclosed room he was in and he was desperately waving his arms about trying to feel something before him since a fog had started. Whiffing away some of the smoke, haze and mist, his eyes caught hold of something red. He was staring at a girl. A red haired girl with a head girl badge, her face distraught and twisted up horribly. Her eyes… they were green.
"Harry! No, leave my baby alone!" She screamed helplessly as she waved her arms trying to grasp hold of something. Her body was bloodied up from abuse or from a fight, it seemed, and her face was twisted up horribly in a frightened manner. Draco looked to where her gaze was and his stomach lurched as he fell to the floor because of the wind. He hit the hard wooden floor with such force that he felt a pain surge his tailbone as he gasped in incredible pain.
He opened his eyes suddenly when he heard the woman scream again and he was faced looking at a horrible white human creature standing before him. He looked more closely and almost screamed himself when he found out he was staring at only himself. Everything was the same except he was clad in black, his face bloodied as he held Harry in his arms. A scared looking Harry. A baby Harry. A face that looked so familiar but yet so horribly different. Then as he looked at himself in the eyes, he only saw heated malice, cold heart stone made from the elixirs from hell.
Harry looked right at him as soon as he looked at himself in the black robes and he screamed, "Draco!"
He saw Harry next, scared and screaming, writhing against his evil self before, suddenly, Harry stopped moving all together and his evil twin's lips quirked upwards in a malicious smile as everything became red.
----------
Draco sat up quickly in his bed with beads of sweat sliding down his forehead and some of his blonde mused-up-hair stuck to his brow. He was sub-consciously aware of his hands that were shaking while clutching the duvet as he gulped loudly in his dry throat. He let out a shaky breath as he looked around the dim room; scarcely noticing some of the suns rays seeping through his windows and lighting the carpeted floor. He unsteadily brought his wrist close to his face so that he could see what time it was – it was six thirty A.M.
He almost jumped a mile high when he felt something tremble beside him under the covers, and he slowly lifted the duvet to reveal a shaking black-haired boy. His gaze instantly caught hold of Harry's bright green eyes and his brow furrowed as he saw thin and wet streaks of tears on Harry's cheeks.
[Oh bloody hell…] he thought as he remembered the stillness in the boy-who-lived in his dreams. The eerie stillness that only contemplated one thing – death. He was watching Harry's face as the boy blinked several times so his eyes could be adjusted to the dim light.
"What happened?" the Slytherin asked quietly as the boy wiped his tears away and started to curl into a ball beside him, bringing some of the blankets in his embrace. He moved his hand to wipe something off Harry's face what remarkably looked like glass from the shimmer of it but it was just a shiny piece of plastic. The Gryffindor moved back from his touch quickly as if his hand was scorned, he scooted far away from the blonde boy as possible and stayed curled up at the edge of the bed.
Draco's eyebrows furrowed even more as he looked over Harry's face that was scrounged up. There was no mistaking that emotion – the emotion of fear that was plastered all over the youth.
"Potter…" The Slytherin started out to say – to tell the boy that nothing really was a matter, but he didn't continue to voice out his thoughts as he watched the boy intently and heard Harry's whisper, "I had a bad dream, Draco."
The Slytherin watched as Harry curled up into an even tighter ball and the small boyish hands reached down to this waist and pulled up the blanket past his eyes so that only his raven hair was showing at the top.
He saw the duvet shake slightly and he instantly knew Harry was crying. What also assisted his assumption was that he heard a pathetic sniffle and exhausted sigh. Wiping the sweat that was still on his fore head, he couldn't help but wonder if Harry and him had the same dream – he was guessing so -, but his thoughts were maneuvered when he heard another small sniffle underneath his blankets.
[Damit, Potter is going to get snot on my bed…] he thought to himself as he looked away. He knew he was being a bit selfish thinking that, after all, that dream looked so real and it was so vivid and fresh on his mind that he couldn't help the fast beating of his heart when he remembered traces of it. He sighed heavily when he felt the bed vibrate slightly; no doubt Harry was shaking and crying at the same time.
Slowly, without turning his body all the way, he let his hand hover above the shaking lump on the bed before he his hand started to gently stroke the trembling covers. Hard enough for Harry to feel it and calm down, soft enough not to hurt the six year old.
The vibration eventually stopped after a while – Draco repeated his actions again and again until he felt the boy below his hand stop shaking. He instantly knew Harry had fallen asleep.
Knowing he himself couldn't fall back asleep after that traumatizing dream, he carefully and silently made his way to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the day, mentally telling himself that he should wake the Gryffindor boy later to make him take a shower also.
As he was waiting for the water to turn warm, his mind wandered and he began to remember the slight differences in Harry's appearance – yet again. Harry, of course, had grown a bit; his black hair still messed up comically, his body fit his age, as his voice was still slightly high – Draco imagined – after all, he only heard the whisper of the frightened boy in his bed.
Yet, he couldn't help but wonder what Harry's dream was about… was it the same as his? He didn't know. He probably suspected it was considering that Harry and him were somewhat linked by the potion.
He almost slipped when he put his right foot in the shower, hissing slightly as he felt the water was a bit too hot for that early in the morning, but he got accustomed to it quickly. He tried not to think of the crying face of the youth as well as the bed sheets that had to be washed because of the tears and saliva.
Draco's stared blankly at the bathroom wall tiles in front of him suddenly remembering that Harry was sleeping in his bed again. And for once, he didn't really care.
He got dressed slowly as his mind never wavered from that dream because he couldn't stop thinking about it and stepped out of the bathroom, shivering when he felt the cooler temperatures hit his body. Without looking to the bed and maneuvering his way to the laundry basket, he felt Harry's observant gaze on his back.
"Potter, I know you are awake," Draco said simply before he turned around and caught a glimpse of the boy's green eyes before it was covered again by the duvet. Harry's hands were visible at the top but his hair was completely gone under the blankets. Draco almost rolled his eyes before he stopped himself, considering for a moment that probably Harry was still scared of him or that the boy remembered the dream. [Not that I really care, though.] He thought to himself.
Walking over to the Gryffindor boy, he pulled the blankets down and away from the boy's grasp. Harry's eyes widened immediately before he sat up and scooted away a bit from the Slytherin and not looking at anything but his lap.
Quietly, Draco asked, "What did you dream about, Potter?" he voiced his thoughts finally as he felt he had the right to ask.
Harry didn't move, he didn't look up at Draco or make any indication that he was about to say something. Draco placed his hand on the boy's shoulder gently, aware of the tenseness as soon as he touched it. He hoped Harry didn't already forget it, but he highly doubted that.
"I dreamed that you picked me up and told me everything was going to be okay and… and that you were dressed in black and that… you liked me and that you would never leave me and then you patted my hair and you held my hand and then you showed me this woman and-," he said this all very fast and then he was interrupted by the Slytherin's sharp voice.
"Woman?" Draco asked quickly. Harry nodded, his eyes widening but he didn't say anything. Draco continued, "Do you know who she was?"
Aside from listening to Harry's voice he remembered the woman quite well. Harry didn't answer for a while. He just stared at the blankets. Softly, "No. I don't. I have never seen her before."
Draco looked at him for a bit, then nodded. "Continue then…"
Harry looked up at him blankly, "What?"
Draco sighed impatiently and looked at his watch, "I meant continue with what you saw. After the woman."
Harry stayed silent for a while, and snapped back into attention when Draco sighed edgily. "You said to the woman you would take care of me and help me and then the woman tried to hold me… then…" he trailed off in a whisper but continued shortly, "Then you hit her. You hit me…" he started to cry slowly, hot tears trailing down his face and dripping into the bed sheets but he didn't move from his spot, "You hit me hard and it hurt."
He didn't continue after that – and frankly, Draco wasn't sure he wanted to hear it.
----------
"Hermione! It's nearly lunch!" Ron whined as he got dragged off to the library with Hermione, chewing on an apple that he saved from breakfast. Hermione tried not to roll her eyes as she pulled Ron by his robes.
"It's finally empty and I haven't had a chance to go in it all week!" she exclaimed, ignoring the look of Madam Pince shot her. She hastily made her way to the back where she usually sat when she went there.
Ron rolled his eyes and would have complained more about his hunger if he weren't already eating an apple. He hid the apple when Madam Pince looked suspiciously at him.
"What are you looking for anyway?" He asked when they were out of the librarian's view. He was quietly munching his apple and sitting down in a library chair, watching slowly as Hermione disappeared into the section "A". He shrugged and continued to observe the quiet library and almost jumped in surprise when Hermione dropped a very heavy and thick book on their table. Several younger years looked up when she did that, giving her a withering glance before returning to their books.
She didn't answer him as she flipped through the thick pages, dust particles flying everywhere. Ron could hear her muttering under her breath about 'aging potions'.
Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Aging potions?"
She still didn't answer him as her finger trailed down the page, her brows furrowing together and her lips forming into a thin frown.
"Well?" he asked, a bit more loudly than last time. He quickly looked over his shoulder as he said that, exhaling a breath of relief when he found that the librarian wasn't behind him.
He turned back to face her, her face now contorted into a worried glance. More quietly he asked, "What? What is it?"
"I can't find Harry's aging potion in here… there are several ways to make a aging potion, and not one of them is in here…" she trailed off quietly, eyes darting across the page just in case she missed it. Her face had lost its color a bit as she continued searching for something that could have been worded differently.
Ron looked at her for a moment hoping he heard her wrong. "W-what? What do you mean that his specific potion isn't in there? What is that supposed to mean?"
"I… I don't know," she said quietly, looking up at him finally. She seemed hopelessly lost and looked back at the book in defeat. Ron stared at her in shock as he slowly regained his resolve.
"Well. What if it's under 'Invisibility Potions?' and their effects or something…" Ron trailed off and took another juicy bite of his apple. He watched as Hermione's face brightened and she ran off, not before bringing the heavy book with her that was on the table to return it to its original place.
She came back moments later with an even thicker book and plopped it on the table in front of her, there, she started flipping through the pages quickly, mouthing some words as her eyes swept down the page.
Ron finished his apple before she came back and he threw the core in the wastebasket before returning to her side, peering over her shoulder. Some of her bushy curls got in his face and tickled his nose, resulting in a sneezing frenzy. Exasperated, she exclaimed, "It isn't in here either!"
Wiping his wet eyes and his vision blurred slightly, he let his gaze sweep over the worn and yellow pages in the index, researching for the word, "Invisibility".
Hermione pouted a bit and sighed deeply as Ron's finger trailed down the words, and he smugly looked up at her when he pointed to 'Invisibility Potion and effects'.
"Honestly Hermione!" He smirked as she gave him a withering look.
"Oh be quiet Ron. My eyes are starting to become agitated because I'm studying to much late at night trying to compete against Malfoy for top marks."
Ron rolled his eyes but he knew it was true as he remembered seeing a light shine in the crack of Hermione's door every time he passed by it. He watched as Hermione flipped to the page the Invisibility potion was on, her nimble and graceful fingers flipping the page expertly. He absently watched her lips as she mouthed some of the words of the thick book. Unconsciously leaning closer to her, he peered over her shoulder and noticed the faint smell of lavender. He quickly moved back when she glanced curiously at him from the corner of her eye.
"What?" he asked guiltily –as if smelling her hair was guilty at all.
She smiled slyly at him before looking back in the book and quietly, "I found part of it…"
"Well? What does it say?" he asked inquiringly, peering over her shoulder again.
She read from the text, "Constructing the invisibility potion is extremely difficult as well as it needs to be highly concentrated on without any distractions. It should be preformed with a partner or two. Constructing the potion is simple, but rarely, some can get distracted and the effects lead into serious damage."
Ron came closer to where his arm was touching her shoulder and read the next line softly, "Some effects from the potion vary on the ingredient…" he trailed off quietly as they both searched for 'beetle eyes' – one of the main ingredients necessary for the potion – especially since Dumbledore asked about it in his office.
"Some of the effects that could happen are that one could loose their eyesight for several years and there is no proper remedy except to wait it out…" her face turned pale as she read on, "Another effect that could come up if one added too many crushed ginger roots – they could suffer incurable pain for minutes at a time…" she gasped and looked away unable to contemplate that Harry could have had that instead of turning younger.
Ron squeezed her shoulder gently, edging her to continue. Hermione turned back to the book slowly, biting her lower lip before she spoke again.
Hermione read softly, "One of the other potions that can be developed from it is an temporary aging potion. Though not always strong, a course or change of direction in the stirring or grinding of the beetle eyes can casually change the effect into serious damage upon drinking the potion." Hermione looked wide-eyed at Ron before she continued reading. "This ingredient mostly depends on the beetle eyes. Some side effects of this potion are loss of memory from the victim, plus adapting to its caretaker's habits." She trailed off as she read the sentence again. She continued after pausing, "The victim is attached to the caretaker, and when not with him or her, the victim becomes lost and frightened. Sometimes, he experiences dreams, and sometimes, he makes up his own history based on how he was treated earlier, and this should not be messed with or try to convince the victim otherwise because it will not work and he or she will only become confused."
She turned back to Ron who was absently looking at her lips again and frowned. "Ron, you know this means Harry… will most likely act like Malfoy when he gets older, right?"
Ron looked her straight in the eye before he nodded. He scowled quickly though, when he remembered the fight he got in last night.
"I guess I will have to tell Malfoy about this tomorrow at the prefects and headboy and headgirl meeting," she trailed off then she took one look at Ron's face. "Ron, you know as well as I do that you shouldn't have provoked Malfoy!"
He stared at her incredulously, "Well, according to Crabbe and Goyle, they said Malfoy was abusing Harry!"
Hermione stared at him like he was stupid and closed the book, "Ron. Do you honestly believe what Crabbe and Goyle say?"
Ron stuttered, "B-but… didn't you see what he said to Harry yesterday when Harry tried to hold his hand? He swore at him Hermione as well as he jerked his hand away! Plus I have detention tonight with that git."
"Ron," she said slowly, "It's Malfoy we are talking about here. He swears, he gets violent sometimes but only when you provoke him, but he wouldn't hurt Harry," she told him quietly, "Not physically anyway."
Ron sighed and didn't realize the meaning of that last statement as Hermione looked at her watch before she looked up at Ron again and said, "We should get going. Hagrid will get upset if we come late to class."
----------
After giving Harry a bath, Draco crankily made his way to his next class, Care of Magical Creatures. He rolled his eyes when he heard Hagrid's booming voice and squinted when he came in contact with the hot rays of the sun. He inhaled the familiar scent of freshly cut grass and sneered.
"'Ey there 'Arry!" the half-giant greeted the boy and not taking a look at Draco as he did so. Harry lagged behind a bit but smiled uncertainly at the large stranger.
"Yeh must not know me, eh?" His black eyes twinkled as he held out his large hand unsurely to the small child. Draco rolled his eyes again without turning around, not caring if Hagrid saw him or not under those bushy eyebrows. Harry looked at the large hand for a second before he moved behind the Slytherin's back and watched Hagrid from there, his green eyes peering over the blonde's body.
Hagrid looked a bit hurt as he let his hands slowly drop to his side, but he continued to smile down at the small child. "Yeh lot are 'oing to have fun today I 'eckon."
Harry didn't respond but he gave Hagrid a small smile in return. Hagrid then turned to Draco and his eyes glazed over with dislike. "Malfoy," he said gruffly, his bushy eyebrows coming together.
"Professor," Draco said plainly and smirked up to the half giant, squinting a bit as the rays of the bright sun got in his eyes.
They stood there staring at each other before Hagrid finally looked over Malfoy's head at the other arriving students.
"Yeh all better make it earlier!" His voice boomed over the lawn and he put his hands on his large hips in a mocking manner. Draco knew already who it was without turning around, crossing his arms in front of his chest to symbolize how bored he was.
"Hello Harry!" Hermione jubilant voice rang out softly as she approached Harry and Draco. Draco noticed her looking closely at Harry and he was pondering absently at her disapproving expression when she looked between them.
Harry did nothing else but look up to her and smile shyly.
"Yeh lot better listen. We'd be studyin' unicorns today," Hagrid brought out two female unicorns by the look of it. He waited for the class to settle and familiarize their gaze with what they have seen before. They were white as snow and their eyes shined brightly as they swished their tails.
Draco watched in an uninterested fashion, pretending to yawn and look tired when Hagrid started to speak. He really didn't care about unicorns that much and just wanted to get out of the hot sun.
"But we studied unicorns in our third year!" Ron whispered to Hermione, studying the unicorns unsurely with his eyes. He still remembered that unicorns didn't like males. Hermione didn't see any difference as she watched the unicorns with approval and silent glee. Draco rolled his eyes at both of them and smirked.
He looked away from the whispering Gryffindors down to Harry who was looking at the unicorns with wide eyes and intense fascination, taking unconscious steps closer nervously as if he were in a trance. His green eyes shimmered with mirth as he peered around several of the standing Slytherin boys to get a closer look at the magnificent creature.
Before Draco knew it, Harry was making his way past his peers to the two grown female unicorns and staring up at them. Everyone watched in silence as Harry went right beside one of them on his right and Hagrid almost snatched Harry away when the unicorn turned her head. The silence stretched as they all looked wide-eyed at the child as he slowly raised his hand and put it on the unicorn's nostrils, running his fingers up and down the bent head.
"Yeh like that 'Arry?" Hagrid grinned down at him and gave an expression of relief as he stroked one of the unicorn's manes making the creature close its eyes in pleasure.
Harry looked up at Hagrid and nodded before he looked back into the surrounding spectators. His voice rang out happily as he continue to stroke the unicorns nose, "Draco! Come here! Pet it!"
A few snickers could be heard from his housemates as he felt a blush creeping up his neck. "No, I don't want to," he said stubbornly, his lips in a thin line as he looked at the horn of the magnificent animal. The tip glimmered in the sunlight, and he wondered exactly how sharp it really was. He took a few steps back to show that he had no interest in it, despite sudden his itching to get close to it.
Harry smiled though and walked towards the blonde Slytherin and before Draco knew it, he was being tugged along by the hem of his robes by the six-year-old child. "No, Potter, the unicorn doesn't like males," He tried to explain as he approached the two pairs of eyes that belonged to the creatures.
Harry wasn't listening as he stopped in front of them, and Draco could feel the whole classes eyes on him as Harry reached out and petted the unicorn's nose again.
"Do it this way Draco! It likes that!" He smiled happily as he reached for Draco's hand and before Draco could pull away; his hand was on the unicorn's nose. The whole class watched intently and in silence that the only thing you could hear was some of the bees buzzing in the grass behind Hagrid's hut. Draco could see from the corner of his eye that Hagrid had tensed up, no doubt remembering what happened with Buckbeak in his third year.
"Yeh better back away, Malfoy," he said unsurely as the unicorn continued to stare silently at him, not once wavering its gaze.
Draco nervously nodded and was about to but he looked away from the unicorns gaze when he felt his hand being covered gently by a smaller hand and looked down in surprise as Harry picked up his hand and stroked it against the creature's nose. The silence stretched and from the corner of his eye he was aware of his fellow housemates peering over and trying to see exactly what Harry did.
"You have to pet it slowly. It likes that." Harry said quietly, continuing to use Draco's hand as the base of his own as they both continued to stroke the animal's face softly.
Draco looked around slowly in amazement back at his peers who were all staring back at him with wide eyes. He looked around for his girlfriend when he found her; she was not looking at him but rather the boy's hand on his own. He watched her face as her defined eyebrows narrowed together, and when she slowly looked up to his gaze, all he could see was her cold brown eyes. His lips turned into a frown as her disapproving and jealous (?) gaze swept over the boy and his caretaker.
Her eyes made him shiver strangely in the hot sun. She stepped forward like she owned the place and stood right beside Draco and right behind Harry, lifting her nose in a superior fashion. No one said a word as she did so.
"I want to pet the beast," she said loudly, her eyes still watching Harry and Draco's hand as they still continued to pet the animal's face. Slowly, Harry stopped his movements and dropped Draco's hand. He reached to hold Pansy's hand so they could stroke it together, but she pulled her hand back quickly from his fingers and put it on the unicorn's face without hesitation.
As soon as she did that though, the unicorn stomped its feet and turned completely away from her and the next thing Draco was looking at the side of the unicorns rear which was facing Pansy.
The whole class laughed loudly and Draco turned away so Pansy couldn't see his smirk. Even Hagrid's chuckling could be heard among the seventh year's chuckles.
"It doesn't like you to pet it!" Harry's voice rang out angrily as the laughing subsided. Draco stared at the boy closely as Pansy looked down to him hatefully.
"Yes it does, you are just too stupid to realize that Potter," she hissed quietly and Draco was the only one to hear that apparently because he realized seconds later if someone else heard it, Pansy would be on her back with several angry Gryffindors on her.
"I am not stupid!" Harry's hurt voice shouted up at her. His small hands clenched together and he stood tall and proud and brave – Draco noticed – when she talked to him.
Pansy tensed up suddenly and the blonde Slytherin was frightened for a moment that she would go ballistic, but all she did was turn around on her heels and walk away. And all Draco would do was stare at her retreating back while feeling Harry's anger and hurt radiated off the boy's body.
---------
Draco slowly walked to the Potion's classroom around ten o'clock at night with Harry as his companion. He groaned inwardly when he remembered he had a detention tonight and wasn't happy at all remembering that he had to share it with Ron. He was about to leave Harry with Hermione but thought better of it and realized he could probably taunt Ron about Harry liking him better – or possibly, need a companion while scrubbing.
"Mr. Malfoy," Professor Snape's voiced drawled out as Draco entered the class. He looked at Ron quickly before he returned his gaze to his professors. The air was cool in the room, he noted.
"Good evening, Sir," he said respectfully as he approached Snape's table. He did notice Ron's scowl as he spoke to Professor Snape. He closely observed Snape's face hoping he could get out of his punishment, but Snape's expression was unwavering.
"Seems like you brought Potter there," Snape said quickly as he looked up at the hiding figure. Draco rolled his eyes when Harry looked up at him from behind him.
"I had no choice," Draco drawled out and shrugged. [Actually, I did have a choice, but why tell him that?]
"You could have given him to Hermione! She's his caretaker too and you know that!" Ron burst out, his fists clenched into balls as he narrowed his eyes angrily at the blonde Slytherin.
"Mr. Weasley, please do not shout in my classroom," Snape glared at him for a moment before flipping through some important looking documents. He looked more tired than usual, his eyes were dark and his face was a bit pale.
"What? And miss out a chance to spend time with Potter? You must be joking, Weasley," Draco sneered as he said that and noticed Professor Snape's smirk as the potion's professor was bent over his desk glancing at more of his papers.
Both Ron and Draco watched as Snape stood up and came around his massive desk to both of them and he both handed them two toothbrushes with a sneer. "Get to work you two. I want this classroom scrubbed, and I don't care if it takes all night," he smirked at Ron's widened eyes and Draco's disbelieving stare.
"B-but sir! I have a test in Transfiguration tomorrow," Draco whined but stopped as Snape sent him an icy glare. He was aware of Harry's eyes zooming around the classroom and watching as the three of the adults talked.
"As far as I know, I have talked to Professor McGonagall and she said that all you are going to do is seatwork. Please do not tempt to make me take off more points, Mr. Malfoy; you already have disgraced the Slytherin house yesterday by letting a Gryffindor provoke you. You know better than that," Snape narrowed his eyes when Draco was about to retort.
"Water and soap are over there," Snape pointed to the bucket beside one of the student's desk.
He left seconds later to his personal chambers when neither the Slytherin nor the Gryffindor Redhead said a word. They stood there glaring at each other in the cool air but Draco looked down when he felt Harry tap his arm.
"What Potter?" He drawled out as he looked down to the boy.
"I will help you!" Harry's squeaky voice called out. His stance was eager as he bounced a bit in his place, his eyes still darting around the room.
Draco smirked again as Ron stared at Harry with an incredulous gaze. "See Weasley? Potter likes me more," he chuckled as Ron's fists unconsciously clenched together.
"Sod off Malfoy, you know as well as I do that he's under a potion," Ron's voice grumbled as he started moving to his personal bucket of soap and water.
Draco smiled nastily as he followed the red head; "Yes, but how come he picked me over you now? Hm? He finally picked the better man."
"I said. Sod. Off." Ron's face was now getting as his hair as he carried his bucket to the opposite side of the room, not glancing at Harry or Draco once. Draco watched as Ron dropped down on his knees grumpily and putting down the bucket crankily. Harry was just staring at him with no readable expression on his face.
"I remember this place, Draco…" Harry said quietly as he turned around and looked up at the Slytherin. Draco watched him for a second and wondered what he was talking about before he remembered the first day in which Harry took the aging potion.
Draco smirked as he picked up his own bucket of water and went to the other side of the room, making sure to take off his robes and pull up his pants as he got on his knees and started to scrub.
"I bet you are used to this Weasley," he drawled out non-to-quietly as Harry kneeled beside him looking at him and Ron across the room with curiosity, "Doing peasant work to maintain your family's generous income." He said sarcastically.
Across the room, Ron gritted his teeth angrily and continued to scrub rather harshly, grinding the toothbrush's brittles against the stone cold hard floor. When Ron didn't answer, Draco continued, "Maybe I should let Potter do this after all, considering that he proposed to do it to his favorite person."
Harry looked at him when he heard his name but continued to watch as the Slytherin started to scrub. "I can help!" he said quietly as his fingers fidgeted on his lap.
Draco sneered and got out his wand and with a muttered word he sent a textbook flying to him. He transfigured the textbook to a toothbrush and gave it to Harry, sneering at him.
"Since you want to help so badly Potter, get to work," he bent over and started to scrub quicker, wanting to get out of here as fast as he could. Harry eagerly got to work and seconds after he started he started to hum loudly. He was brushing to the rhythm of his humming and shook his head several times.
Draco stopped scrubbing instantly and looked at the small Gryffindor boy. Quietly he asked, "Where did you learn that song, Potter?"
Harry smiled up at him and said, "You! You taught me, remember?" he gave another joyful smile as he continued to sing the old lullaby Draco had sang to him when he was still a toddler.
Draco heard Ron's scoff across the room but got back to work seconds later, working in silence now and listening to the small boy's hum.
-----------
When Draco finally got back to his room, he was exhausted and carrying the tired child didn't help a bit. It was twelve fifteen when he arrived back in his head boy's room and it wasn't long compared to Ron – considering Ron was still in there scrubbing. Ron supposedly stayed a bit longer considering that he didn't have a small Gryffindor helper like Draco had.
He placed Harry on the Gryffindor's cot and got ready to bed after taking a nice and long hot shower. When he came out of the bathroom he glared at the boy who was now curled up under his own blankets in his own bed.
Letting out an exhausted breath, he said in an annoyed tone, "Potter. When will you learn that this is not your bed and that," he pointed to the cot with his long pointer finger, "Is your bed?"
Harry uncertainly smiled up at him. "Well, can I sleep here tonight?" And he added after a while, "Please?"
Draco looked evenly at the boy and still kept his pointer finger pointing to the boy's cot. "No. Go back to your own bed. Now." He said the last word with authority as he watched Harry scramble off his bed slowly.
Before Harry climbed up on his own bed, Draco illuminated the lights and lay down on his bed tiredly and appreciatively. He was in the moment of going to sleep right away when he heard rustling across the room and a soft voice rang into the darkened head boy area, "Draco?"
Draco turned over on his stomach and grumpily replied into the pillow, "What Potter?" He was so close to falling asleep that he almost did but didn't when Harry answered quietly, "Why do you call me Potter?"
Draco sighed into his pillow wishing for sleep to take him over right now when he hastily and groggily replied, "Because it's your name. Go to sleep."
"But Granger and Weasley calls me Harry. Why don't you call me Harry?"
Draco released a frustrated sigh into his pillow, "Because I always called you Potter and always will. Go to sleep."
He knew Harry was going to ask another question as the sheets rustled across the room. He waited impatiently, sleep almost claiming him when Harry asked, "Can you call me Harry?"
Draco's eyes opened a bit to see the moonlight seep through his shaded windows. He took a long time to answer, but when he eventually did, he answered with a question, "Why do you want me to call you Harry?" he thought subconsciously that the name was unfamiliar to his tongue but it rolled off it like he spoke it before.
"Because the woman in the dream called me Harry… and… so did you…" Harry's voice trailed off sadly for some reason, and that is all Draco needed to hear before sleep finally claimed him.
-----TBC-----
Next Chapter: Harry turns seven! What happens when Harry's helpful attitude gets Draco in trouble plus gets Pansy agitated with the seven year old? Stay tuned to find out.
Attention: If you want me to let you know when the new chapter is out, please leave your email in the reviews.
Author's Notes: Thanks to all of you who reviewed! I appreciate it. I know, I know, I promised that I would have it between one and two weeks time but the project took longer than I expected plus I had another one. I'm sorry it took so long, and I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out, but it will be soon!
THANKS To everyone who reviewed! I love long reviews and I appreciate you clicking the little Review Button.
Phew. Done. Now off to eat.
Chapter completed: October 6, 2002
