All Torn Down

by Obake

Draco's world has been turned upside down, and he is left searching for a ray of light.

13. Angel Things

Rating: R

Warnings:             Slash, coarse language.

Disclaimer:             Harry Potter characters and The Story So Far are property of J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers, and I have no intent of contesting that right, especially since both have done extremely well in creating and maintaining the spirit of said characters and story. In case either one happens upon this story one day: congratulations and please don't sue me! I mean no harm.

Pleas:              Reviews would be nice; flames are also welcome. I will make a spirited attempt to reply to every single one, but I can't guarantee it. Flamers be warned: I will be very logical, pedantic and probably curious in my response. It can be a nuisance, but you'll have to learn to live with it.

Thanks To:            Hummie, chibi nezu, Amalin, psychotic candle, Jessica (Yes, Snape is more deeply involved in things Malfoy than he'd want Draco to know—but he is acting out of a particular kindness and responsibility. It runs very, very deep. A fully-fledged battle is indeed brewing, but not where you might think.), LB, Tacit, razor-flavoured candy, Wednesday, Snape's Girl, Valerie, Leah, Kotatsu-neko, DrWorm, Accidental Human Contact, Kasia (It is sad that J.K. Rowling doesn't have the same freedom to write whatever she wants to write in the original Harry Potter books as we do when we're merrily filching her work (perhaps we should write and suggest she take up an account on ff.net?), but I suspect that she's happy writing the stories as they are at the moment, and they still manage to be wonderfully slash-friendly, however young the audience's age is supposed to be ^.^.), Krissy, bosch, Blaze, Shukumei-of-another-world, Milly-chan, to-lazy-to-sign-in, Random Slytherin 1, josephine, chrisseee667, Flair, Draco Malfoy_N_Harry Potter, cattail prophetess (Those lines were quite entertaining to write, as well; the way in which McGonagall and Snape mirror each other is fun to play around with. I'm glad you liked Draco's kiss with Harry—I know for a fact that they did. ^_^*), Kim (The Gryffindor girl was part of an inevitable resistance to the Order of the Phoenix—not everyone in the school could have been pleased by Dumbledore's announcement and the fact that he'd been hiding the Order for so long. Centaurs are generally good, yes, but according to the Potter books they also depend a great deal on what the stars say…~.~; Gomen nasai. Sorry for the long wait.), ola (I'm not sure how much money McGonagall was willing to bet on Harry, though it was probably a fair amount. Definitely enough to upset her when she lost. The Slytherins wouldn't necessarily have denounced Draco—all the Death Eaters are gone now, so that's the major stirrers out of the way for a start—and since the chapter was from Harry's point of view and no Slytherins happened to be within that POV save Draco, there was no opportunity to see their reaction. We'll see about Harper.), durendal, kristen, Christa, MiakaMalfoy, Silmarien, DancingRain, Darklites, Demeter, Evil Windstar, bwaybaby79, Ponine, Dea, Star Muse, SoulSister, Canarde, djiinxx@yahoo.com, K. Ashley, Heather, bondagechic, MOI (*Blinks* As it turns out, there's a great deal I'm not telling you about Kieran just yet—and more that I haven't been telling myself (or that he's not been telling me). There's a fair bit of revelation happening in this chapter, however. *Wanders off muttering about minor characters gaining control of the pen...*), Star Muse, S. Maldiva (Draco has changed a lot, but there are certain things that meant it was a tiny bit easier for him to comfort Hermione. For one, Harry was there as well and he needed help. For another, Hermione, as Harry's friend, would never harm Draco the way that almost any other woman potentially could, so while the fear is still there, he can push it aside enough to do just that little bit. I'm going to do my best not to turn Hermione into a shrew or a living Moaning Myrtle, but in some places that could be a fine line to tread. *Grins* If Snape had reacted badly to seeing Draco and Harry kissing, I would probably have had to find some point in the chapter in which to knock him flat. The lucky new Minister of Magic will be revealed in the next chapter.), Myr.

Many, many apologies to everyone who waited so long for this chapter to arrive. Schoolwork, writer's block and the school's warped computer network combined, are not really conducive to the production of fan fiction. Also, a massive thank-you to Apocalypse for beta-reading so much so quickly (In one night! Unbelievable!).

All Torn Down: Angel Things

Dreams, inconsistent angel things.

Horses bred with star-laced wings.

But it's so hard to make them fly, fly, fly.

These wings beat the night sky 'bove the town,

One goes up and one goes down.

And so the chariot hits the ground, bound, bound.

We have forgotten don't try to make me fly,

How it used to be I'll stay here, I'll be fine.

How it used to be don't go and let me down,

How it used to be I'm starting to like this town.

When wings beat the night sky 'bove the ground,

Will I unwillingly shoot them down

With all my petty fears and doubts, down, down?

We have forgotten am I in love with this?

How it used to be my constant broken ship.

How it used to be don't go, I'll shoot you down,

How it used to be I'm starting to like this town.

                        —We Have Forgotten, Sixpence None the Richer

            The motley procession began to halt as the two leaders drew up to the base of the entrance steps. Draco tightened his grip on Harry's hand, staring warily at Harper as the centaur bowed low, flicking his tail.

            'Draco-Who-Is-Not-A-Malfoy and Harry Potter, I am Firenze. Do you know me?'

            'Of course I do,' Harry said while Draco nodded. 'You helped me in my first year here. What's this all about?' He glared at Kieran. 'Why's he with you?'

            'You will be told when Dumbledore arrives, and not before,' Harper said, staring straight ahead. He turned his head slightly to gaze directly at Harry. 'I'm sorry about your friend. He must have been brave to go to Azkaban.'

            Harry glowered at Kieran's hooded Death Eater robes and the mask that he held in his hand. He said nothing, but shifted imperceptibly closer to Draco.

            Firenze sighed and raised his great, mournful eyes to the sky. 'The darkness falls.'

            'That is what we intend,' Snape retorted. He frowned when the centaur threw him an irritated look. 'Don't expect to be welcomed with open arms. Until now your lot have shown no interest in anything to do with the rest of the wizard world—certainly none in the Dark Lord, oh no—and now you emerge with a Death Eater at your side.'

            Firenze's jaw tightened, although Kieran, who seemed to be intently studying the bottom step, didn't respond to the barb. 'This one is no Death Eater, snake...'

            Snape snarled, and Draco darted him a look of trepidation. It wasn't like Snape to lose his temper so quickly. 'And I'm no reptile, Firenze. You can leave that game with your little Divinations-obsessed adulators.'

            Harper's head snapped upward, his eyes narrowing to slits. Snape returned the glare coolly.

            'Answer me something, boy. What crazed whim possessed you to fall in with Voldemort—'

            Firenze pushed forward suddenly, half-raising an arm in front of Kieran as though in protection. His fore-hoofs clipped against the stone of the lower steps, bringing his flashing eyes level with Snape's.

            'Do not try to make this child—' Draco noticed that Harper's hands clenched at the word-- 'a mirror for yourself. He has never fallen in—'

            'Leave it, Firenze.' Kieran's voice carried a great deal of force for something almost whispered. He added to the volume as he went on: 'let him think what he wants about it. Let him be a hypocrite.'

            'Harper,' Draco hissed, half in suppressed anger and half in warning. The Gryffindor's gaze rested upon him for a split second before shifting away to hold Snape's.

            Draco took an inadvertent step back under the onslaught of what Kieran managed to transmit with that one look. He felt Harry tense in response. Watching those green eyes grow sharp, and Snape glaring murder at both Harper and Firenze, he was struck with the thought that if nothing happened soon to stop it, someone was going to start a fight.

            He squeezed Harry's hand and laid a surreptitious kiss on his cheek, and to his relief felt him relax slightly. If there was a fight, at least they wouldn't be the ones to start it.

            The entrance doors swung aside. The tension in the air fractured as Dumbledore appeared with Fawkes perched upon his shoulder in full, flaming glory. Firenze took a hasty step back and bowed to the Headmaster. Snape remained where he was, rigid as an iron rod.

            'Dumbledore—Great Phoenix…'

            The Headmaster didn't seem at all bothered by the formality of Firenze's greeting. He paused to take in the mass of creatures gathered across the school grounds. Following his gaze, Draco realised that most of them were attempting to bow like Firenze, in many cases with a notable lack of success.

            Dumbledore's gaze rested a moment on Kieran before he said anything.

            'Speak with me, Firenze.'

            Firenze straightened from his bow. 'The darkness—' He cast a sidelong glance at Snape—'festers, and Mars grows strong.'

            'I know.' Dumbledore matched the centaur's sorrowful tone, with no hint of mockery.

            'The Heavens are clouded and even the wisest cannot see far. The sun and moon play cat and mouse while the stars must choose their places in the sky and hope that it does not fall down.'

            'Turbulent times indeed,' Dumbledore said gravely. He ignored Snape's badly stifled snort, sweeping his arm to encompass the mass spread across the grounds. 'What place has your constellation chosen?'

            'One with the sun.'

            Draco tried to catch Snape's eye, to work out what was going on between Dumbledore and Firenze, but the man seemed not to be paying much attention to the world outside of his eyes.

            Dumbledore folded his hands. 'The other members of the Order of the Phoenix will need to know of this. You must understand that not all of them will be pleased with your choice, for one reason or another.'

            'It is to be expected.'

            'I am afraid so.'

            'Perhaps they should be reminded of what the other choice was,' Harper murmured.

            Dumbledore smiled down at him. 'Child,'—again, Draco noticed Kieran's sudden, fleeting tenseness— 'It is human nature to resist an unexpected cha—'

            Fawkes, who raised his head suddenly and crooned, cut off the Headmaster. Draco glanced overhead and caught sight of a small, brown owl swooping through the air from the direction of the Hospital Wing, a slip of paper clasped in its beak. The messenger owl landed on Dumbledore's unoccupied shoulder amid an unspectacular flurry of feathers, dropped its cargo into his hand, and wheeled off into the sky again. Dumbledore scanned the message and glanced at Harry.

            'Sirius is awake.' Harry straightened up, and the Headmaster waved him off as he opened his mouth to speak. 'Go on.'

            As he stepped toward the doors, Harry looked questioningly at Draco, but he shook his head.

            'I'll find you later.' I want to know what's going on here first.

            Harry nodded and stepped inside, the doors swinging closed behind him.

            Dumbledore turned back to Firenze. 'You will wait, then, to hear the verdict of the Order of the Phoenix?'

            'Yes. We will stay here until a decision is made.'

            Dumbledore scanned the crowd again. 'Has all your constellation joined us, Firenze?'

            The centaur stamped and looked somewhat embarrassed. 'Not all, Dumbledore.'

            The Headmaster nodded. 'I thought I couldn't see a few of your kind. Bane, for one.'

            'Forgive me.'

            'It's their choice,' Dumbledore said. 'You couldn't keep them from it. However, do be warned—certain members of the Order will not like some of the company that you do keep.'

He didn't bother to look directly at Harper; he didn't need to. Fawkes was doing it for him, in a piercingly focused manner.

            Firenze glared at Snape. 'We have already seen evidence of that.'

            A silvery brow arched. 'Is that so?' Snape shifted guiltily, but didn't say a word. Dumbledore shook his head. 'My apologies, Firenze. I will summon the other members of the Order of the Phoenix forthwith, and we will meet you here tonight.'

            'As you wish.'

            As Dumbledore turned back to the doorway, Fawkes flew from his shoulder to perch on Kieran's. Harper stood absolutely still. His eyes widened a little when the phoenix did nothing but nibble gently on his ear.

            Dumbledore smiled and reached out to retrieve Fawkes, who ducked away his hand and opened his beak. A trill of phoenix song broke from his throat.

            Draco couldn't remember ever having heard such exquisite music. He saw Harper relax marginally, and Dumbledore's mouth curve in a soft smile. A contented sigh whispered across the grounds; and he wished, suddenly, that he could sing like that. He turned to look at Snape, feeling an irrepressible smile on his lips.

            The elder wizard glared at Fawkes, his eyes even darker than usual. His mouth tightened, and abruptly he turned away, paying no heed to Draco.

            When Fawkes was done, he returned to Dumbledore's shoulder. The Headmaster raised a hand to stroke his plumes and smiled at Kieran. 'Perhaps there will not be as much adversity as I'd thought. Until tonight, Firenze.'

            The centaur gave a nod as Dumbledore turned away. Snape followed the headmaster back into the castle, Draco trailing after him. As soon as the doors had closed behind them, the Potions Master turned on Dumbledore.

            'You're just going to let them join with us, aren't you? As they please?'

            'I see no reason not to give them the opportunity.' Snape shook his head in something akin to disgust, and the headmaster's voice grew uncharacteristically sharp. 'Don't give me that look, Severus. You are not the only person who warrants a second chance.'

            Snape actually flinched. He seemed on the verge of retorting, but decided otherwise at the look on Dumbledore's face. He spun on his heel and walked away without a word.

            'What's wrong?' Draco said. What the hell was that? 'Why's he so upset?'

            Dumbledore sighed. 'I think you should ask him that yourself.'

            The door closed behind them. They turned to see Kieran leaning against it.

            'Headmaster,' he said, taking a step forward and reaching into a pocket inside his robe for something. 'Firenze was so caught up in talking metaphors with you that he forgot to mention this...' He drew out a folded cloak of shimmering, translucent material and handed it to Dumbledore. 'A week ago each of the Death Eaters in the school received one of these with a message from Lord Voldemort. The message said to use the cloaks a week from the day we got them. We were to get out of the school and rally near Hogsmeade. He made a reference to breaking Azkaban, and said something about moving us to Slytherin's stronghold.' Harper paused, looking straight up into the Headmaster's calm blue eyes. 'We weren't told what else he had planned for last night. I spoke with Firenze, and we both thought it would be better to wait until the Death Eaters were out of Hogwarts before we came to you. If I'd known what was going to happen, you would have heard about this much sooner.'

            Dumbledore stared at the Invisibility Cloak in his hands for a moment. 'Thank you—'

            'Kieran,' he said hastily. 'My name is Kieran Harper.'

            'I know. Thank you for your help.'

            He walked away, and Draco was left alone with Harper, who turned to stare at him with unnerving intensity. Draco dropped his eyes and began to edge away, thinking that he ought to find Harry.

            'Do you still want an answer to your question?'

            Kieran's query made Draco pause. 'Which question?'

            'You asked whether I was gay.' The seventh year stepped in close and grasped his wrists. Draco found himself frighteningly reluctant to pull away. 'I'm not.'

            'No?' Doesn't feel like it when you're so close and staring at me like that…

            'No. I'm…' His expression flickered, too swiftly for Draco to interpret. 'I'm something else—and yet—'

            Harper leaned forward. Draco tried to pull away, but the Gryffindor's hands were tight around his wrists and those hazel eyes had him locked to the spot.

            'And yet there's you,' Kieran whispered, so close Draco could taste his breath and feel the brush of lips against his mouth. He gasped and jumped back, jerking his arms out of reach. Harper's brow rose.

            'I'm sorry.' Draco stopped, almost horrified, at much his vocie trembled. He gulped three lungfuls of air and tried to calm down. Oh Gods… 'Kieran, I can't—Harry and I—'

            Every emotion other than arrogant coolness drained from Harper's expression. 'I did see you kiss him, Draco.'

            'Then why did you do that?'

            Kieran shrugged. 'I wanted to. That's all.'

            'What?' Draco's confusion swallowed itself in a flare of anger. 'You—'

            'Don't do that.' Harper took a step forward, but Draco backed away before the distance between them could become too small again. He looked almost hurt. 'I won't do anything as long as you're with Potter. You've got my word on that.'

            'Why should I trust that?'

            'I'm still a Gryffindor.' He raised his chin. 'When the two of you are finished, though…'

            Draco stared at him. 'You're not a Gryffindor. You're a bloody scavenger.'

            Harper gave a bark of unamused laughter. 'Of course. I'm sure you've heard Firnze talk about the hyena in his prophecies.'

            'I don't know what he means.'

            'He means me; in the same way that he calls Snape a snake. So yes, I'm a scavenger. And once you're done with Potter—'

            Draco glared at him. 'What makes you think we'll ever—'

            'If you believe what you're saying, you're far more naïve than anyone here needs you to be.' That stung. Draco's fists clenched as Harper went on. 'When you're ready, then, you'll know where to go. I'll just wait.'

            'Why do you think I'd even want you?'

            A smirk, and the bitter twist of what was all too close to being the truth: 'You already do.'

            The words trickled ice down Draco's spine. He shook his head, but Harper didn't stop smiling. Draco forced himself to take a step backward, and another. He turned and began to walk quickly away.

            Harper called after him. He stopped, not turning, and hating himself for giving in that much. 'What?'

            'Would it have made any difference if I'd answered the question when you asked it?'

            Draco glared back over his shoulder. Harper stood in the centre of the corridor, all arrogant calm, but seemed a little smaller than he should have. 'No, it wouldn't.'

            Kieran nodded. 'You were already his.'

            'No. We weren't together a week ago.'

            'That isn't what I said.'

            With that, Harper stepped back, swung open one of the entrance doors, and backed out of Hogwarts. Draco stared at the woodwork. Shivering, he turned away and hurried towards the Hospital Wing.

            Draco pelted through Hogwarts, ignoring the stares he attracted from the smattering of students who were wandering outside of their common rooms. They weren't important. He desperately needed to get to Harry and forget about what Harper had said.

            He was forced to stop halfway up the last staircase on the way to the Wing: Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas had taken up position there and were acting like a kind of human barricade.

            'Malfoy,' Finnigan said, ignoring Draco's glare. 'Do you know where Professor Dumbledore is? We were going to his office—Neville gave us directions—but someone said they saw him heading back towards the front of the castle...'

            'He was there, but I think you'll be more likely to find him back at the office now.' The two Gryffindors exchanged a long-suffering look. 'Why do you need to find him?'

            'We want to join the Order of the Phoenix,' Dean said. 'We want to be able to help.'

            'Oh. Good.' Draco stared pointedly past them.

            'Ah. Sorry,' Finnigan muttered, and they parted. He continued up the stairway.

            'Where are you going?' Seamus called after him.

            'Hospital Wing. I need to see Harry,' Draco replied without thinking.

            'Why?'

            He turned. 'It's—Order business. Don't worry about it.'

            Seamus looked at Dean, nonplussed, as Draco ascended the stairs. 'Funny, Harry said it was personal.'

            Draco cursed himself inwardly and walked away without looking back.

            It took a few moments of negotiation with Madam Pomfrey to be allowed in to see Sirius. He'd been placed in a room separate from the rest of the Wing so that the students wouldn't see him, and she seemed to think that one visitor alone was almost more than he would be able to bear in his current fragile state. Draco was eventually allowed in on sufferance, because of his role in the previous night's events.

            He opened the door quietly and felt a pang catch in his chest as he stepped into the room. Sirius was sitting up in bed, pale and gaunt. He held Harry, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, close to him. Draco could see the still-drying runnels that tears had made down Harry's face.

            Was he just putting on a brave face when he was with me?

            Black looked up. 'Draco. What brings you here?'

            Harry stirred at the sound of Draco's name. He sat up, slipping out of his godfather's embrace, and dabbed at his red-rimmed eyes with his fingers, offering Draco a small, apologetic smile.

            'I wanted to see how you were,' he said, walking forward until he was beside Harry.

            The older man sighed. 'Fine. I'll have a mad raving fit if anyone suggests I ever go back to Azkaban, but otherwise, I'm fine. Poppy's overreacting, as usual.' He patted Harry's shoulder. 'We've been commiserating over fallen friends. It's a shame we couldn't sneak down to the Three Broomsticks to do it properly.'

            Draco smiled. 'Madam Pomfrey would catch you before you'd gone three steps.'

            'Mm.'

            Harry slipped off the bed, staring wide-eyed at Draco. His eyes slid to Sirius and quickly back again, brow rising in a silent question. Draco gave a small nod.

            Sirius caught the look and sat up a little straighter. 'What's wrong?'

            'Nothing,' Harry murmured, his tear-streaked face and clenching fingers giving the lie to the word. 'There's just something that I need to tell you.'

            'Do you want me to get out?' Draco said.

            Harry shook his head. 'No. I—Sirius. Draco and I. We're...' He paused, biting his lip. 'I don't know that you're going to like this much. We're sort of...'

            Sirius frowned. 'Just tell me, Harry. It can't be that bad.'

            'It isn't. But...' He shook his head again, frustrated at being unable to get the words out. Draco inched closer and, watching Black closely, grasped his hand. Black stared at them. Harry took a deep breath. 'We're boyfriends.'

            For a long moment there was no sound, no response from Sirius. Draco released his grip on Harry and took a small step backward; putting what he hoped was a respectful distance between himself and the godfather.

            Black slumped against the mattress. His eyes fell closed. 'Just as well I was in a hospital bed to begin with.'

            'Sirius…'

            'Why did you never tell me you were gay, Harry?'

            'I'm not!' Sirius opened one eye and stared at him. Harry hung his head. 'I mean, I don't think that way. I...God, Sirius, Draco's the only one I feel this way about! That doesn't mean...'

            'What on earth happened to Cho Chang?'

            'Nothing.'

            'I see.'

            'No, I meant—look, I didn't feel that way about her. Not really. Not the way that I feel about Draco.' His cheeks blazed. 'Please, Sirius. Don't look at me like that.'

            Black raised his head to look at Draco. There was fire in his eyes. 'Harry, wait outside a moment, please.'

            'But—'

            'Go and wait outside.' There was no room for argument in his tone. Harry swivelled abruptly and paced out. The door closed with a snap.

            'So this is what the Pansy girl found out about that she didn't like. I don't blame her.' Black patted the area of mattress Harry had just vacated. 'Sit.' Draco didn't move. He rolled his eyes. 'I'm hardly in a position to beat you at the moment, Malfoy, much as I would like to. Sit down.'

            Draco did so, albeit reluctantly. Sirius folded his arms. 'How long has this been going on?'

            'Only today.'

            'Only what?' Sirius's eyes narrowed. 'You've settled yourself in very well since Ron died. Harry was telling me how you comforted him last night. Now I have to wonder just what kind of comfort it was.'

            Draco caught his meaning and started back, horrified. 'No! No, we haven't done anything like that!'

            An impatient growl. 'Then what have you done?'

            'We've only...' Draco broke off. 'You want to know how far gone he is, don't you?'

            'Nice phrasing.'

            Draco went cold. 'It doesn't end. Professor Snape's right, it doesn't matter where you turn or whose side you're on—'

            'Snape? What does he have to do with this?'

            'He's helped me! Helped both of us, I think.'

            'Really. Helped you with what, I wonder?' Draco's jaw clenched. Sirius cocked his head to the side. 'I'm Harry's guardian, Malfoy. I'm supposed to try to do what his parents would have done in my place—and I rather doubt that James in particular would be happy about this.'

            'If James Potter was half the person the wizard world believes he was, then he would care enough about his son to get over it and realise that Harry's liking me, or liking boys, doesn't change who he is. If you're half the person you're trying to be for him, you'll do the same.'

            Sirius looked faintly surprised. 'You really care about him.'

            'What did you think?' Draco said bleakly. 'That I just wanted a piece of the Boy Who Lived?'

            Sirius nodded. 'You're fifteen years old—'

            'Sixteen. I turned sixteen in November.'

            'Sixteen, then. I know what I'd have been thinking about at your age.'

            Draco gritted his teeth. 'I'm not you.'

            'No. You're a...'

            Black stopped, but Draco could see the finally word as it faded on his lips and finished the sentence for him, a sick feeling building in his stomach. 'Malfoy.'

            'Yes. The background of the family you come from...'

            'You mean the man I come from,' Draco snarled.

            'Your father isn't the only member of your family with the Dark Mark on his arm.'

            'When Mother realised she was wrong, she got out. She's not the one who went back to Voldemort. She's not the one who gave me mine.'

            'Didn't stop him though, did she?'

            Draco clenched his fists. He stood, paced to the far end of the room and leaned on the wall. 'You're lucky I didn't just knock you out. All this means is that next time you say something like that, I get a run up.'

            'How do you think Harry would feel about that?'

            Draco opened his mouth to snap back, then paused. He unclenched his hands and hung his head.

            'Fine,' Black said, a little more gently. 'I won't talk about that for now. There are still problems.'

            'Like what?' Draco muttered.

            The sheets swished and springs under the bed groaned as Sirius shifted. 'Like what you did to yourself at the beginning of the year. If Harry cares for you enough to go out on a limb in order to be with you—do you have any idea how it would tear him up if you were to do something like that again?'

            'It's been months.'

            'Yes, it has. So are you...are you better? Or might it happen again?'

            'I haven't tried anything since. I won't do it again...'

            'Are you sure? I won't have Harry getting involved with someone who's—'

            'I'm not sick, Black.'

            'For heavens' sake, call me Sirius.'

            'I had my reasons. It won't happen again,' Draco said, more forcefully.

            'What were those reasons?' Sirius's voice was close by, and Draco looked up. The older man stood a few feet away, one hand brushing the wall beside him to keep his balance, staring at him patiently.

            'It doesn't matter now.'

            'No? Something that pushed you to try taking your life doesn't matter?'

            'No! I've already told you, I won't—' Draco gulped. 'I won't do a thing. Don't make us leave each other. Please. I've wanted him for so long...'

            'You might notice,' Sirius said softly; 'That I was just trying to make sure that you wouldn't leave Harry.'

            Draco blinked. Then realisation dawned. For a while he couldn't speak for relief. When he did, all he managed to croak out was a soft, 'Thank you.'

            'It doesn't mean I approve,' Sirius said, gruffly. 'And the instant you do something to hurt him—or yourself—' Draco nodded quickly. Sirius took another, more hesitant step forward. 'For how long have you wanted Harry, exactly? I thought this only happened today.'

            'No. Harry...he accepted me today. I—I've wanted to be with him for...months.'

            'Months?' Suspicion surfaced in Sirius's eyes. 'As in, since he saved you?'

            'No. Before that.'

            'From when, then?'

            'Since...' Draco licked his lips. 'Since around...around a certain time during the last summer holidays.'

            'I see. Since that something happened that means you can't touch girls any more.' Sirius's eyes bored into his. 'Tell me, is that because of a spell, or a phobia?'

            Draco swallowed. 'You've already guessed, haven't you?'

            'Maybe. Why do you think I didn't fly completely off the handle when Harry shut the door?'

            'Don't tell anyone.'

            Sirius snorted. 'Give me a little credit. I'm not about to spread a secret like that about the school. When did Harry learn how you felt about him?'

            'Just before I tried to kill myself.'

            Sirius stiffened. 'You didn't…he wasn't one of the reasons you did it, was he?'

'Not really. I just…I needed someone to understand me then. I thought he could.'

'He didn't, did he?'

Draco gave a small smile. 'He couldn't have. It doesn't matter now.'

            Sirius gave him a long look. 'Don't expect too much from me. I think it will be a while before I get used to—' he waved towards Draco in a general sort of way— 'Everything.'

            'Yes. Thank you.'

            Black retreated back to the bed. 'I think you ought to go now. Harry's probably on tenterhooks outside.'

            Draco crossed the room quickly as Black sank down beneath the sheets. He paused at the door and turned back, about to say something, but Sirius held up a hand to stop him.

            'Don't. I told you, don't expect much from me.'

            Draco nodded and slipped out.

            Harry was waiting outside, leaning against the wall by the door. He looked around at Draco with wide, worried eyes in the middle of his pinched face.

            'Madam Pomfrey nearly had a fit when she heard you yelling.' The look in Harry's eyes told him she hadn't been the only one to panic. 'What did he say?'

            Draco brushed his fingers through Harry's fringe. 'Don't worry.'

            Relief flooded Harry's expression. He buried his face against Draco's chest. 'I thought he was going to punch your lights out.'

'He might have, I think, except that he didn't want Madam Pomfrey around.' He stirred his fingers through Harry's hair. 'Are you all right?'

'I was afraid he'd make us stop.' A jagged shudder shook him. 'I couldn't…don't want to lose you...'

...The way you lost Ron, Draco finished off in his mind. He folded Harry into his arms. 'You're not going to, don't worry.'

            Harry laid his head on Draco's shoulder and sniffed. He wrapped his arms tight about his waist and a trickle of warm moisture slid from the corner of his eye into the fabric of Draco's robes. One of his hands rose quickly to wipe the tear's trail from his face.

            Draco realised that the Hospital Wing was awfully silent. He turned his head to see rows of empty beds, and Madam Pomfrey standing in the middle of the main room, staring at them both. He raised a brow and she turned away, flushing.

            Footsteps sounded outside. The door swung open. 'Excuse me, Madam Pomfrey, but Professor Dumbledore's asked us to...oh. Whoa-oh.'

            Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas stopped just inside the entrance to the Hospital Wing, staring past the matron to Draco and Harry. Harry lifted his head and moved a little from the encirclement of Draco's arms, but did nothing more to distance himself. Draco met their gazes coolly.

            Dean recovered himself first. 'Professor Dumbledore wanted us to talk to Mr Black, Madam Pomfrey. Is he all right to…?'

            'Probably not, no. Do you even know what that man's been through?'

            'Professor Dumbledore told us what happened.'

            'That's not the same. The last thing he needs at the moment is more visitors stampeding through his room.' She sighed. 'But if Dumbledore sent you, I suppose you'll have to see him.'

            'There's a meeting of the Order tonight,' Draco said. 'Dumbledore probably wants Sirius to know about it.'

            Seamus and Dean both nodded.

            'Oh,' Madam Pomfrey said, without turning. 'You'd better get on with it, then. He's in there.' She pointed back at the door by which Harry and Draco were standing.            'Thanks,'

            Dean strode forward, Seamus trailing uncertainly behind him. He paused before entering Sirius's room, and looked sidelong at Harry and Draco. 'I take it this is the personal Order business you were both talking about.'

            Draco nodded, guardedly. Dean held out his hand. 'Congratulations.'

            'Dean,' Seamus hissed, 'we're supposed to be seeing Black, not—not—' He met Harry's eyes, reddened, and dropped his head. 'I mean. Sorry, Harry, but I just never thought you'd be the sort of person to...' He glanced at Draco and looked hurriedly away. 'You know. Especially with—' Another bashful glance— 'Ah. Well. Anyway...'

            Harry shook Dean's hand without looking at Seamus, who was staring at Draco anyway. 'Thank you,' he said, quietly.

            Draco watched, feeling vaguely disoriented. He was sure this wasn't how things were supposed to go.

            Dean threw him a lopsided look. 'I guess you were expecting a different reaction.'

            Draco shook himself. 'Yes. I'm sorry. I'm not used to…'

            'It's all right.' Dean glanced back at Madam Pomfrey, who was sorting through a medicine cabinet with her back to them. 'Is he really as badly off as she thinks?'

            'He doesn't look well,' Harry said. 'But he acts as if there's nothing wrong.'

            'Mm,' Draco murmured. 'He may not be in a very good mood, though.'

            'No?'

            'He just found out something he didn't like. Two guesses.'

            Seamus frowned; Dean's eyes went wide. 'Ah. You told him?' Harry nodded. 'That was pretty brave. Most people would try to hide something like that for a while.'

            'It wouldn't be fair for him not to know.'

            'Still brave.'

            Seamus sighed impatiently and reached past Dean and swung the door open. Dean nodded and smiled at Harry and Draco before following his friend inside.

            Pomfrey stood at the click of the door closing and turned her head, casting a purse-lipped look at the brown wood.

            'It's all right, Madam Pomfrey,' Harry said. 'They know everything; they won't hurt him.'

            'I know. I'll see you two at the meeting tonight.' She said it without actually looking at either of them; shifting about the room and fiddling with bed sheets that didn't need to be fiddled with. Harry looked hurt.

            'Bye.'

            Pomfrey didn't look up as the Hospital Wing door swung shut behind them.

            They walked through the corridors together for a while, in silence. Draco watched Harry carefully; his chin was down and his brows knotted into a fierce frown.

            'What's wrong?'

            'Doesn't matter.'

            'Harry...' Draco looked about to make sure that there was no one nearby to see them. He took Harry's hand and pulled him into a narrow by-passage.

            'What are you doing?'

            'What were you thinking about? You look worried.'

            Harry bit his lip. 'Do you think Dean's right?'

            'About what?'

            'Do you—do you think we ought to hide...us?' Harry's voice grew softer and more wretched with every word. Draco stepped towards him.

            'Do you want to?'

            'I don't know. No! But yes.' Harry waved back the way they had come. 'Back there, we...four people found out and I saw four different reactions and only one person treated us as still the same people. As…okay; as if we were normal. If that's the way people are going to take it...'

            'It is,' Draco said before he could stop himself.

            Harry kicked at the wall. 'Why can't they just understand?'

            'They'll get past it eventually.'

            'What if they don't? I don't know what Madam Pomfrey thinks we're getting up to, or Professor McGonagall, and—oh, God—Ron...' Harry looked utterly torn. 'He's...he was, he was my best friend, but the way he treated you—especially when he found out I liked you too—' Harry drew in a shaking breath and clapped a hand over his mouth as though to catch the sob that Draco could see was coming. 'I don't want to see anything like that again, Draco, I really...he was my best friend, and he still did it, and I never—never got to forgive him...'

            Tears began to form in Harry's eyes. Draco took him into his arms, and he laid his head against Draco's shoulder, trying to smother them in the black of his robes.

            As he stroked Harry's hair and kissed his head, Draco felt a knot of sheer terror twist inside his stomach. He swallowed, hard. The knot only tightened.

            'Harry...would it be easier if—if we just ended it now?'

            'No!' Draco jumped; Harry's wail echoed up and down the corridor. Harry lost the fight with himself, and the tears broke. 'I won't—can't—do that, I don't want to, but—' He quivered. 'But, God, I'm so scared of what people will think, what they'll do. And I wish Ron was here so he could look at us both and say, really, it's all right, and smile and be alive again...'

            Draco held Harry closer as crying assaulted his words and drowned them. He felt tears prick his own eyes and held them back grimly. The last thing Harry needs is for me to be bawling like a baby too...

            'I don't want to make it a secret,' he said, and was proud of the way his voice almost didn't crack. 'I hate the idea of...of not being able to hold you and kiss you just because other people can see. Now I'm allowed, I mean. But if people knowing is going to hurt you, then yes. We'll keep it quiet.'

            Harry continued to cry for several minutes. Draco wished he knew how to make him stop.

            'Sorry,' he said, hiccoughing, when he recovered his voice. 'I'm sorry, Draco...'

            'What for?' Harry tried to turn away; Draco caught him about the waist and pressed their foreheads together. 'What for, dear?'

            Harry shivered and wiped his eyes. 'I think I like you calling me that.'

            'Harry…'

            'I'm sorry for falling apart on you. And I don't want to hide it either. I'm just…I don't know. I'm not thinking straight, and after seeing…I'm…so scared. I don't remember ever feeling like this before.'

            Draco moulded his hands around Harry's face, his thumbs tracing circles over his cheeks. 'We'll just play it by ear, shall we?'

            'Okay.' Harry raised his hands to close them around Draco's. 'Okay. I'm sorry.'

            'There's nothing to be sorry for.'

            'Let's just...just be careful.'

            'Yes.' Draco kissed him. 'It won't all be like that, anyway.'

            'I know. I'm being stupid.'

            'No. I wish you were,' Draco sighed. 'Let's go outside and wait for everyone to arrive.'

            They walked close together through the castle, hands clasped and hidden between the folds of their robes. No one they passed questioned them. Every now and then, one squeezed the other's hand.

            The sun was setting over the Forbidden Forest when they passed through the entrance doors, casting fractured rays through the trees and lending it as eerie an aura as if it were beneath a full moon. The forest creatures had settled in haphazard groups across the grounds. Draco made out Hagrid's huge form, semi-eclipsed behind a pair of unicorns, but to his relief he saw no sign of either Firenze or Harper.

            Harry cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted out to Hagrid. The half-giant straightened up and waved, saying something over his shoulder to the unicorns as he strode over to them.

            'Hi, Harry!' Hagrid paused on the lower steps, squinting up at them. 'Here, are yeh all righ'? Look as though yeh've been cryin' something terrible.' Harry had nothing to say to that. Hagrid grimaced sympathetically and stamped up the rest of the steps. 'Been hearing 'bout Ron all day. 'S a horrible thing, it really is. Yeh must feel terrible; I know I do. Yeh know, Fang was howlin' all through last night. To think of all them little Death Eaters scurryin' away like that, under me nose...' He shook his head, blinking rapidly. 'Feel such a useless idiot.'

            Draco felt an unaccustomed stir of sympathy for the half-giant. 'They all had Invisibility Cloaks. You weren't to know.'

            Hagrid nodded, still blinking. He sniffed. Some of the smaller creatures started nervously at the sound. 'Still, yeh'll be all righ', eh, Harry?' He clapped a hand against Harry's back, knocking the breath out of him. Draco's hand flashed out to keep him steady. 'Bet he's up somewhere better now, grinning down tryin' to tell us all to buck up.' Hagrid looked at Draco. 'Heard about what yeh did in there, too. Snape's pretty proud.'

            In spite of himself, Draco gave a tiny smile. He turned away to scan the grounds again. 'Do you know where Firenze and Harper are?'

            'They went back into the Forest a while ago.' Hagrid caught the look on Harry's face and shook his head. 'Trust 'em, Harry—or at least, trust Firenze. He's a good soul, an' I don't think that Harper boy'd cross him come hell or high water.'

            Harry was about to reply when the doors opened behind them and Seamus, Dean and Snuffles filed out. The black dog wagged its tail at Harry and immediately transformed into Sirius. He took one look at Harry and Draco and drew them aside while Seamus and Dean took the opportunity to bombard Hagrid with the news of their joining the Order.

            'Sorry I threw a fit.' Sirius grimaced at Harry, speaking so low that even Draco could barely catch the words. 'Madam Pomfrey told me you were upset.'

            'It's okay.'

            'No, it's not. Ordering you out of the room is the last thing I should have done.' Sirius sighed. 'You have to understand...this is something that's very awkward for me. I was never taught to tolerate it, and—God, Harry, I want to understand. I really do...'

            'So do I,' Harry muttered. He looked his godfather full in the eye. What makes it so awkward for you? How is this so different to me liking Cho or another girl?'

            'Draco isn't another girl.'

            'No,' Draco chipped in. 'But at least I care for Harry as much as he cares for me.'

            'And it's something...deeper than what I've felt for any girl, too.'

            Sirius looked edgy at Harry's words. Draco gritted his teeth. 'The point is that there's no need for you to see us as any different from any other normal couple.'

            Another grimace. 'You two don't make a normal couple however you look at it. My point is that it shakes certain unshakable notions I've always had about things that go together. Sun and moon. Day and night. Man and woman.'

            Harry sighed. 'It doesn't have to be like that, Sirius, and you know it. You've seen it--you were in Professor Snape's year; you'd know about—'

            'His two little friends?' Sirius gave a low, bitter laugh. 'Yes. He's told you that story, has he? Well, how lovely of him. The whole lot? How he wound up—'

            'Executing them,' Draco said, quietly. 'Yes, he has.'

            'Can't have been such close friends as all that, can they?'

            Draco's jaw tightened. 'You ask him about it. Take a look at his face when he's talking about them. Then you come back and tell me they didn't mean anything to him.' He looked up. 'I've been warned about what Voldemort might do if he knew I was gay. I'm glad I'm not in danger of that any more. But it's not that much better on this side, really, from what I've seen. I've been sneered at, pushed away, beaten—I've hated myself for feeling the way I do, but I can't help it. Okay? And nor can Harry. I don't understand. You say you'll let us be, you say you want to understand, and then you get out here and try to make us think the way that you do...'

            Black's eyes grew dark as he spoke, but Draco held his gaze. I'm not apologizing, he thought. No way. Not now, not to him...

            Draco felt Harry's fingers twine between his own. Harry lifted his hand, kissed it softly.

            'Sirius, is this really so bad?'

            'O'course it ain't, Harry.' All three of them jumped and glanced up at Hagrid, sitting on the highest step, gazing down at them. Dean and a red-faced Seamus sat beside him.

            'Oh, God,' Sirius groaned. 'Don't you get involved too!'

            'I'm not,' the groundskeeper said, 'much. But I don' think yer bein' fair to either of 'em. That's all. In fact,' he cast a pointed glance at Seamus, who reddened further, 'I reckon it's kind of sweet.'

            Draco flushed. Harry's face erupted into a sudden, fleeting smile. 'Thanks Hagrid.'

            Black sighed, rubbing his face. 'For Heaven's sake, Harry...'

            'Look,' Hagrid rumbled, overriding whatever Sirius was going to say. He pointed towards the gateway that led to Hogsmeade; several figures were making their way into the school grounds. 'Company's here.'

            The creatures seemed to have noticed the intruders as well; calling out to one another, they began to rise. There was an instant of movement behind the trees edging the Forbidden Forest, and Firenze emerged with Kieran in tow. The other animals moved aside to let the pair pass as they made their way up to the castle entrance.

            The doors opened and Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape stepped out, ahead of the rest of the Hogwarts staff. Dumbledore, wearing robes of midnight blue embroidered with stars and moons, looked as regal as the phoenix still perched upon his shoulder; McGonagall, her eyes flicking across the gathering crowd, seemed tense and weary. Snape looked as if he'd been brewing a storm all day in his cauldron and had just drunk it.

            Everyone on the steps scrambled to their feet, backing away to give the teachers space. Draco cast his gaze back over the grounds and saw that the other members of the Order were much closer now, and the creatures of the Forbidden Forest were gathering behind Firenze.

            The doors swung aside again. Dumbledore turned to let Hermione, Neville, Ginny and the twins pass by.           

            Harry drew in a breath. 'I haven't seen them at all today,' he whispered. 'I'm so stupid! I should have been around to help...'

            'I had hoped you would join us,' Dumbledore said to the Weasleys. 'Your father will be here shortly.'

            The Weasleys weaved through the crowd to Draco and Harry, each looking grimmer than Draco could remember having seen before. Ginny's red eyes betrayed her, but that was all; her eyes looked like chips of stone until she reached Harry. She gave a little whimper and flung her arms about him. Harry returned the embrace with equal vigour.

            Fred and George each shook Draco's hand in turn, murmuring, 'Thanks for trying.'

            Then they drew away and moved on to find Mr Weasley, with Hermione and Neville following behind them. Draco stared straight in front of him, listening to the man's hoarse cry as he spotted them and their voices, breaking under the strain of trying not to cry, and bit back the guilt that rose like bile in his throat.

            Trying wasn't enough. I should have been able to stop him.

            Sirius kept close by the both of them for some reason, making Draco uneasy. He looked about for Snape and spotted him, towards the back of the human crowd, by Professor McGonagall. He watched as Snape bent down and whispered something in the older woman's ear, and then saw her eyes go wide as he slipped his arm smoothly about her waist. Snape smirked.

            'Now what's that about...?'

            Harry looked up and turned around, following his gaze. He rolled his eyes. 'A private war, apparently.'

            'Friends,' Dumbledore's voice boomed suddenly, commanding the attention of everyone present, human and animal alike. 'Terrible, terrible things have happened since we last met. Voldemort has brought us to a crossroad. Tonight we must decide how best to defend ourselves and those we love from him.

            'Lord Voldemort is gathering his forces. Last night he evacuated every student Death Eater from Hogwarts to join with him. They used Invisibility Cloaks to evade our staff patrols. We believe that he is preparing to draw us into open battle.'

            A murmur rose, and Draco caught sight of Melchior, sneer upon his face, glancing back towards Snape and opening his mouth to say something. Dumbledore raised his hand for silence.

            'Voldemort had been warned against our spies, and left them bereft of any information that could have been used to stop him. He sent them into Azkaban on a mission that was surely meant to kill them, while the other Death Eaters made their escape. I sought to protect them by sending two others as well.' He shut his eyes suddenly, as if against a sharp pain. 'It did not work. Ronald Weasley went to Azkaban to aid Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape, and died there by the hand of the Death Eater Lestrange, who escaped from his cell. He is the first casualty of the war.'

            Dumbledore's words hung in the air amid a wall of shocked and aggrieved silence. The moment drew itself out and ended with the stamp of a hoof.
            All eyes swung to Firenze. He stamped again, raised his head, and began to sing in a deep, melancholy voice.

            'Oria ket demira qo berin i ge—' Harper began to sing alongside him. All around, the forest animals stirred. '—Ge boro mana, berin-do boro kii...suthri rai. Suthri rai.'

            Sirius gasped. Harry tipped his head back to look at him. 'What are they singing?'

            'I think it's a centaur's funeral song.' The awe in his voice was echoed in the faces of many of the other members of the Order. 'I've heard about them, but I've never seen one sung before. The words...I've heard about this, I'm sure of it...'

            '—Vira ket oriaria qo ge, Zyr boro det—'

            'A light has winked out in the sky of the world,' Sirius murmured. 'Mother...yes, Mother take his body, sisters take his soul, and...sleep?...rest him well. Rest him well. His life has shimmered in the world. Father, take his heart, brothers take his mind, and rest him well. Rest him well. That's all I know.'

            'That's beautiful,' Draco murmured.

            'It's a very old chant. The reasons for it are all buried in legends and so forth by now, but still...I think that it's about the highest honour they could offer Ron.'

            Harry stared at Firenze and Harper as they sang the final note. 'That's...that's really good of them,' he said thickly. 'It's what Ron deserves.'

            The centaur bowed low and, member by member, the Order's attention reverted to the Headmaster. Dumbledore's eyes sparkled with something deeper than his customary merriment. 'Thank you, Firenze. We are most humbly grateful.'

            Then he addressed the Order as a whole. 'As a result of last night's events, the school is no longer in immediate danger. Yet the Dark Lord must have a reason for pulling his followers out of Hogwarts. Without knowing what he plans, we must do what we can to keep him at bay.

            'Arthur has also put an end to his campaign to become the new Minister for Magic. I know that several of you have already volunteered to take his place, and I wish you all luck.'

            'We'll give You-Know-Who's cronies something to think about,' Snape's burly friend rumbled. He flashed his nasty grin and several of the people around him sniggered.

            'I should hope so,' Dumbledore said, beard twitching. 'I would not wish to see Lucius Malfoy in that position for all the world.'

            'So, Dumbledore,' Melchior called out suddenly, jabbing a thumb at Harper; 'If all the Death Eaters are out of Hogwarts, what's this boy doing in their garb?'

            It could have been Draco's imagination, but the night's temperature seemed to drop considerably.

            'That is a fair question, Kenneth,' Dumbledore said, managing not to sound ruffled. 'It turns out that ours were not the only spies parading as Death Eaters. Kieran, could you come here, please?'

            Harper hastened up the steps to the Headmaster. He turned to face the watching crowd with silent arrogance. Watching him, Draco wondered how much of a mask that expression really was.

            'Just as Draco and Severus have watched Voldemort and gathered information to help the Order of the Phoenix, so Kieran Harper has watched and gathered information for the creatures within the Forbidden Forest. They have come forward today to offer themselves as allies.'

            'Can he be trusted?' Melchior sounded doubtful, and Draco saw several people who looked as though they agreed with him.

            Snape hissed. 'Yes. Of course he can.' Draco looked back at the Potions Master. He'd stepped away from Professor McGonagall, and was glaring at Dumbledore. 'Go ahead. Show them, Fawkes.'

            Fawkes seemed to hear his name being spoken, and looked down his beak at Snape. He hopped from Dumbledore's shoulder onto Harper's, spread his wings, and released a peal of song.

            As the notes wavered in the night air, everyone bar Snape relaxed a little. Fawkes fluffed himself up and returned to Dumbledore.

            'All right,' Melchior said. 'Do you have any information that we don't, boy?'

            'Only that Voldemort is moving the Death Eaters to somewhere he calls his stronghold, and that he desperately wants to break Azkaban.'

            'Do you have any idea of when he intends to do the breaking?'

            'I don't.'

            'Useful,' Melchior sniffed as Harper returned to Firenze's side. 'Still, I suppose that we could do with a few of these brutes when it comes down to it.'

            The furious reaction was instantaneous. It was only Firenze's sharp commands that kept certain of the creatures from setting upon Melchior. Hagrid whirled about and shouted something at him that didn't need repeating, particularly since most people there would never forget the mental image. Dumbledore shouted for quiet, but it was only after several tense moments that things calmed down. Dumbledore gazed about, his eyes flinty.

            The quiet was broken by a brittle, mirthless laugh. Draco recognised the voice, and shut his eyes. Oh god, what's he doing? Dumbledore's not in a mood to put up with this...

            He turned with the rest of the Order to stare at Professor Snape.

            'Rather put your foot in it then, didn't you, Melchior?' he said. 'And you're perfectly wrong, of course. If you'd been paying attention you'd see that a centaur is leading your 'brutes'. A diviner. You know what that means, don't you?' Snape's gaze locked with Dumbledore's. 'It means that the least they will expect is for us to accept them as allies. And the most? Oh, the sky's the limit, isn't it? Always is for a centaur. But that's all right. We're prepared to pay that, aren't we, for the sake of a handful more merry friends?'

            'Severus,' Dumbledore said, in a voice that bore no small warning.

            'No, please go on. You are right, as always. We must accept those willing to side with us. You are right, and I am wrong, as it has always been and always shall be forever and ever, amen. A bird deigns to open its beak and sing a note or two, and voila! Our latest batch of allies has arrived. Amazing.'

            Snape shook his head and made his way through the crowd, past Dumbledore, to the castle doors. The Headmaster put a hand on his shoulder as he pushed them open—whether in some kind of comfort or to pull him back, Draco couldn't be sure.

            Professor Snape looked him in the eye. 'Don't. You don't want me here tonight and you know it.'

            He pushed the doors aside and they swung closed with a dull thud behind him. The silence returned, heavy and jagged, in his wake. Dumbledore sighed and turned back to face the others.

            'The inhabitants of the Forbidden Forest offer an alliance. I'm sure you are all aware of the aid they are capable of providing, and let us not forget how things ended during the last confrontation with Voldemort without them. However, it must ultimately be your decision to accept or reject their proposal. Ayes raise your hands.'

            There was little hesitation; a forest of hands sprang up. Melchior looked sour, but his hand rose as well. Dumbledore nodded in obvious approval.

            'Firenze, welcome into the Order of the Phoenix.'

            The centaur, and the bulk of the creatures at his back, bowed. 'You will never have cause to regret this.'

            'I don't doubt it.' Dumbledore smiled and raised his voice once more. 'Finally, after last night's events I was obliged to reveal the existence of the Order of the Phoenix to the students.'

            The crowd's murmur sounded like a fuse burning down. It was obvious that most of the humans there who weren't members of the Hogwarts staff had very definite ideas of what the Hogwarts students should and shouldn't know. The Headmaster sighed.

            'It caused quite a commotion, it is true, and I don't doubt that some parents will be receiving very interesting letters over the next few days. But you must remember that the children woke this morning with one of their classmates dead and a substantial number missing. Those pupils who remain are good children, and they deserved to be told the truth, particularly given the seriousness of the situation. Moreover, several of Ron Weasley's siblings are also at Hogwarts—' Dumbledore nodded at Fred, George and Ginny. '—And I could not ask them to grieve in silence. I gather that there has been a great deal of common room discussion about the Order, and along with the Weasleys, two fifth years have already volunteered to become a part of it. They are Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas.'

            The Headmaster indicated the pair. Draco noted the heavy scrutiny under which the rest of the Order regarded them.

            'Dumbledore, is it wise to get the students involved?' a witch asked. She spared a glance for the Weasleys, Harry and Draco before continuing. 'I know that some have been caught up in this since the beginning, and there's nothing to be done about that, but...'

            'If we're old enough to be Death Eaters, we must be old enough to fight against them,' Draco said, frowning at the restless stir winding through the crowd.

            Melchior rolled his eyes. 'You don't understand, boy.'

            'I think I do.'

            'This isn't a game. It's dangerous, and it's probably going to become deadly before it's over. You know that—but do they?' he pointed at Seamus and Dean. Draco noted their clenched fists and dark eyes. 'Will all of Hogwarts?'

            'How stupid do you think we are?' Seamus scowled. 'We know what's going on, all right? Ron's dead—' Harry flinched. Draco instinctively wrapped an arm around him. '—And we know that Voldemort's back—we've known for longer than most of adult wizards have! Don't you dare try to tell us we can't do something about it, don't tell us we're not involved. Don't you dare!'

            'That will do, Seamus. You've made your point,' Dumbledore said softly. Finnigan subsided, still glaring at Melchior. 'I have made a point of telling the students what they need to know about Voldemort's activities, when they need to know it. I'm not going to stop that now. The struggle is theirs more than anyone else's, after all.' He cast his gaze about the crowd, seeking out the more discontented faces. 'Let's not forget that, however things turn out, it's the children who are going to have to live through it. We can't deny them the right to help.'

            He waited a moment. No one made a sound. 'Very well, then. Is there anything else to be mentioned?'

            'Durmstrang,' Professor Figg said, tersely. 'Do we know what's happening over there?'

            'I received an owl some time ago from Minister Oblanksovic informing me that our offer of help had been duly noted, but the Bulgarian Ministry wasn't yet prepared to divulge the school's whereabouts.'

            'Idiots! What do they think they're doing?'

            'I believe they are trying to protect the students from Voldemort's influence by remaining in hiding.'

            Sirius snorted. 'In the only major school that actually teaches the Dark Arts? There's a farce for you.'

            There was a rustle of agreement that rose in volume as debates broke out over the real reason for Oblanksovic's secrecy.

            'This is ridiculous,' Figg muttered. 'They can't protect the children if they can't teach them.'

            Dumbledore clapped his hands for quiet. 'Worrisome though the Durmstrang situation is, there is nothing we can do about it at present. As long as Mr Oblanksovic refuses to disclose the school's whereabouts we are, I'm afraid, quite useless.

            'Now, it is getting late and I know that many of you have far to travel from here. Thank you all for arriving so quickly. I bid you good night and a safe journey home.'

            The gathering dispersed three ways; two streams of Order members radiating out from the castle steps back to Hogsmeade or to the Forbidden Forest. Those remaining trickled back into the castle.

            Sirius led Harry inside and back towards Gryffindor Tower. Draco took the hint and trailed behind them, promising himself only to follow as far as his path coincided with theirs.

            Harry and Sirius spoke quietly to each other as they walked. They smiled; Harry laughed once or twice. Draco wished he knew what they were talking about.

            Harry's eyes kept flicking back to him. He stopped at the first staircase and, without a word of warning to his godfather, raced back, almost barrelling into Draco when he stopped.

            'Draco, I...you're not still sleeping just...just anywhere, are you?'

            The concern on his face surprised Draco. He'd forgotten that Harry didn't know about his lair. He smiled. 'No, I'm not, dear. I found somewhere.'

            'Oh. Good. Because, you know, the Fat Lady doesn't seem to mind you and I thought if you wanted a bed, you could come up to the dormitories and…' Harry blushed. 'Just to sleep. You know. If you wanted to.'

            Draco's eyes softened, and he stroked Harry's cheek. Under his fingertips, the skin settled back from a warm flush into its usual pale cream. 'Thank you, Harry. It's...it's nice for you to have thought of that. I don't think Sirius would really approve, though. Not at the moment.'

            'Sirius hasn't seen you trying to sleep in the corner of the Transfigurations classroom. Are you sure?'

            'Yes. It's all right. I've got a proper room now. It's even got a bed.'

            Harry dimpled. 'Good.'

            'Good night, then.'

            Harry leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek. 'Night, Draco.'

            He smiled again, and went back to the stairs. Draco watched him go, unconsciously raising a hand to his cheek, where the lingering warmth of Harry's lips made his skin tingle. It had been years since he'd been kissed good night.

            He saw Sirius staring at him, and flushed. There was little mistrust or disgust in the man's expression any more, though, just a kind of helpless bewilderment. He turned abruptly and followed Harry.

            Draco hugged himself and turned away toward the Chimaera Hall, fully prepared to spend the rest of the night folded in dreams of Harry.

~~~*~~~

            … …

            … … A full moon soared like a coin flicked into the night sky, obscured by clouds and bare branches scratching up from the ground around Draco in a dead forest. He was running. Something howled behind him, and suddenly he knew why. He tried to run faster.

            Draco's breath churned from his lungs and exploded from his mouth in gusts of silvery mist, twisting before his eyes. He watched it shift into the image of Harry's face, smiling and whispering to him for a moment before dancing out of the reach of Draco's helplessly straining fingers and melting away into the night air.

            Another howl came, closer to him. Draco heard panting, the scrape of claws on the ground and an animal grunt. He tripped over a root, righted himself. Didn't dare stop. Didn't dare look back.

            The trees thickened in front of him, all thorns and tangled, clinging wood. He struggled on, ignoring the twigs catching on his skin and in his clothes; drawing blood, pulling the threads loose. They weren't as bad as the thing behind him. He couldn't hear it any more, but that didn't mean a thing. They could be soft as cat's feet, he knew. Father had said, and Father was always right.

            There was a tree in front of him with broad, thick roots spilling over a small hole in the ground. It looked like a cage, but he could hide there; he'd be safe if he was small enough to crawl under, and he knew he was.

            He dropped to his knees by the hole; tried to find a way in between the roots. A small, skeletal branch roughly caressed his head like a dead man's hand.

            He flinched as another howl rang out just behind his back, degenerating into a mad laugh, ripping through the trees. He scrabbled frantically at the roots, tearing his fingernails apart trying to force them aside so he could hide.

            Draco froze as he felt fingers stroking through his hair, scratching his scalp. He raised his eyes. Where the branch had been, he saw a scabbed hand.

            The fingers latched onto his hair suddenly, and pulled him back. Draco cried out, only earning a careless slap that shot fire across his face. The laughter that followed echoed in his ears as the forest melted away into darkness before his eyes.

            'I'm going to have fun with you, silver man. I'll make your scalp red as blood…'

            … …

            … … Draco hit the floor. He stayed there, trembling, until he realised his fingers were twisting slowly in the fabric of his blanket. He dropped the sheet and scrambled to his cabinet, wrenching the doors open. He fumbled with one hand for his wand on the top of the cabinet, muttered, 'Lumos', and scrabbled among the potions bottles there until he found one that was marked, 'Sleeping'.

            Draco stared at the label. Sleeping. It said nothing about dreamless sleep. He put it back in the cabinet and swung the doors closed, leaned his head on the wood and closed his eyes.

            …A howl and a laugh; scabbed fingers raking through his hair…

            Draco gasped and opened his eyes. He gave a little moan.

            'Not again, please, I stopped this years ago…'

            He got to his feet, wrapped himself in his robes without bothering to change out of his pyjamas. He hurried out of the room and down the tunnel.

            I just need a walk, that's all. If I tire myself out, I won't be able to dream…

            He wandered up stairs and down, not really aware that he was heading towards Gryffindor Tower until he climbed the last set of stairs and saw the Fat Lady's portrait at the end of the corridor in front of him.

            'Do you want to come inside?' she said, watching him as he walked up to her. 'My word, you look a bit pale, dear…'

            'That's just me.' He stared at her, thinking of Harry's offer. The thought of being able to curl up and fall asleep beside him warmed something deep inside Draco. He glanced down and kicked at the floor.

            That's just being childish. Crawling into bed with him because I had a nightmare…I shouldn't worry Harry with something so stupid.

            'No. It's all right.'

            Draco stepped back and headed away, downward and deeper into Hogwarts. There was someone he might be able to talk to, if he was still awake. At the very least, he could get a potion for dreamless sleep.

            A sliver of light still shone beneath Snape's office door when Draco reached it. He gave the wood a hesitant tap.

            'Who is it?' Snape's tone was oddly guarded. Draco frowned.

            'Just me, sir.'

            There was the sound of paper rustling and a drawer being hastily closed. 'Come in.'

            Draco did so, pausing in the doorway in surprise. Dark rings shadowed the Potions Master's eyes; the corners of his mouth drooped, far more than a Longbottom effort in Potions class had ever caused them to. There was an entrenched melancholy about him that Draco was sure he'd never seen before.

            Then, suddenly, it was gone, and Snape stood up, pushing his tattered chair back from his desk. 'Why are you awake so late, Draco?'

            He shrugged, feeling foolish. 'Couldn't sleep.'

            'Well, that makes two of us.'

            Draco looked up. 'What's wrong, Professor?'

            Snape's mouth pressed into a thin line. 'Ron Weasley—'

            '—Isn't why you're so upset. This is something to do with Fawkes and the centaurs.'

            The Potions Master pinched the bridge of his nose. 'It's none of your concern.'

            'No?'

            'No.' The harshness of Snape's voice set Draco on edge. His glare only made it worse. 'Is badgering me the only reason you came here?'

            'No. But—'

            'If you really want to know, I suggest you go and speak to Dumbledore. What do you want?'

            'A potion that will let me sleep without dreaming,' he muttered.

            Snape nodded. Draco watched him turn away to search among the potions in his cupboards.

            'I did ask Dumbledore,' he said, quietly. 'He said I ought to talk to you.'

            Snape stilled. Draco could see the tenseness in the line of his shoulders. 'He was wrong.'

            He continued to search. Draco bit his lip. He took a step forward as Snape's fingers closed around the neck of a bottle. 'Professor—'

            The man whirled about, his dark eyes all but giving off sparks. 'Don't you know when to leave things be, boy?'

            Draco was taken aback by his ferocity. 'I just—'

            'Just what?' Snape advanced; Draco backed away, feeling trapped by the closeness of the office walls around him. 'You just want to know, do you? Just want to make it better? You're too kind! You've got no idea—' He broke off. 'Fine. Fine. Have it your way. You don't know why I was sent to Azkaban when I returned to Dumbledore, do you?'

            'T-to prove your loyalty—'

            'But what was Fawkes used for then?' Draco gaped, and Snape nodded slowly. 'I went back to Dumbledore, he showed me to his beloved phoenix, and nothing happened. Not one bloody squeak of a note, not a tear, nothing.' He laughed. 'He had quite a song to sing for young Harper today, though. I suppose I must still have stunk of David and Morgan's blood. Too impure for a phoenix's taste, clearly.

            'Once I was released from Azkaban, I was sent into the Forbidden Forest—Dumbledore had an idea that the inhabitants should help fight, and since the centaurs are the leaders among them, I was supposed to negotiate with them.' His fist clenched. 'I have never dealt with such impossible creatures in all my life. Never mind that they lived on Hogwarts territory and were therefore under Dumbledore's protection. They refused to lift a finger unless the stars decreed it—or at least, unless the stars decreed that it would be detrimental for them not to.'

            'But then why would they have come out now?'

            Snape laughed. 'For the very same reasons, Draco. They won't tell, of course; they'll make all sorts of noble allusions--like that funeral song tonight; very touching.'

            Draco swallowed, not sure whether to be horrified or angry. 'Don't you think they might have just changed their minds...that they might just want to help this time?'

            'I'd rather that they had some ulterior motive. If the centaurs think that we'll actually need their help, things will get dire indeed.' Snape ran a hand through his hair. 'Failing at my very first task in the Order did nothing to endear me, especially to the likes of Melchior. There was a lot of whispering that it was deliberate. So I was kindly told that I could help most by spying. Going back to the people I hated most in the world, watching them like a truly twisted voyeur...' Snape made a noise that could as easily have been a sob as a laugh. 'And now I've lost even that. Dumbledore won't even listen to me when I try to tell him that the centaurs aren't just playing nice. For God's sake, they took a Death Eater as a spy to eye things out before coming to him!'

            Abruptly, he stepped forward and looked Draco straight in the eye. 'Go ahead then, Draco. Make it better; God knows I wish it were. Otherwise,' he pressed the potion bottle into Draco's hand. 'Leave. Now.'

            Draco's fingers curled around the bottle's neck. He knew there was nothing he could do to lift the shadows out of his teacher's eyes; they went far too deep. Trembling, he left the room.

            Draco only walked a few paces before trembling gave way to wretched, silent sobs. He managed a few more feet before tears gathered on his lashes, clouding his vision, and he gave up. Draco sank down to his knees, curling against the wall and cursing himself. He jammed a fist into his mouth to keep from making any noise.

            He wasn't sure how long it was before the useless hand dropped from his mouth, sore and punctured, or how loudly his crying echoed down the hall, before he heard the nearby swing of a door, and feet approaching. He curled up further, trying to hide his face behind his hands, desperate not to be seen like this.

            He heard a whispered, 'Oh god,' nearby, and whimpered. Soft fingers pulled his hands from his face, stroked his cheeks, and helped him to his feet. He heard Snape mutter, 'I'm such a selfish bastard.'

            'It's not you,' Draco sobbed, leaning against Snape as he was led back into the office. 'Not your fault...'

            'Of course not,' Snape said grimly. 'Me shouting at you and acting as if you were to blame for every chip on my shoulder not ten minutes ago couldn't have anything to do with this.'

            The door closed behind them and Snape leaned back, not quite taking Draco into his arms. 'Your turn. Tell me what's wrong.'

            Draco shook his head, running a hand through his hair. 'Its...it's all so stupid, and I shouldn't be...'

            'Draco,' Snape said, his voice gentling suddenly, 'you've been through a lot over the past few days. You've been through an awful lot over the whole year; far more than most people your age could cope with. Let it out.'

            'I...I just...I'm worried about Harry and Kieran kissed me, and I'm not even sure exactly why I feel so horrible about that, and I'm sorry you've had such a terrible life. And I just had a nightmare, which is stupid, that's a kid's thing, and Lestrange was in it and I should've...should've been able to stop him...'

            'All right,' Snape said, pulling him close. He didn't object to the way Draco clung to him or to the growing wet patch on his shoulder. His hand swept up and down Draco's back in broad, soothing strokes, urging every tear and worry out of him. 'All right. Ssh, sh. Everything will be all right one day, Draco.'

            Eventually Draco calmed down. Snape tilted his chin up so that he could look directly at him. 'Now, what's this about Harper kissing you?'

            'He…well, he sort of did. This morning. It wasn't...he didn't know about me and Harry, and I made sure that he did when I pushed him away, but...'

            'Have you told Harry about it?'

            'No.'

            'Do you feel guilty, then?'

            'A little bit. But...it was like me kissing Harry at the beginning of the year, a little. Like it was something that he'd got to the point of needing, even if only once.'

            'Really.'

            'Yes. But it was different, too. He...' Draco paused, trying to sort his thoughts so that they matched what he felt. 'I don't really care for him, not the way I do for Harry. But he does...make me feel good.'

            'Good in what sense?'

            Draco blushed. 'In a physical sense, sir.'

            'All right.' Snape smiled a little. 'That's fine, Draco, as long as you're not getting confused between lust and real affection. Go on.'

            'I think it's the same for him. He...likes to touch me, but—'

            'He what?'

            Draco recoiled a little at his teacher's suddenly sharp tone. 'Not like that. He holds my hand, strokes my wrists. That sort of thing. I don't actually mean much to him, though, and…that hurts. I don't know. I don't like to think that he was just grasping at straws...'

            'Draco...'

            'You know, I asked him once whether he was gay. Because he kept touching me, but I couldn't be sure. And then he said he wasn't, but he kissed me, and…I think he isn't sure what he is or how he feels. Or he is sure, and it scares him. I think maybe it scares him a lot.'

            There was silence for a moment. Professor Snape brushed his hair back awkwardly. 'Draco...I can understand why you'd feel guilty about it for Harry's sake, but if Harper's afraid to work out how he feels, it's his problem and he'll have to work out how to deal with it. All right? There's nothing you can do.'

            'Okay.'

            'Why are you worried about Harry?'

            'He's...I don't know. It's something to do with Ron. I don't think he really knows how to...or doesn't want to...' He broke off, biting his lip. 'Last night when I went after him, we wound up crying together and…well, we were quite a mess by the end of it. But Harry seems to think that ought to have been enough for him. He keeps trying to be cheerful and normal for everyone; he thinks that doing anything else would be letting Ron down. But he's not happy, and it all builds up so the tiniest things set him off, and then he feels so ashamed afterward...'

            'Nothing at all like you or I, then.'

            Draco gave a rueful smile. 'I didn't think of that.'

            Snape nodded. 'It's easier to see these things in other people than in yourself. It could be a problem, though, especially since Harry and Ron were so close.'

            'I don't know what to do about it.'

            'Perhaps he'll stop it himself. Just watch him, for now, and let him know that it's okay—'

            'I've tried.'

            'Well, keep trying then,' Snape said quietly. Draco's lip quivered, and the professor held him close again. 'Just keep an eye on him, for now. Try not to talk about Ron too much, if it bothers him. If things don't change, maybe it would be a good idea to talk to Madam Pomfrey. She'd know a lot more about dealing with something like that than I do. At least...dealing with it properly.'

            'You're all right, sir.'

            'No, I'm not,' he said brusquely. 'My skills at coping with grief are abominable. Ask Dumbledore. Pomfrey's good with people, though, and she's dealt with more of them than I ever will. Now tell me about this nightmare.'

            Draco shook his head. 'It's nothing. It's stupid; just a dream I used to have, and I ought to be over it...'

            'Draco. It's enough to make you go searching me out in the middle of the night. It's not nothing, it's not stupid, and you're obviously not over it.' Draco shook his head again, and Snape tipped his chin upward again. 'Talk to me.'

            'But I—'

            'Draco.'

            'I have the potion; it'll be all right now—'

            'Draco.'

            He hung his head. 'It's a memory, sort of, from when I was six. Father was trying to teach me to fight a Dementor; I don't know how he'd got hold of one, but he had, and I just couldn't get my Patronus to work.'

            'I'm not surprised,' Snape muttered. 'At the age of six?'

            'He didn't want to waste time. And most of the time I was okay; I usually managed to get the hang of the curses and things he taught me with a bit of practice. He was a good teacher, really.'

            'Really.'

            Draco didn't notice the cold, distant note in Snape's voice. 'Yes. But I couldn't this time, and I was getting really scared and he was furious. Eventually he cast his own Patronus to knock the Dementor out, and then he turned around and hit me. He'd never done anything like that before, and I just ran. Straight out of the house, through the garden. I could hear father shouting behind me; I didn't know what to do.

            'There's a wood near the manor that I'd been told never to go into, but I was so terrified this time that I don't think I really realised where I was until I tripped over a root and had to stop and look around. When I did, I thought it was great. I mean, Lucius would never have followed me in there. So I kept wandering around, and the wood began to get dark. I started thinking maybe it would be all right to go back home now. Then...then I heard something. A wolf howling. It was pretty close.'

            Snape gasped. 'Good grief, Draco...'

            'I screamed and began to run back the way I thought I'd come. I ran away from the howl, anyway. But it just kept coming and coming. I kept on screaming. I thought I was going to die.

            'I heard someone calling my name, but it sounded far away. I saw a tree with really thick roots that went all over a hole in the ground, and I thought if I could get in under there I might be able to hide until the wolf...I don't know. Until it went away. So I made a hole big enough for me to get through and jumped down.' He shook his head. 'Didn't work. The wolf couldn't get through the hole, but it was so close I could feel its slobber on me, and it started tearing up the roots with its teeth to get to me.'

            'How did you get away?' Snape's voice was unusually tight.

            'I didn't. It was nearly on me, and then suddenly someone shouted something. It collapsed, halfway through the hole. Its teeth were so close to my face...and then it changed. It was a werewolf.' Draco shuddered; he thought he heard Snape swear under his breath. 'Mother saved me. She pulled it away and helped me to get out and back to the manor. She must have been in the rose garden when I began shouting. There's no way she could have heard me otherwise. She wasn't very happy.'

            'I should think not,' Snape growled.

            Draco looked up. 'I told her what had happened and she sent me to bed. Later on I heard her arguing with Father, and I crept out to watch.' He grinned suddenly. 'She was fantastic! I'd never seen her so angry. Lucius was fuming, and I'd never even thought it was possible to fume back when he did that. But Mother did. And then he said something about me not being strong enough, and she slapped him—knocked him flat.' Snape snorted, and he closed his eyes. 'She must have known I was there; she turned, and smiled at me. Lucius never laid a finger on me again. Not personally, anyway.'

            'But this nightmare...'

            'It's a memory of the wolf chasing me, except that Mother isn't there. In the dream, I can't get through the tree's roots and it catches me every time. I used to have it a lot, but eventually it petered out. The last time I had the dream was the night before I came to Hogwarts.'

            'Really?'

            Draco nodded. 'I was nervous about coming here. I thought I might not be good enough, or I might embarrass Father...and then he told me that Harry Potter was going to be in my year, and I got really frightened...'

            'And tonight...?'

            Draco sighed. 'Tonight it came again, but it was different. The werewolf ended up...changing. While it was still after me.'

            There was a lengthy pause as Snape waited for Draco to continue. He began to tremble, and eventually he burst out, 'It was Lestrange!'

            Snape patted his shoulder. 'He's dead, Draco. There's nothing he can do to you.'

            'I know,' Draco whispered. 'I know. But he got me in the dream; he dragged me away and said he was going to make my scalp red and there was nothing I could do about it! Again!' For the second time that night, he found himself unable to control the flood in his eyes. Snape held him tightly, trying in vain to comfort him.

            'It wasn't your fault, Draco.'

            'It was,' he moaned. 'I shouldn't have made Pansy angry, and I should have been able to get to my wand in time. I should have been able to do something! I was useless!'

            'That's not true,' Snape said sharply. 'Don't you dare say that again. You did damn well to be able to defend yourself against Lestrange, let alone protect Ron. All right? What would you have done if you did have your wand? Do you think a mere stupefy would have stopped him? Lestrange was a very powerful wizard.'

            Draco continued to cry. Snape sighed softly, almost cradling him. 'I'm sorry, Draco. I keep forgetting how fragile you really are.'

            Draco sniffed. ''M not...'

            'All right. But you're not very prone to happiness, are you?'

            Draco tried to calm down. 'You can talk,' he muttered, pulling back a little.

            'I suppose that's true.' Snape watched as Draco wiped his eyes dry. He said, quietly, 'My life hasn't been all terrible, you know. Some parts have been...almost wonderful.'

            Draco gave a watery smile. 'Thank you for putting up with me, sir.'

            'It's all right. Keep an eye on Harry. And, Draco—make the most of it when you're with him.'

            Draco nodded, and Snape stepped aside so that he could leave. He hesitated. 'Professor...'

            'Yes?'

            'Do you really believe what you said?'

            'What I said about what?'

            'That everything will be all right one day.'

            Snape sighed. 'Not really. But perhaps some things will begin to be a little better in three weeks' time.'

            Draco smiled. 'Maybe. Good night, sir.'

            'Good night,' he said. As Draco stepped outside, clutching the sleeping potion, and the door swung closed behind him, Snape added in a whisper he barely caught; 'Sleep tight.'