Later that afternoon, Harry stood by the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office, he was reluctant to

This is the real Chapter 10 – I'm sorry about accidentally posting Chapter 9 twice but it was when ff.net was down and I didn't think either post had worked.

I hope that you are all enjoying the story and as always please review. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and your lovely comments help in motivating me to write faster.

Thanks to all those who have taken the time to review so far.

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Later that afternoon, Harry stood by the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office, he was reluctant to mutter the password he had been given, he was reluctant to mount the stone escalator and enter the beautiful, circular room but he knew he had to, he had faced worse fates surely. His found himself thinking back almost three years to that terrible night in the graveyard, the night that had spawned so many nightmares. He thought of his last encounter with Voldemort and shuddered when he thought once again how narrow his escape had been.

Then without warning, the gargoyle sprang apart and Harry found his legs were carrying him forward, up the stone escalator and then all too soon he was outside Dumbledore's door, his fist raised about to knock. The door opened and Dumbledore beckoned him inside.

Harry entered the office, stomach churning with horrible anticipation. He had been dreading visiting Dumbledore since Dumbledore had requested that he come and see him following the events of the last hour. He wasn't sure why he was so concerned about what Dumbledore might say, maybe it was because he both liked and respected Dumbledore and he wanted Dumbledore to approve of his decision to be with Draco and he feared that Dumbledore would not approve.

Dumbledore indicated that Harry should sit and then steepled his fingers, staring at Harry over the top of them, his penetrating light blue gaze making Harry feel that Dumbledore could see right into his soul.

"So, Harry I expect you are wondering about that circle of light that formed around you and Mr Malfoy earlier today, when you were under attack by some of the members of Slytherin house. Mr Malfoy is fine by the way and you will of course be permitted to visit him once we have finished our business here."

Harry nodded but did not speak; Dumbledore subjected him to yet another searching look before continuing.

"I was not surprised when I heard what had happened when yourself and Mr Malfoy were attacked. In fact I had been expecting something of this nature to occur for some time."

Harry's surprise must have shown on his face because Dumbledore smiled and patted his arm before continuing.

"Your relationship with Draco Malfoy has invoked a special kind of protection spell, it does not need to be performed as such, it simply appears in certain circumstances. It is very old magic Harry; it has to do with the thin line between love and hate. You and Mr Malfoy believed that you hated each other and indeed you did but that did not stop you becoming attracted to each other, Harry felt himself blushing but Dumbledore seemed not to notice and continued unabated.

When your attraction became love the spell was invoked and when you declared your mutual love in the face of attack and opposition, the spell was activated as a shield to defend you. This protection is somewhat similar to the spell that your mother activated the night she died." At that point Dumbledore paused to give Harry the opportunity to grasp the information and to collect himself.

Harry felt his eyes growing a little moist but again did not say anything and after a few moments silence, Dumbledore continued.

"The magic that took place this afternoon ensured that neither yourself nor Mr Malfoy could be harmed by the attackers. However, the protection will only occur when you are together, and in physical contact with each other. This is why the remnants of the spell disappeared when your contact was broken. You were unable to leave the safety of the spell's shield until the danger had passed.

However, as I have already stated the protection will only be present when you are together, so if your foes try to attack you separately you will be just as vulnerable as before, with the added factor that damage to one of you may have an adverse effect on the other. Indeed if one of you is killed the other may well die as a result. The bond between you is now so strong that any attempts to break it could have tragic and devastating consequences. I understand that this news is rather overwhelming and I will endeavour to discover whether there are any spells that can be performed to lessen the hold of the magic you have invoked. However, I must warn you that I am not confident of finding any such spells and therefore you must be prepared to accept the reality of the situation and indeed the commitment you and Mr Malfoy will have to make to each other, in order to protect your life and his."

Harry opened his mouth to ask the headmaster something but he found himself unable to speak. The enormity of what had just occurred was only now beginning to sink in and he realised the full impact of Dumbledore's words. He had to be sure that he really wanted to be with Draco because any slip up on his part could put his and Draco's lives in danger. At the age of 17 he had to be ready to commit to Draco for the rest of his life. It seemed as though the right to choose his own path had been taken away from him the moment that he had taken Draco's hand to pull him away from his attackers, when the force shield had been activated.  Not that he really minded being bonded with Draco, he knew that Draco was the one he truly loved, he had decided that before the protection had been activated, in fact his decision had probably triggered the force field into operation but he was still frightened of the consequences of his actions. He knew that 17 year olds were not usually the most devoted partners, what if he and Draco fell out of love, it could happen surely. Not so long ago they had hated each other, Draco had been set to join Voldemort when he left school but now? Now everything was very different.

"You have a lot to take in Harry. I suggest that you return to Gryffindor tower before you go and visit Draco, to give yourself time to mull the situation over and try and come to terms with what has happened. In the meantime I will go and visit Draco and explain what happened to him, Madam Pomfrey will have healed his wounds now."

Harry nodded his assent and rose from his chair, still unable to speak, his mind was reeling and he felt oddly separated from reality, like he was watching the days events on a video rather than actively participating in them.  Suddenly a thought struck him.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Dumbledore looked up from his desk where he had been sorting through a sheaf of papers.

"Yes Harry?" Dumbledore's blue eyes were alert and sharp as he looked over at Harry.

"Well I was wondering, erm how did you know that Draco was being attacked and that Draco and I managed to activate that spell?" Dumbledore did not reply immediately, instead he looked at Harry appraisingly for a few moments; he seemed to be considering his response.

"Well" he said finally, his expression suddenly sombre.  "Given the events that have occurred in the school over the last few years, I thought it prudent to initiate some security measures. So after careful deliberation I created a device to install in my office that alerts me as to any significant events happening in the school. Especially anything out of the ordinary or any activity that compromises the safety of the students. So I was aware of your liaison with Draco Malfoy some time ago, ironically enough as a result of your attempts to conceal the true nature of your relationship." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled mischievously and Harry  himself blush. "If the relationship had been conducted openly, my attention to would not have been drawn to it. However, I understand the need for secrecy, given Lucius Malfoy's close ties to Lord Voldemort." Seeing Harry's expression, Dumbledore gave him a small smile before continuing. "Yes I am perfectly aware that Lucius Malfoy is a death eater, however, I am not able to prove it and can therefore do very little to see him brought to justice. I do share your concerns with regard to the effect that your relationship will have on Lucius and will seek to ensure that Draco will not be in any danger from his father." Harry's relief must have shown on his face because Dumbledore smiled warmly at him.

"I would like to assure you that I do not use the device to spy on you and your contemporaries, if I happen to witness any scenes that are clearly not for my eyes then I do not continue to look. It is simply necessary for me to be aware of situations that might require my presence or knowledge, like for example the events of this afternoon.

Harry nodded again; he was beginning to feel like a bit of an idiot, just nodding his head dumbly in response to nearly everything that Dumbledore told him.

Finally Harry got up to leave the office, his head buzzing with the information he had received that day. First he had that conversation with Snape, then he had managed to invoke some old and powerful magic and in doing so revealed his relationship with Draco to several Slytherin's plus Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Finally he knew that very soon whole school would know about him and Draco and he would have to be prepared for some unpleasant reactions from people, possibly including his friends.

He and Draco did not have an easy path ahead of them, Draco's father was a close supporter of Voldemort and Harry's only living relations were as anti-magic as it was possible to be. Plus Harry couldn't help wondering what Ron and Hermione were going to say when he saw them later. After all they had witnessed the events of the afternoon and he couldn't avoid talking to them about it forever. They were going to be angry, they were going to ask him why he hadn't trusted them enough to tell them about him and Draco. Harry swallowed hard suddenly realising that Ron might want to punch him for hurting his little sister.

He pondered for a moment about Sirius' reaction when he told him, he thought perhaps that Sirius would be supportive of his choice of partner even if no one else was – after all Sirius' relationship wasn't exactly conventional – his lover was a werewolf. He was used to the unpleasant reactions of others when they had discovered his relationship with Remus Lupin.  In fact the more he thought about it the more he realised that Sirius might be just the person he needed to speak to at the moment – Sirius always helped him get his head straight when something was bothering him. Feeling somewhat better after deciding to write to Sirius, Harry made his way to the Owlery to find Hedwig.