Disclaimer: I don't won Harry Potter, or any of it's characters, so don't sue me!

Pairings: H/D and N/? so far…

Plot: Harry, a.k.a.; Guy, is coming back home. After the war and Voldemort was defeated, Harry walked away from his life and the after-effects of the battle, seeking refuge from the world in his persona - Guy. Now, it's time for him to face the music, and that which manages to scare him, when Voldemort always managed to fail.

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Chapter Three

Hogwarts looked exactly as Harry remembered, only more vivid. As if, all those years ago, he'd seen the ancient castle through veiled eyes. Veiled with innocence, perhaps? Now, Harry's eyes focused in on every crack in the stonework, every sign of age and weakness was catalogued and stored for future, automatically. Harry didn't even notice he'd fallen back into tactically analysing everything, another sign that he was definitely back. He'd never thought about it before either.

A lone bird cawed as it wheeled over the side of the castle, vanishing in the dark trees peaking out from behind the castle. Forbidden Forest.

Shaking his head slightly, Harry plucked at his black vest and jeans, thinking it might have been a good idea to get changed before visiting.

Upon arrival in Hogsmeade, Harry's sole thought had been to get a shower and some food, seeing how he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and done quite a bit of manual work since then. Not to mention magic, for the first time in a long time.

Mind you, if he had paused long enough to get changed, he probably would have continued to put this visit off, and he had already done that for more than long enough.

Walking up to the front door of the castle, Harry had raised his hand to knock, when the door swung open. The trickle of power which accompanied the movement, was enough to tell Harry the castle was responsible for it.

"Welcoming me home, huh?" A wry grin tugged at his mouth, before he brushed it aside and accepted the invitation to enter.

Lowering his head slightly, Harry's gaze swept the entrance hall, keen eyes noting the positions of students walking through.

A casual thought made a lock of his black hair drop over his scar. Tilting his head casually, Harry moved swiftly across the open-plan stone, making his way unerringly for the staircase. Several students sent curious glances his way, a few of the girls lingering over his attire, but on the whole they recognised his familiarity with the castle and let him be. This gave Harry a rather relieved feeling, as whilst he might not be hiding anymore, he was in no hurry to be recognised either.

The statue hiding Dumbledore's office was where it had always been, and for a moment Harry paused. Gathering himself, Harry accepted the information the castle offered him, quickly catching up on the changes which had occurred since he'd been gone; new rooms which had been added, ones which had been removed, Professor's who had come and gone, as well as the positioning of the Headmaster at that exact moment.

Not in his office, the Headmaster was finishing up his own lunch at a leisurely pace. He was, however, moments away from finishing, after which he had a pile of papers to go through.

Noting the fond, slightly mischievous tone attached to that piece of knowledge, Harry filed it away for future reference, not wishing to psychoanalyze the relationship between Dumbledore and castle right then.

"Toffee Tops."

The gargoyle gave him a funny look, but accepted the password Harry had received from the castle, and the staircase soon rose from the ground.

Harry was about to walk up and await the Headmaster in his office, like the castle suggested, when a couple of Professors walked round the corner. They appeared to be headed right towards him, and appeared to be discussing something heatedly. Or, at least one of them was the discussing something heatedly, the other one gave the rather strong impression of being bored out of his mind.

"Malfoy, you know you are possibly the only person who could find him! I just don't understand why you've never even tried, surely you want to see him again like the rest of us do?"

An extremely annoyed sigh issued from the bored one, and in that instant Harry recognised the two men moving towards him at a rapid speed. Draco Malfoy, and…Neville Longbottom, surprising as that combination sounded.

Harry's eyelids flickered slightly, the only sign that he recognised the two newcomers, as his face reflected none of the turmoil he now felt. As Harry had been assimilating this new information, the gargoyle had got impatient waiting for him to go up, and had now closed off Harry's only possible escape which wouldn't either; look suspicious, or take him near the two Professors.

Finally deciding the fates could go screw themselves, Harry turned and indolently leaned his back against the gargoyle, arms crossing over his chest to complete the picture of casual laziness.

Squashing down all of his emotions, Harry made minute adjustments to his face, conjuring up a bland expression that outdid even Malfoy's. The arguing couple drew nearer, voices beginning to fade as they caught sight of him. Taking the time he had, Harry looked them over and assessed the level of danger he was presently in.

Neville had lost his baby fat, and with its disappearance, a square jaw had appeared. His body was slightly muscled, but it looked more result of work than any conscious effort on his part. Tanned a light brown, no doubt from his job as gardener, and Professor Sprout's assistant - knowledge courtesy of the castle - Neville still held an innocent gawkiness, which told Harry that Neville still hadn't found himself a partner.

Hair which had been a dull brown, now looked a warm chestnut, thanks to a few strands of hair which had been bleached from the sun. All in all, Neville looked great, and Harry was glad of that. Neville's eyes told a different story, however, as a haunted look still darkened their shade.

He was currently looking at Harry with curiosity, mingled with a slight flinch. Harry's mind clinically analysed the data he was presented with, and came to an immediate reading. Neville wanted to meet the newcomer, but was worried about the manner in which the newcomer would react to him.

Shoving down the slight worry this conclusion gave him, Harry subtly switched his attention to the other man, only the shadowed movement of his pupils giving him away.

Draco Malfoy…hadn't changed a bit. He was still blond, still grey eyed, still elegant, still tall. Unlike Neville, whose muscles came from his job, Malfoy had trained as hard as Harry for the war. His body rippled with sleek muscles as he moved, his black robes not even managing to hide that fact from Harry completely. Then again, not many people had the observational capacity Harry did. Someone else would probably just see a slim young man, whose sleek movements lended him a gentle grace.

Harry had seen Malfoy fighting in the war though, he'd seen the man put those muscles to use, and he'd seen a ruthless, efficient, killer.

Kind of reminded him or himself, as Hermione had once described him, when she stumbled across him practising fighting skills.

Neville Longbottom was an open book to Harry, his every emotion flickering across his eyes, if not his face, in a way which would probably have got him killed if Voldemort was still alive. Thankfully, he wasn't.

Draco Malfoy, by comparison, wasn't nearly as easy. He demonstrated surface emotions willingly, no doubt knowing what it took to keep people from being unconsciously uncomfortable in his presence, but all of his deeper, less fake-able emotions, were hidden.

Harry could read a trace of annoyance in Draco's gaze, as well as a fond exasperation he didn't appear to be aware of showing. When he looked at Harry, something flickered through his eyes, which almost seemed like happiness, instantly followed by disappointment.

Apparently, Draco Malfoy had thought Harry was someone else, someone he wanted to see, but he'd realised that Harry wasn't this person as well. Harry peered at Draco from under his messy fringe, and the shadows hiding his features.

Instinctively deepening his concentration, Harry felt the curious sensation of his head peeling open, as he opened himself to feel the emotions.

The analyst part of him had been spot on, as usual, but there was something more coming from Draco. Waiting patiently, Harry almost reeled when the powerful sense of longing accosted his eighth senses.

By now they were almost even with him, and Harry quickly closed off his eighth sense, not wanting to deal with intense emotions from such a small distance. Too much for him to deal with in one go.

Grey eyes locked with Harry's, and he kept his face the same, only allowing a small quirking of his lips to imply any kind of welcome. Draco Malfoy returned the gesture, a small spark of wry humour flaring from him.

Switching his gaze to Neville, who was standing on the other side of Draco, Harry included a small dip of his head in his acknowledgement of the man. Watching as a smile of complete amazement, and shy delight, spread across the face of the man who Harry used to consider one of his closest friends, Harry mentally noted to have a talk with Dumbledore about Neville's problems.

Or, he did, until the whiff of wolf reached him, via his seventh sense. Ah. Apparently, Neville had acquired some wolf in his cocktail, making him a werewolf, and as such ostracised from the majority of the prejudiced wizarding society. No need to ask Dumbledore, that small fact explained it all, and incited Harry's anger. Not a good thing.

The two men, having greeted Harry, continued on their way, no flicker of recognition flaring to life.

Draco Malfoy passed one last, suspicious look, over his shoulder, before he and his companion turned a corner and were gone from sight.

Grateful that Draco had at least attempted to be subtle about the look, Harry slumped against the statue, deciding that he might as well wait for Dumbledore here, seeing how the Headmaster was on his way.

Did you like? I hope so - although I kept changing things as I went.

I've got to go, but I will hopefully update either this fic, or my other, current, fic soon.

Remember - R&R, please?