12 A/N: First off, I have to defend Harry. A friend of mine voiced concern that Harry was a bit of a wimp, because he went down after one punch by Crabbe, and woke up with healed broken ribs and fading bruises. So let me just say, Crabbe caught Harry off guard with a punch to the temple, which caused the blackout. Then Crabbe proceeded to kick the ever-living snot out of the unconscious Harry. Pretty dumb if you think about it. Crabbe gave Harry the beating of his life, but Harry doesn't remember it, and was healed up for the most part before he woke. But you know, that's Crabbe. Also, in a few minutes when you read about Harry wincing from pain as he sits up, it's not because he's a wuss. He's just never experienced that particular sort of pain before, and it caught him off guard.

On with the show:

X

XIX

XIXIX "Choices and Innocent Mistakes" XIXIX

Harry was dead on his feet as he set his book bag down to begin his wandless spellcasting lesson.

"Perenelle is not going to be happy," said Nicolas with a smile.

"Why not?" asked Harry dully.

"She and Severus have been working long hours to ensure that your next potion doesn't hinder your sleep. But it looks as though it's all for naught, since you're not sleeping anyway."

Harry grinned and rubbed his hair. It was a habit he had picked up since Perenelle had cut it so short. Most of the girls he knew, and Malfoy, had also picked up the habit of rubbing Harry's hair. Of course, Malfoy only rubbed his hair when they were alone.

"I've been staying up late with a, uh, friend."

Nicolas beamed. "Well I assume that means that your love crisis has been resolved?"

"Um, yeah," said Harry, just a little shyly. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Nicolas laughed. "I have not been a member of the Hogwarts faculty for hundreds of years. I have long since stopped concerning myself with who is out of bed after hours."

"Does that mean you won't tell anyone?"

"Yes, that means I won't tell anyone. Except Perenelle. She was worried about you." Nicolas sighed. "And while I am required to tell my wife everything, I cannot swear secrecy for her, so I imagine you'll have to talk to her about it yourself."

Harry groaned, hoping she wouldn't bring it up in front of Snape. She seemed to enjoy watching them spar, so long as it never got too serious. Harry suspected that she enjoyed mixing personalities in conversation as much as she enjoyed mixing potions.

"Well, Harry!" said Nicolas, clapping his hands. "Are you ready to try dueling?"

Harry was instantaneously wide-awake, knowing that Nicolas would not wait for an answer to begin. He barely dodged a stunning spell that he hadn't seen coming his way.

Dueling without a wand was far more difficult and interesting than dueling with one. After years of training, Harry was keen to notice the slightest shift in stance, flick of the wand, or movement of the lips of his opponent. He was always ready to attack, counter-attack, block, shield, or dodge.

But wandless dueling was a new challenge for him. Everything changed when there was no wand to keep an eye on. And Nicolas and Harry were both powerful enough that they could cast many of their spells without uttering the incantation aloud.

This changed everything. Aiming the spells was very difficult at first. He had to focus his entire being and use pure instinct to guide his movements and spellcasting. The world seemed to take on an ethereal quality, so that Harry could feel the spells flying though the air. He could feel the air. He could feel Nicolas' movements, feel the words he breathed, his thoughts.

Harry opened his mind into Nicolas, and ducked the moment it occurred to him to throw a fireball. Nicolas adjusted his aim as he actually cast the spell; Harry noticed his misjudgment at the last moment, and dodged out of the way.

"TIME OUT!" he yelled.

Nicolas froze.

Harry stood up and turned to his book bag by the doorway, and cast a protective shield over it.

"Sorry. My homework is in there. I didn't want it to be incinerated." He readied his stance again, but Nicolas stood straight and looked at Harry quizzically.

"Harry, were you inside my mind?"

"Yeah, at the end, there." Harry noticed a weird look on Nicolas' face. "I'm sorry. I should have asked first. It's just that it didn't occur to me until a moment ago that I could probably use Legilimency to my advantage during a duel."

Nicolas nodded slowly. "I saw you react to my fireball before I cast it."

He looked upset. Harry cursed himself for not sticking to his own guidelines about Legilimency use. He should have asked first. "I—I'm sorry. I won't—"

"Harry, Perenelle and I erected permanent Brain Barriers hundreds of years ago. We went through a month-long ritual to ensure that no Legilimens could enter our minds. That way, no wizard or witch could ever take our knowledge of the Sorcerer's Stone and use if for dark purposes. Over the centuries, I've had a few people try, but... Harry, I didn't even feel that! If you hadn't reacted early, I never would have known!"

Harry's hands were at his side as he stared at Nicolas. He didn't know what to say. He felt tired again, and as he thought over what Nicolas was telling him, he felt old as well.

Finally, Nicolas said, "I think we should adjourn this lesson into Dumbledore's office."

Harry nodded. He felt overwhelmed. Things were happening so fast. It seemed as though he found new powers every day. Not quite a month had passed since his dream about Voldemort torturing Snape. He remembered Sirius telling him that everything depended on Harry being strong that night. Well, things certainly had changed since then.

They walked in silence to Dumbledore's office. Harry muttered the password and they made their way up the stairs.

"Albus?" called Nicolas as they entered the empty office.

Fawkes flew over and landed on Harry's shoulder. Harry stroked the phoenix lovingly and walked to a chair to sit down.

Dumbledore walked into the office from the back room. He smiled brightly. Fawkes let out one long, clear note, and Harry's heart rose. He smiled back into Dumbledore's twinkling eyes.

"Ah, Nicolas! Harry! What can I do for you?"

"Albus, perhaps you could call Severus and Perenelle as well? I feel this concerns the two of them."

Dumbledore nodded, and turned back toward Harry. "Fawkes, would you mind?"

Harry flinched slightly as the phoenix disappeared with a flash of flame. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Lemon drop, anyone?"

"Oh, yes! Thank you," said Nicolas eagerly, leaning forward. Harry smiled as Nicolas sucked on the candy, visibly relaxing at last. He had seemed just slightly agitated since their duel, which was enough to concern Harry, who had grown rather used to his and Perenelle's "sweeter emotions". Nicolas and Dumbledore spent the next several minutes discussing their favorite wizard and muggle candies.

Fawkes returned after delivering the messages, and the three waited. Perenelle arrived first, and the room immediately grew quite warm and cozy. Harry felt a powerful surge of every good feeling he knew, and suspected that Perenelle had picked up on Nicolas' agitation and reached out to him. In fact, as she joined the sweets conversation, she physically reached out and took Nicolas' hand, squeezing it tight.

When Snape arrived, he put up a valiant effort to maintain his scowl, but it was all in vain. He soon had a pleasant smile on his face, and even accepted a lemon drop from Dumbledore. Harry was floored. Snape noticed, and what just about to jokingly snip at Harry, when Nicolas suddenly stated the reason for their impromptu meeting.

"Albus, he broke through my Brain Barrier."

Snape's jaw dropped and he snapped his head around to face Nicolas. The lemon drop fell out of his mouth and into his lap. Harry snorted, but then quickly clasped his hands over his mouth to hide the unbidden laugh, remembering that this was a serious conversation.

Snape waved his wand, and the lemon drop and the accompanying spot of sticky on his robe vanished. He turned to successfully glare at Harry.

"Mr. Potter, what have I told you?"

"I know, I know," said Harry, hurriedly trying to compose himself. "Get my heart off my sleeve."

"Really, Severus," said Perenelle, almost sternly. "You're too hard on the boy! If he really did complete magic as complex as that, he deserves a good laugh at his professor." She looked up at Harry and winked. Harry felt a flood of good feelings coming from her and laughed out loud, barely able to control himself enough to breath, much less to stop laughing.

Perenelle turned to Nicolas. "Wow, he really does seem to be picking up my sweeter emotions more than usual."

Snape leaned toward her and sneered, "I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear over all the giddiness."

Perenelle narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger into Snape's face. "We're working on your sense of humor next," she declared matter-of-factly.

"My sense of humor is fine," he growled.

"Harry," said Dumbledore, concerned. Harry was laughing so hard he was gasping for breath and holding his ribs like they were hurting him. "Harry, can you fight it down?"

Harry shook his head. His face was red and wet with tears.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," barked Snape. "Potter! Control yourself!"

Harry jolted. He felt something snap into place, and he was suddenly able to close his mind to the onslaught of joviality. His gasping breath calmed, and he wiped the tears from his face. He moved to sit back up straight, and winced slightly at the unexpected pain. His whole torso hurt from having laughed so hard. Harry had never experienced that before.

"Harry, are you okay?" asked Snape immediately.

Harry nodded as he pulled himself upright. "Just a little sore. Thank you, Severus. I kind of lost control there."

"Indeed."

"Albus," said Nicolas, "We really ought to determine if this is a testament to Harry's ability, or a failing of our Brain Barriers."

Dumbledore nodded seriously. Harry suddenly understood then that Nicolas had not been upset with him for getting into his head. He was merely concerned that Voldemort might be able to do the same should the unthinkable happen, and one of the Flamels be abducted.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand, and looked directly into Nicolas' eyes.

Harry watched with rapt attention. He focused his senses the way he had while they were dueling, until he could feel the magic passing from Dumbledore to Nicolas.

Dumbledore sat back and shook his head. He turned toward Snape.

"Severus, would you mind?"

They all stood up. Harry and Perenelle stepped off to the side. Nicolas stood in the center of the room. Dumbledore and Snape stood side by side across from him, and both extended their wands. They held them together, so that they were both holding the two wands and their hands were touching.

Harry was stunned by the combined force of their magic. Their energies flowed together seamlessly. Harry watched as it surged toward Nicolas, but did not enter. Their magic was unsuccessful, and Dumbledore stood back in satisfaction.

"It appears that your Brain Barrier is firmly intact. I believe that leaves only one more test to perform." He turned toward Harry. "Can you tell me the name of the first person I ever kissed?"

Harry looked at Dumbledore and said almost immediately, "Agnes Whimple."

Dumbledore started to chuckle and mused, "Agnes, really? I should have known..."

Harry looked at him quizzically. "Didn't you—?"

"Oh, no!" said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "I knew I had been kissed because the perpetrator left a little love bite. I believe you call them 'hickies' nowadays. But unfortunately, she also left a memory charm. If I remember, Agnes had been betrothed from birth to a fellow named Hector Brice whom she didn't particularly care for... Well, that certainly explains a lot."

Harry chuckled, not really sure if Dumbledore meant that it explained a lot about Harry's abilities, or about a long-forgotten first kiss.

"Professor Dumbledore," said Snape, "Mr. Potter has quite obviously far exceeded my abilities. I do not feel there is anything left I can teach him."

"Nor I," said Nicolas. "His wandless is quite powerful, and he took to dueling within minutes. I'm dreadful with dueling. I couldn't possibly pose any sort of challenge to him now. I mean, he has a few minor issues of control—"

"Precisely," interrupted Dumbledore. "We knew when we began these ventures that Harry would far surpass our own abilities. Harry, we have nothing new to teach you regarding these new powers of yours. All we can offer at this point is practice and guidance while you master control."

Harry nodded. "I'm not yet ready to face him. These powers are still new to me, and I feel like I'm making it up as I go along. I want to be sure of myself the next time I go up against Voldemort."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "What happened to that Gryffindor 'jump in feet first, and consequences be damned'?"

Harry narrowed his eyes and drew himself up to his full height, squaring his stance. "Well, last time, I lost my godfather. And several of my friends were nearly killed. The next time I face Voldemort, I intend to fulfill the prophecy."

XIXIX

"Potter, what's wrong with you?" Malfoy's voice was light and snide, but Harry thought for a moment that he had heard a twinge of true concern in it.

The two were lying in the grass behind the bleachers on the far side of the Quidditch pitch, staring into the stars. Since Harry had owled Malfoy over the weekend, they had fallen into a nightly pattern of shagging passionately and immediately, and then talking for hours about nothing in particular.

Harry had been connecting the stars into strange patterns and making up mythology to go along with his new constellations. His mind was split in two. His surface self was a normal teenage boy, entertaining his lover with on-the-fly stories of fictional adventures from days of yore. His thoughts below the surface, behind the stories he was telling, were a whirling centrifuge of recent events. Below the surface was the real Harry Potter—powers, prophecy, and all.

He glanced over at Malfoy and realized he must have been getting a little too deep. Nights with Malfoy were all about forgetting. They were about taking a break, and pretending he had had a childhood. They were about pretending he had a future.

"What do you mean?" he asked, yawning.

"I don't know," said Malfoy defensively. "You just seem a little... preoccupied."

Must get away from serious conversation.

Harry grinned. "Am I not making any sense? I must be tired. How do you sleep in class so much and still keep your grades up anyway?"

"Pansy," said Malfoy simply, still eyeing Harry suspiciously.

"Oh," said Harry, losing his smile and looking back up at the sky. He didn't really want to think about her right now.

"It's one of the perks of having a girlfriend in your year. They take notes for you when you sleep in class. I don't know what you were thinking when you decided to hook up with TWO fifth years."

"Huh?"

"I mean, okay, they're kind of pretty... But Weasley and Loony Lovegood, Potter? I would have thought you'd had higher standards than that."

"Stuff it, Malfoy. They're good friends of mine."

"Right. Well, you might want to decide to be less 'friendly' with Luna. Crabbe's about ready to kill you. It's bad enough that you're with her, but that you're two-timing her with Weasley... what?"

Harry was laughing up into the night. "You don't really think...?"

He looked at Malfoy and saw a flicker of hurt in his eye. Harry wondered if it was because Harry was laughing at him, or because he was jealous of Harry's 'girlfriends'. He didn't look into his mind to find out. That was against the rules. He decided to tease instead.

"Aaaww... were you jealous?" he asked in a baby voice.

Malfoy turned his head angrily to look back up at the stars. He swung his arm out to the side, hitting Harry's hip. "Shut up, Potter. Of course not. I was just offering some advice—"

Harry rolled over onto his elbow, grinning down at the ruffled Slytherin. "Yes you are! You're jealous!" Harry poked him in his side.

Malfoy glared at him. "I am not. I just—"

"Yes you are." Harry poked him again. "You want me all to yourself."

Harry made to poke his ribs one more time, but Malfoy rolled over swiftly, grabbing him and wrestling him until he had Harry pinned with his back to the ground.

"Go ahead and admit it," choked Harry through his laughter. Malfoy was putting a lot of weight on his chest, which made breathing, laughing, and speaking very difficult.

"Shut up, Potter."

"Just say it. You lov—"

Malfoy pressed his lips against Harry's, cutting short the rest of the claim. He didn't pull back until he was satisfied that Harry had finished trying to speak.

"So you're not going out with Weasley or Luna?" asked Malfoy with a warning look in his eye.

Harry shook his head, grinning dazedly.

Malfoy's glare melted and he looked at Harry as though he were a puppy. He reached up and rubbed Harry's short hair. "You are too cute!" he whispered. He caught the look of surprise in Harry's eye and pulled himself together, glaring at Harry once more. Harry snorted.

Malfoy's lips twitched, but he managed to keep from smiling. Harry tried to compose himself and play along with the interrogation, but he wasn't nearly as successful.

"Potter, I watched you kissing Luna. That was an intimate couple kiss."

"I, uh... It didn't work out between us," said Harry. "We're just friends now."

"What about the Weasley girl? You two are practically joined at the hip."

Harry smirked that people actually thought he and Ginny were together. "Ginny's my sister," he said.

Malfoy's glare broke again—this time into a look of surprise. "Really? You mean she's your magical sister?"

Harry nodded, satisfied with the look of relief that seemed to wash over Malfoy's face, unbidden and unnoticed.

"And you're going to be twins?"

Harry shrugged. "Someday, I guess. We haven't really discussed when that's going to happen, but I suppose that is still the plan."

Malfoy slumped his shoulders, loosening his grip on Harry. "Oh." He was silent for a few moments, and then asked, "Well if you weren't thinking about them, what's got you so distracted tonight? Did something happen with the Dark Lord?"

No serious conversation.

Harry pulled on his own patented Malfoy smirk. "Don't change the subject, Malfoy. What about you and Parkinson?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't be daft, Potter. You know I'm going to marry her."

"You're what!"

Malfoy looked at him like he was extremely dim-witted. Ginny looked at him like that a lot, and it always gave him the feeling he was missing something extremely obvious.

"We've been betrothed since I can remember. Our families made an alliance when we were toddlers. Everyone knows this, Potter."

I didn't.

"Do you love her?"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "I like her enough. We get along well, especially in bed."

"Too much information," groaned Harry.

"You asked," said Malfoy delightfully.

"Not about that," said Harry, rolling out from under Malfoy and sitting up.

"Where are you going?"

"To my room. I'm exhausted. I've got to get some sleep sometime this week, and it isn't going to be in Divination tomorrow with you lot there," grumbled Harry while he dressed.

"Potter, you're not mad—?"

"No, I'm tired."

"Because you know you and I aren't... It's not... It's just for now. It's just sex."

Harry didn't look at him. "Yeah, it's just sex," he said, like he didn't care. He could hear Malfoy getting dressed behind him and he thought, 'If it's just sex, then why were you so concerned about Ginny and Luna?'

Malfoy walked up quietly behind him. "Potter, are you okay?" he asked quietly.

Harry turned around and looked at him, trying to act nonchalant. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Really, though. Did something happen with the Dark Lord?"

"Nothing I can't handle," said Harry coldly.

"Do you really think you're going to kill him?"

Harry's two selves were warring. His deeper self was a turbulent jumble of arguments for and against his probable victory. His surface self just wanted to shove it all away and be pissed off at this beautiful blonde before him. Even now, with them shagging every night, Malfoy was still running hot and cold on him. This shouldn't be bothering him this much. Malfoy was just a distraction.

Is he just a distraction?

"Of course," said Harry, without much conviction. "Look, I'm really tired. I'll see you tomorrow."

Harry turned and started walking. After he had gotten about thirty feet, Malfoy called out to him, "Hey, Potter!"

Harry stopped and turned.

"In Divination tomorrow, sit on the other side of the classroom and I'll distract everyone enough so you can sleep, okay?"

Harry smirked and gave Malfoy a small salute. He turned back toward the castle and mumbled to himself, "Just sex my ass."

XIXIX

Harry received a message from Perenelle the next morning that she and Snape had nearly completed Harry's next potion. They would give it to him that evening after his Legilimency lesson.

Harry had seen excitement in Snape's mind's eye whenever he looked at Harry this week. He knew Snape was excited about the potion, and it made Harry wonder what he was putting in it. But he was careful not to look too deep to find out. Every time Snape noticed Harry looking into him outside of their Legilimency lessons, he would immediately begin yelling and taking points from Gryffindor.

Yesterday, Harry had thought to him, 'Give me a break. You know I need to practice.'

Snape took an additional five points from Gryffindor for Harry's attitude, and thought back, 'Practice on your enemies, Harry, not me. My thoughts about the students and the lessons are not suitable practice material for you.'

Harry conceded that point. Snape's thoughts seemed to be pressing for Harry to practice his Legilimency on the Slytherins, especially Malfoy. He was surprised at first that Snape would press Harry to 'spy' on his House, but then he realized that Snape may have wanted Harry to figure out which of the Slytherins he should keep an especially close eye on.

As he and Ron walked toward Divination discussing the upcoming game against Slytherin, Harry was trying to decide if he should take up Malfoy's offer and sleep, or take up Snape's offer and practice Legilimency on people with a clean conscience.

As tired as he was, he was leaning toward sleep, until a firm set of hands grabbed him from behind and threw him against the wall. Harry recovered himself almost instantaneously, and found himself pointing a wand at a startled-looking Crabbe. Seven other wands from nearby DA members were also pointing at Crabbe, who slowly raised his hands into the air in a gesture of surrender.

"Sorry," he said. "I tripped."

"An innocent mistake," growled Ron, leaning in with his wand.

Crabbe nodded, apparently missing the sarcasm. "It was an accident."

"A most unfortunate accident, I'm afraid," Ron answered. "Now why don't you get on your knees and apologize to my best friend for 'accidentally' attacking him."

Crabbe and Harry both looked at Ron in surprise.

"And while you're down there," Ron continued, "You can apologize for every disgusting thing you've ever said about my sister."

The DA leaned in menacingly. They were very protective of their leaders. Crabbe swallowed visibly and sunk to his knees. But before he could say anything, Professor McGonagall swept around the corner, heading their way. In a flash, every DA member had tucked their wands into their robes, and were walking away as though nothing had happened.

Harry and Ron walked into class, passing the still kneeling Crabbe. Ron whispered to him, "You stay away from Ginny and Harry, or next time you won't be so lucky."

Crabbe looked into Ron's eyes and saw the threat was real. He nodded.

As Harry and Ron slipped into the forest classroom, they heard a stern voice behind them demanding, "Vincent Crabbe! What are you doing on the floor?" They snickered, and found a seat across the room from the Slytherins.

"Thanks, mate," said Harry. "That was awesome. You had Crabbe on his knees!"

Ron shrugged. "I swear if I hear one more disgusting rumor about you and Ginny, I'm going to kill someone. And since Crabbe's the one who's been doing the most talking, he's a likely candidate."

Crabbe walked into class late, and Firenze took five points from Slytherin. Ron was glaring at the Slytherins. He leaned over to Harry and motioned to them. "I wonder what it's like to be such an arse. Do you think they even know what prats the lot of them are?"

Harry shrugged, but then decided to find out. He slid eyes his across the room, letting them fall on a group of Slytherins. Crabbe was leaning back against a tree with his eyes closed in a determined but stupid-looking scowl. Harry gently opened his mind, and pried into the mind of Vince Crabbe.

He was in a terrible mood—angry and frustrated and heartbroken and angry. He thought about kneeling before the DA, and how the Dark Lord would never accept him now that he had shown such weakness. The Dark Lord would never understand what a threat the DA were to the other students now. No one would dare go up against them. Even eight to one, the Dark Lord would say that Crabbe was weak and powerless. He had nothing to offer him now.

A dot of hope pushed its way through to Crabbe's consciousness. He was thinking about Luna. He saw her face clearly, smiling at him. Then her face changed. She was shaking her head sadly. "I could never be with someone who supports something so evil, Vince. We all have choices to make, and they affect us. I can't be with you if you follow in your father's footsteps."

Vince thought about his father, and about the Dark Lord. He thought about sinking to his knees when faced with eight wands, and how that would be completely unacceptable to them. Maybe he didn't have to turn away. Maybe they would reject him. Then he could be with Luna. He saw her face again, smiling at him once more. His heart melted with affection.

Harry pulled back into himself and looked across the classroom at Vince Crabbe. He felt so close to the Slytherin, reading his most intimate thoughts in that way. He felt sorry for him. He felt sick to his stomach. How could he fight against someone who was so conflicted.

He turned to Firenze and feigned interest in what he was saying while he thought over his glimpse into Crabbe's life. Eventually, Firenze's words made it below the surface of Harry's consciousness.

"... and thus we can see the grand struggles before us. Such an alignment of the planets signifies that we will find benefit in examining our loyalties, and making our decisions accordingly..."

Harry stared hard at Firenze, suddenly curious if it was possible to use Legilimency on other species. While Harry agreed with Snape that it was not fair for him to use Legilimency on teachers so long as he was a student, he reasoned that this was a special case. This was an experiment.

Harry had only to try, and he was in.

Firenze's mind was a complex web of star charts and planetary movements. He did not seem capable of thinking anything that was not directly related to the goings on of the cosmos. Every word he spoke was backed up immediately in his mind by a lifetime's worth of memories of every change in the sky and the implications of each change.

Harry was in awe. Looking into Firenze's mind was like looking into the universe itself.

And then Firenze stopped speaking, and he looked down from the stars. He turned himself so that he was looking directly at Harry. His thoughts swept quickly through sixteen years of change in the sky, settling finally on a star-lit sky that Harry understood was soon to come. 'My loyalty lies with you, Harry Potter,' thought Firenze.

He looked back up to the sky, and continued to speak. Harry was shut out of his mind.

XIXIX

Harry did manage a nap that afternoon before dinner. After dinner, he once again slipped on his invisibility cloak, and headed down to the dungeons to meet with Snape.

Snape seemed to be in a rough mood when Harry arrived. He did not indulge Harry with any jokes or even insincere glares. Immediately upon sensing Harry's arrival, he nodded, stood up, and swept out of the room without so much as a thought hello.

He paused only momentarily before grumbling "Sweet dragon loving" to the serpent at his door.

After casting a silencing charm, he snapped, "Sit down, Mr. Potter." Harry complied after removing his invisibility cloak.

"What are we working on this evening, sir?" asked Harry, who had learned that sometimes things went better between himself and Snape when he used properly respectful terms from the beginning.

"Covering your tracks," replied Snape shortly. "I want you to discover what I am thinking without me ever knowing you looked into my mind. I will remind you that I am a very skillful Occlumens, so keep in mind the variety of ways I can perhaps discover your intrusion."

"Yes sir," said Harry, and he set to the task.

He opened up his backpack and pulled out his Potions textbook and held it up in front of him so that if he glanced over the top, he was looking into Snape's eyes. Harry had found that he didn't have to look into people's eyes, but it did make it easier. At the moment, he felt like showing off, but wanted to be able to quickly glance up in case Snape's thoughts were exceedingly complex tonight.

Staring at the book, he 'felt' forward toward Snape, easing around him, getting used to the familiar feel, and slowly and carefully slipping in. Snape had his Occlumency shields up very high tonight. Harry soon realized that Snape was furious, and that his fury was feeding his power, lending energy to the task at hand. Snape was a man of such skill that emotional energy rarely went to waste. Indeed, Harry realized that breaking past his shields without Snape knowing was going to take quite a bit of effort.

Slowly and methodically, he maneuvered his way around, delving deeper until he made it in. Harry nearly dropped his book.

Snape's thoughts concerned a memory of a recent encounter with Harry. Harry was naked and moaning. Snape was pounding into him.

Harry began to sweat, confused and upset by the Potions Master's thoughts. This had to be some sort of sick game. As Harry tried to figure out what to do, a nagging thought pushed its way forward in Harry's mind. This wasn't Snape's memory. It had Malfoy's 'feel' to it. Snape was replaying a memory he had gotten from Malfoy.

"Oh fuck," said Harry.

"It would seem so," mused Snape darkly. "I commend you in slipping past my shields unnoticed. Only your physical mannerisms and your slip of the tongue revealed to me your accomplishment."

Panicked, Harry set his book down and looked up imploringly. "Professor, I—"

"What? Didn't mean to? I seem to remember warning you against such a relationship, Mr. Potter. So I hope you won't mind my asking WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME ARE YOU THINKING!"

Harry leaned forward and put his head in his hands. They sat in a stony silence for several minutes while Harry tried to organize his thoughts. He had put so much effort into hiding his 'thing' with Malfoy from Snape, and it never once occurred to him that Malfoy could not hide it as well. A lot of people would not understand what was going on between Harry and Malfoy. Harry hardly understood it himself.

Finally, Harry looked back up and spoke. "It's not a 'relationship', Professor. It's just sex. It's stress relief. It's a distraction. We're not in love, and I'm not sharing information about the Order or about my training with him. It's just sex."

"I doubt that, Mr. Potter. I cannot imagine that two young wizards would put their own lives in so much danger for the sake of 'just sex'. I might remind you that you have greater things to die for than a tryst with Draco Malfoy."

Snape's last sentence hit Harry like a kick in the gut. He felt a fury to match Snape's well up within him. In his mind's eye, he was destroying the room in a fit of rage. In reality, he clenched and unclenched his fists, and then stood up and began to pace the room.

Snape was saying something to him, but Harry couldn't hear him. His ears were pounding. He could feel the beat of his heart, the flow of his blood. He could feel his energy, his life, vibrating through every last cell in his body.

He had to show him, somehow. If Snape told anyone about this, it could be disastrous. The Order would not understand why Harry was shagging the son of a Death Eater. But Snape might.

Harry turned back to Snape. He was standing. He was yelling. Harry couldn't hear his voice. He couldn't make out what he was saying, what he was thinking. It didn't matter.

Harry strode forward and took Snape's hands in his. Snape stopped yelling, and instead just looked at Harry in angry confusion. Harry turned them and they sat down so that they were facing each other.

"Severus," said Harry, "Look at me."

Snape looked into Harry's eyes and Harry locked him in. They were linked much more powerfully than they had ever been before. Through his hands, Harry could feel his pulse and Snape's pulse as they synchronized. He could feel Snape's energy flowing through him, and he connected to it. Through his eyes, Harry fed Snape a steady stream of himself, beginning from his very first memory.

He continued the feed through ten years of loveless life with the Dursleys, through his wonder and embarrassment upon discovering the wizarding world and his own fame, through meeting Voldemort while rescuing the Sorcerer's Stone, his isolation when everyone thought he was the heir of Slytherin, how his suspicions of Malfoy led the three of them to brew a Polyjuice Potion with stolen ingredients, how he readily faced expulsion to find Ginny, everything, everything that transpired when Harry met his godfather and helped him to escape, his fear of the Dementors, his isolation as he faced the Triwizard Tournament without his best friend at his side, the rise of Voldemort and the death of Cedric, his jumble of feelings as he learned to cope with death, his closeness to Sirius, his short relationship with Cho, his dreams of the Department of Mysteries, and how his fear of losing a parent and guilt over not saving Cedric led him into a trap, led him to losing his godfather, all of his anger, all of his grief, all of the time he spent rebuilding himself, Dumbledore teaching him Occlumency and Harry having one more barrier between him and the rest of the world, all of his powers, all of his memories, all of his enemies, and the prophecy looming large ahead of him, all of his confusion, all of his grief, all of his anger, all of his alienation from the rest of the teens at this school who were happy and had parents and love problems and insecurities about pimples instead of Dark Lords, and Harry, ever-stepping further and further away from what reality should have held for him...

And Malfoy, who was beautiful and complicated and who allowed Harry to forget for hours at a time that he wasn't just some kid with an impossible crush on a boy with mood swings and a girlfriend, who made Harry laugh and moan with pleasure, and how it was worth it just to feel 'normal' for a little while...

Harry and Snape were nose to nose, their eyes glued to each other, millimeters apart. Their eyelashes were brushing each other's; their hands were clenched together.

"Sev, can you blame me?" whispered Harry.

"No, Harry, I can't" whispered Snape.

"But?"

"But it's too dangerous. You must keep in mind who you are dealing with. Draco does not do anything without self-interested motivations." They were pulling away from each other slowly, gently breaking the link. "Harry, this isn't love we're talking about. And it isn't 'just sex' either. I advise you to end this before you find out how truly dangerous a Malfoy can be."

"Sev, it's not like that."

"Harry, it is. Look for yourself if you don't believe me."

Harry looked away. There was a grief welling up between them that was partially Harry's, partially Snape's. Harry understood suddenly that Snape really did understand everything that Harry had gone through in his life, because Snape had seen so much worse. Of course he wouldn't begrudge Harry this bit of happiness. He was angry because of who it was, not what it was. And he would not be able to get past that.

"Are you going to tell the Order?" asked Harry quietly.

"Not at this point, no. But I do expect you to reexamine your choices in this matter."

"Are you going to tell Lucius Malfoy?"

Snape gave Harry a wry smile. "Lucius Malfoy is no Occlumens. He would have to report his son to the Dark Lord, who would then torture Draco, perhaps to death, and use him to get to you if possible. Nor can I mention this to Draco, because if anyone were to discover that I knew of this and did not report it to the Dark Lord, I too would be tortured."

"Sev, how did you ever get into this?"

Snape looked at Harry sadly. "That, you don't want to know."

"Professor Snape," hissed a voice that Harry recognized to be the serpent at Snape's door, "You have a visitor—Ms. Perenelle Flamel."

Snape rose and walked to open the door for Perenelle.

"Ah, Ms. Flamel, to what do I owe this honor? Do come in." Snape bowed slightly, and Perenelle walked in.

"Well, Severus," she said as she entered, "I had a stroke of brilliance regarding your potion dilemma..."

"And what was that, pray-tell?" asked Snape as he closed the door.

"That we go ahead and experiment on our little guinea pig," said Perenelle with a smile.

Harry walked over to her and hugged her deeply.

"Whoa, Harry, are you alright?" she asked, hugging him back.

"Long day," he said. "You don't want to know."

"Really," said Snape. "You don't." He conjured some tea and they sat down and began discussing Harry's next round of potions.

The potion was a deep, opaque teal. It had elements of lucid dreaming, bonding, pain inhibiting, sleeping, focusing, calming, and rejuvenating in it. They were hoping the delicate balance they'd struck would allow Harry the benefits of the first potion, but would allow him to remain asleep even if he severed the connection with Voldemort, and would allow his sleep to be more productive as far as restoring his body went.

Snape told Harry that he may carefully look into Voldemort's deeper thoughts and memories during this round of potions, but that he was to move slowly and avoid any areas that were heavily shielded.

As they spoke, Harry and Snape slowly pulled away from each other, distancing themselves from the closeness they felt while they were linked. Harry knew that, among other things, Snape was uncomfortable with such emotional intimacy. And for his part, Harry knew that he had no intention of breaking things off with Malfoy at this point.

Hidden beneath his cloak, Harry left at the same time as Perenelle. He made his way out of the castle and toward the Quidditch pitch where Malfoy should have been waiting, but the area was empty. He checked the locker rooms, the bleachers, and then walked to the lake.

Malfoy was nowhere around.

Harry made his way back to Gryffindor tower, doubts crowding his mind. But he shut them out of his head as Ginny pulled him into conversation with a group of his friends. Several people noted that they missed having Harry around in the evenings.

Harry had a good time with his friends. Part of him was arguing inside him that he didn't need Malfoy in order to feel normal. But another part of him kept slipping in memories of the adventures, struggles, and loss that he had experienced with everyone surrounding him. He didn't have those memories with the blonde.

When he walked up to his room that night, he saw a note on his pillow.

"Oh yeah," said Ron, "That came for you while you were out."

Harry opened it and saw a quick, scribbled note.

Something has come up tonight.

Meet me tomorrow.

-Phantom

Harry smiled to himself. Judging by the sloppy handwriting, Malfoy had been in quite a hurry. But he still took the time to write Harry a note. He must have been worried that Harry would stop showing up the way Malfoy had when Harry missed one night.

Cute.

Harry climbed into bed with a smile on his face. He drained one vial of the potion, and settled himself down to sleep.

FLASH

Did Harry even close his eyes? He recognized right away that he was asleep, that he was dreaming, that he was inside Voldemort's head. He was in the study and he was pleased. Lucius Malfoy was kneeling before him.

He was a very powerful wizard—one who could get things done. He was the only Death Eater who had been caught red-handed, and yet managed to free himself from Azkaban without a prison-break. His contacts in the Ministry made him extremely useful. His lack of conscience took care of the rest. No wizard could defy Lucius Malfoy.

And here he is, bowing to me.

"Yes, my servant?"

"Master, the Ministry will stall any overseas aid. Our outposts have nothing to fear. No other magical government is prepared to resist us. Once we have control afar, the Ministry will send aid, weakening forces at home. Then nothing can stop you from seizing control."

Voldemort was amused, and Harry carefully slipped deeper to get a firmer hold on the plans. What countries were they in? Who in the Ministry did they influence? Harry felt sure he was getting close to these answers when Lucius continued speaking.

"And my son sends word. He overheard from the mouth of Harry Potter himself that he has begun a twin bond with Arthur Weasley's youngest. The daughter."

Harry focused himself to keep from panicking. He calmed himself, and carefully removed himself from Voldemort's head.

In his dream, he transported himself into the wandless spellcasting room, and began blasting it to bits in a fit of rage, a steady stream of expletives pouring from his mouth. He knew, but didn't care in the least, that sooner or later Snape and Perenelle would be reading all about this.

XIXIX

XIX

X

A/N: I know, I know. Harry and Malfoy are one of those frustrating on-again, off-again couples. They just can't seem to make up their minds. I guess it goes with all the baggage that they're both carrying around. Abuse, neglect, and Dark Lords breed dysfunctional relationships.

I will say that this probably is not the end of things between them. Probably.

Also, folks. It is time to decide. Longer waits for longer chapters, or shorter waits for shorter chapters- what do you think?

Wintermoon2- Thank you, thank you, and thank you. Snape's grief has to do with intimacy issues and now he's forming a link with Harry Potter, who was never his favorite person. Is there more to it than that? Yes. Are you going to have to wait to find out what? Yes.

Aiguma- Thank you! I like them all too. It's hard to write Harry's temper moodswings. I wanted to continue with the anger he felt, but I wanted him to have learned something after he lost Sirius, and not just mope around letting his emotions take over him completely. I mean, if he hadn't learned from all the loss he's experienced, he'd be in St. Mungo's mental ward. Thanks for reading/reviewing.

Nemati- Thank you very much. As it so happens, it is fun to write this, which of course means that my other, more publishable book is suffering... oops.

Localfreak- Hahahahahahahaha! If you haven't seen Eddie Izzard's Dress to Kill, you have got to go right out and rent/buy the DVD/VHS. It's a scream. Complete with Sean Connery playing the part of Noah in the Bible. Thanks for reading/reviewing!

Usually Immaculate Aristocrat- I'm glad you love the snake! And I'm glad my shower scene isn't too graphic. I'm still a tad pissed that Wintermoon2 had the Showers taken down from her account. Not fair, not fair. As always, thank you for reading and reviewing. I love hearing from you.

Yuki Kurai- Thank you, and here's some, um, more Harry and Draco, and a potential promise of more to come.

Simply Slytherin- Hahaha! Thank you! But of course Harry had it in him- recently deflowered by the Slytherin Sex God (his unofficial title), and then a week with no play? What else could he have done? And I concur with the Sirius statement. That was why I wrote it. After he died, the hardest part for me was when Harry found the mirror. It wasn't just a beckoning device. He could have just talked to his godfather anytime, and he missed out. Made me cry. Anyway, thanks for the Gryndilow wards. And keep up the SMASHING good reviews. You know I love them!

Tsuyuno- Thanks. Hee hee. They're an egalitarian couple. Taking turns and what not. Thanks for reading/reviewing.

Desertrain- You rock! You stayed up to read my story! And then you told me about it! And you liked it! Yay! I feel so special! Hope you like this chapter too!

CS WhiteWolf- Thank you for the amazing compliment! And I've always been fond of Harry/Severus friendships, even more, just because of their dynamic personalities. And you're right about the beginning of their friendship usually being with Harry being abused. The ones I like best were stories when they started off as friends, with a vague history of reconciliation in the background during the war, but now it's over, etc. So I wanted to fill in the blanks of those stories. Of course, you could make the argument that this friendship started with Snape being abused, but I try to look at it like they were thrown together by circumstance and necessity, and are discovering that their rough lives give them a lot in common, and that their opposing personalities play off each other nicely. Anyway, thank you for the review. It was a major ego-boost.

Phayze- Thank you, I will!

Joyce- Thank you! Here's one more chapter, and um, we'll see what we can do about the Malfoy request, 'kay?

Pamela- I wanted to put better password action in this Chapter, but taking into account Snape's mood, he just wouldn't have anything to do with the game tonight. But more to come- I hope you enjoy them!

DKstories- Thank you! You stayed up late for me too! You rock! Of course, I already knew that after reading your stories. Speaking of which, I'm trying to rush to get in all the components of my ending in place before you finish the Destiny of Prophecies. I'm pretty sure I'm not going the same way as you, but I do want to say that I had this story mapped out before I got hooked on your fics, so I really don't think I'm stealing anything from you! And you're worth the reference. I'm hooked.

GotRyceBo- Thank you. I'm glad you liked Chapter 11, and I hope you like Chapter 12. No promises on happy endings with Harry and Malfoy, though. Sorry. But we'll see what we can do.