"Malfoy, the centaur's here again." Harry called to the blonde boy who was currently stretched contentedly out on the grass near their rather successful vegetable patch.
Draco waved one hand negligently, then let it flop down to cover his eyes from the sun. "You talk to him."
"If you stay out there you're going to get sunburned again." Harry warned.
"I'm resting. G'way." The tone was lazy and held a hint of a yawn.
"I don't want to have to hear you sulking again when you're all red and sore."
Draco sat up. "Malfoys don't sulk. And besides, weren't you the one that was whining about all the bug bites the other night?"
Harry laughed. "No, that was you."
"It most certainly was not!" An indignant and seemingly angry expression graced his fair features but Harry had learned over time not to listen to the tone of voice or the face but to watch the eyes. Their bickering always sounded sincere and they could pretend it was if they wanted, but both knew how very false it was. In one sense, it was something they both looked forward to, their petty false arguments, for it was of itself a joke between them of how very much they'd both changed.
"Well then I suppose there's no need for me to buy any bug spray the next time I work?" Harry was currently working at a grocery store and regularly brought home odds and ends for the both of them.
"What, does it spray out more bugs?" Malfoy wrinkled his nose, not being familiar with that particular muggle invention.
"No, no. It keeps them away. You spray the liquid on yourself and the bugs don't like the smell, so they don't come near you. Or at least they're not supposed to."
"Well…" the blonde feigned indifference. "If you think it will help you I won't object."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Come on. Our visitor is probably waiting for us."
Indeed, the powerfully built centaur was waiting politely for them by the door to their home. They invited him in and offered him to share in their dinner, which he declined.
"I do not stay for long." His voice was still stiffly formal and held a hint of worry. "Just to tell you that the dark one has intensified his attacks on the muggle world looking for Harry Potter. Dumbledore had to relocate your mother's sister and her family, for they were targeted."
Harry shivered. "So he found them."
"He did not catch them."
Harry didn't know if he was relieved or not. The Dursleys were cruel, petty, small minded individuals that hated him and he hated them in return but he was never able to hate them with his full heart. As impossible as he knew it to be, somehow he had always hoped that they would see that he was not to be despised, that he had a worth too. As a child, before he had known of his parents' true fate or his own, he had always wondered what was wrong with him or what he'd done that they didn't love him. And a child desperate to be loved never entirely outgrows that.
"Why are you helping us?" Draco demanded. Harry would never have asked but he, Draco Malfoy, would always be wary of seemingly free gifts. He had never gotten free gifts, never been given anything without something expected in return. Something that he usually didn't want to give but didn't have any choice over.
The centaur inclined his head to the side thoughtfully. "We have always believed that that which is lost should be found. Perhaps that is why we study the skies. And perhaps also you will understand when I say that dark should never be feared and light should never scorch."
"Riddles." Draco's disgust ran deep. He hated riddles, hated complicated answers that didn't really answer anything. Hated not understanding what was going on, what was happening around him and to him.
"What is life without riddles?"
"But there's more to what I asked than what you answered."
The other did not deny it. Instead he simply said. "I must be away."
Harry broke from his thoughts. "Wait. Please, what is your name? You know ours."
"Tanan. I will come again." And he turned and left them.
Harry turned away to stare out their one little window into the fading sun. "Did you know Voldemort's real name is Tom Riddle? That's what he went by when he was in Hogwarts."
"Really? He didn't just ooze out of a puddle of mud looking like he does now? I mean, talk about ugly! I'm not sure world domination and immortality are worth giving up your good looks."
"You've seen him?"
"Yeah. My father took me to see him a few times. He was there when…you know…my father…" Tried to kill me.
"Was your mother there too?"
"No. He doesn't let women join his ranks. She'd jump at the chance if she could. She'd do anything."
"He's an orphan you know. Voldemort I mean. See, his father was a muggle and his mum a witch but she didn't tell his dad. And when his dad found out he freaked and left. So his mum died and he was put in an orphanage."
"So killing muggles is, what, revenge?"
"I think so."
"So he's all lies too. Pretending it's a holy crusade to wipe out muggles when he's half-and-half himself. Pretending he was born a dark power for a new world order when he struggled through growing up the same as the rest of us. Is there nobody out there that's not just a bunch of lies?"
"I don't know Malfoy. You can try not to live like that but even if you don't make up the lies, someone else does."
"Says the boy who lived, huh?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Just ask Rita Skeeter."
Draco grinned. "But she made teasing you so much easier." He sobered abruptly. "I'm a lie right now, aren't I? Most everyone thinks I'm dead."
"Not Dumbledore."
"No, not him. But everyone else. And no one cares. I'll bet a lot were even…glad." His voice had gone soft and Harry had to strain to hear it.
Harry waited a long moment, gathering the right words before he spoke. "They don't know any better. They don't know you. They wouldn't be glad if they did."
"But if I were really gone…"
Harry turned and took Draco by the shoulders, letting their eyes lock. "I would not be glad, Draco Malfoy. I would never be glad."
Draco's expression became confused and childlike. "What do you want from me?"
Harry released his hold. "Nothing you don't freely give. I wouldn't take that." Then, quieter, he added, "I can't do this on my own."
Draco let his head fall on to Harry's shoulder tiredly. "Neither can I."
"It's alright." And to his surprise found that he believed those words for the first time, really believed them.
A small smile turned up the corner of Draco's mouth. "I think maybe it will be."
Another Author's Note: Was the last bit too awkward? It felt kind of choppy and random. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and please review!