CHAPTER ONE

The raven haired boy sneezed, huddling piteously under a thin blanket on the floor. His vivid green eyes, once shining bright with life, were now dull, the flames no longer burning. In his mind, he was reliving every nightmare he witnessed before. First, the voices of his parents dying, Quirell's anguished screams, Cedric, Sirius, and everyone involved. Everything was simply his fault. If he was never born, or even killed in the first place, these problems would never have occurred. Everyone could still be alive.

The clock stuck twelve. July 31st had arrived, along with the usual gifts Hermione and Ron sent every summer. However, he didn't feel any joy in opening his presents. All he wanted now, was to rest, lay down all his burdens and have some decent sleep. He wanted the horrors to stop, but had no faith in himself that he could accomplish the task of vanquishing Voldemort.

Harry sneezed again; he must have gotten ill from the storm yesterday, as he had been walking in the rain for almost three hours. Ever since knowing that Sirius was dead from the muggle news, the Dursleys were taking revenge by being more vicious then usual. Aunt Petunia had him scrubbing the floors, weeding the gardens, doing almost everything since the old cow was too lazy to do it herself. Dudley used him as a human punching bag, training himself to beat up the other kids at Smeltings and around the neighborhood, while Uncle Vernon made him do the grocery shopping, causing the bullies of Dudley's gang to jump at him whenever there was a chance.

He sat there, not moving, scarcely even breathing sometimes, as depressing thoughts kept him company. He remained like that for the whole night.

Ж ξ Ж

He had gotten Harry's muggle address from Dumbledore. But the reason to why he was currently standing at Harry's doorstep, knocking on the door, was still alien to him.

A skinny woman, with her hair properly done up in a tight bun, opened the door. Draco, who was used to seeing through people with a single glance, appraised her, and didn't like what he saw immediately. His sharp eyes darted, almost curiously, wanting to know how his future mate lived like.

"I'm not buying anything." the woman said curtly, her tone downright unpleasant.

"And I'm not selling anything. Not that you can ever hope to afford it." he sneered snobbishly, looking down on her. "I'm only here because I want to see Harry, so assign some servants to show me to his quarters."

The woman blinked, and looked over Draco more carefully. Certainly, he was handsome, almost dazzling, with his white blond hair neatly slicked back, and breathtaking gray eyes, bordering on silver. He was built willowy, and much taller then her.

However, it was his apparel that took her breath away. The black shirt, though designed simply, was made of silk, adorned with real gold threads. His pants, also black, seemed to be made of the same material, flowing smoothly to his polished shoes. A thin silver chain hung around his neck, but the pendant was hidden from shirt, being tucked under his shirt. In short, his clothing oozed money. Her eyes gleamed at that thought. It also seemed that Draco had turned up his charms.

"Of course! Dudley! Show our visitor to the frea- I mean, Harry's room." she called in a simpering tone.

Dudley, the complete opposite of the woman, appeared after a long time. Probably got stuck at the door of his room, judging by his size. Poor Harry; the scenery never changes.1 Draco thought wickedly as he arched an eyebrow at the whale-like boy. A large, plump face, with lumps of fats, and small, piggish beads for eyes that blinked at him stupidly. He was beefy, in the round way. The boy glowered at Draco, but did as he was told, albeit reluctantly.

"Don't know why you wanna see that freako though. Useless good-for-nothing loser. Says my dad. True though; he's only useful for the manual tasks." he said bitterly.

Draco raged innerly. How dare they try to bring down his mate? He would take revenge, but not now, not when he had pressing businesses to attend to. Dudley shut up, not liking the ominous glare Draco had on his face.

Dudley opened the door rudely, not even bothering to knock. Draco growled. Harry was curled up on the floor, books stacked untidily around him as the blanket draped over him laid at his feet. He was sleeping in a fetus position, and there seemed to be something defensive about him.

"Get out. I want to speak to him alone," Draco gestured impatiently. "And shut that door behind you quietly!" Dudley did as he was told, his hands clapping to his butt almost fearfully.

Draco made himself as comfortable as he could on the cold, hard ground, sitting in front of Harry as he studied the boy carefully.

Messy, jet black fell haphazardly all over his face, his eyes tightly shut, sooty eyelashes dark against his cheeks. His clothes were oversized, and seemed to be mended poorly in some areas. They hung on his scrawny frame loosely, not fitting him at all. Draco made a note mentally to get rid of those rags and clad his mate in much more... elegant clothes, and that he ate regularly. Honestly, he was bone thin, and Draco didn't like it.

Distractedly, Draco wondered how it would feel, to caress the olive-colored cheeks, just once. Probably hurts like hell, since Harry- no Potter, would resent him for trying to molest him in his sleep and then punch him in the face. He smiled to himself wryly, pondering why he had gotten such a stubborn person for a mate.

Hazy green eyes were now staring up at him. Draco blinked. Why did those eyes look so dead?

"Malfoy?" Harry whispered confusedly, wondering if everything was just a dream. It would explained what Draco Malfoy was doing here, in his room. Probably to jeer at him. Yet, he didn't angry, just strangely calm and... warm inside. Strange...

"Harry! You're finally awake," Draco said, his silvery eyes lighting up. "I'm been waiting for you for ages! Happy birthday."

Harry blinked, and promptly pinched himself. He winced slightly, and turned his attention to the matter at hand. "Malfoy, what the fuck are you doing here!"

"What does it seems? Meeting my in-laws? Rescuing you, of course!" Draco replied, staring into those green orbs. If eyes were windows to the soul, then he wished fervently that he could change Harry's eyes if the boy would let him.

"Why... ?" Harry let his question trail off, letting his unspoken words hang in the air, creating a tense atmosphere.

Draco sighed, and rolled up his left sleeve, revealing a pale arm, unblemished from any marks. "See, you can trust me, I hope. I'm not a Death Eater. In fact, I'm on your side. Dumbledore sent me to fetch you to the Order's headquarters."

There was a reaction to Draco's last few words, though they were not what he hoped for. "No. Won't, don't want to return there. No more... the nightmares, him..." Harry shook his head, seeming to recoil into himself as he huddled under the blanket for comfort. He continued to mutter lowly to himself.

"Shush, don't worry." Draco whispered gently in his ear, as he gathered the smaller boy in his arms, settling him lightly in his lap, and hugging him softly. Draco hardened himself as he waited for the inevitable rejection that Harry would show him. However, Harry did nothing of that sort,instead, he burrowed his face in Draco's chest, his slender arms going around Draco's neck.

Awkwardly, Draco whispered words of comfort into his mate's ear, wanting very much to cheer Harry up. "Look, Harry, if you don't want to go to this Grimmauld Place, we can go to my apartment. It's safe there too; Severus and Dumbledore warded it themselves."

"Thank you," Harry replied quietly, his tone slightly muffled. "I would... like to go to your apartment instead. Grimmauld Place holds too much memories."

They sat like that for a while, until Draco's legs started to complain. "Harry, why don't you go pack? Afterwards, I have to tell you something really important." Draco suggested. Harry nodded, and slipped out of Draco's embrace, his cheeks reddening slightly. Draco mourned the loss of his warmth inwardly.

"Hedwig," Hedwig stroked the feathered wing lightly. "I know it's sudden, but can you go to Hogwarts' owlery by yourself?" the owl hooted, and took off after a last peck of affection to Harry when he opened the cage door. Then he went around the room, picking things out, and dumping them into his trunk. "Mal- Draco, what was it that you need to tell me?"

"Can I trust you, Harry?" he asked, not seeming to want any reply. Harry remained silent, not really knowing what to say when he had no idea himself. "I'm not really sure how to start, but here goes. I'm not a pureblood. In fact, I'm not even full human."

"Show me." the other boy said, a spark of interest re-lighting the dying embers of those green eyes. Wordlessly, Draco took off his shirt, and his wings started to grow, until they reached full length, which was a whole head taller then Draco and twice his width. He also removed the glamor, letting the masks fall away, to reveal his true features. Silently, he looked at Harry, wondering how he would react.

"You're a Lunariko? Way cool, think of all the Quidditch moves you can do," he said, "Can I... can I touch it?" he pointed nervously at his wings. Draco nodded and leaned forward.

Gently, Harry touched the appendage and drew about as he felt Draco suppressing a shudder. "Does it tickles, or hurts?" he asked almost curiously.

"No. It's... much more intimate then that." Draco replied shortly.

"Can I touch it again?" Harry asked, gesturing at the wing. The silvery feathers were silky and soft, glossy to look. It felt very different from patting Hedwig though.

"I don't think so. Harry, don't do it anymore, unless you mean it." he said quietly. Draco willed the wings to vanish. A single silver feather fell into Harry's palm.

An awkward silence fell upon the two of them. "Umm, why don't you put your shirt back on and we can leave?" Harry said, wondering if he had insulted Draco. They had a tentative friendship now, and he didn't want to lose it. Truth to be told, he had never hated the other boy, instead, he secretly admired him. He was always so quick on his feet, knowing exactly what buttons to push to make someone lose their cool, and yet he was still so composed.

Draco complied his request quickly. Normally, he would whisk Harry off and fly back, but after that little episode just now, he didn't trust himself to be so close to his mate. He was definitely sure that Harry would not appreciate the attention.

"Need help informing the muggles?" Draco asked, wishing to give them a good lashing of his tongue. He had a few choice words specially for them on their treatment of his Harry.

"Nah, they'll only be happier that I'm leaving. Besides, next year is the last time I'll stay with them." Harry decided darkly.

"I'll wait for you outside then." With that, he sidestepped Harry with a feline grace that the brunette envied.

Sighing, Harry lugged his trunk downstairs. Uncle Vernon glowered sullenly at him from the dining table, while Aunt Petunia turned from the stove. Dudley appeared to be absent from sight. Probably cowering under his bed, frightened by Draco. He wished that the Dursleys would fear him.

"Good riddance." the fat muggle muttered. For a normal human, it would be impossible to hear his words from the distance between him and Draco, but to a protective Lunariko, it sounded like a clap of thunder. It took all of Draco's restraint not to burst into the house and hex the Dursleys to an inch of their lives.

The front door swung open. Harry walked towards Draco, one side of his lips quirked up wryly. "Well, that went well, didn't it?"

"N- Yeah. So, you want to portkey out of here, or you have any preferred mode of transportation?" Draco asked.

"A portkey would be fine." Harry assured. Draco fished his chain out from under his shirt. It was a pendant in the shape of the moon. Harry looked at it curiously. "Nice."

"It reminds me of the current shape of the moon. For now, it's waxing. You should see it during a full moon night; it really glows. Sometimes silver, or even golden." Draco explained, holding the charmed pendant to Harry, who grasped it.

There was the familiar jerk of his navel.

1: Okay, this is a running joke with my friends, there's this mean prick who's really fat, that when you stand directly behind him, he becomes the landscape, you can't see anything beyond him. And as long as he's in front of you, there'll be no change. I'm not poking fun of fat people in general, in fact, my best friend is overweight too. It's just that I can't stand that prat's character.

A/N: Draco makes his appearance. Finally... so, how was it? Good, bad, terrible? I would love to hear your opinions. Chapter two will be out as soon as possible. Thanks to all those who reviewed for the past chapters. Love you guys loads!