A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait but I had exams all this week. My school is crazy! Exams three times a year! Anyways, I have all weekend off so I'm updating this lovely thing-y because next weekend I'm busy with ANOTHER essay! I'm hoping to get enough chapters in to finish this story during the Christmas Break. That's the plan. Unfortunately, I'm a procrastinator and a lousy planner.

Thanks for all the reviews!

Chapter Twenty-Six: Sorting Through Emotional Baggage

Tap. Tap. Tap-tap. Tap. Tap. Harry took a deep calming breath, in his mouth and out of his nose, trying to stop himself from tearing Sirius' leg off and force feeding it to the man. Honestly, shouldn't Harry be the nervous wreak in the room, not the 'mature adults'? Again Harry took another calming breathe. Since leaving Dumbledore's office and meeting up with Blaise, Pansy and Theo the Elemental Veela had calmed down somewhat. Once he thought about it, he hadn't been hurt. Scared out of his mind and scarred for life, which seemed to be a regular occurence for him at Hogwarts, but other than that the only things hurt were Harry's books. That and that Lucius Malfoy probably wet himself after nearly having his brain beat down to his stomach by a falling textbook.

Tap. Tap. Tap-tap. Tap. Tap. Okay, Harry was officially going nutters. Standing swiftly, Harry was at Sirius in a flash and had seized both his ankles before holding them against the legs of the chair his godfather was sitting on. A quick flash of green and Sirius Black was tied to the legs of his chair.

"If you even think about tapping that leg one more time, I'll go cannibalistic on you, making sure you're nothing but a greasy stain on the floor when I'm done, capish?"

Harry looked insanely frustrated and threatening, making Remus release a low growl in his throat. Family or not, Harry really shouldn't upset the wolf like that.

Harry turned to the werewolf and raised in eyebrow in question, as if to say ' are you threatening me?' and Remus amazingly felt the wolf retreat as he resisted the urge to whine in apology.

Someone snorted to the right of the display.

"Werewolves and Veelas. Merlin, where's a Dark Lord when you need him?" Snape complained, looking as usual, unsatisfied and angry.

Draco kicked a leg rest over in annoyance. "Trying to kill Harry?"

Snape actually sighed. "Point taken."

Lucius looked at the clock above the fireplace before rising.

"It is almost ten. Anyone outside their Common Rooms now will be in trouble as we have double the night staff on tonight. I'm trusting that Draco will be safe here for the night?"

Lucius had raised his eyebrows in a threatening manner. Honestly, if Draco couldn't be safe in a suite with an ex convict/Auror, a werewolf and an Elemental Veela who had chosen him for his mate, Lucius would have to hide his son away in a vault in Gringrotts.

Remus nodded. "Once you all leave, we're going to place wards up so that no one can get in until tomorrow when one of us leaves."

Lucius nodded, squeezed his son's shoulder briefly before leaving the Rooms, Snape trailing not far behind him. Narcissa had opted to stay in the Slytherin Common Rooms with Draco's friends. Everyone who was loyal to Voldemort in Slytheirn had been removed, so it was full of the 'traitors' or the neutral families of the pure blood Wizarding World.

A bit of fancy wand work had the wards up and everyone breathing a sigh of relief. With all his nervous energy gone, Sirius looked dead on his feet with fatigue. Harry released him and the two men left for bed with a strict reminder to lock their bedroom door and a strange look from Draco.

"They're worse than a bunch of hormonal teenage boys in the Prefect's Baths since I locked them in their classroom." Harry explained and Draco got a strange half-amused, half-disturbed look on his face.

"Any regrets about doing that?"

Harry shook his head hard, his hair catching the firelight, reminding Draco just how beautiful an Elemental Veela was. Even before coming into his inheritance, with the right clothes Harry turned quite a few heads.

"Without a VERY strong push, Remus would have kept quiet and just kicked the can on us, you know." Harry's eyes suddenly looked very far away, as if he was seeing something nobody but him could see. "It must have hurt, not telling Sirius how he felt all this time, seeing him everyday but not being able to touch him. Even if it's just a fraction of how I felt when I was...dying, I feel bad for him."

Draco shifted on the couch they were sharing, moving closer now, so that they were touching from shoulder to knee completely.

"I can understand who Black- Sirius," he amended at a stern look from Harry. "Felt about the situation. When you were missing, I felt cold and empty. It was worse than the Dementors during our Third Year." Draco shivered.

Harry wrapped an arm about him, looking amazed.

"I didn't now the bond was actually that strong between us. You had rejected me! I honestly didn't think you'd feel a thing."

Draco narrowed his eyes at the Gryffindor. "Well I did. It's a good thing I'm here now to keep your suicidal tendencies under control."

Harry grinned. "Hey, where I come from my 'suicidal tendencies' are called bravery and courage."

"Yes well, where you come form they also think that gold and scarlet make a great color scheme for a room." Draco pulled a face and Harry mock-punched him.

"We're going for the 'warm and cozy' look!"

"It makes my eyes bleed."

"Well at least I don't live in a dungeon where the mold on the walls crawls up your nose as you sleep with one eye open."

Draco raised an elegantly blond eyebrow. "Neither do I."

"I've heard the rumors. Why do you think Slytherin has always lost the Quidditch Cup to Gryffindor? Killer Mutated mold has been possessing your House Mates."

Draco growled and attacked Harry's sides, tickling for all he was worth. The Elemental Veela laughed and tried to jerk away, making his mate over balance and fall on him, dragging them both off the couch and onto the floor.

With Draco straddling him and the warmth of the fire keeping them toasty, Harry laughed until he cried for the first time in his life. It felt great, his sides tingling from Draco's touch, his chest heaving with the effort it took to laugh and breath at the same time while his face muscles contorted in laughter, Harry felt a bit of the burden that had been placed on his shoulders since entering the Wizarding World at eleven break away. Laughter really did heal the soul.

"Okay, Uncle! Uncle!" Harry tried to yell, breathless with happiness. Draco stopped and looked at him.

"Uncle? You're calling me your uncle. Harry, that's sick and wrong."

Harry chuckled. "It's a muggle saying of surrender when someone tickles you."

Draco looked down at Harry, his head tilted to the side in contemplation. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you this happy. Even when you were surrounded with your Gryffindor friends you were never loud and boisterous like them."

Harry grinned. "First off I don't even know what that means, boisterous. Second, I was always like that and third, I'm happy because I like spending time with you."

A shadow crossed over Draco's face and he looked away.

"Then why did you reject my friendship in our First Year?"

The Gryffindor blinked, surprised at the question before sighed wearily. Time to sort out the emotional baggage.

"I want you to do something for me. Picture that you had never known about magic or he Wizarding World until your eleventh birthday. You're living with your mother's relatives who hate magic and have lied to you about everything for the last ten years and treated you like...a house elf. Then suddenly, this huge man comes along and tells you the truth, gives you an alternate life and actually treats you like an equal. This same kind man takes you to the places you should have went o with your parents, explains a lot of the things in this new world you don't understand and takes you to your birthright! Then in the first store you visit, the first wizarding boy you meet, makes fun of him."

Draco bit his lip. "I remember that."

"I'm not finished. You also find out that he wants to be in the same House as the man who murdered your parents. A fact you just found out the night before! Then you meet that same boy on the Train to Hogwarts and the next thing he does is insult the other friend you'd made. One whose mother helped you find the Platform to get on the train when your Uncle wouldn't, whose brothers helped you with your luggage and didn't make fun of your small size, whose offered to share his corned beef sandwich even though it would be the only thing he would get to eat until arriving at school. And to top that all off, this boy makes fun of your dead parents." Draco winced but Harry continued. "Tell me, Draco would you want to be this kid's friend?"

Draco grinned sheepishly. "No, I don't think I would. Merlin, I really was a mean little bastard back then, wasn't I? But you have to remember that I was still playing the part of the heir of a faithful dark family. Dumbledore had told my parents that Voldemort would return and they took no chances."

Harry nodded and looked at Draco with a sly glint in his eye.

"I've got a way you could make it up to me."

Draco sat up, raised his eyebrows and smirked.

"Oh? And what's in it for me?"

Harry pushed himself up on his elbows.

"Ever the Slytherin. Of course there's something in it for you."

Draco moved closer.

"Ever the Slytherin you bet. But I know you like me that way."

Harry was so close now he could fell Draco's breathe on his cheek.

"Whatever you say."

As their lips met, the fire spluttered out. On purpose or naturally, Draco didn't really care.

Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley sat in an isolated corner of the Common Room, the embers of the fireplace giving off shadows that the two girls ignored. Everyone had gone to bed but Hermione and Ginny were wide awake.

A hour after Ginny had made her revelation, both girls had come to a conclusion that would spell trouble for the three friends and Harry. The Elemental Veela's mate had to be one of the Slytherins who had come here the summer, seeking solace from Voldemort.

Hermione in all her organizational glory, had complied a list. Ginny rolled her eyes. Typical of the girl really. She did it last year with the DA as well. The girl had a thing for lists. Ron had better watch his back or Hermione would run away with the first guy who used a planner.

Ginny huffed. "I give up. I can't see any one of these people being Harry's other half. The boy is just too brave, stubborn, kind and loyal for a Slytherin. What were they thinking when the fates let this happen?"

Hermione glared. "Don't give me that rubbish about fate and destiny and the future! There's more guessing in Divination than in a game of sharaides at a muggle party."

What?" Ginny asked in confusion, her voice rising. Hermione just waved her off, still staring at the list.

"Although, this would be more like Soul Magics than Fate. I'll have to look it up in the Library. Let's get some rest tonight and confront Harry on Sunday with all the information."

Ginny stood and stretched. "You think you'll know who it is by then?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's possible but if not Harry will tell us." Her eyes softened and Ginny saw hurt shining in their depths. "That fact that he hasn't told us already and even lied to us about finding them shows that he's afraid he won't have our support. He's always been to insecure about things like this. The first time I hugged him, he asked me what I was doing."

Ginny sighed and rubbed the bushy haired girl's back. "We'll figure this out. Everything will be fine. Harry will finally have someone to take to Hogsmeade while you and my brother have a date or two."

Hermione turned red at Ginny's last statement before looking away.

"Your brother and I are not like that, Ginny."

The youngest Weasley snorted. "Yeah, and I'm a natural blond. Now come, bed!"

Hermione complied. She needed to be up early tomorrow, even though it was Saturday, so she could spend all day in the library. Ron would not be pleased.

Remus awoke suddenly, unsure at first what had awaken him. He felt it then Someone was at the wards. Sirius had an arm slung around his waist and was snoring softly. Remus' werewolf senses picked up Harry's and Draco's scents in their respective rooms as well. That left one other person. The murderer.

Remus shook Sirius awake and held a finger to his lips. They would wait to see if the wards held instead of breaking them by going out to catch the person and leaving Harry and Draco vulnerable.

Remus winced as he felt his wards being attacked but they bent to the pressure applied and did not break. Slowly the figure moved away until Remus could not sense him anymore.

Sirius looked at him and Remus quickly whispered to his mate. "I felt someone at the wards but they held and now they've gone. I didn't want tor risk breaking them only to not catch the murderer." Remus added at the look of outrage on Sirius' face.

Quickly the man slipped out of bed and padded down the hall. Remus heard the doors open and close to both of the boy's rooms before the animagus came back.

"Could you identify their scent?" Sirius asked as he got back into bed and wrapped his arms around the werewolf.

Remus shook his head. It was the same scent as the tie but he still couldn't place it.

"The wards held. That's a good sign." he said at last as he settled back into his lover's arms.

Sirius nodded and Remus could practically hear the wheels in his head turning. After about a minute he spoke.

"Did you happen to notice that all these attacks on Harry, they aren't, well, very magic based are they? Like the murderer isn't that strong magic wise. The poison can be bought on an Dark Black Market and someone physically pushed Harry off that edge. And just now, they couldn't break your wards. I know you're a powerful wizard but if you know what you're doing, wards come down easy. Voldemort wouldn't have sent some magically handicapped wizard to off Harry. All his followers have a purpose."

Remus frowned. "I think you might have something there. But what if this follower's usefulness is that he knew Harry and during the school year would have access to him? Voldemort must not know of Harry being an Elemental Veela or he would have sent assassins rather then some scorned Gryffindor to kill him."

Sirius grinned bitterly. "Snape said James shouldn't have had children and that if he did they'd be nothing but trouble. Damn him."

Remus stiffened. "Do you regret James and Lily having Harry?" Why was Sirius saying such things?

He felt Sirius stiffen as well, anger and shock coloring his voice.

"Merlin, no. I love Harry like he was my own. I just wish he wasn't in so much danger all the time. He's been through so much already and he's not even of age yet."

Remus relaxed but felt sadness at his mate's words.

"I thought losing you would break him. When you...fell... he tried to go after you. I had to hold him back."

The arms around his waist tightened as Sirius let out a shaky breathe.

"All I could remember thinking was that I'd never gotten the chance to teach Harry how to take care of you during the full moons, that I never talked with you about this, or told Harry that I loved him. I'm sorry for all the pain my idiocy put you two through."

Remus turned and looked at his mate for a second before laying his head on his chest and sighing.

"I know how you could make it up to us."

Sirius ran his fingers through Remus' golden and silver locks. "How?"

"By promising to never leave us again."

The room was silent for a minute before Sirius spoke.

"I promise. I suppose I should know better than making promises I can't keep but I can't help this."

Remus placed a kiss on Sirius' slightly muscled chest. "And I should know better than asking you to make promises I know you can't keep. At times like this, Siri, lying is the only thing a person can do."

With that said, both men closed their eyes and fell back to sleep.

A/N:Woot! Another one done. I'm also updating tomorrow night! Here's a hint: Hermione confronts Harry (she obviously solves the puzzle) in the library, where a person with ill intentions overhears some of the conversation while Harry discovers an idea that might ease Sirius' fears and make Remus' life a bit easier...but at what price?

Thanks again for all the reviews and being so patient with me! Anyone who reviews I'll answer back with that cute new reply back function on the reviews now. Whoever thought of that my hat's off to you!

S.Tangerine