Disclaimer: I do not own any characters created by J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Thirty-Two

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Draco sat nervously in the chair, his eyes watching as mediwitches and healers rushed by.

They were at St. Mungo's awaiting for an emergency appointment with Healer Rodrik. Remus sat beside him and on the next row down was Harry. It had shocked Draco earlier that morning coming face-to-face with a twelve-year-old Harry. Only this Harry wasn't twelve like Draco remembered him; no, this Harry looked slightly taller, he looked healthier with a good level of weight on his bones, his hair was still a bird's nest and his pale skin was flushed with a healthy tan from their long weekend in France. All these were good things, he tried to tell himself.

Harry had been oddly quiet and subdued on their trip from Calais to Dover. When they reached an apparition point, Sirius had kissed Remus and said he'd be home for dinner. He wanted a word with Minvera before lunch. As for them, Remus had allowed Andromeda to take Teddy for the rest of the day, and then made a floo-call to Healer Rodrik's office.

Now, Draco could feel Harry shooting him confused glances.

He wanted to challenge him, to feel that old spark, but memories from the previous night haunted him. Harry had clung to him until the early hours of the morning when he'd finally calmed down and gotten a few decent hours sleep. Draco had not been as lucky.

"Ah, Mr. Lupin I was wondering when I would see you again!" Healer Rodrik appeared with a clipboard and his usual smile. "Come right this way, I just finished up."

"Come on, boys," Remus rubbed a hand down his face before beckoning for Draco and Harry to follow him.

Once they were all seated in the office and Healer Rodrik had erected the privacy wards, he turned to Harry and cocked an eyebrow. "Well now, Mr. Potter, you've certainly grown since the last time I saw you. How old are you now?"

"Twelve, sir."

"Twelve, eh? My, you have grown," he beamed. "Now what are we doing today? Preliminary health checks, making sure your eyesight is as it should be, things like that?" He looked to Remus for confirmation.

"Yes, all of the above if you're able to."

"Not a problem."

As always, Healer Rodrik was fairly quick performing his general diagnostic spells, determining that Harry was fine, but needed to keep his energy levels up if he was going to keep up with any residual effects of the potion. Draco assured him that, unless he added another enhancer to the next batch of the solution, there shouldn't be any more hiccoughs, and if there were, they knew what to expect now.

Harry watched him with wary eyes as the blonde spoke. It shouldn't have unnerved Draco as much as it did, but he felt an ugly flush creep up his next as Harry pursed his lips.

Next, was the assessment of his eyesight.

As per usual, Harry needed to read letters from various points in the room, with one eye covered, and then the other. Healer Rodrik peered into both his eyes and then pointed his wand straight at Harry's eyes and muttered an incantation that Draco had never heard before. Healer Rodrik nodded approvingly, before holstering his wand and letting Harry join the other two at the seats placed before the Healer's desk.

"Well, Harry you've had a marked improvement on your eyesight."

"I … I have?" he frowned, his hands going up to tentatively touch at the frames. "What … um … what does that mean?"

"Well, it means that your vision won't be impaired as is was before this little potion mishap," Healer Rodrik said tactfully. "I want you to start using these eyedrops and I'm going to adjust your lenses and fit you with some new glasses. Then next month we can see how it's helped."

"So … I may not need my glasses?"

"There is still a likely chance that you will need your glasses, Harry," Healer Rodrik said placatingly. "However, your eyes may not be as bad as they were before, so your prescription will be much lower. Possibly only for flying and reading. Wouldn't that be better?"

"Um … I suppose," Harry averted his gaze, shoulders hunching.

"Now, if you give me five minutes, I can adjust your lenses. Your prescription has already gotten a fair bit lower. Now, why don't you choose the frames you want, and then I can get you those eyedrops."

Harry nodded mutely.

He chose his new frames without much interest, settling on the roundest pair because it was 'what he was used to at school', but instead of getting them in black, he chose a sleek silver colour. If anything, it enhanced the sharp greenness of his eyes. Healer Rodrik adjusted the lenses for a lower prescription and handed over a glass bottle of drops to be taken once a day before Harry went to bed.

"I think that's it for the day," Healer Rodrik beamed at the three of them. "Mr. Lupin, if there are any problems or questions you have, don't hesitated to firecall me, okay?"

"Of course, thank you so much Healer," Remus accepted the bottle gratefully and slipped it inside the pocket of his robes.

They departed St. Mungo's and made for the nearest apparition point. Draco clung tightly to Remus' arm, feeling physically sick and they stumbled onto the pavement outside Grimmauld place. Once he was inside the wards and the door shut firmly behind him, he felt as though he was able to relax.

"What do you say to preparing something for lunch, eh boys?" Remus attempted to sound cheerful, but his weariness was getting the better of him.

"I'm gonna go to my room," Harry grumbled, slouching up the staircase and disappearing from view. A few moments later a door slammed shut.

Remus sighed, looking up at the stairs forlornly. "I can only imagine how trying this must all be for him right now. I can't think what's going on in his head."

"It's a very confusing time for him," Draco did his best to sound disinterested, but there was no denying the waver in his voice.

"I guess it's just you and me figuring stuff out for lunch."

Draco smiled, "I'm happy to give you a hand."

~0~

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Enter."

Sirius strode into the room, his robes catching at his legs as he hastened into the vacant chair opposite McGonagall. She didn't look up at him until she had finished writing the sentence she was working on with her quill. Setting the long feather to one side, the regarded him over the tops of her spectacles.

"What can I help you with today, Sirius?"

"Minerva," he licked his lips, very aware he needed to remain calm. "We had an incident with Harry over the weekend. He aged to be twelve years old, but it also means he relived whatever happened to him at the end of his first year at Hogwarts."

"I see."

"It was … pretty horrifying to witness," he admitted. "I need to know what happened to him that year. He was so scared, screaming and telling me not to touch him or we would burn. Like some Professor Quirrell."

"Ah, yes. Quirrell; that was indeed an unfortunate incident. Naturally, I only found out once all the students had gone home for the summer," she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "From what Dumbledore told me, Quirrell played host to Voldemort, sharing his physical body with the man. That's why he always wore a turban, so we wouldn't see Voldemort's head at the back of his."

"That's … that's grotesque!"

"Indeed. He was also drinking unicorn blood to try and sustain himself, but as you know, unicorn blood can only do so much. He was after the philosopher's stone, which Albus his here, in the school."

This time it was Sirius' turn to sigh. "Let me guess, Harry, Hermione and Ron somehow stumbled upon all of this and got caught up in trying to save the stone."

"That is correct," Minerva gave a thin smile. "Tea?"

"No, thank you." He watched as she summoned a full teacup for herself. "So what's the burning all about?"

"Quirrell was a nervous man. Couldn't bear to have Harry touch him. The over-all reason is that due to Lily's sacrifice, the love in Harry's blood was a raw magic that even Voldemort was powerless against. Albus said that Quirrell attacked Harry to get to the stone, and Harry touched him, burning him into ash. Of course, Harry didn't understand any of this until he came out of his coma."

"Coma? He was in a coma? For how long?"

"Only about a week. His power was severely drained by the time word had reached us and we got down there to help him."

"What happened to it?" Sirius murmured, feeling numb. "The stone?"

"Albus and Flammel decided to destroy it. What else could we do?"

Sirius hunched over in his chair, his head in his hands. He groaned, clawing his hands through his hair, messing his curls up. "And to think he went through all of that when he was just eleven years old," he said, imaging his poor little boy, alone and afraid, facing up to a megalomaniac. His heart clenched. "What the hell happened when he was twelve? Fourteen? All the times I wasn't able to be there?"

"I can tell you a few bits and pieces that I know, but you really will need some tea."

Sirius chewed on his lip, casting his eye over to the china cup waiting for him. "Have you got anything stronger?"

~0~

Remus left Draco in his basement lab brewing his next batch of Wolfsbane. Harry hadn't come down to lunch, so Remus was bringing him a sandwich and some pumpkin juice to take the edge off. Everything had been a bit of a whirlwind from Harry aging overnight, to travelling straight to St. Mungo's. No wonder the kid wanted some time to himself. Clutching the tray in one hand, Remus knocked on the bedroom door.

"Come in."

Edging into the room, Remus frowned as he saw Harry with his knees drawn to his chest as he sat perched on his windowsill staring forlornly out at the gardens below. Setting the tray onto the bedside table, Remus hesitated before perching on the edge of Harry's bed.

"What's on your mind, Harry?"

Harry picked at some lint on the knee of his trousers. He shrugged his hunched shoulders. "This is all so … confusing. I … don't really know where to begin."

"I can answer as many questions as I'm capable of, Harry. Just start with something small."

Harry chewed on his bottom lip. "I remember getting my own room at the Dursley's. They're afraid of me now that I can do magic, so they gave me Dudley's second bedroom. It's small but it's better than the cupboard."

"A long time coming I'm sure," Remus remarked drily. "What else?"

"Um … I'm not sure … I think I remember a weird house elf called Dobby … and Uncle Vernon yelling at me because his boss was coming to dinner. I got into trouble for Dobby dropping a cake onto the boss' wife."

Remus let out a laugh. Harry frowned at him and he quickly tried to subdue himself. "S-sorry," he cleared his throat. "It just reminds me of Sirius when he was young. Always causing trouble."

Harry hummed, dropping his eyes.

"What is it, Harry?"

"Sirius … I know he's not my dad …but um …"

"You can tell me anything, Harry."

"Is it bad … that I want him to be?"

"Oh, pup, no," Remus climbed up onto the bed and wedge himself onto the sill beside Harry. He draped an arm around the kid's shoulder. "Why would it be bad?"

"Because I always have a mum and dad but they're dead."

"Harry, if it wasn't for all this Voldemort nonsense, Sirius would have adopted you the moment he could have."

"Then why didn't he?" Harry's green eyes were alive with anger, the wet sheen of tears on his lashes.

Remus licked his lips. He had two options here; he could either lie and face the consequences when Harry aged to thirteen, or he could just tell the basic truth now and hope it would suffice until more memories came back. "Sirius was framed for murder on the same night your parents were killed," he said as simply as he could, the words feeling like ash in his mouth. "Not your parents murder, but there was an old friend of ours who told Voldemort where yours parents were. Later than night, he killed a group of muggles, faked his death and framed Sirius for the murders."

Harry's face was stricken pale. All the anger had flushed away in five seconds flat.

"I know it's a lot to take in. However, that is why he wasn't able to give you this life to begin with."

Harry slumped against his side. "Do you think my real Dad would have minded if I called Sirius 'dad' all this time?"

Remus shook his head and gave Harry a squeeze. "No, I don't think he would have minded. He'd have encourage it, if anything."

Harry gave a small smile. "I'm sorry I've been hiding away all day. It's been a lot to take in, getting these weird flashes of memories."

"Have you had any others yet?"

"No, not yet. Nothing seems to happen much if I'm focused on something else."

"Do you want to go and see how Draco's doing in his lab?" Remus asked. "After you've eaten, though."

Harry straightened up, his cheeks flushing a little. "You sure he'd want me there? He hasn't said a word to me all day."

"Draco is concerned about you. He just shows it in a very aloof way."

Harry sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "It's strange, separating this new, grown-up Draco, to the blonde git I remember. Even at eleven he was just so arrogant."

"You can thank his father for that one," Remus remarked.

Harry huffed a small laugh. "Yeah … Now that I've seen this Draco … it's weird. But I really like him."

"Oh yeah?" Remus nudged his shoulder with a grin. "Well, I have to say Draco only wants what's best for you. He knows these memories are hard for you to process and that you don't see him in a great light at this time of your lives. He just wants to give you space to process it all."

Harry hummed softly. "That's nice of him."

"Right, kiddo, I need to put all our holiday things in the wash. You can leave your plate and glass for Kreacher, make him feel useful you know," he gave Harry a wink. "Once you're done, Draco will be in the basement waiting for you."

Just as he was about to leave, Harry called out to him. "Hey Remus?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Um … if they're free … Can Ron and Hermione come over tonight? I have some questions for them."

"That should be fine, I'll get Sirius to pick them up. Want them over for dinner?"

"If … if that's okay?" Harry fidgeted.

"Of course, it is. I'll fire-call your dad and get him to speak to them."

"Thanks, Remus, you're the best!" he hurried over and threw his arms around Remus before he had a chance to respond. He gave the man a tight squeeze, a beaming smile and then unwound himself so that he could eat his food.

Remus smiled fondly as he watched the boy grab one of the muggle 'fantasy' books Sirius used to be obsessed with and open it up, whilst grabbing one of the sandwiches with his free hand. With a warmth in his chest, Remus backed out of the room and went up to the next floor to the study so he could fire-call Sirius and tell him about their extra guests for dinner.

~0~

True to his word, as soon as Harry was done with his sandwich, he flew down the stairs in his socked feet, slipping along the floorboards until he reached the kitchen. There he took care across the tiled floor and was about to rush into the basement, when something stopped him. Despite more memories resurfacing of hid time at Hogwart's with Draco, Harry knew from the last several months that Draco was a stickler for manners.

Drawing in a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Harry launched into the room, hopping down the steps and colliding with something before he even reached the counter. "Ow! What the hell was that?"

Draco cocked an eyebrow at him. "A shield, which I'm glad I used now by the way." He raised his wand and dispelled the ward before turning his attention back to Harry. "Are you feeling better after last night?"

Harry shrugged cautiously stepping closer to the counter and climbing up onto the stool. "My head feels a bit foggy. Got a few memories here and there but … it's not terrible. Yet," he added thoughtfully. "Sorry I ran off earlier."

"It's fine," Draco shrugged, mentally counting the stirs of his rod. "I can only imagine how horrid it must feel. I'm only happy to give you space when you need it. Especially with our … history."

"I think so."

Draco was so caught off by Harry's softer tone that he spun around too quickly, almost knocking his cauldron off the fire. He grunted as his hip knocked against the counter. Breathing heavily through the pain, he forced himself to straighten up. "Do you … have any questions about … things?"

"I few, I think," Harry frowned. "I asked Remus if Ron and Hermione could come for dinner if they were free so I could ask them."

Draco tried to ignore the twist in his gut. 'You can just ask me!' he wanted to snap, but he managed to contain himself. Afterall, how much did he really know about Harry's time in school? They weren't even in the same house and only had about half their lessons together, if that. "I see," was all he said.

Harry frowned over at him. "Are you … okay with them coming?"

"Of course," he replied tightly. "You have questions, and out of everyone, they probably have the most answers."

"Draco?"

"Mm?"

He frozen when he felt Harry hugging him from behind. The kid wasn't that tall yet, barely coming up to his shoulder, but his arms weren't weedy little twigs like they had been years ago, they were filled out and had a soft bronze blush to them from the sun in France. He felt Harry rest his head against his back. It took him a few moments to gather his thoughts. He reached down and touched one of Harry's wrists, trying not to count the sun-freckles there.

"What's this for?"

Harry shrugged. "You always look sad, but you don't need to be. Besides, I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me for what?"

"For last night. You didn't have to cuddle me; I know you might find it weird after everything. It's just … cuddling makes me feel better. And I want you to feel better, too."

Draco couldn't ignore the tightening of his chest, or how a warmth seemed to melt the ice inside him. He relaxed a little into Harry's embrace, tentatively resting his hand over the sun-freckles and barely daring to breathe. It felt peaceful for the first time in twenty-four hours.

The roar of the floo made Harry's head snap up.

"Honey! I'm home!" Sirius called mockingly from the kitchen's floo. "And I brought hostages!"

"Dad!" Harry beamed, releasing Draco and bolting up the few steps and into the kitchen.

Draco watched him go, the weight of the world collapsing in on his insides. With a sigh, he picked up his wand and cast a stasis charm over his cauldron so he could get back to work as soon as dinner was finished. Steeling himself for what was to come, he climbed up into the kitchen, plastering a smile on his face.

.

Dinner was a lively affair. Remus had Harry help him make a shepherd's pie and fried pork. It was simple, inelegant, and some of the best food that Draco could remember eating ever. He had to remind himself not to stare at Harry while the kid worked seamlessly around the kitchen, as though he'd been doing it for years. Hadn't he mentioned something about being forced to cook for his muggle relatives? His mood instantly soured.

Ron and Hermione looked a little haggard, no doubt from all the late night studying for their up-coming exams. Draco tried to ignore the fact that he was expected to go to the Ministry to so his. Hermione suggested that he should come to another one of their practical study sessions, to which he surprised himself by saying 'yes' to. It had been nice being in a classroom atmosphere again.

Sirius asked Kreacher to do the dishes, while he waved his waved and served everyone a bowl of blueberry ice-cream. The conversation he'd had with McGonagall earlier that day was still niggling at his mind. He would have to discuss with Remus once they were alone. Settling down at the table, he lounged back in his chair and stirred the ice-cream with his spoon.

"So, pup, you said you had some questions for Ron and Hermione. I'm sure they're happy to answer them for you."

"Oh, that's right, you're twelve now," Hermione's eyes flew wide with interest. She gnawed on her lip wondering where to begin. "How -how much do you remember right now?"

Harry fidgeted, looking up anxiously at Sirius, who have him an encouraging nod and a wink. "I remember being at the Dursley's over the summer. I had nightmares about burning Quirrell for weeks …" his voice trailed off a little. "I -I thought you guys didn't want to talk to me anymore, because of it. None of your letters came to me. It turns out that … this house-elf called Dobby was trying to warn me, to keep me from coming to Hogwarts for some reason."

"I still don't get that," Ron frowned. "House elves are bound to obey their masters. I know Dobby was a bit of a rouge elf, but surely even he wouldn't have been able to just go to Harry's house."

Hermione frowned, "He was obviously punished afterwards for not being around but … I mean, we know Kreacher went off wherever he felt his master was. Dobby wasn't that rebellious until after he was f-"

"I sent him."

A stunned silence fell over the kitchen. All heads turned to face Draco, identical looks of astonishment on their faces. Hermione recovered first, "What do you mean 'you sent him'?"

Draco closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. He grimaced; it was getting long. He was going to need a haircut at some point. Hunching over the table, he kept his eyes focused on the knots and whorls on the tabletop. His throat suddenly felt so dry as he tried to recount exactly what had happened that summer.

"As you all know my father was a school governor at the time of our first and second year," he began. The others nodded. Sirius leaned forward, his grey eyes gleaming with interest. "Well, being the spoiled little sod that I was, I'd asked for something and my father didn't want to give it to me. So, I lashed out and ransacked his study, just to mess things up really."

Ron snorted and Hermione elbowed him. Though her own lips had twitched at the mental image.

"Well for some reason he had Harry's address. I assume he'd copied it from his school file or something. Anyway, during the summer he had a bunch of his Death Eater friends come over and have councils in the parlour or the study and I overheard something about a diary and the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts." He grimaced as a shiver ran down his spine at the memory of being twelve years old and crouched in his pyjamas on the cold marble floor, his ear pressed to the door. They hadn't bothered with silencing charms then. "From the vague information I'd gathered, Harry was going to be involved. So … I went to my room and I called for Dobby. I told him that he needed to go to Harry's address and do everything he possibly could to make sure he couldn't come back to Hogwarts that year."

"So that's why Dobby hid the letters from Ron and Hermione?" Harry frowned. "So that I would think I wasn't wanted and that I wouldn't want to go back to school."

Draco ducked his head sheepishly. "I was twelve! It was the only thing I could think of to warn you off. I couldn't just outright tell you, could I? We weren't exactly friends at the time."

Harry gave an agreeable hum.

"When Dobby came back that last night, he went to yours, my Father had been calling him for a while. When he finally arrived, he was beaten with the cane, but he never told of where he went or why. I thought for sure he'd done enough! And then … then I saw you three in Flourish and Blott's in Diagon Alley."

Ron glowered at the tabletop. "That was where we first met Lockhart wasn't it? You got your face on the front page?" he glanced up at Harry to see if he remembered. He nodded in response. Turning his blue gaze to Draco, Ron straightened up a little. "I remember you being your arrogant self and then your dad was … being right weird. Even for him."

"I think that's when he planted the diary in your sister's cauldron," Draco tipped his head forward, almost touching the table, and groaned.

"It couldn't have been any other time," Hermione agreed softly.

"I was shocked he have the diary to your sister," Draco frowned. "From all the conversations and meetings, I heard, he was meant to give the diary to you, Harry."

Harry shifted awkwardly in his chair.

"Minerva told me a bit about his incident," Sirius said, breaking the silence. "I know the fundamental basics of all that happened, she told me this morning. She didn't manage to tell me what was in the Chamber though. She just said it was a monster, according to legend."

"It was a bloody great big snake, is what it was!" Ron blanched. "So big …"

Hermione frowned. "Just a minute … how did you two figure all that out about the basilisk?"

"A basilisk?" Remus' eyes went wide. "Under the school! Oh, Merlin's tits, what the hell?!"

"Calm down, Remmy."

"I will not CALM DOWN!" he stormed. "Those things are one of the most fearsome creatures I've ever had the displeasure to study. Do you know how big they can grow? And if that thing was put there when Salazar Slytherin was alive –" he gagged. "I dread to think. It turns my stomach."

"What do you mean how?" Ron frowned, turning to Hermione. "It was with the information you gave us."

"I didn't give you anything. I went to research in the library, but I hadn't managed to find anything."

"But what about the page we found in your hand?"

"What page?"

"The one you ripped out of the book before you were petrified!"

"Ronald, how dare you'd ever think I would rip a page out of a book, when I can just copy it with magic!"

"Enough!" Draco snapped, banging his fist on the table. Everyone jumped and fell silent, turning back to stare at him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Harry watching him, all tensed up and hunched over in his chair. "When I saw you lot as Diagon Alley, I'd only just found the book I was looking for. All I knew about the Chamber were rumours, nothing concrete despite any research I tried to do. But I knew of the most logical creature that fit the description of everything. Plus, Slytherin loved his snakes, it was a fairly obviously assumption. So … I ripped a page out of the book on the deadliest magical creatures. I just … I wanted to help! I felt responsible seeing as my father was pulling these strings!"

"You hardly seemed to care when all the muggleborn's were being petrified," Ron curled his lip up in a sneer. "In fact, I remember you taunting Hermione with it."

"I know … I'm so sorry …" he clawed a hand through his hair and gripped the back of his neck. "It was actually … Hermione's petrification that sort of kicked me up the arse."

"In what way, Draco?" Sirius encouraged in a soft voice.

"Well, regardless of the round-about way it was going, the end goal was still to kill Harry or worse. With Hermione petrified and you two on your own," he glanced between Harry and Ron. "I figured you'd need as much help as possible. From the rumours I'd heard of Harry listening to walls and how old that damned castle is, I figured out how that huge snake was probably getting around the castle without being seen. So … after curfew, I snuck into the hospital wing, wrote 'PIPES' on the page about basilisks and crumpled it up so that it would fit in Hermione's hand."

"How very Slytherin of you," Hermione remarked, looking somewhat impressed. "That was a hell of a risk you took, defying your father like that."

"I know. Thankfully, he never suspected me of being the reason his plan fell through. But then I suppose he hadn't expected Harry to speak parseltongue either."

Ron huffed a laugh. "Yeah no one really expected that either."

Remus was shaking his head, looking furious but trying his best to tamper it down. "How the hell was all this going on at the school and no one noticed?"

"We noticed the students being petrified," Ron said lamely. "But other than stricter curfews and no one walking around alone, most students were just scared."

"And Dumbledore just let it happen?"

"He did put it into motion that the school was going to close," Hermione started.

"Only after Ginny was taken," Ron groused. "How many kids were in the hospital wing by then? Twenty?"

A chair scraped back. Everyone turned to look at Harry; he looked hunched over, his face pale and drawn. "I … I think I need to go and lie down," he mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else. "It's … a lot to take in …"

"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, before taking his hand in her own. "We should have done this slowly; we didn't mean to overwhelm you."

"It's okay," he said. "I'm … I think I'm getting small flashes of … all that."

"Does it hurt?" Sirius was out of his chair in an instant, coming up to stand behind his godson. "Do you want a potion?"

Harry shook his head. "I just want to think about it all … if that's okay?"

"Of course, it is, mate," Ron offered a smile. "You know you can come and talk to us anytime, if you have any questions."

"Thanks Ron. Maybe tomorrow? I just … my head …"

"It's alright, love, we'll get you to bed," Sirius steered Harry towards the door, gently nudging him up the three steps to the hallway. The others watched them go, feeling guilty at having overwhelmed Harry with memories he hadn't even regained yet.

"I think I'll head up to," Remus said, as he stretched and yawned. "Don't stay up too late, you three. Ron, Hermione, there's a guest room on the third floor if you end up staying the night."

"Thank you, Remus, that's kind of you," Hermione blushed a little.

Remus gave Draco's shoulder a squeeze before he left the kitchen.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Ron frowned and turned back to Draco. "You really did all of that in second year to try and help us? Why?"

"Well, I may not have liked you much," Draco snapped. "But I didn't want any of you DEAD. Regardless of my pathetic little threats, it didn't mean anything. I was just pissed that somehow Harry was being called the heir of Slytherin just because he could talk to fucking snakes!"

Hermione was unable to suppress a laugh. "You really shouldn't be jealous about that, Draco. He was so miserable that Christmas thanks to those rumours."

"You know, we actually thought that you were the heir of Slytherin," Ron smirked. "We even brewed Polyjuice potion and snuck into the Slytherin common room as Crabbe and Goyle to interrogate you."

"What?!" Draco's head snapped up. "When?!"

"Do you remember when you found Crabbe and Goyle wondering around the dungeons and Goyle was wearing glasses?" Draco frowned before nodding. "Well, that was us. Harry, the twit, forgot to take his glasses off."

"I KNEW Goyle didn't need glasses to read! I'm surprised the arsehole even made it into the second year, with his reading level." He snickered, feeling some of the weight on his chest alleviate itself. Then he frowned and looked at Hermione. "So, where were you?"

"Hospital wing," she sighed, embarrassed. "I was meant to be Millicent Bullstrode, but I plucked cat hair off her robes and … well … you know how that goes with Polyjuice potion. I was in the infirmary for almost a week!"

"On top of that, you didn't really give us any information that we didn't already know. The only thing we did confirm was that you weren't the heir of Slytherin yourself."

Draco smiled and shook his head, "And to think you did all of that as well as defeat the Dark Lord that year. Honestly, I'm jealous of the adventures you guys had."

"Oh, don't be!" Ron shook his head vehemently. "Giant spiders, flying cars, Lockhart trying to obliviate us down in the Chamber -not worth being jealous over, trust me!"

The three of them laughed and started to eat the melted mess of their ice-cream, sitting long forgotten before them. As he sucked some blueberry sauce of his spoon, Draco furrowed his brows thoughtfully. "Wait, what exactly do you mean by a flying car?"

Ron caught his eye and grinned from ear-to-ear. "Oh, not I have three stories about that! The first one was when I went to rescue Harry. Those damn muggles put bars on his bedroom window! So, me and my brothers rocked up in my dad's Ford…"

Draco listened as the tale unfolded with wide eyes. It was hilarious, something that definitely would have brightened up his otherwise dreary summer. It sounded like so much fun! Although, as Ron recounted the stories of said flying car, Hermione thanking Merlin that she never had to deal with it at all, Draco couldn't ignore the tightness coiling in his gut.

Despite Ron's assurances on the contrary, Draco couldn't help but feel jealous. Not even just jealous of the adventures the Golden Trio had had every year they were at Hogwarts, both good and bad. But mainly because no one had cared for him enough to see that he had needed rescuing too.

Preferably in a flying Ford Anglia … or something more stylish.

A/N: Please leave some lovely reviews! I hope you liked the update! Feel free to ask some questions, I will answer them at the start of the next chapter in a note.

I think I covered most of the plot points I wanted in THIS chapter, so stay tuned for the next one!

B x