Dedicated to Frozenrose: who inspired me to write the first part of this chapter a month ago. And to Nulla for politely telling me to get up off my lazy ass and write the rest of the chapter.

AN: sorry for the delay. and look for my other Draco/Harry fic coming soon to a fanfiction near you:D (it's called on the other side and it's a war epic. :D ps: sorry for the shameless advertisement.)

Important: The prologue has changed. Go read it because it has two very important things in it.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all other things connected to Harry Potter are NOT MINE. Charlie is.

And this chapter has mention of child abuse in it. Don't like, don't read.

Chapter 9 Transition

It was nine thirty in the morning and Harry was doing his usual run around the lake. Draco was a few steps behind him. They still weren't talking about what happened in the hospital wing. It was as if it never happened, which was perfectly fine with Harry, as he really did not want to discuss the matter. In fact, Draco was unusually cruel this morning at breakfast. It was a bit sad really, Harry was finally able to stand his presence and they go and do something incredibly stupid. Now everything went back to ground zero.

Harry finished the run and went inside to start the real practice. Professor Reign started them off with the easy kicks and defenses, and then went on to rolls, and individual practice. She was working with Draco on his roundhouse kicks so Harry sat down for a bit. He was exceptionally tired today, having woken up from a horrible dream the night before. It was a rather unusual dream: Sirius and Harry's father were being killed by some unknown force. It wasn't Voldemort, just a negative energy that sucked the life out of them, like watching a dementor's kiss. Harry remembered his dream self screaming and trying to help his father and Sirius but every time he ran to them they seemed to get farther away. Then he remembered being held in someone's arms… he couldn't see who it was but they calmed him down considerably and he had a feeling of happiness being held like that. It was like the perfect peace, as if the world was caught in a moment of serenity and all that mattered was Harry and whoever was holding him. In fact, there was no scenery around him, just a blur of color and light, like floating inside a bubble of happiness.

This dream was abruptly ended by the bathroom light being turned on. Harry had forgotten to close the door and Draco had the urge for a midnight visit to the piddly diddly department. Harry angrily got up and slammed the door, but couldn't for the life of him fall back asleep. He already had trouble sleeping thanks to reoccurring nightmares about his dead family; and thanks to certain unmentioned blonde people his precious sleep was whittled down to a bare minimum. Harry spent the rest of the night lying wide awake in bed and staring at the clock while it ticked by.

The result of this manque de sommeil Harry was remarkably tired. He leaned against the wall and watched Draco do his roundhouse kicks, with commentary by Professor Reign. Draco finished the kicks and took one of the towels that were hanging on the railing to dry his forehead with. He went up to Harry, who was a bit spaced out and wipped the towel at him. It hit Harry square in the bicep and he jumped with the sudden sting of it.

"Get up Potter, it's your turn." he said.

"Thanks a lot, Malfoy." Harry said sarcastically, rubbing his arm. That would leave a mark later on.

He went up to Professor Reign who was going over some notes that she took of his kicks.

"OK, Raven, I think we'll work on your back defenses." She said, putting down her clipboard and coming up behind Harry.

"I'm going to attack you from behind and you have to defend. The objective is to not end up on the ground." she said.

She then backed up a bit and all of a sudden charged at Harry. He was taken by surprise and didn't even have time to raise his arm before he realized that he was on the floor staring at the matted ground. He heard Draco's distinct laughter from the corner and his insides roared with anger.

Professor Reign got up and offered him a hand. He took it and got up, his face red with humiliation and anger.

"It's OK, I know that it's hard and you've only done two weeks of training. Under these conditions, you're one of the best I've taught." She said.

"Thanks." Harry mumbled. He didn't want the pity.

They tried again and again. Each time Harry got better but still ended up on the floor. Draco got bored of sitting and watching so he began to practice his defenses. After the vampire attack both the boys had doubled their efforts at practices. It was scary how easily they were taken out by a few vampires. In retrospect they knew nothing. Two weeks of practice had taught them the basics, but when put up against adversary they were helpless. Really brought your ego down a few notches.

Soon it was lunch and Harry and Draco quickly ate so that they could get to the theory study for the admission test. It was fast approaching and Professor Reign told them that when they are not practicing they should be studying.

The days were filled with studying and practice. The admissions exam was fast approaching and Harry didn't have any time at all to sneak into Snape's office to look at the book he found. He still had a week before the test and Harry had made up his mind that if he hasn't read the book by then he'll somehow have to lift it and take it with him to Montague's. If Professor Snape ever found out he'd probably kill him but that book could be the key to the attack.

One thing he learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts was that vampires always attacked for a reason. This Charlie girl may hold the answers to it all. A few days ago Harry read in the newspaper that there was an uprising of vampire attacks in the UK. This was particularly peculiar because vampires were like a civilization of their own. They had their own rules and their own government. And there was severe punishment for unauthorized killing of humans. This could mean a war with the vampires and this was not good because if they had Voldemort and vampires to worry about the Wizarding race was at an end as we know it.

The answers to all of Harry's questions lay in the contents of that book and with the mysterious girl who was writing him letters. And since he couldn't contact the girl the only other thing to do was snag the book.

So after the days' practice Harry snuck into the dungeons and waited for Professor Snape to leave. It took a while but finally he turned in for the night. All the lights were turned off and Harry couldn't see a thing. He was too scared of waking Snape to light his wand so he had to grope around for the book shelf and find the jar with the floating pig. There were lots of jars but Harry finally found the pig jar. Its contents seemed to be slightly glowing in the light from the doorway. He carefully moved them aside and reached for the book at the back of the shelf.

It wasn't there.

Harry's fingers felt around for the book but there was nothing on the shelf save for a few pieces of lint and the jars on either side. A bolt of panic ran through Harry's chest. Had Snape found out that Harry had read the book? No, that was impossible. He had put it back exactly where he had found it.

Harry looked around and then saw it lying on the desk. It was directly in front of Snape's bedroom door, which was slightly ajar. Harry took a deep breath and inched towards the desk. A sliver of light came from the bedroom and Harry gasped when it was suddenly covered by shadow.

He quickly jumped behind a shelf and waited for Snape to come out. The door creaked open as Professor Snape walked out and went to his desk. He snapped the vampire book shut and walked to the pig jar. Harry held his breath as the sinister Potions Master walked past him, his long cloak billowing out behind him. He replaced the book in its place and walked back to his bedroom, this time closing his door all the way.

Harry waited a full five minutes before moving out from behind the shelf and running to the pig jar. He quickly shoved it aside and grabbed the book, not worrying about any jinxes or spells put upon it. He ran out of the room, his heart racing.

Finally in his rooms, Harry locked all the doors, the bathroom and the front door, to keep Draco Malfoy out. Not that he ever came to visit, but Harry really didn't need Malfoy accidentally finding out that he stole Snape's book. It was already ten to twelve and Harry had a full days practice tomorrow. He read a few pages of the introduction and then put the large book at the bottom of his trunk, wrapped in a pair of robes from the year before.

The next week went by in a blur. Harry's days were filled with practices and when he wasn't practicing, he was in the library studying for the written part of the test. It was the day before the test and Harry's nerves were on the point of breaking. He was so anxious to pass the test that he had no time at all to read Snape's book during the week. It was still lying hidden at the bottom of his trunk, and Harry was amazed that Professor Snape hasn't said a word to anyone that the book went missing. There was definitely something important in that book, some secret that Snape was keeping hidden from everyone. He wouldn't want to draw attention to it so he hasn't told anyone that the book is missing, but that didn't mean that he wasn't looking for it himself.

Harry and Draco were woken this morning by the sound of Professor Reign's voice.

"Rise and shine boys," she said entering Harry's room, her Canadian accent strong. "The test is today and we need to get a move on."

"Where are we going?" Draco said from the bathroom. Harry sat up from his bed; thankfully he was wearing respectable Pajama's that morning.

"We are headed towards the capital of your little island." Professor Reign said sarcastically.

"England is not an island." Draco said back.

"London?" Harry said, still sleepy. It was only five in the morning.

"Good job Potter!" Draco said sarcastically, "You know the capital of England!"

Harry shot him a glare but Malfoy just smirked.

Draco was wearing green cotton Pajama bottoms and nothing else. His chest was the same alabaster pale as his face and Harry could see a light blonde trail of hair going down his navel and disappearing into his pants.

Harry diverted his attention before Malfoy realized that he was admiring his chest and got out of bed.

"When do we leave?" Harry asked.

"You have five minutes to get dressed. I hope everything is in your trunk." Professor Reign replied.

"Yup." Harry said.

Draco turned back to the bathroom and picked up his toothbrush. He began to brush and ignored Harry as he came in and picked up his own orange toothbrush. The next minute was blissfully silent as the two boys vigorously brushed their teeth. Draco was staring at Harry and Harry was blatantly ignoring him.

Draco then spit the toothpaste into the sink and kept brushing; Harry did the same, making a trail of blue toothpaste in the sink. Draco stared at it and spit again, adding to the trail. Harry smiled, and then spit again. Draco now looked over at him and began to laugh.

Harry turned on the tap and rinsed out his mouth.

"Very funny." he said sarcastically.

Draco rinsed his mouth out as well and stared at Harry.

"You started it." he said childishly. "Bloody spitting contest."

Harry smiled and shook his head. He went back into his room to get dressed and pack the remaining junk into his trunk. They would be taking the Hogwarts express to London to spend the night, and then take the test the following morning. Since Professor Reign was so convinced that they would pass, they were taking their entire luggage as well. Harry picked a pair of baggy back jeans and a green t-shirt out of his trunk and threw his remaining knickknacks into the trunk and locked it.

He grabbed his oversized jacket from the back of a chair and went to go find Professor Reign. She was in the Entrance Hall waiting for him and Draco.

"Is your trunk in your room?" she asked.

"Yep." Harry replied.

"OK, that's going to be taken care of by the house elves."

"Good, because it's damn heavy."

Professor Reign smiled at Harry and then turned to look up the stairs.

"Draco, good of you to join us." she said.

Draco just nodded and walked past them to the doors.

The walk to the train was short and uneventful. They waited a few minutes for the train and when it finally came, the house elves had arrived with their luggage. Draco had twice the amount of Harry. Professor Reign just looked at them, her eyes twinkling in a very Dumbledore-like fashion.

"OK, boys, let's go." she said.

During the train ride Professor Reign told them more about Montague's: the different classes and professors, and the clubs and other extra-curricular activities.

"By the way, if you want to earn some extra cash you'll have to get a job. There's plenty of work in the village and you get special permission to go down if you have a job. Most of our kids work as aids in some of the boutiques." Professor Reign said.

Harry was interested but Draco looked out the window with contempt. His choice to go to Montague's meant that he cut all ties with his father. He could say good-bye to his inheritance as well. This means that he would have to get a job and actually work for money. Everything came with a price. Draco closed his eyes and leaned his head against the cool glass, thinking of his father and mother.

His father was currently residing in a jail cell in Azkaban, but no doubt that the moment Voldemort freed him he would come looking for Draco. He hated his father with a passion, but at the same time was scared shitless of him. His father had power unknown to the government and even Dumbledore. If he ever found out that Draco left, he would come searching for him and he wouldn't stop at any means to get to his son.

On the other hand was his poor mother. Draco always wondered how in hell she could have stayed with Lucius for all these years. Divorce was unacceptable in the Black family and so she was stuck with him until death do they part. And Draco feared that someday death would part them, except it wouldn't be Lucius's death. Draco once asked his mother why she married Lucius and she told him that he wasn't always like this. When they got married he was a wonderful person, always loving and never violent. But after the birth of his son he changed. He became interested in the Dark Arts and joined up with Voldemort, he became a violent man who killed and hurt people for pleasure.

It's been too many nights that Draco went to bed beaten and bruised and listening to the sound of his mother pleading with his father. Too many nights were spent falling asleep in tears because of the pain and aches on his body.

And the scars on the inside never healed. Every summer until September Draco would pray to get back to school, where his father couldn't get to him. And every summer he would dread the thought of going back home.

"Draco? Are you OK?" said the distant voice of Professor Reign. Draco was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of her voice and noticed that his eyes were slightly damp. Harry was thankfully not in the compartment and Draco sniffed and turned to look at his future headmistress.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about my parents…" he said.

"You're going to miss them, eh?" she said softly.

Draco sniffed again and wiped his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but then Harry thankfully came in.

"I got sandwiches for all of us." he said, handing Draco and Professor Reign a wrapped sandwich and a bottle of butterbeer.

"Thank you, Raven." Professor Reign said, still looking at Draco. He just sniffed again and nodded at Harry.

"Am I going to have to call you Raven now too?" Draco asked.

"If you don't mind, please." Harry said politely. Draco rolled his eyes and took a bite of his sandwich. It was turkey.

It was now dark outside the window and the train was slowing down. Draco could see platform 9 3/4 in the distance. He took the last sip of his butterbeer and got his jacket from the seat next to him. Harry and Professor Reign got their things together as well and went down the corridor to get to the exits.

"We have a driver who will help us with the luggage." Professor Reign said. "We'll stay in a cheap motel for the night and then get going in the morning."

The train jolted to a stop and Harry was thrown into Draco, forcing them both to fall ungracefully to the ground. They were a tangled mess of arms and legs in the middle of the hall way. Professor Reign sighed and grabbed the back of Harry's jacket, heaving his to his feet. Draco just lay on the carpeted floor fuming.

"Potter, I know you want me, but this is a bit much don't you think?" he said.

Harry just rolled his eyes and offered his hand to the blonde. Draco looked at the hand with distrust and Harry was surprisingly reminded of his first ever train ride in which a hand had been offered to him. Draco seemed to be thinking the same thing because he got up by himself and sneered at Harry.

"It was an accident." Harry said.

"Right."

Harry sighed and jumped off the train onto the platform, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously to Draco like impossible blonde.

Draco jumped off after him and followed Harry through the barrier to King's Cross. Professor Reign followed them and led them to a waiting man in a blue uniform. He bowed to Professor Reign and went to the train to get the bags.

The boys followed their new headmistress to the awaiting car at the pick up/drop off zone at the station. They waited to be all packed in and by the time they left it was already starry outside.

The motel was a two bedroom, one bathroom pigsty but livable for a night. Draco was horrified at the green growth that had invaded the bathtub and silently swore never to be poor. There were two beds in one room one bed in the adjoining room. Professor Reign took the one bed and Draco and Harry took the remaining room.

"How is it that she can afford a driver and not a bloody hotel?" Draco asked.

"Maybe the driver was provided by the school?" Harry replied.

They fell asleep soon, awaiting the next day and the test that was to come.

Please review. :D