A/N: hello all! I now have a body guard, PsychoticDeath, thank you for fighting back the mob; they ran from you out of fear. They were shouting a "crazy friend of the hick writer's" bit, or something or other.

YAY!!!!! Over 50 reviews!!!!!!! Thanks to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, I am so so so so so sorry for the late update. I went to ACC, or Camp. IT was a lot of fun, but by the fourth day I was worried you all would hate me. So sorry again!!!!!

Is a 135 IQ smart? That's a shocker, I'm a total idiot. Seriously, ask any of my friends, they'll vouch for me.

Um, what's BTW mean? I'm afraid I don't know that one, bit too deep in the holler, ya know. (For those that don't know, "holler" is the hick term for "hollow", which is that little gap between mountains. Understood, neh?)

Thanks for all the reviews!!!!! I feel so loved!!!!

Disclaimer: you know what, I'm tired of putting this thing up. I OWN NOTHING

And so on...

6......

"Oh my God! Mr. Weasley, I found him!"

The loud, shrill feminine voice made Harry freeze and caused his eyes to snap open, and Draco froze as well, both separated slowly, Draco allowing Harry to sit up though he wouldn't get off Harry's lap. And Harry didn't want him to; he wanted to see the look on her face.

And Hermione Granger was horrified and uncomfortable. She hadn't fully believed Ron when he returned to the burrow with his brothers and told her about confronting Harry and how they had broken their friendship in two, but now, she was certain. And she was disgusted to say the least.

"Granger," Draco said, being the first to recover from the surprise and silence. He gracefully rose, helping Harry up as well; "Well love, sorry that was interrupted," he said kindly to Harry.

"'S alright, Drake," Harry said, smiling. But his gaze hardened when he looked at Hermione; "What are you doing here?"

"L-looking for y-you, Ha-Harry," Hermione stuttered, fearing his gaze, yet not even willing her eyes to look away from his. They were so cold, so different, so... remarkably colored, and it seemed to haunt her.

Where was her Harry?

Hermione froze as Harry read her mind. Draco watched on as Harry's face seemed blank, then twisted into a malevolent look of hate and disgust.

"Harry?" Draco asked, touching Harry on the arm.

Harry shook his head, and as he walked away, Hermione snapped back to reality, and fell to her knees.

"Oh, get over yourself, mudblood," Draco sneered, before going after Harry.

Harry was furious. Hermione had betrayed him, Ron as well. They had been his friends only because Dumbledore had told them to be. Ron had been told to befriend Harry, to tell him that Slytherins were bad and he was best fit for Gryffindor. But why tell him that?

Harry was too busy examining Hermione's memories, ones he had remembered from reading her mind. He saw her receiving the letter with her Hogwarts invitation, and remembered her being told to purposefully bump into Ron and him.

Ron... Harry gritted his teeth as he went down the hill, sliding in the bare spots. He heard shouts, wizards calling out that they had spotted him. He also heard Draco call after him, and Harry stopped to turn and wait for the blonde. Draco came at a quit run down the hill, easily at his side.

"Harry, what's—" Draco began, but was cut off as "Patrificus Totalus!" rang through the air, carried in unison by three voices.

Both Harry and Draco barely avoided the three spells, and Harry looked to see the wielders had been Hermione, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Tonks.

"We've got to go find Sev!" Draco said as Harry took his arm and they ran down the hill before jumping over the fence and onto the path. The dodged two more hexes.

"Get off of him, Malfoy!" Tonks shouted.

"I'm with him, you idiot!" Draco shouted irately, stopping and turning on his heel in fury. Harry abruptly came to a halt as well, and pulled Draco to run with him.

"Draco, not now!" Harry said, and that was enough to get Draco to run.

Sadly, the vampires didn't get far before they were ambushed. Author Weasley, as well as four other Aurors, appeared at the bend of the path. Harry and Draco stopped, turned, but Tonks and the others were at the end, along with two new wizards. Harry and Draco stood back to back as the Aurors and Minister approached, Harry facing Author and Draco the other way.

Draco's eyes were darting everywhere, there was no way out but up. And flying was out of the option, no one could know what he and Harry were.

"Let's just fly away," Harry whispered urgently, finding their position and beginning to get edgy; "Up and away, never look back. How does France sound?"

"We can't fly and you're supposed to be the bloody Gryffindor here," Draco replied through gritted teeth.

Author Weasley came up, stopping ten feet from the vampires. "Harry," he said, smiling kindly; "We're so glad we found you. When we heard you had run away from the Leaky Cauldron, I—"

"Shove it, Author," Harry spat, quickly reading the man's mind before he could react. Author was faking it; this was an act to woo Harry into a false sense of security. /No/ Harry thought /I won't fall for it/

The Aurors gasped; "Harry, honestly—!" Hermione began.

"Shut up, Granger!" Draco snapped; "You've no say in this matter, none of you do! This is between Harry and the Minister!" he looked around the forming circle warningly, just daring one of them to try anything.

"Thank you, Mister Malfoy," Author said; "Now, Harry, I'd like to talk to you about living arrangements and of course you running away..."

"I'm happy here," Harry said, "Happier than I've ever been. Snape's a nice man, given the chance. Draco too, they've both treated me better than anyone here."

More gasps and Draco rolled his eyes. /They have no right to be surprised/ he thought /no right at all/

"Harry," Author said, "After my family and I welcomed you into our home, kept you warm and gave you a family—"

"Oh yes, and for what?" Harry asked, crossing his arms and glaring at the new Minister; "You sicken me, every single one of you! You took me in because Dumbledore told you too!" he looked at Hermione; "And you were my friend because you got a letter telling you to;" Hermione gasped as he looked back heatedly at Author; "I don't care what you said, I know now. I was manipulated, put through a bloody hell all my life, just so some old coot could mold me easily. Do you know how much power I've got, that he's suppressed? I'm done being the 'Wonder Boy'. I'll fight Voldermort—oh gods it's just a name—!" he added at the gasps, "—but other than that, I don't want anything to do with any of you. And when I do kill him, it won't be for the wizarding world, it will be for my parents, for Sirius, for anyone who was hurt over the past two decades. I won't kill him for a cause, I'll kill him out of loss..." he let the words hang in the air like a permeating mist, letting each and every syllable sink into each person's mind.

Draco had taken Harry's hand during the speech, and squeezed it reassuringly. Harry looked at him and smiled briefly, then turned to Author. The minister was shocked, to put it simply, but he quickly recovered.

"It's obvious you've been through a lot of trauma, Harry," he said calmly; "Please, I can help you."

"You want to help me?" Harry asked; "Leave me alone. Don't you get it yet? I want a moment where I'm not under the light. I want a moment where I'm alone with no one watching. I want to be my own person freely, not behind closed doors," he held his hand, which was clasped firmly around Draco's, up slightly, enough for everyone to see.

Draco's face was clear, blank of any smirk. His eyes were fixed lovingly on Harry, and he nodded slightly. Harry looked at him and smiled slightly, then again faced Author; "You know I'll fight Voldermort, I have no choice at this rate. But—"

"That is enough!!!!"

Harry and Draco, as well as everyone else, turned to see Snape walking down another path from his home, fuming. /oh shit/ Draco thought /Oh shit oh shit oh bloody fucking shit!!!!!/

"Minister, what is the meaning of this?" Snape asked, confronting Author openly.

"Severus, I and my team are here to collect Harry Potter," Author said firmly.

"Author," Severus said in a low, quite voice, "I need to speak to you about Ha— the boy. Alone," he added, casting glances at the two Aurors flanking Author.

Author studied him; "Very well," Author said; "But, I want Harry to—"

"I must urge you not to push Harry too far," Snape said; "Draco shall not be bothered as well; he's under my care therefore any harassment he endures I will hold you personally responsible."

Again Author was silent as he thought; "Fine," He said finally; "We will be waiting at your home," and with a wave of his hands, there was a loud assortment of pops, snaps, and cracks, then the Aurors were gone, Tonks having taken Hermione with her.

Draco and Harry sighed, Draco leaning against a stiff Harry. Harry was rigid with anger and inner turmoil, his free hand clenching and unclenching in a fist as he tried to sort his thoughts. Draco watched him worriedly, turning to watch as Snape walked over to them.

"Each morning I have said to not leave the house," Snape said; "And you go back against my word anyway. What could have happened, Draco, if Author had not been around and an Auror caught you two together doing god knows what? You could have been killed, Draco."

"Please, Severus," Draco said, "We can take care of ourselves."

"Well, be that as it may..." Snape began, but his attention was drawn elsewhere; "Harry?" he asked, his eyes drifting to the other teen.

Harry was glaring at the ground; "It's all been a lie," he said quietly, looking up; "My entire life. I could have been adopted into a wizarding family, had a normal childhood, grown up knowing who and what I was. But I had to endure torture and anguish, and I was so clueless that I took in everything that could tell me anything at all. Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, they all received letters from Dumbledore... they all were told to befriend me..." he looked away darkly; "I can never forgive any of them."

Snape stood there, numb with shock; "Harry, perhaps you should rest," he said slowly; "Come," he said, ushering them other.

Draco walked over, and Snape placed a hand on his shoulder. Harry walked over as well, and Snape did the same. And, with a crack, they were all transported to Snape's home.

---

The three came to the kitchen, and Snape turned to face them; "Stay here," he said; "I mean it. Stay in the kitchen, no matter what anyone tells you. This will be sorted out, I promise;" and with that, Snape turned and left down the hallway, where the vampires could pick up whispering...

"Letters? Hermione, wot letters?"

"I... oh, Tonks, I'm worried!"

"He's happier here, with his arch rival? It's too confusing, Kingsley!"

"I know, Digalus, I know. But you know things change. Hell, it was you and I who rescued the Malfoy boy from that manor and brought him here in the first place...!"

"Author, what was the boy saying? What does Dumbledore have to do with this?"

...Harry blocked the whispers off, groaning as he sat down. Draco sat in his lap gingerly, stoking Harry's hair. Harry moaned sadly and rested his head against Draco's shoulder, and Draco continued his soothing ministrations.

"Sev'll fix things, love," Draco said, sighing, "He always does, and always will, don't worry."

"I've no reason to," Harry replied quietly, leaning into the comforting motions; "I won't fall for anything anymore..."

Draco looked at Harry sympathetically, and wrapped his other arm around him reassuringly.

---

Author had selected the three Order Members, and Snape, to stay, dismissing the rest. They now sat in Snape's living room, and Snape was at the door.

"Author," he said, thumbing behind him as he headed for the sitting room opposite the foyer.

Author followed him, and as soon as they were alone, Snape began to irately tell him; "I don't know what you were thinking, coming in and disrupting my home without consent, let alone possibly angering the boy into two weeks of lost help—"

"Wait, help?" Author said, "What, are you talking about Harry?"

"Yes, of course I am!" Snape exclaimed, fuming; "The boy came to my house late one night, disheveled, unkempt, scrawny, beaten, emotionally unstable. Draco, surprisingly, has been helping Harry get back on his feet! I haven't told anyone Harry's been here because being thrown back into the Order and having to face our world would send him back into that hellish depression!" by now Snape was waving his hands in the air as he paced the room; "Author, those Muggles have done something horrible and vile to him! Draco knows, but he won't say because it would break this truce he and Harry have!"

"Hermione found them kissing!" Author said; "And while that isn't exactly an awful thing, I think they have more than a truce at this point."

"Who gives a hell about Harry's sexuality?" Snape asked; "He's finding things out, Author, things even I don't know about. This could change things dramatically if he uncovers something nasty."

Author crossed his arms, and looked around the room as he thought; "Severus, Harry cannot stay here, and you know it."

"I know this might be hard for you to digest, Author, but I am worried about Harry's well-being," Snape said; "And in these times, we don't want the only man capable of defeating the Dark Lord to fall off the edge and go crazy. If Harry went insane, You-Know-Who would be the least of our worries."

Author stood there in silence, watching Snape in thought; "There is just no way around it, Severus!" he finally said; "Dumbledore wanted me to find Harry, and make sure he was safe."

"And I can assure you, he is," Snape said; "He is safer here than at that Muggle house, you yourself have seen what they do to him."

Author nodded; "And what does Dumbledore want out of this?" Snape asked; "This is war, Author, and the only thing the old man cares about is winning, and gaining power. To hell if Harry dies inwardly, as long as he is kept alive for the battle front. You know that's true, Author."

"Liar!" Author said, glaring at Snape; "How dare you talk about Albus in such a way!"

"Are you in love with him?" Snape asked, smirking; "There are many differences between Albus and Tom Riddle, one being Dumbledore doesn't ask for you to get a tattoo, more just your loyalty to the death. Hmm," he mused; "Suppose both want the same thing."

"Traitor," Author said; "I should have you thrown in Azkaban!"

"And why, Author?" Snape asked coolly; "I have not gone Dark, those days are over. I am merely stating a few observations, one being Dumbledore's manipulating us all."

"Oh, and how would you come to that?" Author asked insolently.

Snape eyed him with a glare; "Just look at Harry," he said, "The lad could have had a normal life, his parents knew plenty of others who would take him in. And Sirius, though I hate to admit it, didn't have to go to prison when Albus knew he was innocent. If the old man is so powerful, then why didn't he get Sirius out? Do you know how many sleepless dream potions I've gone through?"

Author shook his head; "Seventeen," Snape replied bluntly; "And the three extra were just to get Harry to calm down. He never asked for this, and Dumbledore could have made it easier. But no, he's planning something, Author, and we could get hurt. Harry's already exceeded his damage limit as it is, one more punch and he will be lost. If Dumbledore was so caring and understanding, then why did he let it get so far? Isn't he supposed to know everything?"

Author stood there, shaking with fury and shock; "I cannot believe you have the gall to say that," he finally managed; "I should have you thrown in—"

"Azkaban, yes, yes, you've covered that already," Snape said, idly waving his hand; "Point is, Author, Harry should remain here until school starts. I will escort him myself."

---

Harry and Draco listened to the argument, their ears picking it up more than those in the Living room. Harry sighed and shifted, half-asleep and with a lap full of blonde. Draco didn't mind, he liked it. The silent thanks Harry was giving with the furtive glances of contempt was enough to let Draco know he was needed.

"What did you see?" Draco asked quietly, quitting stroking Harry's hair.

Harry sighed, lifting his head as he looked at Draco. Draco knew that gaze; it was the "go ahead" look. Draco sighed; "I want you to tell me," he said quietly.

Harry looked away darkly; "Hermione got a letter telling her to be friends with me, and she met up with Hagrid and the Weasleys to discuss it. I'm surprised that Hagrid said, at the meeting Hermione had to go to, that he would save me because he was ashamed to see what had happened to the Potters' son, after all they had done this was the least they could do.

"Ron was supposed to meet me on the train then, and tell me how bad Slytherins were..." he shook his head and looked at Draco apathetically; "That's what gets me, why would Dumbledore want me thinking that?"

Draco shrugged; "It might be because well, you are Slytherin," he said finally after thought, "And, the Savior of the Wizarding world is supposed to be brave, which we snakes are definitely not. Besides, it could have a good deal to do with this—" he tapped Harry's scar.

---

"You expect me to leave him here with you Slytherins?" Author thought; "And when you are a Death Eater?"

"FORMER Death Eater!" Snape said loudly; "I put my life on the line just so that slimy bastard will fall down, even if it means siding with Dumbledore!!! Admit it, Author, after the Triwizard incident the man has become even odder than he already is!"

"SHUT UP!" Author roared. The outburst left the normally quiet and soft - spoken man visibly shaking, and Author sat down in an arm chair.

"And how could you base your dislike of the situation on the house I was in and now currently Head?" Snape said, walking up to Author; "You and I both know that Harry is a Slytherin at heart."

"No, lie," Author said, getting up. Snape took a step back as the man glowered at him.

"Then put me under the Truth potion [A/N: wazzit called again?]," Snape said; "Put us all under it. Read our minds," he added jokingly; "Oh, Author, you're still sensitive to everything, aren't you? Open your eyes, Dumbledore is up to something, and it all started with..."

"Do not continue that or I will put you away," Author hissed, eyes narrowing; "For Harry's sake, he can stay here. But I will be sending someone here regularly to check on things."

"What, like I would kill him," Snape said; "Harry's in turmoil now, and if Draco cares for him, then I do as well. Not in that way, though, no," he said at Author's scrutinizing look; "Fatherly, you oddity."

Author eyed him suspiciously, and then pushed past the Potions Master as he left the room. The Minister walked into the living room, looking at the three Order Members.

"We're leaving," Author said, and with a crack, he was gone.

Tonks took a now bawling Hermione with her, and Kingsley slowly rose. He waited as Snape came into the room, looking smug; "Should I—" Kinglsey began.

"Tell Remus that I'm watching over Harry," Snape said nodding; "He may visit, if he must."

Kingsley nodded, and then Disasperated. Snape sighed, then sat down on the sofa to contemplate his next plan of action.

---

Harry went cross-eyed when Draco tapped his forehead, and glared at the blonde when the other vampire laughed silently.

"What does my scar have to do with any of this?" Harry asked, gaze softening.

Draco shrugged; "Well, it's obvious," he said flatly; "There's more to it than they let on. It is more than a scar, and they, the Order, know just how serious it is. But, it would affect you somehow that wouldn't benefit them, so they won't say what the significance of your scar is..." he shrugged again.

"And people say Blondes are dumb," Harry said, smirking.

"Why, thank you," Draco said suavely, brushing his hair back and holding his head up.

Harry chuckled, getting up and making Draco move to sitting on the table. He was troubled again, the look of indecision an betrayal evident on his fine features. Draco watched Harry as the other vampire walked around the kitchen, occasionally pausing when they heard talking, but it was idle gossip over Harry.

"Will it end?" Draco asked quietly.

Harry stopped, and turned his head to look at Draco; "Chances are, it will when we all die," he said.

Draco slowly got up, and walked over to Harry. He wrapped his arms around the other vampire, and Harry leaned into the embrace. He turned around, wrapping his arms around Draco and pulling him close. Draco breathed in the scent he had grown to love even more. Harry lifted Draco's chin up and their eyes met.

The watery pools of crystal ice had Harry transfixed, and the vampire leaned down to kiss his prize. Draco closed his eyes as their lips met, melting to the warm contact. Harry pulled the blonde even closer as his tongue was granted entrance, and began the soft, gentle battle for dominance with the other's. Draco pressed Harry against the wall, taking the raven-haired youth's wandering hands and pinning them to the wall. Draco grinned through the heated kiss and pressed his groin against Harry's, grinding just enough to cause Harry to groan. But Harry went rigid as harsh memories ran through his head.

Draco stopped, pulling away and looking at Harry. The other vampire's eyes were now tightly shut as he fought the onsluaght. Draco mentally berated himself as he soothed the Raven-haired beauty by embracing him and planting soft kisses on his neck. Harry relaxed slightly, willing the memories away. /This is Draco, Harry, he isn't trying to hurt you/ he thought /You've wanted this.../

So what stopped him?................

..........................................

..................They both knew.

A/N: There ya go!!!! Wanna kill me now? Ha-ha, until again!!!!