Author's Notes:
---Dedicated in part to dairygirl, who inspired me on certain aspects of this chapter.
---The answer to the most obvious question about Fred & George is in chapter 11.
---Every time "ask Salazar" comes up, I actually have an answer; it's not just a device. I'll not be answering everything about Salazar in this story, however.
---The book A to Z Guide (1994) mentioned in this chapter is real.
---The concept Draco presents about eyesight is actually real. You can search the internet for "Bates Method." For reference check out Relearning to See by Thomas R. Quakenbush. Funny name, I know, but seemed a nice sensible guy when I met him. This is only one book of many on this subject. I have had some success with his methods, improving my eyesight from -1.75 to -1.50. Not much, true, but significant enough to warrant new glasses and I only worked at it for a few months and not very diligently.

Chapter 10 – Thursday, 17 October 1996

"Damn it, Harry!" Draco yelled.

"Sheesh, Draco. Calm down, will you?" Harry replied, sitting calmly in the middle of the bed.

"Calm down? Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down when you're cutting yourself right in front of me?" Draco demanded stridently.

"It's not a bad cut, for Merlin's sake. If you want to try and heal it, you're going to have to calm down first," Harry insisted calmly. "Take a few deep breaths, all right? Then give it try."

Because he knew Harry wouldn't allow him to attempt any Healing until he did indeed calm down, Draco closed his eyes and worked to control his breathing. It was hard when the image of Harry's arm bleeding profusely all over the towel was forefront in his mind. Less than a minute later Draco was able to regain his composure and reached for Harry's arm. Less than a minute after that Draco dropped Harry's arm and glared at the other boy, his agitation still quite apparent.

"Not a bad cut, my arse!" Draco said waspishly.

"It wasn't. Not in comparison to some of the other ones I've gotten, anyway," Harry replied reasonably, vanishing the blood and towel with a quick spell.

Draco merely hissed at the other boy, still seething but unable to contradict the claim. Draco was familiar with, well, what used to be all of Harry's scars and some of them had indeed been much deeper.

"So, was it different being a fresh cut rather than a scar?" Harry asked curiously, completely unconcerned about Draco's temper tantrum.

Draco flushed slightly and looked away, not answering.

Harry snorted and said, "I'll take that as a "Yes, Harry, it was different but I don't want to say so because then it would mean you had a valid point for cutting yourself like that." So, how was it different?"

"It wasn't different enough," Draco bit out.

"How was it different?" Harry asked again.

Still looking away, Draco answered tersely, "There was a sense of urgency instead of a sense of being able to take all the time I wanted. I didn't have a "bridge" to dissolve. Other than that, it was the same. Don't do it again."

Harry stopped at Draco's tone and really looked at the other boy. He was upset. Very upset by the looks of it. A lot more upset than Harry had anticipated or had acknowledged. And the bond was practically humming with distress. Maybe he had gone a bit far?

"All right. I won't. I promise. I'm sorry," Harry said softly, sincerely. "I really thought it was important. I thought it would be better for you to see if there were any major differences now, in a controlled and safe environment, then at a time when it might be an emergency. I really didn't mean to upset you so much. I'm really sorry. Forgive me? Please?"

Draco closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around himself. A moment later he nodded hesitantly. He believed Harry – knew that Harry had done it to help him learn about his Gift – but he still felt a bit sick at the memory of Harry bleeding on the towel. He felt Harry shift on the bed then Harry's arms go around him and Draco leaned into the support and laid his head on the offered shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Harry said again softly. "Let's stop for the afternoon, all right? You can work on my scars again after supper if you want, all right?"

"All right. I want to. You still have a lot of scars and I want to get rid of all of them," Draco replied equally softly.

"You don't have to get rid of all of them this week, you know," Harry said with amusement.

Draco shrugged, not taking his head from Harry's shoulder. "Maybe not, but I think I can. I'm getting better each time I fix one. Faster. Besides," Draco raised his head and grinned at Harry, "think of all the extra energy you'll have if you don't have to waste it on a glamour all the time."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I suppose."

Draco smirked back. "I have suggestions on what you ought to do with all this…extra energy."

Harry smirked back. "Oh? Is that so? And just what might they be?"

"Well," Draco said, looking mildly insulted, "are you or are you not teaching me other things, hmmm?"

"Well, yes," Harry agreed with a small smile.

"Well, then, you can hardly give me proper instruction if you're not giving me your full attention because you're tired, now can you?" Draco demanded.

"I guess not," Harry said, desperately trying not to grin at Draco's play.

"Then the glamours must go," Draco said pompously, "which means the scars must go which means you'll be letting me work on you again tonight."

Chuckling, Harry replied, "I suppose so, then."

"Good. Now, though, since you've called a halt to this afternoon's Healing activities, we'll have to do something else interesting," Draco said slyly, tilting his head closer to Harry's so their lips almost brushed.

"Oh?" Harry breathed. Damn, the boy was hot when he got it in his mind to explore sex.

"Yes. Why don't we see if any of those activities we did in the shower this morning can be done equally well in this bed? Hmmm?" Draco said, pushing Harry backwards onto the bed.


Draco woke to the sensation of his hair being absently twirled, tugged, and stroked. Harry really seemed to like playing with the long white locks. Not that Draco was complaining. He didn't move from his position of lying half on Harry, left leg tangled between Harry's and left arm lying across Harry's torso gripped lightly by Harry's right hand, but did let Harry know he was awake by lightly stroking Harry's side. Harry responded with a silent squeeze of Draco's arm but for the most part seemed quite content to be a pillow.

Finally, Draco spoke softly, "I thought I was done with these naps."

"Yeah?" Harry said with an amused contentment.

"Yes. I didn't take one yesterday," Draco said, slightly bemused, wondering how long he was going to need extra sleep.

"I know. It's probably why you took one today. The last vestiges of your exhaustion plus we've…been more active…today," Harry said with a bit of a smug smile.

Draco grinned and sat up. "Yes." Giving Harry a contemplative look, he said, "You know, before you distracted me…"

"I distracted you?" Harry said indignantly.

Snickering, Draco continued, "Yes, as I was saying, before you distracted me earlier

I came across something in that muggle alternative healing book you're having me read. It was about how to correct your eyesight. I thought I might try it on you if you're willing. That way you can get rid of those awful glasses."

Harry dropped his mock scowl and raised his eyebrows in surprised interest. "Really? What was it? Even if it works I'd still keep my glasses, I think. It would be an unknown advantage against enemies and all that."

Draco nodded in agreement. "True. You need a better style though," he said firmly, appeased when Harry nodded in assent. "It said that bad vision, not otherwise caused by cataracts or disease or injury, is caused by the muscles in the eyes being either too tight or too loose. I thought I'd see if I could sense that in your eyes and try to correct it. If that's all right?" he asked nervously. Asking to mess with someone's eyes wasn't to be taken lightly.

Intrigued, Harry nodded his consent. "As long as you're awake enough to concentrate."

Draco nodded and positioned himself behind Harry, lifting Harry's head into his lap. Closing his eyes, Draco placed his hands over Harry's eyes and dropped into a trance.

Several hours later an aggravated guardian was pushing a somewhat dazed Healer back into a pile of pillow. "What were you thinking! You should have stopped before you got this tired!" Harry's alarm and worry caused the admonishment to come out harshly.

"I figured I could handle it," Draco protested feebly, already knowing that Harry wasn't going to accept his statement and would likely become even more angry for pushing himself without permission or supervision.

"You figured you could handle it! I don't care if you figured you could handle it! Have I or have I not told you to stop when you're tired? That I don't want you pushing your Gift too far too fast? That there is plenty of time to work on things later? That you don't have to do everything this week? That it will take months or years for you to fully develop your Gift? That that is normal and expected and otherwise fine!" Harry demanded caustically, indeed angry at his disobedient charge.

Draco winced at Harry's furious tirade. "I didn't want to stop in the middle," he offered lamely, knowing that this excuse would also be unacceptable.

"I don't care," Harry hissed out. "No more healing tonight," he added crossly.

"But your scars…," Draco started only to be interrupted by a still furious guardian.

"Can wait," Harry said through gritted teeth.

Draco swallowed nervously and nodded quickly at that tone. He remained silent, staring and picking at the duvet, as Harry spent the next several minutes in highly agitated pacing at the foot of the bed. The ire he could feel over the bond kept Draco from appreciating the view; Harry hadn't bothered to redress after their earlier intimacy.

Eventually Harry stopped and gave a gusty sigh. After several deep breaths, Harry said in a much calmer, though still quite firm, tone, "You are staying in bed the rest of the night. I'll get supper." He set action to words and went to the food box to pick out a meal and brought it back to the bed, completely missing Draco's nodded compliance.

Draco sat up and accepted the box without protest, opening it to find a creamy pasta dish. Taking the subsequently offered fork, Draco ventured tentatively, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry."

Harry sighed, still agitated. "Draco. I don't want you to push too hard this week. You know why. It's not necessary. I'm not going to abandon you once we go back to the school. I promise. We'll work together on your stamina in the coming months. I don't want you to hurt yourself. All right? I worry."

"I know," Draco said contritely. He really didn't like it when Harry was angry at him. He heard another sigh from Harry and then felt a hand cup his chin, urging him to look up into Harry's concerned eyes.

"I forgive you," Harry said softly. "I know you want to explore and try different things with your Gift. Just…try not to do that again, all right?"

Draco nodded with a small smile and concentrated on his food. Supper progressed silently, as usual, and the atmosphere slowly altered from tense to companionable.

As Harry was walking back to the bed after disposing of the dishes, Draco was able to appreciate a nude Harry and asked curiously, "So, did it work?"

Harry stopped abruptly, taken aback that he hadn't bothered to notice if Draco's labor had borne fruit. Moving his gaze to the far wall, Harry's face took on an expression of astonished wonder when he could clearly make out the scene in the tapestry that hung there. "I…yes. Yes, it worked."

Draco grinned happily. "That's great! We'll have to go outside soon and determine just how far you can see."

"Sure," Harry said. Laughing in delight, Harry looked around the room with a brilliant smile. "This is great! I've never been able to see this well!"

A few minutes later Harry turned to find Draco still smiling at him. "Thank you," he said, the deep sincerity obvious in his voice.

"You're welcome," Draco said softly, glad he could give Harry something that seemed to mean as much to him as the Presentation meant to Draco. "Now," he said snootily, "let's snuggle and talk."

Harry laughed at Draco's antics and eagerly crawled back onto the bed and positioned himself appropriately. Draco snuggled himself into Harry's arms comfortably and decided to ask another question about Harry's transition. He figured after the earlier emotional outburst, a full stomach, and a warm snuggle, that Harry might not get too upset about his nosiness.

"I've been wondering. You didn't have a transition partner so how did you keep from tearing yourself apart?" Draco asked curiously. "I know you can't use magical restraints during transition because it disrupts the absorption of the new magics."

Harry stiffened slightly then relaxed and gave a rueful snort. "I should have anticipated that you would ask about that. Well, to answer your question, that involved something else highly complicated that I had to learn."

"What?" Draco asked, his curiosity piqued even more. The time ritual had been a fascinating bit of magic. What else had Harry done?

"To keep me from tearing myself apart during transition, Salazar taught me how to make clay golems," Harry said casually.

"Golems! Those are incredibly difficult and take a lot of magic," Draco said with amazement. "Not to mention they're illegal without Ministry sanction," he added wryly, glancing up at Harry.

"Are they? I didn't check," Harry stated, a smile flitting across his face.

"Yes, quite," Draco drawled, amused at Harry's utter lack of concern about the legalities of his actions.

"Hmmm. Well, they were very basic golems. No facial features, no muscular definition. They were just a couple of heavy bodies with hands to hold me down."

"You were held down by golems? That's awful!" Draco both looked and sounded horrified.

"Yes, it was. But it was the only thing we could think of that would both keep me from tearing myself apart and also be able provide basic care for a few days. So that's what we did," Harry stated emotionlessly, the memory not a pleasant one.

Draco furrowed his brow. "They don't count as magical restraints?"

Harry shook his head. "Not anymore than another wizard does. The magic runs through them, just like in a real person, but they clay is there; it's not conjured.

"Hmmm. Interesting." And it was, even if Draco figured he would pass on learning how to create one. "How did you keep them working while in transition? They're supposed to need near constant supervision."

"Hogwarts is a fine lady. Very under-appreciated," Harry stated matter-of-factly.

Blinking in incomprehension then narrowing an eye in slight irritation at Harry's cryptic answer and amused countenance, Draco asked, "Just what does that mean, exactly?"

Harry smiled mischievously. "Hogwarts is semi-sentient. If asked in the proper way, she can do many things, like manage golems for a few days."

"Really?" Draco asked, astonished. He'd heard rumors about Hogwarts being sentient, of course. Everyone had. But as far as he knew nobody had been able to offer up proof.

Harry nodded. "Yes. As long as what you're asking isn't too complicated."

"How do you ask her to do something?" Draco asked, fascinated by this revelation.

Harry furrowed his brow in thought for a moment then answered slowly, "You have to be able to picture, very clearly, exactly what you want her to do. If you want to know more than that, you'll have to ask Salazar."

Draco raised his eyebrows as "ask Salazar" was, yet again, a response to one of his questions. "Salazar has taught you a lot of secrets about the school, hasn't he?" he asked intently, watching Harry's expression.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco's intense regard and nodded. "Yes. There is a reason, though. Unfortunately, you'll have to…"

"Ask Salazar," Draco finished with rueful amusement.

Harry snickered. "Yes. Sorry."

Draco shook his head in mock exasperation. "That's all right. I'll put it on my list of questions for him. You will bring me back down to talk to him, won't you?" he asked eagerly.

"Yes, given Salazar's permission," he replied. At Draco's concerned look, he added reassuringly, "I'm pretty sure he'll agree. As long as you promise not to reveal what goes on down here, that is."

"Yes, of course," Draco said dismissively. Really, he would never endanger an opportunity like this!

Harry nodded, understanding Draco's unstated opinion easily. "Now, it's my turn for a question."

"All right," Draco said, rubbing his cheek on Harry's chest.

"How do you think your friends and family are going to react to your Gift? You said before that your father wouldn't be happy," Harry said, his own curiosity and nosiness encouraging this particular question.

Draco grimaced. "My mother will be delighted because it will increase her social status to have a Gifted child but will otherwise be indifferent. My sire will put on a pleased face and tell everyone how proud he is. Privately, though, he's going to be upset that I didn't get an offensive Gift. And, he'll want me to use my Gift only for his Lord," he added darkly.

Harry gave a grimace of his own. "We'll address that when we have to," he said, well aware from Draco's letter that Draco had absolutely no interest in serving Voldemort.

Draco sighed and pressed his forehead to Harry's chest, using Harry's scent and presence to block the despair that welled up anytime he thought of how Lucius would do whatever he felt necessary to get his heir to follow in his footsteps. "All right," he said softly.

"So, then, what about your godfather?" Harry asked, ignoring Draco's turmoil, knowing the other boy didn't want to talk about it.

Draco lifted his head and smiled. "Severus will be ecstatic for me!" Draco declared.

"Somehow, I'm having trouble picturing that expression on Snape's face," Harry said dryly and was rewarded with a surprised bout of laughter from Draco.

"Well, he certainly won't show it much in front of everybody," Draco said with a smirk. "I'll be able to tell, though. I know him very well," he asserted.

"I'm sure," Harry replied with his own smirk. "Your friends?"

Draco looked away and answered sadly, "I don't have friends, really. Just guards and admirers and hangers-on."

Harry was silent a moment, not sure how to respond. "That must be lonely," he said eventually, meaning it.

"Yes," Draco admitted softly. "It's another reason I wanted to be friends with you so badly."

"I'm sorry," Harry said softly and hugged Draco close. "You have me now."

"It's all right. I wasn't totally alone. I had Severus. He's always been there for me," Draco replied, putting on a brave front that Harry saw through immediately. A father, as good as he may be, was not the same as a friend.

"How about these others, then?" Harry asked, dropping the painful subject. "I imagine Pansy's going to be livid but what about everyone else?"

Draco snorted. "I don't give a damn about Pansy. How I wish I could have been anywhere else than cooped up with that simpering twit for a week," he said with revulsion.

Harry smiled. "And everyone else?"

"Ah, I don't care," Draco waved a hand. Closing his eyes and once again relaxing into Harry's warmth, he added, "The guards, meaning Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini, will be instructed to either be ingratiating and/or to not let me alone with anyone, most especially you. Nott will likely try to contract for my services; he's very practical and several of his relatives were injured in the last war. The girls, except Pansy, who will be beyond livid, will all be fawning over me so as to try and interest me in considering them for marriage. What about yours?"

Harry gave a small shrug. "I'm sure you could predict their reactions as well as I could."

Draco huffed. "Let me guess. Granger will lecture you about irresponsibility and Weasley will go absolutely ballistic and rant and rave about the evilness of Slytherins and how could you betray your House like that. I hope he doesn't make a fuss at the Presentation," he said worriedly. "Did you actually invite him?"

Harry grimaced and said, "Yes. I was rather reluctant, true, but he's an upperclassman. If we're lucky, maybe he won't come."

"I should be so lucky," Draco sighed, knowing he'd be seeing the hothead at the Presentation.

"Yeah, sorry," Harry agreed glumly. "I invited the twins, too, and included with their invitation a note asking them to keep Ron in check. Hopefully they'll threaten him polite."

Draco blinked in surprise. "The twins? Why?" he asked, perplexed. There really wasn't any reason for them to be invited to Draco's Presentation. Harry's maybe…

Harry hesitated, then answered, "Partly for me, I admit. I could use some support from all the people who are going to be displeased with me. But also for you. Their business has grown faster than any other in the last twenty years and in less than six months they already have supply contracts with Practically Humorous in America and Paige's Plaisanteries in France and have entered talks with some place in Greece that I can't remember the name of. They're up and coming businessmen with the potential of worldwide contacts. They're making quite the stir in the business world and if their last name wasn't Weasley it's likely no one would think twice about their attendance at your Presentation."

Nodding in thought, Draco asked, "You won't mind, will you, if I bring that information up when they come to greet us? It will justify their presence and it certainly won't hurt them."

"No, of course not," Harry said.

"Good. Back to the Weasel. Do you think he'll make a scene?" Draco asked worriedly.

Harry bit his lip and really thought about it. "I don't know," he answered finally. "It's a Presentation so he might be on his best behavior. On the other hand, it won't have been long enough for him to calm down about the situation. The twins will threaten him but he'll be jealous of you. So…I don't know. We'll see. Maybe the sheer number of people there will keep him civil."

Pulling away from Harry and sitting up, he turned to the other boy with a quizzical expression. "He'll be jealous of me? Because of my Gift? Or because I'm with you?"

Harry crossed his legs and put his wrists on his knees. "Yes, yes and yes." At Draco's raised eyebrow, Harry elaborated, "He'll be jealous of your Gift despite knowing that only one out of three or four hundred wizard-kind become Gifted. I'm sure a lot of people will be jealous of you for that and although Ron's jealousy might burn a bit brighter than average in that regard it's nothing really out of the ordinary. Primarily, he'll be jealous because you're with me."

"Is he really that possessive?" Draco asked in concern.

Harry nodded. "What else does he have but a claim to Harry Potter to hold up to his family as his own? Bill has an exciting curse-breakers job with Gringott's that lets him explore dangerous tombs and Charlie has his dragons. Percy, despite being a git and mostly ignored by Fudge, has his ambitions and is really quite competent. The twins have their very successful business and Ginny is the one and only girl. What does he have?"

Draco stared at Harry with a distant look for several moments while he processed what Harry had said. "So, what you're saying, is that all of his idiocy over the years stems from a general feeling of insecurity?" Draco asked.

Harry shrugged and nodded. "Not all of it. There's still a bit of a temper there and a nice helping of ingrained prejudices but, yes, a lot of it. He sees me, instead of himself, as what makes him unique. Until he finds a focus for himself, he'll be jealous of anybody and anything that has claims on my time."

"Surely he must have his own strengths," Draco insisted. He didn't know of any, but then he'd spent the last five plus years avoiding Ronald Weasley.

"Of course," Harry said. "He's actually really good at Care of Magical Creatures but dismisses it because it's Charlie's field. He doesn't think about all the options other than dragons that he could find in that field. Also, I think he'd be good in some kind of sales position. When he forgets to be jealous, he's really quite amiable, fun-loving, and good at idle-conversation and putting people at ease. He likes to be helpful and figure out practical solutions to problems. He's also amazing at chess and could always be a professional player."

"Hmmm," Draco replied noncommittally. It wasn't as if he was going to concern himself any over Weasley's career options. "What about Granger?"

"What about her?" Harry asked, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around his legs.

"How will she react?" Draco asked. Draco figured she would be just as angry as Weasley but that he wouldn't have to worry about her making a commotion at the Presentation and that was his main concern.

Idly tapping a finger, Harry thought for a moment then expounded on his second friend, "Hermione will start out agreeing with Ron about how I should never have trusted you and that I'll regret my impetuosity someday when I find out your real motives. Next she'll scold me like some disobedient toddler for going off somewhere nobody could find without any adult supervision. Then she'll start in on how inconsiderate I was about everybody's feelings by not telling anybody I was leaving at all. Then she'll bring Dumbledore into it and really piss me off."

Draco gave a small huff of amusement and asked suggestively, "What's with her? Does she have a fetish for old men with white beards or something?"

"Ewww! No! That's awful! I'm going to suffer from that image for the rest of my life now, thanks to you!" Harry declared, repulsed at the images inspired by Draco's not-so-innocent question.

Draco merely laughed.

Shaking his head with a look of revulsion, Harry said, "She just has a thing for authority in one form or another and Dumbledore, to her, is the ultimate authority; a wise and powerful wizard fighting for the good of all." Harry ignored Draco's disgusted snort and continued, "All the books she reads are part of it, too. Books are an authority, and authority is right, therefore books are right. She has an amazing memory and can track down information faster than anybody I've seen. But it's just facts. She doesn't really integrate one concept with another and think for herself. She can string facts together to get an answer, but intuition or creativity is completely out of her realm."

Giving Draco a reassuring look, he said, "She won't make a fuss at the Presentation. It would be illogical and she's very much ruled by logic. She'll only break rules if she has a logical justification. Once she understands, logically, why you picked me and that you aren't working for Vol…him, she will support you – us – with all the logic at her command. Which is considerable."

Draco was silent a moment. "I don't know whether I should pity her or not," he said eventually, rolling over in his mind Harry's assessment of the witch.

"Not," Harry replied. "She'll do fine in life. The world needs fact-finders and logic-thinkers and she's a great one. And she's great at organization. I wouldn't be surprised if the Unspeakables tap her for research. She's just…" Harry trailed off, uncertain how to describe Hermione.

"Extreme," Draco offered.

Surprised, Harry agreed, "Yes, that's it. Extreme. She's not a bad person."

"Are you really that great of friends with them?" Draco asked softly. Some of the things Harry had said this week made him wonder.

"No. Yes. I mean…" Harry sighed in annoyance and tried again to get his thoughts out coherently. "I'm friends with them now. They don't always annoy me, you know. They're decent enough to have around for school, better than some other choices. Later, though, after school, I think we'll drift apart fairly quickly. We'll still be old school friends even if we are no longer best friends."

Draco nodded. "I understand. What about the other Gryffindors? And your French friends."

"My French friends will be fine; the name Malfoy brings up thoughts of wealth, power, and elegance in France, not Dark Lords and Death Eaters. You do know that, right?" Harry asked warily.

"Yes," Draco said. "It's why I do all but my school shopping there instead of London. It's much more pleasant when people are worried about you not spending money in their shop instead of being worried about whether or not you're going to hex them," he added wryly.

Harry chuckled at Draco's comment and continued. "Neville will be pleased for me, and for you. He really is a very sweet person. We talk sometimes, about life. He knows a lot of things about me others don't. He'll understand why I agreed and support us. Quietly, but staunchly," Harry said of his friend and sometimes philosophical debate partner.

Draco was surprised with Harry's assessment of Longbottom. He knew the boy was quiet but would stand firm if pressed but otherwise knew nothing of him. He certainly hadn't realized that Harry trusted him more than anyone else in his House. "Huh. Well, maybe I'll give him a second look," he said mildly.

"I'm not friends friends with the rest of my year-mates but there is Ginny Weasley," Harry went on. "She's not a friend so much but she is Ron, Fred, and George's sister. She also has a crush on me that she's had since before even coming to school. She says she's over it but I know she's not. My guess is she'll ask me to be her transition partner and will be absolutely devastated when I refuse."

"You'll refuse?" Draco said, looking up at Harry in shock. Most people didn't refuse an offer of transition partner.

Harry winced. He stretched his legs out and leaned back once again into his stack of pillows. "Yes. I'm not looking forward to it, I assure you, and I've been trying to dissuade her interest in me but I don't think it's working well. She's nice enough, I suppose, but I'm just not interested in her. Not as a lover, not as a wife, not even really as a friend. There are just not a lot of common interests between us. Why would I tie myself to her?" Harry questioned rhetorically.

Draco looked seriously at Harry. "That's going to be a mess," he said gravely.

Harry winced again. "I know."

"What about Fred and George? You mentioned them," Draco asked, following Harry's example and once again getting comfortable.

Harry paused. "They'll be happy for us just like Neville. They'll be more vocal about their support, though," he said.

Draco gave a small sound of agreement and waited; he could tell there was more about them that Harry was trying to figure out how to say.

Harry reached out and took Draco's hand and said softly, "The bond's not nearly as strong as ours but I was their transition partner."

Draco stiffened in shock and spluttered out, "But…you…you're younger! You were, what?"

"Thirteen and a half," Harry supplied.

"Why?" Draco asked, still shocked. Choosing someone younger than fifteen was rather frowned upon.

"They didn't have anybody they were really interested in, either. And they wanted someone who was willing to partner them both, at the same time. They didn't want to be separated during their transition, even though their parents had arranged it like that. They wanted to try and synchronize their magics. I overheard them one night contemplating if they would be safe to be by themselves and wondering where they could go. They're average powered wizards, so they might have been able to get through without too much trouble or damage. When I realized they were serious, I offered my services, so to speak," Harry answered calmly. Inside, he was wondering how Draco would take knowing that Harry had other bonds. He hoped Draco wasn't the jealous type.

Draco contemplated that information for a minute before saying, "I guess this is the other things between you that you mentioned before. How did you manage it? Did you bring them here? I don't recall any furor about it. I don't even know when their birthday is."

"It's April first. We did stay here, in the room across the hall and I time-turned back a week so I didn't go missing. They don't know exactly where here is, though, because I blindfolded them both on the way here and on the way back. They didn't mind. They think the room is attached to the Chamber of Secrets somehow. They also believe that I had a simple daily time-turner that I used every night. They left a note for their parents that they had made arrangements to transition with people somewhere outside of Hogwarts that was secure and not to worry about them. Arthur and Molly were upset but they didn't have reason to send up a ruckus," Harry replied, glad to note that Draco seemed more curious than anything.

"What's the bond like with them? And did they succeed in synchronizing their magics? That hasn't been done successfully in…I don't know…a couple hundred years, maybe." Draco asked, amazed and curious, well aware of Harry's relief at his agreeable response to the bonds with the Weasley twins.

Harry blessed the definite curiosity he felt and answered, "One hundred seventy two years. And, yes, they were successful. Don't tell anyone, all right?" Harry requested seriously.

Draco shook his head. "I won't," he promised sincerely, instantly understanding the dangers of such a secret getting out to the wrong, or even the "right," sort of people. It was an amazing feat. Synchronized twins could gestalt their magics, casting single spells that could be up to triple the power of their combined strength. Synchronization was considered a Gift in and of itself and was as highly sought after as any other Gift. The wards at Malfoy Manor had been set by one such set of synchronized twins.

"Why didn't they have a Presentation, then? And what about your bonds?" Draco asked again, still curious. "What are they like?"

"They didn't want one. I offered but they said they would rather keep it, and incidentally my involvement, a secret. They were quite adamant about it so I just agreed and told them to let me know if they ever did want one," Harry replied. He figured that the twins would never want a Presentation but that they would end up agreeing to one once the war was over. The twins had wanted to synchronize their magics so that they could better protect themselves, their families, their future store and its surroundings, and whatever innocent bystanders they could when war came. They had believed Voldemort would return and they would see war ever since Harry's confrontation with Voldemort in front of the Mirror of Erised; a belief that was strengthened when Ginny was possessed and validated when Voldemort was resurrected. They all knew, though never spoke of it, that it was more likely than not that their synchronization would be discovered at some point during the war. At that point there would be no point in not holding a Presentation.

"As for the bond," Harry continued easily, breaking himself from his musings, "It's more like an empathic sense when we are close, in the same room, say. I can tell if they're healthy and how they're feeling. But farther away I can't really tell much about them unless they are in physical pain or emotional distress."

"Interesting," Draco replied, suppressing a yawn. "Do you have any other bonds?" He would like to know just whom he was sharing Harry with.

"No. Just them. You?" Harry asked, his thoughts unknowingly echoing Draco's as he wondered with whom he was sharing the other boy.

"Not really," Draco replied. "I partnered Pansy but there isn't a bond between us. Or, at least, not enough of one to blink at. There wasn't enough power there." Draco suppressed another yawn.

Harry ruthlessly suppressed his feelings of pleased possessiveness at Draco's answer and asked, "Tired? We can go to bed early if you like."

"Yes, I'm tired, but I don't want to go to sleep yet. If you don't want to talk anymore, maybe I could read for a while," Draco mused.

"Do you want your book?" Harry asked, remembering the book he had chosen for Draco that morning.

"Yes, please," Draco responded then asked tentatively, knowing he was still on probation despite their pleasant conversation, "Will you let me up to pick another one? I'm almost done with that one."

"All right," Harry agreed reluctantly after a short pause. "Just a few minutes." He rose and went to fetch their respective books, keeping an eye on his charge.

Draco nodded and got up to go to the stacks of muggle books piled neatly behind the settee. He wanted something else on "alternative healing." The A to Z Guide to Alternative Medicine by Mike Rogers Harry had given him this morning had been interesting but it was quite broad with simple explanations. He wanted something more in depth that he could sink his teeth into. Spotting a likely book, he grabbed it and went back to the bed. He was not going to tempt Harry's resolve about being out of bed; he figured it was solid steel.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco's choice but said nothing as he rejoined Draco on the bed. They read companionably for several hours, occasionally talking about what they were reading, until deciding to retire for the evening.