I know what a lot of you are thinking, I swear, there is a method to my madness where this story is concerned.…. Maybe I need a disclaimer letting people know this story wasn't written by a sane person.

Warnings: This is shounen-ai, yaoi, slash, gay, probably some other words. Sirius/Remus and Harry/ Tom and vice versa.

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump

Chapter 13: The End of a Holiday

Silence followed Harry's words. He wasn't sure about Draco and he didn't know exactly where this conversation should go or if it should even be happening at all. It wasn't as simple as they'd been sorted into different houses. Draco's family were Voldemort's followers. They were exactly the type of wizards and witches that Harry and the Order were trying so hard to defeat. They hated anyone who wasn't pureblood, who treated Muggles as a fellow human rather than a slave, anyone without money, to name a few of the lengthy list of requirements. The actual qualifications you had to have to get accepted into their group was beyond insane and left them with very few people to choose from, so they ended up with individuals like Crabbe and Goyle.

But here they were, sitting together like good friends who hadn't seen each other in a while. Only, their conversation was being held in a small room in a funeral home. Away from everyone because their actual friends would skin them if they saw them conversing. And they didn't like each other at all. Why was he here?

"Good thing no one wore their Death Eater uniforms," Draco snickered.

Harry stared at Draco, his eyes widening, and before he knew it, a laugh had escaped his throat quickly turning into a full-blown fit. Draco joined in. Tears streamed down Harry's face. The idea of The Daily Prophet reporters walking in to see a funeral room crowded with people fully donned in their Death Eaters' uniforms was too funny. It would serve the Ministry right. Harry would love to see Fudge try to explain his way out of that one.

"H, how can you say that," he asked in between laughs. Draco's face had turned red from all the laughing and for some reason that made Harry laugh even harder. Did death make people this crazy? Had the two of them losing someone somehow caused the loose screws in their brains to blow up? Harry couldn't see another answer because this was not the Draco Malfoy he knew. Not that I'm exactly acting the way I usually do, he realized. He hadn't been acting normal in quite a while, not since Cedric had died.

"Come off it, you know what my parents are like," Draco said. He wiped a few of his tears away and drank from the water bottle he had.

"And you actually trust me not to tell anyone," Harry asked as he got his laughter under control. Since when had they decided to trust one another? Had something happened between them during their fourth year? Had Draco been hiding behind the tree the unknown student had been lying next to as Harry's backup?

"Not like you could prove it," Draco pointed out.

That was true. Draco would claim he'd been joking, or that Harry was making up another lie to scare the Wizarding Community. He could still tell the Order, but they probably knew already. There was absolutely nothing he could do with this information. Now that they were sitting here alone without the world judging either of them, it turned out Malfoy wasn't the idiot Harry had thought he was.

Regardless, who ratted their parents out like that? And why was Draco acting so normal? In some almost unconscious way, sitting here and talking to him felt familiar. Worrying about Draco's sudden normalness wasn't going to get him anywhere, not when he was acting so off himself. Maybe he'd fallen asleep on the table and was dreaming this, because Draco looked hurt at his words and for the first time, Harry felt bad about that.

"No... The Daily Prophet made sure of that," Harry said, refusing to look Draco in the eyes. Why…? He shouldn't sympathize with Draco on any level, but he couldn't deny the guilt creeping over him either. He wanted to keep talking, wanted their conversation to last because as crazy and weird as this whole situation was, this was the most normal chat he'd had since he'd received the necklace. "I mean, Fudge is lying about Voldemort," he said, Draco flinching at the name. He would never get another chance to speak with Draco like this again and he wanted to make sure they parted on decent terms. Unless it was a dream, and if it were a dream, he needed to find out why he was dreaming about a normal Draco Malfoy.

"Fudge is mad," Draco said when he'd regained his composure. He still looked unsure of himself and tired, Harry realized. There was a weariness in Draco's eyes Harry hadn't noticed at first. "Daily Prophet said as much."

"Huh?" Since when did the Daily Prophet say anything against Fudge?

"You didn't read yesterday's article," Draco asked, looking surprised. "Figured you had that one framed."

"I was stuck gardening all day," Harry said.

"No one mentioned it to you? Figured you and Weasley were having a laugh over that one. I was."

"... I haven't really been getting along with everyone." He said cautiously. He didn't want to tell Draco about the necklace or the shadow, couldn't really if he intended to keep his promise to Dumbledore. Besides, one of the reasons he was enjoying this conversation so much, was that he didn't have to defend himself to Draco every couple of words. The Slytherin knew nothing about his birthday gift or all the hell it'd put him and those near him through within the last few days alone.

Draco studied him. "The front page had an article on Fudge. Amelia Bones, she's the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, requested Fudge go to St. Mungo's to get a mental checkup," he laughed. "They claimed he's fine, but I know for a fact that's a lie. He's been out of his mind since he let that Dementor follow him around for a bodyguard." He got up and grabbed another water bottle from the fridge. "Not that the Daily Prophet is known for telling the truth," he added.

"No kidding." So, the Wizengamot had thought Fudge unstable and forced Fudge to get checked at St. Mungo's. It was the kind of thing he'd have laughed about with Ron if his friend wasn't accusing him of murdering his mother. Or part of it. Why hadn't Sirius or Lupin mentioned it though? Were they having doubts about Harry too?

"Potter?"

"Huh?"

"So, you and Weasley having a lover's spat," Draco asked, slipping back into his chair. "His brothers decide you were better than him or something?" He removed the cap from his drink. "Not that I can blame them."

Harry glared at the Slytherin. They'd been having such a great conversation and now he was acting like he used to. "No," he said flatly.

"Don't tell me he's jealous your name is in the Daily Prophet every day. He knows they're insulting you, right?"

"D- It's nothing like that Malfoy," he said trying to keep his anger in check.

"You must be attention deprived to almost call me by my first name," he said, smirking.

"Y'know, this was kind of fun until you decided to be a git again," Harry snapped. He shoved the chair back roughly and stood up. "You have no idea what I've been dealing with the last few weeks, I don't need your crap added to it."

"Wow, I struck a chord," Draco laughed. "You think my life has been any better? You realize thanks to you there's a resurrected dark lord running around again, right? That my family is doing everything in their power to gain his favor, again?" He no longer looked like he was enjoying himself, his expression clouding over.

"It wasn't like I did it on purpose," Harry screamed. "Cedric and I arrived at the trophy at the same time! And I did everything I could to keep that rat from taking my blood! Do you think I just handed it over!?" His face burned and he wanted to cry at the sudden explosion of emotions he was feeling. The last thing he had ever wanted was for Voldemort to rise, but his ironic life had decided it would be fun to add to his already screwed up achievements. The supposed chosen one had not only taken down the dark lord, he'd brought him back too. "If I could find a way to undo it… I would," he said refusing to look Draco in the eyes.

"I know," Draco said, his voice quiet. "So how are you going to fix it?"

"Fix it," Harry echoed, looking at Draco. "You want me to tell you my plan for getting rid of Voldemort?" They may be having a moment, but Harry hadn't lost his mind. Telling Draco his plan would be like telling Voldemort.

"You don't have to tell me how just tell me you are," Draco said, his eyes almost pleading.

"Of course, I'm going to stop him! I don't know how yet, but Voldemort will die!"

"Good," he whispered as he ran a hand through his hair.

"...What are you after Draco?"

The shocked look and tint of red that covered Draco's face was unnerving. He was sure his face looked similar because he didn't know why he'd called Draco by his first name, but it didn't feel wrong. In fact, it came out smoothly like he'd been calling Draco his first name since they'd met.

The door swung open, both teens snapping their heads towards it. Lupin stood there taking the scene in. He didn't seem to know what to say any more than they did, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he found his voice. "The um ceremony... it's about to start," he said. To Harry's horror, Lupin's face was also turning red, and he refused to look him or Draco in the eyes. "Come on, Harry."

"Right. I'll… see you at school," he blurted out, walking towards the door fast.

"Yeah, see you…."

"Is everything all right," Lupin asked once Harry was out of the room and he'd shut the door.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Harry said. Only it wasn't, not exactly. Draco had accused him of Voldemort's resurrection and then had wanted to know if Harry was still going to fight Voldemort. There was no way Voldemort thought Harry wasn't going to fight him, so why had Draco asked. What good would his answer do for him? "Lupin?" He stopped short of the door where the ceremony was being held.

"Yeah?"

"You and Sirius know I didn't want Voldemort resurrected, right? You know I tried to fight as hard as I could to stop it from happening?" He didn't care if no one else believed him, but he needed Sirius and Lupin to understand. If his godfather and Lupin thought he was at fault, what was the point anymore?

"Who told you it was your fault," Lupin demanded, his hands twitching. "Is that what you and Draco were talking about?"

Harry nodded. It wasn't like Draco was lying. Harry was at fault, he'd been stupid enough to touch the trophy, to let Pettigrew take his blood. He hadn't wanted it to happen, but it had all the same and he had to fix it, because every death, torture, and horrible act that Voldemort committed was now his fault, he just didn't know how. Nothing had even changed since Voldemort had been resurrected, at least not that Harry was aware of, which may have been a lot considering the Order was doing its best to keep everything it could from him. How was he supposed to even guess at how to stop Voldemort if he didn't know where he was or what he was doing?

"Harry," Lupin said, his voice as tired as it had been on their way to the Ministry of Magic for his hearing. "No one blames you for this. Sooner or later, it would have happened," he said, frowning. "We were lucky that he only managed to get your blood from you."

"But—"

"No," Lupin said, his voice firm. It was the same tone he reserved for Sirius when his godfather was attempting to prank someone inside number twelve. "We're not debating this, Harry. The only reason we can fight is that you're still alive. If you need more convincing, then we can talk after the funeral, but for now, your friends need you."

"Ron—"

"Ron is confused and unable to process his mother's death," Lupin snapped. "But you don't give up on someone, just because their mental state is in shreds." His look dared Harry to disagree.

Harry couldn't disagree with that reasoning. That would mean giving up on Sirius. And he'd never give up on his godfather. The problem was Ron wasn't accusing him of carrying the death out directly. He was accusing Harry of letting the dark lord come back and killing his mother after she rejoined the Order. It was a big difference. Or rather, he was accusing him of all that and then the shadow showing up to kill his mother. Why is this so confusing?

"Okay," he said quietly.

"Good." Lupin walked into the room then, Harry following behind him. The overwhelming wave of sweetness hit Harry hard. Everywhere he looked, the front of the room had flowers. It was enough to make him gag, but out of sheer determination he didn't. Harry had hoped they'd be sitting in the back row, far from the flowers, but Lupin went straight to the front and stopped at the second bench. He waited for Harry, who grudgingly walked down the aisle and slid into the row. Lupin sat down on his left, effectively blocking Harry in from both sides, because a large witch wearing too much makeup and perfume sat to his right. She kept lifting her handkerchief and moping her face with it and within minutes, it looked like a child had painted on her face while she slept.

Harry was positive this woman had bathed in the perfume and with the scent of the flowers mingling together, it wouldn't be long before he couldn't breathe anymore.

He felt a hard pinch inside his brain, a slight chuckle filling Harry's ears, one he knew all too well.

'What are you doing here,' he asked. The smell of flowers and perfume eased up, relief flooding him. He could at least inhale without choking now.

'I had to see that witch for myself,' he said.

A hand enclosed around Harry's, his eyes darting to his right side. He could feel the shadow's touch but couldn't see him.

'You better hope no one sits on you.'

'You're getting better at this,' he said, amused.

The compliment had his entire spirit doing a dance and his cheeks burning. 'I'm glad you came back…'

'I promised I would never leave you,' he said. 'Not for good anyway.' It was the only warning Harry got before the warmth and comfort he associated with the necklace enveloped him.

(X)

"Harry, do you need to talk," Lupin asked.

They'd just gotten back from the funeral. The Weasley family had gone to the Burrow to be alone, and so Harry, Lupin, Hermione, and Sirius had come back to number twelve alone. Once the shadow had given him that burst of warmth, he'd fidgeted through the rest of the funeral. Yes, he was sad Mrs. Weasley was gone. He was just pretty sure the reality of that hadn't quite sunk in yet. He'd seen her casket, had watched them lower her into the ground, but his mind hadn't honed in on any of that. His brain had managed to block all of that out, his attention more directed at the shadow and him holding his hand.

"Nope, I'm good," Harry said quickly. He chucked his shoes off into the corner by the door and ran up the steps, stumbling up the top few when he lost his balance.

"Be careful," Sirius yelled after him.

"Got it," Harry yelled. He ignored the jaunts and curses from the other portraits lining the first-floor hall. Turns out they hadn't been happy about the destruction of their mistress. Oh well. He thought he might have heard Hermione call after him, but he'd spoken to her long enough during the car ride home and while it hadn't been bad, it had been utterly boring. He couldn't hear half of what the shadow had been saying to him, which had resulted in unpleasant feelings from Harry and the shadow and all she seemed worried about was whether or not Harry planned on fixing things with Ron before the term started. He'd reminded her he wasn't the one going around accusing Ron of Murder. If Ron would drop it, he wouldn't hold it against him. She'd seemed satisfied with his answer and then went on to classes and how important O.W.L.S. were and then Harry had had no choice but to tune her out.

He made sure to go up the second set of stairs a tad slower, so he didn't risk killing himself. It'd be pretty sad, not to mention pathetic, if Harry died climbing stairs. He could just see the glee as a Daily Prophet reporter, probably Rita Skeeter just to spite him, typed the headline "Chosen One Dies by Stairs" or "The Boy Who Didn't Live: Thanks to a Staircase.

'You're in a good mood, all things considering.'

An image of the funeral home flashed through Harry's mind, blurry, but there, followed by one of the graveyard.

'Whose fault is that,' he asked. Feelings of embarrassment answered him. 'Everyone probably thinks I'm a heartless prat for smiling during a funeral.' He opened the door to his bedroom and slipped in, making sure the door closed behind him. He gave the knob a few quick shakes, satisfied when it remained locked. 'Okay.'

A dark mist appeared in the room, small at first. As it spread out and took shape, it grew darker. Soon enough the human form of the shadow was standing next to Harry's bed.

He glanced around the room. 'What in the hell happened?'

"My trunk blew up," he offered with a shrug before sitting down on his bed. It did indeed look like a bomb had been placed at the bottom of his trunk and sent all its contents flying across the room. Books were spread out, ink bottles toppled, potion ingredients, most still in their containers, in different corners of the room.

'Why is it every time I'm gone for more than a day, your room looks like this,' the shadow demanded. 'You realize you go back tomorrow, right?'

The disbelief in his voice had Harry laughing.

"I know."

'Unbelievable. Living like a common troll,' he sighed. He waved his hand over the mess, the contents of Harry's trunk shooting into the air before they dived in, somehow in perfect order, and the trunk's lid snapped shut.

He did not live like a common troll, but at least his things were cleaned up.

'You really do seem far too happy about my return,' he said wearily.

"You always come back exactly when I need you," he said. "So, umm how does the school year work?" He could feel the shadow's slight confusion. "I mean, with us," he explained.

'You keep the necklace on you, less you feel like going mad. Of which,' he dropped his hand into Harry's pocket, removing the necklace. 'Maybe not destroy this?'

"Deal, but you can't throw people," Harry said.

The shadow considered this, his head tilting to the side just enough to be noticeable. 'What if they deserve it?'

"No," Harry said.

'What if they're trying to kill you,' he pressed.

"Who's going to… right." Plenty of people tried to kill him during the school year. "Okay, if there's no doubt they're trying to kill me," he conceded.

'Fine.' He dropped the necklace over Harry's head and placed the pendant under his robes. 'You need to keep this hidden.'

Harry waited for the cold to bite at his skin, but instead, he felt the familiar warmth. It wasn't as strong as before, but it was still there. "Okay."

(X)

"I'm so nervous," Hermione said. She was pacing, the bottom of her shirt beginning to unravel as she fiddled with it with such force.

"What's wrong," Sirius asked, coming down the hall.

"What's wrong," Hermione shrieked. "O.W.L.S.! Prefect duty! Homework! There's not nearly enough time in a day to keep up with everything!"

Harry cringed as soon as he heard Sirius's voice. His godfather had taken another shot of Polyjuice potion so he could come to say goodbye at the train station, but Harry wished he hadn't. The man standing in front of him was not his godfather. It was a short, thin man, with curly light blonde hair, a pushed-up nose and small mismatched lips. Even his voice had been reduced to a low whine rather than his usual baritone.

"I don't like it any better than you do," Lupin said coming up beside Harry. "But if there's one thing Sirius is known for, it's his vanity. No one would suspect him of willingly becoming this ugly." He started counting heads and trunks. "Hermione, I promise if you plan out your schedule, you'll do fine. Where's Fred and George?"

"In the living room," Hermione said. "With Mr. Weasley and Bill," she added.

"Right. And Mad-eye?"

"Kitchen," Sirius grunted.

"Okay, so we're just missing Charlie," Lupin said. "Everyone make sure your trunks are locked. I don't need anyone flipping one over and almost missing the train trying to gather everything back up."

"That happened once," Sirius protested. "And you and James knocked it over!"

"Learned your lesson, didn't you," Lupin asked his eyes dancing, a smirk on his face. Sirius scowled and started towards him, but Lupin stepped back. "Touch me and I will remove your arm and beat you with it."

"Oh! But I thought I was the vain one," Sirius said shooting a glare at his would-be lover. "At least I'm willing to overlook someone's outward appearance!"

Lupin raised an eyebrow, his smirk turning deadly. "Are you saying I'm not good-looking Sirius?"

"You know what I meant!"

"Because I assure you my inward appearance is much uglier than my outside."

"Ugh, help me out Harry," Sirius said turning to his godson.

"I'm not getting into this," Harry muttered, stepping towards Hermione.

'Probably smart.'

"Why do we need so many people anyway," Harry asked.

"Because if you've forgotten, Mrs. Weasley died going grocery shopping, and you-know-who has returned, AND you are his main target," Hermione snapped.

"I thought Voldemort was supposed to be lying low, or are you telling me he's going to jump out from behind a dustbin to try and do me in," he asked and the image alone of that going through his mind made him start laughing. Sirius and Ron's laughter joined his own, and Harry dared to look at the redhead. Their eyes met, Ron's face hinting at a shade of red before he turned away.

At least it's a start, he thought. Perhaps now that the funeral had happened Ron would slowly come around.

Charlie entered the hall followed by Mad-eye. Mr. Weasley, the twins, Bill, and Ginny shuffled in behind them.

"All right, we're all here," Lupin said. "Sirius, are you sure you want to do this?" Despite their fight a moment ago, the worry in Lupin's eyes was evident.

"There is no way I'm letting you or Harry go to King's Cross without me."

'They realize the only guard you need is me, right,' the shadow asked.

'I'd rather you not kill everyone that sneezes next to me,' Harry said. A mental image of the shadow rolling its eyes filled his mind.

"How are we getting there anyway," Harry asked.

"Well, the Ministry isn't exactly happy with us," Lupin said. "So, we're walking."

"Walking," Harry repeated. Even when Voldemort hadn't been a present threat, the Ministry had made sure he made it to the train station safely. He didn't expect anything to go wrong, but to think that the Ministry so outright hoped he'd die on his way to the train was a little unsettling.

"Don't just stand there, out," Lupin scolded them.

Harry hadn't even realized Lupin had opened the door. Mr. Weasley walked out first, followed close by Bill and Charlie. The rest of the Weasley children followed, then Mad-eye, Sirius, Harry and Hermione, and Lupin closing their line. They looked utterly ridiculous, all twelve of them huddled together and the students dragging trunks behind them. Muggles would probably mistake them for a group of circus performers heading for their next destination. There were worse things to be mistaken for, but it wasn't high on Harry's 'this is okay' list either.

They trudged down sidewalks, crossed streets, avoided getting run over when the safe to cross light flipped while they were still in the middle of the street. Twenty minutes later they'd made it to the station and Harry had been right. Not a single surprise attack, or any kind of surprise for that matter. It had ended up being quite a boring walk.

Mr. Weasley walked by with Bill and Charlie to the barrier. Charlie went in first with Ginny, Bill entered with Ron, and the twins followed them. It was so strange not to have Mrs. Weasley there sending them off. It wasn't right. Mrs. Weasley should have never….

"I know it'll be hard at first," Sirius said, catching Harry off guard. "But Ron will come around."

"Eh, sure," Harry said.

"The winter holiday will come soon enough. Make sure you write. Every day if you need to."

"I will," he promised. Besides the shadow, he probably wouldn't have anyone else to talk to. Hermione would be making her rounds as prefect and even when she wasn't, she spent more time reading than talking to him. She was also in a different dorm than him. "And thanks for everything," he said, hugging Sirius. It was beyond strange to be hugging his godfather in his form.

"I'll make sure the backyard is cleaned up by the holiday and we can decide what to plant."

"Sounds good."

"Be safe."

"You too. Please don't do anything crazy and drive Lupin mad."

Sirius laughed.

"No promises."

"Come here Harry," Lupin said walking up to them. Sirius released him, and now Lupin was embracing him. This was becoming a strange habit for them, but he was beginning to find it comforting. "I will do everything I can to keep this thing safe, so please look after yourself."

"H, hey," Sirius said.

"I will," Harry promised.

"I know we've told you about a hundred times, but if you need anything, just write." He leaned in closer to Harry. "Professor McGonagall is another Order member. If you need someone fast and can't get to Dumbledore, she's your best choice."

"Got it." It was good to know that McGonagall was on their side. If there was any teacher he wanted backing him up besides Dumbledore, it was definitely her.

"And…" He hesitated a moment. "Maybe give Draco a chance. He's pretty good looking, and he's not a Death Eater. Maybe you can convince him you're worth more to him than Voldemort."

"LUPIN!" Harry pulled back, Lupin laughing hard.

"I mean it. You two looked adorable the other day."

"What did I miss," Sirius demanded, looking from Lupin to Harry.

"It wasn't like that," Harry said, his face burning. "We were just talking!"

"That's a shame. Still, I don't think anyone would hold it against you if you did," he said, winking at Harry.

"I'm getting on the train," he said. "I expected this from Sirius, but not you." He was not having this conversation with Lupin, or anyone for that matter. Not on the train platform with his godfather and thousands of others possibly able to hear them.

'Remus needs to be more careful in what he says,' the shadow said.

'Ignore him. I resurrected a dark lord and got Cedric killed. There's not a single person, Draco or otherwise who's going to date me. I'll be single the rest of my life' he mentally laughed.

Harry could see the shadow staring at him in his mind with feelings of shock and confusion.

"Let me know if you have any requests for the winter holiday. Better to be prepared," Lupin said, smiling.

"Me too," Sirius said. He inched towards Lupin, who glared at him once again before walking off. "Ugh, I can't wait for this to be over," he said turning back to Harry. "He hates this."

"You do look… er… off," Harry offered. He didn't want to hurt his godfather's feelings, but this was definitely one ugly person.

"Only way," he sighed. They exchanged one more hug before he helped Harry get his trunk onto the train.

His godfather looked like he wanted to cry now, and Harry was fast feeling uncomfortable. He couldn't remember ever feeling this sad about leaving for Hogwarts. He wanted to stay with Sirius and Lupin, join the Order and track down Voldemort. To hell with school. What good would returning do, anyway?

The train whistle blew, and Sirius forced a smile.

"If you don't write me at least once a week, I'll break in and track you down," he warned Harry. He turned and went after Lupin.

Loneliness filled Harry as he watched him go. He knew he needed to pull his trunk in the rest of the way, but he didn't really have the will to do so now. The farther Sirius got, the worse his mood felt. Maybe he could just stand by the door the whole trip. Or maybe he could just get off now and walk back to number twelve. He was pretty sure he could find it and more sure that Sirius wouldn't force him to go back to Hogwarts if he risked returning to number twelve.

'Come on.'

With a sigh, Harry jerked his trunk into the train aisle. The whispering started immediately.

Well, at least my school year is starting off normal, he mentally growled. He dragged his trunk, his eyes drifting from one compartment to another trying to find an empty one, the words 'he actually came back', 'I can't believe he's not in Azkaban for killing Cedric', and 'did you hear he was cursed? If you get too close, he'll kill you' following him.

He should have expected it, but this was a bit worse than he'd thought it'd be. Red hair caught Harry's attention from inside a compartment. Ron had changed into his robes already, his prefect badge displayed on his puffed-out chest. Hermione was beside him, shaking her head, while Neville gushed over Ron's badge.

'I am not sitting with them.' His anger surprised him and the shadow.

'So, don't.'

"Murderer," a student coughed as they passed Harry.

"Potter?"

Harry looked up, Draco standing a few feet away. His face was scrunched up like he was trying to figure out what exactly Harry was and why he was standing alone in the train's corridor.

"Malfoy."

"Why aren't you…" his voice trailed off, no doubt their conversation from yesterday playing through his mind. "This compartment is empty for now," he said motioning to the compartment he'd just walked out of. "I have to attend a prefect meeting."

"Snape would make you a prefect," Harry growled.

"I'm not forcing you," Draco snapped. "Take the pity or don't," he said slamming the door to the compartment shut. He turned his back on Harry and stormed down the aisle, entering another car.

'Did you two get into a fight yesterday,' the shadow asked curiously.

'Not really,' Harry said. 'Wait, how did you know I was talking to Malfoy yesterday?'

'I'm the one who told him to speak with you.' The door to the compartment slid open. Defeated and with nowhere else to go, Harry walked into it. Tolerating Draco was a better alternative to being called a murderer the entire train ride, even if Draco was a prefect. Had anyone besides him not gotten a prefect badge?

'How do you know Draco,' he asked. He shoved his trunk and then Hedwig in the luggage rack before falling into the seat closest to the window. The shadow took form in the seat beside Harry.

'Is that jealousy I detect?'

'How do you know Draco,' he asked again.

He sighed. 'He's helped me out a few times.'

Harry didn't like this new information. Why was Draco of all people acquainted with the shadow?

'Was he a previous owner,' Harry asked.

'No,' he said blinking, surprise coating his words. 'Two other people have kept this necklace safe and Draco is not one of them.'

The words made Harry feel a little better, his eyes shifting to outside the window, the scenery passing by fast. This was going to be a long school year.

(TBC)