Thanks for all the great reviews guys. You're wonderful and it means so much to me.
This chapter is dedicated to The Perlustrator. Your feedback and friendly advice mean so much. Thank you for helping me remember why I love doing this.
"Alright, let's think this through" Draco muttered, pacing back and forth.
They were in the infirmary, sitting with Hermione. Madam Pomfrey was in her office, so it seemed as good a time as any to discuss the Chamber of Secrets. The only problem was, they hadn't gained any other new information.
"There's got to be something we're missing," Draco said.
"Like what?" Blaise asked warily.
Draco stopped his pacing, his brow furrowed. There were so many strange things that had happened. It was hard to sort out what was relevant. If they could just figure out what the monster was...
Draco's gaze fell on Harry and his breath caught in his throat. "What is it?" Harry asked.
"What if-" Draco paused and licked his lips a bit nervously. "Do you think it could be a snake?"
"What? The monster?" Ron asked in surprise.
Blaise's eyes widened. "It would explain why Harry kept hearing a voice," he said eagerly. "If it's a snake, Harry would be able to hear it speak but nobody else would."
"That makes sense," Harry said excitedly. But, then his shoulders slumped. "But, that doesn't explain why students have been petrified."
"It might," Blaise said pensively. "There are different types of snakes. There's one that can kill you just by looking you in the eye. I just can't remember what it's called."
"Basillisk," Draco supplied. "That might be the answer."
"How?" Ron asked. "If it kills by looking you in the eye, why are people petrified instead of dead?"
"No one did look it in the eye," Harry said slowly. "Colin saw it through his camera. Justin saw it through Nearly-Headless Nick. Nick got the full blast of it, but he can't die again. Hermione was holding a mirror," he said glancing at Hermione's right hand that was frozen in place as if she was still grasping the mirror. "I bet you anything that she figured this out and was using the mirror to look around corners." He paused when he notice that her left hand was closed around a wad of paper.
"What about Mrs. Norris?" Ron asked. "I don't think she can hold a camera or mirror."
"But there was water on the floor when we found her," Draco said. "She would have seen the basilisk's reflection."
Harry had tugged the paper free of Hermione's hands while the others talked. He opened it up and shook his head in disbelief. "Hermione agrees with you about the basilisk," Harry informed Draco. "She had this in her hand."
Draco walked over and peered down at what turned out to be a torn page from a book. It contained information on the basilisk in general. "She's had this in her hand the whole time?" Draco complained.
"But how's it getting around the school?" Ron asked. "A dirty great snake would have been seen by somebody aside from three students, a ghost and a cat."
"Hermione has answered that for us," Harry said, pointing out something on the page.
"Pipes," Draco read out loud.
"It's using the plumbing," Blaise said, sounding horrified.
Harry nodded, suddenly thinking of something else. "Remember what Aragog said?" he asked. "He said that a girl died in a bathroom... What if she never left? Maybe it was Moaning Myrtle."
"Oh god, that's the ghost that always sobbing and flooding the bathroom, isn't it?" Blaise groaned.
"Let's go tell the teachers," Harry said, giving Hermione's hand a soft squeeze before leading his friends out of the infirmary. Just outside the doors, Vince and Greg were waiting. "We were just visiting Hermione. You didn't have to guard the door."
"We were making sure you had privacy," Vince explained, looking a little sheepish. Greg nodded his agreement.
"We'll let you know if we need privacy," Harry informed them. "Otherwise, just come in with us."
Draco marveled at how different Crabbe and Goyle were. They were still hulking brutes at times but, these days it was always in defense of Harry and Draco. They seemed uncertain about Ron and Hermione, but weren't hostile toward them. Seeing genuine smiles from them was strange. Draco was starting think that Harry could charm the socks off of just about anyone.
Vince and Greg joined them on the trek through the halls to locate the teachers. The passed only a few students in the hallway. Harry held up one hand to stop them when he heard voices from just around the corner.
"So sorry. Dozed off. What have I missed?"
That was Lockhart. Harry rolled his eyes, glad that he'd not walked around the corner right away. He certainly didn't want to deal with Lockhart at that moment.
"A girl has been snatched by the monster," Snape said coolly. "Your moment has come at last."
"My moment?" Lockhart sounded a little uncertain.
"Weren't you saying just yesterday that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?" Snape asked, his tone smug and slightly mocking.
"Well I-"
"It's settled then," McGonagall said firmly. "We'll leave the monster to you Gilderoy. Your skills, after all, are legend."
There was a pause and then Lockhart said "Very well. I'll just be in my office getting ready."
There was another pause and then Snape said "Now that the imbecile is out of the way we get something done."
"Indeed," McGonagall agreed crisply. "We need to get all of the students secure in their common rooms. I'll send a message to request the Aurors to come and help us search the school."
"Who was taken?" Professor Flitwick asked anxiously.
"Ginny Weasley," McGonagall answered sadly.
Harry turned to meet Ron's horrified gaze. Blaise gave Ron's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze, unsure of what else to do to show his support.
Harry glanced around the corner and saw that the teachers had departed. He moved forward and saw that there were words, once again written in blood, on the wall.
"Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever," Harry read, his voice breaking. "Let's go get Lockhart. He may be useless, but if he's going to the Chamber we can at least tell him what we know." He and Draco put Ron between them and escorted him to Lockhart's office with Blaise, Vince and Greg following closely behind
They burst into Lockhart's office only to find their professor hastily tossing his personal items into a leather satchel. "Are you going somewhere?" Blaise asked, his eyes narrowed.
"Oh, I had an urgent message," Lockhart told them, stuffing a framed and autographed photo of himself in his bag. "Completely unavoidable."
"What about my sister?" Ron demanded.
"Well- As to that, most unfortunate," Lockhart said, still haphazardly stuffing things into his bag. "No one regrets it more than I."
"You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Draco snapped impatiently. "You can't go now."
"When I took the job, there was nothing in the job description about this," Lockhart said in agitation, closing up the satchel and picking it up.
"You're running away?" Harry asked angrily. "After all the stuff you did in your books?"
"Books can be misleading."
"You wrote them!"
"My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think that I'd done all those things," Lockhart retorted.
"You're a fraud," Draco growled. "And an idiot. You've just been taking credit for the things that other wizards have done."
"Is there anything you can do?" Blaise asked with a sneer.
"Actually yes," Lockhart said, frowning. "I'm rather gifted with memory charms. Otherwise those wizards would have gone blabbing and I never would have sold another book." He turned away, rubbing at the back of his neck a bit nervously. "In face, I'm going to have to do the same to you," he said, whirling around with his wand raised. But the students had anticipated his move and were pointing their wands back at him.
"Nice try," Harry smirked. "Greg, grab Lockhart's wand, please."
Greg roughly snatched the wand out of Lockhart's hand and passed it to Harry. "What do we do now?" he asked Harry.
"We continue on to the chamber," Harry said, giving Ron a reassuring nod. "If we can get in, maybe we can get Ginny out."
Vince and Greg seized Lockhart by the arms while the other four kept their wand pointed at him. They made their way through the halls, going straight toward the bathroom that Myrtle favored. The instantly spotted the ghost, staring mournfully out the window. She turned to look at them curiously. "Harry Potter," she said, floating over to them and getting uncomfortably close to Harry. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"
"I wanted to ask you how you died," Harry said politely, forcing himself to remain still as she looked him over.
"Oh it was dreadful," Myrtle said sadly, floating toward one of the bathroom stalls. "It was right here in this very cubicle. I had been hiding because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. I was crying. Then I heard somebody come in."
"Who?" Ron asked her.
"I don't know," Myrtle responded. "But they said something funny; A kind of made up language. I realized that it was a boy speaking so I opened the door to tell him to go away... And then I died."
"That's it?" Draco asked flatly. "Just like that? How?"
Myrtle frowned thoughtfully. "I just remember a pair of great big yellow eyes, over there by that sink," she said, pointing at the sink right across from her cubicle.
Harry moved toward the sink and looked it over carefully. After a moment, he leaned closer and realized the faucet had the image of a snake on it. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded Draco closer to have a look. "I think this is it," Draco said. "But, how do we open it?"
"Harry, try telling it to open in Parseltongue," Ron suggested. The others, aside from Lockhart, murmured their agreement.
Draco turned to watch as Harry frowned in concentration. A chill went up Draco's spine at the strange, breathy hissing sounds that slipped from Harry's mouth. The sound was a little unsettling, but Draco couldn't help being rather impressed with it. He stubbornly ignored the way Blaise smirked knowingly at him.
The was a loud scraping sound as the sink slid out of the way and a large trapdoor was revealed. They all leaned forward a bit to peer down into the opening.
"Well, there it is," Lockhart said nervously. "You won't be needing me anymore, so I'll just be going." He surged away from the trapdoor but Crabbe and Goyle caught hold of him and yanked him back.
"I don't think so," Harry said, lifting his wand and pointing it directly at Lockhart's face. "You first."
"Now, what good would that do?" Lockhart asked.
"Better you than us," Draco smirked.
Lockhart grimaced. "Yes, well..." He peeked down at the trapdoor apprehensively. "How would I-" He cut himself with a yelp as Ron shoved him hard and he fell through the hole.
"Nice one Weasley," Draco said with an approving nod.
"I thought so," Ron replied with a little shrug. "Shall we?" he asked, gesturing at the trapdoor.
Harry turned to Vincent and Greg. "I need you to go get the other teachers," he told them solemnly.
"You don't want us to come with you?" Greg asked, his brow furrowing.
"We'll take care of each other," Harry assured him, gesturing to Draco, Blaise and Ron. "But we're going to need the teachers as well. It's really important."
"We'll hurry," Vince said, tugging Greg away from the trapdoor and toward the door.
With wands in hand, the remaining four dropped through the trapdoor one at a time. They landed in a pile of dirt and the bones of small animals. Blaise gave Lockhart a poke with his wand, gesturing for him move along down the tunnel ahead of them.
"Oh Salazar," Draco breathed. "Is that-"
"Snake skin," Harry supplied, moving ahead to get an idea of the full length of the vivid green skin curled on the ground. Draco stayed close to his side, looking a little nauseous.
"Whatever shed this must be at least feet long," Ron muttered.
Lockhart fainted.
Ron looked down at their teacher's prone form and snorted. "Heart of a lion this one," he said sarcastically.
Lockhart suddenly reached out and snatched Ron's hand away, jumping to his feet. "The journey ends here," he said smugly, pointing his wand at the four boys. "But, don't worry the world will know our story... How we were too late to save the girl-"
Harry, Draco and Blaise all shouted different spells at the same time, filling the tunnel with sound and light. The wand flew out of Lockhart's hand, as he was thrown backwards. He hit the wall with a harsh thud before landing on the ground. The impact seemed to unsettle the structure of the tunnel, making an alarming number of rocks fall and blocking off the tunnel. Draco and Harry were separated from Blaise, Ron and Lockhart.
"Harry?" Draco cried out, panicked. It was difficult to see through all the dust from the tunnel collapsing.
"I'm okay," Harry said, coughing. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," Draco responded, his voice shaking. "Blaise? Weasley?" he called out anxiously.
"We're fine," Blaise called back. "But, we're blocked in."
"Draco and I will go on ahead and find Ginny," Harry said. "You two try to shift through some of this rock. Don't let Lockhart get a wand. The teachers should be along soon."
"We'll catch up as soon as we can," Ron shouted.
Harry sighed and led the way further into the tunnel. Draco stayed close, cringing a little as bones crunched under his feet. After a few minutes of walking, they came across a solid wall with two entwined serpents on it. Their eyes glittered like emeralds.
Draco shivered as Harry used parseltongue again. The serpents parted as the wall cracked open. Draco bit his lip and reached out to grasp Harry's hand. Harry gave his fingers a little squeeze before leading them into the next room.
"They could all die in there," Ron gasped, frantically pulling at stones. They were making progress, but they had to be careful not to make more rocks fall.
"We can't think like that," Blaise panted, leaping to one side as the large rock he'd dislodged tumbled down. "It's best to believe that Harry and Draco are clever enough to survive until we get to them."
The sound of voices made them stop and look around. The slap of feet running on the wet cement was music to their ears. They were overjoyed as Professors McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick appeared. Vince and Greg were with them.
"Where are Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy?" McGonagall demanded, her face white with fear and anger.
"They went to get Ginny," Ron told her. "Part of the tunnel collapsed and we got separated. After Lockhart tried to obliviate all of us," he added, glaring at Lockhart.
In a flash, Snape had Lockhart shoved against a wall, pressing his wand into Lockhart's throat. Lockhart's eyes were wide and terrified as he struggled against Snape's grip.
"Severus!" Minerva snapped. "We'll punish him later. We've got to get to the boys."
Snape smirked wickedly and then used a body bind spell on Lockhart before letting him drop to the ground.
The students watched as their professors carefully cleared away the rocks. The tunnel was quickly checked to make sure it wouldn't collapse any further.
"Professor, we've got to hurry," Ron told McGonagall. "The monster... It's a basilisk."
The professors gasped in horror. "The voice Potter was hearing..." Snape said, realization dawning.
"Draco realized that it was a snake," Blaise confirmed. Blaise nodded toward the snake skin. He'd shoved it all into one corner so he and Ron wouldn't trip over it while shifting rock. "It's huge," he said.
"Stay here," Snape commanded the students. "We'll be back. The aurors should be along soon." Without another word, he took off down the tunnel with the other teachers. Flitwick was bringing up the rear since his diminuitive height made it harder for him to keep up, but he was surprisingly speedy as he scurried down the damp passageway.
"Do you think they're alright?" Greg asked quietly.
Blaise glanced at Ron, who was slumped against the wall. The red-head looked completely miserable and dangerously close to tears. Blaise shuffled closer to Ron and draped an arm across his shoulders. Together, they slid down the wall to sit on the floor. Vince and Greg moved to sit on the other side of Ron.
The show of solidarity was enough to break Ron's remaining grip on his emotions. He buried his face in his hands and wept.
Draco watched in horrified awe as Harry shoved the sword of Gryffindor through the roof of the gigantic snakes mouth. One of the fangs pierced Harry's arm and he yanked himself backward, pulling the sword free. The basilisk let out a horrible shriek before falling to the ground.
Draco slid out of the wide crevice that Harry had shoved him into at the last moment. Harry climbed down from the ledge he'd positioned himself on and his knees buckled. Draco hurried to help him up, casting a quick glance at the dead snake. Together, the hobbled back to Ginny.
Harry dropped the sword to the ground with a clatter, his face pale as he pulled the dang out of his arm. The Tom Riddle he'd seen in the diary's memory stood before them, looking a little put out that his snake was dead, but still confident in his victory. This was Voldemort as a teenager.
"I'd guess you have little more than a minute to live," Riddle said coldly. "Basilisk venom penetrates the body rather quickly. You'll be with your mudblood mother soon."
Draco swallowed hard, his mind racing. They couldn't let Riddle win. They couldn't let Voldemort return. Harry couldn't die.
His eyes fell on the diary and his gaze hardened. Draco snatched up the basilisk fang and plunged it into the diary with as much force as he could muster. Ink spurted from the diary and there was a piercing scream. Riddle twisted and screeched with agony before disappearing.
The basilisk venom had burned a home through the middle of the book.
Ginny gasped and sat up as Draco dropped the fang and reached for Harry, his eyes filling with tears. Harry looked awful.
"Ginny, you're alright," Harry murmured weakly
"Harry," Ginny said, eyes wide and fearful. "It was me, but I swear I didn't mean to."
"It's alright," Harry assured her, barely able to keep his head up. "You and Draco need to follow the tunnel out."
"I'm not leaving you here," Draco retorted, his voice breaking.
The sound of wings alerted them to Fawkes' approach. Dumbledore's phoenix landed next to Harry and leaned close to peer at Harry's wound. Fawkes rested his head on Harry's arm and began to cry big pearly tears that dripped down the crimson feathers and into the wound.
"Phoenix tears," Draco said in a choked voice. "They have healing powers."
Sure enough, the wound was closing and color was returning to Harry's face. "Thanks," Harry told the bird, stroking the feathers lightly. Fawkes bobbed his head once, looking rather pleased with himself.
"Harry!"
McGonagall was running toward then with the other professors close behind. She gathered Harry into her arms, tears of relief streaming down her face. She pulled back to look him over anxiously, her eyes widening at the blood on his arm.
"That's from a basilisk fang," Draco told her shakily. "Fawkes healed him."
"We'll have Poppy check you over just in case," McGonagall said before turning to Ginny. "Are you alright Miss Weasley?"
Ginny burst into tears. "I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone."
"It's really not her fault," Draco said, pulling an exhausted Harry into his arms. "We can tell you everything, but maybe we should get out of here first."
The professors agreed and helped the students back through the tunnels. Ron was quickly reunited with his sister and everyone was taken to the hospital wing to be evaluated.
It was there that Draco explained what had happened in the Chamber. They'd found Ginny, barely alive and Tom Riddle had appeared only to reveal himself as Voldemort. He'd been controlling Ginny through the diary.
Riddle had called for the basilisk, but Fawkes appeared and clawed out the snakes eyes, blinding it. But, the snake used its keen sense of hearing to persue Draco and Harry through the tunnels. Fawkes returned a second time to drop the sorting hat in Harry's arms. Harry pulled the sword of Gryffindor out of the hat and pushed Draco into a large crack in the wall, out of the snake's reach.
"He stabbed the basilisk, but one of the fangs went into his arm," Draco explained, his hand holding Harry's as Harry slept in the hosital bed. "I took the fang and stabbed the diary, and that destroyed Riddle. The girl Weasley woke up as soon as Riddle was gone."
"Ginny's not in trouble is she?" Ron asked anxiously.
"Of course not," McGonagall replied, still looking rather shaken. "We can talk more later, but I think that you all need to rest for now. You two as well," she told Vince and Greg. "You've all had a very trying day."
Draco allowed himself to be coaxed onto a bed. He accepted the potion that Madam Pomfrey gave him without question and settled himself down to sleep.
The next morning, Harry woke to find that Dumbledore had returned. He was sitting next to the bed, smiling benignly. "I'm glad you're back," Harry said lightly.
"As am I," Dumbledore replied. "I wanted to thank you. You must have shown true loyalty to me down in the Chamber. Only that would have called Fawkes to you."
"You're like family," Harry said. "You'll always have my loyalty. Voldemort isn't half the wizard you are."
Dumbledore smiled, squeezing Harry's hand affectionately. "You're so remarkably brave," Dumbledore noted.
"I had Draco with me," Harry responded.
"And you make a great team," Dumbledore acknowledged with a smile. He turned his head and nodded in greeting to Draco when he saw the blond was awake.
"Sir," Draco said hesitantly. "Have you found out who started all this?"
Dumbledore sighed softly. "I'm afraid I cannot say for sure," he answered.
"Do you still have the diary?" Draco asked, his throat dry.
Dumbledore pulled the damaged book our of one pocket and handed it to Draco. Draco held it in both hands for a moment, biting his lip. "Dobby!" he called out.
The house elf appeared with a pop. He stood on the bed, near the bottom, and bowed deeply. "Yes young Master Malfoy?" he asked tremulously.
Draco held out the book. "Do you recognize this?" he asked the elf. Dobby's eyes watered and he trembled. "I won't tell my father and I won't punish you," Draco said impatiently. "This is important. I have to know. Was this in my father's possession before?"
Dobby gave a tiny nod. Draco sank back against his pillows, his heart sinking.
"How did Ginny get it?" Harry asked quietly.
"My father and Mr. Weasley fought in Diagon Alley," Draco explained. "Father was mocking their... lack of money and secondhand books. I remember his pulling a ratty old book out of the girl Weasley's cauldron and then tossing it back in a moment later. I think the diary was slipped in as well."
Draco dropped the diary and closed his eyes tightly. His own father had set all this in motion. The Dark Lord had nearly been set loose in Hogwarts.
Draco had wanted to believe the best of his father. But the truth was, he was willing to let children sure to further Voldemort's agenda. Draco just couldn't accept his father's teachings and longer. He wasn't sure how he could look his father in the eye and longer.
Draco jumped when he felt hands on his shoulders. He opened his eyes to find that Harry had gotten out of his bed to sit with Draco. Draco sobbed suddenly as Harry hugged him close.
"I'm so sorry Draco," Harry said sadly. "I'm here for you. No matter what. I know you don't think like your father."
"What am I supposed to do now?" Draco sniffled, heartbroken. "I'm expected to believe certain things. I have to behave a certain way. I'm expected to fall in line if You Know Who returns."
"You act," Harry said firmly. "Pretend to be what he wants you to be."
"And if the time comes that you need to be protected from Voldemort," Dumbledore added gravely, "we're here to help. We would keep you safe. For now, you are safe. And your father does love you."
Draco sighed, resting his head on Harry's shoulder. For a moment, he focused on the warmth and happiness that resting against Harry offered. Draco was sure that he was blushing and was rather glad that Blaise wasn't in sight.
Finally, he lifted his head and looked back at Dobby. He thought for a moment, looking the elf over. "Would you like me to set you free?" Draco asked.
Dobby blinked in surprise. "Dobby would love to be a free elf," he answered reverently.
"Where would you go?" Harry asked.
Dobby pondered this a moment. "You could seek employment at Hogwarts," Dumbledore suggested. "Or maybe you could stay with Harry, Remus and Minerva."
"Dobby would love to work for Harry Potter," Dobby said excitedly.
"And you could still see Draco," Harry added with a smile.
Dobby nodded. "Dobby would like that very much," he said.
Draco nodded and reached down and pulled off one of his socks. He offered it to Dobby, smiling slightly as the elf accepted it eagerly.
"Thank you Draco Malfoy," Dobby said, cradling the sock to his chest like an infant. "Dobby is grateful."
"I will discuss your employment with the appropriate parties and I will call for you," Dumbledore said cheerfully.
Dobby nodded excitedly and popped away.
The cure was soon made for those that had been petrified and the student body eagerly shared rumors about what had occurred. For Draco's safety and reputation, his involvement was concealed. The most accepted version of events was that Harry and marched into the chamber, had a sword fight with the basilisk and carried Ginny to safety like a damsel in distress. Harry detested this depiction of the entire mess, but refused to comment on any of it.
The students quickly decided that Harry wasn't the next Dark Lord and he went back to being reasonably well liked across all four houses. Of course, he knew very well who his most steadfast friends were. Vince and Greg were now happily included in their group. Ron seemed to accept them more readily and they no longer seemed to mistrust the red-head.
Draco was mostly quiet and thoughtful as the school year came to a close. He'd been so set on making his father proud, but now he knew that pleasing his father was likely to end in Harry's death. Draco wasn't going to let that happen. Even if Draco hadn't developed a massive crush, he would have never let something bad happen to Harry. But, this meant that Draco might one day be forced to oppose his father outright.
"Malfoy!" a voice called loudly, making Draco jump. He turned to glare at Ron. They were on the train returning home and Draco's mind had been preoccupied. Still, no reason to shout.
"Look, I know we don't like each other, and that's fine," Ron said calmly. "But... We're all like... A team," he decided. Hermione and Blaise nodded. "We'll be here for you. If you need help, let us know."
"This is about my family," Draco retorted. "My father is at fault for your sister being possessed and nearly killed by the Dark Lord. Harry nearly died. My father," he growled for emphasis.
"My father probably would have done the same," Vince admitted sullenly.
"Mine too," Greg agreed quietly.
"You're not your fathers," Harry said firmly. "You are your own person and you can make your own choices. And sometimes doing the right thing is really hard," he added, giving Draco's hand a squeeze.
"Exactly," Ron agreed. "But it doesn't mean that you're alone."
"This group is like a family," Blaise noted, looking around at their compartment. The seven students were crowded in together, unconcerned with needing to sit a little closer together than they normally would have. "When something happens, we're all there to deal with it together. I wish my real family was like this."
"There you go," Ron said, giving Blaise an approving nod. "This is our Hogwarts family. If you need us, we're here," he told Draco solemnly.
Draco drew in a shuddering breath. "Thank you Weasley," he said quietly. "I still think your hair is stupid."
"And I think your face is too pointy," Ron retorted, though he looked amused.
Blaise rolled his eyes. "So, we need to make plans to visit each other at least once this summer," he said, looking around at the others.
Harry transormed and curled up in his seat, content to listen to his friends' plotting. His fluffy tail curled around his body and he started purring.
"Come here Orion," Draco said finally, patting his leg. Orion meowed and climbed into Draco's lap. Draco lifted the cat and hugged it to his chest gently. "We'll be okay," he murmured into the warm black fur.
Orion resumed his purring, comforting Draco as well as he could as they drew nearer to Kings Cross Station.
