AN: It's been a few days, but I'm back with a new chapter. The next one should be ready to post this weekend. The next few chapters are going to have some big changes from canon. I think you'll all be surprised with what I've done with it. For now, enjoy the puppy love.
"Soul mates," Blaise laughed, shaking his head. "Well, I'm very happy for you. I should have know that something completely ridiculous was going on." His smile fell. "Draco gave us quite a scare."
Harry nodded solemnly, hating that Draco had been in so much pain and then suffered through a seizure. Hopefully such traumatizing events were behind them.
They were sitting in a compartment of the Howarts Express with Vince and Greg. Draco, Ron and Hermione had all been made prefects and so they were meeting with the other prefects before patrolling the train. Harry would have liked to sit with Draco curled up next to him, but he'd have to wait until they got to their dorms later.
Harry had been made the Slytherin Quidditch Captain. He was looking forward to getting the team together for practice. It would be nice to do something normal for once.
Draco stepped into the compartment and offered Harry a sweet smile. He steadied himself against the rattling sway of the train car by pressing one hand against the door frame."I can't stay," he said apologetically. "I just wanted to see you."
Vince and Greg exchanged a look before getting up moving to stand in front of the door, preventing anyone from seeing inside. Delighted, Draco stepped closer to Harry for a quick kiss. "I don't like missing this time with you," he complained, gently brushing the tip of his nose against Harry's cheekbone.
"We'll have the whole school year, like always," Harry reminded him. "Only this time, I can snog you when nobody is looking."
Draco giggled, kissing Harry once more before sliding past Vince and Greg and continuing down the aisle. Blaise watched him go, his eyebrows raised. "That was weird," Blaise noted.
"What?" Harry asked, relaxing in his seat again.
"Draco, was..." Blaise shook his head. "He was sweet. Like, really sweet. I didn't realize he was so affectionate. I never thought he'd be such a sap."
"Well, it's a new relationship," Harry said, smiling fondly. "And, we're both really happy."
"That's great Harry," Vince offered.
"Maybe Draco will be less grumpy when he helps with our homework," Greg suggested hopefully.
"It's still Draco," Blaise snorted, rolling his eyes.
Harry grinned. "Did I miss anything interesting last term?" he asked.
For a moment, the other three Slytherins considered this. Then Vince said "Hermione caught Rita Skeeter with a glass jar."
Harry looked baffled. "Is that a metaphor-"
"No, that's what happened," Blaise laughed. "Skeeter was a beetle at the time. She's an unregistered animagus. Pansy and Hermione figured it out."
"Wow. So, where is Skeeter now?"
"She's still in the damn jar," Blaise cackled. "Hermione's teaching her a lesson. Don't you worry, there are air holes in the jar," he added, waving away Harry look of mild concern.
"That is... hilarious," Harry admitted, grinning. He paused looking out the train window for a moment. He wasn't sure he wanted to ask his next question, but he really needed to know. "Will you tell me how Draco was after I left?"
Blaise's smile fell. "It was pretty awful," Blaise said uncomfortably. "When he got back from the hospital wing, he told me what happened... He looked completely devastated. After that, he wouldn't talk to me anymore. He didn't speak to anyone. Except for McGonagall. He met with her a few times." He shifted in his seat, stretching his long legs. "He did a lot of crying. He also seemed to be in pain but, he wouldn't speak. He walked with me. Ate with me... sort of. He seems like a totally different person now."
"I feel horrible about it," Harry said sadly.
"Hey, it's over now," Blaise said, reaching out to pat Harry's knee. "You apologized and now he's disgustingly happy. That's the part that matters. Just don't do it again," he said, clear warning in his tone. "Don't leave him behind. Don't push him away. You hold on to Draco and let both of you be happy. You both deserve that chance. No matter what the future holds."
Harry smiled. "Thanks," he murmured.
When the train stopped, Harry eagerly followed his friends out. Draco was at his side in a flash, brushing one finger over Harry's wrist as they boarded the carriages that would take them to the castle.
When they got to their tables in the Great Hall, Harry looked up at the Head table. He had been so preoccupied thinking about horcruxes, occlumency and his adorable soul mate that he hadn't thought to ask about the next Defense professor. He did notice that Professor Grubbly-Plank was seated at the table. She'd taken over Care of Magical Creatures once or twice in the past when Hagrid couldn't be there. Harry wondered where Hagrid was.
Draco made a sound of displeasure. "What's that pink thing?" he asked, looking toward the teachers with narrowed eyes.
Blaise huffed a laugh. "That's a lady," he murmured with a smirk, careful to keep his voice down. "I know you're gay, but surely you recognize what women look like."
Draco wrinkled his nose. "She looks like a toad," he decided. "And she's wearing far too much pink. It hurts my eyes."
Harry hummed, cocking his head to one side. "She does sort of look like a toad." A seventh year nearby choked on a laugh.
Once the new first years were sorted, Dumbledore stood to make his welcome speech. Unfortunately, the pink toad woman made a little coughing sound before moving to stand in front of all the students. For a moment, Dumbledore looked shocked by the interruption, and then he sat down and looked at her expectantly. McGonagall and Snape looked as if they'd very much like to hex the woman.
Harry listened with growing unease as the woman, Professor Delores Umbridge apparently, addressed the students. It seemed that she was from the Ministry of Magic and had specific ideas about how Hogwarts should be run.
"What's she on about?" Vince asked as Umbridge returned to her seat.
"The Ministry just stuck its ugly toad face into Hogwarts business," Draco sneered, his happy sweetness from earlier all but forgotten.
"The Ministry has never had a say in who taught here," Harry said, frowning. "There's no way Dumbledore hired... that," he nodded toward Umbridge.
"I heard that he couldn't find someone to take the position," Draco said quietly. "So the Ministry filled it."
"I don't see that working out in our favor," Blaise muttered, reaching for the nearest platter when the food appeared.
After dinner, Draco was obliged to help get the first years to the Slytherin common room. Harry took his time leaving the Great Hall, allowing the first years to file past him. When a few of them stopped to stare at him, he waved sheepishly.
"Hey Harry!" Neville called, slipping through the crowd and smiling when he reached Harry. "Hi Blaise."
"Hello Neville," Blaise greeted. "Did you have a nice summer?"
"Not bad," Neville shrugged. "Gran spent a lot of time complaining about my grades."
"You ought to join our study group," Blaise said. "We've all been doing really well in class."
"Maybe I will," Neville replied, looking pleased. "I'm really good with Herbology if anyone needs help with that."
"And that makes a specialtist for every class," Blaise noted with an approving nod. "We'd be glad to have you."
"Thanks," Neville said happily. He turned to Harry apprehensively. "I just wanted to see how you're doing Harry. I know last year was awful. Of course, it's none of my business and you can tell me to sod off," he rambled hastily.
"It's fine Neville," Harry muttered. "I appreciate your concern."
"I believe you," Neville said earnestly. "If you say you-know-who is back, he's back. I'm with you Harry."
Harry blinked in surprise. He couldn't think of what to say. He was grateful for the support and touched that Neville had gone out of his way to speak to Harry. He'd spent the summer spotting articles in the prophet that suggested that Harry and Dumbledore were either completely mental or outrageous liars. Draco had "accidentally" set the newspaper on fire when he spotted one of the articles. Sirius had thought it was hilarious.
"Thank you Neville," Blaise said, draping an arm across Harry's shoulders. "Harry's grateful, but a little overwhelmed."
"Thanks Neville," Harry said, offering Neville a smile. Neville nodded, sparing a little wave for Vince and Greg before hurrying away.
Blaise ushered Harry toward the dungeons, with Vincent and Greg following along. "Are you alright?" Blaise asked quietly.
"Just a bit... tense," Harry admitted reluctantly. "There's so much going on. I kept hoping to have a normal year, but I don't think it'll happen. I've gotten a few dirty looks today. Nobody wants to believe me."
"The people that matter most believe you," Blaise retorted. "You've got the Order of the Phoenix at your back and you've got us."
Draco met them in the common room, his eyes scanning Harry swiftly. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
"I'm alright," Harry responded. "Just glad to be back here."
They made their way toward their dorm, greeting familiar faces along the way. Pansy had run over to press a quick kiss to each boy's cheek with a request to hang out the next day.
Harry flopped gracelessly onto his bed with a sigh. Draco shook his head, reaching out to poke Harry's stomach. Harry squirmed and batted his hand away.
Draco sat down on the bed. "I've got a surprise for you," he informed Harry.
"What?" Harry asked curiously, turning his head to look at the blond.
"I'm in the process of becoming an animagus," Draco announced, smiling proudly.
Harry jerked upright. "That's brilliant!" he enthused. "How far have you gotten?"
"I drank the potion already," Draco replied. "Now I'm just waiting on a proper lightning storm."
"What?!" Harry cried incredulously. "What about the mandrake leaf? You have to keep it in your mouth for a month."
"Of course."
"How did you manage to hide that when you kiss Harry every chance you get?" Blaise asked, amused. "You'd think Harry would notice."
"I just had to keep his tongue out of my mouth," Draco retorted, smirking when Harry made a choking sound. "But I'm done with that now, so feel free to use your tongue Harry."
Harry wondered if his face could catch fire from the heat of his blush. Vince and Greg were wheezing and cackling. Blaise sighed dramatically, shaking his head at Draco.
Classes began the next day and Harry was glad for it. It was hard to go without using magic during the summer. He'd learned so many great new spells from Snape, and he was eager to learn more. If his magic had been changing to adapt to Draco's, Harry wanted to be certain that he still had complete control over it.
In Transfiguration, the fifth years were learning vanishing spells. Harry listened to McGonagall's instructions before focusing on the snail that sat on his desk. He pointed his wand and muttered the spell. Nothing happened. Frowning, Harry tried again.
"Very well done," McGonagall praised walking toward the desk. Harry's snail was nowhere to be seen.
Encouraged by Harry's progress, Draco did the spell again. His snail vanished too.
"You have remarkable control of your magic," McGonagall noted, smiling slightly at the two boys. "Each of you practice with another snail."
By the end of class, the only other student to vanish their snail was Hermione. Harry was pleased to be ahead of the class. It would allow him more time to work on other things.
Harry began to pay careful attention to his spell work. He could feel the flow of magic in his body. It seemed strange that he'd never noticed it before. Sure there was warmth in his fingers as it grasped his wand. But the faint caress of magic through his entire body was odd. It flared and surged as Harry cast spells. Even more interesting was the way the magic now seemed to hum gently when Harry and Draco were in close contact.
The first two days of class went by rather pleasantly, but Harry was dreading his first Defense class. But at least the Gryffindors and Slytherins would be together for it. They stepped into the Defense classroom and quickly took their seats.
"Wands away," Umbridge said in a high girlish voice. She flicked her wand to distribute a book to each student. Hermione immediately opened hers and began looking through it. "Now, your previous instruction in this subject has been very uneven. But, you will now benefit from a carefully structured, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic. Yes, dear?" she added when Hermione raised her hand.
"There is nothing in here about using defensive spells," Hermione said, frowning slightly.
"Using spells?" Umbridge asked, astonished. "I can't think of a reason you'd need to use spells in my classroom."
"We're not gonna use magic?" Ron asked incredulously.
Umbridge sighed. "You'll be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk free environment," she said, in a tone that was probably meant to be soothing. "The Ministry feels that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations. And that is what school is all about."
"Theory isn't useful in the real world," Harry argued. "How does that prepare us for what's out there?"
"There is nothing out there," Umbridge said lightly. "Who do you imagine would want to harm children such as yourselves?"
Draco flinched. He knew what was coming.
"Oh, I don't know," Harry replied sarcastically. "Maybe Lord Voldemort."
The class went silent and still, aside from Draco's quiet grown and Blaise's face palm.
Umbridge's eyes flashed in anger before she looked around and resumed her sickly sweet persona. "Let me make this quite plain," she said, her voice shaking only slightly. "You've heard reports that a certain dark wizard has returned. This is a lie."
"It's not a lie," Harry snapped. "I saw him. I fought him!"
"Detention, Mr. Potter," Umbridge snapped.
Harry opened his mouth but stopped when Draco grabbed his arm and shook his head minutely. Harry scowled but didn't speak again.
The remainder of class was spent reading from their textbook in silence.
"What were you thinking?" Hermione hissed once they'd left the classroom.
Harry glared at her. "She was calling me a liar," Harry growled.
"She's from the ministry," Hermione reminded him.
"Obviously," Harry snorted, folding his arms over his chest petulantly. "This class is completely useless if we can't learn to do these spells. This isn't the time to hinder our education."
Hermione sighed and nodded. "We have to be able to defend ourselves," Hermione muttered. "And pass our OWLs."
They walked down the hall together, considering their plight. "We don't have time to mess about with this," Blaise said. "I say we do it ourselves."
"What?" Vince asked.
Blaise looked around hastily, leaning in closer to his friends. "We learn defensive magic ourselves. Harry, you are the best with defense. I think you should teach us," Blaise said quietly.
"I'm not a teacher," Harry said, looking startled by the suggestion.
"We've got to learn mate," Ron said quietly. "We need to be ready to fight with you."
"And maybe we could invite some other students," Hermione suggested.
"What for?" Ron asked incredulously.
"If the worst should happen," Hermione said anxiously, "we can't leave them defenseless."
Harry sighed heavily. This was a lot of pressure. He really hadn't wanted that sort of attention.
"Look, say you'll lead the group and we'll handle the logistics," Blaise said, gesturing between himself and Hermione. "We'll find a safe place to work and identify which students would be safe to join."
"Right," Hermione agreed with a nod. "If the Ministry is going to interfere with our education, I don't think they'll stand for this."
Harry hesitated, biting his lip. "I'll be with you," Draco murmured. "Whatever you need."
"Alright," Harry said, his shoulders slumping in resignation.
Pleased with themselves, Blaise and Hermione continued down the hallway, whispering to each other.
That evening, Harry made his way to Professor Umbridge's office. He blinked in surprise when she ushered him inside. Her office was decorated in various shades of light pink. There were decorative plates mounted on the wall that had fuzzy kittens on them. Umbridge's desk was perfectly neat and tidy with a tea service set up on one side.
Harry sat down at the small desk that sat near the door and looked at the professor expectantly. She placed a sheet of parchment and a quill in front of him. The nib of the quill was alarmingly sharp.
"You'll be copying lines for me," Umbridge said sweetly. "I want you to write 'I must not tell lies,'"
"How many times?" he asked through angrily clenched teeth.
"As many as it takes for the message to sink in," Umbridge answered with a smile that made Harry's stomach turn.
"You haven't given me ink," Harry reminded her.
"You won't need it," she responded dismissively, sitting down at her own desk and pouring herself a cup of tea.
Harry scowled but picked up the quill without further comment. He began to write but paused at a sudden sharp pain in his left hand. He glanced at the top of his hand and gasped quietly. His hand was bleeding. The words that he'd written down had been carved into his skin. He looked at the paper and saw that the words were gleaming wetly in red. His own blood. Horrified, he swallowed hard and resumed writing.
Draco gasped and jerked his left hand away from his book and cradled it against his chest. "What the hell?" he breathed, wincing as the pain continued.
"What's wrong?" Blaise asked.
"My hand," Draco bit out. "It really hurts."
Luckily, the Slytherin common room was mostly empty. Most students had gone on to the dorm rooms. Draco, Blaise, Vince and Greg had stayed to wait for Harry. They'd all agreed the detention with Umbridge was likely to be a nightmare.
Blaise inspected Draco's hand, noting that Draco was still tensing with the pain. "It looks fine," Blaise said uncertainly.
"It feels like it's being cut open," Draco replied, whimpering as more pain lashed through his hand. "What is she doing to him?"
"You think this is from Umbridge doing something to Harry?" Blaise asked quietly. "Do we need to go get him?"
"We can't," Draco replied, his eyes watering. "That hag can't know about us. She'll question how we knew that Harry was hurt. He'll be alright for a little while." Draco hated it though. He couldn't stand the thought of Harry being in pain.
For an hour, Blaise, Vince and Greg tried to distract Draco from the pain and worry. Finally, the pain lessened to a burning sort of ache.
When Harry came in, Draco rushed toward him. He hugged Harry tightly before pulling back to gently grasp Harry's bleeding hand. "What did she do?" he asked sharply.
"It was the quill she had me use to copy lines," Harry said, wincing a little. "It was really sharp. When I wrote on the parchment, it used my blood and cut my hand open to do it."
"She used a blood quill?" Blaise asked incredulously. "That's just..." He floundered, searching for a word to describe how repulsive such a thing was.
"You felt it, didn't you?" Harry asked, eyeing Draco with concern.
"I did," Draco confirmed. "I was so worried."
"I'm sorry," Harry muttered. "I hate that you were in pain. I should have kept my mouth shut in her class."
"The only person to blame is Umbridge," Draco said firmly. "Now, come on. We'll get you cleaned up."
Harry sat down on his bed once they got to their room and Draco hurried into the bathroom. When Draco returned, he was holding a bowl full of warm water and a flannel. He got the flannel wet and sat down next to Harry.
Draco cradled Harry's left hand and carefully wiped away the blood. He froze when it was clean enough to see what was written there. "That bitch," Draco growled.
The other three crowded around the bed to look down at Harry's wounded hand. "Sweet Salazar," Blaise groaned. "That woman is evil."
"And she won't get away with this," Draco said, using a charm to summon a little jar. He opened it and dipped one finger inside to scoop out a bit of the salve. He carefully dabbed it over the wound before using another spell to conjure white bandages. He wrapped Harry's hand neatly, scowling darkly the whole time.
"What should we do?" Vince asked worriedly.
"I don't know yet, but I'll think of something," Draco said.
They all changed for bed but Draco moved to Harry's bed instead of his own. He stretched out comfortably on his back and coaxed Harry into snuggling against his side. Draco carefully held Harry's wounded hand against his chest, his fingers gently caressing Harry's.
Harry's chest felt oddly tight with emotion. He tilted his head back to offer a little smile. Draco responded by lowering his head to kiss Harry tenderly.
Blaise smiled slightly as he glanced at Harry and Draco. He got into his own bed and turned down the lights with a flick of his wand. In the morning, they would decide how to deal with Umbridge.
Minerva was furious. When Draco had informed her of what Harry's detention had been, she had demanded to see Harry's hand. The sight had only increased her rage. She was so angry that she completely ignored the fact that Draco had called Umbridge a toad faced harpy.
Naturally, Minerva had instantly confronted Umbridge. But, Umbridge seemed completely unfazed and had spouted off about not standing for disloyalty to the Ministry.
It seemed that Professor Umbridge could do as she saw fit for the time being. Within days she'd been named High Inquisitor and declared that she'd be inspecting the other teachers to ascertain if they were fit to hold their position at the school.
Draco refused to accept that there was nothing they could do. He had no intention of letting Umbridge get away with hurting Harry. When he presented the problem to Pansy in the library, she had a beautifully simplistic suggestion.
"You should tell your father," she said with a smirk.
"Why would my father care?" Draco scoffed.
"Well, make it sound as if you're afraid for your safety," Pansy responded with a little shrug. "Besides, it'll look good if he defends the students of Hogwarts. You know better than anyone how he is about appearances."
"That's actually a good idea," Draco mused.
"Your tone of surprise offends me."
"Thanks Pans," Draco said with a grin. He went back to the table they'd been using and tapped on the book Harry was reading. "We've got to meet with Snape," he said quietly.
"Right," Harry said, closing his book. He hastily packed up his things and picked up his bag. "I'll see you later," he told his other friends, before following Draco out.
They made their way to Snape's office, hurrying inside when he opened the door. "I trust that you've both stayed out of trouble," Snape drawled as he closed the door behind them.
"Yes sir," Harry said with a little nod.
"If her idea of punishment wasn't so heinous I'd say that I'd prefer for you to make her miserable," Snape admitted.
Draco grinned. "I plan to," he said simply.
Snape opened his mouth to object and then shook his head. "I don't want to know," he said. He quickly launched into an explanation of the difference between Occlumency and Legilimensy. Both boys listened carefully, knowing that this was going to be difficult.
It was a rather unpleasant experience. Both boys had a difficult time calming their thoughts and controlling their emotions as Snape repeatedly invaded their minds.
"Alright, take a moment to calm yourselves," Snape instructed. "You both have impressive control of your magic. See if you can control your mind the same way. Potter, if you can resist the Imperius curse, you can do this."
Draco turned to watch as Harry took in a calming breath. He remained perfectly still for a long moment before giving a slight nod. Draco bit his lip as Snape muttered "Legilimens."
Snape and Harry looked as if they were just staring creepily at each other. Draco hastily suppressed his urge to laugh at that thought.
Finally, Snape blinked and smirked. "Much better," he said with a nod.
"He did it?" Draco asked excitedly. "How?"
"I had to focus on my magic first," Harry explained, suddenly looking exhausted. "Then used my magic to protect my memories."
"Very effectively," Snape added ruefully, rubbing at his aching temples. "I think that's enough for today. We'll pick this up again tomorrow. Tonight, work on clearing your mind before you go to bed."
Harry and Draco nodded and thanked their professor as they stood up. They were both quite tired now.
Snape frowned to himself as he watched his students go. He was going to need to take a potion to relieve his pounding headache. He hadn't expected Harry's magic to slam down on his mental intrusion as it had. Perhaps this would be easier for the boys to learn than Snape had expected. It was as if Harry's magic had merely been awaiting a command.
If Snape had his way, Draco and Harry would be formidable indeed.
