I'm alive. I know it's been quite a while, but this story has not been abandoned. The holidays were crazy busy and then I got really sick on top of my weird chronic issues. And in the midst of that, motivation and inspiration got away from me. Kinda happens when you feel like crap all the time. But, I'm feeling better and the creativity is flowing. I'm not especially fond of this chapter, but I had to get it out of the way so I could move forward. The next update won't take so long. Thank you for being so patient with me. And if you were not so patient, thank you for not hunting me down like a psychopath.
Professor Slughorn was rather fond of Harry.
It made Harry really uncomfortable.
Slughorn cheerfully greeted Harry like an old friend whenever their paths crossed. In class, he offered delighted praise over Harry's potion making. He wasn't nearly as enthusiastic with the other students, despite the fact that Draco and Hermione's potions were just as good, if not better. Hermione was a little put out about it, but Draco shrugged it off. Honestly, he couldn't be angry when Harry looked so adorably flustered by the attention.
As much as Harry wanted to avoid the potions professor, he knew that he needed to endure it. Slughorn had a memory of Tom Riddle as a teenager that Harry really needed. The memory that the man had given to Dumbledore had been tampered with, though poorly done, obscuring the information that Harry needed about Horcruxes. So, no matter how much Harry wanted to avoid it, he needed to court Slughorn's favor.
"Did you get invited to join the 'Slug Club'?" Draco asked Hermione, wrinkling his nose at the ridiculous name.
They were setting their books down on a table in the library, hoping to finish their homework before dinner. It had been a long and very busy day and they were eager to be finished with it.
Hermione paused, looking perplexed momentarily before she nodded absently. "Oh yes, of course," she said, reaching into her school bag. "I shoved the invitation in here... somewhere."
Harry smiled slightly, sitting down next to Draco and tucking his own invitation into his potions book. "It might not be so bad," he suggested, though he looked doubtful. "It's just tea."
"The formal invitations alone make the whole thing ridiculous," Blaise snorted, dropping into a chair next to Hermione.
"Exactly," Draco agreed with a chuckle. "But, it'll give us something to laugh at."
"Because weird, pretentious tea parties are hilarious," Harry grumbled, earning an amused smirk from Draco.
Before long, Ron joined them, reluctantly taking out his own homework. His friends had turned him into a decent student, but he wasn't happy about it. The professors certainly appreciated it though.
They worked silently for a while, steadily finishing their arithmancy homework. Harry was quite enjoying the class despite Ron's teasing. Harry was learning so much and the hard work was worth it.
The threat of war that stretched out before them filled Harry with cold dread. He wanted to soak up every bit of knowledge that he could. There was too much at stake and there were a lot of people depending on him.
Harry scowled as someone shoved past their table, roughly knocking against Draco's chair. Harry turned in his seat to face Theo Nott and two other Slytherins, Tolbert and Corentin Fawley. Tolbert was a sixth year and Corentin was a fourth year. At that moment, Tolbert was smirking, his dark, cold eyes on Draco. Corentin was frowning at his brother and shifting away slightly.
"Problem Potter?" Tolbert asked with a sneer.
"Yeah," Ron cut in before Harry could respond. "You've got the face of a troll and it's going to ruin our appetites. So, move along."
Blaise wheezed into his textbook, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. Hermione rolled her eyes.
Tolbert took a step closer, only to be stopped when his younger brother grasped his arm. "You'll get us all into trouble," the younger muttered.
"Don't be such a baby, Corey," Tolbert sneered, jerking his arm away.
"Let's go," Theo said sharply, turning away and leading the way out of the library. The two brothers followed, the younger glancing back and offering a little wave.
"Idiots," Ron grumbled, shading his head.
"Yes, and antagonizing them was a brilliant idea," Draco said sarcastically.
"Please," Ron scoffed. "You and I both know that you and Harry could annihilate them wandlessly without breaking a sweat."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Harry cut in before Draco's expression could turn smug. "We aren't here to show off. We can't allow our abilities to become common knowledge."
"You also can't allow yourselves to be bullied," Ron retorted. "What would that say about you to those that look up to you. Your pups would be crushed."
Harry sighed. "It's awful to try using the pups against us," he huffed at the red head.
"And you can stand up for yourself without stooping to name calling," Hermione added, giving Ron a disapproving look.
"I did no such thing," Ron argued with dignified little sniff. "I was merely making an observation about his ugly troll face." He grinned when Draco and Blaise muffled their laughter with their textbooks.
Slughorn's little gathering was, perhaps, not as bad as it could have been. But Draco was petty enough to make sure that his friends know how put-upon he felt. They mostly rolled their eyes and ignored his complaints. It hardly mattered though. Draco allowed himself to be appeased by Harry's sympathetic response. The true nature of their relationship was a secret to most of Hogwarts, but Harry was delighted to spoil Draco in the midst of their trusted friends.
So, Draco played nice by attending the gathering and charming the pants off of Slughorn. Figuratively speaking, of course. Harry appreciated his efforts. Harry was far too uncomfortable with the man to put so much effort into cultivating good will. As it was, Slughorn seemed willing enough to associate all of Draco's flattery with Harry as well.
It was tempting to immediately ask Slughorn about his memories of Tom Riddle. It would certainly be preferable to continuing this game of flattery. However, it seemed reasonable to court the man's favor a bit longer. It seemed clear that Slughorn was surely ashamed of what the memory contained if he'd bothered to attempt fooling Dumbledore with an altered memory.
"You were great," Harry praised once they returned to their dorm that evening. "I really appreciate your help. You know I'm not good at all that."
"I suppose the night wasn't a total loss," Draco sighed, tossing his robes aside and loosening his tie. "Slughorn seems especially fond of us. And I'm always glad to help you," he said, draping his arms over Harry's shoulders with a smile. He pressed a kiss to Harry's lips sweetly.
"You're the best," Harry murmured, guiding Draco to his bed. He tugged the shoes off of Draco's feet and before them in his lap. Harry gave Draco's feet a firm squeeze, massaging carefully. He smiled when Draco relaxed completely, laying back on the bed.
For several moments, the pair was silent. Harry's gentle hands steadily drained the tension from Draco's body. Harry bit his lip, glancing at Draco. "I think-" Harry cut himself off, swallowing hard. "I think we should stop hiding our relationship."
Draco sat up, pulling his feet away from Harry's lap carefully. "Where's this coming from?" he asked.
"I've been thinking about since last term," Harry admitted. "When you mentioned feeling like my dirty little secret."
"Harry-"
"And it's not fair to either of us," Harry continued hastily. He caught Draco's hand in a gentle squeeze. "I love you and I don't care what anyone else thinks about it."
"We can't," Draco said quietly. "Harry, you know how dangerous that could be. It's bad enough that I'm seen as a traitor. Being labeled as gay and the boyfriend of Harry Potter would only make things worse for both of us."
"I'm not afraid," Harry insisted.
"But I am," Draco responded, looking away. "This is hard enough. It's easier this way." His breath hitched a little when he looked back to see the hurt on Harry's face. He crawled over to sit in Harry's lap, straddling his thighs. "Please don't be mad," he murmured, nuzzling into Harry's dark hair.
"I'm not mad," Harry muttered, realizing he sounded a bit petulant. At Draco's disbelieving look, he sighed heavily. "I'm just tired of hiding. Why do we even bother with this?" he huffed.
"Don't say things like that," Draco snapped, instantly removing himself from Harry's lap. He scowled as he stood in front of Harry, his arms folded over his chest in irritation. "Unless you just don't want to be with me. Our relationship is difficult, so you could always just find someone else," he added sharply.
"No!" Harry yelped, visibly shaken by the suggestion. "No, Draco. I-" He looked down at his hands, unable to continue. He and Draco argued sometimes, but they'd neither had ever hinted at a break up before. It made Harry feel sick.
"It's fine Harry," Draco sighed, looking away guiltily. "I shouldn't have said that." He glanced at Harry, feeling bad for upsetting him.
Harry stood up slowly, unable to meet Draco's gaze. "I'm going to go shower," he murmured, pressing a light kiss to Draco's cheek before grabbing his toiletries and bed clothes. He slipped out of the room without another word.
Draco changed into bed clothes and sat down on his own bed. He curled up on his side as Blaise, Vince and Greg walked in. Blaise gave Draco a searching look, taking a seat on the edge of the blond's bed. "Harry looked a little off," he mentioned. "Want to tell me what's going on?"
Draco explained the conversation that they'd had, reluctantly including his own careless words. Luckily, Blaise didn't seem inclined to be judgmental about it. Instead, Blaise nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure it's pretty stressful," he allowed while Vince and Greg nodded their agreement. "But, you can't keep it a secret forever. That's no way to live."
"You think I don't know that?" Draco hissed irritably. "But, coming out will only make it harder. Everyone will look at us differently. And I'm already a target for most of the Slytherins."
"So how long do you plan to wait?" Blaise asked. "Until the war is over? That could take a long time."
"I'm just- I can't-" Draco struggled to articulate how he felt, failing miserably. "I'm not discussing this," he finally declared, rolling to face away from his friends.
Blaise shook his head and didn't push any further. His concern grew when Harry returned from his shower, looking clean but dejected. As much as Blaise wanted to ask a hundred questions, he settled for offering Harry a reassuring smile and not saying a word.
The next morning, Blaise rounded on Harry the moment Draco left to shower. Harry, however, seemed reluctant to discuss the argument from the night before. Not to be deterred, Blaise stubbornly moved to stand in front of Harry.
Harry glared at Blaise, but set aside his bag to grudgingly focus on his friend. "What Blaise?" Harry asked flatly.
"Draco is scared," Blaise said firmly. "That's all it is. It's a tense situation with the Slytherins and there's the thing with his dad... He's probably terrified that something will risk damage your relationship. Of course, he'll damage it himself if he's not careful," he added.
"I know," Harry nodded, looking weary and tense. "I just want-" He cut himself off with a shake off his head.
"Maybe Draco just needs the right motivation to move beyond his fears," Blaise suggested.
Harry bit his lip. "I was thinking that myself," he admitted. "But it seems a little manipulative."
"Ah, then we're on the same page," Blaise responded with a grin. "Let's just behave like the Slytherins we are to solve this problem. Honestly, Draco would probably be proud of us."
"This will be good," Vince muttered, turning to listen to the discussion with a smirk. Greg just grinned in response.
Draco frowned, his eyes narrowing as he watched some seventh year Gryffindor chat with Harry. The older boy had approached Harry in the library and had seemed keen to talk. Harry was polite, smiling easily and looking relatively comfortable with the conversation. Draco struggled to avoid grinding his teeth when the other young man laughed at something Harry said.
Blaise glanced at Draco with a knowing smirk. This was the second student, outside of their usual friends, in the last week that had approached Harry for an overly friendly and slightly flirtatious conversation. The last one had been a sixth year girl from Ravenclaw. Harry tactfully brushed the flirtations aside, but it still made Draco want to throw something. Blaise was quite enjoying the whole thing.
"Hey Draco."
Draco flinched, turning to look at the girl that had approached the table while he'd been distracted. The badge on her robes proclaimed her to be a Hufflepuff, and she was only slightly familiar. "Hello," Draco said hesitantly. "I'm sorry, I don't-"
"I'm Genevieve," she supplied promptly, ducking her head shyly and glancing up at him from beneath dark eye lashes.
Draco nodded slowly. "Alright," he said cautiously. "Did you need something?"
"Er- No," she answered, blushing. "I just wanted to say hi. You- You seem nice. I know you're Harry's best friend and that you're friends with Ron and Hermione."
"I'm Blaise, if you care to know that," Blaise put in, his voice amused as he propped his chin up in one hand. He gestured between himself and Draco. "We're friends too."
"Hello," Genevieve greeted sheepishly, blushing even more when Blaise winked at her. "Well, I should go... I'll see you around." She hurried away, and returned to her friends that had apparently been waiting near the library door. The girls looked back at Draco and Blaise before giggling and leaving.
"Sweet Salazar," Draco groaned. "That was painfully awkward."
"At least she was pretty," Blaise noted with a little shrug.
"As if I care about that," Draco sneered quietly. He glanced back toward Harry and ended up setting fire to his quill when he saw the friendly Gryffindor boy reach out and touch Harry's arm.
Harry hastily side-stepped the other boy with a quick farewell before returning to the table he'd been sharing with Blaise and Draco. "Draco, what the hell?" he asked, his eyes wide.
Draco had already extinguished the flaming quill, but he looked horrified. "I'm- I'm not having a good day," he murmured with a little sigh. He shot a dirty look at Blaise for snorting in amusement. "What did that bloke want?"
"Just to talk," Harry responded with a little shrug, but he was betrayed by the faint blush on his cheeks. "And he may have wanted to know if I'd be interested in going with him on the next Hogsmead trip," he admitted.
Draco scowled. "How nice," he sneered.
Harry gave him an impatient look before moving to help Draco pack his things. "Come on. Let's just go to dinner," he said, stubbornly avoiding Blaise's gaze.
It was fortunate that they had a meeting with the Wolf Pack scheduled after dinner. Draco couldn't wait to be away from all the flirting. He hadn't put much thought into it before, but he was suddenly painfully aware of the number of couples around the school. It was to be expected in a castle full of hormonal teenagers, but it had been so easy to disregard in the past.
The exception had been fourth year, when Draco had wanted to strangle everyone who so much as looked at Harry. In the end, it had been Draco on Harry's arm at the Yule Ball. But his triumph over all the simpering girls was dampened by the fact that everyone thought that they'd attended the ball together simply as a deterrent to overzealous Potter fans. The thought was mildly depressing.
These morose thoughts were cut off by the loud shuffling of several pairs of feet and a delighted squeal. Draco blinked and then grinned as the smallest pup jumped right into his arms. The petite Gryffindor, tilted her head back to peek up at Draco's face. "I got ten points from Professor Flitwick," she announced, her sweet voice high with excitement.
"Well done Lexie," Draco praised, carefully setting her on her feet and patting down her long dark hair. He looked around at the five other pups with a fond smile as he urged them further into the room of requirement. "Did everyone have a great day?" he asked.
The pups chattered happily, eager to impress. Draco patiently indulged them, praising them or offering encouragement as needed. When a few of the wolves that had moved on from pup status approached, Draco was glad to offer a hug.
"Alright you lot," Ron called out, getting everyone's attention. "We have a lot to get done and Alpha Centauri can't cuddle pups all evening. No pouting Devin," he added playfully, pointing at a second year Hufflepuff that had his bottom lip poked out in an exaggerated pout.
"Alright my darlings," Draco sighed quietly. "Time to get to work. You're training with Vince today. Can you behave for him?"
"Yes Alpha Centauri," the youngsters chorused. They smiled at Vince when he approached, allowing the large beta to herd them to a safe corner of the room.
Satisfied, Draco turned his attention back to the others. He was pleased to note that Harry's eyes were focused on him, intent and affectionate. "Shall we begin?" Draco asked.
Harry grinned and started the training session. The wolves worked hard and had become quite adept at cooperative spell work. Sometimes they were set up to duel in teams of three or four. It had been chaotic at first, but they were starting to support each other and look after their team members.
Harry put a lot of emphasis on technique, correcting stances and adjusting wand movements. The older students helped the younger ones to learn more difficult spells. Everyone seemed to be improving steadily.
As the evening grew later, the pups were sent to bed and most of the wolves left as well to start patrolling, leaving the inner circle behind. Harry nodded to them and they looked around, spotting Hermione at a little table along one wall. She was frowning down at a sheet of parchment as she scribbled notes onto it with a quill.
"What are you doing?" Blaise called over to her, stretching languidly. "I know you finished your homework already."
Hermione set her quill down and looked over at her friends pensively. "I've been thinking," she murmured, still frowning slightly. "At some point, the horcruxes will have to be located and destroyed."
"Obviously," Ron responded with a little shrug.
"What if Dumbledore can't find them all?" she asked.
For a moment, nobody spoke. Then Draco sighed softly. "The headmaster is already preparing for his own death in a way," he noted, giving Harry a sympathetic look. "That's why he told you about the Elder wand."
"But, even if Dumbledore gets through the war unscathed, there's a chance that we'll be pulled in far sooner than we'd like," Hermione went on.
"Speak for yourself. I can't wait to fight against lunatic death eaters," Ron said sarcastically.
"Come on, you know what she means," Blaise chided, rolling his eyes.
"The fact is," Hermione pressed on, pointedly ignoring Ron, "we may find ourselves on the run before long. If Voldemort takes the ministry, we won't be safe here."
"We know," Draco said impatiently. "What are you getting at?"
"We need more specific training to survive," Hermione said. "It won't be safe to stay home and we'll have a lot of work to do. We'll each need a specialty or task that we perform for the group. That's more practical than all of us trying to learn everything."
"You'll need one of you to be a decent enough healer," Neville put in helpfully.
"And you need a strategist," Pansy added.
Harry nodded slowly. "So each of us develop a special skill in addition to our fighting abilities," he summarized.
"Exactly," Hermione agreed with a prim little nod. "And I think a similar tactic is appropriate for the rest of the pack. I want to think that Hogwarts will be safe, but if it's not..."
"We've got to be able to protect the school," Ginny said. Seamus and Dean nodded somberly.
"I'm actually wondering if we need an exit strategy," Hermione muttered. "If something happens, we need a safe place for people to go."
"Wait, we have young students in our care," Blaise reminded her. "We can't just whisk them away. They have families."
"We'll deal with that if it comes up," Harry said firmly. "If one of our wolves needs a safe place to go, we'll take care of it."
Draco pressed one hand to his stomach lightly. "Just thinking of the necessity of such a precaution-" He cut himself off with a little shudder. "I hate the idea that we might not be here to protect our pups. That we're thinking of removing them from Hogwarts to hide them away... It's awful."
Harry pulled Draco in from behind to cradle the blond against his chest. "It'll be alright," he murmured. "We're just being extra cautious right now."
Draco turned and pressed his face against Harry's neck. He relaxed, grateful to cuddle against Harry for the moment. It was especially pleasant after all the feelings of jealousy that had been plaguing him. Draco just needed to focus on their training and not worry about the fruitless flirtations of other people. He and Harry were soulmates, and that wasn't going to change.
