Breakfast was only slightly awkward the next morning. Ron and Viktor were blissfully happy and content to ignore the teasing from their friends as they assisted with cooking and setting the table. They shared smiles and light touches that lingered.

Blaise observed their loving domesticity with a dull ache in his chest. He hoped that one day he could see them together without feeling such regret. Ron deserved to be happy. And Viktor was a decent enough bloke. Whatever had been marring their relationship had clearly been resolved. Blaise could be glad for them.

Sirius, Remus and Narcissa had returned to join them for breakfast. It was difficult to resist fawning over their children, but they managed fairly well. Of course, that didn't mean that they wouldn't express their discontent with the living situation.

"This bizarre, extended muggle camping trip is ridiculous," Narcissa said, picking up her teacup to take a dainty sip. "You have a headquarters. Use it."

Draco and Harry shared a hesitant look. "We thought it'd be safer," Harry admitted. "We've made ourselves a target. We couldn't risk putting anyone in danger."

"That place is a fortress," Sirius retorted. "Minerva made sure of that. Even if some Death Eaters managed to track you there, they'd been in for a hell of a fight."

Remus nodded his agreement. "And you'd always have easy access to the Order and the teams." He gazed at Harry hopefully. "Let us help you. This isn't a burden that you have to carry alone."

Harry sighed, feeling terribly guilty. He hadn't intended to worry his family. He'd hoped that taking on a more nomadic lifestyle would be safer for everyone. He turned to look at Draco.

Draco shrugged before shifting his gaze to Ron. "What do you think?" he asked.

Ron considered it, ignoring Viktor for the moment. He gave a slight nod. "Remote location and enough windows to make it unlikely for anyone to sneak up on us," he noted.

"And Professor McGonagall's wards are excellent," Hermione put in helpfully while Greg and Vince nodded their agreement.

"The twins added some security measures as well," Narcissa informed them. "I would certainly not want to try getting into your headquarters uninvited. Their... creativity is astounding. And unnerving."

Blaise snorted a laugh, shaking his head.

"Alright," Harry said with a little sigh. "We'll return to headquarters and plan all future missions from there. I just-" He met Remus' gaze apologetically. "I was just trying to keep our families safe."

"And we appreciate that pup," Sirius assured him, draping one arm across Remus' shoulders while offering Harry a smile. "I think we can all agree that being together is worth the risk." Narcissa nodded in agreement.

With that settled, they moved on to other business. Narcissa had a contact at Gringotts that could assist them in getting into the bank. The price, of course, was a priceless goblin-made artifact, but she had no qualms about handing it over in exchange for assisting her son and his love. She'd also contacted Snape to procure some polyjuice potion. To get into the Lestrange vault, someone would need to look like a Lestrange.

Harry was a little surprised when Draco volunteered to disguise himself as Bellatrix. Hermione had seemed like an obvious choice, being the only female in the inner circle, but nobody could deny Draco's flair for the dramatic. It helped that the blond was adept at putting on a haughty persona when the situation suited him. Perhaps it would be fun to pretend to be his deranged aunt. One thing was for certain- Harry wasn't touching Draco at all until that potion wore off.

In a bid to get their planned bank heist over with, Harry, Draco, Hermione and Blaise made their way to Gringotts. Ron, Vince and Greg weren't thrilled about being left behind, but it would be difficult to take so many into the vaults of the bank. Instead, the remaining three would enter the bank a short time later to help keep watch.

Draco played his part perfectly and a quick confundus charm from Hermione made the goblin at the desk skip over the need to do a wand verification. In very little time at all, another goblin, Griphook, was leading "Bellatrix" toward a cart along with Harry under the invisibility cloak and Hermione and Blaise who were cloaked with a clever invisibility spell.

The cart ride through the bank was insane. Ridiculous twists and turns left Harry's head spinning and his stomach churning. He kept his lips pressed tightly together and his eyes closed. As a result, he was caught off guard when icy water dumped over his head. He gasped in shock, but managed to keep his cloak in place. The fabric did little to keep out the chill through.

"Damn," Draco coughed, shaking the water out of his hair.

"Your disguise has worn off," came the gravelly voice of the goblin.

Draco glanced to the back of the cart to see that Blaise and Hermione were now visible and thoroughly soaked through. They hastily swiped water from their faces and looked around wildly, obviously unsettled.

"You are my mother's contact?" Draco asked, dragging his fingers through his dripping strands.

Griphook gave a terse nod as the cart slowed down with a rattling sort of metallic squeal. He glanced around the cavern cautiously. "It will be difficult to leave," he growled quietly.

As they began to climb out of the cart, Draco paused and turned to the goblin. "No matter what happens," Draco said earnestly, "know that I will make sure that you are compensated handsomely." The goblin paused and eyed Draco warily but gave a short nod of acceptance.

Blaise and Hermione exchanged an uneasy look but followed their Alphas toward the Lestrange vault. They watched as the goblin slowly dragged a clawed, knobby finger down the intricate vault door. The grinding sound of shifting metal was loud enough to make them all even more uneasy though the goblin seemed unbothered. The door opened with a groan.

Draco picked his way through piles of galleons on light feet, old trunks and various heirlooms while the others watched apprehensively from the doorway. There was no telling what sort of curses might protect the various objects in the vault. It was best to touch as little as possible. After a few tense minutes, Draco reached a platform with a sturdy wooden shelf. Nestled between between a petrified spider the size of a cocker spaniel and what appeared to be the skull of a troll, sat a golden goblet.

Draco reached in the leather bag on his belt and rummaged around until he pulled out a pair of dark brown gloves. He pulled them on hastily and flexed his fingers, admiring the perfect fit. He could feet the magic that Fred and George had woven into the fabric. He reached out and picked up the goblet before turning and carefully making his way back to the entrance.

Harry held out a bag for him to drop the goblet into. They all sighed in relief as the bag was quickly closed up. They'd destroy the horcrux once they were outside the bank.

Their relief was spoiled when a gruff voice shouted at them. They'd been spotted by some other goblins. Luckily, Griphook hadn't been spotted by the other goblins yet. Draco whirled around while yanking off the gloves. "Sorry. We'll be in touch," he whispered before throwing one hand out toward Griphook, his magic shooting out to knock the goblin out.

They ran, hoping to put a bit of distance between them and the goblins while they figured out how to get out. The pelted around a corner only to skid to a stop with gasps of horror. Just ahead, through a short wide tunnel, they could see a scaly, grayish white body. It was a large dragon with shackles on it's feet to keep it within the cavern. It roared in discontent and pulled against his chains restlessly.

"I always thought the stories about the dragon were just silly rumors," Blaise said, his dark eyes fixed on the massive creature.

"That's horrible," Hermione asserted. She really didn't want to move any closer, but the goblins would catch up soon. No doubt they were calling for reinforcements as well.

"Come on," Harry urged softly, jogging down the tunnel and pausing to get a better look at the dragon. It was obviously blind with it's strange, milky pink eyes. It's scales were broken or missing in a few places. It was obviously old and clearly had been mistreated.

Harry stilled for a moment, considering. He glanced behind them and then back toward the aged dragon. He swallowed hard and began to make his way forward, ignoring the hissed protests from Blaise and Hermione.

Draco's breath caught in his throat at the strange hissing that began to pour from Harry's mouth. He was speaking parseltongue to the dragon! And the dragon was quieting down, seemingly to listen to Harry.

"That's... weirdly sexy," Draco admitted quietly as Blaise and Hermione edged closer to him. Hermione let out a breathless giggle while Blaise chuckled.

They fell silent when the dragon lowered his head and Harry slowly shifted closer, his hand outstretched. There was another soft hiss from Harry and then his fingers against the massive snout as the dragon let out a low rumble.

Harry's heart filled with compassion as those big unseeing eyes slid closed. "So beautiful," he said praised in parseltongue. "You deserve so much better than the life you've known here."

"He's chatting with the dragon," Hermione said faintly.

"He's bloody petting the dragon like a puppy," Blaise blurted out shaking his head in amazement.

"He's amazing," Draco murmured, so proud of his boyfriend. Harry had managed to slide in closer and had taken to stroking the dragon's neck.

"We've got to keep moving," Blaise reminded them urgently. "Those goblins will come down this way any minute."

"So let's get going," Harry replied, his eyes never straying from the dragon. "This is our way out." Before his friends could protest, he hauled himself onto the dragon's back. The creature even crouched a little lower to make it easier.

Shouting voices drifted toward them, spurring Draco, Blaise and Hermione to hurry to the dragon's side. The climbed up and settled in behind Harry, hanging on to each other tightly. Hermione trembled in fear, though she calmed slightly when Harry cast a few spells to keep them stuck to the dragon's back more securely.

"Hold on," Harry instructed his friends before speaking to the dragon again. The dragon let out a roar as a group of goblins rushed into the cavern. Griphook could be spotted being supported by another goblin and rubbing a knot on his head.

Harry and Draco turned and blasted the chains apart, prompting the dragon to stretch out it's wings and begin flapping them. It took a lot of effort to lift its bulk from the cavern floor, but it managed. It belched fire at the goblins to send them skittering out of the way before soaring upward. It followed Harry's hissed directions, flying them out of the tunnels and caverns.

Outside the bank, Ron, Vince and Greg were huddled close together and shooting frequent glances at the doors to the bank. Since they'd obviously never robbed a bank, they had no idea how long was too long. How much time had to pass before it was appropriate for Ron to lose his mind with worry?

"That can't be good," Greg muttered, hearing shouting from inside the bank. A patrolling auror heard the commotion and rushed up the steps to the door to investigate.

In the next moment, there was a roar and the ground shook as if there had been an explosion inside Gringotts. Ron nearly choked as a albino dragon burst through the roof of the bank, filling the air with the sound of falling rubble and shattered glass. He could see their friends on the dragon's back.

"Merlin!" Vince exclaimed, clutching at his hair in a strange mix of amazement and panic.

"Let's get to headquarters," Ron said, grabbing the other two hastily. They apparated away with a loud crack.


Harry let out a shaky breath as the dragon crouched to allow them to dismount. The magnificent creature had flown all the way to headquarters and landed with more grace than you'd expect from something so large. Harry dropped to the grass and immediately pressed a kiss to the dragon's neck, hissing praises and gratitude. The dragon leaned into the touch with a rumbling groan.

Remus, Sirius and Narcissa came out of the house to meet them. Ron had alerted them to the situation, but they were still shocked to see a massive dragon resting next to the house while Harry petted it. Charlie followed them out of the house, observing the scene with keen interest.

"So, what do we do now?" Draco asked worriedly. "This isn't like taking in a stray crup."

"We should take care of him," Harry replied instantly. "He was chained up and abused. And he saved us instead of just eating me when I got too close."

"Thank Merlin for that," Blaise muttered. "You scared the shit out of me."

"He's completely barmy," Remus said hiding his face in his hands. "Sirius, our son brought home a stray dragon."

Sirius smiled and hugged Remus closer. He was just glad that Harry was unharmed. Clearly the dragon was fond of their son if the way it nudged it's head gently against him was any indication. The poor creature did look a little old and worn.

Draco edged a little closer, allowing Harry to guide his hand to the dragon's muzzle. When the creature tensed and snarled, Harry swiftly hissed reassurances while keeping one arm around Draco's waist. The dragon remained still, allowing Draco to gently drag his fingers over worn scales.

"Such a beautiful creature," Draco murmured, a smile pulling at his lips as Harry dutifully translated. "You deserve to be free and happy. You're the best dragon in the world."

The dragon let out a strange low croon, finally laying it's head down. It heaved out a tired sigh, breathing out unnervingly hot air.

"He's a tired boy," Harry chuckled.

"Girl."

"What?" Blaise asked, looking around at Charlie.

Charlie smirked and pointed at the dragon. "Girl. It's a lady dragon," he said. He scratched at his ear, making his fang earring swing back and forth with the motion. "She looks pretty rough... You found her in the bank?"

"Down in the caverns where the vaults are," Hermione said, peeking around Vince and Greg. She had ducked behind them once the dragon had landed. "She was chained up. How can someone treat a living thing so cruelly?"

"Those goblins care only for their treasure," Charlie responded grimly. He eyed the dragon, an expression of awed fondness blooming on his face. "Poor things worn out but she's still beautiful."

"How difficult would it be to care for her?" Harry asked urgently. He shook his head when the parents and Hermione opened their mouths to protest. "She saved our lives. She's been shackled and mistreated. I can't- I won't turn my back on her." His green eyes shifted to the weary albino dragon, compassion welling in his heart. The poor creature had suffered enough.

Remus watched Harry with a reluctant smile. His son's kind, generous heart never failed to bring joy to him. He would have preferred for Harry's love to be bestowed on a smaller, less dangerous creature. But, if anyone could earn the loyalty of a dragon, it was Harry. Hagrid would be so proud.

Headquarters was situated out of sight of any other buildings. There were no roads that passed by it. It was heavily warded and the generous field the house sat in was surrounded by forest. Their location was certainly convenient-

"Well," Remus sighed in resignation, "dragons eat a lot. Might want to get her fed before she decides to see if she likes the taste of wolves."

Harry grinned and hugged Draco tightly while gazing over at Remus. "Thanks Dad."