CHAPTER TWENTY

[Turning Out]

HARRY

"Can I get ten chocolate frogs, a bulk of sugar quills, a couple licorice wands, five packs of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and a stack of acid pops? Oh, and as Caramel Cobwebs as you can shove in the bag."

"Oh, dear. You sure have a sweet tooth, don't you?"

Draco nodded. "That I do, ma'am."

"That'll be fifteen galleons and seven sickles."

Draco smiled warmly at the old woman behind the Honeydukes trolley. He reached inside his pocket where a small bag filled with coins and began counting them out once by one.

Harry was as red as a Bubotuber and radiated heat like a hot pan. You could have cooked a three-course meal on his face. No-one, not even the innocent trolley lady, could have missed it. He wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole. Harry never wanted to slap Draco so bad. He was getting a kick out of this, watching Harry squirm in embarrassment. He was purposely trying to take as long as he could and he just knew it.

Finally, the door shut with a small thud, and Draco turned around to Harry with a smirk, sweets pilled in his arms.

"Are you out of your mind?" Harry fumed. His hand went instinctively for his wand in his robes only for him to remember they were still on the floor. He reached for them quickly and Malfoy's cold fingers grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him back down into the seat.

"Don't know what you're referring to exactly."

"You're the one who suggested the idea of keeping everything a secret! And someone just saw me without a shirt on with you of all people. And people are going to talk-"

"Harry."

"Everyone is going to think we're bloody poofters. Shite. Ron and Hermione are going too-"\

"Harry."

"I thought you were just scared as I was! Apparently fucking not. And you're not even worried! You probably planned it all out, didn't you! I should have guessed. Can't I just have one year-"

Suddenly Harry goes silent. He reaches up to his throat realizing his voice had been stolen away. Malfoy was staring at him intelligently with his hand raised.

"Silencio. A Slytherin's best friend."

Harry glares at him and makes a gesture suggesting a very violent action if he didn't give it back within the next half-second.

"You'll get it back once you give me a chance to speak. Crowley, you Gryffindors really don't know how to shut your mouth."

Harry slapped him.

"Oi! What the fuck?"

Harry smirked and crossed his arms victoriously.

"Fine. So be it. See if I share any of my sweets with you, prick." Draco says, cradling his redding cheek. "I was going to say is Madam Manson isn't a snitch. She's seen way worse on the Slytherin cart in fifth year."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"That's for me to know and you never to find out. Also, if your mind wasn't in the gutters, you'll be likely to find nothing here that incriminates either of us. At the most, it looked as if you were changing into your robes."

Harry looked down. He was still mad but he begrudgingly had to accept the fact Draco was actually right in this scenario. Still a sadist git, he thinks selfishly.

Draco flicks his wand and Harry's voice comes back to him.

"You owe me at least three sugar quills for that."

"You slapped me in the face!"

"That's because you silenced me!"

"Then you should've let me speak before going on a rant about me luring you into a trap."

Harry huffs. "Fine. But you didn't have to embarrass me like that."

"S'pose not, but where's the fun in that?"

Harry throws Hermione's hairbrush at him.

"Prat."

"Scarhead."

Draco sits back down on the seat in front of Harry. "If you're done throwing a hissy fit I'll like to get on with what I was trying to do before Granger and Weasel come back and we're really in trouble."

"Fine," Harry groans. He honestly was getting anxious about that. Last year they were only there for about thirty minutes. Surely they'll be back any minute now?

Sighing, Harry bends over to dig in the bag filled with acid-pops and Draco smacks his hand away. "Back off before I take your voice away for good. Those have to last me until the first Hogsmede trip."

"That's only a month and a half!""

"You're point?"

"Jeez, you're acting like a mother Hippogriff protecting her young or something."

"You have to with people like you trying to steal them at every chance they get." Draco picks up the bag off the floor and shoves in between the sheet cushions behind him. Harry groans something and justice and slimy gits causing the blonde to snort.

Draco reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small potion vial. It was a dark red with chunks of who knows what inside. "I dug this out of Blasie's trunk when he wasn't looking. Drink it before he notices it's gone."

He throws it and Harry catches it with years of seeker training. "Trying to outright poison me now? A new low, really. Even for you."

"If I wanted you dead you'll be on the floor already."

"Maybe you should give Voldemort some hints then. He could use the help."

Draco pinches the bridge of his nose as a suppressed, stupid grin takes over his face. He was obviously trying not to because of the darker context but failing miserably. "You shouldn't joke about that. I can take points now, you know."

Harry hums. "Suppose not, where's the fun in that?"

"Salazar's name you're annoying." He says though it doesn't take much damage with the tiniest hint of a laugh pulling at the corner of his mouth. "It builds up your immune system from unexpected curses or hexes. Might help with whatever if with your stomach until you decide to man up and go to the hospital wing."

"You know fair well I can't do that," Harry mutters pointedly. Madam Pomfrey would go off her rockers if he found out. She'll tell Dumbledore, who'll tell Lupin, who'll tell his friends- It'll be a disaster. Harry was failing most of their expectations of him, especially with last year's catastrophe, but to see their disappointed faces in him would make it so much clearer. Harry supposed the only reason why Draco knowing was different was because he never really had high expectations of him in the first place and vise versa. But that was changing rapidly as time grew on and he was gaining more and more respect for the other, so could he even say that was what it was truly?

"So you're expecting me to bend to your every whim and spell you with magic exhausting magic every couple hours? As much as I'm flattered in your idolization in me, not even a professional healer could do such. All I'm doing is stopping the spread before it gets worse."

"Fine then, teach me the spells and I'll do them myself. I'll look into the school library, do something, I don't know. There has to be something I can do without dragging someone else in."

"Fat chance," Draco snorts. "You're playing with fire, you know. How do you know it won't kill you before then?"

"Potter Luck?"

"I take it back. I call dibs on killing you first." Harry grins at him and Draco rolls his eyes.

Draco takes out his wand and touches the very tip on Harry's abdomen. Weeks ago the action would have caused a duel ending with both of them ending up in the hospital wing. Now Harry found himself closing his eyes and waiting for the icy sensation to flow over him.

"Liberentus Strixeseo!"

The chill is like a drip of freezing water running off his stomach, jangling his nerves, setting his teeth on edge and marching it's way from his stomach to his arms and legs.

"Did it work?"

"Yea. It feels like you just froze all my insides though."

"Aside effect. The feeling differs on the caster. Another reason you couldn't learn the spell yourself. It requires more than one magical core."

Harry grumbles something under his breath. The potion from earlier was starting to kick in and he found himself feeling slightly taxed out. Perhaps he would be able to find more of it or owl order some from Hogsmede.

A knock at the door startles the both of them.

"Mate? Are you changing?"

Shit. Fuck.

It was Ron. His eyes captured Draco's own and he seemed just as panicked as he was. He hadn't accounted for Ron's low attention span and need to annoy Hermione. A part of him almost wanted to laugh in payback.

"Harry?"

"Uh- yeah Ron! Hold on!"

Harry jumped up and scanned the compartment hopelessly for any type of escape route to shove Draco through. When his eyes landed on his trunk above them and he could practically the lightbulb form above his head.

Draco seemed to know exactly what he was planning and shook his head. "Hell no."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"You don't have too. Can see it in your eyes."

"Have another option? No? Then shut your bloody mouth and help get my trunk down."

Harry frantically started to button up his uniform and slip on his robes that he was thankful he already had on. By the time he slipped on his robes, Draco had already unlocked his trunk using Harry's wand on the seat.

"Grab the cloak. I'll push you on the overhang."

"Are you mad? I'll fall!"

"Have a stronger grip then."

The silvery material was right at the top. Harry grabbed it and threw it at him. Draco was taller than he was so it left part of his shoes visible for Harry to hoist up the same way they had broken into the Dursley's what felt like ages ago.

"Could you be any gentler?" Draco whispered yelled. "There's no space up here so stop shoving me- ow!"

"Do you want to be caught or not?"

"And risk not overhearing you and Weasley's precious conversation. Not a chance!"

Harry gave one rough push out of pettiness and stepped back to see if any part of the blonde was visible. It looked like an empty self. He prayed to Merlin it stayed that way.

"Come in!"

Harry's best friend barged in barely waiting for Harry to finish speaking. His face lit up at the large bag on the seat."Sweet! You got some Honeydukes!" He says, not wasting a moment to dig in and bring out a chocolate frog

"Cockroach Clusters, Sherbert Lemons...Licorice Snaps!"

The gargoyle didn't budge.

"Really?" Harry sighed. How did Dumbledore ever expect someone to meet him if he didn't know the password beforehand? He didn't even want to see him even if it was childish. What he told Draco was right, Dumbledore was the only way he was going to have the slightest chance of filling the prophecy, but he had planted a seed of doubt in his head that maybe that wasn't so true after all. Besides, the headmaster had a habit of finding out things Harry didn't want him to know. He looked up to him and didn't want to be seen as a disappointment in those eyes yet he couldn't stop it if he didn't stop poking his nose where it shouldn't be. He also would want to send him back to the Dursleys next year where he'll no doubt be killed. He had every right to be terrified of being back in his office. He stomped his floor on the ground in frustration.

"Harry, my boy. Glad to see you unharmed."

Harry whipped around to see the professor walking down the empty corridor scoring bright green robes. The feast had just ended he supposed. He had left early due to his stomach still in the process of stretching itself back to size after the summer. He had eaten more than he should have under Hermione's watchful a\eye and ended up being sick.

"Sir."

"Come, Harry. In my office please." Dumbledore turned to the statue blocking the entrance. "Crunchie."

Harry decided to ignore the fact that he used a muggle candybar as a password and followed him up the steps. The last time he'd been in the room he'd been told of his destiny that was sealed with the lightning scar on his forehead. The feeling still brought unease to his already aching stomach.

"How are you?"

"Fine, professor."

"Lemon Drop?"

"Er- No thank you." Harry wanted him to advance and get straight to the point. The older he got the more annoying it became. Wasn't Remus also supposed to be here?

"You already know why I brought you here."

Harry grit his teeth as the man sat behind the desk that separated the two of them. "Yes."

"The blood wards on the 25th of August broke," Dumbledore explains, taking Harry by surprise. He knew he ran away but breaking the wards? He didn't even know it was possible. Dread starts to fill him. The entire memory of that night was blurry to him and Draco had refused to elaborate on what happened. Did he somehow kill his aunt with his magic? The idea seemed ridiculous but the more he thought about it-

"Magic is instinctual and very possessive of the wizard it lives inside. It's a living thing seeking to protect itself. Therefore it protects the wizard from harm. I'm sure you've already figured that much out for yourself. It's why we heal faster from ordinary humans." Dumbledore elaborates as he unwraps a candy from the bowl on his desk. Harry nods for him to continue. "So, naturally, magic refuses to hurt itself. Same reason you cannot cast an unforgivable without the real intent to do so or you cannot turn your own wand against yourself."

"Sir, why are you telling me this exactly?"

"I'm getting there. Now, blood magic is vastly different from normal wand casting and highly advanced. The night at Godric's Hollow your mother did not cast any wards herself and instead, her magic made it's last imprint on you which fulfilled an ancient ritual."

"Okay..."

"Your mother's magic was in charge of the wards holding up Privet Drive. For the wards to snap her magic had come across the conflict of the wards doing more harm than good. It refused to use itself to cause damage to you, and ultimately, resulting in the collapse."

Harry stares at the man in front of him for a second before it sets in. Sudden years of weight on his shoulders crumble into dust underneath his feet. He almost cries in relief.

"So you mean..."

"Yes, your mother saved you once again."