Hi everyone, I'd like to apologise for any spelling mistakes there may be in this chapter, I write these chapters on my phone and at the moment I am wearing fake nails which make it very hard to type correctly. I will at some point go back answer check the spelling and grammar in all of the chapters, but I love writing these and don't want to think about past spelling mistakes at the moment! Also thank you ever so much for the reviews again, they really help me develop the characters.

Key:

Telepathic bond between Caelum And Draxo

Parseltongue

~PureBloodSnake xx

Kittens and Koreros

Draco wasn't coping well. It had been forty-five minutes since his mother and Caelum had left to go to the Grangers', and already he felt lonely. He knew he was supposed to use this time to figure out the things in his own head, but all that was rattling around was the thought of the his Mum and Caelum never coming back. It was stupid, he knew that, but he couldn't be left alone with his thoughts. He feared abandonment, he knew that and above all else, that's where his thoughts wandered to. He knew Caelum was happy to be united with Hermione and he knew that their parting statements were not final, but they did feel final.

Dray, are you alright? Caelum's warm honey-like voice resonated through his skull.

I'm fine. Just working through what's in my head. He could almost see the lie float towards the pulsing mass in the back of his mind that was Caelum.

Have you thought about getting a pet? Was all Caelum replied, if he knew Draco was lying, he didn't say. Draco didn't respond.

That's how, twenty minutes later, Draco found himself in Diagon Alley, standing outside the Magical Menagerie. Here he was sixteen years of age about to buy a pet because he was lonely and needed someone to confide in. A little bell rang as he opened the door and a little man in a black cloak covered in animal hair appeared behind the desk.

"Ah, Mr Malfoy. What can I do for you today?" The excitable attitude of the salesman was a little off putting but Draco smiled politely.

"I'm just browsing at the moment." With a sharp nod of his head, the salesman left Draco to wander around the shop. He wandered straight past the owls, not yet needing to get another owl, Serpeverde would never forgive him if he did. The next section of the shop is full of reptiles and amphibians. Draco looked at the toads and frogs in distaste, he would never get one of those, only the witches in children stories actually owned a toad. The reptiles, however did pique his interest, he was fascinated by Caelum's snake Maikoa, even if she did scare him slightly. By looking at the various snakes he realised that Maikoa wasn't a commonly found snake. Neither his brother nor his father had told him what type of snake she was.

"Excuse me?" He called out to the salesman who was by his side in an instance.

"Have you taken a liking to one of my snakes Mr Malfoy?" Draco hated the false confidence that radiated off of the small man.

"Not really, you see my brother has this snake and I don't seem to see it here. I was hoping you could tell me what type of snake it was, I was hoping to buy some food for it while I was here." A lie, but now that he thought about it, it was probably a good idea.

"Of course Mr Malfoy, can you tell me some of the most unique characteristics?" Draco nodded, picturing Maikoa in his mind.

"She has charcoal-black scales and a slightly lighter underbelly and throat. She also has glassy green eyes. And she's of the venomous type." Draco listed the characteristics off, watching the salesman get more and more nervous as he continued.

"I think you're describing a black mamba, Mr Malfoy. It's considered the most lethal snake in the world. Neither Magic nor muggle medicine can cure its bite." Draco paused for a second, mentally containing his panic and pretended to look bored.

"And what does she eat?"

"Depending on how large she is, anything from small rodents to small birds." The hesitation in the salesman's voice told Draco that Maikoa was only a baby.

"Thank you. I'm going to continue looking now." After the discussion and the panic Draco was feeling about Maikoa, he didn't think a snake was for him. The rodents were next on his tour of the menagerie. He didn't even stop to look in any of the cages, it was pointless. He was never going to get a rat or a mouse, even if he did want one, it would quickly end up as one of Maikoa's snacks. The cats were the last pets he could look at. Draco knew he would find something here.

When he first laid eyes on him, Draco knew the kitten was for him. Its silvery white coat was beautifully groomed and its pale blue eyes watched him carefully. Draco fell in love immediately. He stuck a finger through the bars of the cage and felt a paw bat at him.

"Mr Malfoy, I see you've met our Scottish Fold. It's a male that has been neutered. Do you want me to get him out of the cage for you?" Draco nodded mutely and waited silently for the salesman to collect the key and return. The kitten was placed into his arms and immediately Draco felt the connection between them. There was no need to look any further.

"I'll take him." He nodded to the salesman. "And whatever else I'll need for him, along with a few mice for my brother's snake.

Taking the kitten home was a was scared of taking him through the floo, but he could see no other option. Hugging the kitten's case close to his chest he threw the other stuff through the fireplace before sending himself through, curling around the case even more.

"Draco darling, what's all this?" He didn't know what to expect when he stepped out of the fireplace, but his mother standing there with the bag of dead mice in her hand, was not it.

"I went to the pet shop, what you're holding is some treats for Maikoa. The rest of the stuff is for my new kitten?" His voice rose at the end, as if asking his mother permission, even though both of them knew it was too late to change the fact that Draco now owned a cat.

"Let's see it then." Narcissa requested, placing the mice on a table and holding her arms out. Placing the case on the floor with the utmost care, Draco opened the door and gathered the kitten in his arms. The kitten immediately began nuzzling his face and Draco smiled despite himself.

"Darling, he is adorable. I love the grey pattening on his face that travels down to his tail." Draco took a closer look, in the darkness of the shop he couldn't see the pattening on the cat, the grey was hardly distinguishable from the white of the majority of its coat. "What's his name Draco?" Draco froze for a moment, looking at the cat, contemplating.

"Algieba." (Al-gee-bah) The name seemed perfect for the cat, a star in the constellation Leo that was the brightest star seen with the naked eye.

"That's lovely Draco, I'll let the house-elves know that you have a new pet, they'll help you set everything up." With that Narcissa went to leave the room, she paused at the door. "Darling, Caelum's going to be absolutely fine, the Grangers are lovely people." Without waiting for a response she left the room. Cuddling Algieba close to his chest, Draco felt the weight lift of his shoulders as his mother said the words he so desperately needed to hear.

? ゚ミノ? ゚ミノ?

Caelum could feel contentness radiating through the bond and smiled lightly. He didn't expect any of the Grangers to notice, but he wasn't shocked when Hermione did.

"How's Draco? I know the two of you haven't been separated since your family found you." Hermione was watching across the dinner table with a knowing look on her face.

"I don't think Draco's going to miss me much, he's just got himself a kitten. I haven't met him yet, but Draco assures me that Algieba is adorable." Mr and Mrs Granger listened to the conversation between their daughter and her best friend with slight confusion.

"How do you know he's only just bought himself a kitten? If you haven't met the cat yet, surely it's too recent for you to know?" Mr Granger commented. Caelum didn't know what to say, he didn't want to reveal to these muggles that he and his brother had such a powerful bond even if they wouldn't understand fully.

"Draco told me before I left, he had already picked which cat he wanted and was leaving to pick it up at the same time mother and I left to come here." Hermione kicked him under the table but Caelum minutely shook his head.

"Why didn't you tell them the truth?" As soon as they had reached the safety of Hermione's room, she had asked the question she had kept bottled up for the last half hour.

"I don't want too many people to know. It's a lot more private than me being Harry Potter and Caelum Malfoy." Caelum sat heavily on the bed. "I thought ditching the fame and the expectations of Harry Potter would make my life easier, but it hasn't. I'm constantly fighting and then making up with Draco. Every little thing we do seems to annoy the other and yet it hurts is both so much when we fight. I still need to figure out this prophecy and then how I kill Voldemort, all while figuring out how to get my father out of Azkaban. I thought being a Malfoy would give me the chance to be a kid!" Sometime during his rant, Hermione had sat down and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"Here's what you're going to do…"

? ゚ミノ? ゚ミノ?

The three days that Caelum was at Hermione's although made bearable by having Algieba to play with, was dreadfully long for Draco. His mother had been out a lot of the time, so it had been him and an empty manor. Occasionally he would talk to Caelum through their bond, but he had got the sense that he was at Hermione's to sort through the stuff in his head (with Hermione's help) and talk it through with his best friend. Draco's green-eyed monster clawed at his heart at the thought of Hermione being the first person Caelum had turned to in a mental crisis, especially as no-one knew the inner workings of Caelum's mind as well as he did. Then Draco's rationality would fight off the monster and he could accept Caelum's decision to go talk to someone else. Draco too, had sorted out his thoughts, often whilst talking out loud to Algieba. Draco knew he could be pushy and he knew he treated Caelum like glass ninety percent of the time and he had to change that, but it was going to take some work and he needed Caelum to open up willingly more often. It was unusual for him to say, but Draco was willing to make a compromise. As soon as Caelum got home.

Narcissa had left fifteen minutes ago, surely it didn't take that long to apparate and then disapparate with a small child and a small bag to the place you had just left. Draco was pacing the hall, Algieba at his ankles, following his every move. With a small pop, Narcissa and Caelum appeared in the hall. Without waiting for Caelum to gain his balance back, Draco had leapt across the room and pulled his brother into a tight hug.

Miss me much? Draco almost laughed in delight, it was so good to hear Caelum's voice in his head so clearly, when he was at the Grangers', Caelum had sounded as if he was underwater, now it was back to normal. Draco felt calm again.

"Yeah." He mumbled into Caelum's hair which tickled his nose.

"Come on then, I want to meet the newest member of our family. Where is Algieba?" Caelum pulled out of the hug and looked around for the small white kitten that was currently hiding behind Draco's legs. Spotting it, Caelum crouched down and reached out for the kitten, he came running into his arms.

"Draco, he's adorable. He's such a cuddler as well. How are you going to take him to school without showing the world that you actually like to cuddle?" Caelum had stood up again and was now face to face with Draco. The kitten turned to look at Draco and then seemed to look back and forth between the two brothers, confused as to why there were two of his owners. In his confusion, Algieba accidentally clawed Maikoa, who uncurled herself and looked like she was about to strike the small cat. Both twins noticed at the same time and Draco grabbed a hold of Algieba and Caelum stepped backwards.

Maikoa, this is Algieba, my brother's kitten. He is not to be hurt, for any reason. Seeing the snake scared Draco even more now he knew how dangerous Maikoa was.

But when I grow bigger the cat will be perfect size for lunch. Caelum shivered slightly at the words and he knew these were words he wouldn't be translating for Draco.

No Maikoa, plus Algieba is only a baby, he'll grow too. Caelum made sure he left no room for argument. Maikoa let out a grumpy hoss, before winding herself back around his neck.

"Oh, before I forget, I got some food for Maikoa." Caelum followed Draco out of the hall. "The shop keeper at magical menagerie says that she's a black mamba, the most dangerous snake…" Narcissa watched as her two boys walked into the house together, smiles on their faces, chatting amiably.

? ゚ミノ? ゚ミノ?

Neither boy could bring up their issues whilst the other looked so carefree and happy, so they procrastinated talking to each other about important things. It took them a couple days to sit down and talk about things, no distractions. Maikoa was locked away in her tank in Caelum's bedroom and Algieba was in the sunroom playing with Narcissa, so the boys sat on Draco's bed for the talk.

"I'm sorry," Caelum started out and shushed Draco when he tried to protest. "If some things I say sound hurtful or cruel, I don't mean it, I just want to be completely honest." Draco was silent for a little bit, mentally going over the list of things he wanted to say and realised the same was true for him.

"As long as you take what I say as my honest opinion and not as unnecessary criticism or hateful comments." Both boys nodded and Draco stuck his hand out as if agreeing a business deal. Caelum smiled mischievously, gripped Draco's hand and pulled him into a hug.

"Okay, now to business." Caelum said when they released each other. "First things first, as flattering as it is to know that you want to protect me because you love me, you keep forgetting that I am the same age as you and don't need to be treated like a child." Draco stopped short, he hadn't seen it like that.

"I didn't realise." He said quietly and felt the mattress dip slightly as Caelum moved closer.

"I know you didn't, that's why I'm bringing it up. You have the tendency to forget that I, too, am sixteen years old and have been through the same amount of magical training as you. In fact I can kick your arse easily in Defence. Plus as much as I like to forget what's happened, I have survived a lot more than you, hopefully, ever will. And look at me, I'm perfectly sane! I'm okay, please don't treat me like fragile glass." Caelum's words weren't cruel but spoken softly, in Draco's opinion that's what hurt the most.

"Okay, I'll try."

"That's all I ask Draco." Caelum's arm pressed against Draco's and Draco felt warmth radiate into him.

"My turn. You bottle up your feelings, which is particularly dangerous and you might explode sometime soon. Literally. Your magic could explode out of you!" Draco kept his voice quiet but his words were harshly spoken, betraying his true feelings on the subject.

"That can really happen? Wow." Caelum quietened immediately when Draco glared at him. "Not the point, sorry."

"You haven't told any of us what your life was like before we found you, all we know is that it wasn't good. You've obviously not had a good childhood, you were most probably malnourished, we're guessing that you were abused and we're guessing that you didn't know much about magic. But we can't help you get to your naturally height and weight, because we don't know what happened to you. You won't open up about anything to do with The Dark Lord either, so none of us can help you with that part of your life either. Face it Caelum, I don't know anything about you from before you became Caelum. Yes, I know Harry Potter is dead, but his experiences and friends still shaped who you are today!" Draco was a little breathless by the time he finished his rant and was very surprised to see Caelum smiling at him. "What?" He snapped, unable to help himself.

"We should've done this ages ago, all the tension has practically flowed out of us. I know we've still got a bit to work through between us, but can we work on fixing these two things first?" At Draco's nod he continued. "I know you would like me to spill all about my childhood right now, but I can't, and I think Mum needs to hear it too. Plus I don't think any of us want to deal with all those issues all in one go, it'll be a bit of an overload." Caelum's smile had disappear behind a mask of thinly veiled distraught.

"We'll start with the simple things then." Draco decided, relishing in the grateful smile and shoulders slumping in relief. "What was your favourite colour?"

"Red. Yours?"

"Blue. Favourite food?"