Note: Thanks so much for everyone reading and all the comments/reviews! It's very encouraging :) Anyway, here be Dragons! Or rather Draco and his snark. Please enjoy.

Chapter Five

Draco looked up as Harry fell through the kitchen floo. He sighed. The boy could take down an entire terrorist organization but not walk out of the floo like a normal wizard. As Harry charmed himself clean, Draco noticed the anger on the other boy's face and bit back another sigh. He was a Malfoy: it would not do to be sighing all the time like some put upon housewife.

"What did they do this time?" Draco had no doubts it was Weasel and Granger. Lately, it was always those two or the Weaselette that put Harry into a mood. Granger and her tag-along Weasel were trying to dive into politics and attempting to use Harry as a figurehead for their own ambitions. Weaselette could not get it through her thick skull that she and Harry were broken up.

Draco smirked. He was proud he was instrumental in preventing that potential train wreck. In Sixth Year, after Harry's continual pestering about what girl Draco liked – since Harry started a relationship with Weaselette, apparently the boy got it into his head to play match-maker - Draco revealed his homosexuality. That shut Harry up. The Slytherin always knew he was gay, but his mother had urged him to keep it from his father, who had made it clear that Draco would marry a pureblood girl to carry on the Malfoy line. He had been resigned to marrying a woman, siring an heir, and then having lovers on the side; but with the war over and his father in prison for life, he was free to do what or rather who he wanted, not that Draco had any idea yet who that might be.

Before Draco's revelation, Harry apparently had never considered his own sexuality. Yes he dated Cho Chang in Fifth Year and then Ginny Weasley in Sixth, but he never felt any urges. When he did not find any interest in Seamus and Dean's man talk, he thought that was just stress from the war. He had never even thought of being with other men, what with the Dursley's ingraining into him that homosexuality was dirty and sinful. He had finally admitted this to Draco last December, when Harry stayed at Grimmauld to briefly escape the cold winter of the forest and being the third wheel to Weasley and Granger's relationship. The Slytherin scoffed at his confession and lent forward and whispered "Livin' in sin is the new thing" (1) – and kissed the other boy. Harry said after that he had felt something within him move, that kissing Cho and Ginny had never felt this satisfying.

After snogging for a bit, the boys realized three things: Harry was gay, they were better off friends than lovers, and Draco had an unhealthy obsession with Britney Spears.

"Hermione trying to organize something, again!" Harry huffed, bringing Draco back to the present. "And Ron being his usual berk self! I can't believe I actually believed they would be willing just to have an afternoon shopping and running errands without an ulterior motive. Have they always been like that?"

Although Draco knew it was rhetorical, he could not help but answer, "Do you really want the answer to that?"

Harry let out a puff of air and fell onto the stool across from Draco. He glanced at the blonde through his fringe.

"Yes, actually, I do," Harry replied.

"Then yes, they have," Draco replied and turned back to the stacks of parchments on the table. He smirked inwardly as he saw Harry slump into his arms.

"C'mon Dray, you have to give me more than that," Harry whined into his arms.

Draco rolled his eyes.

"Whom should I start with?" Draco said sarcastically, tapping his chin. "The Weasel has abandoned you how many times because of jealousy? And Granger had that ridiculous house-elf campaign, Spoo –"

"S.P.E.W.," Harry interjected.

"Like it really it matters – it was ridiculous!" Draco exclaimed. "And then organizing the D.A. in Fifth Year, almost getting you expelled! Then her insisting on you getting her into the Slug Club –"

"Fine, Draco, I get it," Harry said, slightly muffled as he was still wallowing in his folded arms.

Draco stopped in his rant and peered at Harry suspiciously. His friend usually would conjure up some fight in him when Draco attacked his 'friends.' Something was afoot. Had the two dunderheads finally crossed the line?

"What up, dawg?" Draco asked, and he poked Harry in the head. That got a reaction.

"Merlin, Draco – nobody says that anymore!" Harry yelped and lifted his head. "I am so taking away the tele, you've been watching too much MTV –"

"Seriously, Harry, what happened?" Draco asked again, ignoring the Gryffindor's threats. If he had a knut for all the times Harry had threatened his TV privileges, he would have been able to buy his own magically altered set. "I know something happened."

Harry looked at Draco, unsure of how to articulate what happened. He pulled out his mother's journal from his messenger bag and handed it to the blonde.

"My mother, she – well, she – just read this, please, Draco," Harry said. He unconsciously gave the Slytherin his kicked puppy look. "I just – I don't know what to do. I need to go lay down." He left before Draco could reply.

Draco looked curiously at the book in hands. Lily Evans' journal? This should prove interesting.

~Time Skip~

Harry woke up several hours later to Draco putting his food tray on the dresser. He put on his glasses, and set up in his bed. He gasped and shut his eyes when Draco used his wand to open the curtains. Sunlight poured into the room.

"Seriously, Potter it's 4:30 in the afternoon," Draco scowled. He put the tray across Harry's lap. "I swear if you don't eat all the soup and at least half of the sandwiches I will spell those drapes to never close again."

"Not a Potter," Harry mumbled mournfully as he picked up his spoon and began to eat the soup. Even through his upset, he knew Draco never joked about food, and those drapes were slowly becoming a necessity.

Draco moved around to the other side of the bed and sat next to Harry, leaning on the headboard. He studied his friend. The Slytherin had not said a word, but he was worried about Harry. He reminded Draco of when his mother had miscarried when he was seven. It took six months for Mother to work her way out of what he had childishly thought of as her 'tired-time.' Draco had been angry with her, because she would never play with him and the fact she would lash out at Father for trying to forcibly get her out of bed. He knew better now, how serious that time had actually been, how his mother had been ill and lethargic with grief.

Harry had been frighteningly similar when Weasel and Granger tried to make him leave Grimmauld the day after the battle. His magic went haywire and banished them from the property. The Gryffindork, of course, had apologized, but Draco had noticed he did not fix the wards to allow them visitation again.

Having witnessed Harry's reaction, Draco acted as he normally did and mostly let him be. The only unstated rule was Harry had to eat three meals a day, even if Draco had to spoon-feed him in his bed. It never got that far, after all Draco was the master of snark, and Harry responded well to snark. Harry had begun to do better, not taking as many naps, and often kept Draco company as the Slytherin tried to sort out his family business accounts (Lucius had let it fall to the wayside what with his hobbies) or babysat his godson Teddy while Andromeda went through the arrangements for her families' funerals and preparing to take care of a baby full-time.

The information Harry received today caused a setback to say the least. Draco hated setbacks. He needed figure out how to help Harry climb this obstacle. Draco refused to lose Harry to his 'tired-time.' First things first, he had to set something straight.

"Of course you are a Potter," Draco drawled. "You must be the Potteriest Potter in centuries."

"What does that even mean?" Harry sighed. He picked up one of the sandwiches. "Never mind. Didn't you read the journal?"

"Yes, I read the journal," Draco replied, folding his arms. "Do all muggleborn women write down all their thoughts? It just seems so silly, time-consuming, and unsafe – I mean, anyone could find it and read it, and then what would the point be? All your secrets out for the world to see –"

Harry threw down the sandwich.

"For fuck's sake, Draco, just be serious!" Harry bellowed. "Everything I have known has been a lie. Who am I? Everyone always said, 'You look just like your father, Harry' – well no, actually, I may just not! Because who knows what he looks like! My mum slutted it up –"

"Enough Harry," Draco interrupted firmly. He needed Harry to calm down before Draco had to clean up broken glass from the windows exploding. Again. "Now continue to eat your sandwich as I speak." He waited until the Gryffindor begrudgingly had picked up the chewed on sandwich and taken another bite.

"Now listen to me, Harry," Draco continued calmly. "Yes, I can understand that this is a shock. What you have known for nearly eighteen years as fact has been uprooted. But let's get a few things straight.

"You are a Potter. The fact that James Potter blood-adopted you makes you a Potter in all ways that matter. It is not spoken of, but in years past it was a common practice for purebloods to adopt or use surrogates to continue the family line. Actually, I'm surprised he came up with the idea – it was banned by the Ministry for being Dark, just because it involved blood-magic, which of course those dunderheads are squeamish over –"

"Of course," Harry chimed in and took another bite of his sandwich. Draco ranting about the Ministry's ineptness was normal. He needed a bit of normal right now.

"Anyway, the point is, you are a Potter," Draco said. "No matter what you do with this new information, just know: you are a Potter. And, James Potter wanted you. That is the thing about blood-adoption: the potential new parent has to be completely accepting of the child to make him his heir. Else, women could pass off children as their husband's without them knowing, which is against everything inherent in Magick.

"In the Olde Ways, magic was celebrated as a gift. That was the reason why squibs were ostracized, that Magick had not found them worthy of such a gift. Anyway, the only way to pass on magic is to gift it: in a gift, consent is paramount."

"What about when Voldemort?" Harry asked and gestured to his scar. "He gifted me with the horcrux and parseltongue –"

"Okay, I'm not saying that there aren't exceptions," Draco exasperated. "But in general, that is how Magick works. Therefore, James Potter wanted you. He cared for you. He died for you. You are his son."

Harry deflated and pushed the tray away and brought his knees up to his chest. He hugged them.

"How could – how could he just forgive her?" Harry cried, and he battled to keep tears from his eyes. "How could he accept his wife's child with another man? How could he care for me when I was a constant reminder of his wife's infidelity?"

Draco, not say anything, just put his arm around Harry's shoulders. They remained silent for a while.

"I could not possibly say I know the exact reasoning of James Potter," Draco said after a time. "There could be many things. Being a pureblood, maybe he didn't believe in divorce. Maybe he saw this as a great opportunity, fearing his own fertility – his parents were childless for a long time before he was born, so maybe he was worried he too would have difficulty producing children. Or maybe, it is the simplest answer of them all: he loved her so much, he was willing to forgive her indiscretion, one that she obviously regretted." Draco paused and then asked the question he now knew was the true issue at hand. "The question is: will you be able to forgive her?"

"I don't know, Dray," Harry whispered and set his head on Draco's shoulder, tears starting to fall. "I just don't know."

(1) Lyric from "3" by Britney Spears

AN: Hopefully you enjoyed my version of Draco – he was so fun to write! Anyway, back to business – around 50 people have answered my poll on what crossover they would like to see from me next – which is fantastic, thanks to those who did! Once it reaches 100, I will close the poll and make an announcement. Again, it won't be anytime soon – I'm still focusing on getting into a groove with this story – but just so I know where I should focus next. Thanks everyone! Next update will be Friday between 5-6pm BST, where we meet Teddy and Andromeda and Harry finally makes a decision – see you then!