A scream shattered the brisk, early morning silence.

Harry sat up bolt upright. "What was that?"

He could hear Draco yawning. "Probably nothing," he muttered. "Go back to sleep."

"Easy for you to say," Harry grumbled. He hadn't slept a wink so far. Apparently servants in this era slept on hard pallets on the ground. Or least that was what he had been given. It was a toss-up, but Harry thought the cupboard he slept in when he was a kid was more comfortable.

"Go back to sleep," Draco mumbled again.

"It's morning anyway," Harry pointed out. He could see the first pink edges of dawn through the dirty window.

"Isn't," Draco contradicted.

Harry rolled his eyes and swung his legs out of bed. "Ow," he muttered as he hit his calves against the cold, hard floor. He'd forgotten how bloody low the pallet was. "They sounded like they were in trouble. I'm going to find out what happened."

Draco let out a long sigh and then yawned. "I guess I'd better come with you just to make sure you don't get killed."

Harry snorted. He'd have a better chance of fighting off any attacker than Draco. Draco probably spent his entire life protected by magic. He wouldn't know what to do in a dangerous situation without magic. "Just go back to sleep."

"Too late now," Draco told him as he stood up. He shivered and then grabbed a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around himself. "It's cold."

"You could always start the fire," Harry suggested.

Draco's mouth opened and his hand made an involuntary motion.

"No magic, remember?" Harry was almost enjoying himself.

Draco scowled and dropped the blanket at his feet. "It's not that cold." He took a couple of quick steps towards the door. "Come on then. Where's that famous Gryffindor adventuring spirit?"

Harry was beginning to regret this whole idea. He should have just ignored the scream. It was probably somebody waking up from a nightmare anyway. And even if it was somebody in trouble, what could he and Draco do? They were two unarmed people with absolutely no experience in non-magical combat. The most they could do was make menacing gestures, which would be rather useless if they came up against a sword or lance.

"Well?" Draco asked impatiently. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, yeah," Harry muttered as he followed Draco out the door. "I think the scream came from this way. It sounded like a woman."

They walked along the dimly lit corridor for a few minutes in silence. "If this turns out to be somebody who woke up from a bad dream, I'm blaming you," Draco said finally as they turned the corner.

Harry glared at him. "You could always go back to bed."

"I'm awake now," Draco snapped as he pushed the door open and stepped into the hall. "Besides, it's morning. Not everybody sleeps in, you know."

Harry rolled his eyes as he walked in after Draco. The heavy door swung closed behind them. "It's empty in here," Harry began to say when the words stuck in his throat. He could feel his heart pounding. His eyes widened.

Oh shit!

"What's the matter?" Draco asked impatiently.

Harry took a step backwards. His hand came up and he pointed at the other end of the room. "That," he said, his voice coming out as a squeak. Harry's heart pounded as he stared at the snake that was sliding lazily towards him. Beside him, he could hear Draco's breath coming in sharp gasps.

"Is that...?" Draco muttered into his ear.

Harry nodded tersely. "It looks like a giant snake." He had no idea why there was a giant snake in the middle of Uther Pendragon's palace, but it was definitely there. He was just glad that it seemed to be a normal snake and not something like a basilisk. He took another step backwards until his hand connected with the doorknob. It wouldn't turn.

"What on earth is it doing here?" Draco demanded quietly.

"And you think I know the answer?" Harry hissed. He turned around and tried the doorknob again. "It won't open!"

Draco turned towards him. "I think it might be one of those doors that lock automatically," he said slowly.

"Oh," Harry managed to get out. The snake was only a few metres away now. In one swift motion, Harry dove behind the nearest table. He was glad for the long, thick tablecloth that hid him from the snake. Draco followed him a mere second later.

"Do something!" Draco muttered into his ear.

"What'd you expect me to do?" Harry whispered back. "Charm the snake with my invisible flute?"

"No, of course not," Draco snapped, "but why don't you go and talk to it?"

Harry whirled around. Quietly, of course, since he didn't want to attract the snake's attention. "We've lost our magic, remember?" he ground out. "Didn't you think that maybe I would have lost that ability along with the rest of my magic?"

"I did think of that, in fact," Draco told him. "But then I weighed that up against us being eaten by that very angry looking snake. You could at least try."

"And if it doesn't work then I'll be eaten." Harry didn't like that plan very much.

Draco shrugged. "I could use the distraction to run away."

Harry really wasn't liking that plan much. "It doesn't look that angry," he protested. That was true enough. The snake looked more purposeful than angry. It was sliding towards them very purposefully, and Harry suspected that purpose was lunch.

"All the more reason for you to talk to it," Draco told him. He gave Harry a small push in the back. "Look, if it works, then you'll be able to convince it to back down!"

"If it doesn't work, then I'll be eaten alive," Harry snapped.

"That probably won't happen," Draco said. "It's far more likely to crush your bones first. Then after you're dead, it'll swallow you whole and then spend the next couple of weeks digesting you."

Harry glared at him. "I feel so much more reassured."

"It's better than being eaten alive," Draco pointed out.

Harry had to concede that point. Although, on the scale of horrible deaths, being squashed to death by a gigantic snake was pretty much the same as being eaten alive by a gigantic snake. "If you know so much about then, then maybe you should go out there."

"I'm not the one who can talk to snakes!"

Harry's knees were shaking. It wasn't as though he didn't want to come out from behind the table and face the snake. Okay, he really didn't, but that wasn't the point. He was plenty brave and he would have done it if he knew that he could talk it down. But at this point, without a wand, possibly without magic and armed with nothing but a butter knife, Harry suspected that any bravery would be terribly misplaced.

"Look, if we don't do something about the snake, it's going to go and attack other people," Draco urged. "Come on!"

Harry resisted the urge to hit Draco on the top of his head using the butter knife. Closing his eyes, Harry pictured a snake in his head.

"What are you doing?" Draco interrupted. "This is no time for meditation."

Harry prised open his eyes and glared at him. "I'm trying to imagine a snake."

Draco stared. "Why are you doing that? There's a great bloody big one over there!" Harry couldn't help but notice that the more frightened Draco was, the less prim and proper he seemed to get.

Harry gritted his teeth. "I'm trying to see if I can talk to it."

"Then maybe you should get up and actually talk to it rather than imagining that you're talking to it." There was a slightly hysterical note in Draco's voice. "Unless, of course, you can imagine that it'll go 'poof' and disappear. That would be a useful skill."

Harry ignored Draco and closed his eyes again. Snakes. He needed to think of snakes. It wasn't too difficult since there was a great honking big one slithering towards them. "If I end up dead, this is all your fault."

There was silence from next to him.

Slowly, Harry opened his eyes to find Draco staring at him oddly. "What?"

"I guess your meditation worked," Draco said. "That certainly wasn't English."

It took a few seconds for Draco's words to sit in. On one hand, Harry was relieved. t meant that they were getting out of this alive. On the other hand, he wasn't particularly happy about the fact his Parseltongue ability wasn't linked to his magic. That meant that it wasn't just some sort of magical leftover of Voldemort; it was more intrinsic to him than that. "Wish me luck," Harry muttered as he stood up.

Immediately, the giant snake swung its head towards him. Harry gulped. He could feel his knees wobbling. This was much easier when he was a kid. Back then, he had Ron and Hermione helping him. Plus, back then, he wasn't completely aware of the consequences. Sure, he knew that going into the Chamber of Secrets could kill him, but it wasn't the same as the permeating awareness that washed through him now.

"What're you waiting for?" Draco whispered. "Do something!"

"Why don't you do something?" Harry replied almost automatically.

The snake's head swayed and it stopped. It seemed to tilt its head to one side and look curiously at Harry. "What would you like me to do?" it hissed at Harry.

Harry gulped. The snake might have sounded like it was speaking English, but there was a sibilant quality to it. It was obviously coming out of the mouth of a snake and a very creepy, large snake, at that. "Hello," he managed to get out. Harry was rather glad that Draco couldn't understand him. Undoubtedly, Draco would have ridiculed him for not coming up with a better conversational starter.

"Hello," the snake replied. Its eyes looked amused. "You are a mossst unusual human."

"I've had people tell me that before," Harry said. He licked his lips and decided to get straight to the point. There was no point trying to be polite to a snake. For all he knew, snakes didn't have the same concepts of politeness as humans. "What are you doing here?"

He could have sworn the snake shrugged. "One minute, I wasss in my den with my children. The next minute, I was here, ssssurrounded by humans. My children need me! I need to get back to them."

"Did somebody take you here?"

The snake hissed angrily. "No. Sssstupid human. I was brought here by magic. Very powerful magic."

At the back of his mind, Harry couldn't help thinking that Hermione would have been very interested in the fact that snakes could sense magic. Her doctoral thesis had been on the ability of Muggles to sense magic, and during the process, she had studied animals as well. "I'm going to help you go home," Harry promised. He crossed his fingers behind his back. He had no idea how he was going to help, but he didn't want to annoy the snake more than it already was annoyed.

"And how ssshall you do that, human?"

Harry swallowed a sigh. The snake was just as arrogant as Uther Pendragon. He wouldn't be surprised it was one of Uther's personal pets. "I am magical," he said as he stepped around the desk and towards the snake. "I may be able to send you back."

"Very well," the snake said, inclining his head.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Draco muttered as Harry took another step forward.

Harry hoped that as well. As he stepped closer to the snake, he frowned. There was something odd about the snake. He couldn't seem to figure out what it was though. It was just as massive as he would have expected. His heart pounded as he neared the snake.

"Ssssend me home, human."

"Give me time," Harry stalled. "If it was powerful magic that brought you, it will take time to send you back."

The snake seemed to snort. "You are very weak, young human. I do not sssense much magic in you."

Oh great, Harry thought. Not only could the snake sense magic that was used on it, it could obviously sense magic in a person as well. This made the bluffing much more difficult. "It's true that my magic is currently weak, but I will try my best to get you back."

"I do not doubt that, young human," the snake hissed. "I can smell your fear and the fear of your mate."

Harry spluttered. "Draco isn't my mate!" he exclaimed.

"Very well," the snake said. "But I can ssstill sssmell his fear."

Harry pursed his lips. He wanted to protest more about Draco not being his mate, but he couldn't due to the fact that the snake had dropped the subject so easily. It annoyed him. How dare the snake make the presumption that he and Draco were together? "I'm sure he's terrified," Harry said.

"Asss are you," the snake said, sounding amused.

Harry was about to tell the snake that he most definitely wasn't scared of it, when he suddenly realised something. He was about an arm length away from the snake and he couldn't smell it at all. No animal smell. Nothing. Harry leaned forward and sniffed. Nope, absolutely nothing. It was like... it was almost like the snake wasn't there at all!

The snake gave him a curious look. "What are you doing?"

Harry opened his mouth and then closed it again. If he was right, he didn't really want to tell the snake. He edged to the side and scanned the room around the snake. When he and Draco had entered, the snake was at the other end of the room. Surely there had to be something over there. Harry squinted and spotted a small box on the table. That was it!

The snake slithered closer and began swaying in a distinctly threatening way over Harry.

"We need to go over to that table," Harry said.

"Why?"

Harry took a deep breath. "That was where you appeared in this room, right? It's where the magical signature is strongest. It's where you need to be for me to send you back."

The snake looked dubiously at him, but after a few seconds, it turned and began slithering towards the table. Harry let out a barely audible sigh of relief and followed. The box was just sitting there on the table. As he came closer, Harry realised that there were no buttons or markings of any kind on the box. It just looked like a shiny box-shaped piece of metal.

"I just need to pick up the box," Harry said. "It's where the magical energy is."

When the snake didn't move, Harry reached over and grabbed the box. He expected something to happen, but the snake simply looked at him.

"Right," Harry said quickly as he shook the box. There had to be a catch or something on the box. He had to be able to open it or something. There was nothing else that looked mysterious in the room.

"What are you doing, human?" the snake demanded.

"Nothing," Harry said, his heart pounding. "I'm trying to get you home."

The snake slid forward. "I don't think you're doing that. What's in that box?"

"Nothing," Harry repeated as he slammed the corner of the box against the table. His eyes widened as he saw the snake waver in front of him. It almost looked blurry for a second, like the really old telly that his aunt had.

"I think that you are lying," the snake said slowly. "And I do not like liars."

Harry suddenly had an idea. If hitting the corner of the box against the table made the snake waver, then surely... "Well, I don't like you very much," he snapped. He was really glad that Draco couldn't understand him. Comebacks seemed much easier to come up with in movies. With a sudden quick motion, Harry threw the box onto the ground and then stamped on it with all of his strength.

The snake lunged forward, and Harry was about to duck when the snake seemed to shatter in midair. It burst into a million pieces and then those pieces vanished. Slowly, Harry let out a long sigh of relief as he bent down to pick up the box. He placed it back down on the table carefully.

Behind him, he could hear Draco hurrying up. "What on earth happened?" Draco spluttered.

"It wasn't real," Harry said flatly. "It's obviously some sort of solid hologram controlled by that box."

Draco looked blank.

"Some sort of magical projection," Harry clarified. "I'm guessing it's some sort of cursed box. Probably created by somebody who knows Parseltongue."

Draco looked troubled.

"But at least it wasn't real," Harry said, feeling relieved. It might have been cursed with dark magic but it wasn't actually a giant snake. It made him feel a lot better. He wasn't sure whether it meant that there was somebody here who knew Parseltongue or whether the box was acting of its own accord now. Harry decided to think about it later. They needed to get out of here.

Draco chuckled. For once it was without malice. "It wasn't real," he agreed. "Of course, I wasn't scared."

"No, obviously not," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, let's get out of here before somebody finds us." He turned around and was about to walk away when suddenly Draco clutched at his arm. "What?"

Draco's voice was low. "There was somebody watching us."

Harry closed his eyes. If that was true, then the person would have seen him talk to a snake. To somebody as paranoid as Uther, talking to snakes was a definite sign of magic. "Are you sure?"

Draco looked pensive. "Not completely, but I think I saw somebody looking at us through that door crack." He pointed to a door on the other end of the hall.

Harry stared at it. It was quite far away. "They mightn't have seen anything. I mean, surely, if they did, then they would have been screaming. After all, there was a huge snake in here."

"True," Draco said. "There would have been the sound of running."

"You were obviously imagining things," Harry said. He crossed his fingers behind his back. It was the best possible option, all things concerned. He didn't want to think about what would happen to him if Uther discovered he could talk to snakes. Somehow he suspected that it would make his second year at Hogwarts look like a picnic.

Draco gave him a dubious look, but nodded. "Obviously," he muttered. "Come on. Let's go before somebody finds us here."

Harry followed.

Harry looked around the room and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. The tables were covered with papers and the there were stacks of books everywhere. He could see jars of strange looking things on the shelves and there was a distinct layer of dust over some of the tomes. He suspected that Hermione would have been perfectly at home in here.

Draco wrinkled his nose. "You said that Gaius wanted to see us?" he asked bluntly. "Why would the court physician want to see us? Especially in a place like this."

Merlin nodded. "He should be back any minute now. He had to see a patient at the palace. And I enjoy living here with Gaius. It's a nice place."

Draco rolled his eyes. "We were just at the palace. Why couldn't we have talked to him there?"

"Because there isn't much privacy there."

Harry jumped and looked around. The door behind them closed and Gaius walked around the table.

Harry was getting a rather bad feeling about all of this. He hadn't heard the door open at all. He knew from history that Merlin wasn't stupid, and it was pretty obvious that Gaius wasn't a fool either. Gaius was looking at them as if he knew something. A sudden thought occurred to Harry. Was Gaius the person who was spying on them this morning? Had Gaius seen him talking to the snake? That was very bad. Very, very bad. Gaius was obviously friendly with Uther. It didn't bode well for either of them.

"And why would we need privacy?" Draco's voice was cold.

Gaius picked up a large book from the table and blew a layer of dust off it. Harry coughed. "I just wanted to speak to you," he said mildly.

Draco inclined his head. "Did you wish to ask me questions?"

Gaius gave a faint smile that reminded Harry of Dumbledore. Gaius seemed to have the same vagueness about him and sharp penetrating stare. "Please, sit down," he said as he gestured towards a few stools that were around the table.

Harry walked over and sat down.

"No, thank you," Draco said.

Harry shifted on the seat. "You have a lot of books," he said awkwardly as he looked down at the pile in front of him.

Gaius smiled. "Both Merlin and I love reading, don't we?"

Merlin gave an uncomfortable smile as he picked up the pile of books. "I'll move this somewhere else," he said quickly and walked away with them.

"Is there a particular reason why you requested my presence?" Draco's tone was querulous. If Harry hadn't known better, he would have thought that Draco really was an offended nobleman. "I do not appreciate being summoned like this."

"My dear boy," Gaius told him. "You were not summoned. I just wished to speak to you. Both of you, actually. In the past few years, I have had so little opportunity to travel this land and from what I gather, both of you have come from far away."

"Further than you think," Harry said, without thinking.

Draco shot him a dirty look. "What my servant means to say is that we have indeed travelled very far. It is possible that my family would not appear in your books." He gestured towards the huge number of texts cluttering the room.

Gaius smiled faintly. "Of course, if you were a commoner trying to pass yourself off as a nobleman that would be a perfect cover for you. It has happened before."

Harry sighed silently. Of course it had. There was no way that Draco was getting away from this. He'd known that from the very beginning. This was a ridiculous farce. They needed to get as far away from Camelot as possible and then try to find a way home. He looked over at Draco and was about to suggest that they leave when Draco stepped forward.

"Do I look like a commoner to you?" Draco demanded.

Gaius tilted his head and stroked his chin lightly. There was a look of slight amusement on his face. "It is difficult to tell."

Draco spluttered with indignation.

"It's possible," Merlin pointed out as he walked back into the room. "After all, we did find you wandering the forest without any supplies."

"There is that," Gaius said. "Of course, it is very dangerous for somebody to try to pass themselves off as a nobleman. Very few people would even think of trying to risk Uther's wrath like that. The only people who would try something similar would be those who have nothing to lose."

Harry swallowed. He glanced over and saw a flicker of fear in Draco's eyes before Draco squared his chin.

"Are you trying to insinuate something?"

"Would you like a drink?" Gaius asked suddenly as he walked over to the side of the room. He picked up a small jug and a cup. "It's only water, but it is warm. I often find that a cup of warm water helps to warm up my old body, especially during cold mornings. I was over at the palace this morning treating Morgana and afterwards, I went to get some warmed up water from the kitchens next to the throne room."

Harry wrinkled his nose at the idea of lukewarm water. He was beginning to get an idea of where Gaius was going with this. From the expression on Draco's face, he was getting the same sinking feeling.

"I saw a rather odd sight when I looked into the throne room this morning," Gaius continued.

"Oh?" Draco asked, his face blank.

Gaius nodded. His voice was suddenly sharp. "Imagine my surprise when I saw both of you in there. Imagine my further surprise when I saw your servant talking to a snake. In a city such as Camelot, that could easily be mistaken for magic."

"I'm afraid you must have been mistaken," Draco said smoothly. "We had a long journey here and both of us slept far into the morning."

Gaius smiled. "I would almost believe you if I wasn't positive that you were lying."

"How dare you accuse me of lying?" Draco exclaimed.

Gaius turned to Merlin. "He's doing pretty well at the offended nobleman act, isn't he?"

Merlin nodded and looked amused. "Quite well. He almost reminds me of Arthur."

"I can guarantee that my blood is bluer than yours," Draco said frostily. His lips were pressed together into a tight line.

"And your magic is stronger than mine," Gaius said with a faint smile.

"Of course," Draco said and then stopped suddenly. He paled and took a step backwards.

"Got you," Merlin said with satisfaction. "So it was both of you that we saw in the throne room this morning." He turned to Harry. "You were talking to the snake and then it just disappeared."

"My dear boy," Gaius said as he laid a hand on Merlin's shoulder. "I think you're frightening them."

"Why would we be frightened? We have nothing to be frightened about. You merely tricked me into saying something," Draco snapped. "You have no proof."

Gaius quirked an eyebrow. "You imagine Uther needs proof?"

Harry had to concede that point. Uther Pendragon didn't seem like the kind of king who needed or wanted proof of magic before executing somebody. He opened his mouth but decided against it. After all, Draco had made it perfectly clear that Harry was supposed to be acting the part of a lowly servant. Servants didn't usually butt into conversations like this.

"There is no point in trying to lie," Gaius told them as he poured water into the glasses. "Would you like some?"

Harry shook his head. Draco just ignored the proffered glass. "I'm not lying," he said flatly. "Now if you'll excuse me, we must be going."

Merlin looked like he wanted to say something, but then he closed his mouth again.

Without another word, Draco spun around and marched out of the room. Harry shot Merlin and Gaius a slightly apologetic look. It wasn't their fault. Draco didn't need to be so rude. "Well, bye then," Harry said awkwardly and then fled.

"Just who do they think they are?" Draco muttered to himself as he wore a circle in the carpet.

"Well, the skinny one's Merlin," Harry offered. "Otherwise known as one of the most powerful wizards of all time. Founder of the Order of Merlin. I'm sure he did other great things too."

Draco glared at him. "Yes, I know that. I know more about Merlin than you do and that scrawny brat isn't him. It must just be some sort of coincidence."

"It's just that you've been going on and on about it for hours now," Harry protested. "On and on and on about it. It's not like they're actually lying about what they saw. I was talking to a snake."

Draco looked miffed. "It hasn't been hours."

Harry pointed towards their half-finished lunch on the table. "Several hours, in fact," he said. He was quite amused by all of this and would have been more amused if it wasn't actually all really quite serious. If either Merlin or Gaius went to Uther with the information, then they were screwed. More than screwed, really. They'd be dead over a thousand years before they'd actually been born. Harry wasn't sure it was possible for them to be in a worse situation. "Maybe we should think of leaving," he suggested.

Draco gave him a considering look. "Not the stupidest idea you've come up with, Potter," he said. "Although, if you'd stopped to think about it, we were probably dropped on the outskirts of Camelot for a reason. Whatever brought us back in time is probably connected to this place. And that giant snake was obviously magical."

Harry frowned. "So you're saying we need to stay?"

Draco signed. "I'm saying we need to tread carefully."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well that's obvious."

There was a sharp knock on the door. Harry looked at it. Was he supposed to walk over to get the door? He had no idea what servants in this era did Fortunately, the door opened before he had the chance to move and Arthur stepped in. "I take it neither of you enjoyed your lunch," he said as he gestured towards the half-finished plates on the table.

Draco gave a disarming smile. "We weren't that hungry, but it was delicious."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Our regular cook has been sick for the past week. She claims to have seen ghosts. Her substitute is terrible."

"Well, in that case, I'm glad that this isn't your regular food," Draco said. "I'd feel a bit sorry for you if it was."

Arthur laughed. "Anyway, I came here to tell you that Gaius has finished briefing my father."

"Oh?" Draco asked.

"Gaius said that it took him a while, but he has found mention of your family in one of the old texts about the land. He also found a picture of your family crest, which was on your ring that you showed my father," Arthur said. "My father gave permission for you to join our knights, if you pass the tests."

Harry let out a silent sigh of relief before a wave of worry washed over him. Gaius had found mention of the Malfoy family? He had no idea if Draco's family traced back to this era or if the source was simply fabricated. Either way, it wasn't good.

"I'm glad," Draco said smoothly. "I don't like being mistaken for a commoner."

Arthur chuckled and clapped Draco on the back. Draco winced slightly. "Nobody does. Your equipment and clothing will be deducted from any future wages you may earn, if you pass."

"Of course," Draco echoed.

Harry couldn't help but think that he looked rather green.

"I assume your servant is well-trained?" Arthur asked. "I'd offer Merlin to help you, but that boy doesn't know the difference between greaves and gauntlets."

Harry fought to keep himself from staring blankly at Arthur. He had no idea what they were either. "Of course, I know what they are," he said confidently.

Arthur looked amused. "He's rather charming, isn't he? Reminds me of Merlin when he first started working for me a few years back. Let's hope he isn't as hopeless as Merlin was back then."

"Don't worry," Draco said. "Harry's a quick study."

Arthur took half a step towards the door before he stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention that there's a jousting match tomorrow that you should participate in. Don't worry, it's only for the newer knights and those still in training and all the lances will be padded."

"Sounds like fun," Draco said his face impassive.

Arthur beamed. "It is!" The door closed behind him.

"Uh," Harry said after a short pause in which Draco didn't do anything except cradle his head in his hands. "What's jousting?"

"You don't want to know," Draco said, his voice muffled through his fingers.

"Well you don't have to do this jousting thing," Harry said practically. "Obviously Gaius didn't say anything about what he saw. Nobody will say anything if you just quit." Well, it was entirely possible that they might think of Draco as a coward, but it wasn't like that mattered in the larger scheme of things. Once they were back in the future, none of this would matter.

Draco lifted his head. "Malfoys don't just quit," he said acidly.

"Graciously step aside?" Harry suggested. "Could you do that?"

"Malfoys don't do that," Draco repeated.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Then I guess you'll have to do learn how to joust between now and tomorrow. Whatever jousting is."

It took Harry until half an hour before the jousting match to figure out exactly what jousting was. Once he'd found out, he discovered the reason for Draco's rather green tone. The entire idea of trying to skewer each other with giant poles while hanging off the back of horses seemed ridiculous. He was glad that the future seemed to have far more sensible sports like Quidditch. It didn't seem anywhere near as dangerous.

Harry heaved the rather heavy piece of armour up and plonked it on Draco's shoulder. "Are you sure you want to go through with this jousting thing?"

"Do I have much of a choice?" Draco muttered.

"Probably not," Harry replied. Draco had been looking rather despondent ever since Uther had agreed to his request of becoming a knight. He suspected that Draco hadn't really thought his plan through very well. After all, a few summers of fencing lessons wasn't really good preparation for becoming a real knight. And Draco hadn't even become one yet. This was just his first test. Harry couldn't help but think that it wasn't particularly easy for a first test.

Draco looked down. "Are you sure I should be wearing this?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, it's either this or the padded vest thing."

Draco stared at him. "I'm not going into battle. This is just training, or my first test as Arthur puts it. We're using padded lances."

"So you don't want the armour?" Harry asked. He frowned. He'd only just figured out how the damn stuff went on. It's not like it came with instructions or anything. It was remarkably confusing, much like the first time he'd worn robes. That had been rather confusing as well.

"Maybe you should go and check in some of the other tents?" Draco suggested acidly. "I'm supposed to be trained in this, after all."

Harry snorted. "You don't think they'll realise that you're a complete beginner once you get on that horse?"

"How hard could it be?" Draco snapped. "It's just hitting a sandbag with a padded lance."

Harry rolled his eyes as he walked over to push the flap of the tent back. "I think it's the padded vest thing," he called over his shoulder. He secured the flap again and walked back over to Draco.

Draco looked doubtfully at the padded vest as Harry brought it out. "That doesn't look padded enough."

Harry threw his hands up. Draco was being beyond frustrating. "It's either this or the armour. Look, you might be forgetting something. I'm not your actual servant, you know?"

"And you're also not the person who's about to be skewered," Draco grumbled as he dropped the armour piece onto the ground.

"You said it was going to be with padded lances," Harry retorted. "They're not going to skewer you." Or at least, he didn't think they would. He didn't exactly have much experience with this kind of thing. It wasn't really something that he'd ever expected to need to know. He lifted the padded vest over Draco's head and lowered it down. "You could be nicer to me."

Draco smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't have to be helping you," Harry pointed out. "I'm only doing this so you don't end up dead." He secured the vest by tying it together at Draco's sides.

Draco's eyebrow shot up even higher. "You think that somehow putting this on me will help me from dying? I could have put it on myself."

Harry gritted his teeth. Here he was trying to be nice to Draco and all Draco did was make nasty comments. He wasn't the person who came up with the ridiculous nobleman and servant story. He wasn't the one who decided that Draco was in Camelot seeking to become a knight. He wasn't the person who had got them into this ruddy situation in the first place. If it wasn't for Draco and that mirror, Harry would be at home.

"And don't you think for one moment that this is all my fault," Draco told him. "If it wasn't for me, we'd be dead somewhere from lack of food and water. Do you think Arthur would have believed us if we told him the truth?"

"Merlin might have," Harry pointed out.

"Fat lot of good that does," Draco said. "He's just a servant."

Harry was silent.

He watched as Draco reached over and picked up the lance he had been given. The pointy end was wrapped in some sort of thick skin, which was tied in place. "That doesn't look very padded," Draco said doubtfully as he poked the sharp end with his finger. "Ouch! Maybe I should go with the armour after all."

There was a loud clanging sound from outside. "Too late," Harry said. "I think it's starting. Come on. You'd better go out. You're the second jouster."

Draco looked rather pale.

"You can still back out," Harry reminded him.

"I've seen these knights," Draco muttered. "Gryffindors, all of them. If I back down now, it'll be a sign of weakness. Plus, I'm the reason we get to stay here in Camelot. Without me, we wouldn't be here. And we need to stay here. Our way home is connected to this place. That giant snake? It's magic."

Harry shrugged. "Well then, you'd better go out."

Draco took a visible breath. Harry thought he could see Draco's knees shaking slightly from beneath the long vest. "This is quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever done."

"I agree," Harry said, hiding a smile. "Now are you going out or not?"

Draco gave him a dirty look as he pushed aside the tent flap and stepped outside in the sunlight. "If I die, I'm going to haunt you."

Harry snorted. Draco was being a bit melodramatic. People didn't die in training, did they? It seemed unlikely. Having your potential knights die while being trained seemed like a terrible way to keep morale up. Plus, you needed all the knights you could get. "Go right ahead," Harry said. "Haunt away."

Draco shook his head and walked away. After a second, Harry followed him out of the tent. He didn't actually want Draco to die. After all, he was investigating him. It didn't look good on the record to have your suspects die prematurely. Looking around, Harry saw dust being kicked up in the distance. Obviously that was where the jousting match was being held.

"Doesn't look too dangerous," Harry muttered to himself as he walked over. "Just a little... violent." He winced as he saw one of the knights being thrown off his horse.

Draco shot him a death glare as he climbed on his horse.

"Good luck!" Harry called.

Draco's glare intensified. The horse twitched its tail and trotted off. Harry watched with amusement as Draco seemed to be bounced up and down on the horse. It was obvious that Draco wasn't used to riding and carrying a rather bulky lance at the same time. The horse trotted over to one end of the dirt field.

Standing up on the balls of his feet, Harry strained to see the other end of the field. Another rider seemed to be there and that rider seemed far more comfortable on his horse. "Padded lances," Harry told himself as both horses began racing forward, kicking up dust as they went. He could barely see anything from where he was, but he did hear the dull thudding sound of hooves and a whoomp sound as the horses sped past one another.

Harry bit his lip. He didn't like Draco but he didn't exactly want him dead. After all, Draco was probably his best chance of surviving long enough to get back home. Without Draco, Harry would have probably ended up in Uther's dungeons on the charge of practising magic.

Harry let out a deep breath when he saw Draco limping back, his lance trailing the dirt behind him. "You're alive."

"Barely. I hurt all over," Draco said flatly once he was back in the tent.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

Draco glared at him. "I hurt in muscles that I didn't know that I had. How is that not bad?"

"You stayed on your horse," Harry said brightly. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Draco made a grumbling sound. "I think the knights who fell off had the right idea. It would have hurt less if I'd fallen off. The ground seems softer than those padded lances."

"Well, you know that for next time," Harry told him.

Draco gave him a horrified look. "Next time?"

Harry shot him an innocent look. "Yes, didn't you know? This jousting thing goes on for hours. I checked the schedule. You're up against three other trainees. Don't worry, I checked around. They're all novices. More or less."

"More or less?" Draco's voice was dangerous.

Harry winced. "Well, one of them has won all of his jousts so far today, but that doesn't mean he's that good. I don't think he's a knight yet. Somebody said something about him being a squire or something."

"Great," Draco moaned as he prodded his ribs through the padded vest. "I'm probably going to be black and blue tomorrow. This is the training these guys go through?"

"Just imagine what the actual tournaments are like," Harry said and then regretted it when Draco shot him a dirty look.

"Maybe you'd like to get on the horse and give it a shot?" Draco suggested. "Look, with the helmet on, you could look just like me."

"No way." Harry was adamant. He'd seen what jousting was like and he wanted no part in a game that involved a bunch of grown men trying to skewer each other with giant sticks. It was as though they were trying to make a giant human kebab.

"Stop laughing," Draco snapped.

Harry stared. "I'm not."

"You're laughing on the inside. I can tell."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Maybe that blow hit your head instead of your ribcage," he suggested. "I think it might have knocked out a few brain cells." He had to admit that inwardly he was a tiny bit amused. But it wasn't more than a tiny bit and he certainly wasn't showing outward signs of that amusement.

"You're now mentally denying it to yourself," Draco told him. "It's written all over your face."

"I think your next joust is soon," Harry said pointedly. "You might want to drink some water. Eat some food."

Draco made a face. "Who would have thought that being a knight would be so much work?"

Harry snorted. Only Draco would imagine that being a knight was easy. "You're not even one yet," he reminded Draco. "Did you think that you'd prance around holding a sword and look pretty? And then girls would swoon at your feet?"

Draco looked hurt. "Well, not necessarily," he said as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Men could swoon at my feet too." He grabbed his lance and walked outside. "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck," Harry said automatically. He stared after Draco's departing figure. Did Draco just say men?