AN: YEAH, still alive. Thank you to those people that bothered to review and message me. It's because of you guys that I keep going :)

'I cannot help, you are bonded to him, you must'

Harry held on to the blonde fearfully, not knowing how he could help him. As he was panicking he suddenly felt a shiver go through him, startling him out of his thoughts. "I'm so cold." he mumbled all of a sudden. He did feel cold, but it felt strange anyway, like the feeling was more distant than he was used to. After a moment of brooding he realized it wasn't his own feeling. "Of course...we're bonded...so I can feel what he feels, right?" he asked the small dragon, not waiting for an answer before scrambling up and lifting Draco gently, carrying him back inside to their rooms and laying him down on a few pillows in front of the fire place. He sat by him until the feeling of cold faded and another one took its place. Pain. If Harry hadn't been panicking before, he sure was now. How could he help Draco with that, he didn't even know any medicinal spells. It was too late to wake Madam Pomfrey, and she would ask too many questions to be of help. He looked around the room frantically, finding Hedwig and grabbing the bird. "Bring Hermione. Quick. Please." he told her, watching the bird fly off quickly.

He didn't have to wait long. As he was pacing through the lounge gathering more pillows and blankets he looked up at the sound of Hermione being pulled in by her sleeve. She stopped as she saw Draco on the floor, looking up at Harry worriedly. "Inheritance." he told her, knowing she understood what that meant. "He's hurting. I don't know what to do." he breathed quickly, kneeling beside his mate again. Hermione barely paused before taking out her wand, performing the strongest pain-relieving spell she knew. "How's that?" she asked the Gryffindor. Harry nodded after a moment, sighing in relief. "Thank you." he mumbled.

They spent the entire night tending to Draco. Pain-relieving spells when he was going through the purge cycles, blankets on and off as his blood adjusted to the changes, right up until it was time to head to the next day of classes. "Go. He won't be in any more pain from here on. The worst is over." Harry told her, smiling gratefully up at his friend. Hermione paused before nodding, leaving the two alone and heading out to grab her books before her first class.

As soon as she was out of the door Harry slumped to the ground next to Draco, breathing heavily. "I feel...so...tired." he mumbled slowly. 'I've been trying to warn you. You kept your magic linked with the young master this entire time. By wanting to help so badly you haven't let yourself disconnect from his magic. It is helping him, but your body cannot withstand the drain of magic that is now affecting you too. You must not stay connected to him.' the dragon warned heatedly, watching Harry struggle to sit up with something close to worry. "No. I'll be okay. It's more than halfway now. And he needs me. He's lost and scared and hurting. I'm not leaving." Harry decided stubbornly, stumbling over to the bedroom to get another blanket.

"This is an exception because students are in need of this potion. Do not take this for granted. My storage rooms are not a candy store." Snape growled, watching Granger go through his ingredients, picking out a few here and there. She had explained a little bit of the threats against Harry, just enough to convince the professor to let her use some of the rarer ingredients. She wanted to get started on the shielding potion, especially now since Draco was unconscious.

She lost track of time as she worked, having a small batch of potion ready in no time. Still, because of rushing, she only had enough for two persons. After taking half for herself, she decided to give the other half of the potion to Ron. Even though he was aloof, he could duel if he needed to. And she knew Harry didn't need any more hostilities coming from him. Especially not now.

Hermione cleaned up quickly, slipping the potion into Ron's pumpkin juice at lunch. She had wanted to go check up on Harry but classes had caught up with her and she figured if he needed her again she would get another Owl in her bedroom fluttering around. With that thought she tried to concentrate on homework for the night.

Draco shifted slowly, his eyes sliding open as he came to. He knew now he'd come into his inheritance; he felt it. Still, there was something strange about it. He knew now, from the knowledge floating around in his head, that the process should have been much worse than it was. Somehow, it had felt like something soothing held on to him the entire time, and he rode out the worst parts of the process relying on that. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the blonde sat up, paling slightly when he saw his mate lying beside him. It was Harry. That soothing feeling that he had hung on to. He leaned over his mate worriedly, shaking him. "Harry. Wake up. please. Harry." he called out, breathing a great sigh of relief when the rave haired boy opened his eyes. "Thank Merlin. You could have gotten so hurt, that was so dangerous Potter. Don't ever do that again. " he growled, gathering up his mate in his arms. Harry chuckled tiredly. "Nah. I'm like a cockroach...can't kill me." he grinned, wrapping his arms around Draco. "How do you feel? You were in so much pain sometimes...you really scared me." Harry breathed.

Draco shook his head softly, kissing his cheek. "I'm all right. You kept me sane." he mumbled gratefully. "Everything feels strange, but normal at the same time. Almost like this is how I was always supposed to be." the blonde mumbled as he carried his mate tobed, setting him down gingerly and draping a blanket over him before curling up around Harry. "Get some rest." he mumbled, knowing that Harry was exhausted.

It had only been a few weeks since Draco had come into his inheritance, but somehow things seemed to be returning to normal. With the help of Granger they had brewed enough shielding potion to build up a group of trusted allies and the threats had died down and even stopped now. Somehow, everything had taken a turn for the better. Harry and Draco had grown closer and almost stopped insulting each other, almost. Everything seemed perfect, until winter vacation came along.

"If you like, you are invited to the Manor for the winter. My mother would like to get to know you." Draco suggested to his mate as he petted his hair absently. They were sitting on the large sofa in the lounge, lazing around on a Saturday afternoon. "I...don't know." Harry answered slowly. "What if she doesn't like me?" he mumbled with a small pout. "She will." Draco promised with an amused smile. Harry shrugged slowly. Thinking of the Dursleys he'd rather spend his winter in Alaska. He supposed meeting Draco's mother couldn't be too bad. "Okay. I'll come." Harry smiled softly.

He was still a little worried, but he trusted Draco, so he tried to distract himself with other thoughts. "Can we do something fun today?" he suggested, watching Draco raise an eyebrow. "Like what? Hogsmeade?" Draco suggested, smiling as he watched Harry nod eagerly. "Yeah, let's just get out of here. Besides, Harry still needed to find some sort of Christmas present for Draco. What the hell did you buy someone who had absolutely everything and enough money to buy everything else? Harry got up, getting a jacket and putting his potions book away before hopping back onto the couch. By this time, Draco was already dressed and ready, and he tugged the boy up, leading him out through the complaining portrait.

bar

By this time, Hermione Ron and Seamus had also headed out to Hogsmeade, everyone still having shopping to do. "Ron, stop staring at the broom, you have a great one already." Hermione hissed and the boy who kept stopping at practically every single store. Seamus just laughed and walked along with them. They were headed to the Wizards and Witches library, of course, since they had Hermione in the group. Neither of the two boys had the nerve to complain after getting yelled at earlier that morning so they just tagged along, completely absorbed in the pile of things they had gotten from Fred and George.

When they arrived at the Library Hermione headed in eagerly, leaving the other two to their business and telling them she'd just find them later, not wanting to be interrupted.

Harry and Draco had just finished a butterbeer and were walking around when they spotted the two. Draco sighed inwardly as he was dragged over, not really in the mood to be socializing. "Weasley. Companion." he greeted curtly. "Seamus. My name?" the boy grumbled, grinning at Harry though. "I actually need to talk to Hermione...I'm guessing she's in there...you guys can wander around, I'll meet up with you later?" Harry asked, looking up pleadingly at the blonde. "Fine." Draco sighed. Why did he always give in when Harry asked him to do something. Stupid dragon Veela gene.

Harry smiled happily at him and headed into the large building. "I actually have something to do, so if you two don't mind." Draco drawled, heading away and back to a few specific shops. "We'll be at the magical jokes shop." Seamus declared.

Harry wandered around aimlessly, sighing at all the glittering displays. He already had everything, what to get Draco was still a mystery. He did talk to Hermione, but the girl had been too distracted to really be of help, and Harry didn't blame her. This wasn't exactly easy. What did the blonde want that he didn't have already? He had everything magical and could buy everything else, so Harry decided to wander around one of the smaller shops, one that he knew carried some muggle merchandise. He found a few CDs he loved, smiling as he bought those and got them wrapped.

Draco wasn't having an easier time with Harry's gift. The Malfoy would of course never admit that he didn't know what to buy, just let his mind silently search for something, anything that might come across as a good idea. He stopped in front of one store, going in and picking out his gift, smiling softly as he hid it and headed back to meet Harry. He didn't have to agree on a meeting point with him, the Veela in him naturally tugged him in the right direction, and before long he spotted the Gryffindor. "All done?" he asked him, chuckling in amusement as Harry spun around. "Um, yeah, ready, we can go." he nodded. "What happened to Seamus and Ron?" he asked then, watching the blonde shrug. "They'll find their way back." he drawled. Harry rolled his eyes at the blonde. "You're damn special y'know." Harry snickered, taking his hand as they walked back to Hogwarts. "I feel special." Draco answered matter-of-factly, the Veela inside of him jumping happily at the touch.

Harry bit his lip as he tried to let the sway of the coach relax him, still dreading the idea of meeting Draco's parents. "It'll be fine." Draco mumbled softly, wrapping his arms around the raven haired boy. Harry smiled up at him, nodding and leaning against him for the rest of the ride. Malfoy Manor was more than impressive, freakin huge by Harry's standards. He didn't know how people managed to live in places so big. Still, his opinion changed as Draco led him in. Inside the seeming castle, something about it seemed...inviting. There was a pleasant calm, coupled with beautiful decorations and a natural light. "Wow...it's so...homey." Harry mumbled, smiling when he heard Draco burst into a laugh. "Only you." the blonde mumbled, shaking his head. He wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders, leading him in.