Draco ran a hand down the side of Harry's face, pulling him out of his sleep. Harry blinked a few times, clearing the sleep from his eyes, and focused on the blue eyes that were staring into his.
"Draco?" Harry asked sleepily, smiling at the hand on his face.
"I wanted to tell you…" Draco said softly, licking his lower lip slowly as he paused. "That I truly meant what I said, I missed you more than anything Harry."
"I know." Harry nodded, reaching up to place his hand over Draco's, their fingers intertwining.
"And I am going to do anything… anything it takes, to make it up to you." Butterflies soared through Harry's stomach as Draco's fingertips pushed towards the back of his head and pulled him forward. "Anything." Draco whispered before his lips claimed Harry's.
Harry moaned softly, reaching out to wrap his arms around Draco's shoulders. Draco's lips were soft, warm, and delicious.
"I love you." Harry whispered against his lips.
"Harry?" Draco asked and broke away from him, a strange look on his face.
"Harry…" Draco whispered, gripping Harry's upper arm and pulling him out of his sleep. Harry gasped, and sat straight up in the bed, turning around to look at Draco.
"Was that too fast? I didn't mean it." He half shouted, eliciting a confused look from the other boy.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I…" Harry trailed off and looked around the room. Dumbledore was sitting at the small table, and smiled at him in greeting. Fear settled in the pit of his stomach. "Thought… Sorry, I was dreaming I guess…" Draco shot him another look before he shook his head and dropped it.
"I have breakfast, boys." Dumbledore called their attention before turning his back to them to pick up a pastry and place it on a golden plate before him. "Get dressed, come eat, and then we will get down to business."
Harry pulled back the covers and pulled his jeans on from their spot on the floor. He could feel Draco slide out of the bed behind him and he stiffened as Draco's arm brushed his leg as he bent down to grab his sneakers.
"What's up with you?" Draco asked as he stood up again.
"Nothing." Harry assured him and threw a smile over his shoulder. "Really, I'm fine." As Draco pushed past him towards the table, Harry exhaled. He had dreamt about Draco last night… He reached up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, shaking himself as he did so. It was just a dream. He told himself, and then repeated it again.
He took his seat beside Dumbledore and piled his plate full of eggs, sausages and pastries. He kept his face angled down towards his food, but studied Draco through his lashes. His hair was a complete mess from sleeping, but the tousled look ended up framing his face nicely. It actually made him look quite sexy… Stop it. Harry reprimanded himself and tore his eyes away from Draco's face.
It was just a dream. A very, very interesting dream. But a dream nonetheless. Harry had been caught up from being overjoyed at having Draco back in his life, and because they had been sleeping so close when they fell asleep, and because Draco had needed him so much in the past few days… Honestly, it all made sense. If he were to ask Professor Trelawney about what his dream meant, he was positive that is exactly what she would say too.
Harry snorted into his coffee at the thought of explaining the dream of him and Draco kissing was comical. Silence fell over the table and Harry looked up to see both Draco and Dumbledore staring at him.
"Um," He started and put the coffee down on the table. "You… eh… ever have those moments where you think of doing or saying something, and it would be funny, but it never actually happened and you can't stop yourself from laughing anyways?"
"Did someone jinx you, Harry?" Draco asked before turning back to his eggs. "You're acting strange this morning."
"Yeah… I mean no, no one jinxed me." Harry shook his head and sighed. "So, Professor Dumbledore, what's the plan for today?" Harry asked hoping to change the subject in both the conversation and in his mind. He could feel Draco's eyes still on him, studying him, and he swallowed hard and focused on Dumbledore's face.
"We will finish our breakfast, and then we will talk about what I need from Mister Malfoy." Dumbledore smiled at Harry and took another bite of a pastry, dripping jam onto his plate.
"About that…" Draco pulled his eyes away from Harry's face and turned his body so he was facing Dumbledore. "I know you grazed over the subject when you first offered it to me… but I don't understand how any of this is going to work."
"We will talk about what I need from Mister Malfoy, and then we will eat breakfast." Dumbledore's smile was kind as he placed his pastry back down and folded his hands over his lap. "It is not going to be easy… for any of us. But it is possibly the most important resource we are going to have. If we want to defeat Voldemort and stop this war… We are going to have to be proactive and take risks."
"What types of risks are we talking about, Professor?" Harry asked, looking between the two of them.
"He wants me to get information from my parents, and the other death eaters, on Voldemort's thoughts and movements… so that we can be a step ahead of him." Draco said, sitting back into his chair.
"How are you supposed to do that?" Harry asked, alarmed. "Voldemort is many things, but he isn't stupid. You can guarantee that he knows you have turned sides… Hell, that's why you're here in the first place."
"It is a very dangerous mission, Harry." Dumbledore said as he picked at the pastry before him. "Fortunately, I have secured some tools to assist with this project. And we will take every precautionary measure we can to assure safety."
"You want Draco to spy on his family and on Voldemort's inner circle?" Harry asked again, eyeing Dumbledore in disbelief. "He will be killed."
"Harry, it's my risk to take." Draco interjected, pulling his friends attention back to him. "I want to do this, I want to help."
"This is suicide."
"Mister Malfoy is not the only advantage we have on our side. This is war Harry, and we will do our best to make sure our side is prepared for anything that comes their way." Dumbledore patted Harry's arm and offered him what was supposed to be a reassuring smile. "Now, I have gotten word that there is going to be a meeting at the Malfoy Manor coming up tomorrow night, and that will be where we will begin."
Harry sat back into the chair and tried to absorb the situation. Before him, both Draco and Dumbledore were talking about their plan calmly, as if breaking into Malfoy's parents' house and eavesdropping on a secret meeting of Voldemort and his Death Eaters was the most normal thing they could be doing three days before Christmas.
He had just gotten his best friend back… and he was going to lose him. How could they be so confident they had this under control? And who the hell was Dumbledore talking about that was already on this crazy recon mission? Harry closed his eyes, letting his head fall into his hands.
"Harry?" Draco asked, pushing back from the table and crossing around it to place his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah… I just need a few minutes." Harry shoved back from the table. "I need to find Ron and Hermione. I'll be back in a bit." Without waiting for a reply, he left Draco and Dumbledore staring after him. Once he reached the hallway, he took off running towards the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Who does he mean?" Hermione asked, sitting on the end of Harry's bed beside Ron. Harry had explained the morning to them quickly, skipping his dream of course, the bed's canopy drawn around them.
"I don't know, Hermione… But neither one of them were batting an eye. Dumbledore wants Draco to just stroll into his parents' house and eavesdrop on Voldemort. How the hell is that going to end up a success?"
"Is that really what Dumbledore asked him to do?" Hermione asked, chewing her bottom lip.
"Well, I think that was implied… I kind of tuned out at the end before I came here."
"What if you give him your cloak?" Ron suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "At least then he would be able to be hidden."
"That's true…" Harry trailed off. "But how do they know Voldemort hasn't set up other precautions? I highly doubt he would just have the house open for people to apparate and attend this meeting at their own free will."
"Well, perhaps that's what Dumbledore meant about the tools he has collected. The Dark Lord is afraid of Dumbledore for a reason… Perhaps he has something that can detect dark magic barriers and things to make sure Draco won't be walking into a trap or get hurt." Hermione patted Harry's knee as he threw himself backwards onto the pillows.
"I don't know 'Mione." Harry sighed and closed his eyes again. "Remember how last week we were excited about Christmas and not having to worry about anyone being murdered by Voldemort?"
"Mate, I think it's probably best if you got the entire plan from Dumbledore before you start worrying too much. Regardless, Draco is still a student. I don't think Dumbledore would just let him waltz to his death." Ron nudged Harry's leg with his own. "Come on, grab your cloak and let's go see if they're still talking."
"I have a headache." Harry mumbled in response before allowing himself to be yanked back into a sitting position by both of his friends. He sighed and threw back the curtains to the bed, jumping slightly as he saw Draco standing there at the side of the bed. "Draco?"
"Hermione's charms are pretty good." Draco smiled at her, Hermione flushing a brilliant pink at the compliment. "I couldn't open the curtain, or let you know I was here. I figured you would have to come out eventually."
"How did you get in here?" Ron asked, confused.
"Since most of the students are home for break, Dumbledore gave me the password and let The Fat Lady know I was allowed to come in. You okay Harry?" Draco asked, facing his best friend. "You kind of ran out of the room…"
"I'm just worried you're going to be killed, Draco. And I think it's a pretty reasonable fear."
"Well, if it helps… I'm not going to be actually eavesdropping on the meeting."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, pushing over on the bed to allow Draco to climb up with the rest of them. Hermione pulled the curtains back again, replacing the charms.
"Well… I am doing more of an artifact mission. Dumbledore already has someone that's going to be listening in on the meeting… and before you ask," Draco cut off Ron and Hermione who had both opened their mouths to ask who. "I have no idea who else he has on the inside of this. Apparently, my father has collected many different things in the house that were once Voldemort's or can be used as a weapon against us."
"I understand the point of the weapons… But why would he want things that belonged to Voldemort?" Hermione asked, confused.
"I asked, but he told me that it would all be explained 'in time'." Draco shrugged his response. "Because I know the house the best, he thinks I may be able to figure out where my father has hidden these things… We'll see I guess…"
"Well…" Ron said after silence fell over the group. "Harry said this isn't going to happen until tomorrow night, right?"
"Yeah," Draco nodded. "Dumbledore said that he would debrief me about it tomorrow, and I would meet who his inside man is so I know who to look for incase something goes wrong. Which it won't." He emphasized, meeting Harry's eyes.
"Well, I say tonight we score some butterbeer and play some chess." Ron pushed himself off the bed, revealing the rest of the room as he threw the curtains back. "What do you say?"
"I say, I'm going to kick your ass, Weasley." Draco smiled, sighing as he threw himself off the bed. "I would love to get my mind off of this crap for a few hours."
"I left my board in the common room." Ron smiled at him and started towards the door.
"Be right there!" Hermione called after them, reaching out to grab Harry's arm and stop him from following. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked once they were alone.
"I'm going to have to be." Harry sighed, reaching up to pat her hand which was still on his arm. "I can't let him know I'm terrified this is going to go all wrong, can I?"
"I'll go see Dumbledore and find out what kind of tools he was talking about. And I'll tell him you offered to let Malfoy use your cloak. Now go make sure they don't kill eachother over that stupid game."
"Thanks, Hermione." Harry smiled, pulling her into a tight hug.
"You're welcome, Harry."