Harry smiled in appreciation as the Burrow came into view in the early morning light. Dumbledore's important business had turned out to be a trip to an old friend; the man had seemed quite eccentric. Upon their arrival he had wrecked the house in which he was staying and disguised himself as an armchair, afraid that they may be Death Eaters seeking him out. In the end he had agreed to Dumbledore's proposition to return to Hogwarts as a teacher. He had seemed strangely fascinated by both boys, and enjoyed talking about the students that he had formerly taught. He was quite proud of their accomplishments.

Before proceeding towards the Weasley's lopsided house, Dumbledore pulled both boys out of sight.

"I am proud of you, Harry and Draco," he said, "for learning to put aside your differences in the past weeks. I am aware that staying here will be stressful for you Draco. Unfortunately it will be difficult for the Weasleys to accept you. Let me assure you that they are good people, who have a great capacity for kindness. If you are open and honest with them they will, in time, come to trust you. Until then I am certain that you will have the support of Harry, and of Arthur and Molly Weasley, who understand a good deal about the situation that you are in."

Draco nodded his head numbly. Harry could see fear in his eyes.

"Now, before we continue, there are several things that I would like to make you aware of." Dumbledore was addressing Daco directly. "Firstly, I want to assure you that, for the time being, your mother is safe. Her situation remains precarious, but no harm had fallen to her."

Draco gave a weak smile at this news as relief washed across his face.

"Secondly, is, of course, the matter of money." Draco's smile was quickly replaced by a grimace. "You have, of course been restricted completely from your parent's Gringott's vault. You will no longer be able to access any of their money or to open any credit in their I was able to act quickly to secure your personal vault. All of your assets have been moved to a new vault which you have sole access to."

Draco's smile returned, a little broader, at the good news.

"The last matter," Dumbledore continued, "Is sadly not of such a welcome nature. In past weeks it has become clear that you will not safely be able to remain in Slytherin house in the coming year. As it is not our tradition to re-sort students, there is no existing protocol on how to handle such a matter. However, I have come up with a solution that I hope will be acceptable for everyone."

"Will I be joining another house then?" Draco asked.

"Yes," replied the headmaster. "I am afraid that you will have to do so. I propose that in the next month you should determine which house you would most like to join. When school reconvenes on September first we will discuss the matter again, and if we are in agreeance then you can join the house of your choosing."

Draco seemed perplexed by this idea. "Professor," he began hesitantly, "I don't know what other house I could fit into. I've never thought of myself as anything but a Slytherin."

Dumbledore smiled at Draco and gave a small wink. "You would do well in any of the houses, Draco," he answered. "But it is up to you to decide what you value most."

This seemed to signal the end of the conversation. Dumbledore resumed his walk up the path, the two students trailing behind.

"Your OWL results should arrive later today,' the Headmaster beamed at them. "I'm sure that you're both quite excited."

Harry chuckled. "Not as excited as Hermione must be."

They approached the Weasley's back door. From inside Harry could see a flurry of movement, followed by Mrs. Weasley's voice cutting into the early morning stillness.

"Who's there? Declare yourself!"

"It is I, Dumbledore," the wizard replied. "Bringing young friends."

Harry could see Draco tense as the door flew open. "Dumbledore!" Molly exclaimed in relief. "I thought you wouldn't be here until later."

"It so happens that we were lucky," Dumbledore answered. "Horace Slughorn proved to be quite easily convinced." He stepped forward as Molly ushered them into the kitchen. "Hello, Nymphadora."

Tonks was sitting at the table, peering into a cup of tea. At Dumbledore's greeting she raised her head, only to be captivated by something behind him. Harry turned to see that she was staring at Draco.

"H-Hello," Tonks stammered breathlessly. "Draco, right?"

Draco nodded his head slowly."Yeah," he said, "I'm Draco. You're- you're Nymphadora Tonks, right?"

Tonks slid back her chair. She looked sad, Harry thought, and surprisingly regular without her signature bubblegum pink hair. She crossed the room to Draco and stuck out her hand.

"It's nice to finally meet you," she said shyly. "I've always wondered what kind of person my cousin was."

Draco hesitated for a moment before grasping her hand. "It's nice to meet you too," he replied with a small smile.

Tonks hesitated for a moment. "Are you alright? I know the Malfoys are pale, but you're like a ghost."

"Yes," interjected Dumbledore, "I wanted to speak to Molly about that. It seems that Draco was injured last night. Thanks to some quick thinking on Harry's part he will be fine, but he has several bad cuts on his arm and has lost a good deal of blood. I was hoping that you would be able to look after him, and ensure that he heals properly."

Mrs. Weasley looked at Draco and smiled softly. "Of course I will. I have some blood replenishing potion upstairs from when Arthur-" she paused. "I'll get it for you in a few minutes."

Tonks turned to Mrs. Weasley. "Thank you Molly, for the tea. And for listening."

"It was no problem dear," Mrs. Weasley continued to smile. "Why don't you come to dinner Thursday? Remus will be here."

Tonks shook her head. "No, I don't think that would be best," she replied sadly. She picked up her jacket. "I'm afraid I must really be going."

"Allow me to accompany you," Dumbledore said. "I have business with the minister."

Tonks nodded her head and the two of them disappeared out the door, leaving Harry and Draco alone as Mrs. Weasley bustled off.

Harry looked at Draco curiously. "I didn't realize you and Tonks are cousins." He thought of the tapestry that hung in 12 Grimmauld Place.

Draco nodded slowly. "Our mothers are sisters. Narcissa, Andromeda, and Bellatrix. We've never met before. I remember seeing her around Hogwarts a few times in our first year though." There was a distant look in his eyes.

Harry thought he heard someone on the stairs. As he turned to look he heard a crash behind him. He swung back around to see Draco lying on the floor, clutching at his arm.

"Draco! What happened?"
Draco looked up at him, squinting. "I'm tired. It hurts." His head slumped backwards.

Harry threw himself down and caught Draco's head just in time before it hit the floor. He lowered the unconscious boy down gently before pulling up his sleeve to check the wounds.

Mrs. Weasley bustled back into the room. A look of alarm spread over her face as she saw the boys huddled on the floor.

"What happened?" she asked anxiously as she hurried closer.

"He passed out," Harry answered, examining the cuts. There was no blood, but the Mark burned black. Mrs. Weasley lowered herself to the floor beside him. Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw her cringe as she looked at Draco's arm.

"He didn't want it," Harry muttered. "He tried to cut it off. That's what all of this is from."

Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Dumbledore told Arthur and myself what to expect." She grasped Draco's arm. "Are those what the muggles call stitches? I remember, Arthur tried them."

Harry nodded his head. "Yeah, it was the best I could do. I found him bleeding in the bathroom, and I couldn't do any magic. I'm afraid that they'll come out though, or that they'll get infected."

Harry felt an arm slip around his shoulders. He leaned into Mrs. Weasley. The touch felt comforting.

"I'll take care of it," she promised. "Starting by giving him some of this." She pulled her hand away from Harry and reached into her robe to retrieve a small vial. "Blood replenishing potion. Now, if you can hold him up a bit, like this, I think he'll feel much better once he can get some of this down."

Harry helped Mrs. Weasley to trickle some of the potion down Draco's throat. Colour began to come back to his cheeks as he stirred. A few moments later, his eyes fluttered open.

"Why am I on the floor?"

Harry chuckled in relief as Mrs. Weasley handed Draco the vial. He gulped it down as Harry told him about his fall.

"Are you boys hungry?" Mrs. Weasley's voice came from across the kitchen. Harry looked at Draco, who nodded.

"Yeah, I think we both are." he called back as he helped Draco towards a seat at the table.

Mrs. Weasley spooned a large bowl of steaming soup out of a simmering pot for each of the boys. Setting it in front of them, she waved her wand at a loaf of bread. Immediately two pieces split off and soared over to rest with the soup. Harry beamed up at her.

The boys ate as if they were famished. Draco seemed to forget, or otherwise disregard, his impeccable manners as he tore at the bread and dipped it into his soup. He smiled contentedly, the anxiety momentarily vanishing from his face.

Mr. Weasley arrived home as the boys ate. Exhausted, he sat down beside them and ate just as vigorously. Finally he pushed back his plate, glancing at Harry just as he tried to stifle a yawn.

"I think it's time you two got to bed," Mr. Weasley observed. Mrs. Weasley turned towards them.

"Yes," she agreed. "It's very late. Fred and George are staying in the flat above their shop in Diagon Alley. Their joke shop is doing very well, they're too busy keeping up with it to come home every night. I've made up the beds in their room." She paused, chewing her lip nervously. "If that's not alright, we can wake up Ron and set up a bed for Harry in his room." She looked pensively towards the boys.

"No," said Draco softly, "That would be fine. I don't mind sharing a room with Harry. So long as he doesn't mind." He glanced towards Harry.

Harry shook his head. "Fred and George's room sounds fantastic, Mrs. Weasley," he asserted. He turned towards Draco. "Besides,someone has to make sure you don't pass out again." The playful tone in his voice did not quite cover his concern.

Mrs. Weasley led them to a room on the second floor. Other than the beds pushed against either wall, it looked more like a storage room than a bedroom, with boxes piled everywhere. Harry's trunk and Draco's bag were there waiting for them as they sank eagerly into bed.