Hi everyone :)
As always, thank you to everyone who reviewed and, it just occurred to me earlier, this is my most popular and most reviewed story ever. True, it's also my longest but still, I'm pretty chuffed with how much everyone likes it. You know what would make me really, really, really happy? If I could get 1000 reviews by the time this story has ended. That would make me so incredibly happy :)
Now, some of you who pay attention to reality may realise that today isn't Monday but is, in fact, Sunday. Now, anyone who can count knows that Monday is five days away from Wednesday and so should be the day I update. However, I have University classes all day on Mondays and so have no time to post. So, being nice, instead of making you wait six days for the next update, I've only made you wait four days :)
Okie dokie, I'll leave you all to it, see you at the bottom :)
29th August 1994: Morning
Harry limped into the living room of his and Severus' cottage, a bowl of cereal in his right hand and his left hand pressed against any piece of furniture or section of wall which was available to steady himself against. His father had gone to Hogwarts early that morning and would be staying there the majority of the day, preparing for the fast approaching start of the new school year. So Harry was left with Elincia somewhere around the house, (they were watching her for Draco since he went to France) to cope on his own with an injured ankle for the majority of the day. Not that he minded that too much though, he'd had enough of the Potion Master's mothering to last him the rest of his life. Besides, Draco and Lucius were due back that day and they'd no doubt come and visit as soon as they were settled back at the manor if only to retrieve the cat.
To say the dark haired boy was excited about the return of his godfather and best friend would be an understatement. If it wasn't for the fact walking around was such a chore with his injured and heavily bandaged ankle, he wouldn't have been able to sit still. However, with the joyous anticipation of the return, there was also the nervous anticipation, mostly centred around Draco. Draco would now be a fully fledged Luna Veela, well into his Inheritance, and from what Harry had already read, he expected the blonde to have changed quite a bit. The young Malfoy would look different and he'd probably act differently and he would definitely start looking for a mate and that was the root of the slight fear which Harry felt. He didn't know for sure whether he was Draco's mate or not.
Yes, okay, it was pretty safe to assume that he was considering how Draco had been acting around him for years now, but until a Veela reached their Inheritance, there really was no way to tell for sure. There had been cases in the past where a Veela on the verge of their Inheritance and found who they thought was their mate but then upon reaching the Inheritance quickly discovered it was someone else. Harry didn't think he could stand it if that were the case, it broke his heart to think of Draco with anyone else but him.
In a movement which was a complete oxymoron of itself, Harry slumped down on the sofa gracefully, succeeding in not upsetting his cereal. He ate his breakfast in silence, enjoying the peace and quiet and amusing himself with looking around at the various photographs dotted around the room.
It had always been a source of great amusement for Harry to think of what the students and teachers alike at Hogwarts would think if they were to ever find out just how homey Severus could be. Most probably held the opinion that the man lived in a dungeon full time, spending every waking hour making various, foul-smelling potions. True, Severus did spend a lot of his free time making potions, most of which did smell foul, but even their basement, where their potions lab was, contained photos though they were mostly copies of the originals which were on display somewhere else in the house.
The photos would definitely surprise a fair number of people at school. Severus was a very visual person; he wasn't content with merely remembering past events, he liked to be able to see them which was probably one of the reasons why the man seemed to have about five million different pensieves. So, the majority of the pictures were of Harry and his father at various stages of their lives.
Finishing off his breakfast, Harry smiled at the picture hanging on the wall of himself as a toddler and Severus as a young man, probably only just turned twenty-one, twenty-two at that point. He recognised the setting as a part of the gardens at Malfoy Manor where he and his father were living at that point. Toddler-Harry was sitting between his father's legs who was sitting back against a large tree and they were both quite clearly asleep. In the background, Narcissa would walk by being led by a hyperactive, toddler-Draco from the right of the picture and when they disappeared behind the tree Severus and Harry were sleeping against, the picture would start again and Narcissa and Draco would enter in from the right again. For years it had been a bitter-sweet reminder of how calm and pleasant his life had been before Voldemort became such a huge part of it and it served to both warm and chill Harry's heart.
Harry rose and limped out of the living room then, heading into the kitchen to put his bowl and spoon in the washing up bowl where it would stay the remainder of the day until Severus returned home and washed, dried and put away everything with a mere flick of his wand. He then headed back to the stairs, deciding to go back up to his bedroom as that was where all his stuff was and there was very little to do downstairs.
After a long, complicated, slow and frustrating climb to the top of the stairs, having to make allowances for his injured ankle all the while, Harry limped into his bedroom and promptly collapsed onto his neatly made bed, scaring Elincia, who had been curled up on the end, in the process and prompting her to run from the room. He ignored the cat though and gave an irritated huff as he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. There was very little for him to do that day. Injured ankle meant flying was out if he didn't want to risk even more pain; his summer homework was all complete; there was nothing for him to read; and Elincia had just bolted. So all he could really see to do was lay there, as he was, until either his father returned home or Lucius and Draco came to visit; several hours in that one position then.
He lost track of how much time passed. It might have been minutes, or an hour or maybe even a couple of hours. In fact, it was possible that he dozed off to sleep again while he was laying there. However, the amount of time wasn't really important as it was a period of him doing nothing else but existing. It was only when the very definite sound of footsteps coming up the stairs did the interest in life come back and Harry sat up with a confused frown. It was still only mid-morning so who could it possibly be coming up the stairs? The answer soon became apparent when, just as he stood up from his bed, the door opened to reveal a very different looking Draco Malfoy.
The summer, and his Inheritance, had obviously been very kind to Draco as he looked completely ravishing. He'd grown at least half a dozen inches taller making him around 6'2/6'3, way taller than Harry was, but the increased height didn't make him look gangly like it probably would most other sixteen year old boys. It suited his new, more mature appearance as his face had lost its boyish roundness and had become more defined. In fact, Draco looked a lot more like Lucius now especially since the youngest Malfoy had obviously decided to grow his hair. It now reached his chin, the ends curling just underneath his jaw line, and it seemed to shine a lot more than it did before and if Harry'd had a poetic bone in his body, he might've described it as now being like strands of spun white gold.
No matter how you described Draco's new features however, it always came back to one main point; if Draco had been good-looking before, he was now the sort of person that Hollywood would hire even if he couldn't act to save his life. It really was amazing what two months in France and coming into a Veela Inheritance could do to a person.
"Woah, talk about your growth spurt." Harry said as he tilted his head back to look the blonde in the face as he was approached by the Veela.
Draco made no reply to that comment except to move forward one last pace and seize Harry in a tight embrace. "Merlin, I missed you." He breathed against the top of dark hair. "You haven't changed at all. You're still how I left you exactly. I missed your scent so much..."
"So I am your mate then?" Harry checked hopefully, a smile spreading across his face.
Before Draco would make any reply, the voice of Severus yelled from downstairs. "Draco Malfoy, where are you?"
"What's Father doing here? He's not supposed to be back until this evening." Harry mused out-loud before being slightly startled by Draco abruptly releasing him and turning towards the bedroom door, keeping Harry behind him as if ready to protect him. "Draco?"
"Whatever happens Harry, remember that it's you I love; you and no one else."
Before Harry could question that cryptic sentance, his bedroom door flew open to reveal a rather frantic looking Severus and Lucius, both with their wands drawn. Harry stared at them in complete shock, shock which only increased upon Draco drawing his own wand. "What in Merlin's name are you all doing?" He gasped in horror.
"Draco, I want you to stay calm and put your wand back in your pocket. Then, move away from Haryon." Lucius instructed his son in a slow, overly calm tone.
"No." Draco answered coldly.
"This isn't going to anyone anywhere Draco. Just put your wand away and we can talk."
"We're talking now."
"Please don't make this difficult." Lucius practically pleaded with him.
"For goodness sake Lucius." Severus frowned at the man beside him. "Draco, step away from Haryon immediately."
Draco gave a somewhat bitter laugh. "You honestly think I'm going to listen to you in regards to Harry? I know just how to feel about all of this and if you think for a second that I'm going to leave my mate..."
"He is not you mate Draco!" Severus snapped at him irritably.
Harry's heart turned to stone and slowly sank to the pit of his stomach. "I'm not?" He asked, his voice wobbling slightly.
"Don't listen to him Harry." Draco instructed the dark haired boy quickly, never taking his glare off of the two men across the room from them. "And you shut up before you upset my mate any further." He yelled to his godfather.
"Haryon isn't your mate Draco and you know it." Lucius told his son in a more sympathetic tone.
"Why do you both keep saying that?" Harry inquired, peering around Draco's side.
"Because you can't be Draco's mate Haryon." Lucius told him gently.
"Shut up." Draco ordered, turning his glare from Severus onto his father.
"Draco doesn't have a mate." Severus ended the explanation.
"Shut up!" The Luna Veela raged.
"Draco, please." Harry said quietly as he rested a hand on the Veela's arm. The blonde relaxed a bit from the contact but not much. Harry eyed him in concern for a moment before turning to the two men. "What do you mean Draco doesn't have a mate? He is a Luna Veela isn't he?"
"Yes, but he has only inherited some of the Luna Veela abilities from his mother: the enhanced attraction; the high sex drive; reaction to the full moon. Having a mate is not one of the things he has." Lucius explained, keeping his wand on his son carefully.
"But..." Harry floundered somewhat uselessly. "But what about right now? I'm touching him and it's calmed him down; only his mate could do that. And all Veela have mates or else they die!"
"There isn't enough Veela in Draco to produce that kind of effect. He could live quite happily with anyone in this world and not die for lack of his mate. The reason you have the affect a mate would have on him is because you're what is called a "phantom mate"." The elder Malfoy told him. Harry gave him a curious look and so he continued. "A phantom mate is something which occurs with a part-Veela of either kind who doesn't inherit the need for a mate. It can be anyone, anyone at all, who the Veela unconsciously chooses around the very beginning of their Inheritance. They work much the same way as a normal mate for a full Veela except with two exceptions: the laws made to help and protect Veela and their mates are not applicable and the part-Veela would not die if the phantom mate rejected them."
"In other words, you should feel no duty to agree to this or guilt for rejecting him Haryon." Severus pointed out sternly in what Harry liked to call Teaching Mode.
Harry studied his father for a moment before realising something. "You don't want me to be with Draco." He revealed unsurely. Severus made no reply and that was enough confirmation for Harry. "Why not?"
"You don't want Haryon to be with Draco at all? Is that what this is all about? I thought you just didn't want him to be forced into anything without knowing the details?" Lucius said with a frown in the black haired man's direction.
"I never said anything to that effect; it's not my fault that's what you assumed." Severus replied stiffly.
"So why is it then? What's wrong with my son?" Lucius demanded with a frown.
"Oh come now Lucius, even you must admit that Draco and Haryon are not well suited. Draco is far too...Mature."
Draco snorted at that. "Is that a polite way of saying I've shagged too many people for your innocent, Gryffindor darling?"
"Draco, language." Lucius scolded him.
"And as it so happens, yes Draco, that's exactly what I meant. I will not have you coercing my son into things he isn't ready for." Severus told him firmly.
"He's not your..."
"Everyone be quiet!" Harry yelled suddenly, effectively bringing the other three occupants of the room to silence and cutting Draco off from saying what he knew was going to be an incredibly stupid and hurtful thing. "Draco, do not speak to our fathers like that, Uncle Lucius, getting angry is not going to help the situation and Father, do try and be a little more understanding." He paused and looked at the other three in turn. "We've been through too much to let something as simple as this drive us all apart." He sighed lightly before rubbing his eyes. "Uncle Lucius, Draco, if you could both please go wait downstairs while I talk to Father..."
"But Harry..." Draco tried to protest but was cut off by Harry's pointed look. He immediately dropped what he was about to say and trudged over to the still-open bedroom door. Lucius followed him and shut the door behind himself as he went, leaving Harry and Severus alone.
For a long moment, the two Snapes stood still in their positions, not speaking or making eye contact. Then, Harry released a sigh and was the first to move. He wandered over to his father and took the man's larger hand in his own before leading him over to the bed. With a bit of gentle coaxing, Severus perched on the edge of the mattress before Harry climbed up onto the bed and crawled around so he was kneeling behind the stern man. Then, he basically draped himself over the man's shoulders, bringing his arms around his neck in a loose circle.
"Are you okay?" Harry murmured into his father's shoulder.
"I have, admittedly, felt better." Severus admitted.
"Draco was just angry; he didn't mean to be like that."
"I'm sure." The Potions Master replied doubtfully.
"Why don't you want me to be with him?" Harry asked gently, turning his head so he was looking at the pale skin of his father's neck.
"He wouldn't be any good for you Haryon. You are both too...Different." Severus insisted.
"The same could be said of you and Uncle Lucius yet I know you've found happiness with him." The teenager revealed gently.
"That is a completely different scenario which bears no relation to this situation." The man muttered, a very light pink flushing his cheeks in embarrassment.
"Even though Draco is basically a clone of his father and I'm very much like you?"
"Yes, it is different because we are both a lot older than you and Draco are. You have only just turned sixteen Haryon, you're not ready for the sort of relationship that someone like Draco would want."
"Yes, I know, I totally agree with you, and I've made that perfectly clear to Draco as well. I don't want things to go too far yet and he knows that and he's okay with that."
"There is such a thing as being caught in the moment." Severus pointed out reasonably.
"So it's my self control your worried about as well then." Harry inquired, slightly offended by that.
"I'm not saying that you'd do it intentionally..."
"Father," he interrupted the man before he could go further. "If it's things like that that worry you then I'm never going to be able to reassure you. When it comes to this, I can't guarantee what's going to happen in the future, but what I can do is promise that I will try my very hardest to not "get caught in the moment". I'll always try and stop anything that happens before it gets too far and if for some reason I don't, I'll make sure Draco knows to stop himself before things go too far. I may not be mature enough for such an intimate relationship but I am mature enough to manage a relationship."
Severus released a small sigh before bringing his hand up to hold onto one of Harry's. "When did you grow up without me even noticing?"
"It does sort of sneak up on you doesn't it?" Harry grinned lightly as he squeezed his father's hand and kissed his cheek. "You'll always be the one I love the most." He murmured softly and completely seriously.
Severus said nothing to that, instead replying by turning his head and kissing the corner of his son's mouth. He then sighed once more and stood causing Harry's arms to fall from him as he did. "I had best return to Hogwarts now, I was in the middle of making a rather complex potion when Lucius came shooting out of my fire-place completely panicked about what Draco might do; it would be a shame to waste such expensive ingredients."
"What did he think was going to happen?" Harry asked curiously as he shuffled off of the bed and got to his feet.
"I got the impression he fully expected Draco to lock you away with him somewhere and never let you leave for fear of us taking you away from him." Severus replied with a light smirk, obviously being able to find it amusing now that the worry was over.
"Don't you think that's rather sad; the fact that it was possible that we all made him feel that way?" Harry asked sadly, accepting his father's offer of support to help him walk with as much ease as possible.
"I have already accepted the fact you will both now be together, do not expect sympathy from me as well." The sour man grunted in such a way Harry had to laugh a little.
They made their way downstairs slowly, allowing time for Harry to go down carefully to limit any pressure which might twinge his ankle. Lucius and Draco were waiting at the bottom of the stairs for them, Draco looking rather worried while Lucius merely appeared to be bored, though that meant nothing as the man was so good at hiding his feelings. The two blondes looked up when the father and son reached them though.
Severus gently released Harry from his supporting hold, the teenager immediately stretching out a hand to the wall in order to support his weight on it. Then, the Potions Master stepped right up to the young Luna Veela who was standing at the stairs' banister. For a few seconds, the two Slytherin's stared each other down, onyx black clashing with steel grey, until, finally, it was the older of the two who broke the silence:
"You break his heart, I'll break your legs." Severus muttered before turning and going into the living room, no doubt to use the floo in the fire place.
"I had better go after him." Lucius sighed as he moved forward. "You two behave yourselves." He instructed them with a pointed look in Draco's direction.
"We could say the same thing to you and Sev." Draco pointed out with a smirk.
"Remember who you're talking to Draco." Lucius said in a warning tone before disappearing into the living room.
For the first few seconds after the two men had left, the remaining teenagers simply watched the living room door as though fully expecting one, or both, of their fathers to come back in, attempting to catch them in the middle of something. However, once those seconds had passed, Harry and Draco were pulled together like two magnets. Their arms came around each other in a desperate hold and their lips met roughly, both eager to have as much physical contact as possible after the long separation. Who knows how far that kiss would have taken them right there in the front hallway if it weren't for the fact that Harry was forced to put pressure on his injured ankle which resulted on him giving a small yelp of pain which broke their kiss.
"Your ankle still hasn't healed?" Draco asked, instantly concerned.
"Oh no, it healed, it just got twisted again during the attack at the World Cup." Harry explained as Draco helped support him as they made their way into the living room.
"You were there! I told Father you would be and he tried to assure me that everything would be fine..."
"Everything is and was fine. Just a bump on the head and a twisted ankle, nothing life threatening." Harry assured.
"But there were Death Eaters there! What if one had found you and..." Draco began to ask as the dark haired boy flopped down on a sofa.
"Draco," Harry cut him off. "There's very little point in asking "what if" now that it's all already happened. No Death Eaters found me and I wasn't seriously injured. Now stop worrying and come and give me a cuddle." Draco sighed lightly at that but did as he was told, sitting down next to Harry and wrapping an arm around his shoulders in order to hold him close. Harry snuggled up against him, curling his legs beside him, and closed his eyes in content. "So how was France?"
"Not too bad. I learnt a lot but there was also plenty of time for relaxing as well. I bought you your birthday present in one of the markets they had there but it's back at the manor, it never occurred to me to grab it when I headed over, in too much of a rush I suppose."
"Did you honestly think they'd try and stop us?"
"Yes, a part of me did, probably the Veela part that has a tendency to not think clearly and over-react when it comes to you." Draco said ruefully before turning completely serious. "Does it bother you that you're not...Not really my mate?" He seemed to struggle actually saying it and Harry could only imagine how hard it had to be for the blonde to actually admit that he didn't have a real mate.
"It doesn't bother me in the least." He assured the part-Veela confidently, giving him a squeeze for good measure. "In fact, I think I prefer it this way; we get all the perks of a Veela and their mate without having to worry that you'll die without me. And it's far more romantic this way, don't you think? After all, you chose me yourself out of everyone else in the world. If that's not enough to make a person feel special then I don't know what is."
"Hmm, I suppose. But the school isn't going to allow us the special rules you know? It's as Father said, Veela laws won't apply to us because your a phantom mate." Draco reminded bitterly.
"That hardly matters Draco. With the exception of Divination for me and Ancient Runes for you, we're taking the same classes this Year and there isn't a rule in the school about not being allowed to sit at another House's table at meal times. The only way it will really affect us is that we won't get a personal living space to ourselves and, in my opinion, that can only be a good thing seeing as Father will probably be performing random virginity tests on me from now on." Harry joked with grim humour.
"You're not sitting at the Slytherin table." Draco said firmly.
"Oh good, I have to admit I wasn't looking forward to that." Harry replied, relief evident in his tone.
"And I plan on leaving the Slytherins behind myself as much as possible." The blonde revealed.
"Really? You'll leave all your friends behind?"
"They're not my friends Harry, they were more like people to hang on to until someone or something better came along. I'm sure it was exactly the same situation with them for me. We obviously weren't born in a very good year as the majority of the people in our Year are despicable."
"I wouldn't go that far but I know what you mean." Harry murmured against the Veela's chest.
"But even if they weren't and I had all the friends in the world, I'd give them all up in an instant if it would make you happy." Draco told him completely truthfully.
"And I'd do the same for you." Harry replied as he lifted his head and pressed his lips against Draco's.
From then on, nothing more was said for quite some time.
1st September 1994: Midday
"Take care Uncle Lucius." Harry called to his godfather from where he and Draco stood by one of the open windows of the Hogwarts Express. He didn't get a verbal reply from the blonde aristocrat, instead getting a slight nod. It was enough though and with one last, happy wave, Harry retreated from out of the window and followed Draco along the narrow aisle, squeezing through the crowds who had gathered by the windows, all waving their parents off.
Upon reaching an empty compartment, Draco opened the door and stepped aside to allow Harry in before him. It was just one of the new, unselfish acts that the Luna Veela seemed to have picked up along with his Inheritance; it probably had something to do with the dark haired boy being his phantom mate coupled with the fact it was during the phase of the full moon. Apparently, both types of Veela reacted to the phases of the moon and their instincts became the strongest during the period of the full moon. Other things Draco had taken to doing was pulling out a chair for Harry when he went to sit down, carrying his hand luggage for him that day on the way to the station and basically doing whatever the dark haired boy told him with very little argument which, Harry had to admit, was insanely handy. Not that he'd ever abuse that ability of course.
"Don't you have to go and do prefect stuff?" Harry inquired as he sat down by the window and was promptly joined by his Veela.
"Not straight away. I've got about an hour or so before I have to go." Draco revealed as he wrapped an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders.
"Hmm." Harry sighed happily as he cuddled against the blonde's side. "Are you sure you're all right with just leaving your friends behind? I don't want you to think you have to stop being friends with them just because of me."
"We've been through this several times already dear; they're not even real friends. I won't miss them in the least." The Veela assured him but frowned lightly when Harry gave a light chuckle. "What?"
"You called me dear." Harry grinned slightly stupidly, obviously insanely happy about that.
"Oh, I could call you a few things far more intimate than dear." Draco practically purred as he leaned in closer to Harry, putting their faces millimetres apart.
"Mr Malfoy, I do believe you're being positively indecent." Harry teased lightly, still grinning in amusement.
"That was nothing compared to what I plan to do." The blonde warned moments before he closed the final space between them and molded their lips together. The dark haired melted into the kiss instantly, eagerly kissing back and bringing a hand up to hold the back of the blonde head.
However, when the sound of the compartment door sliding open suddenly came, Harry broke the kiss in an instant, pushing Draco off of him and pulling away as far as possible at the same time. Just because their fathers now knew they were together and so the entire school could, it didn't mean that he was suddenly comfortable with out-right, public displays of affection.
"Oops, didn't mean to intrude." The smirking voice of George came and Harry peered around Draco, who was busy sorting himself out calmly as though nothing had happened, to see him and Fred standing at the entrance to the compartment both grinning like loons.
"So are you two going public now or were we not meant to have seen that?" Fred inquired as he and his brother moved into the compartment fully, sliding the door shut behind them.
"Yes, the whole world can know about us now but that doesn't mean you were meant to see that." Harry muttered, blushing brightly and trying to straighten out his clothes which were actually perfectly fine.
"Bill will be crushed when he hears." Fred teased but Harry failed to see the humour when he felt Draco tense up beside him; that couldn't be good...
"And you'll no doubt totally ruin Diggory's school Year before it's even started." George added and that was obviously the last straw.
"What!" Draco demanded angrily, standing up and glaring at the twins, startling them both quite a bit.
"Draco, don't!" Harry cried, getting up as well and grabbing onto the Veela's arm quickly, just in case he decided he wanted to go Cedric Hunting.
"What are they talking about Harry?" Draco interrogated, turning a harsh glare onto the boy beside him and revealing that his eyes were starting to turn a little silver.
"Nothing, they aren't talking about anything. They're just being idiots." He reassured quickly before turning to look at Fred and George pointedly. "Aren't you? Tell Draco that you're just being a couple of prats and there's nothing going on between me and Bill or Cedric Diggory."
It was either the tone or the words that did it but Harry somehow managed to successfully get across to the twins that this was a serious situation and therefore needed to be treated seriously. "Yeah, he's right, we were just fooling around." Fred agreed, glancing from Harry to Draco as he spoke.
"There's nothing going on between Harry and Bill or Diggory. In fact, Harry barely said more than a few words to Diggory the entire time we were at the World Cup." George assured, copying his brother's eye movements.
Draco looked from one twin to the other before looking back to Harry, the silver fading from his eyes but still there faintly. Harry kept eye contact with the Luna Veela as he gently took the blonde's hands in his and turned to face him head on. "I made a promise to you before you left for France that I wouldn't stray from you and I kept that promise. There's no one else on this planet for me Draco, you're the only one I want."
The blonde Veela watched Harry carefully for a few moments before he seemed to accept what his mate was saying was the truth. His face softened and the glare disappeared for a moment before he turned to look at the twins again. Then, his glare returned and he gave a low growl of irritation. "I'm going for a walk." He muttered darkly as he turned and yanked open the compartment door.
"Draco, promise me you're not going to go looking for Diggory." Harry demanded quickly, lurching forward and latching onto the Veela's arm.
"Fine." Draco grunted.
Harry gave a sigh a let go of his Veela's arm, allowing him to leave the compartment, not bothering to shut the door. The dark haired boy pulled the door shut instead before returning to his seat, slumping down tiredly as though he had just run somewhere or done something physically strenuous. "Thanks a lot for that guys." He muttered to Fred and George, not looking at them. "That was a really great way to start off the Year."
"What the bloody Hell was that all about?" Fred gasped, still sounding un-nerved.
"Yeah, we were clearly only teasing." George pointed out.
"Luna Veela don't have much of a sense of humour when it comes to their mates." Harry grunted.
"Ah." Fred said in realisation.
"Yes, ah." Harry sighed, finally looking at the two Weasleys.
"Sorry mate, didn't realise." George apologised before he pressed his lips together. "Ooo, should probably get out of the habit of calling you that ay? Wouldn't want to upset Draco. I'm assuming he'll be spending a lot more time with us now?"
"Yeah, a lot more time." Harry confirmed. "But one thing you probably should know is that I'm only his phantom mate so most of the Veela laws don't apply to us unfortunately."
"Oh good, he won't kill us then." Fred grinned in relief.
"Oh no, he probably would still kill you, he'd just be sent to Azkaban for it instead of being fined or placed under a period of house arrest." Harry corrected, getting some sort of malicious pleasure in seeing the twins blanche for a second.
"Yeah, but you still wouldn't let him do anything to us." George said confidently and Harry couldn't deny that; he'd stop Draco from killing anyone let alone his two closest friends.
"Anyway, totally changing the subject now, have you seen the paper today?" Fred inquired, reaching for his bag and rooting around inside it.
"No, why?" Harry asked.
"They're still having no luck in tracking down the one who put the Dark Mark in the sky." Fred told him as he pulled out the copy of the Daily Prophet and handed it to the dark haired boy.
Harry accepted the paper and glanced over it quickly, frowning as he skim read it. "This is ridiculous! How can the Ministry not know who conjured it? Isn't there any security?"
"Loads according to Dad, that's what's worried them so much." George said grimly.
"It's happened right under their noses." Fred added.
Their conversation was cut off just then as the door to the compartment opened yet again, only this time it was to allow Hermione to step in and join them. "Hi guys, good to see you again."
"Hey 'Mione." The twins greeted her together.
"Seen the paper this morning?" Fred inquired as the younger girl took the seat next to Harry and was handed the paper by him. As she began to read it, a familiar call came from outside.
"Anything from the trolley? Anything from the trolley?"
"Ooo, sweets time!" George said happily as he got to his feet only to be yanked down seconds later by his twin.
"We're saving up remember?" Fred reminded him and the grin immediately fell from his brother's face.
Harry looked at them both sympathetically for a moment before making a decision. "I'll buy you both something if you want."
"That's good of you Harry but you don't have to." Fred declined politely.
"Are you sure? What about if we say it's part of your Christmas present this year? That and any other sweets you want between now and December." The dark haired boy offered.
"That does sound like a good idea." George murmured, looking at his brother out of the corner of his eye. "It's not charity then, just an extended Christmas present."
Fred gave a sigh of defeat at that, unable to go against his brother and their best friend. "Alright, fine, if you want, but only one thing each and nothing too expensive."
"Two liquorice wands coming right up." Harry beamed at them happily as he stood and edged around the paper Hermione was still reading. "You want anything Hermione? My treat." He offered as he slowly opened the door.
"No thank you, I've already eaten." She told him distractedly, obviously fully absorbed in the news paper.
Harry said nothing but gave a nod of acknowledgement and acceptance as he opened the door the rest of the just in time to catch the trolley lady to buy the treats for his two friends.
End of Chapter 44.
How much do I love this chapter? Even I have to admit that this chapter rocks and I'm my own worst critic :D I hope you all agree and have enjoyed it as well :)
Nothing more from me now for another five days so I'll catch ya all on Friday. Toodles :)
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