"What?!" Harry jumped out of bed. "When did they get here?"

"Nearly an hour ago."

"And you didn't think to wake me up?" In his panic he rushed to get dressed, not caring if Draco saw him in his pants.

"Well, I thought at first that you had invited them over, but—" Draco started.

"All the more reason to wake me up!" Harry shouted. He frantically rummaged through his dresser, tossing out an outfit at radom. He dressed hurriedly, not at all paying attention to what he put on. "I really wasn't planning on seeing Ron today," Harry said, more to himself than to Draco.

"Well, seeing as you've just woken up, I don't think you were planning on much of anything," Draco responded snidely. Harry threw him the dirtiest glance he could muster before pulling on his trainers, tying them haphazardly, and hurrying out of the room. Before he had made it more than a couple feet, however, Draco grabbed at his arm and pulled him back.

"They're in the drawing room, just so you know. It's going to be alright," he said with a swift peck on Harry's cheek. "No matter what happens I'll be there with you. If I have to go back to prison for beating the shite out of a red headed arsehole I will."

Harry rolled his eyes, though he did appreciate the gesture. "I don't think it'll go that badly." He paused and contemplated. "At least, I hope not."

They went down the stairs to the sitting room and paused outside of the closed doors. Harry braced himself; he knew this was not going to be a good conversation. Now that his brain had began functioning more he furrowed his brows. Why wasn't Ron at school? Had something bad happened? If Ron wasn't at school, where was Hermione? Of all places, why had he decided to show up here? In truth, Harry hadn't thought much about Ron since the letter he'd sent to inform Harry that he wasn't his friend any longer.

"Are you going in?" Draco asked from beside him, bringing Harry back to earth.

"Right." Harry took a deep breath in and let it out between his teeth.

Pushing one of the doors open, Harry entered the drawing room and immediately saw Ron stand up from the sofa. They stood there for a moment, just staring at each other. Molly stood up, and only then did Harry notice her on the sofa next to where Ron had been.

"Sit down, Ronald," Molly stage whispered. Ron shook her hand off his shoulder and remained standing. Harry noticed that Ron had a slightly confrontational look on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked once he finally found his voice. It was more rude than he had intended, but then again he didn't exactly have a reason to be nice.

"Harry, won't you sit down?" Molly asked, sounding nervous. Harry stayed where he was. He wasn't going to sit if Ron wasn't. He felt Draco's hand rest on his shoulder, but wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean.

"This was all her idea," Ron said, gesturing with his head towards Molly. Although he said it to Harry, his gaze remained firmly set on the floor just in front of where Harry stood.

"You stop it now," Molly reprimanded. "Both of you just calm down and sit. You have a lot to talk about, you're too close of friends to let something as petty as who's seeing who come between that." Molly moved across the room to stand near Harry. "Draco, why don't we go and fetch some tea?"

"I should probably stay here with Harry," Draco said with hesitation. Harry knew that she wanted to leave him and Ron alone, but was highly resistant to letting her get her way in the matter. He wasn't keen on facing a hotheaded Ron on his own and appreciated that Draco seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"I really think we ought to get some tea," Molly pressed.

Harry wasn't looking at her, but he could clearly visualise the intimidating look on her face. Sure enough, within a few seconds Harry was alone with Ron, who seemed content to examine anything about the room except for the only other person in it. Neither moved. The seconds stretched on, and the tension was nearly tangible before either party spoke.

"So… Mum dragged you over to try and make up, did she?" Harry tried to keep hostility from his words, but having to face Ron with no warning and before even having breakfast was making it very difficult for him to control himself.

"Yeah," came his short reply. It was a pitiful response, though Harry wasn't sure what he'd hoped for.

"You couldn't do it for yourself? Weren't interested in patching things up?" In spite of himself, Harry sounded almost sad at the notion that Ron hadn't instigated this. Part of him wanted to let the whole ordeal go. He missed Ron, regardless of how he felt now, but there was the simple fact that Ron had insulted him to an extent that wasn't easily forgivable. Ron seemed at a loss for words. More silence followed.

When Ron finally did speak Harry was surprised at what he had to say. "Look, I'm just as miffed that she's having us do this, but there's no getting out of it. And obviously there's no point, seeing as you don't really want to get over this stupid drama."

"I don't want━ you're the one who started this 'stupid drama!'" Harry was completely baffled. How could Ron possibly act like this was his doing?

"Yeah? Well I'm not the one who decided it'd be a grand idea to shag a bloody Death Eater!"

"Since you know so much about my private life, why don't you just fill me in on all the other things I've been doing?" Harry wasn't sure what to be more upset about; the fact that he'd called Draco a Death Eater, or that he'd accused Harry of shagging him when he hadn't. "I haven't seen you in months and yet you seem to have it all pegged out, don't you?"

"Tell me I'm wrong, then, Harry! I saw the fucking paper."

"Yeah, well I'm sure they've got everything straight. Not like the paper has ever been wrong about me before. Besides, when did they ever say anything about that?"

"I saw the damn picture!"

"What picture?" Harry sputtered. He could've sworn that he and Draco had never had sex. If they had, Draco must have drugged him or Obliviated him, and Harry was certain Draco had done neither. "As far as I knew, the only picture out there was of us snogging in a muggle mart."

"Yeah well—" Ron broke off. He stood there stupidly with his mouth hanging open as if he was going to say more, but no words came. Harry took Ron's silence as an opportunity to set him straight.

"You haven't heard from me in weeks because of some assumption you had about me and Draco, an assumption that you had no real evidence for. How could you possibly know what's going on in my life? You've spent all this time 'knowing' what's happening without even asking me. So what's the real problem, Ron? You tell me."

"He's still a Death Eater, or did you happen to forget that?"

"You know nothing about him," Harry gritted through clenched teeth. "You think you know everything, don't you? Even Hermione, who's right more often than you're wrong, was willing to give Draco a chance and hear me out about him. What does that say about you? That you'd be willing to give up your best friend because of some petty disagreement about who I'm dating… that says a lot, to me."

"I-I didn't really mean━"

"What? You didn't mean to say we weren't friends anymore? Really? Because I still have the letter."

"I just thought, maybe, if I…" Ron looked utterly lost. "I wanted you to… I don't know, I didn't want you to choose him."

"What?" Harry didn't understand. Did Ron really think he'd chosen Draco over him?

"Ginny, mate."

"But I thought she was over everything," Harry said, still bewildered.

"She probably is, but I'm not. I thought you two would end up marrying and starting a family. I was looking forward to us really being brothers. You've always been like a brother to me, but I wanted you to really be my brother." Ron paused to shake his head sadly. "Prob'ly stupid, I know."

"That's not stupid, Ron," Harry said, feeling more calm than he had earlier. "It wasn't that I chose Draco. If you'd have asked me when Ginny and I first broke up if I'd rather be with him I would've asked if you'd drank too much firewhiskey," Harry chuckled. His eyes widened as he fully realised what Ron was telling him. "I do think of you as a brother━ a real brother━ and who I'm with won't change that. I still see you and the rest of the Weasleys as my family. Nothing will change that." For good measure, he added, "Not even you being an ultimate prat."

Yet again the two wizards were stuck staring at each other. Ron's expression had changed from one of stubborn resistance to one of contrition. Harry took a step forward, but stopped. Ron still hadn't apologised, and until he had Harry didn't know where they stood.

"I-I'm really sorry," Ron began, looking down at his shoes, "for what I said about not wanting to be your friend. I was angry and I wasn't thinking straight."

Harry didn't stop himself this time. He walked over to Ron and hugged him tightly. Even though he'd done his best not to think about Ron since his letter, he missed him. He missed their friendship, their bickering, Ron's jokes and ridiculous facial expressions.

"I'm sorry, too," Harry said near Ron's shoulder. "I should've reacted better, or tried to talk to you more about things. I shouldn't have just let things go like that." Ron patted his back and squeezed him a bit.

"I probably would've reacted the same, honestly." The two stepped away from each other and grinned like fools.

Harry knew that whatever issues they'd had with each other were in the past now. It was really good to see Ron smiling at him, especially because Ron hadn't been very happy with him during the last leg of his stay at the Burrow. Nobody had been, but it was Ron's distance and lack of friendliness that had felt the worst out of everyone else's.

"So… we're okay now, right?" Harry asked. He couldn't help the trepidation in his question.

"We're alright," Ron replied. "Don't get me wrong, I still don't like Malfoy, but you and I are fine."

"I didn't really expect you to like Draco. I just wanted you to accept my choice to be with him. It's pretty understandable why you wouldn't like him and I don't know if you ever will, but it would be really great if you could give him a chance. You might find that he's a better person than you think." Ron made a face that told Harry he wasn't convinced, but he still had hope. At least now Ron wasn't hating him along with Draco.

"There's another reason we came here," Ron said. He sat down on one of the sofas which Harry took as his que to do the same. Sitting across from each other felt less hostile and awkward.

"Yeah? Wait, shouldn't you be in school?" Harry had completely forgotten to ask Ron about school with all of the arguing they'd done.

"About that," Ron started. He smirked and tilted his head to the side a bit. "Y'know, I'm starting to think school's not really my thing."

"Ron, you can't just skip class like this and expect to get your N.E. completed."

"I dropped out, actually." Harry's jaw dropped, but a slow smile spread across his face as well. A smile that disappeared as soon as he realised what that could mean for Ron and Hermione. "What about Hermione? Is she dropping out, too?"

"Blimey, Harry, the world isn't upside down," Ron laughed and rolled his eyes. "Of course she's not dropping out. She and Ginny went mad when I told them, I swear. Hermione forgave me, in the end, but I think Ginny's bitter about it. She didn't really want to go back after she found out you weren't going."

"So wait, Hermione's not threatening you for dropping out? You two didn't…"

"No, we're still together and happy." Ron grinned hugely, then. "I'm going to ask her to marry me, mate. I just need to save up some money first. Would you be angry at me for being an Auror, too?"

"Actually that would probably make my days go easier, having you there," Harry said with a grimace. Maybe if he had Ron to distract him from training it wouldn't be so terrible every day.

"You don't look very happy about it, though," Ron pointed out. "If you don't want me to work with you it's fine, I'll understand." Though he said it was fine he had a very dejected look on his freckled face.

"No, it's not that." Harry sighed heavily. "Dawlish has been running me ragged lately. Ever since we started training he's been pushing me harder than the other trainees. Work has been hell."

"Wait, you're still going through training? You killed the most powerful dark wizard of our time. Don't they think that's enough training?"

"Apparently not."

The doors to the drawing room opened and Molly bustled in carrying a tray with four mugs on it, Draco in tow. She set the tray down on the coffee table and sat down beside her son. Draco sat down next to Harry.

"Seeing as neither of you is bleeding or missing a limb, things must've gone well, then?" Molly asked. There was a small smile playing on her lips and Harry could tell she was proud of herself for making Ron come over to talk to him.

"We worked things out," Ron said nonchalantly. "No scones?" he asked as he looked down at the tray Molly had brought with her.

"Don't be a pig, you just ate at home," Molly snapped halfheartedly. Ron shot a glare at his mother, but took one of the mugs with no further argument.

"I'm a growing boy," he muttered under his breath. Molly ignored him.

"Draco's told me you two have been visiting Andromeda and Teddy frequently," Molly said, directing her attention across from her. "How are those two doing?"

Ron was eyeing Draco in what the ginger probably thought was a discreet manner. It wasn't, and Draco noticed immediately. While Harry and Ron had appeared to have made up, it was obvious that Ron still wasn't any closer to approving of Draco. In a way this bothered Draco, but he knew there was little he could do about it. Even if he did disclose all his personal business to Ron it wasn't likely that he would believe him. Not that he was particularly bothered by Ron's disapproval of him; he could hardly care less what Weaselbee thought, but he knew that it would bother Harry if his boyfriend and best mate couldn't at least be courteous to one another.

"Draco?" Harry asked from beside him. Draco looked up from his mug with a question on his face. He hadn't been paying attention to the conversation.

"What?"

"Molly just asked how your job search was going," Harry filled him in.

"Oh, right. Andromeda hired me to take care of things around her house." He wasn't sure why Harry couldn't have told Molly that himself.

"Well done, Draco!" Molly said cheerfully. "How has that been?"

"Er… I haven't actually started yet. It was just yesterday that she proposed it."

"Still, what a wonderful job. Ron, here, has decided to become an Auror." Draco didn't know what he was supposed to say.

"Haven't heard back from them about it, though," Ron said, sounding impatient.

"You just owled them two days ago," Molly commented. "These things can take time, dear. Don't lose heart yet."

This conversation was completely devoid of any substance, as far as Draco was concerned. There was simply no point to it, other than to have something to do. Molly didn't seem genuinely interested, Harry looked bored, and Ron continued to eye Draco between sips of his tea. Every now and then Molly or Harry would include Draco in the conversation, as if they just couldn't stand the thought of him silently observing. Not wanting to upset either of them, he would comply by offering a simple response. He wouldn't have felt left out had Molly and Harry dominated the conversation. It was pretty obvious that Ron didn't want to be there, which made Draco uncomfortable and less likely to chime in of his own accord. It was a great relief when Molly announced her and Ron's departure, but of course it couldn't be that easy. Before the two Weasley's left Molly invited Harry and Draco to dinner that weekend.

"Of course we'll come," Harry said enthusiastically. Draco didn't think it sounded very convincing, but Molly seemed satisfied.

"Then it's a date! Anytime is fine, really, so just pop in whenever you're ready," Molly told them. Ron shuffled his feet.

"Great, see you then."

"Bye, dears." And Molly and Ron were gone, leaving Harry and Draco alone in the drawing room at long last.

"That was awful," Draco said as he relaxed into the sofa cushions and curled his feet under his legs.

"I didn't think it was," Harry disagreed. He draped his arm over Draco's shoulders and leaned into him with a satisfied grin on his face.

"No, you wouldn't think so. You got your friend back. I, meanwhile, had to suffer small talk with Molly in the kitchen before coming back up here prepared to do damage control."

"But there wasn't a need for it, was there?" Harry's grin turned smug.

"Not really, but I still had to sit here while the painful small talk continued. Why can't you people have a decent conversation?" Harry laughed at him and tilted his head to the side.

"And what would you describe as a 'decent conversation?'"

"Oh, I don't know," Draco said sarcastically, "One where people actually care what's being discussed? Something intellectual? Something with feeling behind it?"

"So it's feelings you want?" Harry asked with an insinuating tone.

"Maybe…" Draco hoped that this was going where he thought it was.

When Harry adjusted himself and was leaning over Draco, he smiled in delight. Draco changed positions in order to allow Harry's body to cover his own and waited for Harry to make the first move. In the past it was common for Draco to start these things, and he wanted Harry to show some initiative this time. He was not disappointed. Harry leaned down and pressed his lips against Draco's, along with the length of his body. Draco gladly returned the kiss and heat flared beneath the surface of his skin. Harry grinded his hips against Draco's in the most delicious way. All thought left Draco's head in that instance. One of Draco's hands held the nape of Harry's neck and the other wound around the thin waist above his, pulling Harry closer. Things hadn't gone much further than this between the two of them, but Draco thought maybe it was time they did.

As if reading Draco's mind, Harry's hands slid beneath Draco's shirt and began lifting it up. Soon his shirt was off his body and in a wrinkled pile on the floor. It didn't even cross Draco's mind that he didn't want Harry to see his scars, but when Harry pulled away to remove his own shirt and gasped he remembered.

"Are these…" Harry's words were a whisper, but it wouldn't take a Ravenclaw to notice the emotion within them. "Did I do this?" Draco flinched as Harry's fingers began tracing the silver lines that stood out against his ivory skin.

"It doesn't matter," Draco told him, wishing that Harry would just let it go so they could continue with what they were doing.

"I did, didn't I?"

"It was years ago. I'm not even upset about it."

"There's so many scars, Draco." Harry's voice began wavering slightly. "I had no idea━ I didn't mean to━"

"Would you stop, please?" Draco snapped. "I know you didn't mean to, you twat. When you told me that casting Sectumsempra on me was your biggest regret I forgave you that moment. I would have forgiven you even if it wasn't your biggest regret. You had no idea what that curse meant, and, on top of that, I survived."

"But you almost didn't." Harry's gaze never left Draco's torso.

"And you almost didn't come back to life after Voldemort killed you. The point is moot." Draco closed his eyes in agitation only to open them again as Harry's lips pressed against one of his ribs.

"I'm so sorry," Harry mumbled against Draco's flesh. If this was Harry's idea of an apology then Draco had no qualms about it.

Little jolts of electricity spread from each scar Harry placed his lips on. As if he couldn't rest until each scar was 'apologised' to, Harry kissed every one of them, lingering for a moment at each one and holding his lips against it. Draco felt his erection growing by the second and his breath picked up speed. He didn't think Harry was paying much attention to his hands, but it was difficult for Draco not to notice the feather light touches as they caressed his body. Soft, barely audible moans came from between Draco's parted lips as Harry made his way further down towards the waistband of his trousers.

Draco was taken aback when Harry began unbuttoning his trousers. This was further than they'd ever dared to go yet. As Harry unzipped and slid the trousers down slowly the last thought on Draco's mind was whether or not this was too far for Harry, with his newfound sexuality. Harry didn't pause before slipping Draco's pants down his thighs, releasing his erection from confinement. Draco became nervous as he watched Harry wrap a tentative hand around the base of his flesh.

"You don't have to," Draco said. His voice didn't sound like his own; it was deeper and rougher than usual. "If you don't want to, you don't have to."

"Do you want me to?" Harry asked, his mouth only a few inches above the head of Draco's shaft. Harry's question breezed against his exposed, sensitive flesh, causing a shiver to go through his entire body.

"Yes," Draco said, a bit too passionately. "But if you're not sure…"

Harry didn't respond vocally, instead using his mouth to respond in another way. Draco gasped as Harry's mouth encircled the head of his erection and his tongue lazily teased. It was better than self pleasure, that was for certain. Draco had never done this to another person, and no one had done this to him, but for the life of him he couldn't imagine why not. It was as though a door had opened in Draco's mind. All thoughts of scars, apologies, and awkward encounters with the Weasleys flew from his head and they were replaced by much more scandalous notions.

Another moan, louder this time, was heard as Harry's head lowered. Draco involuntarily bucked his hips against Harry's mouth and was left feeling robbed as Harry gagged and removed his mouth from Draco's erection. Draco silently reminded himself that this was both his and Harry's first time and that it wasn't smart to make quick movements like that.

"Sorry," Draco laughed. Harry shrugged and returned to the task at hand. "Oh…" was all Draco could say as pleasure thundered through his body once more.

Though Harry was probably inexperienced when it came to oral sex, Draco wasn't aware. He had nothing to compare this moment to, and even the light scrapes of Harry's teeth didn't bother him. It wasn't as painful as he'd imagined it would be, or as boys in the dormitories had claimed it was.

Harry's mouth was like a soft, warm cave of eroticism, something Draco wanted to indulge in again and again until he couldn't anymore. His hips lifted a fraction, only just so as not to upset Harry, as he got closer to his release. Harry continued to move his mouth up and down and Draco's hips twitched with no discernible rhythm. His leg muscles tightened along with Harry's lips and he felt his erection throb as he released the tension brought about by the buildup before his orgasm.

"Fucking hell," Draco breathed shaliky. He looked up to find Harry staring at him with a half grin that told Draco he was proud of himself.

"I did alright, then?"

"Do you really have to ask?" It dawned on Draco that he had unintentionally ejaculated in Harry's mouth without giving any sort of warning. "Oh no," he groaned. Harry's face fell.

"Did I do something wrong?" Panic replaced self satisfaction in his tone. "Don't tell me you're not really gay. God, wouldn't that be just perfect━"

"I just let you put my cock in your mouth and that's the conclusion you jump to? No, I just… I'm sorry if that tasted bad, I wasn't thinking— how can you think in a situation like that?"

"What's your point? It didn't taste that bad." Hearing that made Draco's self consciousness disappear entirely and he wanted more details to fuel the erotic thoughts he was yet again having, but Harry went on before Draco could speak. "I read in a muggle magazine once that it's common for people to swallow… when that happens."

"What sort of person writes a magazine about swallowing someone's semen?" Draco asked. He realised he was still exposed and pulled his pants and trousers up, struggling to do so with Harry still straddling his legs. "You know what, I don't even want to know." Draco pushed his questions about muggle authors and derogatory magazines from the forefront of his mind and shoved Harry backwards on the sofa. "My turn."

"Wait, what━"

"Shut up."

Draco had wasted no time at all returning the favour that Harry had bestowed upon him. By the time he was finished pleasing Harry they were both exhausted and simply lay on the couch holding each other. Neither of them spoke, neither of them moved. Harry had the overwhelming feeling of satiation and didn't think he had the energy for conversation. Just as Harry was beginning to drift off to a peaceful sleep there was a tapping at the large window near the piano.

Groaning, Harry nudged Draco, who sluggishly made his way into a sitting position. Once free of the pleasant weight of Draco's body, Harry got up and went to let the owl in. The owl hopped onto the inner window sill and allowed Harry to take the official looking letter from its beak.

"Thanks," Harry said, offering the owl a treat. The owl seemed to bow its head before turning around and winging off again. After shutting the window Harry returned to the sofa, where Draco promptly rested his head on his lap.

"Who's it from?" Draco asked in a sleepy voice.

"Haven't even opened it yet, Draco," Harry said. It wasn't Draco he was irritated with, it was the interruption to what could've ended up being a very relaxing evening.

The seal on the front of the letter was one Harry recognized as being from Gringotts. He had no clue why they would be corresponding with him. Unless… Harry opened up the letter and began reading the slanted, regal looking writing within.

"Draco!" Harry exclaimed.

"What is it?" Draco didn't even bother to sit up, but he did crack one eye open.

"They've unfreezed my vault! That wasn't supposed to happen until next month!" Draco did sit up, then.

"Why would they have done that? You never told me why they froze your account in the first place."

"I broke into Gringotts to steal Helga Hufflepuff's cup from your aunt Bellatrix' vault," Harry said in a rushed way. Draco's jaw dropped open and his eyes widened, but Harry wasn't interested in telling that story right then. "That's not the point, though. I have access to my vault! I have money again!"

"Good for you?" Draco yawned. He really did not seem to care. "You have a job that pays you plenty. It's really not that big of a deal."

"It is, though. Having so much money kept away from you is a big deal. Getting it back is an even bigger deal. They said they ended my suspension from accessing my vault because of good behaviour, though I'm not sure what that means."

"I couldn't tell you either. What does a bank consider to be good behaviour?"

"Not breaking in, maybe?"

"Yeah, back to that. How in the hell did you break into Gringotts? That's supposed to be impossible. Or, at least, living to tell the tale is." Harry set the letter down and quelled his own excitement. Draco was not going to let the subject drop until Harry explained.

"Supposed to be, yeah, but here I am, alive and well." He paused just to tease Draco.

"Then tell me what happened, you giant git," Draco said with a chuckle.

"Alright, alright. I was under the invisibility cloak with Griphook, a goblin who used to work at Gringotts. Ron was disguised under a fake identity and Hermione was disguised as Bellatrix━"

"What?!" Draco interrupted, a look of utter amazement on his face. "How did she disguise herself as Bellatrix? Also, why would a goblin help you break into the bank?"

"Polyjuice potion," Harry explained simply. "We struck a deal with Griphook. He wanted the sword of Gryffindor and we wanted in Gringotts. Probably shouldn't have trusted him, in the end, but we didn't know he was going to double-cross us." Harry thought back to Griphook taking the sword, only to run from the vault screaming about thieves in the vault. It was hard to stay calm when he thought about the goblin; he was part of the reason Harry's vault had been frozen in the first place. "At first it seemed like we weren't getting in, but after I confounded the guards at the entrance they let us. I had to use Imperius on Travers and Bogrod, the goblin accompanying us, because Ron and Hermione's disguises failed when we went through that bloody waterfall."

"Hang on a minute. You used an Unforgivable Curse, and yet you defended me at my hearing and basically lied, saying I never used them?" Draco asked.

"I used an Unforgivable Curse multiple times," Harry corrected. "But I don't see why you're complaining, since me telling the truth," he corrected again, "Got you out of a prison sentence. Anyway… As it turns out, there was a dragon guarding the vault━"

"You're not serious," Draco interrupted again.

"I am serious, and if you don't quit interrupting I'm done telling you what happened." Harry shook his head. "You have a real issue with that, mate."

"Sorry, I'll stop. This is just too unreal."

"It felt unreal. Even now it seems like a really strange dream. As I was saying, there was a dragon guarding the vault. Griphook used these Clankers to take care of the dragon and I made Bogrod open the vault for us. When we got in we realised that if we touched anything it would multiply and burn us. We all got burnt pretty badly, since it was really hard not to touch anything. It took us a while, and Hermione ended up having to levitate me in order to reach the cup, but we found it. That was when Griphook decided it would be a good idea to start screaming his bloody head off that we were in there stealing. We ended up running from a bunch of goblins and wizards alike, cursing and hexing them as we went." Harry sighed as the lingering anxiety of that day built up in his stomach again. "We wound up riding that same dragon that was guarding Bellatrix' vault out of the bank. It was a rough ride, getting out, but we managed it. Eventually we jumped off of the dragon and into a lake. That's how we got a hold of the cup."

Draco stared at Harry with a blank expression. Harry knew that the story he'd just told was one he hadn't told many people about— aside from Dumbledore's Army— and a story that was difficult to imagine. Even though they'd technically been found out, none of the people involved were named in public reports on the break-in. For some reason Harry had been the only person to be punished for what happened. Ron didn't have a personal vault, but his family did. Hermione, as far as he was aware, didn't have a Gringotts vault, either, so perhaps those two managed to avoid consequences that way. Harry was just glad that the goblins had finally decided to allow him access to his vault again.

"There's no way you really did that," Draco finally said. "There's just no way. You couldn't have ridden a dragon, or gotten out of Gringotts alive… I don't understand."

"Believe me or don't, it doesn't really matter," Harry said with a laugh. "I know what happened, and so do Ron and Hermione. If it helps you believe me better, the dragon was half blind and really old, so it probably wasn't nearly as violent as it'd been in its prime."

"You're insane, Harry."

"I can't argue with you, there. What we did was insane. I'm amazed we made it out alive, too. Another plus to that, aside from getting the cup, was that the dragon was free afterward. It was pretty obvious they were mistreating it by the reaction it had to the Clankers. It was expecting pain."

"Yes, yes, you're a truly brave hero and all that shite, but if you ever try anything that dangerous again I will personally make sure you never leave this house for the foreseeable future." Harry laughed even harder.

"There's no need to worry, there. I don't ever plan on breaking into Gringotts again. You couldn't pay me enough. In that situation it was sort of necessary, though. If we hadn't broken into your aunt's vault we wouldn't have been able to destroy that horcrux. Basically, Voldemort would still be able to come back."

"I suppose that's true," Draco considered. "Still, the thought of you doing those things… You must've been terrified. How many horcruxes did he have, anyway? After you told me about his soul splitting into you I wondered if he'd been trying to create a horcrux, and hearing you call the cup a horcrux sort of confirmed that." It shouldn't have surprised Harry that Draco knew what a horcrux was, living with his father and probably having access to a wealth of information about them, but Harry had completely forgotten that he hadn't explained about horcruxes at all.

"We all were terrified, for a long time. The hunt for horcruxes was one of the most difficult times in my life. There were seven, in total, including me. When we were looking for them we survived on little to no food, dealt with the presence of extreme negativity from that damned locket, and had an overall lack of comfort of sense of wellbeing… Not to mention that I was at the top of Voldemort's wanted list. It just goes to show how well humans can persevere, when forced to do so." Draco wrapped Harry in a tight hug, suddenly. Harry wasn't sure why; he wasn't sad, he didn't need comforting. Nonetheless, he returned Draco's embrace.

"I wish I could've been there with you," Draco said. His breath weaved through the ends of Harry's hair, causing goosebumps to rise on his neck. "I wish I could've helped you."

"You would've gotten us killed, I think," Harry said truthfully. The two of them laughed, their shoulders rising and falling nearly in time.

"Shut up and let me be sentimental." Harry was about to retort when there was yet another series of taps at the window.

"Can we have one moment to ourselves?" Harry complained as he leaned away from Draco and back into the sofa arm. "You go get this one."

"Alright," Draco grumbled. He got up and went to let the owl in. The walk from the sofa to the window was a short one, but in that time the owl had begun pecking impatiently at the window. Draco's eyebrow rose as he let the bird in. The owl practically shoved the white parchment at him before immediately turning and flying away.

"That owl clearly has a job to do," Harry said. He watched as Draco opened the letter. His face became more and more concerned as he skimmed it. "What's wrong? Did your mother send another letter?"

"Harry," Draco said calmly. He set the letter down on the piano lid and stepped towards the sofa. "Don't panic, alright?"

"What's going on?" Harry sat up straight on the sofa. "You can't tell me not to panic and expect me to not panic."

"This time you need to, Harry. That's from St. Mungo's. We have to go get Teddy━"

"What happened to Teddy?" Harry shouted, getting up from the couch and speed walking to the piano for the letter.

"Nothing happened to Teddy," Draco said, still sounding tranquil. "Andromeda has fallen ill with Spattergroit, which is an incredibly contagious━"

"Be quiet, would you?" Harry snapped. He was well aware of what Spattergroit was, thanks to Fred, George, Ron, and the ghoul in their attic. Harry wanted to read the letter for himself, making sure not to miss a single detail. If something was wrong with Teddy he needed to know. As harry reached the end of the letter he felt himself breathe more steadily. From what they said, just as Draco had repeated, Teddy was not in danger. The full story wasn't in this short letter, he could tell, but at least he knew Teddy was safe.

"We'll go get Teddy," Draco told Harry.

Harry didn't respond. His lips were pressed in a tight line, his anxiety and fear were still present in his lungs and chest, constricting him there. Being told that Teddy was okay was one thing, but in the back of Harry's mind was the thought that Teddy could have been infected already and the medi witches and wizards didn't know about it yet. He told himself that the hospital staff wouldn't have informed Harry that Teddy was well if he wasn't, but he refused to get his hopes up. Instead of reacting emotionally, he needed to react logically. In a situation like this there was no room for breakdowns, and Harry knew this despite the pressing feeling of overwhelming dread he felt. It wasn't that he didn't care for Andromeda, but he couldn't bear the thought of Teddy being anything less than the happy, healthy infant he was.

Draco took Harry's hand, something he was grateful for. With the simple gesture of his hand being enclosed in another he was given the strength he needed to take action. Together they descended the staircases down to the basement and used the Floo to get to St. Mungo's waiting room.