Note: Gah, like I've said before, I really hate leaving notes before the chapter, but I have a question for y'all! What age (or what year) do you think Harry and Draco are during this story? Maybe think about it as you're reading this chapter and then let me know? I'll explain and remind you again after the chapter ^^

13

Harry waited until he and Draco were in the corridor once more to say anything. The encounter with Goyle had surprised him and, replaying the scene in his head, Harry couldn't figure out why Draco had been so hostile.

"Don't you think you were a little harsh back there? Keeping some of your friends couldn't hurt, could it?" Harry asked from under his cloak.

"Come off it, Harry," Draco replied in a firm, but not angry voice. He turned his head to make sure his trunk was still following behind him, but he didn't realize that to do so he was looking straight through the invisible Harry.

"It's just that I feel guilty enough as it is ruining everything for you, and I want you to be able to hold on to what you can," Harry continued.

Draco sighed and turned his head to the side this time as if to face Harry. Taking the hint, Harry moved so that he was next to Draco and brushed his hand against the other boy's to show him he was there.

"This wasn't your fault, so don't feel guilty. Greg is a good friend, but I'm not going to drag him into this mess as well. He may have had good intentions, but I know him well enough to know he hasn't thought it all through just yet."

"And if he keeps trying?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Draco admitted. As they reached Snape's office he added, "I don't want to talk about this right now. I can't think straight about anything at the moment."

Harry simply nodded, but when he recalled the fact that he was still invisible, he reached out his hand to give Draco's a squeeze as if to say he understood. He think opened the office door and waited for Draco to enter. Snape was still in class, he knew, or he would have knocked first.

Once Draco's trunk had made it through the doorway and had settled itself against the wall, Harry shut the door and removed the cloak from around him, tossing it over one arm. Draco, too restless to sit down, was wandering around the office pretending to read the labels on all the glass vials and jars on the shelves lining the room. His mind was preoccupied with wondering where he would be moved to. There was no he would be permitted to live with Harry in the Gryffindor dorms. Severus would not allow that simply on the principle of his godson becoming an honorary Gryffindor. Not that he would want that either – the potential awkwardness of such an outcome made him grimace.

But where could he go? Hogwarts had plenty of empty rooms, but in all his years of roaming the castle he had never come across a room furnished as living quarters besides the dormitories and faculty housing. Though, he supposed, any number of rooms could be made into a living space if needed. Draco frowned at the idea of spending his remaining time at Hogwarts in a drafty, converted classroom.

"Wonder where you'll be staying," Harry said after sometime in a nervous attempt to make conversation. He was unaware that his comment mirrored Draco's thoughts.

"Hadn't thought about it," Draco lied for no particular reason and turned to face Harry.

"Maybe they'll let you stay…"

"I will not become a bloody Gryffindor!" Draco cut Harry off.

"We're a right better lot than the Slytherins!" Harry defended, taken off guard.

"Hardly," Draco sneered. "At least we have standards."

"Which apparently don't include you."

Draco huffed at the defeat and turned his back to Harry.

"I don't understand you," Harry frowned as Draco resumed his pretending to read all the labels. "You are always so quick to defend the very people who are hurting you!"

"You would do the same," Draco countered. "If your precious Dumbledore turned out to be a right git, you would still defend him until the day you die. You would probably even name your kid after him!"

"I…" Harry was taken aback by Draco's mocking tone, but something else surprised him further…

"Ah, Draco, Harry. I see you have packed up faster than expected. I only just no received Professor Snape's note."

Albus Dumbledore stood just before the closed door, having somehow entered the room totally undetected by either boy. Harry's eyes were wide with surprise and the unexpected visitor, but Draco was turning a slight shade of red as he replayed what he had just said about the headmaster through his head.

"Mr. Malfoy makes a fair point, Harry," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with amusement at Draco's deepening color. "Should I turn out to be a less than admirable character, I should hope you think twice before naming a poor, innocent child after me."

"Sir, Draco was just…"

Dumbledore raised his hand to stop Harry and gave a small laugh, but after a moment his expression turned more serious.

"Joking aside, I believe we have more serious matters to discuss; mainly safer living arrangements for Mr. Malfoy here. Once Professor Snape returns we will discuss our options."

"Headmaster," Snape acknowledged as he stepped into his office.

"Ah, perfect timing, Severus! We had just begun to discuss the matter at hand." Dumbledore took out his wand to conjure a fourth chair for himself and beckoned the others to sit down. The three did as they were told, Professor Snape taking his place behind his desk.

"Headmaster," Snape began before anyone else had a chance to speak, "I would like to say now, before we begin, that I am opposed to Draco living the Gryffindor dormitories, as I feel certain you are about to suggest such an arrangement."

"Now now, Professor," Dumbledore almost laughed. "The two of them would not be living alone and I see no problem encouraging the Gryffindors to find common ground with a Slytherin."

"With all due respect, sir," Draco piped in, "I must agree with Professor Snape."

After their earlier exchange, Harry was not surprised to hear Draco say this, but was more than a little disappointed.

Draco continued. "It's just that I do not think many Gryffindors would take kindly to my moving in. Particularly those of my year, sir."

"I wonder why that might be?" Dumbledore grinned knowingly. He then turned to Harry. "I'm afraid Mr. Malfoy has a fair point, Harry, though I can see you are disappointed."

Harry flushed slightly and looked down at his feet…anywhere but at Snape.

"That leaves us with two options," Dumbledore continued. "The first is to transfer young Draco to either the Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw dormitories, but I suspect that neither of these would be pleasing to either you, Harry, or Professor Snape here. And I must agree. Considering the circumstances, I think it would be best if Draco were around someone whom he could trust. That leaves us with the second option."

"Sir?" Snape asked in one word, to which Dumbledore nodded.

"Professor Snape suggested this arrangement in his short note to me, and while I would normally not allow this, I will make an exception seeing as Professor Snape is your godfather, Draco. Until alternate arrangements can be made, you will be living in Professor Snape's residence here at Hogwarts."

"The dungeon residence is somewhat more spacious than the other residences in the main part of the castle. I have an extra room that we can convert, temporarily, into a second bedroom," Snape explained.

"These new living arrangements man not be permanent, but you will stay with Professor Snape at least until after the Christmas holidays. We will reevaluate the situation then and make changes as needed." Dumbledore stood to conclude the meeting.

"Will Harry be allowed to visit, sir?" Draco chimed in before the others could follow Dumbledore's lead.

The scowl on Snape's face said he had been expecting the question to come up. He avoided answering, however, as he stood up. "That is a discussion for another time, Draco."

Dumbledore nodded in agreement and turned to Harry. "I believe there is still time for you to make it to your last class before dinner. I am sure that Mr. Malfoy will be able to handle things from here. I'll send a note to your professors informing them of why you were late."

"Yes, sir," Harry replied and had no choice but to follow Dumbledore out of the office, leaving Draco behind.

Note: Wow, awfully sorry about that! I've had this chapter written out for a while now, I just never uploaded it. Silly me! Anywhoo, I'm heading off to China in *looks at watch* less than 2 hours now, so, while I'll be writing more of the story, I won't be uploading anything new until I get back. I won't have my laptop with me while I'm there, but I won't be gone for too long. Anywhoo, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous of Draco right now. Who wouldn't want to live with Snape, eh? ;)

Don't forget to review if that's your kinda thing! And the question! You might have noticed that I've been reaaalll ambigous about Draco and Harry's ages during this story. See, I had a certain age in my head, and then realized a little too late that I had set up the story wrong. *cough* Oops. Anyway, I was curious as to what age (or what year) you think Harry and Draco are in this story?
It would be helpful to know y'all's answer to that to figure out how best to fix my problem. Thanks thanks!