Harry was the first to awake the morning they were due to return to Hogwarts. He quietly got out of bed as to not wake Ron and started getting dressed. He was completely packed, having done that the night before as to minimize his work load. As soon as he was done getting dressed, he headed down the stairs, hoping Mrs. Weasley had started an early breakfast. He was surprised, therefore, to find Sirius in the kitchen cooking rather than Mrs. Weasley.
"Sirius? What are you doing up so early?" Harry asked, taking a seat at the table.
"Good morning, Harry," Sirius said rather gloomily, putting a plate of pancakes and sausages in front of his godson. "I just thought I would give Molly a break and help out with breakfast. I daresay she has enough going on getting everyone ready to leave."
Harry could tell that Sirius was depressed at their parting once more. Harry didn't blame him; although the house was always full with those in the order, they were there because they had to be. The Weasley's, Harry, and Hermione were there because they wanted to be. While Harry was happy to be going back to Hogwarts to see Draco, he was going to miss Sirius dearly. He hated the thought of his godfather cooped up in this dark, dank place.
"You know, summer will be here before you know it, Sirius," Harry said, taking a bite of his pancakes. They were pretty good, but not as good as Mrs. Weasley's.
Sirius smiled, his back against the stove, spatula in hand. "Thanks Harry. You're probably right. Between your exams and kindering your new relationship, I would have to say that the rest of the school year is going to go by like nothing." Sirius said. Harry smiled, mostly at the mention of his relationship. He never got tired of saying he was in one; it just felt too good. "You know, Harry, I've never seen you as happy as you do now with Draco." Sirius smiled, a genuine one this time.
"I don't think I've been this happy since I got my letter to Hogwarts, to be honest." Harry said. Sirius opened his mouth to say something when Mrs. Weasley came bustling into the kitchen, looking flustered.
"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley stopped short when she saw the plates of breakfasts already starting to pile up. "Why Sirius, what a pleasant surprise! You didn't have to do all this!" Mrs. Weasley said.
"It's no trouble Molly, really. I figured you would have more of a chance of getting everyone ready without worrying about the bacon burning." Sirius said, sounding slightly somber once more. "Don't worry, by the time everyone is up, I'll be finished with this. Go on, I'll be fine." Sirius said, turning back to tend to the food once more.
"Thank you so much Sirius! Harry dear, I see that you have an early start!" Molly Weasley said, having just noticed Harry sitting at the table, taking the last bite of food. "You all packed and ready?"
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley. I can go and wake Ron if you'd like?" Harry suggested, putting his dirty plate in the sink.
"That would be wonderful dear, thank you!"
Harry nodded his head, heading out of the kitchen, bounding up the stairs two at a time. The faster everyone was up, the faster they were able to leave.
With the start of the day and no hassles whatsoever, they made it to Kings' Cross with nearly forty-five minutes to spare – a record time for them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione loaded their trunks onto the train and, seeing as they were early, were able to find a really nice compartment all to themselves. Harry placed himself near the window, waving his last good-byes at the Order when there was a knock on the compartment door. Harry whipped his head around in time to see Draco opening.
"Hey," Harry said, his face breaking into a wide grin.
"Hey," Draco said a little awkwardly, briefly glancing at Ron and Hermione's stares. "Er, I was wondering if I could ride with you guys?"
Harry looked at his two friends with a hopeful expression. They both nodded; Hermione was smiling, Ron attempted a smile, but it came out as a grimace. That was good enough for Harry, who turned to look at Draco once more. "Of course you can!" Draco smiled, dragging his trunk behind him as he entered the compartment. Harry stood up and helped Draco heave his trunk onto the luggage rack.
"So your friends are still ignoring you?" Harry asked as they sat down.
"How'd you guess?" Draco asked with sarcasm.
"Did they say anything to you when you tried to sit with them?" Harry asked with concern.
"I didn't even get as far as sitting with them. I got to the compartment door and Blaise just looks at me and says 'this compartment is full,' and shuts the door in my face!" Draco said in aggravated tones.
"That's awful!" Hermione said, looking at Draco with sympathy.
"Thanks. Anyways, I don't need them anyways. I mean, what kind of person treats their friends like that?" Draco asked.
"Someone who clearly was never really your friend to begin with." Ron said, staring out of the window. He turned to look at his friends when there was no response to his comment. "What?"
"That…actually makes a whole of sense." Draco said, looking down at the compartment floor.
"Really?" Ron said, surprised at Draco agreeing with him.
"Yeah, I mean, when I really think of it, we pretty much only hung out because our parents are friends and they wanted us to be friends." Draco explained.
"Of course, it goes back to the whole pureblood status. Your parents wanted to stick with those of the same prestige." Hermione explained.
"I guess so," Draco sighed.
"Well, you're more than welcome to hang out with us, Draco." Harry said, briefly patting Draco on the knee.
"Thanks Harry." Draco said, smiling at his boyfriend. "And you guys too, I really appreciate it." He turned to smile at Hermione and Ron, who returned his smile.
The next few hours were spent with Ron and Hermione getting to know Draco better and vice versa. Harry sat back and observed most of the time, the smile never leaving his face; he was thrilled that everyone was finally starting to get along, and that Draco was being given the chance to be himself, something that he was never able to do when he was with his Slytherin "friends."
At half past two, the food trolley came around breaking the constant conversation. Hermione bought her and Ron a few treats and sandwiches while Draco bought him and Harry some as well. Harry took out his money bag.
"You don't have to pay me back, Harry, really." Draco said, handing Harry two ham and cheese sandwiches.
"Thanks," Harry said, accepting the sandwiches. He unwrapped one and started eating it.
"I really hope everyone has gotten over me and you by now." Draco said, finishing off his first sandwich and starting on his second.
"So what if they haven't?" Hermione said testily. "That's their problem if they can't accept it."
"I kind of agree with Draco," Harry said. "I get enough attention as it is, I don't need people yelling slurs and hexing me as well."
"How have people in Gryffindor been treating you? I mean, have they been yelling and hexing you?" Draco asked.
"No, everyone in my house that have either been ignoring me or they just don't care. It's mostly Slytherin and a few people from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw that have been instigating me. What about you?" Harry explained.
"I'm pretty much an outcast in Slytherin. And those few in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are probably the same people. But no one in Gryffindor, but I do get some dirty looks every now and then, but I guess that makes sense." Draco said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Really? So – so you have no one in your house to talk to?" Harry asked, looking at Draco with pity. At least he had Hermione and Ron – he couldn't imagine enduring the bullying without them.
"Pretty much," Draco said, looking down at his half eaten sandwich and deciding that he wasn't hungry anymore. He wrapped the rest of it up and put it in his bag.
Harry felt a stab in his chest at the sad look on Draco's face. Harry reached for Draco's hand and intertwined it with his own. "I wish you could switch houses. At least then you would have us."
Draco smiled sympathetically, squeezing Harry's hand. "Don't worry, babe. I can handle it. Besides, I don't really spend much time in the common room anyway. I'm either in class, or with you."
"This is true," Harry said, smiling.
The four students soon found themselves changing into their school robes. Harry couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts to start the school feast; those sandwiches seemed like forever ago. They started moving their luggage into the hallway as the train started slowing down.
Just as they got the last trunk into the hallway, a group of Slytherins made their way to the door the trio and Draco were standing near. When the students saw Draco and Harry, they started breaking out in whispers, pointing at the pair of them, some laughing, others looking at them in disgust. Harry and Draco did their best to ignore them as the train came to a halt, the doors opening into the cold night air. They were about to step off the train when one of the Slytherin's roughly pushed them out of the way, saying "fags," as he passed by.
"Don't!" Harry said, holding Draco back as he made to go after the kid, his fist raised. They let the rest of the Slytherin's pass – each one of them making an obscene gesture in their direction – Harry holding Draco back all the while. As soon as they passed, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Draco headed out of the door towards an empty carriage.
"You alright?" Harry asked Draco quietly as they took their seats in the carriage.
"We're not even in school yet and already it's begun." Draco said, already in a sour mood. He stared out the window as the snow started drifting down. Harry sighed, putting a comforting hand on Draco's knee. Not taking his eyes off the window, Draco placed his hand on top of Harry's as the carriage started moving.
It was heartbreaking for Harry to see Draco heading towards the Slytherin table knowing there was no one there to greet him. Harry continually looked back towards Draco as he made his own way to Gryffindor table.
"He'll be fine, Harry." Hermione said, watching Harry. "You'll see him tomorrow in Potions class."
"I suppose," Harry said, finally peeling his eyes off his boyfriend, and turning towards the table as the empty plates magically appeared with food. This is going to be a fun semester Harry thought to himself dully as he started loading his plate with roast beef and potatoes.
Author's note: Sorry if this chapter seemed kind of dull. I promise it's going to get more interesting and heated within the next chapter or two, so bear with me!